New year, new adventures

We made it! What a journey we had to get here, but it was all worth it to finally make it to the place that God has called us to be…Thailand! The journey to get where we are has allowed us to meet some of the most amazing people that we now have the honor to call friends.  The kindness and love that we have received over the past few months has been so overwhelming and we want you to know we love and appreciate every one of you. Thank you to those of you who have prayed and are still praying for us! Your prayers mean so much to us. And thank you to those of you who donated financially for us to come to Thailand and do Gods work. By sending us, you are now a part of the work being done here in Thailand!

Most of you know we went and parked Big Blue in MA for the time we are in Thailand. When we put the cover on her and closed the door for the last time, it was actually a little sad for us. We truly enjoyed living the RV life and getting closer as a family. We did have some snow while we were visiting, so the kids got to experience it for the first time (Mr. A and Little E). 

From MA, we rented a mini van and drove down to VA to spend New Years Eve and to fly out on the 1st. When I tell you we have some amazing friends, I really mean it! We stayed at a friends house while in VA and had a great time visiting with all our old friends who are actually more like family! God really knows what He is doing when He gives you spiritual family.

New Years Eve was spent fellowshipping, enjoying good food and praying in the New Year at our church in VA (where we met, our Pastor married us, and we had Faith and Rylan). So many family memories have been made at that church, we couldn’t think of a better way to bring in the New Year before flying to Thailand. Our friends drove us to the airport and even came in and helped us check in our bags and watch the kids. It was amazing.  We were allowed to bring 12 bags at 50lbs each, and we certainly filled 12 bags. Each bag contained about 20lbs of books…mostly our homeschooling books, but some of our reading books too. We strategically weighed and reweighed our bags, moved things around and finally got them each at exactly about 50lbs. On the way to the airport as we were praying for our trip, Jason felt to pray for the bags and that they wouldn't be weighed, or maybe the scale would be broken so we wouldn't be overweight on any bags. And you know what….they didn't weigh our bags!!!! God is so awesome!!

Our first flight was about 12.5 hours and we slept for about 7 of those hours. Little E made herself a little bed on the floor and got comfy and fell right to sleep. Each of the seats had its own video screen so the kids could pick from a large assortment of kids movies and cartoons. The best part of International flying is that they still feed you!! We arrived in Abu Dhabi with no issues, had about a 2 hour layover and were on our way to Bangkok.

After about a 6 hour flight we arrived in Bangkok late, and then there was a security incident on the plane (still not sure what it was, but they escorted two people off the plane), so we missed our connection to Chiang Mai.  The next flight left an hour after we were originally scheduled so it only put us behind schedule by about 2 hours.

At the airport in Chiang Mai we were greeted by the ZOE missionaries(and we didn't even think to take a picture when we saw them!)…by this point we had been travelling for about 26 hours and we were so happy to see them. The kids acted very shy but I’m sure it won't take long for them to warm up.

Since being here we have moved into our house, opened our Thai bank account, gone shopping for some items we needed, gotten SIM cards for our cell phones, eaten some really great food, and met some amazing people.  Through everything we have been doing, we have an overwhelming sense of peace at knowing that this is exactly where God called us to be.

Our house is beautiful. Our neighbors are wonderful. We have been blessed with great friends in the USA and here in Thailand. We are now part of the ZOE family. The kids love it here so far. Life in 2014 is going to be an amazing adventure for the Kealey family….thanks for joining us on the journey!!!!

28 days from now

Sitting here writing this post and I have rewritten it about 5 times so far. I am sure I will have a few more rewrites before I actually finish it.   I know exactly what I want to say, but I don’t really know how to properly convey my feelings in words tonight. I am so excited to be writing this and telling you our very exciting news. News that you were already expecting, but still exciting for us to share!

As I write this, I am so excited to tell you that in exactly 28 days, which can also be said as 4 weeks, or 672 hours or 40,320 minutes or even  2,419,200 seconds, the Kealey family will be sitting on a plane headed for Thailand! YES! We bought our tickets and will be flying to Thailand on January 1, 2014.

Where do we even begin? We feel like this moment is what we were born for.  Jason and I have always had a heart for missions, and now that we are actually in the final stages of leaving to be full time missionaries, we know that this is exactly what God has called us to do.  When we first moved into the RV, it felt so right for our family and we have had the most amazing time. This journey has brought us closer together as a family and has helped us realize what is truly important in life. It has helped me to truly realize what I want to teach my kids and what I want to pass onto them. I look forward to the experiences they will have and the exciting adventures they will get to have.  God has blessed us in so many ways throughout this journey and the best part is that the kids have seen it and can recognize it.

And now is when it all begins. We begin getting rid of some more things that we have held onto, but that we don’t really need anymore.  We begin our long list of goodbyes, see you laters, to our friends and our families.  We begin packing all of our things into the 12 bags we are allowed to take on the airplane. We begin getting together things to entertain the kids during the 20 hour  flight to Thailand. We begin to get ready to do what God created us to do.

As we begin the final preparations, we want to thank all of you who have been supporting us throughout this journey. We appreciate all your prayer support, your financial support and all the other support you have lent. Whether it was an encouraging text or email, or a phone call to say hi, a delicious dinner cooked in the crockpot, or a driveway to park Big Blue in, or even a playdate for the kids to have fun with other kids, we have been blessed by it all and could never say thank you enough. You have touched our hearts in more ways than we could ever say with words.

And so begins the final preparations for the next chapter in our lives....

32 years in the making

I can remember being a little girl and looking forward with such anticipation for my birthday. As soon as a new school year started, I knew I only had a few short months until that day. My best friend’s birthday was on October 27th, so I knew when we were celebrating her birthday I had less than a month to wait. And then, that day would arrive. The day I had been waiting for. The day I would get to open my card from my Memere, which I always knew would have $20 in it. The day I would (hopefully) get whatever it was I wanted that year. And the one day a year I got to pick

 what we all ate for dinner (except when my birthday fell on Thanksgiving). It was a decision that was all mine…I didn't think about what my parents wanted, or my sister or even my brothers. I only cared about what I wanted and made sure to pick that... And I didn't even have to help clean the table or do the dishes that day. It was glorious.

As the years passed, I didn't await my birthday with as much anticipation as I had when I was a kid. Once I turned 16 and could drive, I looked forward to 18 when I could be “legal” and then from there it was being 21 that I looked forward to. After that, I didn't really care how old I was. Turning 30 was just another number. It was like birthdays just turned into another day in the work week, except I got to eat cake and ice cream.

But this year was different. It wasn’t like I was turning a special age, it was just 32. But, for the first time, I was really able to celebrate my birthday through the eyes of my kids. From the moment they found out my birthday was coming, they had a sparkle in their eye as if it was their birthday. I could see and hear them whispering to each other about what to do. I could see them getting out paper and crayons and hiding in their beds to color cards for me. When I would ask what we should do for my birthday, Rylan would say “we’re just going to have a boring birthday for you” and they would all laugh. I loved seeing how excited they were in anticipation of my birthday! They were so excited that they would be able to bless me. And bless me they did!

My birthday was actually on Sunday, but Saturday night some really good friends here in Lakeland, FL took our family to Chuck E Cheese’s to celebrate. I even got to get a cake!  The best part was seeing how excited my kids were to be there and their excitement that our friends blessed us with that. Throughout this journey, my kids have been witness to so many people blessing us, in so many different ways, and they are always just as thankful as we are. They are constantly thanking God for the many people He has sent to bless us and there is nothing that could make me happier than to see my children recognize the blessings of God.

Sunday morning I awoke to a Peppermint Hot Chocolate from Starbucks, a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a sweet card from my best friend, who also happens to be the handsome man I am married to! Once the kids woke, I was showered with loads of kisses and hugs and then the very thoughtful, imaginative and beautiful handmade cards and jewelry they made me. Their handmade treasures are worth more to me than anything they could have bought at the store.

After church, instead of me picking where we got to eat, as I did as a kid, I now gave that honor to my kids to pick. They all agreed on Steak N Shake, and everyone even got their own milkshake, which was a great treat. Sunday night found us all snuggled in my bed watching a movie to end the most perfect birthday I have had to date.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I pray that I will continue to take the opportunity to see things through the eyes of my children and remember how precious each moment is. I pray that each and every day I can make them feel as special as they made me feel on my birthday. I pray that they would one day look back on their birthdays and have fond memories of their very special day. And I pray that they, too, would continue to be thankful for everything that God has blessed us with.

What are some of your favorite birthday memories or traditions?

Saying goodbye is never easy

Wow, what a week. This week has been filled with many exciting moments and also a lot of emotions, and it’s only Thursday! This journey we are on has been such an incredible one for us as a family, and also for each of us individually. For me, it has stretched my faith in ways I have only ever read about. I have met some of the most incredible people and have had the pleasure of making some amazing friends. The kind of friends that you know will be there even after you have been gone for a few years.

As I sit here typing this I am sitting in the car, having filled up on food and fellowship at Cracker Barrel with some friends, we are now headed to Oklahoma to visit my best best friend Linda. (We decided to drive the car because of gas costs and also because we were planning on staying in their house anyway so we wouldn't need the RV…who wouldn't want to stay in a house with 14 people…10 of those people being kids! I am so looking forward to it!!!)  Linda and I have been friends for a little over 8 years now and I am so blessed to be a part of her life. Her and Bryan have 6 beautiful children, the oldest is a Freshman at Oral Roberts University and the youngest just started Pre-K. We haven't seen each other in 3 years so this will be a very joyous occasion for me! Jason and I feel that this week in Oklahoma will be a welcomed rest to the busy life we have had recently and look forward to all the great memories we are sure to make.

This past weekend we were so blessed to be able to spend a lot of quality time with friends from church. Friday there was a party for the volunteers from church so we got to have yummy tacos and just hang out and socialize. The kids loved hanging with their friends from church too. Saturday night we had the pleasure of having dinner with a group of people who have become some of our greatest friends. It was a bittersweet evening for me because I was obviously happy we were all hanging out, but I also knew the reason we were hanging out was because we were leaving. Sometimes I wish we could go on this journey, or ones like it, without ever having to go through the goodbyes, but that’s really not possible is it.  Sunday morning at church was our last Sunday at Compassion Christian Church. I cried, Jason cried, the kids cried, their friends cried, my friends cried, and while it was sad, it was also exciting and encouraging to have those we love right beside us sending us out covered in prayer and love. There are no words to really express the gratitude we have for our church family and the prayers they are covering us with.

Sometimes it is easy for me to be comfortable with Jason and not step outside of my box to make friends or be social. But I am so glad I did step out and allowed God to form friendships in my life here in Georgia because I am a better person for having these friendships. I would love to be able to write to everyone individually on here that has touched my life this past year and supported us while we have walked out God’s plan for our lives, but you would be reading for days. There are so many of you and I want you to know how much I love and appreciate you. Thank you for your kind words, your words of support, a smile or a hug when I needed it most, and most of all thank you for your prayers. 

I have valued our friendship, and I have loved getting to know you and walking this journey with you. Even though our time in Georgia has come to a close, I know we will be back and look forward to seeing you all again. Through our travels we will probably be passing through, so don't be surprised if you see Big Blue pull up out front of your house…it’s just us stopping by to say a quick hello!!!

RV living...the good, the bad, and the smelly!

RV living. It's a different kind of living that’s for sure, but it is  living that we are really enjoying.  Truthfully, so far,  there haven’t been any moments when we wanted to live in a house again. We have so much peace here and know that can only be the grace of God upon us for this. Our kids have really enjoyed it too. They haven't complained about sharing a room, in fact they actually really like it.

I love the closeness we have as a family. We are all always together and we have grown so much over the past few months. I have seen my kids relationships with each other blossom and really turn into friendships. I have seen their relationship with God grow stronger. Jason and I have become closer together and as a couple have grown closer to God as we have been trusting Him with more and more of our lives.

We made our first real road trip in Big Blue this weekend and it was so much fun. We took a trip to Atlanta for Jason to take his naturalization test and become a US citizen…he'll be writing a post about that later this week. But for us, it was so exciting to watch him take the oath as a citizen and then to recite the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time. At the end, they played Proud to be an American, and of course, it got me, as it always does!!!

Now, I won't pretend we haven't run into a few snags in adjusting to RV living along the way, but they have all turned out to be funny…in their own time! Here are a few lessons we have learned since our adventure began:

                *When moving into an RV with 6 people, if you think you have gotten rid of enough stuff, guess again, you need to get rid of more. And when you have gotten rid of more and think you are good, just go ahead and get rid of some more. We have learned to live without things and it is the most amazing feeling.

                *Don’t anticipate getting alone time. Ever. Not ever. The "bathroom" is in the middle of the RV, and the tiny room with a toilet in it doesn't lock…note to self, change that. The shower has a glass door, which is an open invitation for the children to laugh, giggle and make jokes while you shower. If you try to sneak outside early in the morning to get some alone time, be aware that the whole RV will shake as you go down the steps and the kids can automatically detect your presence is gone, and they will find you.

                *There is a spray nozzle in the toilet room to help "wash out" the toilet and flush it when you are done. If you are going to push the foot lever to give a courtesy flush while you are still sitting, make sure the nozzle isn't stuck on or your back will get soaking wet when it sprays you.

                *Some people are serious Rvers. Like, really serious. We learned that the first few weeks of living in here. One guy in particular made us really realize this. We watched him one night pull his 5th wheel into the spot next to us. He got out of his truck, opened the storage compartment, pulled out flower boxes for his windows and hung them under all the windows. He then got a rug out and put 2 rocking chairs on it with a small table in between. He put another chair underneath the awning. And the best was a statue of a mermaid that he put on the front hitch. It was a big statue. This guy looked like he was going to be our neighbor for a long time. It was about 4pm when he pulled in. The next morning at 10am he was packing up and heading out. I thought maybe he was not thrilled about being next to 4 kids under 7 and was getting another spot, but nope, his reservation was only for one night (it says on the paper you hang at your site). He was just serious about RVing.

                *When the LP alarm (propane) goes off, it might not be a propane leak. It might be that your waste water tank has a bacteria in it that smells worse than any dirty diaper your children have ever done. And you might freak out a little bit, thinking you are going to explode because propane is leaking in. You might go overboard and turn off your propane for 2 days, which means that you can't have hot water or cook, only to still be able to smell that horrible wretched stench. And when you can smell it coming back from the park, you know it might not be the propane. Rest assured, you are not alone. All you need is a bottle of bleach, clean water and some time to wait while the bleach does its magic.

                *An ant infestation in your home is not such a major deal, until your home is 200 sg ft and you sleep, eat, hang out, watch movies all in the same room and there are ants everywhere. But not just the small ants that have left a trail along the wall of the RV, those are easy to get rid of. It's the carpenter ants, the ones that come out at night when it starts getting dark. At first, you just see one, but then they all start coming out. And the crazy part is, you can't see where they are coming from, they are just there. Staring at you, daring you to go to sleep so they can get all their friends to come. And your husband might just say it's no big deal, and be able to go to sleep, but you know they could come and crawl in your nose or your ear while you sleep, so you watch for them and squish them when you see them. But they just keep coming. Next morning, they are back in hiding. It might take some insect bombs to get rid of them and ant poison spread around the tires and jacks to prevent them from coming in. Rest assured, we got rid of them and so can you.

We're pretty sure this is just the beginning of our lessons learned, and the adventures that await us as we begin travelling more in her. It surely is an adventure. An adventure we feel we were born to do. Jason put his 2 week notice in at work today and then we will begin our travels to get some more partners so that we may go to Thailand and do what God created us to do. We are taking a big step of faith and are so excited to see what God does.

Thanks for joining us on this journey! We look forward to sharing more with you

Let's stop the 'mommy guilt'

Yesterday, the kids were having a challenging day with their listening ears, and I was running low on my patience having to tell them the same thing over and over and over and over again. I had to take  a few “mommy time-outs” to keep from getting too upset with them but at one point I did get upset and yelled at them. I know that to some, it’s not that big of a deal, but I always feel horrible after I yell at my kids. I notice that, like many things, my patience is a lot lower on days that I have not spent enough time in the Word of God and in prayer! After we all calmed down, and I apologized to them and they apologized to me, they told me how much they loved me and how I was the “perfect mommy just for them”.  In that moment, I had the fleeting thought that I don’t always deserve the love they give me but I sure am thankful for it. Isn’t that how it is with God though? I know that some of the things I have done in my life or even some of the ways I act now do not make me worthy of God’s unconditional love, but He still loves me.  No matter what. No matter where I am. No matter what I have done or what  I am going through.

All last night I was thinking about how much my kids love me, and it got me thinking about all the pressure that is out there to be a perfect mom. Seriously, if you have ever been on Facebook, or Pinterest or even just talked to a group of moms, you can totally feel inept even when 5 minutes before you felt like you were doing a good job. How many people put pictures on Facebook of the mess in their house, or make a status of how they completely failed that day. Very few!  Instead, it’s all the best pictures of what they want you to see and nothing more. It’s the best of their world that they want to share with you. You can start feeling guilty about the clothes your kids wear, or the foods you are feeding your kids, or even the activities you are or aren’t doing with your kids.

Pinterest shows you how to make the coolest things and throw the best birthday parties, even for a one year old, and for those of us that aren’t party planners or have no desire for big parties, we can start to feel guilty. Or maybe you are throwing a party and you think you have to go all out and blow the budget just because you are inviting some people that threw a “grand” birthday party for their child. When did mommy-hood become such a competition ? I choose to opt out of being a competitor! I want to enjoy being  a mom and not think about how other moms are doing it bigger and better than me. I want to do what works for my family and do it the way God wants me to, not the way Pinterest thinks I should .  (Note:  I enjoy Pinterest and the ideas from there and I am a regular “Facebooker” but I am tired of all the mommy guilt in social media).

So to that I say:

To the mom who feels guilty about feeding her kids fast food occasionally and can’t afford to always buy organic produce…your kids are thankful you are feeding them! Take the time to teach them moderation and how to make healthy options when available. If possible, maybe plant a garden and grow some of your own produce.  We try to eat all natural food, but we do occasionally eat fast food and even an occasional box of macaroni and cheese.

To the mom who can’t afford to throw that big birthday party or buy the newest toy/electronic device…are your kids really going to remember that? Can you remember every present you got as a kid or every birthday party you had? The important thing is making them feel loved and knowing they are secure in who they are.  We don’t do big birthday parties every year but we make sure their birthday is a very special day every year!

To the mom who feels guilty about feeding her baby formula instead of breast-feeding…again, I say, your child is happy you are feeding them! Do what works for you! All 4 of my kids were bottle fed and they are very healthy, smart, loving kids. And I can’t tell you how many lectures I had to sit through by well meaning moms about how I was doing my kids a total disservice by using formula and that my kids wouldn’t be as healthy as their kids were.

To the breast-feeding moms, you rock! You are giving your child the nutrition they need in the way you feel led to do so. I admire your love for your children and the devotion that is required of you.  I’m tired of people complaining that women shouldn’t be allowed to nurse in public, when most of the women who do nurse do it discreetly! So I say, keep on doing what you’re doing for as long as you think you need to.

To the mom who feels guilty about working and not staying home with her kids…your children are happy you are providing for them and as long as the environment they are in while you are working is safe then you have nothing to feel guilty about. Make the most of the time you do have with them when you are not working and do your best to make happy memories with them.  I worked for the first 5 years of being a mom, so I know the feeling of dropping the kids at daycare and feeling bad, but the truth is they had a blast there.  And some moms just prefer working to staying home full time, and I completely respect that too.

To the mom who feels guilty about not having a beautiful new house and perfect décor…make your house your home and fill it with love. It’s not about possessions but about the love that is shared. We live in a 30 ft RV and we are the happiest and closest (literally and figuratively)  we have ever been as a family. Best piece of advice I was ever given…live below your means and don’t try to keep up with the Jones’. It’s worked so far for us!

To the mom who feels guilty about looking at her iPhone (or other smartphone) while with her kids…as long as your kids know they are the most important then I don’t see anything wrong with it.  As a stay at home mom we are with our kids 24/7 and it is perfectly acceptable to let your kids play by themselves sometimes and let yourself do something for you….reading, playing on your phone, etc. I play with my kids A LOT but there are times when they are playing that I will check my phone, or write a blog post , read the news, and I don’t feel guilty at all. When they speak to me I give them my full attention and they know they are more important than anything to me.

To the mom who feels embarrassed because her kid had a tantrum at the store....trust me, we've all been there. You know that moment when you can see it starting and then they do it. They throw themselves on the floor and kick and scream. Yeah, it's happened to me before. And I was embarrassed, but a nice old lady once said to me (during one of these fits), "I've been there before, just ignore them and they will realize it's not worth it. Enjoy them while they are this age because they grow fast". And you know what, I ignored it and they stopped. I LOVE encouraging people that want to help. I can do without the nasty stares from people who avoid tantrums  by giving in to every demand of their child...

(It's really 'awesome' when all 4 of my kids decide to be whiny at home at the same time. I think they think that is one of my favorite activities to participate in, haha.)

To all the moms out there…. let’s start helping each other and stop judging one another. Let’s stop making each other feel guilty about things we do or don’t do and just do what works best for our own family. Let’s be informative about healthy food options without judging or looking down on others who don’t know any better.  Let’s start to encourage one another and stop being in competition with one another.  Let’s all be ‘real’ and teach our kids what it means to be happy with who you are.  Let’s practice what we preach about 50 times a day and “just all get along”.

A few of the blessings along the way

Personal Reflections…

The past few months of preparing to live in an RV and then move our family to Thailand have been filled with God’s presence and love at every corner. I think sometimes, at least for me, it’s easer for us to see God doing the big stuff in our lives, but until we take the time and start recognizing the small things He is also doing, we’re missing out.  In the past few years, I have been very purposeful in thanking God for the smallest things and I am now able to recognize His blessings in all things a lot better. This is not to say that I am perfect and always get it right, because trust me, I miss it A LOT too, but I love when I see how He is working for my behalf in the big and small things!

Here are just a few of the things He has done for us these past few months. (And this is by no means all of it, because I don’t have enough room to write it all, but these are a few)….

After Jason’s car broke down and he would be without it for two weeks, 2 different neighbors offered us the use of their car for him to go to work without having to use mine or get a rental! What a blessing that was to us!!

The bill to get his car fixed was a lot more than we had originally thought but we prayed about it and knew that God would take care of us. I went to the shop to pay for his car and the owner told me , “ I just got off the phone with someone who wants to pay $400 of your bill and wants to remains anonymous!” What?!  Instant tears of gratitude filled my eyes and in that moment I felt God telling me that He was taking care of us in ALL areas of our lives. That $400 being paid brought us down to the original price we had been expecting to pay. So, anonymous donor, if you are reading this, thank you for allowing God to use you to bless us!

On more than one occasion, we have received a card in the mail with cash or a check in, completely meeting the need we were praying about.

As we were selling all of our stuff, we were able to meet a really nice lady who bought our dining room table and chairs. Well, we started a kind of email relationship and she ended up buying a lot of our furniture and I also gave her some of my kitchen items just to be a blessing to her. She was interested in what we are doing and asked to be on our mailing list. Go God! Love His connections!

Jason got a bonus at work that covered the amount we needed for him to apply for his citizenship! He also got another one for a contest he won at work, and it came at just the right time for us!

We have met various people at the RV parks, who we believe were God appointed relationships, that have offered to pray for us (which is huge for us) and who would like to be included on our mailing list! God is working for us, even on the hearts of strangers!

One of my good friends here is away for two weeks and has offered us the use of her home while they are gone, and with that, the use of her washing machine and dryer.  This is a big deal, because it costs $3.50 for me to do one load, and with 4 kids, I never just have one load!

We had spent a lot of time in prayer about where to stay when we moved into the RV and even though we didn’t have a clear answer yet, we trusted God and knew that He had a plan for us. We had paid for 2 weeks at a State Park but didn’t feel like we should pay for anything longer than that. My friend told me, “We had dinner with a couple from church who owns an RV park and we told them about you and they said you could stay there for free!” Again, WHAT?! Go God!!!! (We also got another offer to stay somewhere without having to pay rent, just water and electricity! God truly is taking care of us!) We have been here for almost a week and every morning I wake up and see God’s beautiful creation (not only are we covered in trees, there is a beautiful lake in the middle of the park that the kids can swim in and fish in!!!) surrounding me and I thank Him for His continual blessings that are surrounding us throughout this journey.

  This process has not been the easiest for me, as far as receiving all the blessings. I love to be the one blessing people but sometimes have a hard time receiving them. I am working on that and actually took my friend up on her offer to use her home to do laundry. It might not seem like a big deal to you, but to me it truly meant a lot and it took a lot for me to actually do it, but I am so glad I did. I want to be a vessel God can use to bless others and also allow others to let God use them to bless us!

We thank you again, for your continued prayers of our journey and we look forward to all that God has for us!

We bought our first "home"

This year is going to be a big year for the Kealey family. We have a lot going one and are very excited about slowly revealing to you what is happening in our lives!!!
    So, many of you may be thinking we bought ourselves a nice house , with a big yard for the kids to play in and ride their bikes. Maybe in a nice established neighborhood with lots of kids to play with. If you are one of those thinking that then you are very far from the truth :)
   Before I actually tell you, or show you a picture of what we bought I want to give you a little background....
    For a very long time, we (Jason and I), have been praying about the plan God has for our lives and the direction He wants us to go. We have sought His will in every decision we have made as a married couple. We have sought His will in all the decisions we have made regarding our children. We have not once made a decision without thinking about the pros and cons and what consequences (both good and bad) our decisions will have on our future.
   Our family is in the process of something big right now. Some of you know what we are doing, but until we are 100% sure it is a go we aren't going to reveal it here. If you do know we ask that you just continue to pray for us throughout this process! And if you don't know yet, well, just stick around and you'll find out in another update!
    With that being said, the first major change in our family happened just last week. Friday was the last day of school for Faith and Rylan. After a lot (and I mean A LOT) of prayer, council, and talks we decided that I would start homeschooling the kids. There were a few factors that went into our decision, but mostly it was just us following Gods plan for our life.
   The next big change came in the purchase of our first home. When we first moved to Georgia we thought we would rent for a year and find out where we wanted to live before we bought a house. But again, God had a different plan. We are embarking on an adventure that is written by our Creator and we are so excited. We know it will not always be easy and there will be tears and days of wondering if we made the right decision but the peace we have about the decision we made is our assurance it was God.
  So, what is it you ask?  Well, on May 1,2013 when our lease is up on our 1800sqft home, this Kealey family of 6 will all be moving into our newly purchased 300sqft RV. Yes, you read that right, we are becoming full time Rvers. We signed the papers, sealed the deal and will pick it up on Monday. Jason will spend the next few months renovating the inside....putting in hard wood floors, bunk beds in the back bedroom, installing a new sleeper sofa, some additional storage and a few other minor projects.
   I never thought our first 'home' purchase would be an RV but now that it is I couldn't be more excited. We know it is not forever, but it is just a step in the direction of the plan God has for us. It makes complete sense for the adventure we are about to begin and we look forward to seeing what God has in store for us! 
   Now, we just have to name it.....

Why we don't do Santa

Before I actually get into this post I want to first make a few disclaimers:

                  *This post is merely my opinion and is not meant to persuade you into thinking like me

                  *I am not judging anyone for having different thoughts than me

                  *If your opinion is different than mine and you are going to comment please try to keep

it civil and not make rude or vile comments. I welcome different opinions and views

but not negativity.  

              It is no secret to people that know us that we do not do Santa Claus, the easter bunny  or the tooth fairy with our kids. However, there are plenty of people we come in contact every day that have no idea we don’t do them with our kids. I like to believe that people that know us know that we love our kids unconditionally and try to be the best parents that we can. There are people, though, that we meet along the way that find out about things we do, or don’t do for that matter,  and it really irritates them.( I find it funny that someone can make a bad assumption about you because you don’t let your kids believe in Santa or a bunny that sneaks into your house and leaves candy. Really?! ) 

 Just the other day we were at the Doctor’s office and one of the nurses asked my kids if they were all excited for Santa to come. Mr. A(who is 3 and has the best facial expressions ever) looked at her really slowly and said , “We don’t believe in Santa you know” and then continued watching the movie that was playing. I was laughing because he said it so matter of factly like it was no big deal, but she looked at me with a look of disgust and said “are you serious?”. I said, “Yes, we don’t have our kids believe in Santa”.  And you know what, she mumbled something under her breath and stormed off.  It was then that I truly realized not everyone will value the choices you make for your family but as long as you know in your heart they are the right ones then I say go for it.  

 I have had a lot of people ask me why we don’t do these things with the kids and for me it’s an easy answer.  Before I give you my reasons though, I want to first say that I don’t think there is anything wrong with you doing Santa or the easter bunny or tooth fairy with your kids. I don’t judge. I do what I think is best for my family and you do what you think is best for yours. In the past few years there has been an increase of the Elf on a Shelf toy and while we don’t do that either, I enjoy seeing what other people on FB do with theirs. We had a neighbor in Hawaii who was, and still is, the best “Elf on a Shelf-er” that I’ve seen. I looked forward to seeing her pictures everyday last year and this year is the same. I also want to assure you that I tell my kids that other kids do believe in these things and not to spoil their fun. It’s fine for them to tell adults but not other kids.  

  In all honesty, the number one reason that we don’t do these things is because I want to be as honest as I can be with my kids from the beginning. I remember finding out Santa wasn’t real and even though I don’t think I cared that much, I wondered how my parents had lied to me for that long.  We have a rule in our house that if you tell the truth you won’t be in trouble but if we find out you lied about it then there will be consequences. So far, our kids have always told us the truth. Okay, let’s be real here for a minute…they are kids, of course they have lied. But, after I tell them that I am giving them one more chance to tell me the truth they always come to me and say, “I have to tell you what really happened”, or Rylan likes to say “I just have to tell you the truth”.  I personally cannot tell my kids there is a Santa (Easter bunny, tooth fairy) for many years and then one day tell them, “Yes, we actually made that up all these years and there is no such thing”.   I don’t want my kids to ever question if God is real because of something I have done…. If I tell them Santa (Easter bunny, tooth fairy) are ‘real’, but they can’t be seen, which in a way is like God (He is real and can’t be seen, but His Creation can) and then I tell them Santa isn’t real, well then are they going to question God too? I want my kids to have their own relationship with God and see just how amazing He is and how much He truly loves us. 

We do, however, talk about St. Nicholas and so they know he was a real man. I don’t get upset when they want to pretend that Santa is real while playing a game with each other because they always tell me the real reason for Christmas.   

The second, and equally important, reason we don’t do Santa is because I don’t want to take away from celebrating Jesus.  We believe (and I realize you may not) that we celebrate Christmas in honor of Jesus’ birthday. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and He was born in a manger, died on a cross for our sins and rose again. When it comes to Christmas I want my kids to celebrate Jesus and not Santa.  We actually even sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on that day….for those of you who think that’s weird, I’m sorry, no I’m not sorry because we do what we believe in.  

As far as presents go, yes our kids get presents for Christmas. The first year of their lives we didn’t buy them anything…they are too young to remember and the grandparents made sure they had stuff. We have never bought them a lot of stuff…we don’t stress about presents in our house….and we recently started getting them 3 things. They get 1 thing to wear, 1 thing to play with, and 1 thing to read. On top of that they get grandparent gifts and their stockings. You might think we are depriving our kids but honestly I can’t really remember what I got for Christmas every year and I’m sure my parents overspent and stressed about it! Faith is so excited about telling me what she wants for her three things this year that she has even told all her teachers what we do.  (She would really like a purple sparkly dress for her ‘something to wear’ present)  

I’m often surprised at the response we get, but it doesn’t change my beliefs and it doesn’t make me think that we are doing anything wrong. I believe we are doing what is best for our family and I hope you are making your decisions based on what you think is right for your family. We can’t live our lives hoping to please everyone because in the end nobody will be happy! There are things I value that you may not and there are probably things you value that I do not. Instead of fighting and judging one another let’s just get along and love one another. 

You want to know another one that gets “the look’…when I tell people we don’t have TV at our house….but that’s another topic for another time! 

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas!!!

No regrets

So, it has been a really loooong time since I have written, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about writing….because I have. A LOT.  But, finding the time to write without one of my beautiful children climbing on me, or giving me a wet willy (gross, right ) , or needing help with homework, or wanting something to eat (who knew kids could eat so much!), or just wanting to play, has been a little tough J My kids have been back in school for a little over a month, and with 2 gone you would think it would be easier, but you would be wrong in that assumption. When Faith and Rylan are around they tell me when Eaden is climbing on the computer desk, or standing on the arm of the computer chair and spinning herself, or climbing on the counters or hanging from the mantle….Yes, she does in fact do all these things, and more!....BUT,  when it is just Addison and Eaden, I just hear the fall and then a cry. Addison is there cheering her on to climb a little higher or jump a little further, so my days are spent trying to keep the falls to a minimum! And I should also mention that Eaden is no longer sleeping in a crib because she was climbing out of it as fast as we could put her in it so she has moved on to a big girl bed! 

I have had a few things on my heart to share with you but I will just share one tonight because I am tired and think I should go to bed early. There is a song that I really like called How He Loves Us sung by Kim Walker and every time I hear it it speaks to me. There is one line that says “I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about , The way…HE LOVES US. Oh, how He loves us, Oh, how he loves us….” 

Think about that…the Creator of the Universe LOVES us. He truly, genuinely loves us and wants nothing but the best for us. So, why am I going to get caught up in regrets from my past? The answer is, I’m not! There are things I have done that I wish I didn’t do, or things I’ve said that I probably shouldn’t have but I am not going to let those things define who I am or where I am going. The moment I asked God to forgive me, He did and so I made the choice to also forgive myself and move on.   Tonight, I am making the choice to not allow the enemy to bring up my past anymore, but instead, I am choosing to keep my eyes focused on Jesus and move forward.  I am allowing the Creator of the Universe to be my guide and take me wherever He needs me.  He doesn’t think about my past mistakes or failures so why should I? 

Tonight, I pray that when you see yourself it isn’t through your own eyes but it is through the eyes of Jesus, because when He sees you He sees beauty. He sees perfection. He sees His creation that He loves and longs to fellowship with. He’s waiting for you with open arms and is ready to wipe away your past so that you maintain your regrets no longer…He wants to help you look to the future. A future filled with love and hope. Will you let Him in?

I pray that you will listen to this song and be as blessed as I have.