Wednesday, October 29, 2008

driving to fifth and japip...

This past weekend, I took a trip to a place that I'm pretty sure is uncharted territory to many. I say that because the end of our directions were as follows:
"Turn left at the first paved road...Then turn right on the third dirt road at the top of the mountain...they'll be a big tree there..."
It was so refreshing to be "in the middle of nowhere" for a couple of days. Autumn was at it's prettiest, and it was so fun to spend time with my friends Ali and Sue. We did lots of "she-man" things like hiking, but also took full advantage of our girl time to catch up, cook, and listen and dance to lots of music. :)
This is the cabin where we stayed. It was nice and toasty inside...so warm!! :)


Sue, me, and Ali

Pretty colors and textures on our hike...



Just glorious!!

What hit me most during our trip was how creation displays God's beauty and glory, no matter if people there are to enjoy it or not. He "just is." Sooo cool!! :D

Gotta go watch them Philly's win tonight!!
~k.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Kids are Kids Everywhere...!!

Lately I've been sorting through some of my older pictures & videos, and I came across these two cute videos from a Germany trip I took in 2006. They made me realize that kids will be kids just about anywhere!! :)

My friend's beautiful girls, Anna & Lena, on a walk through Nurenburg!

I wish I had the spunk to do what she does...

Have a great day all!

Love, k.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Fall Photography

Some photography of mine from the past few weeks...The fall is AMAZING! I've had so much fun shooting lately!!



Wednesday, October 15, 2008

"You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello"

Here are a few shots in CA before I went on the big airplane back home.

First off, I just have to say it's truly amazing what you can get your friends to do when they know you're leaving!! (Aka, first and last puppet party ever... ;)


Saying goodbye to Stephanie, my co-Phil Wickham fan, amongst many other things...The girl just had her appendix out here! She's a trooper...and a good dancer. ;)


Liberty and Whitney, 2 of the 8 Dickinsons...Amazing girls!!



The one and only Samuel Bower...He's also a very talented dancer and likes to scare girls while watching freaky movies like Alfred Hitchcock's "Phsyco"...



Haha, I'm convinced there's no one in the world quite like my friend Jason...He risked his life in China for a few of us girls trying to cook us popcorn...True friendship!


My Emy!! We have been "roomies" for the past year, and into China! I lived with her very kind family for a year while being in SD, then we (along with Katie, Jamie, and Cathy) lived together in China. She's so spunky and cool, don't you just want to be as cool as she is?!


Mike being a human surf board for Austy. Gotta start 'em young in Cali... ;)


We all played an amazing game of Hide and Seek!! (I can proudly show you my humongous battle scar on my leg!) Anyway, Austin finally found Mike and Jason in the closet, haha...


"Life is a journey, not a destination..." I'm loving this journey, and I love all of you!!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Footprints That Lead to "DOOM!"

The day couldn't have been more beautiful. My friend Suzanne and I were taking a long walk around Ridley Creek State Park, catching up about life. But it seemed that we couldn't get very far into our conversation without being side-tracked onto how AMAZING the day was!!

Humongous trees canopied over us. Soft wind blew colorful leaves off of their branches onto the path. A calm brook danced through the forest. The air was fresh and hinted of smoke from a nearby fireplace. Fathers and sons were fishing together, and friends were laughing as they walked along. It was a taste of heaven.

About three-fourths of the way on our walk, Suzanne and I spotted some painted footprints on our path, leading us to a plaque nearby. It was one of those signs that you normally never would actually stop to read, but because we thought the footprints were so obscure, our curiosity led us to play the tourist. ;)

We couldn't help ourselves from laughing as we read the two paragraphs before us...It (very dramatically) explained how local deer had decided to eat up the plant life, and it called us to "notice the dying vegetation."

How strange to draw our attention away from the astounding beauty around us to the one small spot of dying plants!! We realized how we can be like that in life...We can be surrounded with blessings and beauty, and yet we focus on the one hard thing going on. That really caught my attention, and has changed my perspective lately. Just thought I'd share. ;)

Love,
k

PS I'm watching this show on TLC about a family who has 18 children! Anyone ever seen it? God bless 'em!!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

"I Ate Too Much EVERYTHING!!"

Tonight I am babysitting for three girls, two of which are already asleep. I just peaked my head in the 5 year olds room, who I heard was still awake. There sat the blond hair blue eyed little one focusing on some coloring in bed.

"Honey, it's great that you're in bed right now, but please try to stay in bed, ok? I've heard you get out a handful of times" I said to her.
She acknowledged what I said and then replied, "Krissie, I kind of have a tummy ache."
I could tell her from her half smile it wasn't anything serious.

"I think you had too much popcorn earlier," I said with a wink.
Then very candidly she replied, "I think I ate too much of everything earlier..." slightly rolling her eyes.

Her comment made me laugh, and I just feel thankful for the funny comments and moments that happen in something as simple as watching your neighbor's kids... ;)

Thursday, October 2, 2008

An Attack on the Plane...

The attack came suddenly on the plane to Philadelphia last night. About an hour and a half from landing, he made me feel frozen in fear. My quiet thoughts were suddenly interrupted with doubts of varying kinds.

"Your life looks different than so many people you know. You'll never fit in again here..."

My heart dropped, and it wasn't because of turbulence.

I let my enemy feed my mind with lies for a few minutes. Then, I decided to shut him up.

"Romans 8:28 says that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. And in John 10 it says that God's sheep hear His voice, and He calls them by name and leads them. I gotta believe that right now..."

As I had prayed about what to do as my internship with Bring Me Hope wrapped up, I had sensed God slightly nudging me to move back home to PA for a little while. There are practical reasons that backed that decision up, but mostly, I felt more at peace about it.

So here I am, back in my warm cozy home on a chilly October. I haven't woken up this cold in a while, which made me realize how much self-discipline it will take to get out from under my warm covers every morning. ;)

And so much is unknown right now. But I was so encouraged by what I read in Revelation this morning about my wonderful Father...

"The son of man was clothed in a long robe with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand He held seven stars, from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and His face was like the sun shining in full strength."

So I may not know what every day holds, but it comforts me to know God holds it...

~kristen