This is the day

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24

Joy is a choice.  I heard this today and it was revolutionary to me.  We can have the pain of discipline OR the pain of regret... which one is more beneficial?

"train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come"  1 Timothy 4:8

If you know me you know that I exercise every morning way before the sun sums up, but what you may not know is that I also hide away in the dark of morning to be alone with Jesus before my "little people" come looking for me.  I need time with Him so that I can do battle with anything that might come along in my day to try and steal my joy.  I train myself for godliness.  I discipline my heart and my mind in order that I might be stronger in the Lord.  Just like exercise does things for the mind and body, so does spiritual exercise and even more for the heart and the soul. 

Joy is a choice.  I can choose to be joyful in life's circumstances, in my troubles, in my doubts, in my needs, in my unknowns, in my waiting, in my hurts, in my blessings, in my missed opportunities, in my lessons, in my prayers, in my mundane chores and tasks. 

There are many things that may seem painful for a time but reap benefits far beyond our wildest dreams.  Joy is a choice.  Joy is a discipline.  Joy is not always easy.  Joy is beneficial.  Joy is ours to have, something ONLY God can give.  (John 15:11 " I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.")

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

What ever day God has made will you choose joy?

Dancing -Til the World Ends?

So im not typically a Brit basher, but for the sake of raising girls, girls who will one day be teenagers, who will inevitably look to world icons for a season to define them or at least resist the urge, this is who they are up against.  Anyone else concerned?  Whats crazy is that i must admit it's very "I'm a slave for you-esk" and yes, at one time in my life I liked the dancing in that video---it now has struck a different cord in me as a mama and a totally different woman than I was at 20.  (wow was that almost 10 yrs ago?!) and yet Brit is still workin the "slave for you" fishnet and ripped up glitter suit convulsing and having what only appears to be orgy like dance parties in some dark, seedy room in much need of fixed water pipes...

I really don't know the webtrail that brought me to this YouTube...OK no wait, that's not true I do, in trying to decide what to wear in an upcoming family pick I trailed from searching for a top at jcrew-to-instyle-to-spring style your jeans-to-wedding dress style-to-current trends-to-celeb new looks-to Britney Spears new video....(anyone know the webtrailing phenominon I am talking about? we start one place then to another?!)  So since my new "mission" is about living and breathing the 4:8 verse--whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy.... and instilling the phrase "you are a beautiful wonderful child of God" into my girls, how does Dancing til the world ends-Britney fall in place?! 
It was so eye opening to the draw and distraction pulling at the next generation and im fearful because what looks like an innocent 4 min video that will be seen and maybe forgotten, it's a message that I couldn't ignore on so many levels.  I won't even give my thoughts on it, just that it prompted me to be fully aware of what is out there in order to "watch and pray" for our kids and to make sure that I reach them with truth before they are drawn away by something fleeting but appealing because it looks fun...

I have to get real here for a minute though, the reason I am so drawn to this type of struggle, is because it hits very close to home: I love music, I love to dance, I appreciate art, I too love fashion and worldly beauty-- I always wanted to be a blond like my mom when I was younger and tan too lol...  and even as an adult we are tempted to judge ourselves against the Heidi Klums of the world who pops those babies out and hits the VS runway with ease, fighting the ever rising waistline (not in a InStyle way) of the mom jean, and being able to pull off a Triathlon let alone train for one while bouncing twins on our hips like JLo! Do I even need to talk about the Kardashians, Real House Wives of.... and every other charming indulgence turned narcissistic???  I am doing battle against these things and transforming my mind has taken a lot of time away from magazines, The Soup, radio, webtrailing-oops and the like.  Do I think its okay to live in oblivion? no, but if I have 30 minutes what should I spend my time and energy on?  I am praying for you friend as you do battle with these things as well, even if we arent in the world as far as what we watch or read...we compare ourselves to each other and that alone will destroy us. Thank you Facebook!  Ever seen someone post an unflattering FB profile pic?

I am not even going to post a link to this You Tube, if you want to watch it you will find it pretty easily.
just go to teen.com.... yep its there!

I am going to leave with this thought... do we dare.....
"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.  For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves." 1 Peter 3:3-5 

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I am by NO means suggesting that I will start wearing a floor length denim skirt wearing my hair in waste long braids going el naturel with no make up and my non existent eye lashes unless cosmetically died (thank you Evonne) shinning in the sun but what I do is not let the ideals of worldly beauty be my passion, my drive, my motivation in the morning, my mood setter, my free thirty minutes of "me" time, my identity.

This is the verse that I teach to Kehnley,we make bracelets and necklaces with beads and other fun stuff and then i tell her how pretty it is and how special it is bc she made it, she compliments mine and we put them on...then I ask her these questions: does God love you because you have pretty hair...(K)nooooooo, does God love you because of your pretty shirt...(K)nooooooo,  does God love you because you are so talented and you made this beautiful necklace...(K)nooooo, (me) Your RIGHT!  God doesn't love us for the things we wear, our hair, our fancy necklaces or jewelry, our talents and special skills... you know what He loves the most and thinks is more beautiful than anything?  A girl who trusts Him and loves Him the most!  I know we both need to revisit this lesson often.

4:8 Mission

Of course this has to follow up a post titled "Boot Scoot and Poopy"...oh the irony! lol
So here's the deal...

I don't want to blog anymore about meaningless things, not that my children and our little life is meaningless, quite the opposite, if you know me you know they are our treasure, our world, our mission field, they are my 24/7 and I take my role in their life more seriously that almost anything else....but remember this....?


"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." Phil 4:8

I can't help but desire to filter whatever I spend my time on through this...not just my mind, or my words, but my very essence I want to be characterized by this charge.

So begins the transformation of information. Let's get REAL there are tons of websites, blogs, podcasts and the like about parenting and fun stories and life--and yet there are still those of us staring in the face of the hundredth question from our toddler like "why can't we see God?" going... I wish i could get a a panel of ppl together to talk about this lol.  Most moms in the toddler trenches don't have time to look up a blog, read a book, and google search "explaining the infinite holiness of the creator God to a 3 yr old" goodness- we are lucky to just have everyone dressed all day!

My new form of organization of task and thought (there are many being developed in me as God's way of helping me to resist the born urge I have to live on the fly--free as a bird--letting things happen as they come)--can you guess that I like change and spontaneity?  oh yeah, what was I saying?-OH so yes new forms of organization :) causing me to spend my free time not watching DWTS or Gray's or (fill in the blank) Crashers but instead on planning lessons, gathering resources; for projects, exploration, and enjoyment in teaching my little ppl all about God and how He made them special, especially for a purpose...like most things we think we are doing for the Lord to bless others, it changes us into someone new along the way! 

If you have read the 4:8 Principle (an amazing book on the positive side of thinking & living life) based on the scripture above you would know there is this one part....THE part that I am making my mission, where the author tells his children every night before bed until one amazing night they repeat it back to him almost in a sleepy unison...

"you are a wonderful, beautiful, child of God"

That is my mission, that the little ones of the next generation know this truth without a shadow of a doubt. 

Keep looking for lessons, resources, and (lets be honest) crazy mishaps along the way! (not to mention frequent dance party breaks--every mom needs to work those into the schedule, just to keep her composure--just do it, you'll thank me later!) and please keep in mind my failures: you'll find those here too, because I find that when I crash and burn it, God shows Himself more trustworthy than if I had juggled all the things He throws at me with the greatest of ease.   

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What keeps me passionate about the new ministry God's given me?

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

2 Corinthians 4:7

Longing to be loved....God's beloved

I used to write these emails every day or every other day called "Thoughts of the Day" it was a few years back, when I was in college, with an abundance of time resting on these artists' hands. Once life got hectic and I got consumed with all the other things on my to do list. I let that part of my witness leave me. I would hear a word from God, and He would then tell me, now this is what I want you to share. Part of me wonders what made me stop... had God ceased all passion in me for sharing His word with the people closest to me? Or had I become so consumed with the "American Dream" (you know... marriage, house, babies, friends, work, calendars) that I let my spiritual life become all to increasingly private?

Currently it's 1:12 am and I know that at any moment my daughter could very well call to me in the dead of night with a whimpering cry and break this still moment I am hearing the Lord speak and challenge me and call me out for the fake I have been... but I will press on.

I wrote a response to a blog from a girl I know named Ashley. She wrote about an experience close to what we experienced at our church on Easter Sunday. During the song Remedy by DCB members of our church held up signs to the congregation that named their deepest struggles, sins, convictions, and life circumstances...(talk about being real) and on the reverse side of those cards were beautiful words of how God had done what He's so good at doing, restored and healed their scars.
It reminds me of God's word:
"You tuned my wailing into dancing, you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy." Psalm 30:11

She asked at the end of her blog, what would be your cardboard testimony? I thought and thought and as I tried to think of something clever to say, something less transparent, less labeling, and more safe... I felt God calling me to step out.

As we know God and grow in Christ-likeness, it's a reality that we will have many labels to demolish and many strongholds to break, and Praise God many new beginnings. It's a beautiful thing to know that the dance is ours to be had... but it's also greeted with great fear because revelation must be had deep within our hearts. And that means it can get messy. It's not pretty to look over a life of mistakes and perverse motivation to see what a wicked person lies beneath it all...and lets face it, even the best of us are wicked. At one time I thought that word didn't apply me, and God asked me some questions...
Ever been jealous? Ever wanted someone to get what they deserve? Ever not had love for someone different than you? Ever thought unkind things about someone around you? Family member? Friend? Person driving down the road? Ever spoken unkindly to someone, whether they were unkind to you or not? Ever had a doubt about God's reality or character? Ever had a hard time forgiving? Ever been selfish with your time or money? Man!!!!

Wow, mercy is so good isn't it!? The more I know God, the more I KNOW His mercy is real and relevant to our lives!

So she asked what would be your cardboard testimony... hard question for some. For others it's so easy, I am convinced it's because they know the fullness of God's forgiveness.
I fought and fought for my answer like I mentioned earlier, and at the root of all my poor choices and all my searching and all my struggles, I found one desire to be true. The one desire that would define who I was, and what drove the choices I made BR (before redemption).
I shared with Ashley the cardboard testimony that God had given me... and I hope it's okay for me to share that with all of you and also ask:

What would your cardboard say?

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"Put your hope in the Lord, for with Him there is unfailing love, and with Him is full redemption."

Psalm 103:7

Bum Bum Ba Bum

So many new beginnings to celebrate! First Terry and Ansley's Wedding was so wonderful, she was radiant... it was much more emotional than I had anticipated, but with me... you can assume as much!

Laughing moments:
Ansley's face when she saw the dancing duo of Lyndz ans Keri Live!
Amy crawling under the table to get out for our speech
Me taking the aisle alone and the coordinator throwing me under the bus by sending me out too early ( then later when i reached the end of the aisle, Lyndz's face like "what the heck are you doing lol")
Ronnie dancing up on JBlow and him standing there, mystified

Crying moments:
Me and Amy giving our speech at the rehearsal dinner and my part going down through my tears!
Terry's face when he saw his beautiful bride! Every woman wants to see their future husband so overwhelmed that he gets to have her for life... and I got to see that for her, first hand
Ansley's last dance with Terry before she left ( I remembered my own dance then)

Then off to Amy's Bach Weekend ... I was only there for a little over 24 hrs, but a lot to take in for sure!

Laughing Moments:
So many I can't recall....

Crying moments:
Not so many crying moments unless from overwhelming laughter like the time that Amy played her recorder for the entire Pat O Bryan's crowd, or when she kissed a bald mans head (poor guy!) or when she stood up and announced her first nights love with Landry to a room of 40+ strangers! Or the moments when she did her cheer, first rehearsed by Tarra.. "UN-B lievable!"

(Apparently I didn't get the memo on the sorority squat!)

Here she comes.... walkin down the street....

(And Amy played...)

The Cherry Anniversary
We love Meg and Ronnie and wish that we could see them more than we do... we always think "man we wish that Megan and Ronnie could be here for this... or that" or that we could just call them up and have a game night or reality TV moment shared with them. We laugh so much when we are together. They celebrated their anniversary this past weekend, and so in honor of the "Cherry's" Kehnley had a cherry photo shoot!

All these events, at their core, have the same message to me...it really is amazing to have so many people so close to our hearts even though they don't live anywhere near us. This weekend reminded me of that so much. Me and Lyndz stayed up late talking like the old days and God kept telling me that His plans are for good, and His plans are eternal, and though we don't see the fruit right away and we may not know what His promises always mean they are always on the horizon. A truth that is often hard to wait on but makes each new day so exciting to see what God is going to do and teach and change in us. it made me realize I would rather spend my whole life waiting on God's goodness than wasting energy spending time trying to make my own way, knowing it will never match up to His.

I remember a day I was close to graduating and I was running at Higanbothem (spell check) Park, like usual, but I couldn't get the future off my mind. I was close to ending this chapter of my life, I was engaged and I knew we'd be moving. I didn't know where to, I didn't know what job I would have or where I would live, or who my friends would be. I was scared to say the least, because isn't that what we do when we face change? Even the ones who love change have a tinge of fear at the though of the unknown. In those moments, God's soft still voice broke through he music on my IPod and said "when have I ever let you down?" "when have I have not given you more than you dreamed of, more than you knew you could handle, and more joy than could be express... when have I ever broken a promise to you? When have I ever disappointed you. Not in the midst, but after all was said and done, who made a way for you? Who loved you? Who held you in His hands?"

I couldn't help but look back over my life and time after time, God had been so faithful to me just like the scriptures said. It wasn't always easy or what I might have chosen at the time... but looking back, it was a wonderful life. His presence was always there, He had changed my heart in so man ways, restored relationships, deepened my trust, broken down walls, lead me to incredible worship, shown me the mysteries of Himself, freed me from sin and captured my heart. He was showing me His goodness... and so any time I start to doubt I remember that moment where I was able to praise my God for all He had done, and all He was yet to do... and I am still here to say that His will is always good.

Mothers Advice

So I have a 13 month old who doesn't like her bed...I know that most babies don't sleep well or like their beds or want to be confined especially when they learn that hey have legs that can move and get them around at rapid speed into any new mischevious dealing at arms reach....but what about when you are weaning a child and they won't sleep. Kehnly won't even lay next to me without wanting to nurse. She wakes after a few hours of sleep wanting to nurse...or be held (but only while I am standing up b/c the second i sit down or lay down.. guess what? Yep, you guessed it...nurse!)

WWJD... I keep wondering if God made babies to want to be held, why do we fight it? Why do we try to put them down and force independance on them... how many grown men and women do you know still sleep in their parents laps? Eventually they start sleeping through the night, so why do we rush it now? I know what the dr.s say and I know what the books say (BELIEVE ME, if there is a book about it i have read it) so I am asking some moms out their what THEY have done or are doing or know of others doing to help with this seperation anxiety.

I just really want to honor the Lord with everything in my life and that means especially my family, and I want to do what's best for Kehnley. It's not always about being comfortable, or meeting your own needs, it's about the child. We all have heard the saying that once you have a child their needs come before your own, but this, as a Christ follower, is not a new way of living we are supposed to put EVERYONE'S needs above our own!

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: "...
Philipians 2

This is my prayer, that I might be molded to the likeness of Christ.

Oh say can you see......

So for the 4th this year we had a back yard bbq with the fam. Very low key, very relaxing. It was the first weekend for Bry to be home the whole weekend in a LONG time! Kehnley enjoyed swimming and we fired up the grill... I even made a 4th of July Trifile in honor of all our friends, Megan especially :) No worries there was no jam or beef sauted with peas....What do you think meg?

Kehnley had so much fun in the pool hanging out with some of her favorite men!!

Daddy and Papa

This is her on her splash pad we got for her on her birthday... she loves it! (even if she doesn't look like it here haha)

Look at that Elvis Lip

She actually had so much fun she didn't even make it through dinner one of the nights!

We actually are leaving for vacation to Destin for a whole week! We can't wait... summer keeps rolling on! I wonder how Kehnley will like she sand and beach? But first stop...Ansley's bach party is this up coming weekend. I can't wait to see all my girls!!

Hebrews 12:1

It's official... Bry and I signed up this weekend for the half marathon on January 18th. There is no turning back now! 13.1 miles to go :) What a great way to spend our 3rd anniversary! We've been training for a few weeks now and as time goes on we get more and more excited about it. I have trained before, but it's so fun getting to do it together. What makes it even more exciting is that we get to run for a cause! Bry is running for Alzheimer's in memory of his Grandpa Blowey who he loved very much and passed away a few years back. I am running for Multiple Sclerosis for a friend of ours Erin and my Aunt Beth who currently suffer from this illness. There is a growing awareness of MS but there is still much to be done in research for new treatments and cures to BOTH these illnesses. They are so dear to our hearts and it's just one small thing we can do to support and love on people in our lives and in the lives of those around us who are affected by Alzheimer's and MS. We will be sending out an email in the fall about how you can support us in fundraising for each of these.

In the meantime, Kehnley is getting to experience a lot of bumpy roads to the finish line as we take her in her stroller while we train :) She loves it though, she hangs over the edge to see us as we run...

On another note we have two exciting events we are waiting on and anticipating this summer...

The wedding of these to special ladies and their lucky beaus....

Ansley and Terry

Amy and Landry

Tree Hugger

So apparently I was destine to see Oprah's show on Green day, read articles on plastic and have a mom who is now making our home environmentally friendly....now I have a new obsession!


First Step get these bottles, and I am going to have to agree with Megan... no more water bottles.




More plans to make the world a cleaner place...

I'm getting a compost as soon as I get my own home

I will buy organic bags to take the to grocery store instead of using the paper and plastic they provide.

I already buy organic baby food or make my own. Earth's Best is THE best!




Soy candles, all the others are going outty 5000


Energy saving light bulbs


Recycling aluminum and plastic and paper

Burt's Bees for all hygiene products

Just to name a few...

Whole Earth Here we come!!

Month Day

Every 14th of the month Kehnley turns another month older... so every month day we take her picture. Something I thought would be helpful later when we have a house full of kids and we need their pic taken to make the youngest feel just as important as the oldest (we will not do month day pics after they are a year or two old of course!) Could you imagine how many pics we would have, wow... scary. But I have decided to take the Cindy Crawford approach, have strawberry rhubarb pie freshly baked every weekend you ask? well no... but that would be nice. But instead of doing my albums all the time little by little, I will pick once a month to scan, save, record, put on disks, fill out and organize all my pics! That way I can just have a few hours to do it and it's done! I love it!

Back to month day... I always look at old pics of miss priss and it's so amazing how they grow from this sleeping little darling to a walking talking laughing little person. I am so envious of all those about to be moms who get to experience those first few moments with them. I was so sleep deprived, insecure and trying to be super mom that I missed out... I keep feeling regret, something that never goes as a parent, I am told by seasoned veterans.

Here's a shout out to all those who are new moms or soon to be... savor every moment and don't try and live up to any ones expectations, not even your own, just love on your baby, don't worry about the to do list, the way you look, or if they cry...life is so short and God has taught me so much through Kehnely I am already forever indebted to her for the character she is creating in me.

"To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue. All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The LORD works out everything for his own ends--In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. " Proverbs 16

I know God is at work in our lives, but sometimes I need to read His word to remind me... God planned Kehnley for us, and God has planned my job and Bryson's job, God has planned our friends and our families, God planned our small group and our chruch and our ministries, and He's got a plan for our home where ever that is... and all we can do is just wait on Him.

Maybe next month day we'll have a picture of our family in our new home

Wordless Wednesday

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A Baby Story

Today I got to see one of the most amazing things in my life and experience God's awesome power through our friends Italo and Allison. They have become a second family to Bry and I over the past few years. Allison went into labor in the middle of the night and text me about 4 am, I took off work and went to pray over them. She felt God calling her to have this baby at home and so over the past nine months we have been praying for His perfect timing and protection. I just expected to be in a back room praying and doing whatever I could in intersession...but instead I was blessed beyond my wildest dreams to get to be RIGHT there! Getting whatever the midwife needed so that Italo could stay by Allison's side, I got to rub her back, encourage her, whatever they needed. I saw this amazingly strong woman experience God in a mighty way as He strengthened her when she wanted to give up. I saw a family grow closer through this painful experience. I saw a husband in awe of his wife and the blessing she was bestowing on their family. I saw her face change instantly from worry to joy when she held her baby girl for the first time. But the most amazing thing I saw the whole day, after hours of breathing and pushing and whispers of prayers and holding hands, and Italo speaking in Portuguese ay his brides side how much he loved, admired, adored Allison...was the presence of God in the room, watching over His beloved... just as he promised.

I am forever changed by this experience. It's just one more chance for me to tell of God's faithfulness.

I am going back today to see how baby and mamma are doing, I'll post pics after my visit.
Thank you for your prayers! It's a baby girl by the way.

Best of Boston

He Has Risen Indeed!

I got a text from Lyndz that said that it cracked me up b/c I was in church and it was just fun to know she was doing the same thing... as were so many people all aound the world. We had a great Easter with Bry's parents and Kehnley really loved hunting eggs. We heard a sermon on Healing and were able to experience God's awesome power at work in our own lives that day. Something about healing is that it normally gets worse before it gets better. God showed Himself in an amazing way in our lives...


Easter promises new beginings and I think we are all in need of that every once in a while. That's one of my favorite things about the Lord is that He constantly gives new beginings. Each new season reminds me of how God is always making us new. Makes us wonder why we always revert back to our old selves, habit, desires, fears...



Ezekiel 11:19
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them"

Luke 22:20
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."


I am so thankful that we have new soul and a new life in Christ.


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Here is our NEW family's first Easter together:

Pahk ya Cah!

We went to Boston for our anniversary trip and had an amazing time! We went without the baby and were able to get some good sleep (much needed) and it was so weird for me to not have to tend to a baby around the clock. It felt like everywhere we went there was a baby and even the room next to us had a crying baby (ironic i know) so needless to say we missed Missy Priss, but we had some time to laugh and get away and just remember what good friends we are. Bry and I made a comitment to not wait for a vacation to really ENJOY ourselves. Sometimes we get so stressed from the business of life that we don't delight in each other and celebrate each day. So it was a fun time for that. So here is our top ten fav things about Boston in case you are trying to decide if you should go or not for YOUR next trip...

Keri's top 10 list:

10. riding in the cab and getting a first class Boston accent tour at 1 am

9. Breakfast at Paramount can you say "ORDER UP!" those whole grain mile high french toasts toped with fresh fruit were amazing!

8. walking the streets touring the historical sights and drinking my chai (heaven) and bry with his hot mocklet like real Bostonians

7. the sizzzzle of a 500 degree plate and posing with statues of Donkeys , & etc :)

6. Boston Oysters, Clam Chowder, and Boston Cream Pie..... I'm so fat! lol

5. Remembering the guy at the fruit stand... lol (this is two part) and laughing SO hard

4. Seeing the Old North Church and the dog tag memorial


3. playing with the sealions, I think they wanted to come home with me...kiss kiss

2. seeing Bryson's face when his eyes hit the green monster for the first time


And the NUMBER 1 reason I love Boston is....

1. I got to sleep in with my cover hogging hunny





Bryson's top 10 list:

10) Eating at the original Cheers “where everybody knows your name” (two words for you “Fenway Special”, the kind of chili that will ruin any white shirt and internal organs).

9) Riding a subway for the first time and the many bodies rubbing me in a confined space (I still feel gross from that subway to Fenway)

8) The War Memorial for deceased American soldiers from Afghanistan . They took their dog tags and made this huge wind chime, not only beautiful, but the sound was amazing. Praise God for those men!

7) Our many journeys to Boston Common, the North End and Boston harbor (lots of hand holding and warm drinks)

6) Legal Seafood Restaurant (I still have dreams and drool uncontrollably about the swordfish and lobster bisque I had)

5) Chocolate Chip Pancakes from the Paramount (Re-freakin’ didiculous….they were yum yum).

4) The beautiful Holocaust Memorial (It was truly humbling to see how many lives were taken during the Holocaust)

3) The Old North Church ; it was the last thing we saw and one of the most beautiful sights in all Boston

2) Fenway Park….(The Green Monster, Cy Young awards, Hall of Fame plaques) it was amazing! Sometimes I wonder if I was supposed to be born there, the way that city loves baseball

1) Experiencing all these things with Keri! It really was an awesome trip

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Pics of our trip coming soon to a Blog near you!

Dreaming of Sleeping

Never knew how much I would covet sleep until I wasn't getting any! Here is our darling sleeping... but it doesn't last as long as we dreamed it would.




Still... I keep tellin myself, one day she will sleep so long I will be waking her up before noon and asking her why she insists on "sleeping the day away" like my parents did.

Currently (after reading countless books and articles on sleep) we are experiencing a break through... she sleeps for 6 hrs straight, or has at least for the past few days... from 10 to 4 I actually have uninterrupted sleep! It's been amazing.

The only new addition to the past sleepless nights is that though she stays asleep longer she has a harder time going down. She kicks her legs and sakes my hands around as she eats in the dark... I think she is just finding out how much she can do and can't settle down from all he excitement! I mean wouldn't you if you just discovered that you can somewhat clap your hands



( it's more like clapping fists... but at least the hands are coming together!)

9 Months

It's so crazy to think that 9 months ago I was holding this sweet little baby in my hands trying to figure out how in the world I was going to be a mom. God has taught me so much through this little person. Bry and I talk all the time about how much Kehnley teaches us about ourselves, God's constant grace...and what it means to have "faith like a child" I have seen God through these little eyes for the past 9 months and I hope I will always depend on Him like I do now, and I will always have an eager desire to discover new things about Him....as Kenhley learns how to be a human being we are learning how to be the beloved, and hopefully teaching that to her as well.

When you hear "they grow up so fast..."

I had no idea!
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"Like new born babies crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have taste that the Lord is good." 1 Peter 2:2

I think of Kehnley and how she will cry so hard only for milk... there is nothing else that upsets her like being hungry. I don't know that I am always that hungry like that for Christ, to be THAT desperate for Him... that's what I want to be.

Parents are crazy...so some kids are too

Last night was the open house for school. You can tell by my title how it all went! Some parents and students are so great, their kids are fun and the parents are personable and it was good to meet them... then there are the "others". On the island of LOST the others are odd people who have lived in a confined community too long and don't know how to interact appropriately with those new to the island. The "others" tend to be controlling, manipulative, and just flat out mean! Well, on the island of MPE where I work, these "others" are those parents who hold the same characteristics. One parent actually came into the room and started looking through MY organized stacks of stuff to find their kids work... as was the child and I said several times it was in the hall but they didn't believe me!! I had other parents coming in to meet me and I was having clean up their mess.

Then I had some parents say "how come my child hasn't had any art work sent home yet" instead of my instinct response of because your child will roll his up and hit other students with it all day, or maybe because he doesn't have the self discipline he needs to shut his mouth and follow directions so he doesn't HAVE anything to show for his time in art class besides discipline slips... would you like those? I could frame theme for you if yo like. Instead I politely said that I would be passing work back at the end of the spring art show. I am just going to have to start giving much more simple art projects than what we had been doing before. They are projects that take a couple weeks... I am gonna just break down and do the one weekers!

Some kids never put their names on their work even though i have said to do so about a hundred times a day...so they end up with some random art work with their name slapped on it and i hope it's right!

I usually really love my job... but open house came right after a conversation I had with one of my students...Luis... sweet, honest, tell it like it is with a Spanish accent Luis....
he tells me in a lot of words with trailing off and getting lost in other subjects that basically the teacher before me was a better teacher, he knows more about art, he taught better things about art, he told them more about artists, and that he was the best artists he knows and that maybe I would be better served to go take one of HIS art classes...
PS. Luis is 7

I'm gonna pray for Luis's teacher

All in a days work...

On the Brink of a Break

Only two days left til Spring Break... I can't sleep! All I know is that Spring Break for me means more of this sweet girl!

I have to be at work almost all day tomorrow setting up for the art show and I am blogging at midnight... what's wrong with me! OK off to bed... more on the awesome day I had today tomorrow. The Lord has given me some direction!

Being Blowey itsn't about a title but a legacy...

Bry and I have been married for 2 years this past January and I am still learning what it means to be a Blowey. We've known each other over a decade and have come to learn the importance of our friendship and it's made our marriage something more amazing that I ever thought. On our 9 month anniversary we found out we were going to be bringing another Blowey into the world and so our daughter Kehnley was born. This is just a little bit of the story God has given us to tell...