My Investment

There is a lot of talk these days of whether to invest or not. What to do with your money when your economy is in crisis.

Most people say that the best thing I could do financially is to hold onto my money and protect it.

But tonight, I'm going against financial wisdom. I am choosing to invest in my marriage.

Curtis and I have both been very busy. There's been a lot of stress at work with the new building. Lexi has been sick with a double ear infection. I've been doing my job plus preparing to lead at a different church this weekend. Needless to say...we haven't had any quality time together. (Unless you count me falling asleep watching LOST with him Wednesday night).

So tonight, we invest in a babysitter. We got out. We do this because time together protects our marriage. It reminds us of why we love each other. It quiets the noise in our lives and helps us focus on each other.

To me, that's the best investment I can make.

BABY PEYTON!

I was so thrilled to visit with Kipp & Sarah yesterday and meet Baby Peyton. She's so beautiful.

After visiting Sarah shortly after Tanner was born, I walked out of the hospital room sad. She had such a rough delivery, and as a friend, my heart was just hurting for her.

She looked so beautiful, happy, and healthy yesterday. I couldn't have been more happy.

Kipp just seemed giddy. He's gonna be such a good Daddy to little Peyton.

I took a picture on my cell phone (I forgot my camera) of Kipp as he was having some snuggle time with Peyton. I think it's so sweet....



Congratulations Friends!

THIS IS NOT OKAY.

I've always been a fan of Chris Brown. I'm sad that I won't get to see him perform anymore. But this is not okay.

I hope he gets the help he needs.

I hope this is a wake up call to anyone else out there that would even think about hurting someone they love.

Domestic Violence is NOT okay.

Congratulations Haley....

Dear Haley,

Today was a big day for you. I told you that you were going to visit Mrs. Marsh (your pre-school director) because she's heard how smart you are and wanted to ask you a few questions. Both are true. But there was more to the story. We were actually going to take an entrance exam for Kindergarten...but I didn't want to make you nervous with words like "test", so I left out that part.

When we got there, mommy decided I would sit in the room with you and listen. But I wasn't allowed to talk to you and you weren't allowed to talk to me.

You sat in your chair and did such a good job listening. You listened intently. You love to make people happy. I could see that shining through you today.

There were a couple of times that I could tell you needed help. I wanted to help you so badly. It was hard for me to sit and just watch. But I guess as you keep growing up, that's part of my job. Learning to let go. Letting you learn on your own.

You've done a lot of learning Haley. It was fun to watch you answer the questions Mrs. Marsh asked. Here are some of the things you did today:

--You identified each letter of the alphabet correctly.
--You wrote your first/last name.
--Mrs. Marsh built shapes with blocks. You looked at them. She knocked them down, and you rebuilt them in the same shape. This one was your biggest struggle...but you still did great!
--You identified your numbers correctly (except for number 10.... that was a tough one.)
--She showed you flash cards and you correctly identified each picture - except for yarn & overalls. But we don't have yarn or overalls in the house...so that doesn't surprise me.
---You drew every shape correctly.

She asked you questions...here are some of my favorite answers.

What do you do when your hungry? --- I eat something healthy.
What is healthy? ---Vegetables
What is your favorite vegetable? ---Steak.

What do you do when your cold? ---I snuggle.

What explodes? ---Volcanos.

What growls? ---My stomach.

Who swims? ---Sometimes people.

What boils?---Whales. And popcorn.
...I think she misunderstood this one at first...Then remembered that Grandma makes popcorn on the stove and waits for the oil to boil.

What do you do when you are sleepy?---I pull the covers up.

After you were done answering Mrs. Marsh's questions, she let you go color a picture in another room with a teacher. Then Mrs. Marsh and I talked about what a good job you did on your test. She said you were outgoing, happy, and kind. She told me that I have done a wonderful job with you. You are respectful to the teachers at school and sweet to the other kids. Academically, you are prepared for Kindergarten. And Mrs. Marsh seems to think you are an auditory learner.

And with, I was given a registration packet for you to go to Kindergarten.

I can't believe how quickly you are growing Haley. I am so proud of you. I love you more than you will ever know.

I am looking forward to watching you learn more next year as you begin Kindergarten.

Congratulations my sweet little girl!!!

Kindergarten...Really???

This was a picture I took on September 18, 2007. Haley's first day of Preschool.

Tomorrow, she is taking an entrance exam for Kindergarten. How did time slip away so quickly?

Big Day at The Pool.

My favorite day of the week is Tuesday. It is Swim Lessons Day. And I can honestly say that nothing makes me happier than watching my kids swim.

Haley has always been a natural in the pool. She has no fear and just goes for it. She's actually teaching me how to swim properly now.

Lexi loves the pool, but she's had some issues with her ears. (She has tubes.) So she hates laying on her back because of the sensation of water in her ears. (We even use ear plugs and swim caps). But usually tears are involved.

The last 2 weeks, however, she has come out of her shell. And it is SO awesome!!!

The swim program that we are in requires the child to be able to swim and then flip over onto her back and float before she can learn ANYTHING else. It is a safety issue...so if she starts swimming and can't catch her breath, she can flip over onto her back and be safe.

Today she did it...over and over...on her own...without help...without tears....




When her lesson was over, she asked her teacher if she could do it again. It was an exciting day!

Counting Down #19

I LOVE COFFEE.

Like the French love wine.

But I'm weird about it in the morning. I am so dehydrated that I have to drink about 2 glasses of water before I will let myself have a cup. I also have to eat something sweet right before I drink it. I think it enhances the taste.

1 CENT MOVIES.

If you have TIME WARNER CABLE....movies are only 1 CENT! February 14 & 15.

Break out the popcorn and enjoy!

My Journey.

I like to take pictures of pathways and roads because they remind me that I am on a journey.

Since it's Valentine's Day and "LOVE" is in the air...I'm thinking a lot about love tonight. And I've decided one thing...I have so much to learn.

I want to love boldly. Courageously. Without fear.

I want to love selflessly. Without thinking of what I will get in return.

I want to love unconditionally. Even when it's not reciprocated.

I want to love the sick, the poor, the people that don't look like me...talk like me...think like me.

I want to love like Jesus.


I'm reading a book - IRRESISTIBLE REVOLUTION - by Shane Claiborne that has opened my eyes to what a horrible lover I am. Nothing sexual here people. Just talking about loving others the way Christ loves me.

And can I boldly say that if we loved people like that, the world would be a different place.

I want to take a few posts to share some of his thoughts that have messed with my head. Made me think a lot about this journey I'm on.

Maybe they will mess with you too...


It is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project but become genuine friends and family with whom we laugh, cry, dream, and struggle. One of the verses I have grown to love is the one where Jesus is preparing to leave the disciples and says, "I no longer call you servants....Instead, I have called you friends. (John 15:15) Servanthood is a fine place to being, but gradually we move toward mutual love, genuine relationships.

...And that's when things get messy. When people begin moving beyond charity and toward justice and solidarity with the poor and oppressed, as Jesus did, they get in trouble. Once we are actually friends with folks in struggle, we start to ask why people are poor, which is never as popular as giving to charity.

...Charity wins awards and applause, but joining the poor gets you killed. People do not get crucified for charity. People are crucified for living out a love that disrupts the social order, that calls forth a new world. People are not crucified for helping poor people. People are crucified for joining them.

Counting Down #20

To Recap: I'm just sharing 25 riveting, life-changing, fun facts about my life to bring inspiration and joy to my friends and/or stalkers. A.K.A. I am being horribly narcissistic and writing about stuff that only my mother probably cares to know...

#20... Hanging with the Wrong Crowd.

So, growing up...I spent my formative years at a little Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee. My parents were highly respected employees of the school. Not to mention, just a lovely couple that had devoted their lives to following Christ.

So here's what I remember of what can only be acknowledged as a 8 year old kid having a pre-tween, Christian crisis. Let's set the stage.

I went to a tiny school that had no more than 100 kids in it. I lived in a beautiful home just a few yards away from where my parents worked, so after school, I would go home or hang out in the main building on campus.

I had some good friends...a lot of whom had parents that worked at the school. But I also had the tendency to hang with the troubled kids too...you know...the one's your mom tells you not to hang out with.

So...one day, I'm hanging with the good kids. Upstairs in the main building of the college campus. Somebody said something to me that hurt my feelings, so I replied, "Shut your damn mouth." RECORD SCRATCH. ROOM IS SILENT. ALL EYES ON ME. And then some girl (whose face I can remember, but name I can not) says, "I'm gonna tell your mom"...and she rushes downstairs to my mom's office.

Knowing I couldn't stop her, I pulled a Forrest Gump, and just started running. I finally got hungry and figured I should head home at some point. I can still remember my mom standing in the kitchen, putting something into a pot on the stove. And she very calmly said (without looking at me)... "do you have something you want to tell me?"

To which I replied, "Mom... I know that "Suzie" told you I said a bad word today, but I didn't. I was talking to Suzie, and at that very moment, I thought of my Uncle Dan, and I said, "Shut your DAN mouth." Oh, how I swore up and down that is what I said. My mom knew better.

.......Hanging with the bad kids......

There was 1 boy - I think his name was Eric. Maybe Kevin. We'll call him Kevin. He wasn't a part of our "Christian" campus. He lived down the road. My mom told me he was "bad news." I thought he was funny.

He'd come around our neck of the woods every once in a while. One day, he dared me to pull down my pants and moon the neighborhood boys. The good kids. The Bible Professor's son... The Music Professor's son. That meant nothing to me.

I still remember rounding the corner of the house where the boys were playing, yelled their names, pulled down my pants, and then ran off!!!!

I also remember writing 100 sentences that said "I WILL NOT PULL MY PANTS DOWN" on my writing tablet paper. And my parents hung it all over their china cabinet for me to dwell in my shame for days to come.

Let this be a lesson to you...be sure to keep a close eye on your 8 year olds...you never know what kind of pre-tween crisis you might experience. Heaven forbid it be as scandalous as mine!

So Curtis is doing my laundry...

and he pulls out a pair of pants and says, "Babystyle?"

Curtis: Why are you wearing maternity clothes?
Kristi: Surprise.
Curtis: Ha Ha.
Kristi: I know. So...yeah...those are called Transition Pants.
Curtis: Huh?
Kristi: You are supposed to wear them after you have a baby until you "transition" back to your old size.

Pause.

Kristi: Apparently, I never made the transition.

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS!!!!

Counting Down #21

I occasionally fantasize about quitting my job and studying to be a doctor. I usually have this fantasy when driving by a hospital, going to a doctor, or watching Grey's Anatomy.

But then I remember I hate blood and get queasy at the site of it.... so maybe that's not such a good idea.

Stanley, Stranger Lady, Woody, & Mama Bear.

I took the kids to Disneyland today to meet my friend Amanda and her daughter Mallory. We had so much fun. I took a pic on my cell phone on the tram ride in. I was looking at it tonight and noticed a couple of interesting things.

1. The gentleman behind the girls resembles a one "Stanley" from The Office.

2. I was going to crop this picture until I noticed Lexi's hand. She asked the Lady next to her if she could hold on to her. How sweet is that? I love her precious soul.

In other news... It's a Small World reopened today. It's been closed for a year or so. Apparently Americans had gotten too fat and they needed to repair the boats that had started scraping the bottom of the attraction. I guess while they were in there, they decided to spruce up the joint. I will say, it was a lot more fun. It was kinda like "Where's Waldo" because there were Disney characters everywhere. It was fun to try and find them.

Here's a pic of Woody.



After several hours of fun in the sun... I mean RAIN.... we went to the Buzz LightYear store to ask a cast member for a replacement back to one of her trading pins. I had her stand in line behind the only 2 ladies that were in line. I called out for Lexi to come stand by us, and when I looked over, Haley had scooted over somewhat. I said, "Haley, make sure you stand right here behind this lady." And then I grabbed Lexi.

It was then her turn in line, so she walked up to the desk and in her sweet voice said, "excuse me sir..." And right at that time, a middle aged man (No Kidding...at least 55) scooted up and was standing less than 1cm away from her... and looked at me and said, "Excuse me, your kid is cutting me." I'm thinking "Your JOKING, right?" But I said, "No...she was here. We have been waiting in line." KNOWING FULL WELL WE WERE THERE FIRST BECAUSE I SAW HIM GET INTO LINE. To which he says, "No... I heard you tell her to stand right behind the lady." Okay...that's it people. I've got a splitting headache. I'm drenched from the rain, and this middle-aged man is trying to cut my daughter off who waited patiently for 5 minutes only to get cut off by a grumpy old man... and I LOST IT.

I don't get Mama Bear very often, but I said, "So you're going to cut a little kid off? Really? That's cool. Come on Haley...we're not going to stand in line with someone who treats little kids like this."

And his response?????

"Two Ponchos please."

Unreal.

So as we are walking away and I am FUMING inside... I'm trying to explain to Haley what went down. Then she started crying...probably cause I was so upset...cause truthfully I think she was clueless when it happened. And you know what she said to me, "Mom...I would have let him go ahead of me."

Pause. Breathe.
If only I had that kind of heart.

Counting Down #22

Every morning in our house begins with some snuggle time and a little of this....



It's Lexi's favorite show "Little Einsteins." We turn the Disney Channel on at 8am and snuggle up for some riveting cartoon time that teaches us about famous composers and artists. Then we go downstairs and have breakfast.

The TV does not get turned on again until I am upstairs getting ready for bed....so it's still on the Disney Channel.

I may have been known to snuggle up in my bed (alone) and watch some Disney Tween Shows. I might have even liked them.

This list includes, but is not limited to...

1 Kings 17.

If you are questioning God...questioning his faithfulness...questioning his power....wondering if he really can meet all of your needs... then read this chapter from the Bible.

If you don't have a Bible...go to www.crosswalk.com and type in 1 Kings 17.

It's a short, but powerful story that will remind you of God's faithfulness.

Counting Down #23

Most broken hearts come from having been in a relationship that didn't work out. I've had a few of those. But I've only had one where I fell hard for someone who didn't feel the same.

It happened in Norway. His name was Oystein. (Which sounds weird for us Americans...but it's actually a very common name there.) I called him Oyster. We became very good friends. And to be fair...he led me on in a bad way. Everything within me thought we would get married and I would live in Norway forever.

I went home for a couple of weeks in the winter, and when I returned to Norway, I took the train from Oslo into my little town. Then I had a cab drop me off where I knew Oystein and all my friends hung out on Thursday evenings. It was a very snowy evening. My stomach was full of butterflies as I got out of the cab. I drug my suitcase through the snow and up the walkway to the Pizzeria (cause that's what they call it there), and looked into the window where I saw Oystein leaning across the table kissing another girl.

It was a scene out of a movie....snow falling...me standing in the cold with my suitcase...eyes filling with tears...pit in my stomach...broken heart. And just when I was about to turn around and try and catch the cab...he looks up and sees me and assumingly out of guilt...waves me in.

Luckily my best friend was inside the restaurant and she grabbed me and led me away from "Oyster" and his mistress. I spent the rest of the night catching up with friends...eating Norwegian Pizza...and pretending everything was okay.

I didn't get over him until I moved back to the States.

Why I love Two Year Olds....

Because when you are at Target and try to discreetly put this in your cart....



...a 2 year old will pick it up and say as LOUD as SHE POSSIBLY CAN... "Mom...are these your DIAPERS???"

Counting Down #24

When I was about 7 or 8, my parents took us somewhere... I can't remember where. But it was a big 2 story house and the family had at least two little girls. We spent the night with them.

All of us girls were snuggled up in one bed. The girls' mother came in to tuck us in (I have NO IDEA where my parents are in this story.) I remember she grabbed each one of our feet when she was saying goodnight. She stopped at mine and said, "You wear socks to bed?" And I said yes. To which she replied, "But then you can't feel your toes wiggle around." So I told her to take them off.

I have not worn socks to bed since that day (Except when my feet are absolutely FREEZING). Every time I have got into bed with socks on, I hear that lady's voice, and then I want to feel my toes wiggle...so off they go!

Free your toes people....Let them Wiggle...Set them FREE!

I NEED THIS...

I'm craving it...dreaming about it.

But I will save myself $3.95 and make coffee at home...Begrudgingly.

25 Days of Me.

So the Facebook thing of writing 25 things about myself reminded me of so many more things that I thought I would take it to the blog. It seemed kinda narcissistic to write a 25 MORE things about ME column. So, instead... I will bless you with 1 new thing about me a day....for 25 days. You are SO LUCKY.

#1. In Junior High, I lived in Kentucky. I was bussed to a magnet school across town (30 minutes away.) I had to take 2 busses to get there. On the first bus, the crowd was middle school & high school. The high school kids in the back of the bus used to pick on me because one of the girls liked my boyfriend (who went to a different school and wasn't there to protect me from those bullies.) They called me Ribbons cause I wore a ponytail with a ribbon in it almost every day. So...every mean comment would start with, "Hey Ribbons.... fill in the blank of whatever stupid teenagers say to each other here." It got so bad, that I would take the ribbon out at the bus stop and leave it off until I got on the 2nd bus....where I was one of the "cool kids."

Sadly, I took my cool kid status and my aggression out on a poor little guy named Paul Lynch. No one ever said it outloud, but I KNOW he was special needs. He sat in the front seat of the bus, behind the bus driver. I think he was protecting himself from the other kids. I know that because I would sit close to the front on my first bus ride for the same reason.

He walked with an exaggerated limp (that I could imitate impeccably). He talked funny. His face was covered in zits. He had 2 plaid shirts that he would alternate and he wore beige pants every day. One day he showed up wearing a pair of jeans. But they were way too long and he had to cuff them. Some days I was nice to him. And other days I was mean. To this day, I haven't forgotten things I have said to him. To this day, I wonder where he is and how he is doing. I wish I could take back the things I said. I hope he is okay.

I remember that he loved Jesus. He talked about him a lot. As I grew older and thoughts of Paul started creeping back into my head, I have often wondered if he was an angel. He probably wasn't. Probably just a sad, lonely kid who had found a friend in Jesus. Everyone should be so lucky.

Reflecting back, I know that I have never treated anyone the way I treated Paul. I think that is why it has bothered me so much for all these years. There is no way to apologize. No way to take it back. The only thing I can think to do is to teach my children how to love the unloved...even if it means they aren't as "cool"....so they don't live to regret it.

This makes my Heart Happy....

Knowing my kids are loved by my friends. Knowing my kids love my friends.