Pics from Thanksgiving!

 Casey's brother Brooks, his wife Jenny, their sweet baby Lola, me, and Casey on Thanksgiving!

 Everybody looking at sweet Lola!

Me and Casey!

Just wanted to share a few pictures from Thanksgiving with everyone! I'll be posting again later so check back with me this afternoon! 

Another excerpt from the future book

Today I'd like to share another excerpt from my future book. enjoy! :)

Why is it that to justify is easier than to be honest?  It takes much more time and effort to reason with yourself and others about something than it does to just speak the truth.  And more importantly, why exactly are we so afraid of the truth anyway?  ‘Some things are just better left unsaid’, but why?  I understand the concept in reference to inappropriate, crude, or intentional harm but when it comes to common observation there can’t be much said that someone else hasn’t already been witness to.  Like for example:
1.)Women do not dress to impress men.  Men do not care what the label says on items of clothing.  Generally speaking, men do not know NOR do they care about what the trends are for the upcoming season.  The only thing about clothing that men notice is how much or how little it reveals and the mystery of what’s underneath.  I’ll even go as far as to say that it doesn’t even matter if a woman is wearing a garbage bag, if she’s confident in it, he’ll notice her before anyone else.  I don’t care who you are or what you do or do not know about fashion, as a woman, you people watch.  It’s what we do.  That’s the truth of the matter.  We pick apart every detail of the people we see.  Even if you aren’t with a group of friends, you’ll do it subconsciously. 
2.)There is no such thing as a secret.  Go ahead and disagree with me, but I promise you there’s not one secret you’ve told someone that 3 or more people don’t know as well.  It goes as follows, “I have something to tell you but seriously, you cannot tell A SOUL.”  Right?  What makes you think that you’re the only person that says that?  If you say it, the person you told will say it to the person they tell too and so on and so on.  Sure, the people that know your secret that know you have no clue that know will avoid ever acknowledging that word got to them, but rest assured knowing there are very few people you can trust, even the people you least expect will break your trust.  Bottom line, pick and choose who you reveal the dirty truth to.
3.)When you look back, you were never really as cool as you thought you were.
4.)Moral hangovers are insurmountable in comparison to physical hangovers.
5.)Everyone face book stalks their ex’s, their EX’s ex’s, their ex’s current significant other…and their friends, their enemies…and their friends, and YES, everyone, at some point or another, has stalked the residence of one of these if not all of the above.
6.)Things are never as bad as they seem.  What once felt like could have ruined your life, usually is the one thing you end up forgetting with time.
7.)Every girl says they don’t like drama, but there isn’t one girl on this planet that doesn’t have any.
8.)Big words don’t make you articulate, understanding the meaning of the words you speak does.
9.)You’ve been talked about behind your back, even by people you don’t even know most likely. 
10.)Lastly I’d like to sum up what I’ve learned in the past few years:

Going to class really is the most vital part of college.
 You spend a lot of money that all you can show for is a few pictures of incredible memories. 
Partying really is more fun before you turn 21. 
Time creeps up on you out of nowhere when you feel like certain milestones are forever away. 
Being yourself is better than being what others want you to be. 
Girls are petty and boys will always be boys. 
You’ll never get ahead in life if you dwell on your past. 
Be forgiving and let go of grudges, you’d want the same in return. 
Don’t underestimate the power of love. 
Death is the only certain thing in life, never expect answer to the question ‘why?’, and always be mindful to let your friends know how much you care about them. 
You can’t change anyone, if you can learn to take care of yourself, you’ll learn to accept others for who they are. 
No matter what you’ve done, you never deserve to be mistreated or taken advantage of, if you don’t love and respect yourself, the more you’ll allow yourself to put up with.
If you have to question it, 9 times out of 10 you shouldn’t do it.
And most importantly, the greatest achievement in life is to be content with who you are not what you aren’t, with what you have not what you don’t have, and above all else to learn to be selfless.

sugar sugar

I apologize in advance for the random order of thoughts (keep in mind, they're Holley Thoughts :) )

hey friends...
Sorry it's been a few days since I've blogged.  I can't necessarily say that I've been busy, just distracted I suppose. 

I received the most special gift in the mail today from a very dear friend of mine, Anna.  Believe it or not, I have not yet purchased any clothes for Charlie.  I guess it's just because I've been waiting until I have her nursery ready and up until a few weeks ago,she didnt even have a closet to put any clothes in.  So, the gift Anna sent me was a precious grey and white striped onsie with purple lining and her name monogramed in purple (I would post a pic but my camera is broken :/) Not only is it so special because it is her very first piece of clothing, but it's even MORE special that it was given to her by one of my very best friends.  Thank you Anna, Charlie and I LOVE you!

Thanks to my boyfriends mother's obsession with Etsy, I TOO have become obsessed. I had no idea such adorable things, HANDMADE, could be purchased from one site alone and guess what? The bird mobile I posted a picture of is available for purchase at a reasonable price! Not that I wasn't willing to make it myself but sewing is just NOT one of my strongsuits.

I'm SO excited, Casey is off work tomorrow and we are FINALLY going to get the nursery painted! I cannot express how elated I am.  I hope to have it completely painted tomorrow and all the furniture this weekend. I'll post pics as soon as things start coming together (and I get my hands on a camera).

Today it seems as though my belly has POPPED out out of nowhere. I'll be 24 weeks on Thanksgiving day which just seems INSANE to me.  It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant (which at THAT time, it seemed as though 6 months pregnant was an eternity away) I've been apprehensive about posting belly pics (absolutely no offense to those who do/have, I'm just still trying to embrace the bump!) but who knows, I might get brave and post the Christmas card pics I intend to take her in the next week or so.

So far in my pregnancy I havn't had an food aversions or strange cravings. My cravings have been as follows:
-skittles (preferably the purple bag)
-chewy gobstoppers (don't ask my why, I've never eaten them pre-pregnancy)
-fruit (canned pears and the bagged apple slices *currently craving some apple slices...yummmmm.)
-chocolate dipped vanilla cones from mcdonalds
-gushers (an old childhood favorite)
As you can see, SUGAR seems to be the ultimate craving.

I hope everyone enjoys the Thanksgiving holidays as much as I intend to!
(Christy this is for you...)
Much love from Charlie and me!!!!!!hahhahahaha

God's timing is not my own.

The more I think about what's (or rather, WHO) to come in 3 short months, the harder it gets to imagine that I'm fixing to be a mommy.  Before I was able to feel Charlie move, I thought with each passing day that it would finally be real to me once I could feel her.  But even now that she moves pretty regularly throughout the day...I'll be 6 months come next Thursday.....and she has a name....it's still not 100% real.

I think about what I have (or have not) accomplished so far in my years of 'attempted' college education.  I think about what my goals were previous to pregnancy. I think about the timing...the added circumstance...the fear...the reality...all of which are inevitable at this point.  But I'm reminded of how in every other life altering situation in my life, the timing was not my own...but rather God's timing.  I'm here to tell you from plenty of experience....with God, some, if not most things are not meant to be understood...especially his timing. What we ARE to understand is that God does not make mistakes. God's timing is perfect. and that EVERYTHING (no matter how cliche' it may sound) really DOES happen for a reason.

Something that I've struggled with through the years is the fear of what people thought of me. Questions like, "To others, am I only the sum of my mistakes?", "To others, am I finished in life?", "To others, am I only as good as my most recent good deed?" 

But...God forgives me and sees me as much more than my mistakes.  To God, My life has only just begun....and eternal life is yet to come.  To God, I have a purpose. and the most incredible thing about it all is that because God does not make mistakes, that means that God knew about Charlie before even I was born.  He created her with PURPOSE. with a PLAN. and without ERROR. He loves her, and he loves me....so does it really matter what I am to others? LET ME REASSURE YOU....ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I'll be the first to admit the I've always had a selfish nature about me...maybe because I've always been spoiled rotten to the core...but the best feeling in the world is the feeling of knowing that when it comes to Charlie..ALREADY..I'm overwhelmed with selflessness...I would sacrifice anything for her in a heartbeat.  And when I think about THAT, that alone could be enough reason for God's timing with Charlie.  To strip me of my selfishness.

And regardless of any reason to God's timing, she's on her way...and I am MORE than excited about her arrival.  I'm grateful for God's timing and the change it's bringing to my life. As hard as it may be to think of the actual reality of it all, I'm grateful to be becoming a mother.

so much love from Charlie and I....................

skittles and pie

Well....the past couple of days have been kinda crappy.  Tuesday morning I woke up with some cramping in my tummy.  I tried not to think too much of it since 'the books' talk about abdominal cramping as your belly grows but after a few hours of no relief I got worried and called my doctor.  Which by the way, my new doctor is such a blessing. I was originally seeing a doctor here locally who by my 10th week of pregnancy had me leaving his office in tears.  If there's one thing I have to say about the medical field it's this- IF YOU HAVE NO BEDSIDE MANNER, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR DEGREE OF EDUCATION IS.  Well, back to my original story....
I called my new doctor and he recommended that I go to the Emergency room here in Greenwood since I was in pain and not up to making the drive to West Point (where my new doctor's clinic is).  I absolutely HATE going to the hospital as it is but being by myself (until my boyfriends sweet mom came) while being poked and proded with needles and wires was a nightmare...on top of the 'needle nightmare' guess who the on call doctor was... MY OLD DOCTOR. had i done something wrong to deserve such crappy karma? needless to say I only had to see him once the entire 12 hours I spent in the ER and was blessed to have very sweet nurses. I was also blessed to have Casey's mom come sit with me until my mom got there and then my incredibly sweet Casey came after work and showed up with flowers and snacks and stayed with me and took care of me until today. I could not ask for a more wonderful boyfriend :). Charlie and I both are fine,ends up i just had bad UTI and they put me on some antibiotics. The only thing that sucks is that the antibiotics make me super nauseas but I only have to take them for a week.

*side note*-as i sit upright in my cozy bed, laptop in lap, tv on lifetime, I glance over at my bedside table to see the following items glaring at me with mockery....
1.a ziplock bag full of skittles
and...
2.an empty plate where a giant piece of my moms chocolate pie had been

so what if neither are nutritionally sustainable to my health? they're both DELICIOUS and I wont deny myself a few treats here and there :)

I also notice that I'm watching a re-run of Reba that I've watched 500 million times...and still love.  Same as with the re-runs of Desperate housewives, wife-swap, grey's anatomy, will and grace....Ive seen. THEM. ALL. but theyre still good...anyone else with me on this one?

*Update on Nursery-
I'm hoping to get the nursery painted before the end of this month...I'm wanting to paint it a very soft soft soft baby pink and from ceiling to floor either behind her crib or behind the daybed going in her room I want to paint a wall mural.  I've done one free-handed before but have found a stencil on poshtots.com that I want to kinda go by...

here is a picture of the stencil I found on Poshtots.com
I want to recreate my own free-handed in white.

Anyways, Much love from Charlie and I....When I get to feeling better I'll post something a little more interesting.

Somewhere along the way

hello, for the third time today :)

About 2 years ago I decided I wanted to write a book and since then I've written about things as they come to me, much the same as my intended blog will be. Here is an excerpt of my 'book in progress' that I'd like to share....much love from Charlie and I, see you tomorrow :)


Adulthood leaves little room for innocence or imagination.  As children our imagination was broad enough to create an entire world around us.  We didn’t have empty dreams about what we wanted, we believed it was feasible, right at our fingertips.  We weren’t distracted by what we now know as reality.  Our imagination was present in all five senses.  Somewhere along the way, magic became trickery.  When all innocence was lost, we were faced with the harsh reality of being responsible at all costs for achieving what we wanted in life. 
 I can still remember what it was like to believe in Santa Claus.  I’m not sure if I ever slept a wink on Christmas Eve night for the first nine years of my life.  What I now know as my mother’s footsteps, was once what I believed as the cautious movement of Santa around the Christmas tree.  I didn’t doubt the possibility.  I didn’t question.  He was real, and he was downstairs.  But just as I remember what it was like to believe, I remember how disappointing it was to discover that Santa was nothing but a fictional character in a traditional Christmas story.  All excitement, imagination, belief, and certainty is gone.  The disappointment turned my certainty of possibility into cold hard truth.
 The truth is that when we lose faith, whether in the possibility or in ourselves, we stop believing.  Disappointments rob us of our dreams.  We stop making the effort to obtain the good life.  We spend our days comparing our lives to the lives of others.  We’re constantly aware of what we don’t have, what we aren’t, never reminding ourselves of what we do have, and what we are.  We focus on our handicaps, losing sight of our abilities.  When do we decide to turn self pity into self worth?  When does time turn from silver to gold?  When does life turn from the sum of possibilities into the series of achieved goals?

 We often wonder why the life we dream about day after day never comes to pass.  We’re constantly aware of what it takes to turn dreams into reality yet we procrastinate.  We put life on hold until tomorrow so we can spend the time at hand daydreaming about it instead.  It’s common knowledge that death is the only certain thing in life, that time isn’t in our hands, and most importantly that we’ve not been guaranteed the next breath.  We box up what we know as certain and leave it on the shelf to collect dust.  We’re constantly wasting time instead of investing in it.  Do we spend our days trying to meet someone else’s expectations and standards rather than our own?  Do we run rampant trying to find where our place in just because we’re too afraid we won’t be accepted the way we are without some general stereotype?  And if the answer is yes, then we are running away from the desired goal and not towards it.  Be an individual. Be free. Be yourself.
So what’s the catalyst at which our future depends on?  Hebrews 11:1-3 says, “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living.  It’s our handle on what we can’t see.  The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.  By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.”

My Girl...like the movie



Well I thought I could be patient enough to blog once a day but since I dont do much these days, am new on the blogging scene, and eager to have something to do I figure I'll just blog as things come to me (i.e. Holley Thoughts-that's just the way they work)..

One of my initial fears about bringing a baby into this world was where I would call a home.  When I found out I was pregnant I had a roommate and while she and the living arrangements where ideal, they weren't ideal for Holley+baby.  My boyfriend (who is by far the most amazing man a girl could ask for) lives in Indianola with his cousin and a friend.  And don't get me wrong, staying with him every night was wonderful, BUT, practically living with 3 boys, with ONE bathroom, WHILE pregnant.....not ideal to say the least. I stayed with him while in the process of looking or a place of my own and after much thought and debate over the offer made to me by my grandparents, I now reside in the apartment located inside the funeral home they own. I know, I know. I get it. TRUST ME. I never thought I'd be living in a FUNERAL HOME of all places in my wildest days but here's the upside to it- IT'S FREE. not to mention that my family has been in the funeral business since before I was even born so I'm used to it. Above it all, friends, is that it's not the dead you have to be concerned with, it's the living.

My mother has an incredible talent with decorating so after a few days of letting her 'do her thing', getting the Directv set up, stocking up with groceries, and settling in I am finally able to say I HAVE A HOME! Another perk to living here is that I do not have to enter the funeral home to enter my apartment. It has it's own door on the side of the building that opens right up into a staircase that leads up into my den. And because the funeral home is located on the highway and surrounded by local businesses it is so very well lit up that I feel so so safe. You may call it creepy but honey it's FREE, SAFE, AND COZY TO ME! :) Now that I've begun to get settled, my next project is to get Charlie's nursery ready which I am SUPER excited about!

This is a picture of a mobile I found that someone made and I LOVE it...I want to try to recreate one myself for Charlie's nursery.

                                                  This is a picture of a nursery from the website PoshTots.com (which if you visit it, do not assume that I in ANY way can afford a THING from there.This is simply a picture of what I want Charlie's nursery to look like....as economically close as I can get to it that is.)



Even though this blog is practically a novel, I can't promise it'll be my last today.

Much love

Deck the blogs with thoughts of Holley!

Fa la la la la...la la.la..la......


I've been meaning to get around to creating a blog but just havnt had the time nor the patience to actually sit down and get it started.  I must say I'm pretty intrigued by the whole thing and look forward to getting the hang of things. I was asked what this blog was going to be about and the truth is-nothing in particular. I have no real intentions of sticking specifically to one train of thought, instead I'd like to blog the way I think-randomly. For example...with Thanksgiving approaching and Christmas right around the corner, my pregnant appetite is growling with excitement!! I'll be 23 weeks this coming Thursday and I'm going to have a precious baby girl!! Her name is Charlie Grayson Peel (calling her Charlie) and she is expected to arrive on March 17th (St. Pattys day!). I've accepted the fact that I'll be gaining some major weight over the holidays considering that pre-pregnancy, the holidays were my time of the year NOT to diet. sooo naturally, my first pregnancy would be at it's peak during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I've been asked several times by several people about my pregnancy so here's a quick rundown of my pregnancy up to this point....

I've never been one to have the best of luck so immediately upon finding out I was pregnant I expected 9 long months of every symptom imaginable. God decided to give me a break with this one though because I have been so incredibly blessed with a perfect pregnancy so far.  During my first trimester I never once dealt with any morning sickness.  I was tired all the time and my boobs stayed pretty sore but I moved right along into my 2nd trimester feeling great.  I was around 16 weeks the first time I felt Charlie move but it was so subtle everytime from 16-19 weeks...Once I got to about 19 weeks her kicks and movements were unmistakeable, it was also around this time that I was able to feel her move on the outside of my belly. She's moving a good bit these days and it's the most special feeling in the entire world. I love putting my phone on my belly when I'm laying on my back and watching it bounce everytime she kicks/moves.

I'll post more about Charlie and I in my next blog but for now.....much love on this gloomy day.