Some of our activities this Summer have included:

• VBS at LifePoint
• Week of Camp for kids
• LuLu Camp
• First Tee for the girls
• Weekend in Knoxville
• Fourth of July fireworks
• Lot o Swimming
• Sleepovers

And many other moments of fun and insanity.  In light of my 3 children going to school, I decided that it was time for Jason to join in the fun. We went and ate dinner and then all set our for Target with our lists.  We divided and conquered and $100 later….We were done! We have a few more items on our list, but are well on our way to being supply ready!

I have such mixed feelings about our boy starting Kindergarten. At the end of the day, we do what we feel led to do. We seek, we think, we pray and we go with our gut. That is the Stew Family way of determining where God is leading.

Fancy, huh?

How do you feel about Summer coming to a close?

Earlier this summer, we had a family night and set out our goals for the summer. We talked through the things we wanted to do and what we were expected to do! We have started using My Job Chart to track the kids chores and it has been a HUGE hit! The kids are responsible for completing and tracking their chores and in return, they receive points that they can cash in for savings, givings and spending. The site is connected to Amazon and they can create a wish list or cash in their points for extra tv time, computer time or certain outings. They did really well at the end of the school year and have continued to use if fairly faithfully! I highly recommend it!

Our adoption hit a snag in mid May. For reasons outside of anyone’s control, we have not been able to have our court date scheduled. This has been a huge frustration and delay. We have been told that a resolution should happen mid July. The Ethiopian courts close in August and September for the rainy season, so there is a great chance that we may not travel til the Fall and at that point we have no idea when he will be home. As you can imagine, that is not our desire and walking in the unknown has some hard moments. He turned two last week and I couldn’t bring myself to write a sweet little post about him, because I don’t know Him, I don’t even know if I would recognize him if I passed him in the streets of Africa. And that is a hard thing for a mommy to write.  The emotion just creeps up on me and surprises me at times.  I was doing a cool down to P90x and had a moment….I was shopping with Jason and broke down in the store….I will be worshipping at our church and it all feels very distant and hard. We did have a balloon launch on his birthday with a prayer with our family….and cupcakes of course.  So we live each day and pray for Judson and walk in faith that God is Sovreign in ALL things.

We have also had VBS, Creative Me camp, lots of swimming, Adventure Science Center, movies, ice cream, playing outside and time together….and we are only one month in for the Summer!

Emery invited 9 girls to her birthday party.

Why 9 you may be wondering? Because we found some cute plates on clearance and there were only 9, so she decided she could only invite 9. Who am I to argue? Once it got close to her day, I began to get VERY worried that no one was going to show up.  She invited several girls from her class and I only heard from one…and she texted me the day before to say her daughter had gotten sick and wasn’t sure she would make it. Our other friends from church were at soccer and a family birthday party. I literally was praying, “Lord, please do not let her have the experience of having NO ONE show up at her party….plus I have gone to a lot of effort…so please let some girls show up!”

I am sooo spiritual, I know.

Needless to say, she had five little girls show up and it turned out fabulous!

Here are some highlights:

Here are these cute little girls with their equally cute aprons…

We started with decorating cupcakes. This is the instructional part of the birthday party where I am telling them all about icing cupcakes.

The girls were eager to get started with the icing of their cupcakes…

so they could get to the eating of their icing..I mean cupcake.

I seriously adore this girl.

Look how….pretty! It’s like the face only a mother could love.

Bradley and Parker were so sweet and were all about their sister. They let her enjoy her day (for the most part).

Next,  we made our jar cookie mix. I loved this. Each girl had their own bowl and was able to mix her ingredients together. It was fun to see them concentrate on the recipe and measure it all out. We made Emery’s mix for small group and they were really good! Measuring properly is such a learned skill, so hopefully they added the right amount of flour and baking soda.

We made an assembly line around the table and they really were so great and patient.

This is Abre’s finished product.

Lastly, they made their own pizzas…or I should say Jason and I frantically rolled out their dough and they piled on the toppings. The dough wasn’t cooked any before adding the sauce and cheese, so they were a little doughy. Oh well…buy pre-done crust is my word of advice.

We really had a fun two hours and I enjoyed having these sweet girls in our home. Their conversations are so interesting and fascinating. I was reminded that Emery is growing so fast and not a little girl. She is such a joy and I am so blessed to be her mom. I hope her party brought her joy and a memory for years to come.

I also wanted to share my new blog name….

Did you see it?

Catchy, huh?

We had a fun day and were able to take in the local Thunderbirds Air Show…pretty impressive. And Loud. I guess when you have 6 fighter jets flying above your head you should expect it to be loud!

Right over our heads….

My sweet kiddos…so thankful to be their Mom.

Bumblebee, the Transformer….

A Hollywood Diva….

The cousins, dressed as a bunny and a witch….

and even more cousins, Elvis and Baby….

A fun, beautiful Trick or Treat tradition….

Our first stop was the Navy Pier

There are several restaurants and also some rides at Navy Pier. Everyone says it is a must, but it didn’t seem to be that big of a deal!

Of course, the lake is pretty…

And the city view were impressive…

But, get a load of the big anchor….crazy..

Connie met up with us here because she flew a different airline. We became quite the bus travelers on this trip. We basically would ask every bus driver at the stops if they were going to our next destination. They were super nice. I love big cities…like seriously love urban living. Of course, I may just love the idea of it as oppossed to the reality of trying to navigate a city.

After Navy Pier, we went and did a little shopping on Michigan Avenue. We went to H&M, which was so crowded, but fun!

We discovered that the  Art Institute of  Chicago is free on Thursday nights from 5-8, so after stopping in at our hotel for a few, we headed back out. The line was around the building at 5 so we figured we would go eat first. We had our first Chicago style pizza at Pizano’s. Our waiter was a doll and even gave us free dessert, which was yummy. We didn’t get to the Art Institute until 7, so we rushed through it. Big mistake on our part, because there is so much to see! If was really cool.

Recognize this famous couple?

What about this famous grassy knoll?

This was is famous too!

I love this one!

I highly recommend going to the Art Institute. We could have spent hours there and had a blast.

Our next stop was the John Hancock building. We navigated the bus again and finally found it!

This is the view….from the ladies bathroom. This place was so cool. Great atmosphere!

Friday was a big day. We were headed to see Oprah! Whatever your personal thoughts on her, she is an icon. And there is also the added bonus that you may be in her audience for a favorite things episode and score some major loot. Needless to say, that didn’t happen, but I can now say I have seen Oprah in person. Our show was on the documentary Waiting for Superman. It was disturbing. It was scary. It is a tragedy.  Bill Gates was on the panel and we saw her give away 6 million dollars to 6 charter schools. Not something you see everyday!

It takes FOREVER to actually get into the taping.

This is us after the show. We were saying hey or something that Oprah suggested you say to get a good smile….not so much!

The wind, oh my word, the wind.

After Oprah, we went back to the hotel and changed clothes and headed out to the Bean.

I must say, this thing was fun and cool.

You can actually see the skyline in your pictures when you take it.

Where’s Kelly?

And at this point, no joke, I ran out of battery on my camera. I also didn’t have the charger. So thus ends the picture portion of this post.

Which isn’t cool because we totally saw Vince Vaughn about 5 minutes later and proceeded to stalk him for about 20 blocks.

I wish I were kidding but I am not.

We ended up at a GREAT place to eat for dinner, which a lady we met at Oprah recommended.

The Grand Lux Cafe was so good and had a ton of windows, which made the atmosphere great. We got there before the rush, and had a great time.

We did a little shopping and then ventured back to our hotel.

Saturday morning was raining. YUCK.

We had a late breakfast and then did an architectural boat tour. Total Tourist.We did our through The Chicago Architectural Foundation, and it was amazing.

The amount of information our tour guide, who is a VOLUNTEER, dispensed, was phenomenal. I was seriously as impressed by her as I was the buildings!

After our tour, we ate at Giordano’s and even got a frozen pizza to bring home.

And then we almost missed our plane because we went to get these.

But they were worth it!

I had a great time in Chicago with the girls. I think GIRL trips are ESSENTIAL!

I am thankful for my sweet friends, how they support and encourage me and how we have so much fun.

When is your next girl trip??

]]> http://kellystewart.org/chicago/feed/ 1 http://kellystewart.org/any-excuse-to-eat-shrimp/ http://kellystewart.org/any-excuse-to-eat-shrimp/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:28:52 +0000 Kelly http://kellystewart.org/?p=1930 Last month was a busy, but fun month for us.  We finished up some projects in the house, which makes my heart SMILE! We were able to lay the flooring in the playroom and my soon to be office and Jason also put up the baseboards and quarter round.  It looks sooo good! I sold our couch on craigslist, but haven’t found a new one yet, so we are a little makeshift in the playroom! Oh well! I am super excited to move into my office and have a dining room soon. We are re-routing our cable and internet and once that is done, I am moving into my own separate office. This will be great for my homestudy appointments, since we meet at my office/home once.

So what was the reason for our frenzy of project finishing you ask??

Our dear friends, the Robertsons, were in town and we decided to have a Shrimp Boil to celebrate.  They are living in Houston and only get home a few times a year, so we asked some of Jason and Matt’s old college buddies, along with their families, to come and join us for a fun evening of food and fellowship.  Our turnout was low, but we still had a blast.  It is amazing to me to think that I have known Matt for around 15 years and Heather for around 12 years.  I love that we have been apart of their story from the beginning.  Matt was Jason’s college roommate and they worked together, as well. Matt continued to work for Jason’s family’s business well after college and we have been able to stay connected through marriages, babies and distance.  When we moved away to Cleveland, years ago, they were some of the few to come visit us….I guess we need to return the favor!

One of our greatest joys was seeing Matt become a Christ-follower when he, Jason and Melvin were golfing. To watch how he has grown in his relationship to Jesus, is leading his family and pouring into the lives of others, brings sweet tears to these eyes.  They were the first to have a baby of our crew and they blessed us by naming Andrew after Jason (Andrew is his middle name and Bradley’s as well.)  We have watched Heather grow from a teenager into a beautiful woman who loves her man, her children and Jesus.  As they struggle living far away, I have seen God work in them anew, as they seek to find His place for them in Houston. I have seen how He has provided amazing friends for Heather that I know are supportive of her and Matt.

To me, this is a relationship that is all about doing life together….even though we rarely are.  It is about investing for the long haul.  I am so thankful for their friendship and that we can truly be real with Matt and Heather. I am praying BIG, GOD sized things for them, no matter where they live.

I went really basic on the tables since we would be putting the food right on it! This is a cute little tray I found at Goodwill for 1.99!

The wind drove me crazy and kept messing with my table! Loved the daisies and bandana mix….

The Amazing Shrimp Boil…love this meal

This was about the only pic we got of even a few of the kids…they ran, explored, jumped, played basketball, rode….

I am loving our yard…after all the work, it is worth it!

Mollie loves the four wheeler…she just needed some steering assistance.

Matt, Jason, Philip

Zan, Heather, Me

We had such a great time, catching up and watching our children play…8 between us!

We really enjoyed a relaxing evening with our friends. It has been so long since we have entertained and I was reminded how much I love having people in our home.

This house is FINALLY feeling like home!

I love that our church focuses on children and students. I love that our kids worship with music that speaks to them, their age and their generation. The message is not watered down, which many often confuse with a hipper style of music or the use of lights and motions.  Our kids are learning to worship in spirit and truth and that following Jesus is about giving Him your life, not just a moment, a prayer or an acknowledgment.  They are learning what it means to follow Christ.  Last week they learned about Heroes in Scripture and their example. I am doubly excited to see our middle and highschoolers serving.  This week is possible because they sacrifice time at the pool, with friends, or hanging out in front of the tv for time spent investing in the lives of preschoolers and students. They are growing because they are serving Him.  Such a blessing to watch them grow in their journey with Jesus by being His hands and feet.

Emery was  on the praise team again this year and she did a great job!  It is so cute to watch her and we know that she is learning that leading others in worship is a privilege and that her role is to simply point others to Him.  No focus on self or on being the center of attention….at least that is our prayer.  Bradley was able to be in worship this year.  He came home singing some of the songs and talking about what he was learning, as well.  He told us all about, “the woaves and the fish.”  The girls were also able to invest in our neighbors this week. We don’t have many kids in our neighborhood, which is very evident in the summer.  Our neighbors had their nieces visiting and they came for two days.  The girls were so excited to be able to invite them. We are praying that they get to continue to see these sweet girls in the weeks to come!

Little did I know….

We walked outside and I heard them talk about having customers…..again, I am thinking RESTAURANT. Jason and I wander back inside and Parker comes in and shows us her sign that they had been showing passing cars.

It read….

Will Dance or Sing for Money

I wish I could adequately describe Jason’s face…he was truly at a loss for words! He informed Parker that “we didn’t, we don’t, umm….that’s not really appropriate.” I later found their list of songs they had written. They had a secular and a Christian set list.

Secular included: You are my Sunshine

Christian: Every move I make

So you be the judge: Innovative, Entrepreneurial or 8 year olds gone wild?

]]> http://kellystewart.org/innovative-entrepreneurial-or-8-y-o-gone-wild/feed/ 4 http://kellystewart.org/our-little-beach-getaway/ http://kellystewart.org/our-little-beach-getaway/#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:02:33 +0000 Kelly http://kellystewart.org/?p=1816 Right before school got out last week, LuLu called to see if we wanted to skip the last half day and meet her at Myrtle Beach.

We didn’t have to think twice.

We took off after school on Wednesday and headed east. We drove to Columbia and got there about 1:30 am.

We were a little tired, but sooo ready to see the beach!

We had a great long weekend and stayed through Memorial Day.  We went to the same place we went to three years ago and had a great time visiting with “The cousins” which are LuLu’s amazing cousins. They are such precious people who love all over my kiddos and are just a pure joy to be around. You can see pictures from our last trip with them here.

We also got to spend some amazing time with our dear friends, the Swaffords. April called me on last Monday and said, “Guess where I am? The beach!” I said, “Which one?” and she replies, “Myrtle” to which I say, “SHUT UP, we are going to be there Thursday!!!!” I have no doubt God was all over this one in allowing our families much needed time together! We were phone tagging each other to figure out when we could do a weekend together this summer and low and behold….He already had it worked out!  April wrote about our time together, as well!

My precious girls. I am so proud of all they accomplished this past year. They are now a 3rd and 2nd grader!

Also, as my public service announcement, Landsend tugless bathing suits are AMAZING for girls! Modest, cute and no tugging!

Suits have been very hard to fit my girls and these worked great!

Bradley did a lot of this….

and this…

and he refuses to be left out of this….

I did a lot of this…..

Emery did a lot of this…..

and this….

and of course, this…

but, she really loves to do this….

Parker spent a lot of time doing this….

she also enjoys this….

and just being able to do this….

and this….

And, together they really love to…..

kid around…..

We were able to take some cleaned up beach pictures….

and I even got one with my man…..with whom I share a love of the beach…