Work with me

I know that my posting has been sparatic and non-existant at times over these past few months.
Now I know that excuses don't change anything, but here's my explanation...

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? And that was after I had already cleaned for about three hours! So I shouldn't need to add any more to this post, but I will.

Between cleaning and organizing this house, plus the holidays and all the wedding buzz, I have not had time to keep up with my postings. I apologize and will do better as soon as life gets under control...that is when I find the computer in all this mess next time!

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, I did get that part of the house organized! See!

changes...

Life has had many changes over the last few weeks and all of them worth waiting for. I am now happiy married to an amazing man. We are busy trying to learn to listen to the meaning of each others words and not the way the words came out, finding out what foods the other hates, and enjoying the togetherness of having someone to make decisions with.

I know that it has been awhile since my last update, but give me time and I will catch you up on everything from engagement pictures to new house news to wedding fun! I have man stories to tell, but what seems like no time to tell them in! LOL

One prayer request before I go...

I am still struggling with my head injury and am trying to find a doctor in the little rock area. Your prayers would be appreciated as I try once again to start over and to find insurance, medical care, and answers.

My love to all my readers and my thanks for your patience as my life spins gloriously out of my hands!!!
Erin Kingston (just in case ya forgot!)

An Aunt Erin Kinda Day

 I love spending time with my nieces and nephews. I always try to give in to the things that mom and dad can't. We have tons of fun and learn quite a bit about each other and life.

This is my youngest niece Kate. She's eating a brownie...about 15 minutes before supper! (sssshhhhhhh! Her mother would flip! LOL)

One of those "aunt" things you can do since ya send 'em back at the end of the day anyway! Haha

McDonalds is of course the choice of supper...which thrills mom to death yet again. Not always but there are many hours of entertainment to be had at a play place when there are happy meal toys involved!

This is Maggie and Sammy...they are rocking out to the lastest songs from Francesca Battistelli. This is the calmest picture I could find, as usually rocking out involved a lot of dancing and shouting!

Josiah is in this picture "ooo"ing and "ahhh"ing over all of the army trucks at Jefferson Barracks, where I drill with the reserves. The only reason my nephew thinks I am so cool is because I have army stuff! LOL I love his face when I show up with cool stuff, like an MRE fork (just a plastic one, but its army which of course means that it is way cooler than any other one!)

Sam and Kate are helping bake cookies. Or I guess I should really say they are baking the cookies, since everyone knows that licking the beaters is the most important task of baking!

For some reason the car always looks like this (or worse) when we are heading back towards home. Sodas, candy, chips, and toys are usually to be found somewhere...but not always!

...and though it isn't required, for some reason they all look a little like this on our way home. I always feel the same way and ask one of them to drive, but they never seem to think that is a good idea...wonder why?

More than all of these fun things though, I want these children to know their aunt as someone who loves God and helps others. We might not always be out and about, having a "fun" day, but I want them to know that even in the every day drudgery chores you can have fun. I try to remind myself in my sometimes busy "adult" life that showing them adults have fun too is important. So if they want to dance around the living room in their pj's listening to the Beach Boys sing "Barbara Ann" for the 15th time, I am gonna do it with them (given I have enough breath to last that long!) because time spent is more important in the scheme of things than my "business".

I love you Kiddos! We have had some amazingly fun times together, and I know that we will have many more! I wish I could show you how much each of you mean to me, but that would be impossible! Stay close to Jesus because He is always close to you, even when I am not. All my love, Aunt Erin

DISCLAIMER: All of these event did not happen all in one day, so you other moms who read my blog need not be too upset with me!

Wedding Shower - Bethel Style

This is my closest family that isn't related to me at all. They are my church family. These ladies have watched me grow up from elementary school to now my wedding shower. They have been encouragers, prayer warriors, mothers, and friends to me throughout life's trials and blessings. I love them all dearly and was so blessed to be able to share a day with them.

This was my cake...so cute I thought!

We ate snacks, talked, played a few "shower" games...

...and I opened presents.

 Thank you to everyone who added to Brian and I's household! We are truely blessed to have so many that want to help us in our new lives together!

The shower was put together by two ladies that I look to for guidance and as examples of what Godly women should be, Dawn Kingston and Ellen Turner. Both have had a huge influence on my life, more than they will ever know. I love you both and hope that I will have the same impact on the next generation that you have had on me. Thank you! 



"my" ring

As I wrote to you when I first got engaged, Brian wanted to use the engagement ring that his father gave his mother. Momma Vickie was kind enough to allow us this pleasure. This week I was able to get it sized and it fits perfectly.

As I wear it on my finger, there is one thought that I continuously utter in prayers to my Heavenly Father...to add to my life the character traits of my mother-in-law. She is an amazing woman, who was continuously faithful to her wedding vows. Her patience and strength in the face of many great trials throughout life is an example that I want to learn from and follow. She would rather be behind the scene working than have even the smallest spot light on her. (She would hate me writing about her this way)
I pray that the Lord will use her in my life to mold me into the woman that her son needs and the person that the Lord wants me to be.

apple pickin'

I love fall....so many things to do that no other time of the year will allow.

Being burried in the newly harvested corn.

Petting and feeding the goats.

tasting each apple to make sure its just right...then setting it down and moving onto the next.

Bouncing in bounce houses.

Climbing trees

To find more apples...or better ones!

Sliding down slides.

Yet another blow up bounce house. This time with a big slide that usually creates the look Josiah has on his face.

Playing on the play ground.

This cool little teeter-totter is an airplane that someone can sit in and drive too!



Eating outdoors. Nothing like packing a good lunch of chicken nuggets and pickles. After, of course, a feast of apples during the pickin' process.

And of course the adults have to have fun too...

Don't mess with a girl whose got a pumpkin!

I love having a family that values time spent together and doesn't have to spend a lot of money to have fun.

Wedding Cake

Yesterday, I went to Harps in Little Rock to order my wedding cake. I had expected to walk and look through some books and then tell them what I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised when the worker picked up the books and led me to a table. She sat me down and told me to begin looking while she got me some cake to taste. I was thinking...a small piece of cake or two...not even close.

Out she walks with this tray!










There were five kinds of cake and three kinds of icing to mix and match.

So I am sitting there looking through three-ring binders full of pictures of wedding cakes now eating this glorious cake and thoroghly enjoying myself, when I thought...poor Brian should be involved in the process of picking what will be his wedding cake too. (Yet another thing I love about him...he is actually interested in wedding plans and quite helpful with all the details!) So I text him a couple of pictures of different designs, so that he can help me with this decision. Of course, I can't help but torture him with a picture of all the cake that I am getting to try, not sure he appreciated that much (good thing he has a sense of humor!).

This is the one that we both liked. We changed up the details and colors a little, but you will have to wait until the wedding pictures are done to see all of those.

It's the little funnies in life

While sitting at the dining room table with my sister Amanda and her husband Joe, Katherine climbs up onto a chair and says, "Aunt Erin, watch this." The above video is what I got! Now we were all rolling with laughter, when my sister does something you should never do to a newly-turned three year old...ask a question. Amanda says, "Katherine, where did you learn that?" The best part was her pointing answer...directed at her dad, Joe. Though it might not be true, the laugh Amanda and I got from her was priceless.

Not just looking...seeing

Taken by Samantha Jo Sikes

September 24th, 2011

The other day I was riding in the car with all of my nieces and nephews. Samantha Jo, who in the front seat wide awake while everyone else was sleeping in the back seat, out of the blue says, "I love those clouds. Look at how pretty they are with the light shining through them." This got me to thinking about my "seeing". So often I get caught up in my problems, ideas, needs/wants, or just life in general, that I forget to stop and look around me, to really look at what is there, to notice a flower blooming, to watch a butterfly landing, to see the beauty that God has place on this earth for us to enjoy and praise Him for.

Thank you, my Sammy Jo, for reminding me to not just look but to see things around me and praise God for His wonderful creation.

God's Plans

So many times in life we have opportunities to evaluate, but we don't take them. A few weeks ago (before all this wedding craziness!) I was packing my entire life (again!) into a box to move into a new place and a new phase.

It got pretty messy and I thought how ironic it was...

Life usually gets the messiest when we are fighting the move that God wants us to make. I wasn't very thankful for the blessing of where I was going in life. I was 26 years old and moving into my sister's basement. Now don't get me wrong, I love my sister and her family to death. It had nothing to do with who I was moving in with, but the fact that I didn't want to "need" anyone to help me. (I am just a little independent that way...lol) Because of my stuborn self, I was in, what I felt, was a mess...when really it was just another step in life. See the picture above is actually very organized. One pile goes to one place. The other gets stored in another place. There is a walk-way inbetween for convience. Looking in some would say that it is a disaster, but when the right person is in charge the "messiness" makes complete sense. When I let God decide where He wants me at that particular moment, everything seems to clear and organize and become complete and utterly amazing perfection!

Obviously, I did need that help, and I have been loving my time close to my sisters. I live with one, but see the other all the time too! We are all so close that it is hard to think of another moving date in my near future, which will put me about 7 hours away.

Until then though, I am trying to make the most of being close. I try to take time and stop my "business" to hold a toddler as she wakes up from her nap all warm and cuddlie, to help my older nieces with math (while I still can understand it!), to be an example in my actions to a boy who is fast becoming a little man of God, and to sit and talk with my life long best friends, my sisters, who have had to put up with so much because of my craziness. I couldn't ask for a better family, and I couldn't ask for a more precious time to be able to spend with them. God's plans throw us for a loop sometimes, but they are always a perfect fit for what we need.

Weekend Ministry

So this weekend was the craziest yet in the Kingston/Rudloff relationship...I went down to Arkansas and Brian went to Kansas! LOL...he was ministering to a woman that just lost her son. He made a tough choice and, after he had pulled back into the driveway after over 18 hours of driving, I realized again one of the things I love about this man. Though he didn't want to and he didn't like the idea that I was down there and he was leaving, he knew what God was asking him to do and he did it. No questions. I love the fact that I can count on my future husband to make tough choices like this. Ones that I won't always like, but in the end are beneficial to the kingdom work that we are supposed to be about and put as a priority in this life.

Even though Brian wasn't around on Saturday to spend the day with, I was able to spend the day with Bethany (the greatest thing in Arkansas...remember Brian was in Kansas!). We laughed (a lot!) and talked about every topic under the sun! We baked cookies, went to IHOP for lunch, made tacos for dinner, watched a movie with our "guys" when they got back, washed a dog...the list goes on. It was a great weekend that we were able to connect as friends...which is good since our "guys" are really good friends too. Stay tuned and I am sure you will hear a lot more about Erin and Bethany craziness!

Drawn to love...

Over the last four days, so many people have offered congratulations and blessings on Brian and I getting engaged. People I haven't talked to in years have texted, called, or emailed to tell us how happy they are for us. They all want to hear our story...how we met, why we love each other, how Brian proposed, when is the wedding. Love is one of our greatest needs as a human being. We crave it to the point that even if it is someone else's love story we want to hear it. Movies, songs, bill boards, and just about any other media of today can make a buck "selling" love. We all want to be love. We feel the pull of our heart, yearning for someone to take all of us and love every part. Forgiving our faults and encouraging our passions, we want a person to see the real person we are and still choose to love us.
God is that love. He takes the broken pieces of our past and makes us whole in his Son, Jesus. We all look for love in so many places, when it is sitting at our hearts door knocking consistantly to come in. Jesus is waiting for us to surrender ourselves to Him and His will so that He can change our story into the greatest love story ever told. Will you open your heart to love?

Not a wedding blog... :) though that would be fun!

My blog tells the story of all the happenings in my life...so though the most fun thing to talk about right now is my upcoming wedding, there are some other things that I want to share with you my readers.

I have reached a point with my head injury that my new neurologist doesn't have any other suggestions. He said we could try a more comprehensive approach because he believes that the pain is coming from psychological issues and not physical ones. If you turn back a years worth of posts, you will find that same constant thread throughout the journaling of my medical madness. Most of the doctors that I have been to have ended up at this point. Now before you start to question why I don't believe a more comprehensive approach is the answer, let me explain that most of the aspects of this approach I have done. Chiropractic measures, relaxation techniques, counseling, therapies, herbal remedies...there are very few things that have yet to be tried. This is not to say that I am not open to any and all suggestions and advice. I will gladly take any information you have.

I agree that there is a connection and our minds wellness does effect our bodies abilities. I know that God's plan is perfect and will bring glory to him. He has started a work and will be faithful to complete it, and most days I do ok with that, but here recently that has been a struggle.

I have dropped out of school for at least this semester. I was unable to complete the work and it was making my symptoms unbearable most days. So without that business around me, I find myself re-evaluating and trying to find purpose in my God and not my worldly "status". I hope that you will join me in my prayers. I am asking God for the next step with my injury, a new neurologist, and healing that only He can bring. Most of all my prayer is that no matter if He takes this problem or not, that He would use it for His honor and glory and that I will be faithful to Him no matter the outcome.

Plans Plans Plans

I feel like over the last three days (I still can't believe it has only been three days...feels like three weeks) since we have gotten engaged. We have made some decisions and still have many more to go. For now though, here is the plan...

November 5th : We will have our wedding. It is going to be in Little Rock and be a very small family event.

Now nobody panic!!!!! We are having a reception in Missouri after we are married to celebrate with all of our friends and family up here. We have a date picked, but I have to check with the church. So more to come on that!

My love

So last night was not the night I thought would change my life forever...I was simply spending time with the man I love and the next thing I knew I was engaged.
I love the way that Brian knows me so well. His proposal was sweet and totally...me! He knows how much I value family and the memories that are held within them, so he gave me one of his Aunt Dawn's ring (who is really my second momma). He is using this ring to hold the place of another special ring, his mother's. My heart melts a little each time I think about how much it will mean to wear a ring worn by such an incredible woman. She is a lady that I greatly admire and would love to be like in so many ways.
Brian and I are in the early planning stages of this new chapter, but we know that our engagement will be a short one. Brian is very busy about the Lord's work in Conway, Arkansas and I can't wait to join him in it.
When we know more details, I will let you all know. Thanks for all the prayers and support.

Medical Update

Though this isn't a very fun topic, I am going to blog about the newest info about my medical craziness.

I am still having problems with my head injury from Iraq. I have a new neurologist and he is working on getting my medicine regulated. It hasn't been going quite as well as I had hoped. He is adding some medications to my current meds.
 He has also suggested that I drop out of school for at least this semester. This will take off some of the stress and give us time to get my meds regulated which should help me be able to complete the tasks that go along with school. I am not sure that is the route that I am going to take, but I am taking a couple of days to pray about it and gather some information.
I would love for you all to join me in these days of prayer and decision that are looming ahead. God is working and I know that His plan is a perfect fit for my life. Thanks for listening!

My new stage....

Ok so I have blogged about a lot of things over the past few years....medical issues, family fun, crazy military happenings, and more. That I know of I have ever blogged about my love life, but that's about to change.

I have been talking with Brian Kingston for about two months and we have been a couple for around three weeks. He lives in Conway, AR, which is about seven hours from St. Clair. Needless to say we don't get to see each other often, but have both found ourselves on the road a little more these days. We are discovering how amazing God is when you wait on his plan for your life and let him write your love story. I couldn't have imagined a sweeter story or a better timed plan. He has truly blessed us in this relationship and we are trusting him to lead us as this relationship grows.

We are enjoying getting to know each other over the phone (good thing we both have nation wide!), but have recently been able to spend some time together with his family one weekend and then this past weekend on a church float trip.

I think the thing I find most fun is comparing Brian to my dad...shhh...don't tell him I do that! No really, they are so similiar it is funny. My sister, Meagan, took this picture of us standing down watching some kids play in the river. What the picture doesn't capture is Brian using the kids to illustrate a Biblical point to me...a quality I adore! Even when we are just relaxing and chilling, he is teaching and guiding me, helping me grow in my Christian walk.

Now we are not always being spiritual...don't get it wrong. Pretty sure that Brian is making fun of my fire building skills here. (LOL, just kidding...but I had to dig and twist somewhere or yall wouldn't know it was me.) We had a great weekend, but it ended way too soon.

Brian is pastoring a home church that meets at his house in Conway, so he had to make it back for service on Sunday. Though the weekend was short, the memories are priceless and we are just getting started.

forever....

Ok so I know that it has been forever and to be honest it is going to be just a little while longer....

I wish I had some pics to throw up here to show you all that God has been doing lately, but I have been so busy with living His crazy, wonderful plan that I forget to take pictures.

I am raiding some of my famiy and friends picture collections today, so hopefully by tonight I will hae some to show ya.

Hang on....

Prayers

Over the last few day, I have started to learn a couple of lessons. Most of which, I have been taught many times before, but I seem to forget.

These lessons are on the power of prayer. To be honest, I would love to say that during my last bout with my medical craziness that I have felt all of the prayers that I know are being offered up on my behalf. The lesson I have learned is about my prayers.

I was sitting in the emergency room pleading with God to help me in my pain that seemed to be increasing by the second. I paused for nothing other than the intensity of a pain shooting through my head. When I did, I heard a slight gasp from the bed on the other side of the curtain. What I hadn't realized in all of my groaning and crying out to God was that another person had entered the ER and was in just as much pain as I. I was taken back and humbled at the fact that I had Jesus to get me through this horrible situation that I was by myself in, yet the person in the next bed might not.

Not at all of myself, I began praying for the people around me that I could hear in pain. As I did, I felt it. Not the prayers of others washing over me, but the peace in knowing that Jesus was there and working. I found in my most desperate situation that the less I concentrated on myself and my pain, the less I felt hopeless and paniced. The more I offered up prayers for others that were hurting, the more I felt comforted and held in the arms of my Lord.

This is a continual lesson for me and one that I am sure to have to learn time and time again. I wouldn't have chosen to go through the situation that I did, but without it I would never have learned the invaluable lesson of setting yourself aside and utilizing precious pray for others.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

16Rejoice evermore.

17Pray without ceasing.

18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

School time = Spanish Time

Hola, mis estudiantes! No puedo espera a empezar para esta tiempo de leciones de espanol. 

So it is just about time to get back to school and I am picking up a few students for spanish lessons this semester. If anyone is interested, please let me know.
I do hour long lessons that are all designed according to the children that I am teaching. I am willing to teach up to six chilren at a time. I do charge for my lessons. Below are my prices and list of supplies that your child might need in my class.

Class Times available on Monday and Wednesday mornings and afternoon.

Cost:
Eight week semester: $20 for up to three children, each additional child will be $3 extra.
For a weekly payment plan: each child will be $3 a lesson.

Each child will need the following supplies:
crayons
pencils
index cards


I think that is about it. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Nature of Australia

These are just a few of the incredible flowers that fill the country of Australia with their beauty. They appear in random places, along the side walks, in the parks, and around the country side.

There are way too many to post. So here are just a few more...some are just too interesting and beautiful to leave out!



I tried to grow these in "my" garden when I was a kid...just thought it was cool to see what they were supposed to look like! LOL mine did come up, but didn't look quite this good.



Blue Mountains, Australia

These mountains were beautiful. They had legends and stories attached to many of them. To be honest they reminded me a lot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The colors and the size of the mountains make them very close in comparison to the Rocky Mountains.

I liked all of the attractions that they had for tourist there. There was a skywalk that had a glass bottom. It took you across a gorge allowing you to see everything from a great vantage point. As it pulls across the gorge, there is a guide pointing out a lot of the sights that you can see.

 

After the skywalk, we took the world’s steepest tram down the mountain. To get into the cars of this tram, you have to squat down then step in and sit. You are caged in on all sides, but the one that you climbed into the car on. There is no seat beat only a bar to rest your feet on. About a minute after you start, you realize that they didn’t put that bar there to rest your feet on. You have to stand on that bar to hold yourself up. The tram flies at a parallel angle down the side of the mountain with you practically standing within the cage to stay up right.

 

Once you make it down the mountain, you are in the Australian rainforest. The air is crisp and clean. Beautiful doesn’t describe the amazement that is felt by what you see around you. The trees are all enormous and you can’t take a step without seeing something that you just have to look at. There are trails that weave around inside of this forest. They have signs up pointing out a lot of old mining equipment that is lying on the side of the mountain. With the signs, they have left up a miner’s cabin so that you can see what most of them lived like back then. The rainforest trail ends at the platform for the cable car that takes you back to the top of the mountain.

Termite Nest!



Part of the 900 steps we decided to walk down, only to realize that we had to go right back up!

It was great to be out of the city and back in nature, a different nature than here at home. Though it was a two hour train ride, it was well worth it.

Back to our regularly scheduled program... here is the next stop on our tour of Sydney!

The Australian Maritime National was actually the one museum that we went to that had an exhibit that was American. The exhibit was a $5 million gift to Australia from the United States in 1988 to commemorate the bicentennial of the first European settlement on the continent.

They have a tunnel that you can walk into and it feelings like a submarine. They play the sounds of the sonar and have a bunk room that you can lay in and feel how small the space they have is.

They have this fun display of swim wear that have been used throughout the decades. Because the Australian culture is so rooted in water of any kind, this display was a great reflection on how much their lives change due to the trends and fashions. From the early 1910’s to the swimming suits of today, they have about 10 different styles.

 

So this has nothing to do with anything that we talked about, but it was my favorite poster in the museum! Not Uncle Sam, but just as persuasive I guess.