There's a Teenager in the House!

On September 8, 1998, a delightful and most wonderful little girl was born into our family. Over time she has made us laugh and enjoy life more than we ever could have imagined. And now, 13 years later, our sweet Caroline is officially a teenager! She has embraced teenhood with a high sense of maturity, light-heartedness and responsibility, and we are super proud of her. She is in 7th grade now and continues to school at home but also enjoys her composition and science classes at Brighton Academy. She celebrated her birthday with some of her special friends with an overnight and with the Mission Adelante community at church. It was a great time and she felt very loved. (For all of you KU fans, notice the shirt she is wearing with the birthday donuts. It is from the 1988 basketball championship. I bought it back when I was single at KU after we had just won the tournament. It was stored away for my first-born child and now 23 years later, Caroline proudly wears it. :)

Welcoming New Members to the Family

Family is such a beautiful thing and this Fall we were blessed to welcome to new nephews to our clan. In August, sweet Lucas Owen Hammond was born to my brother, Mike, and his wife, Christine, living in San Francisco. I was able to take a little trip in October to meet their first-born. It was love at first sight and extra special to see what a great daddy my big brother is. In November, precious Owen Wardell Meek was born to Jarrett's brother, Luke and his wife, Holly. He is receiving lots of love from his two older siblings and ten cousins. We are so thankful for both of them. (first picture is of Luke Hammond and I, second is of Owen Meek on Thanksgiving)

Summer Bible Camp Fun

For the last several summers at Mission Adelante, both Emmanuel Baptist and Shoal Creek Community Churches have come to KCK and have summer bible camps for the kids in the ministry. These two weeks are some of the best days of the summer. This year, both the Bhutanese and Latin communities were brought together to make the events even more fun-filled.

Cookies Anyone?

Anyone who knows me (Kristen), knows that I love to bake. Come on, it's all about chocolate, isn't it? Ministering cross-culturally can be challenging at times as you try to navigate the language barriers of your new friends. I have found though, that we all have at least one thing in common: the love for food. Our Latin friends are more than interested in learning how to bake the delicious and simple desserts that we often take for granted, such as chocolate cookies. So it is fun for me to invite several of the women in our church community over to build our friendships as I teach them the recipe to chocolate chip cookies. It is good for them to hear the lesson taught in English while I also get time to practice my Spanish, too. Our next cooking session will be how to make puppy chow! Yum!

Piano Playing Girls

Caroline and Annie have been playing Suzuki piano for four years now, taught by the wonderful Charlotte Garwood. We are continually impressed with their progress and what they have gained from all of the practice and discipline required from learning a musical instrument.

Play Ball!

Charlie had his second summer of playing ball in a team league and boy, did he have a great time. This summer he joined the local KCK RBI league right here in our neighborhood. RBI is an organization committed to reviving baseball in urban areas while teaching boys and girls about teamwork, leadership and life skills. Charlie made some new friends as he gained more experience and training in a sport he loves. If you want to learn more about KCK RBI here is their home page link: kckrbi.org

Summer Fun!

What an incredible summer we had! Mission Adelante and our family was blessed to have six super fun interns working with us this summer and they were COOL! As a mom, it was an extra special treat to see these young godly men and women taking the time to invest in our own four kids. Our family soaked up their energy for Jesus and our community. It truly was a blessing to have them share life with us.

Catch Up Time!

Hi Friends,

If you haven't noticed, this blog has been pretty silent for some time. Since Jarrett spends much of his energy on the weekly Adelante Express, the girls and I have decided to post some of the daily moments that go on in the life of the Meek family. We'll try and catch you up on the fun we have had in 2011 for the next several posts. So we hope you will enjoy hearing from us and seeing some snapshots of our family life and ministry.