Great Summer! Great changes :)

We have had a great summer.....with tons of playdates, Grandma & Grandpa's visit, Mammaw & Pappaw visit, family reunions.... We are so blessed!

We have also made another step of faith & began a new business that Karen runs after her 9-5. She is now an Independent Consultant for Rodan+Fields Dermatologists ©. This company & products are from the same two dermatologists that created the world-reknown ProActiv ©. What they did for acne, they are now doing for anti-aging, blemishes (cystic acne), sensitive skin (eczema, psoriasis, etc), and sun damage (freckles, brown spots, etc)!

We prayed deeply & truly believe this is a way for us to spend more time together as a family and have financial freedom. Please partner with us & pray for God's provision. We are already reaping the benefits and have several of clients. Of course, we are hooked on the products ourselves & will upload our own personal before & after shots soon.

Here's the website link below! Yay! 

https://karenkeeney.myrandf.com

Carnival Fun

Drew enjoyed his first carnival rides a few weeks ago........he can't wait till he's bigger & can ride more (he didn't like that he couldn't do EVERYTHING!) As you can see, he had a blast! We did too :) Ella enjoyed watching all the fun! Great family outing for us!

Mother's Day Weekend

I'm in love with my family. I look at my three loves & know that I am truly blessed!!

 Had to have us girls take a picture....love that I can say "us girls" :) Motherhood is definitely the best job I've ever had or could ever hope to have.

Ella's baby dedication was Sunday. Our sweet friend Ms. Toni Smith made her dress, bonnet & bib :) Thank you for helping make it such a sweet occasion. It was perfect!

 

As an added bonus, we were able to be part of Toni & Jerlando's baptism on Sunday. They both accepted Christ in January. They asked if we would baptize them. So, David did the dunking & we both spoke. We were so emotional...that we almost didn't make it through it. We love those babies like they are our own. It is so precious to see them come into the fold. No matter where they go in life...they will always have the Lord there to guide them :) It was truly the best Mother's day ever. God is good :)

 

Smiling Phase

My pretty girl before church on Cinco De Mayo! She was in a fabulous mood :)

Like Father, Like Child

Divine Appointments

Our pastor always speaks about divine encounters/appointments/opportunities. His challenge has put me on guard to be on the lookout for them. I would say I probably miss 99% of them. Sad, but true.

David & I have had the unique opportunity (ie-divine appointment) to love on “the kids.” (aka -Our neighbor kids… that at times seem like they are our own….we definitely love them like our own).

It gets pretty crazy, as you can image carting 6 kids (only 2 of which are truly ours) around town. So, we’ve taken the opportunity to memorize Bible verses + books of the bible while we are in the car. (Sidenote: It has really helped calm the “chaos” ….if you can imagine).  

Two weeks ago, they learned the Lord’s Prayer. I was astounded how quickly they picked it up. Then yesterday morning, after the song service David & I went back to our seats (we play in the praise team). Toni looked over at me, smiled & whispered…. “That last song was about the Lord’s Prayer, wasn’t it?!” I smiled back & said… “it absolutely was!” I teared up thinking about how those words will stay in her heart for eternity.

These kids have become a divine appointment for us. 

Sadly, it appears this season is coming to a close. We have been told that all the kids will be splitting up & moving away as soon as school is over. Toni & Demario will be going to Una. Jerlando & his brother BJ will be going to Jackson. Bruce will be going to Georgia. Of course, we will call/write (if we can garner the information). However, what has made the greatest impact is the one-on-one that we’ve had with them. We pray a hedge over these precious ones & whatever situation they are going into. We pray that other believers will come alongside them & disciple them. We pray that their hearts are “guarded for it is the wellspring of life.” We pray that God will always be their first Love. We pray blessings, blessings, and more blessing upon them.

Another divine appointment:

As we were driving home after picking up Drew on Friday

Drew: Jesus is in my heart

Me: Well, Jesus is in Mommy & Daddy’s heart.

Drew: He’s in my heart too!

Me: well buddy…it takes asking Jesus to come in there. You know when you disobey & are bad you have to be punished?  

Drew: Yes

Me: well, that’s called sin. And when we sin, we are punished. God sent Jesus to die for our sin so that we never have to be punished again. So, we have to ask Jesus to forgive our sins, like saying we are sorry for disobeying & then ask Jesus to come live in our hearts.

Drew: Ok……(pause)…. Jesus, I’m sorry for disobeying; come in my heart.

Drew: Momma, Jesus in is my heart now.

Me: (with eyes full of tears, just gave him a big smile...no words for that moment)

We will continue to speak with Drew about what salvation means....(...he is still very young). Drew even explained it back to David when we got home. How sweet & simple it is through the eyes of a child?! I'm tearing up just typing it. However, isn't it really just that simple?!

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14b NIV

Thank you Lord for these divine appointments!

Picnic & Fishing

We took the kids for a picnic Saturday & for a little bit of fishing....no bites (except for the fried chicken). Picture perfect day. (Wish we could have gotten a picture of David, Ella & I in there too!).

Drew Singing

Drew loves to make up songs all the time. I recorded this one Sunday night on the way home from our bible study.......it was really dark in the car & we were driving down the Natchez Trace. "Uncle Matt" my (kk) brother, lives in Ackerman just off the Trace. So, Drew decided that we needed to go to Uncle Matt's house...

You can hear the whole exchange from the beginning: Singing a song while I held the phone, taking the phone away from me, and subsequently not wanting to relinquish the phone. I love how it captured his silly (& slightly mischievous) personality.



Or you can click the link below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QD10BZpuck&feature=youtu.be

Life is Good!

There is nothing better than holding both my babies in my arms. Happy Monday :)

Happy Easter 2013

Finally, I'm not the lone girl in our house! Baby Ella's first Easter!

This is the entire church, Spring Grove United Methodist. Easter Family Tradition!

Redheaded cousins: Drew & Clark (my brother Matt's son )

Can he get any cuter? Love my little fella!

That's about as good as a family portrait as we managed :)

Love to see how our family grows. We are all blessed!

Egg hunting in the rain.....didn't bother him at all!

Baby Ella at 6 Weeks

Ella is now 6 weeks old! Hard to believe that much time has already past. Karen started back to work today and Ella went to daycare for the first time so it's been a big day. Drew and I (David) are off for Spring Break this week.

Drew and Ella are getting along great! He likes to hold her and try to rock her when she is upset.

Ella is getting bigger it seems like everyday. She is now up to 7lbs 10oz and eats 3-5oz of milk at a seating. She still cries a lot (colic) but the past week has been a bit better. Due to the colic Karen and I are still trying to get back into the groove of a normal sleep pattern.

My parents stopped by to visit to see Ella. They seem to have the "touch" as Ella slept very well in their arms. We had a great visit.

We had a few 1 week pictures taken of Ella. We told her these are the only nude shots she's ever allowed to have :)

David

The Stork Has Landed!

Baby Ella made her arrival Friday around 7:10pm. She weighed 6lbs 10oz, was 17 1/4" long and had dirty blonde hair (for now at least). She is small but precious.

Thus far she has been the exact opposite of Drew as a newborn. Drew cried often, slept little and didn't latch until he was 6 weeks old. Ella latched and began breastfeeding within the first hour after being born, has taken at least one 5 hour nap and doesn't cry unless she is hungry.

We were a little apprehensive as to how Drew would react to Ella. We worried for naught: they are buddies and Drew is very gentle with Ella.

We made it home today (Sunday) around noon. Ella got dressed up for the occasion. She is quite the snazzy dresser!

Thus far the experience has been about perfect. Ella is eating well, sleeping well, having fun with Drew and generally just enjoying being part of our family.

An important side note: Karen gave birth without any pain medication or an epidural! It was intense (to say the least) but went very quickly. Karen only had to push twice and out popped Ella.

We will update later with more pics and info. For now we're going to bed for the first time with Ella in her new home.

David

Almost Time:)

Well, we are almost at the time for Ella Elizabeth to make her arrival. We were 37 weeks yesterday. So, we are officially considered full-term. Granted, we want her to stay safe & snug for as long as possible.

).

We can hardly wait!! I've been working like mad to get my projects in decent shape before I go on leave.

Funny story: I woke up at 3am with a huge leg cramp.....I couldn't get it to stop & I had to wake up David to help me. I was crying because it lasted for 10 minutes (& my leg is still sore this morning).......David thought I was in labor. I think he was a little disappointed that we weren't grabbing suitcases & heading the to the hospital (that would have at least been worth his interrupted sleep