Stink clouds

From Denton...

So, I know I just posted but I just needed to post a few more cute stories. I am in Houston this weekend with all of my dad's side of the family. We are all at my grandmother's cleaning out my Poppy's workshop. He passed away in March and we were finally able to get everyone together to go through the workshop and organized all of his equipment and cleaned it up to sell. It has been a wonderful weekend and such a blessing seeing everyone come together to serve our Memi. God is very good! I have the cutest little cousins and they say the most precious things.

Cole is 7 years old, and I went to give him a big hug so i picked him up and...

me: (picking him up) "i love you cole!"

cole: (with a huge grin on his face) "I just made a stink cloud..."

me: (hugging him not so tightly anymore) "does that mean you tooted?"

cole: "hahaha yeeeessss hahha"

Needless to say, I put him down quickly and let him go on his marry way making "stink clouds"...where he came up with that? I do not know! haha

Mattie is another one of my cousins and she is 2 and a half and is very smart! She knows just about everything and can be quite sassy but is so stinkin' cute!

So, I am sitting at the dining room table working on organizing some picture we had taken of all of the equipment and cole and mattie decide to "spy" under the table while eating tortilla chips, as i'm working I hear...

cole: "Mattie, please be careful and don't make a mess...and make sure we whisper so no one can hear us!"

mattie: "I know cole, and don't make me tell you that again!"

I busted out laughing and they peeked their little heads out from under the table telling me to be quiet because they were "spying"...my B!

Have a wonderful week!!

The Joy's of working with children!

From Denton...

I am a leader for Cubbies which is the 3 & 4 year olds class, apart of the Awana program. It is such a blessing getting to serve the precious kids and helping them learn about God's word as they work hard to memorize scripture and write God's word on their hearts. Along with helping them learn scripture, I get to hear the innocent and funny things that come out of their mouths. I am dedicating this post to some of the cute things they have said so far!

This week, we had two new kids in our class. They are siblings (a brother and sister) and they are from Korea and do not speak english yet. Two weeks ago they came but were not comfortable yet so they left...but they came back this week and stayed the whole time and did a great job! Anyways, they had just arrived as the other kids were arriving and while all the kids were playing (about 10 of them) another little boy comes up to me and...

Caison: " Excuse me Miss Kristen, but do we have chinese in our class?"

Me: (trying not to laugh) "Well Caison, we do have two new friends Bonnie and Johnny and they are from Korea!"

Caison: "Oh! So, are they from Chinese?!"

Me:( I just could not hold it in anymore and busted out laughing then just patted him on the back)

Caison: "What is so funny?"

Goodness, they are so cute. I am learning how to respond to them instead of busting out laughing. Later on, we were all gathered around on the carpet having story time and...

Mrs. Julie: "What are things that we pray for?"

Debbie: "We pray to obey our parents"

Shelby: "The flowers and for water to come down and make rainbows and then we lay our heads on pillows and then the school bus comes to pick us up and then for backpacks and sprinkles!!"

Mrs. Julie: "Oh wow, those are a lot of great things to be praying for, Shelby. Anyone else have anything?"

Zeke: "I like chicken. I ate my sister's tacos."

I'm sure there are more but I just can't remember them all at the moment but I look forward to hearing all of the things that they come up with! OH and tonight the Rangers won their playoff series and are headed to the World Series for the FIRST time ever!! How exciting?! It is such a blessing to see and a blessing that Josh Hamilton was named the MVP! God is so powerful and has such a divine purpose...so awesome to see such a Godly man leading the team, not only athletically but Spiritually!! The Lord is moving in huge ways through that team and the men on that team!! Praise Jesus for humbled hearts and transformed hearts! :)

Have a blessed weekend!!

Future plans

From College Station...

Good afternoon! So recently I have been praying alot about what to do after graduation. I feel like the Lord has really opened so many doors as far as where He wants me. At this point in time, I believe He has called me to stay in Round Rock and work with the youth group at Central Baptist Church. I fell in love with that group over the summer and God really placed a passion in my heart to serve them further. As far as which nursing school I am supposed to go to, I'm not sure yet. I am going to try my best to get into the A&M Health Science Center in Round Rock, but since it is still small and understaffed, the most realistic choice might be the ACC nursing school. However, I know God doesn't stay within the boundaries of what is "realistic". I trust Him to put me wherever I am supposed to be. I know that He has in store only what's best for me. Also, I have discovered the opportunity to take 2 classes online over Christmas break that I would've had to do either next semester or next summer! He is so faithful :)

Have a good rest of the week!!

A wonderful weekend in Round Rock!

From Denton...

This weekend I finally got the opportunity to come home to Round Rock, after two longs months. My brother was able to come home for the weekend as well so my parents were very excited to have the whole family together for a few days and I was too. Life in Denton these past two months have been quite busy, a bit challenging, but full of growth and God's anointed blessings. He is so good ALL the time.

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I made it into Round Rock around 10:30pm thursday night...just in time to watch grey's anatomy, that my parents so graciously recorded for me, and get to bed at a decent hour! I woke up friday morning and my mom and I spend the early afternoon shopping then lunch. We had a special time at lunch, i'm so thankful the Lord is at the center of our relationship and allowing us that have the mother-daughter bond we were created to have. He answered so many of my prayers during our lunch together and I give Him all praise and glory!! After that, I had a hair appointment then had a wonderful dinner with my family and spend the rest of the night catching up and visiting.

Saturday, I was able to go to my neighbor's son flag football game, which was such a blast! They all played so well and I loved seeing their faces light up when they got a touch down, ran a good play, or pulled a flag. Later on, we had many friends come over to hang out and watch the UT-OU game...UT did not win but we still had a great time. Finally, saturday night Kristen K, my good friend Blake, his girlfriend Jaclyn and I went to see Cinderella the musical at a local theater to see some of our good friends perform. They all did an incredible job and it was a great time!

Today, I sat in Kristen K's sunday school class with the middle school girls...I loved seeing Kristen teach those precious girls. It's been so humbling seeing how God is using Kristen to further is Kingdom by loving on those girls and teaching them about the Gospel. She truly is a beautiful woman of God and I know the Lord has so much in store for her life as she lives each day to serve Him. I loved getting to worship with my Central family today!

This weekend has been so full of rest, love, and joy. The Lord answered so many of my prayers not only through relationships but also I found out that some of my dear friends, whom I have been praying for-for years, accepted Christ. How great is our God?! The Lord continues to blow me away each day as he reveals Himself in new powerful and mighty ways. God is good ALL the time...even when we may feel worn out and our cup is empty... He is there and His love is very real. I'm so thankful! I hope everyone has had a blessed weekend!!

Graduation!

From College Station...

Good afternoon! So this post was prompted because I just finished filling out my Intent-to-Graduate form. That's right...graduate. I am planning on graduating next August, which is less than a year away. As excited as I am, I'm terrified at the same time. I'm not so sure I'm ready to be out in the "real world", but I feel like over the summer God prepared my heart and really worked in me as far as the maturing process goes. Being a youth intern really taught me so much about myself. I had to learn to take responsibility for others as well as myself. I had to take a step back and realize that going by strict plans isn't always what's best. I had to learn that everything I say and do reflects who I am to those younger than me. As stressful as that can be, it is also quite encouraging. I am currently teaching middle school girls Sunday school in Round Rock, and although it has only been a month, it has been so rewarding. I can't wait to see how these girls grow in their walks with the Lord and how He uses them this year in their schools and homes. I am incredibly blessed to get to be a part of their lives this year.

All that being said...Kristen and I will both try to do a better job at posting at least every other week. Our schedules are hectic but it's something we have been wanting to improve on.

Have a wonderful week!
Kristen

A lot to be thankful for!

From Denton...

It has been quite some time since I last posted and I need to start by pointing out how GREAT our God is. :) Summer has sadly come to an end and school is back in session. I praise my Jesus for an incredible summer. The Lord graciously and lovingly provided for me as well as broke me in order to show me how much I need His love alone to fulfill me. I can't put into words all of the amazing things the Lord has taught me but I'm so thankful He has His way of knowing. Although, I am sad to see summer go I am so encouraged by all the Lord is doing and very much looking forward to a new year and finally some cooler FALL weather.

My heart just may burst open with joy because of all God is doing in so many hearts of those in Denton. There is an evident and contagious passion going around and ALL praise and glory goes to Christ. Have I mentioned how much I love Denton lately? because I LOVE denton, the culture, the people, the atmosphere, the square, just everything about it. I am so grateful to be in this city and the privilege to serve God and His people here. I pray knowing that the Lord will move and transform hearts here...YAY :)

Thank you Jesus for salvation and for loving us enough to die in our place.

Thank you Jesus for being the perfect example of holiness.

Thank you Jesus for joy and for strength because in my flesh, I do not have those qualities.

Thank you Jesus for loving me enough to teach me and mold me.

Thank you Jesus for a chance to get to know people, to love on them, and to build relationships. I love you more and more each day.

Sweet summertime

From Round Rock...

The summer is flying by! I have already been home from school for a month, and it feels like I have only been here for a week. I started my job as the second youth intern at Central, and I absolutely love it. I get paid to do fun stuff all the time...and fulfill other random requests, but I don't mind that so much. It comes with the territory. On Wednesday nights, the youth group does regular worship from 7-8:30, and then from 8:30-11 there is an activity planned. It is so cleverly called 7-11. Last week was Gattiland, and I left with an awesome foam bow and arrow! I was excited. This week is messy games night, and while I am more excited about watching, I have a feeling I won't be allowed to leave without getting somewhat disgusting. We have also started having meetings for the mission trip to Alaska. Being the planner that I am, I am sooo looking forward to getting the "What To Bring" list! I love packing for trips. It makes it more real that I am actually going somewhere cool. We also are leaving for Youth Camp this Friday! I haven't been since 10th grade, but this time I will be going as a sponsor instead of a student, so that will be an interesting change.

This weekend I traveled to Denton to visit Kristen E, and might I say we had a lovely time! Despite the sunburns anyway. I will go ahead and share a funny story...

We went bowling, and I was discussing with my niece, Amanda, what we would be if we could be "made" into anything. Of course talking about the MTV show. Kristen E. apparently missed that part of the conversation and this is what happened..

Amanda: "If you could be made into anything, what would it be?"
Me: "Ummm I would say a drag racer."
Amanda: "Kristen what about you?"
Kristen: "Oohhh, chocolate!"

Oh, Kristen. I love you so much.
That is all. Have a blessed week :)