Guys 'n Gals

I was at Jaime's house for a few hours today for the simple fact that I needed some 'sister, niece and nephew time'. In the few hours that I was there, I learned several lessons about 'Guys 'n Gals'......

Lesson 1: Girls Delight in art projects........Guys Devour their art projects
When I got there Cosette was sitting at the table painting a picture and Eli was getting ready to color a picture.
I watched Cosette for a while; she was doing a good job at staying in the lines and rinsing out her brush. Eli was being very quite so looked across the table to check on him and found him having a great time eating his crayons. :-)

Lesson 2: Girls think of an Aunt as someone who makes great Peanut Butter balls. Guys think of an Aunt as someone who makes a great tissue
Cosette and I had fun making peanut butter balls today. I'll admit, by the time we were finished we were a bit sticky...but we had fun none the less.
I noticed Eli rubbing his eyes and I asked if he was sleepy. He said he was and laid his head down on my arm. He didn't leave it there for long, and before he pulled his head up he took his nose and ran it all the way up my sleeve; that wouldn't have been bad except for the fact that he has a rather snotty nose at the moment. Yeah, you get the picture :-)

Lesson 3: Girls eat snacks slowly.....Guys eat them all at once :-)
Cosette and Eli each had a small cup of peanuts for a snack. Cosette was eating hers relatively slow (about one peanut every 45 seconds, which considering the size of one peanut is really slow) Eli took his cup and dumped every last peanut into his mouth in about 5 seconds :-)

Lesson 4: Aunt Kristin wouldn't have it any other way
I love it! The fact that Cosette wants sit on the couch and read a book and Eli want to do somersaults off it just shows how awesome our God is. He took the time to create each of their little minds and give them their own little personalities. We can't make Eli like dolls, and we can't make Cosette eat her crayons :-) So just look to the little ones to see the amazing work of our God!

The Bubble Wrap Dance

At home on a Saturday night with nothing to do, I decided to watch some old 'home videos' on the computer. I'm glad I did because I found a video that was thought to be lost forever :-) I thought it had been accidentally deleted a while ago......but that obviously was not the case because it suddenly appeared on my computer....who knows. Anyway.....this very cute moment was captured Christmas Day 2006.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I now introduce the dancing skills of Miss Cosette Elise. Prepare to be amazed........

(Cosette was almost two when this video was taken)

The Bubble Wrap Dance....

Memories

One year ago today, I was sitting in a waiting room at Johns Hopkins University. Wray was sitting to my right, Grandma Rosina was to my left. Pappy John was pacing the hallway and dad had found another 'waiting room guest' to talk to. Pappy Babe and Grandma Carol were also in the waiting room, I believe sitting against a wall to my left. The waiting room was full that day, not many seats were empty. I was keeping my mind occupied with sudoku puzzles and Wray had found an activity book. The walls were painted yellow, as if trying to say, "Smile! Everything will be ok!" I remember seeing Grandma Carol with her eyes closed and head bowed, obviously in prayer. I remember watching snowflakes hit the window, stick for just a moment and then melt away. I even had a little rhythm going in my head...." hit, stick, and melt. hit stick and melt." :-) ( it was a long morning :-P )

I can still remember the feeling I had as I woke up that morning in a town house in Baltimore.....walking to the hospital....and riding the elevator to the 5th floor. It was a feeling of dread and peace all mixed together. Dread because this day had finally come.....and peace because I knew God was going to work it all out.

......why do I remember this day so well? Why the recalling of every little detail?
January 23rd 2007 was the day Mom had her Open Heart Surgery. Its been a whole year already! To see the change in moms health from one January to the next puts me at a loss for words.....

God is amazing, isn't He!?

Remember to give your mom a hug today!

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.....)