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By kcharles, July 30, 2010 11:17 pm

Last week we zoo-ed it up with a few of our favorite girls.  I tell ya… these 5 are fantastic.

See how proud my little one is?  She thinks the world of them.  Me also.

For this pic, the little man popped in.  See him on the right?  Keeping his distance from all the ladies with the hormones and the schemes:)

We caught a glimpse of fantastic polar bear dives.

And super-cute polar bear fans.

And I just want to say…
I’m crazy thankful for each of the girls and guys in our lives…
Who put up with us and love on our kids.

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By kcharles, July 23, 2010 12:14 pm

We introduced Sweet Pea to shaving cream this week!  See that sly smile? 

It was for painting, but her favorite canvas was definitely herself!

She LOVED this stuff!

It created an afternoon of spontaneous running, swimming, and more painting!

Clearly The Little Man wasn’t as sold on the medium.  He wanted nothing to do with such antics!  But overall a fantastic afternoon for less than a dollar:)

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By kcharles, July 20, 2010 11:51 pm

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
   All your waves and breakers have swept over me.

There is something about the Atlantic that centers me. 

Its waves are wild and unmanageable and welcoming.  One cannot sneak into their grasp.
You tackle them in full sprint or you get out of the water cause its just not worth the cold.

I grew up on this coast.  Searching for shells.  Buried in the sand, with salty air in my lungs.
I grew up under the breakers, carried by an unleashed power beyond my ability to control.

If you were to ask me what I love about my Jesus, I would say…

I adore how He swept me into redemption
And how He frees me to live under the crashing surf 
With energy, danger, and purpose here;  hope as I’ve never seen.

Thoreau said, “You must live in the present and launch yourself on every wave.”
Looking back, I can see that those breakers were never haphazard after all. 

By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me… for I will yet praise Him, 
My Savior and my God.  (Ps 42)

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By kcharles, July 17, 2010 10:57 pm

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone,
but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. 
~Martin Luther

We happened upon that gospel in fields of green

With tart berries red

With sweeter berries blue
And we again fell in love.

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By kcharles, July 15, 2010 9:49 pm

Paul and the team returned from the Dominican and Haiti on Monday.  Their trip was amazing.  So many stories of hope and healing.  And so many more to tell.  I look forward to hearing more:) 

For now, check out Paul’s photo blog to see his photographs.  They are incredible!

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By kcharles, July 4, 2010 9:44 pm

“I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.”

~Simone de Beauvoir.

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By kcharles, July 3, 2010 11:51 pm

Hey ya’ll!

The kids and I are hanging out in New England for the week.  It’s been bliss already!
Red Sox Games, Clamcakes, Carousels, Parks, Parades, Beaches, Dell’s, and mainly hanging with the fam.  Time together is sweet:)

While we party, relax, and eat too much seafood (our kids love octopus!), Paul heads to the Dominican on a missions trip.  EEEK!  He has been planning this trip for months.  It’s hard to believe it’s here. 

He and the team will be visiting old friends, supporting the Dominican church in Santiago, providing a VBS for kiddos, and heading into Haiti, among other things. 

I would really cherish your prayer for them.  For safety, growth, flexibility, wisdom, creativity, LOVE LOVE LOVE.  Everything, really. 

Our favorite man is there, which is why we’re here.  (Trying to keep occupied.)

Follow their stories here.   They will be incredible, I just know it.

Much Love,
Kristin:)

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By kcharles, June 19, 2010 12:05 am

This blog I suppose is a good reflection of haphazard me.  Random and all over the place and lost in laundry and buckets of sand.  I left France.  Returned with a post or three.  Ran a race.  Got found by life.  And intend to post more April photos in November or maybe not.

And so it goes….Thank you, friends, for coming along.

For now, I just have to tell you about our yesterday.  The youth group headed to Cedar Point and the kids and I tagged along with Paul.   Practical Me was concerned about over-stimulation and age-appropriate activities, but somehow the Meager Fun Side squashed the Other to smitherines. 

As with any amusement park, there were high thrill rides roaring above us at deafening speeds.  There were moms pushing strollers, eleven year olds dribbling their prized basketballs, and masses of crazed humanity sweating in long lines with slushies.  There were also people who probably should have been wearing clothes.

For Selah and Adden, it was our day together for the sole purpose of play.   They ran and jumped with sunburned grins and arms propelling them from kiddie car to kiddie jeep to kiddie helicopter.  It was all the same circular ride, but from their delight you wouldn’t know it.   

Food fare of the day served up munchkins, hot dogs, fries, pizza, and green Pepsi.  It’s a special day when the watered down daily cup of apple juice gets trumped by green Pepsi.  I have never seen Adden move so many limbs at once after two sips of the good stuff.

There was Snoopy on Ice and Extreme Bikes and Boards.  There was a brave little girl who jumped into her first real roller coaster and climbed out with a trembling lip.  There was even a bird, beak stuffed with fodder for a nest, who came to perch next to us on a bench. 

Maybe I’m emotional (yes).  Maybe I’ve got a thing for birds (oddly so).  Maybe I just really loved our day together (yes, yes, yes).  But in that quiet amidst the crazy moment, we found a bird building a home. 

And it hit me that we were building a home even in this place.  In crazy life together, wherever that may happen.  With this smile and that tear.  With all that we’ve dreamed and nothing like we would have imagined.   From miles away, we were collecting scraps of  beauty amidst relationship. 

Today sure was one fantastic scrap.

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By kcharles, May 9, 2010 11:44 pm

 I finished my first 5K this morning! 

Here’s me before the race.  I’m psyched to be here….

we’ve had little sleep (Adden was sick through the night!)
but we’ve found parking, Paul’s parents are watching the kiddos (too cold for a sick guy!)
Paul is cheering me on 
and there is an electric atmosphere here:

35,000 people on behalf of someone else
running in honor, in memory, and in celebration of wives, moms, friends, sisters, aunts…
and there are strong and beautiful survivors

My run was great! 

Considering all things:  the sleep, cold, haphazard training, the hills!
And the walkers.  I got stuck behind a few hundred walkers, but oh well. 
I suppose I looked like a speedster in comparison.  (and I’m not that!)

The most incredible part was the last half mile. 
There were HUGE CROWDS!  Crowds of people lining the streets cheering us on!
I knew I would cry at the finish line, but I didn’t anticipate tears with a half mile to go.

All I could think of was the great cloud of witnesses I’ll see one day. 

I did it!  The final time was 31:03. 
And I exceeded my goal of fundraising, with $180!  Thank you friends!

Looking forward to many more races to come!

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By kcharles, May 8, 2010 9:47 pm

I’ll run my first 5K tomorrow.  How am I feeling you may ask?  Crazy excited and completely freaked out. 

I’ve done as much training as I have been able, which is to say not much.  One should probably not gallavant to Europe  weeks before the race and train with buttery croissants, chocolates, and 7 course meals. 

Nevertheless, I clocked 30:11 upon my return – my fastest time yet!  Just eleven seconds shy of my goal.  Maybe a new strategy to consider?

Whatever the outcome – I am going to do my best.  I’m running with 35,000 others, the biggest race in all of Pennsylvania.  Yikes!

Here are some of my concerns:

Getting trampled by really long-legged fast people.
Running in a sleepy haze . 
Frostbite – lower 30’s – really, in May?

Disappointing Running Woman (my sister-in-law Ashley- she’s the real runner/my coach!)
Getting lost.  (A valid concern unless I strap a GPS to my body.)  This race better be well marked!
Making it to church on time! 

Parking  (that’s Paul’s concern)
Hurling over the finish line and frightening small children.

Here is why none of them matter:

I am healthy and strong. 
I feel God’s pleasure when I run.  I can worship with each stride.
This run directly supports breast cancer education, screening, research, and treatment.

Two of my closest friends have fought/are fighting this battle with their moms. 
It’s what I can do to love them…
And honor the beautiful women who have made them who they are.

I’m rather emotionally attached.
I can do this thing, whatever the outcome.  See you at the finish!

If you would like to support me, please click here.

Thanks, friends!  Much love!
Kristin