Holidays 2009

The Kelley's had a great holiday season in 2009. We started if off with two Thanksgiving feasts at Wynnton Preschool. Lucy and Annie each had a performance of "ooh-ah, ooh-ah, shoot my arrow!" Lucy's class sang alot about thanking Jesus, which was so sweet, of course.

After a trip to Muddies for the week, we returned to start Christmas in Columbus. Muddie was sweet enough to come to Columbus shortly after we left. Her Christmas present to the whole family were bikes. The girls loved it, but are still learning. Caught a sweet moment between Lucy and her daddy as he gave her some advice on riding bikes.

The Jingle Bell Fairy came to Lucy and Annie's dancing classes. They each got sprinkled with "jingle dust" as they made a wish. I also snapped a shot of them doing their "do wah diddy" dance.

Drew, Shelley, and Anna Beth came down for an early Kelley Christmas. We had a great Happy Birthday, Jesus! party with all the cousins while they were here.

Christmas Eve we had a morning of jello jiggling and decorating our jello tree. Then we headed to watch Courtney and Carson in their Christmas pageant and celebrate with Mr. Bruce's family.

Christmas Day was wonderful as always. The big girls were patient enough for Bonnie to wake up before they ran in to see Santa's haul. Bonnie had a very "baby" Christmas, while Lucy and Annie's big treat came from Mom and Dad in a princess box stuffed with ballons.

You're going to Disney World!!!

Needless to say, we got a great reaction, even though the trip isn't coming for a few weeks. Daddy got all the hugs and thanks, which is ok when it produces moments like this. We cannot wait for what we hear is a "magical" experience.

Happy New Year!!!

Halloween . . .

We've had a great Halloween with a few fun activities. We kicked it off with a trip to a local restaurant and pumpkin patch called the Farmhouse. We went with our cousins, Kaci, Wilson, Woodruff, and Walter. Kaci and I had lots of help with Mrs. Pat and Aunt Beth. We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins.

The Farmhouse had petting animals. This is the donkey who bit me while I was petting him and telling my girls not to be afraid of him. I have the bruise to prove it.

Then we made a quick trip to Marietta for the annual Halloween parade. It was good for the girls to get to see their friends and their cousin AB!!

Lucy, Annie and Bonnie were all ballerinas for Halloween this year. They had fun practicing all their dance moves and being prissy!

Halloween turned out to be wet and rainy, so there weren't good pictures of our short-lived trick or treating. But, we had a great time with AB who came to spend Halloween night with us. 4 little pumpkins sittin' on a bed . . .

Greetings from Columbus, GA!!!

Greetings from C-town! Needless to say the move down here just about did me in and I haven't posted in quite some time. We've been here since the end of July and are adjusting well. We had to hit the ground running once we got here. These are two pics of the girls on their first day at their new school. This is in front of our house in Columbus. We have a red front door which I love, because my favorite color is red!

The girls are loving preschool. It is a sweet church preschool and is right down from our house. It only takes me a minute or two to get there, which is such a treat. Lucy and Annie have already had a few field trips. Lucy has been to the museum, the library, and the park. Annie has gone to the park to feed the ducks, but ate more bread herself.

We miss Marietta very much, especially all of our friends. But, Columbus has been great and we are hoping to soak up all the advantages of being here. We took a fun trip to a friend's farm close by and picked zinnias.

We are also really enjoying being so close to Auburn. It makes it so much easier to get to games. War Eagle!!

There are so many things that are different and yet so many still the same. We still gather around the bowl when making rice krispie treats!

Some days are sad, because we miss our friends so much. But, Columbus has been great and we have been welcomed by so many friends here. We are grateful for this opportunity and what God has in store for us here.

"Therefore continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness." Col 2:6-7

Annie's 3rd Birthday

We celebrated Annie's 3rd birthday at the end of May. It is such a hard time of year for a birthday, but we managed to have a party at Lewis Park with Annie's friends. She seemed to have a great time and her friends did, too. On her actual birthday we were at Mimi and Papa's house. Annie got a big "Happy Birthday" Song from all the Kelley's and McKnights.

Annie is true lover of life. She is fearless about almost anything - except for swimming. We've been in Columbus for swimming lessons and she has only swam through tears and screaming. Generally, she seeks out danger, but not around the pool. She is messy and looks great in everything she eats. Bonnie won't have many hand-me-downs from Annie that don't have stains on it.

Annie never fails to make us laugh. Her voice alone is hilarious. She says things like "lasterday" meaning yesterday. She is all about anything princess, and is certainly a princess to her parents. Wes and I pray her love for life stays strong. We can't believe she is 3!!!

Lucy's 4th Birthday

We celebrated Lucy's 4th birthday on the 17th. It was a marathon day of celebration. We started off the morning with chocolate chip pancakes and singing.

Bonnie even enjoyed them, too!

Then we took Lucy and a few of her friend to the nail place to have their nails painted. Then it was off to Gabriel's for lunch and a cupcake. She had quite a big girl day!

Annie did her very best to sit still. Aunt Shelley helped alot!

The celebrating ended at home with a meal chosen by Lucy. Meatloaf, twice baked potatoes, carrots and brownies. She had candles and singing 3 times on her birthday. Saturday, the day after, was a little bit of a let-down for her, but a good lesson!

It's not hard to see how 4 years has flown by when you look at the makeup of our family. The years may be fast, but full of joy. Lucy brings alot of that to our table. She has always been such a blessing that it's no wonder we had two more children so closely after. We wanted more like her!!! She is incredibly precocious and very tender at times. God has fostered an independence in her that makes very easy to parent and very hard to parent at the same time. I'm amazed at how brave and secure she is in her own skin. She will go into any situation or social scene, introduce herself and start making friends with the other children. I pray she always does that. Now, if I can just figure out how to get her to face the camera and look at the camera at the same time! see below . . . .

Easter!!

We had a great Easter and hope you did, too! Praise the Lord we got at least one picture with 3 smiles. I'll spare you the rest of the picture attempts.

Princess Toadstool to Incredible Hulk

I can hardly believe it is time for me to blog this post. Not because I've been such a bad blogger, but because a year has come and gone. Our little BonBon is one!! I've never been one to be sad about moving to the next phase. I've always gladly watched my girls grow up and enjoyed it. Things are different this time around. I'm teary - real teary. I think I'm postponing going to bed, because tomorrow we'll start a new year. A new year with an almost toddler, a tween toddler and girl, and a full-blown girl. I have made fun of moms who've "babied their baby," but I'm turning into one of them. Don't be shocked if Bonnie is taking a bottle 2 years from now!

Before I start sobbing let me show you how we got from Princess Toadstool to the Incredible Hulk.

Here is Wes, one year ago today, telling his older two girls they had a baby sister Bonnie. Some friends who were there said when they saw his huge smile, they were sure he was going to say it was boy. Nope, God knew better. (and yes, the story is true. Lucy did scream about wanting a baby brother. she's crazy about BonBon now, though).

And there she was, Princess Toadstool. We nicknamed her that because of the green hat she wore in the hospital. It did make her look like a toadstool was on top of her head. It was also undoubtedly too big for her head, but I really wanted her to wear it for St. Patrick's Day. Green was going to be her signature color.

And here is the Incredible Hulk , one year later, after enjoying her shamrock smash cake of green icing. Her face and hands are stained green after plowing into this. Green is her signature color. And here she is again, our "not-so-Irish" blessing walking on her first birthday, St. Patty's Day 09. St. Patrick's Day is so widely celebrated with the term "lucky." If only lucky could be defined as blessed,we'd take it. We are blessed. We would not have nor could not have orchestrated this family the way God did. I'm so grateful He is teaching me to get out of the driver's seat. I do not want to miss out on His blessings. Happy Birthday, Bonnie!!!

**If you like the birthday banner in the first picture, click on "The Penuell's" link to the right. Alli Penuell made this banner and it is a great birthday happy!