mlk day

Spending MLK day in the outdoors with my little family was the perfect.  Chatting about the life of a great man in the car and then expending our energy through hiking up Stone Mountain (first time for the boys) and playing was good for the body and soul.  

Martin Luther King Jr. understood what it meant to love thy neighbor and though in his own life he did not always live it out perfectly, because none of us can, he dedicated himself to teaching other and showing others.  His words fueled actions and both of those were fueled in him by Grace from above.  

May we never turn back, but always move forward, fueled by that same Grace. 

around the world

It's basketball season and during a gorgeous day this past week we played a game of Around the World. With different countries in an arc around the goal we took our turns.  Micah kept being risky and now freezing and having to start back at the US.  Connor camped out in China for a good long while.  Logan was automatically frozen every time he made one but he still had a couple lengthy visits.  Australia screwed me up three rounds in a row so my lead was lost when Micah finally hit his stride.  I lost.  I can feel my place on the totem pole starting to lower without the chance of being back at the top in this lifetime, at least as far as sports go.

may family christmas

All 27 members of Zach's family, the fun and crazy family I married into, converged upon our house New Year's weekend for our Christmas time together and to celebrate the coming of a new year.  Scrunched into every room in our house and the camper in the backyard, that friends so graciously loaned, we spent the drizzly weekend exchanging gifts, playing games, having a rainy spike ball tournament, catching up, chatting about everything and nothing, listening to kids play, listening to kids cry and scream (there are LOTS of young ones), watching all the kids put on A Christmas Carol directed by Nana, and ringing in a new year.  

'Twas a lovely, loud, fun and exhausting weekend full of memory makers.

sunday song

As I, as we, continue through this world knowing that what is a mystery to us is a carefully laid plan to our Creator I long to rest in Him alone, to put into practice what my mind knows to be true that in Him alone comes rest and hope and if I pour myself out for Him, He will be gracious and merciful to continue to fill me up.

Psalm 62
Aaron Keyes

My soul finds rest in God alone
My Rock and my salvation,
A fortress strong against my foes
And I will not be shaken.

Though lips may bless and hearts may curse
And lies like arrows pierce me,
I’ll fix my heart on righteousness,
I’ll look to Him who hears me.

O praise Him, hallelujah,
My Delight and my Reward;
Everlasting, never failing,
My Redeemer, my God.

Find rest, my soul, in God alone
Amid the world’s temptations;
When evil seeks to take a hold
I’ll cling to my salvation.

Though riches come and riches go,
Don’t set your heart upon them;
The fields of hope in which I sow
Are harvested in heaven.

I’ll set my gaze on God alone,
And trust in Him completely;
With every day pour out my soul,
And He will prove His mercy.

Though life is but a fleeting breath,
A sigh too brief to measure,
My King has crushed the curse of death
And I am His forever.

O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah, hallelujah,
O praise Him, O praise Him, hallelujah! hallelujah.

keel family christmas

This Christmas it was the year for spending time with my family so after our time together at home we headed down to Alabama for a 80 degree Christmas Day.

By the time we reached my parents house Connor had had a three hour nap and woke up feeling as close as he could to himself but Logan felt terrible.  So during present time the roles were reversed and it was Logan who was huddled in a chair watching me open his presents and showing him.  They each brought him big smiles though and don't worry because they next morning he woke me up at 6:30 am to tell me he felt much better and was ready to play!

The big boys, including Zach, each got some special gifts this year from my parents.  My mom was an avid baseball card collector and after perusing all of her old cards she had some of the really good ones matted and framed for the guys.  Zach got a Chipper Jones rookie card,  Micah got Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux, and Connor got the 1991 worst to first year line up.  

We spent four days in Alabama and they were full of the usual, food and play.  The cousins all love playing with each other and I love getting to hang out with so many girls!