Babies are Blessings

Today, I just found out two more friends from church are expecting. It seems to me, once I found out I was pregnant, there have been several more that have announced their baby news. I know of 6 at church that are expecting and several others that I knew from college. Just this month, I have seen two new babies, Sophia Hope and Samuel Anthony.

Also today, I received some pictures from my friend Tricia, who had triplets back in Feb. Two girls and a boy. All are healthy and doing well, now 6-months-old.

Babies are Blessings!

Song of Songs

Who has really studied the OT book, Song of Songs?

There's a group of us from church that meet once a month for a Bible study. We finished up Ecc. and wanted to learn a little more about Solomon. So we continued on with the next book, Song of Songs. Pretty juicy stuff for the Bible. But it really makes me think a lot about this man and how he loved this woman so much. How he longed for her and she him. They said beautiful things about the other that probably wouldn't be said in today's society. Why? Is it too uncomfortable for a man to describe is lover in a way no other could imagine?

For instance, in 4:1-15, Solomon is describing his lover from head to the chest in beautiful poetic terminology.
vs. 1: How beautiful you are my darling! Oh how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.

Now I realize that these words are not going to be said to us no matter how much we want our spouses to say something beautiful to us or about us. But just imagine what kind of love these two individuals must have felt for each other. There was passion and a deep commitment.

Then in 5:10-16, she describes him in the finest detail.
vs. 10: My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand. vs. 11: His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven. vs. 12: His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewls.

And it goes on. You may be thinking, what are they saying to each other? Here, she is describing his appearance from head to toe and how she sees him like no other. This is how God wants our marriage to be. Like no other. To love and to cherish. Isn't that what you vowed to do if you're married?

Something we discussed that I thought was neat...as a couple gets older, the outside appearance starts to change. (obviously) Sometimes I sit and look at an older couple and think about what they must have gone through in their lifetime. Do they still look at each other in the same way as they did when they were in their teens/early twenties, etc? I have learned that a man has said he loves his wife more now than when he married her. It's the commitment they both have for each other that makes her even more beautiful than the day they met and married. Some of us don't want to think about an older couple or even our parents having "sex" now or then! Just being real. Hang in there with me. However, it's something we won't undertand, the love that older couples have built over time. I pray I can see this lifetime with Kyle and have a 40/50-year wedding celebration. We may be old and gray and sagging in places we've never known before, but I hope I see with my eyes, the handsome man I have grown to love and cherish from the day I met him until the day I die. That we can show to others how our love has grown over the years. I want him to say beautiful things about me when I'm old and see me as his beautiful wife he married on June 7, 1997 (10-years-ago). But, we won't have this unless we keep the commitment we made and continue to grow in love and keep God in our lives.

So that's pretty deep writing for you. Maybe you'll think about your marriage a little more and reflect on your years together. We have a good marriage. But we can always make it better by how we treat each other and again, having that commitment in the marriage. Just something to think about.

I want to encourage you to study the Bible with others too. It helps define who you are and want to strive to be.

A note in my Bible...Rejoice in the fact that your spouse is God's gift to you.

24-hour Kid Free

Back in Nov., we enjoyed an 8-day cruise without kids. It was very nice. By the time I got home, I was ready to see them. June 8-9, Kyle and I spent the night away in Branson (24-hour kid free) for our 10-year anniversary. I love my kids, but we sure needed and deserved a night away. Our neighbors stayed the night with them and they did just fine. We don't have very many date nights, so we made this one count. We went out to eat and then back to the room to relax. Litterally, we relaxed and did nothing. We didn't plan anything else b/c I just wanted to "exist". And the thing we did, we watched TV and saw the Paris Hilton saga. Now that's laziness and losing some brain cells. I think Kyle was asleep by 10 or so , b/c I heard him snoring and his body was jerking. I stayed up and watched a little more TV and went to bed. The next morning, we got up for a yummy breakfast and went shopping at the outlets. We bought a few things! It was a nice 24-hours without kids. Everyone should treat themselves to something like that occasionally.

Baby News

It looks as if we'll be having another BOY! We will have another ultrasound at my 20th-week. Another 4-weeks from now. That should positively confirm BOY again. We don't have any doubt, since we've seen 2 BOY ultrasounds in the past. We pretty much know what we're looking at.

Thanks for putting in your GIRL orders. Someone else can raise the GIRLS! ;-)

Survivor & American Idol

So here it is. It all came down a couple of nights ago for American Idol and a week or so ago for Survivor. Neither one of my favorites won. If you watched it Wed. night, Jordin was crowned the youngest A. I. She's good, but I think Melinda is better. I didn't vote so I guess I don't have the right to complain. Blake was my favorite guy, but not as good as Jordin. He's going places, so he'll be a big name out there very soon. Did you see Chris Daughtry? Oh man. He's good! He should have won in place of Taylor Hicks, but he too, is making a name for himself.

Survivor, Yao Man was the smartest guy out there and didn't ruffle any feathers. He's good. So here's my question...When does the strongest, smartest, kindest person win this game? And why are there runners up that do nothing but ride coat tails? The game needs to be changed in my opinion.

American Idol

So who watched American Idol last night? If you haven't heard the results, you're about too. I wasn't suprised when Lakisha and Blake were the last 2 standing. In fact, I had a feeling Lakisha was a goner. She was one of my favorites in the very beginning and I had her pegged to win. However, as time went on, her performances were lacking in areas. I have no doubt she'll do big things now. She has a great voice and people have noticed her. Now the big question, who is the top 2? I still think Melinda is in the semi-finals. However, Blake better turn it up next week b/c Jordin could be standing right beside Melinda. Which is fine too. Have you noticed she has a lot of teeth? ha ha

VOTE for your favorite! I've never voted, so if my favorite doesn't win, I guess it's my fault. I didn't vote!

Brice Boys Post

I just realized that my other blog site was not coming up under my blog. I've created a link that you can click on, so you can see my boys.

Favorite Reality Shows

Here's a few of my favorite reality shows....

Survivor (season soon ending)
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor14/
The Apprentice (season ended)
http://www.nbc.com/The_Apprentice_6/
The Amazing Race (season ended) http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race11/
American Idol (down to the final 4)
http://www.americanidol.com/

After these shows end, it's forever until the fall when they start up again. I don't watch a lot of TV, (well, it looks like I do) but these shows have had my attention for several seasons. Kyle and I just finished watching The Amazing Race and my heart was beating so fast. I had my favorites to win and it just didn't happen. I'm ok with who won, but when you root for someone for so long and they're doing good, it's like a sucker punch to the gutt when it doesn't happen. If you watched this season, I really liked the beauty queens. Only in the last episode, did they show some sort of disagreement with each other. That impressed me when you're up against so much stress.

Today, I saw the winners of the Amazing Race, Eric & Danielle. They were on Regis & Kelly. During the show, they were dating. Now, they are not and have other boy/girlfriends in their lives. Kind of sad in a way, but probably for the best. The two didn't get along too well in the show and if you see something you don't like, might as well end it before things go on any further. To say all that, they're good friends and now have a lot of money they are both investing.

American Idol. A hot show and they are down to the final 4. I have my favorite(s) too, but will he/she win? Last season, I was so bummed when Chris Daughtry was kicked off and I thought he would have won...not Taylor Hicks. Oh well. People must be hearing and seeing something different than I am. So who's your favorite?
My predicition...Melinda & Blake (final 2). From here, I'm not sure. Either one would be fine and will be making records no matter what.

Survivor. How many seasons has this show been on? I didn't watch the first season, but have been hooked ever since season 2. My favorite never wins, so I have just stopped trying. With this group of people, I'm not too excited about other than Yao-Man. He's a lot of fun to watch for an older guy.

The Apprentice. I hope Trump knows what he's doing after he hired Stephanie.

Baby # 3

So baby # 3 is on the way. Due date is Nov. 19. We have had a ultrasound and had pictures taken, but I can't get them downloaded onto my blog. Kyle scanned them at work, so I'm thinking e-mail is the way to view them. Still too early to tell if it's a boy or girl. I know everyone is waiting patiently to hear the news! I think we're more anxious this go around than the other two kids. Whatever God gives us, will be just fine. I pray for a healthy baby!

Today

Today has been a pretty day. The sun is shining. There's a pleasant breeze. The boys have been playing well together (with only one hair pulling match). They ate outside on the deck and didn't make a mess.

1)What tranquillizes kids when they are outside?

2)How come being inside makes them louder and more obnoxious?

The boys have been good. They had a good nap and are ready to go for the 2nd half of the day. I think this time of the day is the most tiring for me. I didn't get a nap. Instead, I cleaned our shower, which took about 30 minutes to really "deep" clean it, then took a shower myself. It's one of the things I really despise about house cleaning and it's always the last to be touched. I tell you what. I'm not sure who likes to clean house (especially bathrooms), but if you're into that, I think I'd pay you to do mine (all 3 full baths). Maybe you can see why I dislike cleaning bathrooms.

Then I went to the church building tonight and started putting packages of baby items together (Packages of Love) for families who need a little cheer in their lives. I enjoy doing this. However, it didn't end well. The boys were with me and I just couldn't take the crying and fighting and taking things off the tables while everyone was trying to work. So we left.

Meanwhile, Kyle had a softball game. Yep. Softball season is underway. I miss playing softball. I felt like I had a little youth left in me. Now I'm a mom and that's what's keeping me busy 24/7. I still find things to keep me busy other than mommy duty. I have a Bible study that meets once a month. I went to a scrapbooking on Monday and it meets once a month, so I may try to keep up with that. I'm planning a girls night out with mom's from church. And I'm blogging which keeps you up to date. Happy Thursday!


Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; belseed are those who have not seen yet have believed." John 20:29

Blog Tweaking!

So I've been tweaking my blog and it's been fun. I've added a few things that might be easier for you to get too. Have fun exploring.

Happy Easter weekend!

Quality Time vs. Quanity Time

My thought today...

Time, first of all, is passing by quickly. I'm looking at the clock and it's nap time again. Wasn't it just nap time a few hours ago? I have a very difficult time managing my time too. If I'm at home, I have tons of things I should be doing and playing with the kids all day long won't get half of the work done that needs to be done.
Today, Keegan and I had a "Wiggle and Giggle" class. It's a 30-minute session for 4-weeks. Nolan spends some time in the daycare and I get to spend some quality time with Keegan...not the quanity time I give them when we're at home. It's important to get out of your surroundings (a place that's very distracting) and spend some quality time with your kids. It's a juggling act for sure.
Remember to spend some good quality time with your kids each day. Get away from your "messy" house and go do something together. Go to the park! We may do that tomorrow if it's not too cold. They are growing faster than I'd like.

The Latest News...

It's been quite awhile since I did some blogging. I just read my last post and we were getting ready for Keegan to turn 3. Wow. It goes by in a hurry. We celebrated his birthday with family and friends Feb 3rd. For a 3-year-old, he got a lot of nice things. It was a fun day. I even decorated his birthday cake, which I'm very proud of. I will probably continue to do this. It was a lot of fun. I didn't know I had a hidden talent. Since then, I've been busy painting our living room and getting it ready for hardwood floors. If you don't have hardwood floors in your house, consider it for at least one room. It makes a world of a difference and it's an easy clean up. The floors are very pretty. I would like to do more rooms, but that will have to be budgeted for another time. I still have plenty of painting to do, but I'm a little unmotivated to go up the stairs. It's an incomplete job if you were to come over and admire my work on the walls.

Our Church is in the middle of another construction job. We are adding onto the educational wing already. We are overflowing with kids and more space is desperately needed. What a good problem to have. We just didn't think it would be this soon.

Kyle is 33-years-old TODAY. John's is tomorrow. We had a date night and went to eat downtown at Millie's with John and Erin. We gave Nikki a job watching all of our kids. Let me just say this...Nikki is a wonderful friend to have watch our children. She's in high demand around here. So the first one to get her, count yourself LUCKY. The kids eat her up and she seems to enjoy her time with them too.

I've been battling a head cold for several days. It's draining all my useful energy so I'm ready to close this post. I'll try and do better about staying in touch. Have a great week!

Turning 3

Keegan is turning 3 Feb. 5. It's hard for me to grasp the concept that he is almost 3 and won't stop growing up. I'm mean, I want him to grow, but staying little forever has a nice appeal to it too. At this point, I'm ready for a few things to change. I'm ready for him to be out of diapers. He's no where near that yet. I'm ready for him to be in a big boy bed, so I can take down the crib. I keep asking him if he wants to sleep in the big boy bed and he has no desire. I'm ready for him to do more things on his own, rather than depend on me to do it (i.e. eating, dressing). I guess that's all I can think of. He's comfortable where he's at. So, I try and encourage and do a little pushing so he will become more independent, but it's really hard right now for him to do any of this on his own. Ugh!

So do you think having a baby is easier or a toddler/preschooler? I think a baby is easier. Well, Keegan was an easier baby than Nolan, so maybe that's why I'm thinking a baby is easier.

Slowly Melting

The ice is slowly melting. I think it'll be around 36 degrees today. Heat wave around here in the past week. I don't foresee a lot of ice melting by the end of the day. The good thing is, the sun is shining and it's really pretty to see it glistening off the trees. You probably can't tell too much, but there's plenty of ice on the kids swing set. The trees in the background look pathetic. We're expecting snow Sat. night into Sunday morning. Not sure how much at the moment. It's been 3-6 inches, then 4-8 inches. Kind of hard to know what we'll end up with on top of all this ice. At least it won't be hard to drive on. Snow is always better than ice on the roads, I think!!!

Currently, Kyle is driving home. His ETA is 12:30pm, about 2 1/2 hours from now. I'm a little excited and the boys have no clue. I told them that daddy was coming home, but they're too wrapped up in their own world.

If you have snow or ice stories, power outages or a baby on the way, feel free to share what's going on in your area.

1st Ice Storm of 2007

Our neighbors tree
Our neighborhood
Our little tree in the front yard

Our bushes
Our backdoor neighbors tree in the front yard
tree down the street, split in half

This is the 1st ice storm of 2007, but the 2nd ice storm since "winter" began. The last one hit early December, making roads impossible to drive on. This ice storm hit hard and most of the US has been effected by it in some way. Mostly power outages.

I just got home on Friday night (Jan. 12) around 8:30 and had just put Nolan to bed. Keegan was sitting in my bed and I was on the phone with Kyle. Everything went pitch black and of course, I couldn't see a thing. Keegan was upstairs yelling for me. It's hard being "blind". Opening a curtain or blind wasn't going to help my situation. The power was out and it wasn't coming back for a long time. I found Keegan and came downstairs and we were sitting on the couch talking to Kyle again, when the freakiest sound started hitting our house. The tree was literally coming apart. I thought it was coming down on us. So all night, I couldn't sleep b/c this tree kept snapping and hitting the house or the ground. The next morning, this is what I found outside my back door.

From Friday night to Monday afternoon, we were without power. No I did not stay here during that whole time with 2 kids. It was freezing inside and outside and I would have gone crazy. Most definitely. Good friends and neighbors have taken care of us and now we're returning the favor. Our good friends, John and Erin, along with Avery and Alec, plus the 2 cats, are staying here until their power is restored. The boys and their two kids have been having a blast. But we're all ready to have our own beds and get back to our own routines. Until then, we're safe and warm, have food and water, and we're healthy. God is still good. There are still several thousands without power and so many trees that are snapped in half and laying on the ground. It's unreal to look at this scenery.

I'm proud to say, on Saturday, our Church is having a work day. Kyle is excited to be coming home and he's ready to get to work. As much as I want him all to myself, I'm glad he's a hard and diligent worker for the Lord. He's a wonderful husband and father and I can't wait to have him home again for good.

Laid To Rest

This Wednesday afternoon was very different for most of us. The sky was blue, hardly a cloud in the sky. The wind was chilly. The mood was mellow. At one point, I looked up at the sky and saw an airplane go by. An American Flag was flying at half staff. These were things I noticed as I attended a graveside service for friends of ours at church. A baby boy was born Sunday evening. And because the time was too early for him, he passed before he could live. I have never attended an infant service before. Let me just say that my heart was aching before I even saw the parents. I cried with them as many others did. The casket was so tiny. It's hard to say goodbye. The minister, who did the service, did it with grace, elegance, compassion and it was real. He let the family know that we were all there today loving them and supporting them. I believe they felt that and the presence of God. I don't think anyone will ever know what it's like unless you've been there. It's hard to know what to say. A simple touch, a friendly card, a phone call, an invitation can mean so much to a person grieving. Never give up on someone who's lost a child or a family member. Everyone handles death differently. I believe healing begins when you allow others to grieve with you. I love this family. They are quiet individuals, but would do anything for anyone. I encourage you to pray for those you love. Pray for those you don't know. Pray always for that is what God wants us to do.

In Memory: Austin Beeman, January 7, 2007

It's 2007

Happy New Year!

Do you remember what you were doing, this time, 10-years ago?

Kyle and I were in the planning stages of our June wedding. And now that I'm thinking about it, time has really flown by. Now we're married, almost 10-years and have 2-boys with two different personalities. Neither one look like the other. A house we call home and a jobs that we both love, most of the time.

God is good!

God's blessings on your families this new year. Keep in touch. -k.a.k.n.-

How does Santa leave his gifts to you?

Does SANTA CLAUS wrap his gifts to you or does SANTA CLAUS leave his gifts open for you to see on Christmas morning?

This was something that Kyle's and my family did different. His were open the morning of Christmas and mine were always wrapped by Santa. What do you think should happen? I'm curious about your traditions and how you will carry it on in your family. Let me know!

Christmas Countdown

You know, Christmas day is a popular day for most people. As soon as the calendar turns over to December, the heat is on. Shopping is nuts. I refuse to shop at the last minute. What you don't have by the weekend before Christmas, it'll be there afterwards. Give them an IOU and seal it with a kiss! So there's 10-days to go until Santa Claus comes to town and I'm done. I feel good about that. The only thing for me to do is wrap the presents.

Who waits until the last minute to shop? How about to wrap presents? My sister is good about last minute shopping and I've stayed up many Christmas' to wrap presents until 2am with her. Kyle would always be there for support too...snoring!

Happy shopping for that perfect gift!