Carlson Christmas!

We are so thrilled to have Mom and Pop Carlson with us for a few days! They arrived on Saturday after skirting the North and South Carolina snowstorms. After getting unloaded and giving them the tour of the house Christmas decorations, we headed out for pizza at our favorite pizza parlor, Lupis. Once we had finished our delicious meal and got up to leave my parents ran into Dennis and Angie Albee who were in their youth group in Normal. I tell them they know people everywhere they go!

We took a tour of the Christmas lights in some nearby neighborhoods and then went home to open our presents. What a fun time of laughter and love!

Today Pop taught Brian's Sunday School class and gave a wonderful lesson on patience in James 5 using the Biblical example of Job. What a wonderful reminder that God is in control and through Job's sufferings he received patience. Sometimes it isn't about the bad or good circumstances we face, but the work it is doing in our lives. Our pastor also had an outstanding Christmas message which we all received a blessing from. Then for lunch I made our traditional Christmas Eve beef stroganof. Again we enjoyed the food and fellowship. Mom and I took long Sunday afternoon naps. She and I had to stay home tonight because we both have been under the weather. Pop and Brian went to the evening service together and now are watching the Vikings/Carolina game. Of course, my dad has always been a Vikings fan, but he is especially proud at the present of his boy, Brett Farve! I guess we'll see if he pulls it out for them tonight. Will post more of our festivities this week!

Ten days ago I was the birthday girl.

Thank you to so many who sent cards, Facebook messages, texts, phone calls, etc. I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

It is hard to believe that I celebrated another birthday. When someone actually asked me my age and I admitted it:), they said, "Oh, my, you don't look that old." I was always the youngest in my class and started teaching when I was 21. How is that now I'm "old"? That's OK, I'm enjoying every stage and I would not want to go back to 21, that's for sure!!

Brian gave me the sweater and scarf--very warm and cozy! Mom and Pop got me a Dooney and Bourke purse -- love it!!

Fall 2009 Play "Cheaper by the Dozen"

Well, here is the exhausted play director. We had a great time preparing this year's play. By presenting it in the fall we are hoping to alleviate some of the craziness during the spring (basketball season, competition, etc.). The production was fabulous! We had an excellent cast, helpful, supportive parents and pack-out audience who howled with laughter.

Some special blessings were the dad that built the set and did the lighting. . . the mom who is a professional hair dresser and did all of the girls' hair in 1920's style . . . another mom who made 4 gingham dresses. The costumes looked very "period."

I'm not allowed to post pictures of my students on the internet any more, so if you want to see a picture of the cast I can email you a copy.

These were the cast t-shirts that we ordered. We had posters, programs, tickets, etc. with the same design. I have a fabulous artist that always makes us look good with her design ideas. This one reflects the excitement and comedy of the play.

Once again, special thanks to my wonderful, supportive husband who has gotten used to my panic as well as elation during the production process. He used to say to me in the midst of it all, "Kristy, why do you do this?" I noticed he stopped asking . . . because now he knows. The struggle is so worth it! I praise the Lord for 20 years in Christian education and the many, many productions that I've shared with precious students. Many are using their communication talents to serve the Lord. And it all started by trying out for a little play. . .

Wow! It is December already

We have had a wonderful fall. When my mom told me today that my last blog was July 4th, I realized that time has really flown. Once school starts the days become a blur. One change this fall was that we did our school play. I will write more about it in the next blog. Good news is, it is over and it went very well. Brian's birthday was the same day of our first performance, November 12th. Poor guy, he was very supportive and a good sport. We still did a lot of celebrating and everyone got in the spirit.

Even Essie knew it was a special day and stayed up late for me to get home from our play performance to open presents.

Here is the birthday boy opening his favorite gift -- what a shocker . . . a new tie! Wonder how I knew that's what he wanted?? He's pretty easy to shop for now.

Then to top off the presents he got a pair of pants to go with the tie. Mom Walker and I work well together. I love this pic of Brian -- hair a little tousled (it was late), but a big smile because he really enjoyed his gifts. Reminds me of when I realized clothes were more fun to receive than toys. When I made that realization, I knew I was all grown up. We still enjoy receiving clothes (and don't even mind a few toys). Hope you are doing well. We'll try to get caught up on the news in the next few days.

Fourth of July Celebration

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July holiday. This was the first year in quite a while that we stayed in town for the 4th. We usually are with the Carlsons in North Carolina. However, we had a memorable time with delicious food. This is the "Wave the Flag" cake that I made for our family dinner.

We went downtown for the big celebration . . . very hot. . . lots of people . . . fun times! There was a wonderful concert by the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and, of course, amazing fireworks. Thankfully it cooled off once the sun went down.

Several of our family members got to the park early and set up a tent. As a result, we had great seats! Here are Tony, Darla, and their friends Tim and Kim. Tina is on the ground with her electric fan which we passed around.

And then we had our photographer who didn't mind posing himself. He's very humble as you can tell!:)

Brian's mom and aunt had a wonderful time visiting and enjoying the music as well. What a treat to have so many family members together to enjoy the evening.

Decoration Additions

I love the lattern that Mom and I both got at Pottery Barn while I was in NC. We both have them on our tables!

We have had this neat shelf in the empty corner of our living room for awhile now. However, I did not have the "right stuff" to decorate it with. Finally it is beginning to come together. I will be filling it in with more "old looking books," but at least you can see how it is shaping up. I was really excited to find the cylinder lamp on the third shelf. I was trying to describe it to my parents. Now they can see what I am talking about! I wanted a lamp, but all the ones I found were to bulky and tall. This one is unique and perfect! It gives an "aura" to the corner without over powering it!

Pussy willows and a small latern adorn the bar in between the living room and kitchen! Fills up space and adds texture! I've learned alot watching all of the home improvement shows on HGTV!:)

Finally, on the hearth we have added some sea grass, sand and sea shells to a glass vase that I got at Christmas. I had it on the mantle with bright color balls. I was so excited to find a fun summer option for the vase. Plus it reminds me of the beach at the Outer Banks where we were last year at this time with my family.

Summer Reading

While recuperating, I've indulged in a love of mine and many other of my family members--reading. In the 10 days I've been laid up I have read two Christian fiction novels. While I was visiting with my parents, my dad made me aware of these two authors and their writings.

Although the style and genre were very different, I've enjoyed both novels immensely. They both were well-written and contained a strong Biblical world view which seems so illusive in many genres of literature.

We have a school-wide, summer reading program. Each student is required to read an assigned book during the summer. This summer I decided to give my students a choice of two novels. Since we will be studying American literature, the works written by two American contemporary Christian authors work well. Hopefully this assignment will ignite more of an interest in reading edifying literature.

Anyway, here are the two books:

Fatal Illusions
by Adam Blumer

This book was just released in March. It is very suspenseful--a serial killer story without the usual discomfort of immoral scenes and language. I read it in two days and just couldn't put it down. I finished it last night at about 11:00 p.m. Not a very smart thing to do since the killer continues to emerge at the end and I was on pins and needles.


Some Wildflower in my Heart
by Jamie Langston Turner

A story about a hard heart and the power Christ's love and forgiveness demonstrated by a surrendered saint. Mrs. Turner does an excellent job in character and relationship development. I especially appreciate this strength since character development is so inherent and necessary in acting. This work has left me thinking about how my life and communication demonstrates Christ's work in my walk.

I am finally recuperating!!!

Whew! What a whirlwind the last month has been. When I returned from NC, I had to finish two weeks of school. During exam week my parents arrived in town on Memorial Day and stayed until Thursday. Although I had to go to school during the day, we had much fun in the afternoons and evenings.

The day I was done with school I drove to Nashville and stayed with my parents in their trailer until Sunday and Brian played chauffeur for his parents on a three-day trip to Dallas, Texas.

Then on Wednesday, June 3 I had an exploratory "procedure" scheduled with a doctor that specializes in women's surgery. I told him that I had some endometriosis removed 6 years ago, but thought it may be back. He said the only way to be certain was to do this procedure using laparoscopy. I didn't tell too many people about it, because I really didn't think it would be a big deal.

That morning Brian took me to the hospital and they prepared me for the procedure. The doctor came to see me and asked if I still had my appendix. When I said that I did he said he may have to remove it. That was the last conversation I remember and then I was waking up. I soon found out I had been in surgery for 3 1/2 hours. Very soon after the procedure began he realized I had extensive endometriosis which he removed along with my appendix. Thankfully the doctor sent updates to Brian and he called my parents during their long wait.

After about 10 days I am just beginning to feel better. My family (Walkers and Carlsons) have been wonderful. My parents and brothers call just about every day. My mom-in-law has cooked, cleaned, ironed and run errands for me. What a blessing she is. So that is the tale of my mysterious "surgery."

Once again I give God the glory for giving me the courage to inquire. I love the verse on the top of my "Life's a Stage" page, Psalm 31:3 "for Thou art my rock and my fortress, therefore for thy name's sake lead me and guide me." The doctor that did my operation specializes in the exact problem that I had, and I just "happened" to find him--I don't think so. Thank you, Lord.

Happy Mother's Day!

What fun I had going to Rocky Mount last weekend. Mom's birthday was on Saturday and I was her gift!! Here we are by the beautiful geraniums on her deck. What fun we had together!


I was able to tag along for all of the festivities! Here we are at a delicious seafood restaurant. We even were able to sit by the aquarium.

Here are Mom and Pop in their newly remodeled dining room. I loved it! Mom and I had fun in Raleigh going to Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, TJ Maxx and other places looking for accent items for our houses. Nothing like shopping to celebrate birthdays! I stayed until Monday and had a wonderful time on Sunday. I loved being with my mom for Mother's Day. God has blessed me with such a wonderful mother. I thank Him for her every day!

I love this picture of Pop and I on the deck as well. I will rave more about Pop on Father's Day. How good the Lord has been to allow me to be raised in a Christian home where my parents taught me to love and follow God. Now it is fun to be such good friends! Brian and I always love to "hang out" with our parents. They are all so wonderful!

AACS National Competition

Well, here is the group that I took to the AACS national competition at Bob Jones last week. What a wonderful experience it was for all of these students. We competed in choric speaking, religious reading and duet acting. All of the performers did well and handled the pressure of this level of competition like the pros. Going to nationals always reminds me of my high school experiences there -- it was always the highlight of my year.

After the first round of speech competition on Wednesday we were thrilled to see our choric speaking group had made it to the final round which was the top 6. How exciting it was to see the group "nail" their performance the next day. We knew we were up against stiff competition, so I told the group that the outcome didn't matter. They had done their best and had made it into the final round which we had never done before in this competition category.

During the final awards program we were even more elated when the final three teams were announced, and we came in third place. Killian Hill from Georgia was first and Gloucester Christian from New Jersey was second. Killian Hill, where my good friend is the speech teacher, performed at the program. They did "The Pied Piper of Hamlin" and were outstanding. Anyway, I took a picture of the screen where our name was listed even though it is difficult to see -- it is there!

Here is the group celebrating in the snack shop after our final round. They were all smiles and were definitely in the mood for a snack before heading to chapel.

These two pictures are actually from the awards program at our state competition in which the group performed. Our choric speaking group had 13 students and we did a cutting from "Chitty-chitty, Bang-bang." They chanted the tune, spoke, sang, acted, clapped. . .just about anything you can imagine. I did have a dad record our performance, so I'll try to figure out how to post it. Anyway, it was really neat!

Here is the beginning where Jeremy, Jemima, Professor and Grandpa are interacting at breakfast. Our favorite line is Grandpa's:

"I got up this morning. . . and shot an elephant in my pajamas. . . how an elephant got in my pajamas . . . I shall never know !!!" :) Have a good day!

Friends, Friends and More Friends

Things have continued to be very busy. We enjoyed spring break and our days of rest the week before Easter immensely. Easter was a special day (see our new "couple" pic on the left wearing our Easter outfits). We had dinner with the Walkers and had our annual Easter egg hunt. Fun times. Later that afternoon Chris Fisher, my MBBC dorm supervisor buddy, came for a visit. I haven't seen Chris since I moved to Tennessee, so it sure was a treat. She spent the night with us and then headed to Murfreesboro to stay with Kim and Tim Henderson.


After spring break and Easter celebrations were over it was back to school/work for one day and then Brian and I both headed to Greenville, SC for the AACS national competition. What a blast we had. I was the sponsor for the speech students competing from our school. We took 13 students. I will post pictures and tell of the results another day.

When we arrived on campus and were standing in line to register, I looked over and recognized Mrs. Dee Thelen who is Tammy Weniger's (my high school friend and college roommate) mother. I hadn't seen Mrs. Thelen since I left Watertown. We were both sponsors for our schools and were staying in the dorm. When we began comparing room numbers we realized we were in the same room! What a coincidence! Of all of the hundreds of dorm rooms on BJ campus and we ended up together. Needless to say, we had so much fun laughing and catching up on old times. Our college roommates were wonderful . . . well, except when they made us kneel on the floor at devotions time and told us we had to recite the BJ creed. We were the talk of the hall after we "fell" for that one!


Here is my nationals "roomie." She was even excited that we were both wearing cardigans!


My next big surprise was when I looked through the competition list and saw many competitors from Maranatha Academy listed. Alysha Morris's name caught my eye because she is Angela and Dwayne Morris's daughter. I ran into Pam Logans and she informed me that Angela was on her way to Greenville. Imagine our shrieks of delight when we ran into each other in one of the speech competition rooms. I "hung out" with Angela for the rest of the day on Wednesday and was able to hear Alysha and the Logan's son sing a duet. It was beautiful.

My final highlight (oh, besides having lunch with the Joneses -- literally:) was to have lunch with three more of my very dear friends from Northland days. Here we are pictured from left to right -- Kristy, Amy Lyda Roland, Kim Gahman Daulton, Lisa Masters Zydowicz. We were sad that Kristen Jones Golson was not able to join because then our "Old Ladies' Society" would have been complete. That is what we used to call ourselves when we would play pranks and take funny pictures while working at Northland as summer staff in the early '90s. There is much more to tell, but at least this was a start. I know my mom will be happy to see new pictures -- she checks my blog faithfully every day!:)

Spring Play -- The Importance of Being Earnest

Whew! What a whirlwind of a winter it has been. After a wonderful, relaxing vacation, we returned to school in January. We had already chosen our play cast, but rehearsals began fulfledged when we returned to school. Brian coached the junior high basketball team, so we were usually practicing at the same time. We were creative with our dinners and ate before or after practice. We also tried to find time to walk at Northgate Mall before we headed home to collapse.

After about 8 weeks of practice our play finally was ready for production. The cast is shown above at dress rehearsal. Everyone was very talented and especially high-spirited.

Here is Lady Bracknell and her daughter Gwendolyn. Jack Worthing is cowering in the corner after being belittled by the confident and commanding Lady Bracknell.

These two were servants in the home of Jack Worthing. Lane the butler stole the show several times. In fact, we had quite a few audience members say they liked Lane the best.

Lady Bracknell played by senior Simone Walker had a fantastic personality and didn't let anyone get by with anything. When Jack reveals to her that he does not know who his parents are because he was found in a bag in the railway station. Lady Bracknell is not about to allow her daughter "to form an alliance with a parcel." Such a funny scene!

David Lemmon played Algernon Moncrieff who is Jack's friend and discovers the Jack has a pretty ward named Cecily Cardew who lives at Jack's home in the country. He devises a plan to go to the country to meet the lovely Miss Cardew against the wishes of his friend Jack aka Ernest.

When Algernon arrives in the country he does indeed meet Cecily and is immediately charmed by her beauty. Cecily thinks that Algernon is her guardian's brother whom Jack always told her was named Ernest.

Miss Prism played by Stephanie Baggett is Cecily's governess and has just recently become acquainted with the rector Dr. Chasuble. When the two return from a walk, they meet Jack who has word that his brother Ernest has just died of a severe chill. As they are consoling Jack, who should appear but Cecily informing Uncle Jack that his brother has arrived for a visit.

When "Ernest" or Algernon comes around the corner "Jack" or "Ernest" is in despair. It appears that both may be in trouble. However little Cecily insists that they both shake hands and get along or she will never forgive them.

Gwendolyn is engaged to Jack "Ernest" and Cecily is engaged to Algernon "Ernest" and the climax occurs in this scene when the girls discover they are both engaged to the same man "Ernest."

A delightful topsy-turvy situation continues to escalate as both men arrive and the girls discover their true identity. For the remainder of the play the audience wonders how everything will be resolved. They are not disappointed as Oscar Wilde's wit keeps everyone spell bound down to the final line of the play, "I now know the vital importance of being earnest." What a rich, vibrant, classic script!

The production was a smashing success! What a relief to see it all come together. This Thursday is the cast party at our house. I'll post pictures of the party.

Our 12 year anniversary!

I know that I haven't posted since Christmas, but the past three months have been a blur. Now things should begin to slow down. I will try to post pictures and a summary of all of the events in the next few days. Our spring break starts on Friday. . . I can't wait!

Today is our anniversary. We have had the best time remembering that special, special day. I thank the Lord for bringing Brian and I together. Our meeting and marriage were truly arranged in heaven. Thanks to our parents as well for "getting the ball rolling."