chilly and wet ♥ march recap

March ended a few days ago, but I'm just now getting the chance to do a recap! It's been cold and dreary with lots of rain - seriously Spring, hurry up! This was a busy month, but not very "eventful" - I've learned those are two quite different things!

March 1 was Christine's birthday (25), an March 6 was Jackson's birthday (3). Because of sickness and other circumstances, we were unable to celebrate with them on the actual days, so on March 7 we had a joint birthday party at our house! I don't have any pictures of that right now - Jackson got a new bicycle though and it was a huge hit!

March 3 - 6 was our annual March meeting. Bro. Lee Cadenhead from Ridge Road Baptist Church was our guest preacher, and he did an amazing job! Other than my dad, he's one of my favorite preachers and we had a really great meeting! Some of our family got to come up a few nights and Jace and I held Sophie - I still can't hardly believe there's a little girl!!

March 16 was the Irish Festival (you've already seen those pictures) and March 17 was St. Patrick's Day. I was the only one in our family wearing green - and I went all out, too! For some reason - I can't remember why - we kept the boys during the evening on March 16 - all I know is I have this picture from that date! :)

March 25-29 my parents were out of town at a meeting, and Christine and Tanner flew down to Texas for a meeting at her dad's church. Amie and I stayed with Jacob and took care of Jace and Jackson while he was at work during the day.

March 31 was Easter Sunday! And yes, we get a little more dressed up for it and wear Spring clothes - why not? :)

Me, Christine, and Amie

This picture makes me laugh so much! Tanner has recently learned how to say "CHEEEESE!" - can you tell? Jackson and Jace in the background really couldn't care less. :)

I hope everyone had a wonderful March, didn't get pranked to badly on April Fools Day, and has a beautiful rest of the month!

Enjoy It

Something happened a while back ago that made me stop and think about something that used to occupy my mind a lot.

My dad and little sister were discussing a decision that had to be made, and my dad told her "I'll make it for you, I'll be your excuse." And I jokingly-but-not-so-jokingly said "Ha! Enjoy that while you can!"

Because I heard recently, for the very first time, my dad say to me "Kelley, I will not make these decisions for you, you're 20 years old and you have to do it."

Now, before you go thinking I never do anything on my own, I'll tell you I've made some pretty huge decisions in my life. I've always sought my parents counsel, I've prayed long and hard, but there have been at least a couple of pretty major decisions that I've had to have the final say on, and so far I believe with my whole heart I've done the right thing.

But the thing is, as we grow, there are always mistakes. If you're a Christian and you truly seek the Lord's will, most of the really huge choices in life will be made with Him in mind and will hopefully be right. The small-ER mistakes - in this situation - are the ones that haunt us. The mean word, the bitter tone, the dwelling on something ugly. Mistakes like those are the reasons that big decisions terrify me.

I enjoyed being a teen, I really, really did. If I had to chose a favorite age, I would without a doubt say the summer I was seventeen. Seventeen is kind of that forgotten age. You have sweet sixteen and then the big one-eight, but seventeen is just kind of thrown in there. You don't have to worry about your drivers test, you have only a year left in school, life's pretty great. My "seventeen" was absolutely exquisite. But something about being a senior and graduating from high school kind of shatters the fairytale, doesn't it?

Being done with school is one of the most exciting things in a young persons life. I remember so well finishing my very last page. I was thrilled, but I'm pretty sure there was a lump in my throat as well. It's an ending, a farewell to a way of life. You're moving on to bigger things, and you feel so pressured about your decisions.

I was, and still am, the "kid who didn't go to college". Can I just say, for all the non-college goers like myself, that it's OK? It is NOT the easy way out, and you feel so, so judged. And to be honest, it's not the adults or teachers that make you feel the worst, it's the juniors and seniors in high school who've had their lives planned out since the 6th grade that make you feel like a failure. When they're the one's saying "Wait. So you're NOT going to college?! Why NOT?!" Because I don't know who I am or what I want anymore, that's why not! "I just don't think college is for me right now."

Not going to college was a hard decision for me. I'm not sure if many people know that, but it was. All throughout high school I really did think I might go. When I was seventeen we went on a trip to Washington D.C. and I fell in love with the history there. I thought I could live there, go to GWU, but it was so far away. I researched different schools, ordered information, and decided the one I wanted to go to the most was Lincoln Memorial University. 4 hours away from home, my family, and all of my friends. I had zero peace about it. I looked into correspondence and a few schools closer to home. Still no peace about college.

I graduated a couple of weeks before we left for Hawaii for my brother's wedding, and I decided to just think about it over the summer. The months passed, and I decided a gap year would be a good idea. I could earn some money, we could pray about it some more, and I would have time. Precious time.

I don't recommend a gap year for everyone. During mine, I babysat twice a week, earning enough money for gas, insurance, and savings. On the days in between I slept in, read books, and got very lazy. That December I got peace about my decision. College simply wasn't for me. I think my parents knew all along, but the decision was mine. I made it, and I've never regretted it. I truly wanted the Lord's will in this area, and I know that this was it.

It was time to get serious about a job or something, because marriage wasn't (and still isn't) in my near future. As our church grows, there is more work to be done. More paperwork, more typing, more letters going out, more filing, and someone needed to do it. I've been working part time as a secretary of sorts. I kind of do a little of this and a little of that and a lot of sitting behind my laptop. I'm learning as I go, and I'm content with where I am.

Almost content, anyway. Aren't we always striving for more?

So to my little sister, to the ones still in school, to the ones younger than me, to the ones older than me. To the college students, the newlyweds, to everyone. Enjoy this period in your life. Make the most of it. There will be changes, and the older you get the more responsibility you get. Take a minute and make some memories.

I remember being broke, almost out of gas, but all I needed was a dollar and a dime for Sonic after church on Sunday night. My friends and I would sit outside at a picnic table, counting out pennies for the poor waitresses and complaining about how hot it was.

I remember being sick when my mom and Amie went to an auction, when my dad was out of town, and when Jacob was at work. Stephen was home for the weekend and we both slept in until almost 10. We made a frozen pizza and watched Gone With the Wind and stayed in our pajamas all day.

I remember the very first time Amie and I stayed at home overnight by ourselves and neither of us slept a wink, and we crept through the house at 3:00am because we were pretty sure someone was there.

I remember long drives out in the country, exploring old roads with the windows down and Jacob revving up the engine on that big ol' loud Dodge, a black cloud of smoke following us close behind.

I remember picking buttercups by the river with Daddy, coming home scratched and bleeding from thorn patches and learning to skip rocks.

I remember the very first time I went shopping with Mama all by myself and I bought Amie a purse because I felt bad for getting all the new stuff, and we ate at Red Lobster for the first time and I decided I hated sea food.

I remember Christine taking me and Amie shopping when she and Jacob were recently engaged, getting to know her future little sister-in-laws, and now remembering that and hoping I will do the same thing some day, because it meant so much to us.

I remember getting a birthday card from Tara that didn't just have a signature, but a long letter in it, personalized with little details just for me, and thinking "Stephen better marry her."

I remember Jace calling me "Olley", Jackson still calling me "Teddy", and waiting on Tanner to say something, anything.

And someday, when I'm 25, I'll remember sitting behind my laptop, smelling the coffee coming from the coffee pot, and knowing that in a few seconds, everyone would be in that office/kitchen space, fixing their coffee, making fun of each other, and then getting back to work.

I'll remember crying as I hugged Hannah goodbye at her wedding, and crying as I'll hug Faith goodbye when she leaves for PNG again. I'll remember the excitement when I see that they're online, or when I get an email.

I'll remember my fear at the decisions I have to make, and I'll laugh at them. I could write another post right now on fears, but I'll save it for another time.

Please remember, you only get to live today once, so enjoy it. Enjoy every bit of it.

Irish Festival

We took a group this year to the Irish Festival in Erin, TN. We sang with a group from Bible Baptist, passed out tracts, and Bro. Earl Ankrom preached and Bro. Mike Gibson did some slight of hand tricks. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and we had so much fun! Here are some pictures from the day. :)

Bro. Jim - our wonderful and capable driver :)

Faith and me

Bro. Mike

Faith and me

Hannah, Amie, Faith, me, James, and JD

Hannah, Amie, Faith, me, and Grace (James in the back :))

JD eating "those nasty fries" :P

Grace, Amie, Hannah

Listening to Bro. Jim play the banjo

Bro. Mike

Bro. Earl

"Would you like a tract?!"

Amie, Bro. Jay, Grace, and Hannah

Face the Dream

Don't we all love to dream? To set goals for ourselves to one day accomplish. To imagine wonderful things happening in our lives - some realistic, some not. To be famous, to be a mega-millionaire, to travel the world five times, those dreams come to very few. The dreams of graduating, falling in love, having a family, these are the dreams that life is built upon.

As a Christian, finding the will of God is the goal we set for ourselves, and build it upon faith. We dream of the day when we can look back and see His hand guiding us to the place we are. To see His work in the lives of our friends and family, to see His desires become our desires, no matter where they may take us.

But, for most of my life - because I'm only 20 - those have all just been dreams. My friends and I loved talking about where we would end up. It was a given we probably wouldn't always live in the same town - how many people that grow up together do? It's just reality. The one thing I can look back on and be "proud" of, is that we all dreamed of being in the Lord's will. We would talk about how amazing it would be if we were all in different states or countries, raising our families as missionaries or preachers children, serving the Lord all over the world. Coming back to our church every few years and seeing each other at Missions Conference, meeting everyone's children, catching up on the years and the blessings of God.

But now, those dreams are slowly beginning to come true. One of my friends is already married and living in another state, and another friend is about to graduate and wants to go to back Papua New Guinea for a little while. A couple of guys in our Youth Group have talked about what deputation might be like, and everyone's getting jobs and everyone is busy. We're each facing the dream of growing up.

And it's not just exactly like I pictured it.

You see, in dreams there are no tearful goodbyes. There are no conflicting emotions - those of extreme excitement and of heartbreak, mingling together and making you crazy. When your dreams require you to let go and release other smaller dreams, your heart hurts like you never knew it could. You are happy, deliriously happy, but that little dreamer inside of you is saying "this is harder than I thought it would be."

No one has the exact same dream. No one's path directly follows that of their childhood friend. We all have different journeys that we must take. My friends and I do not yet know exactly where our adventure will take us, but in the very end we will all be in the same place.

Dreams are fun, but one day, they will be staring right at you and you will have to face them with excitement and fear. And if your desire is the Lord's desire, then any fear and concern you have will be drowned out with the knowledge that it is right.

Do not follow your heart, for "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." Follow the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and watch His perfect will become your dream.

Let me introduce to you...

...a blog. :)

Three boys from our church are leaving Friday, March 15, for Papua New Guinea. I do believe our church has an infatuation with PNG, this is the fourth time we've sent someone over there!

If you'd like to "keep up" with them, the blog is Papua New Guinea Missions Trip 2013. Hopefully we'll hear from them at least a few times while they're gone, because after all, they are boys. ;)

The ones going are Collin, Connor, and Drew - you'll get a little more information about the trip from their first post. If you were keeping up with my blog last August during our trip to Germany, then you've read a "guest post" by Drew and Collin - Connor is Collin's brother.

I hope you'll keep them in your prayers as they go on this 3-week journey!

LOVE ♥ february recap

February is ending on a very lovely note. I'm going to post pictures from as far back as the beginning of the month. I know it's only the 26th, but as far as I know, we have nothing planned planned for the next two days. The only event that I don't have pictures of is my friend's wedding that took place last Friday evening, but they're still on their honeymoon and as soon as she shares them with me, I'll share them with you. :)

February 5 was my dad's birthday - 53 years old!

Daddy directs the birthday song and the boys think it's the best thing since sliced bread, and we're not big fans of cake so we do Oreo Dessert (like ice cream)  for our birthday desserts. :)

 February 8 - 9 the C-Stone Cadets were involved in their very first tournament and took home the championship trophy - yay for C-Stone!

February 12 was our annual Sweetheart Banquet at church, and some teens and I stayed in the nursery and took care of all the children. We had 42 kids aged 12 and under!

February 14 was, of course, Valentine's Day! :) Daddy was out of town, so me, Amie, and Mama babysat the boys while Jacob and Christine went out to eat. We made cards and played with paint!

Jackson and A

Me and Jace

Jackson, Jace, and Tanner showing off the Valentine's they made.

MaMaw and Jace

February 15 was exactly one week until Hannah's wedding. She and Faith came over for pizza (the greasy kind and the fruit kind) and we hung out in the lame grown up way where you go home and sleep in your own bed at bedtime.

Faith, Hannah, me

 February 18 was President's Day and the youth group met at the church for pizza...and an inflatable, which I only got in once.

Julie, Delanie, Hannah, Bro. Jim, Sarah, Drew, Collin, Diana, and me

February 20 my aunt and uncle welcomed a little baby girl into the world. The seventh child, she has six big brothers. This was a very big deal for our family - she's the first granddaughter since Amie, and Amie's 18! There are also 3 great-grandson's, one great-granddaughter, and another great-grandson on the way. Little girls are scarce in our family, and we can't get enough of this one!

Miss Sophie Lachole

February 22 was Hannah and Jacob's wedding. He's from Kentucky, so they're going to be living there. I'm going to miss her like crazy, but the wedding was beautiful and I can't help but be beyond happy for her. I'll go ahead and link her blog in case you want to keep up with them. She's an amazing photographer, so I'm sure she'll eventually have several pictures up. Her blog is "Our Happily Ever After."

February 24 was my PawPaw's 81st birthday. We drove over to their house for lunch after church on Sunday and celebrated with him. Here's a picture of PawPaw and his granddaughters minus Rachel who couldn't make it in.

Amie, Jordan, Bethany, me, PawPaw and Sophie in the chair

There was my lovely February, I hope yours was wonderful as well! Who else is ready for spring?!

A Chimney Fire and I Lose My Mental Capabilities

What an interesting Saturday! About an hour ago firetrucks and firemen pulled out of our driveway. We just finished vacuuming and wiping up soot, the windows are open, Mama's calling all our family, Amie's making lunch, and I'm informing the world.

Sitting in the rocker by the wood stove, starting the second chapter of  new book, I looked out the window and it was snowing! When it snows around here, you have to make sure and let everyone know. Thank goodness for that, because I didn't notice all the smoke that my mom and Amie did.

Mama went outside to inspect the chimney and she said black smoke was pouring out the top. When she opened the stove door, the smoke that came into the living room had a very strange smell, but the fire was so small. When she thumped the pipes a few times, we could hear some popping and it sounded like something falling inside the chimney, but we've heard it before - other times it's always been just the wind.

Any other Saturday, Daddy would have been in the next room getting his sermon ready, or outside doing whatever it is he does outside. But this Saturday, he's in Kentucky preaching a meeting.

Because it was 1:30, Mama didn't want to call Jacob and wake up the boys. Sickness has hit the whole family, and everyone's wiped out. She came back in the room a few minutes later and said "I went ahead and called them, Christine went out to get him. I hope I didn't wake anyone up!"

The next think I knew, the huge black Dodge was in the front yard, and Jacob's running in telling us to get salt to throw on the fire (sometimes, on a larger fire, water will just fuel the flames) and yanking the pipes out of the wall. He'd seen the smoke from the road, and apparently it was coming out of some of the cracks in the chimney, as well.

When you hear your big brother, of whom you still have the mindset can do anything, yell "Call 911!" you will panic. Thought you should know.

Mama called them, Amie found Jacob some gloves and a ladder, I got a pillow to stick in the thimble (that's what they call the hole in the wall the stove pipes go in) and then I ran around the house. (That's what it felt like.)

Jacob got on the roof with the water hose and began pouring water down the chimney, Mama and I started moving boxes and clothes away from the outside wall in the upstairs storage closet.

I ran downstairs because I was shaking so bad I lost all of my barely-there-anyway strength and was getting in Mama's way. As I came into the living room, the pillow was falling out of the thimble in flames. I caught it midair, and stared at it as I screamed. I discovered that when Daddy's not home, the first thing out of my mouth is "JAAAACOOOOB!!!!! JAAAACOOOOB! MAMA! JACOB!" Mama thought Jacob had fallen off the roof, I thought he had fallen off the face of the earth.

Mama took the pillow outside and put out the fire, put a lid over the hole, put the pillow on top of the lid, and stood there breathing smoke while I tried to get away from it. My lungs + smoke = not much good.

I ran outside and saw Amie standing at the bottom of the chimney, and I didn't think much about that. I ran all the way around the outside of the house, halfway down to  the barn, back inside and around the house, back outside and realized Amie was helping Jacob, who was on the roof with the water hose. I was pretty sure he'd left us alone. Next time, I'll think to look up.

I heard the sirens coming and ran inside to answer the phone, which was Christine, and I don't even think I said "hello?" As soon as those trucks pulled up and the men got out, it was like "snap!" we all relaxed. Jacob already had the fire out, and they brought their tools up to him and cleaned it out, came inside and opened some doors and windows and used their fan thing to clear out some of the smoke.

I am SO thankful Jacob lives less than two minutes away. I am SO thankful for the few little flurries we had this afternoon. I am SO thankful no one got hurt. At all. There was NO damage to the inside of our home. I am SO thankful for our great God, who, for some reason, chooses to show us just how much He loves and cares for us. In the most unique, seemingly random ways and times, He lets us know He's there. He's watching, and He's got it covered.

Jacob, Mama, and Amie, when faced with danger, know what do to and can keep their heads. I, when faced with danger, know what to do, and lose my head. This was a very serious and potentially dangerous situation. I'm so thankful we're all ok.

You always wonder how you'll react in situations like these, and I forgot how to think! I'll have to work on that.

And there was our Saturday. I bet it was more exciting than yours! ;)

P.S. I am also very thankful that our tiny little speck-on-the-map community has a volunteer fire station, and that there are volunteer firefighters. What a wonderful thing! One of the men was someone my mom had taught in school back in the day. :)