year of change

If anyone actually still comes to check this page I will be surprised. Somewhere along the way this blog slipped out of my mind and I simply haven't sat down and taken the time to write.

We've loved using those gift cards from the wedding for date nights! This was at the Chophouse.

I thought once we got past the wedding and settled into our new routine I would come up with a weekly or monthly schedule and post frequently, but then summer hit and time got short, and, well, those are my excuses!

Easter Sunday

June 10 Brandon and I went back to the Mexican restaurant where we had our first date. It was funny to me to think we were marking one year of dating when we'd already been married nearly four months! Time has moved so quickly and so much has happened in such a little while.

 

McDonald's DOES count as a picnic sometimes ;) Especially when you want to try all their new sauces!

Summer is, as always, my favorite time of year. Despite the weird little bugs we keep finding in our house and the gnats slowly growing in number and the mosquito bites and crops of poison ivy it remains the best season of all in my mind! Saturday picnics at the park, a date night here and there, Icees, fishing, simply sitting on the porch swing, fresh fruit, homemade ice cream...I'm trying to intentionally enjoy summer more this year because I blinked once on our honeymoon and here we are in nearly July!

playing Jenga - our guestbook!

To update you on our lives...

We spent a week in Northern Ireland for our honeymoon and it was everything I could've ever hoped for! We stayed in a cottage near the sea, and although it was 78° in Tennessee on our wedding day it snowed every day we were in Ireland. We slept in, ate in cozy "pubs" (had our fair share of fish-n-chips!), and drove along the coastline. We're both quiet people and very much enjoyed listening to their friendly, lilting accents as many of them engaged us in conversation and wanted to know about where we were from and why we were there! It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. One of our friends from church is from Northern Ireland and we stayed in the town his parents live in. They had us over for dinner our first night there and it was a comfort to know there were friends close by should we need anything.

snow outside of the restaurant we ate lunch at after miles of walking, white flowers at the castle we visited, sheep everywhere!, view of the Irish sea on our way "home"

driving on the wrong side, $5 lunch (so. much. food.), the cottage we rented, another snowy drive, freezing at the Harbour

Giant's Causeway, snow at a roadside stop, dinner at the "Mermaid" restaurant (coastal town)

to get closer to the airport in Dublin, we found this castle just 15 minutes away to spend our last night in!

Since then work has picked up for him and I've gotten busier helping with summer camps and other ministries our church has during the summer months. Saturdays off are precious and Sunday afternoon naps are almost tradition now. Cooking for two has been an adventure but I'm starting to get the hang of it! (Mostly thanks to the freezer that was a wedding gift from my brother!)

It's so nice to live 15 minutes from his parents, 10 from mine, and about 2 from the church! He works with his brother every day and I get to see Amie a lot since she teaches piano at the church some. Prayers I was afraid to pray have been answered in such numerous ways and some afternoons when I'm home alone I can be found tearing up because I remember the times I wept and prayed for the things God has given me today. Time, prayer, waiting...it's all worth it, just like everyone always tells you!

I hope you all have a beautiful summer and hopefully you'll be "hearing" from me again soon!

two weeks a mrs.

(update: all wedding photos at this link: B+K Wedding)

 

I don't have all of our wedding pictures back yet, but our photographer sent me a few sneak-peeks just to tide me over until I do. They're lower quality because she had to reduce them to fit in an email, but I just had to share a couple on here as well as the link to the wedding video!

The wedding was such a wonderful day. It was sunny and 78 degrees which is unusual even for Tennessee. It was at 6:00 in the evening on Friday, February 23. The church was packed with people and we served donuts, fresh fruit with dip, and sausage balls at the reception along with water, sweet tea, and a coffee bar. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! Everything went smoothly, no last minute glitches or confusion, and with only family and close friends as attendants/musicians/officiants, it was close and perfectly personal. Marriage is the sweetest thing, and in all my "waiting", I would happily wait another 10 years for this much happiness!

 

 

where i've been

If I have any readers left I'll be amazed. Five months is a long time in between posts and if it were a blog I follow, I might have stopped checking back for a new one by now too!

So where have I been and why have I not posted? Since August I've been doing the same things. Being an aunt, working at the church, and I haven't traveled anywhere. But my mind has been focused on something altogether different.

Life changes quickly, doesn't it? And sometimes you can be waiting on something and suddenly all the pieces fall together and God opens your eyes at exactly the second He wants them to be open. You see new possibilities that were there all along, but the timing just wouldn't have been right yet. God asks us to wait for reasons. Beautiful, happy, and yes, life changing reasons.

I'm not going to go into many details yet because something in me still cherishes keeping  my thoughts close to my heart and maybe it's old fashioned or silly, but I don't always want to put a lot of pictures and every little detail out into the public like the majority of the world does now.

But just in case anyone checks back here once in a blue moon, I wanted to put on here that the biggest life change is yet to come. February 23, 2018, I will be changing my last name!

It all started back on June 10 with our first date. On December 16 I said "yes!" (or more precisely, "yes, thank you!") and it's been a bit of a whirlwind getting everything ready in such a short amount of time. If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email and I'll try to get to it as soon as I can!

Because we're both old souls and don't remember to take pictures I only have one of the two of us that we took right after he proposed. I do have this one though that I really wanted to share because like my dad kept telling me, "it's probably right under your nose!"

I'm the girl in the bright striped dress. My fiance Brandon is standing slightly behind me to the left. 

This picture was taken over 20 years ago.

God is so good, isn't He?  He's always working behind the scenes to line everything up so we'll be ready when the time comes.

I'm hoping to write a longer post soon talking about Christmas, my birthday, my brand new niece Josie, and other things, but those might have to wait until after February ;) 

 

august

August is slipping away. How is it that I started out so strong with blogging this year, and then as life began to "slow down" I stopped? I think maybe because as I get older, the less I feel the need to share my thoughts and life online. As time marches on, I do think about this blog and have the desire to keep posting, keep writing, keep updating. But life is changing, and as my priorities have shifted, this blog isn't anywhere close to the top anymore. If you still enjoy reading, I do thank you. I will keep posting, but clearly, just not as frequently and I won't make any promises of how often. 

I think one of the reasons I've slowed down is a simple lesson that time has taught me. Once you've said something - especially on the internet - it cannot be taken back. Once a picture is shared, it can't be unseen. I'm not really ashamed or embarrassed by anything I've ever shared on here, I just know that I want to stay guarded in this world that knows no boundaries. There have been enough times in my life that I look back on and cringe. I don't want to put those moments in a place where they cannot be erased. Once words leave your mouth - or fingers, in this case - they can only be forgiven, rarely are they forgotten.

The months of June, July, and August have fallen through my fingers like grains of sand. One moment I had a tight grip, the next they were gone entirely. I have been overwhelmed by God's grace and goodness. At the age of 24, I have begun to experience things that force me to look to Christ and pay more attention to Him than the circumstances around me. I feel as if these days my main request is for wisdom, while last year I had a bucketful of questions I couldn't even find words for. God can pull us out of our confusion and place us in peace if only we can adjust our focus on Him. I'm still trying, still learning, and a lot of the time it's still a struggle. Trust is simple, really, if we can just only let go of our own weak grasp on control.

On Father's Day, we were given a tangible gift that represented the answer to a specific prayer prayed for so many years. In February, 2018, my oldest brother Stephen and his wife Tara will add a little baby to our family!

July included the wedding of a close friend, and lots of swim days with my niece and nephews. August came and brought with it my friend Faith's sweet baby Judah and a huge creek baptism for our church. Jackson was baptized with several others that day, and who cares that all of us on the bank were hot and sweaty? There's such a sweetness about an old fashioned creek baptizing.

Monday was the day of the great solar eclipse, and we just so happened to live right in the path of totality. As long as I live, I will never forget that day. The photos below were all taken within a few minutes of each other, and the bottom one was around 1:28pm. Two minutes later, it was bright and hot again, but for those two minutes the crickets chirped, stars and lightening bugs came out, and we were surrounded by a 360° sunset. As goosebumps covered my arms I stood in awe of God's creation. How sweet that in a world such as ours, He still stuns the world with the evidence of His existence. How sad that some refuse to see it.

I suppose we're in the "dog days of summer", but as it cools off and September approaches with it's structure and schedules, I hope each of you enjoy it. Thank you for reading even though it's silent on here so often and my writing style refuses to stay the same. I really do appreciate it!

summer

Hello, readers, I'm finally getting around to posting again. My life has been an assortment of chaos and calm these past few weeks, but I seem to always remember the chaos more. Time is flying by! I can't believe we're already ankle deep in July.

I don't really have much to write about this week. We're in the middle of Music School and when I sit still and just think for too long I start to fall asleep. For summertime, I believe pictures and updates will have to suffice on here! I've come to realize there's a lot more of you reading than I originally thought. It's flattering and daunting all at the same time, but thank you so much for reading! 

Back at the end of June we had a baby shower for my friend Faith. It was so good to see her and celebrate her baby boy. Judah is due to arrive in just a few weeks!

This is Cowlick, a baby calf my sister-in-law is bottle feeding. Jace got to give her the first bottle with my mom's help!

 

We've had so. much. rain. The Fourth of July was cloudy and wet, but it cleared up enough that evening to sit outside and enjoy our neighbor's fireworks. I'm tired of the rain, but rainbows never will get old.

Green beans, green beans, green beans. We had a "garden" meal last week with fresh green beans, fried squash, tomatoes, and new potatoes all from this year's garden. I don't enjoy picking the produce, but I do enjoy "putting it up" and eating it!

I am fully aware that this is a "piddly" post, but I kind of want to put something up every now and then so I don't end up just forgetting about it. I hope you're all having a lovely summer! I'm heading out soon to enjoy this 90° day!

things i love thursday

Hello again, everyone! It's been a minute since I posted, so let me catch you up to speed real quick...

Since May 18, we've had two weddings, my mom took a trip to Paris with my oldest brother and sister-in-law, VBS, Jr. Camp, Youth Camp (all back to back!), my cousins and siblings and I spent a day at my grandparents' "spring cleaning", and a lot of other things got done that we just squeezed in somehow. Don't get me wrong, I love it, I just realized as I looked for my Proverb to read yesterday that it was the 21st....of JUNE. So that was a startling revelation.

youth camp 2017

So let's get into some of my favorite things over the last few weeks.

First, HAPPY SUMMER! Yesterday was the first day of summer, and let me tell you, I did not miss out on it! I wished all of my friends a happy day and generally just enjoyed the fact that even though it's felt like summer for the past month, now it's officially my favorite season!

pool days with the kids - Lena Rae swims without a ring float now, the three older boys can do handstands and flips and a gazillion other tricks, and Dougy Mac just jumps in and knows there'll always be someone to catch him. Warm skin, dripping hair, juice boxes...it's lovely.

fresh fruit - seasonal fruit will always be my favorite. Strawberry season came and went too quickly, but now there's watermelon and cantaloupe to chow down on!

"Grandparent's Day" - we didn't do this on the actual holiday, but the last Saturday in May several of my grandparent's grandkids met at their house to do some work for them. They never ask for anything, but it's been a hard year and we wanted to help out if we could. Since we're all adults, our schedules aren't great at matching up, so as many as could spent a Saturday morning washing windows, mowing, detailing their car, cutting wood, etc...whatever they needed! We ended with a big lunch and homemade ice cream. So far, it's probably been my favorite day of this year.

15 out of 22  (including "cousin-in-laws"), and 6 out of 8 "greats"!

Other things include...

Dougy's little laugh when he talks in his one word sentences - it sounds something like this: "Boys. Swim. Huh." | Lena Rae: "Kelley, when I get big like you, will you get me a phone like yours?" | simple pleasures - y'all know I love the little things, but it was raining today and this afternoon I made a bowl of spicy ramen to eat while I read a book and it was so nice | Bible trivia on Wednesday nights | VBS with the 2's and 3's | experiencing Youth Camp with 5 cousins there - 3 from my dad's side and 2 from my mom's! | new quotes

duck-duck-goose with 2 year olds - they're so little and huggable!

I remember these 2 cousins being born - now they're 14 and almost 16!

It seems like every year I find a quote that kind of runs around in my mind and becomes my non-spiritual motto for that year. Here's 2017's quote:

I hope you all have a great weekend, and that your summer is just beautiful. Thank you for reading!

a matter of time

I have so many things I want to write about, but can never seem to land on a topic long enough to come up with anything. I think it's because I've learned over the past year that a lot of the things that seem to constantly be on my mind also cast a shadow over my spirit and are simply things out of my control that are better pushed to the side of my thoughts. Things that only time will resolve and reveal, and I just need to wait.

I feel like I write too much about the topic of waiting, but that's the season of life I'm in right now. A lot of areas in my life cause me to practice this. Waiting for approval to finish a job, waiting on information to complete a list, waiting for healing, waiting on the Lord...waiting.

Right now there are a couple of things I want to grasp in my hands and fix, to make better, change, or finish. But in these situations, that's completely and entirely impossible. I'm trying to wrap my mind around the fact that it's not that my hands are tied behind my back and I'm completely helpless - because that's exactly how it feels - but it's a matter of faith, of total surrender to the Lord's will and timing. It's trusting Him to finish the job as He sees fit, and in the timing He's ordained.

Faith still doesn't always come natural to me. I'm someone who naturally wants to get things done and take action. It's one of the few things I inherited from my mom - Ladies' Meeting at 6:30? Our dishes are prepared and on a warming tray at 3:00. She calls herself a Martha, and I feel the same way so often. When you're naturally bent in that direction, sitting with empty hands and a troubled heart makes you feel so helpless.

Waiting. I asked my dad about it a few months ago, talked to him about how I knew it was simple enough, but didn't understand why God required so very much of it for some people, why even in it's simplicity it can be so hard. He reminded me that waiting can be another word for serving - like when you're at a restaurant, the job of your waiter is to serve you. Perhaps that's what God wants more of from me, from others - service. Wholeheartedly for Him. It's a lesson in patience, in service, in surrender.

Just a matter of time. I can flip back in the pages of my life and see things that have come to fruition quietly. Things that used to be such a big deal to me, but somewhere over the years they became smaller in my mind until they were resolved, and I didn't even notice. One day I'll look back on today, on the burdens that are so heavy for me, and realize God had a perfect plan. Yes, these burdens truly are bigger, more life-changing, and yet, however badly I resist, they are inevitable. I'll look back and see change and heartache, but I'll also see grace. 

If God can show me grace through the lonely days, through the difficult changes, surely I can be gracious in my service towards Him. It's just a matter of time until He reveals the reasons, shows us the full picture.

A Mendicant of God

I stood a mendicant of God before His royal throne

And begged him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.

I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart

I cried, "But Lord this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.

This is a strange, a hurtful gift, which Thou hast given me."

He said, "My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee."

I took it home and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,

As long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.

I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace,

He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.

-Martha Snell Nicholson