The Kelly's 5

Grace notes...

2011-03-12T21:51:00.001-05:00

Jonathan and I were able to get a babysitter last night and see some live music at our church. Our pastor is a really talented song writer and musician. He opened for Bill Mallonee, who was the lead singer for Vigilantes of Love until 2003. We had such a great time! It's been a LONG time since we have been able to hear live music like that. And it was AWESOME!! Bill and his wife Muriah-Rose, tour together. She sang a song last night called "Grace Notes". You can listen to it here. The song inspired me to try to take my own Grace Notes. I thought if I was able to blog from my phone that I might be more consistent. So here's to trying! Ha! I don't what the format will look like, but here's the first one.

Last night as we were leaving, I put my leather jacket on. I haven't worn it since we moved to Columbus. As we are walking out the door, Emma asks, "Is that your date coat?" I love that girl!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

CONTEST!!!!!!

2010-08-17T12:47:00.005-04:00

I'm ready to give you a $10 gift card to Starbucks!! Wanna know how you can win it?! It's easy! All you have to do is go to my FB profile and click on the Make Juvenile Myositis a Memory link. Then log in and vote for Juvenile Myositis. After you've done that, you need to share it on FB so all your FB friends can vote, too. Then post to my related status update that day that you voted. The person who votes and shares it on FB the most until the end of the month will get a $10 Starbucks gift card from me. I promise!

If Juvenile Myositis stays #1 or #2, it will win $250K from Pepsi to go towards research to help find a cure for this disease. Our pastor's son, Sam, has this horrible disease. Today Sam is at the hospital for his weekly infusion. Yes, you read that right...his WEEKLY infusion. Below is something his mom, Charity, wrote to help people know more about their journey:

Brief JDM Timeline + Request for help

by Charity Blosser on Friday, August 13, 2010 at 2:38pm

Several of you have walked through this JDM journey with Sam and us, but some of you are more recent friends.

For those of you that are unaware:

July 18, 2004- Sam was born a healthy, happy baby.

He was also a particularly healthy toddler.

October, 2006-Sam develops a slight rash on his face and knuckles.

2007- he stops growing, starts falling a lot, the rash persists. (The doctor thinks it eczema.) We're also told Sam's hips are shaped funny.

May, 2008- Sam can hardly walk. He asks to be carried constantly, is lethargic, fever everyday, can no longer bend down and pick up toys, can't get up from the ground on his own, can't stay sitting up with feet straight out in front of him, cannot jump, run or climb stairs. I remember he spent most of his time bent over the couch sucking his finger because he couldn't climb up or sit down.

The doctor sends us to children's hospital to test for Muscular Dystrophy.

Negative.

His knuckles swell and his joints hardly work.

He is in a lot of pain.

The doctor sends us to the Pediatric Rheumatologist to check for arthritis.

August 7, 2008- Dr. Higgins diagnoses Sam with Juvenile Dermatomyositis.

In time, we learn there's no cure, it's rare and life-threatening, and they don't know much about it. They HOPE it will go into remission in two years, but there's no guarantee of anything.

Here we are almost two years later. A few months ago, it looked like Sam might be heading into remission, but he had a flare up and we're back to weekly infusions and upping his medication.

He's been in lot of pain lately. He wakes up at night in excruciating leg pain, he tires quickly, he has to ALWAYS protect himself from the sun with long sleeves, pants and wide-brimmed hats. His arms hurt, his back hurts, and he started developing ulcers. He's very emotional due to the steroids as well. The Medications he's on are not without their risks, but I'm not up to listing all that right now.

************************************************

Edited to add:

(Written by a friend)

CureJM, a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, was founded in October 2003 to raise awareness of Juvenile Myositis (JM), a rare, painful and potentially deadly autoimmune disease that's expected to strike 1000 next year. CureJM is dedicated to finding a cure so that no child suffers another day with JM.

In the Pepsi Refresh Project (good ideas competition), vote daily. PLEASE, for the sake of sweet Sam and every other child who suffers with this awful disease!

Spread the word! VOTE 3 WAYS DAILY --

(1) Pepsi Refresh website -- http://www.refresheverything.com/makejmamemory

(2) Pepsi Refresh FB App -- http://bit.ly/CureJMonFB

(3) Text to Vote -- Text* Pepsi (73774) & put 100850 in the msg box -- (*stnd txt msg rts apl)

Now - go to FB and my profile to get started! You can vote directly through FB, text and/or sign up at the website.

**I guess I should add here, too that my Grace Central peeps don't get to play, because you're already voting!! :-)

Daddy's birthday...

2010-08-10T21:23:00.003-04:00

Jonathan subtly let us know this morning that he'd like a cake for his birthday. :-) I was planning to make him one...his favorite - a boxed chocolate cake with white icing. The girls were more than excited to help me make it. Emma was really worried I would make it without her, since she had a playdate planned this afternoon. I assured her I would wait! :-) I was trying to get my make-up on and finish getting ready for the day while the girls were coloring. It got quiet, as it does sometimes, and I began to look for the girls. They were in the corner of the family room just looking up at me. Emma was sitting with her hands behind her back and Kate was standing there just looking at me. I asked Emma what she had behind her back and she finally pulled out the icing. The foil was peeled off and it looked like I had gotten there just in time. It was all I could do to not laugh out loud. I asked her what they were doing. Her response was, "We were getting everything ready for you." LOL! They had taken the cake powder bag out of the box and the foil off the icing. I'm fairly certain had I not got there when I did, we would have been making a trip to the store to get more icing. But as it were, the icing was totally intact! :-)

Emma decided Jane should try the cake batter! LOL!

And Jane liked it! :-) She kept licking her lips! (Don't worry - she didn't get much...just a little taste)

The girls liked licking their beaters!

And here is the finished product! Emma helped me with the icing.

I really need to learn to let go when the girls are helping me in the kitchen! I tend to want it to look pretty, but it's not always going to when they help. I did let Emma help me a little with the icing, but I had to finish it so it would look somewhat decent. I probably should have just let her do it. Jonathan would have loved it no matter what. :-) I'm gonna try to let it go next time!!

Yes, I'm still committed....

2010-08-04T21:00:00.003-04:00

I've not forgotten that I said I was re-joining the blogging world. :-) If I could find the camera, I'd take a picture of all the boxes that I'm currently surrounded by. This past weekend we moved into a new house. We had only been in the other house for a year, but we were renting and we are now home owners in Ohio! (Yes, for those of you keeping tabs, we are now home owners in 2 states. But we'd prefer to just own the one in Ohio. So if you're interested in buying a house in Charlotte, NC, let me know!)

Moving with 3 small children, with one of them being an infant, was as difficult as I thought it would be. Or maybe I should say it IS as hard as I thought it would be. Until we are mostly unpacked, I'd say we are still moving. It wouldn't have been my first choice to move right now, but it is what it is. And the Lord knows what He's doing. As hard as it's been, I really feel like the house we got is going to be great! And we wouldn't have gotten it if things had been different.

It seems like the whole house situation has been consuming me since about March. But other things have been going on that I don't want to forget.

Emma finished her first year of pre-school in May. She will be old enough to go to kindergarten this year, but we are holding her back one year. With a September birthday, she would be the youngest in her class. I think she would be fine going to kindergarten, but I want her to be better than fine. :-) She also just finished her first set of real swim lessons. And I have to say that I was really impressed!! She went from not wanting to put her face in the water to swimming underwater in just 6 short weeks! In 3 weeks she goes back to pre-school. She will be going 4 days a week this year. I have this picture in my head of my body standing in the middle of a field. Time is whisking by me so fast that I have a difficult time just standing there, but my body can't move to catch up. It goes by so fast, doesn't it?!

Kate has turned into quite the 2 year old. :-) Everyday, I keep asking myself what happened to my sweet Kate. LOL! She is still pretty sweet, but she is definitely showing her independence. She patiently sat on the side of the pool with me while Emma had her lessons. I tried to let her swim a couple time a week. I think she loves the water more than Emma. She'll stay home with me another year and start pre-school when Emma starts kindergarten. I'm looking forward to some time with just her and Jane.

Jane. What to say about that sweet girl?! She is 10 weeks old today. Again - the image of me standing in the field... She had her 2 month check up yesterday. She weighed 10 pounds 1 oz and is in the 45th percentile. WHAT?! I've never had a child in the 25th percentile, much less 45th for weight!! :-) She's started to smile and coo and even laugh a little. She loves the swing and just looks up at the seat and just smiles and even kind of laughs. Out of the last 7 nights, she has slept all night 5. Last night there was a HUGE storm with lots of lightening and some of the loudest thunder I've heard in a long time. It woke her up and she couldn't get herself back to sleep, so really last night doesn't count in the number of nights she's slept all night! ;-)

Well, this post is much longer than I intended it to be! I should get back to unpacking..........

Making Memories...

2010-07-24T21:44:00.003-04:00

I've been watching the girls differently lately. I've been watching them in slow motion and in memories. What does that mean, exactly? I've been watching them in a way that I don't want to forget. Like this evening - We walked to dinner and then to get ice-cream. On the way home Emma was chasing a flower that sheds off of a cottonwood tree. They are pretty light and kind of float like butterflies. She was looking up, chasing it with her hands in the air. Her eyes were lit up and she looked like a little girl should in the summer. I don't want to forget, but I fear I will. This is why I think I have to start blogging again...so I don't forget.

To resurrect or not?

2010-07-24T21:39:00.002-04:00

So...I've been thinking lately that maybe I'll start blogging again. But there are so many things to consider and the first is are you still reading or am I still in your Google Reader??? :-) And the second is where to start. I suppose I just start from today. It's been so long since I blogged that it would take too long to catch you up. Besides, you're probably also on Facebook and you're probably mostly caught up anyway! ;-) So...here's to blogging again!

Labor Day Meme...

2009-09-07T21:36:00.003-04:00

Since Emma was born on Labor Day 4 years ago, I thought this meme might be something fun to post on this Labor Day. :-) If you want to join in, please leave a comment and tell us where to find yours!

How long were your labors?
Emma - 0 Hours. My water broke and we went straight to the hospital for a C-section since she was breech. I never felt one real contraction.
Kate - 0 Hours. My water broke and we went straight to the hospital for a repeat C-section.

I'm somewhat sad I've never felt real labor, but then again...not really! :-)

How did you know you were in labor?
My water broke with both pregnancies. The first time it happened I called two friends to see if that is what it was. Neither of them knew for sure. :-) With the second pregnancy, I knew it was about to happen (weird, I know) and I ran to the kitchen so it wouldn't make a wet mess on the carpet.

Where did you deliver?
Both were born at Carolina's Medical Center-University. Emma was born in the old wing and Kate in the new wonderful wing.

Drugs?
Umm, yep! The spinal they gave me with Emma didn't work the first time and they had to do it again. I still had a little feeling. More then weird... No problems with the spinal with Kate.

C-section?
2

Who delivered?
Dr. Dickerson did both C-sections. Prior to the C-section with Emma, I had never seen her at the practice. Everytime I had a scheduled appointment with her, she was called away for emergency C-sections or deliveries. When I called the after hours number to talk to the doctor on call when I thought my water had broken, she didn't believe me. I decided I wasn't going to like her. I was wrong! I LOVE her. Losing her as my doctor when we moved to Ohio was one of the hard things about leaving.

Can't wait to read yours!

Funnies...

2009-08-16T22:17:00.002-04:00

Friday evening we went to Big Spring to be with Reg, Tera and their kids. We were eating dinner and as usual it was a battle to get Emma to eat. Reg was trying to get Abby (their 3 year old) to eat, too.

Reg: Abby, you better sit at this table and eat your dinner. Do you want to go to your bedroom and talk about it? (which translates into discipline)
Abby: No.

A few minutes later Emma was up from the table and Reg found her in Abby's room.

Reg: Emma why aren't you eating your dinner?
Emma: I wanna talk about it.
Reg: With who?
Emma: With Kate.
Reg: I don't think Kate wants to talk about it.
Emma: Yes her does.

Then an explanation of "talking about it" ensued. Emma didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Last night my parents were keeping the kids so Reg, Tera, Jay and I could go meet up with some old friends. The older girls (Emma and Abby) had been in the bedroom for a little while and things were really quiet (never good). Both girls come out and just looked at my mom and dad.

Gigi: What have you girls been doing?
Emma: Coloring on the door.

Gigi goes to the bedroom and sees the coloring on the door. The girls are scolded and Gigi cleans up the mess. A few minutes later...

Gigi: What were you girls thinking coloring on the door?
Emma: I was thinking about Jesus.
Trent (6 year old nephew): They were thinking about Jesus?!?
Gigi: They weren't thinking about Jesus. (To Emma) Jesus wouldn't like that.
Emma: Yes he would.

She's a hot mess, I tell ya!!

Relationships...

2009-07-19T09:35:00.002-04:00

Jonathan and I have been talking about this for more than a year and it's just heavy on my heart. We've been talking about friendships. It seems over the last year or two we've had a difficult time building strong relationships with other Christians. I feel like we were just beginning to build those relationships again in Charlotte before we moved, but it took A LONG time. It took less time to build strong, real relationships with people we didn't go to church with. Those friends were more willing to be honest with us about their lives. They were quick to tell us when things were not good, quick to tell us when they were fighting with their spouse, quick to tell us when their mother was sick, quick to tell us...well, everything. Why is this? Here's my theory: I think Christians are less willing to "lay it all out there". I think we are afraid of being judged by our peers, other Christians. Shouldn't this be the group we feel most safe with, not the most reserved? How do we change this? Or has this not been your experience? Thoughts?

News...

2009-03-26T13:42:00.004-04:00

I know I haven't been posting on here much and those that were checking our blog probably aren't anymore, but just in case I wanted to share some news with you. I posted this on Facebook yesterday, but I know there are some family and friends who either aren't on Facebook or don't check it often. So here is the note I wrote yesterday...

There are many times that Jonathan gets tapped on the shoulder about possible job opportunities. He usually tells them thanks, but he's happy where he is. The tap he received this time was too hard to ignore. We decided he should pursue this one and see what happened. Well, what happened was that he interviewed last Friday, was offered the position the following Thursday and starts his new job on April 13!

He will be the Director of Finance over the physician network practices for a hopsital system. What does that mean exactly? He will be overseeing financials for all the physician practices the system owns. A Charlotte example would be practices like Mid-Carolina Cardiology. Ohio Health has 60+ practices right now and hopes to double that in two years.

Our house, you might be wondering... We have only lived in our current house for a little less than a year and with the market not being prime to sell a house right now, we are looking to rent it. We have some serious possibilities that we are hoping to finalize this week. You can be praying about that! Our specific prayer is that the Lord would put people in the house who have the same passion for this neighborhood that we do. When we get to Columbus, we will be in an apartment short term while we look for a house. Our desire is to be in a neighborhood similar to the neighborhood where we are now.

We are hopeful and encouraged about a church we found and were able to visit the weekend of Jonathan's job! They seem to have a similar vision as the church we attend now.We are hoping to have the movers here 2 weeks from today and then drive up to Ohio on Good Friday. We'd like to have Saturday to settle as much as we can and then attend Easter services Sunday morning.

I would be completely overwhelmed if the company weren't completely moving us (packing our house and everything)! Don't get me wrong! There is still plenty to do!! I have 9 different to do lists!

This is an exciting time for our family! We are DEEPLY saddened to leave Charlotte and everything and everyone that we love here, but we are confident that Columbus is where God would have us for the next chapter in our life. His mercies are new every morning and He has already been preparing hearts and minds for our arrival there!

A little bit of a bomb shell...I know!!

Anyway, there's the scoop!!

"It hurt my heart"...

2009-02-25T19:27:00.004-05:00

Right after lunch, I was busy doing something I couldn't stop. I heard loud noises and knew toys were most likely being dumped. When I was able to get to the living room, Emma had pulled every one of her books off the bookshelf. It was obvious I was not happy with her. She was disciplined and we put the books back on the shelf. Not long after that happened, it was time for naps. Emma took a really good nap which means she wakes up happy (this is not an everyday occurance so I'm ALWAYS so thankful when it does happen). She was getting her snack and she said, "I'm sorry I made you sad." I told her I forgave her and asked how she made me sad. Then she said, "It hurt my heart to make you sad." Again, I asked her how she had made me sad. I had forgotten about the book incident. She told me she made me sad when she threw all the books on the floor and it hurt her heart to sin. Of course I told her again that I forgave her. We talked about sin and how God forgives us when we ask Him to. Then she told me that everyone sins. She may have made me sad earlier in the day, but she certainly made my heart smile this afternoon! As hard as it is sometimes around here, it's nice that the Lord gives me some glimpses of Grace through my sweet daughter.

247 emails and 'Kelly Girls'

2009-02-06T14:22:00.003-05:00

As of 7 minutes ago, I've received 247 work-related emails this week. The sheer volume of information that comes to me by desk, phone, conversation, email, and text can be staggering at times. This has been one of those weeks.

In addition to all of this, I had an evening meeting on Tuesday, I went to work early on Wednesday, I stayed at work late on Thursday, and as of 5 minutes ago will be working late tonight.

Most weeks aren't like this one, but when I have a week like this, I miss my girls. Belive it or not, I even miss the crying, whining, and misbehavior. I just want to hold them, squeeze them, and kiss them lots. However, I do have something that helps me to keep sane. I have a playlist on my iPod named 'Kelly Girls'. It is a playlist of music that reminds me of my girls. The music is whimsical, alive, happy, and full of joy and love.

247 emails.....but I have the 'Kelly Girls' to help me through. Ooops...248.

Quantities like 'So Much'

2009-01-30T14:05:00.003-05:00

Recently, we've been working with Emma to learn about quantities and size. We talk about little things, big things, too much, a lot, and she is learning her numbers from 1-12. She has even begun negotiating how many M&M's we should dole out. I'll say, "I'll give you 2 M&M's". She will then reply with "I want 5 Mns" (she can't quite say M&M's).

So when Emma began to use the quantity 'so much' I was puzzled. Her typical usage is to say 'Tickle me soooo much'. This morning I finally realized why she was using this usage.

Nicole's favorite book to read to Emma is 'Guess How Much I Love You'. It is about Little Nutbrown Hare and Big Nutbrown Hare and they talk about how much they love one another. To reinforce this, Nicole and I always hug her and tell her 'I love you so much'. Emma now thinks that 'So Much' is a quantity, and it is the maximum possible quantity known to mankind. After all, mommy and daddy tell me that they love me 'So Much' and that is more than anything.....

S L O W . . .

2009-01-21T14:57:00.003-05:00

Dear Blog,

I know it's been pretty slow around here lately. Not many posts, hardly any pictures and virtually no comments. It's partly my fault. I'd like to say I am not neglecting you for another, but that would be a lie. The truth is there is another. It's name is Facebook. It's faster and easier to download pictures to, there are more people there I know and there are other fun things besides writing and pictures there. So, I'm not quitting you all together, but most pictures and family updates will be there. So if you are reading this and you haven't jumped on the Facebook band wagon...jump on! It's easy!

Always yours,

Nicole McConnell Kelly (this is how you can find me on Facebook)

One Word Answers

2008-12-17T15:28:00.002-05:00

Try using one word to answer each question....here are mine.

1. Where is your cell phone? HOLSTER
2. Where is your significant other? FACEBOOK
3. Your hair? SHORT
4. Your mother? LL BEAN
5. Your father? GOLFER
6. Your favorite thing? FRIENDS
7. Your dream last night? WORK
8. Your dream/goal? WISDOM
9. The room you're in? OFFICE
10. Your hobby? INCENSE
11. Your fear? SPIDERS
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? VACATION
13. Where were you last night? SMALLGROUP
14. What you're not? PASSIVE
16. One of your wish list items? GUITAR
17. Where you grew up? MAINE
18. The last thing you did? SPREADSHEET
19. What are you wearing? SUIT
20. Your TV? VIRUS
21. Your pet? NOPE
22. Your computer? TORTOISE
24. Your mood? ANTSY
25. Missing someone? STEVO
26. Your car? BULLETPROOF
27. Something you're not wearing? MITTENS
28. Favorite store? BARNES & NOBLE
29. Your summer? OVER
30. Love someone? FOREVER
31. Your favorite color? VAN DYKE BROWN
32. When is the last time you laughed? NOW
33. Last time you cried? NOT ENOUGH

Timeout...

2008-11-18T14:15:00.004-05:00

Can you guess what Fox in Socks might be doing here? Emma set the timer and told him he could not get up until it went off. Any ideas of who else might be spending a lot of time in timeout?!

Naptime...

2008-11-18T14:10:00.003-05:00

This is what Emma did during her nap the other day...I guess my flower wall stickers weren't decorative enough for her... (can you see the line of small pink happy face stickers?)

Halloween...

2008-11-08T10:58:00.005-05:00

We took the girls out on Halloween to a few houses in the neighborhood for trick or treating. I think they had a good time, although I'm not sure Emma really "gets it" yet! :-) I had made a skirt for Emma's fairy princess costume, but decided at the last minute that the overall costume looked a little too homemade, if you know what I mean! I went out the morning of halloween and found these two costumes 50% off! I think they turned out great!!

Trip to VA...

2008-11-08T10:21:00.007-05:00

My friend Amy, the Queen Blogger, posted on this trip the week after it happened. I'm a little behind - as usual!

About three weeks ago, we went to VA to visit Grammie and Grampie and also got to see our good friends Marc, Amy and Caroline while we were there. Marc was the RUF (Reformed University Fellowship) minister at Texas Tech when we were finishing up graduate school. They also attended the church we helped plant, Providence Presbyterian Church. They recently moved to Lynchburg to do RUF with Liberty University students.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Emma helping Grammie make waffles...

Emma licking the bowl after helping make Stained Glass Windows...

Grammie pushing Emma on the tree swing...
Kate in the tree wing for the first time (she LOVED it)...

Emma pushing Kate...

Amy and Caroline...

Kate and Caroline watching their parents go crazy after Texas Tech scored...

All three girls playing together...

Kate and Caroline...

Emma before church...

Reading "The Paper"...

2008-11-08T10:01:00.003-05:00

Have you seen "So I Married an Axe Murderer" with Mike Myers? There's a scene where his mother is referring to a tabloid as "The Paper"...Jonathan refers to the Wall Street Journal as "the paper"...Anyway, here is Emma "reading" "the paper". (OK lots of misused quatation marks in this post!)

"The paper" scene from "So I married an Axe Murderer"

Sisters...

2008-11-08T09:47:00.003-05:00

Kate is just getting old/big enough to start really playing with Emma (or maybe I should say that Emma is playing with her..). Anyway, I couldn't resist taking these pictures. It was not long after they woke up one morning, hence the jammas!

Bring the Rain...

2008-10-22T14:05:00.002-04:00

is a blog I sometimes visit, especially when I need to be reminded of the undeserved Grace and Mercy God shows towards me everyday. He has been so very good to me, but sometimes I forget just how good. The most recent post on Bring The Rain is one that is too good not to share with all of you. Read it here and may you also be reminded or shown for the first time the freedom and liberation God's Grace truly is.

Stats...

2008-10-21T09:49:00.002-04:00

OK...how weird is this?

At 9 months here are the stats for both girls:

Kate
14 pounds 10 ounces
27 inches long
17 inch head circumference

Emma
14 pounds 9 3/4 ounces
27 1/4 inches long
17 inch head circumference

9 months...

2008-10-17T15:44:00.006-04:00

Can you believe Kate is 9 months old???? I can't! She weighs 14 pounds 10 ounces and is 27 inches long. She's not crawling yet, but boy is she trying! I think if we had carpet she'd definitely be on the move! She's just started crying when you take a toy away from her, which her sister does often! :-) She's babbling all the time. I'm sure she's got lots to say! She is still such a delight and so laid back. She and Emma are worlds apart, each unique in their own special way. God has TRULY blessed us with these two little girls!!

GOOD friends...

2008-10-17T15:25:00.005-04:00

Last week I was able to get together with two of my very best college girlfriends. The three of us haven't been together in over 8 years. I was reminded how important friends like that are. You know - the kind you can tell ANYTHING to, the kind that you can cry with, the kind you can laugh with, the kind you can be stupid with, the kind you can be silly with, the kind you can be REAL with, the kind that love you no matter what. We've vowed to do this every year and have already chosen the weekend for next year. But my hope is that I get to see one or both of these ladies more than once a year. Love and miss you already Trea and Kristin!

The cabin where we stayed...

The fire pit and the pond...

Emma, Bennett, Sutton and Campbell (3 of Trea's kids)...

Quincy (Trea's oldest)...

Me, Kristin and Trea...

Quincy, Trea and Kristin...

Me and Trea...

The foliage...

Like mother like daughter?! :-)

2008-10-17T15:20:00.003-04:00

I didn't get the best pictures! You can imagine what she was doing! :-) Hint: It has to do with feeding the baby and it doesn't require a spoon or a bottle! ;-)

Renaissance Festival...

2008-10-17T15:07:00.006-04:00

Every year we go to the Carolina Renaissance Festival. We try to go the first weekend it is here, because we can get a killer deal on tickets. It is so much fun and every year Emma seems to enjoy it more and more! We're hoping to go a second time this year! There's so much to do and see that it's impossible to do it all in just one visit!

Emma with a joker...

Watching the jousting...

At the petting zoo..

Riding the butterflies...

Kate...

Been awhile...

2008-10-03T14:25:00.005-04:00

It's been almost a month since I blogged and even longer than that since I really blogged. A lot has happened. I must confess that something has been stealing my blogger time. It's this thing called Facebook. Maybe you've heard of it. ;-) It's addicting, I tell ya!

Well, on September 5, Emma turned 3. Hard to believe in most ways, but so easy to believe in others. Those of you with toddlers TOTALLY know what I mean! At her well check visit with the pediatrician she weighed a whopping 25 pounds. I've resigned to the fact that buying clothes to fit her will always be somewhat of a challenge! I have to admit, she does look pretty cute in all her thinness!! We had a Curious George birthday party here at the house. It was fun and she was totally overwhelmed by all the gifts. Gigi and Pops were able to be here from Texas and that was a real treat for everyone. Grammie and Grampie drove down for the day for the party. It was fun to have both sets of grandparents here for the celebration! Here are a few pictures:

Kate has 5 teeth! She got three over the last three days. It's been good times over here, let me tell ya! She's still a joy and smiling ALL the time. She is such a good laid back baby! Here's a recent picture:

I had surgery on Tuesday (a girl thing) and I'm recovering well. I think we may even venture out to the Renaissance Festival tomorrow. :-)

Well, that's a little catch-up. Maybe now I won't feel so overwhelmed and can post more often. :-) (That's if I can pull myself away from FB!! ;-) )

Our little girl is growing up.....

2008-09-09T14:24:00.003-04:00

Emma turned three this past Friday and I've been reflecting on the last three years. Nicole and I spend what seems like all of our waking, and sometimes sleeping, hours raising our little girl. There are times when we think that there is no reward for our never-tiring, never-stopping, never-ending, never-sleeping quest to raise our little girl.

However, there is grace from God. There are moments when Emma flashes moments of cuteness, brilliance, and gleeful passion.

A few months ago, she wanted to go with daddy to the storage unit a few miles away. It was very hot and humid and she wanted the windows down in the car as we drove over to the unit. I relented and put them down. For a brief moment, I relaxed and just drank in the warmth and the smells of a southeast summer. I had the music on and I looked back for a moment and will never forget the sight.

The wind was blowing her hair in her face. She had a completely peaceful look on her face. Our eyes met and she just smiled and laughed as she moved the hair from her face. It was like time froze and that scene was replayed in my mind each year for the next 18 years.

I realized then that she is changing. She is changing right before our eyes and we can't see it always.

Our little girl is growing up.....

Aprons...

2008-09-03T14:27:00.002-04:00

Yes, I know! It's been FOREVER since I blogged. I'd like to say we've been busy doing exciting things and I haven't had time to blog. That's pretty far from the truth, though. I have been busy...trying to get the new house together (yes, still...)

Anyway, first things first - Kelly, I haven't forgotten about the quirks tag. I promise I will do it. I lay in bed at night thinking about my quirks. If I would just sit down and do the post, I could get to sleep a lot faster!!

Second - I found this on Beth's blog. A free CUTE apron? Sign me up!! Maple Lane Apron Compnay

Third - Uncle Steve visited from Florida this past weekend. Pictures to come soon.

Finally - Gigi and Pops are coming today! Pictures of that to come soon.

:-P Patience, friends!

lawn mower

2008-08-21T09:25:00.002-04:00

I have to set the stage by saying that people's possessions are stolen constantly in our neighborhood. Items are stolen, sold, re-sold, and installed in a matter of hours. I'm continually amazed at how quickly things change hands. It is much more efficient than any multi-billion dollar corporation.

We've built a relationship with one of our new neighbors. He is homeless and doesn't have a steady job. Last Saturday, just as I was getting ready to mow, he walked up to me and said that he had a proposition for me. If I would let him borrow my mower to mow another lawn, we would mow and trim mine for free.

Not much thought needed....I said yes.

I didn't get my lawn mowed on Saturday, and I didn't see him either. I thought he might come on Sunday while we were at church, but he didn't show. Then our pastor preached a message on serving the poor and both Nicole and I were very convicted of our selfish and possessive thoughts.

However, I was beginning to be concerned when nothing happened on Sunday, Monday, and then again on Tuesday.

Then on Wednesday my neighbor called when I was home for lunch. He said that he had sighted our neighbor and lawnmower a few houses away. After lunch I drove by and had a quick conversation. He promised that he would come by immediately, return the mower, and mow our lawn.

When I got home late last night, my lawn wasn't mowed. I was crestfallen. We pray for our neighbor and pray that he will honor God through obediance to His Word. Then this morning, he showed up to mow. He appologized, I forgave him even as Emma was calling for him from the back deck. Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.....

Update - Mower is now across the street with promises of return later this morning.

Potty success and funny...

2008-08-06T14:13:00.002-04:00

Today I told Emma we were out of diapers and she had to wear big girl panties. She cried and I mean cried hard and was saying over and over, "I want diaper!" Then I showed her all the prizes I had for her when she went tee tee in the potty. She calmed down and sat on the potty. About 5 minutes later, I heard the potty sing!!!!! YAY!!! She got to pick one of the prizes. She chose the toy saw. Then she wanted the bracelet. I told her when she went tee tee in the potty again she could get the bracelet. She sat on the potty and went again!!! YAY! She's got this prize thing figured out. About 5 minutes after she went the last time, she sat down on the potty again. After a few minutes, this is what I heard her say, "Come on tee tee, come on"! Ha! I laughed out loud. She keeps asking for a diaper, but I think we're off to a good start! :-P

Emma's doll...

2008-08-06T14:11:00.002-04:00

Emma has several dolls, but this is her favorite. She never wants this doll to have clothes on, so it's always naked...maybe someday she'll get into the dressing her doll thing.. Anyway, the other day she wanted to go outside and asked if she could take her doll. Of course I said she could. I turned around and she was carrying the bouncy seat to the door with her doll in it! :-)

Cereal...

2008-08-06T14:01:00.005-04:00

After we got back from Texas Kate turned 6 months old and I started her on cereal. She wasn't sure what to think. About a week ago, we started sweet potatoes and this week butternut squash. :-)

Finally some pictures...

2008-08-06T13:32:00.004-04:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Texas. There are some more, but I can'[t seem to find them on my computer...if I do, I'll post them.

The cousins playing in the pool...

In a towel after playing in the pool...

Trent's birthday party...

Jonathan, Reg and Trent playing baseball...

Emma after she found Gigi's night cream...

The cousins bathing together...(doesn't everyone have a picture like this?)

Me and sweet Abby...

Feeding the ducks (Right before Emma got bit by a hungry goose)...

Right after Emma got bit by a hungry goose...

More feeding the ducks...

I know...

2008-07-26T15:35:00.002-04:00

it's been forever since I blogged. I promise to update with some pictures soon!

A quick update on Kate: Jonathan's radiologists and Kate's doctor all agree that she did not have a green stick fracture. They think that maybe her shoulder popped out and back in joint. That would cause the pain and soreness. Anyway...she was hurt and is better now! :-P She also had her 6 month (yes, can you believe it) check up. She weighed 13 pounds 1 ounce and is in the 10th percentile for weight.

A quick update on Emma: She is taking gymnastics at the Y and loves it. She can't stop touching her sister so they are passing pink eye back and forth. Yay...

Pictures and more updates to come soon!!

Green stick fracture...

2008-07-09T10:05:00.004-04:00

Our vacation in Texas took a wrong turn yesterday! Yesterday morning the cousins were all on the floor playing together. Kate started to turn over (she's getting pretty good and likes to "practice") and Emma "helped" her. Kate's arm got stuck underneath her and Emma continued to "help" her. Kate was crying and was inconsolable for about 30 minutes before we decided she needed to be seen. Mom and I threw some clothes on and went to find the urgent care. We found what we thought was the urgent care, but realized once we got out that it was just a family practice clinic that accepted walk-ins. They also had an X-ray machine. They got us in right away (Kate's screaming probably helped them see the urgency). The X-rays didn't really show anything, but the person reading them is the "go to" person in Lubbock for children with bone breaks. She feels pretty certain Kate has a greenstick fracture in her collar bone. It's called this because the bone acts the same way as a small green stick off a tree. When you try to break it, it will only bend but there's clearly damage. The doctor said Kate should be feeling much better in a few days and should be completely healed in 2 weeks. We were sent to a clinic to get a brace to help stabalize her arm. (I think the brace made it hurt worse, so when we got home, we took it off and she hasn't worn it since.) She cried for a good solid 4 hours yesterday. It was HEART breaking! We alternated Tylenol and Motrin all day yesterday. By the end of the day, as long as she was medicated, she was acting pretty close to normal. This morning she has had no medicine and seems to be back to her smiley wiley self!

We are thankful the Lord caused us to stop at the clinic where we did. We are thankful the injury wasn't worse. We are thankful for good friends who let us borrow a breast pump while Kate was too upset to eat. We are thankful for God's goodness in answering prayers. We are thankful for all the people here (my parents' small group and friends) and others who were praying for Kate and us .

Project update...

2008-06-29T14:39:00.007-04:00

We thought this was the project that would never end, but alas it did!! Here is the progress and finally the finished product. We LOVE it! I can't belieive it's the same piece of furniture!!! THANK YOU JENNY for helping us get started. Seriously...it WOULD NOT have happened if you hadn't encouraged us to do it and come over to help us get started!!
BEFORE (the quality of this picture is not great, but you get the idea!):

AFTER:

Her very own (live) doll...

2008-06-27T10:44:00.003-04:00

I am not sure that Emma realizes that Kate is her sister and not her doll. LOL! Poor Kate!

Fun with tape...

2008-06-27T10:36:00.004-04:00

It's funny what will entertain a little person!! (Jenny - I already bought you a new roll of tape! LOL!)

(Please don't judge my ability as a mother based on Emma's WILD hair. It was after her nap and she didn't want me to fix it. *eyes rolling*)

A Project...

2008-06-27T10:26:00.005-04:00

Our friend Jenny (THANK YOU) is helping us refinish our corner hutch. It is a work in progress, but it's going to be awesome when it's finished (which I hope is soon, since everything that was in the hutch is now on my countertops)!! It's going to be all black with polished silver hardware.

A little taste of our new neighborhood...

2008-06-17T20:56:00.002-04:00

So, many of you have asked how we've settled in to our new house. Let me tell you a story to help you better understand when my answer comes after a brief hesitation.

This morning Jonathan left for work earlier than normal...before either of the girls (or me for that matter) were awake. Emma woke up at about 7 and I got Kate out of bed at about 7:30. While I was feeding her, Emma was playing in her room. I kept hearing something and I couldn't figure out what toy she could possibly be playing with. Well, it turns out that it wasn't a toy. It was someone in the street yelling. He or possibly she (it was hard to tell) was pointing and yelling and was very animated. I couldn't see anyone that she could possibly be yelling at so I thought, "Great, there's some wacko yelling in the street. I could call the police, but what are they going to do to someone who clearly isn't breaking the law...just yelling?" Not long after this thought, this person started taking their clothes off. "Good," I thought, "The police will come now!" So I quickly dialed 911 and told the dispatcher that there was a person in the middle of the street taking his clothes off. The dispatcher asked if it was a man, because they had some other calls about a woman. I looked closer and realized it was a woman...STARK naked right in front of my yard! Yes, she's totally naked. My neighbor Chris was outside the whole time...here's his email...

"So, ***(name concealed to save the innocent ;-) ) came to pick me up at about 7: and had his first Belmont prostitute experience. Apparently coming down off of crack is a pretty miserable thing. I was watering my front yard and this junky walks down the street mumbling to herself. She was soliciting every car that drove by and the mumbling got louder and progressively louder. *** pulls up and her voice gets louder still. She tells us that not only is she going to kill us, after we strip off all our clothes, but she was going to get into ***'s truck and take off. Well. She didn't get into his truck, but she did keep insisting that both *** and I take off all our clothes. Luckily, she let us off the hook - we were not depantsed during the affair, but we did catch this bit of hilarity. She decided to strip to nothing in the middle of my street while yelling something unintelligible and doing a little jig...What a way to start the morning! ***'s all growed up now."

This was Jonathan's reply...

"Ah, yes, I recognize her from my own ‘first Belmont prostitute incident’. At 6:45 this morning, I grabbed the Wall Street Journal from the front yard and drove to the corner of Harrill and Parkwood (50 yards from the incident [above]). It was then that the individual pictured stepped nearly in front of my car to stop me. She came up to the window and I foolishly rolled down the window about 3 inches. She put her face up to the window and just laughed and kinda snorted. I asked ‘Can I help you?’ She never said anything!!! She was CLEARLY higher than a kite!!!!

Picture for a moment a white guy in a suit with his Wall Street Journal stopping at 6:45 to talk w/the neighborhood hooker. Dude….when I think of hooker, I’m thinking of Pretty Woman."

Jonathan didn't even realize she was soliciting him! HA!

So, the police did come. By the time they got here, she was dressed. They did handcuff her and eventaully took her away. I'm not sure what happens to a person for taking off their clothes in the middle of the street. Anyone know?

Welcome to Belmont!

Happy Father's Day Daddy...

2008-06-15T15:23:00.004-04:00

We love you more than you can know. Your hard work for our family does not go unnoticed. We often take you for granted and we rarely tell you how much we appreciate you, but today we want you to know how special you are to us. Thank you for all you do for us. Thank you for all your hard work so that I can stay home with the girls. Thank you for loving us like you do. Thank you for your committment to being the spiritual head of our home. Thank you that you love God more than anything else. Thank you for being my husband and the girls' Daddy. We love you!

Paintings done by Kate and Emma for Daddy...

Trimmer from Mommy...

Red and Black Sharpies...

2008-06-15T15:14:00.004-04:00

I just now am able to blog about this... :-P Week before last, I was feeding Kate and Emma was way too quiet for my comfort, so I got up and found her with a red Sharpie in her hand. I wish that I could say I cought her before any real damage was done, but I didn't. She was quickly disciplined and then I went for the Magic Eraser...with NO luck! Note to all you flat paint lovers, it's hard to clean...even with a Magic Eraser. The next day I was in the bathroom fixing my hair and once again it was too quiet. This time I found Emma with a black Sharpie...you know the rest of the story. So, you say to put up the Sharpie's where she can't reach them...I thought I had... *eyes rolling*. Thank goodness the person we bought our house from left us with paint, or else we wouldn't have a clue what color to buy!!

Planting flowers...

2008-06-15T15:03:00.003-04:00

Our neighbor across the street, Ms. Sophease, is in her 80's (she's as sharp as a tack, I tell ya!!). She has some flowerbeds in her front yard that were empty and I mentioned to my other neighbor, Gina, that we should fill them for Ms. Sophease. Gina had already been thinking about doing that, so last weekend we bought flowers and planted them for Ms. Sophease. It was so much fun and she was thrilled!!

Mainly for the grandparents...

2008-06-12T13:52:00.002-04:00

Here are two videos of Kate. One is of her playing, but of course as soon as I got the camera out, she stopped playing. The second is of her doing raspberries. :-)

More helping Daddy...

2008-05-31T11:02:00.002-04:00

Ring Around the Rosie...

2008-05-31T11:01:00.001-04:00

Our finished fence...

2008-05-31T09:15:00.003-04:00

Brad with The Sonflower Group (704-488-9498) did a FANTASTIC job on our fence! We decided to do a 5 foot, semi-privacy fence. It's called a Shadowbox fence. We LOVE it! Thanks Brad!!

Tummy time...

2008-05-29T22:07:00.002-04:00

Yeah for Kate! She rolled over from her back to her tummy yesterday. Of course, I missed it! One minute she's 90% there and the next she's on her tummy. I think I turned to get something for Emma. :-) It didn't scare her, but I think she was trying to figure out how she ended up on her tummy! :-P Once she actually realized she was on her tummy, she immediately wanted to be back on her back. (Mommy obviously hasn't been as diligent about tummy time as she should be!) She didn't do it again today, but we were on the move this morning and she slept all afternoon...maybe tomorrow!

Daddy's helper...

2008-05-24T14:45:00.003-04:00

Jonathan was out helping Brad finish up our fence and of course Emma had to be right there with them. She came in the house after about 15 minutes and told me she needed her "purple shovel". :-)

Our fence...

2008-05-24T14:38:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of our almost finished fence and our backyard...

Sweet Kate...

2008-05-24T14:25:00.003-04:00

Here are a few recent pictures of Kate. She truly is the sweetest baby!

She recently had her 4 month check-up where she weighed 11 pounds 10 oz and was 24 inches long. It seems as though we make little girls over here in the Kelly Family. ;-) Emma weighed 11 pounds 7 oz at 4 months, but Kate seems so much bigger than Emma was. I guess it's because Emma was a half inch taller.

Kate is sleeping very well at night! Most mornings I have to go wake her up. This morning I let her sleep and she woke up at 8am. She's getting close to rolling over. I think when she does it will scare her to death! :-P She loves sucking her thumb and eating her hands. She has also started grabbing toys and chewing on them. She LOVES to coo and talk. Again, she's the sweetest little girl!

My sin...

2008-05-22T13:10:00.003-04:00

I am reminded today how very short life can be. Last night Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife lost their 5 year old daughter to a tragic accident. Today I've been so frustrated with my life curcumstances and have failed to see the beauty of my children. Thank you Father for the gifts you've given me in these 2 beautiful little girls. Forgive me for the lack of patience I have with them most days. My selfish heart often gets in the way of letting a 2 year old be a little girl. Who cares that she wants to wear two pair of socks during nap time? Does it really matter that she takes her shoes off EVERY time we get in the car? What's the real harm in mixing all the Play Dough colors? Does one little wipe cost so much that she can't have one to "help clean"? Is there really a scientific amount of ranch dressing that is too much? And the list goes on...I have to learn to lighten up and let my children be kids and ENJOY them.

The last 4 weeks...

2008-05-21T19:49:00.008-04:00

...gosh, has it really been 4 weeks??? We are still traveling up the roller coaster, but hope to go down and enjoy the ride soon! Things certainly have not progressed as quickly as I had hoped. As I've told some people, my expectations for being unpacked were way up here (imagine me holding my hand over my head) and they should have been way down here (picture me holding my hand close to my feet). Reality then may have been somewhere in the middle. Instead, I'm left with being incredibly disappointed that we have been here in the new house for almost 4 weeks and we aren't even close to being settled. BUT some really great things are happening despite not being unpacked. We have a security system, motion lights out back, the new fence is going up and should be finished by Friday or Saturday, the master closets have GREAT shelving, and the kitchen is completely unpacked and I have an empty cabinet!!!! Oh...and we have cable in one room and internet service!! (Kate just almost rolled over as I'm typing this :-) ) I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on myself...the first weekend we were in the house, Jonathan was gone with his dad to the Wachovia Championship (they do this every year and already had their tickets before we even put the old house up for sale), the next weekend we were in VA for Mother's Day and this past weekend was spent putting in the shelves in the master closets. And Jonathan's nights have been jam packed with work and other obligations. We'll get there...eventually!! :-P

Here are some pictures to help catch you up...

Most of our old house all packed and ready to be moved...

Some things I'll miss about the old house...

Emma and Kate playing together despite all the boxes and chaos.

Emma "helping" water Grammie's flowers...

This is the life...

Grammie reading to Kate...

Family photos on Mother's Day...

The girls with Grandma...

Four generations...

All the women...

The Kelly's 4 with Grandma...

The Kelly's 4...

The women...

Celebrating Grandma's 80th birthday (which isn't until June, but we wanted to celebrate with her while she was in VA)...

Our friends from Lubbcok, Marc and AMy Corbett just moved to Lynchburg to start RUF at Liberty University. We are SO EXCITED that we will be able to see them often!!!!! This is their new daughter, Caroline. I blogged about the Corbett's not too long ago.

The other morning Jonathan asked me if I had put Emma's shoes beside his in his closet. I didn't...Emma did. Cute!!

Hello again...

2008-05-13T13:54:00.002-04:00

We're back in the world of internet!! FINALLY!! I still don't have a lot of time to blog...there are boxes all around me filled with things that need new homes in our new house. People keep asking how we're settling in...the simple answer is "slowly". We've had to deal with some minor issues, but I think today is the first day of the rest of our house! ;-) I love our house and I love how we've met so many neighbors. I hate that on the 5th day in our new house, someone tried to break into and/or possibly steal Jonathan's car. Our fence should be going up this week or next, so hopefully this will help the temptation to break into our cars or steal things off our deck. :-)

(why does my internet and cable keep coming and going???)

Anyway, I'll try to post pictures in the next day or two...

A little haitis...

2008-04-25T19:30:00.002-04:00

(is that how you spell haitis??) Anyway, tomorrow is moving day and we have frantically been trying to get all the last minute stuff done. Can I just say that moving SUCKS and even so much more when you have children!! BUT it will all be worth it in a few days!! And needless to say, the blog will be slow for a while!! See ya when we see ya!!

Pigtails and blue tongues?

2008-04-16T12:18:00.004-04:00

The pictures speak for themselves.

Playdough worth eating...

2008-04-16T12:09:00.004-04:00

My friend Joanne sent me this recipe for peanut butter playdough. We had fun making it, playing with it and most of all eating it!

Peanut Butter Playdough:

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup powdered sugar

Mix peanut butter and milk. Add sugar and work in with fingers. If it is too dry add more peanut butter. If it is too sticky add more dry milk. Make fun creatures by adding raisins, chocolate chips, pretzels etc. Eat! Repeat.

(Cell phones are Emma's favorite thing to make with ANY kind of playdough!)

Still no Africa

2008-04-03T16:45:00.002-04:00

We've had our map of 'blog hits' active for quite some time now. (Over 1 year at least) Please refer to the map on the right side of our blog. After all this time and after many international hits, we've not had one hit from Africa.

I think that this is a clear sign of the extreme poverty of the continent. We certainly don't have a blog that targets Africa, but to have no hits at all is a bit telling. I've been reading a book about Bono and his efforts to encourage debt forgiveness to African countries.

I can't say that forgiving debt will cause hits on our blog, but perhaps it will begin to encourage economic development.

Here's to Africa!

Kate pictures...

2008-03-31T16:47:00.006-04:00

Here are some recent pictures of Kate...

In her Easter Dress...

Random pics...

And both my girls in their matching Easter dresses...

Pantene Beautiful Lengths...

2008-03-29T17:19:00.005-04:00

...is the first campaign of it's kind. It's the "...first in the country to encourage women and men to grow, cut and donate their healthy hair to make wigs for women [not children] who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments." Unlike Locks of Love, Pantene Beautiful Lengths only requires 8 inches of hair. I've wanted to dontate my hair for a long time, but wasn't sure I could make the 10 inch committment that Locks of Love requires. My friend Joanne told me about Pantene! I was so excited and today I bit the bullet and did it!! I was excited to get my hair cut (it's been driving me CRAZY) and to be able to donate it! I can wear it straight, curled under, flipped up or "shaggy short". :-P Here are some pictures:

BEFORE...

AFTER (it's shorter in the back, angled to the front)...

The PONYTAIL...

Our new house...

2008-03-27T13:48:00.006-04:00

Here are a few pictures of our new house. We are very excited to get moved in, but we're having a little trouble getting excited about packing! Hopefully, we will get motivated to get that done!! But why rush - I mean, really, we have 4 weeks! ;-)

Front of house...

Better picture of wrap around porch...

Living Room...

Dining room...

Kitchen...

Jack and Jill bathroom between the girls' rooms...

Master bedroom...

Master bathroom...

Master shower...

One more of the master shower...

"It's Emma's birthday!"

2008-03-25T20:58:00.003-04:00

The video speaks for itself! I laughed so hard I was crying!!

Emma's March Madness picks...

2008-03-25T18:35:00.003-04:00

Here are two videos to give you an idea of how Emma made her picks to contend for the Kelly traveling trophy. I wish the videos could fully show you just how hilarious this was! Jonathan had her picking numbers out of a bowl for EVERY SINGLE GAME!

Springtime...

2008-03-15T10:45:00.002-04:00

This is what I woke up to this morning! I LOVE spring and the blooming of spring flowers!!

It's official...

2008-03-15T09:16:00.004-04:00

Our house is under contract!! We CANNOT believe it!! It has all happened so fast (we had an offer after only being on the market 2.5 weeks and everything was all settled within a month of being on the market)! And just like with buying a house for the first time, we have learned a lot about selling a house through this whole process. We thought we had really gotten the house ready to sell. Well, what we think is ready and what the inspector thinks is ready can often be two different things!! He didn't find much wrong with the house and we don't have too many repairs to make. But the next time we sell a house we will be a little more proactive and will know what to check before the inspector comes (like exposed wood on any outside trim, a broken mailbox and a crack in the cement)!!

(Kate isn't in this family photo because it was a little chilly outside and the wind was blowing a little. :-) )

Big girl...

2008-03-15T09:07:00.004-04:00

I put Emma's hair in a pony tail this week. She looked so grown up!! I had to take a picture and let you all see her!

A few pics...

2008-03-14T14:27:00.005-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the girls. I know I haven't been as diligent in posting pictures of them as some of you would like. ;-) Sorry!

My 2 girls!!

Kate getting a little restless...

Kate all ready to meet the people at Daddy's work for the first time...

She's not happy ALL the time...

As a matter of fact, she can get pretty mad!!

This and that...

2008-03-12T14:23:00.006-04:00

Things have been a little crazy around here! After putting our house on the market, I felt like I needed to keep it spotless all the time just in case we had a showing. We are supposed to get notification of a showing at least 1 hour prior. Do you know how long an hour is? I mean really know?? It's not long when you've got a house to clean, which includes picking up a toy explosion!! After the first showing, I realized what needed to be done each night and each morning "just in case". We've had a total of three showings. Our first one was about a week after the house went on the market. The second was 2 and a half weeks post putting it up for sale. That showing brought an offer!!!!!!! Can you believe it? We couldn't! After some negotiations, we've signed a contract. We aren't officially "under contract" until we agree on some things after the inspection (which was Monday). So we still show the house until that happens. There was a 3rd showing this past Sunday and we've been told those folks are interested in the house as well and may want to see it again this weekend. The Lord has been gracious to us to sell our house so quickly in such a horrible housing market!! Pray He will be just as gracious in giving us a clear picture of where He would have us move. We think we know where that is, but are still parying about it. The house we like is not quite big enough, but we feel like we can finish the attic to add 2 rooms and possibly a bathroom. We'll hopefully know more about that this week. I said things have been crazy, but I'm afraid they are about to get even more crazy, with packing, etc.!

In the midst of the house stuff, my friend Michelle was in town. She lives out of the country and we only get to see her once or twice a year. Our oldest girls are about the same age and are SOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute together. They were able to play together on several occasions. Here are some pictures and a video. Her daughter's name is Vera, but Emma generally calls her "Efra". :-) She can't quite say Vera yet!!

Taking turns sliding

Taking a ride in the wagon - Vera couldn't understand why Emma wouldn't buckle herself in.

One, two, tree JUMP! (watch the video for the whole effect!)

Saying goodbye

I have to be honest...the last video was cut short because I had to make sure everyone was OK, but mostly because I was laughing so hard!

It's morning.....

2008-03-04T13:50:00.003-05:00

I get up at about 5:50 each morning. The house is quiet and everyone is usually fast asleep. That has changed recently, but for the most part it holds constant. I try to get ready as quietly as possible each morning to prolong their much needed rest.

'All of this next part is in the dark' After my shower this morning, when I opened the door to exit the bathroom, I could hear Emma through the monitor calling for Daddy. Since it was about 6:30, I thought she may go back to sleep.

I entered the closet as I usually do to dress, and after about five minutes, the door opens and in walks Emma. Apparantly, Mommy heard the calls and acquiesced.

As Emma rubbed the sleep from her groggy eyes she said...."It's morning....I get up!"

Then we went downstairs to get chocolate milk and coffee.

Is Charlotte growing up?

2008-02-24T07:48:00.003-05:00

Usually I leave the posting up to Nicole, but I thought I'd share one of my most recent encounters with the city of Charlotte.

I had a very late meeting this past Wednesday that lasted until after 9pm. Afterward we went to Carpe Diem (Elizabeth Avenue near Presbyterian Hospital) to process through some of the agenda items. As we were walking out of the restaurant a guy walked right up to Joe and started asking him for money. As we walked he kept the conversation going while Joe politely declined his requests.

The point of all this is that this is happening more and more in Charlotte. Charlotte is becoming a bit city with all of the perks (plenty of entertainment) and consequences (poverty) included.

What should be our response? These events never happen when you have 45 minutes to spare. They seem to happen when you are exhausted, late for work, when it is raining, when it is freezing cold, and you don't have any cash. I don't know about you, but I never have cash. Just 15 minutes earlier, when we were settling our bill, we remarked how none of us ever has cash.

Can't wait to hear your responses!!

DeJaVu...

2008-02-23T20:21:00.008-05:00

(Ok first let me say I don't know how to spell the title...)

Seems like I've made this post before...probably about a year and a half ago. I did...here it is. We had to buy another one.

I did some research. I drove to Target. I put it in my basket and then I paid for it. I brought it home and put it together. The difference is we spent more money this time...it BETTER last longer that the one we bought last August! It's a Bissell Healthy Home Vacuum.

Overcome with emotion...

2008-02-22T14:18:00.002-05:00

I've cried at least once everyday since late last week. Some friends of ours in Texas have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first child. But this delivery was not the "conventional" delivery. They've tried for many years to have children of their own and the Lord has chosen not to open their womb. It has become more clear than ever to them just why He chose this path for them. They began pursuing adoption. I don't know all the details of how this came about or exactly how long it took to find a birth mother. But the main thing is they did find a birth mother about 5 hours away from their home. Over the last few months they have been traveling to visit this birth mother and even go to doctor's appoinments with her. This young mother requested that our friends be in the delivery room with her when she had the baby. This Monday, the 18th, she was induced and our friends were right by her side. Reading all the updates has been the sweetest thing and has so touched my heart. I just cannot imagine how hard it was for this mother to make this decision...to first choose life for her unborn child and second to give this child to another family. Before I had children, I thought about birth moms giving up their children for adoption but I don't think I really ever thought about how incredibly difficult it has to be. Thank you birth moms who choose life and choose to allow your children to be adopted. What a blessing you've given their adoptive parents...my friends in Texas, especially!!

Wanna buy a house??

2008-02-18T14:47:00.003-05:00

'Cus our's is FOR SALE!! No, really...it is!! Our Realtor is bringing the sign for the front yard this afternoon. We've wanted to move closer to the city for a long time, mainly to be closer to Jonathan's work. We found a house we like and have made a contingency offer. Even if we don't get this house, we are going to leave ours on the market and conitnue looking. Click here for the listing. And if you don't want to :-P , here are some pictures that are with our listing...

Hard to believe...

2008-02-17T09:23:00.002-05:00

that Kate is already 1 month old!!! She had her one month check-up on Friday. After all the worries, she's in the 50th percentile for both weight and length!! YAY! She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 21 inches long. :-) Emma has never been in anything but the 0-5th percentile! I'm not going to know what to do with an average sized child!! :-P

The last few days...

2008-02-14T14:47:00.002-05:00

You've probably noticed I've been a little silent the last few days...which, now that I think about it, isn't all that unusual for me, so maybe you weren't wondering! LOL!

Emma went home with Grammie on Tuesday morning so Jonathan and I could do some much needed organizing and cleaning out of our house. It's needed some TLC for several years now!! This is the first time Emma has gone on a trip without us. It was bitter-sweet. While I knew she needed to go so we could get work done, I knew I would miss her terribly!! Tuesday morning while I was getting her things together and getting them packed, she said, "pack Kate things?". I told her she was going to Grammie's all by herself like a big girl and that Kate was staying here with Mommy. Then she asked if Mommy was going. So again I had to explain that she was going by herself. She wasn't sad, just a little confused. But I did think it was the cutest thing that she asked if I was going to pack Kate's things! She's already showing great concern for her little sister. I look forward to how God will grow that relationship over the years!! Emma comes home on Friday. Jonathan and I both are looking forward to seeing her!

Her daddy's daughter...

2008-02-08T08:51:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of Jonathan when he was 4 days old.

And this is a picture of Kate at 4 days old.

What do ya think??

Just checkin' in...

2008-02-06T17:47:00.000-05:00

Well, my mom left today. Our neighbor took her to the airport so I wouldn't have to get out so early with both girls. It would have been a challenge to get Kate fed and Emma up and around by 7:30am. We could have done it if we'd had to, but we didn't thanks to my neighbor. (Thanks Monica!!) I found myself crying as the car left. I wasn't crying because I didn't think I could do this by myself. I was crying because I really didn't want her to leave. I really enjoyed her being here. I also enjoyed my dad being here. It's hard to say goodbye when you don't know exactly the next time you will get to see them. We're hoping for spring break, but it could be this summer. Being so far away from my family is hard. We love Charlotte, but it is so far from my family.

That being said, Kate, Emma and I had a really good day on our own today! I even ventured out with them both to Target. Emma was great today. I know we will probably still have some of those days, but today was good and I'm grateful!! Barbara/Grammie comes tomorrow for a few days. But it's good to know that we can do this by ourselves!!

Here are a few pictures:

Kate's first bath...

My big helper...

2008-02-02T17:45:00.000-05:00

Emma has really been helping us with Kate... :-)

Emma and Daddy playing...

2008-02-02T17:38:00.000-05:00

My mom and I went out to run some errands this morning. This is what Emma and Daddy did while Kate slept...

Emma's first haircut...

2008-01-30T15:06:00.000-05:00

Well, I caved. A lot of people (mainly family members) have been urging me for months to get Emma's hair cut, at least a trim. I've been very reluctant to do it for a variety of reasons, but the main one is that I want her hair to grow to be all one length. But this week I basically got tired of the naggings and just did it. :-) It took less than 10 minutes and Emma was SO GOOD! She sat perfectly still and let the woman cut her hair. I don't think you can see a measurable difference, but it is cleaned up and a little shorter. The woman who cut it did say a trim would help it grow...I'm not sure I'm convinced...we'll see. Here are a few pictures...

Some pictures...

2008-01-24T17:06:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures I took today. Enjoy!

Poopin', peein' and eatin' like a champ...

2008-01-24T15:51:00.000-05:00

Kate had her last weight check this afternoon. She was up to 6lbs 10oz!!! Praise the Lord!! That was an ounce and a half weight gain from Tuesday!!!!! What exactly does this mean??? It means we can get back to some kind of normalcy around here (well, at least as normal as it can be with a newborn in the house :-) ). YAY! Way to go Kate!!!!!!

Another Kate Update...

2008-01-22T21:44:00.000-05:00

Kate's weight check this afternoon went really well. She had gained 1/2 an ounce. The doctor we saw today said that was what they expected newborns to gain in a day. YAY!! I was very encouraged. However, we are still feeding her every two hours until the next weight check, which is Thursday. The good news is that I don't have to supplement every feeding. I can use my own judgement based on how well or how poorly she nurses. I also get to go to every three hours at night. So thank you for your prayers!!

Emma also had a much better day today. She tried to pull Kate out of my arms a couple of times because she wanted to hold her. She also kept bringing me diapers so I could change Kate. :-) This morning Kate was in her crib and I was downstairs. My dad was upstairs and Emma went to go find him. When he came out of the room he was in, he found Emma at Kate's crib putting diapers by her head. :-) She's been a great little helper today!

My heart has been encouraged in so many ways today. Again, thank you for your prayers!! God is indeed faithful and more than capable of sustaining us!

Ok...don't hate me...

2008-01-22T11:51:00.000-05:00

I tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans this morning and they fit!!!! I don't look like a model in them, but hey, WHO CARES?!?!? They are NOT maternity jeans! I also weighed this morning and I'm only 2 pounds away from pre-pregnancy weight! Before I get hate comments, let me just say that big girls are allowed to gain less weight in pregnancy!! (I only gained 13 pounds.) AND I also worked out 3-4 times a week my WHOLE pregnancy (even through the morning/all day sickness). My last workout was the Friday (1/11/08) before Kate was born. :-P

Kate update...

2008-01-22T10:48:00.000-05:00

Kate went to the doctor yesterday and had lost another 3 ounces. I was VERY discouraged. The doctor has had us feeding her every 2 hours. Mom and Dad took 2 of the feedings last night so I was able to get at least a little sleep. They were able to give her an expressed breast milk bottle. Kate did really well last night. She hasn't eaten as well today, but she is eating...which is somewhat of an improvement from the last few days. We go back to the doctor this afternoon for another weight check. If she hasn't gained any weight, then I'm pretty sure the doctor said we would think about some testing. So please pray with us that she has gained at least an ounce!!

Some friends brought us dinner last night and prayed with us. Thank you for that!! I'm not sure you will ever know how much that means to us right now! We know people are praying, but it really meant a lot for you to actually physically pray with us last night.

Introducing...

2008-01-19T20:59:00.000-05:00

KATE ELISABETH KELLY

Born: January 15, 2008, 5:52 am

Weight: 7lbs 9 oz

Length: 19 1/2 inches

Short birth story: On Monday night I made Taco Soup for dinner. Before going to bed I regretted even thinking about spicy much less eating it! I had horrible heartburn! I took my Tums and went to bed. As I was laying in bed, I could have kicked myself for not bringing the Tums upstairs with me. I knew I would wake up in the middle of the night to find the heartburn had returned. I was right. At 1:15, I woke up to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep because of the heartburn. I begrudgingly went downstairs to get Tums and then back up to go back to bed. By this time I was wide awake and could only think about the things that still needed to be done to prepare for this baby. I got out of bed again and went downstairs to watch TV and get on the computer. By this time it was 2:15am. I waited for the computer to boot up and scrolled through the channels to see if anything was on TV besides infomercials. All the sudden I realize my water is about to break. I ran to the kitchen so the carpet wouldn't get wet. :-) I went up and woke up Jonathan, called the doctor and then our neighbor who was coming to stay with Emma. We made it to the hospital by 3:40am and were scheduled for our c-section at 5:30. Kate Elisabeth made her debt at 5:52am!!

She is doing well. She lost 14 ounces in the hospital, which is 10% of her body weight. C-section babies tend to lose weight, but the pediatrician is a little concerned she's not getting enough to eat. So we are breasfeeding and supplementing with expressed breast milk with a syringe until Monday when Kate gets weighed again. Feeding her is a timely event, but it's helpful when there are several helping. I've been VERY encouraged today with the progress she has made. She is SO SLEEPY that it can be impossible at times to wake her up enough to breastfeed and I end up just supplementing her with expressed milk. Emma did this too, so I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Emma is adjusting. She loves her sister, but is having a hard time sharing her mommy. Again, I'm thankful for all the help we've had and still have. Some cute things Emma has done: 1) in the hospital she shared her "lovey" with Kate (this is HUGE), 2) One day when she came to visit in the hospital, she didn't even look at me. She came in, looked around and said, "sister? sister?" She was looking for Kate 3) she has tried to share her ice, cookies and M&Ms with Kate and 4) She has put her finger or fingers on EVERY part of her face and told us what feature it is (nose?, eyes?, head? etc).

Jonathan's mom (Barbara/Grammie) got in the car shortly after we called her with the news we were on our way to the hospital. He arrived a little before 8am and tok over for the neighbor. She was here until today helping mostly with Emma and the house. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!! Pete (Grampie) got here Thursday and has been invaluable in keeping in Emma occupied!! They both left today and my parents arrived this afternoon. My dad will be here until the 30th and mom until the 6th of February. Barbara will come after she leaves for as long as I feel I need her. With a repeat c-section, my recovery is a little longer than I had hoped and I will need help with Emma, so again I'm so very thankful for everyon'e willingness to be here and help us out.

Anyway...here are a few more pictures:

Preparing me for late night feedings...

2008-01-11T04:25:00.000-05:00

So I've more or less been awake since 2am and it's currently 4:26am as I start this post. I suppose somehow my body is trying to prepare itself again for those late night feedings. :-P

But I won't bore you with that. Instead, I'll tell you about the dream I had sometime tonight while I was actually sleeping. Of course, be forewarned that it probably won't make nearly as much sense to you or be as funny!

Jonathan and I were hungry and decided to go to McDonald's. They had this new special that you could get. It was a small hamburger and if you were pregnant, it included your new baby right in between the meat and the cheese...no delivery in the hospital necessary! Convenient, huh? You sacrificed the size of the baby, but apparently it grew pretty fast. As anxious as we were to have this baby, we figured this was a great deal! (I have no idea what the cost was.) I patiently waited until we got home to open up the burger and "deliver" the baby (remove the cheese). The baby was so tiny that you could barely even see it; much care had to be taken to ensure not to hurt it. We also had to cut the cord and remove this sac of something from around it's body. We were able to successfully do this and then carefully look to check the gender of our new baby. It was a girl!! We were thrilled. I took the baby outside in my palm to go swing (we don't even have a swing). As I was out there, I called my mom to give her the news and remembered I should have started breastfeeding already. My neighbors were outside, but I went ahead and did it with no cover up. Remember, the baby is TINY. So the show to the neighbors was all breast and not a lot of baby! And the baby's mouth was so tiny that I'm not sure how it was even possible to eat (and her mouth looked like a lizard's)!! She did though. I go back inside and she's the size of a normal baby. Emma is there and she is happy as can be with this new little baby in her house. She isn't, however, happy that the new baby is wearing her old clothes. (How she remembered? I don't know, it's a dream, remember??). I think this is when I woke up to go to the bathroom, which started this whole insomnia mess!!

Note to self: NO MORE McDONALD'S!!!

Nursery...

2008-01-03T13:57:00.001-05:00

The nursery has been finished for a few days now. I re-painted the bottom part of the wall and am MUCH happier with it! I think it makes the bedding pop. I also rearranged the furniture to give it a little different feel. What do you think?

From the door...

From the chainging table...

From the changing table to the other corner...

From the opposite corner...

The crib...

We are ready for the baby!! Some of us (me) are more ready than others! The other night as we were praying before bed, Jonathan prayed that God would grow and protect this child a few more weeks in my womb. After he finished, I told him not to pray a few more weeks!! :-) He said the baby needed to stay in for that much longer...I said, "God knows how much longer it needs to stay." I'm praying that it's a few days to a week!! ;-)

Christmas...

2008-01-02T20:25:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas here at home. I am too far along in the pregnancy to travel too far from my doctors. I have to say it was really nice to not have to travel!! Jonathan's parents and brother came here and were gracious enough to sleep on air matresses! With preparing for the new baby, we no longer have a guest room or bed! :-) It was a little tight, but we managed and truly had a wonderful time. Barbara was SO MUCH help! She brought most of the food for Christmas day with her already prepared. All we had to do on Christmas morning was cook the turkey, put one dish together and heat up the rest. It was great! That's the way to go! Have it all done ahead of time!! This Christmas was much more fun with Emma! She loved opening her gifts and everyone else's!! :) Here are some pictures:

Grampie and Emma...

Grammie and Emma reading...

Emma opening a gift on Christmas Eve...

Daddy and Emma giving high 5's with all her new "gear" on...

Emma in her new Thomas tent... (SHE LOVES THIS GIFT!!!)

Emma's new rocking chairs and cradle under the tree Christmas Eve...

Jonathan putting together the gift Uncle Reg, Aunt Tera, Trent and Abby sent Emma...

Emma playing with this gift... (SHE LOVES THIS GIFT, TOO!)

Everyone oepning gifts on Christmas morning...

Me with my new AWESOME pots and pans Steve gave me...

Emma playing with her AquaDoodle...

A family portrait...

Emma in her rocking chairs...

And last but not least, a preggo belly shot of me using one of my new pots...

Kelly Look-alike Meter

2007-12-15T22:06:00.001-05:00

I saw this on Michelle's blog and had to do it! :-)

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Last night and belly pics...

2007-12-07T14:03:00.000-05:00

Last night was Jonathan's company Christmas Party. I was a little nervous going to another event with doctors and their wives. They all make so much more money than we do and, well, I shouldn't have even worried about it, but I did. I was afraid I wouldn't fit in. But then I realized I am who I am and I am who God has created me to be. That's all that matters! We had a fabulous time and I even liked some of the wives! ;-) Here is a picture of Jonathan and I on our way out the door. You'll be happy to know we were both very appropriately dressed.

And here are 2 shots of just me (for all those who've asked to see my preggo belly).

Shopping trip makes me think...

2007-12-04T21:59:00.001-05:00

about a trip to Dallas, TX I took with my mom, her friend Judy and her daughter Amy. It was when Jonathan and I lived in Texas. It was a mother/daughter trip. Amy was 7 months pregnant (approximately 28-30 weeks along). We shopped literally ALL day long. We probably walked 7 or more miles that day. After the trip (months later) my mom couldn't believe that we drug Amy around Dallas as big pregnant as she was. You can't fully understand the impact until you've been pregnant yourself. Tonight I was reminded how tired one gets (and how quickly) when pregnant. As I was walking around the mall tonight trying to find a dress to wear to Jonathan's company Christmas party (and yes, I think they even call it a Christmas party), I too can't believe we drug Amy all over Dallas shopping. She must have been EXHAUSTED! I couldn't have walked to one more store tonight and I was only there for 2 hours!! I am trying to justify my tiredness, however. I mean after all...I am 32 weeks (8 months) pregnant...like that somehow makes that much difference...

BTW...I did find a dress. I'm not in love with it, but it's the best I found and since the party is Thursday, I've got to take what I can find! Maybe Jonathan and I can get a picture together on our way out the door and I'll post it.

And the saga continues...

2007-12-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

Emma seems to be doing really well at night in her big girl bed. Here are a few pictures of her actually sleeping in her bed.

Naps, however, have been a different story. She did finally go to sleep yesterday and slept for 3 hours. But this was after being disciplined for jumping on the bed, playing with the blinds and attempting to get out of her bed. Today, she's already been disciplined twice. The picture below is what I found the first time I went in, only she was sitting right in the middle of it, wiping her face with one of the wipes. I'm sure she wiped her face with each one before wadding it up and throwing it on the floor. Every wipe from the bag were on the floor. *eyes rolling*

(BTW...this picture is a recreation of what I found. I didn't want her to see me taking a picture of the mess, because then she would think I thought it was cute and that it was alright that she had 1) gotten out of her bed when told not to and 2) taken all the wipes out of the bag and thrown them on the floor.)

UPDATE: Emma was put in her crib to nap. She could not be trusted to stay in her bed...we'll try again tomorrow.

Big girl bed update...

2007-12-02T13:55:00.000-05:00

Last night was a success!!! Praise the Lord! We put Emma down in her big girl bed a little after her normal bedtime (it took us a little longer to get the bed rail on than expected). When I put her down, it was clear she did not want to sleep in this new bed. I left her room with her crying. I decided I would let her cry for 5 minutes and go back in to reassure her. After five minutes, I went in and told her she was OK. I laid her back down on her pillow and told her that this was where she was going to sleep and that Mommy and Daddy loved her. This time I walked out and she was quiet. She didn't go to sleep right away, but she wasn't crying. She fell asleep about 30 minutes later. We didn't hear a sound from her until 7:20 this morning!! :-)

However, naptime today has been a little different story. We put her down and she cried for about 30 seconds. Then she started talking to herself and playing like she's been doing in her crib. I came downstairs to work on a project. The monitor got kind of quiet, so I thought she had gone to sleep. A few minutes later, I looked up and there was Emma walking gingerly down the hallway. She had climbed down off her bed, opened the door and come downstairs. It's almost as if she's found a new freedom...but the reality is, it's a new boudnry she must learn. She will have to learn self-control to keep herself in her bed until after her nap or until the morning. I promptly put the child proof door knob thingy on the inside of her door and told her she was not to get out of her bed. :-) She's in her bed now...not sleeping, but in her bed. I feel fairly certain she won't take a nap this afternoon, but I'm not entirely convinced it's the new bed and room. :-)

Here are a few pictures of her new room. I haven't put anything on the walls yet, but that will come soon enough. To be honest, I'm not sure how to decorate...haven't gotten that far. But the good news is - Emma is in her new room and we can now begin to help her adjust to the idea that a new baby will soon be sleeping her old room!

Our big girl and good friends...

2007-12-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

First, let me say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to our good friends, Joanne, Kelly, David and Tom. Joannne came over a few weeks ago to help me get things started on Emma's big girl room. She helped me get the room taped to be ready to be painted. I was able to get the bottom part of the room painted because of her help. That weekend Jonathan's parents came for a visit and they helped finish the painting. (Thank you Pete and Barabra!!) There were still LOTS of thing left in the room and the chair rail needed to be put up. Kelly organized her husband and Tom to come over today to help with the rest of the room. They put up the chair rail, put the furniture together and cleared out all the things that weren't Emma's (which is a lot of stuff!). Kelly also cooked us all dinner and delivered it here to the house!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Emma's room is all ready to be slept in! I even put some of her clothes in the closet and in her new dresser. After the bed rail was up, we got Emma ready for bed and I put her to bed in her big girl bed. She didn't want to go down. I left her crying in her new bed and decided to only let her cry for 5 minutes. After five minutes, I went in there and reassured her and laid her back down. I walked out and it's been quiet ever since (well, no crying anyway...she's talking and playing a little in her bed, but again, NO CRYING!!)! We'll see how the rest of the night goes. I'll update you when I can. I will also try to take some pictures.

I'm so thankful for family and good friends that love us. We've been so blessed here in Charlotte to have friends who would do things like this for us. They gave up their Saturday and time with their families to help us get a room ready for our little girl. What a blessing they are in our lives!! Thank you!! We love you guys so much!

Trader Joe's

2007-11-28T16:41:00.000-05:00

Trader Joe's opened up in our part of town on Monday. One opened in South Charlotte a few months ago, but not really knowing what TJ's is, that's a little far for me to travel for groceries. My friend Kelly has been telling me since I've known her what a great place TJ's is. I've been a little sceptical. I mean really, it's a grocery store, right?! Well, Kelly and I planned to meet there on Monday morning when they opened. She was going to show me the ropes, so to speak. On the way there, she called me and said her youngest had just thrown up in the parking lot, so she was headed home. I decided to go anyway...I mean I was already on my way, right? I bought a few thing that sounded good. Here are a few samples...

Candy Cane Joe Joe's - oreo like cookies with mint filling studded with candy cane pieces (the box is already almost gone - 4 cookies left that I'm saving for after dinner)

Dark Chocolate Belgian Carmels with Sea Salt - already gone

Red Pepper Hummus - YUMMO

Whole Wheat French Onion Pita Chips - Delish, especially with the hummus! Oh and very low fat - BONUS!!

99 cent whole wheat pizza dough - we will be trying this out for dinner tonight

So, needless to say. I'll be back! YAY for TJ's! Sorry Kelly for my skepticism!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2007-11-28T14:39:00.000-05:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I can officially begin thinking about Christmas. I try very hard to not start thinking about it before. If I do, I forget how important Thanksgiving is. I did, however, make one provision this year.

The Monday before Thanksgiving several of us got together to start making Advent calendars. It took two nights, so we finished up this past Monday. We copied one that Kelly received as a gift. It starts December 1 and follows the history of redemption to the birth of Christ on the 25th. I have loved it since I saw it when they moved here. I mostly sewed, while the other ladies cut out the ornaments (which I'm VERY thankful for). I'm so EXCITED to start using this wonderful tool with our children!!

I also have to say that making the calendars was so much fun! I love these women!! I hope we can get together on a more regular basis!

Amber, Kelly and Shawnda working diligently. :-)

Kelly cutting pockets.

Just a small glimpse of our mess!

Shawnda, Amber and Stacey take a second to pose for the camera.

This is the second calendar I made for myself. I actually made it yesterday afternoon. Shawnda brought burgandy and darker green felt with silver trim for hers and I loved it so much that I had to have one. This picture and the next show what it looks like with all the ornaments on. This is what it will look like on Christmas Day. You only put one ornament on each day. Each ornament corresponds with the scripture for that day.

And this last picture is the first calendar I made with traditional red and green trimmed in gold.

Thanksgiving...

2007-11-26T14:38:00.000-05:00

We traveled to Jacksonville, Florida this year for Thanksgiving. Jonathan's brother Steve lives there. He recently bought a house, so we went to check it out! I have to say, I was a little sceptical about our Thanksgiving meal! But alas, there was nothing to worry about! :-) Steve bought our meal from Honey Baked Ham and it was DELICIOUS!! And I have to say it was REALLY nice not to have to worry about getting everything ready. Ordering out is a great idea!! Steve was a great host. He certainly kept us busy...parks for Emma to play, shopping for big ticket items for his house, the zoo, putting together big ticket items for his house and going to church. We had a great time!

Emma and Uncle Steve. Emma really took to Steve. Every morning she would say "Teve?" Then she would go into his room and wake him up. Poor guy didn't get to sleep in one day!

Steve's Secretary, Beth, made him this BEAUTIFUL apple pie for his Thanksgiving meal with us. It was really good!

Steve and Emma at the zoo.

Emma looking at something...not sure what it was. :-)

LOOK AT THAT TONGUE!!!!! OH MY!!!!

Emma and Daddy riding the carousel.

Emma playing with the goats. She LOVED this part of the zoo!

A crocodile. Did you know they aren't hungry this time of year because of the cooler weather?! I had no idea!

Emma on Daddy's shoulders. :-)

Emma liked the monkeys. She kept saying "monkeeees" :-)

Steve tried to show Emma how to snap her fingers! :-)