Rough Road

The last few days have been unbelievebly beautiful!!! I took my camera out today to enjoy it:


There is a country road near our house that I discovered the other day, and it is SO beautiful! I saw this sign while driving, and it made me think of the road my sweet babies have been down. Possible abuse, leaving their homes and lives, to be adopted and loved by strangers.

Rough road for sure, but:
God Blessed the Broken Road right? :) (Notice the gorgeous sky?)
Look at those yellow flowers- gotta love spring!
I shot this out of my sunroof, but pretty nice huh? :)
So many cows- I was jamming to Mark Schultz and the guy in front took notice. :)


Ok, I am not slightly obsessed- I am officially obsessed!
This was the theme for the room, and I had planned to put it somewhere in the room- well, tada! :) Ok, only two more things for this room- the pics of my little monsters for the frame ;) and THIS! Oh, and a green monster or 2 from Fenway! :)
We, well Mr. Incredible anyway, have been busy with the sprinkler system! Bolt and I have been showing our moral support by sitting outside while Mr. Incredible does all the work. ;) Isn't he adorable?! He is getting a hair cut Friday, and he will be bald and less cute- for a short while a assure you! :)
This is how Bolt sleeps when we are watching movies- SO FUNNY! Look- he is on his side, but his lower belly is facing up, and his head is up and around, (his nose is under the rug). He always sleeps like this, only in the play room, and it always cracks me up!!! :)

Slightly Obsessed

Do you remember my new Monster bathroom? Well, since I set it up I have been on the hunt for more monster things. No luck really. Bummer until today!

I found these stickers at Hobby Lobby and I had to get them!!! SOO CUTE! I looked around at HL for something to make with the stickers and I found this frame- PERFECT! Brought it home, added paper and paint, and TADA!

I ran into Kohl's today on a whim, and I hit the monster jackpot!
This is a wash mit, but I am using it as a hand towel. :)
The one that started it all, (well today anyway). :) I was so excited when I saw this one! I had to get 2 since it says "My Little Monster," not MonsterS. One for each side of the counter.
How cute is this rug? He goes great with the monster feet. :)

Oh and I just had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea: I will have to get a Green Monster sign and stuffed Green Monster for the bathroom! :) Can't wait to BOSTON!!!

How to cure the blues?

UP? Check
The Princess and the Frog? Check
Fever Pitch? Check {Boston soon!!!! YEA!!!}
Oreos? Check
Bolt in lap? Check

I am spending my day vegging out to clear up my cloudy days. Why were they cloudy in the first place? Let me show you:

On Friday I babysat for my friend, Stacy and we had a blast! Ava was so adorable and so much fun! How is this a cloud?
Ava and Bolt- BFFs! :)

Here is a little cloud number one. I knew Ava was coming over. I was so excited for her to come and hang out with Bolt and enjoy the playroom,etc. Well, since our house in brand new, we had a year for warranty stuff. Well, there were lines on our ceiling- nothing structural, but needed to be fixed none the less. Months ago we began this fiasco. They have been out to our house at least 3 times already- still not fixed. So, on Friday they came over to fix it again. This time the WRAPPED our WHOLE house in PLASTIC! Like THE WHOLE HOUSE. We couldn't get to the kitchen, the playroom, or the kids' rooms and bathroom. They were supposed to come over at 8 am, didn't come till 10. They left at 3!!! UGH!!! Leaving us this:
How do you entertain a guest with a house like this? UGH!!! {notice how you can't open the fridge} Well, they were supposed to come back to fix it on Saturday- no show. By Saturday night I had about lost my mind. We HAD TO LIVE LIKE THIS!!! UGH! Oh, and did I mention we couldn't get to the back yard? In order to take Bolt outside, we had to walk through the front yard around to the backyard. UGH. Anyway, Sunday, they came out for a few hours. Took away the plastic, but it is still not finished. Right now my house is all disheveled and I can't really fix it cause they will be back to paint EVENTUALLY. ugh.

Cloud 2: I had what I would call a minor anxiety attack on Friday night. Ava wanted me to sleep in the same room with her- no prob. I took the bottom bunk and we had a sleepover in the cow room. I guess it was the stress over all the plastic or something. Also, the cow room was filled with furniture etc because of the plastic. Imagine how hard it would be for Ava to go potty in the middle of the night if she needed to. yeah, fun. So, I was laying in the bottom bunk, so tired and ready to go to sleep- and it hit. My heart rate was up and my breathing was a little weird. joy. How do you sleep with that?

Cloud 3: The "anxiety attack" feeling lasted through Sunday- hence my vegg day today. I need to get my breathing chilled.

Cloud 4: all the other clouds are white and fleeting, but this one is black and here to stay... until the adoption process is completed:

Rain Rain Go Away

Cinderella is suffering from the blues.

Long story- nothing too dreary, but blue none the less.

The cure: all day Monday I will be watching movies and vegging out. That should do the trick! :)

I will update with some pics tomorrow on my day off. ;)

It is so hard to feel this way when I think about all God has done for me. And honestly, I am really not feeling THAT blue- it is just the last few days have been a little rainy- ya know what I mean?

Charles Ingles

Sometimes I feel like I am married to Charles Ingles. If you have seen Little House on the Prairie, you will know this is a huge compliment, and also proves once again why Mr. Incredible is named Mr. Incredible. Mr. Incredible is installing a sprinkler system, himself, all by hand- just like how Charles Ingles would have done it. ;) These next few weeks, I will know how it felt to be Mrs. Ingles- truly understanding the purpose of daylight savings time- I have lost my husband to the yard, but that's ok- I know where he sleeps. ;)

William Wilberforce

Meet William Wilberforce:
To be honest with you, Mr. Incredible and I would love to name a son Wilberforce. Yes, the name sounds weird, but by the end of this post, you will be agreeing with me. :)

William Wilberforce fought for YEARS, gave up years of his life, to fight for the abolition of the slave trade in England. He also fought for others' rights including animals. All this stemming from his Salvation in Christ, he also never turned away beggars at the door of his home. He follwed the commandment of Jesus: Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22: 36-40).

I met William Wilberforce in a movie. They called him by his last name, which makes it easier to think of it as a first name. What I love about his name is that if they weren't calling him Wilberforce, they called him Wilby, (Will-bee). I would love to name a son Wilberforce and call him Wilby. We may still do this, name him William Wilberforce Keierleber and call him Wilby. We shall see. :)

William Wilberforce was an amazing man- an earthly hero of ours who lived his life to glorify God and lived it well. Meet him here:
This movie is a MUST SEE and MUST OWN! It is a historical time piece, but it is nowhere near boring, as many would assume. I watch this movie all the time! Absolutely one of my all time favorites! Watch the movie, and be sure to tell me if you too would consider naming your son Wilberforce after seeing this! :)

Oh and the best quote of the whole movie? Wilberforce's preacher is John Newton. He owned slaved ships, repented of his sins, and became a preacher- and wrote the song Amazing Grace. Listen to the lyrics and think of his past. You will never hear the song the same way again. In the movie, Newton says this: "My memory is fading, but there are two things I know: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior." wow, huh? :)

Oh, and yes, I am sitting with Jersey in the playroom watching this movie. :)

Accept this apology?

Ok, so I have not been too busy to post this time around. Last week I was, this week I am not. SO why the lack of posts? I have plenty of pics to share, and stories to, but I can't.

Yes, it is in regards to the adoption. I wish I could scream it from the roof tops what I have been up to and what we are praying for, but I can't. You will find out soon enough, and I'd appreciate you joining us in prayer.

I am torn. Part of me knows I need to enjoy this break before kids, and I am. I think if I knew that what we are praying for would pan out, then it would be easier to wait. As usual it is the unknown that is the killer.

Hmm, maybe later this week, I can muster up the strength to post something fun. We'll see.

Book Signing and Selling

I babysat last week and litearlly had NO TIME to get online. I missed y'all- hopefully you missed me too! lol

You can order my book online by clicking here!!!

Today was my book signing!

Mr. Incredible and I. ♥ He doubled as the photog. :)
My littlest "fans," aka some of my most favorite kiddos in the whole world! {I wish Ryan could have been there. If he and Andrew were in this shot, I could call them the 7 dwarfs} lol
Like my new do? :)
It was pretty cool seeing my name on a bar code. ;)

Moster Mash

I haven't posted in the last few days because I have been quite busy. This week I get to babysit two of the most precious boys on the planet! This will be great practice for us!

We only have 3 more classes, then our home studies and we will be ready to get kids! Wahoo!!!

I was shopping at Target and saw the cutest stuff for a kids' bathroom. Below is what the bathroom used to look like:



I had bought all of this with the intention of putting it in our half bath one day. Well, this house does not have a half bath. Instead of boxing it all up for years, I decided to use it until we had kids and then box it up till we one day had a half bath. So when I saw the cute stuff at Target, I wrestled back and forth about redoing the bathroom. I decided to do it now so the kids could enjoy it, and when we get our kids- they can enjoy it too. :)

Tada! Much more kid friendly! The only two really fun rooms are the playroom and this bathroom. The bed rooms are fun, but more classy than these rooms. :)

I can't believe I didn't get a shot of the shower curtain. You will have to settle for the reflection in the mirror. :) Cute huh? :)
The toothbrush monster. (He held my paintbrush for me) :)

Rinse Monster and Soap Monster. Notice that the soap monster can be changed into different combinations. :)
Trash Monster. Also, all I did to the walls was I added the circle wall deacls, and here I painted multi colored dots to the already pink stripes. It looks fun and it saved me a TON of work. :)
Aren't those the cutest bath rugs ever!?! Also, there is a bit of the curtain as well.
I couldn't resist adding the "eyes" above the medicine cabinet.
The Towel Monster


The bathroom is fun, and unisex- something the other bathroom was neither. :)



The boys will be staying in the cow room. Notice the changes? :) Ready for move in! ;)

Pioneer Woman

This morning Bolt ;) BEGGED to go outside! I wanted to sleep, but alas, Bolt won as usual. I always let him out and then watch him from the window inside.

As I was looking out, I saw a Mocking Bird digging in the grass getting a worm. Hey, that's pretty cool- I have never seen a bird actually getting a worm before. The Discovery Channel fan in me kicked in and I sat and watched that little guy work really really hard. Then I started to notice that the worm looked a little too big to be a worm- it HAS to be a baby snake.

Curiosity took over and I had to get a closer look. I knew I would probably cost the little guy his lunch, but I couldn't help myself. As I walked out, the birdie flew away as expected. I walked closer and I stomped as I walked- just in case. Finally I saw him. Well, with my little angel Bolt walking the grounds, I had to protect him.

I picked up a little sprinkler and tried to hit it with the stake end of it. It coiled up, struck at me quite a few times. Yikes! So I picked up Bolt, and turned the sprinkler around and began beating it.


When I was a little girl, I would dig and pray that I could find a Garter snake. They never bit me or even struck at me. So I ask if this guy was a Garter or something worse.

I called Mr. Incredible to fill him in. We live on a lake, so ever since we moved in I have been worried about snakes. This little guy is the first. He thinks it could have been a Copper head or some other scary snake- but he hasn't seen the pic yet, so don't judge him on that.

Mr. Incredible had one question for me: did you brake the sprinkler? No honey, your son and I did NOT get bit thank you very much, but the sprinkler is OK. lol

After I took this pic, I threw it over the fence, and hopefully Mr. Mocking Bird can still have his lunch.

The Keierleber Characters???

Ok, so I have been busy with a blog revamp obviously. Since we are adopting children, (other people's children quite possibly), we wanted to make up nicknames for them for the blog. It was that or making this blog private, (which still may happen). I have to admit, I was inspired by MckMama to do the nicknames. Her's are much more clever, but I think mine will do just fine.

Now obviously y'all know our names right now, but from now on we will only be referred to as our nicknames. :)

I wanted to do a name that rhymed with Keierleber- Keierleber Crew, Keierleber Corral, etc. Well, PK really liked Corral, but I didn't think naming us after farm animals would be that fun. (cow, pig, etc- I think you get the idea).

I kept coming back to Disney characters or even Veggie Tales Characters. However, when I was playing with the Disney idea- I came up with PK's name, and LOVED it! Then a duh moment- Keierleber Characters. DUH! lol So without further adieu...

Meet the Keierleber Characters:

Mr. Incredible

A strong man, both physically and spiritually, Mr. Incredible truly is my hero. He provides for his family and is our spiritual leader. And I happen to think he is pretty incredible! :)

Cinderella

As a housewife, it is easy to sometimes feel like Cinderella with all I have to do. But I know one thing- that Fairy Godmother has NOTHING on my Heavenly Father. Being married to my prince is nothing short of a fairy tale. This princess, (daughter of The King), is so thankful to be living her dream: the wish her heart made, ;)

Bolt

Our precious pup who is SUCH a character. He walks on his hind legs, drinks from a human water bottle, and knows many tricks. He is so talented HE should be in the movies. ;)

More characters to come soon!!! Other princesses, Toy Story characters, etc! :)

What do you think about our new blog?

Ice Cream Therapy

We have to attend 8 training classes with our adoption agency, (as well as 4 other trainings, CPR, etc). Tonight's lesson: Sexual Abuse.

I could sit and watch a gory, murder movie all day long, and not get sick at all. The one thing that makes me sick- physically sick- is sexual abuse. I used to watch Law and Order and SVU would make me sick. Rape, child abuse- ugh.

When I worked at an elementary school, I knew a little boy who was sexually abused. He has so many issues in life- it is absolutely heart breaking.

To sit through a 2 hour class where the subject is sexual abuse- this will be torture.

My brain never stops, and I know that after this class I will not be able to get it out of my head. If I drank, after this class I would so have to go for a drink. But, since I don't drink- we will have to go for ice cream.


While you are praying for our children, also keep all the sweet kiddos that are hurting in your prayers too.


In more fun news: click here and see about book signing giveaway. :)

And click here to see my other blog's new post. :)

Nesting

Sorry I have not posted as much lately. We are half way through with adoption training, and it has taken most of our time. We are enjoying every minute though. My degree is in child development, so I have heard all of this before. However, it is nice to 1. get a review, and 2. for Paul to get this information too. It really helps you understand what behavior is appropriate and inappropriate, and how to handle all those situations properly. Also, our agency is a Christian agency, which is AWESOME! Everything we cover is backed up Biblically. :)

I have been a nanny since October, and I really enjoyed it. When I took the job I had planned to work there for at least two years, and we would then pursue an African adoption. When we decided to move forward with domestic adoption, I put in my 2 weeks. As much as I loved working with the kids, it sure is nice to go back to being a housewife. :)

I am definitely in the nesting frame of mind. I think it is for 2 reasons:

1. we could have kids in our house (Lord willing), as early as April. Not that we will get them by then, but we will eligible to get them by then.

2. When I became a nanny, I had NO time at home to clean my house at all. I think that now that I can, I actually WANT to clean- (not like me AT ALL) LOL

Now for the fun part: I needed a diaper bag. There was a Vera Bradley one I wanted in the pattern of Sitting in a Tree, (you will see in a min). I was back and forth between the back pack and diaper bag. Well, my mom and I were shopping and we saw the CUTEST VB purse, and she said she would buy one for me. WAHOO! :) Well, as much as I wanted the new purse, I knew the wise choice would be to get the diaper bag instead. Well, the backpack and diaper bag we pretty expensive. Then my mom had a brilliant idea:

This is my ginormous VB purse which my mom suggested I use as my diaper bag. GENIUS! Why didn't I think of that? :)

So instead of buying the diaper bag in this print, my mom got me this purse as my everyday purse, and now I will use the other purse as my diaper bag. :) BTW, I LOVE this new purse!!!!! Thanks Mom!!!

In other nesting thoughts: the nurseries are already decorated as y'all have seen on here. However, as much as I LOVE the bird room, I SO want to make some changes:

All of these Vera Bradley items can be purchased here. These are not even on the official website! On the official website, you can purchase wrapping paper. I am so tempted to buy all this and the paper too and do a full bird room revamp. I want to, but I won't. sigh.


These are dessert plates, but I want her to make full dinner settings in this print, (she has a full dinner setting in another print). sigh again. ;)

3 Doors Down

This post is about 3 different things and one of those just happens to be about 3 doors: {oh and I just noticed that today is the 3rd day of the 3rd month. Didn't plan that but pretty cool non the less. Ok, I'm a dork... moving on}

1. We have recently had 3 doors open to us in regards to our family. 2 adoption doors, and 1 move door which would probably affect the adoption. It is hard to discern which one is the best for us when they are all good doors. Hence the lack of posting. Thank you for your prayers. :)

It is official, (for now cause God could always throw a curve ball tomorrow).

We are adopting locally here in Texas! We had our orientation yesterday, and we have 10 more training days in this month left. Then we have our home study, and then we wait!!! It is happening people!!! :)


2. My book signing has had a little change in time. It will be at the same place from 10AM-12PM. Please join me at Hastings in Lake Jackson, and get your copy of my book, "She is NOT your REAL Mommy!" From 10am-12PM, come to get your signed copy, and get your name put in the drawing for some pretty exciting door prizes, (one of which being a gift certificate from Steven Leonard Photography). :) Thanks for your support! Please invite anyone you know who may be interested! RSVPs are GREATLY appreciated!


3. In some not so exciting news... exactly, (quite possibly to the day), one year after getting my first infection, I have another bout of Staph infection. joy. Weird that it is almost to the day one year later, huh?