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the post about bees
Bees are divine. I mean – lots of things are. Right? gravity. love. music. banana pudding. molecules. But I’m talking about bees. (I told you I would eventually talk about this.) For Kevin’s recent-ish birthday I gave him The Gift That Keeps On Giving. Twenty-thousand bees. (Give or take a few hundred.) He’s talked about wanting to raise bees for years. Well, actually, he’s talked about wanting to walk amongst swarms of bees without any protection and take the stings like a man. Like a foolish man. Like a foolish, unprotected man. Like a foolish, unprotected man placing himself directly in harm’s way. So I did what any loving wife…
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The Sniffing Habit
Bergen has a sniffing problem. Seriously. He sniffs you if he likes you. (I have no reason to make this up.) I get sniffed pretty often. Usually routine, run of the mill type sniffing. My hands. My arms. When we are cuddling – my neck. Sometimes my hair. Just sniffing of the normal variety. Kevin – now that guys gets sniffed. And how! Bergen just hovers around and over (maybe even under on occasion) and sniffs Kevin. Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. For as long as Kevin will allow. (For which he has gained an amazingly high tolerance, as a matter of fact.) Lately he has been experimenting with a new sniffing…
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In the Heart of the Country
We may not live on a farm any longer, but we sure can play as if we do. Kevin recently crafted a clever and warm winter abode for our three dogs. He made it out of hay and it serves its purpose of dog shelter while being amazingly eco-friendly. (What a guy!) And the kids think it’s real cool too. The play of every day since the dog home’s construction has been hay-related. Stick hay in the empty trash can. Rain hay upon one another’s heads. Roll hay into eleventy billion piles. Load hay into the red wagon and pull it all over the yard. Fill the trash can with…
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Love Is A Verb
I heard it first said at Look Up Lodge actually. (Maybe twelve years ago.) Love is an action. Love is a verb. There is always a lot of talk about love. And how we humans can best express it, one to another. Particularly at this time of year. But even the coolest, most amazing gift, (even a Mac) cannot express our love as beautifully and as profoundly as our actions can. Even our most simple actions. Yesterday I was suddenly and inexplicably very sick. Really sick. Chills, aches. Miserable. Even my eyes hurt. It was lousy. But despite the fact that I have six children, five of whom do not…
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today
This had been a busy little day. For a random Tuesday. (Actually, I believe it is officially Wednesday morning when I am writing this – but what difference does that make?) I took the chaps to a local library to watch a Christmas “play” about Holly and Bah Hum Bug. By Porkchop Productions. I’ve probably said enough already. Actually, it was all good. The trip to the library enabled me to pick out a few new books on CD (The Kite Rider (not to be confused with The Kite Runner) and Little Men) for car listening on the many December road trips (Ohio, Florida and all the states between here…
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11:00 a.m.
The alarm on my watch beeps every day at 11:00 a.m. When Kevin was in Israel we both sat our alarms to the same hour so we could remember to pray for one another and our family at the same exact time, despite the physical distance between us. Once Kevin returned, I just left the alarm setting as it was. (Not just because I don’t know how to change it either.) It has been a good daily reminder to pray for my husband. In the past when I have prayed for my husband, or any loved one in my life really, my prayers were pretty selfish. Yes, I would pray…
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Little Bites
Piper Finnian is notorious for a lot of reasons around these parts. Standing anywhere she can gather a crowd and announcing, “Everybody! Dance!” Agreeing with all who may perchance comment about her cuteness. “I cooot!” Wrapping grown men around her finger by announcing how much she loves them. Men such as Kevin Keigley, Nathan Heffington, Walter Howard, Jody Deming, Jamal Quattlebaum and Greg Boone. Singing “How He Loves” at the top of her lungs. Finding the half-eaten bag of M&Ms reserved for potty training and eating the remainder of the entire bag before being caught. Recognizing songs by Michael Jackson and Ben Harper without any prompting. Waiting until naptime every…
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Just Because
It’s not Father’s Day. And it isn’t Kevin’s birthday. But I feel like writing about him anyway. In our house, the man is a Super Star. He really is. With all the trappings of celebrity . . . . Not much private time (his biggest fans are continually interrupting him in the restroom – even if the door IS shut – try dealing with THAT Harrison Ford) Everyone vying for his attention (Daddy, can you read this? Will you cut an apple for me? Can I cuddle with you? What are you going to watch Dad? Can I walk outside with you? Where are you going? When will you be…
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(I love this picture of the four of us. It makes us look as if we are just extras in Jody’s life. And that’s funny to me.) I guess I owe a big fat thank you to my older brother Danny. Thanks, man. Back in the day (the “day” being the years he spent driving Douglas and I back and forth to school in the silver hatchback Tercel covered in skateboarding stickers), Danny introduced me to what is arguably one of the greatest rock bands ever formed. A little Irish group named U2. This was early on. As in, I still own several U2 cassette tapes. (Remember those?) Fast forward…
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Almost There
We miss this guy. (I miss this man.) He’s about to get on a jet plane and head our way. Soon. Official Keigley CuddleFest 2K9, here we come!
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Make My Dreams Come True
I want one. No, not a new husband. Certainly not another baby. The mini silver miracle known as a Mac laptop. I want one. Who wants to help me?
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While You Were Sleeping
I was feeding Wilder in his bedroom. I finished. I walked to the kitchen and was greeted by a wild scene. Two small children, one two, the other four, stood before me. Looking sheepish. And guilty. And white. Looking very white. “What?” I started to say. I quickly realized that the white that had settled on their entire beings, from toes to roots of hair to cheeks to the two stuffed animals carried in their arms, was from powder. I could see it everywhere. I could smell it. Wait a minute. While I was feeding Wilder weren’t these two playing in our bedroom? With their father? Or so I thought.…
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Exhibit A
So lately Maggie has been boldly issuing demands and challenges from her blog. She even claimed that her spouse was the most lovable of all spouses and encouraged her pals to make glowing lists about their own husbands’ incredible attributes on their own blogs. The two Sarahs made endearing lists about both of their beloveds. But those girls are newlyweds after all. Instead of a list, and because I like to buck the system for the mere sake of bucking the system, I offer you instead . . . a photograph. Let’s call it Exhibit A. This photograph features a little girl’s Barbie doll wearing a pair of home-created sandals.…
