Did I say nerd? What I meant was......

After my last post I wanted to make sure my readers knew exactly how much my older brother really means to me. I picked on him in the last post (hey, what are little sisters for?), but in the eyes of his younger sister, this is who Wray really is:


A Protector:
-- He was my comfort 12 years ago when we would go to story hour at the Library. I would be so scared without 'mommy' close by and Wray would always sit right beside me and put his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, mommy will be back soon. I'll take care of you."

--When we were little, he would always hold my hand in the parking lot......he was moms little helper

--Fast forward several years, to the time I'm about 10. I'm riding the go-cart in the backyard and and somehow end up tipping it over on its side. Whoops :-P Who rescues me? Yep, Wray :-)


A Friend:
--Being only 18 months apart, we were always very close friends. From camping in the backyard to chasing chickens in the chicken house, we were ( for the most part) always doing something together. I can remember the day we discovered it was fun to jump through the vent (about 2'x3') in the hallway floor. We made a pile of pillows and blankets in the basement which made for a nice soft landing :-)

--When I was buying my first car Wray was in Master's Commission in Florida. We had always dreamed of the day we could finally drive....yes, I got my love of driving from spending so much time with Wray :-) So, the fact that he was 22 hours away while I was shopping for my first car was quite upsetting. I remember several phone calls about which was better, "a Chevy or a Ford", and, "which has better gas mileage". I even sent him pictures when I finally drove my new car home.

A ....."Help!"
--My car had a flat tire a few weeks ago........yes, Wray fixed it for me :-)

--"Wray! I just got a speeding ticket and I'm scared to tell dad!" He broke the news gently for me :-)

A Class mate:-)
--Being homeschooled, there always seemed to be a lack of students in my class :-) The one I did have though, was a pretty cool kid :-P Science experiments were fun to do together....although by the time we finished, it some times looked like moms whole kitchen had exploded.....

--"Psst. What did you put for number five?" "Nothing yet.......pass the cookies....."

A Role Model
---One of the first things you notice when meeting Wray is that he is an awesome man of God. The way he lives his life is an example for all his friends....and his little sister too.

I could go on, but I'm not going to because I think I've made my point very clear. I love my brother and I am very thankful for him.

The most awesome brother around!

Three Nerds and a 4-wheeler

It was about 5 degrees outside Saturday night and instead of entertainng themselves inside, my brother and his friends decided it was a much better idea to see who could turn into a popsicle first outside. So they whipped out the 4-wheeler and away they went. My brother and his friends are known to do some pretty goofy things so I wasn't too surprised on Saturday night when I looked out the window and saw this strange site.........

Wray is driving the 4-wheeler that now has a sled hooked to the back

of it. In the front of the sled is Ryan yelling, "MUSH!". Behind him is

Luke, who I see get thrown off, fly through the air, and then go running

along behind yelling, "Wait for Me!"

A few minutes later they go through the backyard again, only this

time Ryan is riding the sled like a surf board and Wray is trying as

hard as he can to make him fall off.

Notice in these two pictures that it is not the driver of the 4-wheeler who is wearing the helmet.....but rather his two friends who are being pulled along behind :-)

So, that is my story of

"The three nerds and the 4-wheeler" :-)

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good:

I went to the bank at 9:00am today to take a computer test because I might be starting a full time job there. I sat down at the computer, nerves jittering, and clicked 'start' on the test screen.

The Bad:

The computer promptly froze 10 seconds into the demo. "Drat!" I said, praying I couldn't be heard through the office door. I told Vickie who came and restarted the computer.......and again after it froze TWO more times! Finally she called Tech Support and they were able to restart the computer and get me through the practice questions on the test (about 15 minutes worth of 'demo')....and guess what happened......the screen froze.
So, we went over to the other office to install the program on a different computer. After about 15 minutes the program is ready to go and I sit down to start the test for a 4th time.

The really, really Ugly:

HOWEVER, computer #2 doesn't have speakers, and it impossible to take this test without sound. So, we went back to office #1, took the speakers off that computer, and hooked them up to the computer in office #2. Begin test 5th time....

Ok, nothing else should go wrong, right? *BUZZ* Guess again. The number pad on the keyboard in office #2 doesn't work....and since its a test for a bank, numbers are kind of important :-) UGH!
At that point I was done for. Even if we got everything working I had lost my momentum to take the test. I just wasn't focused anymore. So, I'm going back tomorrow morning (Wednesday) with the promise that they will have it all figured out :-) I saw enough of the test that I don't think it will be too difficult, but prayers are welcome :-)
However, more than anything else....I ask you to pray for the computer!

Just to make you smile :-D

This post is full of information that is......well.....useless.

I've picked some of my favorites from "The book of useless information"

• November 19th is 'Have a bad day day' (...and any day I have a dentist appointment)


• Americans spend $1.5 billion every year on toothpaste (Half of which is purchased by my older sister, Jaime)


• In the summer, walnuts get a tan (Someone should tell them about sunscreen)


• A group of frogs is called an army (You have to go through an army of frogs to find one prince)


• Elvis failed his music class in school (I'm hopeless)


• The basilisk is also called the "Jesus Christ lizard" because of its ability to run on water (Yeah, but can it turn water into wine?)


• Grapes explode when you put them in the microwave (I do not speak from experience....yet)


• During your life you will eat sixty thousand pounds of food (In my case, mostly chocolate)


• A can of spam is opened every 4 seconds (It this even real food?)


• Two million different combinations of sandwiches can be created from a subway menu (And I order the same thing every time I eat there)


• The Donald Duck comic strip was banned from Finland because he didn't wear pants (Feathers don't count?)


• Three mile island is only 2.5 miles long (All my trust is broken.......does Winnie the Pooh really live in a 100 acre wood?)


• The Bible is the number one shoplifted book in America (The easiest way to spread the Word)


• Tonsurphobia is the fear of haircuts (Poor Eli.....)

True Love Waits

In the past few posts you have heard about my hand therapy, my niece and nephew, fun times with friends......but so far I haven't posted about who I really am. The main reason I have slacked on doing so is because I knew it was going to take some thought and I never have that much time to sit in front of the computer and think. However, I just finished closing up at work and have a few hours before my relief comes so now seems like a good time.

When I was around 14 years old I read a book called "I kissed dating good-bye" by Joshua Harris. http://www.joshharris.com/joshs_biography.php After that, there was no changing my mind. I made a commitment to God and myself that I was going to be different. I didn't want to date a guy just to say I had a boyfriend; I wasn't going to kiss a guy just because I liked him; I was rock solid.
I have only God to thank when I tell you that I still live that out to this day. Living out a commitment like that in this world isn't easy. There are all sorts of influences telling you that you're wrong, or that your weird for not having a relationship, or someone telling you that "you will never get married because you're not allowed to have a boyfriend"..........None of that mattered to me. Yes, it hurt. Yes, it was hard. But so totally worth it.

Around the age of 17 I felt God leading me towards a ministry for young girls ( jr. high ) I wanted to be that voice of encouragement. As soon as I graduated high school I held an 8 week purity camp for girls. We went through the book by Dannah Gresh called Secret Keeper Girl. http://purefreedom.org/
Whats the big Secret? Simple: Your purity. A secret is something that is kept between 2 people. In this case, you and your husband/wife. If you spread the 'secret' around to all your friends, whats so special about it now?

This is how I explain purity to the girls. (Remember I'm talking to 8-12 year olds)
"Your purity is like a box all wrapped up in shiny paper with a beautiful gold bow on top. Now, lets say you're in a relationship with a guy and you give him your first kiss. He just tore the bow off the top of your shiny package. The next time it goes a little furter and he rips off the ribbon. Eventually you give yourself away completely and he tears off the paper leaving you with an empty cardboard box. Time passes and you both move on, becoming only memories in the other persons mind. Well, in walks your prince charming! You fall in love and get married.......but all you have left to give him is an empty cardboard box. The gold bow is gone; Even the ribbon and shiny paper are gone. Now you wish you hadn't given away the best part of your gift."

I want to reach out
To girls before they tell the secret: Tell them of the love of Jesus Christ
To girls who have already told the secret: Tell them of the forgivness of Jesus Christ


You got the short version :-) I could go on for hours on this subject......but now that I finally did this post I will talk about this again later on.
I'm glad that my readers out in blog land now know some of Kristin's heart........not just hand therapy :-)

But for now remember that True Love Waits. First find the unfading love of Jesus Christ, and use that as your example.

"I am committed to Purity for my future mate because my Heavenly Father has lovingly instructed me to do so."
--Philippians 4:8

Friday....and very early saturday morning :-)

Several of the churches in my area hosted a 7th Day Slumber concert on Friday. The youth staff at my church was in charge of helping the bands to set up and tear down their equipment (which included clearing of the stage for the next band during the concert). :-D Lots of fun! The four bands were Sherif, Manic Drive, After Edmund, and 7DS.
We arrived at the church at 11:30am and didn't leave until after midnight......and then the six of us (Pastor Jim, Chris, Jeramy, both Elizabeths, and myself) decided we were in need of some early morning food at Denny's. :-) We didn't leave Denny's until 2:00am which meant that we had just spent a total of 15 hours together. We all had a lot of fun though and I'm thankful for the new friends I meant around March of last year.
Anyway......Our day was filled with lots of sound equipment, listening to sound checks for a few hours, eating dinner in the same room with one of the bands (After Edmund) and Elizabeth Taylor deciding that her dads hair was in great need a some 'Men's gray cover-up' :-D
So, here are some pictures of the bands and the youth staff dying Pastor Jim's hair in the Janitors closet.....
(I used some christmas money to buy a new camera because my old one went klapooie.....it seems to do pretty well at concerts. Elizabeth Walker was having fun trying out all the different settings.)

Elizabeth looking way too satisfied to be dying her dads hair





We had to close the door because we were getting a line of
people outside the Janitors closet watching the 'youth pastor
from Trinity getting his hair dyed'.

The finished product...

Jeremy, a 7DS band member



The lead singer for After Edmund. I had never heard this
band before but really liked them.

7DS bass player

Joseph Rojas, lead singer for 7DS

The laughter of Children....or rather, what they do to make YOU laugh :-D

I spent last night and today at Jaime's house helping out with kids after her 'baby scare' yesterday. (For those of you who haven't read her blog yet, it explains about the 'baby scare')
Anyway, I had the chance to hold down the fort while she was at the OBs office. I felt like I was on a reality tv show called, "A day in the life of your older sister" :-)

Cosette came into the livingroom rubbing her neck and asked, "Aunt Kristin, can you feel the ankle in my neck. Is it ok that its there?" I laughed and told her it wasn't an ankle and that, "yes its supposed to be there. See, I have one to."

Eli went down for his morning nap while Cosette was having 'quiet time' in her room. About 10 minutes later I heard Cosette saying, "Go back to bed because you're not supposed to be here! Aunt Kristin will see you." Eli had decided his nap was over and was playing happily in is big sister's room......aunt Kristin quickly changed his mind :-)

Cosette: "Hey, will you do that upside down thing like my friend Adam does?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Cosette then faces me, grabs my hands, walks her feet up my legs and flips over backwards so she is facing forward.....but upside down....and then says, "Now walk!"

I walked into the bedroom to find Eli wearing his sister's 'big girl pantys'. Yes Joel, the ones with little yellow flowers :-)

This is a shout out to my big sister. It takes a strong person to laugh when her son pees in the hallway before his bath......:-D