hello spoon!

skye had her first food with a spoon today
she displayed the healthy kelly appetite and devoured every morsel!

easy week

today's the start of a twelve day break in the Year Team schedule for the thanksgiving holiday

a big kiss

with love to all my adoring fans

jets 3, panthers 30

today joe and i went to watch our first nfl game
(that's american football to a limey!!)
the carolina panthers beat the new york jets 30-3, which is probably equivalent to something like a 4-1 footie result (ish) - in other words the jets got a good kicking!

clockwise from top left
a panther at the gate
the bank of america stadium
the breathtaking sunset over charlotte (my best bit!)
joe enjoying the spectacle
the game

happy birthday gran!

wishing you a very happy and peaceful day!

climbing

out climbing for the first time in quite a while
went with jim and john to the artificial wall nearby
it's pretty good for the flatlands!

busy day in the office

skye and mags took over to chat online with auntie maggie in germany - GruB Gott!

new car

we bought a car today! woohoo! it's the sleek vdub we've been driving on loan over the past year big thanks to john for the loan and the generous deal

also a very happy birthday to amy!

sick

blah
colds all round so lying up today

whitesox

win the world series in game four

international girl

skye's uk passport arrived today, bringing her collection up to two!

ok here's

more of the girls

the key to high ratings

is to give the viewers what they want
we know you really want to see more of skye!
please do leave a note by clicking on the word 'comments' below

top ten

some people are big on lists
i tend to have seasons of things
anyway here's my top ten list of things i'm grateful for today
(in no particular order)
living near the beach
85 degree weather in late october
a loving and forgiving God
a fantastic patient wife
a beautiful giggling baby girl
carte noire coffee (thanks auntie maggie!)

showers - hot ones when it's cold and cold ones when it's hot
telephones
sunsets
good friends to work, pray and play with

it's your birthday!

a very happy birthday to big bro laurence!
loads of love to you from the american kellys!

america's pastime

reaches it's climax in the world series which starts this weekend when the houston astros and the chicago whitesox square off to find the best baseball team

if you can get past the irony of a 'world' title where teams from only one nation compete, you'll be able to enjoy baseball for the spectacle it is
besides having a great mix of skill, explosive power and tension
for the girls it has muscular guys in tights
for the guy geeks it has stats by the bucket-load: era's, rbi's, ibb's
it has hope, underdogs (including both the houston astro's and the chicago whitesox!) whacking big dogs and, of course, the accompanying heartbeak of defeat
but mostly we've come to like baseball because it's a fun backdrop to a relaxed evening out

if only

growing hair was this easy!

pictures

for the first time in about five years we have pictures on the walls!
it's a very nice and homely feeling

guess what i did today!

i went to the aquarium with chriscelle, seannah, amy, jaedan, lizzie, gareth, daisy, lucy, mummy and daddy!

the end of the road

for the little ford escort we've been driving
(or 'pink panther' as it's sometimes known)
we finally scrapped it today
so it's back to being a one car family
all that's left is the license plate (or 'tag' as they call it here)

interesting article

i read a fascinating article entitled 'why are you taking a risk?' on the uk climbing site which i found provocative beyond climbing and relevant to the realms of faith and maturity - for sure this guy has some funny influences, but try reading 'faith' for 'risks' and 'flesh' for 'ego' and 'maturity' for 'learning and growth' and it opens up an interesting conversation. funny too is how seb seems to miss the point in his comment

happy birthday john

from the girls (and phil!!)

jon senior

it's been great having jon - he's a delightful guy and a fantastic house-guest but we're losing him today, because he's moving into the big house

old friends

had a lovely conversation and ‘catch up’ with tchad today
he and andrea sound like they’re doing great and lovin’ it in mascalucia, sicily
we thank God for them (check out tchad and andrea's blog here) and for skype

sleep

skye slept for eight hours straight last night
from 11.30pm through to 7.30am
God is good and Psalm 127 is true!!

happy birthday mummy!

me and daddy love you!

skye's got a new bed

and very nice it is too!
thanks mum and dad (richard and marion!)

it's not all work work work

went sailing on the harbour with the new Year Team gang today....
....introducing Olivia and Maggie

new friends

the new Year Team group started today at st andrew's
thirteen young adults, three young (ish) leaders, one room, nine months, seven continents, many adventures, one God

jon's back

went to fetch jon senior from the airport this evening
it's great to have him back!

difficult quiz

guess who's baby this is....

simple answer!

....yep, you guessed it!
like father, like daughter! (at least in haircut)

thank you

for a fantastic last evening, katy and joe!
great food, fun people and a beautiful sunset

wedding anniversary

nine years today and still in love!
(and yes, phil had hair then)

happy 6th birthday isaac french and
happy 21st :-) birthday lucy bolster
loads of love to you both!

healing prayer

was able to book in for an extended time of healing prayer today - a special and much appreciated time in God's presence

'Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.' James 5v16 (The Message)

busy day

phew! we had the interview evening for year team 2005 - 2006
but a good day with lots exciting prospects for the year ahead!
God seems to be preparing and positioning people
bring it on

and a very happy birthday to chriscelle!

hard grit

just watched hard grit again & am pumped
mags and skye fell asleep though!
it's a great birthday present - thanks john & helen!
you can get it on dvd now, from slackjaw films
(poor website but top climbing movies)
here's seb grieve on meshuga at black rocks by john houlihan

housewarming

party tonight -
it already feels like home!

who's working out?

skye's getting stronger and likes to lift herself up

no excuse

for not communicating (or updating the blog) - we have the internet connection up and running again! thank you comcast!

new place

we're in!
massive thanks to the movers:
matt, joe, john, bryan, judd & dale
also to peter, mark & allison

guess who....

....is back in the country on a special mission?
welcome back joe!

we're out

goodbye to new street and our
s outh
o f
b road zipcode - thanks to christopher, matt, charlene & andy, mark & allison for your help with moving - we couldn't have done it without you!

hello to mount pleasant and huge thanks to the calladines for your garage and for having us to stay

welcome home jp!

batman begins

went to see batman begins at the imax tonight
as a childhood fan of the original comic books I was very impressed - the best batman movie yet
two thoughts stuck with me, how discipleship is a hot theme in movies at the mo and how the imax bills itself, not simply as a cinema (or movie theatre as they say here), but as an 'experience' (which it undoubtedly is)

cuddle time

here's a cute picture of skye with her grandfather john, 'pops' for short

rich and mim are staying

- they've found their new home.
after all, hathersage isn't all it's cracked up to be

a small american girl....

....celebrates her first fourth of july

a late day

first we were rushing over to church, later we tried to get into the baseball game, but it was standing room only by the time we got there
it fell out nicely in the end with a relaxed stroll around downtown and waterfront park

another first for skye

today was her first trip to the beach!
here she is at folly with auntie miriam and mags!

they're here......

....none other than mags' sister auntie mim and the original uncle went-boy himself! woohoo!

happy birthday part 3

to the great auntie maggie!
loads of love from phil and mags and skye

it's also the year team graduation ball today - we'll be livng it up at the swanky harbour club in downtown charleston

happy birthday part 2

to the glamorous auntie marianne!
loads of love from phil and mags and skye

happy birthday part 1

to the dashing uncle jonathan!
loads of love from phil and mags and skye

praise God - the burundi team are all back safely!

auntie liz

came over with a delicious supper for us and to get some quality pink and sparkly time with skye

went climbing

with dan, alex and josh at james island, woohoo!

here's josh cranking it

a rainy day in charleston

seannah's birthday and lots of moving going on

are you looking at me?

isn't she just gorgeous?
well we had another fun day today out on the town - meeting the voters - at the doctor's, the Calladine's, the hospital and the bank. Skye's now a whopping 6lb 12oz!
just let us know if you'd like her publicist to send you a (short) movie through....

spurs win it

san antonio spurs beat the detroit pistons 81-74 to win the nba championship
earlier on today john bought me a very nice lunch at melvins to pay off his gambling debts

good day

busy day - me. phew! john's birthday. there's young people coming out of the woodwork.
quiet day - spurs and pistons. they'll be busy tomorrow though. just for the record, I think the pistons might just squeak it.
good day - park ji-sang. signed for man u from psv today.
bad day - man u. left the stock exchange after 14 prosperous years.
good night - that's me again.

look carefully....

....and you'll see Skye's little belly button - the last bit of her little umbilical cord fell off yesterday - dunno if she's an insie or an outsie yet though

the battery at sunset

makes for a beautiful stroll, with amazing views out over Charleston harbour - or harbor as they spell it here!

track 63

1 God--you're my God! i can't get enough of you!
i've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.
2 so here i am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
3 in your generous love i am really living at last!
my lips brim praises like fountains.
4 i bless you every time i take a breath;
my arms wave like banners of praise to you.
5 i eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
i smack my lips. it's time to shout praises!
6 if i'm sleepless at midnight,
i spend the hours in grateful reflection.
7 because you've always stood up for me,
i'm free to run and play.
8 i hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.
9 those who are out to get me are marked for doom,
marked for death, bound for hell.
10 they'll die violent deaths;
jackals will tear them limb from limb.
11 but the king is glad in God;
his true friends spread the joy,
while small-minded gossips
are gagged for good.
psalm 63 the message like it

funny thing about becoming a dad....

....no-one ever warned me about projectile poo

grateful

teasie just brought over a fantastic dinner for us! mmmm, tasty! we thank God for the amazing family we have among the believers here - over and over we've been cared for, cooked for, cuddled (skye in particular!) and covered in love and prayer like you wouldn't believe. amazing. reminds me of that bit where it says
'all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common....they pooled their resources so that each person's need was met....they followed a daily discipline of worship....followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. people in general liked what they saw. every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.' (from acts 2vs44-47 the message)

today was fun

cameron and harper came over to play! it was so much fun, in fact, that harper and skye fell asleep

good book

the huddle came over for breakfast (and to meet Skye!)
good times
i'm reading bono - in conversation
good book

the domestic goddess

Skye entertaining our lovely next-door neighbors, Page, Mike and Coleman

going up

had an encouraging visit to the doctor today - Skye's weight is going up rapidly - today she weighed in at 5lb 12oz. Praise God!

two firsts

for little Skye today:
her first day with no doctors
and her first visit to church (we were late though)

Kodjo was preaching - here he is with Skye earlier on

yes, she is

adorable!

a big event

we had our first bath at home today! woohoo! the best bit was getting wrapped up in this cute towel with a little hood in it!

Skye

here's the sleepy girl, looking very cute

home

we're out of hospital
we're tired
we're three
we're happy
we're home!

the other skye

here's the other skye - the isle of skye on scotland's west coast,
home of the breathtaking volcanic mountains called the cuillin

Game 7: Pistons 88, Heat 82

that settles it, it's a Spurs v Pistons final and so Melvins is on John!
: )

daddy's girl

Skye spend her first night sleeping on my chest
I've got so much to learn (as you can see from the piccie)
but who's wrapped around who's finger?

it's a girl!

we're thanking God for Skye Lysbeth Kelly who was born today!
(11.53 EST Saturday June 4th 2005)

TschuB!

we had a great time with Mags' Aunt Maggie,
who was visiting this week from Germany