every good and perfect gift comes from above...

This is where my heart has been since we found out about being blessed with Joel. It is Hannah's prayer from 1 Samuel 2.

"My heart exults in the Lord;

my strength is exalted in the Lord.

My mouth derides my enemies,

because I rejoice in your salvation

There is none holy like the Lord;

there is none besides you;

there is no rock like our God.

Talk no more so very proudly;

let not arrogance come from your mouth;

for the Lord is a God of knowledge,

and by him actions are weighed.

The bows of the mighty are broken,

but the feeble bind on strength.

Those who were full have hired

themselves out for bread,

but those who were hungry have

ceased to hunger.

The barren has borne seven,

but she who has many children is forlorn.

The Lord kills and brings to life;

he brings down to Sheol and raises up.

The Lord makes poor and makes rich;

he brings low and he exalts.

He raises up the poor from the dust;

he lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,

and on them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,

but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,

for not by might shall man prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be

broken to pieces,

against them he will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

he will give strength to his king

and exalt the power of his anointed."

Here are some pictures of our journey to welcoming Joel Joshua.

20 week ultrasound...it's a boy!

at our gender reveal

his bedding/nursery theme

Christmas - 28 weeks

30 weeks

Family/Friend "cardinals" baby shower

Hostess: Karly, Ashley, Jordan, Patti, Rachel, and Melissa(who was home sick)

Mosaic Baby Shower

Hostess: Sarah, Kassie, Jen, Lisa, Susan, Ashley, Rachel, Chanika, Stefanie, (and Martha and Megan who weren't able to be there)

Cute cake from Mosaic shower...Shelby Lynn's :)

Grandmas: Tyler's mom and my mom

36 weeks...with stretch marks :(

Catching up

So it has been a while ;) Since July we have been blessed tremendously! We are two weeks (or less!) away from welcoming our healthy baby boy into the world, our love for each other grows and expands daily, we continue to grow in our relationships with such encouraging friends and mentors, we have such a supportive and loving family, and we are growing stronger in our faith each day! In this season, it is so easy to find such joy in God's love for us but we also pray that we continue to embrace that love and joy in all season that we walk through. We also feel as though we are about to enter a time of great learning as we become parents. It is our hope that we seek to live as loving examples and encouragements for Joel and continue to encourage one another as we figure out each of our parenting styles. It is overwhelming to think that our every action from here on will leave an impact on him!

On another note...we are trying to continue to walk in patience as we wait for God's leading on a few plans. Tyler loves studying so much and continues to study on his own and within Men's groups, but I can see how anxious he is to begin school again...crazy, I know!! He has such a desire and passion to study theology, biblical teachings, doctrines, etc. It is fun to watch him have such a passion for something, but equally frustrating to watch him continue to have to wait for an answer to school. We just continue to pray for God's leading and our obedience. We also are in a period of waiting with Tyler's job. It is so hard for me to watch him go to a job daily just to provide for his family, while I wake up and go to a job I love each day. We trust in God's plan for us/him and know this is an opportunity for such growth, but we would love to see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

This is where our "Kenyon Life" is right now and we wouldn't trade anything about it, we just hope to continue to learn from each experience we walk through!

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the last few months! We hope to add some of a cute little guy in a few short weeks!

At our gender reveal with good friends...thanks nick and kim for the fun t-shirts!

The little man at 20 weeks...so amazing!!

Family photo with our "first" baby

With good friends at the Bennington Baby Reveal. Sarah and Rocklin, Rachel and Fischer, and Joel and I! These boys are going to keep us on our toes and hopefully be good buddies!

Christmas with my siblings! Tyler, Jess (and Joel), Josh, Maddox, Patti, Jordan, and

Pedro. Gizmo missed the picture memo :(

Thanks for walking through life with us!

march can't get here fast enough!

To say we are looking forward to March is an understatement. We are so excited to meet Baby K in March! We feel so blessed and are thanking God for each and every day He gives us with this little one!

St. Louis

We just got back from a weekend in St. Louis. It was so much fun traveling with Brian and Rachel. We laughed so hard! We stayed the first two night with Tyler's grandparents in Greenville, IL and then two nights in downtown St. Louis. It was quite a trip, beginning with 7 am mornings awake because we were in the basement at Tyler's grandparents and you could hear every move that was made. It is funny to laugh about now that we are fully rested. We went to a cardinals game at 1 p.m. in the 94 degree weather, but Praise the Lord, we were in the shade and right beside the air conditioned red bird club that we could go into at anytime!! We lost the game in the 12th inning, so that wasn't very much fun, but it was still a great day with great seats. We ate the spaghetti factory that night...which was good and turned in early for our expected early alarm clock...aka the shower upstairs. On Friday, we headed in to St. Louis to meet up with our friends at Pappy's BBQ. Everyone really enjoyed it. Then we headed over to the brewery. I was so excited to see the horses...they were by far my favorite part. Friday night was the rehearsal and dinner at Studio 44, where we had some great food. Saturday was a nice relaxing day and then a fun wedding/reception. We had such a great time catching up with good friends, trying new foods, and celebrating with our good friends, Matt an Lindsey Lovelady! Here are some pictures of the weekend!

Starting the tour with great friends Us at the brewery

us at the brewery

love these girls

the group at the reception

the bride and groom

4th of July

This year we spend 4th of July with lunch and a swimming party at my brother's house! We had such a good time and had great food...including the pasta salad that Patti's uncle made. It was so yummy! We finished the day by spending time with Tyler's family for dinner and games. Days like this remind us of how blessed we are! Here are some pictures from the day!

Cupcakes I made

Catching up

So cute and patriotic

matching in their flag suits

grandmas with their grandkids (aunt rhonda and madi, aunt sherry and camden, laurie and maddox)

Kelly Family Reunion

What a weekend! Combine 30 Kellys, a river, and good food and you will get a lot of fun. We got the chance to hang out not only with the cousins we see routinely, but also some from out of town that we see about every 10 years. Our reunion was located up on my uncle Tim's land, called Camp Kelly. We spent a lot of time on the river, eating, and telling stories of generations. It was a great weekend and such a good time of catching up! Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Hanging out in the river

Catching up with Bobby and Joy

First float down the river

and after the fall

Tyler after looking for crawdads

They are getting married!!

I am so excited for our good friends Rachel and Brian who are getting married on December 11th. We have had so much fun with them and cannot wait to continue growing closer to them! Congrats Rach and Brian! We are so happy for you!!