moments like these

Is anyone else as blown away as I am that this is our last day of 2014? I feel like I should have done something significant or monumental today to bid this incredible year farewell, but alas, it's been just like any other day, almost. Kind of. Is any day exactly like another?

It's moments like these that we all look ahead and make goals and resolutions while at the same time reflecting on the past year. And somehow, year after year, we forget the bad and highlight the happy things that happened and say "It's been a good year!"

But really, it has been, because it's a wonderful life! As a Christian, I have no reason to be depressed or anxious. It doesn't mean that I never feel those emotions, but that those emotions don't gain control over me because there's Someone bigger that already has control.

So as we look ahead and behind, I want to reflect on some of my favorite moments from 2014. Moments like these make life the incredible thing that it is.

no captions, just pictures capturing a moment in 2014 that I loved

Happy 2015, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Jacob & Christine, Jace, Jackson, Tanner, Lena |  Kelley, Amie | Ron & Rhonda | Stephen & Tara

 

 I hope each of you has a wonderful day surrounded by your loved ones.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

pondering

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

The weather that night was so insignificant in light of everything else that she promptly forgot whether it was cold, hot, or just right. The things that stood out in her mind were details – the smell of fresh hay mixing with the musty, dirty scent of the animals.  The incredible clearness of the night sky. Her husband wrapping his tired and blistered feet after their long journey. The look in his eyes: a mix of fear and the responsibility ahead, disappointment in his inability to provide more than a stable, and awe at what had just taken place. And love. Lots of love.

Even more, the details of her new son. The silky dark hair, the incredibly fine eyelashes and nearly invisible eyebrows. The tiniest of finger and toe nails. The unbelievable softness of his face that she couldn’t stop touching. The warm puffs of new breath on her hand as she memorized his features.

She couldn’t remember any pain or discomfort from her journey or experience – she knew it had happened, because it was forever ingrained in Joseph’s memory due to his fear and doubt. Perhaps it was her joy and relief at the safe delivery of her son, perhaps it was the mighty hand of God, relieving her of memories best put away. What she did remember was how soft the hay felt under her exhausted body, how attentive her young new husband was, bringing blankets and cool water.  How she couldn’t stop staring at the tiniest of miracles. Her miracle.

She remembered his hand wrapped around her finger, how peacefully he slept, and how for a minute, he wasn’t the Messiah, he was simply her baby son. She was filled with more joy than she’d ever known, and it was as if a multitude of angels joined the song of her heart, “glory to God in the highest.”

The Lord was there. She remembered knowing, in the midst of everything, that He was there. Of course He would be there for the birth of His only Son. In every breath she took, in every cry in the night, He was there looking out for them and He too was aware of every detail of His child.

It was the night that changed everything.

They were sitting there studying and touching this tiny miracle when the shepherds showed up.  How many there were was never clear to her, but they bowed, and they worshipped Him, her son. They knew what she and Joseph knew – the Messiah had come in the form of the most innocent of humans. A baby. Her baby. The One who would save the world was nestled warm and asleep in her arms.

She was aware of the look in Joseph’s eyes, one of love, but also recognition that he had no tie to this child other than the man who would raise him, and the weight of that responsibility shone through the look in his determined eyes. He would do his best, and he would do well. Of that she had no doubt.

Her son. So innocent, so peaceful, so beautiful. Did his Father guard his heart so he could sleep tonight? The weight of the world would fall heavy upon him soon enough. She remembered praying “Lord, for tonight, let him be a baby. Let him be my baby boy. This peace will all be gone so soon.”

A simple carpenter and his young wife, raising the King of the world, God’s only begotten son. The responsibility was heavy, the privilege so great. She remembers how young she was, and how much she loved her son – so much so, that she would never be able to put it in words to anyone.

And now, as she waits to join Him and her husband in heaven, she ponders these details she's kept in her heart all these years for the thousandth time. Not the weather, but the star. Not the pain, but the love. She watched his death, she saw them torture her baby boy. She also saw him alive and well again. Her baby? No, her Lord. Her Savior and Redeemer. She simply bore Him and raised Him, His life and accomplishments were of Him and His Father, not her. As John handed her the mug of cool water, she drank and went back to when Joseph brought her water all those years ago.

“Joseph, look at him. Jesus. He’s here.”

DIY Christmas | brunch + 2 recipes

Welcome to DIY Christmas, Sincerely, Kelley style! (where "this is how I did it" would be more accurate!)

It's been busy, busy around here! So busy in fact, that this brunch almost didn't happen. But when my nurse friend is off work and my Kentucky friend is in town on the same day some getting together must happen, whether it's in the middle of Missions Conference or not! :)

We planned a brunch at my house for 9:00am, perfect time to sleep in a little extra, but still get home with plenty of time to spare. Here's what we had!

Pumpkin cream cheese muffins, eggs, sausage balls, and apple pie apples. And of course, plenty of hot tea and coffee!

Writing this post is making me hungry!

Now, for the recipes...

 

 

My cousin made these for Thanksgiving, and our entire family absolutely loved them! I've made them twice since then, and I'm going out today to buy the stuff to make them again! They're super easy, and once you slice them up, they won't last long!

You will need...
Granny Smith Apples
Caramel Apple Wrap (cheat and use these instead of dipping, it's so much easier!)
Vanilla or White Chocolate Almond Bark
Cinnamon Sugar

• Wrap your apples with the caramel and put them in the oven on 200 for 5 minutes.
• Let them cool while you melt the almond bark
• Once they've cooled off, dip them in the almond bark and immediately sprinkle cinnamon sugar on them.
• Let them harden, then slice and serve! SO YUMMY!

 

I got this one straight from Pinterest, and I'm just going to copy and paste the recipe, because I just exactly follow it when I make these!

Ingredients

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions

• To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.
• To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
• To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.
• To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

 I hope you try these recipes out, and let me know if you do! They have become favorites at my house!

I hope everyone is having a very merry holiday season!

DIY room decor | canvas map

What?! I'm doing a DIY? Yes! It was annoying but I persevered! ;)

I found this idea on Pinterest one day, and here I am, some time later, finally getting around to it!

SUPPLIES: (for this particular sized project) 
31" by 50" lamented map (mine was much bigger and now I'm missing Hawaii and part of New Zealand. Probably something else, too.) I got mine for $10.00 at Hobby Lobby.
canvases - ten 8x10's and two 16x20's I got mine for $40.00 total off of Amazon.
glue I used Elmer's Spray Adhesive, around $5.00 at WalMart. Any kind of glue would work though.
Mod Podge WalMart. No idea how much it cost. I used the matte finish, because I prefer everything to be matte.
spray paint $5.00 at WalMart? Less if you don't get a metallic.
scissors and a pencil or pen You really should have these somewhere in your house. 

step 1
I laid the map down and placed the canvases on top in the pattern I liked, which also happened to be the same as the instructions I was going by because I didn't feel like being a free thinker that day.

step 2

I traced around the canvases, and then took them outside and spray painted the edges. This is an optional step, but I felt like it would help the map look more like it actually belonged on the canvas.

step 3

While the canvases dried, I went back inside and cut out my map pieces. If you try this project, I suggest tracing your canvases in red ink or a color that will stand out. I used black and I couldn't tell if I was cutting along the right line. It was while cutting out these map pieces that I remembered why I don't like doing things myself. (If you were curious about the exact time that happened, because it was inevitable that it was coming. ;))

 This is officially taking me way too long. (We're about 30 minutes in by now.) 

step 4
I sprayed the glue on the canvases, and then added the map pieces.  

I let them sit for an hour upside down so that they would stick better. Side note - they still didn't stick all that well, but it's good enough and since I'm missing Hawaii anyway I'm not going to fix it yet. I'll eventually tear this map off and replace it with the correct size. Maybe.

step 5

I trimmed the edges of the map that were bigger than the canvas because I couldn't follow my own lines. Then I brushed Mod Podge over the top. I think I was supposed to let it dry and put on a second coat, but I just did one because it was kind of bubbling up where the map wasn't sticking to the canvas and I didn't feel like it.

The mod podge is a little streaky, but the great thing about DIY's is that you get to decide what it is. This started out as a cool piece of art and now it's a faux vintage rustic canvas map.

DONE!

my map with my mom's foot :)

I'm excited to hang this on the wall! I've got a few more DIY's to do and I'm hoping to share all of them and then the finished product!

And now it's nearly midnight and I have a lot to do tomorrow. Working this blog into my schedule is a little harder than I thought, but I always enjoy taking the time to share pieces of my life. I hope that even though this was a pretty rushed post it was still helpful and/or made sense! 

I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving - I know I'm planning on it! See you soon...

an update

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

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

-Robin Jones Gunn

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

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

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

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

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

design, edit, print, and put together missionary booklets

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

3 different Thanksgiving celebrations

2 houses to help decorate for Christmas

a house to help finish "moving in" to

book hotel rooms for a quick trip to Pigeon Forge

pillow cases to sew

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

Christmas shoping

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

Quick update...

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

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

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

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

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

my familiar | summer's end

 

I love to travel. I've been blessed to have flown internationally and be in different countries. I've seen beautiful and historical landmarks in America, and if you gave me a plane ticket and a travel partner, I can't think of many places I'd refuse to go. There are so many different travel destinations on my bucket list that I can't name half of them off the top of my head.The world is beautiful - each place stunning in it's own unique way.

But there is something to be said about the beauty I see daily, that I get to take for granted. The things I hope never change, that will welcome me back when I've been gone.

It's easy to feel stuck in a place when there's simply too much going on, not enough time, too expensive to travel...whatever the reason you can't leave.  I've been there so many times. Feeling the itch to pack a bag and get on a plane. Just to see something different, break up the routine, jump out of your rut.

I've been feeling that for the past few weeks as we're in the middle of what sometimes feels like a hurricane of sawdust and nails. The holidays are coming up and it's just a terrible time to take off work. Planning a trip for April and May seems like such a long way off...and so I decided to appreciate the things around me.

The evenings are getting cooler here. Still a far cry from the nose-numbing nights of deep autumn, but the evenings of driving around with the windows down are numbered. So last night, Amie and I decided to take a drive around some of our favorite places near home. We were never more that 15 minutes from our house, and with cameras in hand, my desire to leave this place for a little while grew to a distant call that I'll revisit later in April or May. ;)

These are sights that comfort me, that let me know this is where I belong.

My familiar.

Come drive around with us...

{as appropriate as it would be, no, I do not live on this road ;) }

 

 

We all have places uniquely beautiful and special to us. These sights speak to me of home. What is your familiar?

Week's End Review

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

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

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

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

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

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

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

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

Week's End Review

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

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

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

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

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

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

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

Obligation

So it's 9/11 again. And, for the third, fourth, fifth? year in a row, I am writing about it.

Part of me really just doesn't want to. I mean, what more is there to say? It's been thirteen years since the tragedy, and yet now, year after year, we live in it's shadow on this day.

I don't want to write about it because social media will be blowing up today with people pulling at our heart strings and emotions, posting pictures they got off Google Images of the towers burning, the firefighters and policemen and bystanders covered in ashes, dust, and blood.

I don't want to write about it because I don't want to be one of the sheep, trying to make you cry or nod or feel some surface emotion because it has been thirteen years. For those of us who were very young at the time or far enough away to not have a firsthand memory of the devastation, confusion, pain, and absolute terror, the memory has dimmed a bit. The fear has faded a shade, and our loved ones are still close to us.

But as an American, I have an obligation to honor and remember this day. Forget social media, forget the surface emotions, and think instead about our nation and what she's been through. And pray like we've never prayed before. Because yes, we've been through a lot, and we've been survivors, fighters, victors. But we might not always be.

The state of my country is frightening. I have an obligation to remember 9/11 because I don't know what's coming next. Another bombing? Another school shooting? What next? Are we still one nation under God? I hope and pray that God will continue to show grace and mercy to this country that is rapidly forgetting all about the One who is responsible for our beautiful, strong history.

We all have this obligation, this duty to our nation. To remember our losses, and to pray for our victory.

Don't be a sheep. Make it mean something more.

Week's End Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

RENOVATION/ADDITION UPDATE:

We have light!

tear out the back porch
dig footer

pour footer

lay block

build floor & walls

build roof & put shingles on

take out counters, island, & cabinets

take out wall separating the old from the new

build new pantry walls
electrical started
ceiling dry walled
walls insulated