Tragedy strikes the Keen family

So, Sunday we went for a walk. To our great joy, our new family member, Little Red arrived. We took her out of the mail room. She was packed prettily in a box, we couldn't be more thrilled. I handed her to Maggie, and she hugged her and squeezed her. I thought about taking her back after that, but seeing how tightly Maggie was holding her, I thought that it was best she stay put. So we walked around the neighborhood pushing Maggie in the stroller. We arrived at our friends house and engaged in conversation when Jeremy says, "Hey Sam. Did you take that toy away from Maggie, or did she lose it?" I wish I could say it was the former, but it was unfortunately the latter. So I took off running to locate Little Red. She was no where to be found, and I was devestated. A sad day for the Keen family. No sooner did our little bundle arrive, then she was tragically taken from us. The worst thing about it was that she was lovingly handmade by a friend at church, and I couldn't bear to tell her what had happened for fear she would think us unworthy of a new Itty Bitty. The next day, I get an email from Red's creator, asking me to leave feedback on her sale site, and a P.S. that says I know who has your Itty Bitty Oddity. Its a good think that everyone knows everyone in our subdivision, Hometown. I was sure some darn little kid stumbled upon Red, and seeing how cute she is, kidnapped her forever. But she is found, and will soon return home where she belongs. Luckily, as we were walking, a lady was coming out of her house and found Little Red on the ground. She recognized the creation as something her friend makes, and upon seeing her tag confirmed this. It made my day to know that she will be coming home. Funny how the little things can make or break you.

By the way, if you think this little palm-sized doll is adorable. Check out Sara's site.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5087896

Maggie's first swear word

So, I was in the bustle of spring cleaning. I was re-organizing, and cleaning the daughter's bedroom. Everything was looking fine and going well. Then I decide its time to rifle through bins of clothing, and thus begin to pull a rubbermaid bin down from the shelf. In doing so, deluxe scrabble and a large set of dominoes tumbles onto my face. In the heat of the moment, I let a word slip, that I must be saying a little to often lately. I slip and say "shit." Then what do my wondering ears hear? I hear my little daughter rattle off that same word. So I bend down to her level and tell her that mommy said a bad word, and we won't say that word anymore. Thinking its over and done with I continue in my work. Still I hear Maggie wandering around repeating said word over and over and over again. Because I ignored her, the behavior stopped. Until today, when I forgot something on the way to work and had to turn around. I yelled crap. And Maggie said, "SHIT." Its a very difficult feat to reprimand your little one while laughing. Something I have yet to master. What a little mockingbird.



Here is a picture of Maggie the copycat trying to put my shoes on. Its what she does when she's not trying to use my tooth brush, wash her face like me, wear my clothes, or put on my jewelry. She's always trying to do whatever I do. Just goes to show that I better watch myself.

My daughter the busy body

See Maggie. See Maggie run. See Maggie run in and out of the bathroom getting one piece of dog food at a time and running it to wherever the dog happens to be for the moment. See Maggie force feed the dog food that she may otherwise not have eaten.

Happy Easter Everybody!

I hope that all of you enjoyed your Easter celebrations. We all did, especially Maggie. She loved the Easter bunny, enjoyed the first of many Peeps to come, and looked awfully pretty for church Sunday morning. Let us not forget the true meaning of Easter though.

Matthew 28:5+6
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. . ."

Have a blessed day!

Norman blood

Maggie definitely has Norman blood in her. She likes hotdogs and saurkraut. How much more Norman can you get, I ask? Not much. I was so amused by the moment that I took a picture. The thing, is she really did like it. Go figure.

A visit from Meemaw and Papa

Some of the Texas Keens came in from Texas the past couple of days to visit. There were many adventures. We went to the mall and got an easter dress or 2 for Maggie. We met the Easter Bunny. Got to go on one of the first walks of the season since it was warm. We hung out with skeletal zombies. All in all it was a good trip. See pictures below.

1st Pigtails and Laundry

Maggie loves laundry. She loves going through the dirty laundry in the hamper. She loves helping me put laundry in the washer, and then putting it in the dryer. She loves unfolding the clean laundry and throwing it around. She loves empty laundry hampers. I don't know why, but she loves laundry.




Maggie also loves looking pretty, so when we realized that she could finally have little mini-pigtails, we made it happen. They turned out cute, however tiny they are. We had to use some interesting techniques to get them to stay, but I like them. Someone told me they made them think of Shrek. Go figure. . . finally enough hair to put it up and she looks like an ogre.



Note the bruise is looking better.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore

So Jeremy wrote a proposal that the ReStore needed bigger space, more parking room, and additional paid staff. He pitched it to the board Monday night, and it was approved! So the ReStore continues to grow under Jeremy's skillful supervision. God is using him to do great things, raising money to build homes for less fortunate individuals!

If you want more information check it out on the web:
http://www.restorelgin.org/

Ouches always look worse than they are

So, today Maggie had her first ambulance ride. Mommy had her first mental breakdown. Not really, though she did panic a little bit, which is fairly unusual in an emergency. But anway, Maggie fell at daycare, and biffed her head on the metal door frame. A HUGELY HUGE welt/knot immediately filled up the right side of her forehead. It was the grossest darkest purple that I have ever seen on human skin. I couldn't look at it without getting choked up. Of course, being the kiddo she is, she refused to let us put an icepack on it. The medics were FANTASTIC, thank you Oswego Fire Department! They gave her a bear to take with her to the hospital, which kept her occupied for all of five minutes, but mom's keys lasted her the rest of the ride. Rush Copley was also awesome. It was by far the best and fastest emergency room visit I have ever had in my life, I think we made it out of there in an hour and a half. The CAT scan was a breeze, and everyone was super nice. Maggie's brain looks fine, but I wish I could say the same for her face. . .not so much, unless you like the look of purple bruises on your forehead. I'm just glad the little peanut is alright, and I'm relieved that our first major ouch is over and done with. Thanks to everyone who helped us through that stressful situation.

Looking Pretty is Hard Work