• ABCs of Me

    ByKristin faith, food, music, weather
    1 Comment

    There’s much talk about the ABCs around our house, so I thought this was a good way to share some randomness about me …

    Animal: My favorites are the ones that aren’t mine.
    Advice: I often tell myself to slow down and enjoy the moment.
    Album: “August and Everything After” by Counting Crows is one of my all-time favorites.

    Best feeling in the world: Peace.
    Best weather: I like that the weather changes, but I prefer sunshiny, warm days.
    Band: I can’t pick just one band. These days I’m liking Casting Crowns, Third Day and Sugarland.

    Candy: I really love candy, but I’m trying not to eat much of eat these days.
    Color: Cate would tell you purple, pink and blue are my favorites. She’d be right.
    Continent to visit: I’d go back to New Zealand, which I believe isn’t part of any continent.
    Cheese: Colby Jack.

    Drawing or painting: Neither. I like to write. And scrapbook.
    Dog breed: Ones that belong to other people and that aren’t yappy. Really.

    Eyes: Mine are blue.
    Everyone’s got: Imperfections.
    Ever failed a class: Nope.

    First thoughts waking up: Did Ben sleep until 7?
    Feeling: Right now I’m feeling tired yet peaceful.
    Favorite Movie: “Valentine’s Day,” “Love Actually,” “Return to Me,” “27 Dresses,” “Juno,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “Good Will Hunting,” “The Holiday,” “Serendipity,” “You’ve Got Mail,” and “Reality Bites” are ones I consider favorites.

    Greatest Fear: Not being able to remember moments I want to treasure.
    Goals: Raise kids who love God and people.
    Good luck charm: No such thing.

    Holiday: Christmas. And, really, the whole December season, not just Dec. 25.
    How do you want to die: Naturally.
    Hot or cold: Cold drinks. Warm weather.

    Ice cream: I don’t love ice cream, but a Reese’s cup Blizzard from DQ is a wonderful treat.
    Instrument: I can’t play any.
    Irrational fear: Having the bedroom closet door open. And more than fearing anything, it just bugs me.

    Jewelry: I don’t wear much. I love my wedding rings and Pandora bracelet.
    Job: Full-time mom.
    Jokes: I’m not very good at telling them.

    Kids: I have two whom I love dearly.
    Keep a journal: Sporadically. And I have this electronic journal, more often called a blog.

    Love: It’s a choice.
    Laughed so hard you cried: Oh, yes.
    Learned: I have much to learn.
    Lost: One of the best TV shows ever, even though I didn’t like the ending.

    McDonaldโ€™s or Burger King: Between the two, McDonald’s. I’d choose Wendy’s or Culver’s, though.
    Marriage: I’m thankful for mine.
    Musical: I don’t really do musicals, but I liked “Man of La Mancha.”

    Number of siblings: Two plus six in-laws, counting my brother’s girlfriend who he’s officially marrying in May because she’s been part of the family for quite awhile now.
    Number: I like 3.
    Nuts: Cashews and peanuts are the only nuts I’ll eat.
    Name that comes to mind first: Taylor.

    One wish: The first one that comes to mind is that Katie would be my neighbor again one day.
    One time I…: Bungy jumped. I’d do it again, too.
    One word: Uno.

    Perfect pizza: I had Mariachi Chicken (chicken, jalapenos, Roma tomatoes, chedder and provolone cheese, mariachi spice) with a side of sour cream at Donato’s last week. It was delicious.
    Pepsi or Coke: I really love Diet Dr Pepper.
    Pet: I don’t do pets. We had a fish, once.

    Questions: I ask many of them.
    Quit: I always say “I quit working at the Ledger when Cate was 4 months old …” but that sounds like I gave up. It was more of a choice that was best for me and my family. And a good one it was.
    Quiet: I like quiet.

    Reason to cry: I typically don’t need a deep reason.
    Rude: I am rude sometimes.

    Song: “Glorious Day” by Casting Crowns has been in my head often lately. My husband played it at church today too.
    Sleep: I try to get eight hours a night. And I believe in sleep training my kids.
    Salad dressing: Poppyseed is my favorite.
    Slept outside: Yes, but I don’t really like doing so.

    Time for bed: 10 p.m.
    Thunderstorms: I like them at night.

    Unpredictable: It’s true. I’m not in control, even though I sometimes try to be.
    Uncool: My husband tucked in his long-sleeved MSU T-shirt last night and I told him that was uncool.

    Vacation spot: I like vacations, especially beaches. But I’ll take a city or the mountains. Really anywhere.
    Voice: I don’t think my voice sounds like my voice recorded and I don’t sing for people.

    Weakness: Perfectionism.
    Worst feeling: Letting someone down.
    Water or land: I like to be on land near water.

    X-rays: The ones they took of my teeth at my last cleaning appointment were really high-tech.
    Ex’s: Part of how I got here.

    Year it is now: 2011. Crazy.
    Yellow: Our kitchen and bedroom are yellow. The same yellow, which was also the color of our bedroom at our old house. Yes, I like it.

    Zoo animals: Way better than pets.

  • Heaven

    ByKristin Cate, faith, motherhood, quotes
    1 Comment

    “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Fatherโ€™s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.โ€
    –Jesus tells his disciplines, according to John 14:1-4

    Today my 3 1/2-year-old girl asked me how Jesus takes us to heaven. She wanted to know how we get there and where heaven is. And she wanted black-and-white answers that don’t really come with faith, which is being sure of what we hope for.

    And I hope for heaven. God promises heaven to those who choose to follow Him.

    So that’s where I started. God must have been preparing her little heart for the conversation because the verse she has been learning at school is “Follow God,” or some paraphrase along those lines. Today she even remembered it well enough to get to pick a treat from the treasure chest.

    I told her we go to heaven when we die because that’s where Jesus lives and God promises us we can live forever there if we just follow Him.

    “I know, Mommy. We do follow God.”

    Talk about childlike faith. But that’s not what was on her mind.

    So instead she asks, “But how does Jesus take us to heaven?”

    Um, truthfully, I had no idea what to tell her. So I went back to a conversation we’d had Saturday when we drove passed the cemetery that is about two blocks from our house yet she’d never asked about. “What are all those little buildings there?” she asked two days ago as we drove passed the cemetery.

    I told her they were markers were people’s bodies were buried. Like Granddaddy’s body is in a different cemetery with a marker that has his name on it. Then she reminded me Granddaddy was in heaven with Jesus. And that’s where the conversation got complicated.

    “Yes, Granddaddy is in heaven. His heart and soul are living with Jesus forever, but our bodies stay here on Earth.”

    And then she told me when she got older she’d die too. I reassured her that it wouldn’t be for a long time and that God wanted to her to love her life here for now.

    So back to today …

    I reminded her that God lives in our hearts and our hearts [“souls” seems even more abstract to me …] go to live with Jesus when we die.

    “I know, Mommy. Where is heaven?” I detected the frustration in her voice that I wasn’t giving her specific directions to how to get to heaven. So I just go with, “It’s far away from here, but it’s going to be the best place we’ll ever be.”

    “Is it high up in the clouds?” Again, she wants directions, like how she talks about turning right onto Main Street to get to school. Having no black-and-white answers, I told her yes.

    “How do we get there?” I think she wanted me to say we fly, like we did to get to New Zealand. Or we take a bus, like Granddaddy used to drive. Or we drive a long, long way. Instead I just went back to how the conversation got started: “Jesus takes us there.”

    That seemed to be good enough. But the silence was only her mind still working, thinking about heaven. “Will there be toys there?”

    I am certain of what I hope for. And I hope for heaven. So I told my 3 1/2-year-old girl that there would be toys in heaven.

    When she’s older, I’ll tell her about why I don’t really think we’ll care about toys when we get there. I believe we’ll be so in awe of living with the Creator of the world that we’ll be too distracted by a beauty that won’t even compare to anything we’ve ever seen to even care about what we used to do.

  • Nesting

    ByKristin Uncategorized
    1 Comment

    I’ve been nesting, so they say. Most everything has a new home in our new home, which means we’re feeling at home in this place we’ve lived for barely more than a week. My scrap area, which is taking over what would more generally be called an office, is in the process of being unpacked.

    And, really, just so you know, I want to scrap. I have pictures from Texas. And Ben’s ultrasound. And New Zealand. And lots of smaller moments. So I’m not short of inspiration, but rather time. I’m looking forward to [one day …] scrapbooking while Cate plays.

    Yes, that’s right, this scrap area [um … office …] is housed in a lovely bonus room that also features a play room. Momma can play on one end while Cate plays in the other. Of course, Ben could be born soon and then I’ll probably be too tired to scrap.

    Really, you know, the thing about nesting: It’s rather tiring too. Perhaps that’s God’s way of preparing me for a newborn. Well, at least sort of. Really there’s no way to prepare for sleep deprivation, especially when if you’re like me. Just ask my mom. I was grumpy after every slumber party I ever attended. Just ask my husband. I still get cranky when I don’t sleep well.

    People ask me if I’m nervous about having two kids, and, you know, some days I am. Other days not so much. But when I do think about it, sleep deprivation always rises [quickly] to the top of my concerns. Then I think about my friends who have been here in this season of life with a toddler and a newborn, and, somehow, they’ve managed to function. So I assume I can too. Somehow.

    Meanwhile, I’m off to fold some laundry and maybe unpack some Sharpies and scissors. Oh, and yes, pictures of the renovated new house are on my to-do list. I thought I’d hang some pictures on the walls first, though.