The Kelly Journal

2011 Faves

karalynnkelly — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:40:38 +0000

I love lists. To-do lists, grocery lists, top ten lists, etc etc. My brain functions best in list mode. So, here you have it… a list of my favorite 2011 moments (in no particular order). Bring on 2012 and all the lists it will entail.

1. Joshua started walking. Sure, more mobility means more work for us, but how fun to see him run around and explore the world! One of my favorite things ever about this new skill of his is that he’s recently learned how to hold my hand while we walk together. My heart melts when he reaches up for my hand with his little fingers. Sigh.

2. Lots of time in the great state of Washington = lots of time with both our families. We spent a good chunk of our summer in Seattle and while the reason we were there will not be making this list (Jason’s mom’s heart surgery), it was so wonderful to get so much time there (and with sunshine at that!)

3. Mexico, baby. Not only did we trade in a wintery March week for a balmy week on the beach but we spent a chunk of quality time with “Grandpa & Bubbie”. That’s my kind of multi-tasking! Plus, Joshua had his first beach experience to boot.

Oh, and I PET A BABY TIGER. It’s not every year you can say that.

4. We discovered a beautiful lake “hiding” in our neighborhood. Actually, I knew it was there but why didn’t I ever visit? I love living close to a park with water!

5. A new addition to our family: our housemate Brandi. Ok, so technically she’s not a Kelly but she drinks coffee like she is and we’ve officially converted her to our nightly ritual of eating a bowl of cereal before bed. Plus, Joshua adores her and she’s the one who really discovered the lake and she snagged me my part time job. Come on, let’s give it up for Brandeis!

6. Speaking of my part-time job, that makes the list as well. I am grateful for the additional income, the hours that fit our schedules just right, and the finding of a job that includes down time for things like menu planning and checkbook balancing. (I don’t have a picture for this one… I mean, I guess I could bring my camera to work one day and take a thrilling self-timer portrait of me sitting at a desk, but I most likely never will)

In lieu of a work picture, I will include my favorite daddy & son picture of the year. Working a couple days a week has also resulted in more quality bonding time for Joshua and Jason.

7. While Jason’s mom’s aforementioned heart attack and surgery are not things I would have hoped for in 2011, we are oh so ever grateful that she is still alive and kicking. Not only that but she came to visit us! We have enjoyed having “Nanny” around for the holidays and have loved getting to share our life here in Kansas City with her.

8. Eight years of marriage to my bobo. I hope one day we can say we’ve been bobos for 80 years… I’ll be 106 and he’ll be 109 and we’ll still call each other bobo and we’ll still be best friends. That’s my plan. (And Joshua will be OLD.)

9. We took an action packed awesome 5 day trip to California . We made new friends, stayed on a pomegranate farm, Jason spoke at a children’s camp (which he was awesome at), we saw two of my old childhood friends and I had the chance to show Jason my childhood home and city. So fun.

10. This face. Joshua makes it when he finds something utterly delightful. It might be swinging, sliding, puppies, being tickled, his daddy or a number of other things. He’s such a joy.

I thought of about 8,000 more things in the process of making this list but I’m pretty sure I’ve already overloaded you with photos, if you even made it this far. There are many more family members, friends and events I am grateful for this past year. So, thanks for being a part of our 2011 and happy new year!

Merry Christmas from the Kellys!

karalynnkelly — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 03:26:47 +0000

This cute Christmas picture has been on our fridge all year. So maybe it’s because I see it everyday that I felt the need to attempt to recreate the moment this year into one of those “see how much he’s grown” shots. Well, I have to say, there’s a big difference between a 5 month old and a 1 1/2 year old. So even though he’s still as cute as ever and even though he still wears the same cute green diapers, this is the last year of trying to recreate this one!

It seemed like a good idea at the time… until I realized that he is dying to remove all the ornaments off the tree and I just set him so close that he could climb there all by himself. I’m lucky I got any shots that were in focus he moved so fast! (notice he is holding an ornament he managed to get at before I pulled him away)

So here’s our close enough shot for your holiday enjoyment. We hope you all have a fabulous Christmas!

And So It Begins

karalynnkelly — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 21:49:31 +0000

This past week we received all the paperwork needed to begin our homestudy for adoption #2! Yay! There’s quite a bit of paperwork, but luckily, I have that strange gift of loving to fill out forms. I know, I’m weird. So, I’m excited to print it all off and start filling it out.

With the beginning of the paperwork comes the beginning of fees and therefore the beginning of another fundraising adventure. I know you were just waiting for us to announce how you can help fund the arrival of the fourth member of the Kelly family! Wait no longer, your chance is here!

We will be planning a couple of fundraising dinners like we did last time as well as other creative opportunities for you to get involved. In the meantime, we need to raise about $2500 just to get the process off the ground. Would you like to help? Well here’s what to do…

Make your check out to Tekoa 211 and mail it to us (The Kellys • 8204 E. 103rd Terrace • Kansas City, MO 64134). Tekoa 211 is a couple of awesome adoption-lovin’ folk who have created a non-profit so that families like us can offer a tax deductible way of giving. All the money you give will go towards our adoption. Also, please do not write our names on the check. And if you want to receive your tax deduction for the 2011 year make sure it’s postmarked by the 31st!

How much will we need to raise total, you ask? Well, that’s a good question and depends on a number of variables we don’t know yet. We are going with Hannah’s Dream, a local IHOP-based adoption agency. Because of this the costs will probably be less than if we were going with a traditional agency. The staff at Hannah’s Dream take minimal to no salary so that they can offer their services at the lowest cost possible. How awesome are they?! They are an amazing group of people dedicated to loving adoptive parents, birth mothers and children alike with compassion and respect. If we had to guess, we’d say the entire process from homestudy to finalization will cost us between $12,000-$30,000. That’s a pretty big range, we know! So, we’re just going to start where we’re at and update y’all along the way. The cost will depend on the state the birth mother lives in, whether she has medical coverage, her living needs, etc. We know no matter how much it costs that Jesus has our back because he loves this incoming little bobo!

We feel like adoption is not only a wonderful way to grow our family, but it is also one of the ministries God has called us to. It’s not just about getting a baby (although we do hope that’s the end result!) It’s so much more. It’s about offering an alternative to abortion. It’s about loving someone in a difficult situation (aka. an unplanned pregnancy). It’s about caring for the orphan before they ever even become an orphan. It’s about compassion. It’s about raising up a lover of God who will impact the next generation for Christ. So, with that in mind, we are inviting our friends and family to partner with us in this ministry and help us make a difference in the life of a birth mom and in the life of a child. Thanks!

My Recipe for a Happy Thanksgiving

karalynnkelly — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:51:32 +0000

1. invite lots of people over, preferably including a mix of people from different countries. this year’s guest list included people from Korea, Russia and Saudi Arabia!

2. buy a lot of food

3. rearrange your fridge so you can fit a turkey in there

3. find a really cute kitchen helper (this step is essential)

4. make a lot of food (this step is really more like 25 steps in one)

5. while making said food, take a break for a photo op with your helper

6. if this is your first time cooking a turkey by your onesies, make sure you take a picture of yourself and mr. turkey

7. send guests to the yard to play bocce ball while you finish cooking

8. eat. eat. eat.

9. play pictionary

10. only clean up part way and save the rest for tomorrow!

National Adoption Day

karalynnkelly — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 20:27:26 +0000

Today is National Adoption Day! (and all of November is National Adoption Month). Courts around the country are open to finalize adoptions with a special emphasis on adoptions out of foster care.

We thought today would be a fitting day to announce our decision to pursue a second adoption! We’ve been thinking about it for awhile and finally got our act together this week to turn in our application to Hannah’s Dream adoption agency here in Kansas City. We still have a ways to go before this decision becomes a reality in the form of another member of the bobo family, but nevertheless we’re super excited! To sum up the process from here: we wait to hear if our application is accepted, complete another home study, wait to be matched with a birth mother and then wait for placement of baby bobo #2.

We’d appreciate your prayers in this time as we prepare and wait. For the right child to be placed in our family, for baby bobo #2′s birthmother, for peace during the entire process and for God’s perfect timing :)

Thanks! Love, Jason, Kara & Joshua

Happy Gotcha Day, Joshua!

karalynnkelly — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:48:10 +0000

Today is one year from the day we finalized Joshua’s adoption, aka his “Gotcha Day.” One year since he became legally, officially, forever a Kelly… of course he was already family in our hearts from the minute we said yes to adopting him. Nevertheless, we think it’s fun to celebrate his Gotcha Day every year. It’s like having two birthdays! I think I’d like to write him a letter every year on this day as well. My dad wrote each of us a letter on valentine’s day every year when we were growing up (actually he still writes them!). I cherish these letters and the way they convey my dad’s love for me. So, why not a Gotcha Day letter? Here goes year #1 :)

Dear Joshua,

You are a delight! Your joy is contagious, your smile is precious and your laugh is fantastic. I love how you recently realized how fun it is to be tickled. You love to run down the hallway in anticipation that I will chase you and that when I find you I will tickle you. You are laughing long before I ever reach you. It melts my heart and even though I get tired from running up the stairs after you I find myself doing it over and over because of how much you love it. I love the way you adore Tozer and chase her all over the living room so that you can pet her, hug her and lay on her. You LOVE being outside. Swings, slides, sticks… these are your favorite. Daddy taught you how to “sword fight” with sticks and you think it’s the best game on the planet.

You are learning all sorts of new things. You love to imitate the silly noises we make at you. And when we say “Praise Jesus!” you throw your hands high in the air. You don’t say a lot yet but you do have one word down, “mum-mum.” That’s right, you learned the name of your favorite cracker as your first word! You are your father’s son :)

You are officially a little boy now. I can see it more and more every day. Still, I know that when you wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream or whatever it is that wakes you, you will still want to snuggle in close to me. I know that when we’re in a new situation and there’s people you don’t know and you get all shy that you will hold on to me a little tighter. When I see the connection we have my mama’s heart is satisfied and I can be free to let you run and explore and climb.

I love you little bobo. I’m glad we got you and you got us! Forever and ever.

~Mom (feel free to learn to say mama as your next word! it’s so close to mum-mum… I know you can do it!)

Thankful Thursday

karalynnkelly — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:49:27 +0000

Ack! It’s thursday again? How did that happen? This week has been a sicky week for our household. We all caught colds and then Joshua and I shared the stomach flu (thanks buddy!). Blech. One thing I’m thankful for is getting better! I do hate being sick but it definitely makes you appreciate feeling “normal” when you’ve felt rotten all week. And I’m thankful for soooo many different foods that I wished I could eat all week but I was stuck with crackers and 7up. Yesterday I had ice cream. Glory.

I’m also in love with fall. Well, I always have been. It’s my favorite season and the only thing I don’t like about it is how quickly it fades into winter. Once Joshua and I started feeling better this week we made a point to spend some time outside playing in the leaves, enjoying the sun and breathing the fresh air. Joshua LOVES being outside. He loves trees and sticks and leaves and water and dirt and everything about it. Yesterday we went on a family walk, dog and all, and Joshua had a blast (minus the scraped knuckles from attempting to run and not being very good at it yet). We didn’t take our camera on the walk but I did get a couple fun shots of Joshua playing with leaves the day before (okay, I was the one throwing the leaves).

What am I grateful for this week? Fall leaves, fresh autumn air and the health to enjoy it all.

Thankful Thursdays

karalynnkelly — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:39:14 +0000

I’ve recently rediscovered my love for reading. Seriously, it had been over a year since I’d read more than half a book and in the last couple months I’ve read five! The book I’m currently reading is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It’s so good. It’s basically all about growing in gratefulness in the every day, mundane, small things in life. Living fully present in the moment. She’s such a good writer that the pages fly by and pretty soon you realize it’s time to go to bed and you’ve stayed up later than you meant to. Or at least that’s what happens to me.

I’ve decided, like probably everyone who’s read her book, that I want to start a “gratitude journal” to help me open my eyes to the gifts all around me. And I thought it’d be fun to share here and there some of the things with you all. Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn the Kelly Journal into Kara’s personal gratitude blog. I think the things I’m thankful for are way more meaningful to me than to the internet masses (as if the masses are reading this!).

Enough explaining. When I remember, I’ll post a little thing or two on Thursdays that I’ve been thankful for that week. And hopefully it will be something I had the chance to document with a photo because blogs are so much more fun with pictures. :) So here’s my first attempt at growing in gratitude.

What am I thankful for today? Little hands grabbing cheerios. I just love his chubby little hands and how he grabs a whole handful at a time and shoves them into his mouth. I could watch him eat them all day long.

little hands grabbing cheerios

And then there’s the cuteness of how he likes to share with the dog (even though he’s not supposed to and sometimes it turns out bad for the little hands because of the greedy dog.)

sharing beloved cheerios

Summer Fun

karalynnkelly — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:11:35 +0000

We’ve had an action-packed summer full of traveling and family time. And of course, full of picture taking. Click the link below to see photos from our two trips to Washington, a trip to California for Jason to speak at a children’s conference, Joshua’s first birthday in KC, a Kelly family reunion in Oregon, and family visiting us here in KC last week.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110136731710687565810/Summer2011

And here’s a sneak peek from the album :) I just love these cute guys!

On the Move

karalynnkelly — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:18:34 +0000

Joshua took his first steps a few weeks ago. No one told me that first steps does not equal walking! I suppose I would’ve realized it if I put much thought into it, but never had. So for the last few weeks he’s been practicing his two or three steps before toppling over…gaining balance and strength. Last night he suddenly decided he wanted to walk farther! He spent about half an hour walking back and forth between us, to the furniture, to the dog, to his toys. He was so overjoyed with himself that he’d often just throw his entire body at one of us squealing. Too adorable, I tell you. We realized after a bit that this should be documented on film! So here you have it: 11 seconds of walking cuteness.