The Keller Story

Please visit our new blog

2009-10-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

Dear family and friends,

We are moving to a new blog.
Please visit us at http://kellersintaiwan.wordpress.com

Thank you.

The Keller Family

Support Update

2009-09-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all your prayers and support. We are currently at 40% of our monthly support in pledges. We are praying that God will have us in Taiwan in February of next year. Join us in praying that God will guide us in our support raising process.

Trip to Texas

2009-08-19T21:38:00.001-07:00

On Aug 14, we flew to Texas for a weekend to speak at Simonton Church, as well as visit family. It was Timothy's first plane ride, and he was just wonderful. Timothy was quiet during the whole plane ride, and enjoyed being held in the arms of both mommy and daddy.

Speaking at Simonton Community Church was a great blessing for us. Simonton has been Nathan's home church for the last several years, and it is a very mission focused church. We are very excited about our partnership with the church.

This is a picture of Timothy at two months. This picture was taken by Tina while Timothy was inside his crib. Tina was singing to him and he smiled at mommy.

Timothy at six weeks

2009-08-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ever since Timothy was born, our blog has been all about the little guy. Can you tell we are very proud parents? Timothy is now six weeks, and he had one night where he slept for 8 hours straight, it was such a gift for us to have that time to rest. This is a little glimpse of what Timothy looks like at six weeks. He loves to be on his little bouncer.

A Report of Timothy's Day

2009-07-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

Click on the video to see what Timothy did today

Timothy Gets Fussy

2009-07-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Timothy's First Outing - Target

2009-07-14T17:14:00.000-07:00

Life with Timothy

2009-07-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

Life with Timothy is very unpredictable. Nathan's been helping Tina out with nighttime duties from time to time. Tina has been sneaking in naps here and there to make up for sleepless nights. Having Timothy in our life is a huge adjustment, but at the same time, it is a gift from God.

Currently, Tina has stopped working as a drug counselor to take care of Timothy. Nathan continues to work full time as a data tech for the city of North Chicago. The next phase of life is to continue to care for Timothy and to build our support team to get to Taiwan in the near future. Please continue to pray for our support team as we continue to trust God in His faithful timing.

Timothy at one week old

2009-06-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Baby Timothy - a close up

2009-06-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Welcome Baby Timothy

2009-06-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

On June 18, 2009, our family grew by one. We welcomed Timothy Nathan Keller into the world after a long labor. We went down to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, and he was born Thursday around noon. Mama did a great job...daddy admires her so much.

Grandma and Grandpa Keller have been up to Chicago since Timothy was born. They have been a great help for us over the last few days.

2 Year Anniversary

2009-06-01T19:10:00.001-07:00

For our second year anniversary on May 19th, we went to Lake Geneva WI. We stayed at a beautiful hotel that overlooks Lake Geneva, and we went for lots of walks around the lake. It was absolutely beautiful. In this picture, we are standing in front of a restaurant where we had an awesome Wisconsin "fish boil".

Timothy's cake

2009-05-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Lucky Timothy, we had a whole celebration for him without him even knowing. It is such a weird feeling to know that the baby shower was an occasion to celebrate Timothy's life, yet he has no idea. This is a picture of Tina cutting her baby shower cake in the eager expectation of the arrival of Timothy. What a lucky boy....

Baby Shower with friends

2009-05-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

On May 2, 2009, Tina had her second baby shower with her friends here in Chicagoland. We have been blessed with great friends from Trinity, church and OMF. As we eagerly await for the arrival of Timothy, we have been enjoying spending our free time with close friends. We know that when Timothy arrives, we probably won't have as much free time. We thank God for our friends here who are praying and encouraging us every step of the way.

excited grandpa to be

2009-04-22T20:16:00.001-07:00

This is a picture of a very excited grandpa to be who can't wait for little Timothy to come. Grandpa Keller has been waiting for 30 years for this day. Tina has been saying in the beginning of her pregnancy that she had no bump to show, but look at her now :)

Baby Shower in Texas

2009-04-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of a baby shower we had in Texas two weeks ago. This is a picture of Nathan's cousin and his wife, and their 1 month old son Dylan.

Great News about OMF

2009-04-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that as of today, we have been given full clearance to start raising support for our future ministry to Taiwan. Thank you for your prayers and support through this time. We feel extremely blessed and excited for this great news.

As of now, Tina is exactly two months away from her due date of June 22nd. We recently found out that Tina has a low platelet count, so please be praying for her health. So far, Timothy has been doing well. He has been moving and kicking a lot inside mommy's tummy. Nathan loves to feel him and read to him at night.

Quick date in Grayslake, IL

2009-03-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

Before our son Timothy is born, we want to get out of the apartment as much as we can. We have recently realized that there are interesting places close by our home that we have never been. One of these was the downtown strip of Grayslake, IL. Last Saturday we spent an afternoon walking around the main street and looking for a place to eat. Of all places, we settled for a greasy spoon diner where we each got a burger and fries...somebody was craving greasy American food. Tina says that it was our soon-to-be-born son, but I think it was really her :)

Trip to Philly to lead worship conference

2009-03-28T20:07:00.000-07:00

In the middle of March, we flew out to Philly to lead a worship conference for a Chinese church that our friends pastor. On Saturday, we led a three-session workshop on worship, which included topics such as the theology of worship, how to choose songs, musical aspects of worship, team dynamics, and how to prepare for a worship set at a church service. We are thankful to the Pastor and his wife, both who are friends, for their wonderful hospitality during our weekend at their church.

Family Time in Seattle

2009-03-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

Over the last weekend, we flew out to Seattle to visit Tina's brother and sister in law. We had a wonderful time. Walter and Esther were incredibly hospitable. They made some awesome food for us, and we spent countless hours playing settlers. Tina's oldest brother, Wayne, was also able to join us for a little bit.

Seattle is a beutiful place, and we have made some great memories there in our two trips within the last year.

Sweet Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

This year is a special Valentine's Day for us, because we realize it will be our last year to have as a married couple without kids. We want to get out whenever we can and enjoy life as a couple before Timothy comes. This is a picture of us at the Greek Restaurant.

Timothy Nathan Keller

2009-02-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

As we write this blog, we are happy to announce that we are expecting Timothy Nathan Keller. We got our 21 week ultrasound on 02/13/2009, and we found out that we are expecting a boy. The baby measures between 6-7 inches and weighs almost 1 pound. During the ultrasound, we can see Timothy moving around in mommy's belly.

We are excited for a new beginning and a life with Timothy. We are starting to decorate the nursery, and get everything ready. God has blessed us abundantly and we pray that Timothy will be a faithful follower of Christ.

Getting rid of extra stuff on Amazon

2009-01-25T16:51:00.000-08:00

I (Nathan) had no idea how easy it is to get rid of stuff on Amazon. We recently are on a mission to simplify as we get ready for the baby, whose 150 beats/minute heartbeat we heard yesterday! We have extra books, or books that we haven't used (nor plan to), and DVD box sets that we've already watched. It's a blessing to get rid of these and to make a little change at the same time. We've found that it is much better to simplify than to complexify.

It is Super Cold!

2009-01-16T08:27:00.000-08:00

The following weather update is a reading from 10 am this morning. When we left our apartment, it was even colder. The news was reporting -17 degrees.

HADS WAUKEGAN HARBOR NWS-GLOS, Waukegan, Illinois (PWS)
Updated: 46 min 32 sec ago
-8 °F
Clear
Windchill:
-20 °F

This is by far the coldest weather that either of us has ever experienced. It is the coldest in Chicago in the last 15 or so years.

Nathan's Sermon

2009-01-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months, Nathan has been able to preach a sermon on missions and missions involvement at serveral chruches in the Chicago area. Last Sunday, he preached the sermon at our church, Chinese Christian Union Church - North. To listen to the sermon, click the following link and choose the "Why Missions" sermon on January 11th.

http://ccucnorth.net/english/sermon-archive/

We love Wii

2009-01-04T12:47:00.001-08:00

For Christmas this year, we got a Wii system, and a Wii Fit. While we enjoy the workout that Wii Fit gives us, the Wii Sports games provide us with pretty aggressive competition. We are about even inthe bowling game, but to this date, Tina has never beaten Nathan in a tennis match. Guess who wrote this post :)

WELCOMING A NEW BABY INTO THIS WORLD

2008-12-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce that we are expecting a little one on July 1, 2009. Tina is finished with her first trimester and entering into her second. We heard the baby's heartbeat today and it was beating 161/minute. We even heard a little kick....As we celebrate this Christmas season, we are just amazed by the miracle birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

In Luke 1:39-45, we see that while John the Baptist was in his mother's womb, he leaped for joy as baby Jesus was in Mary's womb while visiting them. The baby's jump was a sign to both Mary and Elizabeth that they were in the middle of God's special plan. We see this as a miracle and a great expectation of what was to come. There are so many reasons to celebrate Christmas this year, we first go back to the miracle of baby Jesus being born. We have an awesome Savior.

Tina and Emma

2008-12-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

Tina teaches piano every Wednesday evening. This picture is Tina with one of her piano student's little sister Emma. Emma's funniest words are, "I wanna eat a tookie with milt". She is a mixed kid, and maybe ours will look just as adorable.

White Christmas

2008-12-19T20:37:00.000-08:00

Today, Chicagoland was hit by a big snowstorm, accumulating to almost a foot of snow. We are still expecting another two big snow days for the next week. I guess after all, it will be a white Christmas. Nathan and I are enjoying each other's company, staying in to watch Christmas movies and playing with our cat Annie.

In the following photo, we see Annie perched in her favorite position. We did not put her on Nathan's back, she climbed on there all by herself. She is adorable.

Thanksgiving in Missouri

2008-12-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Missouri with my eldest brother, my sister in law, my two nieces and my mom. It was an 8 hour drive, but we took two days to drive it because we don't want to be too tired. It was a great thanksgiving. This was the first time I ever had a "turdukin" which is a chicken and duck inside of a turkey without its bones. It was awesome.

Nathan will start a new job on Dec 8. We are very thankful for God's provision for us. I am still working hard at the substance counseling abuse place. I am starting a 10 week outpatient substance abuse group for clients with behavioral problems. I hope God will use me greatly there. I hope to give these kids a little glimpse of what life with Christ is like.

As we enter the Christmas season, I am reminded of the passage in Col 1:15-23, where we learn that Christ is an incarnate representation of God, and He is God. Not only is he God, He rules over creation because He made it and sustains it. The true meaning of the Gospel reminds me to stand firm and live our lives based on the hope of the gospel. Although all the gifts and family time is nice during Christmas, I really don't want to lose sight of the deeper meaning behind Christmas. My prayer is that Nathan and I will make plans and priorities necessary to honor and celebrate this season for the right reason.

Annie and the screensaver

2008-11-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

This video shows our cat Annie trying to touch the images on Nathan's screensaver. We walked into Nathan's study and couldn't resist recording such a cute image. Enjoy!

Tina's Birthday Trip to New Glarus, WI

2008-11-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

For Tina's Birthday, we made a little getaway weekend to New Glarus, Wisconson. I bet many of you have never heard of New Glarus...nor even the old place it was named after - Glarus, Switzerland. New Glarus is known as "America's Little Switzerland." As you can see from the pic, we had a blast...and that's no bull.

Meet Annie, our cat

2008-10-15T19:21:00.001-07:00

You are looking at our little princess, Annie. After being married for well over a year, we decided to make our family larger...the quick way. Thanks to one of the many pet adoption agencies, Tina was was able to bring Annie home just 1 hour after meeting her.

Annie has been good practice for us if the Lord one day blesses us with kids. She is the furry light of our lives

2008-09-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken in Seattle Downtown when we went to visit Tina's brother Walt. We are very encouraged that we have been able to travel around the U.S in the past year. God has definitely blessed us with great family and friends.

We are running our first 5K together soon

2008-09-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

We both value working out, but have been doing so on our own time lately. Tina got the idea that we run a 5K together. We found one...the first Saturday in October in Northbrook.

Today we ran for 30 minutes as part of our training plan. The 5 K run will be doable, but it won't be a piece of cake.

So...the blogging begins

2008-09-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

I've heard a lot about blogging, but I've never done it myself. Tina's brothers both have cool blogs, and after looking at them, I decided that we should have one too. So, here we go.

For all of those who visit, we are happy to share the story of of lives with you. After all, it really is God's story of bringing two people together--one from Texas and the other from Taiwan--and and His grace lived out in and through our lives. We hope you enjoy reading this wonderful story.