what are you thankful for?

tonight i decided on the spur of the moment ask two of the five little siblings i watch "what are you thankful for this thanksgiving?" i did not give them time to think about it .. children are so real and transparent.

isabella age six.

william age four

{a apologize for the swaying back and forth. ha}

i'm thankful for these kids who love me even if i am having a bad day, or wearing scrubby clothes, who tell me they love me constantly, or snuggle with me after a long day, who paint my toes and braid my hair, who love my baking, and listen to my stories. these kids have taught me so much over the past sixteen months. 

today i am thankful for them.

snow.

this is what bothell/mill creek/s.everett looked like during christmas last year. snow, everywhere.

{mom and i outside of church .. brrrr}

it caused a lot of my plans to well, not happen. see, i hate driving in the snow. even when i move back in january if it snows, i still won't drive in it .. even considering i have a {small} suv which could be just fine in the snow. nope, i'll get a ride instead! =)

anyhow. i was just thinking about how excited i am to go home for christmas but i am not sure i am reading for snow storm 2009. yet. 

though last year i guess i can now look back and be thankful for the snow. because of the snow i was able to spend lots of quality time with my best friend, sitting on her couch like the old days. we even ventured to on a walk through a foot of snow just so we could get coffee {yep, we are seattlites for sure!} and then we even put on my neighbors snow shoes and went around the trails at night. though a lot of my plans had to change, i guess in the end my time was spent with the people i love the most creating fun, hilarious, cold memories!

washington weather, i don't mind if you choose to snow. just allow me to get home and maybe just maybe keep it off the roads. thank you. =)

movie.

Not much to report about the weekend. I worked.

BUT I did go to the movies today after Church and see .. {The Blind Side} .. A movie I totally recommend! It's not just like any other football hero movie. It is based on a true story, and your heart strings are defiantly pulled. Sandra Bullock does a fantastic job at playing a Southern {working} Mom who follows her heart and instincts in having faith in a young boy. 

incredible. go see it! boyfriends or husbands will like it i promise.

26 days until i am home for Christmas -- couldn't be more excited.

enjoy your evening.

winner and next step.

Last night I had Reagan pull a name from a cup for the book! And the winner is ...

{Brittney!!! @ far more than rubbies }

Email me your address and I will get it to you ASAP!

________________________________________________________

After sixteen months my job is ending December 18th. Yes, I will now be apart of the 10% of Americans who are unemployed!! Ha. Honestly, I am excited for my job to end because that means I can start on with the next chapter and close this one. It is time for me to move on .. 

With my job ending brings about many changes also. One being I will be moving back to Washington in January. My time here in Arizona has been one of {faith building} and a time of learning to be somewhat independent from my family. When I accepted this job and moved 2500 miles away from home with only knowing one person and never meeting the family I was about to be living with .. Was well scary .. Maybe a little crazy .. But I did it and looking back on these 16 months I would have never imagined any of it. 

I have had some wonderful experiences, met incredible people, given a glimpse into how others live, traveled to far away countries, and have stories that I could go on forever about. But one thing I have learned through out this time is that God provides. I am not just talking financially, but more in the way of emotional needs. I came here knowing Shey. And I will be leaving knowing a whole group of amazing-beautiful-smart-kind-generous-southern-hospitable-god fearing friends. 

I spent my first four months with no friends, wondering if God was listening to me .. I learned during that time that He was more than enough for me {I never during this period regretted moving at all} .. I have never felt this before. I acted on total {blind} faith to move out here. God blessed me. He blessed me with friends and also with a better perspective on who I am as His daughter.

Arizona is a great sunny state, do not get me wrong. I love how it is sunny constantly. I love the amenities. I love the outdoors. But I don't love the summers. And I have come to realize I miss having seasons. I miss seeing green trees. I know that I do not want to start more of a foundation here, so therefore it makes more sense to go home. And I want to go home. I miss my family, I miss Kailee, I miss my friends, and maybe just maybe a little .. I miss Washington. ;)

I have started the process of applying to various jobs in Washington -- though I have also continued looking in Tennessee. Honestly, I have no clue where this is going to lead me. I have a few jobs in mind that I would love to pursue but it's all about who is hiring. All I know is I want to be passionate about it, I want to feel wanted/needed/appreciated, and well I want to be able to support myself independently. 

So here I go again .. Taking a step of faith .. Having no idea what life will look like for me after Christmas. But I am at a point in my life where I am so ready. I am trusting God fully that He will provide, direct, support, and strengthen me during this period of my life. It will be hard, and man have I had my struggles -- but He shows up continuously and says "Krislyn, lay it all at my feet. Release your plan and let me take control."

.. There you go with a tid bit about what's going on in the life of Krislyn .. Now let me go finish drinking my Coffee Bean Latte' {totally going to miss this} and do something Christmas shopping! 

a little bit of this, a little bit of that!

UPDATE:: See, I told you he's home! Maybe its because he's tired ..  Ha. He looks thrilled to be taking a picutre. My family minus {me}.

He's home in America. My {older and only} brother that is! I am so so excited, but bummed because I can not see him until December 18th. 

I got a hair cut today. I debated {long or short}. For most of my life I have kept longer hair, and it was not until I moved to Arizona that I chopped it off. Well, it was getting long again. So along with a much-much needed color, I cut my hair .. A good 3 inches. Feels lighter, thicker, and according to my mom {makes me look older} which I'm not sure i like that. Ha. 

Anyone know of any good Christmas Cd's?? I will confidently say I love N'Sync Christmas CD. Yep, from about 1999 -- I still play it on repeat. But I also love the Casting Crowns Christmas Cd that came out last year.. I've heard Taylor Swifts is good .. Okay, so help.. If you have any great Christmas Cd's I'd love to hear suggestions .. 

And don't forget, tomorrow night my What Difference Do It Make giveaway will be over!! So go HERE if you haven't entered!!! =)

{book review}

Warning, this will probably be long.. But worth it, I promise.

Last Spring I wrote a book I had just read called "Same Different Kind of Me" and how much I truly enjoyed the book .. Read this to a reminder! It is a book that I have now given to many friends, and recommended to family members; even my Grandma LOVED it! =) Recently, I was approached by the lovely people at Thomas Nelson Publishers {people who published this great book} and was asked to write a review for the {new} book written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore {the men who wrote the first book}. Of course I was flattered, honored, and JUMPED on the boat to do so.

Let me just give you an overview of "Same Different Kind of Me" {SDKM} if you have yet to read it .. {Thomas Nelson Publishing} says "It is a tale told in two unique voices -Ron Hall and Denver Moore- weaving two completely different life experiences into one common journey where both men learn "whether we is rich or poor or something in between this earth ain't no final restin' place. So in a way, we is all homeless-just workin' our way toward home." There is also one more main character in this book, Debbie {Ron's wife} and she is the guiding light through out the book. The one who brought these two totally opposite men together. And because of her faith and prayer an incredible friendship was created.

Their {new} book "What Difference Do It Make?" came out in September and is a book that features real stories of people who were touched by {SDKM} and instead of just being "touched" by the book they actually "did" something about it. There are also excerpts from SDKM and new stories from Ron and Denver about how their lives have changed since SDKM was published.

I so enjoyed reading What Difference Do It Make and actually seeing how people made this book tangible and just did not put it on the shelf and say "that's a great book," rather they acted on it! Also to see how in the last few years Ron and Denver's lives have changed because of their story is remarkable. These two men are great example's of trusting God but more importantly seeing that God brings together the rich, the poor, the old and the young .. There is no barrier that God can not break!

Both of these books would be fantastic Christmas presents .. Seriously, I know buying for parents or grandparent's is hard .. But honestly, these books would be perfect -- and may, just may, open their eyes a little bit more. 

With all that writing .. I want to say that I have ONE copy of What Difference Do It Make for ONE lucky reader!! =) What a great way to kick jump your Christmas List!!

All I need you to do is write one thing that you have been thankful for this past week!

{random drawing will be on Thursday night!}

consider concert 2009.

Do you live in the Seattle area? Will you be around next Sunday the 22nd? If you answered "yes" to both those questions, I have the place where you need to be.

Consider Concert 2009 at the Moore Theatre in Seattle!!

The concert is in honor of Kim Evanger Raney who died unexpectedly at the tender age of 26. She was the older loving sister of a dear college friend of mine. This concert is inspired by Kim's drive for life, the excitement she brought with her everywhere she went, and how she lived her life to the fullest! This is the 2nd Annual Consider Concert, a time to "gather together, celebrate life, taking in a night to stop, breath deep, and think big." -Consider 

Through the Kim Evanger Raney Foundation ALL the money raised will go to different organizations such as; Seattle Children's Hospital, Special Olympics, Childhaven .. and a few others! 

It is a great CAUSE and an INCREDIBLE night! Now you are probably asking .. Well, its a concert .. So, whose playing?! .. You will be entertained by the talented Ruth, Phillip Larue, and Shawn McDonald. YES, Shawn McDonald!! Pretty cool, right?

So, will you consider going?

Where: The Moore Theatre

When: Sunday, November 22, 2009

Time: 7pm

Go here if you want to purchase tickets.. Watch a video Kim's brother made.. Or learn more about Consider.