Top 5...

Top 5 Signs you are ready to have a baby...

5. You make cupcakes that look like the French Peas from Veggie Tales for your husband because they are his favorite characters...
(They have noses that are green- just hard to see with the glare...) :)
4. You and your husband watch Veggie Tales very frequently, and you have all but 3 of the movies in the collection. What is worse is that you have a CD of songs from Veggie Tales that you and your husband VOLUNTARILY listen to in the car.3. You love to spend time with your friends' children... you truly truly love it! :)
(Ju Ju's big sister took this pic, so that is why it is blurry):)

2. You treat your dog like a child. Scratch that- You love your dog like a child! ;)

1. When your friends go out of the country and ask you to babysit for 11 DAYS for their two littlest ones, you actually look forward to it with excitement! :)

(Please pray for our friends while they are in Hungary. Click on this link to see how specifically you can pray for them). :) (May 10-21) Oh, and I really am really excited! :)


In all seriousness, I am struggling a little with God's decision to put our adoption on hold. I have heard this song a couple times on the radio the past few days, and it is helping me out... have a listen to Miracle of the Moment by Steven Curtis Chapman:





There’s only one who knows
What’s really out there waiting
In all the moments yet to be
And all we need to know
Is He’s out there waiting
To Him the future’s history
And He has given us a treasure called right now
And this is the only moment we can do anything about

Itchy...

I made myself bleed because I have been enduring this baby itch for so long, and so deeply.

Obedience is not easy. Well, this is the hardest time I have had with it...
- Sell your ring- yes Lord!
- Only adopt- yes Lord!
- Get rid of all your secular movies, music and books- yes Lord!
- Everything else- yes Lord!
- Wait on the adoption- yes Lord! But why Lord? Please Lord! This hurts Lord!

So yes, I am obedient and I will wait, but it is painful. As I tried to show above- this is the most painful move of obedience I have had to make. We are both ready to be parents, but God wants us to wait. I know His ways are WAY better than my own, but it doesn't change the fact that I WANT A BABY NOW!

I know why this is so hard- SATAN is using this against me! Pray for my time of obedience to be patient and pray for strength for me to ignore satan. I want to "be joyful always," but it is sometimes hard. (Especially when I am um, hormonal- hint, hint).
I am thankful that God gave me Jersey. Sometimes I wish I didn't love his so much, but at times like this it sure is nice to have a "baby" to love on! ;)

Whatcha think?

So????? Whatcha think?????


(Jersey looks a little weird here- I guess even the most photogenic of us can have a bad pic sometime)! lol Oh, and ignore the bow... I needed a headband, and had to make one, (going to buy some headbands NOW)! :)


I just got home from a women's retreat! I was invited to a couple's shower, but seeing as I just got home, I am not able to attend. :( Wish I could be there Haley!

Adoption Update

I had a talk with God Tuesday night, and He shed light on our adoption situation. He thinks it is best for us to put it on hold for awhile…

“What! God, are you sure? But if we wait, then our kids will be stuck in an orphanage. The sooner we adopt them the better!”

“Child, do you not think I have a plan for them? Do you not think that I know what I am doing? Do you not think I will provide for them? Is My timing not perfect?”

“Ok God, You are right. We will wait.”

Yes, it was with a heavy heart that I conceded to God. I have been hearing “wait” for awhile, but I obviously do not want to. Obedience is not always easy. Sometimes saying, “Yes Lord,” is quick and easy, other times you wrestle with God. He is always patient with you though. Trust me, I know. I test His patience a little too often. Here are some of the reasons that God revealed to me that show me that we need to put the adoption on hold:

1. The economy: Paul works for an oil company and during times like this no one is safe. There have been lay offs for awhile now, and Paul is still employed. No agency would give us a child though if Paul is unemployed…

So originally I told God that I would wait until we knew the job situation better and then go on with the process… God had even more reasons to wait, (more in quantity and more in importance)…

2. “The Motions”: (this is the most important reason I need to wait) I do feel myself just going through the motions at times. I know I will always struggle with that this side of Heaven and it will never be perfect, but I also know where I need to be. I need to have a more consistent Quiet Time with God daily before kiddos come. I JUST RECENTLY have really gotten into reading my Bible everyday, but Quiet Time is more than just reading The Word. It is a time of prayer and worship. I need help in this area. So, this fall I want to take a class a CBS, (I will if Guy Jackson is the prof) on prayer. He said we will spend whole class periods just in prayer. He said we will learn how to pray for a whole hour. I definitely need this class. My prayer life is usually shallow and a request fest. I need to learn how to make pray worshipful, and that is why I want to take this class.

3. I CAN’T WAIT to have kids, but I can’t say that I don’t also treasure our one on one time as husband and wife.

4. My book will be done in August, so the fall will be full of book signings and other things that my publisher has me do. I also have at least 3 books I am working on, as well as a 15 book series that I am in the middle of. I need to focus on all of this- kid free.

5. Paul and I have been attending Financial Peace University from Dave Ramsey. It is AWESOME! Waiting for the adoption will give us time to be 100% out of debt, except for the house. We have no debt now except for my car and the house, (we got rid of credit cards). :)

6. Since we moved in the house, I have really become a better housewife, but I still need to get better before kids come. This time I have had has allowed me to get out all the kinks before kids, and I have a few more kinks.

7. I wanted to take that art class as I mentioned in the Growing Pains series. If we had a child, I probably couldn’t so I need to take this time to do this while we are waiting.

Why am I sharing this is detail with you? Well, everyone is going to want to know why we are waiting, and is just easier to put it on here so everyone will know. Also, it makes me realize that we really are waiting, like it is official on here. Now if God sends us a baby tomorrow, we will be thrilled- we are just waiting to start the process until He gives us a green light, (January at the earliest probably).

Thank you for joining us in this journey!
TK

Ever since I saw Fireproof, I claimed this song as my own, but it hasn’t really meant as much to me as it does now:

What I am up to...

UPDATE:


The kids' bathroom took FOREVER! I had the walls in the apartment solid pink, which I DID NOT like... too much pink , (wow, did I really just say that?). Well, it wasn't too much pink in general, it was just too much pink with the other colors in the color scheme... look below and you will see what I am talking about...I totally eyeballed this and was sooooo nervous it would not turn out the way I envisioned...
Tada! I absolutely love it!!!! See my color scheme: pink, green and purple... solid pink took away from the scheme.
This little baby was the inspiration for the room. When my grandma died, this was one thing I really wanted. That was almost 7 years ago! I was a fan of Trading Spaces then, and the designers on the show always had one thing that they used to inspire a whole room. When I saw this at my grandma's house, I was hit with inspiration! It has a new meaning now... first off, the humming bird reminds me of my grandma, (that was always something special about it). Secondly, after Tracie died, butterflies became her "symbol" so that made it even more special. Lastly, Hydrangeas were part of my wedding flowers, so this piece gained even more sentiment to me! :) I really like how the bathroom has come together, and now I really like it with the walls painted! :)


ORIGINAL POST:

I will update on our adoption tomorrow, so be sure to check back here to find out... :)

painting, painting and more painting...

When you are creative and brave like myself, (ok, you would probably call me impulsive, but creative and brave sound better ;) ), you get an idea and go for it! That is what I have been doing since yesterday, and what I will be doing the rest of today! I have completed two rooms, and will post tomorrow about the third. :)

In our house I have a hallway which is decorated in cheetah, red and black. I wanted it to be an entry way thing, but our house is REALLY open, and this would NOT look good in our entry way. So, it is in the hallway to the kids' rooms. (I made an adjustment to one of the decors that the kids will love). In the apartment we painted the walls red and it looked awesome! Only problem- it took at least 5 coats of paint to get the color right, and that was after the pink primer. Since I was lacking in red paint, (definitely not enough to cover the whole hallway), I devised a plan to still add color without all the hassle and the need to buy more paint...

The piece that started it all. I was at Hobby Lobby and HAD to buy this. I was inspired to do a room like this... then I found other pieces at Hobby Lobby to complete a room...
Painted and tapped... crossed fingers this worked...

What was the adjustment I made? Well, I had these frames bought, (they have a little red on the black which you can't see here). Since they were going to be in an entry way, I was going to keep updated pictures in them. Now that they were in a hallway, (and we don't have the kiddos' pictures yet), I decided to make it very special for our kids. I framed the adoption poems I wrote back in August (if you want to read them, search my archives for August 08). Now they can read them anytime, and will always remember how much they were loved even before they got adopted!
Tada... the whole hallway... I was soooo scared to take off the tape, but it turned out great!
More of the cheetah I bought at Hobby Lobby...
Close up of the poems and the stripe...


Now I was left with some red paint that I did not want to waste, so I decided to paint out bathroom, well toilet room... ;)

Paul's grandpa's brand! :) Since I was painting the toilet room I knew I could do something funky so I got pretty brave with this brand... fingers crossed...
Pink primer! I will be using that in our kids' bathroom...
Tada! Finished product!
I think it turned out pretty cool! Paul and his grandpa will be so excited to see this! :)
Close up of the walls... turned out nice if I do say so myself! :)


I am off to begin the kids' bathroom... it will be only one coat of paint which is nice, but I have a plan for a design which is more intricate than the toilet room, so the taping will be very tedious!

What Really Matters

So I am apparently a "domestic terrorist." Go to aclj.org to learn more. I am so irritated by our stupid government, it is unreal.


BUT I am not posting about this ridiculous issue. It would be bad for my blood pressure. Instead I am going to post about what REALLY matters in life...

This video is a song by Matthew West called "The Motions." Listen to it, then follow along with my post below. Yes, I am serious- watch it NOW...





Ok, did you watch it? I hope you did! :)

I was listening to KSBJ this morning and Matthew was visiting. He sang this song, but before he did he dedicated it to the McAfee Family.

He went on to say that 18 year old Ryan McAfee was very moved by the song. So much in fact that he posted the lyrics on his facebook so his friends could hold him accountable- making sure he wouldn't just go through the motions. Well the next day, Ryan was killed in a freak car accident. The Motions was played at his funeral, and then a miracle happened...

20 PEOPLE STOOD UP AND ACCEPTED CHRIST ON THE SPOT!

This song and story are such blessings to me. Every time I hear it, it puts my thoughts and heart in check. I will be irritated at the government, and then I will hear it. I love America, but the fact that She is dying shouldn't affect me so much. Will I still fight- yes, but I also know what is more important. LIVING FOR CHRIST. One day America will be gone. One day this world will be gone. Jesus will be the only one remaining. My job here on Earth, (as well as the job of all the other Christ Followers), is to glorify God in all we do, and to bring people to Christ!

I want to live my life so that people will come to know Christ whether in my life or death. That is my new goal in life- to have people come to Christ simply by being at my funeral and seeing Christ in me!

This is my prayer for myself everyday, and I hope it puts life in perspective for you too:

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

10 years ♥

I cannot believe ten years has passed since the tragedy at Columbine High School! You know you are a grown up when you look back on a ten year old event and think it felt like yesterday! lol

I was in the 7th grade when it all happened. I was a "Christian," but I was not yet saved. In the weeks following the massacre, we heard about a girl that was asked if she believed in God. When she said yes, she was killed. That girl was Cassie Bernall. Her story was a wonderful tool at that time because it made all of us kids from the Bible belt wonder if we would do the same thing. We all said/hoped we would say yes, but when you are not saved it is harder to stand up for what you believe in when death is staring you in the face. I was pretty sure I would say yes, but now ten years later, now that I am saved- I would DEFINITELY say YES! Below is a picture of her book, "She Said Yes." It is a must read! SERIOUSLY! :)

Another Christian girl murdered that day, that I didn't know much about until recently is Rachel Scott.

Below is an excerpt from one of her diaries, (she had one with God, and 2 with 2 different friends).
Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can read it better! She writes to her friend about not being ashamed about Jesus. From other writings like this, she writes how she knows her fellow students can see God through her, and all she wants is to bring others to Him. Do you know when the above was written? April 20, 1998. A year before the massacre. Rachel was the first one shot that day, and they say she was carrying her Bible. It was apparent by how she lived that she loved Christ.

She, nor Cassie, were ashamed of Christ. Do you know why? They knew that nothing bad would happen to them.

WAIT A MINUTE- NOTHING BAD? THEY WERE MURDERED!

Yes they were murdered, and to us that seems bad, but it was not. You see, since they knew Christ, they went to be in Heaven. We all can agree that this world is hard and scary, but there is no pain in Heaven. There are no tears. We miss those who have gone before us, but they are not sad. They are so happy there!

With the world we live in, don't you want to have that same comfort? Knowing that you can stand up to anything- even death?

You can. Just accept Christ as your Savior. Yes, even you need a Savior. We have all sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Yes, that one lie you told yesterday is a sin and it makes you worthy of Hell. PERIOD. There is NOTHING YOU can do to change that. The lie is on your permanent record. But there is hope. Even though there is nothing YOU can do, there is someone who paid your penalty. JESUS. When He died on the Cross He suffered the fires of Hell for YOU. He paid YOUR debt! All we can do is accept His sacrifice as a gift, accept Him as your Savior, repent of your sin, and live for HIM. IT IS THAT SIMPLE!

If you want to know more about Jesus, please do not hesitate to ask me. I will not pretend to know all the answers, but I will try to help you find someone who may know more if needed. :)

My New Best Friend

This little baby aides my quiet time more than you could imagine! It is SUCH a blessing! I absolutely recommend buying one! (They didn't make one in my usual translation, but the NLT is a REALLY easy read, so it is pretty good for daily quiet time)! :)

3 Months ♥

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince hits theaters, (7.17.09). (I CAN'T WAIT)!!!! It is the 6th movie in a 7 part series, (well, 8 part series because they will make the 7th into two movies). I am very pleased that this movie gets a PG rating. I appreciate that the director decided not to push the envelope. There is some kissing in this movie, as well as death, but obviously they kept it nice enough to get the PG rating, and for that I am thankful.


Many of you may be wondering why a Christian like myself would be a fan of Harry Potter. Ignoring the fact that it is about wizards, you may be wondering why I would like it after this post. Well, out of all the secular movies and books I got rid of, I kept my Harry Potters.

First of all, it is fantasy. The Wizard of Oz has witches and other fantasy, but it is accepted by Christians. Why not Harry Potter?

Now, I do not approve of Twilight, but I do approve of Harry Potter.

After I was saved at 16, and becoming a fan of Harry Potter, I had to make a decision. Was this book evil or not? Well, I decided it was not and I have much data to support my claim. I intended to write a book on the subject, but J.K Rowling still had 2 books to publish in the series, so I planned to wait until then to write the book. However, Granger beat me to the punch by publishing this book: But as I said before, J.K. had 2 more books to go in the series, so Granger's book only covers the first 5. I have read this book and found that all of my data is completely different from Granger's, so maybe I will still do my book one day. As for now, I am rereading all the Harry Potter books, and I am collecting all of my godly data. I will compile it all in a written form- publish later, maybe- this is really for me and other parents out there that want to allow their children to read Harry Potter and to be able to point out the godly principles.

If you want me to give you my findings when I am done, (give me a little time... I am on book 4 and once I finish book 7 I will have to write it all), just let me know. Also, be sure to check out Granger's book. While the Bible is the most important book in our lives, I think fantasy is still acceptable. The books are very well written with twists that are mind blowing. Some of the godly elements have actually moved me to tears, and that is why I cherish this series. J.K. did not intend to make an analogy of the Christian faith, but it just goes to prove that God is everywhere and that He does exist!

I ♥ Spring!

This field is off to the right of our backyard, and it will be made into a park later. For now it is home to sooo many Buttercups! The pictures do not do them justice...

Inside my backyard to show you my view :)
Standing in the field... sooo many more, but it was overcast and the flowers are hard to see.

My Newest Love

God Bless Texas and God bless Our Governor!

He may not be perfect, but I sure love what he had to say! :)

was out of town! Yea! Only problem- no pictures! :) i am sick today. So sick in fact I had to cancel babysitting! :(

Did you know that you could post from your cell? Well, that is what I am doing right now! No more missed blog ideas because of forgetfulness or because I

Votes Please

What do you think? I want to chop off my hair to look something like this. Should I?

Easter Weekend

On the way to the Good Friday Kick Ball Outreach... see his bandanna...
♥
The leaders are supposed to get into costume for the kick ball game... we ran out of time for a real costume... this works, right? lol
Tbone lost to the high school! :(




Today we went to the dog park and walked around town center with Bella... I think it was successful... see him asleep on my lap... (his head is on the steering wheel) ;)



Ok, this is random... But housewives will appreciate it!

Everywhere I look I see hearts, in a tree, in a pile of leaves, etc. Always! Sometimes I catch them on film, sometimes I don't. Well, I have a new thing now and it is rather strange. I am getting smiley faces in food residue... see below...
Paul reheated a turkey burger, and this was on his plate...
Spaghetti sauce on my glass stove top...

I have come to the conclusion that God is telling me something:

"Be joyful always," even when cleaning!!! :)
1 Thessalonians 5:16

Happy Easter!

This is my Sunday morning post... I will be in Chruch, so I wanted to post it tonight! HE IS RISEN! :) This video is family friendly, so gather everyone around and enjoy!

The True Meaning of Easter

Our Fault

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.

We were born under the power of sin's control.

- Admit that you are a sinner.

Romans 6:23a "...The wages of sin is death..."

Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.

- Understand that you deserve death for your sin.

Romans 6:23b "...But the gift of God is eternal

life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can't

earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.

- Ask God to forgive you and save you.

Romans 5:8, "God demonstrates His own love for us, in

that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!"

When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!

- Give your life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you -- not religion, or church membership. God loves you!

Romans 10:13 "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!"

- Call out to God in the name of Jesus!

Romans 10:9,10 "...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

- If you know that God is knocking on your heart's door,

ask Him to come into your heart.

Born for Us!

Born for us... God's only Son,
Heaven's precious Holy One,
A tiny babe of humble birth,
to bring salvation to the earth.

Borne for us... a heavy cross,
weighted down with sin and loss.
Yet on the dawn so glorious,
He rose again victorious!

Abbey Press

Seeing Double?

Can you tell which one is Jersey? Paul got it WRONG!!! SHHH, don't tell Jersey, it may make him a little sad... ;) (The Jerz is on the left) :)



In honor of our 2nd anniversary, God decided to play a trick on Paul! hehehe I was sitting on the computer with Jersey in my lap when I got a phone call from our neighbor.

"Is your dog with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There is a white, fluffy dog outside that looks JUST like him!"

So being a sympathetic dog owner, I went out to see if I could help the puppy. I found her and she only had a rabies vac tag as id... and it was from far away. I called Paul and told him that we MAY have a new dog. He was less than thrilled. I am in no rush to get another dog, but if one ends up on our door step, I will NOT allow it to go to the pound- it WILL become a member of the family. Long story short, she is a neighbor of ours... they have the same issue with her getting under the fence, (must be a Bichon thing). lol

Jersey and his new girlfriend, Molly. Which is which? (Paul got it wrong also)! lol Molly is looking at the camera.... ;)
Jersey and Molly playing... Molly in mid air!

Jersey was invited over to play anytime he wanted, so we will have to set up a play date for them- I'm thinking Bark Park!

♥2♥

I am so blessed to be Mrs. Keierleber, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for our future! 2 years and counting! ♥

You can help us out...

The road of adoption for us will be long and expensive! To counter some of the costs, we joined a website called, Adopt More. Right now, it is a fund raiser that sells bracelets. Eventually it will sell more, so keep checking back later.

(Make sure you select the Keierleber Family).

We would really appreciate your support, and we would love for you to help us get the word out!

In Christ,
Paul and Tricia

Private No More

My blog is no longer private. Lets hope that people can behave themselves! I have disabled the anonymous comment, so maybe that will help.

Today is 3 years since Paul and I met online! ♥

Jersey had a brush with death while we were away.

We had our sweet neighbor watch Jersey for us. We have a little "dog run" set up in the back yard since Jersey has found a way to get under the fence. When we got home we found that Jersey's tags had fallen off... oh well no big, right? Wrong! Apparently what happened was while Jersey was on the run, his tags broke off his collar, (well the part of the collar that holds on his tags and where you put the leash broke), so he was able to run free. Our other neighbor noticed him outside the fence. :/

He has a jump drive on his collar, so he had some identification, but most people don't even notice the drive. If he had gotten lost without tags, someone may have kept him or brought him to the shelter!!! OR he could have gone into the street and that is as far as I'll go there...

Thank You Lord for protecting him! We are very grateful!

Here are some pics of The Jerz that I have had on my camera, and just had not uploaded yet. Enjoy!

His favorite thing to do: "Go bye bye in the car!"
Jersey through his tail... weird shot...
Jersey loves looking out windows, I love taking pictures and playing with lighting...

Jersey never leaves my side during the day... that is until about 30 minutes before Paul arrives home. Jersey will go into the hall, as seen in this picture, and he will lay there. Why you ask? He has a view of me and the front door. HA! He won't go too far from me, but he wants to wait for Daddy! UMMM, yeah! ADORABLE!
We finally had enough growth that Paul was able to mow, and Jersey greatly enjoyed it...
Paul was playing with Jersey, and he insisted that I take this picture because Jersey looked, "so cute!"
HAHAHAHAHA!
Jersey LOVES our window seat in the kitchen... I thought it was cute that he got his head "stuck"
Obviously it wasn't stuck under the curtain, but he sure acted like it was... he just stayed right under it for awhile! lol