Count Your Blessings

In general I am a pretty happy person. But when I get stressed, I grumble. I’m sure my husband would (politely) attest to that fact. It's something I'm working on. But in the last few weeks, God has really been whispering to me and reminding me to stop, slow down, and take notice of all my blessings. It started the other day when I was pulling out of the driveway on my way to work, grumbling because I was tired and wanted to stay home with my baby. Then I looked up and saw all the beautiful fall colors. It seemed like overnight my neighborhood had exploded in amazing reds, oranges, and yellows…God’s palette for my favorite season and a reminder of his presence.

And I have done a lot of grumbling about the difficulties of a new baby…being tired, the feedings at midnight…and 2:00...and 4:00. But the other night, as I was rocking him, I realized that this was IT. This was the time I had been waiting for, the blessing we had prayed for, and I needed to savor every moment.

Then there is Thanksgiving Day, which is at my house this year. At first I was grumbling about all the things I HAD to do….the shopping, the cleaning, the cooking. Then God gently reminded me “Jeannie, look what you GET to do!” I get to shop for food and prepare it for my family. I get to spend quality time with those that I love. My house will not be perfectly clean or perfectly decorated. The food will be good, but not fancy. But my family will be together, happy and fed, and that is all that matters.

This is what I’m most thankful for this year:
 

Trading Up

When I started this blog, I knew I would have trouble keeping up with it. I’ve tried to keep a diary/journal/blog since I was in middle school (around the time I read The Diary of Anne Frank) and have had trouble with the follow-through each time. Usually it’s because I forget or don’t take the time, even though I think writing things down is so very important. But this time it’s because I was having trouble putting into words this very special time in my life.  How do you begin to sum up all the emotions and thoughts that surround having a baby and starting your family?! Well, there is the good - Eli’s smile and watching Kyle be a Daddy, the bad - several very sleepless nights, and the ugly - perhaps a bit of post-partum depression trying to sneak around. I wrote this in my paper journal around the time he was two months old:

Being a new mom means:

• Getting all your sleep in the form of short naps
• Not being completely sure when you last took a shower
• Wondering if you can actually die from exhaustion
• Leaving your own birthday party early to go feed the baby
• Being completely sure of your real hair color
• Learning to do everything in 2 hour time blocks
• Not having any clean clothes because everything you own has spit up on it
• Forgetting all these “problems” when he looks into your eyes and smiles

Now Eli is almost five months old, and it isn’t as desperate sounding as all of that. There are more smiles, cuddles and giggles. When he was first born people used to ask, “Can you even remember your life without him?” and I would think…yes. I remember sleeping as late as I wanted on the weekends. I remember being able to leave the house without having to plan around someone’s feeding schedule. I remember the possibility of a vacation without any responsibilities. But now I understand what they meant. I do remember our lives before Elijah. Kyle and I had a lot of fun being just the two of us. But I wouldn’t go back to that for a million dollars. As Kyle put it, we have definitely “traded up”.

Our new house!

We finally got our house! Kyle and I had been living in a nice, little house. It was great for our first home together, but we wanted more space to raise a family. At first, we just went to open houses for fun - something to do on a Saturday. We saw soooo many houses and never found one that seemed right, so we decided that we would just stay put and make the best of our current situation. Then one day we went to a random open house and that was it! From the moment we walked in we both felt that was supposed to be our house. I could already see our little one running around, taking Christmas pictures in front of the fireplace, etc. We went home, prayed about it, looked at our budget and then made an offer the next day. (That also happened to be the same day that Kyle bought his hotrod, but that is a different story). We weren't able to move in until the end of May, and I was really nervous that we wouldn't be moved in before the baby got here. We had an awesome group of friends come to help us move on the hottest day of the year. We are pretty much settled in now, and we are happy as clams in our new digs. Kyle has planted a garden and is enjoying the Gopher Hole (his workshop). I am loving the large living room and the laundry room. We love all the extra space and sitting on the back porch. (By the way, we are dressed up in these pictures because we went out for our "last supper" before the baby that night).

Baby Shower #2

Some sweet friends and ladies from my church threw me a second baby shower. Baby Keen made quite a haul! It was a good time with friends, good food, and the cutest diaper cake I have ever seen. Thanks, ladies!

My sweet mother-in-law and her first attempt at spoiling the baby with gifts. :)

I am blessed with some awesome friends!



Becky, Kyle, and me




Me and my Mama doing the ever important "Gig Em"



Aunt Shirley and her homemade John Deere presents!

Baby Shower #1

Baby Keen was spoiled beyond belief with two baby showers. The first one was thrown by my coworkers, a wonderful group of ladies with whom I am privileged to work.

Waiting...

This week marks 39 weeks of pregnancy. On Friday, my doctor told me that the lil' man doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get here. He likes to sleep in...just like his mama and daddy! I've been feeling ok, but the waiting is getting harder! It has been a good thing, though, that he isn't in a rush. We moved into our new house on May 28, so we have been busy unpacking and getting things ready for the baby.



Here is Kyle starting on the crib. Aspen, of course, wanted to help.




Kyle's a rockstar. The crib only took him an hour. Aspen didn't last quite that long.



This was Roxy's contribution to the process. During painting, she ended up with blue haunches.



I'm glad he's handy.



The nursery in the old house was going to be tan. This one had to be blue. Here is the dedicated hubby hard at work.

The Growing Bump

First baby bump picture - 17 weeks - January 2011

Valentine's Banquet - 22 weeks - February 12

 

Heading to prenatal classes - 29 weeks - April 9

Looking back...and forward

There are so many changes coming to the Keen house - good changes! Sometimes I like to just think about how we got here. How did a die-hard Aggie from Fort Worth end up in West Texas married to a farmer? Only God knows. :)

This was our first picture together  - my 23rd birthday (July '06) about a week after we met

Here is one of my favorite engagement pictures

Here we are leaving our wedding - Sept 2008



And here is Kyle after I told him we were having a baby - I love his smile - Oct 2010

That's quite a journey in 5 years! I have to say that it has been incredible. I love being married! God has blessed me with an amazing husband who constantly makes me laugh and smile. I'm excited about starting our next journey as parents together.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog! I've tried blogging before and never got very far with it. But now we have a very exciting subject - our first baby! I want to use this blog to help keep my far away friends and family updated on our growing little family. Thanks for reading!