Turkey Day Thoughts!!

I love this picture. I think this could have been me as a little girl! I still think a giant Tom Turkey is about the coolest looking bird on the planet! I will also admit that I don't really like to eat turkey, especially on Thanksgiving. I can't remember the last time a actually ate any of the turkey that was served. Every year Brian asks later if I had any of the turkey and I always feel bad when I tell him "No." Luckily, after 18 years of marriage he gets me, or has given up! Yes, Brian is the one who cooks the turkey at our house, and he will again this year. It always smells good, looks beautiful and everyone raves about how it tastes. I would say that maybe this will be the year that I eat the turkey...but I seriously doubt it!

We decided to make some hand print turkeys. This is one of my favorite crafts of fall! It always amazes me how much the kids hands have grown each year!

Camille always loves to get her hands dirty, so this project was right up her alley! I think she even had fun washing off all the paint by the way the bathroom sink looked when she was done!

After hand prints the kids took turns painting.


Joe loves to paint! Actually, he likes to do anything the older kids are doing!!

Yes, I did make them all wear the chicken apron that Elise and I made a year or so ago. I really need to get smocks...maybe for Christmas everyone can have their own smock!

We have been decorating for Thanksgiving and we are excited to have all of the family at our house this year!

My life is like a bowl of miso soup!

My life is like a bowl of miso soup! Recently, God brought some clarity and reassurance to me by giving me a picture of miso soup. I felt like He was telling me that the bowl represents myself and the soup is my circumstances. Then He showed me that He is gently cradling the bowl in one hand while carefully stirring the soup with the chopstick in His other hand. Just like the miso soup is better when stirred, my circumstances are stirred to bring about a higher good in my life and the lives of those around me. Please don't try to read too much into this analogy or take it beyond the simple picture given. I am thankful for a God who holds me in his hands and who uses ordinary everyday things to remind us of his love! ~Staci

Radical Adventure!!

A radical adventure with Jesus!
ad-ven-ture n. 1. A hazardous or uncertain undertaking. 2. An unusual or exciting experience. 3. Participation in hazardous or exciting experiences: the love of adventure.
Although I like the second definition better than the first, nowhere does the American Heritage College Dictionary mention Christianity. I think another definition should be:
4. The life of one who follows Jesus as His disciple.
I think the best adventure anyone can have is to follow Christ with radical abandon wherever HE chooses to lead you! This is the goal of my life and that of my family .
A radical adventure with Jesus!!

Brian and Kenya!

It has been a long time since I have had much to say on the blog. It has been a long summer, mostly uneventful, except for Brian's second trip to Kenya. He had an awesome, life-changing time serving in Kenya. The kids and I are proud to support him as he seeks to follow God's calling in his life! So, what new adventures lie ahead for the Keslers?
We aren't sure, but feel that our involvement in Kenya is just beginning!!!
We have watched everything the library has to offer about Kenya, Eastern Africa, and Africa in general. God is doing a new thing and we are humbled and excited to follow him into whatever adventures he has in store for us!
more info to come...

Sometimes an adventure has to end!

Our chicken adventure has officially come to an end. We are all very sad. It seems as though our chickens were "too country" for the neighbor that lives behind us. So, we have given the beautiful coop that Brian built to some friends, who have also (very graciously) offered to take our chickens. It is nice to know that they are in a great home, with friends.

End of school pictures!

To celebrate all of our hard work during the school year, we had an open house with our homeschool group. The kids all brought examples of their work and put them on display for family and friends to see. (Just like open house at public school!)

Elise had been studying U.S. history this year, so her end of the year project was about Abraham Lincoln. She wrote a paper about his both his public and private life, completed a lapbook about him, and made this diorama of the cabin where he was born. It all turned out great! Isaac was interested in the King Cobra, so we learned as much about this snake as we could! He also completed a lapbook about King Cobras and made a diorama. He did not like to paper mache the snake; he doesn't like to get sticky and dirty. He did like to spray paint the snake, add salt dough to and paint the box. The plants he chose from our yard and we hot glued them in place (I tried to let him do this but he burned himself; I guess a little help is OK!) The project turned out fantastic!!
This year, first grade, Isaac will learn how to knit. We are starting with finger knitting. He is excited to learn because Elise and I knit.
This was his first attempt!

I just learned a simpler finger knitting technique that will be a better starting point! I am excited to teach him!

(The smile below looks a little fake to me,

I think he was a little frustrated with the knitting!)

Here is Elise knitting a backpack for a stuffed animal! She is a natural when it comes to anything creative!

We got out watercolor paints and sea salt.

I showed the kids how the salt affects the color of the paint as it dries. The pictures turned out fabulous, so I cut them into letters and we used them to write "ART" above our art gallery!

This was Joe's first time watercolor painting.

I think he had as much on himself as he did on the paper.

He had a blast!

Camille always enjoys painting!

Isaac had a hard time believing that it was OK for his paper to be so wet (important for the salt technique)! Once he got past the wetness factor he did some beautiful work. It is nice to see him developing his creativity into deliberate work, rather that just throwing paint down on the paper!