Thankful List ~ March 2015

March Thankful list

March was ushered in with a tremendous outpouring of love from those at Calvary Baptist Church.  Quite a few people worked together to prepare a Baby Shower and House Warming party for us.  Josh and I didn’t know what to expect but we were amazed at how many people came, the wonderful gifts they brought, and the love they are continuing showing us.  We are so thankful for the wonderful people at Calvary.

Both my mom and Josh’s mom came up for a visit this month.  Ms. Terry came for a little over a week.  She was so helpful.  She made sure to keep up with the dishes and pick up around the house.   My mom came two weeks later and stayed for five days.  She played with Addi and Josiah the whole time.  Both of them were such a blessing to me and I hated to see them go.

After we brought Elias home from the hospital he lost a lot of weight even though he was eating like a champ.  At his one-month appointment he had gained it all back and had surpassed his birth weight weighing 8lb.8 oz.  I’m thankful for the way God has allowed me to provide milk for my sweet baby.  You never know how important this is to a momma’s heart unless you’ve been that mom who desires to nurse and can’t.

I’m thankful for modern medicine.  I had a bout of mastitis and Elias was struggling with severe reflux.  I am feeling 100% better and Elias is showing great improvement.

We had a preschool tour at Englewood Baptist Church this month to evaluate if it would be a good option for Josiah for next year.  It was wonderful.  Josiah had such a great time and we are pretty convinced that this will be the most beneficial option for him.

My sweet Addi girl got the 48-hour stomach virus twice this month.  She was so pitiful but I’m so thankful she recovered quickly and it didn’t spread to anyone else in the family.

I was reminded about God’s perfect timing and his provision several times this month.  One time was when I had my van tire blow out.  I was half way between our church and our house (only a couple miles from each) and it happened right in front of a fire station.  I just kept thinking about if it would have happened the night before when I was trying to get my mom to the airport or later that afternoon when I was taking Elias to the doctor how much more difficult life would have been.  Instead, God was gracious to allow that to happen where Josh could join me quickly, where it was safe to pull over and let the kids play, at a time when Elias had recently eaten and was napping, on a beautiful sunny day, and close to places we could replace the spare and buy a new tire.  Although it was an inconvenience I really did have a lot to be thankful for.  This misfortune also allowed us to meet the firemen at the station.  Josh hit it off with them and returned later with doughnuts to say thank you for their willingness to assist me before he got there.

After being in our new house almost 2 months, we finally were able to meet some neighbors.  We pulled out the baby stroller, went for a walk, and let the kids ride their bikes.  We are excited about the warmer weather so we can hopefully meet a lot more people.

We are so thankful that Josh was given several opportunities to preach over the past month or so.  He loves being able to use his giftings in this area and is excited to continue to grow in this area as well.

Treasuring Christ Church celebrated their 10^th Anniversary this month and I was thrilled to be able to attend the festivities.  The people at TCC have such a special place in my heart and I am so thankful for God’s grace of this church.  For more about why I love this church so much, please check out this post.

We also found out this month that Rion and Kristen are having a little girl!  I love this baby so much already and I can’t wait until August when I get to meet her!

Josh coordinated a Youth Group trip to Charlotte for the Student Life Conference.  They had a great time, learned a lot, came back excited but most importantly one of the youth accepted Christ.  It was a special moment for Josh to walk through the gospel with this young man and to pray with him.   We are so thankful for the work of the Lord in his life.

While Josh was at the conference I had the great privilege of visiting our former neighbors who had moved to Charlotte.  Our family absolutely loves the Jackson family and it was great to catch up with them in person!

The kids and I also went down for a very quick visit to see family in Atlanta.  It’s always so fun to visit.  Although this trip was purposed to see Papa Don who was recovering from open-heart surgery and Nana who is battling cancer with daily radiation treatments, we got to see lots of other family too.

I am so thankful for doctors who God allows to grow in wisdom so they can care for so many people.  I’m thankful for the doctors who have operated on Papa Don and Nana and are continuing to treat them.  I’m thankful for a great pediatrician, Dr. Dirk, who loves my children and truly cares for our family.  It’s always encouraging when we go to see him because we never feel like just another patient, but like a family friend.  I’m thankful for my doctor, Dr. Diebel, who has walked with Josh and I through the miscarriage and the entire pregnancy, delivery and postpartum with Elias.  And, presently, I am most thankful for Dr. Hey, Josh’s surgeon who operated on his back.

The thing I am most thankful for this month is that God protected my husband during his back surgery.  Josh had been having back problems for years. He had X-rays done about 6 months ago and did some physical therapy but nothing really helped. After we moved a few months ago he started working out in hopes to strengthen his back muscles. However, it gradually got a lot worse. Recently he lost feeling in his left leg. He had an MRI, which revealed a severe ruptured disc. After seeing a few different doctors and getting multiple opinions they all told him his only option was surgery. They went in and removed part of his disc (between the L4 and L5 vertebrae) and then they had to shave part of the vertebra to make room for the nerves again (since they had been pinched for quite awhile). He has been in a lot of pain so I'm just so thankful he will hopefully have some relief! He will be in bed for the next 2 weeks and then can gradually get back into a "normal" routine over the next 4-6 weeks.

We have already been loved on by so many individuals in the midst of Josh’s surgery and recovery.  I am thankful for Traci Gallaher who kept Addi and Josiah the day of the operation. I’m thankful for Pastor Brandon, Pastor Matthew, and Robbie Haynes who came to sit with Josh and pray over him before the surgery. I’m thankful for the Bells who transported our kids and came to visit in the hospital.  I’m thankful for Cary Brege who kept my kids the first night Josh got to go home, and for the Prices who also cared for our kids and came to visit Josh in the hospital.  I’m thankful for the Niemanns who visited in the hospital and set up a way for people to bless us through meals and other means.   I'm thankful for Teresa Sanders who brought me dinner at the hospital since I hadn't eaten all day.  There are so many others who’ve asked to help and we are thankful for them as well.  Most of all we are thankful for all the prayers our friends and family have been lifting up for us.  If there is anything that is evident we certainly have a lot to be thankful for!

Thankful List ~ February 2015

February Thankful list

The greatest thing we are thankful for this month is the birth of our new healthy baby boy, Elias Samuel Kelly.  He was born on Friday, February 13^th, weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 21 inches long.  For the full story of his arrival please check out this blog post!

We started the month out having a Super Bowl party for the Youth Group.  It was so much fun. We had beautiful weather and a sweet family in the church opened up their home. Over 50 people showed up, including several visitors to the church, which was amazing! We had lots of snacks.  People played basketball, table tennis, many just sat around and talked.  The little kids played on the playground and in the playroom but, funny enough, not too many people ended up watching the game.  My favorite part was all getting together during halftime and listening to Josh share his testimony with the Youth.  He challenged them to make their faith their own.  This is something I not only pray for the Youth, but also for my own little kiddos.

We had a difficult 1^st week of February when everyone in the house, except myself, came down with the flu.  It may seem weird to put this on our thankful list but here are just some of the ways I saw God’s graciousness in the midst of this trial:  1) Josiah had a 104.7 fever the night we discovered something was wrong.  We are so thankful for God’s protection of his little life and that it wasn’t anything more serious than the flu.  2) We were thankful for the timing.  Had it been a week or two earlier we would have been in the middle of our move and had it been a week or two later we would have had a newborn.  3) After getting medicine, everyone bounced back really quickly. I’m just so thankful it only lasted about 6-7 days instead of 8-12!  4) I never got sick!  The Lord spared me, and my 38-week pregnant self, from having to battle the flu.  I can’t even begin to tell you what mercy that was!

The weather.  Yes, I know- everyone has been complaining and complaining about the weather but here’s my take on it:  It’s technically still winter.  I’m not a huge fan of ice or snow and I definitely don’t like cold weather, but that’s kind of what winter is supposed to be like.  I’m thankful that it snowed right after Elias was born and we were kind of stuck in the house for a bit.  Josh was able to take Addi and Josiah out to play because he had already planned on working from home so he could be available to help me.  In addition, we have had two or three really warm days.  It’s February, so those should incline our hearts to thankfulness, not just more grumbling because everyday is not a sunny 70-degree day.

Calvary Baptist Church- One evening at church we had a Deacons and wives prayer meeting and dessert fellowship.  It was wonderful to get together with a group of women and just encourage one another and pray.  I had written an entire blog post about the difficulties of the past few months and the transitions we’ve been through as well as how much we appreciate and love our new family at Calvary.  I wrote all about how I see God’s grace in people especially in the area of sacrificial service.  However, after searching through tons of files on my computer, I have come to believe that at some point I accidentally deleted the post.  During this season of my life I unfortunately don’t have the time to rewrite it, but I do want everyone to know how incredibly thankful we are for those at Calvary!

Josh started watching some YouTube videos with Addilyn and Josiah this month.  These videos were created by a group of guys called “Dude Perfect.” These guys basically spend all day-every day practicing trick shots with any and every kind of sports equipment.  It’s been so much fun to watch Josiah get such a thrill out of these and try over the past few weeks to replicate a lot of their trick shots.  He specifically loves trying soccer and basketball shots with his little Jake and the Neverland Pirates ball.  LOL. In addition, at the end of each video the guys usually “sign off” by giving the camera pounds (or some people call it knuckles) and one guy even leans his head in and says, “Noggin.”  Josiah has become adamant about giving “Pounds and Noggins” to just about every body.

We are very thankful for our friend Dana Haynes, who came over and took newborn pictures of Elias completely free of charge!  Her (and her husband) always find creative ways to show us love and we are so thankful for their friendship!  There are just some people who you know you’ll be friends with for as long as you’re living here on earth.  Robbie and Dana are definitely those types of friends!