Keith Family Update

I guess I should update about my life every 5 years or so. haha

I stopped updating this site because I assumed nobody read it but either way, I will try to update it more because it is a nice archive that I can look back on later and enjoy reading.

I used to travel the country and share about what God has done in my life. Currently, I haven’t traveled in a few years and have only done a few engagements locally. Sooo boring, right?

Not exactly. The events in my life just took a shift. I feel busier than ever and my wife does most of the work in the family. I am currently (how many times will I say currently in this post?) living in Aledo, Tx with our 3 bio kids and 2 foster kiddos. I work mainly in automation/creating scripts to improve productivity for my company.

Dylan (17), Isabel (9), and Arlo (7) are keeping us busy this summer with camps and sports in general. Our 2 babies that are with us now have completely shifted our lives around since they came to live with us. We weren’t expecting to get babies so Crystal and I, along with the 3 kids, had to do some major readjusting, haha.

The babies were 7 months and 19 months old when they came to live with us in March of this year. We couldn’t have done it with out the love and help from some great friends. Several people from our church and several people from my work all came together and within a few days we had 2 cribs, 2 car seats, a double stroller, several months supply of diapers and wipes. And of course a huge shoutout to my co-worker that mailed us a Diaper Genie. WITH REFILLS!!! That has been a lifesaver.

Easter 2021

These babies are keeping us on our toes but anytime I start to feel ‘woah is me’, I just think about what they’ve been through in their short life and I stop feeling sorry for myself and just ‘press on’. These babies could be with us for 6 more months or these babies could end up being with us forever. Time will tell. But one thing is for certain, they are getting more love from our family than they have ever seen. And we know that is our job right now.

They command so much attention, you know, being babies and all. I sometimes have to take a step back and remember that my bio kids need just as much attention. Where my parents of 5 at? How do you split your time amongst all of your kids?

Well, that is probably enough for this update. We are braving the beach in a few days. Some may say a ‘vacation’. But for me it is kind of just stressing out in a new location. That is something I need to work on. I will do my best to enjoy and soak in every moment of this quick trip down south.

-cK

Fatherlessness and my A.D.D

     I was talking with my son today about the world and how not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up with a loving dad. A loving dad who plays basketball with them every single day after work. A father that will turn on music and dance like a dork just to have fun with his kids. Or a daddy who will stomach (literally) several kicks to the groin just because his kids want to wrestle. I am not perfect but I do all of those things just because I know what it is like not to have that love from a father.

Don’t get me wrong, I still had family in my life but just a different kind. I lost my immediate family at 5 years old but a giant, loving family was already being orchestrated for me by my Heavenly Father. My grandparents raised me and did their best and did a great job. I just wasn’t the easiest kid to raise. And my grandparents hadn’t picked up the latest copy of ‘How to raise a little kid who is a sole survivor of a family/murder suicide’. (Note the sarcasm!) My grandpa did a great job of playing catch with me out in the yard every now and then and as an adult with kids of my own, those memories are still close to my heart. I want my kids to have those memories. OH MAN! Did I get sidetracked again. Sometimes reading the blog of someone who has A.D.D and, who knows what else, can be interesting.

In fact, anytime I email friends, I always add a code word at the bottom just so I can make sure they read my whole email because my intentions are to keep it brief but once I start writing, I can’t stop. (Isn’t that a Miley Cirus song?) #sidetrackedagain

Back to the lecture at hand (90’s Hip Hop reference), this was supposed to be about how I got the opportunity today to talk with my son about being a father and mentor to someone. How, even though I didn’t have that so-called father in my life, I had several people in my life that stepped up as mentors and helped me in my times of need. I thank God for the father/son moments where I can share some of my limited wisdom with my oldest son as we shoot hoops or other activities. I will attach a documentary about fatherlessnes that I was a part of a few years ago. Check it out if you haven’t seen it. There are some great stories in the film. I recommend the whole movie but if you are short on time, my story starts at around 28 minutes. If you are still reading this, the code word is elbow. What the heck is the point of poison ivy? Anyone? -cK

God is good!

These kids are keeping me busy.

The Drone life!

Commercial roof fly-over w/ drone shadow.

Crystal and I at our first drone fly-over job

TCU Drone Fly-Over

TCU Drone Fly-Over

The kids posing in the Botanical Gardens. NBD!

Just messing around at the Botanical Gardens.

2014 ends in T-minus…

2014 was a crazy and eventful year! I realized as I am writing this, that I say ‘crazy year’ almost every time I post an update. But I guess that’s a good thing. Who wants a boring life? Not me. I was talking to my wife about this last night. We feel so busy yet it’s a good thing to be running around all the time. With all the things coming up we are anxious and ‘on our toes’ to see what doors God opens up for our family.

My third child was born on June 24th of 2014 and we couldn’t be happier. Well, I lied. I think I could be happier if

Noah’s conversation with God

Performed by Dylan and his friend Johann at the CLPS talent show.

This routine is about the conversation that must have happened between the Lord and Noah.

 

Becoming Sons and Daughters released!

We are honored to be a part of such a great documentary focusing on the ever growing problem of fatherlessness in our world today. My story is in the film as well as some other really great stories. CIY did a great job on this film. Its about 52 minutes long. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Father/son weekend

Last weekend my son and I attended a Father/Son weekend with Christ Chapel Bible Church at Sky Ranch in Van, TX. We had an amazing time growing in our faith and growing in our relationship together. Instead of writing a lot about it, here is a short video of the weekend. Enjoy!

Update

March is almost over already? Dylan just finished his first season of basketballbasketball block and Isabel just started crawling so she is in to everything. The kids are keeping us busy. I am currently enrolled in Colorado Christian University online and will be getting my degree in Information Systems Management and scheduled to graduate next year. Crystal is managing the household and doing an awesome job. Something I could never do on my own. Last week we got to Skype with the Dorins (Some great friends ministering in Africa) and I snapped a pic of Isabel trying to figure it out.

We are currently busy with finishing Dylan’s homeschool and getting all the kids’ Easter outfits together for this weekend. (I say ‘we’ but it’s pretty much my wife picking out outfits). I hope everyone’s having a great day and has a great week. Love, the Keiths