Merry Christmas!

Daniel [dan-yəl] - Husband of Kelly.  Father of 2 boys.  Youth Pastor at Christ Is Lord Free Lutheran Church.  Odd & often goofy.

Highlights:  Being married to my wife.  Learning to be a better father day by day.  Serving and loving the students at CIL.  Concluding my service as President on the FLY Committee.  Being a part of the FLY Convention one last time in that capacity.  Seeing David Crowder*Band in concert one last time.  Going to see the Creation Museum in Kentucky.  Eating at Chick Fil-A, 4 different times.

Kelly [ke-lē] - Wife of Daniel.  Mother of 2 boys.  Sweet, Caring, and other SUPER nice adjectives.

Highlights: Continuing to advance in my career as a homemaker, and loving every minute of it...well, almost every minute! Spending time with my family in the mountains of Colorado. Being blessed in many ways by the Encounter girls. Getting to know the 2, 3, and 4-year-olds of CIL in Sunday school and homeschool co-op. And of course, all the other things mentioned: DC*B concert, Creation Museum, Twins game and kissing Mikko’s (and Teemu’s) cheeks!

Teemu [tāy-mū] - Busy.  Constant motion.  Big brother.  Talkative and polite.  Close to-professional bowler.  Expert on the first 20 minutes of both Cars and Cars 2.  iPhone expert user.

Highlights:  Feeding giraffes at the Colorado Springs Zoo.  Running over my little brother countless times, err I mean caring for my brother countless times.  Seeing the dinosaurs at the Creation Museum in Kentucky.  Going to my first game at Target Field to see the Twins.  Playing outside. Starting “school” with once a week music, art, and preschool classes.

Mikko [mē-kō] - Beyond cute.  Seeker of food pieces dropped to the floor during previous meals.  One who finds electrical outlets and electrical devices.

Highlights:  Learning to sit, crawl, walk, climb up and down stairs...it’s been a busy year!  Being adored by my many fans.  Being called “one of the cutest babies I have ever seen” by a very respected person.  Having my cheeks kissed constantly by others.  Watching the students at Encounter fight for my affection and attention.

Immanuel - “Behold the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, ‘God with us.’” ~ Matthew 1:23

Merry Christmas from the Keinanen family.

It's Been A While

Like the title, we haven't said anything on this blog for quite a while. Maybe it's because not many read blogs anymore. Everyone is talking on facebook, and reading each other's tweets. Both of which I participate in. I wonder what kind of friendships and relationship do we build on social networks? Can we really know someone? Can we really understand what someone is going through? We are the masters of reading too much into something, and mis-interpreting stories. What can we do? I believe we must take time for our relationships outside of our computers and cell phones. We must remember that personal one-on-one time is incredibly valuable.

Does God wait for our text and updates to find out how we're doing? He knows us, and walks with us each and every day. He desires that fellowship with us. Yet, we give it to Him in quick drive-through devotions. Rather than get in the restaurant, sit down, order, eat, and interact with those around us, we settle for the quick fix. Our relationship with God takes time, and is a process. The pay-off is great though! Jesus spent a lot of time with His disciples, and built wonderful relationships with them. Look what happened. The disciples went out and made a difference in their world. All because they spent time with the Master, learned how to live life with others, and then did it.

How much time do you spend with other people? Making disciples is living life with each other. Who is God asking you to spend more time with?

Teemu Ki

Our son has arrived!, and we are very excited about that! Teemu Ki [pronounced 'tay-mu key' was born on Monday, March 9th at 1:33pm. He weighed 6 lbs, 13 oz; and measured at 19.25 inches. He has a full head of hair, dark of course. Kelly was in labor for just over 12 hours, and did it all WITHOUT any pain medication. Needless to say, she impressed the nursing staff, and her mid-wife.

What a joy, and what a blessing! Thank you to all who had been praying!

Piece By Piece

Sitting in our dining room is a big box with the words "Rockland Furniture" on it. Today, my friend asked me what that was. I told him it was our baby boy's crib. He replied, "That's really exciting!"
Certainly, our collection of baby things is growing by the week. Some of the biggest pieces are in place for our son. He already has a sweet ride in a green and gray stroller. It has all the luxuries a baby boy could want. Okay, so it's not equipped with a DVD player, or has a hook-up for an iPod. His 'crib' is also pretty sweet! However, I don't know that you will see him taking MTV on a tour around his crib.  Although the cradle rocker we registered for on Target.com has an iPod dock.  CRAZY! . . . what's even more crazy is that we'll probably use it.
We know that he has been growing right on schedule, and is on track for his March 15th arrival. Right on time!, just like his dad. We were told that he is in the 45th percentile for his size. Kelly's belly continues to grow, and it is excited to watch. Alright, maybe not like one would watch grass grow, but you can clearly see evidence. [please note: there is a picture of kelly and her belly on this entry . . . to please those who have asked - this picture was taken at 23 weeks on November 11th]
He has been kicking. For a while, he always kicked during church . . . perhaps not a good sign. Kelly loves it when he kicks. It is simply a good reminder that he is there, and he is doing well. I [Daniel] have felt his good strong kick a few times.

In case you are wondering if we have any names picked out, the answer would be no.  In fact, our plan is not to say anything to anyone about any name possibilities, so don't ask.  However, we have had some name suggestions already.  Fjord, Carlton, Tye, Jonathan Matthew, and Max were a few from friends and family.  Then there was our niece Onalee's [Onnie - for short] suggestion.  Before we knew our baby would be a boy, she told Aunt Kelly [not ant kelly] that we should name our baby "Onnie Jr."  Aunt Kelly wondered about if our child would be a boy?  "Doesn't matter," is what Onnie replied.  Then about a month or so later, Onnie had two more suggestions.  You may want to sit down for these . . . the first: Ranger . . . the second: Laser Eyes.  Yup, you read that right, Laser Eyes.  Needless to say, my family rushed out to the local welder's store for some welder's helmets and shields.  For those that are gullible, that last part is not true . . . and you know you're out there.

We can't wait for our little guy to make his first appearance.  It is right around the corner.  Thank you to all of you that have prayed for our son.  We really appreciate that!  I am sure we'll be good bloggers and put pictures of Laser Eyes on this site.  

It's A Boy!

As many of you already know, we are expecting our first child sometime in mid-March. This past week, we found out our baby will be a little baby boy. We were quite surprised, because both of us thought it would be a girl. However, we are quite pleased with a boy. [We would have been fine either way]
We have already received several suggestions for a name. Unfortunately, we are not going to hint at any potential names between now and then. Although that makes some family members upset, we won't tell you anything until we tell you the actual name on his birth day.
Kelly has been starting to feel a bit better, and has more energy these days. Her back has started to give her a little trouble. She has already started to feel our little boy move around. Most of that comes at night time.
In case you wonder, we are already registered at Target. We did that soon, so that we could cash-in on a free $20 gift card to Target if we registered by October 22nd. The list is far from complete, but we started.
That's all for now.

Baby Keinanen

I suppose it is time to make that official announcement. In case you didn't know already, we are expecting our first child in March. Yes, we are excited! It is truly a God-sized story, and we are thankful to Him for this miracle. More to come.

Perhaps . . . This is Why