The Kelly's 2012 Top Ten

Because I know some of you missed our top ten letter this year, I had it written before I felt a prodding to write something different.  Here is the Kelly's top ten list from 2012.  I hope you enjoy it.

THE KELLY’S 2012 TOP TEN                   

10.  We enjoyed my sister Nicci and niece Addisyn living with us for 6 months this year and becoming part of our family while Joseph was deployed to Afghanistan.  It was so nice getting to know adult Nicci and her precious daughter.  I am so glad we had that time together.  

9.  We (Mike and I) took a life changing trip to China.  Our world view has been changed.  

8.  I have been busy chasing 4, no make that 5 busy children around.  Highlights from the year include running a half marathon with my sister Jen, going to MOPS convention in Dallas, and watching my babies grow into the people God is making of them.

7.  Mike has also been busy.  He works for WL Gore and Assoc. and travels throughout the northwest and Utah.  He did the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3, and ran a couple marathons.  He loves chasing his kids and watching them do what they do.

6.  Ainsley is 4 and a spunky gymnast, ballet dancer.  She loves animals, and has adopted Uncle Craig’s horse as her own, though Craig still boards it and does all the work. I think it is in name only, which she has changed several times.

5.  Wyatt is crazy and adorable.  He has managed to only get in trouble 2 times the entire year at school.  Pretty amazing for my wiggly, little man.  He is a terror on the soccer field and loves to play hoops.  He ran cross country for the first time and improved throughout the year.  Looks like we have another runner on our hands. He has been playing piano for a year and is doing well. 

4.  Holden is soft spoken and passionate.  He is doing well in school and loves his teacher.  He is also doing great in soccer and loves basketball.  He continues to improve in his piano abilities. This was Holden’s first year doing cross country as well, and he had a very successful year.

3.  Brandt grew up on us this year.  He is ten, which apparently means responsible and helpful and loving.  He is doing excellent in his studies, and working hard in basketball, soccer and cross country.  He has a compassionate heart and we are loving watching him turn into the young man God is making of him.

2.  We went to China to bring home our daughter this year.  Grace Evelyn is our baby girl, born in China Feb. 9, 2011, born in our hearts March 26th, 2012 when we saw the first picture and in our arms Oct. 8th, 2012.  She is changing everyday and we are watching what God is doing in her.  It has been an amazing journey and we are so thankful we could be a part of it.  

1.  We are most excited at this time of year for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.  To Him be all the glory.

Happy New Year

Greetings and Happy New Year.  Because it is the last day of the year, I have been thinking about this past year, and the changes that have taken place.  What a difference in our lives.  We were sad last year when we knew we had a daughter out there, but she was not with us to celebrate Christmas.  We were anxious to know who she was.  We were preparing for traveling to a foreign country to get her.  We were finishing our stacks and stacks of paperwork and we were waiting.  Thankfully we can turn around and look at the year and say it wasn't that bad, the wait wasn't that long, and it was all so worth it.  Grace is here with us this year.  She celebrated her first Christmas.  She opened presents and found her stocking.  She joined us at her first church service.  It was such a glorious day when I knew she was getting to hear about her Lord and Savior surrounded by her church family.  The kids have learned compassion and caring.  They have realized how unfair life is.  They see the world through bigger eyes.  They have learned to pray, and be thankful when prayer is answered.  I loved this year.  It has been a big one.  I have changed.  I am feeling the need to simplify life and embrace every moment.
Grace is doing so well.  She is making noises that could eventually be words, and has picked up on various signs very quickly to convey what she needs, especially if it has to do with food.  Her appetite is awesome.  She is adventurous and likes many of the new things she tries.  She doesn't seem to have any problems eating even though half of the roof of her mouth is open.  She is healing very nicely from her first surgery.  We will be going in for her next one mid spring.  She continues to remind us what being faithful looks like and how joyous it is when we hear God's plans, and follow through with them.

 Grace dancing around with excitement even though she didn't know what was going on.  Her siblings were so excited, that she just joined in.

 We visited Grandpa Kelly the day after Christmas and had a great time seeing him and Evie and her family.

 The five kids all dressed up for the boys Elementary school concert.  They were precious.

 We went out and watched the bald eagles that come into the area to eat the young fish in the lake every year.

 We visited Jenny and her family and spent a day at the beach.  It was so nice.  No wind and very little rain.

 Grace was walking with daddy on the beach.

 Ainsley getting some sand time.

 Ainsley and Kaylee enjoyed digging holes.

 Holden started up his own game of soccer.

 Love my kids.

And lastly, Braden was not very impressed with the waves at the beach.  He was a little nervous.  He was happier watching from the car.

Nearly Christmas

Wow, has it beens two weeks already since surgery.  Life has a way of just marching on.  I believe it has been two weeks because Grace looks fantastic.  She has healed so nicely.  I am going to be honest here.  I am feeling a bit weird about the surgery.  I always wondered how I would feel if my child was born with a visible birth defect.  My kids are so adorable, I just didn't know how it would affect me to have one of them born that wasn't "perfect".  When we were matched with Grace, I was in love with her.  Her eyes were so big and so lonely.  She didn't smile in the pictures.  She looked hesitant.  I didn't want my baby girl to feel that way.  I fell in love with her with her cleft lip.  It didn't take away from her beauty at all.  She was gorgeous, and I was in love with her.  When we met her, we didn't feel any different.  She was still precious, and I loved her first smile.  With the cleft lip, it filled half her face.  She was so joyful and loving.  I was again in love with this precious child, just the way she was.  When we knew we would have a child with cleft lip and palate, we immediately looked into how to fix it.  I know it is better for them to have a repaired lip and palate, but I was totally in love with the little girl God had given me, I was scared what would happen after surgery.  Would she look the same?  Would I feel guilty about wanting my daughter to look "perfect" like her siblings?  Would she have the same spunky adventurous attitude we were beginning to see in her?  All of these unknowns were hard for me.  I look at my daughter now, after 2 weeks with a new face, and I am still just as in love with her.  She is returning to the spunky little one we love.  She had a rough first week because she was in pain, but she is doing so well now.  Right this minute she is playing blocks with her older siblings.  She has mastered the stairs, up and down, but I am still very nervous when she tries.  She will eat anything we put in front of her, including tomatoes (she gets that from her dad).  She loves to cuddle and wakes up grumpy.  I don't see her any differently than I did before, but she looks so different to everyone else.  She is beautiful and amazing, just like her siblings.

Baby Stair Climber

Repaired lip

First day on the slopes.  Awesome.

Christmas time has been busy.  The boys had a school concert as well as a piano recital.  Ainsley finished up her basketball season (which was so adorable), and Brandt has a bit of a break from his hoops.  We have spent the entire day in our jammies, and have only left the house to run through the Starbucks drive thru.  I love days like this.  I don't ever get them.  I think we will finish the Christmas cookies, then go and watch a movie.  I can't find my camera cord right now, so I have only included pics from my phone.

Post surgery

We were so blessed to have familiar faces in the hospital today.  We have a good friend that was one of the surgeons and he just came out and told us the surgery couldn't have gone better.  We are so relieved, but for me, I just want her in my arms.  I want to be able to comfort her and keep her close and reassure her that her mommy and daddy still love her and are right here waiting for her.  We are so happy things have gone well.  Thank you so much for praying for our baby girl.  We will continue to get info to you through here.  We just talked to her main Doctor and she did great.  Everything came together as it should.  I am including pictures that show her for the last time with her cleft lip :).

Ok, didn't get this posted because Grace has been very hands on since she came out of surgery.  I have a couple minutes now and I will get this posted really quick.  Her face is beautiful.  She is getting her independent spirit back.  She is still the sweet little girl she was when she went in.  She loves her family and still sees as a source of comfort.  I am so relieved.  She is not on a lot of pain meds now, we are just waiting to see how long it takes for her to take a bottle again.  She started eating solids again today.  She downed some yogurt and a Starbucks petite vanilla scone, kid has great taste.  Here are a couple more pics of her after surgery.

Surgery Day

Just wanted to let you all know today we are taking Grace in for her first surgery.  She will be in surgery today from 7:30 until about noon.  Please pray the doctors have a successful outcome and that Grace is not changed by the procedure.  I know we are going to see a changed smile, and I am glad, but I don't want a changed baby girl.  She is so amazing and joyful and fun.  I don't want her to remember any of this.  Please pray.  I will update after surgery.
Thanks.

Long overdue update

Hey all you patient people.  I have been meaning to sit down and update this since, well forever.  I have so much to share.  Grace is doing wonderful.  She has taken off full speed ahead with the walking and acts like she has been doing it forever.  She is picking up signs everyday, though she doesn't always use them appropriately, we'll get there.  She has gained 2 1/2 pounds and 1 inch in a month.  She is happy when she wakes up, and she is sleeping more soundly through the night.  Her personality is blossoming.  She is so happy and busy, its like she was made for our family.  I know God picked just the right kid for our household.  She has been to the pediatrician twice, as well as the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, and the plastic surgeon.  She is healthy with concerns only arising from her cleft lip and palate.  We will be going in for surgery Dec. 7th at 7:30 in the morning, and she will be having her lip sewn up as well as tubes put in her ears.  It is common for cleft babies to have trouble with their ears, so she needs the tubes to help her begin hearing better.  I am not looking forward to surgery, or to the stay in the hospital, but we knew what we were getting into.
I have been asked a lot about the rest of the kids and how they are adjusting.  I just want everyone to know, they are acting like they just got a new sibling.  In their amazing and loving minds, it doesn't matter that Grace came from China instead of my tummy.  They love her, and over love her, just like they would any sibling.  Ainsley has taken on the role of big sister and embraced it.  I have to tame her sometimes.  The boys love playing with her and keeping her out of trouble.  Brandt is so grown up and mature about everything.  Holden is loving and caring.  Wyatt felt she was stealing a bit of his attention, but loves her anyway.  It has gone amazingly smoothly.
I must say, it has been through prayer that this has been just an amazing process.  God has walked through it all with us.  He prepared Grace for us and us for her.  She was meant to be in our family, even though I am heart broken over the mother that left her at the entrance to the hospital.  If people ask, I tell them it has been an amazing journey.  I must remind myself to also say, it hasn't been easy.  It has been very hard and emotional, and expensive and exhausting, but it has been amazing to see the hand of God on the entire process.  He has been faithful to see us through the process and to bring our baby home.  There is a Tobymac Christmas song that has the verse from James in it "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows"  I start tearing up every time I hear it because Grace is no longer an orphan.  She is our daughter and she has a mom and dad and siblings that love her and accept her as a Kelly.
I will go now and chase some kids.  Maybe clean a room or two.  Blessings in this Holiday season, and maybe it won't be so long next time before I sit down to blog.

Our advancing daughter

So, it has only been about 3 weeks since we returned to the US with our new daughter.  We returned and expected her to begin to develop and catch up with her peers, but we weren't prepared for how quickly it would happen.  Let me just say, when we got her, we felt she had the development of a seven month old.  She would sit, but not really play and not move around at all.  She showed very little emotion, other than screaming and crying, and she was uncomfortable being held.  I have to write this all down, because I will not remember this for long.  She is advancing at lightning speed.  Mike and I joke about how we like instant gratification.  Well, she is advancing so quickly, we are rewarded daily with how much she is learning.  To look at her today, you can almost picture her as a 21 month old.  I am going to outline some of the progress we are making, more for me to remember, because I don't ever want to forget how much God is doing in this precious child's life.  It took a week for us to see her first beautiful smile.  We now see it all the time.  She smiles in response to family and friends, and when she is enjoying a fun toy, or being entertained by one of the pets.  Her smile lights up her whole face.  When we got her, she screamed in the bath.  She hated being in there.  The last bath we gave her, she didn't cry at all.  She enjoys having water poured over her head and she likes to splash.  When we got her, she hated cars or any vehicle that moved.  She screamed so hard a couple times, she threw up.  Now she fusses when we strap her in, but calms down and enjoys the ride.  She enjoys watching her siblings and she also sometimes even falls asleep.  When we got her, she did not move.  We didn't think she was capable of crawling and we expected it to be months before she did.  Well, the day of her first pediatricians appointment, 4 days after we got home, she crawled after her sister, then Monday of this week, she decided to start walking.  Awesome moment.  She was playing with Mike and I during Ainsley's gymnastics class, when we decided to send her back and forth between us.  She was so reluctant to put weight on her legs, but we convinced her she could, and all of a sudden she was walking.  For two days now, she has taken off.  She is a walker.  She still gets very nervous, but she is learning.  We now hear her babble constantly.  I had to take her out of the kids' assembly today, because she was being a little chatter box.  I know my Sunday's with her in service with us are numbered.  I am praising God, because she was silent except for when she cried the first couple weeks we had her and now we hear her all the time.  She says a word that sounds like hi when she waves, she looks at us when we call her name, and she knows who mommy and daddy are if you ask her.

Grace walking video

The walking thing caught me off guard.   I was expecting at least a month of wobbles before she was really walking, but I really think she wants to catch up and chase her siblings around.  She loves them. It is so sweet.  We are thankful she is walking now, and not in a month, because we are hoping to have her first surgery on her lip in about a month.  I would love for her to be solid on her feet without the constant worry of her falling and splitting her newly sealed lip open.  We are preparing for some hard times around her surgery.  It is a pretty complicated procedure to get all the muscles realigned and the tissues where they belong, then recovery, hoping it stays sealed with no infection and that she starts eating again quickly.  She is tiny.  We know she had only gained about 1 pound in the 9 months from her medical exam last Dec. to the day we got her.  She has a lot of catch up to do.  She has no reserves to call on if she isn't eating constantly.  We are hoping this month, while we are waiting for her surgery date, she will fill in some, so she has some extra energy and weight to rely on while she is recovering.  The doctors feel she is healthy enough for the surgery, but it would be nice if she was eating well before the procedure.  There are so many other things she has learned, I am already forgetting.  She is feeding herself and chewing, she is playing with toys, and interacting with her family.  All of this is new.  She is amazing and a testament to what God can do, and what love is capable of.  We are blessed by her and blessed by this journey.

 Crawling

 Pumpkin patch

 Pumpkin carving

 Our ladybug

 On our way to Hooray Candy at the church

Preview of family pictures 2012

The rest of the fam is doing great.  We celebrated Halloween at our church party, and by carving pumpkins.  We attended a couple of end of the season soccer games.  We started basketball season.  We are getting excited about seeing family over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We are looking forward to everyone meeting our new addition.  Life continues, and we are adjusting to life with 5.