International Christmas Celebration

On Sunday, December 14th, St. Louis Park Evangelical Free Church celebrated the season with an International Christmas Concert. Our entire family got in on the fun and craziness. Check out videos to hear the children sing, "Let There Be Music"; to hear Mark, Ndeko and Dieu-Donne sing in Swahili; and Mark, Kurt and I sing "A la nanita."

Kid Dance Program

Abby and her Community Ed dancer friends performed today at the Lenox Community Center. Thank you, Heather Bissonnette, for your fabulous teaching and the extra effort that went into today's production!

Grrrrrrrrrrr

Does anyone else hate this about winter in Minnesota?

Be A Blessing

"Be a Blessing" has been the theme to my week. Our new ministry launch team talked last Sunday about asking God how we can be a blessing to people who don't know him. The next day, our church's monthly newsletter arrived in my mailbox and there was a blurb about an event that I was trying to get off the ground before the Christmas season. I had not even remembered that I titled it, "Be a Blessing." The idea behind the event is to make greeting cards (with an enormous collection of papercrafting supplies donated by Jill Gabrielson!) for people to use to encourage others. It was inspired, mainly, by the fact that there are a handful of people who do just that...send out birthday cards, notes to soldiers, thank you notes to people behind-the-scenes. I've spent the last few days making some samples so that people can have some ideas in front of them. I giggled as I looked at my effort...a little overboard!

Out of Date Already

I know that Halloween is over (thank goodness!), but I had to share because I thought these turned out cute. Someone posted their take on goodie bags with these cute faces on the Close to My Heart consultants website and I couldn't find it when I wanted to copy it. Thankfully, there was something similar on Splitcoast Stampers. So, here were the little treat bags we did for some of our neighbor friends (since we would all be out trick-or-treating!)

Kids on Politics

I have my voting plan...know where the precinct polling location is, plan to go after I drop the little one at preschool...the only thing is that I'm not certain for whom I'll vote. Jeez, it is election day. TODAY. And I'm still an undecided voter.

Heck, my kids have even voted already (in their mock "Scholastic" election at school.) Katie did want to verify with me, though, if it was true that McCain was for rich people and Obama was for poor people. I overheard a six year-old at Panera last night asking if "Barack was still ahead?" I would love to be a fly on the school bus window...what the heck are the kids talking about these days? I would have guessed Pokemon and Hannah Montana, not McCain and Obama.

The Message

Eugene Peterson has written a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible and I thought that reading it might freshen up my heart for the scriptures.


Today I read a few chapters in Galatians and this passage "wowed" me.

from Galatians 3: 11-12
The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him. Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.

Working on Making Old Friends

Happy 7th Birthday, Zach!

Here is my layout with "Hypno News." The font is "My Old Remington" downloaded from the internet.

Feel free to save these files to your own machine by right clicking on the image and choosing "save as..." They are 12x12 documents at 300 dpi.

If you have a chance to use the kit on your own creations, please e-mail me at krischristiansen@comcast.net so I can feature your layout!

Digital Freebie--HYPNO NEWS

I have been happily creating and I want to share...it is the scrapbooking way! Here's the preview and the images will follow shortly!

Nothin' is Somethin', Punkin

It was was of those Minnesota Fall weekends. I was tickled that we had "nothin'" going on. (Was I deluded?) Saturday was crisp and sunny and generally wonderful. We raked, Mark worked on winterizing the boat, etc. Then it was time for the annual trip to Sweet Corn and More for pumpkins. There are some adorable pictures of the kids and the 400 pound pumpkin, but I was most excited that there's a picture of US! SO, there will be scrapbook pages of the cute kids having fall fun, but today, I'm just pleased with this lone shot of this happy couple.

Yippee Ya-HOOOO

Every single person in my household is healthy today.
All three children will be at school (at the same time!) for 2 1/2 glorious hours this afternoon.


Enough said.

If You're Keeping Track...

Mark is holding on by severely limiting his eating...portions, fat, and spice.
Katie is at school.
Owen is on day 2 at home...add throwing up to his repertoire.
Abby is also on day 2, but she's fairly spunky.
Me. Who cares? I'm just the mom.

Halloween Costumes

Do you know me? I hate Halloween...it hasn't been my thing since about fifth grade. Dressing up made me super self-conscious. Of course, my children adore it...well, sorta.

Katie chose a basic beautiful pink princess-y ballgown.

Abby Hollywood is actually Fancy Nancy.

They like and wear their costumes.

Owen wanted to be Mario. Well, how 'bout that. Sounds like work for mom. So I shopped and snipped and glued and stitched and primed and painted. When it came time to dress, he griped and fussed and tugged and smeared. It is so rewarding to be a parent.

This is the kids dressed for party #1. We couldn't wake Katie up to go to party #2 and Owen refused to wear his overalls and nose. Can't wait until the school celebration to see what drama ensues.

Happy Birthday Laura, Klaus & Kevin

Two thirty-nines and a forty...

My long-time girlfriend, a high school classmate I haven't seen in 20 years and an old boyfriend all share today as a birthday. Man, are we getting old =)

Wacky Wednesday

Katie has "FUN FRIDAYS" in Gym class, so we started talking about names for the other days of the week...Moronic Mondays, Terminal Tuesdays...well, Dr. Seuss already had Wednesday covered. Wacky Wednesday it is!


I sit at the computer to check in everywhere on the internet that I like to start my online day and I wonder, do I need "wacky?" Not today, please. K is finally back at school after missing three full days with a fever. Just in time for one day back and then a long weekend! Poor Mark is feeling miserable and had to go into work anyways. There are two Halloween parties, a rescheduled piano lesson, two swimming lessons and Mark's birthday in the next few days.


We are too busy.

Alone Time, Where Art Thou?

Introvert/Extrovert....

Have you ever deone the Myers/Briggs Inventory? I took it during college when I was an R.A. and we were doing some team-building. Mostly, it told me what I already knew, but on the I-E spectrum, I was surprised. I landed pretty much on the line between introvert and extrovert. I thought that, given my inclinations towards public speaking and drama that I was a clear extrovert. Hum??


Years went by and I got married. That first year was hard for me. I didn't control everything in my world (Myers Briggs should add a Control-Roll Over spectrum.) And I didn't want company all the time and I really didn't even want to be with my husband all the time. I just wanted to be alone sometimes. Well, having three children in five years was not the answer to that problem, I tell you! Now, I'm up to my ears in parenthood and I sooooo understand why Myers-Briggs thought I could be an introvert. It turns out that introvert/extrovert is more about where you get your energy than how talkative you are. I clearly do NOT get my energy from other people. I like them just fine, I just need to have a quiet brain to refuel when I'm tired or to relax when I'm stressed.


It's right about now that I am longing for a little retreat. Far, far away. In the woods or by the lake. Alone.


Such a sweet, sweet word.

Live to Create

Someone asked me today how I knew "so much about computers" (her words, not mine!) All I could tell her was that I just love technology and I learn so I can do...

There's something new that I want to be able to do...
I've been working to create some of my own digital scrapbooking supplies and a few things are cool enough that I'd like to share them. I need to learn how to link people up with them using the blog. (Other people make it look so easy...how do I zip this up, store it somewhere and give you a link????)

This is a preview of some sequined elements that I think are very cool and could be useful to someone! The real thing is a .png with 12" borders and a few other embellishments. I've already used them on a layout and I want to develop some more winter- and Christmas-themed embellishments. They remind me of those sequined Christmas bulbs with straight pins...

Sneaky Halloween

Holidays always sneak up on me. It's like Halloween doesn't always come on the 31st of October and I'm suddenly surprised that I have to get costumes and candy. I have a helpful reminder this year, though, because Owen was invited to co-host a party with his friend and we need to be ready 2 weeks early! O will go as Mario of Nintendo fame, Katie is going to be...uh, a beautiful lady in a long pink gown/unspecified princess, Abby will be Fancy Nancy. The girls are pretty easy, but we will be crafting much of Owen's costume. Wish me luck! You can bet you'll see pictures here when we have achieved our "look."

Better?

Gone is the black and red...I think this is better. Of course, if you are just looking at this now, you have no idea what I am talking about, but you didn't miss much!

Gone Goth

I didn't mean for this to look so dark!
I'll work on it!

Anyone who ever needs cheering up really should attend a dance class of three year-olds. It leaves me in stitches each time I watch!


Today I saw how little it takes to mold the thinking of a few little people. Three weeks ago when we started dance, it was pure chaos. No one knew where to stand. Today, each child dutifully went to her tape mark on the floor. The first week, my Abby didn't understand how to make her little body recline on her elbows so that she could free her feet to pedal in the air. Today...a pro.


These kids are so trusting and malleable at this age. They soak up every tiny bit of information. I'm used to watching that in a more academic sense, but it was neat to observe that in a physical way. Their brains and their bodies are so eager.

A few years ago, LeAnn Womack and Sons of the Desert had a huge crossover hit with "I Hope You'll Dance." It echoes in my ears today...

"When you have the choice
to sit it out or dance,
I hope you'll dance..."

Literally and figuratively, I hope my kids always choose to dance.

Thank you, Scott!

I was just visiting a friend's family blog for the first time and he had these cool slideshows. I simply had to figure out how to make that happen here. Turns out, it is very simple...Picasa is super easy and the uploads are quick. Wow! And I'm not easy to impress.


Unfortunately, it also prompted me to while away an hour "redecorating" my blog.

The final product!

Here's my beautiful, generous, made-over girl =)

Locks of Love

One day last spring, Katie came home and told me she wanted to, '"I don't know, it sounds like 'dominate'," her hair! I cracked up. So we let it grow and grow. Thankfully it was fairly long when she got the idea because her hair doesn't grow that fast. Every fight over hair-brushing that we have had while she got ready for school was just another little bit of the gift!

Today is the big day! We researched the requirements...at least ten inches in a ponytail...and off we go! I cut the ponytail at home and now we will go to the salon for her finishing cut. She'll have a neat little stacked bob when the day is done. This girl is generous to the core!

The End of An Era

Yesterday afternoon, my 12 year-old black lab, Chance, crawled under the deck, layed down and breathed his last. He was born on June 1, 1996 at my folks' house in Int'l Falls. At first, I spoke for Maki...the little female runt. She came to live with me when I got settled in my house in July.(I was still living in Chicago when they were born.) She was sweet and cute, but at thirteen weeks she had an episode that brought us into the vet immediately and she didn't get to go home with me. She had had a congenital defect and her little body had poisoned her blood. Jeesh. It had been a short time since I had put down my sick kitten, Garibaldi. I was so bummed out that I really struggled over getting another dog ...or... not putting myself through that again! After a bit of time spent with the remaining two puppies of the litter, I decided to try again. The family had been calling the pup "Remington," but I called him "Chance." My second chance. My last chance!



For twelve years, he was a faithful, guileless, lovey, rock-headed, half-blind friend. Back when I was dating, he helped me pick up guys. I don't think Mark would have had me if I hadn't been a "dog person." Then we ruined his life by getting Cobe, who immediately stepped up as the alpha male and bossed Chance around. Mind you, this started when Cobe weighed 10 pounds and Chance weighed 85. But they were brothers...playing and fighting, just like you would expect. Eventually, Cobe got them banished when he went bonkers on Katie. To the basement! They split their time between the back yard band their room for quite a few years. It wasn't a great quality of life, but Chance always stayed his dumb, happy self. Last winter, Chance started struggling with the stairs. A big old dog was bound to have trouble with his hips... Once it became a concern whether or not I could get him upstais in time to go to the bathroom, he came upstairs again and rejoined the family, so to speak. Owen had been very frightened of the dogs and he started to warm up to Chance. It was so cute. Katie had always been awesome with him and Abby was a real natural handler, too. All through the winter, spring and summer, Chance had his run of the house, lots of pets and cuddles and even a love affair with our bunny, Padme. It was a sweet time with lots of great photo ops! Those months reminded us of all the reasons you have a dog!


In July, he got sick...diarrhea and eventually not eating. I thought that was it for him. We talked at length with the kids about what might happen and just put off what we thought the inevitable decision would be until after Katie's birthday. Lo and behold, he perked up and got back to "full strength." Yeah, he had slowed down a lot and had dropped enough weight for it to be noticeable, but he was o.k. Life went on. Last week, he and Cobe went to the vet for their rabies and booster shots because I needed to get new city licenses for them. Doc was concered about Chance's weight loss, but there were no other signs of problems (to her obvious surprise.) On Wednesday night, Katie called to me and complained that Chance was making weird noises. She thought he had thrown up, but there was no mess. The next morning, he kind of did it again while we were eating breakfast (gross) so I let him outside in case he was going to be sick. It was a gorgeous fall day, so I left him out to enjoy it. At 5:00 or so, I put down his dish full of dinner and expected him to come prancing like always. He didn't. I called to him and he didn't answer. I checked the girls'room to make sure he wasn't shut in there, but there was no sign of him. I went out to the back yard and looked more thoroughly and that's when I spotten him. He just found a depression in the black dirt that kept him cool on hot days and called it quits.


Even in dying, my pooch was a sweet man. I had dreaded having to decide to have him euthanized and fully expected that the day would come. He made it as easy for us as he possibly could. He will be bittersweetly missed.

Chance (Remington) Bradseth Christiansen

June 1, 1996-October 2, 2008

The Clone Wars and Other Battles

It feels like we just got beyond "back-to-school" and that things should settle down, but NO. This year, we had all three kids starting school (a great milestone for a stay-at-home mom!) We also started piano lessons, swimming lessons, and dance class. Pfwew, mom and dad are tired! Next, Mark played a benefit gig up north for a high school classmate who developed colon cancer. It was a good evening (and Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids!) and I was so proud of my guy...not only is he still a rock star, but he has an amazing heart. These guys (and Jenni, too) gave a lot of their time over the last few months to learn and relearn music, rehearse and be ready to play for Julie. Our prayers remain with her, but we celebrate that she is currently cancer-free!

That brings us to the CLONE WARS!

We celebrated Owen's birthday this weekend and he chose "Clone Wars" as his theme. (This goes to show how heavily influenced he is by marketing genius...we had never seen the cartoons and we still haven't seen the movie.) Seven boys, ages 5 and 6, make for a loud and crazy party. It cracked me up to see them make their way through their Jedi Training Course with Yoda in a backpack! They loved the twisty baloons which stood in for real light sabers until they all popped. I clocked it. 3 minutes for about 20 balloons. Everything was just right...we ran out of activities right as the parents arrived to pick up their newly knighted Jedi Masters. We have another 40 pounds of Legos around the house now, too...just a bonus.

DigiScrapping

I really have been scrapbooking a lot this summer...all digital, though. I love it, even though I was hesitant to set aside the paper and scissors. So...here's a look!

There is a sad story, though, as to how this fluffball came to our home. If you read earlier posts, you'll remember Padme, the bunny love of my life. She met an untimely demise at the jaws of our dog. The next day, we stopped at the Humane Society for a bit of fuzzy comfort and this little man was poised and waiting for us! And then a rat bit Abby...oh, but that's another story!

Ebbs and Flows

I always wondered why people had blogs and then only wrote in them a few times a year. Now, I know. Life moves and shifts and changes. When I started blogging, I was an intensely introspective time and it really helped me work through my thoughts. (I was also crazy deep into scrapbooking every single day...much to my husband's chagrin.) Later, I started a new blog when I wanted to get serious about my health and my diet.

It seems now that I'm in a more sociable time, I tend to log onto Facebook and see what people are up to.

I think I have addressed this topic here before...I have serious attention issues. My interests change SO FAST. I am intesely focused for a little while and, before you know, I have dropped that thing entirely.

Blogging is awesome, though, I think I will come back to it pretty regularly. Next on my "intense" agenda, though is my teacher relicensing. My brain (and my wallet) are really wanting to re-enter the work world!

Been Busy Living

Life seems a perpetual fast forward.

It took about two weeks from the last post to get the floors done and the kids moved back into their rooms. A's kid party had to be relocated away from our house because of the mess and fumes. We barely had things back in time for the family party the following weekend. Now, the mopboards sit needing to be repainted (desperately) and the kids are itching for their room makeovers.

After the birthday and floor frenzies, we set about to accomplish a family goal that we have had for some time...go camping. We gathered what we thought were the essentials and reserved a campsite in southern Minnesota. Friday went smoothly and we got set up at the very nice and well-maintained RV resort and campground. On Saturday morning there was just enough time to walk the kids to the restrooms and back before the rain started. 7 a.m. and on and on... we had breakfast in the tent, hung out in the van, checked out the arcade and bemoaned our great luck with the weather. At 10:00, the resort had a kids' craft activity and we did that together. The sky was acting weird the whole time...rain, break in the clouds, a quick peek at the sun, dark clouds, distant thunder, rain again. Brave, brave Mark took the kids swimming in the heated outdoor pool. The water might have been 80 degrees, but the air was about 68. I had on long pants and a sweatshirt! After a wet lunch and more s'mores, the girls and their dad took advantage of a break in the rain to go fishing. It was short-lived, but they were delighted since they caught fish! Our plans to mini-golf never came to fruition...more rain. I napped while the kids checked out a movie at the activity center. They weren't very interested, so they played a bit of shuffleboard (or "shuffleboard war" as O wanted to shoot from opposite ends and try to hit each other!) Before we could build another fire and make dinner, it started in again with the heavier rain and the girls both conked out. We eventually did eat and made it to the family dance for about an hour. It was strange that the kids didn't last longer, but we would discover that two of the three were sick! After one more fire (and MORE s'mores) the guys hung out and chatted and we girls hit the hay. O was up sometime after 2 to use the bathroom...his stomach was just out of sorts. A was throwing up at 4 and then drifted back to sleep on my part of the air mattress. That left her dad sunken on his side and me on the hard, rancid, wet floor. Did I mention that it kept raining during the night??? Fortunately everyone slept til just after 8:00, waking to blue skies and moderate temps. Ahhhhh... We broke camp quicker than a New York minute and headed home for a noon meeting at church.

Life is good.

No kidding, it was busy!

I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but I didn't realize that it had been over a month! We're all well...no tragedies, no emergencies.

My Owen finished preschool last week and will be off to kindergarten in the fall. We're wrapping up school for Katie...our public schools don't let out until the 10th of June! Does that seem late to anyone else? That also happens to be Abby's birthday and will mark her first little friend party. The next weekend, we'll celebrate with family and honor the dads while were at it.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

To make matters more interesting, I painted the living room and began a big overhaul of a little room. That probably merits an entire post of its own! This weekend, Mark decided in earnest to refinish the remaining two rooms of hardwood floors. We've had a variety of experiences with those...thick, hard adhesive; black, tarry adhesive; and finally, NO NOTHING BUT HARDWOOD. We were so tickled when we began to tackle the last room today and it was the best of the four areas we have done. (We were also glad that we hadn't done that room first and discovered the other disasters as we went along!)

Happy Memorial Day to all.

Busy Season

May officially begins one of our family's two "busy seasons." (The second one runs from late September through Christmas!) This one is ramping up a little early this year.

Two weekends ago, my girlfriend and I waited out the storm and made our girls' weekend trip a day late. We had a fanatastic time and I hope to post some funny (to me) pictures on the blog, but, honestly, I'm trying to make a couple of quick scrapbooks to share with the girls first. Last weekend, DH went on the company reward trip to Cancun for 4 days and it was all I could do to survive. (I'd be a poor single mother.) Last week, Abby had day surgery to remove a bump from her finger, Katie had a field trip to the History Center and Owen had a field trip to Orchestra Hall. There was a lot of scheduling and running around, but it was all important family stuff. And I'm tired.

My back went out and has been giving me trouble, so I've been to the chiropractor umpteen times in April. It was better and now it's worse, again.

But, Hubby is home and the sun is finally out. Yesterday was gorgeous weather for a Minnesota April and then it stormed last night. Yeah! Spring has arrived!

One final update...Padme Bunny is doing spectacularly. She is a very messy girl, but that's my only complaint. We have her "condo" constructed and it suits her well. She sits for long spells in front of a mirror (keeping herself company? vanity?) She eats like I can't believe. She's this tiny thing and she just chows. For the record, she doesn't like celery or green pepper =) Katie is doing her Imagination/Inventors Fair project on her and that is this Thursday night. Kate has been very involved in her care...she's great with animals. Now, we have two days to document that "care" for the fair and prepare to show her off.

It's April Already, Quit With The Snow

This is going to be a quick, to the point tantrum.
!@#$%%#$^&&*()*&^%$$

I am supposed to go with my girlfriends for our annual weekend tomorrow AND WE ARE UNDER A WINTER STORM WARNING! Could get 8 inches of snow.

This sucks.

Getting to know you, getting to know all about you...

Awww, rabbit husbandry. What a delight. Apparently my memories of rabbit care are very selective or we completely ignored our rabbits. For instance, I don't remember anyone chasing bunnies around the house, cleaning up their poop along the way. I guess I remember a dirty, stinky rabbit cage. I don't remember cutting up fresh vegetables for them every day and replenishing their hay twice a day. All I remember are the pellets. And now the vet says, "those pellets are way to fattening to feed a pet rabbit." I certainly DON'T remember taking rabbits to the vet!

Katie has been an awesome help! She's so willing to learn all the details of bunny care. She has practiced poop pick-up with paper towels, a mini broom and dustpan, and the hand-vac! The face she's making in the picture was just for effect =) It's part of her Imagination/Inventors Fair project. We're taking pictures of each step in Padme's care and Katie's documenting them on a display board.

Welcome to the family!

Spring fever is a strange thing in me. I used to regularly chop off all my hair around April. More recently, I've taken to going ga-ga over animals when spring rolls around. One year it was a freezing cold April trip to see baby animals at the zoo. Four years ago, it brought us to the Humane Society and we came home with our beloved cat, Levi. Well, this year...it got us our first-ever family bunny.

Let me introduce you to Padme (pad-may, for those of you who aren't Star Wars fans!) She is a dwarf lionhead rabbit, 14 weeks old. She is also very hard to get a good picture of! She's a busy girl. We love her already and it's a good thing since she poops all over the place and peed on our bed last night.

You can surely expect more stories and pictures in upcoming posts.

This one's for you, Eden!

For the rest of you, here's the story...
my younger, newlywed sister got a miniature daschund in October. Most everyone (including her new husband) thought she was loca since she already had a big ol' black lab. Well, her heart and her mind were set!


My kids were instantly smitten! Abby was just crazy about this little pooch. Katie was already an animal lover, so she was sold. Even Owen, who had hated dogs (especially little dogs) up to this point, really wanted to get to know this dog.


Heck, I even think she's pretty cute.

Voila!

NEED...MORE...TOOLS...

SO, here I am trying to sew these slipcovers and I realize that I am missing some basic sewing tools. (Never mind that I had to borrow the sewing machine from Diana, in the first place!) What a difference a tape measure and a pincushion make!
Then, I did it! I finished my slipcovers. I fought myself hard in order to do it, but they are FINISHED. And they don't really look like I intended, but I am moving on. Each cover ended up being 2 pieces and the skirt has both pattern and color. Mark thinks I'm nuts...I added ANOTHER PATTERN and ANOTHER COLOR. He doesn't realize that I'm working toward layers (like on my scrapbook pages!) It's just that we can't do it all at once for the sake of a budget and he can't see the "effect" that I see inside my crazy head. Oh, well. It's not like he's going to decorate the living room, so he pretty much has to trust me!

In order to pacify us both, though, I did need to move some color and pattern "up" because it has concentarted on the floor so far (with the rug, ottomans and chair skirts.) Hence the little pillows which were fun, instant gratification. And to dress things up a little, I got out the embroidery needle and floss and free-handed a little design on one of them. I'm so tickled with how it turned out.

An additional benefit has been to my ego. Neither Mark nor my good friend Helen knew that I had these basic skills and they seemed quite impressed. (I'm not used to impressing anyone at this stage in my life!) Anyway, it made me reflect a little on the fact that I'm not a superb specialist, but I really haved turned into a fantastic generalist. Honestly, it's useful to be a generalist in my current occupation =) Furthermore, it is a pretty natural outcome for someone with my short attention span. I'm learning to embrace that part of myself. Say it with me...I AM A QUITTER! I quit more pursuits than most people will ever start in a lifetime =) As a result, I know a little bit about a lot of things.

Duh!

It just occurred to me that I could have airbrushed myself thin in these pictures of my tatoo.

I'm quick

O.K. I'll try this header for a bit. At least it is uniquely "me."

New Template

Switchin' things up a bit...
come back soon and, hopefully, you'll find a new header, as well.

The Tatoo

It was 1995.

Broadway and Wilson, in the northern part of Chicago.

The Tatoo Factory.

I was 25 and completely sober and knew just what I wanted. $60 and 20 minutes later, I was sporting this mild and cute little tatoo on my waist. Plus, they gave me a cool t-shirt that said, "You Bet It Lasts Forever." (And yes, of course it hurt.)

I've never regretted it. A co-worker said to me when I first got it, "Those cherries are going to look like plums when you're pregnant!" Fortunately that was never the case since I never got very big during pregnancy. The cherries are a little faded and could use a touch-up on the colored portions, but I don't get over to the tatoo shops much anymore with my three kids!

Fish Kiss

This layout has been sitting on my table for 4 days. Why some are so hard to compose, I do not know. The original color scheme for this was purple, bubblegum pink, watermelon pink (playing off her rubber boots) and topiary green. It just wouldn't work for me and finally, I decided to use the colors in her life vest.

You absolutely must enlarge the right side of the layout to get a good look at the "fish kiss" picture. It is definitely the best part of the layout!

Liane is evil

I was tagged today by Liane. So here goes! A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was teaching in inner city Minneapolis, Bilingual Ed and very happily being courted by Mark. I think I was also selling Mary Kay!

Things on my to-do list today: Work in the baby nursery at church, run the song projection for 2nd service, run Katie to a birthday party, serve lunch to my visiting Aunt and Uncle and see how the rest of the day develops


What if I were suddenly made a billionaire: Tithe (wouldn't they be surprised!), pay off the house, (and Mom's and Dad's and Sab's and Eden's and Matt's and Adam's and Scott's, etc. ), get Mark that boat he's patiently been waiting for, set aside college funds, create scholarships at a couple of favorite colleges, plan a trip to see our Compassion sponsored child in Indonesia, take lots of vacations, get a housekeeper...

3 of my bad habits: Diet Dr. Pepper, procrastinating by hanging out at the computer, never ever making my bed

3 places I have lived: International Falls, MN; Mexico City, Mexico; Chicago, IL


Some jobs that I have had: Christian radio announcer, DQ, IGA, K-Mart, Rainbow Christian Gift and Book Shoppe, Bilingual Teacher (Highland Park, IL and Minneapolis, MN), Spanish Teacher (Int'l Falls & Brooklyn Park, MN), Test scorer for NCS Pearson, Close to My Heart


5 things people don't know about me: I have a tatoo on my waistline, my great grandparents AND my great, great grandparents were first cousins (ewwww!), I skipped going to the dentist for EIGHT years, I built a grandfather clock in ninth grade, and my full legal name is KRISTEN LYNN BRADSETH CHRISTIANSEN (no hyphen!)


As for tagging anyone else...I can't. I don't have a circle of blogging friends to torture =)

Blooming Word Book-GAVIN

My cousin, Dan became a first-time daddy last weekend. I visited Dan in the hospital when he was born almost 26 years ago. Good grief!

Anyway, I tried my hand at making a "blooming word" book with the new baby's name to give Dan and Ramona as a gift. I think it turned out cute!

The patterned papers are from Creative Memories and the stamps from Close to My Heart.

Cooo-oool! (Owen's Art!)

I can't believe that I just learned the coolest thing that was so easy! I bought a copy of the February/March issue of Digital Scrapbooking and learned how to make a custom "brush." (If you aren't digital...it is basically a digital stamp that is very flexible.) Well, my practice brushes were made from my son's stylized drawings. These two are from his sci-fi collection =) An alien and a ship, I believe. I can't wait to use these in his scrapbook!

The Edge

"The Edge" is the name of the Wednesday evening youth activities at Park Free Church. I've gone as a youth sponsor (reasonably responsible adult who is willing to hang out with teenagers!) three weeks, now.


After the first week, I was speechless. I tried to blog about it, but I could not find the words. It was surprising, frustrating, and a tiny bit frightening. (Some of those kids are BIG!)


At week two, a set of rules developed by the "regulars" at the Edge was laid out for the bigger group. This helped me immensely. Knowing what the kids themselves needed for a sense of order allowed me to step in where needed and know that the other sponsors and the core group would back that up. After the teaching time, we got into small groups. My group was unusual and largely goofy. I left feeling like all I had gained there was knowing a handful of names...and I prayed for each of those kids BY NAME every day that week. Ironically (or providentially) I ran into one of my small group kids the following night at the YMCA. He got my attention and I made a joke with him...it was almost as if he was glad to see me! It made me smile over and over all week long.


The tenor of the group was pretty different by last night. There is at least a loose sense of order and the kids are starting to develop the expectation that there will be talk of spiritual things...not just basketball, swearing, and PDA. It isn't a complete overhaul or anything, but there is a little bit of improvement each time. As for me, I'm armed with a handful more of names and I am just going to keep praying and showing up.

Money Back for Taxes

No, our taxes are not done yet. However, I got a reward for just sitting down to work on them! I found a check for $43.00, a 20 dollar bill, six ones, and two gift cards in my "tax" files. I am not a business person. I knew I was missing the one gift card, but I had no idea about the rest. Plus, as I've been entering my deductible expenses for my Close to My Heart business, I see the sad, sad picture of me as an entrepeneur (sp?) I just spent, spent, spent and didn't much sell, sell, sell. I've considered letting my consultant status lapse and this would be one of the arguments in favor...I would save money if I did!! Oh, how excited I get with each new idea. But my attention span is SO short. I didn't really know this about myself for a long time and it doesn't jive with who I think I should be. Next step...acceptance.

Digital Art

To look at my blog, you would think I haven't been doing any scrapbooking lately, but not so! I've been working through old printed photos, as well as doing some digital layouts with more recent pictures. Here are a couple of layouts from this Halloween (yes, these are my "recent" pictures...don't laugh.)

What's with the pictures?

Just in case you are wondering if I mess up the picture placement on purpose...no. This blog gizmo just slaps them in and it is just not that easy to get them to appear where you want them. However, this shouldn't be such a high priority in my life, so I'm leaving them alone! (This also explains why my picture looks freakish on a widescreen monitor, you know...in case you're wondering.)

Handed Down

My sweet friends, Diana and Jay, passed along 2 of these chairs that they were replacing in front of their new fireplace. I've had them for several months and am just getting around to the slipcovers that I had always intended. Turns out, I have no idea how to do slipcovers this complicated! I started a mock-up out of muslin and was completely stymied. Still, I bought the cream-colored denim I wanted to use already, so I HAVE TO SOLVE THIS! (With my 40% off coupon, the fabric is still $60.) I had a revelation yesterday about changing where a seam would go, so I decided to get back to it today. I know it looks HORRIBLE now, but I think I can do this. (Or flop in front of my HUGE blog audience!)