currently | october 2015

I've never done a "currently" post before, but many of the blogs I follow do them, and I always enjoy reading them. I thought it would be an appropriate time for me to do one since I've been "away" so long, and it would catch you up to speed a bit.

reading

A smorgasbord of books. I recently got a free trial of Kindle Unlimited, and I'm pretty sure it's the most genius idea ever. You can "borrow" books and read them for free! I kind of went into rapid-fire reading because I wanted to take advantage of the 100% free month, so I kind of got lost in a bunch of different genres. In fact, I downloaded a two-book series that, although they were definitely Christian novels, I've been so turned around and confused by them I don't even know what I'm reading. This morning I remembered that a book I'd pre-ordered by my favorite author back in the spring has been sitting unread on my shelves for a few months, so starting tonight, I will currently be reading One More Wish by Robin Jones Gunn. (it's a fluffy book, but it's the last in a very long series I began in high school) 

loving

The weather! I don't care how cliche "sunny and seventy-five" is, it's fantastic. It pretty much feels like you can do anything you ever wanted to do - IF you could stop sneezing and coughing for five seconds, but that's just a minor disturbance. I truly love this weather.

celebrating 

Tanner and Amie! Their birthdays are right next to each other - October 10 & 11, respectively. Tanner turned four which kind of blows my mind, and Amie turned 21. We also had our annual Fall Festival/Old Fashioned Day the morning of Tanners birthday, so, needless to say, we were ready for some down time on Monday.

working on

Organization. Simplifying. Getting my life together. Honestly though, it's very therapeutic for me. My closet is about to undergo a switcheroo from Summer to Winter, and I'm oddly excited about that. (Does this mean I need to get a life?) I want to blog the process, but I feel like that might be taking it a little too far! The donation centers in my area are about to be very blessed... 

buying 

Mums.  We do love them around here! My mom has 4 on our porch, and I picked up 12 for our Fall Festival - which doesn't seem like that many, but my car was unprepared for the invasion. They're beautiful though, and pretty inexpensive for a large sized plant!

listening
To incredibly complex classical pieces. Odd opera sounding stuff. My sister is a music major in her last year of college. Pray for us.

anticipating
Seeing the professional pictures from our recent cousins photo shoot. It had been twelve years since our last one, and 5 cousins had been born.

In age order we were boy-girl-boy-girl until my uncle (born 14 years after his sisters) went and had 6 boys!

laughing
At the recreation of our first photo. A few things have changed!

...these are the days for a quick note and iPhone pictures. Until the calendar uses an eraser, it'll have to do!

Happy Autumn!


 

june & july 2015 recap

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

I'm combining these months because they ran into each other creating such a blur that it just seems like putting them together is the thing to do. It was a couple of really hot and humid months weather wise, but we were too busy to stop and take too much notice. 

Saturday, June 6, my Sunday School class got together and hiked to a waterfall near us. It was a beautiful day, and we went early enough to beat the heat. Our teachers brought sandwich stuff and we ate after the hike. It was a really fun way to kick off summer!

The following Monday we started things off with a bang with our combined VBS and Jr. Camp week. Monday through Friday I was in charge of making sure the 2&3 year olds got to their places. Assembly, class, activities, crafts, and lunch. It was a fun week learning about D.L. Moody, Fanny Crosby, Billy Sunday, George Washington Carver, and David Brainard. The theme - obviously - was American Heroes of the Faith, and each classroom and teacher highlighted and focused on one of the above mentioned names. They decorated their rooms, dressed in period clothing, and were as dedicated and involved as you could ever hope a teacher would be. When adults are moved by a lesson for toddlers, you know something good is happening.

the kids even got to do some pottery this year because our newest church member is a pottery missionary!

We took a little breather the Saturday after VBS to do some laundry and pack for Youth Camp. It began Monday morning and ended Friday night. It was such a good year, and my very first as an official, call-me-Miss-Kelley-counselor. I tend to be overly organized and tidy, and I had 6 girls (five thirteen-year-olds and one fifteen-year-old) in my room. It was anything but quiet and tidy, but it was a lot of fun. It was all of their first time at Youth Camp, so I enjoyed helping them get ready, do devotions, talk about the services, and pray together before bed. I found myself channeling my former counselors and I'm so very grateful for the positive and lasting influence they had on me. 

Two of my best friends since childhood were there as well, and it was so much fun experiencing the flip side of camp together!

Two weeks later, and we're getting into Music School. I didn't get to participate in much of it this year because I was helping with some behind-the-scenes work, but I was able to go to the singing at night and learn some of the songs. It was a wonderful year, with well over 300 people attending at night.

Once again, my friends and I experiencing the other side of what we attended for years as children and teens.

Faith, Kaitlyn, & I. the menu? hotdogs for lunch and ziti for supper!

But the cherry on top of our summer was Douglas Mac being born on July 17 weighing 10 pounds and 2 ounces.

he is our favorite part of summer

This post would have been up much sooner, but we took a quick getaway at the beginning of this month and put everything else on hold. I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer, ours has been busy but we're looking forward to a little free time in August!

| JULY SNAPSHOTS |

I hope all of you have a lovely August!

 

april 2015 recap

It's hard to believe we're beginning the month of May. April zipped right on by in a flurry of raindrops. We had some hard, sad days at the beginning of the month. As a family in our church went through an incredibly difficult time, my memories of the beginning of the month are of tears and so much prayer as our church banded together at heaven's door for them. God is faithful, and through it all He is good and sovereign. When we don't understand His plan, and question why He allows certain things to happen, He comes to us in whispers. Gently comforting us when we face the cruel realities of life on this earth. All in all, April was a good month.

This isn't a great picture because it was taken with a phone but it's the only one I have right now. This is all of the girl cousins on my mom's side of the family. We had a baby shower for my cousin (the brunette in the middle) and her baby boy due on May 4. I love spending time with family, and it was a happy day. We can't wait to meet our new little cousin!

Easter Sunday was cloudy but pleasantly warm. As per tradition, out came the dressy spring clothes and lots of ham and sweet potatoes were consumed. We don't celebrate Easter like most people - no easter bunny! - and while we know that it's not the actual date of Christ's resurrection, it's nice to set an entire day aside to appreciate and celebrate that blessing.

Sisters! We all ended up matching - can you tell which pair of sisters belongs to each other? ;)

We celebrated the sunshine with trips to the park, bike rides, and picnics. It's still just spring here, but it's slowly getting warmer and I love it! The boys and I have lots of big plans for this summer - the  new niece or nephew is due to be here early July, so we'll be making our own summer bucket list!

I'm not sure what's gotten into me, but I cooked up a storm in April! The majority of my Saturdays have been spent in the kitchen and I'm loving it! I'm not sure if recipe posts are a thing y'all enjoy on here or not, but if you see something in the above picture that you'd like the recipe for let me know and I'll try to get around to sharing it! (They were all quite good, if I do say so myself!)

FROM THE BLOG

ending - my one and only April Fool's Day joke. Turns out it really did fool some people! 

summer bucket list - an early start on some practical plans for Summer 2015

grilled salmon & avocado salsa | recipe - a heart healthy meal with recipes and pictures included

And that was April in a nutshell. I'm playing around with the layout for my recap posts, still not sure what I like best but I'll find an easy-to-read format soon! I hope your April was beautiful, and that God was there in every day.

What were some of your favorite moments from April?

an update

When it rains, it seems the world takes on a somber hue.

My soul is hushed, I lift my pen, and write a song for you.

-Robin Jones Gunn

First of all, my apologies to those faithful readers who keep on checking this blog even though it's been nearly two months since I've updated it. Trust me, I'm more sad about it than you are!

I follow blogs that put me to shame - people who have full time jobs, families, etc., and still manage to keep up a two to three post per week schedule. I've accepted that when it comes to weekly or monthly recaps, I'm a failure. I do pretty good for a little while but then other things take priority and I eventually forget all about it.

The poem above has always been a favorite of mine, because I simply find it very difficult to focus on writing when my mind is full of life's happenings and things I have to get done. The end of this summer and all of fall has been crazy at our house. With construction and meetings and people coming over, writing just didn't happen. My soul wasn't hushed, my mind was chaos. And so, this blog was pushed so far to the back burner it was washed and put away.

But I want to break it out again. Our missions conference is in three weeks. Between now and then, here is my to-do list:

design, edit, print, fold, and mail the newsletter for December

design, edit, print, and put together missionary booklets

all of the above preparation for "passports" for the children at missions conference

3 different Thanksgiving celebrations

2 houses to help decorate for Christmas

a house to help finish "moving in" to

book hotel rooms for a quick trip to Pigeon Forge

pillow cases to sew

a map to put on canvases
Write the annual Christmas poem for the cards we send out

Christmas shoping

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That isn't even all, but even if it were complete, it is barely a fourth of what most of you have going on! I'm determined to schedule time for this blog because I know I can, because I love this space on the web, and because I love sharing things with people. I love that my blog isn't tied down to one category, that I can share just pictures, a recipe, or something I've written from deep in my heart, and it all "fits" on here. I'll try my best to make it a little more of a priority! Pretty soon, I will "write a song for you".

Quick update...

Our house is nearly complete! We've entered the stage that's half frustrating, half fun - moving back in and decorating! Fun because we're making it home again, frustrating because there's more room for some things, but hard sometimes to find good spots for the old decor. When it's finished, I will put pictures on here, but for now, I still need a little more time!

My nephews and niece are doing well. Lena Rae has entered a very fun stage - trying to stand and copy our words, Tanner still turns my heart into a puddle, Jackson is still our quiet, studious boy, and Jace's head reaches my waist and he's started school!

It snowed this morning, and I loved it. I've had a bad, grumpy attitude about winter. Brrrr.....give me 90 degrees any day! But snow, along with rain, brings that "hush" I was talking about earlier. It rained all day yesterday, and we had fluffy snowflakes falling this morning. The festive spirit has entered me and I'm just biding my time until Thanksgiving when we pull out all the Christmas stuff!!

Today was spent breaking out the Missions Conference files and getting ready for that. It will consume the next three weeks of my life but I LOVE it! Tonight is the first basketball game of the season, and right after the game is our weekly Bible Foundations class...which I still have to study for! Winter activities are here, and the rain and snow were just exactly what my soul needed to get in the mood!

I hope each of you has had a wonderful beginning to this season, and I'll see you soon! Thank you for staying with me. :)

Week's End Review

Wow, what a week! Jacob and Christine took a trip to Cancun, so we had all four kids for 5 days. We had a lot of fun - between morning time when Lena's super happy, to trips to the park and zoo, to Stephen and Tara's birthday celebration (which was at their now furnished house) to trips on Bro. Dale's motorcycle! :)

Tara's birthday was Sunday and Stephen's was Saturday, so we got together at their house on Tuesday. Jacob and Christine were flying out very early Wednesday morning, so we took the kids home with us and they stayed the night at Stephen and Tara's since they live much closer to the airport. All of the kids absolutely love their dog, Tucker!

Wednesday and Friday were park days, and on Thursday we loaded them all up and went to the Nashville zoo. It was a lot of fun for three boys, interesting for nosy little Lena, and tiring for all of us. We had a good day, though!

They were all so good, and it was fun having someone to take on bike rides at the park and share slushies with. :)

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

There were three extra helpers on the job site this week!

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

build new pantry walls
electrical started
ceiling dry walled
walls insulated 
all of the drywall hung
outside concrete pad poured
walls painted
old flooring removed
new flooring purchased

Week's End Review

All I have to say is, better late than never, right?

1. On our way to a Missions Conference Monday night, we stopped and ate supper. I grabbed a cotton candy to go, and the first half was good. After awhile, it just feels like you're eating straight up sugar...which I guess you are!

2. It was prayer letter week, and since school's started back all of my normal helpers were busy. I felt a little buried in paper, labels, and envelopes!

3. August - March is what I call Birthday Season for our family. All 12 of our birthdays fall somewhere in these months, with the exception of none in November. I decided to go ahead and buy my gifts for the remaining 5 people who have birthdays before Christmas! I also bought myself a few things for my bathroom. Who doesn't love new towels?

4. Amie sent me this picture of a her and a group up there at Verity in the coffee shop.

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

build new pantry walls
electrical started
ceiling dry walled
walls insulated 
all of the drywall hung
outside concrete pad poured

Week's End Review

Let's just take a minute and look at this beautiful little squishy face, shall we? Yes, I do believe it was a good week.

This was one of those weeks where I felt like I saw my family all the time, and yet not at all, you know what I'm saying? Sunday - Wednesday was our Labor Day Meeting at church. It was so good, but I sadly don't have any pictures. I needed to make room in my purse for my Bible, and guess what I took out? My camera. Oh, well. Some memories are better when they've been "snapped" in your mind, anyway!

Although the meeting ended only a half a week ago, it feels like much longer. It's been very busy around here - living in a house under construction and trying to keep it clean plus helping Amie get ready for her two week trip to Indiana had us all running everywhere all the time. One night this week Jacob came over to tear out a coat closet and brought the family. We got to spend some time with them, and that's always nice. :)

I'm on a pumpkin craze right now! I made these pumpkin cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting Friday morning and they. were. so. good. If you're interested in the recipe, let me know! I'll be making them again, especially as we get close to the holidays.

This morning for breakfast I had a cream cheese filled pumpkin muffin with my English Breakfast Tea. Another wonderful recipe that's a keeper! This recipe made 24 muffins, and with all the construction going on, we've been cooking in a small convection oven that will only bake 6 muffins at a time, so I will not be making these again until after our new kitchen is complete!

Fun Fact: I stayed up until after 11:00pm on a Saturday night making these. Is that an old maid qualification or something? I feel like it is. ;)

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

We have light!

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

build new pantry walls
electrical started
ceiling dry walled
walls insulated

Week's End Review

Saturday, Faith and  I drove 3 hours to visit Hannah and her beautiful baby Amelia. Another of our friends, Kaitlyn, was already up there, and we went and got pedicures. We also went to a coffee shop and just hung out and visited. It was a really fun day!

Earlier this week I got our church's monthly newsletter ready to be mailed. It's not a fun event or anything, but it was part of my week! And now you can see what the cover of our September newsletter looks like, and how many of them I fold manually. ;)

Other things the week included are...

• Jace, Jackson, and Tanner came over and we swam twice. I got soggy water-logged brain.

• Lena loves to do pat-a-cake, and she's good at it, too!

• I finished "For Such a Time" by Kate Breslin. You know those books that, even thought they're fiction, kind of change your mindset about certain things? Yeah, this was one of those books. It made me go "hmmm".

• I went to a going-away party for one of my friends who is moving to Washington D.C. for an internship this semester. Pretty cool, huh?

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

build new pantry wall (not pictured)

Week End Review | #3

As you know, we dealt with a great loss this past week. Yesterday was the funeral, and it was one of the best that I've ever been to. It was a scorcher all afternoon, so by the time we got home from the cemetery, we were hot, tired, and emotionally spent. Since it's been such a solemn, yet very busy week, I don't have very many pictures to share with you. I didn't take any at the memorial service yesterday, although I would have loved to because of how classy and patriotic it was. A beautiful way to say goodbye to a man who gave so much to his country, family, church, and missionaries. Please pray for the family and church family as we learn that life does go on, but there is a legacy to uphold.

Some of these pictures are simply snapchats I saved at the last minute, and pretty much all of them were taken on my iPad. I hope you enjoy them anyway! :)

When you're little, shouldn't you end at least a few summer days sun drenched and water logged?

 

Am I the only one that thinks breakfast food is pretty? Regardless, I think it is, and I take pictures of mine. ;)

We are officially moved into our new kitchen, aka the laundry/sewing room, for the next few weeks!

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

Week End Review | #2

Monday

Shopping day with Amie, and we met our brothers for lunch.

Tuesday

Bowling and Baskin Robbins with friends.

We laid on the concrete and "star gazed" when we got home from bowling.

 Thursday

We drove to Antioch Baptist Church's revival - this picture was taken close to 11pm on our way home :)

Friday night/Saturday morning

(it was 4:00am. it felt like night time to me.)

I watched Patrick & Iris get married (live!) in Germany!

Saturday

My mom's birthday was Thursday, but we celebrated on Saturday.

Jacob's ribs were a HUGE hit!!

cornhole!

RIBS

Jacob sent us pictures of the rib rub and smoking process every 30 minutes or so. By the time he arrived with them at 4:00, we were quite ready to dig in...we were not disappointed!!! 

 RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls