The Kelly Kronicles

More Birthday party pictures

2011-09-14T09:42:00.003-05:00

Summer Fun

2011-09-14T09:15:00.004-05:00

For the 4th of July this year went to KC and spent the holiday with my family at my cousins house. The whole Ballew family was there, it was a really fun time. The boys were totally worn out by the time we got home, with swimming all day playing in the bounce house, and train rides around the yard. Of course we had quite a feast of food too! We watched fireworks that night around my parents neighborhood, then later saw the city display in our town too.
Later in the month of July we had Levi's Grandpa, Aunt Becky, and Uncle Joe here for another visit. We had a busy but fun time of helping David and Deann get moved, and lots of family meals together. On the last night they were in town we had a birthday party for Aunt Becky. We had a lot of fun with friends and family here to celebrate!

Fathers Day and Family time

2011-08-26T09:38:00.003-05:00

Fathers Day 2011

Kelly Family

The boys and I

Riding the train with cousins

Swimming with cousins

Visiting with Grandpa Gayan, Aunt Becky, Mike and Jim

More swimming

Enjoying the train

This summer Levi's Grandpa and Aunt Becky came out for a visit. They were with us for a few weeks, then went up to Michigan to see family, then back here for a few more weeks. During that time we had lots of family outings, dinners, and fun. The last week of their stay Uncle Joe came out to join us and we all had a wonderful time. We are thankful for all of these times with family, the Lord is so gracious and kind.

Catching up in pictures

2011-08-23T09:21:00.006-05:00

Me, Kate, Amy, and Jen

Amy and her Dad walking down the aisle

Levi and I before the wedding

Jen and I

Doing a little shopping

Steve and Amy K.

Levi above Trunk Bay

Trunk Bay -- we spent a lot of time snorkeling there and laying on the beach

View from our villa in St John

On the ferry, heading home.

Perfect vacation, headed home.

View from the villa we stayed in, Cruz Bay below.

At the beginning of June we took a trip to St. Thomas, USVI for my friend Amy's wedding. It was a wonderful time with friends, a neat celebration of marrige, and a few days of just alone time for Levi and I as well in St. John, USVI. We saw some amazing beaches and views like I've never seen before. The boys were busy in KC with Grandma and Grandpa Ballew for the week. The did a lot of swimming, hiking at the nature trail, played at parks and Deanna Rose farmstead. It was an enjoyable start to the summer for us all to say the least.

Time to catch up...

2011-07-19T06:39:00.002-05:00

Wow, I can't believe the last time I updated this blog was the first part of April. Well obviously it's been a busy few months. We've had some computer issues, so that is also part of my excuse. :) It takes a miracle to post a picture, but we are hoping we might have a work around until we buy a new computer.

Anyway, in April our family took a trip to Denton, TX to got to Fellowship Family Camp for Easter weekend. It was such a fun trip, and a real blessing to our whole family. The boys did great on the long drive, enjoyed playing with friends, miniature golf, running around playing soccer and basketball. The messages were wonderful and such an encouragement to us.

Marcus finished up Kindergarten on June 2, and on June 3 we took the boys to Grandma and Grandpa Ballews to spend a week with them while we went to a wedding in St. Thomas. My friend Amy got married St Thomas, USVI. It was such a fun time, and a beautiful wedding! We spent 3 days there for the wedding, then Levi and I went to St John, USVI to spend 3 days together alone. We got to go to some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. We stayed at a wonderful place up in the mountains that overlooked Cruz Bay, rented a jeep, enjoyed exploring the island, snorkeled, enjoyed sunsets, etc. It's a vacation I will never forget. Of course the boys thought they got the better end of the deal by staying with Grandma and Grandpa for a week, and even had trouble coming home. Marcus cried the first 2 nights we were home because he missed his Grandparents so much...good to see we were missed. :)

June was a busy month with baseball a couple nights a week. Marcus finished up the baseball season the first week in July. It was amazing to see how much he, and the team, improved from day 1 to the end of the season. The last game was his best game, hitting a home run, and getting 3 hits. He also played very well in the field. He had great coaches who were so encouraging to the kids, and made it a really fun season for him.

Also in June Levi's Grandpa Gayan and Aunt Becky came out from Arizona for a month. We've had such a good time with them, having lots of family dinners and get togethers. His Uncle Joe came out on Saturday to join everyone for this last week that they are here. The boys have never met Aunt Becky or Uncle Joe, and are enjoying them so much!

Levi's brother and his family have sold their home in town and have bought a house out in the country. (just a couple miles out of town) We are in the midst of helping them get moved this week. It is a beautiful park like setting on a treed lot somewhat close to the lake. The kids will have so much fun exploring the woods and making forts, etc. We are so excited for them to get to move out there!

We went to KC for the 4th of July, attending the Ballew family get together. It was lots of fun to see everyone, including the newest little Ballew. My cousin and his wife had their first baby, Jackson, who was only a week old. He is absolutely precious! What a sweet blessing! We all enjoyed visiting, swimming, of course eating...the boys got to play in the biggest bouncy house I've ever seen, and take train rides around the yard. I couldn't believe it's been 4 years since we've been able to go to a Ballew 4th of July...explains why the kids didn't remember it. Carson and Cole were only 11 months old, and Marcus wasn't even 2. I remember I had just had my hysterectomy 2 days before and was sick as a dog, but wanted to go see everyone because we were moving to South Dakota a month later. Time just moves so quickly, I'm just so thankful when we can spend time with friends and family.

The next week Mom took vacation and came up to spend the week with us. We all had such a busy summer so far it was nice to just be home and relax, enjoy visiting with her and doing stuff around the house. She took the Amtrak train up here, which was a first for her to ride a train. We went out to eat a few times but other wise just hung out at our home. It was a great week!

Today the boys and I are helping Deann move some things to the new house, then the boys have dentist appointments this afternoon, and a family dinner at our house tonight. Levi's Grandpa, Aunt, and Uncle leave on Saturday, so this is our last week with them. It's going to be hard to see them go, we've had a lot of fun.

I'll post pictures as often as I can, I have a lot I need to catch up on getting posted. Hope everyone is having a good summer, stay cool! Upper 90s, maybe 100 here today...Ugghh.

First Soccer Game

2011-04-02T14:39:00.005-05:00

Carson and Cole both did great this morning in their first soccer game. It is pretty hilarious to see all these little ones out there on the field. Just before the game started the other teams goalie got caught up in the net and the coach had to go help him out. It definitely was entertaining. The boys were so excited and it was neat to see. At one point during the game Carson came out and got a drink, and told me, "I just LOVE sports Mom!"... Each one attempted two goals, and Cole actually made one of his attempts. Right now they are both taking a nap, I'm sure it will be a long one as they were pretty worn out.

Lots to Celebrate!

2011-03-27T12:49:00.004-05:00

11 years of marriage

The boys sharing their cards with Daddy

Laughing with Daddy on his birthday

Saturday morning laying low as Cole gets over his sickness

March has been a really busy, but fun month. Levi and I celebrated our 11th anniversary on the 18th, and then his birthday was on that same weekend. We went to KC to visit my family and go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary with our friends Jen and Nate. We had a really fun time, and even stayed an extra day longer than usual as Levi had the next week off of work. I got to go shopping with my Mom on Saturday morning, and I loved and cherished that time with her. We've had fun watching the NCAA tournament, finished cleaning up our mess from all the construction around here, worked a lot on a school fundraiser that we had last night, and just enjoyed a lot of family time. On Friday night Cole got sick in his bed, then several more times yesterday. We are thankful that he seems to be doing so much better today. Thankfully he is an incredibly good sick kid...he feels bad, cleanly does his business, then you find out later that he got sick again. He isn't dramatic about it in the slightest. I hated that he didn't feel well, but I did get to hold him and cuddle him most of the afternoon yesterday. (which is very rare) We had our Trivia night fundraiser at the school last night and it was so fun! Levi ended up staying home with the boys, but we still had almost a full table of friends and family there. I think it was a huge success, and I haven't laughed that much in quite awhile. Levi and I are thankful to the Lord for our 11 years together, and thankful for our friends and family who we can always count on. You can't possibly know how precious you are to us!

Spring Break

2011-03-10T12:35:00.004-06:00

This week Marcus has been home on spring break. It has been a great week to just be home enjoying our family. It has been a very relaxing time, and it was much needed. With the kitchen remodel pretty much done, life seems much less hectic. We are thankful that we got so much done in a short amount of time though, and the new kitchen is already such a blessing.

The boys are enjoying all their time together this week. I'm so thankful they love playing together and usually get along so well. Tomorrow it is supposed to be much warmer here, so hopefully they will get some time outside.

Nearing the finish line

2011-03-06T15:47:00.005-06:00

David and Jim
Jim and David
Levi

David and Jim started working on our trim (crown molding, baseboards, and wall trim) on Friday. By Friday night they had almost all of the crown molding up, and Levi was able to caulk all of the places that needed it when he got home from work. Saturday they were able to get all of the baseboards up and so all that is left is the trim that goes on the top of the beadboard, and corner pieces. After that is all up we will go through and add one more coat of white paint to everything, then we will be done with the kitchen renovation.

On Friday night I sealed the grout on the kitchen floor, so by Saturday we were able to move the stove and refrigerator back in. It's really coming together nice, and we are so thankful for everyone's willingness to work on this project. Thank you guys for all of your work!! Our house is really feeling like a home.

Game and finished work

2011-02-28T11:52:00.004-06:00

Marcus and Coach

On Thursday of last week we had a winter storm, so it kind of derailed our plans to have a date in Columbia. We went ahead and just used the whole day and night to finish our kitchen tile project. We laid the last tile just after midnight, and we were SO tired. It was good though, because school was cancelled for snow on Friday so we all got to sleep in and rest the whole next day. On Saturday we went to see Marcus in his last basketball game of the season. He told me that morning he thought he might try to shoot the ball, I told him I felt like that would be a good idea... :) He usually just passes, which is great, but it's ok for a guy to shoot when he wants to. He did attempt two shots and made one! He turned around and had the biggest smile on his face. After the game Levi and I headed out for some time together on our date. It was a fun weekend, and we were able to get the tile grouted last night. Next up is trim, and we are DONE! :)

Starting the tile floor

2011-02-24T08:07:00.003-06:00

We were able to get all the cement backer board cut and screwed down on Tuesday, so yesterday we started our first cuts of tile. We were able to get the eating area all cut out and glued down, hoping to do a bit more later tonight...for now, Levi and I are going to Columbia this afternoon to spend the some time together, do a little shopping, eat dinner, then head back home. I'm very much looking forward to our date!

Kitchen Flooring

2011-02-21T21:37:00.004-06:00

Last piece for the night...we are tired! :)

Screwing down the backer board

Subflooring all pulled up
Original area of kitchen...these boards were put down in 1928

Taking out the first piece of subflooring

Where we took out the old pantry

Old flooring

Yesterday we started taking out the old kitchen floor. I pulled up the linoleum, while David and Levi started taking the subflooring out. We finished getting the subflooring up today, then chiseled around the cabinets to get the rest out. By this evening we were already putting down the concrete backerboard. Our hope is to finish laying all the backerboard tomorrow and start putting down the tile floor...that is, IF we can get out of bed in the morning. Our knees and backs sure aren't what they used to be. :(

It was kind of neat to see the wood beneath the subflooring. In the old original part of the house the wood that was there is 83 years old...amazing too because there wasn't too much difference in how it looked than in the other area of the kitchen that was added in the 1970's.

Basketball

2011-02-21T21:32:00.002-06:00

This coming week will be the last game of the season for Marcus and his Daddy. It has been a very fun time for both of them, and the team made some good improvements from the beginning until now. Marcus always preferred the practices over the games, but still had a good time at the games. Of course for the whole team, the highlight is always the snacks afterward! :)

Sweet Valentine and weekend work

2011-02-14T09:09:00.004-06:00

1 coat of paint on island
Door trim

White soffett :)

Sweet boy working on his Valentines

Marcus worked on his Valentines for his class yesterday afternoon. It was funny to watch him, he is very particular and quite the perfectionist...part of his homework was to write one valentine to each student in his class, which certainly was good practice for writing his letters and reading their names off the list. Thankfully there are only 16 in his class, so it didn't take him too long.

On Thursday Levi and I painted the first coat of lime green (Grass Cloth to be exact), then Friday Jim and I did the second coat and painted the island with one coat of white. This weekend Levi, David, and Jim worked on getting all of the door trim and white beadboard put up on the walls. It looks so different, and so much better, and we haven't even painted the beadboard yet. The soffett has been a source of a lot of laughter around here with it's multi colored flowers and million layers of wallpaper...so on Saturday when the first piece of beadboard was hung over it...wow, it was like angels were singing! It looks so much better! We still need to do some caulking in between pieces, and then paint the beadboard. We will do that today and tomorrow, then be done for this week.

Happy Valentines Day! I'm so thankful for the 4 sweet men in my life, who make me smile each and every day! I love you Levi, Marcus, Carson, and Cole.

Busy Week

2011-02-10T14:33:00.003-06:00

New granite tile countertop

Primed island with new countertop

Primed island, with new countertop

Ceilings painted --kind of a dark picture though

This past weekend my parents came up to visit us and celebrate my birthday. We really enjoyed their visit, and got quite a bit accomplished too. Dad and Levi made the countertop for our new island in the kitchen, and it turned out really good! We are very happy with it. It's amazing how much you save when you can do somethings yourself. We have also hired someone to come in and mud, tape, and sand our drywall and make a few repairs in our family room. He has finished the kitchen area, so we scraped our kitchen ceiling to get all of the popcorn ceiling down. This week we painted the ceiling, and it is amazing with a new bright white ceiling and the new and extra lights, how much brighter our kitchen is. Today we will put the first coat of color on the walls, and tomorrow Jim (Levi's Dad) will come over and help me put the second coat on. Saturday Levi and David will install the beadboard on the lower half of the wall. We are so thankful for all of the help we've had to get this project done. It is going to be a bright, clean looking kitchen when we are done.

Drywall and Blizzard

2011-02-01T17:35:00.005-06:00

Enjoying the warmth of the fire

Like all of Missouri we are under a blizzard warning...kind of a strange thing, but it's been interesting watching the weather all day. I'm thankful we could all be home all afternoon and evening. We have watched movies and snuggled with the kids this afternoon, it's been a good day. Levi is on call tomorrow, and with the drifting that is supposed to take place that could be a tricky situation. The OR closed down at noon today through tomorrow, with the exception of emergency cases. Thankfully we live close enough to the hospital that if he absolutely has to he can walk. We are thankful tonight for a warm home, a hot meal, and family time.
Over the weekend Levi, David, and Jim were able to get all of our drywall hung in the kitchen. Then today we paid someone to come and do the mud and taping. It's looking good. Yesterday I spent the day scraping our popcorn ceiling off in the kitchen.

Lights

2011-01-27T08:56:00.003-06:00

I didn't realize how dark our kitchen was, until we got all of our new lighting in yesterday. It turned out great! We are really happy with the electrical work that has been done this week, and seeing the kitchen all lit up and bright makes me so much more excited to see the finished product. This weekend we will get the drywall up and next week have someone come in and mud, tape, and sand it. Should be looking very different this time next week!

Basketball Season

2011-01-23T16:17:00.004-06:00

Marcus is in the grey shorts

Matching up for defense

Dribbling the ball up the court

Marcus shooting the ball

Marcus is playing YMCA basketball this winter, and Saturday was their first game. Levi is coaching his team, so he is super excited about that as well. One day Marcus was talking about it, and said, "yeah Dad sure must like basketball if he wants to coach." I told him that yes his Daddy likes basketball, but he LOVES Marcus, so that is why he is coaching...he just got the biggest smile on his face. It was precious.

Saturday he did very well in his game, and worked hard. He dribbled the ball up the court a few times, and shot the ball twice, making it once. He passed to his teammates, something you don't see too much out of kindergarteners, and had a great fun attitude. We had fun watching him, and really enjoyed the day.

Kitchen Island

2011-01-23T15:59:00.005-06:00

Beginning stages of framing out the island

Primed beadboard lined bookcase for my cookbooks

The rope sticking out of the side is for the electricians tomorrow, who will put in an outlet on that side of the island.

Primed beadboard on the back

Primed beadboard on the side

Brought the edges out for sturdiness of the countertop
With one layer of countertop on
Back view of island

Levi's brother David is really good with wood working, and has really enjoyed it as a hobby. He has taken on some jobs here and there, so we hired him to make our new kitchen island. The old island was tall and bulky, kind of not very usable to sit at, and not really our style. We had been looking online and in stores, getting ideas. David was able to make EXACTLY what we were looking for, and explained to him, and we couldn't be more thrilled! The only thing left to do is put the trim on it, which he will do. I will prime and paint the island, and Levi will make the countertop. It's been a fun project, and we are very thankful for David's work on it!

Kitchen Progress

2011-01-23T15:45:00.006-06:00

Back side of new island

Plaster and lath removed, working on new wall

The guys built a small wall on one side of the refrigerator
The east wall of the kitchen, where the pantry used to be
Sealed off while taking plaster down...reminds me of a scene from ET

Other side of the kitchen sealed off from dirt and dust

Grandpa Jim

East wall of eating area down to the studs

Eating area of kitchen with plaster and lath completely removed

West wall of kitchen, plaster still on

Kitchen island

On Friday we began working on the kitchen again. This weekend the goal was to get the island(except for the top and trim) done, get the plaster and lath all pulled down and cleaned up, so that we are down to the studs. We are now ready for the electricians to come in tomorrow and hookup our new lighting we installed, and also upgrade the electricity to the kitchen. Jim, David, and Levi worked very hard getting all of this done, and we are SO excited to see it start to take shape. Thank you guys for all of your hard work! It was a very messy job, but they did such a good job sealing off the area where they were working with plastic, so it kept whole house from getting to be a dusty mess.

Our Kitchen Remodel

2011-01-18T13:31:00.006-06:00

Demolition

Tearing out the island

Cole working with Daddy

Levi tearing off the wallpapered paneling

Levi cutting the holes for the new canned lights
Marcus giving a hand with the demo
Carson taking some boards off

The twins
Time out to play with Miss Xena

She is growing like a weed!

Part of the new island, premade cabinets.

View of the kitchen with the old island out, notice the wallpaper :)

Another view

We've been very busy to start off the new year. We decided to give the kitchen a bit of a remodel, which will be done in two phases. The first phase started this month. We will be taking down the old walls, rewiring, putting up new walls. Also, taking out the old pantry, the old island, and building a new island. Levi's brother David is doing the island work for us. Also, Levi is putting up all new lighting. The next phase, in a year or two, will be new backsplash, new countertops, and new flooring. We are excited to make this house our own, while still leaving the neat original things about it alone.

Before we did anything, there was wallpapered paneling on the walls from the 70's. We hadn't seen anything like this before. We took it all down, to find regular wood paneling beneath it. We will take that down this weekend, where we will find plaster and tear it all out down to the studs. The electricians are coming Monday to update the electric and hookup all the new canned lights Levi and his Dad installed this past weekend. I scraped the soffet only to find 6 layers of wallpaper on there...it took a whole day to get very little done. In the end we decided to just put beadboard over it, which will tie it in with other parts of the kitchen later. Yeah! No more scraping for me!

The boys have had a good time watching, and helping with the demo. We tore apart the old island last Friday night, each boy got to use the tools to help Dad tear off boards...then before long they had all of their play "tools" in the kitchen helping more.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-27T15:31:00.005-06:00

On Thursday we traveled to KC to visit my family and spend Christmas there. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing lots of family on Christmas Eve. Mom and Dad had probably 40 family members there this year, we always look forward to it. We came home last night and found we had 5-6 inches of snow, all of which Levi's Dad and brother had shoveled from our driveway and sidewalk. Thanks so much guys! The boys have been busy today playing out in the snow and enjoying their time together. Here are some pic's of the last few days.

Fun with the Lebron family

2010-12-17T09:52:00.004-06:00

Our family at the entrance of the cave

Uncle Peter and the boys
Hannah and Carson

Carson imagining what's going on in this scene

Cole pushing buttons to make the trains go

In November we were able to take a day trip over to Hannibal to meet up with Levi's Uncle Peter, Aunt Myrna, and cousins Hannah and Preciosa. Uncle Peter is a teacher, but in the summer time he gives tours at the Mark Twain Cave. We were lucky enough to get a personal guided tour of the cave and even get to go into some areas that normally are not on the regular tour. We all had a great time, and enjoyed visiting and catching up. We ate lunch at a neat place on the river, and then went to a model train museum downtown. The boys really enjoyed that too. We are so thankful for fun times like this with family! Thank you Peter and Myrna for showing us such a good time!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-11-29T18:23:00.002-06:00

Levi got all the outside lights up
The boys decorating the tree

Kelly boys 2010

The dog trying to steal drink of Carson's bath water

What are you lookin at?

It was a fun weekend around here with getting our Christmas tree put up and decorating the house a bit. Levi had put all the outside lights up a week ago, but we turned them on Thanksgiving night. The boys get so excited about this stuff, so it's a lot of fun to do with them. We have also really enjoyed Xena and having her become a part of our family these past few weeks. We are working hard on housetraining her, which surprisingly has gone very well. She is a very good dog, and really seems to love it here. She has only been with us two and a half weeks, but I think she is growing quite a bit already. I am anxious to see how much she weighs next week at her next vet appointment. The first week we had her she weighed 10 lbs. She loves to play ball, run around the house, and wrestle with Levi and the boys. She loves to just sit in your lap in the evenings and take longs naps.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-27T16:40:00.003-06:00

Kelly kids 2010

Give thanks to the Lord, for HE is good. -Psalm 136:1

Catching Up Again

2010-11-22T11:03:00.006-06:00

Chevy Chase, I mean Levi putting up the lights...

It was a beautiful day to get this done Marcus sat outside all day Saturday watching his Daddy put Christmas lights on the house

The gang watching Toy Story 3

The gang enjoying Toy Story 3

Playing his new Nintendo DS

Blowing out his candles

His electric toothbrush he loves!

His pillow pet he was hoping for

Birthday boy! Marcus - 6 years oldKaitlyn and Marcus blowing out their candles

The past two months have really gone by fast. Here we are, already Thanksgiving week! We love this time of year, and are excited to have Levi's family here for Thanksgiving day this year. The past weekend Levi worked on putting outside lights on our house. We haven't turned them on, only to test them, but will turn them on probably the day after Thanksgiving when we usually put up our tree. The boys get so excited about all of that, and the decorating. Should be another fun family time!

I included some pictures here from Marcus birthday party, as well as a party with his cousin Kaitlyn...they are only 1 year apart, their birthdays being on Oct 27 and 29. So we like to get together with them and celebrate together when we can. That evening we all ate pizza and watched Toy Story 3. The week before we celebrated his birthday with my parents, Levi's parents, and our friends Jack and Ginger. Unfortunately about the time it came to eat and have cake, Marcus was running a fever and not feeling well. So, you will notice in one of the pic's Levi is holding his candles away from the cake so he can still blow them out and not spread germs....turned out he had an ear infection when I took him to the doctor the following week. His tubes had just fallen out 2 weeks before, so we are hoping this will be a one time occurance, and he will not have to have tubes put back in. We shall see what happens. He's looking forward to a 2 day school week this week, loves his time at home! I can't wait for that either!

Our Newest Addition...

2010-11-12T19:01:00.005-06:00

Xena
Cole

Xena

Wrestling with Cole

Hanging out with Daddy

Xena 8 weeks

This is the face of one happy kid!

Marcus couldn't wait to tell his teachers about her.

Every boy needs a dog right? Well, now we have one. The boys have been so excited and anxious to get a dog for quite a while now. Since we have been renting most of their lives this hasn't been possible until now. We fell in love with this sweetie online, and my Mother in law Terri, the twins and I drove to Des Moines and back yesterday to pick her up.

She is an 8 week old Boxer pup, and we have decided to name her Xena. She is so loveable, playful, and yet calm. She just loves for you to sit and hold her. Here are some pic's from last night and today.

Happy 6th Birthday Marcus!!

2010-10-30T08:20:00.004-05:00

Marcus we are so blessed to have you as our son. You are everything we prayed for and more, a true gift. This has been a big year for you, you have learned so many new things. You love school, waterslides, swimming, riding bikes, & playing outside. Last spring you learned how to ride your bike without training wheels, then a few months later turned around and taught your brother how to ride without training wheels. You are doing well with reading, and enjoy playing with your brothers, drawing, playing legos, video games, etc. You are a joy to love and care for. Happy Birthday sweetie!

Love,

Mom, Dad, and "the brothers"

Eileen Baxter (Dec 7, 1932 - Oct 22, 2010)

2010-10-28T10:33:00.005-05:00

Friday night my sweet Aunt Eileen passed away. The simple things in life, that we all take for granted, were not simple things for her at all. Eileen was disabled her whole life, never walked, had to be fed, changed, was never able to do anything for herself. She was always dependent upon others, and was blessed with very loving parents, brother, and sisters, who cared for her the best they could. The night she was born, the doctors told my grandparents she would not make it through the night. God had something else in mind. She was so tiny they used a drawer lined with blankets for her bed. As a young child she went through several surgeries and had to be away from the family for periods of time. I believe my Mom said the doctors then said her life expectancy would be 35. God had something else in mind. We found ourselves at her funeral, celebrating her life of 77 full years, hearing report after report of the inspiration she was to others. Very common themes of, "always had a smile for everyone", "full of joy", "loved the Lord, and hearing His word read to her"...these are the very things I remember most about Eileen as well. Grandma was able to keep her at home and care for her for over 40 years, then she spent the rest of her life in two different nursing homes. She touched many lives and enjoyed seeing so many different people everyday. Everyone who knew her loved her, she had a constant flow of visitors, family and friends who loved her. Her life taught us so much. My Mom said it right when she said, "she was the epitome of patience". Always thankful, always kind, always full of joy. While we are sad because we will miss her so, we are rejoicing for she is truly "walking" with the Lord in heaven.

Family Vacation

2010-10-09T14:51:00.007-05:00

Ready to ride on the train

Marcus

The guys
Daddy and Carson
Train ride, heading into a tunnel

Coming out of the tunnel

Watching the fountain and light show at the Landing

Walking around after dinner at the Landing

Sweet boys

Mmmmm.... dinner time
Marcus - 5 years Cole - 4 years old

Carson - 4 years old

Part of the indoor waterpark

The guys

We took an extended weekend and got away for a bit of family time in Branson last weekend. Everyone had a good time, and it was beautiful weather the whole time. We were thankful for a chance to have time like that with the boys. Marcus was a whiz on the waterslides and could not get enough. The twins were still a bit too short to go on the waterslides, but they were persistant and climbed to the top to have the lifeguard measure them both. There were plenty of other things for them to play on, they especially enjoyed the lazy river. Everyone really enjoyed the scenic train ride we took on Monday.

Family time and field trip pictures

2010-10-08T18:35:00.003-05:00

The boys
Having fun at the park

Carson

Cole

Marcus

Maven

Enjoying breakfast on the deck

Apple Orchard field trip, Marcus front row green shirt

Field Trips and Family Time

2010-10-08T10:32:00.003-05:00

Wow, this past month has just completely blown by. We have been very busy with school, the house, and most recently a little family getaway to Branson. Several weeks ago I was able to go with Marcus and his school on a field trip to the Apple Orchard. It was a beautiful day, and so much fun to spend this time with Marcus. This week Levi is on vacation, so he is on a field trip with the school. They are spending the day at the lake, enjoying outdoor activities and learning about different things. Marcus was so excited that his Daddy could join them.
We also were able to make a quick trip to KC one weekend in September to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ballew, Uncle Greg and Aunt Alexis, and of course cousin Maven. We had a great time hanging out with them, playing at the park, watching football, etc. Maven is growing up so quickly, seems like he is changing more and more everytime we see him. All 4 boys have a great time playing together.
Another weekend we rented a huge dumpster and tore out our whole basement, walls, ceilings, carpet, etc...we knew when we bought this house it had a basement that gets wet, so one of our goals early on was to get everything out of it and take care of any mold problems, etc, and just have it be a clean concrete basement with nothing for mold to grow on. Let me tell you, it was a big job, but we did get it done. David was able to help us so much, and our Dad's were also a big help with the project. My Mom, Dad, and uncle Chuck came up that same weekend to move my laundry room from the basement to the back room off of the kitchen, which is SO nice to have it that handy. They ran electrical and plumbing out there and had me all set up within a day. A few days before they came up, I tore up the 70's shag carpet from that back room and laid stick tiles on the floor out there. It is all a huge improvement, and makes for a nice mud room/laundry area. We are so thankful for both of our families, who always are so ready and willing to help out. We are going to slow down on these projects for a while, take some time to relax and just enjoy our new home. These things needed to get done, and we are thankful they are complete.
Finally, this past weekend we took the boys to Branson for a little family time. We stayed at a neat hotel with a waterpark inside, so that was pretty much all the boys needed! We also took them on the Branson Scenic Railway train ride on Monday. That was one of the highlights of the trip! We all really enjoyed that! This week we are back home, Marcus back to school, and Levi has had this week off. He has been busy working in the yard, and stuff around here. Looking forward to a little relaxation this weekend! Not going anywhere, not doing anything! :)
I'm having trouble posting pictures right now, but soon there will be a huge variety of pictures from the past month!

So THIS is the dining room

2010-09-09T10:03:00.006-05:00

Dining room -- after pic's

After

Dining room after

Lots of doorways and windows to cut in, made some of it pretty tedious

Levi and I primed it first with tinted primer...we joked that this is probably the closest we would ever get to painting a little girls room.

Pictures before

Wallpaper before

Marcus is enjoying all of the home renovation projects we are doing

On Labor day weekend we decided to tackle the dining room. It did not look bad before, it just wasn't us. It was a light colored wall paper, with stripes and floral designs in it. The room has lots of windows and doorways, so it gets a decent amount of light. We decided to go with a red color in there, and it turned out pretty good. Since wallpaper can be such a pain to peel off, and plaster walls so unsmooth, we decided to try and paint over the wallpaper. Let me tell you, if we can paint over THIS wallpaper and have it look halfway decent, I'm sure ANY wallpaper can be painted over. It not only had smooth spots where the floral designs were, but then it also had raised stripes in it throughout. I am going to buy some roman shades for all of the windows, so that will change the look a bit too. We also have hardwood floors under the carpet, in the future we will be checking into getting those refinished. For now, our dining room is our workout room...until we can get a dining room table. This year for the holidays and stuff when we need the dining room we will just use long foldout tables.

Settling in and having fun!

2010-08-30T10:58:00.004-05:00

Beautiful flowers from our new yard

Marcus helping take down beds at the old house...powertools! Fun!
Carson enjoying the beautiful day

Playing on the front porch

Amish man going down the street...you don't see that everyday
Grandpa Ballew helping the boys with their bikes
Cole and Grandpa
Marcus enjoying his bike
Cole

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks. We are getting settled and are mostly unpacked, enjoying our new home. The boys have been so busy playing outside and riding their bikes. I've had some mornings to enjoy the front porch swing. Marcus is really enjoying kindergarten, a huge answer to prayer.
The first weekend after we moved in we spent working on the yard. We trimmed bushes, cut out bushes, cut down some yucky dead trees, and overall just did lots of cleanup. We had 10 truckloads of yard waste to take to the dump in one day. Things look a lot better and more cleaned up now, we still have some tree stumps to take care of, but so much has been done already. Thanks to both sets of parents we had a lot of help and accomplished quite a bit.

Catching Up

2010-08-26T13:50:00.005-05:00

The boys with their cousin Ryan -- good buddies!
Opening presents
Big boys!
Having fun!

Time to blow out the candles!
Sweet Carson
Sweet Cole listening to everyone sing

Wow...It's been a busy month of August. Since our duplex was all packed up and ready to get moved, we decided not to have the boys birthday party on their actual birthday. We just did fun family things on that day. Once we were moved into our house we had a cake and ice cream birthday party and invited family over to celebrate. The kids all enjoyed riding their bikes on the driveway and using sidewalk chalk all over. Here are a few pic's from then.

Thankfully we were able to get our home computer set up so I am just now getting these pictures all downloaded from the past month.

New Home and Kindergarten

2010-08-21T07:18:00.003-05:00

Well, we are back on the internet and all moved in our new house. We are SO thankful for the home the Lord has provided. We had SO much help to get moved, with both of our families and church family as well. We cleaned, moved boxes, and set up beds Friday night. Then Saturday we moved large furniture and cleaned the old duplex by noon. From people volunteering to watch the boys, to helping clean, to helping move, to providing meals for our family, we have been thoroughly showered with love. God is good!

We have been here a week, and it definitely already feels like home. The boys have been out in the yard and the driveway most of the time, so they are enjoying the place already. They've been busy riding bikes, in fact, on Monday Cole asked us to take his training wheels off. He immediately rode all the way down the driveway...stopping and starting were his only issues. He and Marcus are both riding well without training wheels, Cole is still working on getting started by himself, but thankfully he has mastered stopping. :) Carson is content to ride with his training wheels a while longer.

On Sunday night we had the family over to celebrate the twins 4th birthdays. We had ice cream and cup cakes. They really enjoyed the time and playing with their cousins. I will post pictures when I can.

My Mom has been here all week, helping me to get unpacked and settled into our new home. It has been a wonderful time together, and I'm going to be so sad to see them leave on Sunday. Dad was here for the move, then went back home to work all week, and then came back up here last night. He and Levi have some big yard work planned for today. We have several bushes that need to be taken out and others trimmed, and trees trimmed.

The house we bought was built in 1928. It was kept up well, and we did not have to do anything in order to move in. There will be some updating projects and things we will do as we can. We have already done a few things inside, but our first priority is to get the yard cleaned up and how we want it. I will post pictures as soon as we get our home pc hooked up and running. We need to have an electrician out to put in a 3 prong outlet first. :)

Marcus had his first day of kindergarten on Wednesday. He had a few tears the first day, but did very well. Each day since has just gotten better and better for him. On Friday when I picked him up his teacher was reading to the class...she stopped right in the middle and said, "He had a GREAT day"...then kept reading. On the way home I asked him what she meant. He said, " I think she means I talked an aweful lot!" " I talked when I was asked a question and even talked to Jacob. I even played with Jacob and we read a book together!" I said, "well it sounds to me like you made a friend." He said, "Yeah I guess I did...Already!" He was so excited and happy. ---a HUGE answer to prayer, as he is VERY shy and also usually just plays by himself. Thank you for your prayers for him this week, I know the Lord heard and answered.

Happy 4th Birthday Carson and Cole!

2010-08-03T19:09:00.006-05:00

Twins 1 yr, Marcus 2 yrs 10 months

Sweeties
One month

Cole

Carson

First day home, one week old

Two peas in a pod

First time to feed the boys in the NICU

Cole Levi Kelly- 4yrs

Carson Michael Kelly- 4yrs

Opening cards

Carson and Cole,

We love you boys so very much! For your 4th birthdays we celebrated as a family by taking you to a waterpark in Iowa. You love to play in the water, go down waterslides, and run around with big brother Marcus! On the way back to town we stopped and ate pizza, one of your favorite meals.

It seems like just yesterday we were expecting your birth. You are both such a precious gift from the Lord, and we are so thankful to be your Mommy and Daddy. You are both so full of life and happiness, you make us laugh and smile so often. We love you boys dearly.

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, and Marcus

Moving

2010-07-27T09:43:00.005-05:00

Our familiar friends...

The boxes are here and packing has begun

We might need this little handyman and his skills...

Crazy enough as it seems, the Kelly family is moving again, in August, again...only this time we are only moving about a mile away. It seems like it's kind of fast and strange all at the same time because we were not even really looking or planning to look at houses for a few years. One day in July we saw this house that just went up for sale and there was something special about it to both Levi and I. I'm not sure it's as much the house as it is the yard. One thing we have really been longing for is a big yard for the boys to play in, and not worry about the busy street we live on. It seems the Lord has provided the perfect place for us, in this older home from 1928. It is move in condition, but we will have plenty of updating and "projects" when we are able and want to take on the tasks. I hesistated to say anything yet, as we don't actually close until Aug 13. But we sure would appreciate prayer that everything goes smoothly from here on out, and that a renter can be found for our current home. The boys are so excited to have a big yard, and a long driveway to ride their bikes in. Levi and I are excited about the big front porch swing, and calling this home "ours".

Swimming Fun

2010-07-14T16:56:00.005-05:00

It has been a busy week around here, but lots of fun too. Here are some more photo's of Grandpa Gayan's first week here in June. Levi's parents rented out a swimming pool at a local hotel, and we all were able to enjoy an evening of swimming, playing, and having dinner together. There are a few pic's in here of the boys playing in their blow up pool in our back yard too.

Holiday

2010-07-10T20:40:00.007-05:00

We had a fun 4th of July this year, hosting a mostly family and a few friends get together, and then going over and watching the city fireworks display. Mom and Dad were able to come up and spend the weekend with us which was really a lot of fun. Levi was on call this holiday, so we were in town for the first time on the 4th of July. Just as the fireworks began his pager went off and he had to go in to the ER to intubate a patient. He was able to get the patient intubated fairly quickly and was back to pick us up just as the fireworks ended. While the fireworks were going on all I could think about was this patient being in a life and death situation...I am so thankful for my Lord and Savior, and very blessed by our families and friends.

Grandpa Gayan visit

2010-07-09T07:55:00.004-05:00

Someone's eyeing that ice cream...

Sweetness!

Grandpa Gayan

Mike, George, and Jim

Jim and his Dad George

Amanda and Allison

A little gaming action on the Wii

We have had a wonderful time with Levi's Grandpa here! Actually I'm about 3 weeks behind with this post, because he was here for a week in mid June, then Levi's parents drove him to Michigan to be with family up there for 10 days. Currently they are on there way there to pick him up and bring him back here for another week before he flies home to Arizona. We had such a good time with him, and are looking forward to the coming week with him again.

The summer is flying by, hope everyone is enjoying it! There is a lot going on around here right now, very exciting time for our family. I will post more about that later.

More sunshine please...

2010-06-15T12:58:00.003-05:00

Last week we had a day or two without rain, so the boys really enjoyed getting outside and running some energy off. Even though we 've had a lot of rain the past couple of weeks it has been good to be on our summer schedule, and I've been able to get quite a bit extra done around the house that I've needed to do. This past weekend we spent in KC celebrating my Mom's birthday with her. My parents friends had a party for her on Friday night, then Saturday we took her to lunch and spent time with her. We all had a good and relaxing time. I don't have any pictures of the weekend, as I left my camera in the car and totally forgot about it.

This weekend we are looking forward to Levi's Grandpa Gayan coming in to town. He will be here for a month, so it will be good to get so much time with him. Since he lives in Arizona we don't get as much time with him as we would like. I know the whole family has really been looking forward to this.

Time for Summer

2010-06-06T18:59:00.004-05:00

A few minutes of timeout---the excitement about the party made them a little crazy

Excited to go to the party
Kelly boys
Marcus playing in the park

Little monkey Carson

Cole tackling the monkey bars

Marcus mastering the monkey bars

The past week was the first official week of summer for Marcus and the boys. We were still recovering from sickness the previous week, but we still were able to do a few fun things. One day we went to the park with some friends and watched a program sponsored by the library. They brought "Mr. Stinkyfeet" to perform for the kids. The boys loved his silly songs and entertainment. Later in the week the boys were invited to a birthday party for their friend Spencer. The party was a sports theme, so they of course wanted to wear their Cardinals jerseys. We also had the Low family over for a cookout one night, they have 4 kids in and around our boys age. Not only have they been a part of our church family, but Levi has also worked with Brad for the past two years. Brad is done with his residency and they are now moving to Iowa so he can do his fellowship. We will really miss this sweet family, they have been a real blessing and encouragement to us.

Circus time

2010-05-20T12:14:00.004-05:00

The trainer giving him a treat
Marcus

Rolling over

Jumping through a hoop

Taking a bow

What a whirlwind the months of April and May were! Thank you for your prayers. The Lord has been faithful and kind to us over a very stressful time. Last week Levi passed his CRNA board exam and we are so excited and thankful that all of that work/study time is behind him. We were in KC so he could take the test, so that night his Mom and Dad came down and we all went out to dinner with my Mom and Dad, and Greg, Alexis, and Maven to celebrate. It was a very fun time, one that we had been looking forward to for years. We have been waiting for the hospital to give him privileges, so hopefully tomorrow he will be able to start his job. He can not wait to get back in the OR.

Since he has been home the past two weeks and not needing to study, we have accomplished quite a bit. We did some spring cleaning, cleaning out our storage room, the garage, etc. He powerwashed the garage and back deck. We are ready for summer!

This week we all went up to the school for a Circus performance by Marcus class. He was a doggy, who did tricks like jumping through a hoop, and rolling over. It was very cute! All of the kids did a great job! They had made their own decorations, made popcorn, and cotton candy. The twins loved it. It has been a fun week around here. Marcus only has one more week of preschool, then he will be a big kindergartener. Last Friday he was invited by the kindergarten teacher to spend a day in kindergarten to see what next year would be like. He was a little shy at first, but ended up having a great day and says he is very excited to go to school all day next year. He made it all day there on Friday, enjoyed how many times they got to go out on recess, eating lunch there, etc.

MISCHIEF

2010-05-06T09:52:00.003-05:00

mis·chief
–noun
1.
conduct or activity that playfully causes petty annoyance.

A couple of nights ago the boys were playing in the backyard. At first they were just playing catch, then running races back and forth between the fences. Later I looked out and Cole was sneaking around behind the neighbor's shed to try and get on his riding lawnmower, so he was quickly scolded to get back in our yard and leave their things alone. About 5 minutes later Levi checked on them and they had a hold of our other neighbor's birdfeeder (hummingbird feeder with red liquid in it ) and were shaking it around ferociously...again, scolded to leave other's things alone. Not more than 2 minutes later I looked out and they had taken charcoal out of the grill and were using it like sidewalk chalk, ALL OVER our deck. While we were upset with them, it was also too cute to not get a picture, before making them come in to take a bath and get in bed early at 7:15. Somehow I think their "boy-ness" has only just begun... :)

Back to "normal"

2010-04-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

After a couple weeks of sickness around here I think everyone is getting back to normal. Over the past couple of weeks we would have one little guy or another get a fever, but no other real symptoms. The fevers would just come and go. Last weekend Levi got very sick with fevers and a horrible sore throat, so much that he could not eat or drink anything without a lot of pain. He went to the doctor on Tuesday and came back with medicine for strep throat. I took the little boys to the doctor the next morning and sure enough they all had it too. Grandma Kelly was super sick too, and guess what, strep throat. Thankfully everyone is doing well now and is finishing up their meds.

Marcus was very excited to get back to school today. I think he missed it and realized staying home wasn't what he thought it would be. It was good to see him go in this morning with a big smile on his face. It's hard to believe he just has 1 more month of preschool.

Here is a picture of the twins this morning while they were cleaning up their room. They are really starting to be a big help to me around the house. Cole especially likes to help me with folding laundry, bringing down the trash, and cleaning up.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T13:53:00.003-05:00

Jesus is the source of all our hope! He has risen from the dead and will return again! Praise the Lord! We hope you have a blessed Sunday!

ENCOURAGING

2010-04-01T12:55:00.002-05:00

We are really enjoying this beautiful weather outside, love having the windows and doors open. The boys have loved just getting out in the back yard, they just run until they drop... We're so thankful and excited that spring is finally here!

During my morning readings I came across many things that were encouraging. I thought I would share one specifically.

DO YOU NOT KNOW? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD? THE EVERLASTING GOD, THE LORD, THE CREATOR OF THE ENDS OF THE EARTH DOES NOT BECOME WEARY OR TIRED. HIS UNDERSTANDING IS INSCRUTABLE. HE GIVES STRENGTH TO THE WEARY, AND TO HIM WHO LACKS MIGHT HE INCREASE POWER.

THOUGH YOUTHS GROW WEARY AND TIRED, AND VIGOROUS YOUNG MEN STUMBLE BADLY, YET THOSE WHO WAIT FOR THE LORD WILL GAIN NEW STRENGTH; THEY WILL MOUNT UP WITH WINGS LIKE EAGLES, THEY WILL RUN AND NOT GET TIRED, THEY WILL WALK AND NOT BECOME WEARY.

ISAIAH 40:28-31

Daddy's Birthday

2010-03-20T18:05:00.002-05:00

It's Levi's birthday today, the first day of spring, and it's snowing outside...doesn't matter though because we are inside all day watching the basketball tournament and doing things Levi wants to do. It's been a fun and relaxing day! We had the Kelly families over for a dinner celebration last night, which is always a good time too. Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you more than we could ever express in words!

10 Years Ago today...

2010-03-18T08:49:00.002-05:00

I'm thanking the Lord this morning because 10 years ago today, we began our life together. I married the love of my life, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. Happy Anniversary Levi! I love you!

This Month...

2010-03-17T09:48:00.004-05:00

Little guys playing in their room while Marcus was a school
The big guy studying in our room...he'll be so glad when this is done.

So far this month has looked a lot like this...studying, and playing...however we did go to the car show with Grandma and Grandpa Kelly the first weekend of the month, then stayed in a hotel so the boys could swim. I forgot to take my camera with us, but we had a lot of fun!

More school spirit week photos

2010-03-04T13:22:00.003-06:00

Career Day
Career Day

Sports Day

Cole having some fun!

Here are a few more photos from this week. I threw in another one I got of Cole this week playing his "guitar" while Daddy played Guitar Hero...he really gets into it, pretty funny!

Spirit Week at school

2010-03-02T08:27:00.002-06:00

Marcus has spirit week at school this week. Monday was Pajama day and bring your favorite stuffed animal. Today is Cowboy/Cowgirl day, so he dressed appropriately. Here are a few pic's of the fun!

Closing a chapter and starting a new one

2010-02-27T07:25:00.003-06:00

I've really been neglecting this blog...not on purpose I promise! Seems like we've been pretty busy lately, but it's a good busy. Last week Levi officially completed his master's degree, which included yet another trip up to South Dakota. He had his last day as a student on clinicals last Thursday, then we drove to KC to drop the boys off with my parents and our plan was to leave the next morning for SD...as we got closer to KC it became clearer and clearer that the weather the next morning was not going to be good for travel. The worry is that I-29 would be closed due to ice and snow that was coming in later that night. My Dad suggested we just drop the boys off and keep driving that night to get as far as Omaha. We did this, and although that put us in Omaha at midnight, it was definitely the Lord watching over us and getting us to this "exit interview" appointment on time. Long story short, we made it to SD, and Levi had his exit interview with the director of his program. I've never seen such a big smile on my husbands face as when he walked out of that meeting! I was so happy for him and excited to celebrate. It was a really fun evening together, we went to dinner, did a little shopping, and stayed in a hotel that night before driving back that next day. We were both so relieved and thankful to get to this point. As a CRNA here in town, Levi's schedule will be SO much more family friendly than his schedule as an RN working nights. While this past 3 years has been a lot of work for Levi, it has also been a wonderful time for our marriage and our little family of 5. To think that when we started this little journey together all three of the boys were 2 and under...we have SO many wonderful memories together and a million blessings to be thankful for.

Levi is home studying for boards full time, and should get his approval to sit for boards in the mail sometime in the next couple of weeks. He will schedule a time and take those, then start his job on April 1. We are so excited that he is going to be working for this anesthesia group, and he loves all of the people he works with.

The boys are doing very well. Marcus has spirit week at preschool next week, so he'll be dressing up everyday next week based on the daily theme. I'll have to post some pictures on here from that. Speaking of him and school, please be praying for his teacher. She is very young, but in the past week and a half has had two minor heart attacks, and is awaiting an appointment at the mayo clinic to have an extensive evaluation to see what is going on. She is such a sweetheart, and truly has been an answer to prayer for our son. Her and her husband have definitely been on our hearts and in our prayers.

Carson and Cole have been keeping busy, their newest interest is craft projects and cutting and pasting stuff like big brother. Most of the time our house looks like a craft store exploded...Cole has been doing our daily exercises with Levi and I. It's really cute, I can't believe he can actually do some of the things. I can't say I've ever seen a 3 year old do a pushup, but he can.

Levi and I have continued to follow the P90X program, and are doing well. It is very hard physically, but we are noticing small changes and feel so much better. At times the eating plan is difficult, but mostly it has been very manageable for us. Monday will be day 30, when we will weigh and take measurements again, so I'm praying the results so far are good. That would be very encouraging and motivating for us. I have to admit it has been hard not to step on the scale, but we are not supposed to until day 30, 60, and 90.

Well this has turned into a rather long post...guess I need to get back to posting more frequently. If you are reading this, you probably have prayed for our family at some point over the past 3 years, and we thank you so much for that. It means so much to have wonderful family and friends who have supported us, prayed for us, and cared for us. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Weekend

2010-02-05T10:47:00.004-06:00

It's a quiet Friday morning here with the snow falling down. It's beautiful, I love winter so I'm really enjoying it, but I'm always thankful for the spring. Guess that makes me a true midwest girl huh? We have a fun weekend ahead. Tomorrow I am helping with a baby shower for Levi's cousin, so today we'll be busy making dessert treats for that. Sunday we're having some family and friends over for the super bowl. Levi is home all weekend, so to me that is the best part! In fact, two weeks from today he will no longer be a student. He will be done.

F I N I S H E D... and he'll use the following 6 weeks to study full time for his boards exam. It will be such a relief to pass that and have it behind him. Please continue to pray for him if you think of him.

We have really been making an effort to get more disciplined in all areas of our lives. We're finishing up week 1 of a very strenuous work out routine... let me just say we are SORE all over, and in places we didn't know existed. But it's good. We're following a nutrition plan, so I've been trying to keep up with all of the cooking and stuff too. Again, we need prayer in this.

The Lord has been so good to give me such encouragement this week in my daily readings, and in conversations with friends. He always knows our needs, and loves to be in all the details. Also Charles has been going through 1 Corinthians 13 over the past three Sundays, speaking on "The Necessity of Love", "The Character of Love", and "The Permanence of Love"...all very good and such a blessing.

Time with Grandpa

2010-01-25T14:23:00.003-06:00

It seems that January is flying by, and I haven't been very good at getting blog posts on here.
I have been meaning to get this pictures on here too...I guess better late than never!

On one of the days we were at my parents house for Christmas the twins went on a little outing with my Dad to Bass Pro to look around. Levi and I were out running errands and Marcus stayed behind at the house with Grandma, so she wouldn't be lonely (but I'm sure she wouldn't have been). He worries about people being lonely, so he enjoyed spending time with her all by himself. :) Anyway, here are some pictures from Dad's time with the two little boys.

Help for Haiti

2010-01-16T16:12:00.003-06:00

It seems I cannot take my eyes off of the news and reports of this weeks earthquake tragedy in Haiti. I have been thinking about it night and day, and praying for the millions of people effected by it all. It makes you just feel helpless seeing all the devastation...

Our sweet friends Jeff and Tanya adopted their son Stephenson from Haiti, and on her blogs she has many different ways that people can help. Their family blog is private, but she also has this blog, documenting the months that they hosted two little haitian girls while they were in the states getting much needed medical treatment. There are numerous organizations, and ways to give listed on here. So go check it out! Keep praying for the many victims of this horrible tragedy, the volunteers and rescue teams, as well as families who are waiting to adopt. Many still don't know the status of their children or the orphanages. Millions of lives have been affected in so many different ways. Pray that food and water can get dispersed as soon as possible, and that medical attention and supplies would be abundant.

Another great site to check out is the Livesay family blog. Go here, to read about this sweet family serving in Haiti. What God has done in their lives, and through their lives is truly amazing.

Snow Days

2010-01-08T18:39:00.006-06:00

Brothers
Carson

Checking out the hill

Fearless

Marcus
Cole

Wearing out the hill

Carson on his way

Somebody is having fun

Pure joy on his face!

How he ended up

Cole taking a turn

How Cole ended up...laughing his head off

The boys buiding a snow fort
Snowball fight
Marcus

Cole

Hiding from Daddy behind their snow fort

It finally warmed up enough (10 degrees) for the boys to go out and play in the snow this afternoon. To say they were excited is an understatement... Carson and Cole had not been sledding before, so we thought we'd start simple and stay in our yard. I think tomorrow we are going to head out for the big hill at swimming pool park, because our yard is not going to cut it. Carson was on his sled and down that hill so fast you would have thought he does this every day. Cole was right behind him laughing all the way. Marcus has been sledding at a big hill, but I doubt he remembers it. He loved being out there today too! We lasted about an hour before we were too cold and had to come inside. I love seeing the boys enjoy life so much, they are making so many fun memories!

Christmas in KC

2009-12-29T15:22:00.009-06:00

Watching the ice skaters

Hanging out at Crown Center
Crown Center

Marcus checking out this jeep

Marcus trying a new gadget

Cole and Carson working as a team

Carson with his laptop

Marcus and his Bendaroos

Books!

Cole and Mom

Carson

Alexis, Maven, and Marcus

Opening gifts

Christmas morning 2009

Sweet Maven

Dad and the grandsons

Dad's brothers and sister

Mom and Dad with the boys

Our family 2009

Christmas Eve 2009

Crown Center

Merry Christmas

Looking at the Gingerbread house exhibit

The Mayors Christmas Tree 09

We went to KC for Christmas and had a really great time with my family. We were thankful to get there just before a big snow storm and leave after. It was really neat to have so much snow for Christmas, and I'm so glad we didn't have to go anywhere or do anything while the streets were so bad. We had the annual Ballew Christmas Eve get together at my parents house, with about 35 family members braving the weather to get there. I always look forward to that time, and it was really nice. On Saturday we ventured out in the evening to go over and hang out with the Minnis family, which is always a nice time.

Levi used a lot of his time off to study for boards, though he took the whole day off on Christmas to just hang out with us. We all enjoyed the time with my Mom and Dad, as well as Greg, Alexis, and Maven. It was quite a scene on Christmas morning with 4 grandsons taking over the house with all of their "boy" presents and toys! I think Dad, Greg, and Levi enjoyed some of the toys just as much as the little boys! :) Let's just say there were about a million nerf bullets laying all over the house...and you considered yourself lucky if you weren't shot more than once every few minutes. There are a ton of pictures here...enjoy! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our Graduate

2009-12-15T09:16:00.006-06:00

Levi

The boys cheering him on!Silly

Waiting for the ceremony to start
Levi and Jenny
Miniature graduate
Happy for Dad

More silliness

Marcus

CRNA class of 2009 (Levi top row second from right)

Thanks sir

The boys

Ballews

Kellys
Levi and Jenny
The boys with Daddy
Our Family

On Saturday Levi graduated from CRNA school at Mount Marty College. We traveled up to South Dakota on Thursday morning, and it was an "adventure" to say the least. The roads were horrible for a good portion of the trip (all through Iowa), so we had plenty of things to watch for along the way. There were many (at least 60-75 easily)cars and trucks off the road mostly from the storm the day before. We were so thankful to get there safely. The boys enjoyed playing in the pool and staying at the hotel, as well as seeing their Daddy graduate. Two of the three boys fell asleep at graduation, but woke up just in time to see their Daddy receive his diploma. Levi's parents and my parents were there with us, and it was a special time for us all. We want to thank you (both sets of parents) for all the things (too numerous to count) you've done, and all the ways in which you've helped us through. You are a true blessing to us every day. We love you!

Christmas Decorating and Exciting News!!

2009-12-03T12:05:00.007-06:00

Christmas 2009

Mr. Serious
Concentrating on getting it just right

Showing "the brothers" how it's done

The boys

Last Friday we all woke up excited to get our Christmas tree up and decorated, as well as the front porch. The boys couldn't wait to decorate and listen to Christmas music. We enjoyed the morning getting all of that done, then on Saturday we took the boys over to the gym to run off some energy. The 4 day weekend was relaxing and a real treat for Levi especially.

We will be leaving late next week to go to South Dakota...ahhh...this might be the last trip up there for a long time... Levi will be GRADUATING next Saturday (12/12) and we are SO excited for him and thankful to the Lord for bringing him through and confirming over and over again that this was the right thing for our family. Although he is not officially done until mid February, the finish line is very near...and even better yet, a JOB here in town has been offered and accepted! He has been studying very hard for boards, which he will take sometime in March. I know he would really appreciate your prayers in this. It's been so neat to watch how disciplined, organized, and determined he has been in these past few years of this program. The work the Lord has done and is doing in his life is so evident. Levi I'm so proud to be your wife. The boys and I love you very much! Congratulations!! (the boys and I will be sitting there next week with smiles plastered on our faces)

Give Thanks...

2009-11-27T14:35:00.004-06:00

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.

His love endures forever.

-Psalm 136:1

Catching up

2009-11-15T10:23:00.003-06:00

Marcus in his Native American outfit he made at school

Cole fell asleep on the floor

Getting some extra rest

Carson feeling miserable

This week has been eventful to say the least. Tuesday afternoon Carson started getting a fever, which carried on into the next day (and wasn't being phased much by tylenol and motrin) and added in a pretty bad sounding cough. Thursday morning we took him to the doctor only to find out he has the h1n1 virus. Our doctor is really great and told us that most likely all of us would have it shortly, so she went ahead and wrote prescriptions for all of the boys and said to start them on it as soon as they develop a fever. One by one they have each developed the fever. Cole and Marcus are doing pretty well since we started the medicine immediately, Carson is doing ok, it just seems to be taking more of a toll on him. (probably because he had it for a few days before we knew and had meds) Overall everyone seems more tired than usual and coughing like crazy at night.

Anyway, the boys are now quarantined to the house until next weekend...so no school for Marcus. I'm sure he won't mind a little time off, and we have plenty to do here to keep everyone entertained. He's been wearing his Native American outfit (that he made at school last week)around the house, and being the leader of the pack keeping everyone busy playing...when they aren't sleeping. We are so thankful for our friends, family, and church family. So many people have brought things by for the boys, or called to check in on us. We are all doing fine, and looking forward to getting back to our normal activities!

School Costume Party

2009-10-30T16:54:00.005-05:00

Marcus is behind the incredible hulk

Making his bat

Playing pin the nose on the pumpkin
Decorating his candy bag
Checking out the costumes

Having fun

Leading the parade

His locker

School days

Fun with his friends

Marcus and his brothers before school

Marcus had a preschool costume party on Thursday, which also happened to be his birthday. We took birthday cupcakes to share with all of his classmates, and since it was his special day he was the line leader, and his class sang happy birthday to him. He was so excited on the way home because he said they were in the cafeteria having their cupcakes while Meghan's (his cousin) class was in the kitchen making cookies...he said, "Mom her whole class joined in and sang to me also!" He thought that was really pretty special.
Grandma Kelly came over and spent the morning with the twins so I could go up and help with the costume party. They had a parade through each of the classrooms showing their costumes, played games, shared candy, read some stories, and made bats. Marcus dressed up as a doctor for his party, all the kids costumes were so cute, and each one different. This week his class was learning about bats, and Marcus was telling me all about it. I said "let me guess, they are nocturnal"...his eyes got really wide and he said, "HOW did you know?" Ha ha! I told him that Daddy and I learned a thing or two in school long ago as well. :)

Happy 5th Birthday Marcus!!!

2009-10-29T09:00:00.006-05:00

Marcus James Kelly

Kelly Family 2005

Hanging out with the brothers

At Daddy's school

Excited for Christmas
Look what my parents brought home...I'll be more excited in a couple of months...

Happy boy

Blondie

Our little Cardinal

Sweet snuggles with Daddy

Sweet baby

There isn't a better feeling in the world...

Happy parents

Our Baby

Our sweet little boy turns 5 years old today... for some reason 5 seems like such a milestone. Marcus, your Daddy and I have just been talking about how thankful we are that you are our son. You are everything and more than we ever hoped for or prayed for in a child. You are a very caring and loving person, you take care of your little brothers, teach them things, and are protective of them. You are always a big help to Mommy and Daddy. You are working hard at preschool, learning more and more each day, and you have a kind heart for your friends there.

We are so thankful to be your parents, you have been a blessing to us from the very beginning. We love you so much! Happy Birthday!!!!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy, and "the Brothers"

Homecoming 2009

2009-10-19T10:05:00.005-05:00

Action shot

Enjoying some tennis

Marcus and Mommy before going to the movie

Playing the Wii

The boys with their treats from the parade
Watching the parade with cousins, Ryan, Kaitlyn, and Meghan

Got a wave from the Bulldog

Cole, Kaitlyn, and Carson

Daddy and his boys waiting for the parade to begin

Look excited don't they?

Anxious

I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but Levi and I took Marcus to his first movie last weekend. He was in for quite a treat, because not only was it his first movie, but it was also in 3D. We took him to the double feature showing of Toys Story 1 and 2...but we didn't stay for 2. As it was, he fell asleep on the 2 minute car ride home. He loved it, and Levi and I had so much fun just watching him and his smiles as he held his popcorn, candy, and tried to keep his 3D glasses on! Precious!

A couple weekends ago we took the boys to the Truman State Univ. Homecoming parade. It was so cold that morning, but we all had a good time. We met David and his kids there, and everyone went home with quite a bit of candy. Levi and I have been fighting colds this past week, plus he was on call, so we just kind of laid low at home this weekend. I'm including some pic's of the twins playing the Wii. They love to play baseball, and tennis. :)

Dora Gayan...(Dec. 5, 1927-October 11, 2009)

2009-10-15T14:42:00.009-05:00

Grandma Gayan (Levi's grandmother) fought a long battle with cancer, but passed away on Sunday evening. She loved her family, was an amazing cook, and was a big fan of the Arizona Wildcats. Levi has many fond memories of vacationing in Arizona to see her and Grandpa George. Many times in the summer they would drive out to Missouri and stay for a month, on their way to Michigan. Grandma Gayan was deeply loved by many and she will be greatly missed.

A picture of Grandma Gayan with us at our wedding

Great Papa Lebron

2009-10-08T10:13:00.003-05:00

The boys with their Great Grandpa

Levi's Grandpa was able to come out for a visit in September. He lives in Tucson, Arizona so we don't get to see him very often. Unfortunately Levi wasn't able to see him because he was in SD doing a rotation, but the boys and I were able to have a day with him. It was so fun to visit and see the boys interact with him. They loved having him here and showing him all around. What a blessing it is to have family!

Home Again...

2009-09-26T14:12:00.005-05:00

Fall 2009
Early in the morning with Daddy...too early for Cole!

Cole-style swimming

Marcus and Daddy

Marcus

Carson swimming laps

This is much easier he finds out

Running off energy in Falls Park

Marcus - almost 5 yrs

Watching the waterfalls

Twins

Cole - 3yrs

Marcus

Carson - 3yrs

Levi's time in South Dakota was productive as he was able to finish up his heart rotation, as well as defend his thesis. Thankyou for your prayers, I know he really appreciated it. He seems to think it went well, although they have not heard officially how they did. I know he was just relieved to have it over with and behind him. The boys and I drove up last Friday and joined him, kind of made a vacation of it.

We all had the weekend together, which included lots of swimming, going to the Apple Festival, and of course a visit to Chuck E. Cheese. A funny thing happened there, the twins were up by the stage watching the robot-like Chuck E. Cheese sing and dance (as well as dancing along with him, which was funny enough all by itself...) Levi and I totally thought Marcus knew it wasn't real, and he was sitting by us hearing us talk and laugh about the twins trying to get Chuck's attention...Carson and Cole came back and were all disappointed that Chuck wouldn't talk to them. Everyone went about their time there playing games and eating lunch...then all of a sudden someone dressed in a Chuck E. Cheese costume comes walking out to greet some kids who were having a birthday party. After that, he was nice enough to come over to our boys and give them hugs and say hi to them. (Which obviously made their day!) Marcus comes running back over to us and points at us and says, "I KNEW he was real! I KNEW it!"

That next week it got pretty cold there, and was rainy most of the time. The boys and I just spent time swimming and playing while Levi was in classes. It was a nice getaway, but it's also very nice to be home. We are really thankful for the Lord's protection in all of our traveling lately, everything has gone very smoothly. Have a great week, and enjoy these pic's!

On the Road Again...

2009-09-13T20:55:00.005-05:00

Marcus, Jacob, Stan, Cole, Carson, Mike, and Marty

Come on!

I think this one's too heavy for you Carson

The little guys helping Daddy

Well I haven't taken any new pictures this week, so I decided to post a few from last month as it seems we crammed so much into the month of August I didn't have a chance to blog about it all...One of the pic's is from a weekend that we celebrated David's birthday, and had Brian and Becky and their boys stay with us. We had a great time with them, and only wished it could have been a longer stay! They just had twin boys, and already had two boys...SO if you are doing the math that is 7 boys under the age of 6 in our house...(as Becky wrote on her blog, it's amazing we all made it to church on time on Sunday too!) What a fun time!
Most of the pic's above are when Levi arrived home after his month long rotation in Iowa. The boys were ecstatic to have him back home with us...as you can see they quickly wanted him to put the suitcases and books away and just BE with us. The Lord was kind enough to see him through that rotation and watch over the boys and I.
Today Levi had to leave again, but this time to SD to get the rest of his heart cases, and then next week to go to classes and conferences for school. Also next Monday (9/21) he will defend his thesis, so if you think of him please pray that it goes well. He is excited to get it all over with! :) The boys and I are going to go up and join him on Friday, as a little vacation get away...so we're all looking forward to that!

First Campout

2009-09-06T14:14:00.006-05:00

The kids making shadow puppets

Meghan and Marcus

Carson, Ryan, and Cole

Meghan and Amanda

Ryan and Cole

Carson and Ryan having fun

Daddy and Carson making treats

Hanging out

Carson and Marcus by the fire
Watching Uncle David cook marshmallows

Mmmmm.....smores
All the kids singing and dancing around
More dancing

Getting ready to go to bed in the tent

Friday night we took the boys on their first campout. We invited David and Deann's family to join us, and Grandma and Grandpa Kelly came out for a little while to see everyone. We all had a really fun time, and even though we got rained on early in the evening, the rest of the time we were dry and having a good time. The boys were so excited all week, and could not wait to sleep in their tent. We just went out to the State Park that is only about 5 miles from our home, in the event that it was a total disaster we could just get in the car and go home. Thankfully that was not necessary, as everyone had a great time and enjoyed the whole experience. While Marcus was eating a smore (a camping essential) he asked me to lean down, he whispered in my ear "This is the best camping trip ever Mom!" I just love having these family memories!

This Week...

2009-09-02T10:18:00.004-05:00

McKenzie, Cole, Marcus, Maven, and Carson
Friends

My little brother

The guys

The boys blowing an air horn

Dad and all of his grandson's

Carson

Could we cram anyone else in there? :)

Fun in the garage

Saturday the boys and I drove down to KC to spend the day with my family, and to celebrate Dad's 60th birthday. A group of Mom and Dad's lifelong friends got together for dinner and fun. The Dill's hosted Dad's party, which was so nice of them. It was neat to get to see everybody, it had been a while since I have seen them all with all of the moving around and changes my little family has been through. The boys had a great time and had fun playing with Bob's granddaughter McKenzie. She had all three of them wrapped around her finger pretty quickly! ;) It was funny to see them come out of their shells a bit, and before long I was watching them sing and dance for everyone...all the while wondering "Who are these kids?"

We came home the next morning, hoping we would get to spend some time with Levi. He was on call over the weekend, and apparently worked most of it, however was home with us all Sunday afternoon...which was so nice! An extra bonus was that he told me they gave him Monday off since it was looking to be a light day, and he had worked most of the weekend. So Monday we got to spend the day together and really enjoyed all of that time. If you know us well, or have been reading this blog long, you probably hear me say things about "time together" fairly often. While Levi's been in this graduate program "time" is something that is sometimes pretty limited (and I'm not complaining, because we knew that going into this)...so when we are all together as a family it is really appreciated and we are very thankful. The Lord has been very faithful to keep our family together and keep us looking to Him for our next steps.

Preschool Update

2009-08-28T14:08:00.005-05:00

Well it's been a week and a half since Marcus started preschool and I'm happy to report it has been a huge success. Each day he has been very excited to go, not had any tears since day 1, and on the weekends (he's off Fridays too) he's asking "how many days until I get to go back to school?"...I know THAT stage only lasts a while, but we are so thankful that he likes it and has fun while he is there. He has made a few new friends and likes to talk about what they do each day. Carson and Cole are enjoying their time alone with Mommy in the mornings as well. Mostly this week we've just got things done around the house or errands ran while Marcus is at school, but normally I'm hoping to use the time to work with the twins a little on some learning activities and reading books. They are pretty upset that they don't get to go to school yet, so we'll call it their "school time" to make them happy! :)

Levi had a good week back to work, and is really thankful to be back. He's on call this weekend, but tomorrow the little boys and I are planning a quick trip to KC to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday with him. It should be a fun time!

Please be in prayer with us for Levi's Grandma and the rest of his family. Last week we learned that his Grandma's cancer has spread even more, and hospice is now helping to keep her as comfortable as possible. Levi's Dad is flying out to AZ next Saturday to spend time with her. I know he would appreciate your prayers.

First Day of Preschool

2009-08-19T13:12:00.004-05:00

Marcus with his teacher
Playing on the playground

Before school with the brothers

Our Preschooler

Excited to start the day

Our baby is growing up

Marcus started 4 yr old preschool today. I have to say it went very smoothly, and so much better than what we had anticipated or expected. It was funny, last night he had trouble going to sleep because he was so excited! This morning he was the first to awake, and all we heard was chatter between he and "the brothers" about school. Cole was a little upset he didn't get to go! Marcus made sure to impress on him that it was just he that was going, school's only for big boys... ;)

There were no tears shed until we were on our way there. He had a tough time saying goodbye, but his teachers were so good to get him interested in something while I left the room. A minute later I peeked in and he was as happy as could be! We are so thankful! I was really kind of concerned as to how it all might go down.

When I picked him up at 11:00 he was all smiles and took a quick picture with his teacher. He talked nonstop in the car on the way home...told me that they prayed to start the day, he made a friend but could not remember his name, they painted their names and then cleaned up, played inside, and played outside...oh, and "if you have to go to the restroom you should knock on the door first, then if no one answers you can go in". Life lessons... Thank you Lord for a good first day!

Back Home and Our Staycation

2009-08-18T16:40:00.011-05:00

Boys at the Zoo
Mommy and her boys
The African Safari

Riding the train

Train fun

Marcus "helping" make the cakes

Cars rug that Gma Gpa Kelly got the boys

New bikes

Fun with Maven

Opening cards

New legos

Silly boys

Carson and Daddy

Fun on the Carousel

Carson

Cole

Funny bird that would run back and forth along the fence with the boys

Daddy and his boys

Brothers

Cole monkeying around...

Hippo up close to us...

Cole

Celebrating with Payton and Cade, after an afternoon of swimming

Birthday boy "A"

Big 3 year olds

Birthday boy "B"

Well as of last Friday we are all back home under one roof again. Levi did get all the required neuro cases but was still lacking 4 hearts. His director is able to send him to SD for a week in Sept to finish up that portion of specialty rotations. Things didn't go exactly according to plan, however Levi is satisfied with the new plan and at peace with it all. He has to go back for a week of conferencing in Sept anyway, so now this will just be added on to his other week, so at least he won't have to make the drive up there twice. We are thankful for God's mercy in all things.

Wow, the last month has whirled by in a hurry...Levi was able to come see us each weekend while we were in KC. On the boys 3rd birthday we took them to the KC Zoo, afterwards came home and had a family party. Grandma and Papa Ballew, Grandma and Papa Kelly, Greg, Alexis, and Maven were all able to be there. On their actual birthday we had the Minnis kids over for swimming and cake. This year I decided to make them each their own cake. They love to play ball, so Cole got a football cake, and Carson got a baseball cake. Marcus was such a good helper in making the cakes, but especially good at cleaning up! ;)

Tomorrow Marcus starts preschool, and he is very excited about it! I'll post some pic's of that in the morning. On Sunday we had an ice cream social at his school to get to meet the teacher. She is very nice, and we know Marcus will have a great time there. He will only be going 4 mornings a week for 2 hours. I'm expecting a few tears in the morning, so say a prayer for him if you think of him.

This week we are enjoying having Levi home with us, as he took a week of vacation. It has been at least a year and a half since we've had that much time with him. (He had 15 days to use throughout the whole program, and so far has only used a few) We are just staying here in town and enjoying being home. I have a mega TON of pictures from our last several weeks. Today is the first time I've been able to slow down and get them downloaded on the computer. Some are from birthday celebrations, and some are from our visit to the Zoo, none of which are in any specific order... Hope you enjoy!

Clinical Update and Bikers

2009-08-09T21:05:00.004-05:00

Marcus and Carson

Cole

Carson's legs are just barely long enough to pedal, but that doesn't stop him...he's a very determined little guy

The boys...Cole was not happy about going inside
Happy Marcus

The twins

Biker gang

Marcus

Cole

If all was going according to plan, this coming week would be the last week of Levi's specialty clinical in Iowa. Due to some different circumstances beyond his control, he has been unable to get all of the hearts he needs, so unless 4 more come through the door this week he may be staying longer, or might be sent to S.D. to get them done. He has some things to work through tomorrow with his director. Please pray that the director can get him a situation that is both timely and would be the least costly to us. If he could send him somewhere else this week it would really be a blessing...just now sure how fast they can create a slot for him at another site. The Lord knows, and we are just trusting in Him.

With all of this uncertainty I know it was hard for Levi to relax much this weekend, but we managed, and it was a good time. He came back down here to my parents to see the boys and I. Marcus and I had worked with the twins quite a bit last week on riding their bikes, so they were able to show off their skills to Daddy this morning. We loaded up their bikes and took them up to a nearby school to ride on the big flat playground. There are some pic's here of the boys riding earlier in the week in Mom and Dad's garage...their driveway is pretty steep, so not very good for two little boys who are just learning to ride! ;) (but the garage is perfect)

Mom is doing very well since her knee replacement. She is now walking pretty well without a walker or cane. I took her on Friday to get the staples removed. Her incision is looking really good, and we've been very busy with trips to the doctor, the lab, and therapy. She's hoping to start driving again sometime this week. The boys and I have really enjoyed our time here, and especially being able to help Dad take care of her. We'll be heading home later this week.

I have several pic's from our time here (on my camera) that I will need to post when I get home. Mom took the ones above. Enjoy and have a fantastic week!

Happy 3rd Birthday Boys!!!

2009-08-02T21:32:00.004-05:00

Carson and Cole, ready to go home for the first time.

Carson

Cole ready to go home from the hospital

Carson napping

Play time

Back when they looked a little more alike

Marcus holding Carson

Cole and Carson

Marcus, Cole, and Carson

We love you boys to pieces, and we are so happy to celebrate 3 years of your life! Over the past year you both have learned so much. Even though you communicated with each other just fine, you finally both let us in on your conversations by using a bit of english...and now blossoming into two little chatty cathies. We love to hear how you pronounce your words, and learn how to use new words...sometimes they are even big words, for example "ri-dic-er-lus"--used by Carson to explain Cole's behavior at church one night. (Did I mention that you are pretty funny guys too?)You both learned that you no longer need diapers and can potty like big boys, you dress yourselves...as a matter of fact you want to do EVERYTHING by "yourselves". You've both become so independent over the past year and you are growing up way too quickly for your Mommy and Daddy. We are proud of you for making it through the so-called "terrible two's"...though they were memorable, busy, chaotic at times, and crazy fun, they were anything but "terrible".

We love you more than you'll ever know, and we are so blessed to be your Mommy and Daddy. We thank the Lord for you each of you daily. Happy 3rd Birthday Carson Michael, and Cole Levi!

Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and big brother Marcus

Update

2009-07-29T12:42:00.002-05:00

Well the boys and I have been here helping to take care of Mom since last Friday. Her knee replacement was a week ago yesterday, and she seems to be doing pretty well. Night time seems to be the most uncomfortable for her, so she's not getting great sleep. During the day she needs to change positions or do something different every 30-45 minutes, so we are keeping busy. Between daily stuff, exercises, physical therapy, getting labs drawn, and dr. appts, our days are pretty full it seems. She is working hard and doing really great though. It's hard for me to see her in pain, but I know it will get better.
The boys have been SO good, and I'm very thankful. I assumed that they might start acting up some with Levi being gone, but so far so good. The weather here is beautiful and cool today! I think the boys and I will go for a long walk when Dad gets home from work.
Levi is doing well in Iowa. As of today he will have had 3 heads and 2 hearts. He has to have 5 of each case from start to finish on his own before he leaves there. He is planning to come back down this weekend so we can celebrate the twins birthday with them. We had thought of going to see him and going to the Omaha zoo, but plans have changed for various reasons, and it seems like it will be best to celebrate here. We can't wait to see him again!!
The boys are funny. I asked them what they wanted for their birthday, Carson told me he wanted cake and balloons... Cole wants candles... I guess they aren't too hard to please huh? :)

Fun times and updates

2009-07-21T08:18:00.006-05:00

Our sweet friend Ginger had us over one day for lunch and playing. She had bought everything for the boys to make their own pizza's, which they thought was SO fun! I looked over at Carson's pizza and he had a huge mound of ham on his...I guess he is a meat lover. After lunch the boys played with the biggest set of lego's I've ever seen! Also Ginger's dog, Bryant, kept the boys entertained as well. He knows all sorts of commands and tricks, so the boys loved seeing all that he can do.

Levi left for Sioux City, IA on Sunday morning. The boys and I left for church right at the same time...not sure that was the best planning, as I could have used at least an hour or so to put myself back together. It was a teary goodbye, but I'm glad...it should be that way. (obviously we're NOT cut out to ever be a military family) :) We will see him the next couple of weekends so that will be nice. If you think of him please keep him in your prayers. He will be doing hearts and heads on this clinical rotation for the next month, as well as getting lots of schoolwork done, and hopefully finding time to study for boards. In the last couple of weeks he finished his thesis, and in September he will go to South Dakota to defend it. I talked to him last night and he said most of the morning was orientation, but was scheduled to do a craniotomy case yesterday, and said it was pretty cool.

Mom had her knee replacement surgery yesterday, and it seems everything went well. She had a spinal, so she was able to think straight afterward, and even called me a couple hours after the surgery. When I talked to her last night she had already been up walking several times and was still doing ok. The physical therapist said that today would be her worst day, as far as pain goes. Please keep her and her recovery in your prayers. The boys and I will head down later this week to help take care of her when she comes home from the hospital.

Have a great week! Levi, if you're reading this, the boys say, " Hi Daddy!!!" Marcus also wants me to say that they are being good for me. ;)

Whistle while you work...

2009-07-17T11:12:00.006-05:00

Happy about helping

Marcus taking the trash down for Mommy

Cole folding wash rags

The twins helping themselves to the CD player. They love to dance!

These little guys have been big "helpers" lately...sometimes they "help" themselves to things, and sometimes they are sweethearts and "help" Mommy with things around the house. Cole especially enjoys folding laundry and picking up toys. Carson picks up toys, but isn't quite as willing to fold laundry yet...but he watches Cole do it. Marcus is very good at his chores, which so far include making his bed, and bringing the trash down to me from the upstairs bathrooms, and cleaning up toys.

A Whirlwind Trip and Lake Fun

2009-07-14T11:19:00.006-05:00

Marcus enjoying the day

They are all boy...and their Daddy was pretty amused.

The boys
Carson getting some sun
Cole trying to lift big rocks

Croc's also double as shovels

On Saturday the boys and I had the pleasure of attending a wedding reception of a lifelong friend of mine. Our parents have been friends since before either of us were even born, so we grew up living in the same neighborhood, going on vacations and camping trips together, and basically running in the same family circles. Since we're all "grown up" it's been several years since we've seen each other. They got married in Phoenix (where they now live) but the reception was in her parents back yard in KC, which is literally like a park...it was beautiful! To say Janet (her mother) has a green thumb would be the understatement of the year. The boys enjoyed the time, made a few friends, and especially enjoyed the chocolate cake they devoured.

Levi had to stay behind as he was on call over the weekend. He did, however, get to attend another wedding for a couple here in town. Both used to attend our church while they were here in med school, many people came from all over for the occassion.

Since he worked over the weekend, Levi was done pretty early Monday morning, which was SO nice. He came home, talked to the boys about what is going to happen next week (he will be leaving for a month for his hearts/neuro rotation)...to the best of their understanding I think they know the plan, even though their knowledge and sense of time is not the best yet. Marcus just always does better if you try to explain ahead of time how things are going to happen, rather than springing something on him. After this little talk, Daddy lightened the mood and asked if they would like to take a picnic lunch out to the lake and play in the water. Of course there were cheers all around... Here are a few pic's. Have a great week!

Fun 4th and Family Firsts

2009-07-06T10:50:00.005-05:00

Uncle Chuck, my cousin Jim, Aunt Francis, and my Dad
Maven, Alexis, and Greg enjoying the day
Dad and Chuck

Levi, David, Vivian, Jason, Andrea, and Chuck

Levi, Vivian, and David

David, Jason, Andrea, Aunt Vivian, Uncle Chuck

My Family

Andrea and Jason

Cole

The boys and Allie and MaKaila (Andrea's nieces).
Having fun playing hide and go seek in the closet...

Aunt Vivian

The boys enjoying their lunch

Greg, Maven , and Alexis

The boys and I

We had a great weekend celebrating the 4th of July with my family in KC. The fireworks in my parents neighborhood were pretty amazing for a bunch of amateurs! :) After a pretty horrible on call schedule last week, Levi was happy to get some extra and much needed rest over the weekend too. Of course the boys had a great time as usual. On Sunday we were invited, by my cousin David, to the Royals game. We were able to take the twins to their first baseball game ever, and the situation couldn't have been more perfect! David had access to the FS suite, so we were able to watch the game and have the whole suite for the boys to run around in if they didn't want to sit still...which of course they didn't! :) (what 2 and 4 year old boys would?) Maven made good use of the room as well, keeping Greg and Alexis pretty busy following him around. It was a GREAT game, and they keep asking us if we can go to the baseball game again...I think it was a hit! Thanks David for making the day so special for our family.

To make the day even better, my aunt Francis and cousin Jim surprised us by "stopping in" to visit. They came in from California to go around and visit family for a while, and were able to join us all for the game.

Summer

2009-06-25T10:20:00.006-05:00

Well we're almost through June and it's already been a busy summer! Last Friday morning after Levi got off call, we drove to KC to take him to the airport. He flew out to Tucson, AZ to visit his grandparents. His Grandma has cancer again, and it has spread to many places in her body, and they've decided not to treat it. Levi's parents were driving out there, picking his brother David up along the way (who was visiting inlaws in TX), then they all picked up Levi in AZ. It is a sad time, but a good time for them all to be out there together. We are thankful the Lord worked it all out. The boys and I just stayed with my family in KC, which was a wonderful time, then Levi flew back into town on Tuesday. It was so good to see him, even though it was just about 4 days of being apart... Neither of us do well being apart from each other. The boys were excited to go in the airport and see the planes landing and taking off, VERY excited to see their Daddy walk through the gate, but seemed a bit disappointed as we were leaving. Apparently Carson and Cole thought we were all going to get on a plane and go somewhere. :) Instead we walked back out to the car in over 100 degree temps and humidity through the roof, and drove back home. Vacation for us will have to wait! Crazy enough Levi is entering his third year of grad school, and will be completely done in 8 months! As challenging and time consuming as it's been for him, it's been a really fun time in our lives.
We're looking forward to the 4th of July weekend and spending time with the Ballew family, then back home for a couple weeks before Levi leaves for Iowa for a month. He's been very busy getting lots of paperwork done, and classwork, so that while he is in Iowa for the neuro and hearts rotation he can also start studying for boards in the evenings. That will probably be the one plus of that rotation, is that he will have peace and quiet to study like he should for the dreaded test that is 8 months away.
Levi's parents are on their way back home from Arizona, and should arrive in town Friday night sometime. Also David and Deann will be on their way home from Texas tomorrow as well. We would appreciate prayers for all of them and safety as they travel, as well as for Grandma Gayan and the rest of the family in AZ. Hope your having a great summer and staying cool!