Surrender

I've been fortunate to not catch many of the many sicknesses going around my school, but I did wake up with a sore throat, stuffy head & aches this morning. For me this is the normal cold that usually leads to a sinus infection or allergy something...either way, it's not fun that I had to miss Journey Church this morning. Thankfully we have a live feed now and I was able to watch the service on my computer. Jimmy has been preaching a series called "LIFE" the past few weeks and today, he talked about surrender. Something that I think a lot of Christians struggle with. Too bad we can't all just be like Paul, he was the perfect example of how we SHOULD surrender to the Lord.

Jimmy mentioned that "Becoming like Jesus is not a deed, it's a death. It's not about trying it's about dying!!" What truth! Matt & I are preparing to enter a new phase of our life together as we will be welcoming our little girl into the world in July. (YES! OUR LITTLE GIRL, WE FOUND OUT YESTERDAY THANKS TO MY MOM'S OFFICE FOR DOING AN ULTRASOUND A FEW WEEKS EARLY) We've got a lot of adjustments to make as we prepare and we've been praying for God to show us what he wants us to do. It's so easy to say we've surrendered these "plans" to God, but I know that I still worry about how a lot of things will play out. Keep us in your prayers and that we would totally surrender to the Lord and let him work things out in HIS time, not ours...which is what we're struggling with.

Happy Sunday!

Magan

Ramblings of an Icy Day

Well...we didn't get snow, but we did get ice. A lot of ice....(Not really a picture of ice in my backyard...but it's a pretty picture) I've been a picture taker slacker late. :)

This morning I actually woke up at the Uhler's house because we did a little emergency baby sitting of the twins last night. It was nice to wake up at 6:30 this morning to see that Wake County Schools were closed. I got up when I wanted, spent some time with two of our best friends, ate a wonderful breakfast, & enjoyed their sweet little babies. Once we actually were able to get out & head to our house I knew I needed to get some stuff done today. Unfortunately most of my day was spent doing school work, and I am no where near finished...but I did get some other things done as well. Finally got my everyday house decorations back out after putting up all of our Christmas stuff over the weekend, I cleaned my house, and got caught up on some reading in Genesis. Quad girls, I can't lie...I'll admit I got behind last week after our coffee date. School took all I had last week...NOT a good excuse, but I definitely won't be getting behind again once I get caught up. :)

Lately I've been really fatigued (1st trimester), but I'm coming out of it and headed into what everyone says will be a great 2nd trimester. I can feel my energy coming back and I'm soooo excited to actually get stuff accomplished.

As much as I hate making up snow days, today was very productive and honestly, I could use another day to get some other things done...maybe Saturday, I would prefer to NOT have to make up tomorrow as well.

Enough ramblings...I'm off to prepare myself to enjoy my Christmas present with my hubby & the Uhler's tonight. THE LION KING!!!!

I don't make New Year's Resolutions...

I don't make New Year's Resolutions...I know, I'm a party pooper. I just always feel like I end up trying for a few days & never get very far. So I have a few things I'd like to do this year, but they goals for the year & I'm not going to try to do them all at once.

If you're interested...
1. I'd like to read through the bible this year. This is something I've never done. I'm in a triad (well...a quad) with women from my church & we're doing this together. I'm excited to get to know 3 other women that love Jesus and that I don't know very well. I am also excited to explore the bible in a new way and let God teach me as I go. I know this will be a great challenge for me. I've already learned something...did you know that Adam lived to be over 900 years old...WHOA! I can't imagine. Talk about seeing the Lord work!

2. I want to spend more time doing things I love to do around the house...cooking, baking, finding cheap ways to redecorate, cleaning (yes..I love to keep my house together. As a teacher, I don't get to do this very often. Matt does A LOT of house work), & being a wife. (And of course I'll get to learn to be a good mommy this year too!)

3. Make more time to relax. Our dear pastor's wife, Beverly, always gives me a hard time for not relaxing enough. Rightfully so, she knows best. I SHOULD take time to relax. I'm always on the go & I never take time to read, watch movies, take a bubble bath, drink a cup of coffee on the porch...all the stuff that I would like to do, but never take time to stop.

4. Be a better wife, a Godly wife. With Matt working a new job this year (or a different job with a VERY different schedule) I'm still learning how to be the best support that I can, I'm always looking for new ways to love him, and be the best wife I can be.

I know this kind of seems like a lot considering I just said I want to spend more time reading my bible & that I want to spend more time doing things around our house. I didn't say I want to be perfect at any of this, but I want to do better at all of them.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

2010 has brought many blessings for the Keith family. This year God opened many doors for us, including Matt going full time with Journey Church and me making the decision to continue teaching for another year. I was really thinking about leaving the teaching profession back in March, I thought I blogged about it...but I can't seem to find that post :) We've both grown a lot this year. I've been reminded many times that my timing is NOT God's timing. And sometimes he has a WAY better plan than we do for ourselves.

2011 will bring new joys to our family & extended family. Just to give you a sneak peak...

-In May Matt's twin sisters graduate from Appalachian. Megan with a degree in Family & Consumer Sciences Education & Morgan with a degree in photography.
-In June my baby brother graduates from high school...This is a pretty big deal, he's thinking about going to my alma mater..AppState. (fingers crossed he gets that acceptance letter at the end of January)
-Also in June my sister will be competing for the title of Miss NC here in Raleigh. This is something that has been her dream since she was a little girl and she feels that God can really use her to be an example of a Christian role model for youth across our state.
-BABY KEITH COMES!!!! in July. My due date is July 18th and we are THRILLED to become parents in 2011. I can't wait to meet our little one!
-Morgan (Matt's sister) gets married in November. We're gaining a wonderful brother-in-law and we are super excited about the plans for their special day.
-And finally...in December Anna (my sister) will graduate from UNC Charlotte with a degree in Elementary Education.

Many other wonderful things are happening in 2011...weddings of close friends, vacations, and of course many surprises and blessings from God. We can't wait for 2011...bring it on!

Merry Christmas! A few days late...

Matt & I had a wonderful Christmas! We actually started last Wednesday (Dec 23rd) and had something every day through December 26th...sometimes something twice in one day. We celebrated Christmas 7 times, missing 1 family get together with my dad's side of the family. We traveled to Fuquay Varina, Sanford, and Kannapolis...by the time we got home I was exhausted and sick with either a major case of morning sickness or a nasty stomach bug.

Even though I was sick, we were able to enjoy our wonderful families and I was reminded once again, how blessed we are. God had given us such big families and we have a great time anytime we are together. It was great to stop from the busy month of December to celebrate the birth of our Savior and what that means for us. I was reminded as we drove around NC of how full I feel all the time because of the love, grace, & mercy of my Savior. I can't imagine celebrating Christmas just to celebrate Santa Clause & getting presents...what an empty reason to have a holiday. As Christians we get to celebrate the birth of the One who came just for us, and I can't think of any better reason to gather with my friends & family.

Matt & I scaled back on the amount of money we spent on each other this year, mainly because we just don't need anything...but as I shopped & as we opened gifts the theme of why we celebrate just continued to run through my mind. Every time we opened gifts with our family, I thought about how I had more than I need & the God of the universe came to be born in a stable...A STABLE! No heat, no nice hospital room...but a barn with animals and smells. Such a humbling thought. As we get ready to celebrate the new year, I've been reflecting on what this means & my prayer for the year is that I will come to know Jesus & fall in love with him even more than ever before. Matt & I have an exciting year ahead of us...(I'll save that for my new year's post) but without listing it all God is going to do HUGE things in our family. I want to make sure that through it all, people see Jesus in our family. After all, if you take everything in this world away...he's all that's left. He's all we need.

Anyways, I realize this blog probably doesn't make any sense...it's really just my ramblings of Christmas. Thanks for enduring it! I hope your family had a wonderful Christmas!

Our child got a lot of presents this year...you would thing he or she was already here. Our parents are going to spoil this kid rotten. Can't wait! :)
Aunt Megan couldn't resist when she bought this onesie! I think this was secretly Matt's favorite Christmas gift.
Molly enjoyed Christmas too, even though she has already chewed up (I mean bit the head off and ate it) one of her new toys...sorry Mr. Chicken.

Not Much Lately...

Exactly what I've been doing...

Since I found that I'm pregnant, I've not really done a whole lot...except work & sleep. Of course this is a whole new experience for me, but I'm usually a go getter. Despite the fact that I don't get a lot of sleep as it is because my job is so demanding & I strive to have a life outside of working, I usually just go with the flow...sleep or no sleep, headache or feeling great. But I've experienced all of the 1st trimester goodness...nausea, vomiting, need for MORE sleep, headaches. I feel like I've been such a baby about it, but I've found myself sleeping or laying around any chance I get. For example, I was really planning to get a lot done since it's a snow day. I'm sooo behind on grading & other school responsibilities but when I woke up this morning, even after eating, taking nausea medicine, & showering I still felt like crap & my head was pounding. So what did I do today? Sleep & lay around & eat. It's killing me, this isn't the normal me.

People keep telling me that it will go away after my 1st trimester & I really hope it does. Of course I've also heard the horror stories of women being sick for 9 months. Regardless, I'm trying to make best of this time & I know that whether I feel like a million bucks or I just feel like crap & have to spend the next 7 months going to work, sleeping & eating...7 months from now I'll get to meet the little peanut inside of me that seems like it's growing like a weed because I can't get enough food in my body & that's also been making me so sick.

Matt has been amazing & has had to work WAY to hard recently. He's been doing the cleaning, laundry, & keeping up of the house. He did a lot of the decorating for Christmas (what got done this year...we didn't get everything out, which makes me sad but next year I'll have the energy to help). I've done good to get dinner cooked when I get home from school & keep the fridge stocked with food. Don't even get me started on Christmas shopping though, we have barely started. The goodies I usually bake won't be made this year either, Matt keeps telling me "it's okay," but it's my favorite time of the year & feel like I'm not making the most of it. He is such a wonderful husband & I know he'll make a great daddy. I just feel so bad that he has to take care of me, grab me a snack in the middle of the night, & take over a lot of the stuff that I normally do in the house.

Hope I haven't bored you, but I haven't written in a while & this is really all that's on my mind...and it's what I've been up to. Until next time, I have my saltine crackers & my gingerale! :)

A guy, a girl, a dog, and...

Take a look at our latest blog post on our Matt & Magan site. www.mattandmagan.com

Exciting things to come in the Keith family! :)