We're Still Alive!

It's been a long time since my last post. I feel like I've been too busy living my life to post about my life! (I've also been a bit of a slacker when it comes to blogging.) Things at the Kelly house are busy and fun-filled as usual! Micah continues to keep things entertaining and eventful. Colin and I were happy before that little guy came along, but Micah has definitely brought us to a new level of happy altogether. It is so incredible to watch his language develop and to hear what goes on in that almost two-year-old mind of his! But one of the most rewarding things about this season of his life is that he can say "I wuv you" now. It is just heart-melting. He also tells us stories; like how when he saw the "choo choo" he was "scawed," how when he was at the zoo he got a "boo boo," how when we were making play dough the other night he got a "buwn," or how "juice is fun, W is fun, choo choo is fun." It is such a thrill to see the world from his perspective and to see how much he wants to share it with us. He not only wants to share it with us, but with his whole family! Micah loves no one more than his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and now his cousin Elli (and for good reason...have you seen her?) When he falls down and scratches his knee, he seriously calls his family members to tell them about it (okay, okay, we just pretend to call them on his pretend phone, but that's because that would seriously be a LOT of calls) - but the point is that he wants to include them because he is used to them being apart of his daily life. And I am so thankful for that! God has been very good to us. It is so easy to count our blessings, despite the hardship of this season of life. We are insanely blessed by the wonderful things in life that money can't buy.


As for what is going on in the Kelly household, we are still trying to decide what our next step will be after Colin gets laid off at the end of March. However, both Colin and I feel incredible peace that we are in the palm of God's hand and that everything will work out for our best in the end. Not to mention I may be a little too excited about having my husband home at night! The uncertainty of what the future holds can be difficult at times, especially for someone like me who likes to have all my ducks in a row at all times, but it is just another opportunity for me to trust God. As Elisabeth Elliot reminds me, faith is for the times when life doesn't make sense - it is not by sight. We are sure that is God is good, even though we find ourselves jobless in a really *ahem*y economy.

So, to distract ourselves from current events, we have turned off the radio and taken out the markers and construction paper! This Valentine's Day (I know, I know, I'm late documenting again), Micah made all the decorations and we surprised Colin Valentine's Day morning with heart-shaped pancakes and somewhat sloppy one-year-old decorations all over the house. Cheesy? Maybe. But pretty darn cute.

Micah making valentines...

Rolling out the cookie dough...

Before we iced them...


The final product...(not very professional looking, I know!)

Other than crafts, Micah has been absorbing everything we've been teaching him! He loves his ABCs, and now that he can recognize all of his letters he is learning what each letter says (we are teaching him to sound them out). He can sort of count to ten. He is learning colors and shapes and more words every day! We also spend a lot of time out doors. He is forever wanting to go outside. We are so thankful to live on these forty acres, and we regularly go exploring. Sometimes that means we actually go into the pasture to visit the horses (I'm not always comfortable with this because I don't know if it's safe!), sometimes we trek down to the river, and sometimes we pick out hiking sticks and we hike the trails Mr. Castro-Miller has blazed through the woods. Though at times I get a hankering for a dishwasher and a bathtub, most days I don't know if I ever want to leave this place! Could it be any more fun for a little growing boy?