RAWR!! hahaha. SO! Today was belated Christmas for the WBP family. (That's us.) It's been really fun!! We got Just Dance 3 for Dangerous D's Wii, and us kids have been playing it for.. a while now haha. Just Dance is the greatest thing ever invented. True story.
I got a GPS! Haha.. those who know me know why this is funny.. :)
Wheat. Thins. Favorite cracker ever! And my mom got me a family box of it. ^_^ Happy.
Yaker's present was really cute. Of course. :) He's an amazing gift giver. :) He gave me a journal with an adorable note in it, and a framed picture of us. I Love it.
Er.. baby food. Family tradition for Christmas breakfast.
Chocolate oranges, DUH. :D
Other stuff.. :P haha I don't really want to list all the gift's people got, that's lame.
Last night we played 'fill in the blank' for the Christmas story with D and the boys. It's so fun to have Christmas with young children. They are so excited about everything.
I Love having a VACATION. I've had lost of reading time and lots of just.. playtime. It's been great. Tomorrow? Shopping day with grandma!! Super excited.
I know today's post is small and random.. BUT! Oh well. Vacation posts usually aren't themed.. ok that's a lie. I usually theme them. And I guess this one has a loose theme.. :P
Maybe I'm not in a creative blogging mood right now. But still happy, definitely.
<3 K
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
California Day One: R and R
R and R. Rest. Relaxation. That was the day of yesterday. After traveling for about 13 hours on Friday, (yucky) I had the most part of the next day to just.. be. I absolutely LOVE days when I can just be. So, what did I do with my day? Something I haven't been able to do for what seems like an eternity (or.. just a really long time, because I have SOME understanding of what eternity is, and it didn't seem quite as long as I imagine that will be)... I read. A novel that *I* really wanted to read, not something that was an assignment. I'm a little over halfway through this amazing book. One of my best friends, Twin, recommended it to me a while back. And by a while back, I mean a LONG time. I read about 20 pages of it and then got too busy. I just had other things occupying my time.. and read a couple other books that found their way to the top of my priority list. But I remembered really liking the first part of this book from my friend, and I kept seeing it by my bed, waiting for me. So a couple days ago I picked it up again. This book is called
Shiver
It's fabulously written. Really. It's kind of a chick book.. ok, really a chick book. As so many of them are, but hey, I like it. Maybe because I'm a chick? Hm. I dunno, it's possible ;)
So, what's it about? If you want to know that is. And if you're reading my blog anyway.. it's probably cause you like my thoughts for some reason or another, so.. here we go? (I question because I think I say that a lot.)
It's one of those mythological Love stories. Yes, with mythological creatures. Namely.. werewolves. BUT!! Before you roll your eyes at me too much, it is SO NOT a Twilight kind of thing all over. So not. I very much enjoy the writing style. It's beautifully written (I think I've said that three or four times now..) and the imagery and feeling created by that writing is fantastic. The author, Maggie Stiefvater (guess she's German), uses those kinds of phrases that perfectly describe a.. moment. Like, when you say there aren't words to describe just how something went? Ya. She knows how to find those words. I find myself stopping and re-reading these phrases, just to take in the beauty of them. Ah. It's amazing. I Love it.
So, yesterday, I buried myself in it. Read for a few hours, think I got over 100 pages in. Which for some of you isn't much, 'cause ya read fast. But I do not. So I was pretty satisfied. Plus, I'm not thinking about the length I read, I'm just enjoying the book. Which is something I don't get to do very often, unfortunately.
After a few hours of this pure bliss, we met my uncle's family and my grandma at this cool Chinese place, Chef Chu's. Apparently it's rather popular over here, but I don't live here so I didn't know. We walked in and it was CROWDED. But it had this happy and fun feel to it. They sit you down on cool round tables with a turn-table in the middle, because the way the serve is "family style" and everyone just kinda takes off the same entrees. The food is quite good, though some of it was too mushroomy or peppery for me. Or tofu-y, but I don't mind that too much, it doesn't have any flavor so it's kind of a filler. We had various flavors of chicken, including manderine and pineapple. Oh so good. .. and various other things. Soups and wanton-like things and such. Mmhmmm! Yummy yummy. :)
After that, we went to watch the Glad Tidings special. You know, the one with Motab and David Archuletta. It was fun, full of music and dancing and the spirit of Christmas. I was tired and missed the majority of the cool story about how Motab started.. but I'm not too concerned. I came for the music, and that's what I got out of it. Funny how that works out. You get what you come for. Or what you put into it.. or something like that. Nevermind that thought was connected but now sounds splintery.
So that was yesterday. And today is Christmas, but it's.. not yet. Not for us. Dangerous D's kids are with their mother right now, so we're doing our Christmas with them in a couple days when they get back. BUT! We ARE having dinner with some sister missionaries tonight, which I'm excited for. My grandma is coming, too.
At church today, Tiki and I decided to sing with the choir. It was a spontaneous decision, kind of. Grandma asked us if we would, and she really wanted us to, so we decided to make her Christmas just a little better and participate. It was fun! A little 'woah' at times, because it was the first time Tiki and Kiki had gone through the music. BUT! We did sing one of my mom's arrangements, Here by the Lamb and Oxen Mild. It's beautiful. Love it. :) Grandma told us she really appreciated us singing with her, and was glad we got the chance to do so. I'm glad, too. It was a good experience and singing with grandma is fun.
Speaking of grandma, she's taking us shopping. Because that's what she does on the few occasions that she's sees us. Which is very nice. And always exciting. :) I may finally find the perfect pea-coat. One with a hood would be fabulous, but I'll settle for one I really like without one, too. We shall see what I can find.
So far, this trip has been full of much.... well, that about sums it up. It's been full of much. There have been some cool bonding moments between Mastermind and myself, and some times where things haven't gone so well on the agreement level. But that's how families go. And I Love them, as always.
I'm very excited for Dangerous D's boy's to get here tomorrow night. I miss them dearly. They are so adorable. Beyond words. Love them too.
That's all for now! Merry Christmas all! :)
Kiki
Shiver
It's fabulously written. Really. It's kind of a chick book.. ok, really a chick book. As so many of them are, but hey, I like it. Maybe because I'm a chick? Hm. I dunno, it's possible ;)
So, what's it about? If you want to know that is. And if you're reading my blog anyway.. it's probably cause you like my thoughts for some reason or another, so.. here we go? (I question because I think I say that a lot.)
It's one of those mythological Love stories. Yes, with mythological creatures. Namely.. werewolves. BUT!! Before you roll your eyes at me too much, it is SO NOT a Twilight kind of thing all over. So not. I very much enjoy the writing style. It's beautifully written (I think I've said that three or four times now..) and the imagery and feeling created by that writing is fantastic. The author, Maggie Stiefvater (guess she's German), uses those kinds of phrases that perfectly describe a.. moment. Like, when you say there aren't words to describe just how something went? Ya. She knows how to find those words. I find myself stopping and re-reading these phrases, just to take in the beauty of them. Ah. It's amazing. I Love it.
So, yesterday, I buried myself in it. Read for a few hours, think I got over 100 pages in. Which for some of you isn't much, 'cause ya read fast. But I do not. So I was pretty satisfied. Plus, I'm not thinking about the length I read, I'm just enjoying the book. Which is something I don't get to do very often, unfortunately.
After a few hours of this pure bliss, we met my uncle's family and my grandma at this cool Chinese place, Chef Chu's. Apparently it's rather popular over here, but I don't live here so I didn't know. We walked in and it was CROWDED. But it had this happy and fun feel to it. They sit you down on cool round tables with a turn-table in the middle, because the way the serve is "family style" and everyone just kinda takes off the same entrees. The food is quite good, though some of it was too mushroomy or peppery for me. Or tofu-y, but I don't mind that too much, it doesn't have any flavor so it's kind of a filler. We had various flavors of chicken, including manderine and pineapple. Oh so good. .. and various other things. Soups and wanton-like things and such. Mmhmmm! Yummy yummy. :)
After that, we went to watch the Glad Tidings special. You know, the one with Motab and David Archuletta. It was fun, full of music and dancing and the spirit of Christmas. I was tired and missed the majority of the cool story about how Motab started.. but I'm not too concerned. I came for the music, and that's what I got out of it. Funny how that works out. You get what you come for. Or what you put into it.. or something like that. Nevermind that thought was connected but now sounds splintery.
So that was yesterday. And today is Christmas, but it's.. not yet. Not for us. Dangerous D's kids are with their mother right now, so we're doing our Christmas with them in a couple days when they get back. BUT! We ARE having dinner with some sister missionaries tonight, which I'm excited for. My grandma is coming, too.
At church today, Tiki and I decided to sing with the choir. It was a spontaneous decision, kind of. Grandma asked us if we would, and she really wanted us to, so we decided to make her Christmas just a little better and participate. It was fun! A little 'woah' at times, because it was the first time Tiki and Kiki had gone through the music. BUT! We did sing one of my mom's arrangements, Here by the Lamb and Oxen Mild. It's beautiful. Love it. :) Grandma told us she really appreciated us singing with her, and was glad we got the chance to do so. I'm glad, too. It was a good experience and singing with grandma is fun.
Speaking of grandma, she's taking us shopping. Because that's what she does on the few occasions that she's sees us. Which is very nice. And always exciting. :) I may finally find the perfect pea-coat. One with a hood would be fabulous, but I'll settle for one I really like without one, too. We shall see what I can find.
So far, this trip has been full of much.... well, that about sums it up. It's been full of much. There have been some cool bonding moments between Mastermind and myself, and some times where things haven't gone so well on the agreement level. But that's how families go. And I Love them, as always.
I'm very excited for Dangerous D's boy's to get here tomorrow night. I miss them dearly. They are so adorable. Beyond words. Love them too.
That's all for now! Merry Christmas all! :)
Kiki
Monday, December 19, 2011
Santamas
I posted a status about a leetle itty bit of my thoughts on this the other day. But, it WAS a leetle itty bit. And I want to elaborate. And, like a lot of my posts tend to be, it may not be particularly organized. Because to me, a blog is a thought bin. Where I toss in all my thoughts. You're fully welcome to organize then and put them together as you wish.. although taking things that I (or anyone else, for that matter) say out of context probably isn't the best idea and could get people hurt and in trouble with their friends. Or not friends. Whichever. DON'T TWIST PEOPLE's WORDS! It's not nice. Anywhoosen (hey, I miss random words like that. College forces me to use real ones.. lame. ;)) Here we go.
Santamas.
Doesn't this look odd to some of you? Is that even a word? It could be. And I think to a lot of people it is, though they might not admit it. Compare:
Santamas Christmas
See it now? One of these things is not like the other... It's the NAMEs. Notice the name in the more familiar word. Christ. And the other one? Santa. Sadly enough, much of the world chooses the latter over the former. Santamas. That just doesn't have the same ring and happiness to it that Christmas does. And guess what? There's a reason why.
Here's Christmas to much of the world:
Buying presents.
Organizing parties.
Stress for the hosts.
Feelings of discouragement for those who can't give as much as their heart wants to.
Silent (or not so silent) competitions between family and friends about who got, or gave, the best gift.
Getting.
Horrendous amounts of planning.
Stress.
Lots of food making.
An excuse to eat an excess amount of sweets.
Gift wrapping.
Competitions for who has the best Christmas lights and decor.
Making sure to go see Santa and tell him what you want.
Stress.
Fatigue.
Some even hate the holiday season. Because it's turned into something they can't handle. It's too stressful and some wish it would just end already!
This is very very sad to me. This is Santamas. And while not all of the things on here are bad, the spirit of Santamas isn't exactly a joyful one.
Christmas.
Joy.
Bringing families together.
Enjoying the happy faces of a Loved one when they open a present they really really like.
Laughing together.
Remembering past Christmases.
Singing Christmas music.
Cooking together.
Helping those who have taken on the huge task of being in charge of the family's holiday season.
Creating happy memories.
Encouraging family traditions.
Loving.
Letting go of grudges and fixing rifts.
Celebrating.
And, most importantly, remembering the person whom this incredibly important holiday is named after. Remembering the reason we celebrate, the reason we give, Love, and enjoy this season. Christ. It's CHRISTmas! This is why I Love it. It's a reminder, and a huge one at that, to be as Christlike as possible. Why? Because the Love of Christ creates the holiday spirit.
Woah. Epiphany.
Let me say that again.
The Love of Christ CREATES the holiday spirit.
Christ's Love is what I think of when I try to describe how I feel during the holidays. That joyful, excited, giggle-making, feeling that makes the children jump of the walls and seems to encourage people to fall in Love. It's the Love of Christ. It powers the holiday spirit. Take a minute to think about that, because I JUST pieced that together myself.. and I need a minute to process it too.
Woah.
****
Have you sufficiently thought about it? Do you get it? Isn't it amazing!?
:D
So, most people celebrate a combination of Christmas and Santamas. That's fine. But I personally want to focus a little more on Christmas this year, and I invite and encourage the same from all of you. Why? Because Christ's Love is the thing that makes the holiday spirit go. Try not to stress. Let the Love of Christ fuel your holidays. And for those of you who aren't in charge of the planning, try to help those who are as much as you can. Showing that Love to them will make the holiday season that much more memorable and happy for both of you. I Love this season because of the feeling it creates. Don't you? And now I know what creates that feeling.
Let's celebrate Christmas this year. Who's with me?? :)
I Love you all. Merry Christmas. Let it be full of the Loving care of Jesus Christ.
<3 Kels
Santamas.
Doesn't this look odd to some of you? Is that even a word? It could be. And I think to a lot of people it is, though they might not admit it. Compare:
Santamas Christmas
See it now? One of these things is not like the other... It's the NAMEs. Notice the name in the more familiar word. Christ. And the other one? Santa. Sadly enough, much of the world chooses the latter over the former. Santamas. That just doesn't have the same ring and happiness to it that Christmas does. And guess what? There's a reason why.
Here's Christmas to much of the world:
Buying presents.
Organizing parties.
Stress for the hosts.
Feelings of discouragement for those who can't give as much as their heart wants to.
Silent (or not so silent) competitions between family and friends about who got, or gave, the best gift.
Getting.
Horrendous amounts of planning.
Stress.
Lots of food making.
An excuse to eat an excess amount of sweets.
Gift wrapping.
Competitions for who has the best Christmas lights and decor.
Making sure to go see Santa and tell him what you want.
Stress.
Fatigue.
Some even hate the holiday season. Because it's turned into something they can't handle. It's too stressful and some wish it would just end already!
This is very very sad to me. This is Santamas. And while not all of the things on here are bad, the spirit of Santamas isn't exactly a joyful one.
Christmas.
Joy.
Bringing families together.
Enjoying the happy faces of a Loved one when they open a present they really really like.
Laughing together.
Remembering past Christmases.
Singing Christmas music.
Cooking together.
Helping those who have taken on the huge task of being in charge of the family's holiday season.
Creating happy memories.
Encouraging family traditions.
Loving.
Letting go of grudges and fixing rifts.
Celebrating.
And, most importantly, remembering the person whom this incredibly important holiday is named after. Remembering the reason we celebrate, the reason we give, Love, and enjoy this season. Christ. It's CHRISTmas! This is why I Love it. It's a reminder, and a huge one at that, to be as Christlike as possible. Why? Because the Love of Christ creates the holiday spirit.
Woah. Epiphany.
Let me say that again.
The Love of Christ CREATES the holiday spirit.
Christ's Love is what I think of when I try to describe how I feel during the holidays. That joyful, excited, giggle-making, feeling that makes the children jump of the walls and seems to encourage people to fall in Love. It's the Love of Christ. It powers the holiday spirit. Take a minute to think about that, because I JUST pieced that together myself.. and I need a minute to process it too.
Woah.
****
Have you sufficiently thought about it? Do you get it? Isn't it amazing!?
:D
So, most people celebrate a combination of Christmas and Santamas. That's fine. But I personally want to focus a little more on Christmas this year, and I invite and encourage the same from all of you. Why? Because Christ's Love is the thing that makes the holiday spirit go. Try not to stress. Let the Love of Christ fuel your holidays. And for those of you who aren't in charge of the planning, try to help those who are as much as you can. Showing that Love to them will make the holiday season that much more memorable and happy for both of you. I Love this season because of the feeling it creates. Don't you? And now I know what creates that feeling.
Let's celebrate Christmas this year. Who's with me?? :)
I Love you all. Merry Christmas. Let it be full of the Loving care of Jesus Christ.
<3 Kels
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
My lessons from Alma
Alma 20: 19 "...it is thou that has sought to destroy him"
King Lamoni finds someone to blame, just like Laman and Lemuel would have. When I read this, I had the thought: Satan puts reasons to be angry at people in our minds. That's how they come, and it's because he wants us to be contentious. Don't heed him. It doesn't lead anywhere good, ever.
Alma 20:27
Later, Lamoni is desirous to learn from Ammon. This shows us that once anger subsides, we can see truth, and are often drawn to it. Wouldn't it be great if we could all just skip the anger part? :)
Alma 20-21
As O read the stories of Ammon and his brother's missions, I noticed that the 'failure' writings are shorter and less detailed than the 'success' writings. Did you notice that? :) This shows us to learn from the negative times, but not focus on them. Move on. This is a great application to life.
In the same record, a lt of people fall down 'as if they were dead' after being converted. I got to thinking why this happens, and this is what I got: God needs us to give Him our full attention in order to help convert us. So, when converting those people, He caused them to sleep and then ave them testimonies. Their full attention was given. And, as WE are being re-converted all the time, WE need to give Him our full attention always. :)
This semester has been so great. :)
King Lamoni finds someone to blame, just like Laman and Lemuel would have. When I read this, I had the thought: Satan puts reasons to be angry at people in our minds. That's how they come, and it's because he wants us to be contentious. Don't heed him. It doesn't lead anywhere good, ever.
Alma 20:27
Later, Lamoni is desirous to learn from Ammon. This shows us that once anger subsides, we can see truth, and are often drawn to it. Wouldn't it be great if we could all just skip the anger part? :)
Alma 20-21
As O read the stories of Ammon and his brother's missions, I noticed that the 'failure' writings are shorter and less detailed than the 'success' writings. Did you notice that? :) This shows us to learn from the negative times, but not focus on them. Move on. This is a great application to life.
In the same record, a lt of people fall down 'as if they were dead' after being converted. I got to thinking why this happens, and this is what I got: God needs us to give Him our full attention in order to help convert us. So, when converting those people, He caused them to sleep and then ave them testimonies. Their full attention was given. And, as WE are being re-converted all the time, WE need to give Him our full attention always. :)
This semester has been so great. :)
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