About Me and Mine

All of the following pictures are from our family vacation in May/June of 2009.

From left to right: My nephew, Ayden Thomas, now 3; my daughter, Dianna Noell Keloe, now 4; my son, Jarod James Talani, now 3.


My wonderful husband and me at Disney's Boardwalk resort. We were blessed to stay for 3 days while the children went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. What a nice get-away!

Almost the whole family at Downtown Disney. My husband, Talani, is taking the picture. From left to right: (back row) Dad, Mom, Me, Will (my sister's ex-boyfriend), and my sister Mandy; (front row): Jarod, Dianna, and Ayden.

Just the four of us at Disney's Contemporary Resort.

Back at Downtown Disney.


So here's a family history:

I moved to Pensacola, Florida to go to college in 1995. It was at college in 1996 that I met my husband. We were married in July of 2003. Talani went on staff with the college, and I began grad school. Nine days before I graduated with my master's degree in 2005, our daughter, Dianna Noell Keloe, was born by C-section. How I managed the energy and posture to cross the stage 9 days later, I don't know. I began teaching for the Christian school associated with the college. In January of 2007, our son, Jarod James Talani, joined our family. In June of 2008 we purchased our first home. We love our life in Pensacola; perhaps so much that we convinced my parents without even trying to move here!

My parents are planning a move to the Pensacola area once they sell their house near Jacksonville, Florida. They have lived in that house for just over 20 years. It will be a bittersweet thing for them to leave that house. My sister, Mandy, who has recently finalized her divorce, had been living with Mom and Dad again for quite some time. When they told her that they were wanting to move here, Mandy put in for a transfer with Wal-Mart. (She's worked at Wal-Mart for almost 7 years now.) She had a few offers (we have 5 Wal-Marts within easy driving distance of our house), but none for full-time. She rejected those part time offerings, even though she had no guarantee of finding a full-time position at all. When the offer came in May of 2009 for a full-time position at one of the closest Wal-Marts to our home, she was told that she'd better snap up this opportunity because Wal-Mart just WASN'T hiring full time. This might be her only chance. We urged her to accept the job and move in with us. So, since June 2009, my sister, Mandy, and her son, Ayden, have lived with us. Ayden is exactly 1 month older than Jarod, so it's nice for the boys to have a playmate so close in age so close at hand.

It's not always easy. Mandy is very young, at least in her mindset. It's a great burden and inconvenience to provide some transportation and child care for Ayden, primarily for my husband, since I often spend the evening hours on school work leaving him to care for all three kids after dinner. God is good. I hope that I learn a little about compromise; I hope my sister gains maturity, wisdom, and personal growth.