11 years!

I love this man so much!! He's a gift to me.

with a heavy heart...

This past Friday was my official last day as the Child Sponsorship Coordinator at Forgotten Children Worldwide. I have grown, learned, loved, become broken, healed, and experienced tremendous joy in the 5 years I had this position. I leave with a heavy heart while still being excited and expectant for what God has for me next. FCW will always be near and dear to me, I will miss all the people I've worked with all over the world. :( If you're looking for a way to give back, check out FCW, there are tons of options and it's the real deal.

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So glad summer officially starts this afternoon for these two. They need a break! #schoolisntwhatitusedtobe

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We waited so long for this. It was worth the wait! #newroom #ourhaven #nokidsallowed #keri365 #hashtag

let's catch up

I don't know how this happened!

I always said "NEVER will we have a dog, and especially NOT in the house!"

Now we have this little guy...and he's with me 80% of the time!

And guess what?

I love him.

Hershel is the perfect little guy for our family!

He loves to lounge around and nap and snuggle...he fits right in!

We had so much time with family!

Even Mom and Dad were here for a while and we had our first Broyles family Christmas

in so long none of us could remember the last one!

We have a new baby girl, another on the way, and Kyle and Yuki got engaged!!

We are growing in size and in blessings.

Did I mention we have a new baby girl?!

Harlow Mae Lance was born on December 27, just after midnight!

She's sweet and precious and beautiful and we're all in love.

Harlow is Grandpa John's 8th great grandchild!!

We've had some snow...

but not nearly enough!!

We're still waiting for "the big one".

(please please please!!!)

We hope you had a very merry Christmas and a celebratory New Year's Eve!

Maybe I'll get back on the blogging train...

...maybe.

{summer in a nutshell}

Whew...that went by too fast!

is anybody out there?

This past weekend, we got to visit with David & Misti and their girls for an afternoon.
David sweetly encouraged CHASTISED me for not updating the blog often anymore.
I wish I could tell you my reasons were virtuous...
...because I'm too busy volunteering all my time in my kids' classrooms...
...because I decided to go to college...
...because I've been traveling around the world, serving the needy...
Ahem.
No.
None of those things.
I have no reason! Except perhaps laziness!!
So please forgive me, and enjoy these excerpts from the past few months:

Spring decided to show up!!

Easter came and went...
Thank you Grandpa and Robin for the treats!!! The kids LOVED IT ALL!!!!
That last picture is a cookie Piper decorated to look like our babysitter, Elizabeth. hahaha!

This year, Piper's big ballet performance was the CAC School of Ballet's rendition of
"The Nutcracker", called "Clara's Magical Dream".
Piper was a peppermint.
The sweetest of all!
Yes, I am biased.

Mother's Day!
The top picture is the bag Piper decorated that held my Mother's Day present.
Notice she loves me...awww...
...but also that she is FARTING. Ahem.
On Mother's Day, we made the trek to Michigan to hunt for mushrooms.
While this was NOT my idea of the perfect Mother's Day,
(we just HAD to go THAT DAY or ALL the mushrooms would be GONE)
we all had fun and I enjoyed hiking through the woods with my little fam.

Randoms, from top to bottom:
1. Self-explanatory!
2. The last Friday of the school year.
3. Piper's class made a different recipe every Friday, then compiled them all into an adorable cookbook!
4. The first fire and s'mores night of the season.

Today is their LAST DAY of school!
We are very proud of them...they both worked hard this year.
They both made improvements.
They both learned new things.
But most importantly, we saw real spiritual growth in both of them.
THAT is a gift and blessing from above that this mama treasures in her heart forever.

christmas leftovers

The kids received this North Pole Communicator in the mail before Christmas from my Grandpa and his wife Robin. 

They got to call the North Pole every night before bed and have a conversation with various North Pole residents...

even Santa and Mrs. Clause! 

This was so much fun and the kids LOVED it!

Soon after Jason and I got married, we began daydreaming and wishing and hoping and even praying for another couple to share life with. In our WILDEST and most hope-filled dreams, this couple would have children the same ages as our children and the children would all get along splendidly and love each other like siblings. 

We knew our dreams and hopes were unlikely to come true, but we did dream on. 

Then we got to know the Gerbers. This family is a gift from God to us!! All of our wildest dreams have come true and even some we never dared to dream! Our families are scattered all over the country, so the Bakers and Gerbers have become family to each other. It's wonderful and we are so grateful and we know we are blessed!! We got together before Christmas for what we hope will become an annual tradition. We had Ashley's Swedish Pancakes with bacon and sausage, we gave gifts, we played games, we laughed and laughed some more.

"WE ARE TIRED OF WAITING!!!!!!!"

(Christmas morning)

"Alright, alright...come open your presents!"

"Will this fit in my mouth?!"

This was our backyard last week!! The kids got to have a WHOLE extra week added to their Christmas break! It was absolutely perfectly wonderful. We enjoyed every single moment!!!! Today the snow is melting, I can see patches of brown earth being revealed by the dwindling snow piles. The kids are back to school and I am slowly getting back to normal.

Mack received this car-maker from Grandpa & Robin. It's so fun and really cool!! There are wax sticks that get melted into a mold and once it's cooled, he can customize his creation however he likes with stickers and various chassis'. 

We've all enjoyed this gift!

God's Disappointment

"I know God LOVES me, but I disappoint Him."

That's me. That's been me for as long as I can remember.

The word "disappoint" or "disappointed" is only found in scripture (God's WORD) a handful of times, in some translations not at all or only ONCE. And where it IS found in scripture, the word is not referring to God's disappointment. For example:  "And this hope will never disappoint us..." Romans 5:5

God is NOT disappointed in us.

disappointed:  (of a person) sad or displeased because someone or something has failed to fulfill one's hopes or expectations.

It is IMPOSSIBLE for God to be disappointed. Look at that definition! We can never fail to fulfill His expectations of us because He already KNOWS who we are, what we are, what we will or will not do...better than we know these things ourselves! "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely." Psalm 139:1-4

So do you see?? He CAN NOT be disappointed!! He knows us completely AND WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE, HE CHOSE US!

He chose ME.

HE CHOSE YOU.

"You did not choose me, but I chose you..." John 15:16

Let that truth sink-in today. Let it fill you up to overflowing with the FREEDOM of His LOVE and GRACE!!! I am! I am choosing to believe what HE says about me and I have never felt so much peace and love and FREEDOM.

(I must give credit where credit is due! I got to see Beth Moore live via Simulcast yesterday and this is just one small nugget of truth she shared. I may share more as I continue to allow God's truth to settle in to my heart and soul...she called it a "growth spurt of grace" and that is indeed what I experienced!! God is amazing.)

blessings

Rain pouring down in the bright sunlight.

An unexpected gift from my parents.

Seeing Beth Moore LIVE via simulcast with my very beloved and precious friend Ashley. This day was a life-changing soul-drenching celebration of Jesus' GRACE and I will never be the same. #nolonger

I ADORE FALL and everything about it!!!

I hope your weekend is full of contentment in the blessings God has richly given YOU!

this is {becoming} a habit...

Ugh I am a FAILURE at blogging!!
I blame Instagram and Facebook.
At any rate...here is an update via pictures of what we've been doing the past month or so:

We have a beautiful River Greenway that goes all the way back into Ouabache State Park.

We love to walk or bike this path, and I love to snap photos of the beautiful creation!

See that Queen Anne's Lace? It will ALWAYS remind me of my dear Grandma Beulah.

I took the munchkins school shopping and of course we had to have lunch at our favorite...Biaggi's!

Have I ever mentioned what an awesome Daddy this guy is?!

Korie threw a SURPRISE party for Chris when he finished his Master's Degree.

It was a New Orleans theme...complete with a Cajun Food Truck!!

We had lots of fun celebrating with Chris.

Mack and Lincoln carried on the Broyles/Troyer tradition when they instantly became fast friends.

And look at those 4 adorable cousins!!

Piper did it! She read 1000 books before Kindergarten!

We're proud of our Peanut!

My beautiful, dear, sweet friend Mercy invited me to her Birthday Outing Day.

This was my very first ever PEDICURE! Yes, I am serious. And yes, it was awesome!

We celebrated our anniversary by attending a wedding! Haha!

That sounds silly but the wedding was in Indy so we had quite a lot of time alone AND

we got to be all dressed up! Joel & Erica (the happy couple) were on my India team

and Joel's parents are very near and dear to us.

Let the homework begin!

Mack and Piper are as different as night and day when it comes to this chore.

Piper is ready to jump right in and cheerfully gets the job done.

Mack avoids, begs, pleads, and bargains.

Both do their best and work hard...even when spelling is tough for the boy.

We had another monarch!

This is Maxzilla.

She was kind enough to emerge from her cocoon on Labor Day

while the kids were home from school on holiday.

Piper & Papoo give a whole new meaning to "Facetime".

Two of my favorites from my August Photo a Day challenge.

We have some new traditions!!

Several Sundays a month, we meet our good friends the Gerbers at Taco Bell

for supper, laughter, fellowship and shenanigans.

(MOM...see Ashley's tray?? That's JUST FOR YOU!!!!!)

Since the kids started school, Jason and I walk together whenever possible in the mornings.

Another "since the kids are in school" new tradition is Bummies Tuesdays!

Bummies is our local BK Rootbeer Stand.

For some reason, Tuesday lunch finds us under the canopy enjoying our favorite fares.

I PROMISE to do my very best to start updating much more frequently!!