"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!