Six Months

Oh Lillybean, each month is more exciting than the last! Not only are you a big girl in size (95th percentile...busting out of 12 month sizes!), you've got big personality! You are such a happy girl smiling at anyone who comes into view, which just melts my heart and your daddy's too.



Lots of milestones this month: you are rolling over, sitting up on your own, getting your first tooth, and starting to eat baby food. Phew! You've been busy! We're still working on the sleeping thing as your consistently inconsistent at night, but you're great at sticking to an 8 o'clock bedtime...it's a pure mystery when you'll be up in the morning. Today: 5:40am. Yesterday: 7:50am. We'll let you run the show for now because you're just too darn cute no to! Love you sweetheart.

My first taste of pears!

Christmas at Home

We spent our first Christmas as a family of four here in Indianapolis! We're on the road every other year for the holidays in Baltimore to visit my family, but it's our year off. We were up well before the kids, but I'm certain this is the last year that will happen for some time!

Grant was so sweet opening his gifts - this year was so fun for Tim and I to watch his excitement. Lilly was cute too, but all she wanted to do was eat the paper and chew on cardboard :)

Tim and I feel so blessed to be starting new family traditions with our children. Even more, we are lucky to be celebrating our Savior's birth this day and always!

Serving God by Serving Others

Over the last couple weeks, I've had the opportunity to volunteer with Shepherd Community Center here in Indianapolis along with a few other members of our small group. I wanted to share my simple experience and reflect on how God is changing my heart to be more of a servant (I still have a long way to go!).



Shepherd is a warm, loving, faith-based organization that reaches out to the community with the goal of "breaking the cycle of poverty" on the near Eastside of Indianapolis. They serve various needs of children, teens, adults and families...it's amazing really. As I've started to get more involved with Shepherd, I'm even more convicted to serve there because Tim and I lived in the community the center supports. The Creek (where we attend church) is also a big supporter of Shepherd. Most people from Indy have likely heard of them...they're doing incredible things in God's name all over the city!



So I said my time there was simple...it really was just that. Sweeping and mopping floors. That's it...I was a custodian. And I loved every minute of it. The center had quite a few events during the weeks leading up to Christmas and needed some extra hands to make the place sparkle.



A year or two ago, if asked to "serve" I'd think about wanting to volunteer in a way that got me recognition, attention, or some kind of "pat on the back" from others. I doubt that's what God had in mind for me. What I've had to do is humble myself before him, which is a constant challenge, but with that has come a much stronger desire to serve by giving of myself in service to others. Our Heavenly Father deeply loves us- more than we can imagine- and as we follow his command to "love one another; as I have loved you" we will be able to do so. May we find simple, yet profound ways to daily serve God as we serve each other.



One other thing to keep in mind...we are not saved by serving, but we are saved for serving.

Kegley Christmas

We had a wonderful time spending an early Christmas with Tim's side of the family last weekend. Grant enjoyed opening his gifts this year much more than last. The looks on his face and the adorable way he says "wow" when he sees something he likes were priceless! Lilly was an angel, as always, and enjoyed being passed around to her cousins, aunts, and uncles. Next weekend we'll get to spend time with my parents for a late Christmas. Can't wait! Merry Christmas everyone!

Teething maybe????

</A> Grant loves Mamaw's kitchen!

My Very Own Rocket Scientist

No really...I do have my very own! My little brother, Greg, graduated from THE Ohio State University and is onto a new and exciting chapter in his life - WORK! He now has his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Wow! (See who got the brains of the family????) The subjects he's studied, projects he's been on, and internships he's completed with GE and Rolls Royce have all completely blow me away. He'll start a full time job with GE next month in Cincinnati working on combustion aerodynamics...or maybe it's the aerodynamics of combustion...hmm. I'll have to check with the rocket scientist :) He'll be working on his Masters all at the same time. Congratulations Greg - we are all so very proud of your hard work and dedication!

Christmas Cookies

To thank all of my co-workers that support my customers and I here in Indy I thought I'd spread a little sugary heaven in the form of cookies. These took me forever to ice, but the end product was pretty cool. I made the 4 hour trip to Toledo and back in one day to deliver them, which was exhausting, but it was so worth it to see the smiles on their faces. I just wish I had the opportunity to visit with them all more often!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

It's official…I am crazy. I'm not sure if it's that I'm obsessed with using my KitchenAid or that I'm slightly addicted to chocolate. Grant and I searched through the very bare pantry last night tyring to come up with ingredients for some sort of dessert to satisfy my ridiculous sweet tooth. I was even willing to make oatmeal cookies just to have something…that's when you know I'm getting a little desperate!! Here's what we managed to come up with. DELICIOUS!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:
- 1 batch of chocolate chip cookie dough (I used the recipe on the Toll House bag, but you could probably use any recipe or substitute 2 packages of the "break 'n bake" or "slice 'n bake" chocolate chip dough to make it more simple/faster)
- 2 8oz. Cream cheese, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Prepare chocolate chip cookie dough, set aside
2. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time until smooth.
3. Spread half of chocolate chip cookie dough in bottom of greased 9 x 13 pan.
4. Spread cream cheese mixture over dough
5. Use the remaining cookie dough for top layer…see tip below
6. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes

Tip that worked for me:
- it was next to impossible to spread the dough on top of the cream cheese mixture and make it look pretty so I shaped it into a log the length of the pan, put it in between to sheets of wax paper, pressed it into the 9x13 rectangle, let it chill in the fridge for a few minutes, then peeled it off the wax paper and plopped it on top of the cream cheese

What was left of the pan after about 2 hours :)

Thankful

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving spending time with our families this weekend. My parents, brother, and their two dogs made the trip from Ohio to be here in Indy and it was GREAT! The Kegley's were gracious enough to have all of us over for dinner and we really enjoyed being together. Grant is really starting to enjoy his cousins more and more and Lilly was just a little angel! We are so, so grateful for the blessings of our family. We also celebrated Tim's 33rd birthday on Friday. Happy Birthday honey - you just keep getting better with age!

Cousins Olivia and Sophia The turkey knocked her out!
Happy Birthday to Daddy

Oooey Gooey Goodness

Time off work = baking madness in the Kegley kitchen! Yummy, gooey Monkey Bread for breakfast, crazy good marshmallow bars for Thanksgiving dessert (fabulous recipe below...can't go wrong with chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallows!), and a quick test run on some Ohio State cookies for Greg's graduation. The KitchenAid is getting a workout!

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

Bars:
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp baking cocoa
1/2 cup chopped nuts
4 cups miniature marshmallows

Topping:
1 1/3 cups chocolate chips
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups crisp rice cereal

1. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

2. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa. Add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts. Spread into greased jelly roll pan. (I used a glass 9x13 dish and it worked really well)

3. Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over cake. Let cool.

4. To prepare topping combine chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted and well blended. Remove from heat. Stir in cereal. Spread over bars. Chill.

5 Months

Lilly, my dear, stop growing!! You have changed so much this month. You rolled over for the first time last week, found (and love) your feet, and have begun the seemingly endless journey of teething. Grant is slowing becoming an obsession of yours - you love to watch him run around and you play with his hair if he's laying next to you. Your smile absolutely lights up a room - it's a beautiful sight. Daddy and I are so grateful to God for the amazing gift and blessing you are to us!

My New Toy!

I am so excited for my new KitchenAid mixer - quite comical...I feel like such a dork! I was checking the tracking number everyday to see when it was going to get here after I ordered it. Although the color is a bit obnoxious it does the job, and does it well! This kitchen is now going to be even more of a delicious mess than it was before. No more time...must bake. Bye for now!

An Incredible Organization

It's hard to put into words how grateful Tim and I are for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Our journey started with the organization a little over a year ago and continues on today. For those of you who don't know, Grant was born with a large nevus (basically a big mole) on his scalp. He wasn't more than 10 minutes old and the NICU team was telling us that we'd need to have it removed due to the size and risk of melanoma. Long story short... we went to a dermatologist who recommended the same, went to a plastic surgeon who scheduled the surgery, and insurance denied us saying it was "cosmetic". So, we were quickly onto Plan B...which has been an absolute blessing for Grant!

My grandfather has been a long time member of the Shriners in Baltimore and has been deeply involved in their philanthropy - the network of amazing hospitals for children across the country. The hospitals specialize in care for children with burns, spinal cord injuries, orthopaedic defects and injuries, and cleft lip/palate. The hospital in Cincinnati also specializes in birth marks, which includes nevi. The most amazing part is that care is offered to children at no cost due to the private donations the organization receives. When my grandfather suggested reaching out to them to see if Grant would qualify for care I felt guilty thinking his nevus was no where near what the other children were facing at these hospitals and we shouldn't be eligible. He encouraged us to apply for care and Grant was approved! We were floored and felt (and still feel) so incredibly grateful. Having a healthy child is an enormous blessing and something that no parent should ever take for granted.

Grant had his procedure done in March this year and the experience was incredible and humbling. It was so difficult to see him in pain and confused as to what was happening (I still am a little traumatized by it), but everyone that came into contact with Grant during the stay was thoughtful, patient, and unbelievably caring toward him. The skin graft on his scalp has healed completely, but will never grow hair. Dr. Kitzmiller offered to do scar revision for Grant, which will happen in a couple years, that will make the originally surgery nearly undetectable and give Grant a full head of hair again.

I wanted to share the story after a follow up visit to see Grant's surgeon this week in Cincinnati because I am completely amazed again and again at the generosity that this organization offers to it's patients. Thank you to the Shriners and their donors!

Happy Fall!

We had so much fun at the IMA a couple weeks ago thanks to beautiful weather and an amazing photographer, Chad Franz, who did our wedding and is now capturing our growing family. He is fantastic!!!

A Look Back...

I couldn't resist posting some of my favorites over the last two years of my baby boy thanks to a little inspiration from our friend Amy's blog (thanks Amy!!!). Wow, I don't know where the time has gone, but it's been a busy, FUN two years!

Birthday Boy!

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is 2 years old already! He has been such a joy in our lives and we had a great time celebrating his birthday this weekend. Grant was a little frightened with 20 people singing to him at the same time - the picture is priceless! Happy Birthday buddy, me and your daddy (and sissy too!) love you more than you'll even know!