Who Says You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks? :)

When I get excited I tend to point my toes.

The origin of this quirk can be traced back to a childhood full of gymnastics. I was on a pretty intense competitive gymnastics team for quite a few years and our training was sometimes too intense for 10 year olds looking back on it. They would put mats on our feet and then sit on them for a while to make us point our toes better. When Garret heard about this, he exclaimed, "Where did you do gymnastics? Korea!?" Haha. It didn't seem odd at the time, but now it seems like a little much. It seems that each day I lose some of the skills I once had and it is not often at all that I get to learn a new trick :)

Last night while celebrating the lovely Jessica Collin's 22 birthday, she decided to place her wine glass on my pointed toes, and alas, it stayed.

So here is my new trick I guess... balancing wine glasses on my toes? Haha.

Who say's you can't teach an old dog a new trick?

The Philatelist

While some people cringe at the thought of being put "in a box" and classified as a certain type of person, I find it exciting. I tend to fit into those little boxes quite nicely (although there are times when they can't seem to find a word to explain some of the quirky things I do). I just can't seem to get enough of those Personality tests and quizzes that give you four letter combinations (ISTJ...in case you were wondering) or colors, or animals! How exciting to learn more about who you are and to find that you are not entirely and completely offbeat in your seemingly abnormal tendencies.

Well today I have found a new word. Not a test or a quiz. But a wonderful wonderful word that describes a fairly recent hobby.

philately |fəˈlatl-ē|noun- the collection and study of postage stamps.

DERIVATIVES philatelist- noun: one who collects stamps

Soo.... In case you were wondering (with my stamp collection reaching the daunting number of 400)...

I am now a philatelist. And I like the sound of that.

Three Weeks

Elias- "The Lord is my God"

Today we were blessed with our third week with Elias David Leland. His little personality is starting to come out and we are excited to get to know him as he grow up. My prayer is, as his name means, that he would grow up and the Lord would be his God and Elias would make God's Name known in all the world.

I am so in love with this boy.

I am so blessed to have his momma in my life. Love her :)

Yawning? Screaming? Either way it's adorable :)

This is just amazing. God has already blessed us in SO many ways through this little man. His smiles bring us joy and remind us that God is so good.

Three Weeks old and he is already bringin on the Blue Steel

Farmer John in his giant overalls :)

With Uncle Lui

This woman is beautiful inside and out. Elias is a lucky man.

The Night of 100 Pies

The Occasion: Brett Vowell's Birthday

The Mission: Bake 100 little pies!!!

Mission: Accomplished :)

We call this, The Domestication of Kristina Osborne (Part 1)

domesticate |dəˈmestiˌkāt|verb [ trans. ] (usu. be domesticated)• make (someone) fond of and good at home life and the tasks that it involves

I don't doubt that this will be a long process. I don't bake cookies; I eat them. I do, however, have the urge to learn this love for the things of "home life", especially after watching the roomies bake such marvelous things. Here is my first attempt.

I will admit that it was definitely a rocky start, but by the end I was killin it! :)

Eggs courtesy of Bradyn's chickens

I just LOVE this woman. Love her.

Thank you Jess for ruining this perfectly good picture of me and Brady.

Kristina vs. the Can Opener... Part 1 (the can won)

Total pie count: 95

Quite a pleasant first friend picture if you ask me :)

Ashamed to say...

I am ashamed to admit that the Mother Teresa commemorative Postage Stamp has been out for almost a month now (came out on Aug 26th-Mo T's bday in case you were wondering) and I still do not possess one- or 50 of them :)

For those who don't know, I have two pretty big obsessions (along with my deep love for Jesus Christ):

-Mother Teresa (or commonly referred to as "Mo-T" by yours truly)

-Postage Stamps (it might sound odd for someone to be obsessed with postage stamps. Obsessed is a pretty intense word. I know. And yet, I still claim obsession)

I have been collecting Postage Stamps for about 2 years and I only have about 100 legit ones from places like: Kenya, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Rome, China.. with images such as Hitler and Stalin faces gracing them.

You would think when two of my loves collided (a Postage Stamp of Mother Teresa) I would be ALL OVER IT! I had an alarm set on my phone to go off on the day it came out just so I'd remember. But here I am almost a month later with out a stamp. And the truth is, I don't even have a good reason for not having it yet.

I should change this.

To-Do for this weekend:

GO TO POST OFFICE AND BUY MO-T's STAMP!!! :)

Being a collector- if you will- is a new hobby in life and I must say I rather enjoy have a quirky thing to obsess over such as postage stamps... Plus... a 42 cent hobby aint that bad for a college kid.

Elias David Leland

September 12, 2010

Today I saw God in the eyes of a tiny baby boy. He has captured my heart and I will love and cherish him forever. He is so beautiful and I was so blessed by today.

"For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You because I have been fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know this very well"

Psalm 139:13:14

Proudly parented by Isaac Leland and Lauren Spencer :)

Coffeehouse

Coffeehouse 2010

As my roommates are cramming on their Nursing homework, I am just kickin it like a Senior Liberal Studies Major who is taking 12 units would kick it.... IE... I am looking through my iphoto library and processing how the year has begun. I am beyond excited to be working in the Office of Spiritual Life again. I can already tell that this is going to be a year of growth.

Our first (and biggest) event of the year- COFFEEHOUSE- happened the night before classes started one week ago today. The live music, $1000 worth of prizes, free candy, coffee, cookies, and books brought the students out of their rooms and into community. A successful event is hard to define... attendance? Sign-up sheets? Smiles? :) I have already been approached by some students about homeless ministry for this year so I give the event an A+... It is my prayer that students would grasp God's plan for their lives and commit to ministry in the here and now.

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us? And if Our God is with us, then what could stand against?