Quote remembered...

As quoted by Trey while we were deliriously climbing into bed last night:
"I think this pretty much sums up our daily life right now. Look what is in our bed... a laser gun, baby sweater, a pink princess pull-up (long story), and butt paste."

Gotta love it!!!

Found: Pictures from Mexico

I recently found my small camera which I took on vacation with us this summer to Mexico! Funny story... last Christmas, Trey and Jake worked together to surprise Anne and I with a trip to Playa del Carmen in June of 2010. Trey booked the trip on December 22nd. I found out I was pregnant with Jacob on December 23rd. My doctor said it was fine for me to still travel and we had a blast! I wish I hadn't been pregnant because Trey and I do not get to travel often, but we still had fun and loved spending time with Jake and Anne. Here are some pictures of a VERY pregnant me and our trip :)!

We stayed at The Royal in Playa del Carmen... it was AMAZING! The food was delicious, the rooms were heavenly, and the spa even had a prenatal massage they offered :)!

Since we live at the beach, Trey and I spent more time in the pools... I did what I do best when I have no responsiblities, READ! This summer's pick was "The Help" and it was incredible!!!

The four of us... it really was great to spend time with Jake and Anne. We miss them!

The perfect couple :)!

Relaxed and ready to come home... or maybe not :)!

Jacob is growing so fast...

One Month.

Two Months.

Three Months.

Four Months.

Five Months.

And his eyes are still BLUE!

Jacob is such a delight...
He rarely cries.
Sleeps from 7 pm to 6 am most nights.
Exclusively nurses, except for the pumped bottle he gets while I teach.
LOVES his brothers and bath time.
Stays with his Ju-Gi while I teach morning preschool.
Smiles all the time.
Can't sit yet, but likes to stand in your lap.
Rolls over occasionally.
Hates the paci and refuses to take one.
Is truly laid back.
FINALLY likes his car seat.
Is a joy and we are so happy he is a part of our family!

Jon, age 3

What's your favorite food? Pizza!
What's your favorite veggie? Carrots
What's your favorite fruit? Bananas
What's your favorite dessert? Candy
What's your favorite toy? Telescope
What's your favorite thing to do? Wrestle with Daddy
What's your favorite candy? Popsicle
What's your favorite thing to do outside? Swing
What's your favorite color: Orange (Bayler would be so sad, ha)
Who is your best friend: Steven and Anderson
What's your favorite thing to do with David? Wrestle
What's your favorite thing to do with Jacob? Play
What do you want to be when you grow up? Preacher
Where do you want to go on an airplane? Airport
What is your favorite book? Green Eggs and Ham
What's your favorite song?Hey, Soul Sister and Tonights Going to be a Good Night
What is one wish you have? To get a teddy bear (???)

Jon-Jon is still our funny, passionate little man! He eats and runs non-stop, 24/7. Jon loves to wake up early (always the first up, even before Jacob!) and loves to snuggle on the couch with me. He likes to watch Scooby-Do and Go Diego Go. He loves "my David" as he still says and likes to hug Jacob. Jon is trying us with the pouting when he doesn't get his way... I think it works for a few people in his life because they can't say "no" to those big brown eyes :)! He has a made up word, "babone", that he uses when he thinks he is about to get in trouble or anytime he wants to make you laugh, ha! He still isn't potty trained, ugh! But we are working on it daily. He has the pee-pee part down, he just doesn't like to poop in the potty and refuses to tell us when he needs to go. I love his current age... his speech is my favorite. We can understand everything he says, but it is still so cute. He replaces his "Ll's" for "Ww's". He often says "I weally, weally wove you!" and "I wove everyone in the worwd!". Priceless!!! He loves school and knows a lot of his letters. Jon can write his name and likes to draw. His teacher says he is very attentive in class.
Jonathan, we love you very much and can't wait to see how God uses all the passion you have for life!!!

David, age 5

What's your favorite food? Salmon
What's your favorite veggie? celery
What's your favorite fruit? All of them
What's your favorite dessert? ice cream
What's your favorite toy? Megamind
What's your favorite thing to do? Go to the dollar store with my money
What's your favorite candy? All kinds of candy are good!
What's your favorite thing to do outside? Jump in our jumpy
What's your favorite color: Green
Who is your best friend: Everyone in my class and Jackson. Oh, and God!
What's your favorite thing to do with Jon? Hide and go seek
What's your favorite thing to do with Jacob? Make him laugh
What do you want to be when you grow up? Preacher, artist, and a baseball player
What do you like about the beach? waves in the ocean
Where do you want to go on an airplane? Hawaii
What is your favorite Bible verse? Proverbs 3: 5&6
What's your favorite song?Hey, Soul Sister, 3 Birds, Don't Worry Be Happy
What's is one wish you have? That everyone in the world would have a Bible (melt my heart!).

David is one amazing little kid! He is independent, yet loves to hang out with us. He is bold, yet humble. He is smart, loving, kind, patient, tinder-hearted, entertaining, and all boy. This kid blesses me all day long! I know he isn't perfect, but I truly have a hard time finding his faults :). I can not believe my baby is 5 years old... or 5 and a half, as he would quickly tell you. David has a heart for Jesus and loves to sing and worship. He is an incredible reader for his age... and he loves the fact that he can read his early readers Bible all by himself. He loves his brothers dearly and, for the most part, is very patient with them. He and Jon-Jon love to share a room and his favorite thing to do is help me with Jacob. He gets diapers, burp cloths, and bibs for me when I need them. He will stand in front of Jacob's highchair and talk to him for 30+ minutes while I cook dinner. Jacob just lights up when he hears his voice! I love watching David grow. He is blessed to have such a great dad... the one person he looks up to the most. He tries to be more like him everyday. I love you David and you fill my heart with joy every minute of every day!

Jacob at the hospital.

Jacob was born at 3:31 am, so by the time I was moved to my room the sun was coming up. Trey and I slept about 1 hour and they finally brought our sweet baby to the room!
Even though Jacob was a few weeks early, he was hungry! He had no problems latching on and we enjoyed a few quiet hours before his big brothers came to see us...


Mimi was staying at our house with David and Jon. I can not even tell you what a blessing it was to be near family this time!

Papa came too... bringing flowers and food. Yay! (Look how proud David looks... love him!)


My Aunt Dah just happened to be visiting the beach when Jacob made his appearance... it was awesome to have her close enough to come by for a visit!

Wellspring staff wives, plus Jacob :)!


Just like the day Jon was born, what I will always remember was David's reaction to his newest little brother! He was smitten from the moment he saw him...

He couldn't get enough of him. He kissed him a few 100 times during their short visit. Jon did well during the hospital visit, but was more interested in the buttons on my bed and the wall. He did not want to sit still for any pictures either. Oh well! Such is life with a 2 year old :)!

Jacob was born on August 10th, David's birthday is August 11th. So, David's one birthday wish was for Jacob to come home...

3 of my 4 boys!

After just one night in the hospital, we bundled up our last little baby and took him home. David was thrilled!

We love our little family of boys!!!

The day Jacob was born.

Here is my last picture as a soon to be mom... 37 weeks!

Call me crazy, but I love a good birth story. Maybe it's because it is such a life changing day... whether it's the first child or the third child coming into the world, you know your life is about to change for the better in ways you could never guess. Each one of our children's birthdays are some of my most treasured memories.

Jacob decided to make his appearance 3 weeks early. His due date was 8-28-10, but I didn't think we'd make it that long. David was one week early and Jon was 2 weeks early, so I think it rather fitting that he came 3 weeks early! My ob, Dr. Markley, is amazing. She and her family are a huge part of our church and they are there every week, so when I saw her on Sunday the 8th, I told her about my contractions I'd had the night before... I almost called her because my contractions were about 10 minutes apart for 3 hours straight. Then they just went away. So, she said to let her know when I got to her office the following day for my regular weekly appointment. A lot went on during the morning of 8-9-10. They had me come in early, I was 3 cm, they monitored me, tried to send me home, she found out, told me to go home and eat lunch, then head to the hospital to be monitored by her. Therefore... I went home, ate a sandwich, threw the car seat base in the car, dropped the kids off at Eric and April's house until Mimi could get there, and headed to the hospital. By the time I was hooked up to monitors, I had progressed to 5 cm, so I was certainly staying to have a baby! Yay! Now, Trey and I were still a little shocked that it was actually going to be the day... but, we thought 8-9-10 would be such a cool birthdate. Ha, Jacob certainly had other plans!
I could sort of feel my contractions at this point, but nothing really painful. My nurse, Kelly, was incredible... she offered me the epidural within an hour or 2 of being at the hospital. I was never really in any pain. (By the way, Kelly and her family are now a part of Wellspring as well. They are a precious family and I'm so glad to mark J's bday as the beginning of a great friendship.) I got my epidural, they broke my water, and we waited. And waited, and waited. Dr. Markley started me on pitocin at around 10:00pm. I believe I was only at 7cm at that point... we were still holding out for 8-9-10 as his birthdate. But 12:00am came and went. I slept, my parents slept in the waiting area, and Trey tried to sleep in a chair. Finally at around 3:25 am I started to push. At 3:31am Jacob Daniel Kelly was born! He weighed 7lbs. 10ozs. He was 21 1/2 inches long. He looked EXACTLY like David! In fact, thats the first thing Trey said to me when he went to take pictures of him...




Jacob Daniel Kelly 7lbs. 10oz. of pure joy!

The best part about being in S.C. this time was that our parents were able to be there during the actual birth. My parents left work early the day I went into labor. They stayed until 4 or 5 am. It was really special to have them there this time!

Dee Dee and her 6th grandson.

He is such a great baby! He nursed right away, hardly cries, and is so happy. Truly a blessing! I'll blog about our hospital stay next... my favorite part of having a baby is the weeks following the big day :)!

In 2010 we...

Welcomed Jacob Daniel...

And turned 5 the next day!

Enjoyed our favorite summer treat.

Learned to sleep in a big boy bunk bed with David.

Learned to swim like a champ!

Turned into a big boy overnight.

Played in the snow.

Stole my mama's heart!

Played tee ball, his favorite sport!

There are lots more things to remember about this past year, but I am going to do a kid-by-kid recap soon.

Looking back at the year 2010, I can say it was full of highs and lows for us. We welcomed a new family member (I'll document Jacob next) and said good-bye to my sweet nephew Bayler. We traveled, lost teeth, welcomed new neighbors, and had a blast reaching people in Myrtle Beach. We are thankful for all the year offered and look forward to 2011!

Back in the saddle...

Well, I've obviously taken a LONG break on this blog. I won't pretend to try to catch up, but I do want to start posting again. Why? Because this little place in cyberspace is my memory book. I don't like to scrapbook and I never remember to write special moments down (Jacob doesn't even have a baby book!), so this is the only place I have to look back on my kids lives. You think you'll remember all the funny things they say or do, but you don't. So, while blogs of all kinds exist, this one will solely be to document what our family does day by day. Thanks for reading!