John Calvarese Kennedy

                  John Calvarese Kennedy was born on March 22, 2015 at 10:27pm.                 He was 8lbs12oz and 21 1/2' long.

I'm not planning on making a habit of blogging again, but I want to do at least one post that acknowledges our sweet Baby Jack, the third baby I swore I would never have that I'm oh so thankful we did.  And, I really don't want my last post in the blog world to be about me being a yeller, which has gotten much better by the way.  It's funny...as I look at this blog, I realize it's never been changed.  I've gone to change it many times, to make it cute or give it some color, but I can never bring myself to change it.  Joel started this blog over 8 years ago after the birth of our first child, mostly so his sweet sister Anna, who was overseas, could keep up with her niece.  He picked the colors, Georgia red and Tennessee orange, to represent each of us.  I soon took over the blog, mostly out of frustration that he wasn't keeping up with it, and it quickly became my creative outlet, my connection to the world as I was a new mother in a new town, and my memory keeper.  I could never bring myself to change the blog because I felt like it was taking away Joel's part in it, so it stays.

Joel and I were pretty sure that we were done at two.  After some miscommunication about birth control and a trip to California, we found out otherwise.  I could blame it on the miscommunication or California since the last two times we've been there we've come home pregnant (we won't be going back), but I know this sweet gift is from the Lord, especially since Mary Kate prayed every night for 2 years to have a baby sister (she got part of that).  The cool part of his story that I haven't shared with many people is that the Lord prepared me for this...I just didn't believe him.  While on assignment at Southwind last June, a grandmother was sharing a story about holding her grandson.  When she shared that his name was Jack, I got this strange warm fuzzy feeling, and I heard the Lord

Jack Kennedy meeting Jack Phillips

whisper, "You're going to have your Jack."  I've always wanted a Jack.  I've loved the name ever since I was a little girl.  I remember being at church, standing next to Mr. Jack Phillips, and someone walking by said "Hey, Jack".  I just liked the sound of it, and it stuck (I know...a weird reason to like a name).  Mr. Phillips is a special guy.  He logged many miles with Chris Revell and I, training us to run 5K races.  However, when I married a "Kennedy" I thought it'd be weird naming a baby with the same name as President JFK.  So, we named our dog Jack instead.  He was the best dog ever, but only lived a few short years.  When kids came along, I didn't want to name them after our dead dog.  With #3 coming several years

Joel's Great-Grandfather, Giovanni Calvarese

later, I'm just going with it.  We wanted to pick a name that would honor Joel's mother's side of the family as well.  His official name is John Calvarese Kennedy, after Joel's full-blood Italian Great-Grandfather.  When we told Joel's grandmother that we were going to name him after her father, she got real excited about us using the Calvarese name.  Then, she said, "You know his name was Giovanni?"  Ummm...I can't really imagine a little Giovanni running around, so we stuck with the American version of that name.  John is also Joel's favorite book of the Bible and the beloved disciple of Jesus.  Considering Jack is, historically, a nickname for John, and his initials, JCK, we'll call him Jack.

Having three children has been much sweeter than I anticipated.  Mary Kate and Ford adore their baby brother. 

Hello, my name is Katherine, and I'm a yeller.

Hello, my name is Katherine, and I'm a yeller.  Today, I am starting a 30 day challenge to Yell Less and Love More.  If you've been in Bible Study with me over the past 5 years, you know that a constant struggle of mine is being an angry momma and yelling at my kids.  No, I don't rant and rave and go on tirades all the time.  Most of you have probably never even seen me yell at my kids, and would be surprised at me being an angry momma.  However, for me and my kids, it's too much.  I don't want to be a yeller.  I don't like the way it makes me feel or how it makes my kids feel.  I don't like it when my kids are playing "house" or Barbies, and I hear them yelling at each other the way that I yell at them.  It's not just the yelling, it's my tone.  And, maybe it's not all that bad...but it's not good.  I want my words, tone, and level of voice to be loving and warm to my children.  Yelling is a bad habit, and I don't want my kids learning bad habits from me (at least, not ones that can be harmful).  Don't worry...I'm not ignoring the underlying issues that contribute to the anger that causes the yelling, but there are definite steps I can take to change the way I deal with it.  So, I'm starting now.  And, I know I'm not alone in this.  I've heard the quote many times, "It's not until you get married that you realize how selfish you are.  And, it's not until you have children that you realize how angry you are."  This is so true for me.  Even though my sister told me every day how selfish I was growing up, I couldn't really see it until I got married.  Even though, I knew I had anger in me, it didn't really play itself out until I had children (my second with my first turning 2 to be exact).  For other mommas out there that struggle with this, join me in this challenge.  I'm doing the formal challenge with theorangerhino.com, but you can certainly do it along with us.  Also, I've recently read She's Gonna Blow by Julie Barnhill, which is great if you're looking for any resources. 

So, if you see me sporting orange nail polish, it's not because I'm supporting my Vols, it's a reminder to me to Yell Less and Love More.  I haven't decided if I'm going to blog about my progress or not.  Mostly because blogging is a time-taker, and time is a yelling trigger for me, but I'll try to give updates so that I can have some accountability.  Although, my children will hold me plenty accountable.  They are in on this, and even have little signs to hold up when I start to lose it to remind me to Yell Less and Love More. 

Check out theorangerhino.com to hear about her story and how she's been yell-free for 2 years.  She has lots of tips and advice as well.  Are there any other Orange Rhinos out there reading this?

So, I feel like when I hit "publish", this is gonna get real..so, here it goes.

Campaigners: The Highlight of My Week

We had our last official Campaigners of the year...of our time in Macon...last night.  I love having people in our home to fellowship, to worship the Lord, to pray...whether it be leaders, committee, a group of moms, church friends, or whoever, but there's nothing that blesses me more than when it's a group of high school guys and girls.  For the last two years, I've had the privilege of meeting with Stratford girls on Thursday nights to eat cookies, sing worship songs, share the happies and crappies of our week, and talk about how to walk with Jesus.  Campaigners is the highlight of my week.  It's the reason that I've been doing Young Life for nearly 15 years.  Campaigners is what makes all the awkward conversations, all the rejection, all the times I've lugged my 4 year old and 6 year old around doing contact work, all the frozen pizza that we've eaten because I don't have time to cook, and all the times I've sat by myself at a basketball game worth it.  There's nothing better than when you can sit down face to face and talk to a high schooler about Jesus.  I'm going to miss these girls and our Thursday nights.

A New Adventure

Come June, The Kennedys will be living in the Sunshine State.  Yep, we'll be heading down to Tallahassee, FL (it's gonna take a while for me to get used to writing FL) for Joel to do Young Life there.  There have been many phases to this journey that I'll try to fill you in on.  It's long, but I guess that's what happens when I try to condense the past 6 months into a blog post. 

The short story...for the males.  After lots of praying and some tears, we are excited about moving to Tallahassee.

The long, detailed story...for the females

To start with, Joel met with his boss back in September just to talk about a restless feeling that he's been having...not really with a desire to leave Macon, just wanting some perspective.  At some point in the conversation, Joel was asked what kind of area would intrigue him if he were to leave Macon.  He mentioned a few areas in the region and then threw out Tallahassee, knowing that they had an open spot and how much he would love doing YL in a town with a large university.  A couple of weeks later, his boss called to ask how serious he was about Tallahassee.  Joel said, "not really...I haven't even talked to Katherine about that."  When he told me that, I think I laughed and said I'll pray about that (while screaming NO WAY!! in my head)...very similar to how I reacted when Joel first told me that he loved me.  My next few weeks looked like this...crying, praying, ugly crying, ugly praying (not quite sure what that is, but an image of a tug-of-war comes to mind). I didn't know how serious Joel was about it until he talked about the fact that he would be giving up his UGA season tickets.  I knew that the Lord was doing something pretty big.  I say that laughingly, but I literally, for months, couldn't think about Joel giving up those tickets without crying...not because he was giving up something trivial like football tickets, but because he was letting go of something he clung to for life and letting Jesus be enough.  Going to Tallahassee would be moving farther away from everything we love...our family, friends, the town that we raised our babies, an amazing YL region, UGA football (for Joel), the mountains, the Braves...and moving to a state that was never on my radar.  Joel's sister and her family recently moved to the Middle East.  Over pillow talk one night, I remember talking to Joel about the fact that Anna could move to another country, and I'm having issues with crossing one state line.  That state line, at the time, felt like the Grand Canyon.  Every time I processed through something with the Lord, the bottom line always came down to God saying, "But let Me be your Comfort."  I was on a run one day, boohooing, when I had a clarifying moment...  If moving farther away from everything that we love meant moving closer to Jesus, then I was all for it.  With a sermon that my brother-in-law preached on my mind, I realized that I was holding the pen to my story and my children's stories way too tightly.  It was time to hand the pen over to the Author of life, the God of the Universe that writes a far better story than I ever could.  So, I was to the point that I was willing to move...now, we just needed to know if we were being called to move.  We still really, really, really, really did not want to leave the region.  I think if Tallahassee were in Georgia, it would've been so much easier.  We decided to take the next step, which was Joel having a phone conversation with Florida's Regional Director, Frank (which was in late October).  Funny side note about Frank...He became the Area Director for Columbus while I was in high school.  I was super upset about our current AD, Bill Beumer, having to leave so I started a petition and sent a letter to the Regional Director, Dave Brinsfield, making my feelings known.  He sent me a kind reply, reminding me that God's plans are bigger and better than ours.  Dave reminds me of that letter every time I see him.  Now, Frank's going to be my husband's boss...funny.  Anyway, Joel talked to Frank...and, we prayed some more, but we still did not want to leave the region.   Frank and Joel both felt ready to take another step, which was Frank coming to visit us and talk more specifically about things.  Before that visit, Joel and I agreed that if the door stayed opened, we would walk through it (even though it meant leaving the region..and we really didn't want to).  On the morning that Frank was to visit (late November), I was praying specifically for clarity in our calling to Tallahassee.  During this process, I tried really hard not to read too much into "signs".  In fact, most of the "signs" I saw could have easily pointed to staying or going...and, we were ok with either.  If we knew we were called to Tallahassee, then that's where we wanted to be.  If He wanted us to stay in Macon, then that's where we wanted to be.  On this morning that I prayed for clarity, the first scripture that I read was Isaiah 58:11"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."  This was not the only clarity we received, but I could feel the sun.  We had a great visit with Frank, and we decided that we would drive down for a sneak peak of Tallahassee.  At this point, we both really felt like Tallahassee was where the Lord was leading us...but, we wanted to be excited about it too.  We really wanted to like it and like the people.  Oh, I'm sure some of you are wondering what my mom thought about all this.  We told her about things at this point.  When we told her that we had some news, she went from being elated (thinking we were pregnant) to deflated (thinking we were going to tell her we were joining Joel's sister in the Middle East).  Tallahassee didn't sound so far compared to that.  She took the news...and then cried all the way home to Columbus from Macon.  She called Frank (who was her boss when he was in Columbus) the next morning to give him a hard time, but told him that he could call off the watch dogs.  Frank said that he never had a phone call from a mother-in-law before.  We had told Joel's parents a lot sooner, in hopes of some wisdom...their reply was, "We'll pray for you."  Probably, more wisdom in that than we know.  So, we drove down for a night and stayed with the board chairs (who are so great) in early December.  We really liked the city and the people we met, smiled a lot, got asked some tough questions, and headed home to pray some more...but, still really didn't want to leave the region.  We were asked to have an official interview at the beginning of January and we agreed.  We shared the news with our Macon committee beforehand.  It's been quite bittersweet to share the news with Macon friends, committee, leaders, and high school friends as they have been family to us.  We are excited about the opportunity, but sad to be leaving them.  We had a 3 day interview process, which included significant time with the board, leaders, and staff.  It was a very thorough process, and we both kept receiving affirmation after affirmation from the Lord that this is where we were being called.  We really felt at home and connected with the people that we met.  We said our goodbyes, bought the kids some FSU shirts, got Joel a hat, and headed back to Macon to wait to hear if they liked us as much as we liked them.  We were expecting a call in a week...they called the next day to offer us the job and we accepted.  There are many daunting things about this job for Joel, like having multiple ministries to balance, having twice the leadership, and no other staff (he will have an admin and some awesome volunteers...praise the Lord).  It'll be quite impossible for one guy, and I think that's what intrigues him about it...he knows that he won't be able to do it without the Lord.  He'll have no choice but to lean on Jesus.  We still really don't want to leave the region, and these next few months are going to be really hard saying goodbye, but we know that Tallahassee is where the Lord is calling us.  He has been faithful to us in Gwinnett, Griffin, and in Macon, so we're not going to doubt his faithfulness now.  We are really excited about this new adventure, and are looking forward to what God has in store for us in Tallahassee.         

Goodbye Windy Gap

Our three weeks at Windy Gap ended quickly.  Yesterday, we packed up and headed home.  We had to say our goodbyes to our family for the past month.  It was not easy to say bye to The Davenports, a sweet staff family that's moving from Georgia to Austin, TX in a few weeks.  They will be missed in a big way.  They are an amazing family and some of the most generous people that I know. 

Before we left, the kids got some water time in.

Mary Kate doing the zip line into the lake with Maria.  She's crazy brave!

And the big water slide

As we arrived in Macon, I had to have a serious talk with Ford about the fact that he's not going to be able to roam around the neighborhood like he did at camp.  For real, that kid became Mr. Independent while we were there.  He was all over camp all day long.  Somehow, he could con campers into buying him drinks and carrying his stuff for him.  It was a scavenger hunt to have to find him for a meal.  I'd go one place, and people would tell me that he was just there but he went to check the mail...I'd get to the mail and people would say he went to the leader lounge...I'd get there and people would point me to the game room...it went on and on.  I hope he can learn to stay put again.

It was really strange to be back in our own house without 20 other people.  Granna couldn't wait two more days to see the kids, so she came up for a quick visit and took us to IVP...finally, some good pizza.  I was sad to wake up this morning and realize that nobody cooked me breakfast.  Now, it's lunch time...guess I have to cook that too.  Well, it was fun while it lasted.  I'm thankful for a great assignment and an awesome assigned team.

Yay for Cousins Coming to Camp

We were so excited to have Anna (Joel's youngest sister) and her boys, Isaiah and Elisha, come for a visit to camp.  Anna and her family are in transition, moving from New Zealand to the Middle East, so I'm glad that it worked out for them to visit us on assignment while they're Stateside.  They came on Day 4, which meant they got to see the wonder of the night that never ends.  Isaiah mostly walked around with a stunned look on his face.  So, here's a lot of pictures.

Missy & Anna:  Anna went to Woodleaf (a YL camp in California) with Missy while she was in high school.

Having fun at the Sippy...our favorite place at camp.

Sweet Elisha

The boys fishing while Mary Kate tells Anna secrets.

Isaiah helped make water balloons.

Cotton Candy in one hand, popcorn in the other, and a red balloon tied to her dress.

Isaiah playing some games at the County Fair.

I promise that we don't walk around camp looking like hillbillies everyday.  It seems that's the only day that I take pictures, though.

The Horse Wranglers were sweet and gave all the assigned team kids a horse ride.

A Night Out

Joel got some time off a few nights ago so that we could go into town.  I told him that I didn't care what we did as long as it involved pizza.  I hadn't had pizza since we got to camp...and you know I eat pizza quite a bit.  We went to a local place in Weaverville.  Within the first 5 minutes, I spilled both of the kid's drinks all of the place.  Sometimes, I'm thankful to make messes in front of my kids so that they know mommies and daddies have accidents too...but could've done without the lemonade running down my leg.  Before we finished eating, I noticed Ford kinda swaying in his chair.  Then, I realized that he had fallen asleep sitting up.  After getting a good nap in, he was ready for some ice cream.  He refused to use his hands to eat his ice cream.  His plan was to let it melt for a bit, then shake it really fast, and then drink it.  It's getting a little creepy in how much Mary Kate is like her mommy...like eating vanilla ice cream even when you have so many options, using lots of sauce on anything that requires sauce, and liking mustard.  We had a fun night out.  Usually, I'm dying for a night away from camp at this point.  I love camp, but I love to get away.  But, this time has been different.  Maybe, it's just being in a different place of parenting with the kids being older and I'm not as desperate for Joel's help.  I wouldn't say that we've had a lot of free time with Joel...maybe, even less...but, he is a little more accessible than usual and we can tag along with him throughout the day.

Enjoying love from Granna

On a weekly basis at camp, we do "God Sightings," where we can share how we've seen God work or seen Jesus in others.  I've had so many just involving my kids.  Last week, for some unknown reason, Ford decided to throw his R2D2 into the lake.  He freaked out as soon as he did it, but couldn't get it back.  Without us knowing, 5 or 6 work crew guys took turns jumping into the freezing cold lake to look for R2D2.  They actually found him and then started running all over camp holding R2D2 up in the air yelling for Ford and gave it back to him.  Ford was excited until he realized that R2D2 didn't talk anymore.  Another day, Mary Kate was swimming and really wanted to jump off the diving board, but I didn't have my swimsuit on...and the water is freezing.  Sweet Annie Rae was willing to get in the water to let Mary Kate jump to her.  It was such a sweet picture of Jesus, knowing that when we jump someone is there to catch us.

One of the perks of working with the Summer Staff is getting the hook up on Nascarts.  They let our family go for a ride on one of their slow days.  We had a blast.  

I also find it creepy that I have ran into so many people here this month that were on the same session as Stephanie and I when we did Summer Staff and Work Crew here in 1998.  There are 3 people that are on Property Staff that were on summer staff then.  One of my work crew bosses was here as a leader.  Stephanie's Summer Staff boss was here as a leader.  A staff couple that came to visit on their sabbatical were both on summer staff with Stephanie.  I have rarely run into people from that assignment, but that's 7 people that I've seen in 2 weeks.  Really neat...AND, they're all STILL on staff in some capacity.

The program guys did the opera for the assigned team last night, which meant that it was even more hilarious than usual because they threw in a lot of inside jokes and ad libbing.  One of the funniest parts was when Bryan/Mario came out doing a cardboard testimony.  The front of his cardboard said, "Addicted to Mushrooms and Gold Coins" and the back said "Jesus is my 1-up".  People's cleverness amazes me.

I can't believe that it's our last week here.  I hope to soak it all up.  As I write this, I hear the buses pulling in for another group of kids to have the best week of their lives.  I love knowing that many of them are going to get back on those buses in a week changed people...people that have stepped over from death to life.  Thank you, Lord, that you use Young Life and a place called Windy Gap to draw lost teenagers into a relationship with you.  

Week 2

Week 2 has looked a little different.  A few of us on the assigned team came down with strep.  Mary Kate got it before me.  Poor thing had a high fever for 2 days, but once her fever went down and she got some antibiotics, she was bouncing around camp again.  Then, I got it and it knocked me out.  I was in bed for 26 hours straight and the next 2 days were kind of in waves of feeling good and feeling icky.  Joel was superman and took care of me and the kids, and kept up with his camp duties.  I decided that being sick at camp is a whole lot better than being sick at home.  At camp, someone else is cooking the meals and there's enough people to rally around the kids to make sure they're taken care of.  Amy Davenport even folded my laundry that Joel washed.

It has been so fun watching the summer staff and work crew love on our kids.  Yesterday, one of the summer staff girls at the craft shack let Mary Kate pick out some beads and made her a bracelet.  Then, one of the work crew guys bought Ford a ball in the store and took him outside to play catch...so sweet. 

MK did the high swing again...and again.  This time, I got pictures.

Ford playing around in program's Mario Cart.

I love this picture from the Opera.

Program has been doing a great job.  Chris, Tim, and Bryan make a great team.  I just wish everyone could see Bryan a.k.a Mario singing in the opera...cracks me up.

This is Big Mike.  He's a special needs kid from Greenville, SC.  Yesterday, the Capernaum kids did the ropes course.  Big Mike was not going to do it, but at the very end, he came up to Joel and asked him if could do it.  He rocked it!  Then, he walked all the way back to camp with his arm around Joel.  At one point, Joel was really wanting to head back and get some rest, but Big Mike made it all worth it.

G got pelted by 4 pies at once by his guys AFTER getting dunked in the dunking booth. 

 More pics of the kids having fun at the County Fair on the Night that Never Ends!

I've been a little disconnected with what's going on with kids at camp this week with being sick and all.  But, I do know that about 340 kids are going to hear about the Cross tonight.  After processing through our sin for over a day and struggling with the fact that there's nothing we can do about our separation from God, kids get to hear that Jesus did it all for them.  The get to hear that they have a Heavenly Father waiting to dance with them.