Praise Reports…

June 10, 2009 By

I am going to do better about updating my blog.
I am going to do better about updating my blog.
I am GOING to do better about updating my blog.
Seriously…I am.
I hope. ;)

In all honesty, I have every good intention of writing more here, but the days are so busy lately. Life is good, in fact I’d say its mostly GREAT, but also very busy.

I have some praises to report since my last update.

  • Macey had a wonderful week of dance camp at our church last week. Two of her friends from school attended also and they all got to be in the same group. They just loved it! Friday was their recital and it was entirely too cute for words.
  • We got to spend all day Saturday with some great friends and we absolutely had a ball. We were as tired as could be on Saturday night, but it was the good kind of tired that comes from having FUN FUN FUN all day long!
  • On Sunday evening we got a house full of company. My best friend Terri came up from South GA with her two daughters. Also, our friend Hannah came to visit us from Missouri with her three daughters. So, we had a house brimming full and it was just incredible!! The girls ranged in age from almost-six (Macey) down to seven months old (Hannah’s baby girl) and they had so much fun playing together. Terri and I get together several times a year when I am in South Georgia, but neither of us have seen Hannah in several years. So much has changed in our lives, but the friendship has remained. God sure blessed us with a wonderful time together over Sunday evening and Monday morning.
  • This week Macey is attending the afternoon VBS sessions at our church. They are doing “Camp E.D.G.E.” this term and she is having a blast! In her crew, she has four friends from school so that is also exciting. She comes home each day telling us about what they did, what she learned, etc. It’s such a blessing! And, from what I have heard, over 900 (!!!) kids are in attendance. All those seeds of faith getting planted just makes my heart sing!
  • I have joined a Wednesday morning Bible study at our church. I have been wanting to do this for quite some time and it finally worked out. I am LOVING it! Our group is so sweet and we have all ranges from moms of young ones to grand-mothers and maybe even some great-grands. It’s absolutely blessing me more than words to be there!
  • We have a great babysitter that is watching the girls this summer so I can do things like go to Bible study. Her name is Kayla and Mickey and I have known her since we were Youth volunteers at the church several years ago. Kayla is fantastic with the girls. She is so much fun and so creative. Today she did tie-dying with them. How cool is that?!
  • The weather has been beautiful and summer is officially upon us. That is always a praise in my book as I just love summer. We’re getting a bit of rain today, but that’s always needed around here.
  • We have also planned a mini-vacation for our family. We are going to Nashville, TN for a couple of days and then back down to Chattanooga, TN for a couple of days before heading home. We are SO excited about this trip! I have used some online sources like Hotwire and Expedia to score some really great hotel prices as well. Can’t wait!!
  • This coming weekend is the Father/Daughter dance at our church. That will be Saturday evening and Mickey is taking both girls. This year it’s going to be a sock hop and the girls both have their cute poodle skirts, tees and scarves ready to go. I have been asked to take candid photos, so I can’t wait to see it all!

Those are just some of the many things I have to be thankful for in my life. I just had to share.

And, if you’re reading along, please  hold me accountable to posting. I need to and want to, so I should make time for it.

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: Church, Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, Kelly, Kids, travel

What’s Happening??

June 2, 2009 By

Wow. I have really been neglecting my poor blog lately. I don’t mean to, really, it’s just that life is so busy these days. It seems like things are GO GO GO which is good,  but doesn’t free up a lot of blogging time.

So, what have we been up to? Here’s the abridged version. ;)

  • On May 14th, our sweet Mariana turned three. THREE! Eep! Our baby girl is three. It’s surreal. This is a milestone age in some ways because it’s around the age that Macey was when Mariana was born. Whenever Mariana was an eensy baby and Macey turned three, we’d just marvel at how “big” Macey was at the time. And, now Macey is going to turn six in a few weeks and Mariana is three and – woah – it just flies by, doesn’t it?!
  • Mariana’s last day of preschool was Friday, May 15th. I helped with the end-of-the-year picnic and party which was really fun. I thought I would cry, but I didn’t. I was nostalgic about Macey’s last day with the same teachers just three years ago. Macey’s preschool ended on Friday, May 12th that year and I was HUGELY pregnant with Mariana and delivered her two days later. Again I say, time flies.
  • We had Mariana’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s on Saturday, May 16th. Let me just say this, if you are EVER going to have a Saturday party at CEC, do yourself a huge favor and book the 10am slot. Seriously. I booked online and we received some extra tokens for that. Then, we got DOUBLE tokens for each child for booking the 10am slot on a Saturday. Score!! It was great because it wasn’t crowded and the kids had a ball. They played until around 10:45-ish and then ate pizza. Played a bit more, then had cake. It was perfect. Mariana said it was the best party ever. She really loved it all.
  • Macey wrapped up Kindergarten in May. It was a fun month for school. She got to sing at a PTA meeting, we had a Mommy & Me tea in her classroom and they had field day. Also, on the last week of school we got to go to an ice cream social in her room PLUS we had a picnic lunch the day before school ended. It was so sweet and we enjoyed it all. Poor Macey did NOT want school to end. She loved Kindergarten so much. She had the best teachers in the world and the best class too. She had so many friends, learned so much and just really loved it! Poor girl got off the bus in tears on the last day. She was so sad. So, I did what I could do to remedy that sadness. I packed the girls up and we went south to Nana’s (my mom’s) for the weekend. That was a fun start to summer.
  • At Nana’s, the girls got to paint, play with bubbles, go shopping with Aunt Liz and splash in mud puddles with Nana. Plus we went to the zoo one morning too. It was great and they had a ball!! When we were heading home, we stopped to have lunch with my Grandparents and they loved that too. (That Macey can tear up some turnip greens, let me tell y’all!!) So, it was a really great trip and got Macey back to being happy about summer.
  • I turned the big three-five on May 26th. Halfway through my thirties already. TIME FLIES, PEOPLE!! ;)
  • This week Macey is participating in dance camp in the afternoons at our church and is having the BEST time. It’s a great camp. When they get there, they are fed lunch and then they do warm-ups as a group. After that, the girls are broken up into age/grade groups for ballet and jazz. They also do crafts. It’s great and we love sending her because Macey loves it all!
  • We’ve been spending time with friends too and always love that. So far we have been to paint pottery and have lunch and also been to the zoo with friends. (Mariana and I went to the Georgia Aquarium with friends too while Macey was still in school.) We are planning on many play dates and pool outings this summer.
  • Speaking of the pool, ours is open and in full swing. It took Macey about 10 minutes (if that) to rediscover her swimming skills. She’s a regular fish again. She loves to jump in, cannonball, practice diving, swim underwater, get dive sticks, swim on her back and more. The girl just loves the water. We are hoping to get Mariana some private swim lessons, but for now she’s getting more confident in the water with her life vest and arm bands.

I guess that is a good overview of the basics from here. I’ll try to do better about maintaining updating my blog. If anyone is still reading.

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, Kelly, Kids

Sharing God’s Love

May 6, 2009 By

I have really been struggling over how to write this post that has been on my heart for quite some time now. It’s an issue that really moves me and I want to make sure that anything I say comes across in the way my heart feels it and the way God has laid it on me to share. So, my prayer is that when you read these words you know that they are directly from my own heart and that I feel that God has given me purpose and a call to write them. I just hope I can come up with the right ways to say the things I feel lead and called to say. Bear with me, please.

Recently someone close to me that I love very much became involved in an interracial relationship. At this point the relationship is still pretty new and we all know how that goes – there is much to be discovered, much to learn about each other, etc. There is already a huge hurdle to this new relationship and that is something that is weighing heavily on the person I am close to which has been on my heart as well. The hurdle is that she is worried, with cause, that her family and friends won’t be accepting of this relationship. Without knowing the person with whom she is involved, automatic red flags will go up simply because he is of another race. This really hurts my heart. It hurts me because I just don’t believe for one second that it’s right to judge anyone, especially because of their race. It hurts me because I don’t believe it’s of God to feel that way about other people and races.  And it hurts me because if this is a person that can truly make my loved one happy and truly love her, then there should be no hurdles, no qualms and no misgivings. I keep thinking about this over and over, so I have felt compelled to write it out here.

I have had racial issues on my heart for a pretty long time. I think this is because I grew up in rural South Georgia where, frankly, racism does exist. It is not one-sided nor is it right, but it exists. This truly bothers me. It bothers me because I know in my heart that God created all of mankind in His own image. And ,who are we to feel that we are greater than anyone else simply because of skin color? Who has the right to act superior to another based on race? No one. God Himself is not white. Jesus did not come to this earth as a white man. These are facts.  Jesus was a middle Eastern man. He was certainly not a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, tall, tanned and ruggedly handsome white man. This is one way that I know that God does not elevate nor value the causasian race above any other. God made us all, therefore I know that He loves us all. He does not differentiate His love whatsoever. There is not a heaven for every race. Heaven is a place for all children of God which includes every person of every race who accepts Christ to receive the gift of eternal life. So, who are we to deem ourselves higher than God? To say that we cannot accept someone as a friend or even a potential future family member because they are of a different race seems to me to be against God. God’s family is huge and it’s diverse and it’s beautiful. He didn’t make a mistake when He created races. He made various races on purpose and He loves each of us as His own. If we truly have the love of God in our own hearts and souls, how can we not do the same? How can we look with disdain or distrust or dislike (dare I even say hatred, at times) on someone of another race? If we are of God, we are to love as God loves and that is without boundaries and most certainly without the prejudices of this sinful world in our hearts. We cannot know or extend the love of God if we cannot love all of His people. That’s my belief.  In John 13 verse 34 -35(NIV) reads – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” The very Word of God instructs us to love one another as Christ has loved us. This doesn’t say white people love white people, black people love black people, etc. This simply and completely says LOVE ONE ANOTHER. Period. No boundaries, no defined parameters whatsoever – just to love.  If we are to truly love as God has called us to love through Christ, we must be color-blind, without prejudice of any kind and willing to accept God’s own family as our own.

First John also covers the way that God loves us and wants us to love one another. Verses 7-12 (NIV) read: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. What believer can read these words and deny that God has called us to love all mankind? We aren’t just to love the ones that look like us. We aren’t only to love the ones that act just like us. We are called to love one another and that is the simple truth.  God is love. To know His love is to live in Him. To live in Him fully is to extend His love. This is a theme that resonates over and over in God’s Word. He hasn’t called us to love according to this world, but according to His Word. And, I believe that with all my heart. I believe God has put a calling on me to reach out and try to show that His love is without limits. God, in essence, is color blind. He doesn’t love anyone because of race. God loves the hearts and souls of His people. Hearts and souls that, quite frankly, are all darkened by nature of sin, but only made pure by the very blood of Christ. None of us are without sin and none of us deserve God’s love in the slightest. But, by His unwaivering goodness and grace, He gives love and forgiveness to all who receive Him. To truly believe and live in Him is to not only receive that love, but to pass it on to every person without exception.

I am not here to sit in judgment of anyone. I just feel this heavy on my heart because, as I said, I feel like God has called me to be compassionate about this in my life.  I am ashamed to say that I used to have some issues with prejudice in my own heart. I am ashamed of that, I have repented and I have most certainly changed my feelings and my ways. This happened a long time ago and my heart has been uplifted since then. And, I have had a burden to share with others that God’s love knows no boundaries, so therefore ours should not either.

As for this new relationship, I am in full support of my loved one.  I feel blessed to have the family and home life that Mickey and I share and that is what I wish for the person I care about so much. If this new person brings that joy, that happiness, that peace and that love then that is a prayer that will be answered. If their relationship is right with God then I hope and pray that no one here on this earth tries to stand in their way. I hope that hearts will be changed and eyes will be opened so that these obstacles are removed from them.  My prayer and hope is that God’s love works on all of our hearts so that we can not only experience it for ourselves, but pass it along.

I may have more to say on this at another time as it really is something I care deeply about and feel moved to share. In the meantime, I hope my words have revealed God and brought glory to Him. It’s not about me. It never will be. I only want to serve Him and be His vessel.

Amen.

Filed Under: Bible, Family, Kelly

Busy Busy Busy…

April 13, 2009 By

This week is shaping up to be a busy one for me. Every day there is at least one “thing to do” on my Google Calendar. Good thing the calendar will send text messages to my cell to keep me on top of things. ;) Most of this week’s activities are going to be fun, especially Macey’s class field trip to the children’s museum on Thursday, but some are just necessities like check-ups at the ENT for Mariana. Still, with something to get out of the house to do every day, we’ll have a hopping week.

Now that Lent is over, I am back on Facebook. It was actually kind of nice to give it up. Don’t get me wrong, I missed the interactions there, but it was a good Lenten sacrifice because it really freed up time for me. I have discovered that a lot has changed on there in time time I was away, but I’m adapting well so far.

Speaking of Lent, I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter. Ours was great! We went to our church’s contemporary service (which is normal for us) and the message was just incredible. We had a very low-key afternoon at home which was also nice. We pondered going to the zoo for awhile in the afternoon, but opted to stay home and relax which was a great decision.

I got my hair cut and colored today. I just love my hair stylist, Jenna! She is so sweet and does a great job with my hair. In addition to “doing hair”, she is also director of children’s ministry at a church in a nearby town, so we always have a lot to talk about on that note too.

The weather here has been nuts lately. This morning we had a good bit of rain with crazy wind. Lots of limbs and debris around our neighborhood. From what we have seen, nothing bad happed, so that’s good. The power went out at our church, so Mickey couldn’t work today and the kids all had to be picked up from preschool early. Crazy crazy!

Guess I should wrap this up and figure out supper. It’s getting close to that time.

Have a great evening, all…

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: Church, Daily Life, Family, Kelly

Ready for a beautiful day…

April 9, 2009 By
  • Good morning from South Georgia!!
  • We had supper with my brother Charlie and his family last night. That was so nice!! We haven’t gotten to see them much lately, so we were all glad to catch up. Jackson (nephew) is getting so big and is completely adorable! We’re excited to see the three cousins play together soon.
  • The girls “rewarded” us by sleeping ’til almost 8 this morning. Ahhh! Of course, calling 8am “sleeping in” is a definite indicator that we’re parents of younger kids, right?!
  • We’re hoping to get together with my friend Terri and her girls today. Our daughters are close in age and get along great. It’ll be so much fun to see them together. And, of course, it will be wonderful to spend time with Terri. Can’t wait!
  • I also have to go to the eye doctor while I’m here. Lately I haven’t been able to wear my contacts because my eyes are so red and irritated. So, since I am on record at the eye doctor here, I’ll take this opportunity to go. Hope they have my RX for contacts in stock. I like my glasses alright, but I much prefer my contacts.
  • We only brought one Boz dvd and Mariana has watched it twice already this morning. Well, she doesn’t just sit glued to it, but it’s on the tv. I’m about over it already. LOL!!
  • Off to get ready for a great day!

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: Family, Kelly, Kids, travel

Away Down South…

April 8, 2009 By

Mickey, the girls and I are in South Georgia for the rest of the week. We left home this morning and made the trek southward. We had lunch with Gran-Gran and Pop (my maternal grandparents) which was really fun and nice. Mickey and I are trying to help with some painting work around their house, but found our supplies lacking so we’ll have to finish it up at some other point. After that visit we made our way to Nana’s (my mom) house. The girls are thrilled to be at Nana’s. Mariana needed a nap like nobody’s business by the time we got here, but didn’t want to lay down, so I had to bribe her with a Boz DVD and that worked. ;)

We’re not sure if we’ll stay ’til Sunday and have Easter here or go home Saturday and have Easter at home. We’ll make that decision later. For now, we are glad to be here and so glad to have time with family and some friends.

Kelly

Filed Under: Family, travel

Winding Down…

April 5, 2009 By
  • We are winding down here after a busy weekend.
  • Yesterday, of course, was a “honey do” day with Mickey and me working on home improvement projects.
  • Mickey worked SO hard in our kitchen getting the popcorn ceiling down and then having to sand and scrap the texture that was left. That was the dustiest job I have ever seen. Seriously. I cleaned up last night and there is still dust today. But, at least the hardest part is done. We hope. ;) The ceiling still needs to be repainted, but that little project can wait for now. We may have to re-sand part of the ceiling and we are just not ready to tackle that again yet.
  • I worked in our half-bath downstairs yesterday. That bathroom had been just one of those rooms that I really didn’t like, but didn’t deal yet. The walls were this off-white/yellowish color and just look dingy to me. So, we did away with that. We repainted a nice chocolate brown on the walls and even on the ceiling. The trim is all white.  The vanity has double doors in the front and I painted the inside panel of each door brown and left the rest white. We took down the huge wall-mounted mirror over the vanity as well as the outdated light fixture and towel ring. We replaced all of the older fixtures with brushed nickle fixtures and they look SOOO good with the chocolate colored paint. Yay! I forgot to take “before” photos, but I’ll try to remember to take “afters” once we finish up the little details like touching up the paint in places it’s needed.
  • The girls spend the day with Papa & MiMi  (my dad and step-mom) at their house yesterday and had a ball. They have talked and talked about it since they got home.
  • Today hasn’t been all that busy, but it was busy enough.
  • I knocked out a Wal-Mart run with Mariana’s help. Mickey worked on mowing the lawn and Macey was here with him. Those were our biggest home accomplishments today. And, that’s enough.
  • Wait. I did try to remove some paint that I splattered on the carpet. So far most of it isn’t coming out, but I’m making progress. Does anyone know how to get latex paint (dried) out of carpet? Ideally, I’d just say let’s ripe out the carpet and put down new flooring, but…well, not right now. LOL!!
  • It was a gorgeous weekend here, weather-wise. That is changing rapidly though. It’s been rainy all around us today, but we have missed most of the rain in our direct area. However, the temps are taking a nosedive. We were in the 70s yesterday and today, but tomorrow the high is supposed to be 40-ish. And, it’s supposed to be windy. Brrr. Come back, Spring!
  • Well, it’s almost time to put the girlies to bed. Mickey and I are going to just chill out and watch a movie tonight. I recorded Baby Mama on our DVR, so we are going to watch that since there is no Amazing Race tonight.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend,
Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Entertainment, Family, Home, Kelly, Kids

The state of things…

April 1, 2009 By
  • Good morning!
  • Well, there are is some good news to report from our home front this morning. The leaky pipe in our basement is fixed. YAHOO!! The plumber finally got here three hours after he said he would yesterday, but at least he got here and got the leak properly fixed at last. That’s great news!
  • In not so great news, the water heater is still having major issues. The pilot won’t light and stay lit. Mickey has tried and tried and TRIED, to no avail. He called the manufacturer of the water heater this morning and they said that they wouldn’t come out to look at it, wouldn’t touch it, etc. given the situation. Okay then. So, we called a local company and they are coming out this morning to have a look at it to see if it can be repaired. Maybe it can. This water heater was just purchased in December, so it’s not old at all. We would hate to replace it, but it may come down to that. If it does, well, it does. We’ll see what the day reveals. We’ll do what we have to do.
  • We were all able to get warm baths this morning, so that was nice. REALLY nice! Required a lot of water being heated on the stove and hauling it upstairs via buckets and big pots. Hey, whatever works, right? ;) Oh, it was sooooo nice to get that bath this morning. I felt absolutely amazing after that and still do.
  • Decided to keep Mariana home from preschool today. She is doing pretty well on the whole after her surgery on Friday, but I am thinking another couple of days at home would be good for her. She is still pretty tired and not quite back to 100%, so less is more for now. Her class is having their Easter party and egg hunt on Friday, so we really hope she can return for that.
  • Next week is spring break for both girls. We are probably going to head down to my mom’s for several days and be there through Easter. That should be fun! We’ll get to visit family and have fun hanging out down in South GA.
  • I haven’t been working out lately for a variety of reasons. I really miss it and I know I really NEED it, so I hope to get back on that very soon. Maybe tonight. I need to get back to Boot Camp. Stat!
  • I have gotten the nicest emails from the mother-of-the-bride from the wedding reception I photographed a couple of weekends ago. She is a preschool teacher at our church and is one of the sweetest people I know. They are absolutely thrilled with the photos and the DVD from the reception. Yay! That makes me so happy!
  • Remember, PLEASE, to keep Stellan and family in your prayers.
  • Hope everyone has a beautiful day today!

Prayers for Stellan

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Health & Fitness, Home, Kelly, Kids, Prayers, school

Is it naptime yet?!

March 29, 2009 By

{{{Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn}}

Well, Mariana didn’t have a great night last night. That, of course, means neither did I. Not sure what was exactly wrong, but she didn’t sleep well. She woke up fussing/crying quite a few times through the night. She was a touch more congested than she had been, so maybe that was it.  I seem to recall that Macey’s second evening after surgery was a bit tough too. Maybe that’s just one of those things. Whatever the case may be, I’m ready for a nap. I hope today turns out to be a better day for Miss Mariana. She has been doing so well and hopefully this is just a little speed bump in her speedway to recovery. Her ENT had called and left us a voicemail checking up on her on Friday evening, but I just got the message yesterday. (Why am I so terrible about checking messages anyway?!) He also called yesterday afternoon to get an update on her. What a great doctor!! This morning Mariana is doing better, but is touchy and cranky. Naptime cannot come soon enough for either of us. ;)

We are going to miss church since Mariana is still recovering. We don’t like to miss it because, well, we MISS it. But, it’s really best to stay home today.

Macey went to her school friend Alice’s birthday party yesterday and had a ball! It was the first time we dropped her off at a party and she thought that was cool. Tinkerbell came to the party and painted faces, made balloon animals, did “magic” tricks, etc. Macey just had the best time!

After several days of rain, today is supposed to be sunny. WOO HOO! It’s supposed to be cooler than it’s been lately with temps in the 50s, but the sun will be nice to see. Everything is so green and springlike lately. It’s gorgeous! Of course, it won’t be long before everything is pollen coated. ACHOO!

Guess that’s it for my Sunday morning update. I’m thinking another cup of coffee (half-caff) is in order for me.

Have a beautiful day,
Kelly

Please remember to keep Baby Stellan and his family in your prayers:

Prayers for Stellan

Filed Under: Church, Family, Health, Kids, Prayers

Saturday Morning Update…

March 28, 2009 By
  • Good morning!
  • It is now around 7:40am on this gray Saturday and our household has been stirring for about an hour and a half. {{{YAWN}}} When do kids learn to sleep late anyway?! ;)
  • I am happy to report that Mariana is doing very well. She is of great spirit and has regained I’d say about 80% of her energy. She’s a touch grouchy, but that’s understandable, of course. She slept well last night and is feeling pretty good this morning. We are so grateful for her progress! I also have to do a little mama bragging because she is still rocking the house with her potty-training even after surgery!
  • Macey and I had a fun little outing last evening. After we ate our delish dinner from Amy C and her family, Macey and I headed out to Target. (Looooooove that place!) We had to get a couple of birthday gifts for some of the girls’ friends and a few other odds/ends. Macey and I had a lot of fun shopping together. She was so cute picking out a birthday gift for the party she is going to later today. It was fun to get out with my big girl.
  • Mickey is hoping to go out and run this morning. We’re supposed to get more rain today and possibly storms, so we’ll see if he’s actually able to get in the eight mile run he’s hoping for today.  He is one of those that I call “crazy runner people” because he will run if it’s cold, raining, etc. But, he just can’t go out if it’s storming. So far this year he has logged over 100 running miles. How about THAT?! That is post shin surgery in September to correct compartment syndrome in both of his shins.
  • I am hoping to do some clothes shopping today. I really need some new threads. Hopefully I can find some good deals. Basically when I shop it’s “No Deals = NO GO”, so I’m really hoping for the deals today.
  • Well, I should wrap it up. Miss Mariana just came in looking for Mama Snuggles. That’s my clue to sign off for now.
  • Happy weekend!
Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Health, Kelly, Kids
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