Happy Sunday

{jenwoodhouse.com}

he has promised

March is the month that we celebrate our youngest. It took us awhile to decide on her full name, because with girls come a lot of monograms. And, let's be honest, we don't need the added drama of someone making fun of her name in middle school. Oh middle school. Jesus, be near. Here is a post I wrote not long after we officially decided our second born would be Brooke Elizabeth Keiffer. I never want to forget that God can speak to us even through the names we give our children.

Luke and I went through some of my "keepsake boxes" yesterday. And by boxes, I mean four or five MOVING boxes. It's funny what you deem Keepsake Worthy when you're in elementary, middle, and high school. And by funny, I mean sad and pathetic. Can someone just praise Him with me right now that I'm not the girl I used to be back then?! I won't give details, but what I will tell you is that somewhere along the way I thought it would be a good idea to keep my diary...

And then let Luke read it...

I'm not saying that someone slipped something in my drink at lunch to make me think that was a good idea....I'm just sayin' it's possible.

As I sat there going through hundreds of notes from friends, birthday cards, and pictures...OH THE PICTURES!...I realized that Keepsake Boxes are really only good for one thing besides complete and total embarassment.

Reflection.

From the moment we found out there was going to be a Keiffer #4 in our not so distant future, we have been trying to figure out what to name our baby. What we learned is that we like simple, traditional names that aren't too terribly common. Unfortunately, the majority of our aunts, uncles, and cousins feel the same way and have used some of our favorite names. We discussed millions of possibilities. Basically, I thought of names with potential and Luke vetoed most of them.

We finally settled on the middle name for each. Allyn for a boy {a combination of my dad and Luke's dad} and Elizabeth for a girl.

I debated for a long time on the middle name for a little girl. At first, I thought Faith. Then Joy. And like any other woman, I changed my mind again because if we were going to have a little girl, I wanted her to have my middle name. I felt bad because the other 2 choices seemed to have so much more significance to the season of life our family has been in lately. Not to mention that they are character traits we pray for both of our children. The good news was that I could still change my mind, but in the meantime, I decided to research what the meaning of the name "Elizabeth" was. I've always known what my first and last name meant but not my middle name. There's nothing like having a baby to get you all fired up about the meaning of a name.

If you're familiar with the Christmas story, then you've probably heard about Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist and cousin of Mary. The mother of Jesus. You may know Him. He's kind of a big deal. She was also the woman whose husband questioned an angel name Gabriel...so God hit the mute button. Elizabeth, on the other hand, gave immediate praise to God for the miracle He had done. {Luke 1} I guess I would have too if my prayers consisted of asking God for a baby along with a miracle cure for gray hair.

Once you've read the story, it probably won't surprise you that Elizabeth means "God's promise." Suddenly, that middle name seemed much more fitting.

My life {much like yours, I'm sure} has been filled with God's promises. Yesterday, while going through The Boxes, I realized that so many of those promises have already been fulfilled.

He promised that He would never leave me or forsake me...even if others did. I may not have the same friends I did back in elementary, middle, or high school but I still have Jesus walking right beside me every step of the way.

He promises only the best for me...even if it's different from my version of The Best. Well, gosh, all you have to do is read notes passed back and forth between high school girls just sure their lives were the only ones full of drama and disappointment.

He promised that if I would put Him first, He would grant the desires of my heart... Enter Luke. Best. Promise. Fulfilled. Ever!!

He promised that Austin would be a gift. Second. Best. Promise. Ever!!

I could go on, but I think you get my drift.

Two years ago, I began praying that God would give us a little girl next. I knew my chances were 50/50. Obviously. But Luke is from a family of all boys. My dad is from a family of all boys. My mom has a brother. Luke's dad has 4. Luke's mom has 2.

I think you understand why I chose to believe in the power of prayer.

Praying for a little girl became more of me pouring the desire of my heart out to the Lord, while at the same time believing with total confidence that His will is ALWAYS best...girl or boy! I wish I could explain the feelings that came next but I honestly wouldn't do them justice. Let's just say that whenever I would picture a Keiffer family of four, there was always a little girl in our midst.

Lord! I prayed, Please protect me from wishful thinking! I want to be thrilled no matter what!!

Even still, I continued to feel a connection with this little girl in my mind. I began to feel like I already knew her and loved her as much as Austin.

When we found out I was officially pregnant, God promised me that this baby {timing and everything} would be a blessing and a reward. Our joy that would come in the morning. I felt like God continued to tell me in little unexpected ways that He would grant the desire of my heart.

And still, I had a hard time believing it.

On October 26th we found out that the next little Keiffer would be a girl.

And on December 5th we decided to name her Brooke Elizabeth Keiffer.

Because He promised.

To our Brooke: You have been on loan to us for the last almost four years. May your name be a constant reminder that our Heavenly Father keeps His promises.  You are our joy, our laughter, and an extravagant blessing. We love you.   

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:15

His miracles are unforgettable...

Psalm 111:4

a new chapter

Do you like change? I do not. Like not even a little bit. True story: right after Austin was born, I went through a troubling phase in which I ate a hot dog {no chili}, fruit, and chips with salsa for lunch. Every. Single. Day. To be fair, we had a new baby, had just moved to a new city, and were looking for a new house. I needed something that would be the same when everything else was complete chaos. I like routines and knowing what to expect each day. Obviously. 

Over the years, God has been very patient with me when change is looming up ahead. Usually He prepares me in advance. Because He cares about the people in my life that have to deal with me on a daily basis. 

Once again, I find Him preparing me for yet another change. For the last couple of years, Luke has talked about having some sort of family business, but financially, it just didn't make sense. We have kids. Kids get sick. A lot. So insurance is kind of a big deal. Not to mention all the perks of having a paycheck you can count on each month. I'm sure you can guess my reaction to walking away from all of that. We both knew it wasn't the right timing, and if it was something God had for us, He would have to pave the way. 

This year started like any other year. We spent the first part of 2015 with Luke's family. All of them are self-employed. So everyday, Luke would get up and drive downtown to his job while everyone else walked down the hall to their "office." And then I heard the words "family business" being thrown around all casual like we were just talking about the weather. PEOPLE, let me be a truth-teller in your lives. THIS IS NOT THE WEATHER!! We are talking about change and unknown things and taking advantage of Obamacare! I can't even.

 One night Luke mentioned to me that he might be interested in doing some accounting stuff with his brother on the side. The best of both worlds, right? I was totally on board for that. But then he called me one day and told me that his dad wanted him to pray about being a part of the new company he started about a year ago. I wanted to make sure I was hearing him right so I said, 

"Like leave AT&T?"
"Yes."
*crickets*

Needless to say, we talked about this decision AD NAUSEAM for days and prayed. There was quite a bit of praying. We were excited and a little terrified. We definitely felt like we were crazy. Still, everything seemed to be falling into place, and as scary as this life change appeared, we both felt a peace about the decision to start a new chapter in our lives. That's big considering that we're both the oldest children in our families, which basically means we're super responsible. Risk is something we don't typically do. But this has been a dream of Luke's for quite some time. If there's one thing I know about our Heavenly Father it's that He cares about our dreams. And then He dreams BIGGER than we could possibly imagine. He's awesome like that.

Today is the last day of the known, and tomorrow is the first day of the unknown. We've asked ourselves a million times if we're crazy to walk away from the benefits of working for a large corporation. We are crazy. AT&T has been a wonderful to Luke. They truly care about their employees, and we are so grateful for the opportunities provided to Luke while working there. 

But here's the deal, God is crazy. He sent His Son to die on a cross for a bunch of sinners that were undeserving of such an extravagant love. So no, I don't love change, but I do love my Heavenly Father. I know He's calling us out of the boat into a place that requires greater trust and a deeper faith. I keep telling Him I'm not ready, but I don't think we're on the same page. Per the usual. Oh, and also, I keep telling Him that it doesn't feel like we're stepping out of a boat. It feels more like we're jumping off a cliff. 

{via}

I guarantee you those people are NOT oldest children. No way would we jump off a cliff and destroy a dress that cost our parents an arm. And maybe part of their leg. For all that's good and holy, preserve that thing in your attic. It's the responsible thing to do for crying out loud. 

I know it won't be easy. Luke will be out of town for a week every month. There will be long hours and sacrifices on both our parts. But we believe it will be worth it. Luke will be working from home with a more flexible schedule that will allow him to be a part of more family activities. He will get to work with some of his favorite people, which is exciting and a prayer request all at the same time. 

In the words of Michael Buble "it's a new dawn, it's a new day," we're feeling mostly good. Here's to new chapters, taking risks, and dreaming God-sized dreams!

goals, goals, and more goals

Remember when I told you that Luke and I set some goals? In February? Better late than never, I say. Last night we finally sat down to put those goals on paper. Or phone rather since he sent them to me via text after our conversation. Technology is a wonderful thing. Until it's slow, freezes, or dies. Nothing makes you feel more isolated than realizing you can't access your contacts list, therefore; you cannot communicate with the outside world because WHO MEMORIZES PHONE NUMBERS ANYMORE?! 

Anyway, we committed to a few goals. And by a few, I mean the text message looked like Austin and Brooke's Christmas list for Santa: long. I felt the same way last night as I did when I received their lists: overwhelmed. 

True story: when my sister was little, she thought it would be a good idea to cut her own bangs. So she did. And then hid the evidence under her dresser, because it's not like my mom would notice that her bangs were 2 inches shorter and cut at an angle. It took weeks for her bangs to grow back to an acceptable length, and even longer before either of us was allowed to do any sort of craft involving scissors. Since then we've both had bangs and then waited for them to grow out. Now we both have bangs again. Go figure.

And you better believe we know better than to try to cut those bad boys ourselves. So if my mom can wait a sweet forever for Britt's bangs to grow back, then I suppose I can commit to a few goals and stick with them. Even if it gets ugly. Oh, who am I kidding?! When it gets ugly. 

Here are a few of the goals we agreed on: 

1} Pray together everyday. If there's one thing the our family needs, it's a lot of Jesus up in this house. Hallelujah. Amen.

2} Read the Bible everyday. Again, we need A LOT of Jesus up in here. Strong-willed child, career changes, and life in general. You get the idea.

3} One date night per week, and we alternate who plans it. I can't say for certain, but I have a strong feeling that several of my dates will involve comfortable clothes. 

4} At least 4 dinners at the table together per week. I mean, who doesn't want to look at these faces while they eat and try to talk to us at the same time. See-Food: it's what's for dinner. 

Side note: Brooke looks so little. However, she still tries to talk and chew at the same time so not everything is changing.  What a relief. 

4} One family activity per week. We took the kids to see Paddington last weekend. It was our second attempt to go see a movie with Brooke. The last time was full of hope and promise...

...and then she ran up and down the aisles for half of the movie. Moral of the story: sometimes hope and promise isn't enough. Thank goodness we were the only ones in the theater. God's gift to us that day for sure. Luckily, she did much better this past weekend, which means we can now add "Movies" to our list of approved family activities. 

5} Get healthy. This is where I suspect things could get ugly.

6} Save money. I wish I could say that I was the one obsessed with saving money in our marriage. I'm not. In fact, I've contemplated jumping on the Coupon Train but the whole process totally stresses me out. I will never need 20 tubes of toothpaste at one time. Ever.  No matter how big the savings are. I mean where do you even store that much stuff if you don't have some kind of Armageddon closet?! So basically, I'm just really going to miss Target...

Nothing worth doing is ever easy right? At least that's what I tell myself every time I take my strong-willed child to time out. For the tenth time that day. Luke and I feel like for the last couple of years we've been in Survival Mode, and that's not the way we want to live our lives. Don't get me wrong. Some days Survival Mode is the only thing you're capable of doing, and that's okay. We just decided that we want that way of thinking to be the exception instead of the rule. I'm not gonna lie, I get overwhelmed pretty easily. {see above comment about couponing} I think it's because I tend to focus too far ahead when I should just be taking things one step at a time. So this is my new motto:

{via}

Sure, I want to get to swimsuit season and not feel like a beached whale every time I take the kids swimming. However, I'm not one that can look that far ahead and feel more motivated about achieving my goals. I'm the type that will think to myself, "You know, I've been wanting to try a cleanse. Maybe I'll do that the last week in May." Bad idea. On so many levels. 

Here's the thing we should remember when we set goals. This is our chance to dream bigger, live better, and reach our full potential. It's not easy. Everyday we have a series of choices to make, but, I believe that with God anything is possible! Let's face it, defeat is not in our DNA since we were created in His image. In fact, the Bible is full of stories in which God did the impossible just because He is that good. So let's not be afraid to set big goals and ask God to do not just what is possible but what is impossible! He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine...so ask BIG! 

this lady turns 91 today and i'm honored to call her my granny

Today is my Granny's 91st birthday. I love the above picture of her. She is truly beautiful inside and out. Words could not possibly express how much she means to me, but you know I love words so I'll do my best. 

As far back as I can remember, my Granny has been an integral part of our lives. She loves the color pink and dancing to Frank Sinatra. She thinks Michael Buble is sexy {I feel weird when anyone over the age of 50 uses that word} and sometimes yells "whiskey!" to make us smile while we're taking pictures. Speaking of picture taking, it is nearly impossible to capture one of her with her eyes open, which is why I love this picture so much. 

Well, her eyes are mostly open, but her smile is really my favorite thing about this moment frozen in time. I love so many things about my Granny like the way she closes her eyes when she takes a sip of her tea or the fact that she hollers "woo hoo!" as she walks into the room. Of course, we always stop what we're doing to hug her neck and tell her how nice she looks. And she always looks nice, because if there's one thing my Granny has an appreciation for, it's beautiful things. When it comes to keeping those beautiful things in top condition, she's the best there is. I have yet to see a speck of dust in her home, and she wrote the book on organization. Basically, she's the Queen of Clean and I aspire to run my home the way she has for so many years. Notice I said "aspire" because it's a work in progress. More work than progress. Because trying to clean your house with kids around is like trying to nail jello to a tree. 

I will never forget the time she came over to help me unpack when we moved to San Antonio. Every surface was covered with some kind of knick-knack to the point that it looked like the moving truck had vomited our stuff right out the back and into our new house. And don't even get me started on the other boxes still sitting unpacked in our hallways. They were having babies overnight. I promise. She walked right in and set her purse down ready to get to work. She never even knew that as I walked around the corner to get some cleaning supplies I heard her say, 

"Well, bless her heart! This place is a mess!" 

Bless her for thinking she was stating that fact when I was out of earshot. These days she lives by the idea that honesty is the best policy. I think when you get older you just don't care that your filter is broken. And why should you? You've put in more time on this earth than most of your family so it's best not to leave certain things unspoken. 

She's the mom of three boys, a Granny to six grandchildren, a Great-Granny to five great-grandchildren, and the matriarch of the Bauerlein family. 

Here's the thing about trying to get a group picture when little people are involved...set your expectations low. And when you think they're low enough, go lower. Please note that neither of my children are smiling. As for the other short people, well, they look about as impressed with this adventure as the rest of the world was with Kanye's Grammy outburst. Real life. Happening 24/7.

She's faced plenty of hardships over the decades of her life. Her first husband, who we called Paw Paw, fought in WWII while she worked and waited for him to come back home. He wrote her some of the sweetest notes, but keep in mind, there wasn't FaceTime. Or email. Or Skype. Many years later, she sent her oldest son to Vietnam. My Paw Paw was attacked one night by someone who stabbed him. God protected him during that incident, but he was unable to fight an infection years later as a result of the measures taken to save his life. Within a week, she was saying goodbye to her best friend and the love of her life. I have such respect for the strength she has modeled for all of us through the good times and bad!

More than anything, I want her to know how thankful I am for loving us so well over the years. She has spent countless weeks helping to take care of us when we were babies or my parents went out of town. She came to San Antonio when I had my tonsils out and kept my room dusted. Obviously, my mom had never loved her more. We spent a week with her every summer and thanksgivings around her table. She cooked Chicken and Dumplings, her specialty, more times than I can count. We've laughed at the things she says and the stories she can tell. 

Her memory has begun to fade, and we know that God will call her home long before any of us is ready. When that day comes, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that her legacy will be remembered and passed down through the generations of our family. She has lived out 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and I can't think of a better person to celebrate this close to Valentines Day. 

Happy Birthday, Granny! 

I wish I could be there to sing Happy Birthday and tell you in person how thankful I am that God chose you to be my Granny. You hold a special place in my heart that no one else will ever fill. I love you!! 

because who doesn't love a good makeover story

Have you heard of the show Fixer Upper on HGTV? If you haven't then I'm very sorry that you've been living under a rock for the past few months. It takes place in Waco, Texas...

{via}

...home of the Dr. Pepper Museum, Baylor Bears, and McLane Stadium otherwise known as the House that RGIII Built. Waco has a special place in my heart because I attended Baylor during my freshman year in college and met some of the most wonderful people there. It's also where I realized that Luke and I were going to be more than just a summer adventure. Who knew?! So, despite the fact that I loved being a Bear, I said goodbye to Waco and transferred to Tulsa where Luke was going to school. 

Fast forward a few years, or several, and you'll find Luke and me parked on our couch on Tuesday nights watching our good friends Chip and Joanna transform a dated, ugly house into something worthy of a magazine cover. I have loved every single house they've remodeled. Seriously. Not an awful one in the bunch. But if I had to pick my favorite, this would be it.

They called this house The Dutch Door House because the front door was a beautiful, wide dutch door that just needed some TLC. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr...I have a dream...and that dream would be to own a house with a dutch door. All. Kinds. Of. Awesome. Anyway, about halfway through the show we find out that the couple is expecting their first baby. So obviously one of the rooms needs to be a nursery. I don't know this couple personally, but I have the highest respect for their ability to plan. They get a beautiful house and a nursery designed by Joanna Gaines. Genius.

The reveal is usually the point of the show where I turn to Luke and say, "We could be Chip and Joanna Gaines! We can remodel ugly houses and make them beautiful...TOGETHER!" His response is always less than ideal. Something about how our marriage wouldn't survive all my ideas that he couldn't make happen, and he likes being friends with me. I have no idea what he's talking about. I mean, we're raising children together how much harder could anything else be? 

I have always loved design and am constantly tweaking things around our house, which only increases Luke's love for me I'm sure. But there's something about seeing the potential in a place or thing that everyone else has discarded that thrills me to no end. More than anything, I think it gives me a glimpse into how God feels about me. He sees the possibilities and decides to invest His time and attention when everyone else would have just walked away. Since I'm pretty sure you won't see Luke and I on TV any time soon, you should watch our BFFs work their magic on HGTV. And just in case you missed a few shows while you were hiding under that rock, check out their website for more before and after pics.

Because who doesn't love a good makeover story?