Kim's World

Oh how I love thee 2012! I have no idea what you will bring but I am up for the challenge. I am certain there will be many changes this year. I am okay with that, even the not-so-good changes. Why? Because I know WHO holds my hand. There is not an inkling of a doubt in my mind that whatever happens this year, God doesn't already know and have completely planned out. And I trust Him! He knows what I need better than me. What a blessed assurance! I have such a peace about this coming year. In fact, just today I was listening (well, my girls were listening and I heard it) to a Francesca Battistelli song, and the words hit me. These were the words I heard: I’m letting go Of the life I planned for me And my dreams I’m losing control Of my destiny It feels like I’m falling and that’s what it’s like to believe So I’m letting go This is a giant leap of faith Trusting and trying to embrace The fear of the unknown Beyond my comfort zone As I listened, my mind swirled. Wow! T...

As excited I was for Christmas to be here, I am equally excited that it is over. Sounds strange, huh? Well, honestly, I love the New Year, every year! I love a fresh start, clean slate and schedules!!! I thrive on schedules! I am very ready for my kids to return to school and get back into routine. So this will be the last reflecting post of Christmas and all it's happenings for the year. It will mostly include pictures with a short summary describing the picture. Sorry, but I am ready to move on. Christmas was wonderful but it's done! The first few pictures are from Christmas morning:  Myles reading the Christmas story... Levi reading the Christmas story...  Elle and Ashley and their American girl dolls they have wanted forever! Christmas evening we spent with my parents' pastor and his family, the Goodwins. Also there were the Whitleys, Smiths and Bro. Scott. It was quite fun. We ate, talked, ate a little more, laughed, ate a little more, played a game and probab...

Alright so I'm going back a few days, but I was not home and was unable to blog. Well, I could have blogged but 1. I wasn't feeling well 2. There was so much going on 3. I was lazy, bam! that's it in a nutshell. Oh, but we had a wonderful time at my parents house! Thursday and Friday, we spent most of the time either shopping for Christmas (dinner and a few gifts) or preparing for Christmas (food, wrapping presents,etc.). My awesome Aunt Paula sent us a gift card for pizza, so Christmas eve was a no brainer! Can we give a shout out to Aunt Paula?? Whoo Hoo!!! She totally knows what we (we?, my mom really) goes through each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas. So Christmas eve morning, my sweet boys and their papa took a trip out to the bay to go crabbing. Due to the generosity of the Whitleys, who are friends of ours (my parents), my boys and my dad had an awesome day on the boat! Levi and Myles came home so excited, not only did they catch 16 crabs, they had the opportuni...

These past few days, my beautiful children were absentee. Meaning, they were not with me. They have been down in Coos Bay, Oregon with my parents, and I will add, having the time of their life! Ronnie and I have had a wonderful time too! He took me for Thai food for the very first time and I am in love! Well, with him and the food :). It has been unusually quiet around here but I am ready for my rambunctious, energy-filled children to come home. And I am very ready to go to my parents! In a few seconds here, I will post a few pictures from their beach escapade. I had to laugh when I saw the pictures because I can tell my girls dressed themselves. For that matter, so did my boys (but those of you with boys know that they can care-less what they wear!). They are still learning what goes together and what doesn't, and quite frankly I think it's great! There are far greater worries in my life than to fret over their clothing (or hairdos). I am not going to stop here and justify a...

Year after year, I read the Christmas story. And every year I wonder the same thing, what was so unique and special about Mary, that she was chosen above every other girl? The bible tells us in Luke chapter 1 verse 28, “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Mary, was “highly favoured” and “blessed…among women.” Many scholars have concluded that Mary was also quite young, another astonishing thought considering what she was about to go through. As a little girl, I would dream of what it would be like if an angel appeared in front of me with a message from God. My great-grandmother had several encounters with angels, so I grew up knowing that it was entirely possible. But alas, it never happened. As I became a young woman, and the whole Christmas story took on a new meaning when I realized what Mary actually went through, I had a new appreciation for her. Here she was, engaged to be married...

Wow! this weekend has been busy! Really, that's an understatement! It's been crazy-busy! I could back up to Friday, which was the kids' last day of school, and give you a run down of that day but I'll just say it was one very fun yet a tad bit stressful day. However, we made it through. Saturday, we spent the majority of the day at the church preparing for the Children's Musical, "It All Happened in the Country". Between dialing in parts, tightening up songs and decorating the church, we finally got out of there around 6 pm. My sweet, sweet parents came up to be a support and of course, see their grandkids perform. So came Sunday! Now, I will pause here to admit that I was a bundle of nerves! I'm not sure if I actually slept the night before or not. You see, as I stated before, this was the very first time I ever directed a musical. I do not know why I was so worried, because the kids blew us away! Seriously, they were incredible! I would love to post ...

School is done...for the quarter! Phew! Christmas is upon us, and we are in the last few days of practice for the Children's Christmas Musical. As much as I am excited, I will be thankful when all is said and done! This is the very first time I have EVER done a musical. Or rather, directed a musical. I've been the parent of a child/ren in the performance, a support, costume coordinator and whatever other job that needed done. Thankfully, I have a great group of parents and fellow church members that have stepped up to make this happen. Honestly, I wanted to quit a few times, but I know the kids are relying on me. In addition, the support I have had made ALL the difference. That being said, the next few days will be harry-scary, what that means for you is, #1. I may not have a chance to blog (I will try to sneak in a week wrap-up post), #2. Pray for us, and #3. Really, really pray for us! Thanks, much obliged! Here are a couple pics from the weekend. Levi and Devante Bro. Mat...

My apologies. It has been a little quiet on the set. Not that I do not have a b-zillion (Ashley's word) things I can blog about since my life seems to live on the spin cycle, but unfortunately I haven't had time to think. When I blog or write a blog rather, it takes time. Not always but most of the time. I don't like to throw words on paper randomly. A long time ago, I learned, like the words we say, the words we write cannot be erased. Especially, once published. For today, I will just highlight a few things that are happening. Once Christmas break begins, I will have a bit more time to focus and hopefully give you a proper post. On Saturday (10th), Elle will partake in her very first violin recital. This will be in the form of a holiday musical performance involving all string instrument players from Voices of Performing Arts . She is a little nervous as she has only been playing a short time. But her teacher wants her to challenge herself. Thankfully, Elle also played ...

Right now I am supposed to be taking a quiz for my math class. Am I? Nope, I'm blogging! Reading, writing a little, navigating and pretty much, wasting time. I am almost done with school for the quarter. All I have left are my quiz and final for math. Everything for my speech class has been submitted. Really, I just need to focus. But I am so distracted by all the "fun" things. I want to go Christmas shopping, work on the children's musical (actually I need to), make fun little Christmas desserts, search Pinterest and take random pictures with my new camera. Wanna see a few?? Okay, here ya go... Ashley Jean, playing the computer, she was so sweet to pause her game to take this picture :)  RonJon at church yesterday, isn't this so like him?  Mt. Hood captured on our way home from church yesterday. Not very clear, I know but I took it through the car window. I was going through the kids' papers from school and came across Elle's acrostic poem for THANKSGI...

Last night we went to Sis. Hads house to hang out and decorate cookies. Now, I need to back up a little to tell you about Sis. Hads. She is a wonderful lady with an enormous heart for people, especially little people. She runs a daycare/preschool business out of her home and it is not just a "job" but a passion. Not only does she run this business, she is extremely gifted in the interior decorating and event decorating department. AND...she's an incredible cook, baker and candle stick maker (well, not sure about the candles, but she probably could be). My kids ask BEG to go to her house, because it is ALWAYS fun! Last night was no exception! My kids play and I get to chat with a great friend, eat her yummy food and desserts, and search Pinterest. What more could a girl want? I just took a few pictures of the kids while they were decorating cookies and a couple of her adorable Christmas decor, just one of her several trees! Next year, I'm gonna have more trees, defin...

I had to laugh at Ashley yesterday. She asks me everyday, "How many more days until Christmas?" (I am sure all you parents are getting the same question). Well, I told her since the day was almost over it was about 25 days until Christmas. She said, "Oh yay! 25 is my favorite number, I couldn't wait until there were 25 days left!" Huh? Lol! Okay, that was random. Then she said, "Now I can't wait until there are 3 days until Christmas, because 3 is my other favorite number!" Oh, if only life was so simple...my favorite number, if I had one, would be 8:30 pm (bedtime). lol. Anyhow, I am so excited for Christmas this year. We will be spending Christmas with my parents, in their new home, making new memories, and that is super-de-duper exciting! My mom did not make Thanksgiving dinner this year, as she was in Arizona. So she said she was going to make a feast at Christmas AND she wanted to make it ALL! YES!!! That is so AWESOME! You know why? I'l...

While cruising through blogsphere, I stopped at my friend Tena's blog to do some perusing. I enjoy surfing through my blog list, reading the blogs and connecting to other people's worlds. Tena's latest post was incredible and I was very surprised to discover she did not write it. Not sure who the original author is but I asked her if I could repost it, and being the awesome person she is, she said yes :). What Will Matter… Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. It won’t ...

We set aside a day each year to reflect on our blessings and be thankful to God for them. However, most of us are thankful year round. We take the time each day throughout the year to let those that are closest to us know that we care. Sometimes, life gets busy and we are not able to connect with one another but true friends and close family members know, without a doubt, they are loved. We show this not only by our words, but our actions. Words can often be empty and rehearsed. But if you truly love someone, they will know by the way you act. Today, and everyday I am thankful for ALL who have played an important role in my life. There is not a need to make a list, you know who you are because I have showed you by my actions and you, by yours. I have no need to go about proving our friendship or relationship, I am confident in every relationship. I am truly blessed to have YOU ALL in my life. May God shine upon you this day and everyday! Our family after girls' baptism. One mom...

Well, I believe I have given you a good summary of many things I am thankful for. I did not name everything, for that would take a lifetime. However, the one thing (person) I did not mention was YOU, my readers! I am so very thankful for my readers, otherwise I would not have a blog. Without you, I am nada, nothing, zilch, zip...you get the idea, right? But you know what would make me very happy? Is if you, my readers would leave me a comment. I LOVE COMMENTS! I love to know who is reading and where you are from. You know, it is kind of like pen pals! Anybody ever had a pen pal? Oh I loved having pen pals! I had a sweet friend named Hiroko from Japan (who actually stayed a weekend with me). We remained pen pals for a long time. Then I had another pen pal from Mexico and one from Spain when I was taking Spanish in high school. It was lovely! So if you could do me the highest honor, even if you do not know me personally, leave me a comment and tell me how you like my blog. I can take cor...

Do you ever wonder how God created the world? Every tree, every flower, the oceans, the animals, not to mention the intricacies of the human body? The Bible gives us the details, but what I like to imagine is Him looking out over the complete and utter vastness of nothingness and speaking it all into existence. I find it difficult to wrap my mind around the endless creativity and imagination of God. When He placed the heavenly bodies into existence, when He told the waters to separate, when he breathed life into a human soul, it is all so amazing. We know life as it is because we feel it, see it, touch it, smell it and taste it all around. But what if, we were there with God, and saw the emptiness? Would we have the ability to imagine a bird or a fish? How would we respond to God if he said to us, "I am thinking of creating a creature that walks on four legs, has fur, barks when they want to communicate and will love a human being till the end?" Would we think, "Oh yes, ...