Happy 7th Anniversary!

Today is our 7th anniversary, and I could not be happier with the man God blessed me with.
He is, among many things:
...patient with me. And believe me, I need a patient man!
...loving to me and our kids. I love watching him take care of them!
...an awesome friend. I've had bouts of loneliness since we've moved to Houston, and he always listens to me when I need him!
...a great pastor! If I had to pick anyone to listen to preach every Sunday for the rest of my life, it would be him.

He wrote a song for our wedding called "Hand in Hand." The chorus says:
"Hand in hand, together, in triumph or in pain;
Hand in hand together, 'cause this is our God's plan;
No matter what the journey holds, today we both begin.
Hand in Hand together, faithful to the end."

As a young, naieve 21 year old, I couldn't imagine the triumphs, and especially not the pain we would encounter in just 7 years. But I am thankful to say, that we have come out stronger, and still Hand in Hand.

Just for fun, here is a picture of our wedding day. I love you, babe!

One of my items was featured on Etsy!

My Item that was featured on Etsy.

ETSY!

Have you seen this website? It is amazing! Tons of handmade items that are so CUTE!

And now... my stuff is on there, too! I have been in a crafting frenzy for a while now, and decided maybe I could make a little cash while having fun. It is stressful sometimes being a stay at home mom with a college degree- I know it is what I am supposed to be doing for this season, but I am excited about the potential of a little income.

Check it out! Buy something! lol
www.benandkelli01.etsy.com

Not Me Monday!

It's been a few weeks since I posted this, and believe me, I've been missing it!
Check out MckMama's blog for more info if you haven't already tried this free therapy!
I did not eat WAY too much at Thanksgiving, as I am sure none of you did, either! :)

I did NOT sleep in at my parent's house while visiting and let my mom take care of my kids until I woke up. Nope, never.

My husband did NOT take my daughter out in public wearing her Cinderella princess dress-up high heels. He knows better than that! And he surely did not take her out 4 days later wearing only a sweater and tights.

I did NOT keep the sheets on my son's bed after his diaper leaked because I was just too tired to change them. No, I washed them the minute he woke up!

And I certainly and most assuredly did NOT sleep on the balcony of my parent's house with my sister, cousin, my son and my cousin's 3 sons. No, that would be too dangerous and just plain weird. And we wouldn't have stayed out there if it perhaps started raining. But definitely it would have been fun had we done it! This picture proves NOTHING!



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Etsy:
Have you seen this website? It is amazing! Tons of handmade items that are so CUTE!

And now... my stuff is on there, too! I have been in a crafting frenzy for a while now, and decided maybe I could make a little cash while having fun. It is stressful sometimes being a stay at home mom with a college degree- I know it is what I am supposed to be doing for this season, but I am excited about the potential of a little income.

Check it out! Buy something! lol
www.benandkelli01.etsy.com

Allie's words

These are the words Allie is saying as of now. Many of them are brand-new, including her phrase today: Look at Me! (always a girl, right?)

This is more of a list for myself, but thought some of you would enjoy hearing her words as well! She is also saying: (with her pronunication first, then the actual word!)

Mama (at least 1 million times a day!)
Daddy (a close second at 900 thousand times)
Landon (she loves her brother and looks for him when he is missing from the room!)
dog
ditty (kitty)
beh (a dual word: bear, which is her favorite DVD; also "bread")
I want out! (of her high chair, bed, carseat, etc.)
NOOOOOO!!!
bebe (baby, maybe this should actually be in first place!)
babble (another dual word: means Bible and apple)
want MILK!
Mimi
Pop
Anni (our friend Anna)
Ian
donkey (random, right?)
book
Pooh (another favorite DVD)
I stuck!
MINE!
Night Night
poon (spoon)
cookie
Nanny (candy, another favorite phrase)
oose (juice)
nana (banana)

I know there are more, so I will update as I think of (read: hear her say them!)
Have a great day.

Meatless Mondays

In order to help out a family in our area, Ben (husband/pastor) challenged our church to give up one dinner a few weeks ago, and eat only rice for that meal. It was a two-fold challenge: to eat a meal that much of the rest of the world considers normal, as well as to save money to donate to this family.
Now for those of you who know me, I enjoy cooking. A lot. (yes, I'm weird) And I love to eat even more. So just making and eating rice? Hmmm..
But this night was amazing. Really, truly humbling. As my husband said on his blog, we ate pretty early and were both starving (well, not really) less than an hour later. And, we both had two bowls of rice. Many people in this world only get one, if that.
So we decided as a family to designate Mondays as "Meatless Mondays." I will cook a simple meal, without meat of course, for our family when possible on Mondays. We would really like to be able to give more to the poor, both in our city and around the world, and this is one small way we can do this. God has a tremendous heart for the poor, and we are praying to have the same.
Here are some of the benefits that we have thought can come about by giving up meat only once a week:
* The main reason, which is to save money to give away
* To be able to identify with others who eat very simply
* To teach our children that Americans live in excess, and we can do with less
* To be a little healthier: giving up meat once a week can only be good for us
* To have more time with my family that evening, with much less cooking preparation and clean up time.

I would love to hear of more ideas of how you are giving back this holiday season.

Allie...

went tee-tee on the potty today!
Yay yay! For those of you who don't appreciate a good potty story, you may as well just browse somewhere else! :)

She was running around saying, "Potty! Potty!" She has done this before and I sit her up there and.... nothing.

But today, she did it! Landon and I made such a hoopla about it that she probably freaked out and thought she did something wrong. I mean Landon was seriously screaming, in the high pitched way that Landon screams, "Allie went tee tee on the potty! Allie went tee tee on the potty!"

Then, what was really funny, was I asked Landon if he wanted to call Daddy and tell him. He said, "Yeah!" I asked what he was going to tell him. He said, "That I want to go to Lindsey and Alan's house!" (my sis and her hubby) Oh, well. I called and broke the news myself.

Sorry, Sam's Club. You may soon be losing $35 a month from the Hays family on diapers.

Ben and Landon's Deer

Ben and Landon went hunting this past weekend- a Hays family tradition- with his dad and brother.
His brother Steven shot a deer in the morning hunt:



Then, Ben and Landon got one in the evening hunt:



(That's Pepaw, Ben's dad, in the photo above. Landon just adores him! As a matter of fact, so do I!)

It was a great weekend of "male bonding" for the men and Allie and I had a girls' weekend with Steven's wife Phyllis and their daughters Lauren and Cayla.
For $30 (the cost of a hunting license), we have our meat for the year! Yay Ben and Landon!

Treasure Your Children

For a couple of weeks now, I have had something on my heart and just haven't shared it yet. It stems from my volunteering at Texas Children's Hospital Cancer Center, as well as my involvement on an online forum for parents of children with liver disease, and also personal friends dealing with sick children, infertility and infant loss.

My plea is for the parents of small children who read my blog: Treasure your children. Take time to enjoy them, and love them, and get to know them. Their childhood passes too quickly and I know that this cliche, but this season is so short.

I was volunteering a few weeks ago and doing a craft with one of my favorite little girls. She was just having so much fun and then the nurse called her back. She started crying and screaming because she knew what was coming (she is only 2 1/2, but already wise to the hospital ritual). A lab draw, maybe, or chemotherapy. Something that would hurt. I had to turn away so her mom and dad wouldn't see the tears in my eyes.

I also mentioned my online support group. In the last month, one baby died at only 11months, waiting for a liver transplant. There are a few others that are barely clinging to life. If you have a child, give them a kiss as you thank God for another day.

We have a personal friend whose daughter is waiting for a transplant. The baby is so precious, I could just hold her all day! But she is sick, and she needs a transplant, fast. It breaks my heart to look at her, and her sweet mother, who has endured so much these first 11 months of motherhood.

If you have a healthy child(ren), please be thankful that part of your life doesn't entail sitting in a hospital all day, waiting for news that may not be good. I am speaking to myself here. Although Landon is technically sick, he is in a very healthy period of his life and I tell myself all the time to enjoy this time, even when he is driving me crazy. Is this always easy? By no means, no. But I am trying to become more mindful of how I react to both he and Allie, and truly learn what it means to treasure them.

If you have an ill child, or are struggling with infertility, or have lost a child, may you find the grace and strength you need to get through this trial. All of these issues are definitely dear to my heart and I would love to pray for you. Just leave me a comment or e-mail me.

I'll close with words from God:
Psalms 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.

Not Me Monday

Once again, here is my list of things that I am much too good to do, in response to MckMama's Not Me Monday!

1) I did not realize that after skipping a week of Not Me Monday, that I need this therapy! A lot!

2) This one goes for me and hubby- we did NOT bring up an ice chest with milk and granola bars to our room one night so we could appease the kids the next morning without getting up. Even if it was our one day to sleep late together in like, 6 months, that would just be silly! (seems that creative ways for me to get to sleep late are becoming a theme here!)

3) My friend Yessica and I did not walk around the gala we volunteered at, looking to see if the guests had left any of the yummy chocolate bars that were served as favors on the tables. And even if we had, we wouldn't have walked out of there with around 6 bars each. And that VERY DARK chocolate does not taste really, really good!

4.) I did not give my children about 4 pkgs of fruit snacks, each, so they would be good while hubby and I were talking to the agent about building our house. Nope, my children just sat there extremely well behaved on their own, loving every minute of discussing mortgages and floor plans.

If you haven't tried making a list like this and reading others, it really isn't all that fun. So don't try it! ;)

This needs no explanation....

.... or does it?
They did it on their own, I promise!
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I want to update on Church in the Center , but eleven o'clock-ness is preventing brain clarity. I'll write more soon, I promise. (2 promises in a very short post!)
Have a great week.

Not Me Monday, take 2

Okay, time for another round of things I did NOT do this week! Isn't this therapeutic? You really should try it!

First of all, I did NOT stay up a little later than I planned, just to see if MckMama started her contest early (again!) so I could go ahead and post tonight. Nope, not me.

I truly did NOT put back a $1 Christmas ornament my son broke accidentally at Hobby Lobby because I was tired and perhaps a bit crabby. And because the cashiers seemed even more tired and definitely crabbier. Nope, that would be something an irresponsible parent would do.

I did not make homemade popcorn almost every night this week for hubby and me to eat (after the kids were in bed!), since I did not just discover a great new method thanks to my friend Fabia and Alton Brown! Nope, too much junk!

Something Landon did NOT do: Say, "you have to be careful, babe," when I slammed on my brakes in traffic today- (always fun driving through a Houston Texans game on your way to church!) Landon has NOT heard me say that to Ben when I think he gets too close to other drivers. Nope, that is so not kind of me!

Allie did NOT pick up dog poop out of the yard and throw it at me. Nope, she's a girly girl!

I did not bust my rear falling out of a lawn chair (possibly it broke?) last night. Don't ask my sister, I wasn't talking on the phone to her when it happened!

And lastly, last night I did NOT NOT NOT make brownies using black beans instead of oil and eggs. YUCK! And I certainly would not feed them, unwittingly, to my husband and his best friend. Nope, that's cruel. But just in case you want to know about these, ask, and I'll tell you about someone else that did do it!

One thing I did do, though, is have a great Sunday worshipping in our brand new church! And maybe have to ask forgiveness for the ornament I didn't put back.
Have a great Monday, y'all!

Preview Sunday

Wow! It is amazing to see God work around us, and Him letting us join him!
Yesterday was our "Preview Service"... leading up to our "Launch Service" on October 5th. It was a great day and I'm so excited my parents and father-in-law got to come.
I should have some pictures soon. My friend Yessica was so sweet and took tons of shots of the whole service for us.
So, if you live in the Houston area, join us next week as we offically kick off our brand-new church in the Medical Center. We'd love to have you join us in our quest for Relevant Truth, Authentic Relationships, and Compassionate Service.

PS The preaching is great, even if I'm a little biased! ;)

sweet baby words

Tonight, I was putting Landon to bed amidst sobbing (his, not mine!) in a melt down. It was Preview Sunday* and he had NO nap. I asked him why he was crying.
He answered, in a little whiny voice, "My eyes were sad and then they cried." Oh, he almost made Mama cry!

*check back tomorrow for an update on this, I'm going to bed! And yes, it's 8:45 p.m.

Not Me Monday!

Okay, so I am following this blog that I love (praying for her unborn precious baby and love her writing style!) and the author is starting a new contest called "Not Me Monday" where one can quite therapeutically relay events that she did NOT do that past week. Does that make sense? So here goes... my first Not Me Monday (Sunday!)

1.) I certainly did not take Tylenol PM one night just so I could sleep late the next morning while my kids were at my parents. Nope, that is irresponsible. And if I HAD done it, it probably would have only allowed me to sleep until 8 a.m. anyway. So I am glad I did NOT do that!

2.) I did NOT look the other way when my dog relieved himself, and I ain't talking peeing here, in a neighbor's yard. Nope, once again, irresponsible.

3.) I did not go out in public in a hideous red vest, even if it were to be for a volunteering banquet and that is our uniform. And over my dead body I did certainly did not go with my husband dressed exactly the same way. How nerdy is that?

4.)I did not completely enjoy my week off with my children at their grandparents/aunt and uncle's house. Nope, I was pining away all day when I didn't have to clean poopy diapers, break up fights between a one and three-year-old and certainly was not happy to go to the grocery store alone!

5.) And with the above said, I did NOT race my husband out to the driveway when they got back and argue over whom got the kids first! :)

Because really, I did miss 'em!

We are Great... post-Ike, that is

I just realized, because some of my friends asked, how we did during Hurricane Ike, that I had never posted about it. We had some really minute water damage in our kitchen, but absolutely nothing compared to what others are going through. We only lost power for maybe 12 hours, and weren't even here for that. Please continue to keep the people in this area in your prayers. There are people who still don't have electricity and it is HOT. Last week was really cool but we're now back to typical Houston weather.
And worse than no electricity, many people in Galveston, etc. lost their entire homes and everything in them.
If you feel led to help, click here to go to a website hosted by one of our sponsor churches, Clear Creek Community Church. They are really being the hands and feet of Jesus during the aftermath and would love your help.
Also, during our Preview Sunday, all of our offerings will be given to Hurricane Relief efforts. I don't think we can really even fathom how long it is going to take, or how much money it will cost, to get everything back to normal.
I know it has hit me how everything you called home can be gone in an instant. Take time today to thank God for what you have.

Bittersweet

So the kids are with my parents/ sister for the entire week! Talk about bittersweet... the house is so quiet... I miss them but at the same time am trying to enjoy it while it lasts!
Ben and I enjoyed an ENTIRE day together yesterday... sleeping in, shopping, watching a movie and then going to a great dinner downtown (via MetroRail, no less!) and enjoying some great live music. It was great to get to focus on each other for a complete 24 hours.
Today is back to work, getting ready for our previously-planned and post-poned Preview Service. (how is that for alliteration?) I am able to help Ben a lot this week as we prepare for this exciting day!
But I am starting to miss the kids... I need some snuggling! So if you see me and I look a little weepy- just let me kiss your kids or something!

Sweet kiddies

Check out the great pics our friend Meg took of the kids! Thanks, Meg!

She Said Yes!

Seven years ago, almost to the hour, Ben proposed to me. It was one of the most fun, surreal nights of my life. I kinda suspected something was up and bought a new outfit for the occasion.
He took me to dinner at Olive Garden (my favorite at the time), and we ordered a meal to split. Well, when he didn't even eat half of his half, I knew that he has nervous about something! Those of you who know Ben know that he eats all of his food, then licks the plate clean!
Anyway, then we drove back to the church where we were serving at the time and he sent me on an errand so he could set up. When I came back into the sanctuary, he led me to the altar and had roses sitting there, and a card. He told me to open the card, which said, "Congratulations, You're Engaged!" (guess he was pretty sure of the answer!)
Then he got down and one knee and asked me to be his wife. It was the most beautiful proposal. I'm so glad I said yes!

Our First Sunday as a new church!

Today was a very exciting day for the Church in the Center. We had our very first worship service in our new meeting space! It was a great time of bonding together as a core group and renewing our vision for our church to be a ministry to the Texas Medical Center.
It was absolutely the most incredible/strangest feeling walking out of church and immediately seeing Texas Children's Hospital about one block away, which of course is where this whole journey began for us. We are finally here!
Ben and I went on a date tonight (thanks to Andrew and Fabia!) and we were just saying we couldn't believe that we actually were beginning what began as just a thought almost two years ago exactly.
We thank God for this incredible culmination of two years of prayer, hard work, excitement, nervousness, moving, faith, doubt, and most of all, his hand of mercy upon us!

funny story

Today I was in Wal-Mart with my kiddos and on the baby doll aisle. (I think I like looking at that stuff as much as my baby girl!)
Anyway, I was scanning the price tags of everything and three of the yellow tags on one shelf said "BA baby." BA is how we liver moms refer to Biliary Atresia (Landon's disease).
I got this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, then glanced up at the product. It was a Baby Alive doll! I felt sooo stupid for even thinking biliary atresia, but at the same time, that is what BA stands for, for me anyway!
Just thought I would share yet another way liver disease has infiltrated my thinking!

By the way, these "BA" babies were the most expensive ones I saw! How fitting...

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad (Pops and Mimi!)

Today is my parents' 34th Wedding Anniversary. I feel so blessed to have parents who are still married and have raised us to love God.
Thanks for being a great example to us, Mom and Dad. Love you!

More company

Okay, so here are more of our pics! Top left is of my parents, Caleb, and the kids at the Health Museum, where we visited an exhibit "Grossology." Caleb loved it. Enough said.

The next pic (which I think is really cool) is my cousin Tasha's three boys, Bryan, Dylan, and Joel. We were in Galveston. The next is a picture of her gorgeous daughter, Olivia.

Then is a picture of my cousin Nola from South Carolina with the kids. She was in Houston for work and we had such a good time hanging out for the first time in 4 1/2 years!

Last but not least are Lindsey and Alan (my sister and brother-in-law) at the fireworks for Fourth of July. I think Lindsey should get frequent-driver miles as she is the one who appeared most at our house this summer! Don't go back to work, Lindsey!

I didn't get any pictures when Mandy visited with her three boys. :( But we had such a good time as well.

I guess life here in Houston will settle down to normal now, whatever that is!

Company, company, company

Over the past month or so, we have had TONS of company! I have enjoyed it so much, and know that it is over for a while now that school is starting. :(

Thought I would share some of the pictures from over the weeks: top left is Landon with my cousins Peyton and Emilyat the Hays family's first Astros Game! (Emily is 2 days older than Landon!). They were visiting with their parents, Stephen and Holly. (Stephen is my uncle, but we won't tell! :) )

Second pic is Landon with Cameron, one of our former youth and now a very good friend. Happy 21st birthday this week, Cameron!

Next is Allison, with my college friend Nicole's daughter, Allison. Yes, they are both Allison! So cute. Mine is Allison Danielle and hers is Allison Noelle, which was almost our Allison's name! Wow, that was a mouthful!

Then, Landon is shown with Nicole's son Zethan. They had such a good time together!

The last picture is of my cousin Mitchell. We went and saw his family in Galveston, and then they visited us in Houston! (yes, that is Caleb buried in the sand behind him! My mom did that!)

I'll have to add more pics on another blog because I couldn't put all of them on one post!

suckers for sweets!

Just to show you how much my kids love sweets, here are some pics of them actually sucking through the gum wrappers to get to the flavor! Came up with that idea all on their own, I'm sure!

When I caught them doing it, I took the gum away, but then gave it back for a few pics! Decided I needed to capture the moment, and not stress about it!

The Fruit of the Spirit: Love

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.- Galatians 5:22

At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I am going to begin a (hopefully!) weekly Bible study on my blog. I am starting it specifically for some girls I, along with my friend Kristina, discipled at Emmanuel (our old church), but anyone is more than welcome to participate!

Here is the format: I am going to take a fruit of the Spirit each week and get YOU to study that particular fruit. That way, we can each learn what God wants us to learn! When you have completed the study for the week, post your responses as a comment. That way, we can all learn from each other! Then, at the end of the week, I will comment on everyone's responses and add some thoughts of my own.

So here we go for the first week:
Go to crosswalk.com and look at the top right corner. Enter the word "love" (Or whatever the topic of the week is) in the search engine where it says "Search the Bible." I used the New International version, and got 496 results! After this, choose ONE verse and then, go to your own Bible and read the entire chapter that includes that verse. For example, the first that came up is Genesis 20:13, so I would go to my Bible and read Genesis chapter 20. BUT since there are 496 results, each of you choose your own!

Then, comment on this post (you don't have to be a blogger to do this, just check the name/URL option and type in your name) and answer these questions:

1)Was the love talked about in the chapter you chose speaking of God's love towards man, man's love towards God, or man's love towards another person? Briefly summarize what the chapter is about, since we're all reading different ones!

2) What can we learn about love from this chapter?

3) What have you learned from this chapter that you need to apply to your life, concerning love, or anything else God wants you to learn?

Since this is the first week, I will do an example under the comments section. Try to have your responses in by next Thursday (August 7) and by then, the next topic should be posted! I am so excited about this! E-mail me if you have any questions!

Random Child thoughts and actions

I love having children- they really do say and do the cutest things. For example, one day Landon and Ben were talking about God. Landon said, "Where is God? I want to go to his house. I want to hold him and hug him and give him five!" That just melted my heart. And it made me think- how badly do I want to go to God's house (in this instance, I'm talking about Heaven, not church), and how happy am I in my current home (earth)?

Allie is getting her own personality, as well. She just loves her baby dolls and.... her toothbrush! That's right. She will carry that thing around as long as we let her, and screams when we take it away. So she has one we let her carry, and one we brush her teeth with. Now that is not to say she doesn't get the good one, and Landon's, and mine, and Ben's whenever she has a free chance. She will drag Landon's stool around just so she can reach up on the counter! So if your toothbrush goes missing, check the Hays house!

I would love to hear cute things about your kids, or kids you know, say/do!

July 18th: a bittersweet day

July 18th. This day always brings mixed emotions for me, and undoubtedly I will cry, at some point, on this day. You see, today is the anniversary (3rd this year) of Landon's life-saving surgery that he had at teensy, tiny seven weeks old.

At seven weeks old I handed him over to a nurse I had never met before, kissed my precious baby good-bye, and walked out into the waiting room- where I would sit, stand, talk with the 30 friends and family members that travelled to be with us on that day, cry, and even laugh a little. Mostly, though, I stared at the photograph of Landon I had carried with me. I still have it, and it is wrinkled from my carrying it around all day- nine hours to be exact. Nine hours. It was within these hours that our life's course was determined, I feel. If Landon had not had biliary atresia, we probably would have been released from the care of Texas Children's, and Houston would by now be a faint memory of Landon's first year.

But he did. Sometimes I want to scream, "God, you could have chosen a different way to get us here! We would have obeyed whether Landon was sick or not!"

But, where would our connection be? (although my grandmother received excellent care at MD Anderson, I never actually had visited the Texas Medical Center before Landon was a patient) It makes so much more sense for us when explaining why we came when we tell them how we fell in love with Houston, because of the great care Landon received here.

So, yes, today is a bittersweet day. Bitter because I remember the heart-wrenching grief I felt as a new mother, trusting our wonderful surgeon, Dr. Wesson. But it is also sweet, because it enabled me to have the adorable, fun-loving little boy that I have today.

Thank you God, for modern medical technology.

I love my son.

**The first picture is the one I carried around all day with me. The second is Landon now! Praise God

Friends

We are so blessed to have great friends in our lives. Here are some pictures of Landon and Allie with the children of our good friends Ronny and Kristina. The baby is Emily and the toddler is Bethany. We were so happy to spend time with them this week at camp.

We miss all our friends from back home!