kellkell musings

So Here's the Thing

2013-03-07T11:05:00.002-05:00

Hi there.

You thought I forgot, didn't you?

I've been quiet here now for the better part of six months. It has been a good quiet. I have enjoyed living my life, teaching my kids, reading my books, loving my church body, and just quietly going about my days.

I haven't worried about writing things down to capture them. I haven't looked at reader stats and tried to make sense of them. I haven't wondered if what I said is going to kick off unforeseen controversy because I didn't say it *exactly* right -- or sometimes, because I did.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I miss writing. It stretches that word-loving part of my brain that lights up when I read beautiful prose. Dorothy Sayers was once asked if she found it "easy to be drunk on words". She replied, "So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober." I can relate to that kind of drunkenness.

Before I take up regular blogging again, I feel the need for a little shift. I want a clean space to work. Instead of clearing up the clutter over here, I'm going to move to wordpress. I plan to privatize this place and make the new place my bright, clean writing room where the fits and spurts of my creative energy can take shape.

I will probably end up re-running some stuff from over here. We'll still have the wonderful "overheard" category, because who can deny the hilarity of Things Kids Say? We might even return to that old series called Proof of Life. My wordpress space is underway but there's a learning curve for me. It's not quite ready.

You can call this an apology for disappearing; you can call it an explanation for my absence; you can call it a recommissioning. I'm excited about what's ahead.

Overheard: Political Edition

2012-10-17T06:38:00.000-04:00

Scene: Kelly and David going to bed after last night's town hall debate. David missed most of it due to a church meeting. Kelly describes it for him.

K: Tonight's debate really alternated between making me furious and putting me to sleep.
D: Oh, just like me!

What I Just Bought at the Grocery Store (a partial list)

2012-10-01T15:37:00.001-04:00

For them:
2 boxes of Lucky Charms
3 frozen pizzas
3 bottles of vitamin water
2 bags of Fritos
Macaroni and cheese
Hot dogs
a 12-pack of Sam Adams Octoberfest

And for me (to share):
Four pounds of coffee
Two different kinds of creamer
Ghiradelli brownie mix

The Fall Women's Retreat is this weekend! Yes, that's right! Daddy will be taking off two days from work to do my job, so I can get away with my girlfriends from church. Next week it'll be back to vegetables and oatmeal...this weekend is irresponsible nutrition for everyone.

Jonathan Edwards' Final Words

2012-09-26T09:10:00.001-04:00

Written to his daughter, Lucy:

Dear Lucy, it seems to me to be the will of God that I must shortly leave you; therefore give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her, that the uncommon union, which has so long subsisted between us, has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue forever: and I hope she will be supported under so great a trial, and submit cheerfully to the will of God. And as to my children, you are now to be left fatherless, which I hope will be an inducement to you all to seek a Father who will never fail you.

And Now, Some Frivolous Questions

2012-09-20T07:11:00.003-04:00

Does it really make a difference that I use undereye cream? Am I going to notice a difference when I'm seventy, or would that time have been better spent going to bed two minutes earlier?

When will my four year old daughter stop talking like she is two? We spent so much time on speaking properly, and now she has scrapped it all and started baby talk again. Yucko.

Why is fall so AWESOME?!! (nevermind, that is not frivolous. It's because IT IS AWESOME.)

What is it about those little "pods" of laundry detergent that makes doing laundry somehow more accessible to my kids? (For you faithful readers, we have taken a break from this stuff, and I might not go back. The clothes started to stink, and no amount of Oxy was helping)

Does anyone know when season three of Downton Abbey airs over here across the pond? I have a few Brits in my twitter stream and they're torturing me with the Downton tweets.

Not a question: Fall is awesome in the South for the same reason that spring is awesome in the Northeast. It's because you have experienced the same weather pattern for SO LONG that the relief causes you to completely lose your head in jubilation.

In conclusion:

College students in Boston sunbathing in 50 degrees

is equivalent to

Southern women wearing tall leather boots and scarves in 70 degrees

Overheard

2012-09-10T16:18:00.001-04:00

Scene: Older two boys completing their writing assignment. They are learning to insert dialogue into their paragraphs this week, so we do a little role-playing to help them dream up dialogue. What might Pope Gregory say to Augustine of Canterbury to ask him to go to England to increase the spread of Christianity?

Ben (for our purposes, the Pope): Augustine, you must go to England.
Cameron (or, Augustine): Why?
Pope: To spread Christianity to the barbarians!
Augustine: But they are rude!
Pope: (blank stare)

At this point, Mom jump-starts things by saying, "you're right, probably at that point, the Pope said, never mind, you don't have to go."

Pope, trying again: You may take forty monks with you.
Augustine: May I take weaponry?
Pope, giggling: No!
Augustine: May I throw rocks at them?

...aaaaannnnndd, scene.

Overheard

2012-08-29T15:32:00.000-04:00

Scene: Maddie is flipping through the Bible on the kitchen counter, watching Mom make lunch. She asks at each picture, "who is this?" Jonathan walks into the room and begins listening.

Maddie (pointing): Is this Jesus?
Mom (craning neck): No...that's Ezra.
Maddie: Ooooohhh. EZRA.
Mom: Do you know who wrote the Bible, Maddie?
Maddie: Jesus?
Mom: Yes!
Jonathan: NOOOO, God did.
Mom is quiet.
Jonathan: Well, Jesus wrote the second part.
Maddie: Yeah, Jonny, Jesus wrote the second part.
Jonathan: But I know who REALLY wrote the Bible, Maddie.
Maddie: Who?
Jonathan: Monks!
Maddie: JONNY! I don't care about monks!
Jonathan: You don't care about people who wrote the Bible?
Maddie: I DON'T CARE ABOUT MONKS!

Hither and Yon

2012-08-24T11:24:00.002-04:00

Well, we have almost survived the length of a two-week stint without Dad home. It's the longest we've been apart since we married, and definitely the longest the kids have gone without him. In some ways, it's been easier than when he left when they were littler. The older boys help a good bit more now and the little ones come along for the ride. We've even had a dog here for the last week, since some friends of ours were out of town and they needed a sitter.

We started school this week (dang! STILL haven't taken a picture!), and it's going really well so far. This year's history covers a broad swath, from the Middle Ages to early Colonial America. I am really glad to be out of Ancients. Ancient history just does not excite me. It brings about memories of my freshman year World History book with an Egyptian head on the cover. So dry. So boring. I know, I know -- bad for a teacher, but there it is. We all have our preferences. For their part, the boys are eating up the information about knights and castles, and they even like the stuff about how barbarians didn't bathe and they ate their meat raw. Plague and pestilence for the win.

Friday is our lighter school day, where we wrap up loose ends and finish up the details of the week. Today we were done before 11. I know that won't always be the case, but it was nice for today. And then we finished up our work with a bang, by watching this video and laughing 'til we cried:

Another Favorite

2012-08-22T12:11:00.000-04:00

On the Indelible Grace live album, Kevin Twit introduces this hymn with the idea that worship is formative. "If we're singing songs where people feel like they have to put on a happy face to be part of the worship, we're lying to them about what the normal Christian life feels like, and eventually that comes home to roost."

Do you feel free to say that your hope is fainting? Can we say that to one another?

Pictures, pictures

2012-08-17T10:53:00.000-04:00

If there is a shortage of generic-brand parmesan cheese, we are almost certainly to blame, because this happened while I wasn't paying attention:

Hmm. Maybe I should clean out the fridge more often.

The kids saying hello to Dad, who is overseas at the moment. Andrew is mad about something. I can't remember what it was this time. He is also shirtless, which is becoming more of a theme around here lately. Someone blazed that trail by sleeping without a shirt one night, and now all the boys think they're manly when they walk around without shirts. Maddie sometimes gets confused and tries it out as well, usually when she's hot.

LOOK at this cool wedding invitation for the marriage of my dear college roommate. She is an artist extraordinaire and we are all very excited about attending her wedding in West Virginia next month.

Today is our last day of official summer vacation! School begins on Monday.

Things I Tell Myself: A Sense of Place

2012-08-10T05:30:00.000-04:00

My bedroom is always the last one to get cleaned. The garage usually gets attention before my bedroom does. Is that true at your house?

Problem is, I have a desk in the bedroom where I love to sit and blog, have my quiet time, write notes, plan for school...anything appropriate for the space. And it's the first thing to get buried every.single.time.

The sense of place is so powerful for me that if my place is buried, my routines and my habits go with it. I let the quiet time in the morning slide because I don't want to root through the piles on the desk. I look at the mess with a feeling of foreboding.

The thing is, the kindest thing I could do for myself and my family would be to clear it off, make a place, and soak up the joy that comes with a little space. But I always think I'm being kinder by addressing the kids' spaces. Yes, that is kind, too. But teaching them to address their own spaces is the most kind thing I could do in the end. And the time in my space makes me more capable to do that teaching.

Even if you can't make a space in your house, make a basket. Make a corner. Something to set a habit, a routine, that makes some time to yourself a joy.

(this post written for you from my newly cleared-off, again, desk)

Violet Tulip Olympia Beijing

2012-08-08T06:51:00.000-04:00

Your brothers wanted to call you Violet Tulip. They thought two flowers for a girl's name was beautiful.

Since you came during the opening ceremonies to the 2008 Olympics, on the luckiest day in China, 8/8/08, I thought we might call you Olympia Beijing.

Despite all these great ideas, Maddie fits you better. Happy 4th Birthday to our most favorite daughter. We love you!

Turning It on Its Head

2012-07-13T08:47:00.001-04:00

For years David and I have struggled to fit in family devotions in the evenings. It seemed like we could never get into a routine -- David usually works until 6, and then we're rushing to get dinner on the table and rushing off to various meetings, scouts, practices, etc. We just never hit our stride, and it was frustrating to both of us.

When we went to Together for the Gospel, we came back armed with two weapons in this battle. One, a reinforced resolve to schedule the time in however we could. Two, a book we could work through together with the kids:

Long Story Short is an 18-month study of the Old Testament that points forward to Christ. It has been a great structure for us to follow -- simple, well-thought-out, and to-the-point.

But more importantly, we decided to unflinchingly turn our schedule on its head. Instead of trying to squeeze devotions in at the end of the day when everyone is tired and feels pressed for time, we instituted morning family devotions. Every weekday, while David gets dressed for work, I run around and drag children out of bed and make sure they are on the couch pretty close to 7:00. That may seem late to you regular-school people, but my kids are not used to getting going that early. It's one of the many perks of homeschooling -- sleeping in a little later than the rest.

But no more! We are getting up and getting into God's word before the day slips away -- even on summer vacation!

A Very Happy Date-a-versary

2012-07-12T07:07:00.001-04:00

Fourteen years ago tonight, David and I went on our first official date. It was to see the following terrible, awful, movie:

But since it was our first official date, we are inextricably linked to it for all eternity.

We don't usually share this information with people, but now all of you can join us in a collective groan for our sad late-90's selves and our small town and how there was nothing else to do.

*sigh*

You can read the story of how we met and married here.

Overheard

2012-07-10T09:44:00.001-04:00

Scene: Maddie is ready for bed, wearing an ill-fitting nightgown that routinely slides off her shoulders.

Daddy (aside, to the adults in the room): Maddie, you look like a hussy in that nightgown.
Maddie (doesn't miss a beat): No, Daddy, I look like a flower.

Stop Me if You've Seen This One

2012-07-09T09:08:00.001-04:00

The other night I came across this picture of actor Jason Alexander:

If you watched Seinfeld, you know it's from the episode when George decides to wear a toupee. The storyline comes to a climax when Elaine snatches the hairpiece from his head and throws it out Jerry's apartment window.

I DON'T LIKE THIS THING! AND HERE'S WHAT I'M DOING WITH IT!
source

When I saw the picture, I giggled and showed it to David, hoping to spawn a happy memory. David immediately said, "let me show you something," and proceeded to show me this:

And then my head exploded.

Did you have any idea that Jason Alexander was the dancing McDLT guy? This was a new revelation to me.

I remember the sandwich well...I remember thinking it would have been perfect if only they had put the cheese on the HOT side so it would melt. Who thought putting it on the COLD side was a good idea? That's just crazy talk.

Stars and Stripes Forever

2012-07-04T05:30:00.000-04:00

This will probably come as a great shock to all of you, but in my opinion the number one Independence Day celebration in the country is in Boston. I have only attended one time, but that's enough to cross it off my bucket list. I'd love to take the kids sometime when they're older.

After an entire day in the sun, everyone's brains were a little fried, so by the time Keith Lockhart wrapped up the 1812 Overture (with real cannons over the Charles River -- yea, and verily the same river that was there for the first battles of the Revolution!) and the first strains of Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" echoed over the Esplanade, the entire crowd went ballistic.

Here's a taste:

It's probably the best day of the year for piccolo players.

(Here are the original lyrics)

And here's a fun version from a supermarket on the Cape last year (don't miss the trombones over the balcony at the end):

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

I Peter 2:16 ESV

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep a Gun in the House

2012-07-03T05:30:00.000-04:00

This is a poem by Billy Collins, who was the poet laureate of the US from 2001-2003. I often think of this poem since we moved. We have a barking dog on the street behind us, but he's not quite as bad as Billy states below. Enjoy!

Another Reason Why I Don't Keep A Gun In The House

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.

The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,

and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.

When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton

while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.

Turn My Striving Into Works of Grace

2012-07-02T11:12:00.001-04:00

I've been doing summer things instead of blogging this past week, such as...

Checking out homeschool choices for next year. Buying used books. Reading longer. Making salsa. Swimming. Watching my kids swim. Replanting houseplants (they only get love in the summertime, poor things). Sewing tablecloths. Hanging curtains. Spackling, sanding, and painting. Making the kids do more chores than they're used to (yay!). Exercising. Eating out. Cleaning out all that stuff I never should have moved to begin with. Buying spray paint with plans in mind.

So...all happy things. I'm trying to not be overly ambitious or overly concerned with the list. Summer is precious, and one month of it is already gone.

TGC Women's conference was lovely. We were so immersed in the atmosphere that a tropical storm descended on Florida while we stayed there, and we had no idea until the drive home was extremely rainy. I had a chance to reconnect with two friends from California while there, and had good fun with the ladies from here in Charlotte.

Katie and me

The messages are not yet up on the TGC website, but they should be soon. If you have to pick just one or two, I'd choose Paige Benton Brown's message on the temple of God and Piper on Isaiah 6. Kathleen Nielson is no slouch, either. Or Don Carson. Or really anyone who spoke. So I guess my point is, don't just pick one or two.

The Gettys led us in song all weekend, and I was moved by the scriptural truths in their music. Here's a favorite verse from "Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God."

Holy Spirit, come abide within;

May Your joy be seen in all I do—

Love enough to cover ev'ry sin

In each thought and deed and attitude,

Kindness to the greatest and the least,

Gentleness that sows the path of peace.

Turn my striving into works of grace.

Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

To-Do List for Today

2012-06-21T06:54:00.002-04:00

Repaint toenails.
Get in car with three of my best Charlotte girlfriends and drive to Orlando, Florida for The Gospel Coalition National Women's Conference.

OK. Ready, set, go.

You can look for sporadic updates on my weekend on my twitter feed and on facebook.

Brain Dump

2012-06-20T05:30:00.000-04:00

Just some thoughts I felt the need to unload:

1. When a kid is yelling at the top of his lungs from the deep end of the pool, "OH, I'M DYING! I'M DYYYYYIIIIING!" it's a pretty sure thing he's not.

2. So far I've learned that owning a pool means: having a lost-and-found box; endlessly hanging up towels; and forgetting when it was the last time your kids actually showered.

3. Jonathan is on the verge of really swimming. We are very excited about this development, because it will bring us up to 80% proficiency. Andrew decided that he was done being scared of deep water about two weeks after we opened the pool. One afternoon he just jumped in and that was that.

4. As usual on Father's Day, I made a bunch of Mexican food and David watched the US Open whilst yelling at the television in a Scottish accent. We are nothing if not multicultural.

5. Before the golf yelling started, David and I both went in the pool and then laid on towels in the sunshine. I don't think we've done that since our honeymoon. It was weird.

6. I've been really loving Sara Groves' newest offering, Invisible Empires. Here is one selection from the album which Sara wrote for IJM. On the album, it begins with an inner-city youth choir singing the original "Eyes on the Prize."

Welcome to Donwell: Juxtaposition

2012-06-19T07:02:00.000-04:00

If I were to ask you where a homeschooling mother of five children spends most of her time during the day, what would you say?

Three rooms -- kitchen, schoolroom, and laundry -- are where I spend most of my waking hours.

So here's the great thing about this place: the laundry room here is RIGHT NEXT TO the schoolroom. It actually comes off of the schoolroom. So I can fold and keep an eye on people doing their math. I can switch loads in between reading and science. It's really quite amazing.

Of course, now that it's summer, I avoid both of these rooms like the plague. It's vacation, after all.

Welcome to Donwell: Other Smart Stuff

2012-06-18T10:22:00.003-04:00

Part One of this series here.

Last time we covered smart stuff in the kitchen; today we'll reach the rest of the house.

This little thingy makes a door shut automatically. It's really nice to have on a powder room door that's right next to the kitchen.

Here is a terrible picture of a wonderful feature in the living room: floor outlets! I get excited whenever I see these in a home. We had extension cords running all around our old house, so this time it's nice to have a smarter arrangement for our cords.

Here's the pergola over the back deck. See that gray stuff on the right? It's black mesh fabric. Why is it there, you ask? It provides just enough shade for the people sitting on the deck, so that they don't feel like they're frying in the hot, direct sun. I was doubtful about its effectiveness, but now that I've spent hours sitting under it, I can testify that it works wonderfully. It's such a great idea.

The former lady of the house was an avid gardener, and she saw to it that her plants got plenty of water. On the deck, that means that we have a suspended irrigation system for hanging plants. See the hose just to the right of the plant hanger above? It provides drip irrigation, and there are seven more just like it strung across the deck. SO SMART!

Here's one we haven't used yet, but come the winter, it will get used I'm sure. This is a gas lighter for the wood-burning fireplace in our living room.

Lastly, there are skylights in two rooms. Above, you see the schoolroom, which is the room over the garage. Its location over the garage means that it has sloped ceilings and just one window. The addition of this one skylight makes a huge difference in the brightness of the room.

And here are the two skylights in the kitchen. The bars across them were used for hanging plants; we plan to take them down.

Welcome to Donwell: Smart Kitchen

2012-06-13T08:22:00.002-04:00

Part One of this series here.

This house has many of those details that real estate agents love to call "better than new." You know, those things that we would love to have but are probably too busy or too cheap to actually do.

Here are a few of these goodies...today we'll cover the kitchen.

Ben loved to show this one to everyone the moment they came in the house during our first month: THE SPICE CABINET.

Spices on the front

Swinging front shelf

MORE SPICES!

I had achieved something like this at our old house using stuff from IKEA, but this one is built in:

A place for cookie sheets, cooling racks, etc.

The silverware drawer has dividers, and it has two layers (this one slides back to reveal another underneath):

Why do we own so much silverware?

And when you open the pantry door, a light shines down on you from above.

Who ate all the cereal?

Because of this little switch on the door:

So, nothing flashy, but things that make life in the space more pleasant. This kitchen is far smaller than my old one, but it's MUCH smarter. I don't feel squeezed at all.

Welcome to Donwell: The Befores

2012-06-12T10:54:00.000-04:00

I named our new house. I named it in my mind, anyway. You probably think it's pretentious, but I find it charming when people name their homes.

"Donwell" is a Jane Austen reference; Donwell Abbey is the home of Mr. Knightley in Emma. If you haven't read it, you should go back and read our love story to find out why it's so much like Emma and Mr. Knightley. Donwell is an obvious allusion to Knightley's doing things well in many aspects of his life.

Anyway, when we finally found this place and bought it, I named it Donwell because if there's one thing we want in our home, it's to do things well for God's glory. But it's Donwell in my head. I don't say things like, "Do pop in for a spot of tea at Donwell this afternoon," or "You must come walk the gardens at Donwell."

For that matter, I don't say, "Possums drown at Donwell, poor saps."

So I'm going to introduce you to the new place this week. You can see some before photos of the downstairs in my moving day post. The dark wood trim was mostly primed before we moved in, and I've been painting it in fits and spurts since then.

Upstairs, we have...

"tomato soup." That's what I like to call this color. It morphs from pink to brown depending on the light. Above we have the master bathroom, with original vanity, which cries out to me for replacement or at least a coat of paint.

See? It kinda looks brown here, doesn't it? This is the master bedroom. But it's really just the BRIGHT cranberry carpet that makes the paint look brown -- it's the same color.

This is the hall bath. I love that the kids have two sinks. I also don't dislike the color in here. It's nice. The bathroom also has a separate area with toilet and shower with a door. It feels appropriate when you think that five people are sharing it.

This room is on the third floor, which is really the attic. The previous owners finished off a portion of the attic into a craft room. We now have an extra bed in here. I also just unpacked all my sewing stuff into this room this past Sunday. I can't wait to use it.

Here's the room above the garage. It's our schoolroom now. I'm so glad they put a skylight in...it really brightens the place up. If you can't tell, the paint is dark blue. It makes me a little jumpy. I need something brighter and calmer.

Down the hall from there is Maddie's room. This room feels HUGE right now because Maddie is sleeping in a toddler bed again since the move. We really need to get her a twin bed.

And here's where we've been eating most of our meals lately.

David thinks looking pensive is funny.

Look for more Welcome to Donwell posts this week!