Niece Macy and Nephew Andrew

Here are a couple new pictures of my niece and nephew. As an uncle, I have to devote some blog space to them every once in a while.

Macy Elizabeth McDowell

Andrew Charles Carpenter

A Great Verse

I love the book of Proverbs. There are many simple, yet powerful verses. Check this one out:

"My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother." - Proverbs 1:8 (NASB)

Christmas Memories

I have many happy Christmas memories as a kid. Whether it be the tree we had that lost all the needles, the time I opened up someone else's present at Grandma and PaPa's, the trip we took with Dad's broken leg, going to the Officers Club for lunch (there was shrimp!), or the time Mom gave me some underwear (wrapped around a Nintendo game I wanted), it was always a happy time of the year for me and my sisters.


My favorite childhood Christmas memory was in 1983, I think. I don't remember much. I got up at 4 a.m. ready to open presents. After Mom and Dad told me to go back to bed, I waited in my room for a couple of hours. After finally opening presents, the house was full of toys!

Merry Christmas everyone!

P.S. Yes, I know I used to be a cute boy. Not sure what happened.

Church_:Cancelling Church

You've probably read that there are many churches out there simply cancelling services tomorrow because its Christmas. My father-in-law (who is our preacher and an elder) wrote a great article in our church bulletin recently. Check it out.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Josh Jr?

We found out some exciting news tonight. Josh (Kim's middle brother) and his wife, Katie, are expecting their first child! Addi and Levi are happy. This will be the first cousin on their Mom's side of the family. It'll be nice to have some other kids at church now. Even though we have a big young adult class, we only have 3 kids among us. Now there will be more!

Zoolight Safari

We went to the B'ham Zoolight Safari tonight at the zoo. It was neat. There were lots of Christmas lights, a train ride, and hot chocolate. We enjoyed it! Levi wasn't too thrilled in this picture below since he was bundled up real good like the kid in the movie "The Christmas Story."

Fesitvus For the Rest Of Us

Here is a story you might get a kick out of.

Super Dad

On Saturday night, I loaded up the kids to take them shopping for their mother. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but Kim deserved a break after a busy Friday. Our first stop was to Brookwood Village. We looked around, but didn't find anything at a great deal. So, we headed back to the van. Now keep in mind that I was pushing around a double stroller and I had to park in the nosebleed section of the parking lot. I loaded the kids back in the van, hopped in the driver's seat, started the car, and Addi announced "I've got to go tee tee!" I tried to convince her she could hold it until we made it to our next stop, but it didn't work. So, I unloaded both kids and made the trek back to the mall. She actually did have to go to the restroom.

We eventually made it to Wal-Mart. Addi decided she wanted to walk instead of ride in the stroller, so I took her out and made sure her shoes were one good. All of a sudden, I realized I didn't have my keys! At first I though I put them down, but I didn't see them. So, we back tracked and looked in the van (for some reason, I left it unlocked).

We checked at the help desk if any keys were turned in. The lady working there took out a gallon sized bag of keys, but mine weren't there. So, we back tracked again. No luck. (At this point, Addi is hollering "Daddy's keys, where are you?" We made it back to the help desk a second time and discovered that someone had found them and turned them in. Thank goodness.

What a fun night. And yes, we did find a Christmas present for Kim.

Update 12/20 - Addi successfully told Kim what we got her despite our practice of saying "It's a secret, Mommy!" Needless to say, Addi received some extra tickling last night.

Three Year Old Daughter

It seems really strange to say I have a three year old. Addi has always been my baby girl. Anyway, here is a picture from her third birthday. She had a Barbie birthday cake.

Parenting Link

Found another good parenting link on a Church of Christ website called
"The Gospel Way." Check it out.

P-A-R-T-Y

Tis the season to party! Last Sunday, we had the annual church party at the in-laws. It's a lot of fun to cram nearly all of our members in one house, sing songs, see people play with the mistletoe, and eat lots of goodies. Tomorrow is my third grade classroom's party. Yikes! My students are already excited about that. Then Friday night is my class party for the young adult class I teach. Saturday is our "regular" church party. I think that is it. Just 10 days 'til Christmas!

One Week Later

Wow, I didn't realize it had been a week since I last blogged.

Things are fine here at the Kelsey home in Pleasant Grove, AL. I have eight school days until my Christmas break begins. The students are getting a little more energetic than usual at school, but I think I'll survie. Next Friday is our Christmas party and thankfully I have a good room mother to take care of things.

In family news, Addi had her 3 year old check-up. The doctor said she is very bright! I knew she got my intelligence. Just kidding. She sure knows how to think abstractly. When she turned three, she announced "I won't be two again!"

Levi is good. Last Sunday before Bible class started, he told everyone "Hey" as the came into the building. He's a friendly guy.

Kim is doing fine too. She's ready for a Christmas vacation as well.

Have a great weekend. Oh, here is another Christmas song that you need to hear.

Baby Andrew!

Go to this link to see some pictures of my first nephew. He's adorable.

Three Years Ago.....

Happy 3rd Birthday Addison Rae! It's hard to believe that she was born three years ago today. Wow. Where has the time gone?

Sit right back and let me tell you a tale. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2002. Our good friends Adam and Autumn and their kids had come to spend Thanksgiving with us. Before they left that day, we enjoyed pizza for lunch. Later that night, Kim had some pains (but it was not related to pizza). Around 10:30 p.m. after we had been working on the Christmas tree and Kim still wasn't feeling good, I finally insisted we go to the hospital. We hopped in our van and WHUMP. We had a flat tire. So, we loaded up in my hooptie-mobile and left. After staying there the night and thinking that we where there for no reason, we found out around 3 p.m. that our doctor felt that our daughter needed to come now. Even though we had a scare and didn't realize how serious it was for Kim, everything worked out great. What a great day! It's all kind of a blur to me now, but it definately a day that I'll never forget. I love you Addison Rae Kelsey!