Peace and Quiet

This week has brought such a beautiful change to our lives ... we have the entire week off! Not knowing what to do with ourselves, we decided to start a few projects. I organized the hall closets and did laundry. David built shelves in our closets and made our old hamper into a new kitchen "cart." Hayden played with his new toys and chased Abby all around the house. Lots of stuff, huh? The problem is ... that was only Monday! What in the world to do with ourselves for the rest of the week!?



Tuesday we toned down our grand expectations for the week and enjoyed some rest and relaxation. The evening brought our weekly Launch Team meeting, which was super exciting because we are planning for our first "preview service" on Sunday. I had a Children's Ministry training right before the team meeting, and it went well ... I'm so excited about the willing and loving workers that God has brought to Real Life Church. They are such servants and so excited to work and live and love and see outside of themselves for the greater good. They amaze me and I thank God for them!

This morning David, Pastor Eric, and Daniel, a Real Life Church launch team member headed to Kansas City to pick up free chairs, desks, filing cabinets, etc. from BreakPointe, the church papa Tom pastors at. When I called David at noon to see how the day was going, he told me they were still at BreakPointe ... there was so many things they were willing to give to RLC it was taking much longer than planned to load the truck! What a BLESSING FROM GOD! He called again at 4pm to tell me they were on their way to Hutchinson to the Wesleyan church there for more goodies. GOD IS SO GOOD! Hayden and I rested a lot today since our little guy is fighting a cold. The nights have been pretty sleepless for him since he's coughing so much, so by morning we're both exhausted. We did, however, take advantage of the beautiful weather (it's 60 degrees) and went for a long walk this afternoon.

So, only two more week-days of vacation and the hustle and bustle starts again ... but I think this week has and will continue to remind us of the importance of slowing down to enjoy life without going so fast that it passes us by before we know it. This week has already been a great time for us to spend as a family ... to get more quiet time with God ... and to realize how necessary it is to continue these important lessons even when we are at our busiest ... the world will not slow down for us ... but we can choose how we will spend each moment of every day ... for us, it is finding our comfort and rest in Him, and living each day to our fullest, whether in cozy pj's or our fancy suits, and knowing that He is in control. What a goal to reach for, huh?

Check out my new home for the next semester, Junction City High School, where I'll be teaching 11th Grade American History and 12th Grade Economics in Mr. Prickett's room! Here's the address!

Blessings to You!
KK

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

A Kinnan (and Kerby!) Christmas

And when they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in stips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:6-7

What a year we have had! God has truly blessed us and provided for us in countless ways, and throughout this season and each and every day as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we pray that you experience the joy of Jesus Christ and the rich blessing of knowing Him as your Lord and Savior.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Kinnan's!

Great-Grandma Bush sent an Advent Tree especially for Hayden ... he had a great time putting the ornaments on ... and taking them off ... and putting them on ... and taking them off ... hours of fun! We left on Tuesday the 21st and stayed in KC until Sunday the 26th. We had a fabulous time with family and remembering what this Christmas season is all about!

After the traditions of dinner at the Outback on Wednesda, a movie on Thursday night, (and MILKSHAKES!) , and much too much amazing food from chef Kathy, we celebrated Christmas at the Kinnan's on Friday (Christmas Eve) morning. Hayden and Ailee had a blast opening their presents, and got so many great things! As you can tell, Hayden really enjoyed his wagon of building blocks! He also got a little Leap Frog "learning drum" that is perfect for our little Boomer ... at least now is pounding on things can help him learn! HaHa!


Friday afternoon we headed for the Kerby's, and since mom and dad were hosting the Kerby Family Christmas this year, I helped mom cook while the guys enjoyed some Christmas movies. There was LOTS of cooking to do! We spent the night with Ryan, Lara, and Liz ... and woke up early Christmas morning to gifts from them. We left early for mom and dad's to eat breakfast ... which is one of the highlights that we always look forward to ... mom's breakfast casserole! YUMMY! :)


Hayden got Noah's Ark filled with animals and Noah and his wife to play with ... very cool, and David and I are excited to have an actual "prop" to teach Hayden the story with!

Hayden also got a rocking horse ... and was definitely loving it! He especially likes to put his hand in the horsie's mouth when it sings, because it moves up and down and makes Hayden laugh. What a precious little guy we have!

Christmas day was full of family and food ... we ate and ate and ate ... and have no pictures to show for it since we were busy eating and talking and opening gifts! Mom and dad did a wonderful job as hosts, and the party lasted for hours!

We headed back to KC Christmas evening and left for home Sunday afternoon. David and I have the week off and next Monday he goes back to work, Hayden goes back to Miss Gwen's, and I start student teaching! :)

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors. Luke 2:14

We Love You!

We're off!

We're taking a little break from blogging. With Christmas vacation upon us, we'll have plenty of pictures and memories to share. We wish you all a very merry Christmas! We love you!

- David, Katy, Hayden and Abby

A Sunday with Liz!

This morning Grandma and Grandpa Kerby, Uncle Pete, and Cousin Liz came for a visit! It was so exciting to see how much Liz has grown! Grandma brought lasagna for lunch (yummy) and we had a great day! Uncle Pete even changed the oil in my car ... what a great brother I have! :)


For Christmas, Hayden is getting a RADIO FLYER wagon ... he doesn't like his stroller at all anymore, so we decided to get our big boy a big boy toy. He and Liz had a ball being pulled up and down the street by Uncle Pete.


Hayden and Liz were jabbering back and forth in their own toddler language. Who knows what they were saying, but it's fun to pretend. "This is where I wait for daddy to come home. And there's the neighbors big dog. That's the big tree that makes the leaves." "What's that smell? Do you need something changed?"


We spent a lot of time with the toys! Liz played quietly while Hayden continued his favorite pastime of taking his toy bins off their shelves and giggling as mommy puts them back on. HaHaHa.

More pics to come!

Yesterday was the RLC Prayer Retreat and Kelly's Graduation/Graduation Reception! I'll write more about those when I've got more time. David preaches this evening! Yeah!!!!!!

Church Office Space

We recently leased an office space which will also include our nursery and toddler facilities, as well as a place for our students to have activities. Construction is underway. Here's a look at the progress:

Nursery & Toddler rooms:


Front room:


Student Activity Area:

What a Week!

It's been seven days since we last blogged, and what a week it was! I'm going to make it easy and give a day-by-day account of all the fun we've had!

Last Wednesday
After the stitches fiasco, David and I went to work and school, and Hayden went to Ms. Gwen's! At 5 when I got out of my History Seminar, we brought Hayden to the Zvonick's while we went with Pastor Eric and Robin to Abeliene for the Pastor's Dinner. It was at the Brookville Hotel ... where home-cooked fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy are the specialty. What a wonderful evening! David and I have been aching for a "date night," and this was one indeed, full of fellowship and meeting new people, and just sharing time with men and women of God! It was a special time! We got some long overdue time with Pastor Eric and Robin in the car ride ... planting a church is a busy and exciting opportunity, but such a busy one that we don't get a lot of social time, so the evening was a huge blessing in so many ways!

On the way home, we stopped by the Real Life Church Facility Director's office to see the new sound system that just came from New York! Robin and I laughed at our husband, who looked like little boys peeking into a toy store!

David and I were excited to get back to our little guy, who was exhausted after an evening of play-time with his best pal Alli! We all slept very well that night!

Last Thursday
Thursday evening we had our RLC Women's Bible Study at the Neely's, and after a week of battling colds in the Kinnan house, I was thankful to finally meet the newest addition to the Neely family ... KYRA DAWN! She came on the day before Thanksgiving, and we hadn't met her yet! Mark babysat the little one while Becky, Tami, Becky Botter, Catie Butcher, and I had some great fellowship and prayer time! These Thursday evenings of study and fellowship have meant the world to me, and God truly blesses our time together! It's truly a refreshment for me!

Last Friday
Friday evening David, Hayden, and I brought dinner to Mark and Becky! We made orange-honey glazed ham, scalloped potatoes, and salad ... and had a fun time eating and spending time with them ... but most of all, holding little Kyra! She's absolutely adorable, with strawberry blonde hair and a beautiful complextion! Aaahhhh .... babies! Hayden wasn't as excited about Kyra as he was the Neely's golden retriever, Corie ... he spent the evening chasing her around!

Saturday
David spent the day at Real Life Church's new offices that are right by the school we're currently meeting in. He and other RLC men and ladies spent the day painting, building, and cleaning. Hayden and I stayed home all day ... I was working on my LONG LONG LONG research paper for my history seminar that was actually due yesterday. Entitled "The History of the Histories of the Sacking of Lawrence, 1863," it was definitely a doozie!

Saturday evening my brother Pete and his pal Casey came to visit and delievered fire wood! What a great brother! Pete's a junior in high school ... but back off, ladies! Big sister (me) has instructed him NOT to date until he's in college (at least)! HaHa! They didn't stay long ... mainly because the 2-hour drive back home, but it was nice to see them! Hayden always warms up to Uncle Pete very quickly ... as Pete was walking to the door to leave Hayden ran after him and wrapped his arms around Pete's legs so he wouldn't go ... aaaahhhh! As you can tell from the picture, Abby really warms up to new people ... or not! Casey managed to ward her off from biting too hard! :)



Saturday I also got my letter stating my Student Teaching Assignment, which means that it's official! I will be heading to Junction City High School from January 3 to May 6! I will be in Mr. Prickett's room teaching Economics, American History, and Current Events! I am so excited and thankful for the opportunity ... but I'm also pretty anxious! The good news is that several of my fellow social studies education classmates will be there too, which means carpooling! Yeah! Please visit the website ... they're a great district and a wonderful school and I want you to see where I'll be during my final semester of college! (FINALLY)!

This Week
So, Sunday was definitely not the most exciting day for me. I was sick ALL DAY! I'm not sure what's going on in our home, but we're probably making the stock of KLEENEX, NYQUIL, and LYSOL go through the roof! Anyway, it was a pretty laid back day, and we got some time to just relax and recoup from a busy week!

David and Hayden went to the worship service and were happy to come home with news that there were several new visitors! Praise the Lord!

Monday David brought Hayden to the doctor to remove the stitch while I went on a field trip with my Social Studies Methods class. We traveled all over the surrounding counties with a great tour guide and visitied many places involved in the Underground Railroad in this area. Mr. Pitts, from Wonder Workshop gave us the tour. It was a long and cold exursion, but lots of fun and very insightful!

David got to unwind a bit with basketball on Monday evening, which is great for him, because working a job and a half (that's really more work than two or three jobs), he deserves some down time! What an amazing and hardworking man he is! I am so thankful for him!

Tuesday our launch team meeting was focused on the various ministry teams, so it was a great time to gather and start planning curriculum and schedules for the upcoming months!

Yesterday was my last official day of classes at K-State ... on campus, anyway! Although I won't graduate until May, I will be in the classroom at Junction City next semester! It was bittersweet ... and I am thankful for my experiences and interactions there! Hayden had his second of two flu shots ... since this was his first time getting the flu vaccine, he had to get two doses. We have all been sick since he got the first dose, so we weren't excited that he was having to get another one, but it's over! Afterwards we went out to the RLC offices where David and a few other men from the church were painting and building. David set up the entire sound system last Saturday, but checked and re-checked it (he's so talented!), then started painting HIS office! :)

And now to today. David is at work, Hayden and Abby are taking naps. I'm going to work on a take-home final and do some cleaning that I've been neglecting the past few weeks due to my history paper that I was drowning in!

David is excited to have the opportunity to preach this Sunday, and I can't wait for him to share what he will be sharing! It's an important message, and David has really opened himself up to the Lord's guidance as he discusses "Expecting the Unexpected."

We Love You!
KK

BooBoos and Stitches

Yesterday Hayden has his routine check-up with Dr. Rose. It's so exciting because we get to find out how he's growing with all these cool percentages and averages... 50% is what is considered the average for his age. At 23# 6oz. he is in the 40% range, and at 32" he is in the 75% range. Basically what that means is that he is tall and slender ... he's under the average of boys his age in weight and way above it in height. Anyway, we weren't supposed to see the doc again until February ... but instead, we got to go visit nice Dr. Rose again this morning!

David was sick yesterday with flu symptoms and so he was going to stay in this morning and relax and go in this afternoon, so I was getting ready for school in our bedroom and Hayden and Abby were in there playing. Somehow Hayden fell into one of our dresser drawers and hit his forehead ... aaaahhhh! Soon after it happened and I cleaned him off he acted fine and wanted to get off my lap and start playing again, but it looked pretty bad. I was hoping it looked much worse than it actually was ... but we didn't take any chances and brought him in to the doctor.

Hayden was such a brave little guy! I'm sure he had a headache already, but of course he was in for all kinds of pushing and prodding around. First the nurse cleaned it, then the doctor came in and looked at it and cleaned it some more. We had to hold a numbing medicine on it forever (which he REALLY didn't like), and then the ultimate evil for a 15 month old little boy ... the "strapper." I actually don't know what it's called ... but Hayden was strapped in and the doctor stitched him up ... just one ... whew. Hayden cried and cried, but was actually very calm considering all that was going on around him. I think David and I were taking it worse than he did and we're so so so so proud of him!

So, Hayden is now sleeping like a precious little angel and we're thanking God for the strength He gave us ... and for our little boy who is the most wonderful blessing. Although we know this is one of many, many, many bumps and bruises (if he's anything like his daddy, that is), I'm thankful to know that as parents we have the most perfect example of a father and He will provide us with unexplainable wisdom and strength. God has blessed us and we can't think of any better calling in lives than the parents of Hayden Thomas Kinnan ... our little bumper car! :)

Have a Beautiful Day!
KK