The Newest Newborn

Here's an Elijah photo that has been 4.5 years in the making:

Welcome to the Family

Lorien and Josiah love listening to Kids Praise (Psalty) music these days. Oh, what a throwback to my childhood!

One song that's struck me as particularly appropriate as we get to know Elijah is this one:

Welcome To the Family

Welcome to the family

We're glad that you have come

To share your life with us

As you grow in love and 

Elijah is born!

Elijah Young Keffer was born on February 12!

To tell the story of Elijah's birth, I have to go back and recap Lorien's and Josiah's, because both of those had a lot of bearing on how this little guy came into the world.

January Recap

We're just getting it out of our system...

All the things we don't want to deal with after baby is born next month, we're just doing them now: surgery, sickness, teething, travel. Suffice it to say that January has been a little difficult.

After SIX different courses of antibiotics for Josiah's ear infections between June and November, mama had enough of the antibiotics. It made me sick to think of what we were doing to his little digestive system with all that. It was time for tubes.

On January 9, we headed up to Denver EARLY in the morning. Like 4:30 early. The surgery itself took about 10 minutes, and Josiah did great. We also had a great experience with both Dr. Sheri Poznanovic and the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. I'd recommend them for anyone needing a pediatric ENT.

December Recap

Well, the third trimester got the best of me, and I stopped blogging. Gonna fill in with some month-end recaps so that I don't lose these memories...

In December:

Josh and I took and early and abbreviated 10th anniversary trip to Estes Park. Our long-time plan had been to escape for a week on the beach sometime in the spring (our actual anniversary is January 3, 2014), but this impending baby changed those plans.

We decided to take a shorter, closer trip before I got miserably large, so we booked two nights at the Della Terra Mountain Chateau in Estes Park at the beginning of December. Unfortunately, I was pretty uncomfortable already, but it was a nice getaway nonetheless. (Except for the wind. The wind was insane!)

The trip included yummy food, no schedule to follow, our first ever couples' massage, and a lot of relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

When we got to the Della Terra, we were greeted by these guys. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

Josiah: Two Year Portraits

At two, Josiah is joyful, constantly on the go, a morning person, a real lover and a real fighter. (His sister rarely appreciates the latter. At least he is almost always ready with an apology, which usually goes, "I'm sorry. I forgive you." :)) 

We're so thankful for him. 

Better Late than Never - Josiah's 2nd Birthday Party

John Deere Gator cake

Lorien: Four Years Old!

I'm trying to make it a tradition to take Lorien's birthday photos in the wild Colorado sunflowers every year, since they're usually at their peak in the month following her birthday. (Except for last year, when there weren't many sunflowers, so we went for our favorite park instead.) 

Here's our big four-year-old girl!

Surprise!

If you had told me six months ago—heck, even three months ago—that I'd be making this announcement, I'd have called you crazy. But it's true, we're adding a fifth member to our family! 

Since I know you're thinking it: yes, this was as much a surprise to us as it is to you. Yes, we do know how this happens. 

Now that we're done being shocked, we're excited. (But can I please just have you re-read this post and insert "positive pregnancy test" on June 12, right in the middle of the Black Forest Fire? Ummmm, yeah....)

Baby Keffer #3 is due February 12-ish. Here are Lorien and Josiah showing off our new little one: 

Gonna Miss this Place

Last Friday, I found out that my job at the Focus Leadership Institute will be ending on August 2. By the time I cross that finish line, I'll have invested 11 years and one day there. Eleven years. That's a big chunk of my 36-year-old self.

I'm thankful that I got some hints that this was coming. Because of that, I got to process a lot of the nasty emotions about a month or six weeks ago. When the news actually came, it wasn't as messy as I expected it to be.

Just to Keep Things Straight...

Thursday, June 6: Josh and my brother Steve leave Ohio in a Penske truck to move Steve's stuff to Colorado. They stop in Greenville, Illinois, to see Grandma Keffer, who is in the hospital with pneumonia.

Friday, June 7: Mom drives the kids and me to the airport at 6 a.m. Dad Keffer picks us up in Denver at 10 a.m., brings us home and I go straight to work.

On the Farm

We made our annual summer pilgrimmage to Ohio aiming, in one trip, to celebrate cousin Beth's wedding and see Doug and fam upon their return from India for the summer. We succeeded, sort of. Note to self: cramming in a visit while jetlag is still in full force may not be the best of ideas. Especially when jetlagged 18-month-old twins are involved.

In short: I took not one photo at Beth's wedding. But it was beautiful. And she was more than beautiful. 

Thanks to my SIL Mandi, however, I have shots from the reception. The kids thought the dance floor was the coolest place they had ever been. They danced for over an hour without stopping.

Kids on the Dance Floor

Memorial Day Weekend In Estes Park

A high school classmate of mine recently said, "Traveling with a two-year-old might be a trip, but it is not a vacation."

How true we've found these words over the past 3+ years, when vacationing basically means helping the kids do all the same things you help them do at home, only in a different environment and without the benefits of your own space and your own stuff. I don't mean to gripe. I'm just saying that it's hard to really get away with small children. 

Good day, Sunshine!

We're loving being outdoors this week! Here's a conversation we just had in the backyard: 

Lorien: Do you feel that breeze?

Me: Yes. 

Lorien: It's gonna try to blow you away. But if it blows you away, Daddy will help us get you back.

Thank goodness for Daddy.

Life after Death

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Every year on the Sunday after Easter, our church celebrates Life After Death Sunday.

October Recap

October began with Josiah and me traveling to Atlanta for Catalyst to represent FLI and meet with alumni in the area. My mom met us there to hang out with the little guy while I was working. I must admit, though, that it didn't feel much like work. It was such an excellent conference. The flight home was a different story, though. I was that mom with the screaming toddler for most of the shuttle from the conference center to the airport and most of the flight from Atlanta to Denver. Of course, by the time we got in the car at DIA (where he couldn't bother anyone but me) he quieted down and went to sleep. 

{Update: Here's a post I eventually wrote for FLI's Faith & Action Blog about the Catalyst conference itself.}

We took a Sunday afternoon trip to a pumpkin patch north of Colorado Springs. The pumpkins don't really grow there. They're just carted in to make a fun experience for kids and families. 

Pony ride!

On top of the world. (One of my favorite photos of this girl!)

He's a climber!

Punkins!

Farm kids. 

October apparently involved a lot of dressing up—first for the FLI barn dance (one of my favorite activities of the year) and then for Halloween.

We had tried this setup for the barn dance when Lorien was little and it worked well. Mommy can dance and haul the kid around at the same time. 

Three out of four. Daddy's not a big fan of dancing. 

Halloween: Josiah went as Jack Jack from The Incredibles (thanks to one of the fall students so christening him) and Lorien went as a pirate. 

She initially chose this costume, but by the time Trick or Treat came, she was on to something else (I don't even remember what.) The costume already being planned, borrowed, and created, I didn't really give her a choice.

Mimi says she is a fairy pirate. 

Josiah's 1st Birthday

Of course, the biggest event of September was Josiah's birthday. At one, he is eager, energetic, jolly and hungry! He is such a joy, even though it takes a LOT of energy to chase him. 

We planned a family celebration with grandparents and cousins, but the Hackers were sick, so we celebrated with Mimi and Papa. 

Josiah loves his Papa

His shirt says, "I'm the birthday boy!" He's walking well with help, but not on his own yet. 

Mimi holds the candle juuuuuussst out of reach. 

Digging in! (Gluten free chocolate cake made with this recipe. It is YUMMY by any standard--not just GF standards. Since we're not dairy-free, I just use regular milk, or sometimes coconut milk instead of the rice milk.)

What a goof!

Josiah: "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

He was such a mess that he went straight to the bathtub!

September Recap

September began with a trip to the Colorado Springs Balloon Festival. During Labor Day weekend, hundreds of balloons launch from Memorial Park each morning. Then they come back in the evening for a "balloon glow." Not being morning people, we opted for the evening show this year. Maybe next year we'll make it downtown for a launch. 

The day after Labor Day, we welcomed the 51st class of the Focus Leadership Institute. (I can't believe I've been doing this for 10 years and 31 classes now.)

Josh spent most of September traveling on a video project for USAA (well, he was a subcontractor for the subcontractor for the contractor for the project for USAA. :)) He went to Washington, D.C., San Antonio and San Diego (pictured below)
.

We also went to our first family USAFA football game with the local Institute alumni and fall students.