klappyanne's Xanga

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:19:15 GMT

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry CHRISTmas! I know I’m cutting it short 2 days before Christmas, but we took such a cute Christmas picture, I might as well write the letter to go with it, right? We hope this season brings you closer to your family, friends, and the things that truly matter in this life. How blessed we are to be able to say “Immanuel!” our God is with us!

This last year and a half or so has been a trying one for us, but this Christmas we are blessed to celebrate the redeeming work God has been doing in our lives the last few months! I will try to summarize briefly –

The beginning of the year brought Dan a second job leading worship at Christ First Baptist Church of Covina, which was a blessing since I was still out of work. Dan enjoyed conducting an adult choir and leading a worship band every week. We met and got to work with dear people there, but the load of working 60+ hours a week was certainly trying on my hubby!

Then in the summer, I was unexpectedly and quickly hired at Azusa Pacific University in the Alumni Office as the events coordinator! This came at just the right time, after finding out Dan’s school district would be making more budget cuts in the fall. I love my new job, and feel very blessed to be in such a great environment like APU everyday.

In August, Dan and I had a very groovy 30^th birthday party together. Held in our backyard with a 70’s theme, we had a blast with family and friends. Thanks to all who came!

The fall brought Dan to working on his Master’s Conducting Recital – coordinating over 40 volunteer musicians, selecting and researching music, rehearsing weekly and putting a superb program together. As most of you know, it was an outstanding evening. His hard work paid off, and I couldn’t be more proud of him! (Is he now done with his Master’s, you ask? Almost – he must still finish his Thesis paper and take comprehensive exams in the spring, but let’s just say the hardest part is over.)

In November, Dan and I made a tough decision to step away from Christ First, and take a year of rest from all outside ministry. We have both been heavily involved in all kinds of ministry since before we were married, and we came to a mutual agreement that we needed a break. We will miss the Christ First family, but we know we are still “ministering” at our jobs daily, and it’s time for us to take a break from other activities for a while.

This leads us to the most exciting part of 2009 – B-Hawk! (That’s short for Baby Hawkins, BTW.) What will we do with all our free time next year? Well, have a baby, of course! We are so thrilled at God’s perfect timing – our bundle of joy will arrive in late May – just in time for Dan’s summer break to correlate with my maternity leave. We look forward to all the joys and challenges this new baby will bring into our lives!

Thank you for sharing in our lives! We pray you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating our Savior’s birth this week!

In Christ,

Dan and Kristi Hawkins

I like Thursday night TV.

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:55:52 GMT

Wow, I haven't blogged in a long time. Today, as I was reading all my friends' blogs, I realized something. My friends who have kids blog way more than I do. And they blog about their kids. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!)

Now the reason this is a profound thought is because I'm going to have a kid of my own soon. (I think the 4 of you that actually read my blog already know this.) Does that mean I'll have more to blog about in 6 months because I'll only blog about my kid? On the one hand, It'll be exciting to have something to blog about all the time, but on the other hand, I don't want to be that mom that can ONLY talk abot her kid, ya know? I guess I'm just disappointed tonight that my life isn't more exciting or that my thoughts aren't profound enough to be blogworthy on a regular basis.

Other random thoughts from me on this Thursday night:

- Today was the first day someone looked at me and said, "I didn't know you were pregnant! Congratulations!" I guess this means I'm officially showing.

- I'm excited for the 6th season of Lost. Less than 2 months to go!!

- Dan is completely addicted to Super Mario Bros. Wii. Thanks a lot, Semsen. (Yes, it's fun, but we secretly enjoy playing it by ourselves more than playing it together.)

- I'm having a hard time sleeping these days because my legs fall asleep and get numb in the middle of the night. Apparently this happens to a lot of pregnant women, and there aren't any known cures for it, but it's really, really annoying.

- Is anyone else sick of hearing abou Tiger Woods? The older I get, the more I am convinced that no one is immuune to the downfalls of fame. I wouldn't wish fame on anyone.

- It seems that there's this trend right now on APU's campus to be a pacifist. This subject is for another blog, I suppose, I have a lot to say on the subject.

- Almost time for Bones and The Office! That means good bye for now...

I can't help it...

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:37:46 GMT

...I don't have kids yet, so bear with me.

Coda graduated Puppy School!

After 8 weeks of learning new commands, making new puppy friends, and being the star of the class, Coda passes his class with flying colors!

He has the "Go to bed" command DOWN.

I had to tell him to "stay", and walk all the way to the other end of the store. Again, ROCKED IT!

This is Ginger, Coda's new bulldog girlfriend. She was very forward and kissed him! He didn't seem to mind.

And...Ta DA!! The graduating class. His hat was too big for his head, so I had to hold it there. Now am I just biased, or is he not the cutest one in the class? Good job, buddy. Now if we can just get you to stop chewing the cat's ear...

NEMO!!

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:11:04 GMT

The latest creation is due to the fact that adorable 2 year olds get obsessed with certain Disney characters. :)

Obama's Facebook News Feed -

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:27:31 GMT

This is funny...he, he...

http://www.slate.com/id/2224422/?from=rss

Dah, da da da, dah!!

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 23:56:28 GMT

The Wedding Cake...

It took a week to make, but I'm pleased with the way it turned out! I wouldn't have personally chosen the peacock feathers, but hey - the bride gets whatever she wants!

From Eternity to Here

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:29:50 GMT

I have to be honest. I'm not actually done with the book yet. But I have read most of it, which means I can mostly blog about it, right?

From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola - "Rediscovering the ageless purpose of God"

The back of the book says, "The sweeping story of God's eternal plan". In my strengthsfinder results, one of my top strengths is "connectedness", so I happen to love meditating on the "big picture" in life...God's big picture.

I am also a hopeless romantic. So the first section, "A Forgotten Woman: The Bride of Christ", focuses on the love story between Christ and His bride. And it's romantic. It has reminded me that all our romances here on earth captivate us so much because they are all just a glimpse of the TRUE love we're longing for.

Part two is called "An Eternal Quest: The House of God" This section focuses on God's quest for an eternal home - not just a place to dwell. A home is where you live, where you communicate with your family, where you rest, where you express your truest self. Here, the author discusses how God has built Himself his home throughout the entire Bible.

Part three is called "A New Species: The Body of Christ and the Family of God" Although I haven't finished this section, it seems to focus on Christ - how He is wholly other than us, but how He calls us as Christians to be "wholly other" as well. I like stories with happy endings, and because I know the Bible ends well, I have no doubt this book will end happy as well.

The good news: I love the reminder that God has a grand scheme and purpose in life. In the day to day, it is easy to forget that. I like the author's points, and he brings up some intriguing ideas to think about.
The bad news: This author is a bit long-winded. I feel he could communicate his points more concisely. So although I love the points he's making, it causes me to want to skim the book instead of chewing every last bite.

Well, there it is...my thoughts for what it's worth! If you read the book, let me know what you think of it!

If you wanna know more - I'm supposed to post this:

The following bloggers are posting a review or Q & A with Frank Viola on his bestselling book FROM ETERNITY TO HERE today, Tuesday, July 21st. You may order the book at a discount at www.FromEternitytoHere.org – it’s also on audio book. Free discussion guide, sample chapters, interviews, and a free audio of the first chapter are available on that site also. Here are the bloggers who are participating:

Jay Becker - www.jaybecker.org
Mark D - http://deadmanstravelog.blogspot.com
Igniting Hearts - Kimber Britner - http://www.ignitinghearts.blogspot.com/
Karyn - http://tiger-kar.blogspot.com
Barefoot Preacher - http://thebarefootpreacher.blogspot.com
Every Day Angels - www.WeAreEverydayAngels.com
FaithEngineer - http://www.faithengineer.com
Kristen Schiffman - http://dancinginthemargins.typepad.com/
CrossPointe: The Church at Bevo - http://churchatbevo.blogspot.com/
Crazy Love for God - crazyloveforgod.blogspot.com
Amazima Ministries - oatsvallteam.blogspot.com
Down to Write Honest - http://downwritehonest.com
A Beautiful Mess - http://blnorth1105.blogspot.com/
The Blakes on a Mission - www.theblakesthailand.blogspot.com
Words by Jud Kossum - http://judkossum.blogspot.com
Eric Jaffe - http://www.ericjaffe.org
Reconnect with God – www.Reconnectwithgod.org
2nd Cup of Coffee - http://www.2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com
Nolan Bobbitt Website - www.nolanbobbitt.com
Klappyanne - www.xanga.com/klappyanne
Daveingland - http://www.daveingland.com
Randi Jo Rooks - http://seedsinmyheart.blogspot.com
Ephesians Five – http://ephesiansonefive.blogspot.com
Michael Bayne - http://www.michaelbayne.net
Encounter Church Helena Blog - encounterhelena.org
Thoughts B4 Conviction N2 Action - tsharrison.blogspot.com
Edevotion - http://www.e-devotion.blogspot.com
Seeking After - http://seekingafter.blogspot.com
Eric Powell - www.encounterhelena.org
Borrowed Light - http://fbcnewlondon.blogspot.com

My Awesome 30th Birthday -

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 03:50:20 GMT

I can't believe I'm not in my 20's anymore! But instead of whining about it, I'm gonna tell you how awesome my weekend was...

So my hubby took me to Carpintaria this weekend to celebrate. It was super, super great. We got there late Friday afternoon, hung out at the beach for about an hour, then went to dinner. We tried to swim in the heated hotel pool, but alas, Kristi the wimp still couldn't handle the chill out of the water. (Seriously, I can't wait to someday have hot flashes.)

While at the pool, there was another family there - two young kids, probably about 4 and 6, and thier parents - whose father was smoking at a non-smoking facility, around his kids. Anywhoo, the reason I mention it is because apparently their room was right next to ours. And apparently the children didn't have a bed time on vacation because they were screaming and bouncing well into the evening. But the real fun came at about 10:30 pm when the Fire Alarm (directly across from our door in the hall) was pulled. By some kids. For no reason. And it took the Fire Dept. a good 30 or 40 minutes to turn it off. But the fun didn't end there - oh, no - then the smoking dad next door took the next hour to yell at his kids for pulling the alarm. (Why exactly were his young children in the hallway by themselves at 10:30 at night?) Needless to say, it was an eventful evening. But no worries - Saturday took a turn for the better...

We drove to Santa Barbara and rented a 2-seater bike/buggy thing and rode along the beach for an hour before lunch - it was beautiful!

Then we went to CPK - one of my favorite places - for lunch. They give a decently-portioned sundae for your birthday, and they don't sing to you! Kristi liked.

THEN I did something CRAZY. Well, crazy on the Kristi scale...not really crazy. I went and got my ear pierced spontaneously. It hurt, but totally worth it.

Then we drove back to Carpinteria to enjoy the beach a bit more - one of the top ten beaches in the country, and now we know why! Perfect weather, a perfect day. We ended the day by stopping at the Camarillo outlets on the way home where I got a new outfit for work. Thank You, Jesus, for a beautiful birthday with my hubby, for a blessed 30 years, and I thank all of YOU for the birthday wishes you left me! Good, good weekend...always over too soon!

Yay for APU!!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:36:25 GMT

Breaking News! I am now officially the Alumni Chapter Events Coordinator at Azusa Pacific University! WooHoo!

What that really means...I help plan all the big Alumni events like Homecoming and the Dinner Theatre, and I oversee all the Southern California Alumni Chapters (Orange County, Pasadena, IE, etc.). And so far, I LOVE it!

What this means for all you APU Alums out there -
- Come by for a visit! Stop by the office and say hello - we love to see familiar faces and catch up with people. Our office is always open to you!

- I would love your updated contact information. It's always a challenge for our office to stay updated with Alums...we can't let you know all the cool stuff we're doing here at the 'ol hub if we don't have your current information. So just email (khawkins@apu.edu) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/klappyanne) me your recent info and we'll add you to the cool people list!

- I need your opinion and feedback. What kind of Alumni activities would you personally attend? What would get you excited to either come to a chapter event or come back to the school for a visit? How does our generation do this whole keeping-in-touch thing? (Well, you know, beyond cyberspace...)

Looking forward to hearing from ALL of you guys - thanks for letting me ramble for a minute! Hope you're all well - talk to me soon!

Blessings,
Kristi Hawkins

Interesting Video

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:53:38 GMT

This video challenged me. On the one hand, I'm shocked that our president announced to a middle-eastern country that we're not a Judeo-Christian nation anymore, but on the other hand, I don't really believe a nation or government can "be" any religion. Individuals can be Christ followers, governments and institutions...not so much. Reading Jesus for President challenged me to separate the two. I hear what he's saying that our nation was founded on Christian principles though, and for that I am very grateful! But I am sad that our own president is challenging the idea. What do you all think?