Kinney Kids

2009-12-12T20:57:00.007-05:00

I've been really enjoying this advent season! I started off a little behind the 8-ball but I think I've caught up and I'm just enjoying all the things we're doing that are traditions which enhance our celebration of the gift of Immanuel (God with us). As I was doing a special Christmas unit study with the boys and we were talking about what advent means and the definitions of several other "Christmasy" words, it all of a sudden dawned on me what this season is all about. Ha, it's about time right? Well, I've known for forever that it's about the birth of our savior, the Messiah. But I asked myself this year, why do we celebrate this every year with such a great amount of time and money devoted to this celebration? All of a sudden the word "remember" came to mind. God tells us to "remember" what Jesus did for us when he died on the cross. Communion is the remembrance of that act of God. All throughout the history of the nation of Israel, God told them to do things to remember what He did for them; have ceremonies, build stone piles as markers to remember. That's what Jewish festivals are all about. I don't know all the festivals and specifically why they are celebrated but I do know they are mostly celebrated to remember what God has done. There's a festival celebration to remember God's delivering Israel from slavery. There's also one for remembering that God spared the lives of the children of Israel when Queen Esther risked her life to reveal to the King, an evil plan to kill the Israelites. Well, there are many more but the point is that it blesses God when we celebrate and remember what he has done for us!! Christmas (and Easter) are set aside times when we remember something specific that God did for us. And, whatever we do to celebrate what he did and to remember it and to make it holy (or set apart) from other days, is a blessing to God!! For the last two years I've had conversations with friends about christmas trees specifically and are they pagan or what? It's taken me two years to come to the conclusion that, regardless of why the first person put that Christmas tree in their house, it's something I do because of memories, traditions and it enhances my experience with setting this time apart to remember what God did in sending His son to be my Savior. I'm so glad God spoke to me about Christmas. I've always thought it funny when people would say "are you ready for Christmas?" I've always thought it was more than just a day. This year especially I've enjoyed each and every day of the Advent season because it is more than just a day. For our family, it's a celebration that starts with Thanksgiving and continues as the decorations go up and the parties begin. We are being intentional about remembering what God has done for us. He sent His son to be our Messiah, Savior and King. A humble baby born to make us right with God. Celebrating such a momentous event should be special and longer than just a day and should be filled with lots of wonderful things to enhance our remembering. I feel so full right now!! I mean full spiritually and very blessed. In addition to the Messiah babe in the manger and the Savior on the cross, God has done soooooooooooo many things in the lives of our family and we have lots of amazing things to remember and celebrate! Merry Christmas and happy and blessed remembering what God has done for you!

2009-11-03T18:26:00.003-05:00

No school today. That was a last minute decision. Actually thought we'd do school in the afternoon after our trip to the Aquarium but we got there later than expected and stayed later than planned, so . . . . Scott and I switched cell companies and upgraded phones like you wouldn't believe. We got free Blackberries with our new plan so we have been having fun trying out all the stuff on it. This video was taken of Drayton (AKA "busy bee") at the aquarium boat play area. This short video is a sample of what she did for a solid 10 minutes - over and over and over again! Funny and busy little lady! What a doll. She'll be 1 on the 6th. WHEW! Enjoy.

Everyone in the house has a different idea of what must be going through her head and the kids' ideas make us laugh just as much as the video itself. I need to take a video of Cooper laughing at this video. Really sweet.

Buddy Walk Pictures

2009-10-13T19:22:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures of the DSAL Buddy Walk!

Every year we make "Coleman's Buddy" lanyards - here is Tradd taking a picture of his Coleman's Buddy Lanyard

Daddy and Coleman at the Buddy Walk

I received (on behalf of Seacoast Church) the "Walk the Walk" Award - here is a write up from the Seacoast Blog;

Scott Kinney, Children’s Pastor, Long Point Campus, was honored with the Walk the Walk Award by the Down Syndrome Association of the Low country. Scott was honored for his work with the special needs community, specifically his vision for the Won by One ministry and the Disability Awareness Conference he spearheaded. The award was presented to Scott by Gene Carpenter who thanked him for “making the world just a little brighter for our kids.” Scott’s passion for extending the love and message of Christ to people who are affected by disability, whether it is the disabled person, a family member, or friend, is reaching far beyond Seacoast’s walls and we are blessed to have him. Congratulations Scott!

Wando High School marching band - heading up the walk

Picture of the walkers

Another shot of the walkers

Coleman got a little tired of "walking"

Both Girls fell asleep on the walk - Tradd rode on the front of the stroller and Cooper rode on my shoulders.

Cooper enjoying some Cotton Candy at the Buddy Walk

Tradd enjoying Cotton Candy at the Buddy walk - they don't like cotton candy in a bag - it's sticky.

Painting Party

2009-10-10T15:11:00.004-04:00

Here are some pictures of today's house painting party - It looks great! Thanks everyone.

Before Picture

After Picture

Mr. Mark Painting

Mr. Craig painting

First Days of School

2009-09-11T21:08:00.004-04:00

I'm going to let Meghan do the writing on this, I'll just post the pictures and videos.

Welcome to Kinney Kids Academy!!!!

Cooper 4K

Tradd 1st Grade

Cooper learning to ride a two wheeler!

Tradd learning to ride a two wheeler!

The boys are taking Ice Skating as one of their classes this year - here are some photos and video of Tradd and Cooper on their first day on the ice.

2009 Summer Vacation

2009-08-01T14:42:00.021-04:00

Got back this Monday from 2 weeks up north. After traveling 2400 miles, we're wiped out and our cups are running over!! We spent about 10 days in Michigan on the lake fishing, boating, tubing, skiing, having water fights, playing cards, eating and just visiting. Tradd pretty much just fished the whole time. He did quite well and managed to catch an 18 inch large mouth bass all by himself (cousin Brandon helped him land it). Tradd also tried to ski for the first time. We never really got to the point of saying "hit it" cuz' his skis were just never ready. But, I was thrilled he said he wanted to try.

Cooper did a little bit of everything and was not quite as obsessive as Tradd about fishing. Cooper found a stray cat and they quickly bonded. He bravely told Uncle Dave that he wanted to go for a speed boat ride and when they went real fast, Cooper sat down on the floor of the boat and said "this isn't fun Uncle Dave!" When he did go fishing with Uncle Rob, Cooper caught a 24 inch Pike and so did Tradd.

Drayton and Coleman had fun playing in a little blow-up pool and they also loved all the attention from family. Scott's family joined us at the cottage and we all had a really great time. Coleman and her cousin Nicole are real pals so Coleman really had lots of one on one time with her.

The weather was beautiful about 4 days and then there were those cold, windy and rainy days too but we really had a good time anyway. At one point, between our cottage and my brother's cottage, there were 21 of us. We ate dinner together every evening and played together during the day. What a blast!!! It's cherry season in MI so mom made homemade cherry pie almost every evening. She also made homemade blueberry muffins nearly every night so I saw mom buy lots of flour and sugar from the local grocery throughout the week. Scott and I didn't have cell phone coverage at the cottage. I loved this but my wonderful husband went into some withdrawal I think. He loved to go into town on a daily basis to get the newspaper and other things, like bait for all of Tradd's fishing. His cell had coverage in a local cemetery (don't ask me how he ever discovered this) so I think he frequented this place throughout the week as well. I was in my glory staying at the cottage looking out at the lake, sitting in the sun, watching and listening for Loon and looking out for Bald Eagles. The day that Tradd caught his big bass, we were in the backyard and we saw a Bald Eagle land in the top of a nearby tree. What a surprise!!! The tree was 40 yards away and it was only about 35 feet tall. Incredible!! Later in the week, we saw 4 flying together. 2 were mature adults and 2 were young. We also saw/heard the Loon everyday. I love that sound. A couple of cottages up the road from us is a farm with three horses. It was of course very exciting for the children and horses are my fave!!

After Michigan, we stopped back in Ohio at mom and dad's house for a few days. So we have a couple pics of that. This was the year for my 20th reunion from High School. Yikes!! Pretty crazy to see these virtual strangers. Scott kept asking if I was having fun and I think my answer was "not really fun but glad I'm here, this is interesting." Some of the people I really wanted to see weren't there. Anyway, it was definitely worth while.

Well, it was a great vacation and the kids really did very well in the car all that way. We don't do the DVD player thing and we don't even have a working CD player so it's the radio or just our singing but it's usually good family time. Between the games and the silly songs, nap time, eating and answering the kids millions of questions, it all went by very fast. I used to drive the whole trip but Scott now does the driving because he gets sick if he's turning around doing stuff for the kids. This is quite a transition for me and for him but we managed very nicely!! I'm feeling very tired today so my writing seems a bit dull. There are so many fun stories but I think I captured the highlights. Scott can add his two cents later if he chooses. What a blessing it is to have wonderful family get-togethers where there is peace and fellowship, to have this cottage that is 90 years old and provides such therapeutic retreats, to have safe travels for all who came and also for vehicles that worked well all that way too!!!! The blessings are numerous and so are the memories. Speaking of blessings and memories: Scott and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on the 16th. We took some time away from the kids at the cottage and went to a nearby town to do some window shopping and just hang out together. We had to take Drayton with us because of nursing and I forgot to get a pump and some bottles before the trip. Well, we had a nice time anyway and of course bought some things for the kids. Now it's time to do some serious planning for the next school year. I think I'll have the boys do a music class with some other kids. Should be fun I think and Coleman might be in a special pre-school where she'll get some extra therapy. We're looking into this. My thought is, the more therapy the better. She's doing great but more can only help! Because of the kids' activites outside of the home that may mean that my house will actually get cleaned once in a while. It's really shabby right now! UGH!! (Of course it may also mean that it'll get worse because I'll be in the car more for drop off and pick up.)

Dangerous Duo

2009-06-04T14:57:00.003-04:00

And she's up! Pulling up that is. Several days ago Drayton pulled up for the first time. Let's just say that the falling is not pretty. No major bumps thus far though. She even pulled to a stand in the tub yesterday. She's been trying for about two weeks. Tried a lot in her crib and continually fell bumping her head on the side. Now I have two that are dangerous. Coleman loves to play with anything wet she can find. Usually she dumps the dog water on the floor but she'll also empty her cup on the floor just to play in it. Then, as she stands to walk away (or run) she falls and hits her head because it's slippery!! Coleman has also been taking off her diaper as well as throwing plates off her high chair. (Will be buying paper plates I think because Coleman insists on having whatever her brothers have which means that she's broken several plates and bowls.) Well, you could say that all this activity has made me very tired!! Always feeling blessed however! Ta Ta for now!

Picture time

2009-05-12T21:55:00.003-04:00

She's Mobile!

2009-05-12T12:17:00.002-04:00

Drayton sat up about a week ago and yesterday she got into sitting position from laying down. Today, for all intense purposes, she's crawling. She pushes with her toes and reaches with her hands!! I have taken the pics now I need to send to grandparents and post them on here. Great day!!

Random update

2009-05-03T09:19:00.003-04:00

Life is great and we're sooooooooo blessed. A dearly departed friend of ours used to say, "too blessed to be stressed." Unfortunately, I still find ways to stress even when I'm really blessed. Let me explain: Scott was at a conference this week and we were getting ready to have new siding put on the house on Saturday. (Yea!! We're so excited and thankful to be able to do this!)The twist is that we had to get the old siding off ourselves. We sent out emails to friends but so many had out of town plans. Well, for some reason I took on this stress as if I was to do it single-handedly while nursing and caring for 4 children. This stress pretty much stole any peace I could have had!! Saturday morning came and only one side of the house had all the siding off! I think it was about 8:40 AM when 4 or 5 guys (seemed like 20) showed up from the siding crew to remove the old siding. 1 hour later, the job was done!!!!!!!!!!! What!!?????? Unbelievable! All that stress was chipped away in one hour? I should have known God had a special plan when all week, my plans to remove siding were thwarted by children/babies who didn't sleep or eat at their usual times. I'm sure we'll have to pay for the siding removal and that wasn't in the original estimate. Sooooooooooooo what!!! Can we say WORTH every penny!! They did it so fast it can't be more than $200. Why do I do this!!?? I can't promise that I'll never do this again, but I do know that I'm processing through a new level of serenity, letting go, releasing things (looking for a better word but can't figure out where a thesaurus is on this computer). Surrender! That's it! My prayer is that God helps me to really surrender everything - the good, bad and ugly!! (I'd like to "get it" this time and not have to go through such agony again!) I also know that this issue of thinking I have to do everything is so related to my eating problems. A sort of "control thing" frame of mind. When I feel out of control, not able to manage all situations and circumstances and outcomes in my life, I usually turn to food. I even want to control what others think about me and if I'm misunderstood, well, I'm all sorts of frustrated!! Well, that is crazy thinking! No wonder I feel out of control and have struggled so much with food! Nobody but God can manage situations, circumstances and outcomes. For me to try and do that is not only not trusting God but sort of subconsciously believing that my idea of how things should go in life is supreme/superior. OOOH, that's pride even a form of idolatry. The next thing I see is that this is based on fear! I'm afraid of what will be if I stop this "god-like" attempt to control/manipulate. I might experience pain of some sort. My worst fears - worst case scenario might be experiened. Then again, it might not! If the worst case scenario happens, I guess I'll see/experience God in a new and wonderful way (the way we did with coleman's surgery) and that is never to be feared.

It's been a long time since I've blogged and now out comes this whacked out stuff. Sorry if I've somehow offended or confused anyone. This processing has been cathartic. I guess the counselor in me is not gone yet.

Now for news about the kids: A few weekends ago, we went to Asheville to visit the church up there. Seacoast has a campus up there. We got to stay in a hotel and eat out every meal. Very exciting for the boys and pretty relaxing for mom and dad. We let the boys pack their own toys in their back packs. After we had driven for a while, I looked back at Cooper and saw all these clothes and shoes everywhere, that I had not packed. What? Turns out these were his "toys." Basketball shoes and outfits, soccer shoes and outfits etc. What a nut!! This is his "thing" right now. I've found all sorts of awesome sports clothes for next to nothing at our local thrift store. One outfit is a Michael Jordan basketball shirt and shorts. Pretty cool cuz' Cooper's middle name is Jordan after this most excellent b-ball player. Cooper is madly in love with Drayton and he likes to cuddle and roll around with her on the floor. Drayton loves it too and smiles and laughs so sweetly. Cooper has also taken on Tradd's imaginary house thing so he's always talking about life at his other house. The other day he was so insistent about his other house that he got upset that I wouldn't let him go across the street and climb the fence to his other house and other mom. I told him his other mom would have to come get him. It makes Tradd pretty angry that he stole this imaginary house thing. Tradd says it's cute and he's tired of his brother being cute. Well, cute is like a swear word to Cooper. He does not want to be cute!

Coleman's favorite past-time is taking things from the boys and even Drayton. She really enjoys that chase that ensues. She still has 3 different therapy sessions each week and is doing really well. She especially has delays in speech but no worries, she'll talk some day. She certainly makes lots of sounds/noise!! What a delight she is. She certainly is a smart little thing but who knows where her IQ is. Her EQ (emotional quotient) seems to be very high. She's so social and interacts with everybody. She too loves Drayton and asks to hold her all the time. She also likes to sit on her which we try to discourage.

Drayton will be a tough little girl I think. She will be 6 months this week and I'm desperately needing to take pics of her. Since we were so busy with the Thorn, I really haven't taken pics in 2 months. She is a wonderful baby. Most of her time is spent rolling around on the floor. Sometimes she's in the Bumbo but she loves to be free to roll. Found her with her head sticking our from under a chair the other day. Woops, rolled too much. She's a good sleeper and eater but I will say she likes to see what's going on around her so much that she doesn't get a full feeding in and, therefore, she often eats more frequently than every 3 hours. These crazy social children!!

Been trying to teach Tradd "The first shall be last and the last shall be first" so he'll begin to learn to serve others. So, although he's our first, the last one for me to talk about is Tradd. He's soooooo smart and doesn't miss a thing. He says he doesn't like school but what he means is that he doesn't like to have to sit down and do traditional school things. Most of the learning he does is hands on but he does do reading every day which he enjoys but it's the initial disappointment of not being able to be playing outside that bugs him (bugs are definately among his fave things so therefore the pun). Sometimes we read outside and we even read about bugs but it doesn't replace the unstructured outdoor time. He's doing really well with reading and math, science and spanish vocab and Bible memorization. He's even doing fairly well with writing but this is his least favorite to practice. He's growing so tall. Unlike Cooper, Tradd doesn't give much consideration to his clothes. This usually means that his clothes are on inside out and backwards because it just doesn't matter to the bugs and slugs how he looks. He went to the beach with some friends the other day and they weren't there 5 minutes before he'd found all sorts of live sea creatures. They were so impressed! Tradd loves our salt-water aquarium so he's very tuned into aquatic life at the beach.

My computer time has run out so I will have to post again some other time. I think I pretty much said all that needs to be said for now anyway. Happy Sunday!!

Christ has risen!

2009-04-10T06:41:00.004-04:00

I love the Easter season. I think Easter has to be my favorite holiday. Christmas is great - love the lights, love the sounds, love the fact that it is Jesus' birthday (although I think too many people overlook that part). But if Jesus would have only been born, then what? That's why I love this whole week - The thought that Jesus entered into the city, hailed as a king and within a few short days everything changed. He was betrayed by one of his own friends, he was tried for a crime he didn't commit, and he was put to death in a very painful and horrible way. But what if that is where it ended? What if Jesus was born, lived a sinless life and died. Where would we be? Its true Jesus had to die so that we could be forgiven. Our church is doing the Thorn right now, a dramatic portrayal of the life of Christ. It is truly anointed by God. Every night I listen to the story of Jesus' life and I watch the portrayal of how he was beaten and nailed to a cross and how he died. (which as a side note - the cast and crew do an over the top job with this). But if Jesus just died then all we would be is forgiven. I love the way John the Beloved says it in the Thorn, and I'm paraphrasing; As I held Mary, mother of Jesus at the foot of that cross, and I looked up and saw my Lord take his final breath, I caught a glimpse in his eye that gave me hope. You see even though that chapter of his life was over, there was something in his look that told me, maybe just maybe the story wasn't over yet."
The story wasn't over yet! Jesus defeated sin on the cross when he took the sin of the world on - your sins and my sins - and they were forgiven on the cross. BUT three days later, Jesus defeated death, separation from God so that one day ALL who believe can live forever with God.
Christmas is great - Jesus was born. Good Friday is great - Jesus died for our sins so we are forgiven - But Easter is my favorite because it brings hope to a lost world. It shows that there is so much more than what we have here and now. Jesus has forgiven me and I know that when I leave this world I will spend eternity with God because I am not only forgiven, but Jesus defeated death, the separation from God.
My prayer is that you would go to a life giving church this Easter and reflect on what God has done for you, through his Son Jesus - and accept the forgiveness and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ!
Christ has risen - He has risen indeed!

To view pictures of the Thorn go to www.savedinhisimage.smugmug.com

My Thorn Boys

2009-03-05T08:07:00.002-05:00

Come check out Tradd and Cooper in The Thorn, visit www.thethorn.net for ticket information.

Commercial Break

2009-02-24T21:28:00.002-05:00

Meghan, the kids and I are involved in this production. If you live in the Charleston area please get your tickets now and make sure to purchase one for someone you know, who doesn't know Jesus! This is a life changing experience.

Birthday Time In The House

2009-02-24T11:23:00.002-05:00

With the boys birthdays happening this week I'm getting a little emotional seeing my boys grow up. This video is my prayer for my children, check it out!

Drayton is being Dedicated

2009-02-19T15:54:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to let anyone in the Charleston Area know that we are having Drayton dedicated this Saturday. You are welcome to join us if you wish. It is being held in the Seacoast Chapel on Long Point Road at 5:00 pm

Drayton

2009-02-10T08:40:00.002-05:00

Drayton rolled over today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Front to back. I think she surprised herself and then was surprised by all my cheering. She is a beautiful, smiling, cooing, happy little blessing.

Bragging on Coleman!

2009-02-09T08:28:00.003-05:00

What a doll baby she is! She was just sitting on my lap and while looking down at my pajama bottoms, she started making the sign for horse. I looked at her and then realized she saw the rodeo horses on my pj's!!! She is sooooooooooooooo observant!! She's also very good with her receptive language skills. Here are some examples: last night I told her it was night night time and that I would read a book and she picked up her cup and walked back to her room. If you ask if she's hungry she'll go to her chair and wait for you to put her in. Or you can tell her to go to her chair for something to eat and she'll do it. She also does little chores for me like throwing away a diaper or picking trash off the floor and throwing it away. I could go on and on but I have to take Scott to work. Coleman amazes me and blesses me each day! Do you know the statistic that 90% of children who are diagnosed with Down Syndrome via amniocentesis are aborted!!!!!!!!! That has got to change! I think that God may even use Coleman to be a spokesperson for these babies who have no voice. We'll see. Anyway, I can't imagine my life without her or her Down Syndrome!!!!

Time for an update

2009-01-26T20:50:00.007-05:00

Saturday, despite the rainy and chilly weather we went to continue our Tourist In Your Own Town and headed off to Cypress Gardens. Tradd loves this place because of all the reptiles. It was the first "nice" day that we could get out without a ton of sweaters and jackets to do something. We really lucked out because they were having a Fossil show. All kinds of shark's teeth, bones, skeletons...it was really cool and the boys got to dig in a big tub for their own fossils. Flat Stanley from PA was along for our visit to Cypress Gardens.

Here are some pictures from our outing;

If you follow me on facebook or twitter you may have seen that this morning we woke up to 9ft candy canes in our front yard - here is a picture of that. Don't worry I know who did it and plans have already been made to get even. Scary part was our dog didn't even bark.

We also had another first in our house tonight, Tradd lost his first tooth. Got a little nervous when he saw the blood, but he got over it quickly and was excited about having a hole in his mouth.

Well, that's all I have from this end. God bless and good night!

Catching Up!

2009-01-17T09:23:00.011-05:00

Since it has been awhile since I posted I'll have to start back about a week and catch everyone up!

First of all we'll start with last Friday we went to Chick-fil-a to hang out with our good friend Cindy Ward. We always love hanging out with Cindy and a little Chick-fil-a never hurt anyone and of course the kids love playing on the playground. Here are some pics from the visit.

Saturday we continued our Tourist In Your Own Town with Birds of Prey! It was beautiful day and we got to see some really cool birds. Our friends the McGinnis' happen to be there too so the boys enjoyed hanging with Michael and Caleb.

Our very own "bird" of Prey

Tradd's favorite part of Birds of Prey were the daddy long legs that he caught.

Monday Meghan and the kids went out to visit Fort Sumter - Coleman did NOT like the boat ride. The boys seem to really enjoy the fort - I heard all about the cannons.

Monday evening Nanny and Poppy came to town. I took some time off work so we could all go to Edisto and enjoy more space at the beach house. The boys love the beach house and especially the beach.

Talking to Aunt Karen on the Phone.

Our view from the porch.

Treasures from the Ocean...

Our Treasures!

And last but not least - today, January 17th is Meghan's Birthday! Not sure how we are celebrating today - it's very cold down here but we might venture out to do some shopping.

Tourist In Your Own Town - Middleton

2009-01-03T21:15:00.008-05:00

Today we went to Middleton Plantation and happened to meet up with some friends;

Marti, Julie, Mary Chris and her son Nick.

We all had a great time walking around, (or running if you were one of the boys) chatting and taking in God's beautiful creation. We met a real cooper (a barrel maker) and he explained the art of barrel making to us. I believe the adults were into it more than the kids. Here are some pictures of our day, enjoy!

Saw some monkeys in the trees, oh wait those are the boys.

As Julie said as we walked past the live oaks that are hundreds of years old "If only these trees could talk."

Here are some of the animals we saw...

Cooper playing with rotting sugar cane

Tradd always finds a stick, no matter where we go.

Monkey see monkey do - of course Cooper has to have a stick too.

Here's what Drayton thought of the whole thing...

Where the Kinney's show up next, to be continued - Tourist in your own town...

Tourist In Your Own Town

2009-01-02T21:08:00.005-05:00

We bought a family pass to be a tourist in our own town. Charleston offers so many wonderful, beautiful and historical site to visit, so in the month of January, Charleston residents can purchase passes and go see the different sites for "free". The cost of the pass is way cheaper than if we paid to get into all the different sites - plus some of the sites hold little to no interest to the boys but Meghan and I enjoy them, so even if we only get to spend an hour or so there it is still a good deal.

Today we kicked off the touring...Tradd, Cooper and I went and toured the U.S.S. Yorktown for a couple of hours. The boys love seeing the jets and planes on the Yorktown and walking around and seeing all the model planes and ships. We had a great time!

Then we came home and picked up the girls and headed out to Magnolia Plantation - we were hoping to tour the swamp gardens but that was not part of the pass, so we stuck to the grounds, which include a petting zoo and gardens to wonder around in. The boys loved the petting zoo, Cooper was even taken into the rabbit pen because he wanted to pet the rabbits, so the zoo keeper took him in. Tradd love picking up sticks and leaves as we walked around the gardens and Cooper kept telling us which way to go (following the arrows on the signs).

We all had a great time and will head out again tomorrow (weather permitting) to take in another plantation or park or whatever tickles our fancy!

Awwwwwwww

2009-01-01T16:23:00.004-05:00

So, Tradd tells me he wishes he had breasts so he could nurse Drayton!!?? Sweet huh? Well, not so much. He said this after asking me to get him some play clothes so he could go outside. I told him he'd have to wait til I finished nursing. (I lock the boys' closet because Cooper would wear everything he owns in one day and also make a huge mess. So, when they need some clothes, I have to get it.) FYI Tradd discovered a loose tooth the other day. Very exciting new year ahead for all of us!

Cypress Gardens Trip

2008-12-30T16:09:00.003-05:00

Since I'm off work this week we always spend it doing fun family stuff around the Charleston area. Today's trip was to Cypress Gardens - this is always a favorite for the boys and it was today too, despite the fact that most of the attractions were closed for remodeling. Here are a few pictures of the trip - it was just me and the boys this time.

Monitor Lizard, one of Tradd's Favorites

Tradd spotted this frog in the green muck.

Rich Man's Problem For Sure!

2008-12-25T13:51:00.005-05:00

Where do we put all these new toys? This is a rich man's problem indeed! May all who read this be blessed with an overflowing storehouse (physically, spiritually and emotionally) in the coming new year!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T14:27:00.003-05:00

Just a quick prayer that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a blessed 2009. We thank God for our family, friends, health and so much much more. Looking forward to where God leads us in 2009 - stay tuned to the post for updates on the children and God's blessings on our lives.

Much Love,

The Kinney Six

New Shoes and pictures of the princesses

2008-12-12T14:29:00.002-05:00

It was new shoe day in the Kinney House - Tradd got some sneakers and Cooper got some cowboy boots.

Life with four!

2008-12-08T08:18:00.002-05:00

Just some random thoughts here. Yesterday as I ate my cold oatmeal again, I thought "I'm starting to like cold oatmeal for breakfast." It's been years (I exaggerate of course) since I've eaten a warm breakfast. HAHA! Another random thought, I've been meaning to write down something that Tradd said to me a few weeks ago. I've been telling everybody but have failed to write it down. Tradd, looking at Drayton, said "She's not as pretty as Coleman, is she a boy?" I reassured Tradd that when Coleman was first born she kind of looked the same way and that in fact Drayton was a girl! Then Tradd asked, "does Drayton have Down Syndrome?" When I said "no," Tradd said, "awwww but I want her to be just like Coleman because I love Coleman!" Oh the things that warm a mother's heart!! How sweet that was!

Well, I'm sure there's tons more random thoughts but the boys are showing me their drawings and I've lost all concentration! Life with four is, well, crazy!!! I've been on several outings by myself with them and honestly the best part is being where ever we are but getting there is the hardship. Oh my!! The one beauty in it all is that I've finally worked out the kinks of nursing so I'm not having to worry about bottles etc on these outings!! I tend to just wear the same clothes everywhere I go because of the ease of nursing in those clothes and not having to figure out another outfit.

The kids are loving all the special events we've been attending. If Tradd were really honest, he's having fun tasting all the cookies. Pretty sure he's had about every kind of cookie ever dreamed up.

I'm going to have to post some other time. I just can't focus with all that's going on. Think that will change in the next 18 years? HA HA!

Quick Kinney Update

2008-12-06T09:30:00.009-05:00

Took a trip to Ohio for thanksgiving! Kids traveled well but daddy didn't like driving to and from Ohio in the snow. But it was worth it, we had a lot of fun. The boys loved the snow.

We took the kids to the Cleveland Zoo! Everyone had a blast and it wasn't too cold, only 40 degrees while we were there and most things were indoors.

Coleman turned two while we were there so we had a little party. Unfortunately Nanny, Aunt Karen and Nicole were not able to join us because of bad weather.

Mommy's childhood friend Staci came over to visit! Tradd loved Ms. Staci and commented on how much he will miss her when she left and the first thing he did when he got home was to write a note (with hearts) to Ms. Staci.

We are now back in Charleston getting settled back into our routines, decorating for Christmas and participating in lots of Holiday festivities around Charleston. When daddy returned to work his office looked like a children's toy and clothing store. We were blessed with seven bins of clothing for the girls and bunches of toys for the kids.

We pray everyone has a save and blessed Christmas season.

And then there was four

2008-11-11T09:47:00.003-05:00

We are so blessed with our new princess, she has been wonderful. She is at her first doctors appointment right now with mommy and I have taken time off this morning to stay home with numbers 1-3. (I can't seem to get the right name with the right child so I have converted to calling them by numbers).

Here are a few more pictures of number 4 - enjoy.

More Pictures of Drayton

2008-11-07T15:34:00.006-05:00

Nana and Drayton

Sleeping Princess

Sorry I haven't been updating, we lost wireless at the hospital last night.

Drayton Elizabeth Kinney has arrived!

2008-11-06T14:43:00.002-05:00

Drayton showed up today at 2:01 pm - she is 8lbs 10oz and 20.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great (so is dad) Thanks for all the prayers and enjoy the pictures.

2008-10-28T19:36:00.004-04:00

I actually laid on the bed watching some Oprah today. Her show is not usually my favorite thing to watch. But, what a neat show it was. They talked about and with these children and their families who have overcome incredible situations or medical issues. It was a real celebration of life!! This show really emphasized the significance of each life and just how cherished life is. Strangely, I couldn't walk away from that show without feeling so much grief over the issue of abortion. How do we celebrate life in one instance and destroy it in another? I really wish I could be on Oprah's after-show and make this statement. I just don't think that people see these issues as the same or even related but they are!! What if the parents that had the conjoined twins aborted them when they found out they were conjoined? These parents certainly wouldn't have been sharing an awe-inspiring story with the nation on Oprah's show! I know that part of the abortion issue comes down to the argument about "when does life start?" Well, I'm sorry to say that I think it ignorance that some don't believe it's a life until completely out of the womb and breathing on it's own. This little girl inside me would argue that as well as she's trying to kick her way straight out my belly button as I type this!

Well, I keep thinking about this election and unfortunately I can't get past this one issue, especially when it seems that this genocide we call abortion will get waaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy worse if the nation votes one way and probably somewhat better if the nation votes the other way. (I've been doing my homework and I have educated myself on what each candidate's stance on this topic is so please don't think I'm being partisan!!) For a wonderfully well-written document that reveals exactly why abortion would get worse given the election of one of the candidates, go to http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008450.cfm.

Thanks Oprah, for reminding us how cherished and significant life is! (Here's a link to an inspiration message regarding life; http://www.catholicvote.com/)

No baby yet!

2008-10-24T16:47:00.005-04:00

Drayton should make an appearance next week; I hope!! I've started to dilate so that's exciting but I can't sleep or walk very well. All I want to do is eat and sleep but I certainly don't want to prepare the food. So, the kids are eating quite interesting foods these days. Actually Scott cooks most evenings and when he doesn't, I usually make eggs and toast!! HA!HA!

A week ago, Scott's team threw a shower for us after service on Saturday night. We had a blast and were really overwhelmed by the number of people and gifts!! We need an addition to have room for everything! (You know God promises your storehouse will overflow when you make Him first! We're not perfect at making Him first but He has so been faithful in his provisions anyway!!) Scott's team worked sooooooo hard that night during the service and then to have the party for us with such great food etc. We are sooooooo blessed to have such wonderful friends/extended family in our lives. Thanks to you all who came and also especially to those who put on the wonderful party. We are so grateful for you all!!!!!

Kids are great! So funny and soooooo cute. Coleman is still trying to walk and getting better everyday. She's doing great with sign language and she just makes the most precious faces. She waves at everybody and says "hi" with her most southern accent. Cooper is saying the cutest things with his little 3 y. o speech, he's of course very independent and loves to wake us in the am with big smiles and hugs and kisses. I think his favorite topics are poo poo and gas. Go figure! Tradd is a veracious learner, especially his memory verses and he just doesn't stop talking about anything and nothing at all. He's doing great with reading and writing and he's learning about being a good leader especially for his siblings. Both Tradd and Cooper have jobs that help mommy manage life (ie. feed the dog, feed fish, Tradd buckles Cooper and himself so I don't have to reach in the back of the van! Whew!) I just can't say enough what a blessing it is to have these children and Scott in my life! God must really love me!

Buddy Walk

2008-10-01T14:46:00.002-04:00

For those of you here in the Charleston area the Kinney family will be doing the buddy walk this Sunday at the park on Daniel Island. Festivities start at 12:30 pm and the One Mile Fun Walk starts at 3:00 pm. If you would like to join us reply to this post!
Hope to see you there!

Pictures!!!!

2008-09-24T11:43:00.004-04:00

Scott, Meghan and Drayton Elizabeth

Super Model Coleman

Cooper and Tradd being natural

The Kinney Family!

For those of you in the Charleston Area - these photos were taken by Chelle Fazal - she is a wonderful photographer and you can set up an appointment here.

Things they say and do!

2008-09-06T09:58:00.003-04:00

Tradd found a baby squirrel this a.m. He was still alive after falling about 20 ft. Couldn't just leave him there to die he was so cute and pink. As we drove him to the vet (yes they actually try to rehab these tiny creatures and then send them to a licensed rehaber. Oh the things I learned today) I realized I should have taken a pic of the tiny little guy. On the drive home, I told the boys we should pray that he lives and is healthy soon. Tradd prayed a sweet little prayer and asked God's mercy on the squirrel. Cooper said he didn't want to pray for the squirrel but he'd rather pray for the American flag so it didn't blow away or fall down. HAHAHAHAHA! Sometimes they drive me nuts and other times they make me laugh til I about wet myself. Just as we were leaving the vet (no bill for us this time!) Cooper kept digging really hard at his nose and then he started to cry. So, I looked and low and behold there was a small pebble/rock up his nose! While he was crying I tried to pry it out with one of my keys, so afraid he would jerk and make me poke him with it. I got it to a point where he just blew and it came out. Boy did he think that was funny!

First day of school

2008-09-02T21:49:00.005-04:00

Our first official day of homeschooling today. Tradd woke up with his usual "I've been thinking about what we can do today." This is usually followed by crabbing or fishing or going to the park or beach. Anyway, I told him it was our first day of school and he quickly said, "I wonder when I get to have Spring Break?" Well the day got a lot better as both boys seemed to love all that we did. As we were doing a Bible lesson and talking about being disciples, Tradd said he was a follower of Jesus but Cooper said he'd rather follow ducks! Who knows where that came from but I hardly stopped laughing all day for their antics.

Our pet guinea pigs, Lady and Tramp

2008-08-29T16:59:00.002-04:00

Betcha didn't know that some vets actually see/treat guinea pigs!? Never thought I'd ever care that they did. Actually would have cost us less to let the one die and buy a new one. Sounds horrible but I just couldn't see the little animals suffer anymore. So, Monday we made an emergency (unplanned) trip to the vet with Lady and Tramp who have been scratching furiously for months. Well, they were found to have, are you ready for this? They both have scabies and
Lady has it so bad she also has pneumonia and has lost weight etc. The amazing thing to me is that I didn't even say anything to the vet about putting her down. He said they would both get a shot for the scabies and then we'd go home with meds for the pneumonia and hope it gets better. This, I accepted along with a pretty big bill. Honestly, I'll probably get flack for this but, our wonderful dog has heartworms and we didn't even spend the $400 to get her better. She was diagnosed with this at least 5 years ago and you should see this girl run. Anyway, this was nowhere near $400 but much more than a new one would have cost. She'd better live!! She's actually eating and drinking pretty well and taking her meds very well. Just one more thing as a parent that I never thought I'd do. I told Tradd that she may not make it but we were going to do what we can to help her live. He started to cry and I'm not sure what all he said. I think he said something about getting another one to which I quickly said "no." Made him cry more. See, I should have let her die and just bought another one. He would have been fine with that. UGH!! Well, today we went crabbing and caught one and lost our crabbing basket. UGH! UGH! Anyway, we thought we'd go ahead and cook the one because we never have. Well, Tradd cried for 45 minutes because he thought we were putting the crab in our salt water aquarium. At first I joked with him about eating the crab and then it got serious. He couldn't breath right from crying so hard. So we conceded not to eat the crab but to take him back and let him go (we already have a small one in our aquarium). When he could finally breath right and there were no fresh tears he said, "let's eat it." You should have seen him dig into that crab. What a week!

3 Cheers for Pastor Scott!

2008-08-08T13:54:00.003-04:00

Scott was "ordained" Seacoast fashion on Wednesday night. He was officially made a pastor 2 months ago but Wednesday was the public recognition of that calling. I'm so thrilled for him and so proud of him!! Scott puts his heart and soul into everything he does; work, play, being a father and husband. I'm just so glad to see God blessing him for his excellence and faithfulness to the Father. I could not have married a better man and am so thankful that God chose him for me and vice versa.

Blessed beyond words!

2008-08-04T20:31:00.003-04:00

Not a day goes by that I am not blown away by God's provision!! The kids and I traveled 2500 miles during our vacation and the car ran great and just turned over 200,000 miles!! Only traveling set-back was a flat tire. The fact that we were kept so safe from accidents is also a huge praise! Gas prices were exhorbitant (about $4.29 in Michigan) but we had the money set aside in savings thanks to the IRS! (HA!HA!) Work was done on our house while we were gone that we never could have afforded. Work is still going to be done that is necessary for our health and safety and again it's all been provided for. There's been literally thousands, probably millions, of other things that God has taken care of for us but the incident that prompted this post came in the mail a few days ago. I have an OBGYN bill that I've paid a very small amount towards and I've been putting off making larger payments because I've been watching our very high insurance deductible slowly being met! I called the insurance company today to verify that in fact, we have $127 until our big deductible is met and after that, everything is covered 100% including hospitalization!! That means baby Drayton's prenatal care and delivery will not come out of our pockets. Can I just tell you that I complained like you wouldn't believe when the insurance changed to this high deductible? I, needless-to-say, have been very humbled by what a blessing it has turned out to be. There's a lot more detail to the whole story but what is also evident is that we never would have reached this amount if it weren't for Coleman's need for therapy and regular checks of her thyroid, heart and hearing. (Medicaid is her secondary insurance so all the bills go first to our insurance and then to Medicaid which is what helped us meet the deductible without it being a hardship on us.) More and more chapters keep getting added to the book God wants me to write! I've spent the second half of this day praising God and crying over his abundant provision!!

The Kinney Family Northern Tour

2008-07-30T19:18:00.008-04:00

Lots of miles over the past two and a half weeks have gone into our van and we praise God that it survived. Let's see if I can give you the highlights of everything that has been happening in the Kinney household and on the road...

Meghan and the kids went to Glennie, Michigan for vacation with her family.

Tradd, Cooper and Uncle Rob with the catch of the day!

The Kinney Kids on the boat.

Swimming in North Lake in Glennie, Michigan

Meghan's parent's celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year! Here is some of the family...

I met up with Meghan and the kids and we headed to PA to visit my family...

Enjoying more fishing with mom and dad at Hidden Valley Camp grounds in PA.

COUSINS ARE FUN!

My parents and their grand kids!

I'll post some more pictures and some videos of the trip later.

Nine Years of Bliss...

2008-07-16T20:10:00.003-04:00

Meghan and I are celebrating our 9th year of marriage today! I was thinking back on our wedding today and all the many wonderful and fun memories. Here are nine memories, one for each year...in no particular order;
* The wedding coordinator losing the reception center keys till 1 am.
* All our wonderful friends and family who traveled from all over the U.S. to celebrate with us.
* Meghan's brother reminding us that no matter what happened during the ceremony we would be walking out as husband and wife.
* The church being in the middle of remodeling and me calling Joan every day to see if the auditorium would be ready in time.
* How the wedding party got along so well, as if they had all been friends for a long time.
* Beautiful Meghan!
* Jeff's forever long toast
* The wonderful prayers of our friends; Jerry, Lana, Dennison, Colleen, Jim and Janet during the service
* Pastor Michael standing up in front of the church the Wednesday before the wedding and inviting everyone to join us at the ceremony

The list could go on and on...
Nine years and still counting, thanks for marring me Meghan! And thank you God for sharing Meghan with me.

A Weekend Packed with Fun!

2008-07-01T20:16:00.005-04:00

What a great weekend! On Friday, after Coleman's PT, we headed up to Myrtle Beach to visit our friends from Raleigh, Debbie and Paul and their children Paul and Rose. We haven't seen them in over 3 years. (They never met Cooper or Coleman). They were vacationing at a great place in MB and so we headed up to see them and spent the day visiting and swimming. It was a BLAST!

On Saturday I officiated my second wedding. My assistant's daughter got married at the Woodlands, the only 5 star restaurant and resort in SC (at least that is what I am told). It was so beautiful and the food was amazing. They had all my favorites - Prime Rib, Shrimp and Grits, and a really cool french fry bar - french fries and about 100 different toppings including chocolate. It was so cool.

Then on Sunday I got to do what I love doing and that is teach children about Jesus. What a perfect way to end a wonderful, fun filled weekend with friends!

First Pictures of Drayton Elizabeth Kinney

2008-06-19T17:06:00.004-04:00

These are Drayton's Feet!

Here is her beautiful profile!

Drayton Elizabeth Kinney - coming to the Kinney Home this fall!

Pictures from Coleman's Party

2008-06-12T19:45:00.005-04:00

Ready for a Healthy Heart Party

This was a "praise box" that was painted by our friend Laura who is also the artist of our favorite books "I Am" and "I Am Here".

We wanted to make our altar portable since we don't know if we will be living in the same house forever. It's not too late to add to the altar, find a stone laying around your yard - write a scripture or note or your name and send to us and we will add it to the altar.

One Year of a Healthy Heart Weekend Celebration

2008-05-30T08:51:00.004-04:00

One year ago today Coleman had her surgery to repair the AV Canal Defect in her heart. Today we are celebrating that God not only healed Coleman but has continued to make her heart strong. And the peace that Meghan and I experienced during that time can not be explained, except that we know it came from all the prayers from our family and friends.

Today we are taking some treats down to the hospital to say thank you to the nurses, doctors and staff that took such good care of Coleman and us. On Saturday we are having a Praise God Party! We are "building" an altar to remember what God did for us last year, through His healing and His peace. In Genesis 12:7 we read that Abram built an altar, the first of several that were built at places where he had memorable spiritual experiences. We will have stones for folks to write on (a scripture, comment about Coleman, prayer or praise, etc.) or they can just simply place a stone as part of the altar remembering what God did, May 30, 2007. They can also take a stone with them to remind them of something God has done, or is doing in their lives.

We just want to have a time of praising God for his many blessings upon us especially for Coleman's healing. If you can not join us for the party - please take a moment and say Thank you to God today for all He has done for you!

Coleman a few days after surgery!

Coleman today!

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-27T13:27:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures of us celebrating Memorial day at the beach - yes I said beach. We are crazy to go to the beach on Memorial Day weekend, but the kids love it and we love seeing them have fun!

Thank You to all the men and women who have served or are still currently serving our country, and to their families. I am proud to be an American - an blessed that God allowed me to be born and live in a free country. Thank you for keeping us free!

New Pictures of the Kinney Kids...

2008-05-23T07:15:00.004-04:00

Blessed!!!

2008-05-16T10:01:00.003-04:00

I've been thinking about updating for days and I don't think I have anything outstanding to say other than "my cup runneth over." It is such a blessing to be home with the kids, it is such a blessing that Coleman's heart surgery was a year ago and she's really doing well with her development, it's such a blessing to have this little, but much-loved house, it's a blessing that my parents have been committed for 50 years this August, it's a blessing to be pregnant and healthy, it's a blessing that we have all our needs met and more than we need, it's a blessing to know Christ and experience his grace and mercy daily, it's a blessing that we have a good marriage that gives security and stability to us and the kids, it's a blessing that we have a swing set, beautiful playhouse, driveway, landscaping (all of which were gifts and completely unaffordable for us), tons of toys for the kids including bikes, a perfect-sized swimming pool, two doves nests (one at the front door and one at the back where we get to keep an eye on the progress of those eggs), a freezer full of organic food that friends who are moving gave to us, two vans that run well (also gifts), a ton of paper products gifted to us because our dishwasher is out of order, a great job for Scott where he can use His gifts and talents to serve God and families, incredible friends and family and I don't think the list ever really stops. I'm so blessed to be middle-class American with amazing freedoms and opportunities. I'm so blessed to have been able to get a good education throughout my life. We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo blessed!!! I know I haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg!! God is soooooooooooo good!! I hope you have a very blessed day!

Update on Hunter, my cousin's son.

2008-05-06T09:16:00.000-04:00

Amber Faust sent the following email regarding Hunter's surgery and then a follow-up:

We went today to see Hunter's surgeon. The surgery is scheduled for July 17th. He will be in the Pediatric ICU for two days after the surgery and then in a regular room for three days following. This is God allowing there are no problems. I will be stay in the Ronald McDonald House while he is in the hospital. While he is in the ICU I can go to see him, but they ask that the visits are kept brief. So I'm sure I will be making brief visits every hour on the hour. I can stay in his room with him after he goes into a regular room. I haven't been away from Hunter overnight more than twice since he's been born. The surgeon was extremely nice. I asked what kind of care he should receive once we go home. He told me that there is no way to keep him from his regular behavior, all I have to do is not pick him up from under his arms. He will continue to see his cardiologist for several years after the surgery. I thank you all for your prayers for my family. We certainly need them.Sincerely,Amber M. Faust

Picture Time

2008-04-27T14:46:00.004-04:00

Here are some new pictures of the kids - enjoy!

Every Daddy's Dream

2008-04-22T20:11:00.002-04:00

Really quick... I was outside playing with Tradd and Cooper after work and out of the blue Cooper says to me..."Daddy I want to be like you!" Brings a tear to your eye doesn't it?

Creation vs. Evolution

2008-04-20T07:49:00.003-04:00

Well, our little Einstein has done it again. He, Tradd, is voraciously eating up any info. I can give him on evolution. At the same time, his favorite book for me to read is the Bible so I figure he's definitely coming out on the side of creation right? Wrong! Well, at least he says he believes in Evolution. I think it's the typical pastors kid not wanting to believe what he knows his parents believe. Every time he talks about believing in evolution I tell him that's his choice but that mommy and daddy believe the Bible is the truth and it just makes the most sense. It's kind of like the whole Halloween thing. He would say that he doesn't like Halloween but that when he grows up he'll celebrate Halloween. I figure he's looking for a reaction so I tell him that's his choice but for now we don't participate. I will say one thing, these issues have caused me to pray much more for the kids. I love that he seeks information and that he seems to do it equally about God and evolution. He's such a compliant kid so it's disheartening that he seems to be using these things to assert his will and rebel a little. This could be a great thing as he grows up and hopefully stops playing this game and works out his faith. He could become a great apologist. But, he's certainly going to keep me on my knees (which is where I should be anyway, huh?).

Cooper, being quite the little competitor, has learned how to pump on the swings and he's very good. He's been doing it for a few months and he can't stand it when Tradd says he's swinging higher than Cooper. And oh does he strut like a peacock when he catches a bug or caterpillar or something and his brother doesn't have one. These two are pretty competitive!

And for the princess: she's sleeping through the night again now that she's cut 6 top teeth and no longer has any infections such as croup or pneumonia. She's crawling much more efficiently and is into everything. She looooooves to try and stand on her own and let go of things. She is getting better at it too.

Last but not least, baby Drayton is still wreaking havoc on my days. I actually had 5 days in a row last week where I felt my old self with no nausea. Then it came back with a vengeance. Anyway, I guess I'm about 12 weeks and I have an OB appointment next Friday. I think they're going to try and hear Drayton's heartbeat. I think I'm still in shock that we're back to this again! The consensus in the house is pretty much that Drayton should be a girl. Everyone seems to have their own reasons but I think Coleman and Drayton would be best buds and I just can't stand to have all these beautiful dresses not be worn by another Kinney baby. Imagine the competition in this house if Drayton is a boy!? Tradd is so sweet. He rubs my belly when I'm feeling sick.

Well, this has taken me an hour to write because I keep getting interrupted. I'm not much of a creative writer with this much interruption topped off by baby brain. So, although it lacked a bit of writing `color', there's the Kinney Kids update. Will be getting my hair cut tomorrow. Should be a dramatic difference. Will try to do before and after pics. Yea!!

A Cooper Story

2008-04-10T20:14:00.003-04:00

The other night, when it was time for bed, I told the boys to go to the bathroom. In the process Cooper ended up peeing on his underwear. It upset him when I told him he had to change them, they were one of his two favorite pairs. He asked if he could wear his other favorite pair, which happened to be in the dryer and not yet dry. After trying to explain the whole laundry system to a 3 year old we had melt down. He just didn't want to wear the underwear I picked out, he wanted his favorite pair. I told him that he was not the boss, daddy was and that he needed to put the underwear on and head to bed. After some pretty heavy persuading we made it to the bedroom. While I was reading to Tradd, Cooper kept pushing me with his feet telling me to get off his bed. So when it came time for lights out I did what any father would do - I made him more upset at me by laying down on his bed with him. He pushed and kicked saying "get out of my bed daddy, I don't like you." When I told him I would not get out of his bed he rolled over in a huff away from me. When it was time for me to leave the room, I stood up and told both the boys I loved them and started out the door. Cooper stopped me and in a very sweet voice called out "Daddy".
Expecting to hear "I Sorry" or "I love you" I asked "What is it Cooper?" To which he replied...
"I THE BOSS" and rolled over away from me.
It was as if he waited to get the last word in. He's lucky he's so cute!

Another Kinney Update

2008-04-10T20:05:00.004-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that Coleman is doing much better. You may have seen on a comment my mom left on our blog, Coleman was taken to the ER last Sunday with a temp. of 104. The doctor didn't think it was pneumonia but Meghan asked for an x-ray and sure enough it was pneumonia. She was sent home with some meds and is doing well now. Matter of fact as I am typing this she is standing next to me and kissing my knee.
So thanks so much for all your prayers for Coleman and for my staff they have all returned to good health. Even Lauren is doing well - the report I got today is that she is missing work and wants to get back. She is still tired and catching up on some sleep.
If you are reading this Lauren, get well soon, we all miss you and can't wait to have you back at work.
So I think we are back to health here in the Kinney home! At least I hope so we have a big weekend planned - we are watching Cora and Connor this weekend. Cora is going to be a big help for Meghan as she just loves Coleman and Connor and Cooper are the same age and love playing together. It should be a fun filled weekend - and when I say filled I mean with children.

Prayer Requests

2008-04-04T20:48:00.002-04:00

Hey gang if there is one thing I am 100% sure of, it's that God answers prayer! Here is a few things that I would like for you to join me in praying for...

Lauren H. - 24 year old co-worker who had surgery today to remove thyroid cancer. They found more and had to remove the whole thyroid as well as some lymph nodes. She will start radiation treatments soon. Please pray for her and her family as this was not the outcome they were expecting today.
Terri S. - another co-worker who has strep throat
Melissa P. - another co-worker who has some kind of stomach bug that won't let go. Plus her daughter has her first dance competition this weekend - pray she is well enough to go and watch
Mariann C. - another co-worker (I know, I should look for a new job - or staff that doesn't get so sick) who has been battling the flu all week
Char O. - friend in PA who has surgery on Wednesday - pray for a speedy recovery for her and keep her husband Dave in your prayers as well.

Thank you so much! I know there are a bunch of prayer warriors out there so lets get to our knees and take these boldly before the throne of God!!!!

Update on the Kinney Fam!

2008-04-03T20:11:00.005-04:00

As you know I have the best job in the world, I LOVE WHAT I DO! But even though I love what I do, it doesn't mean that my job doesn't come with some stress from time to time. This week stress is an understatement. I have taken on some new responsibilities at work and until I get the hang of them there is going to be some level of stress added with the extra work. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and I see the light, it's just getting to that light that has been the challenge. I'm also the type of person that when I stress I don't sleep well. I'm constantly in work mode and always thinking what the next work day will look like, thus losing sleep.
On top of work stresses we have had some sickness in our house. A couple of weeks ago both the boys had strep throat and Coleman has been teething (five teeth at one time - her poor parents). Last Saturday morning we took her to the ER because she was having difficulty breathing, due to congestion. Since she had pneumonia last year at this time, we didn't want to take any chances. By the time we got to the ER she was talking and making all kinds of sounds. Coleman was diagnosed with croup. They gave her some meds and we headed home.
After returning home for the ER, Meghan went to the doctor to find out that she had strep throat. As if all the morning sickness she's had the last 9 weeks wasn't bad enough. Yep morning sickness as in pregnant...you read correctly, the Kinney's are expecting again - November 3rd. Don't worry, it's okay to laugh, we laughed too when we found out. And yes we know what is causing it but for some reason God wanted us to have this precious child. Without going into details all I will say is Meghan only has one fallopian tube and the box said 99.8% effective.
Since the shock has worn off we can say we are excited about the upcoming arrival of Drayton Issac (meaning laughter) or Drayton Elizabeth (favorite Jane Austen character) this fall. We ask that you would keep us in your prayers as we prepare for the new arrival and we will keep you posted on all the cool and exciting things God is doing in our lives at this time.
I do have to say that the night we found out I struggled with the idea of having another child, not because I didn't want one, but because I wasn't sure where we were going to put one. (no comments Lori) 1,000 square feet only holds so much and so many. But God already is working that out and we will fill you in more on that as it progresses. The one big thing we are learning is that God is in control and we need to trust Him.

My little genius

2008-03-26T19:27:00.003-04:00

Just have to brag on Tradd's intelligence. Yesterday I was reading one of his dinosaur books to him and instead of skipping over the "millions of years ago," blah, blah, blah part, I accidentally read it and then I said, "whatever." Tradd asked why I said that so I briefly explained a little about evolution. Very briefly and probably most crudely. I said that some scientists believe that some fish used to be land animals and that some land animals used to be fish and that they adapted when their environment changed. I said that evolution even says that way back, our relatives were monkeys or apes or something and he laughed!! Well, today he can talk about nothing but evolution. He said "mommy, you know my movie about dinosaurs?" I said, "you mean Fantasia?" He said, "yes." "Well, you know that part where the fish are wiggling and changing and then some start to walk instead of swim? Is that evolution?" I was floored,"OH, MY GOSH!! Yes!" So he wanted to know more about evolution so we talked about Darwin. And, I told him that I was pretty sure Darwin even changed his mind about this theory but nobody ever talks about that. (will have to do some homework on that) So he later was making all kinds of dinosaurs and fish with his play dough but he would make them all a little different to demonstrate evolution. Then, tonight he gets his story Bible out because I had told him that it's possible that God made some animals with the ability to adapt to a changing environment but that certainly the part about how something came from nothing is impossible. I told him that the Bible tells us that God was always there and he's the `something' that created everything. We read about Adam and Eve and all of creation and he didn't want to stop so we read up through Joseph. Then he asked Scott if they could watch the Moses movie and that's where they are now. Scott just said that he was in there with them during the part where God promised Canaan to the Israelites and when Tradd heard about the "land flowing with milk and honey," he said he would really like that place because he can't get enough milk and honey. Kids say the greatest things!! Cooper is at the stage where he shows more emotional/relational intelligence than IQ. (His IQ especially shows in his attempts at manipulating situations to get his way and especially manipulating his brother to get Tradd into trouble.) Anyway, he's so caring for his sister when she's upset. About a week ago we were at another church during morning bible study and when Coleman got upset in the nursery, they walked around with her and Cooper came up to the worker with Coleman and patted her head and said "I right here Poleman, don't cry. It's all right!" So sweet and tender. Well, I could write for hours but I'm tired. Just had to brag. Coleman is great and healthy but having difficulty teething. She's cruising mostly to the right so we work on the left side. She loves to stand up and frequently thinks she can do it without holding on. Good thing her bottom is well padded. Well, Good night! Many blessings to you!

God's Easter gift to me

2008-03-23T11:52:00.004-04:00

For the last 7 years (pretty sure every year since we moved into this house) when I get into the car on Easter Sunday, no matter what service I attend on this special day, I get blessed with the old song from Don Francisco "He's alive!" The words of the song tell the story and it all builds to the chorus basically I think from Peter's perspective when he proclaims "He's alive!" I'm all ready for church, even have makeup on my eyes, and I end up crying like a baby. I literally blubber and can't even sing the greatest, most important words of the song. "He's alive! He's alive! He's alive and I'm forgiven Heaven's gates are open wide!" That pretty much sums up Easter and Christianity. Even more though, he was dead (because of our sins) and now he's alive!!! Whew!! I've spent most of the day wiping away tears of joy and overwhelming blessing!!!!!!! Jesus is Risen!!

computer outage

2008-03-18T15:47:00.004-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted! We have experienced a computer glitch. Things are good at the Kinney House and God continues to bless us.

My mom was in town with her friend Donna for a couple of days and the kids loved having Nana around.

Lady and the Tramp, our guinea pigs are doing well, I think they are getting used to us and the craziness of the house.

Here are some pictures that our friend Chelle Fazal took for us. Interested in having her do some family shots for you? Go to her website (after April 1st) http://www.chellefazal.com/

I took this picture of Meghan and Cooper, just love it!!!!

I'll try to post more often!

Winter break and boys birthday

2008-03-02T20:38:00.005-05:00

Wow, it has been a busy month for us, but a very fun month...

The end of February we took a long weekend and headed down to Florida to visit my cousins Lydia and Julie, and Lydia's mother-in-law, Janet. Meghan and I were a little nervous about the trip - five people invading a home, but I believe everyone had a great time. I know our family did. The boys hated to leave, I think it was the nice warm swimming pool that Lydia had in her back yard, plus all the fun with Lydia and Julie.

We left Lydia's on Monday, February 25, which was Tradd's birthday, so we stopped at Downtown Disney to have lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe and to have some fun shopping for the boys' birthdays. (Cooper's birthday is March 1st) We had a blast, but let me tell you we were worn out when it was done. So we left Downtown Disney (sorry but this really is the short version of everything - plus there will be pictures to follow) and headed up towards I95 where we got the first exit and met up with our friends Jen and Lee and their children for coffee and catching up. Jen and Lee moved to Florida four years ago and we haven't seen each other for at least two or more years, so it was just great catching up and seeing them, even if it was only for a couple of hours. Then we headed to Edisto (an Island just south of Charleston). My former assistant and wonderful blessing to Meghan and I, Kay, has a beach house on Edisto and offered it to us for the week. So we spent the rest of the week at the beach house just hanging out as a family and enjoying time together. It was a true relaxing vacation and just a wonderful time together.

Now as for today and the boys' birthday party - what a blast. I'm going to try and post a video of the boys and their cakes. We're hoping this video makes us some money on AFV. But here are some pictures as well from the party. If you read this blog you know that Tradd is really into rats. So some friends called Meghan today to ask if they could buy him a hamster for his birthday - Meghan's first response was, did you ask Scott? She then told them it would be ok. Well praise God they did not get the rat-want-to-be but got the boys Guinnea Pigs instead. Tradd quickly named them Lady and Tramp (because there is a rat in the movie which I think is where this whole rat thing started.) Well, we now have reason to believe that Lady is a tramp and Tramp is a lady - and if they have babies, everyone we know will be getting guinnea pigs as gifts...

Anyway we have had a blessed and wonderful month - we will try to get better with updates more often and keeping everyone informed. Enjoy the pictures...

Kinney Kids Update

2008-02-08T16:38:00.000-05:00

For those of you asking for an update on the kids here it is...

Tradd and Cooper are getting ready to celebrate their birthdays. They are growing in so many ways.

Tradd is still into rats! He has asked for a rodant birthday party this year, with rats, bats and mice.

Coleman is doing great with her pulling up, we know one day she is just going to stand up and walk on her own. Here is a video of her pulling up at the boys train table.

Enjoy

Hunter's Progress

2008-02-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

Many of you have been praying for my cousin Amber and her baby boy Hunter. Here is an email I got from my Aunt Joan, Amber's mom...

I want to share the good news we received on Friday from the cardiologist. Hunter valves are growing to right size..the hole is still there,but we can handle that. The Dr says that we are looking at 6 months. to a years verse 4 months 6 months. The Dr is very happy with progress he has made. I thought to Amber was the power of prayers, and in her blog that what she says also. God is good. We still are not out of the dark yet, but with prayer and God we won't loose.Please thank all your friends and your church for all the prayers, and keep praying.Give the kids a hug and kiss from us.Love You allAunt Joan

Thank you for your prayers and we ask that you keep praying for Hunter and Amber as well as the whole family.

In Him
Scott

A Woman of God

2008-01-21T08:49:00.001-05:00

Please take a moment and listen to this incredible message from an incredible women of God.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU3lGB6-dMs

We serve an AWESOME God!

2008-01-18T11:10:00.001-05:00

My God is so BIG so STRONG and so MIGHTY, there's nothing my God can not do!!!!!

A Time for Everything

2008-01-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says;
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,

"A time to be born"
Today was a happy day for us as we celebrated Meghan's ___th birthday. I praise God for giving her life, for her parents having her and most of all for God sharing Meghan with me and blessing us with three beautiful children. Meghan is a wonderful mother, wife and friend. I can't say enough about here. Thank you to everyone who called and emailed Meghan today and made this day special for her. And I can't tell you how many times Cooper sang "Happy Birthday to you" to Meghan today.

"A time to die"
Today was also a sad day for us. Many of you who read this blog know my cousin Lydia. If you don't know her personally, but have followed this blog, you at least know that I was able to visit Lydia and her husband Vol while I was in AZ this past October. Last evening I received a phone call from my mom that Vol had a heart attack and had passed away. I was pretty shocked to receive the call, even though I knew it was coming as Vol has been in bad health for awhile. While I was in AZ, Lydia and I talked about the fact that Vol probably would not make it through another year. One thing I really admire about Lydia and Vol's marriage is that from the beginning they have lived their life as if it were their last day together. I admire them for that!
I ask that you keep Lydia and the family in your prayers as this will be a rough time.
I leave you with a song that I just think fits today perfectly!

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman
- - -
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

God is soooooooooo good!

2008-01-10T09:14:00.005-05:00

Our God is so good isn't He!? I was just thinking about what someone recently said to us in regards to buying a house and adopting etc. "You must have won the lottery!" I couldn't help but grin with that comment because I thought, "you know, back in 1991 when I really got the Jesus thing and I fully committed my life to God, I did hit the lottery! And likewise, when Scott became a follower of Christ. The God that we serve is the God of the Universe, the Creator and sustainer of all living things!! Everything is His! He's got more financial resources than Bill Gates and Donald Trump combined because He's the source of all that in the first place!! Our whole income was given to us by Him. Although we only give Him 10%, it's all really His and He wants us to use the 90% wisely so we can do good things with it. (We think that one of those good things that we're supposed to do is to become foster parents and then adopt but we're unsure about when this will all happen because right now DSS says we don't have room for two more kids. We agree. Ha Ha! Anyway, God gave us that desire or calling and He equips those he calls so we'll wait on Him for the bigger house!) I can't imagine living this life without a personal knowledge of Jesus as Savior and redeemer, provider and sustainer and all those other things He is to us!! "Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh we needless grief we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer." This song relates somewhat, though not completely, to what I was saying. It's just such a relief because I do sometimes get overwhelmed with this `ole' house and the projects but then I'm reminded what Matthew 6:30 says "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field . . . will he not much more clothe you." Enough said! Thanks for reading and may God richly bless you in every way possible!

Cooper

2008-01-06T20:10:00.001-05:00

O.K. as you can probably tell by my writings, I'm still trying to figure out Cooper. What does he like and what motivates him. It's easy to say, he likes Tradd and whatever Tradd likes but that's not really the whole truth. So, I've been paying closer attention to who he really is. Everybody that has seen his pic says "he always looks like he's up to something." Well, I think there's a lot of truth to that. But what I've been observing is that he's learning to enjoy ruining things that Tradd is doing or likes. Some conversation was flying around yesterday about what they wanted for their birthdays which are coming up quickly. Cooper said he wanted a "rat shooter." Well, that's only funny if you knew how much Tradd is in love with rats right now. We have four of these ugly, fake creatures around this house right now and Tradd takes every opportunity to draw them, color them or otherwise make play dough rats. So Cooper, loving the reaction he gets from Tradd when he "messes up his game," has decided he wants a rat shooter for his birthday. That pretty much sums up this little man. Constantly antagonizing Tradd. I guess it would be really funny if it didn't come close to driving me insane. Actually, I laugh at it quite a bit and the rest of the time I try to ignore it.
We changed the boys' bedroom around the other day. They have this really bad, ready to fall out or in, window in their room. We moved this huge book shelf in front of the window and moved their beds away from it. This really improved their night coughing by the way. Very glad we did it although blocking a window goes against my decorating tastes. Of course, duct tape and plastic on a broken window also goes against my tastes for interior design. Anyway, Cooper sleeps on a trundle that pulls out from under Tradd's bed. Because their bed is close to the door now, we put Cooper's away when they're done sleeping. Last night he was ready for bed and he sweetly said, "I can't find my bed. Where did it go?" Oh, how precious!! This window problem is only one of the problems with this house that we have loved but quickly outgrown. This past week we looked at tons of houses online and then decided we should just build because that would be cheaper. Well, we got a little ahead of ourselves because although it's a buyer's market and we could buy/build for pretty reasonable, we'd have to sell ours which is not in very good shape, and it's January which is not a good month, and the market has really slowed since about mid summer '07. So, we continue to wait on the Lord. This has gotten increasingly more difficult as we look around at all our projects. As much as that is frustrating, I'm quickly reminded that we have more than probably 95% or 98% of the worlds population!! Pretty humbling thought!

2007-12-30T21:08:00.000-05:00

Took Tradd to the library today and while he was being asked about his "girlfriends" he said "I'm not so successful, you need to talk with Cooper." What? I've never heard him say anything like that. By the way, please don't ask my children about girlfriends or boyfriends until they're about 20!! Seriously, I don't think Tradd even understands that you are "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" before you get married or whatever. I'm pretty sure he still thinks (as I have told him), they are girls and they are friends! They'll naturally form crushes etc. but I don't love the idea of them talking about having a girlfriend or boyfriend when they're in first grade or something. Ugh!! (There I go being controlling again. HAHA!) I'm pretty tired, otherwise I'd try and explain more about why I feel this way. I do want to say that Cooper also said a cute thing today. We were reading a book at bedtime and he pointed to the picture of the giant dump truck and said "ehn I sro up I unna be dat sruck." (big brother had to tell him that's not possible) I think my favorite word in that sentence was "sro" because I literally thought he said "throw up." Oh my, many laughs today!! What a charmed life we live with these three little rascals!! I guess I have to even things out and talk about Coleman. She's growing quite a personality. She's quite possibly the happiest little girl on the face of the earth. She loves climbing all over her brothers and she laughs and jabbers at them. But, nothing makes her go crazy like a bath. (She's had to take about 3 a day since starting to eat because she plays with her hair in between bites.) I can hardly get her undressed she wiggles so much when she sees the water running. Getting her out, however, is not such a happy occasion. This is where her personality is beginning to shine through. Oh, she's very disappointed when the bath is all done. She gets over it pretty quick but not before she puts her lower lip out and gives a little attempt at a tantrum.

Quite sure her first word will be "stop." Scott and I can't kiss and hug on her enough and although she loves it, the more independent she becomes, we're bound to be told to "stop." I don't know, maybe (hopefully) not. Good night!!

2007-12-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I picked Tradd up from his classroom at church. He had colored a picture that the teacher told me was a dinosaur. I told Tradd I loved the colors he used and then I asked what kind of dinosaur it was. He thought for a minute and said "it's a Cooper-eater dinosaur." I laughed so hard I thought I'd drop Coleman!!!!!!!!!

By the way, if you're a control freak like me, have you ever tried playing Shutes and Ladders or Candy Land with two year old and four year old boys? Unbelievable experience in letting go. The board moves constantly so you have no idea where you're supposed to be because you're game pieces are never in their proper place. They want the slides down as much as the ladders up so they just put it there instead of counting and waiting turns. Tradd grumbled evertime he didn't get a picture in Candy Land and they didn't want to take their cards in an orderly fashion, they wanted to look through the pile and only draw the ones with pictures on them. I knew from the beginning it was going to be crazy so I just let it be but now I think all that tension of not having things go in an orderly fashion is all built up inside me. I wanted them to have a good experience without mommy getting impatient but now I think I've checked out altogether. You should see this house!!!!

Thank You

2007-12-26T19:37:00.001-05:00

Wow 2007 is quickly coming to a close. I can't believe how fast this year has gone by and all that has happened in 2007. I was just feeding Coleman and rocking her to sleep, and I started thinking about all the wonderful people in our lives who have walked beside us throughout this roller coaster year. Here is a list of people we would like to say thank you to for their help and support; (They are in no particular order (other than the first one)

First and Foremost God for His many provisions, peace, and blessings throughout the year
Our Family for their support and help while Coleman was in the hospital
Jim and Charlotte for their love for us and our children and for taking care of the boys during Coleman's hospital stays
Wendy - for introducing us to Tefra and helping us with the paper work
Steve, Paula, Matthew and Michael for their support and love and knowledge of Downs Syndrome and giving us the scoop on Babynet and Easter Seals and connecting us to April
Maggie and Grace for their encouragement and love
Chad and April for their help and support and introduction to DSAL
Melissa for her love, support and positive out look on everything related to DS
Keith for loving Coleman as if she were his own
Michelle and Daniel for their love from across the big pond and their continued prayers and encouraging words
My Staff who are our great friends - they were a HUGE blessing throughout this year in more ways than I could ever list
My fellow staff members and all of Seacoast Church for their love, prayers, food and support
Mary for her love, support and blessing us with her friendship
Aunt JoJo (and Lucy) for always having a way to make us laugh and to put things into perspective
Joel, Tina and family for their friendship, love, prayer and support and regular phone calls, just to check in on us
Dr Scott Bradly and his staff and crew for doing such an incredible job on Coleman's Surgery
Dr. McQuinn and the Peds Cardiology staff at MUSC for taking such good care of Coleman and being so friendly and nice and answering all our questions
Colleen for her friendship love and always looking out for us
Dr. George for taking such an interest in Coleman and looking out for us while at MUSC
Cindy (Coleman's PT) for her hard work with Coleman
Chip, Mary and Corbin for their love, friendship and many blessings
Travis and Chrysti Carol and boys for their love, friendship and many blessings
CC and Laura for the wonderful I AM books. Their ministering words and images were such a blessing to us time and time again. Check them out at www.Isaiah4310.com
Super Rog for his wonderful sense of humor and caring heart
Judy and David for assisting us with our broken dishwasher
Moneca for your introduction and wisdom to eating right and naturally
Stephanie and Sara, God's answer to our prayers for Meghan to have folks who are doing the natural thing too here in Charleston
Lori F for having great hair
And everyone else who has blessed us by your thoughtful words and prayers as you have read this blog

2007-12-26T10:50:00.001-05:00

Boy, when my husband is right, he is right!! I thought we should get one scooter so the kids could learn to share. hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!! They're having a hard enough time sharing the drums. Cooper is quite the drum hog!! Scott was the one that said they each get their own scooter. Thank goodness for smart husbands. Also, because the boys are boys, they are no longer just riding on them but they are getting many battle wounds from trying to do wheelies and crashing each other and this is all in the house!! They've taken them outside but are really enjoying roller derby in the house on the hard wood floors. What a riot!! Truly, passersby may believe there is a riot going on. Surprised the police and DSS haven't shown up yet.

We are currently helping Cooper go potty twice in the middle of the night. And, Coleman woke up several times last night. (Coleman may have had a belly ache from the spicy sausage and shrimp and potatoes she ate all day yesterday. Oooops!) So, aside from major sleep deprivation, we're having a blast! Hope you are too! Blessings for today, Meghan

Little Drummer Boys

2007-12-25T08:07:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! It has been a fun time at our house this morning. The kids woke up around 6:30 and came into our room - about 6:50 Tradd finally said something about opening Christmas presents. (Cooper already made the venture to the living room and peeked at one of them.)
Here is a little taste of what will be going on in the Kinney home for the next several days, weeks, months and possibly years! Enjoy the Video - and again Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Baby Hunter

2007-12-22T07:04:00.000-05:00

My cousin Amber had her second child on December 4th, Hunter. A day or so after he was born she found out that Hunter had a hole in his heart. Yesterday she had another appointment with the cardiologist and found out that he is going to need surgery to fix the two values that are smaller than they should be. He will have surgery between 4-6 months of age. Meghan and I know all to well the stress that a parent faces when their child needs heart surgery. We are asking that you keep Amber and Hunter in your prayers at this time. We will keep you updated as we learn more.
Meghan and I know the power of prayer and praise God for the healing He has done in Coleman.

In Christ's Love,
Scott

Observations

2007-12-19T19:42:00.000-05:00

I just thought of something sweet to share. Yesterday Tradd colored on some paper and I told him I loved it and the colors were beautiful. He said, "I have a tear in my eye." I said, "why?" He said, "I sometimes get tears when I look at beautiful things. Just like you cry when you see beautiful things." Well, that qualified as beautiful because I certainly had tears in my eyes when he said that. Later that night after I had relayed the incident to Scott, Tradd told Scott that while looking at a picture of a beloved friend of his (who happens to be a girl) he had a tear in his eye. When Scott asked him why, he said, "because she's so beautiful." Today he told us he'd like to marry this girl and I said, "I thought you were just friends." (we don't encourage the girlfriend stuff at this age!) Tradd quickly replied, "friends can get married." Well silly me, I thought he was turning 5 in February, not 35!!!!!!!!!!! He is sooooooooooooo full of these one liners that I don't have time to write them all down. Cooper is talking a lot now and he loves to sing. Tonight before bed, he was singing very loudly, the Air Force song "off we go into the wild blue yonder." He just learned it tonight and was doing a wiz bang job. He had obviously learned the tune but not so much the words. He's still getting into things like crazy, climbing on counters, making daily messes in bathroom or bedroom or kitchen. Tonight when he was whining and crying about something his brother was playing with, I sent him to his room until he could get some control. Scott later found that he had eaten the rest of a bottle of homeopathic remedy for his cold!! Yikes! This was my fault since I had left it in there. Couldn't find any info. about overdose so we just did the 'wait and see.' My favorite thing that he says is "wecuz." You ask him a why question and he'll always respond with "wecuz" followed by some adorable little explanation. You kind of have to be there for that one. You really have to see his face when he says things. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute!!!!!!!!!!! The boys were arguing the other day and Cooper finally said, "I taulkin' to mommy." He wrinkles up his face in a scowl that looks hilarious for a two year old. Oh, do we have tons of laughs. Cooper is quite the little personality. He's got several shirts that he loves to wear as well as winter hats that he has even worn to bed. He's got a pretty strong personality while Tradd tends to be more sensitive and easier to guide and mold. Tradd has no opinion about his clothes other than he'd rather be in his underwear. Coleman is the happiest, most content little thing!! She pulled up on the couch the other day for the first time and even the boys cheered her for that. She hasn't done it since but I'm sure she will. She's been saying something that sounds like "I did it." Everybody thinks that's what she's saying and even the speech therapist thought so. Cooper has been saying this a lot since he's learning to do things on his own. So, it's entirely possible that's what she's saying. She loves to be around the boys and doesn't mind their noise and jumping around while toys fly through the air. Honestly these kids drive me nuts most of the time. Only because there are 3 of them and they are all at various levels of independence/dependence. When I take time to think about how crazy things are, I realize I heap most of it on myself by expecting them to act any different than 1,2 and 4!! Anyway, they are amazing little blessings in our lives and the source of sooooooooooooo much joy!! It's always helpful to sit down and laugh about their antics instead of stressing about it. It's usually when we're trying to go somewhere that I feel the most stress because I spend at least 15 minutes looking for sippy cups to bring and then there's potty messes that require change of clothes before we leave etc. The same is true when I try to cook breakfast or supper. I can't count the number of interruptions during those times!!! It's mind boggling! Just in the midst of typing those last four sentences, I thought of how blessed we are to have all this craziness because so many people are dealing with infertility issues and they would do anything to have the insanity of raising 3 children. Oh, what a humbling thought!!

I could go on and on about these crazy and amazingly brilliant little ones but I'm tired and ready for bed. May God bless you all richly!! Meghan

Merry Christmas from the Kinney's!

2007-12-18T20:05:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! I don't know about you but Christmas is my favorite holiday. Not because of the decorations, food, gifts or anything like that but when I think of Christmas I can't help but think that it was the beginning of the beginning for us. God came to earth as a tiny baby - that first Christmas the whole world received the greatest gift ever and it wasn't because we were good all year long - we weren't on the nice list, but rather on the sinner's list. Yet, God still loved us enough to give us the gift of life. You see without Christmas - there would be no Easter (My other favorite holiday). One of my favorite songs is "End of the Beginning" by David Phelps the chorus goes like this;

He was born of a virgin one holy night in the little town of Bethlehem,

Angels gathered round him underneath the stars singing praises to the great I AM

He walked on the water, healed the lame and made the blind to see again

and for the first time here on earth we learned that God could be a friend.

And though he never ever did a single thing wrong, the angry crowd chose him

Then he walked down the road, died on the cross and that was the end of the beginning

...But three days later He rose!

You need to go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search out End of the Beginning by David Phelps to really appreciate this song. But it sums up the story - "He came, He lived, and He died, but that's just the end, of the beginning." You see if Jesus came, lived and died what purpose would he have served - he would have been another prophet or preacher but God didn't stop there - God raised Jesus from the dead - and that gives us the hope of eternal life with Him, if we just believe.

We serve and awesome God - and 2007 has just been more testimony of God's great love and faithfulness to us and we praise Him for all His blessings - including you our family and friends.

May God Bless and Keep you and yours this Christmas Season!

Much Love in Christ Jesus,

The Kinney's

Happy Birthday Nanny

2007-12-18T07:31:00.000-05:00

Hope you have a great day!

Awesome Confirmation

2007-12-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

First of all, we're a little late in posting a Christmas greeting to all who found this address from our Christmas postcard. We've got some stories of the many blessings we've had this year and haven't taken the time to summarize it. I still don't have the time right now but I wanted to write about an awesome story I just heard from our friend Betsy. Betsy's friend is in the process of adopting from China. The little girl is in need of surgery on her heart. Betsy's friend had the results of the tests sent to the Mayo clinic for review and asked who was the best Doc for the job. The Mayo Clinic responded with "The best guy in the country for this surgery is in Charleston, SC and his name is Dr. Scott Bradley." You guessed it, the very same doc who so wonderfully fixed Coleman's heart. Can you believe it? We knew he was renowned for his work but what an awesome confirmation that we had the right doc. And, of course, The most capable Physician (God) chose him! Thank you God for the reminder of how you took care of us during that ordeal! More stories of our 2007 blessings and experiences to come. Merry Christmas, Meghan

Happy 1st Birthday Princess Coleman!!!!

2007-11-30T07:30:00.001-05:00

Today is Princess Coleman's First Birthday!!! God is so good and we are so blessed and today is just a reminder of how blessed we are! Here are some pictures of Coleman over the past year, enjoy.

Thanksgiving in PA

2007-11-30T07:14:00.000-05:00

This was our year to spend Thanksgiving in PA with my family. We got up Tuesday morning for the long drive, however we didn't realize it would be as long as it was. 15 hours to get to my parents house, it normally takes us 12 hours. Coleman did really well on the trip for the first 12 hours, after that she was done traveling and just wanted out. By the time we reached Nanny and Poppy's everyone was asleep.

While at Nanny and Poppy's, Grandma and Grampa Ramage and Grandma Weaver came over to celebrate Coleman's birthday (we'll be posting about the birthday girl soon). We had a really nice birthday party with family and friends from PA. Here are some pictures of Coleman and her first taste of birthday cake.

Watch Out WWF Here Comes Cooper

2007-11-15T19:54:00.000-05:00

Cooper and Tradd just love to play around. Here is a little video of them being boys;

Please join us in prayer

2007-11-12T17:25:00.000-05:00

I don't want to release names but Meghan and I have some dear friends who are going through a hard time right now with the loss of their infant child. Meghan and I have witnessed the power of prayer by those of you who read this blog and we are asking you to join with us in prayer for this family and the grandparents. We ask that you pray for God's perfect peace to cover them and that the enemy would not be able to get in and make a bad situation worse.
We stand on God's promise that where ever one or more are gathered in "His" name He is there too. We are gathering together through this blog at this time in agreement knowing that God is going to show up in this situation.
Thank you for your prayers.
In His Son's Love,
Scott

My Trip to AZ

2007-11-01T19:37:00.000-04:00

Okay where to begin? My boss has asked me to go and check out other churches around the country and see how they are doing Children's Ministry. One church that I was thinking about going to visit was in VA, I'm blocking on the name of the church but it is well known for it's special needs program. Anyway I have a good friend who is a pastor in AZ and started thinking about going there instead. So I went to my boss and asked him which one he thought would be better, a trip to AZ or VA. He said that if I could visit more than one church in AZ that would be his choice for me.
So I contacted my friend Jeff and he set up some churches for us to visit.

Since I was heading to AZ and my cousin Lydia and her husband Vol are out there I thought I would head out a day earlier than planned to spend some time with them.
(This is my Cousin Lydia, we took a hike to see the area!)

This is where God took over my schedule (actually He took it over a long time ago, but this is one area I really saw him working). I found out the Monday before I left that Vol was in the hospital. Lydia was still going to pick me up at the airport, and she was hoping Vol would be out by the time I got there on Thursday. Well, later in the week we found out that was not going to be the case. Vol has been in a wheelchair from an accident that happened when he was younger and due to some complications he was going to need to have his leg amputated. (He had one done a year earlier). It just so happened that the surgery was going to take place on Thursday afternoon, and I arrived Thursday morning. I believe that it was God's plan for me to go to AZ and be able to be with Lydia while Vol was in surgery. (By the way, Vol came through surgery really well, the doctor did think that his leg may not heal properly and that they may need to take more off, but through the power of prayer and a wonderful God, Vol is doing well and without having more of the leg taken off.)

So after spending some time with my cousin (which I love, thank you Lydia) I hooked up with my friend Jeff and headed over to his house to spend time with him and his beautiful family. (Pictured here!)

While I was with them I got to meet an incredible couple, Lori and Brett (sorry if I spelled your names wrong), they are getting ready to have a very special baby. While we were talking I got to share with them the many blessings we have had with Coleman since she was born. Even the time we got to watch God work in our lives through her surgery. I can't wait to hear what God does in their lives as they prepare for the arrival of their little one. And how much more he will bless their lives after the birth.

After being in the middle of what I feel was God's Will for my life during the few short weeks, I was just in awe of God's perfect timing and plans. Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you..."

Two things that really touched me on this trip were, one, being able to be there for my cousin, because I know what it is like to have to sit in a waiting room while a loved one is in surgery. And two after talking to Lori and Brett, I went to bed that night and said, "For such a time as this, God has allowed me to experience all that I have with our special needs child" And I can honestly say that I am humbled and honored that God would take me through something like Coleman's birth and surgery, and allow me to share it with others. If it gives those I'm sharing it with a bit of hope and a glimpse of the AWESOME GOD I serve it is all worth it.

Thank you God for the opportunity to go to AZ, and thank you Lydia and Vol, Jeff, Cristen, and Savannah for opening your home and your hearts to me. I am so blessed to have all of you in my life!

It's good to be home with my family, and I am waiting for the day when God allows Jeff and I to do God's work together, at the same church.

Few prayer requests; Pray for continued healing for Vol and strength for Lydia. Pray also for Lori and Brett and the arrival of their new little one. And pray for God's constant blessings upon Jeff and Cristen and that sweet little princess Savannah.

Her Royal Highness

2007-10-24T19:53:00.000-04:00

This little outfit really makes her look like a princess. It was a gift from our friends Jeff and Cristen, whom I recently visited in AZ. I will blog about the trip when I catch up on my sleep. This jet lag thing is a killer. (Plus the rainy weather of SC isn't helping much either). I can tell you this, God was in control of this trip!

Enjoy the pictures of our princess...

Here is a picture of the top of the bow that Cristen made to go with the outfit. Savannah, their daughter, has a matching bow for every outfit. If you are interested in purchasing Cristen's bows just let me know and I'll get you connected to her. They are really sweet, the bows that is, although so are Jeff and Christen!

Out of the mouths of babes

2007-10-18T12:31:00.000-04:00

I told Tradd about the dedication ceremony for Coleman and described it as something we do that lets everyone know we are serious about or committed to raising her up to know and love Jesus. I told him that we did this with him and with Cooper. Tradd said something to me about Simba from the movie The Lion King. I said something like "was Simba dedicated too?" Well, we took Tradd to church with us instead of sending him to his classroom. We tried to do the same with Cooper but he wanted to see Miss Jessica. After Coleman was prayed over by our beloved Pastor Michael, Tradd asked me when Coleman was going to be "raised up" like Simba!? All of a sudden his words from earlier came back to me and I pictured the movie where Mufasa, the King and father of Simba, raises him up to show all in the prideland his successor. We got a real kick out of that!
Speaking of Tradd, let me brag on him a little bit. We went to Walmart the other day to buy a small toy which I was using as bribery because I needed to run some errands and I wanted it to be a happy time. We were expecting company after nap time and these were kids we'd never met before. Tradd picked out three toys, one for himself and two for the children that were coming to see us. I thought that was really precious of him and so, of course, we bought the other toys as well. Tradd does that sort of thing a lot. He spent most of this morning talking about his friend Andrew and creating gifts to give him. Tradd is an inventor. He likes to put things together that don't originally go together, in order to make something. He told me that sometimes he has to bite the toys to make them fit together but he says "that's o.k. cuz' that makes the toys better." When he gets a little older, I can't wait to see the stuff he'll come up with. He kind of reminds me of that kid in Toy Story, the one next door to Andy. I know that's probably a bad comparison but that kid was pretty ingenious. The storytellers just made him sort of evil. So Tradd is like him except he's not evil. I know he's gifted to be able to think of uses for things that were not originally designed for such uses and I think this will be a real asset to whatever he chooses to do when he grows up. (Not sure if that made sense, been awake since about 5 AM) Tradd has also recently learned how to swing all by himself. I told him that I wasn't going to be pushing a 5 year old boy on the swing and that he needed to learn. So, he made it with about 6 months to spare! Tradd is tearing up the memory verses we've given him and is also doing quite well with some Spanish vocab. He's a bright one. I really need to spend some time with him on writing skills. I know he could be doing that by now, I just haven't taught him. His attention to detail and his memory have always impressed me and has made me think twice about home-schooling someone so precocious!! I'll have to brag on Cooper some other time when I'm not so worn out from all his antics!! I must say that I've wised up. I now shut the bathroom door tight so that anyone going in there makes a big noise which tells me I'd better go check it out. Then, I put the hand towel out of reach on top of the shower rod because Cooper soaks it every time he's in the bathroom!!!!! Well, now he can't do that. Of course, it requires lots of energy on my part to be where he is all the time and still cook, clean, do dishes and laundry etc. I really think we should get rid of all chairs in our house. I don't get to sit in them anyway so what's the point!? (HA HA! Don't feel sorry for me, just being funny!)

Coleman's Dedication

2007-10-14T20:01:00.000-04:00

I want to share with you Coleman’s dedication that took place today, October 14, 2007. We don’t baptize infants at our church; we believe that they are covered by the Grace of God until they reach an age of understanding when they can make a commitment for themselves to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
It was a beautiful service, but it did not arrive without its challenges. It started off with pretty much a sleepless night. The kids were up and it was tiresome for Meghan and I. Then as I was waiting for Meghan and the kids to arrive at church, Meghan sent me a text message saying she was stuck in traffic due to an accident on 526 (the highway that we take to get to church). At that moment I realized the enemy was trying to stop us from this special day and having Coleman dedicated. The sleepless night so that we would not have the energy we needed for the day, the accident slowing up Meghan’s arrival.
But the Bible tells us that Greater is He who is in us than he that is in the world.
The service began but not without its problems. The projector that is used to show the words to the songs, as well as the video message that is watched in the Chapel Venue broke right before service began. But that did not stop anything, the service began and the congregation stood to sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, a song that means a lot to Meghan and I, especially after Coleman’s surgery. (thank you Pastor Jeanne for making that happen)
Our dear friends, Jim and Charlotte White, sat in front of us, Charlotte was holding Coleman and after we were done singing Charlotte said something about singing that song at Coleman’s wedding. That wasn’t the first time she mentioned Coleman’s wedding to us. Meghan and I have just never really thought Coleman would get married, it isn’t a common thing with children with downs syndrome. But after hearing the song and hearing Charlotte’s words I thought, great is God’s Faithfulness, and if His plans include Coleman being married one day, then I’m on board.
Anyway, they called our name and we went forward to have Pastor Michael pray for us and for Coleman – It was a special moment having a big guy like Michael who has the most sensitive heart of anyone I have ever met. He had tears in his eyes and a crack in his voice has he prayed for Coleman, the boys and us. We are very blessed to have Pastor Michael as a friend.
It turned out to be a most beautiful occasion and there were several friends there to celebrate with us.
We know people have been praying for us and we feel it every day.
May God bless each of you as he has blessed us above and beyond all we could ask or imagine.
In His Great Faithfulness
Scott

PS. The other thing that made today's dedication special was to be able to have Coleman Dedicated with Samantha, and Abby two beautiful little girls whose mommy's work with me in Children's Ministry - as well as the other wonderful families and friends that had their children dedicated today! We love you all!

These are a few of our favorite things...

2007-10-13T09:33:00.001-04:00

We just love these three...they may wake us several times during the night, they may make messes or ask 4,000 questions in one hour, but that's what they are supposed to do, they're kids.

(I can write this now because Coleman is napping and Meghan has taken the boys to the store so daddy has some alone time).

Enjoy the photos and video, I'm sure there will be more to come later.

Coleman Video

2007-10-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

It's a long one, but if a picture is worth a 1,000 words then this must be worth a million!

Tradd's New Drum Set

2007-10-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

Tradd loves music and loves to play the drums, so every now and then he or Cooper will get the pots out and play. Enjoy his drum solo...

Cooper's Audition for the Lawerence Welk Show

2007-10-04T19:58:00.000-04:00

I will be adding more video of the boys and Coleman later, but wanted to share this one with you. It's a little dark, but it is a good night song after all.

The boy's new swingset

2007-10-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

Along with our yard makeover we were blessed with a new play set. The boys love it and there is a special swing for Coleman, which she loves.

Wow I'm loving the idea of putting video on here for everyone to see.

Coleman Crawling

2007-10-01T21:39:00.000-04:00

I have tried to figure out how to put a video on the Blog - who would have guessed it was as easy as clicking "Add Video". Hope this works - if it does I'll be adding more.

Pictures from the Buddy Walk

2007-10-01T21:26:00.000-04:00

As Meghan said, here are some pictures from the Buddy Walk. We had a great time and got to see so many of our new Buddies! Thank you so much to all of you who supported us in the Buddy Walk either financially or by showing up and walking with us, or through your prayers, we are a very blessed family because of all of you.

Meghan and Coleman at the Buddy Walk!

Tradd and Cooper had fun on all the slides and jump castles!

Great t-shirt slogan

2007-10-01T15:20:00.000-04:00

Just saw a little boy at the park who's shirt read "0 to naughty in 6.2 seconds." Is that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even Coleman is speeding along now doing her army crawl. She's mostly motivated by paper items and not necessarily her toys. I'd love to download some video footage if we can. Scott may work on that tonight. Also, some pics of the very successful Buddy Walk yesterday. We had a great time and will be better prepared next year with pics of Coleman to hand out and a banner and maybe even a tent. Thanks so much to our "Buddy's" Bill, Kelly, Liam, and Colin Nixon for coming out and walking with us and also the Propes family for coming out to support Coleman. We sure do have great friends!! Happy Monday!

Cathedrals of great character

2007-09-24T13:39:00.001-04:00

I just read an email that compared child-rearing to building great cathedrals. The gist of the comparison is that the cathedral builders were so dedicated that they spent their lives doing this work that they never saw finished and never got credit for. They also may have put detail into the cathedral that would never be seen by anyone but God. The idea is that if no one,(including of course your child) recognizes the hard work you do as a parent, God does! And, for Him we are building, brick upon brick (spill after spill, time out after time out, wiping noses and bottoms) "cathedrals" of character in these little people that our pastor likes to call "crumb crunchers." Well the email was very timely as I often do feel completely invisible to my children except for my role as the all-too-frequent mediator between the boys, or as swing pusher or cook or chamber maid etc. So putting all this touching serious stuff aside, I looked at the "cathedral-building" of the last week. Scott's last post explored one of the messes we've had to endure while building this "cathedral" called Cooper. Well, unfortunately that was not by any means an isolated incidence. That same day, as a matter of fact, Cathedral de Cooper decided to help me clean the walls, mirror and floor in the bathroom. This would have been a wonderful idea if he hadn't left a huge puddle on the bathroom floor which could only be mopped up using at least 3 bath towels. Cathedral de Cooper never stops getting into things!!!!!!! There's my purse which almost daily gets dumped even though it's usually kept up out of reach. There's also the dozen pair of underwear that he puts on throughout the day even though I now have the underwear in his closet with the child-proof door knob. There are whole containers of fish food that are disappearing into the tank in the blink of an eye. Seriously this fish food incident happened today and we were outside during Coleman's nap. I was cleaning out the car and I had just turned off the vacuum when I heard Cooper crying because he flew down the slide faster than he realized it would go (wet slide and slippery swimsuit). On my way to the backyard (mind you, I had been at one end of the driveway and the swing set and slide are in full view at the other end of the driveway) I stopped to lecture Tradd on the topic of complaining. I literally bent down and looked Tradd in the face for no more than 30 seconds tops, and when I looked up to resume my walk to Cooper at the slide, he was no longer there and I couldn't hear his crying anymore. Well, where do you think he went? What could have been running through his mind? "I hurt myself and want to get my blankie." "I hurt myself and I want some food to comfort me." "I hurt myself and I want my mom to comfort me." No, I'm pretty sure this is what was on his mind; "I hurt myself on the slide and the only thing that will console me is if I go in the house and dump the whole container of fish food in the tank and wake my sister up in the process of pulling the chair over to the aquarium!!!!!!!" There can be no other explanation for what he might have been thinking at that time because in way less than 2 minutes that is in fact the scenario of what happened.
Well, I've gone on for quite a bit now. You can imagine that I either have Cooper tied up somewhere while I write this or he is napping. Today, I actually have all 3 kids down at one time. I've become so insane from Cooper's 2 y.o. antics that I think I was afraid to lay down for fear of what he might do if he wakes up before I do and I don't hear him. Well, that's my story about building cathedrals. While I thought that was a touching analogy, it certainly doesn't seem like any great "Cathedral" could come of the last 6 months of spills and messes, mud pies and wiping his own bottom. I should also say that Tradd went through this stage with the same messes and silliness and he's now just more verbally inquisitive. And, Coleman the princess, is as cuddly as they come. It's a good thing she's holding her own bottle now because feedings used to get interrupted by my having to get up and get Cooper on the right track.
Time for more cathedral building! They're awake.

Cooper Makes Breakfast

2007-09-19T19:52:00.000-04:00

I wish I had pictures to share with everyone on this monumental occasion for Cooper, but at the time the camera was not on my mind.
The morning started like any other, Coleman awoke at her regular 6:00 am time. Shortly after Tradd and Cooper made their way through the house looking for mommy and daddy. Mommy was in the bedroom and Cooper stuck with her, but Tradd ventured out into the living room and found daddy. As they do every morning the broken record started "Dad, I'm hungry, can you get me something to eat." Well I guess I wasn't fast enough this morning because while I was back in the bedroom talking to Meghan Tradd came running in calling "Daddy, Daddy, Cooper's..." At that point I nicely said, "Daddy is talking right now, you are going to have to wait." He tried again, "But Daddy, Cooper's..." again I interrupted him and said; "Mommy and daddy are talking and you are going to have to wait just one minute till we are done."
He waited patiently and when I asked him what he wanted he told me; "Cooper's making a mess." Well, why didn't he tell me that in the first place....
So as I reached the kitchen (expecting Cooper had gotten into the flour - which he has done before) I find Cooper standing in the middle of a nine egg omelet he decided to make for us on the floor with his hands and feet. Can you picture it? I hope so because at the time I wasn't laughing and getting the camera was the furthest thing from my mind.
As I have heard from Meghan, after I left for work and Meghan was trying to get the kids dressed and ready for their outing, Cooper decided he was going to make a snack and dumped the chicken soup all over the kitchen floor too. I think he is going to be a chef!
Other than the cleaning up messes, everyone is doing well! Just another messy day in the Kinney home!

Buddy Walk

2007-09-05T07:53:00.000-04:00

Hey Gang the Kinney Family will be joining many other families in the Buddy Walk this month. For more information check out our Buddy Walk website at

http://buddywalk.kintera.org/lowcountry/colemankinney?faf=1&e=1233106221

We are looking forward to making this a yearly family event! We are excited to introduce the boys to other children with Downs Syndrome - I know they will do great as they have become such sweet hearts in the past couple of weeks with Coleman.

As for an update on Coleman she is doing great! She has started to do the army crawl and now can get from one place to another on her own. Time for the gates and barriers to keep her in one room.

Thanks again for the continued prayers and support for the family!

Also, please keep in your prayers my cousin Lydia and her husband Vol. Vol is back in the hospital, I don' t have the details but will be getting them and posting them soon.

IN HIS LOVE,

Scott, Meghan, Tradd, Cooper, and Coleman

Pictures from Vacation

2007-08-27T21:04:00.000-04:00

Tradd and Cooper frog hunting at the lake, at one time I think they had about 15 frogs in their bucket. Tradd was frog hunting and swimming from morning till night. Cooper on the other hand, he would get tired and go play in the dirt for a while then come back.

Tradd also enjoyed fishing with Grandpa! I still think Tradd enjoyed playing with the worms best of all! He is all Boy!

One thing Cooper started off enjoying but quickly learned it was not as safe as it looked, was jumping on the bed, thus the band-aid over the eye!

And Princess Coleman, well she just kept working on sitting up and we are happy to say she has perfected it! (However we are still working on the falling over part - with hardwood floors we have to put lots of padding around her when she is on the floor.)

Coleman adores her brothers, especially Cooper!

Vacation and More (with more to come!)

2007-08-21T20:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay in getting new posts out there - we have been quite busy lately. We just got back from a wonderful vacation with Meghan's family at their lake side cottage in Michigan. We had wonderful weather, food and fellowship. (More about vacation w/pictures to follow) Before leaving on vacation we had to get all our belongings out of our house into a storage POD because while we were gone we were blessed with our carpet being ripped up and our hardwood floors restored - and to top it off we were blessed further by having the rooms painted (and repainted). Again we will be getting some photos and more details as soon as we can find all the cables and cords and get the furniture unpacked (sitting on hardwood floors to type is not comfortable - I must be getting old). Anyway, just wanted to say we are back safe and sound and had a blast! We are excited to be back in our house and thankful to our good friend Jodi for allowing us to stay at her place while the floors dried! Can't wait to share pictures and stories!
OH BIG NEWS...Coleman is sitting up on her own now, and not just sitting up but going from a laying down/crawling position to a sitting up position all by herself!!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!

Kinney Kids

Buddy Walk Pictures

Painting Party

More Pictures and video

First Days of School

2009 Summer Vacation

Dangerous Duo

Picture time

She's Mobile!

Random update

Christ has risen!

My Thorn Boys

Commercial Break

Birthday Time In The House

Drayton is being Dedicated

Drayton

Bragging on Coleman!

Time for an update

Catching Up!

Tourist In Your Own Town - Middleton

Tourist In Your Own Town

Awwwwwwww

Cypress Gardens Trip

Rich Man's Problem For Sure!

Merry Christmas

New Shoes and pictures of the princesses

Life with four!

Quick Kinney Update

And then there was four

More Pictures of Drayton

Drayton Elizabeth Kinney has arrived!

No baby yet!

Buddy Walk

Pictures!!!!

Things they say and do!

First day of school

Our pet guinea pigs, Lady and Tramp

3 Cheers for Pastor Scott!

Blessed beyond words!

The Kinney Family Northern Tour

Nine Years of Bliss...

A Weekend Packed with Fun!

First Pictures of Drayton Elizabeth Kinney

Pictures from Coleman's Party

One Year of a Healthy Heart Weekend Celebration

Memorial Day Weekend

New Pictures of the Kinney Kids...

Blessed!!!

Update on Hunter, my cousin's son.

Picture Time

Every Daddy's Dream

Creation vs. Evolution

A Cooper Story

Another Kinney Update

Prayer Requests

Update on the Kinney Fam!

My little genius

God's Easter gift to me

computer outage

Winter break and boys birthday

Kinney Kids Update

Hunter's Progress

A Woman of God

We serve an AWESOME God!

A Time for Everything

God is soooooooooo good!

Cooper

Thank You

Little Drummer Boys

Baby Hunter

Observations

Merry Christmas from the Kinney's!

Happy Birthday Nanny

Awesome Confirmation

Happy 1st Birthday Princess Coleman!!!!

Thanksgiving in PA

Watch Out WWF Here Comes Cooper

Please join us in prayer

My Trip to AZ

Her Royal Highness