Christmas Letter

The Cleavers (oh I mean) Kelley’s

2010

Well it has been a super year, filled with happiness and joy for twelve months. Everyone is doing just fine and we are thrilled for the New Year. How could our lives get any better? I mean honestly, with a charming husband and three perfectly mannered children, my life as a homemaker is swell on all accounts.

Let me begin with my kind husband, as he is the leader of our home, and so perfect in every way. He loves his job, while I am not quite sure what he does, he is always happy to go and when he returns home to us his disposition is quite enjoyable. He is thrilled to sit down to our home cooked meal and share his day with us and then politely ask each of us about our day, he is so thoughtful. He is always so loving and kind with the children, yet he knows when to have a firm hand. Jimmy is such a good man, it really is true, father does know best.

My day is not nearly so hard it is a dream to tend to the needs of my husband and children. They are all so special to me it is truly a pleasure to pick up after them, clean their clothes and prepare well balanced meals for them. I rise early each glorious morning to help them get ready for their day, I want it to be started off right with a nutritious breakfast and lovingly packed lunches. With a kiss and a smile I send them on their way knowing that their day has started on the right foot, oh what a swell feeling that is.

Sweet Alexis is growing into quite the young women, she will be twelve this coming January and fills our home with harmony each and every moment. Lexi, as her friends call her, began 6th grade this year and is doing just splendid. She participates in the band playing the flute and does such a fine job, she is also getting perfect A’s in all her classes. This year she is also a member of the esteemed theatre club, and has the part of a Narrator in the school play. Alexis loves to watch over her younger siblings so Jimmy and I might have a weekly date, she is such an angel.

Our wonderful child Grace is six and has a great spirit for life, she smiles all day long and takes glee in spreading smiles to others. She is in the 1st grade this year and works very hard. For Grace, GYM and art class are just nifty. Grace plays just beautifully with her younger brother, always looking out for him it doesn’t bother her one bit to have him tag along behind her.

The youngest in our family, James is turning three in a few short weeks. Golly gee he is such a boy, running, jumping, playing sports and enjoying comic book characters. James is well behaved and never flips his lid. Spending my afternoons with James puts me on cloud 9 as we sit and play educational games and when the weather is nice we visit the park.

We feel blessed this year and expect great and wonderful things in the year to come. Our family has been enriched with family and friends who love and support us; we are grateful for you and hope that your homes and hearts are filled with joy and wonderment this holiday season.

Most Humbly,

The Kelley's

Keepin it real:
Jimmy is currently working at Buckley Air Force Base as a Project Manager in the Engineering department. In his off time (when that occurs) he enjoys watching Supernatural and sleeping.

-Marylin (me), this year has been quite busy with my Photography business. I made 3 trips to Vegas for photo sessions, and have more trips in the works. There hasn’t been much time for sewing or anything else really but I am working on finding that “balance” that I hear so much about. When I am not editing I love to try new recipes, go on date nights with my husband, and spend time with my amazing friends.

-Alexis (almost 12), says that “She feels as though she was always meant to be in middle school.” Her life goal is “To visit the Mall of America and then be an actress.” Lexi really did achieve a 4.0 GPA, and loves being in the drama club (very surprising).

-Grace 6 ¾, continues to be our little spitfire, she makes me laugh and lose my mind on a daily basis. She loves to laugh, and since she is now missing both of her front teeth her smile is that much more enthusiastic. School is still a challenge but she is making tremendous progress and she loves to learn, it just comes at a little bit different pace for her.

-James (almost 3), is such a silly boy. He loves to dress up as “Pider-Man” and Batman regularly, watch Little Einstein’s, and help me in the kitchen. While he can be wild and crazy, he is super sensitive and hates getting in trouble. James constantly has some new catch phrase that he has picked up from his sisters, like “That’s not fair!” or “You’re so mean MOM!” (Aww the joys of an expanding vocabulary.)

BIG CHANGES AHEAD
Just in the last few days Jimmy accepted a position in a completely new line of work and in a completely new state. He will begin working from home for an internet marketing company starting in January, and then in July we will be moving to Utah (Lehi/Orem area). We are very sad to leave our home and friends here in Colorado, but life is an adventure and we are excited for what new things are ahead.

***I know it has been a super long time since my last post, if I am being completely honest I have mostly been a complete wreck, no really, I have. I think, no, I know that I allowed my photography business to take over my life. For the future I am trying to decided if there is space in my life for it, and if there is, how much. It's hard because I LOVE the art of it, but the business side kicks my trash. I already feel like I am letting my family down when I HAVE to work, but then I feel like I am letting my clients down when I HAVE to take care of my family. So in the end I am letting someone down and I end up a complete MESS, not enough time, not enough me. Forget about seeing my friends or doing anything fun, or anything else for that matter. I have never functioned well when there is too much on my plate, and this time is no exception.

The blog has been pushed to the side while I have tried to get a grip on my emotions, my sanity, and my priorities. I have missed the outlet of writing it all down and so if I were to set a New Years resolution it would be to make time to write, read, sew, see friends, work out, sleep, cook, and love on my husband and children.

I will say that one of my latest priorities has become getting back to the gym, I have ALWAYS LOVED the feeling of working out and in recent years it took a seat on the bumper (not just a back seat) of my life car. Well for Christmas I asked for a gym membership and my husband delivered. So for the last week and a half I have been working out like my life depends on it, ok so it's mostly my sanity that depends on it, but gosh darn it feels great, no AWESOME!! So this is where I am right now and for those of you that wish I were somewhere else, what can I say, but Too Bad.

Sunday Scripture: Never Alone

Matthew 14:30-31
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

In the May 1991 Ensign Thomas S. Monson spoke of the difficulties in War, not only in battles with guns and tanks but the war that can sometimes be the fight in our lives. Struggles that will inevitably come for all of us, he reminds us that we must comfort each other, reach out, love, and lift one anothers burdens and to also know that the Lord will lift ours.

To you He speaks the heavenly and divine assurance: “I am with you; you are never alone.”

The Following is one of my Favorite songs from Lady Antebellum:

May the angels protect you
Trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when its time to go home
May you always have plenty
The glass never empty
Know in your belly
You're never alone

May your tears come from laughing
You find friends worth having
As every year passes
They mean more than gold
May you win but stay humble
Smile more than grumble
And know when you stumble
You're never alone

(Chorus)
Never alone
Never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart
When you face the unknown
Wherever you fly
This isn't goodbye
My love will follow you stay with you
Baby you're never alone

Well I have to be honest
As much as I wanted
I'm not gonna promise that cold winds won't blow
So when hard times have found you
And your fears surround you
Wrap my love around you
You're never alone

(Chorus)
Never alone
Never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart
When you face the unknown
Wherever you fly
This isn't goodbye
My love will follow you stay with you
Baby you're never alone

My love will follow you stay with you
Baby you're never alone

May the angels protect you
Trouble neglect you
And heaven accept you when its time to go home
And when hard times have found you
And your fears surround you
Wrap my love around you
You're never alone

(Chorus)
Never alone
Never alone
I'll be in every beat of your heart
When you face the unknown
Wherever you fly
This isn't goodbye
My love will follow you stay with you
Baby you're never alone

My love will follow you stay with you
Baby you're never alone

I must say that in my life I feel and see the waves of struggle, sadness and trials roll, as well as in the lives of those I love. In many respects it is much harder for me to watch others in their difficulties when it seems so unfair and there is very little I can do. I know that those things are out of my control and that the Lord is the one in charge and yet there are still moments when I wish it wasn't His plan for them to suffer. I want to yell at Him and say "Give it to me!, give me their pain!" and then I remember it is Him who will take it and relieve them in His time and way!

I know that my part is to love, to listen, to pray and live my life being grateful for my friends and family and support them in any way that I can. Over the weekend I was blessed to spend several hours with my extended family and my heart was filled with gratitude that these people are related to me! That I, was placed into the midst of such amazing strength, kindness, love and wisdom.

I was speaking with a cousin about how amazing my mother and her 4 siblings are, that there couldn't be 5 more compassionate, loving, funny and generous people all in the same family, anywhere else! Of course we are biased, but it makes me realize how important living righteously is, that for generations after me there will be those looking up to my example. Will I make mistakes, have I made mistakes, yes, but it will be how I recover from those mistakes and how I overcome my trials that will be my mark.

Tonight I am grateful to know that I am not alone and neither are my friends and family who are dealing with their own private struggles!

Love to You,

Happy Sunday

Marylin

Coming to the End of Summer

Well this past week I had aspirations of doing some fun things with the kids since it is their last full week of Summer break before school starts.  It didn't really go as planned but I think we still got out and did a few things, Monday we went swimming with our friends the Andersons and the kids LOVED it!  Grace had been anticipating the Ward Swim Party the previous Friday but when the afternoon thunderstorm moved in it was canceled, which for Grace, means devastation so when my friend Jen asked us to come down to their community pool I was ALL for it!

And if your sister won't let you out the gate when you want out........

.......it makes you sooo mad!!!!

This little love is my friend Jen's daughter Lucy and I just want to eat her, so funny and so expressive!

Tues and Wed we played at the park and hung out at the house just chillin! I must say that while I like to get out sometimes, I am kind of a homebody and I don't mind having days where we aren't scheduled and busy! However I have had TONS of editing to do so that took up much of my time.

Thursday evening we went over to the Kelley's for a birthday for our nephew Jr., aka Baby Will, aka Little Will, aka Little Willie, seriously the poor kid won't know his name because EVERYONE calls him something different lol, he turned 3 so we went over for a mini party.

Friday I woke early to head out to some garage sales, my true love, (it was a friends that is moving) where I ran into a new friend, Michele, from my ward, she and I headed to another garage sale and then back to my house to hang out for a little while. Michele has the cutest little girl my kids were wanting to hold her and love on her, poor thing. After they left we all got our chores done and headed to the library, where I had to handle some mean girls that were playing tricks on Grace, James was addicted to the water fountain, and Lexi wanted to check out every book they have. Since I am already reading a few I restrained myself from checking any out.

As we were leaving the library Jimmy called to say he was on his way home, which made me very happy since it was a little early. He said that he and Rob were gonna go hit some golf balls but thanks to the normal afternoon thunderstorm they changed plans and we decided to have dinner and then they went to do boy stuff at Best Buy! I got the kids to bed and then enjoyed some quiet time reading for the night!!

Saturday we were up and going pretty early because Lexi had a practice with the activity day girls who are singing in church Sunday.  While she sang, James and I headed to another Garage sale (another friend is moving) :(   we hung out and talked and James enjoyed punch and cookies.  Then it was back to pick up Lexi and home to work around the house and eat lunch, followed by an afternoon out with Daddy.  He sweetly took all 3 kids out to spend some time with him, I was able to edit and take a short nap, then we were off and headed to Granny and Grandpa's for dinner.

 After a delicious "Granny cooked meal", we played out in their back yard for a while enjoying the beautiful Summer evening!

I am gonna miss the luxury of lazy days and Summer evenings here in the big CO, but getting back to a school schedule will be nice too! 

Flashback Friday: 4th of July Weekend

We started the weekend off with an adventure in Letter Boxing, it was our very first time. For those that haven't heard of Letter Boxing, it is similar to Geo Cashing, if you have not heard of either of them let me give you a brief description. Using a map provided by a website you follow clues to find a treasure, with Letter Boxing there are small boxes with homemade stamps that you stamp in your own little notebook! The kids LOVED it, it made hiking more of an adventure when they knew they were looking for something! Our friends the Clarks introduced us to this fun idea and we can't wait to go again!!

The kids getting ready for the hike
(look at the stink eye being exchanged between Sophie & James)

After a few different hikes in search of the boxes we found a great place for a picnic and ate some tasty sandwiches and let the kids play, they decided that playing in a nearby stream was just too tempting! Have I said how much I love it here lately??!!



After we filled our bellies and rested a bit we decided to explore once again and headed up a trail near the picnic site! I came upon these gorgeous flowers and sitting on them were these teeny tiny grasshoppers!! So cool!


It really was a great day and when we got home that evening the Kelley kids were beyond exhausted and slept very well!!! Thanks Kari and kids, it was so much fun!!



Saturday the 3rd we went over to Jimmy's parents house for a BBQ and fireworks! Jimmy was master of the grill and made some yummy burgers, hot dogs and a ground chicken sandwich for his wife who doesn't enjoy burgers and hot dogs!!

Jimmy showing us the "Proper" way to jump the smoke from the smoke bombs!

Great Grandpa and James making their way down to the fireworks

And of course I had everyone wearing Red, White & Blue

After the food we all went out to take part in our small firework show, it was fun until some people took a few too many deep breathes of the smoke.

After that a bunch of us piled in the cars and headed out for the Town of Parker Fire Works!! The kids were BEYOND tired by the time we found a place to park and sit, but when the show started it was all worth it!! However it did take us an hour to get out of all the traffic after wards, and then an hour back home so it made for a long night, yet again the Kelley's slept well!!

I didn't even take 1 picture on Sunday the 4th of July, I know I'm a slacker. We went to church and then had friends over for a BBQ and good conversation and a late night movie at their house for the adults. It made for a nice quiet evening.

I have a deep gratitude for those that have served and do serve our Country! I have many members of my family that have been in the military and I feel blessed to be a recipient of their sacrifice. I love being an American and living in a country where I am free to practice my faith, and believe in what ever I choose!

The Reasons Why....

...I spend less time blogging
Less time editing pictures (sorry to those waiting)
More time laughing
More time happy
Less time alone
Less time sleeping
More time out of my mind
Less time knowing the answers
More time grateful
and More time being Me

Sunday Scripture: A Little Bit from the Heart!

I have been thinking all day about what scripture would be great to share. I have been reading in The Pearl of Great Price (Abraham), recently and I took notes in church, yet I don't have a single thought that feels like escaping my head right now. So, I will speak from my heart and I pray you will be able to connect with me.

I am HOME! The kids and I had a wonderful visit to Vegas, we spent lots of time with my parents and I was fortunate to see some amazing friends while I was there. We drove into our driveway on Wednesday evening and it was the biggest feeling of elation, just so happy to be home, to see my husbands sweet smile and sleep in my own bed! As I am sure most of you can relate to the feeling of being happy to be home, there is also tons of work to be done, ya know: Laundry, cleaning, unpacking, grocery shopping, all of my most favorite things (enter sarcasm). Since we were gone nearly a month, and I brought back things that had been left in Vegas from our move, the work is ten fold!

Alas, I am exhausted! I have so much to do to get caught up, and the days still only have 24 hours, can you believe it, after all these years??? I have TONS and TONS of pictures to edit, thanks to some fantastic photo sessions, I still have several sewing projects, and my house and large booty need some attention (speaking of which it is sticking to my chair, hold on......perfect, someone was eating fruit snacks in my computer chair)!!!!

I can't wait for you to see and hear about some of the fun things we did while in Vegas, and eventually I will get to them, but for now I must go to sleep. Ok, ok, if you insist, here is a little sneaky peaky!

(above) Grandpa giving the kids a ride!!!

Some time at our favorite park!!

James and Sarah giving me some action shots!!

Grace enjoying the pool

SEE I TOLD YOU WE HAD FUN!!!!

Happy Sunday

All my love

Marylin

Sunday Scripture: Hope

Moroni 7:40

And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?

"Hope is the anchor of our souls. I know of no one who is not in need of hope—young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor. As the prophet Ether exhorted, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”

James E. Faust (November 1999 Ensign)

Today I was fortunate to attend Stake Conference (a twice a year special meeting for about 6-8 wards) with my parents. My Dad was in the choir so just my mom and I sat together (children stayed home today), it was a wonderful meeting, filled with all the things I was needing to hear! All of the Bishop's wives were asked to speak and each of their talks were part of this masterful quilt, none of them assigned, all spoken from the spirit and it was amazing how they all blended together perfectly. My sweet friend Michelle spoke and the things she said touched me, she recalled the pain of losing her son shortly after he was born some years ago, and then the Hope that she was able to live on, knowing she would see him again. The reminder to hold on, even when life deals us a nasty blow, a difficult test or a road block, was very much needed in my life at this time.

I have had several things that have been weighing heavily on my mind recently. A close family member received some scary news related to their health and for me it felt like a stone to the head. It was difficult to be so far away so that is why I jumped in my car and came to Vegas, I wanted to feel some what useful and supportive. There was a minor surgery and things are looking hopeful.

Another heart ache I have is watching my parents, who have done nothing but help everyone around them for years, including but not limited to their children, extended family members, friends, strangers, neighbors, and anyone that stood in need. They are now feeling the EXTREME downturn of the economy, my father works in the Commercial Real Estate industry and has for 25 years, and has never seen it this bad before. I worry for them, I know that the Lord watches over them, yet the thought of them struggling is more painful than when we were out of a job. I truly know and understand that trials don't only come to those that are doing wrong, but it sure stinks when good people, trying to do the right things are handed a whopper and gosh darn I can't prevent it.

My mother tells me that everything will be OK, that "some how things will work out", and I wonder why she is comforting me. Where is that magic wand when I need it? Then today I was encouraged to have hope and to lean on the Lord, He has his eye on them and that there is a reason for this trial. Maybe He wants them to move closer to their amazing daughter that lives in Colorado, maybe!!?? :)

I want to bear my testimony that I know that through Christ there is Hope, there is reason to hold on and keep going. I know there are so many people in the same predicament as my parents but I know that through faith, prayer and doing what is right He will bless us beyond our comprehension. I know He loves me and watches over me and my family. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true Prophet, that he is guided and directed by our Heavenly Father. I know the Book of Mormon to be a testament of Jesus Christ and by reading it I am able to feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost and that I grow closer to the Lord. I know these things to be true, there is NO DOUBT about it, it has been witnessed to me too many times in my life to think other wise. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Happy Sunday

All my love