First Snow Day of 2011

First snow day of this winter

Posing for the camera

John hit Jake in the face with this shot

Revenge is sweet

Face shot!

John running for his life

Preparing an awesome snowball 

Throwing a snowball at me.  Thankfully he missed though I snapped a great shot.

They had a blast.  I even let them play in the snow BEFORE doing their homework.  Happy Winter everyone!

Not a good start to 2011

I have been sick the whole year so far.  Nine days.  This is brutal.
I was praying for a healthy 2011.  It's only nine days in, let's hope the remaining 356 are healthier.

blogging is becoming a thing of the past.

true story.



Merry Christmas!

Let's Give Thanks

For twenty days leading up to Thanksgiving I have been writing what I'm thankful for in my Facebook status.  So far I've been thankful for....

Jake and John (that's two but they're a package deal)

Having a job, and a fun one at that!

An extra hour of sleep (day light savings ended)

Music. Especially live music. "Music is an outburst of the soul"

The little things in life. Like a smile from a stranger.

Coffee. Yum.  

Three years of marriage!

Veterans and those that help serve and protect our American rights.

Good hair days.

Pizza. Happy National Pizza Day! (11/12)

The grace of God.

Smoke-free establishments.

Laughing so hard, you cry!

The arts. Music, painting, photography, dancing, etc.

All the people who acted as mom and dad in my life throughout my 28 years.

Selfless giving. For volunteering.

I am thankful for the boost in the economy (from the holidays.)

Covenant Harvest School and the teachers who so humbly sacrifice.

For people who can go with the flow.

Technology.

Lunch with friends.

What are you thankful for?  I am thankful for you, too.

Splashing around in uncharted waters

Three years of marriage is under both me and Phillip's belts!  That may seem like a silly statement to make but being Phil's third wife it's his first third wedding anniversary; and that is something to boast about!  The saying is definitely true that the third time is a charm.  I even joked with him saying a charm necklace would make a great Christmas present.  He smirked.

We left Monday night for Eureka Springs, Arkansas and just got back a few hours ago today (Thursday.)  While it was off-season in E.S., AR we had a blast and caught a few neat photos with our cell phones.  Enjoy.

Teeny tiny cabin and an awesome VW Beatle

Outside of a restaurant on the street (neat photo)

The gigantic Jesus statue near The Great Passion Play

See that little person in front of the bushes?  That is Phil to show just how large this statue is

Feeding time a Turpentine Creek, a big cat refuge - very cool to watch this lion eat

This is Zena one of three white tigers at the refuge. Her species is nearing extinction.

The view of Table Rock Lake from Phil's boyhood home. 

Our last night in E.S. we ate at a local restaurant, Sparky's, where I ordered chicken, and...

 ...Phil ordered chipotle sauce for his pork. It was insanely spicy even though the waitress called it mild. 

And a reminder of three years ago....

Greater than self....How are you selfless?

Being a parent is an obvious answer - there is another life that is reliant on you to change them, feed them, clean them, and make them your top priority. Another example is when volunteering and sacrificing your time to help those less fortunate. Or even something so small as holding the door open for someone behind me.  Most importantly, following Jesus and living life as he would and putting my fleshly thoughts and ways on the back burner. 



How are some ways you are selfless?


"Truly great leaders in life become so because they cause others to be greater than themselves." - Steve Farber

Inside my head

Often I am thinking a million thoughts a minute.

For example right now I am thinking "Is this bite of chicken going to be too hot to eat? I'll bite it anyway. It's probably going to burn my tongue and leave a sore on the roof of my mouth like too-hot pizza does.  I wonder how the conference will flow this year?  I hope Gods presence is thick.  I've had a word the last two Sundays I've been at church.  Perhaps God wants me to speak up and get out of my slouching-in-my-seat stance? Why do I get on Facebook so often? I think it's my insatiable need to connect to others.  That, and I get bored easily.  Then I get bored when I'm on Facebook and I think of iced lattes.  Mmm, lattes! Oh snap I need to make a phone call."

That's pretty much how my mind works all the time.

What's on your mind?

So Long Sweet Summer

Do you ever stand in front of the mirror doing karate moves and making funny faces? Oh, neither do I. 

This was a summer of magical summers. I wish I could sing about how awesome my summer was, like how Sandy and Danny did in Grease, because I can't really articulate in words how great it was.  "I went to the pooooool a lot with the boooooooooooooys." That didn't work.  I was way off pitch.  

Here are the highlights of my summer...


Jonas Jachura was born!  The little guy came six weeks early.  Here's a photo of him with his proud grandparents:

I discovered Glee.  It's a guilty pleasure that I love to love.  I probably discovered it before summer actually started but I'll call it the summer anyway.

Two of my dear friends turned thirty.  Bekah in early June and Patti in late July.  Both were awe-inspiring parties with great friends, games, snacks, and some emotional gifts. There were other birthdays this summer (Donnie,  Joy, Nicole, Amy, Phil)  but those were the most notable, milestone birthdays.  (my camera got ruined in the ocean therefore I have no photographic proof of Patti turning thirty.)

We went on a "vacation" to Massachusetts and New Hampshire where we ate, prayed, loved one another and swam.  I quoted vacation because going back home sometimes does not feel like a vacation, rather a visit.  If that makes sense.  We did have a blast, don't get me wrong.  Phil had fun even with his eyes closed.

Now Jake and John are back in school and I have lots of free time on my hands.  No complaints here, other than needing to lose weight...and lots of it.  

Disappointed in myself. D'oh!

I had a word at church today and didn't give it.

What a disappointing feeling it is not having said what God showed me.  Standing in front of the church can be a bit nerve wracking.  Not standing in front of the church speaking His word is a worse feeling, in retrospect.

Here's the picture I had:

Everyone in the church had a light bulb over their head with a pull chain attached.  Some people pulled their chain and their light came on while other lights did not come on.  The persons whose light did not come on were in complete shock and were more concerned with the light bulb not working than really looking at the darkness they've been living in for some time.  What God wants us to remember is that He always knows where we are living.  That He can turn our light on again if we look to Him.  We cannot have one foot in light and another in darkness.

My condensed testimony

"Clap your hands for baby Jesus!" I would sarcastically say all too often in my late teen, early adulthood years.  I would go as far as raising my hand up in the air and acting like I was reaching for the heavens.  My insecurities and ignorance in all things spiritual and religious-based caused me to act ridiculously.  And ridiculously I acted, for years.   Jokingly, when people would annoy me or say something that made no sense I would place my hand on their forehead, push back and say "demons out."  I told Scott Squires about doing this act and he said there was something very spiritually powerful about that.  Perhaps demonic?  The people became less annoying after pushing them but I think it was because they were more in shock than the spirit having much to do with it.  

Fast forward to the fall/winter of two thousand and six.  I worked at Bridges Community Care in Pittsburg, Kansas.  I swear I was asked daily which church I attended and got multiple invites to attend so-and-so's church.  I started lying saying I attended St. Mary's so co-workers would get off my back.  Around the same time Phil and I started going to the mall deli frequently.  Jim, the owner of The Mall Deli, sat us in "Kate's" section each time we visited.  He must've thought we really liked her, which we did.  Kate would take our order and make small talk between serving our sodas and deli burgers.  One day I discovered that she went to bible college for a year prior to attending PSU.  That baffled me.  I later found out that her dad is a pastor!  That really came as a shock to me.  She invited us to church several times with many excuses on my part as to why we could not attend.  In Spring she invited us to watch her church's version of the play Thirty Pieces which was held at the Memorial Auditorium.  I figured it was a public place, why not.  We enjoyed the play, told Kate what a great job she'd done, and then literally ran down the steps of the auditorium avoiding having to talk to anyone else from her church.  Looking back at that moment, I always laugh. 
Two months later, July 25. 2006, I received my first bible and started attending Covenant Harvest Church.  In March 2007 I was baptized in the holy spirit.   

While there has been lots of questioning of this and that on my part, life has been so much more enriching since finding God and actually walking with Him instead of against Him.  I raise my hand in love and faith now.  I clap for Jesus the savior, the redeemer, the graceful son.  
That's the short story.

Was that a dog barking?

Too much coughing in Kerri's world these days. 

Sigh.

Grrrrrrrr

I just wrote the quirkiest, longest blog I've ever written and it vanished.  Thought I would share my grave disappointment.  I'll write another blog at a later date.

From the journal of my younger self...

July 6, 1999

Journal,

I worked today. It has only been four days of "work" and it's going great because the kids haven't started yet. I'm a camp counselor for the King's Lynne summer program.  Chris and I went to Hampton Beach last night.  It was fun, especially when we got our palms read by a psychic.  She told me a bunch of information...like I'm getting married at age 26 and I'll have four children!  (Four is WAY too many!) She also talked about my grades in school and was spot-on! She also mentioned a wedding and a family vacation that will happen soon.  We'll see about all that. 

Kerri

_______________________________________________

FAVORITES (1999)

Color: Blue

Number: 7

Food: Fettuccine Alfredo

Restaurant: Polcari's

Song: All Apologies - Nirvana

Band: Nirvana (maybe)

Clothing stores: GAP, American Eagle Outfitters

Movies: Wizard of OZ, Dirty Dancing, Clueless

TV Shows: Dawson's Creek, Punky Brewster

Sayings: "Who's your daddy?" "Do you wanna talk about it?" "Stop the violence"

Beverage: Dr. Pepper (Pepsi is a close second)

Subject: English

Collection: Pictures! 

Hobbies: Art, writing, listening to music, poetry

Car: 1999 Volkswagen Jetta (red or black)

__________________________________________________

Disappointment

Sometimes you just need to place your head in your hands and scream...loudly.

When you have someone so child-like, so self-loathing, and self-centered in your life this would be an all too regular occurrence for you too.  Karen is a child in a fifty-something year old body that will never mature mentally or emotionally.  It is nearly impossibly having a conversation that doesn't turn directly back to her. Everything is about her.  An apple, somehow, relates back to her and her kitchen decor. Even though you could be talking about your delicious, ripe, shiny apple in your very hand.

Words cannot express the amount of disappointment I feel towards myself right now. Great disappointment for allowing her in my world and thinking she'd changed. Silly, silly me.  For years I kept her at a healthy distance guarding my heart.  I had changed.  My heart had softened, I was less bitter, and I let her in.  Sending photos of the family.  Talking on a somewhat regular basis.  An "I love you" even slipped out of my mouth at the end of several conversations.  Things have changed. Or maybe they hadn't.  She had almost always felt more like an estranged aunt than a mother; never a mom.  Two days in my life was she a mom to me but those are very different blogs for brighter days.  She let me down and then turned my hurt into her anger.  It's funny how that always happens.

I wrote her this text message today: I AM DONE BEING LET DOWN BY YOU. I'M NOT A KID ANYMORE AND DON'T DESERVE THE DISAPPOINTMENT.  TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS FOR ONCE.


She never fails to disappoint.  At least she's consistent in that.  Sigh.

Blogging Halt for the summer?

Where are all my blogging friends?  I like sleeping in until 9am in the summer.  I also like having a comment or reading a new blog once in a while.
Stay connected.

What are you up to this summer?  What's new with you?