It is with great joy that I post this blog… Our sweet daughter, Avery Rae Kelley, was born on May 7th, 2011 at 6:48pm. She weighed 7 lbs 1/2 oz and was 20 inches long. Our lives have forever changed and we cannot imagine life without her anymore. We thank God every day for our beautiful daughter, Avery Rae!
Every morning for the last couple months, I immediately walk into her nursery after waking up so I can just imagine her in her room, sleeping in her crib… just being here. It brings me more joy than I could ever express to just imagine what it is going to be like the moment I meet her for the first time. It will be one of the greatest moments of my life. God has already blessed us so much through her life and it is almost overwhelming to grasp the love that He has shown us through her. What an honor and privilege it will be to watch her grow up and learn from this little girl!
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Praise God for yet another good report from the doctor today. Our little girl is doing well with a healthy heart beat and strong movements! We are getting so close to meeting her! Jon and I can’t wait to be parents to this little girl!
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
As we approach my due date, I have found myself working threw a whole slew of emotions. I think it’s just God’s way of preparing me for this next step in Jon and I’s life. The overwhelming feeling I have been experiencing though the most is that I just cannot wait to become a mom! I think I realized this more the other night as I was standing in the aisle at Target picking out newborn diapers and almost bursting into tears of joy… realizing that I’m actually going to have a baby! Wow! It’s funny how those moments hit you, completely unexpectedly.
Jon and I have been working on putting her nursery together. We have had the crib up for awhile now but just found a dresser and rocking chair that we refurbished. Its all starting to come together. I love walking into her room in the morning and standing there in awe, imagining our precious little girl sleeping in her crib! It will be a sense of relief and pure joy when she is finally here!
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
It’s incredibly hard to believe that the last time I wrote on this blog, Jon and I had just moved to State College, PA. To put it briefly… a lot has happened since then. God has continued to pour out His mercies over us time after time. Although He has given us many reasons to be joyful, the gift that far outweighs them all is the gift of our little baby girl!
I found out I was pregnant shortly after we had moved to State College. Jon and I were humbled by God’s love for us when we discovered the news that I was expecting our first child and we have been thrilled ever since then. My pregnancy has been a bit challenging but I am already in my 30th week! Wow! Only 10 more to go….
It’s amazing to look back at my pregnancy pictures and see how my belly has grown. What an incredible miracle our little baby girl is…
-
- week 9… first pregnancy picture
-
- week 14
-
- week 20
-
- week 21
-
- week 22
-
- week 22
-
- week 24
-
- week 24
-
- week 26
-
- week 26
-
- week 28
-
- week 29
-
- week 30
-
- week 30
-
- week 30
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
August 2010 marks a new beginning for Jon and I in many different ways. A new home across the country, new academic endeavors for Jon, a new job for me, new adventures and a brand new perspective on life. Although moving away from family and friends is heart-wrenching, this re-location for the two of us has allowed us the freedom to discover the incredible ways in which God has shown us His provision in our lives. This new period in our life has its challenges but the new hope and peace that He has provided far outweighs our obstacles.
It is amazing the change of perspective and vision you gain just by being surrounded by the unfamiliar. All your senses are alive. New sounds, new scents and new scenery to gaze at are all dancing in front of you, awakening the sense of adventure inside of you. You have a new energy and an urgency to go and uncover all the treasures that may be hidden in this unknown world. Everyday new places are revealed to you, new people cross your path and new ideas are formed that will either heighten or diminish the perception you have formed of this foreign place. To put it simply, everyday is a new adventure.
Our journey has also been filled with a new sense of purpose for the two of us. This has brought with it a new love for each other and the path that God has placed before us. It is a journey that will be humbling and full of joy as we trust in His sustaining love.
“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” – Isaiah 46:4
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Well, we are officially less than a month away from finally getting married. As I am living out my last few weeks here in Korea and Emily is busy planning the final details for the wedding (with some help from me I might add) the fact that we will be married in less than a month remains somewhat surreal. As each day passes each of us grows increasingly excited, but it is impossible to fully comprehend how it will feel to not only be together after an entire year apart, but to be closer than we have ever been. It’s like flying from one polar opposite to the other in a matter of weeks. No more phone calls carefully planned to allow for a 16-hour time difference, no more writing letters or mailing packages and waiting two weeks for them to arrive, no more 6,000 mile separation and, perhaps the most wonderful of all, no more loneliness. I will finally enter a place where I will be understood by everyone, I won’t have to slowly repeat my name over and over again: “no, no, its Kelley, not Kerry.” Where I will drive a car for the first time in 13 months (drivers beware.) Where I will understand what is being said around me, about me, and to me. Where I won’t have to bow constantly, I won’t have to wear slippers indoors, and I won’t have to duck constantly when going through doors and into subway cars. It will be good to come home, and I couldn’t be more excited to come home to my beautiful fiancé, or, as my homestay family says it, “Jon Kerry’s pian-say.”
It is looking more and more likely that we will live in Phoenix for our first year at least. I am looking into a few options that involve work and potentially taking a few Korean language classes to achieve complete fluency, all of this while Emily continues to work as a Nurse at Mayo. After that we aren’t sure, I am still hopeful that I will end up at a law school sometime in the near future, but honestly after completing my Fulbright we will have several options that we are excited to pursue. Either way we are excited to spend our first year around family and friends in Phoenix, and save some money on moving costs!
Until next time, we are less than a month away, and we are more and more excited to celebrate and see everyone!
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
the eternal summer 