When life gives you lemons...

"Circumstances are to be like mattresses...we're to be on top of them, not under them." C. Alan Floyd

I haven't blogged in a while for a very good reason--we were without electricity! Luckily, in Russia neither our heat nor our hot water are electrically driven, but that's about all we had. Thank heavens, this afternoon the power was restored, after some haggling between the city of Moscow and the Pushkin Institute, where our building is located. I have never been so glad to see the lights come on in my life. It was especially bad Friday night, only because our friend Andy, from Novosibirsk, Siberia, was in town and coming to dinner. We ended up going to Pizza Hut, having a great time, and then coming back for Andy and Marc to work in the dark on their computers. To keep the kids occupied, I watched Muppet Christmas Carol with them on our little dvd player, and we roasted marshmallows over a candle. I've heard the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade," but I can honestly say I've never heard, "If Russia takes away your electricity, roast marshmallows over a candle." Do you think it'll be the next big, popular saying?

On Sunday, we took a team of volunteers from the states around Moscow and to our church. It was our first assignment that wasn't "learn the language," and all-in-all, I think it went pretty well. I was able to help one of the older gentlemen negotiate the price he wanted. The salesman asked if I wanted commission, too. It was fun. The only thing we bought was an Oklahoma Sooner matrushka doll. The Gators set had Leak as quarterback, but I'm promised that after Christmas, the new one with Tebow's name on the jersey will be ready to pick up.

And speaking of Tim Tebow...what a great thing that he won the Heisman. I am especially proud for his parents, brothers and sisters. What a wonderful family, and what a great example to the rest of us of what a great Christian family can be.

On Saturday, I took my first excursion on my own...to the center of the city and a wonderful bookstore named Biblio-Globus. I was able to find it easily, and even gave directions to a lady coming off of the metro looking for it. (Yes, I gave the directions in Russian!) More and more, I find that I think both in Russian and in English. It doesn't necessarily come easily to me, but I can definitely tell that the hard work in my lessons is starting to really pay off.

Well, this wasn't particularly profound, but that's all the news from here. We did get our first Christmas cards today, from my nieces Katie and Amy. It was so wonderful! We look in our mail box every day, hoping and praying for something from home, and it's usually empty. What fun it was to find two cards in there today!!! We also had communion at church for the first time last night, and it was really nice. We sang "How Great Thou Art," and I cried through the whole thing. Just to stand in Moscow, Russia, in the midst of this great city and even greater thing that God is doing in my life...He is great. But to be able to sing it in Russian...beyond words for me. And to be able to sing the chorus with my eyes closed in prayer...well, let's just say that God is good...all the time. Today, I was frustrated in my lesson with verbs of motion, and Irina flipped through hundreds of pages of the textbook. "Look how much you already know, Kellye," she said. And all I could think as I looked at all those pages was how big the God I serve really is.

Can't you see His "big-ness" all around? I hope you are daily looking at the big ways He is at work in your life, too. And I hope none of them include getting your electricity turned back on! Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty

It was an ordinary night here tonight—chili for dinner, listing our best part of the day at the dinner table, dishes and singing while the rest of the family did their thing after dinner. After I finished the dishes, I turned off the lights, gazed at the city’s skyline, and listened to my favorite tunes. Tonight, it was “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty.” It occurred to me as I sang along and worshiped that the verses of that song make an appropriate theme song for our experience here. So if you’ll forgive me for once again talking about songs I love and why they’re meaningful to me, here’s why I am so in love with this song right now.

• Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation./ Oh my soul praise Him for He is thy health and salvation./ All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near./ Join me in glad adoration.

My life here, more than anything else I have ever experienced, has taught me that Christ is my health and salvation. Yes, He saved my soul by dying on the cross for me, but He also saved me from what my life might have been without Him. My life here isn’t easy, and nothing that happens is a snap. It’s always hard. But He is with me. He helps me. He saves me from myself many days. (He saves my family from myself many days!) I cannot help but be in “glad adoration” of a God who is so constantly at work around me in a thousand different ways. On this blog, I hope that I inspire you to join me in that glad adoration.

• Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wonderfully reigneth/ Shelters thee under His wings, yes, so gently sustaineth/ Hast thou not seen how all thy longings have been/Granted in what He ordaineth?

When I first arrived here, one of the things that was hard for me was that I felt like I had worked so hard to get here, only to find that the hard part was only beginning. But what I’ve come to understand is that the longings of my heart to be here, to serve Him as an international missionary, were all in His plan from the beginning. He knew everything that would happen here—nothing has surprised Him. And in every single thing, He is giving me the greatest desire of my heart, which is to be totally and completely His. Sometimes that’s a painful process, but I’m coming, little by little, to appreciate and take joy in the ways in which He is making me a new person completely. All of the old stuff that troubled me for much of my adult life is gone—stripped away because it couldn’t be a part of my life here if we were to last on the field. When He says He is faithful to complete the good work He has started, I know He is telling the truth, because every day I see Him working toward completing that good work. I know it won’t ever be done—I won’t ever be at the point where He says He’s done with me—but I like the me He is turning me into a whole lot better than the old me. He "wonderfully reigneth" over every single thing in my life—and I daily reap the benefits of that reign.

• Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee/Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee/ Ponder anew what the Almighty can do/If with His love He befriend thee.

I can easily see the ways He is prospering our work. Our work right now consists entirely of learning the language and learning how to live this life that is so different from the life we left behind in the states. If you could hear us speak Russian, I think you would be shocked at what we can do with only six weeks of training. Now, we have a long way to go, and I often have to stop and really think my way through the grammar of what I am saying, because it is totally and completely different from English, but we can go out on the street and communicate with people pretty well. That is clearly the result of the prayers of the faithful who are lifting us up, because language study is a nightmare for all international missionaries. Imagine being pretty smart, accomplished folks and suddenly finding yourself with the communication skills of a two-year-old. And yet, we have not only done well in language study, we’ve enjoyed it. Every single day we are here, we are away of his goodness and mercy daily attending us. Every single day. I have come to an understanding of the kind of prayer that is constant. I felt sick to my stomach on the way to the metro yesterday, knowing I was facing at least another 2 miles of walking and three metro stops before I could get to a bathroom. I prayed about it. I felt better. I think I’ve lived a lot of my life where I felt like God was too busy or too big for the little details of my life. But as I grow closer and closer to Him, I know that He wants to be a part of everything I do. I pray over the kids schoolwork daily, that it will go well, that they will understand it, that I will teach it well. And every day I fall more in love with being my children’s teacher. Can you see, beloved friends, how he is daily attending me here? It is good to be befriended by the love of the Creator of the Universe.


• Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him/ All that has life and breath, come now with praises before Him/ Let the Amen! sound from His people again/ Gladly forever adore Him!

When I listened to this verse last night, there was simply nothing to do but raise my hands to the God of Everything. He is amazing. Two months ago, I could not see a way we could survive here. There wasn’t a single thing keeping us here except for this: God called. We knew Him to be faithful. We decided (and I mean we consciously decided as a family) that we were going to trust Him. Ask my parents and sisters—every time they talked to me, I sounded worse and worse. Frankly, I was headed into a depression that could have swept us right off the field. But face down on my apartment floor I cried out to Him with the groans of pain and suffering too strong for mere words. And you know what happened? He showed up. He was here all the time, just waiting for me to realize that He is absolutely all I need ever. I don’t need to be strong—I need to be full of Him. I don’t need to be wise—I need to be open to the voice of His wisdom. I don’t need to be wealthy—He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He’ll sell one off if we need him to. (That's an Alan Floyd-ism. I want to give credit where credit is due.) He is Everything I need. Everything. How can I not shout “Amen!” to that? Every day, I settle a little more into this new life that He’s given me. It turns out that I, who have worked outside my home my whole adult life, love being a housewife. I love teaching my children. I love taking care of my family, of making things possible for them. Who knew? God knew. He knew what would happen here. He knew the good, the bad, and the ugly…and He called us to this life knowing all of that. Don’t get me wrong—there are days that are so hard still, and I am so homesick that I just want to hit my head on the table and cry. But in everything around me, I am able to see Him, to see His hand at work. What a privilege. What an honor to serve the King of Kings.

I love you all. How wonderful it is to know that I have friends all over the world who read this blog and lift us up in prayer. He is faithful to listen and to move His mighty hand. Look around you, at the blessings of the life where you are, and know that just as He is at work here, He is at work there. Raise your hands with me, as we declare together Amen! Amen! Amen!

Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye

Me and the Babushki

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Titus 2:3-5

Titus 2 has a special place in my heart, because I have benefited over the years from the advice and wise counsel of older women. Of course, now I’m in the unenviable position of being one of the older women, but that’s another blog for another time. What is increasingly clear to me lately is that while other women are turning into their mothers, I am actually turning into my grandmothers.

Over the last few weeks, I have had to come to terms with the fact that several of the things I do are definite throw-backs to my grandmothers. Now please understand that many of the things I do are of complete necessity…not because I just love to do things the “old-fashioned way,” but because I can’t always do things the way I would in the States. For instance, they do not sell applesauce here, and so I make applesauce the way my Mimsey did (of course, she called them fried apples, but for our purposes, it’s applesauce). Both of my grandmothers were great cooks, and I often think of them while I’m in the kitchen. One of the things I make fairly often is baking powder biscuits, which greeted me every morning I stayed at my Granny’s house while growing up. I even cut them with a small bottle, because that’s the way she did it. Both of my grandmothers were workers, and I definitely get the “busy bee” gene from both sides of the family. These are all nice things, moments when I recall with great love and affection these two women who had such a profound impact on my life.

Then there was this morning. Things were humming along—Marc was in his lesson, John was finished with his, Hannah was working with me in the kitchen on her math. So I decided I would multitask and get some ironing done. Now, one of the things I was very excited about when I came here was that I had a clothes dryer, which is quite unusual for missionaries in Eastern Europe. However, I have quickly discovered that the dryer is very hard on clothes, and should be avoided for those things that will shrink—jeans, t-shirts, and especially underwear, which is very expensive here, so we don’t want to replace it until necessary. So I hang those things to dry, reserving the dryer for things like towels and socks and pajamas, which don’t cause problems if they shrink. But things that are hung to dry get very, very brittle…seriously—the jeans can stand on their own. So I have taken to ironing most mornings those things that I have hung to dry overnight. No big deal, right? Well, this morning I was ironing the things that had dried overnight when Sarah Beth came into the kitchen and started laughing. And I don’t mean a chuckle…I mean hysterical, fall on the floor kind of laughing. When I asked her what was so funny, she simply pointed to the ironing board. I was ironing Marc’s underwear. In that flash, I saw myself at Hannah’s age, asking my Granny why she ironed Papa’s underwear. It was not a good moment. Not at all. So unlike most women, I’m not turning into my mother, but my grandmothers.

Actually, I could do worse than turning into my grandmothers. Women of faith, both of whom raised families successfully, families they loved…great cooks who valued their time in the kitchen, who had great friends they adored…I could do worse than turning out like Agnes and Pearl. But I’m hoping that I’ll take on their good character traits, and not just the ironing thing. :o)

It’s funny…Sarah Beth asked me the other day why I am always helping the Babushki (grandmothers) on the bus or the metro. My reply was that in every little old lady I see my grandmothers, who lived in a much gentler place than Russia. In every sweet, wrinkled face, I see the precious lines of these faces that have meant so much to who I am. I cannot help myself. And interestingly, the old ladies love me. I often find myself chatting with them on the bus. Of course, it could be that they’re looking at my un-dyed roots and seeing one of their own!

By the way, we received our first packages from the States yesterday. What fun! We had such a ball going through and seeing all the stuff that my parents had sent. The things we were most excited about? Marshmallows and American powdered sugar. Very, very exciting stuff. You know what was really great, though? Seeing my Mama’s handwriting. Okay, it’s Christmas and I miss my Mommy. Give me a break.

Well, I need to run. It’s getting dark, and I’m expecting Marc any second, so I should get dinner going. It’s taco night, in case you’re interested. :o) Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye

Little House on the Tundra (again)

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:14-16

I know for lots of people, the “former lusts” which sometimes haunt them are things that others see as obvious sins. For me, that isn’t true. The “former lusts” with which I struggle are those parts of my personality which have made me very successful in my career as an educator—being driven to succeed, being a perfectionist, having a need to be in charge and control, being an organized leader. On the surface, none of these seem like terrible things which God frowns upon. And of themselves, they’re not. But for me, combined together, they have made for a life that has been very successful from the world’s point of view, but not terribly successful from the point of view of the Biblical standard for women.

The most difficult part of being in Russia for me has not been the weather or the language or the time it takes to get things done or the homesickness I sometimes feel for home and my parents. The most difficult thing has been the absolute loss of my identity or at least what I considered my identity. You know what? No one here cares that I can sing—most people here can sing. No one here cares that I have been super teacher in the past. No one is fighting to get their kids into my class—the only kids in my class are the three I gave birth to. You know who they’re really excited about being here? Marc. Marc is the one they prayed for all these years. I’m not saying people aren’t happy I’m here, because they are, and I am making some great friends. What I’m saying is that the skill set that Marc brings to the field is the reason we’re here. For the first time in my life, I am taking a backseat to what Marc can do. I am in the support position. For years, he did lots of things so I could be the kind of teacher I wanted to be. Now, it’s my turn. And it’s hard. It’s really, really hard. I am a home schooling housewife, and I’m telling you, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Little by little—and some days, in great big chunks—God is stripping me of all the stuff that I had built up in my mind as success. Success used to be high scores on the AP exam or awards for my teaching or applause for a song well sung. These days, success is a good meal or a particularly good family movie night or a lesson that went well for one of the kids. Success is getting them to school for p.e. and being able to explain to the security guard in a very simple sentence what we’re doing there. Success is finding a Christmas present at a price I can afford. Success is getting up early and having my quiet time so that when Marc gets up the coffee is ready. Success is snuggling with John-John before he goes to sleep and having him put his skinny little arm over me and tell me that he loves me very much. Success is seeing my kids make friends. Success is watching Hannah finally settle into being here. Success looks really, really different for me these days. But can I tell you this? For all the success I have enjoyed in my life, none has been as sweet as the daily victories of a family life that is becoming more successful every day. None has been as sweet as watching my children start to thrive in their schoolwork. None has been as sweet as having breakfast and dinner together every day and night, and actually having the energy to sit down and talk with each person about what has happened in their day. It’s hard, and it’s so much work, but daily God is changing me more and more into the person He sees when He looks at me, and less and less like the person I used to be.

So here’s the rub: I have an offer to teach at the Christian school. It’s a great school, and I love the people there. I am enjoying taking the kids Tuesday and Thursday for p.e., lunch, and recess. And basically, I can have my choice of schedules. I can start an AP class there, something I’ve done for years and know how to do. And the kids could go to school there full-time. It’s a tempting offer. But here’s what I’m praying through, and if you read this, I’d ask that you pray through it with me. Going back to teaching full-time outside my home is going to drag me away from what I’m learning to be here. It’s going to take me away from home schooling the kids. It’s going to take my focus from my home and place it elsewhere. Is that what God wants for me and my family? Or is He making such a change in me that I can now magically do what I could not do in the past—focus on my job when I’m at my job, but maintain my focus on my home, too. Pray with me about this. I am very, very torn. I would love some feedback. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment, you can email me at hooksfamily@everyheart.net.

Okay, so the story behind the title—I grew up reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and watching the tv show, and I loved both immensely. In fact, I used to play Little House and Waltons all the time when I was younger. (I can hear you snickering. It’s not polite.) So as I walked the mile to the metro and the mile and a half to the school yesterday in the driving wind and pouring snow, it occurred to me that all those years of reading those books was finally paying off, for now I could honestly say that I had walked two miles in the snow uphill both ways to school. :o)

I love you guys so much. I hope that you have a wonderful day and weekend. I pray that whatever you are doing, you will look a little more each day the person God sees when He looks at you. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye

Little House on the Tundra

'Tis a gift to be simple

‘Tis a gift to be simple
‘Tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.
--Old Shaker hymn

Let me say up front that this blog is inspired by a beautiful email I received from my friend Tara, who lives with her family in Brazil. I want to give credit where credit is due. After reading her email and responding, I thought you might want to know what things and people I am really, really thankful for this year. Tomorrow, I’ll write about the great night we had last night as we put up our Christmas tree and decorations.

I am thankful for:
• My apartment, which is big by Russian standards
• The babushka downstairs, who was worried something had happened to us the other night when we dropped and broke a pan lid
• A good grocery store that’s less than a mile walk
• Being able to get on the metro and ride wherever I need to go
• Being able to understand much of what is said to me
• My Christmas ornaments and decorations, which (thanks to my mother’s wrapping job) were in great condition
• The Christmas tree that was left for us by the folks who used to live here (trees cost in the hundreds of dollars)
• The friends my children are making
• That home schooling is allowing me to know my children in a different way than I have before
• That home schooling is getting a little easier each day
• Our team, whom we love and adore
• The leadership team in Russia, which is made of Godly men whose judgment I trust
• New friends we grow closer to daily
• Old friends who continue to keep in touch with us
• That the internet was up and working long enough Thanksgiving night for Marc to talk to his parents for an hour (afterwards, it immediately crashed)
• That Lottie Moon pays my bills and I don’t have to ask others for money to support me here
• My Ziploc bags, which I brought from the states (they really do dry well on the tile, Tara…thanks for the advice)
• That the internet was up and working long enough for Marc to “watch” the Texas/A&M game last night while skyping back and forth with his friend, Larry (the game started at 1a.m. our time…I have no idea when he got to sleep)
• My Easy Spirit shoes, which I bought because they were on sale, and which turn out to have great grip on the ice
• My jammy pants, which I also bought on a whim and wear every single night
• Really good long underwear
• Fur-lined boots, which keep our toes warm
• That my sister, Kay, has bought a plan where she can call as much as she wants for $20 a month and that I’ve gotten to talk to my parents every day since they got to her house
• That I got to talk to my other sister, Cathy, last night
• That Sarah Beth and I were able to go Christmas shopping yesterday
• That I brought Herman and Henrietta with me and they are perched on my Christmas tree (thanks Melissa and Gail!)
• Irina, our language teacher, who is the person of peace we prayed for in Moscow
• Leslie, the language enoch (person who is in charge of everyone’s language study) who not only sent us Irina, but has been unbelievably helpful in a thousand different ways, including bringing us three boxes of books her children are no longer needing
• My FPO friends, who call and write and generally encourage me daily—gifts from God
• My sending church, which loves us and keeps tabs on us
• Our partner churches, which encourage people to pray for us
• Kay’s Sunday School class, which has loved us like their own
• A $5 can of pumpkin, with which I made unbelievably good pumpkin pie last night
• My pastor, Alan Floyd, who is a big reason we were able to answer this call
• That people like you read this blog and encourage me through your emails, comments, and prayers for me and for my family
• That the God of the Universe called me to something unusual and different (okay, and hard) because He’s doing something unusual and different (okay, and hard) in my life and the life of my family

See? I told you it’s a long list. And here’s the thing: I didn’t even put half of what’s on my list in my blessings book. Not even half. If you look with eyes of faith—blessings are everywhere. It’s easy during the Christmas season to get caught up in packages and presents and all the “trappings” of the season—and those things are wonderful and fun. But if you take the time this season to really look at all the ways God is blessing you, and if you choose to see even the smallest things as coming from Him, I know you’ll be overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude for all He’s done and is doing in your life, too. I am overwhelmed with contentment and peace when I choose to be aware of how He’s working. I would love to hear what you’re thankful for, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4:6-7 (Msg)

I love Thanksgiving on many levels. For one thing, I love to cook, so it makes me very happy to be in the kitchen rustling up grub for a group. It’s also the beginning of Christmas for our family, and I adore everything about Christmas. Plastic santas on the lawn make me happy. I love the big tree at one of the malls here, which is actually a huge wire structure with totally fake branches kind of glued on willy-nilly. Doesn’t matter to me, because I love Christmas. But back to Thanksgiving. Most of all, I love the chance to get together with family and think on all of the things we have to be thankful for. So I was totally prepared for today to be hard in many ways. Worried about homesickness for the family we left behind, I secretly began to dread the holiday I’ve always loved. So for once, I followed the advice of my own life verse, and I gave that particular concern to God, thanking Him for the ways in which this Thanksgiving would be different for our family. And you know what happened? The kind of peace that defies logic (or transcends all understanding) just rained down all over me. And it turns out that it’s okay to miss my family and friends in the States and still enjoy what I have here. Because in many ways, what I have here is pretty great.

We spent the day with our IMB family here in Moscow. Gathering at the local Christian school, we numbered between 70 and 80. (Lots of families in Moscow, and many have four or five children, so when we get together…it’s a mess of us.) It was so fun. We ate great food and we spent time singing songs about being thankful for what we have. We played games, ate more, and then played more games. At the end of the day, Hannah went home with one family, Sarah Beth went off with the teenagers to someone’s house, and John-John was the only one who came home with us. (He’s sitting on the couch right now, pretty zonked, because he discovered sledding today…our lives may never be the same.) It was different, certainly, than what we’re used to—for one thing, it took us an hour, a bus, and two metro stops and a one mile hike on the ice to get there, rather than staying in the comfort of our home. And we definitely didn’t wear shorts like we have in years past! (20 degrees is a little too chilly for that.) But if what we longed for what for everything to stay exactly the same, we came to the wrong place. I don’t know anywhere in the world where Thanksgiving is exactly the same there as it is in the States. Every place has its hardships. My friend is in Brazil, and she’s burning up and dealing with bugs. Other friends are in Africa and enduring a hard life in the bush. We’re in Europe’s largest city, and we’re getting used to what that means for us. But I’m thankful today for the differences. I’m thankful that God called us here. I am learning to love this city God has called me to love. I am learning to be content in all things…even the hard ones. I’m learning to love the outdoor markets which are totally different from anything in the states. I’m even learning to love the metro and the bus, because it gives me a chance to be up close and personal with Russians, especially now that I can carry on some kind of conversation. I’m thankful that God did not call us and leave us alone here. I’m glad He isn’t the “great clockmaker” the Deists believed Him to be—uninterested in the world He created. I daily sense His presence in our every day life. And I’m thankful for that gift.

The list of things to be thankful for is long. I know, because the other day I just started writing down all the things we are blessed with in our lives here. A tremendous mission family—who have loved us beyond what is reasonable or explicable. A wonderful biological family—who call and email and keep us in their thoughts and prayers and who have fully embraced God’s call upon our lives as the call upon the whole family. Friends in the States who love us and email us. Our mission friends around the world. Not a single day we have been here has been without an email or a skype message or a call from someone somewhere in the world—just to commiserate with us about how hard this is and to love us, love us, love us. I just started writing the list on a whim—I had prayed during my quiet time some kind of general thing, like “I have so much to be thankful for,” and it occurred to me (divine inspiration?) that it wouldn’t hurt me to make a list. Oh, my goodness…it was long, and it gets longer each day. It is a good exercise to count your blessings literally. Put together on a page, they go on and on and on and on. His mercies are new each morning, and so are His immense blessings.

So this Thanksgiving day, rather than just going around the table and naming one thing for which you are thankful, I challenge you to start a list of your own. Really count the blessings of this life. But be warned, my friends—you’re going to need a whole book in which to write. I love each of you, and I hope your day is wonderful and warm! Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye