The Morgan Family

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-06T09:27:00.002-05:00

The annual family 4th of July weekend is over -- back to the real world. We always have a great time, with all the friends and family that make their way out to the Grand Lake with us.

Here is Kai having a good time with his Grandma.

And Mac tearin' it up on the tube with her uncle Justin, cousin Lex, and friend Selah.

Addie and Mac and Lex built towering structures with colored blocks.

Jennie and the kids coated the world in beautiful and plentiful bubbles.

We saw some pretty amazing planes flying low and right over the top of us, then the celebration began with a spectacular fireworks show.

More pics here.

Books to Review

2009-06-26T16:24:00.001-05:00

I'll be reading and reviewing these soon...

Kai and Mac Update

2009-06-23T07:32:00.004-05:00

[insert usual excuse about not posting to our blog here]

Hi, Mom and Aunt Betsy. Glad you stopped by. I thought I would surprise you a bit and have a something here for you to read.

Kai

Yes, you almost wouldn't know it from the updates on this blog, but we have a son. And he's 7 months old! Dude, time flies, when you're having fun, and also when you are raising kids, as it turns out.

Eating: Kai is just now starting to eat some real food. And by "real," I mean vegetables and fruits ground and blended into a consistency of projectile-all-over-my-shirt. Last night Granny was able to coax little man into swallowing prunes, followed by sweet potatoes. Yes, we know that's sorta backwards, but up until now, getting anything down this kid's goozler other than formula has been an exercise in futility, so we're just going with what works.
Crawling: Not so much, but he's working on it. He can roll over to his belly in a blink, but we haven't seen him roll back to his back yet. He pushes his top half up with his strong little arms, kicks his legs, but he's still high centered on that belly until he can learn to pull his knees up under himself.
Talking: We think he might be a singer some day, sorta like Adam Lambert based on his 80s hair band scream. By the time he's ready, the style will be back, no doubt. Kai has said mama, dada, lala (which we think is "I love you"), mmmmmm (for Mac probably), hi, and bye. The last two were reported by various family members with keen ears, but haven't been confirmed by the officials yet.
Hair: He has 2 cute/annoying little curls (depending on your disposition toward curls) on the top of his head. Jennie would like to cut them off; Granny says keep 'em (reminds her of the Gerber baby). I think they're like his little signature -- and might help him with his 80s band motif.

We're so proud of our little prince. He's full of energy, fairly predictable with his naps and eating times, and a joy to have around.

Mac

Oh, our little princess. Where to start...

She talks all the time.
She talks non-stop.
And something else, what was it... oh, she talks a lot.
Except when she's watching movies on my iPhone, which she figured out 2 days after I got the thing. That's probably why just about everyone in Jennie's family wants an iPhone now, I'm sure. Mac is the absolute proof that anyone can run the thing (if a 2-year-old can do it, then anyone can, right?).
Little miss has a pink bicycle now with training wheels, and she can pedal that thing pretty good.
Mac finished up soccer class last week. I think she thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to run around the field with Dad (and sometimes Mom) and be active together.
She's still in gymnastics every week, and recently was moved up a class level cuz she's so darned good.
Mac was in VBS at the church last week, and loved nearly every minute of it. I say "nearly" because some of the kids kinda freaked her out (heck, they freaked me out), but for the most part I think she had a good time and learned a little about Jesus. Though we're still trying to figure out how she came home with dirt in her hair and various crevices.

Mac really enjoys riding in the bicycle trailer with her brother, pulled by Dad.

That's all for now. As always, you can watch our Flickr photostream for the latest Morgan activities. I'll try to update the blog more often this summer, since we'll no doubt have so many exciting family activities to share.

Mama

2009-03-08T20:27:00.002-05:00

Today Kai said his first word. Mama. He said it during our small group, and I thought I heard it but I wasn't convinced until during dinner he said it again. He's not even 4 months old yet. Our cute little boy is growing up fast!

Keepsakes (we're not keeping)

2009-02-04T21:18:00.002-06:00

IMG_6286
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

Jennie has been on a cleaning spree lately. And it's not even spring yet. I don't think... wait, when does Spring start?

Rather than a bunch of cards and other momentos in a pile somewhere in a box somewhere in a closet somewhere in our home, she decided we would take pictures of all our un-throw-away-ables and then, gasp, throw them away.

This is a picture of the first valentine's day card I got her after we were married. Glad we have a picture of it now, because I don't remember it from adam.

Update

2009-02-04T21:00:00.003-06:00

Sorry it's been so long. Here's an update.

Kai is growing like crazy. At his last checkup, the pediatrician said "wow he's big." I suspect that means we're feeding him enough. I keep telling Jennie to stop, but she doesn't listen.
He's also a lot more fun right now, and will hold quite a conversation with you using only grunts and coos. Mostly grunts.
The family is going to Alabama next week for our random trip disguised as a business trip tradition. We hope the weather is nice enough to enjoy the beach.
Our two favorite shows are back on the air, so don't expect a lot of updates here. See if you can guess what the shows are.

Mac's 2nd Birthday

2008-12-07T22:16:00.003-06:00

Whatever you say, momma.
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

Tim's 3rd Birthday

2008-12-07T22:16:00.001-06:00

0001
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

Wesley Kai Morgan

2008-11-19T16:29:00.001-06:00

IMG_5327
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

7 lbs, 13 oz, 19.5 inches, and healthy

Welcome our new little one into the world. We are very thankful everything went great and quick and safe.

He's wonderful, and so little! Mac makes him look tiny.

At the Hospital

2008-11-19T13:31:00.002-06:00

IMG_5310
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

We've been at the hospital since about 10 this morning. Jennie is sliding through contractions now, following her mostly pleasant epidural, and things are progressing nicely.

Thanks to all our friends and family for your prayers, texts, tweets, and thoughts. We love you guys.

Mac's Pregnancy

2008-11-16T21:10:00.010-06:00

Before I forget what it was like, I want to post my memories of being pregnant with Mac. So here goes:

We started trying to have a baby January of 2005. Tim's dad was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after we stated trying, so we prayed very fervently that God would bless us with a child before he passed away. We also knew if we had a boy we wanted to name him Wesley Kai. Wesley was Tom's middle name. Tim came up with Kai. We both loved the name. The year went by and no baby, so in August I had a general physical run and they said that all my levels were in the normal range: like thyroid, vitamins, minerals, etc. So we kept trying.

Tim's dad ended up passing away December 29, 2005. We didn't tell anyone yet, but we thought we might be pregnant, and prayed that it was true. November was the last "visit" I had from my special friend. So over the next few months we took a few home pregnancy tests. All negative. Lex, my nephew was born February 2nd. Shortly after his birth we recieved a huge answered prayer. We had spent the last 18-24 months trying to remodel/build our home and after our Thursday meeting, we finally got the approval to break ground. Yeah! Two days later, on Saturday, we took our next test. Tim went special to the store just to buy the test. He jumped like he had springs in his feet in excitement when the test showed positive. God was so gracious to answer the house prayer 2 days before answering the baby prayer. Thank you God!!

The next day I headed to the gyno for a blood test to confirm. Results: Yes. Because "my friend" hadn't visited since November we had no idea how pregnant we were. So my gyno sent me to the obgyn next door to start my prenatal visits. The first thing my obgyn wanted to do was an ultrasound to find out how pregnant we were. The tech didn't say much of anything during that first ultrasound. The doctors office called later and said they wanted to do another ultrasound in 10-14 days. So we came in again. This time the tech was very talkative and pointed out the "bean" (our baby) and the yolk sak. She said that based on the spacing of the baby from the yolk sack I was probably about 6 weeks pregnant. The doctor placed our due date as November 5, 2006.

Since we found out so early that we were pregnant, it really felt like a long pregnancy. The first trimester was not too bad. I had a little bit of evening sickness, which Tim was so gracious to clean up for me several times. I missed the bathroom and/or the toilet several times, so I started going outside in the bushes. It was much easier to clean up. I also had heart burn for the first time in my life. I found Tums Smoothies to be my favorite snack in the evenings. The only time I got nausious during the day was smelling construction workers from the remodel and my massage oils. So my parents offered for us to stay with them until the construction was complete. We gratefully accepted their offer.

During that first trimester I was so tired and hot, all the time. But the second trimester was great. I felt energized and confident. We even went on a trip to Memphis and the long car ride didn't even bother me. The third trimester was pretty good. The heart burn came back, along with a little bit of evening nausia, feeling hot, and manditory afternoon naps. During the whole pregnancy I craved salty things like fries, ketchup, and coke. Up until then I didn't even like ketchup and very rarely drank coke. I also developed prenatal gingavitis, had lots of nose bleeds, and had an oversion to sweets. I really didn't ever want desert, especially not chocolate. I was really trying to live a very healthy lifestyle before getting pregnant, and that was the last thing I wanted to do while I was pregnant. I worked out very little, ate terribly, and slept alot. I didn't gain very much weight during the pregnancy, but I established some very bad habits going into the next "nursing year."

At 21 weeks we had another ultrasound done to determine the sex of the baby and that all baby parts were there and working well. They said "it's probably a girl" and gave us an 85% chance of accuracy. We were very excited, and a little frustrated because we could not agree on a girl name. We spent the rest of the pregnancy debating names.

At 7 months, there was this day I will never forget. Tim had just gone to work and I was still laying in bed. It started pouring down rain outside and I remembered that the painter had left all the windows open. Oh no! So I went to go close the windows. The only way to get in our home was to walk up a beam from ground level to the foundation level, which was about 4 feet up. I'm quite afraid of heights, but the rain was great motivation - so I very causciously went up into the house. I sucessfully closed all the windows and was taking my last step off the beam when I slid to my knee. It was like doing a deep lunge, except my knee dug into the asphalt. I got a terrible skinned knee from that. I cried all the way on the walk home. Cleaned it up, put on a couple of bandaids, and went on with the day. Several hours later I was coming out of the office and missed the bottom step. I did the same deep lunge with and that same knee dug in the asphalt. Oh my!! I cried harder that time. I spent the next couple of months cleaning up my gross skinned knee, which was the larger than a silver dollar.

The last two weeks of my pregnancy were filled with terrible swelling. I didn't know that feet could swell too large to fit in flip-flops. They looked like baloons. And my legs and ankles weren't much better. Tim's work was so nice and they threw us a baby shower during the last few weeks. It turned out to be a scavenger hunt. It was a really neat concept. I recommend doing this type of a shower more like 6 weeks before a baby is due. Because I swelled up huge after walking around for an hour. At this point in my pregnancy I wasn't working any more. Walking around for 5 minutes took about 1 hour of sitting with my feet propped up to get rid of the swelling. Yuck! The remodel was complete, except for a few minor pollishing touches, so we were able to move in 2 weeks before our due date.

I didn't have a great or a terrible pregnancy. I would say it was average to good. Tim loved me being pregnant. He was always saying how beautiful I was. I enjoyed the extra physical affection he showered over me during the pregnancy. My love tank was overflowing! And what an added joy when Mac was born. I felt so loved and felt so much love for Tim & Mac. God truely blessed me.

4 More Weeks

2008-11-07T14:53:00.002-06:00

My Baby Brother
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

Wesley Kai Morgan will be making his debut in just 4 weeks (give or take). We're very excited to welcome him to our family, and I'm certain Jennie is excited to un-welcome him from her mid-section.

Pray for a smooth birth and healthy boy.

kaimorgan.com

Mac's 2nd Birthday

2008-11-07T14:28:00.001-06:00

Whatever you say, momma.
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

Our little princess is finally 2 years old. We had a smallish birthday party with family. Mac got a new kitchen set, new clothes, new baby doll things, an activity table, a chalkboard, and more.

She was very excited to have so many people in her home, showing her love.

Halloween

2008-11-07T14:22:00.001-06:00

IMG_4989
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

We kicked off Mac's b-day party with a photo session. Lex was a pirate, Mac was a ladybug, and Inara was a punk rocker chick.

The kids were pretty cute in their costumes, and our neighbors were happy to see such wonderful trick-or-treaters. :-)

Amy May Morgan

2008-07-07T14:13:00.002-05:00

Amy May Morgan, 88-year-old longtime resident of the Colcord, Oklahoma, died Saturday, July 5, 2008, in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Born November 11, 1919, in Sharon Springs, Kansas, she was the daughter of Charles Leamon McKinley and Cora Ada LaCost. Amy was a homemaker and farmer. She was a member of the Colcord Church of Christ. Amy liked picking out nuts, quilting and cooking for others. She was fun loving and enjoyed spending time with her family. Amy was preceded in death by her husband Wes in 1992; a son, Thomas Wesley; 3 brothers and 3 sisters.

Survivors include 2 sons, Keith Morgan and wife Kelly of Gravette; Kyle Morgan and wife Betsy of Siloam Springs; 1 daughter, Cora Lue Huie and husband Roland of Golden, Colorado; 20 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; and 4 great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be 6:00 to 7:30 P.M. Tuesday at Wasson Funeral Home. Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at the Colcord Church of Christ with Mr. Larry Ellis officiating. Burial will follow in Dickson Cemetery, Cherokee City, Arkansas.

Hello Again

2008-07-02T21:36:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been a few days since we've posted here. Shame on us.

Here are some updates:

We are having a new baby boy/girl in December. Jennie has heard the heartbeat a few times, and everything is going good so far. We'll find out the sex in a few weeks.
Mackenzie is talking a lot more now. Today she asked me "Did you have a good day?" when I came in from work. (I always ask her if she had a good day.)
Mackenzie is also potty training. She does very well, but we are sometimes inconsistent with her because of our busy schedules. If it were not for her busy parents, she would have been done with diapers months ago probably.
My grandmother fell and broke her jaw. She is not doing well. She is my last living grandparent.
We are heading to the lake tomorrow evening for a long weekend at the lake.

Thanks Justin for the Cool Math Link

2008-04-19T22:44:00.001-05:00

Jennie is Black Pepper

2008-04-17T17:16:00.001-05:00

You Are Black Pepper

You may be considered ordinary by some, but you're far from boring.

You elevate the mood of any discussion, and people miss you when you're not around.

You are secretly very dominant and powerful. Most can only take you in small doses.

What Spice Are You?

MinistryTech Conference

2008-04-02T21:43:00.002-05:00

Jennie and I are participating in a church technology conference through the end of the week. Today we toured four of the largest churches in the Oklahoma City area, including LifeChurch.tv.

Of all of them, we were most impressed by LifeChurch and their commitment to utilizing technology in meaningful ways. That's a part of my motto, so it's great to see it put in action. Just on a bigger scale.

We're headed back tomorrow morning for the official start of the conference. I'm anxious.

Philippians 2:3

2008-03-25T16:19:00.003-05:00

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3 NIV)

Father, help me to think of others first. To be humble, even in my heart. That I might put other people's ideas, comforts, ambitions, and needs before my own. Thank you for giving us Jesus, the perfect example of humility.

Voodoo Rags

2008-03-06T07:30:00.000-06:00

I can't say I'm really into this sort of thing, but I thought I would give some link love to my cousin Michelle's new web store: Voodoo Rags

From the homepage:

This is the home for Doo Rags and Head Wraps where quality, fit, comfort and uniqueness are what's important. Here you will find head gear design that you've never seen before.

Indeed.

So head on over and buy a couple for that feminine biker chick in your family. (Everyone's got one.)

The Last Five Minutes of Lost

2008-02-22T09:53:00.003-06:00

The weather was unkind to us last night as we were watching Lost, and we missed the last five minutes.

From Wikipedia:

Jack tells Kate that he lied and that he still loves her. He asks if they can go together. Jack however does not want to see Kate's son and Kate says that she knows why he doesn't, but until he wants to see the child they can't be together. Kate returns to her home, where it is revealed that the blond-haired toddler she is raising is named Aaron.

Update

2008-02-20T17:30:00.003-06:00

Some random stuff I sent in an email to Mom...

Jennie opened up all the bags of clothes yesterday -- they covered the bed completely with stacks about half way to the ceiling! We won't have to buy clothes for a long time! It's awesome.

(My brother and sister-in-law give us hand-me-downs from time to time from their two girls. We rarely have to buy clothes for Mac.)

Work is kinda busy. But not too bad. Just always playing catch up. They awarded me a framed certificate and an engraved pen for working here for 5 years now. It was nice to be recognized. One nice lady said it was really 35 years, because they're "dog years." I thought that was funny (and agreed with her).

Mac is walking like crazy. She reverts to crawling every now and then, but for the most part she is a walker.

Our Square Dance club is doing lessons again, and Jennie and I are helping as Angels on Tues and Thurs nights. It is fun, and good exercise for us.

The Ruby programming group that I started is starting to grow. We meet once a month, and in March, me and another guy are going to do a workshop for beginners; we're hoping to get a lot of people to come. We already have a sponsor, and I asked O'Reilly (a book publisher) to donate a bunch high-dollar programming books to use as prizes or whatever. I'm excited about it.

What Are You Waiting For?

2008-02-17T21:05:00.002-06:00

Here are the questions we asked today in small group:

When was the last time something happened in your life and you knew that God was involved?
When was the last time you were excited about reading your Bible? Why aren't you excited now (if your not).
What are you waiting for?

It took a lot of effort to explain that last question, mostly because I'm not super articulate. What I mean is, are you waiting for something to happen to you or for you? Are you living in the moment, seizing every opportunity, seeing God in action in your life right now, at this very moment? Or are you waiting for that new baby to come, that new job, new house, more money, more time, better health, etc.?

I really wonder how many of us just feel like we're in limbo and failing to see the opportunities in front of us because we're waiting for... whatever it is we're waiting for.

Of course, I could be wrong... someday I'll be more knowledgeable of spiritual things and the Bible and can answer this question myself. :-)

Disney World

2008-02-12T16:38:00.001-06:00

IMG_3864
Originally uploaded by Tim Morgan

As many of you know, we traveled to Orlando, Florida last week and experienced Disney World. The trip was quite fun, and we created lots of memories. Mac loved seeing all there was to see, and though she will probably not remember any of our trip, the bonding was well worth it.

You can see pictures of our trip here.