whoa

Hi all,

These past few weeks have been pretty busy. Let me tell you of a few things that went on. I'll start with Valentine's weekend. My wonderful dad came down to visit me over the weekend. He was here from Friday night until Tuesday morning. I enjoyed spending time with him and really appreciate him coming down to see me. We went to Raven Rock state park, went out to eat at Red Robin, (which I hear you northerners are getting up there, try it out, it's good!) we also went to church, watched some movies, and played a few games. Seeing my dad make the effort to drive all the way to NC just to spend a few days with me makes me realize how wonderful my parents really are. They are a true example of the love a parent should have for a child. But thinking of his love makes me think of just how much more love God has for His children. How could He love us anymore than our parents love us, or we love our children or our spouses? I don't have the answer for that but I know He does and I know I'm thankful for that love and forgiveness everyday.

The weekend after that I had some girls from Bible study come over for a girls night in.:) We ate tacos, played games, and watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2! It was a fun time to get together with the girls and to get to know them more. It also made me realize how much I love hosting things at my house. I don't get to do it often because I live so far away from everyone and I'm all alone. But I think I'm going to try to do it more often because it was way better than staying home alone on a Saturday night. There are so many women here whose husbands are deployed and we're all just sitting home alone. Why not get together and enjoy the time that we can be with our girlfriends? God is giving us that time so we should use it up.

And last, this past week was chock full of "stuff" to do.

• Monday I took dinner to a friend who had just had a baby, met with my financial adviser, saw Lindsay's new house she is renting, and was blessed to have dinner with my friend Emily. It was a busy night and I didn't get home until after 7:00 that day but it was worth it.


• Tuesday I had my bimonthly staff meeting after school then stayed and worked until Bible study which was at 7:00 so on that day I didn't get home until 9:15. Another long day.


• Wednesday I started tutoring after school, then I went to a National Board meeting from 4:15 until 6:15. Which by the way I'm working on and hopefully will be able to attain by the end of school year 2010. Teachers you should look into it. It's a big pay raise and your state should help you with some of the costs. I know in NC they pay for you to go through it and in the end it's a 12% pay increase!


• Thursday I left school asap and went on post to get my taxes done! I waited for about 45 minutes and then actually sat with the tax guy for about 2 1/2 hours! But I can't complain. Fort Bragg does them for free for military, we got a huge chunk of change back thanks to the new homeowners stimulus, and I invited the tax guy out to bible study and he seems interested! So even if it took a good part of my afternoon, it was all worth it.


• Friday (finally!) I tutored after school, then I HAD to go run. I hadn't been able to all week long and I was feeling the stress levels rise. So I did a quick run then had to get to a friend's house to babysit for the night. Unfortunately traffic in the middle of the city on a Friday night at 5:00 on payday was not very conducive to my amount of time I had to be there. So even though I got there a half hour later I still made it on time. I enjoyed watching Wall-E with the kids, playing games and just hanging out.

And now I can relax a bit. Even though all the activities kept me busy and the time went by quickly, I still like to have some down time to just sit and relax. Oh, and let me leave you with this. Steven emailed me and told me he got a new puppy! I know what you're thinking. "Isn't he in Iraq?" Yep, he said he found it around a dumpster, took it for his own, and is calling her Scout. I don't think I've seen him with such a big smile on his face since he's been there so of course it made my day and made all the worries and stresses of the week disappear. So even though Steven and I are thousands of miles apart, he can still put me in a good mood. God is good! Have an awesome week everyone!

Obama and my uncle?

I know most of you have already heard but for those that haven't yet, Barack Obama was in Elkhart, IN, about 20 minutes from my hometown, and my Uncle Ed Neufeldt gave a speech and introduced him at a meeting of 2,500 people! My uncle worked at an RV factory for 32 years and last September lost his job because they had to close their doors. I'm not sure how he became so "famous" in the midst but since then he's been interviewed by ABC News, USA Today, and the like. And when Obama came to Elkhart, D.C. asked my uncle to introduce him! My family was able to go and revel in the moment. I wish I could've been there but it was just as exciting seeing him on TV! Here are a few pictures I've gotten online and a link to a story about him from ABC News and our local tv station back home. Ed is a great man and I don't think this experience could've happened to a better person!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6837449

http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/39343072.html

Pictures of Steven

Hi all,

Not a lot has been going on with me in the past few weeks. I've been keeping busy with school, Bible study and working out a few days a week. I thought I'd post some pictures of Steven in Iraq. Some he's sent to me and others I've gotten from other people. I hope you enjoy and thanks for all your prayers!

This is Steven and some of his team members.

I'm not exactly sure what this is. It looks like a dump but could be something else.

Steven getting ready to go into the humvee.

Steven and some local kids.

Steven talking to a friend in his room.

A voter. His finger is dipped in ink when he voted.

Steven in a school room.

This is why you can sleep at night. Our United States Soliders hard at work!

My house is painted!

After about a week and a half my house is finally painted. I'm really happy with it. I love the colors in the kitchen and living area. I'm getting used to my bedroom and am not sure about the little bathroom. But overall it's nice to live in a house that has some color now!:) Here are the end results. Let me know what you think!

Where in the world is....

Kristina? You might say, Indiana? No, Alaska? No, Michigan? Nope, I'm in North Carolina! That's right. This is what it looked like outside my window on Tuesday morning. Snow was pouring down and it was beautiful. What made it even more beautiful was that school was cancelled for the day! Yeah! You never realize how great snow days are until you have them once every 4 years.:)

And as it turns out I had visitors to enjoy the snow with. Steven's aunt Robin and the family she lives with came to visit and pick up Steven's car that she will be borrowing until she finds a new one. They drove in on Monday evening and stayed until Wednesday morning. I was kind of nervous thinking I would have to go to school on Tuesday and not get to spend much time with them but God had other plans and canceled school for us! What an awesome God. And I'm so glad he did. I didn't know what it would be like having 3 little ones in the house but it was a blessing. They were all so very good and so very cute! I loved having people in the house again. It does get lonely being by yourself.

Giovanna, the youngest

Yes, those are plastic bags on her shoes, it's called improvising!




Robin and me

So on our day off we played in the snow, watched a movie, drank hot chocolate, took a daring trip to Wal-Mart! (OK, not really, even though we did see 2 cars in the ditch on our way there.) And just enjoyed each other's company. You never realize how much fun playing in the snow is until you do it with little ones. I don't remember the last time I just went outside and played in the snow.I also had a lot of free time to talk to Steven online also which made it well worth it.

Mateos and Andrielly


The three kids taking a break from the snow

That was my unexpected blessed day yesterday. How has God blessed you lately?

Coming soon...

colorful walls in my house! That's right folks. Tomorrow my house is getting painted. I'm super excited! Steven said that if he deployed I could get the house painted. So boo for deployment but yea for painting!
Today Lindsay and I went to Lowe's to pick out the paint. The living room and upstairs loft area are going to be a tan/khaki color. My bedroom and bathroom are blue. The kitchen will be a light green. And the tiny half bath is yellow. The colors all seem to flow well together. I hope everything turns out okay. I'm not sure how long it's going to take to get painted because I think just one guy is doing it. But I promise I will post pictures ASAP!

December and beyond!

I know, I know, it's been over a month since my last post and I'm really sorry. I've been super busy with the holiday season and then not having a computer while I was in Indiana didn't help much. But now I'm back, with lots to tell you.:)

As you're probably aware, Steven left on the 5th of December. It was a hard time saying goodbye. I didn't want to see him go but I knew this would be the last time I'd have to do it. After he gets back from Iraq he will be out of the Army for good! (Keep praying!) So I dropped him off at his Battalion and then went back to work on that Friday. Overall I feel like I'm doing pretty well. I've been keeping busy with school, Navigator's, and the holidays. I was kind of anxious to see if things would change once I got back from Indiana but so far so good.
Steven is now in Iraq. Not sure exactly where though, near Baghdad I think. He's keeping busy which is a good thing. Even though it means we can't keep in contact as much, I know the time is going by quicker for him.

Steven with some Iraqi kids

So for Christmas I flew home to Indiana. The weather was blistering cold when I got there but warmed up a bit and I got used to it. Negative 24 on my first Sunday but up in the 40's later on. While in Indiana I spent a lot of time with my sister, brother-in-law and my wonderful nephew Landon. He is the cutest thing ever! Notice from the pictures.:) It was so great to be with them and see how much Landon has grown in just a month's time! He smiles now and talks and even did his first laugh while I was there! I also enjoyed spending time with my parents. They are the greatest parents a child could ever have and I'm reminded of that each time I'm with them. They are the most selfless and caring people. If you don't know them, you really need to!

Cold Indiana winter!


Could he be any cuter?
Alicia and me

We celebrated a few Christmases while I was there. We did the annual Christmas Eve at my aunt and uncles house. Christmas day was at my parents house. And the Hahn/Berger/Clark Christmas was at Matt and Alicia's house. We also had our Berger Christmas at Red Lobster. Mmmm, Red Lobster. They were all great opportunities to see family members and spend some more time with them.

Sloan

Landon's baby dedication


Shh, the reindeer is sleeping!

For New Year's Eve I was invited to Amos and Jess Frye's house. We did our tournaments of Euchre, Ping pong, and Guitar Hero. I won the Euchre tournament! (Okay, so not really, it was Amos. But since it was his party I think he didn't want to take the prize. So thanks Amos!) He probably would have won the Ping Pong tournament if Jenn wouldn't have beat him in rock paper scissors.:) But I will admit that fair and square my sister won Guitar Hero! Woohoo! Who knew I had a rockstar for a sister! :) That was a fun night of hanging out and staying up until 3:30 am. I know, if you know me you know my usual bedtime is 9:00 so I was living large that night!

The gals!

Over the time at home I also spent time with the Hoover family. My best friend Amy's parents and mine spend a lot of time together and so when I'm home we usually all get together. Let me tell you, those people know how to have fun!

Amy and me

Overall, my break was very restful, entertaining, and much needed. It was hard without Steven there but I know that this will be the last one without him. Please keep praying for him and his ministry in Iraq. Thanks and I promise I will update more regularly from now on!