new years resolution

So it has been 7 months since I last updated our blog. I have worked my way through feelings of embarrassment, complacency, relief (that I had one less thing to do) and now regret because I miss it (blogging) and want to start again. I love sharing my observations and experiences in daily life and posting pictures of my treasures. I miss the irresistible distraction of following link after link after link, taking part in the daily adventures of beloved friends and family, long into the night. I'm coming back. I'm past being overwhelmed by how behind I am...and I know I will have to post often in order to prove my commitment to my once faithful visitors.

We're comin' home...ready or not!

Stripes & stripes

I feel I have a very important responsibility, as the mother of my children, to teach my kids the art and skill of everyday attire coordination and development... otherwise known as "matching."  I know this is not something that is learned overnight.  It takes a lot of trial and error, sometimes in the face of ridicule and mocking. It is my job to teach my children the rights and wrongs of everyday dressing.  I'm not talking about keeping up with the latest fads or encouraging them to make any kind of statement...I'm just talking about  the more obvious fashion foe-paws like - wearing socks with sandals, coordinating bottoms and tops and the basics of matching.   If they don't learn these valuable lessons from me they will learn them from the world...or worse yet...from their dad.  :)  

Avery was extremely proud of this outfit she picked out all on her own.  "Look mommy!  stripes and stripes!"  I guess we need to have a little lesson on coordinating patterns and prints.

Vince comes to stay

It has been such a joy having Vincent with us.  When April and the kids came down to visit in Feb/March, Vincent met so many friends his age and was in a euphoric state the whole time he was here.  He loved chasing "small" game with his bee-bee gun, riding bike everywhere and anywhere, and the late night games of capture the flag.  He was in heaven.  That's why it was easy to put air miles into sending him down again this April.  I assured his mom (April) that he would be so easy to have around and a huge help to us as we get ready to move back to AK.  

He HAS been a huge help and it has been so wonderful watching him with all his new friends.  He went on a dirt bike camping trip with his uncle Zach.  Some of his favorite daily activities are having air-soft wars and playing capture the flag, at night, in his camo garb with all his buddies...and of course taking out the trash for his favorite Auntie.  :)  Yesterday he called me out of the house because "he had something to show me."  It sounded urgent, so I rushed out to find him holding a live snake with a big cheesy grin on his face.  It was his friend Carson's pet, nothing dangerous, but it thrilled me to see him having such good guy fun.

Vince and Miah will be traveling with Zach in the truck/trailer all the way to Alaska. I am flying home with the younger two and will probably be home a good two weeks before them.  It will be quite an eventful trip.  They will get to see the Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone, Bamff and a visit to Cody, WY to Uncle Dave and Aunt Carol's house.

It's finished

Before taking off for the first time, Zach and Paul Dye, 

offer up a prayer of thanks and commit their flight to the Father.

Two very happy boys!

The maiden flight

The 185 is finished!  What a beautiful airplane it turned out to be.  I just realized I should have posted some pictures of what it looked like before the restoration process.  Zach and so many others poured themselves into this project for many months and I think it is safe to say that the finished project is more than they could have hoped for.  The past few weeks have brought so much excitement and anticipation as well as relief as everything checked out.  Zach's brother Matt flew down to ferry the plane with Zach back to Alaska, it's new home.  It was such a beautiful sight, watching the two brothers take off into the sunrise, it brought tears to my eyes. They flew from Mexico to Palmer, Alaska in 3 days!    

Your Missionary Aviation Family

There has been a lot of life happening around the Keller home lately.  This is my excuse for not being very diligent with my blog as of late.  Besides the daily drama of life with youngsters we have been enjoying a steady flow of visitors - much to my delight.  I love having people to stay over with us...especially people that I like :)  It is amazing how many people we can stuff in our little trailer!  Besides the fantastic late night conversations and the long pancake breakfasts over coffee that compliment more great conversation...it allows me  (the resident domestic engineer) a little breather from the everydayness of my job.  When  friends come to stay I do a little less laundry, a little less dishes...a lot more cooking (but I like that part!) and there are extra eyes around enjoying the constant energy and entertainment that is my children. I like knowing that others are a witness to the chaos that is my life right now.  You know I love it.  

While I have been occupied with keeping things running smoothly at home, Zach has been totally consumed with the 185 project.  It has been such a roller coaster ride for the whole family and even though he has been the gumption behind this endeavor, we have all been involved in one way or the other.  I can tell the minute Zach steps in the door what kind of day he has had.  He either walks in with a light step and a smile plastered on his face or he heads straight for the pantry, grabs a handful of Red Vines and Planters Peanuts, sits in his chair and zones out for a few minutes (or longer if that is what he needs).  I love that through it all...good days and bad...it is obvious that God has been  at work in the process.  I could go on and on about all I have seen Him accomplish through this 185 project and I know there is so much going on that I don't see.  It truly has been a growing experience for the whole Keller family.  All in all, I have seen this as great practice for what we will face when we go overseas.  

If you want - read "The year of 185's" on our NTM Website.  It'll explain a lot if you are confused about what I'm talking about.

The day we had been waiting for

Disneyland faces...

Beach Day take two...

When I learned that April and the kids were coming to visit, I decided that we HAD to try to get to the coast some how.  I figured out that it is only a 12 hour drive from McNeal, Arizona to the California coast and if there is a will there is a way.  This is all before my sweet Aunt suggested that we come stay with her in Palm Springs (ALL of US...she is that kind of sweet) and I quickley did the math....that's only a coupla hours from the beach!  What we never counted on and what God had planned all along was fthat we would actually stay 2 blocks from the beach in a beautiful Hotel (thank you Auntie!) in San Clemente.  It was fantastic and these are only a few of the many pictures I took on this blissful day.

That evening we went to the San Clemete Pier to watch the sunset and get something to eat.  When we got to the end of the pier there was a lady blowing bubbles - tons of them.  It was such a beautiful, memorable sight with the sun setting and the kids shrieking with delight as they chased bountiful bubbles.  

First stop - The Tucson Desert Museum

We set off from NTMA in McNeal early Saturday morning and by 10 am we arrived at the Tucson Desert Museum.  It was recommended by many as a highly interactive, zoo -like place with extras like dusting for dinosaur bones and caving and my personal favorite...the hummingbird atrium.  What a thrill to have these tiny little creatures buzzing by your head so close you can feel their wind.  April captured this beautiful picture of a humming bird on her teeny tiny nest.  It is literally the size of a quarter in circumference - a little too small for the bird as you can see :)  What a wonderful first day.

Road trip Anyone?

April and I had planned and scemed for what seemed like months and the day finally came...the day of our big adventure.  The single mom and the missionary wife set off with five kids, limited monetary resources and dreams of making memories that would last a lifetime.  The whole experience and opportunity was a gift straight from Father and He proved His love and faithfulness every mile of the way.  It could have been an absolute disaster...one flat tire, one sick puking child and all would be lost.  Even before we walked out the door we knew who went before us...He made it so obvious, and  so wonderful....for that I am so thankful.  It was more than we hoped for.

the cousins come to visit

Got snow?

We Do! Of course it only lasted a couple of hours, but when I got up this morning there was a nice (thin) blanket of white covering the Arizona desert plain - somewhat of a phenomena if you know what I mean. It was beautiful and I could just sense the dry, dust ridden, wind blown desert plant life breathing a sigh of refreshing satisfaction. The kids were out making tracks in their P.J.'s and boots- you'd think they'd never seen the stuff before. What really blows my mind is that this time last week it was 85 degrees and the kids spent the day running through the sprinkler in their swimming suits. The inside of the house got up to 90 and we had to open all the windows and doors to cool it off. They told us when we moved to McNeal that the weather here can be a little fickle...they weren't kidding.

I love love

Happy Valentines Day!We have some flowers for you!
There were chocolates too, but...
they didn't make it!

We love you all !
xoxoxoxo

Fun with Zach & Jane & 185

Zach took me flying. It was fantastic. We had so much fun together and I loved watching him do what comes so naturally to him. He makes me feel so at ease. Even if there was cause for concern, he would never let on. It was a gorgeous day and we did a bunch of landings on the 1100 foot strip. At one point he said in as excited a voice as he could muster..."Let's do some engine outs - there really fun." My thoughts were...Huhh? Whatever you just said does NOT sound like fun. I guess the gist is at a certain point in the pattern you "pretend" that the engine is down and glide to the strip and land. It did end up being fun...and it did make me glad to know that he can land the plane with or without a engine - may come in handy one day.

my boy

I thought this day would never come...but it has! My son has finally given in and is now doing business with Mr. Potty! I have begged, pleaded, blackmailed, bargained and threatened...all for nothing. He saw straight through my various methods of manipulation and would have nothing to do with them. I could make him sit but I could NOT make him go. Finally, he decided that he wanted to be a big boy and he took the initiative to get the job done. Which I am learning is his way...his idea...his timing. He doesn't like me making a big deal out of things, (which has always produced great results with the girls. They like mommy to cheer lead,) not my Tovie. When it is all said and done, I tell him how proud I am of him and then he responds with a "your welcome mommy." Maybe he was tired of hearing me complain about changing him and decided to do me a favor.





Tov's Tumbleweed
Now if you look very closely...he's kind of hard to see since he is so camoflaged, but if you look really close you should be able to make out the form of a silly little three year old boy hiding
behind a tumbleweed.



The story goes...
I was busy with something in the house when I heared the front door open. I could tell that Tov was huffing and grunting as he struggled to get something inside. When I "followed up" I noticed that he was coming out of his room after quickly shutting the door behind him. I opened his door to discover that he had hawled a huge tumbleweed into his room. It took up all the floor space and was much bigger than him. I took this picture after he brought it back outside. It left quite a trail of sticks and pokies on the rug and was a much thinner tumbleweed as a result. What I am still puzzled about is... what possessed him to bring the thing inside in the first place?

get a load of this...

On a pleasant day in November I walked to our little storage unit to retrieve some Christmas stuff. I opened the door and flipped on the light... I noticed a dark shadow on the wall next to the door jam - about shin level. This (pictured) not-so-little, creepy crawly was right by my naked shin! (I was wearing capris.) I have become acquainted with Tarantulas, Scorpions and even some pretty knarly looking centipedes since moving to the desert but this was a first time meeting with one of these bad boys. I was pretty proud of myself - I handled his presence very calmly while I rummaged for my wrapping and bows (although I never let him out of my sight). Now that we have meet, I am surprised at the attitude I've developed, a kind of "been -there- done -that" attitude. I think God is easing me into this idea of living in and amongst large, poisonous insects. Don't get me wrong...the thought has terrified me so some time now. Give me a bear or a moose any day...at least you can see them coming and they can't very well crawl into bed with you without you knowing. And if you know me at all, you know I have a very over active imagination. So, over the last few years, Missouri and now here, my Gracious Father has been introducing me to bugs, one by one, starting with the friendly, but long legged stick bug and unusually hairy wolf spider. Now we are on to the bigger and badder ones and I'm doing great. By the time we get to the Philippines I should be able to handle whatever comes my way no sweat (as long as I have a hefty broom with a long handle.) Zach will always be the designated squasher - I don't think I will EVER be able to stomach the crunch...yuck.

I realize a few of you (I'm not naming names) may not know that this is a Black Widow Spider. This particular one was unusually large, lucky me, and this is an actual photo taken on our personal camera.

Sweet Story

The kids have been attending AWANA club at the little Baptist Church in Douglas. It is something they look forward to every week. Well, a AWANA group in Tulsa decided to adopt our family for Christmas this year. Tulsa Bible Church has been very inolved with NTMA and faithful supporters of many of our missionaries. They were glad to find out that one of the student families had young kids that attended AWANA - That's us!! They were so generous to our family and the kids loved opening the packages and personal cards from their new special friends. They asked me for gift suggestions - I told them that Tov was into any and all electronic equipment. He now has several real but retired cell phones, calculators, and a wireless phone with answering machine and other odds and ends. He has a whole office set up in his room. I love that when he talks on the phone he uses his serious, get down to business voice. The girls really enjoy their new doll house with ALL the accessories! I was just as excited as they were when we opened it up...I can't help rearranging furniture and making the living room welcoming for guests every time I go into their room to put away laundry :) Thank you Tulsa Bible Church AWANA Clubbers and thanks Auntie April, Vince and Christine for your contributions too!!! Your thoughtfulness is overwhelming.

Christmas in California

The Keller family visited the beach in Oceanside, CA!
We were only there for a few hours but it was a huge hit. Avery fell deep in love and could not contain her excitement. At one point she exclaimed in her very dramatic, schmaltzy way...I looooove the ocean Mommy. I never want to leave it!" Of course we had to say goodbye to the beach and be on our way. It took our weepy kids quite a while to recover. Just one taste was all it took. The feel of sand between the toes, the sound of the surf, the salty air...it's got a hold on us. I really think God was giving us all a little taste of what is to come.

my water babies

Watching the girls gleefully play in the water made so many memories come flooding back. Whenever we visited my grandma when I was little - the hands down highlight was pool time. We would swim and splash and grandpa would throw us high into the air...it was bliss. I don't think anyone can appreciate the warmth of the sun, the feel of the water and the smell of the chlorine like an Alaskan grown kid. Do I hear an Amen!

To Grandmas house we go

My dear sweet Grandma recently moved to Palm Springs. She was living in Phoenix but as soon as we moved to AZ she left for CA. She assures me that we had nothing to do with the move (yeah right). She moved to Palm Springs to be near my Aunt Sandy. They are best friends and it is so much fun to see the two of them in action. My Grandma is 86 and so full of life, her mind is sharp and her smile so bright. It has been such a joy to be able to spend time with her while we are in this part of the world. I think I have spent one Christmas with my Grandma in all my thirty years so this year it was so wonderful to spend Christmas with her & my Aunt Sandy. My sister Katy flew down from Idaho to join us too - what a treat! They are such delightful people and I am happy that my kids get to know them. They loved having kids around and Aunt Sandy assured me that the chaos they created was a welcome change. It was our first Christmas away from the familiarities of our Alaska families and friends, but being with Grandma, Auntie Sandy and Katy was a worth it all. It was pretty weird sitting by the pool on Christmas day but I have to say I got used to it pretty quick.