the broken road

The other night our friend Chris stopped by and some how we got on the topic of freshman year and how things came to be with me and Mark. We reminisced about star gazing with our friends and how I would always try to be next to Mark but then his girlfriend would call. Or how we went to the sand dunes ALL the time and that is where Mark and I first held hands after his roommate was trying to hit on me. We definitely had rough times where one of us or the other would decided we didn't want to be together and then it would switch. We let each other down at times and hurt each other, there were other girls that I still give Mark crap for because secretly it really hurt me even though I acted so tough freshman year, acting like I really didn't care about Mark and that I could get any guy I wanted... But through it all the memory that stands out the most is the butterflies I got every time I was around him. I didn't know what it was but he was the first guy I was actually really nervous to hold hands with or kiss. I had never felt anything like that in high school.
As I look back through the past 4 years with Mark, there is so much joy, pain, sorrow, happiness, excitement, so much to move on from and so much to look forward to.
I now know what those butterflies were, a sign that this kid was one day going to be my husband.

"Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you"

 I use to make Mark and his roommates do the most random things with me, like build this fort and watch movies under it. This was our first semester, yup that's Logan!

 At the dunes our first semester.

At Mark's house, look how chubby I was!

our baby :)

Mark finally gave in and let me get a kitten! (mostly because he was annoyed with me bringing home strays and asking every day...and she was free!) We adopted her on April 26. She was super tiny when we got her, the runt of her litter. The people we got her from thought she was about 6 or 7 weeks old. They didn't know if she was a girl or a boy...I did my research, thank you google, and found out she was a girl. We wanted to name her something from the Giants but buster posey doesn't really fit for a girl. After a couple days of deliberating, we decided to name her Snookie!
She is so cute and makes us laugh every day. She's already gotten so much bigger, maybe because we didn't know how much to feed her and eventually saw the recommendations on the bag, lets just say we were feeding her about 4 times as much as we should.
It's like having a baby, she cries when we put her to bed (in our closet), she cries in the morning and wakes us up. But despite the early mornings, we love her and are so happy to have her in our little family (you can ask Mark how he really feels.) Mark is her favorite, even though he throws her off the bed. Her favorite spot to be is on his shoulder, especially when he's trying to do homework!
Here are some pictures of our baby Snooks!

Her favorite spot

Meet Snookie!

                                                              She loves her mom :)

I guess my arm is her teddy bear

Sophia came to play with us. She loves kittens

Snookie loves Sophia

Aunt Jana holding Snookie like a baby, haha

Mark loves to make her sit like this, she doesn't really like it though

So happy :)

Don't worry, she likes having her face smooshed in pictures, haha!

Our friends Adria and Brianne brought their kitten, Boss, over for a play date...Snookie beat him up! I think she is use to getting beat up by her brothers and sisters because she was the runt and finally she has someone smaller to pick on. Boss was a trouper and took it. Mark was proud of his little Snooks!

playing house

Since graduation I had two goals for myself. First, find a job that was somewhat college degree worthy (that is hard to do in Rexburg where jobs are few and far between). And second, to cook real meals for Mark every night. I was really bad at making dinners the past two semesters. I justify myself by saying I was really busy with 16 credits and working 20 hours a week.

We are now about a month into it and, drum roll....Success!
I got a job at a real estate company called Countrywide Properties. It doesn't really have much to do with my major but hey, its not fast food! The people are really great and its a good place to work while I wait for Mark to graduate.

Also, I've been cooking real meals!
I have made steak, chicken fajitas, southwest chicken wraps, homemade macaroni and cheese, chicken enchiladas. Luckily Mark is so sweet and compliments me even if the steak is a little well done or the mac 'n cheese isn't as good as his dads. But he makes me feel like I have potential so I actually enjoy cooking!

Thanks for being my taste-tester and support Mark!
Also, thanks to the Warren/Hawkins family cookbook, cookbooks from my mom and grandma Bev, and also to my mom for answering the phone when I have questions while I'm cooking :)

apartment wife

This semester I've really gotten into homemaking, or apartment making! I've been taking a "practical homemaking class with my friend Melissa. It was broken into 3 sections, sewing, cooking, and interior decorating. It's been such a fun class, and made me realize I can do all those things. I have some potential :) I love doing crafts and baking.

Some of the things I've made include

a pillow

apple pie

and a corset cake for my friends bachelorette party

Today I made magnets with my friend Jana for our refrigerators! They are so cute and were super easy to make.

I can't wait to graduate college so I can do crafts all the time.

This is me!

My name is Kelli (Barker) Warren, one of my best friends Melissa Stevens convinced me to start a blog since we are graduating college this semester and will be hundreds of miles away and want to keep in touch!
I recently got married to my best friend Mark Warren on August 14, 2010. We have so much fun together and he always makes me laugh.
I have three little sisters who are my life! They mean so much to me and make me so happy.
I love my family, I now have three brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and 7 nieces and a brand new nephew that was born yesterday on March, 18! My in-laws are all so great and I feel so blessed to have them all in my life!
I absolutely love animals, I often bring home strays and bathe them, Mark hates it and calls me a "crazy cat lady."
Follow me to hear more about our adventures!