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| These next photos are my favorites from tonight. She wanted to climb up the steps to the library, and she was so happy and adorable at the top. |
Friday, March 31, 2017
My Beautiful Lyric
For those who don't know, we live in married housing on campus at Fruitland Bible College. Currently, there are beautiful trees in full bloom by our school library. So tonight, I got Lyric dressed up after dinner, and we went over to the library for a mini photo-shoot. She is so beautiful and also so uncooperative. She has such a free spirit, which you can definitely see in these photos. Enjoy this beautiful little girl that is so full of personality!!!
Saturday, March 25, 2017
My 31st Birthday
Today was my 31st birthday. It was an interesting day. It started off with me getting up early and heading to Planned Parenthood to do sidewalk counseling. This is something I do every other Saturday. Our local Planned Parenthood has 1 scheduled abortion day each week and it alternates between Friday and Saturday, so I do the Saturdays. When I'm out there, I have resource packets for the mothers and fathers, I offer to help them and to help meet any need they have, I plead with them not to kill their babies, and share with them the hope and forgiveness they can have in Jesus Christ.
Today was an especially hard day at Planned Parenthood. About 18 mothers came in to have their babies killed by abortion. 18 babies, 18 image bearers of God, 18 little boys or girls, had their lives unjustly ended today. I was heartbroken. No one really seemed to listen today. And what made this day even harder is that this week I walked alongside with one of my best friends as she miscarried her baby. Her baby that she wanted so much. I've shed tears with her and cried out so many prayers.
Something she and I talked about this week is that it's not the fact that she wanted her baby that made her baby have personhood. It doesn't matter if a baby is wanted or not, every person, from the moment of conception, is a human being that has value and worth because they are made in the imago dei, the image of God.
These mothers may not have wanted their babies, but their babies were loved. I loved their babies, I valued them, and I valued the lives of those babies' mothers and fathers.
I love the ministry God has put me in. It's so hard and devastating most days, but I do know God's word doesn't return void. He is doing something. He's doing things I can't imagine or even see. And some days, I am privileged to see what He's doing. Some days I actually see babies' lives saved. Those are good days.
Anyway, this is something I'm very passionate about and love to encourage others in. It wasnt an easy way to start my birthday, but I'm thankful for God's grace in allowing me to do it. Keep praying for those mothers and fathers and for sidewalk ministers across the country. If you'd like more info about this ministry you can email me at mandykeel21@gmail.com.
The rest of my day was a bit brighter. I was able to spend it with my family. My husband and children each got me cards and they bought me a bouquet of beautiful tulips, one of my favorite flowers, and a pretty vase. I was then spoiled with lunch of my choice and a delicious coconut milk mocha macchiato. I was able to get a few pictures with my kids today, and I also have comparis on shot from my 30th birthday vs my 31st birthday. Last year I was 32 weeks pregnant with Kuyper on my birthday and this year he's just 2 days away from 10 months old. It's hard to believe. Anyway, enjoy these pictures from today.
Today was an especially hard day at Planned Parenthood. About 18 mothers came in to have their babies killed by abortion. 18 babies, 18 image bearers of God, 18 little boys or girls, had their lives unjustly ended today. I was heartbroken. No one really seemed to listen today. And what made this day even harder is that this week I walked alongside with one of my best friends as she miscarried her baby. Her baby that she wanted so much. I've shed tears with her and cried out so many prayers.
Something she and I talked about this week is that it's not the fact that she wanted her baby that made her baby have personhood. It doesn't matter if a baby is wanted or not, every person, from the moment of conception, is a human being that has value and worth because they are made in the imago dei, the image of God.
These mothers may not have wanted their babies, but their babies were loved. I loved their babies, I valued them, and I valued the lives of those babies' mothers and fathers.
I love the ministry God has put me in. It's so hard and devastating most days, but I do know God's word doesn't return void. He is doing something. He's doing things I can't imagine or even see. And some days, I am privileged to see what He's doing. Some days I actually see babies' lives saved. Those are good days.
Anyway, this is something I'm very passionate about and love to encourage others in. It wasnt an easy way to start my birthday, but I'm thankful for God's grace in allowing me to do it. Keep praying for those mothers and fathers and for sidewalk ministers across the country. If you'd like more info about this ministry you can email me at mandykeel21@gmail.com.
The rest of my day was a bit brighter. I was able to spend it with my family. My husband and children each got me cards and they bought me a bouquet of beautiful tulips, one of my favorite flowers, and a pretty vase. I was then spoiled with lunch of my choice and a delicious coconut milk mocha macchiato. I was able to get a few pictures with my kids today, and I also have comparis on shot from my 30th birthday vs my 31st birthday. Last year I was 32 weeks pregnant with Kuyper on my birthday and this year he's just 2 days away from 10 months old. It's hard to believe. Anyway, enjoy these pictures from today.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Visiting Family
This past weekend we were able to go and visit our family back in our hometown. We don't get to make it back home very often because it's a 6 hour drive, which isn't easy to make with 3 kids plus my husband's schedule is usually pretty crazy with school, work, and church.
We were so happy to be able to visit family. Our kids were able to hang out with their grandparents, Kuyper was able to meet some of his great aunts for the first time, and I was able to visit my cousin at her coffee shop and drink some delicious coffee. Here are some pictures from our weekend. They're all cell phone pictures because I forgot to get my big camera out. Most of the pictures will be of Kuyper because well, he's the baby and he was meeting some of our family for the first time. :)
We were so happy to be able to visit family. Our kids were able to hang out with their grandparents, Kuyper was able to meet some of his great aunts for the first time, and I was able to visit my cousin at her coffee shop and drink some delicious coffee. Here are some pictures from our weekend. They're all cell phone pictures because I forgot to get my big camera out. Most of the pictures will be of Kuyper because well, he's the baby and he was meeting some of our family for the first time. :)
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| Traveling to see the grandparents |
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| Coloring, she's started trying to color in the lines |
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| Kuyper and Aunt Mona, he loved her |
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| Naps were a bit sporadic this trip and one day Lyric fell asleep on me. I loved the cuddles. |
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| Eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Mama's Pizza |
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| Kuyper fell asleep in the churchin nursery |
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| Yummy coffee from Micki's Munchies and Perfect Perks Coffee Hut. |
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| Papa K getting some love from Lyric |
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| My boys and Papa K |
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| Kuyper and Uncle Austin |
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| Kuyper and Aunt Magaret |
Raising Arrows
Some of my favorite Bible verses are Psalm 127 3:-5, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord , the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
I fully believe the Bible when it tells me that my children are a blessing from God. I take seriously my job as a mother to raise up strong arrows for battle. I want my children to love the Lord with their whole hearts, to know what they believe and why, and to be able to defend their beliefs with boldness and gentleness. I know that when I'm raising my children, I'm affecting generations to come because how I raise my children will affect how they raise their children and so on.
Parenting is a serious task, a hard one, a not always enjoyable one, but a blessed one. It's the most sanctifying job I've ever had. I'm not always a great mom, most of the time I'm probably a pretty crappy one, but I'm thankful for God's grace and His new mercies every morning.
I pray that my kids will see Jesus in me, that I will image God well, that I will live and show a life of grace, love, and forgiveness. It's only by God's grace that I can do this.
And since no blog post is complete without pictures, here are some pictures of my newest tattoo that I took with my phone. I recently got this tattoo for my 31st birthday. I got an arrow for each of my kids. Each arrow has a different feather, a Roman numeral for each child's birth year, and the colors used are my kid's birthstone colors. I love it so much, and I have room for a couple more arrows on my arm for future children. :)
I fully believe the Bible when it tells me that my children are a blessing from God. I take seriously my job as a mother to raise up strong arrows for battle. I want my children to love the Lord with their whole hearts, to know what they believe and why, and to be able to defend their beliefs with boldness and gentleness. I know that when I'm raising my children, I'm affecting generations to come because how I raise my children will affect how they raise their children and so on.
Parenting is a serious task, a hard one, a not always enjoyable one, but a blessed one. It's the most sanctifying job I've ever had. I'm not always a great mom, most of the time I'm probably a pretty crappy one, but I'm thankful for God's grace and His new mercies every morning.
I pray that my kids will see Jesus in me, that I will image God well, that I will live and show a life of grace, love, and forgiveness. It's only by God's grace that I can do this.
And since no blog post is complete without pictures, here are some pictures of my newest tattoo that I took with my phone. I recently got this tattoo for my 31st birthday. I got an arrow for each of my kids. Each arrow has a different feather, a Roman numeral for each child's birth year, and the colors used are my kid's birthstone colors. I love it so much, and I have room for a couple more arrows on my arm for future children. :)
Sunday, March 12, 2017
First Post in a Loooong Time
So I haven't made a post on our family blog in over 2 years. Life has changed quite a bit since then. My husband has finished 2 years of Bible college with a 4.0 GPA the entire time, we've had another baby, his name is Kuyper and he's 9 months. I plan to blog his birth story here eventually. But for now, I've decided to try and start blogging about our every day life more often. My posts will include mostly pictures for family and friends to keep in touch with us and some updates on what we're up to. Some of the pictures included in this post include us hanging out at home, playing in the snow, and my boys being super sweet and cuddly together. Enjoy the pictures of our family!
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