When did he grow up?

So, I'm in the kitchen...minding my own business....when I turn around and see this!!! A little boy standing up at the counter talking to me!! When did he grow up? Wasn't he just a little tyke just yesterday?

What a big boy!

More of the cute

Family Night

Chenye stepped out in faith this year and said "no". He said no to extra cirricular activites, including church "ministries" to stay home and nurture his family. He has decided that now is the time to be investing into the diciples God has placed in our home and make that his primary ministry. One of the ways we have activley persued this is by establishing a weekly "family night". We chose Sunday evenings. This is a time where we turn off the phones, put off the dishes and chores, and have a fun purposeful time with just us. We felt this was important for a number of reasons. Just a few are: 1.) we want to model Christian truths. Spiritual imput should not come from just outsiders. We want it to be normal in our daily living.
2.) Spiritual imput doesn't have to be boring. As someone put it, "Christian truth can be alive, effective, and can blend with other forms of family sharing. It doesn't have to be closeted off in a holy zone of formality." 3.) We want to develope relationships and keep influence. As the kids get older we see a battle for their affection. Either the world can have them, or we can fight for them. We want to be a fun family where they are comfortable sharing themselves and secure. We want to have a solid foundation of trust and respect by the time they reach the teen years.

A few rules we have put on the Family Night is:
1.) It has to be just us, and all of us.
2.) The activities have to be fun, and fun for everyone.
3.) All conversation has to be interesting to everyone. (Parents not discussing politics at dinner, etc.)
4.) There must be short purposeful spiritual topics peppered through out the evening.


I have to tell you. It has been tremendously fun. We have enjoyed our family more than ever before. And I believe we have already seen spiritual fruit. Isaac is taking more of an interest in the bible and spiritual things. The motivation seems to be that he is interested in what we are interested in. "Daddy likes it, and so do I" mentality. Another benifit is that the kids are more imaginative. Because we have spend time playing with them, they learn more ways to play on their own. Another thing is that the family relationships are sweeter. Since we started, Cheyne has made many comments about how neat his kids are, how much he loves them, how fun they are. He always loved them, but taking the time to get to know them more and have fun with them has just made it all the better.

I highly recommend this to any family with kids in the house. The blessings are many!

Family Night #1

Our first Family Night, we ate Pizza! Then we built airplanes and spaceships out of leggos. After that, we got the kids into their p.j's and had story time. Daddy read about the Creation and how all the animals were made. We learned that God is powerful, creative, and good. Then we had family prayer time. It is awesome to pray as a family. After lights out, Cheyne and I retired to the sofa for a nice cup of hot cider and relaxing conversation. Wonderful.

Family night #2

Here we are being entertained by two of our upcoming stars!!

Family Night #2

Here is family night #2. For dinner we had Hamburgers. Then we played an insanely fun game of hide & seek. Isaac and I were one team and Andrew and Daddy were the other. Levi was the official finder, so he was always with who ever was "seeking". It worked out well. Pretty sure we won... but according to Daddy that is up for debate. After the game, we had popcicles. Then p.j. and story time. Tonight Daddy read about Adam and Eve in the Garden. We learned that God can always be trusted so we should always obey Him. After family prayer, lights out. And Cheyne and I enjoyed a relaxing cup of tea/coffee on the couch.

Family night #3

This was our third family night. We ate a huge meal of roast, corn on the cob, blueberry muffins, and cinnomin-raisin baked apples. Then we headed off the the river to skip rocks. Then back home. Everyone into their P.J's and then story time. Tonight I read about Noah and the Great Boat. We learned how God always keeps his promises. Then prayer time. It is really exciting to see all of the kids grow in prayer. Isaac is turning into a little prayer warrior. Then little peoples to bed while Mommy and Daddy enjoy a cup of tea/coffee on the sofa. Splendid!!

Scary turned Sweet.

When we moved in here, I was watching our neighbors (as I am sure they were watching us). What I saw made me nervous and a little afraid. I saw lots of children who were mostly older than my children, and they looked like.....well, how should I put it? They didn't look like they came from nice "christian" homes...if you catch my drift. And the fear crept into heart. How was I going to keep my children away from them? How was I going to protect them or even prepare them for worldly influences? We have a nice big back yard. But, you know, my kids didn't want to play back there when there were kids in the front yard. They didn't want to stay inside when there were children in the streets. It became very obvious very quickly that permanetly avoiding our neighbors was impossible. So, I started praying (huh, what a thought!) and you know what came to me? "You have not been given a spirit of fear that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship." So start acting like it, Sarah!! Then I started looking around here, and God has really provided for the ministry of outreach. For example, this house has tons of gardening that needs to be done, but guess what...none of it is in the back yard!! It is all in the front!!! God has provided a way for me to be out there with my children interacting with all of the neighbor children!! I went out and bought myself a new pair of gardening gloves and pruning sheers!! I have given roses away to little people so they can take them home and give them to their mommies. We have had a blast.
Last night Cheyne and I went out and ate our dinner on the front porch while our kids rode their trikes around. Before I knew it I was surrounded by 1 frog, 3 golfish, 1 bunny, 1 cat, my kids, 1 four year old girl, and 2 twelve year olds. I decided we needed to eat icecream, so there we were all sprawled out on our front lawn laughing and loving our new friends. Yes, the same kids I was afraid of.

Note to self: Let God work....and buy more icecream.

Ponderings

Well, we have been here two weeks now. We are mostly unpacked. We have a few pictures up on the wall. We have met most of our neighbors. We are starting to settle in. As most of you know... we have not just moved into a new house. We have, for the first time, become the "Cheyne Keevy family...on our own" edition. The last time we were on our own Isaac was only 4 months old and our two little ones didn't even exist. So, as the last two weeks have unfolded, I have found myself pondering. Who are we? Who are the "Cheyne Keevy's" when no one else is around? What do we stand for? Are we fun? Are we strict? What do we talk about at the dinner table? How do we live differently so that we draw our neighbors to Christ? Will my children influence their friends or be influenced?
I feel like as I get to know this new house and neighborhood, I am also reaquainting myself with my family. I feel this need to turn off the phones, close the doors and just love on them. It has been such a joy to spend so much uninterupted time with them. I really like my family!! God has blessed me so much with such wonderful people. I am looking forward to figuring out who we are. I know that with the help of Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and your prayers... we are going to be just fine.

Saturday's "Honey-do" list

Here is a pic of my men installing my space saver microwave. It is wonderful!

Having fun in the front yard.

This is a before pic.

This is what my kitchen looked like. Sorry, I don't have an after pic yet. You'll just have to come over and see it yourself.

Helping Daddy.

It is GOOD...living in the city!!

In the city, there is a phenomenon that us country bumpkins hadn't yet experianced. The ICECREAM truck!! It comes buy our house EVERYDAY!!! And for only a few pennies of Dad's hard earned money, we get the GOOD STUFF!!! WE, Keevy boys, are LUV'N the city.

pop-C-lickels

I think he liked the Icecream man.

hiding in the kitchen

This is a fun place to hide. Aren't they cute!!!

Where Do I Start?

Wow, it has been a long time since I have blogged. Is anybody still out there? We have had a very eventful few months. I am glad to say they are over and hopefully we will get to slow down. I guess the big new is that we are homeowners!! We moved in last saturday. The longer I am here, the more I like this house. Everyday I notice some little thing and think, "God, you designed this just perfectly for us. Thank you." So, let me pull a Jane and give you a Top Ten of the things we are enjoying.
1.) The insta-hot. Cheyne can have instant coffee in the morning.
2.) Having more storage space than stuff
3.) The Garage
4.) The big back yard
5.) The paved street with lots of little kids on bikes
6.) The new HUGEmongus couch to snuggle on
7.) The friendly neighbors that come out in the evening to talk
8.) All of the gardening is in the front yard, so I have a reason to be out there with my kids and neighbors.
9.) The grocery store is only 4 mi away.
10.) The park is only 2 blocks away.

I am excited to see what God has in store for us here.

A Tomcat named Strawberry

I'm beginning to notice a pattern. A couple of months ago Peggy and Isaac were walking in the yard and Isaac prayed for a frog. One immediatly dropped out of the sky right in front of them (it must have fallen off a tree branch or something).
A little while later, one of our baby goats got hit by a car. We thought she was as good as dead. Isaac prayed. Well, by the time we got her to the vet. clinic, the vet. couldn't find anything other than a few bumps and bruises. She was fine.
When Faye was visiting, they found a little garter snake, but then lost it. Isaac again prayed that Jesus would make him a new one. Sure enough, the next morning there was a garter snake on our front porch!! Seriously!!
Then just a few days ago, we were visiting a house that had two cats. Isaac fell in love with them and was heart broken when we had to leave. On the way home he asked me if we could get a new kitty. I, sort of flippantly, said he would have to talk to Jesus about that (because there was no way I was going to get one for him). He said ok.
Well, the next morning we took our daily walk out to the garden....and there was this cat!!!...just sitting there like he was expecting us!!! It was like, "uh, yeah I'm from God's office. I have an A.M. appointment with a 4 year old boy. u him?" He walked right up to Isaac, flopped over on his back and let Isaac pet and love on him. Isaac was estatic, "Mom, I talked to Jesus and asked him for a new kitty and here he is!!" How does a mother protest that? The two of them stayed out in the garden for about an hour. Then the cat left. Isaac prayed, and the cat returned in the evening. He played with Isaac for about an hour, then left. Isaac prayed and the cat returned in the morning. You are seeing the pattern. Isaac named him Strawberry. According to Isaac, they are best friends. Last night Isaac said that he understood if Strawberry needed to go home and he promised not to cry if Strawberry didn't come to visit in the morning. Sure enough, Strawberry was nowhere to be found this morning.
I am humbled and amazed as I watch the budding relationship between a boy with child-like faith and the God of the universe.

Useful info every mommy should know.

According to Poison Control, a 27lbs boy can ingest 3 oz. of Crest toothpaste before going toxic.