Our Life In Collages...

Hello there!

As usual I said that I would be trying to post each week, and as usual- I've not done that...oops.  Sorry.

So this post is going to be a catch up of all things life related- with pictures- so Yay!

To make it easy- I'm going to start at the top left of each collage and work my way clockwise...

Here we go...

1.  We got some BIG news!  We are expecting baby #4!!!

2.  We may need a bigger bed.  On Saturday mornings it's getting a little tight when everyone piles in...including the dog.

3.  Baby #4 will be due around Halloween 2015.  This picture is the picture we used to announce his/her's soon to be arrival.  (Thanks Pinterest)

4.  Baby's first ultrasound

You might not remember but in my last post I announced that we are going through the required steps to get certified to become a fostering family.  I did not know that I was pregnant when I wrote that post.  We are still 100% planning on continuing on that path.  We actually finished up our 10 week certification classes just last night.  We still have some other things until we are completely certified, but we are closer each day. Really the only thing that will change is that there will have to be a window of a few months when we have baby #4 where we do not take in a child. We want to make sure that we don't throw too much change on our kiddos (and ourselves) at once.  We want to make sure we adjust and allow time to bond and get used to baby #4 before we add a baby #5 (I wrote the number 5 with my head between my knees!  Holy cow!)

1.  I'm headed on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in July!  My passport finally came in and I couldn't be more excited!!!  What a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel and the wonderful hope and joy that come from the truth that is our my Savior Jesus Christ!  And on top of that- first passport ever- Woohoo!

2, 3, and 4.  The wonderful group I am going on the mission trip with is in full swing having lots of fundraisers for our trip to the D.R.  I took these pictures in our churches fellowship hall while we were getting our Spaghetti Dinner prep on.

I know what some of you may be thinking... She's pregnant!  How could she possibly be going on a mission trip?!  (your doing the math in your head right now to figure out how far along I'll be- I'll help you out- I'll be 26 months along- right at the end of my second trimester.)  

I know it may seem crazy- but just because I'm pregnant doesn't change the fact that I feel a huge burden to go on this trip.  I felt that way before I was pregnant and I continue to after the fact.  I've spoken with my doctor and have been given the green light.  I know that things happen sometimes.  I am well aware of the dangers and concerns, but the truth still remains that I have prayed diligently about this trip and the fact that I'm pregnant hasn't changed how I feel.  The truth is I would rather be in God's will in the Dominican Republic and something go bad than to be at home disobeying his call.  I know that may sound crazy and maybe even irresponsible to some, but as Christians we are called to go, to proclaim the gospel, to disciple, and I am so excited at this opportunity.  

I hope that you will commit to praying for not only me, but our team as we prepare our hearts, our bodies, and our supplies for this trip. Pray for our safe travel there and back.  Pray that we will do the work and run the race that God has prepared for us in advance.  Please pray for the people of the D.R. that their hearts and minds will be open to hearing the good news that is our Savior Jesus Christ.

1.  Little Man placed in the top 6 at the Sonata Festival (piano)!  He went up against over 18 other kids some of which have been playing for a year or more than him.

2.  Spring is here!  The weather has been so amazing and the kids are having the best time playing outside.  Little miss loves to take her book and climb this tree in our back yard.

3.  We walked down to our local Square the other day and while we were there I let the kids climb the big awesome tree in the middle of the square.  It was really awesome right up until a city worker came and chased them down.  Oops!

4.  This girl is funny.

5.  We invited anyone and everyone over to our house back in February to celebrate Fat Tuesday with us.  I prepared over 400 beignets for us to eat...it was crazy town!

1.  Wedding photo booth with the brother and sister-in-law.

2.  The girls were Flower Girls in the same wedding.

3.  The wedding was back home and while we were there we took the kids to the trampoline gym.  Ellie had a blast!

4.  My sister went home the same week we did and brought her kids.  Little Miss and her cousin got their pedicure on.

5.  Funny Faces with cousin Landry.

1.  Before it gets unbearably hot and the mosquitoes start carrying off my children we have been trying to get in as much park time as possible.

2.  While working in the kitchen one day I turned around to find the smelly dog like this.  So like any normal person I took out my camera and took a picture.  Duh.

3.  I'm still running.  Around 3 miles 3 days a week.  I'm starting to feel the extra weight though.  My goal is to run up until the mission trip.  We'll see though.

4.  Little man is a reading machine.  Right now he's working on "The Hobbit" and "The Incredible Journey".

We've been in full swing soccer mode around here.

1.  Ellie and I have made the most of it.  We're quite the cheerleaders.

2.  Little man is doing great!  We are hoping to get him onto a competitive travel team in the fall.  Soccer really is his sport.

3.  Little Miss is worn out after every game.  She hasn't scored a goal yet, but we have one more game and we're hopeful.

4.  She keeps on smiling though!

5.  Team Helder- dad's the coach..What a team!

There you have it.  There's of course been some other things going on around here that I didn't have any pictures of.  Nolan preached this last Sunday.  His sermon was wonderful and so convicting.  I am so blessed and amazed to see the way that God is working in his life.  The kids are doing awesome in school- reading and learning like all-star pros.

Hope everyone has a blessed and fun day!  Until next year!  (haha- just kidding...I hope.)

Year In Review...

Our 2014...A recap.

Where to start?

A lot happened in 2014 I feel like.

Early 2014 my hubby started to feel the call into ministry after being a high school teacher/coach for the last 8 years.  We visited three different seminaries pretty sure that God was calling him to school first in preparation for full-time ministry.  Even though we were fairly certain that seminary was God's will Nolan still seemed to have a nagging feeling that maybe we were wrong (when you have a wife and three kiddos to think about, quitting your job, becoming a full-time student, and hoping you find a part time job that pays you enough for you and your family to survive on can be a little scary).  However, after visiting Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky we felt certain that is where God was calling us...

We were wrong...

The day after we arrived home from Louisville sure that we were headed there a friend of ours who is a pastor at a church in Alabama called us and told us his church had an opening for an Associate Pastor/Youth Ministers position and he felt like God had laid my husband on his heart.

God is so funny sometimes isn't he?!.

So once again we started praying for direction, for peace, and for His good and perfect will to be accomplished through us.

Would we ever make a decision?  I was starting to wonder.

In the end we truly felt God calling us to Alabama.  The hubby felt at peace knowing that he would be providing for his family while getting experience serving and working in a church all while doing his seminary work online.  It really was amazing how God worked out all the little details and showed us (me mostly) that sometimes we must earnestly seek and pray for His guidance and will to be revealed, and He doesn't always make it easy or quick.  We must learn to be patient as we learn to listen and understand what He's saying to us.  While the uneasiness of being in limbo and just not knowing what we were doing and where we were going was enough to make me completely frazzled at times I wouldn't change that time in our journey for anything. Learning to earnestly pray and seek God during that time grew my faith in ways I didn't even realize possible. We learned to trust God's provision and to know that He would make his plan clear to us in His time.  I learned to trust my husband as he lead our family.  It was such a blessing to experience His hand at work in our lives and has become such a huge part of our story- how God has truly shown himself good and faithful to us.

So in 2014 Nolan changed professions and we moved to Alabama!  Pretty Huge Right?!!

We bought a house that was built in 1912.

In the short amount of time we've been here we've made some amazing friends.

We love our church, and immediately felt right at home.  We work with the youth at our church.  We have them over often.  The highlight was our tacky Christmas sweater party.  I wore a Christmas jumper with matching turtle-neck.  It was pretty legendary I'm not going to lie.

In November we took the students out door to door to pray for those in our community and to offer meals to those in need for Thanksgiving.  It was eye opening to see the huge need in our own community, and a blessing to take our students into the community to serve.  We delivered around 40 meals to those in need on Thanksgiving.  It was awesome to be a part of!  Since we didn't go home for Thanksgiving we had our own Thanksgiving here in Alabama and invited a few friends over to celebrate with us.  I cooked my own Turkey!  It was so scary and gross- I totally didn't pull out the bag that was inside it...oops.

The kids and I volunteer once a week at a local thrift store that raises money to buy food for the needy.  It's pretty awesome to serve right along side my kiddos, and to see them learning to love and serve those in need.

Little man played football for the first time ever, and started piano lessons.  He rocked Jingle Bells out like an All-Star pro at his Christmas Recital.  He's now in basketball season, and he's getting better and better. He continues to be an amazing reader, but his most exciting news of all is that he excepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior in January of 2014!

Ruthie continues to be sassy, but at the same time sweet and loving.  She loves her big brother and and thinks he hung the moon.  We are hoping she might play soccer in the spring but in all reality she just wants to dance, twirl, dress-up, and use her imagination to take her to places that I'm sure are full of unicorns and colorful dresses and high-heels.

Baby girl is a mess!  She is by far the friendliest child we've had.  She waves at and tells everyone she sees "Hi!".  She's a climber, but by far the craziest thing she does is take her diaper off every chance she gets!  I seriously can't hardly keep the thing on her- and it's all fun and games until she's poopy!  I'm sensing potty-training in her near future- Ugh!

Nolan is doing awesome and I love him more and more each day.  He's serving in our church.  Working on his Masters degree through New Orleans Theological Seminary.  Playing basketball when he can, and starting Monday I'm making him do a 10-Day Detox with me...He's very excited about it.  I feel so blessed to share this journey with him by my side!

There you have it...2014.

It was pretty great!

And crazy...

And Silly...

And Wild...

And sweet...

And I loved every bit of it...

I hope your 2015 is Amazing!  Happy New Year!

All Roads Lead To Somewhere. But Where?

I have posted this before.  It's my testimony- my hope and prayer is that you will take from it how much I love God, and how wonderfully, amazingly, good and loving He is.  It's a two part post so I will post part 2 later this week (probably wednesday)...

Part 1- Before Marriage:

I have a true story to tell you.

It's about the road that has led me to this place that I'm at right now. While the road has been rocky and the journey a little ugly at times- it has led to the most wonderful of places.

I started on this road when I was about 7 I think (while the exact age seems to have left me- I remember clearly the place and the company). I was sitting in the hall of my house where I grew up waiting to use the restroom when my father came down the hallway. I asked him to sit down and visit with me for a minute- I had some questions. Questions about Jesus and God. Questions about my salvation and where I would go when I died. There in the hallway, with my earthly father's support, waiting to use the bathroom, I chose to believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior.

Fast forward a few years to a teenager who believed in Christ but really didn't take it much further than that. Who was super quick to throw others under the bus with judgement for their "sin", but felt like since she wasn't going to the parties and doing "those" things then she must be doing right by God. Right?.

Fast Forward a few more years to college. I continued to say I loved God and believed in his Son as my Savior, but unfortunately continued to live a life that was contrary to what I professed. I made many poor decisions and followed the road of the world in a way that I'm sure made satan sing with joy. I dated and then later became engaged to a guy that was a relationship unhealthy for both parties I'm sure. Emotional damage seemed to be the base for which that relationship was built on. I prayed and prayed that God would heal our tattered and torn relationship. I was marrying this man for crying out loud! How could we ever have a successful marriage if we couldn't even date properly? I shed tears over the brokenness of it all- all the while crying out to God to fix what we seemed to tear down and break so frequently. With invitations sent out, two wedding showers under our belt, dress, flowers, and cake all purchased, and less than a month before the wedding we threw in the towel and walked away from each other.

What had gone wrong? Had I not prayed hard enough? It felt like complete failure had consumed me. Embarrassment. Shame. Hopelessness. What had started as a smooth road, had turned into pebbles, then rocks, then boulders, and had come to its end as this huge mountain that I could see no way over. Along with the ending of what I thought was supposed to be the beginning of this new life came other changes. I immediately moved home to my parents after living on my own for 3 years, changed schools (or so I thought at the time), and basically just tried to figure out where it had all gone wrong.

The next few months to follow would not be what I would describe as pretty. Without going into too much detail lets just say that rock bottom seemed to be my new address. However I had mastered the art of putting on a happy face and making it seem like all was well in the world. I was not happy with the person I had become, and I know that God was saddened by where my life had gone.

It was one of those things that in the midst of the sin and shamefulness I could hear and feel the Holy Spirit convicting me. Telling me to turn away from the ways that seemed to be consuming me, but I just kept turning from him and digging myself deeper and deeper in. I just kept turning to the world to try to put out the pain, but it only seemed to produce more pain and more trouble.

It was during this time of lowness that the future hubster came into the picture (again. Seeing as how he and I had grown up together and then dated in high school for a couple of years off and on, only to part ways when I went off to college). I'm not going to lie and say that it was all roses right from the start, because frankly drama usually follows when your heart is saying one thing and your brain is saying another. However, after a few talks, a few situations, and a few shed tears it became apparent that Nolan was God's answer to the prayer I had prayed a year earlier. The prayer where I had prayed for him to heal the brokenness of another relationship with another guy. The prayer where I thought he had abandoned me and left me hopeless. The prayer I thought he had chosen not to hear- not to listen to. It wasn't that he didn't care or had chosen to ignore me- instead like a faithful and loving parent he had just chosen to say "No."

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity." -Jeremiah 29:11-14

You see, only He knew my future. My small faith had left me feeling abandoned and alone in my time of need. I felt that God had failed me, but he had really delivered me choosing to reveal himself true and faithful on his time, not mine. Most of all he chose to show himself loving despite the lack of love I had shown him.

Nolan and our marriage was a "good and perfect gift" that could have only "come from above," but like I'll show you tomorrow when I finish this story- sinful nature is not pretty, and can unfortunately, cause hurt and pain within the most wonderful of God's gifts.

For now I'll leave you with this. My hope is that through my story you can find hope. Just know that God is faithful, and merciful, and always- ALWAYS- shows himself true. Unfortunately we have to hit rock bottom sometimes to recognize our need for him, but find joy in those moments- for it is then that God's Glory and Awesomeness can truly be realized and we can find him.

Blessings,

Pretty Little Liar Obsession/Confession

For Christmas my in-laws got us Netflix.

We have access to it on our tv and on our phones.

Oh My!

Best. Thing. Ever.

I'm nursing Baby Girl and it has been awesome sitting down to nurse her- it gives me something to do while I'm sitting there.

I just pick up my phone, plug in my headphones and watch whatever sounds good.

It's Glorious. 

Marvelous.

And Wonderful.

First I worked my way through How I Met Your Mother Episodes.

Then 30 Rock (super funny).

But then I was kind of lost where to go next.

While searching through my possibilities I came across "Pretty Little Liars."

My niece and my sister-in-law both watch it, and while it seemed a little teeny-bopperish- I thought "Hey- why not?!  I'll give it a try."

There's:

Suspense

Mystery

Drama

Great Hair

Great Clothes

Great Shoes

Love

Pain

Good Looking People

Scary Moments

And I like to watch things that require me to figure out who done it.  They have me completely stumped!  I have my ideas, but there is seriously so much going on I can't hardly get my thoughts straight enough to figure it out!

It's officially my newest obsession.

I've watched Seasons 1 and 2, but 3 isn't on Netflix yet!

I'm not sure I can wait for Netflix to get it together- I might have to make a trip to Wal-Mart and buy it tomorrow!

 

I will say this: I think Allison's still alive.

Don't know who Allison is?

Watch the show.

You'll Love it!

I'm Taking It All Off...

My hair that is.

I got my hair cut the other day.

It looks something like this...

 

I'm hating it.

 

Don't get me wrong- it's a great cut.

 

It just doesn't look good on me.

 

Something about the front being longer than the back is making my face look too long and my nose look to skinny (and long).

 

Boo.

 

I wish I could pull off long, flowing, wavy locks.

 

Something like this maybe...



 

Ohhhh- or this...

 

 

I'm loving the bangs!!!

 

But no.

It would Never- I mean NEVER work.

 

My nose would look so Looonnnnggg and Skinny and my face would look like it went on for miles and miles...Scary.

 

I've excepted this about myself.

 

But I really thought that the cut I just got would be short enough.

I HAVE to have bangs because I'm a freak about my forehead having coverage- So I thought I'd be safe there too. 

 

But NO.

No.  I wasn't.

It's not okay.

It's a tragedy actually.

Something Must be done.

 

Here's the plan...

 

Love this.

 

and this.

 

 

Pink- "You're my new Hair Hero."

FYI- I'd totally do the blond if I could pull it off- but again- NO.



Oh yes.  I think I will.

 

So what do you think of my choices?

 

I've totally done the short before.  It looks good on me and makes me feel good.  I don't even know why I try to go longer.

 

I guess I just get bored?

Lazy?

Tired of having to get my hair cut every few weeks to keep up with the style?

Tired of looking like I stuck my finger in a light socket while I was sleeping each morning?  Most Definitely.

Tired of forking over the hubster's hard earned cash more often?

 

It's probably a combination of all of the above.

 

The hubster prefers my hair short like these choices actually. Crazy right?.! Most guys are like-

Insert whining voice-..."Keep your hair long! It's sexier that way."

My man just knows whats up.

What can I say?.

 

So- It's on my to-do list for the week.  Get a Haircut.

 

Consider it- did.

On a completely different note-

I'm working on some new projects.
Hence- the fabric explosion taking place in my living room right now...

We live in a 2 bedroom house.

Five of us.
+ the Smelly Beast -aka-our basset hound- see her up there?  She smells.  Like all the time.
It's tight to say the least.

Unfortunately I don't have any pretty pictures of a pretty craft room to show you.
I wish I did- because it can get pretty wild when Mama starts crafting.
So I've been putting it off.

However- the time has come to get it DONE.

They're going to be bags in case you were wondering (and even if you weren't- I told you anyway)...

Loving Little Baby G's fabric for her new bag...

 Once the above is done I'm searching for my next project...

This one is full of some serious gems...

What do you read for inspiration?

I start getting with it- TOMORROW.

I'll take pictures. 

Don't worry.

I'm linking up with Seriously Shawn for Talk To Us Tuesday (even though technically it's Monday) again this week...



Click on the link and go check it out- It's good fun and anything goes!

Well- Until tomorrow- Goodnight!

My Lunch

So First of all I just want to let you know that I FINALLY uploaded my items into my Etsy Shop!

 

Yay!

 

It feels so good to have it done!  Now I can start working on some other fun stuff to go in there!

 

Also...

 

I'd like to apologize now for my photography.  I see all of these great blogs and part of what makes them so appealing and wonderful is the beautiful photography.

 

I'm just going to go ahead and tell you- I'm an amateur photographer. 

 

Although I'm sure you already put that much together on you own.

 

I have a great- fancy camera- but I also have NO idea how to use all of it's fancyness.  My hope is that some day my husband will read the manual and teach me all of his knowledge.  However- so far this has not happened so I'm starting to think it may not ever.

 

So if you want to laugh at my feeble attempts at fancy pictures that's okay.  Just don't let it determine whether or not you come back to visit me here at The Purple Clad Jewel.

 

With all that said...Here is what was for lunch today-  And to tell the story- My fancy pictures:

 

 

Feel Free to OHHH and AHHH all you want. 

 

I know right?!.

 

That white background is the top of my washer and dryer- HA!

Since I had a baby 2 weeks ago I have finally decided it's officially time to start counting those calories.  So today's lunch came in right around 450 calories.

1/4 avocado- sliced
2 scrabbled eggs w/ sliced red pepper
handful of kale and spinach- sauteed
3 sliced mushrooms- sauteed with greens
salsa
salt, pepper, and cumin to taste

All thrown into a whole wheat tortilla.

It was pretty stinkin' tasty, and best of all I didn't feel completely gross after eating it like I do when I eat stuff that isn't healthy. 

It's nice to be on the right track with my eating- For me and for little Baby G (Baby Girl- who nurses).

Feeling Good and 10 lbs- GONE- Here I come!

My hubby also introduced me to this way cool app for my phone called My Fitness Pal.

Have you heard of it?

It asked for my info and then told me how many calories I'm allowed each day to reach my goal of losing 1 lb per week.

Then it lets me log everything I've eaten each day and then tells me the calories for each item.  It tells me how I've done getting all the nutrients that my body needs, and it tracks your weight each day.  You can share it with friends so you can have accountability partners. 

It also tracks exercise and subtracts those calories from your calories you take in.

It's pretty nice and sure beats writing everything down!  Yay for saving trees- right?!.

You should check it out and then come back here and let me know about it- and then we can share our goals with each other and be online accountability partners!  It'll be awesome!

I got The Purple Clad Jewel's Facebook Page up and going today- So go check it out and share it with all your lovely friends-

You can find it HERE!

You can also follow me on twitter @purplecladjewel - I had the drop the "The" because it was too long- bummer- I know.

I leave you with some Baby G eye candy- she's so sweet.  However- she is about to kill me with all the being awake from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. each morning!  Good things she's so cute!

 

Have a Happy Day!

About Me

Hi. 

I'm Kasey.

Welcome to The Purple Clad Jewel.

I'm a stay at homer to three sweeties, a wife to one sexy fellow, a dog owner, a sewer, a baker, a jewelry maker, a runner, a cream and sugar w/ a shot of coffee drinker, a vintage lover, and a furniture re-doer.  I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and I'm a Proverbs 31 woman wannabe. 

Hang around and see what's being made- what's being sold- and what's being redone. 

 

Hang around even longer and learn about my obsession with healthy, vegan/vegetarian, full of veggies cooking/baking, exercise, see a turtorial here and there, hear about my faith and daily walk with Christ, and you'll probably hear about some wild and crazy family adventures too.

You can visit my Etsy shop: The Purple Clad Jewel- HERE

and find me on Facebook- HERE

Oh yeah...

 

If you're wondering where the name "The Purple Clad Jewel" came from- well that's easy- The Proverbs 31 woman clothed herself in handmade clothing in the color "purple "and was far more precious than "jewels" to her husband. She was a rockstar and I want to spend my days here on earth following her amazing example.

 

 

Proverbs 31:10-31 - ESV

  An excellent wife who can find?
  She is far more precious than jewels.
 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
  and he will have no lack of gain.
 She does him good, and not harm,
  all the days of her life.
 She seeks wool and flax,
  and works with willing hands.
 She is like the ships of the merchant;
  she brings her food from afar.
 She rises while it is yet night
  and provides food for her household
  and portions for her maidens.
 She considers a field and buys it;
  with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
 She dresses herself with strength
  and makes her arms strong.
 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
  Her lamp does not go out at night.
 She puts her hands to the distaff,
  and her hands hold the spindle.
 She opens her hand to the poor
  and reaches out her hands to the needy.
 She is not afraid of snow for her household,
  for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
 She makes bed coverings for herself;
  her clothing is fine linen and purple.
 Her husband is known in the gates
  when he sits among the elders of the land.
 She makes linen garments and sells them;
  she delivers sashes to the merchant.
 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
  and she laughs at the time to come.
 She opens her mouth with wisdom,
  and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
 She looks well to the ways of her household
  and does not eat the bread of idleness.
 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
  her husband also, and he praises her:
 “Many women have done excellently,
  but you surpass them all.”
 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
  but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
  and let her works praise her in the gates.