Fun Facts about Kami

Alright, here are my 25 Random Things About Me. (I added a 26th!)

1. As a child, I wanted to be a pediatrician when I grew up.

2. In my opinion, TiVo is the greatest invention.....EVER!

3. Peonies are my favorite flower.

4. I HATE scary movies.

5. I cry when I get angry/mad.

6. I could look at house floor plans all day!

7. My dream vacation would be two weeks in Nova Scotia.

8. I love to color as much now as I did when I was a child. It relaxes me. My mother-in-law actually gave me a coloring book and crayons for Christmas this year. :)

9. My sisters are my very best friends.

10. I did not meet my husband's family until after we were already engaged. Luckily, they liked me!!

11. My sons give me more joy than I could have ever imagined.

12. I wake up in the same position I fall asleep in.

13. My mom can fix anything. Seriously!

14. Bad thunderstorms still scare me.

15. I take scalding hot showers.

16. My husband and I married only a year after we met.

17. Noah starting kindergarten this Fall scares me to death.

18. I don't love easily, but when I do, it's forever.

19. I absolutely hate to cook.

20. My father is a pastor and the most compassionate person I know.

21. I love to travel but I do not like to fly.

22. I am a dreamer.

23. I am very forgiving and never hold grudges.

24. I am very shy/quiet/reserved around people I don't know well. My family and close friends know I am actually very loud/outgoing/talkative.

25. My husband, the love of my life, is the smartest person I know.

26. I am terrified of spiders. I get my Arachnophobia from my PawPaw!!

Posted by: Kami

Fun Facts

The "25 Random Things" about yourself is something going around Facebook. I have to admit it is pretty interesting to read facts about people ... weird facts, especially. I know I have some peculiar ones, so I hope you enjoy getting to know me a little better!

1. I love any kind of animal, and my husband would say I am an Animal Rights Activist ... but I'm not a vegetarian!

2. There is only one place I would consider a "dream vacation" ... Italy.

3. I love to have fun and laugh. I sometimes get in trouble for both (even as an adult).

4. I celebrated my 22nd birthday in Tokyo, Japan.

5. I had my jaw broken at the age of 16.

6. I play with my hair constantly, especially in the car.

7. I have pregnancy-induced OCD and am taking medicine for it.

8. I can't stand when people do not signal when driving.

9. I can stand in any store and look at notebooks, pens, and make up/toiletries for hours!

10. I get so excited about going in Walgreens, CVS, or Target, I have to immediately go to the bathroom once inside the store (and it is limited to those 3 stores - weird, I know).

11. When I sleep on my left side, I rest the back of my left ankle in between my first two toes on my right foot ... and vice versa.

12. My favorite drinks are: sweet tea, Coke, Mountain Dew, and chocolate milk ... and I could live on cereal & milk alone!

13. I never knew I was capable of the amount of love I have for Madelynn & Nehemiah.

14. My husband and I only dated 3 months before he proposed ... and we didn't say "I love you" until he proposed ... he said it first.

15. I am the most impatient person I know ... but God is working on me.

16. I got saved when I was 10 years old at Gate City Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC on December 4, 1988 when the Site Sisters were in concert.

17. I never have more fun then when I am with my sisters.

18. I love reality crime shows: The First 48, Cops, Life in Prison, City Confidential, American Justice, etc.

19. I love organization (see # 7).

20. My husband was the first (and only) man I've ever kissed at the age of 24!

21. I love to kiss my dog's feet.

22. My Paw Paw and Daddy are my heroes.

23. Nothing is worse than waking up hot.

24. There is NO PAIN worse than a tooth ache!!!

25. I can't believe how blessed my life is!

Posted by: Kelli

Ode to Joy & Philip

Most blog entries have an interesting and clever catch-phrase, but this one is different. This one is totally and completely about thanks and gratitude. Just to jump right in ... my parents are absolutely amazing! I know that I know that I KNOW my parents love me (and my sisters) more than anything in this world ... except for our children, maybe, ha ha! They raised, in my personal opinion, 3 incredible women who found 3 wonderful men, who in turn have 2 unbelieveable children (a piece). The Crews', the Howe's, and the Oliver's would not be if it weren't for the Whitt's (which my sister's and I, all 3, kept as our middle name). Now, being a mother myself, I know how much my parents really do love us and everything they did, and everything they sacrificed was because of their love for us.

Momma and Daddy watched my babies (17 months and 4 months) and my dog this past weekend while Jeremiah and I went on a youth trip. My parents are not old, by any means, but that's a lot of anybody to take on (have you been around my daughter!?!)! I could never express how much I appreciate or love them in this lifetime. Hopefully my life has and will show them. Thank you so much, Momma and Daddy!

I am beyond proud to be the daughter of Philip Kelley and Joy Garner Whitt.

My parents

Posted by: Kelli

Lunch with Jeremiah

Jeremiah and Kami - Senior Year

I grew up in NC and by the time I was in the 9th grade, I had a very close group of friends. I had great friends at church and great friends at school (most of whom I'd gone to school with since the 1st grade). So, when my dad told us that we were moving to SC the summer after my 9th grade year, I was a little upset. No one wants to leave all their friends behind. But, as a pastor's kid, you understand that you go where God leads.

We moved the summer of 1992. I made some amazing friends at my new church. My first friend was Melissa Stepp. We don't see each other much now that we're all grown up, but I still love her dearly. I had all summer to spend with my new friends at church, but sadly, none of them went to my high school. So, 10th grade was difficult. I met some nice people, but made no real friends. Lunch was even harder. I usually ate in the hallway because I didn't know anyone that had the same lunch period as I did. I didn't care, though. It was a good time to get caught up on all my homework.

Well, a guy named Jeremiah Oliver and his family went to my church. Jeremiah and I were the same age and although we weren't that close, we saw each other a lot. He transferred to my school in the 11th grade. Finally, someone familiar! I can remember walking in to 3rd lunch (we had four different lunch periods) and seeing Jeremiah standing there. I was so excited. I said, "Wanna eat together?" He said, "Sure." Those were probably the last words we spoke to one another. We sat together every day that year and never said a word!! It may as well have been "silent lunch." HAHA Well, we may have made occasional small talk, but not that often. We rarely even made eye contact. To think about it now is hilarious to me. But just to have someone to sit with that you know and feel comfortable with was wonderful. Little did I know that ten years later he would marry my little sister and be the father of my niece and nephew.

Every time my family all gets together, we laugh and joke about my silent lunches with Jeremiah. Jeremiah and I are now very close and have absolutely no trouble talking with one another. He makes me laugh probably more than anyone else does. If I had only known in high school how funny he was, lunch would have been a little louder. It's funny how things change. I never really got that involved at school.....my dearest friends were in my youth group at church. Thanks to Facebook, we are all reconnecting and it's wonderful! Then, the best thing happened my senior year.....I had lunch with my little sister!! :)

Written by: Kami

There's No Place Like Home!

The Lighthouse at Oak Island, NC

Well, the Whitt's have returned from another year at the beach the week after Christmas. We, as a family, started the tradition in December 2003. It is a time for us as sisters and in-laws to come together and spend time with each other. Since Kristen, Kami, and I all 3 have husbands in the ministry, it is difficult to get together at any time at length other than Christmas. This year we went to Oak Island, NC. We stayed in a beautiful 5 bedroom 4 bath home shaped like a lighthouse. By far, my favorite since our tradition started.

Dosher Memorial Hospital

Southport, NC

This year had a more dramatic approach to the week. Mine and Jeremiah's son, Nehemiah, who is 3 months old, was the source of that drama. Christmas day, Nehemiah starting coughing. And since his big sister Madelynn was getting over a cold, nautrally I thought Nehemiah had caught what Madelynn had. The first night there, Nehemiah didn't sleep well and seemed uncomfortable. After waking up several times between 2 AM and 5 AM, I noticed he seemed to be working pretty hard to breath. So, around 6 AM Sunday morning, after much talk with my sister Kami and Momma, Jeremiah and I drove 25 minutes to the nearest hospital in Southport, NC to Dosher Memorial Hospital. There, he was given steriods and a breathing treatment. The ER doctor released him but wanted us to come back in 6 hours to see how he responded to the treatment. Jeremiah, Nehemiah and I all headed back up to Southport at 4 PM Sunday afternoon. Nehemiah had actually gotten worse. The ER doctor felt it was best for Nehemiah to be transported to New Hanover Medical Center in Wilmington, NC; about 40 minutes away.

New Hanover Medical Center - Betty H. Cameron Women's & Children's Hospital
Wilmington, NC

We waited a few more hours at Dosher until VitaLink showed up to transport our little bity, 11 pound, baby in this ginormous ambulance. Nehemiah was put on this regular sized stretcher, but with a special twist. This particular stretcher had car seats straps built in. Four grown men tending to an infant is a precious sight!!

VitaLink (New Hanover)

Jeremiah and I followed the ambulance to New Hanover in Wilmington. We parked and met the guys at the pediatric entrance. The sweetest thing I have EVER seen was about to happen. It sounds small but in my eyes it was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. As the 4 guys were leading us to our room, Nehemiah grabs hold of the driver's, Scott, finger and doesn't let go until we arrive at our room. I wish I could thank those 4 men personally for their compassion to my son.

Dr. Patricia O'Brien

Once we arrived and settled into our room, Dr. Patricia O'Brien came in to check Nehemiah out and hear our story of all that had happened. After much conversation and evaluation of Nehemiah, he was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis. Bronchiolitis is an infection of the bronchioles, the small air passages in the lungs. It is common in young children and is the leading cause of serious lower respiratory illness in infants. It is usually caused by RSV, but in Nehemiah's case it was not. In infants, labored breathing exhausts them and they usually just stop breathing. Where as adults will continue to work hard at it no matter how exhausted they are.

Dr. Joseph Pino

Dr. Joseph Pino was Nehemiah's other doctor at New Hanover and after breathing treatments every 4 hours, serious, heavy duty, electronic, nose sucking (YUCK!), and IV fluids, Nehemiah was released to go home Tuesday morning.

After saying all that, there is nothing I can say to all the doctors and nurses at Dosher or New Hanover to show my gratitude for all they did to care for not only my son, but for my husband and I as well. They all will hold a special place in my heart. God is good ... all the time and He is the ultimate Healer!

Whewww, what an expensive vacation!!!

Posted by: Kelli