nuggle me

There's a story behind this picture. I was working in the kitchen this morning, as I usually do most mornings, when Tov walked by clutching his "dinor" (dinosaur) blanket and sucking his thumb. I heard a muffled "I need to nuggle mommy," but before I could answer Avery volunteered for the job and Tov quickly made his way to the couch and to the loving arms of his sweet sister. A little while latter I noticed Miah sitting dejectedly on the living room chair. I asked her what was wrong and with a sniffle she replied, " I want to nuggle Tov too but Avery won't let me. She's HOGGING him!" I conviced Avery to share Tov with Miah and then had to take a quick picture to document this perfectly precious mini drama to share with you.

Molasses Crinkles

Zach is a dedicated die hard fan of chocolate chip cookies and because I am a dedicated die hard fan of Zach Keller, I try to make them for him as often as I can. I think if I ever quit making them, for whatever reason, Zach would think I didn't love Him anymore and that our marriage was in jeopardy. Making cookies for Zach is one way I tell him I love him, in a language I know he understands.

So it is fall and we have introduced a new cookie in the Keller household that, though it may never out rank the chocolate chip, it is definitely a close second especially this time of year. This cookie is Zach Keller approved and though it is never to replace the Chocolate Chip, it is worth passing on to you as a tried and true favorite. Enjoy!


Molasses Crinkles

3/4 C. Softened Butter
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/4 C. molasses
2 1/4 C. Flour
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 t. salt

Mix everything together. Shape dough into walnut shaped balls and roll in sugar. Bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes. Do not overcook. They are supposed to be a soft, chewy, melt in your mouth cookie.

to my honey

I love you
I am so proud of you
There is no one else I would rather spend my days with and share my life with.
You are a treasure and a gift to me and our family. I love your heart and am so thankful that I have it. Where ever you go, whatever you do - I'm with you darlin'

XoxXOo

(Big kiss, little hug, little hug, little kiss, big kiss, big hug, little hug)

Sweet Feet

Oh how I love these little people. Only a mother finds such odd poses so irresistible. I've had a certain urgency in my picture taking of the kids lately. I feel like if I don't capture their little parts and pieces at every opportunity they are going to change and grow before my eyes and I will have missed my chance. Take Tov's little tootsies for example. They are still so soft and kissable but I'm sure at any moment they are going to start sprouting hairs and get all narly and stinky. It's only a matter of time. I'm sure every stage has its joys but I'm just not ready yet.

Bumma's Visit

Zach's mom came to visit us and stay with the kids while Zach and I traveled to Idaho for some special training. The kids loved having her here, of course, and Bumma spoiled them rotten with little gifts, outings, stories, more stories and treats. She did learn that giving them ice cream right before nap time isn't the best idea. It was so nice that she was able to meet some of our friends and experience for herself what life is like here in the desert. We love you Bumma!

A little reminder that we are far, far from home

Our NTMA Family

Wow! God is so Good! We are so blessed to be working very closely with these wonderful families. They have become so dear to us...like family really. The exciting thing is that many of us may end up living and working together over in the Philippines. It just keeps getting better and better. Sometimes I think...it's to good to be true. How could we possibly end up in ministry with people we actually enjoy and like hanging out with!? But then I remember who it is behind everything that happens in my life. It's my God and loving Father who does abundantly more than I could ever ask or imagine. I'm gonna keep on dreaming.

What's a girl to do?

I'm back. It's been a while. I've been caught up in the whirlwind of Facebook, Skype...then there's our NTM website and THIS BLOG!! UUGH! So many perfectly wonderful options for communication and correspondence...I've learned that having too many options is definitely not a good thing, especially for me. I've also been feeling the need to write some good old fashioned letters with paper and pen. I miss jotting down thoughts on paper and would like to do it more often..all this to say, keeping up with my blog has been near the bottom of a very long list of Keller family communication priorities. I think I will keep it though. I like being able to post pictures and write about them. I have about a million pictures from this summer I want to share but of course that is impossible so I will TRY to pick a few favorites.


This is were we live now. Way down at the bottom of Arizona only 20 miles from the Mexican border. I thought it would be difficult moving from our beautiful Alaskan home to the flat desert plains but we were pleasantly surprised by the beauty of this place. The sunsets are gorgeous and since it is so flat you can see a storm coming from a long ways off. Amazing.