Archives for August 2016

Today we are off school and then tomorrow it is officially officially on.  Like full force…a full day of school.  So we’re back-to-school shopping this morning and taking it easy.  Tomorrow I’ll only have two little ones in tow so I’m going to get some work done.  Fingers crossed.

I am all about some tacos, but especially fish tacos.  They are my favorite.  The other night I tried these steak tacos and whoa!!!  It was love.  I haven’t eaten a ton of steak tacos, but these from Outback definitely took the cake.

This guy.  The dinner time struggle is real with this one.  What more can I say.

Hudson has a pretty amazing goggle tan line.  It’s hilarious.  I was trying to get a good picture, but the lighting was bad which made for a most excellent black and white.  He makes my heart beat a little faster and a little sweeter.

Josh Kelley and I pulled an all day IKEA trip off thanks to his parents.  We are re-doing our kitchen and needed some major supplies.  Our house is old so we’ve redone several things, but never renovated an entire room.  I keep telling myself it won’t be that bad, despite it being our kitchen, because it is such a small room.  Our cabinets are particle board and falling apart so I might be insanely excited to have a more functional and working kitchen.  First world probs for sure.

Speaking of our kitchen…

Alas.  And this is where we will be eating all week.  This is going to be fun!!!

These four spent forever making their own all pets newspaper.  Yes you read that correctly.  They made copies from lots of different newspapers…only pet stories or information on pets needing a home.  Then they cut and ever so carefully pieced it together with scotch tape.  I like them.

When you cut your boiled egg in half and it kind of makes your day.

We’ve been changing things up in the boy’s room and giving it a fresh coat of white paint.  Their room was the last remaining non-white color.  I love how it is turning out.  As they grow and change and get bigger it’s always challenging and fun to figure out how to accommodate the three boys in one room.  I love love love when we figure out something new that works.  Like taking out their large bookshelf and replacing it with a craigslist metal library cart.  Smaller.  Less space consumed.  Still holds all their books.  Win, win, win.

Solomon and his gymnastics ninja skillz astounds us.  The kid is insane and strong and yet still so little.  We call him the big skinny.  Boy do I love him!!!

And we are still fostering on.  Our littlest has been with us for 19 months now.  It feels like forever.  We had a big meeting last week and I took all the kids.  Truthfully, I won’t do that again…it was a mistake on my part.  Harper was all ears and got very emotional when we left.  Then cried her little heart out that night too.  God has been doing something special in her heart.  He has been cultivating great compassion for our littlest and her family in Harper’s heart.  It’s humbling to see and yet, really really hard.  We are still so hopeful for our littlest and reunification…we are all still fighting for them.

Tomorrow is Friday and well, the weekend is looking good.

Happy Thursday.

It’s true…I won’t lie…I’ve been excited about school starting back because this girl was on the verge, if not quite possible over the verge, of losing her mind this summer.  I adore my kiddos.  I absolutely do.  I love, love, love them something fierce, but it was an emotional and hard summer for us and I had none to little time alone which made thinking and processing really hard.  I hope that makes sense.  So come night time when I should be sleeping my brain would spin and process and think and therefore not sleep.  I’m a bit tired 🙂 but I also love to have fun with my kids so we really tried to make the most of summer and our time together even though it might have driven me into the fetal position a few times.

2015/2016

Today was the first day back.  We met teachers on Monday night.  Harper could not have been more excited.  Hudson was nervous.  Solomon was kind of excited, but not nervous.  We made the decision to put Hudson and Solomon in the same class this year.  We’ve never done that before, but I needed a little break from managing 3 different classrooms for 3 different kiddos.  Call me lazy, whatevs.  I’ve been told it’s a mistake, but truthfully, it’s 2nd grade.  I don’t think anyone will perish and maybe next year we’ll go back to separate classrooms.  For now, we’re rolling with it and I’m quite excited.

Amon was sad after we dropped the kids off in their classrooms.  He really wants to go to school too.  Our littlest insisted Sol or “Shol” as she calls him, needed to come with us.  She kept waving him towards her saying “Come on Shol” as we left their classroom.  It was pretty cute.  We spent our morning making cookies and treats to share with some friends.  I sampled, ummmm, everything so I had a green smoothie for lunch.  I call it balance 🙂

Today was just a 1/2 day which meant it was technically still summer which also meant the wave pool was still open soooooooo of course we went.  We picked the big kids up from school in our swim suits and already pre-sun screened.  Then we nabbed my niece too and off we went.  We partied like it was summer again.  Swimming, snacks, treats and snow cones.  It was the perfect first day of school celebration.

Sidenote:  Today’s snow cone flavor combo was my favorite so far…sour grape and mango.  Perfection.

And now, now I’m swimming in a sea of school paperwork X 3.  One day I imagine there will be amazing technology in place where I can fill out one set of paperwork for all the Kelley kids instead of writing my name, address, phone number and emergency contact 5 bajillion times.  It will happen.

Happy Wednesday!

Things have kind of been a mess around our house lately…hence my lack of posting.  I miss this space.  I miss typing and sharing and writing down my thoughts.  Last night I self talked myself off a major anxiety ledge.  It’s what I do.  I used all my techniques I received in therapy a few years ago.  By the way, if time would permit and we grew a money orchard, I’d be back in therapy in a heart beat.  My friend Ashley is getting her license and my plan is to talk her into moving back to Tennessee and then soliciting her to live next door so I can cash in some free therapy.  One can dream.

Anyways, so life is crazy and emotions are high and really, what’s new?!?!  This is life, so we roll with it and adjust and try and figure it all out and talk a lot to Jesus.  It’s been a hard summer, but also good…it can be both and it was both.  Things don’t have to be one way or another and I really like that.  God has been teaching me lots and lots and lots.  I’m kind of a total mess, I’m nothing without Him and none of this life is actually mine like I convince myself of so many times.  It’s often I find myself thinking, I am so glad He has not given up on me yet.  Oh the grace he doles out to me daily.

Our kids have their first 1/2 day of school this Wednesday and their first full day this Friday.  We’re trying to party hard because summer is officially at it’s end.  I feel all the feels about it…happy, sad, elated, disappointed, stressed, relieved and so on and so on.  This summer has contained high of highs and low of lows.  One of our most emotional summers ever!!!!!  But we made it.  We survived.  And maybe, just maybe thrived more than I think.

Since my brain is in a perpetual state of summer toast I’m leaving you with days 21-30 of my 30 Days of Bible Lettering.  It’s officially over, but seriously, it was a little bit of saving grace for my creatively dried up summer brain.

 Here’s to another week where God has major things up His sleeve.  We are seen and loved by the Creator of the Universe.  He is in control and I am resting right there in that.

Happy Monday.