Lori's Bridal Shower

This Weekend was SO much fun!! Friday night, my friend Melodie drove in from Arkansas. And Lori flew in from Louisiana. We all met in St Joe and spent the night in a hotel and just stayed up forever talking. We had a blast! She is getting married in January!! :) So, Saturday morning we had a Bridal Shower for Lori here in Kansas City! It was a blast! We also went to her personal shower. Here are a few pictures from the Bridal Shower. Enjoy!

Passing the Mantle Conference '07

Ok.....so Passing the Mantle Conference.....was AMAZING.... Not even gonna lie!!! It started Thursday night and Pastor preached...and it was more geared to the "younger generation". But it was amazing and he of course did a really good job. Friday night....worship was out of this crazy world. IT ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After service, we hosted "The Feast"...for singles Ages 18-36. It went really good and we had almost 40 people come! Saturday night worship was also amazing...sang a new song..."Redeemed"..It was awesome! And right after worship and before Gateway ensemble sang..Pastor had everyone the age of 30 and younger to come up to the altar area and all the ministers went to the platform and prayed for everyone...that the mantle would be passed to us....and that we would receive it and commit ourselves to working for God. It was an amazing moment. There was about 200 or more that went up there. Today, was amazing. There were tons of people that got healed. For worship we sang, "Praises", "All For Love" which was amazing, and another one...and Gateway chorale sang a couple of songs. The service was awesome. In the middle of the preaching Bro Stoneking said that he felt he needed to pray for the sick. And that was the end of the sermon...it just broke out into a big altar call. There was an AMAZING touch of the power of God that just fell in that place!!!! This was an amazing moment and I will NEVER forget this weekend!

***These pictures are all that I got....there will be more to come as I gather some from other people!***

Weekend in Tennessee!

This weekend, I was able to go spend the weekend with one of my best friends, Jennifer! We had alot of fun and had some very relaxing time together! :) Friday night after I flew into Nashville we went to the Opryland Hotel. WOW!!! It is absolutely amazing! If you are ever in Nashville....you have to go see this hotel....it is a must!!! lol It was like a mall and a forest all in one!! haha Then we saw the Opry House and walked around there for a little while. We had quite the adventure back to her house! ha It was a pretty long drive and we kept "seeing" things....so we thought! haha Glad we made it there safe! Saturday we slept in a little bit and ate at Chic-fil-A.....YUM!!! We don't have those here in Kansas City. Then we took a drive up into the Smokey Mountains! WOW! It was sooo beautiful!!!! This weekend was the first of their peak season! The colors were so vibrant and amazing!!! I think we even crossed the North Carolina border in the mountains!! LOL We were so relaxed on the drive back down the mountains that we were getting very sleepy! ha Sunday, we went to church then drove back to Nashville to catch the flight. Before we went to the airport we went to Centennial Park...which was also beautiful!! I had a great time and am so thankful for Jennifer! She is one of the best!!! Love you sis!!

Surprise!

So, our friend Venita turned 30 this past January. And she made the statement that she was going to celebrate all year long! lol So, her sister Michelle threw a Surprise Birthday Party for her! LOL So, last night, we celebrated her 9th month of being 30! haha

Leaving for Africa...

Monday, October 1st..brought many tears. Both happy and sad tears. The Cantrells left for Africa....for 1 year...doing Missions work. I am so happy for them but I was so sad to see them go. They are now there and getting settled in. I miss them soooooo much. I love you guys. This was one of the hardest things ever. We were all bawling at the airport. But I know great things are going to come of them being there and I can't wait to hear about it!! (These pictures are a collection of their last week in the States).

General Conference '07, Tampa Florida

This past week I was able to go to General Conference!! It was in Tampa, Florida. We had SO MUCH FUN!!!! The services were amazing and we saw TONS of people that we knew...and met knew friends as well!! Between Linda and I we had over 500 pictures! haha So I'm obviously not going to put them all up but here are alot of them! I am so glad I got to go. We were able to go to Clearwater Beach one morning, while we were there. It was amazing!! The sand was just so soft and white. Enjoy the pics!

Sad Day...

So, today was one of the saddest days of my life. Not even gonna lie. I don't even know where to start. The Cantrell family is leaving for Africa...for a year. For those of you that don't know them, they are a family in our church. But they are more than this to me. This is my family. I have known them since I grew up in the youth group and have always been close to them...but even more so now that I am an adult. My emotions have been and are very mixed. I am sooo incredibly happy and excited for them and completely sad all at the same time. I am estatic for them because I know they are completely in God's will and I know that great things are going to come out of this! I can't wait to hear all of the stories and things that God is doing over in Africa while they are there. I am going to miss them sooo much. I don't know what I'm going to do. We were always together, always doing something.

Ken and Gin: Where do I begin? You guys have seen me at my worst and at my best. You have seen me in the lowest of the lowest of valleys and you encouraged me. You have watched me grow in Him and doing things my dreams never imagined. You have always been there for me. Thank you for your love, your support, your prayers, and your friendship. Ken, you've always called me your other daughter. Gin, sometimes we have a mother day and sometimes daughter days. lol

Jonathon: *Sigh* My brother and best friend. What am I going to do without you? Who am I going to cruise the city with listening to Michael Buble and a little jazz mix? Walk in the park, heart to heart talks on the front porch, going to church, praying in the altar, taking stupid crazy pictures...lol The list can go on forever. I feel like I should be going with you guys because it doesn't seem right that we have to all be apart for so long. I know I could tell you anything and no matter what it is, you would always be there for me.

Jen: We have been friends since we were like 12. I know we haven't been able to do as much together over the last couple of years...but I love you just the same. You are always so sweet and always want to have fun! I love having heart to heart talks with you. Who am I gonna bring in the New Year with? lol

So, now that I am completely sobbing, I need to go grab a kleenex. lol I know the year will go by quick...I just want you guys to know that I love you soooo much!!!! And I miss you already...trying to remind myself its only a year....its not forever!!!! And can't wait to hear what God is doing in the good ole Safari land! Have fun with your family this week and I'll see you as soon as we get back from General Conference. I miss you already!

Love you
Always,
Kris

PS...Pictures to come...

TLC Missions Conference 2007

This past weekend, we had our annual Missions Conference at church. It was amazing!! We had alot of people that dressed up! We had different booths representing different regions of the world and had different food in each region. It was awesome! And we had a awesome turnout!!! Enjoy the pictures!!

Royals vs. Yankees

So, tonight I went to the Royals Game. I was so excited! I really could care less about ball games but I like to watch them every once and awhile. I have NEVER been to a Pro Ball Game before but have been wanting to go for a LONG time! We had SOOO much fun!!! The Yankees won by 1 point! We didn't end up getting any pics of us at the game. :( Maybe next time! There were fireworks after the game too! They were amazing! That is the best view of fireworks I have ever had in my life! It was awesome!!! Enjoy the pics!

Wedding Shopping with Lori!!!

So, my friend Lori is in town and we went Wedding Shopping yesterday!!! We had sooo much fun!!!! We went to David's Bridal and she tried on wedding dresses and I tried on bridesmaids dresses! It was a blast!!!

Labor Day Weekend, Part 3

Monday was amazing!!! Christina, Jonathon, and I went to Union Station and Crown Center..we had so much fun!!! We were there for forever....but we just hung out and chilled, ate lunch, and just did whatever we wanted! It was awesome!!! Then that night, my friend Aundi was in town from Louisiana, So Kacey and the rest of us all went out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory! YUM!!! It was a great weekend!!

Labor Day Weekend, Part 2

On Saturday night of Labor Day Weekend, Sarah and I went to dinner at The Mango Room and then went to a play. The restaurant was awesome!! We had Fried Green Tomatoes for our appetizer and had an awesome dinner!! The play was a little disappointing but it was fun to hang out!
...More pictures to come...

Labor Day Weekend, Part 1

I had a great Labor Day Weekend! Sarah and I were supposed to go to St. Louis for the weekend, but with my foot the way it is (it's getting better) and Sarah had some things come up, we decided not to go. Sooo...Friday night, I decided to go up to the Cantrells (my second family) and just hang out, and I ended up staying there that night. Saturday morning, we got up and hung out. We went to this cool farm and on the way there, we had a picture fest in the car! haha We had a blast!!! I'm going to miss them so bad! They move to Africa in like 3 weeks. I love you guys!

I fainted!!!

So, Saturday evening my sister, Darla, and I were having a couple of friends over for dinner and we decided to grill out. YUM! Well, we had gone up and down our back porch steps several times messing with the grill and taking stuff in and out. Well, Darla was messing with the grill trying to get the flames up and going and I was standing there talking to her (on the top step) and out of nowhere the steps just collapsed!!! Yes, while I was ON them! So I'm screaming as I'm falling flat out. I tried to get up and couldn't. Darla was also trying to help me get up but I couldn't hardly move. Then she saw my foot and it had immediately bruised and it was black and blue. It was HUGE!!! It looked like someone placed a boiled egg on my foot!! So we finally managed to get myself up off the ground and hopped back up to the house level. I was just sitting there but I felt queezy. So, Darla went and got me a glass of water and turned the fan on. When she got back and gave me the water, I fainted on her!!! So down I go again!! Good thing it was from the sitting position that time! So Darla finally woke me up and when I 'came back too' I couldn't figure out why Darla was yelling my name and why I was in her lap and everything. lol So she laid me out on the floor and then I was okay. Whew! So, now I'm just hopping along everywhere because it's hard to walk. Especially with a big ole bandage on it. Anyway, thank God it wasn't any worse than it is. I'm probably going to go to the Dr tomorrow just to make sure I didn't fracture anything. If you see the picture...you can tell where the whole top and part of the side of my foot is one big bruise! Ouch!! It looks tons better than what it did!

**UPDATE** September 7, 2007- My foot is doing alot better. The pain has reduced and the swelling has gone down even more! I thought I was going to have crutches, but thankfully not! Thank God its getting better! Can't wait till its all the way better!!

Ashlyn's 12th Birthday Party

My niece, Ashlyn, just had her 12th birthday this past week..and she celebrated this weekend and had a slumber party! I wasn't able to be there but my sister sent me pictures. I called over there and you could tell the girls were just having the time of their lives! They were screaming and yelling they were so excited! Towards the end of last night, they decided to do hair and borrow each others clothes and shoes (even high heels lol) and have their own fashion show! They paraded into the livingroom so Robyn (my sister) could take pictures of them! haha My nephew, Todd, poor guy was outnumbered. lol He was supposed to go to a friends house but a big storm came through and knocked out the power of the house he was supposed to be staying at. So him and my brother in law had a pillow fight last night. haha So anyways, it looks like they all had a blast! lol Enjoy the pics! :) Oh, by the way, Ashlyn is the one in the jean jacket, for those of you that don't know. :) )
Happy Birthday Ash!! I love you!

Lori's Getting Married!!!

So one of my best friends is gettin’ hitched!! I am SOOO happy for her!!! Jessy is such an awesome guy and they make a great couple! God is so awesome!! I am so honored to be apart of their day!! They are getting married January 19, 2008, in New Orleans!!! I can’t wait!!! I love you guys so much!! I haven’t known Jessy but for a few months…but Lori is one of the dearest friends anyone could ever have! God placed her in my life just when I needed someone the most. I was going through a hard time in life but God knew exactly who I needed in my life at that moment. I am so thankful for her friendship! I love ya girl!! I am so happy for you!!!
(I know this is long overdue. lol.....They got engaged on July 21st!!)

Kansas City's Ethnic Enrichment Festival

So tonight we went to the Ethnic festival. It was alot of fun. As usual...I take pictures of everything...so hope you enjoy them! lol I love going to this and seeing all the different cultures and everything. You can't really tell in the pictures but as you walk in they have an 'aisle' of flags. It's really cool. I got my most favorite drink ever...from the Brazilian booth. Guarana'...its a Brazilian coke made from Brazilian berries. YUM!! Yep, got 1 for then and 1 for later! haha Sorry some of the pictures are blurry...the lighting out there plus the fact it was dark made it kinda hard! :)

A Moment at the Grocery Store

So I had a moment at the grocery store last night! lol It was about 11:00 last night and I was on my way home from cell group and I had to stop at Price Chopper to get some cool whip (I was making something for our luncheon at work today). So, it had just started raining. It wasn't just normal rain either it was POURING....coming down in sheets. So I had taken my glasses off because I hate it when rain gets on my glasses. Snapped my purse and decided to take a run for it. Mind you I had on brown flip flops. So as I was running to my car I went FLYING out of my shoes!! And I screamed, "AHH I LOST MY SHOOEEEE!!!" And I'm all trying to look around for it...Then there were a couple people in the lobby and they were like, "IT FLEW OVER THERE!!" and I couldn't find it...so I screamed out, "WHERE?!" as I looked back they were like "OVER THERE!!!!! TO YOUR RIGHT!!!" lol So I'm walking around the front of the parking lot trying to find my flip flop that the gust of wind took clear over to the other side of the walking area. lol So walking around with one flip flop on and one off....getting DRENCHED!!! lol I finally found it by what seemed like forever!!! lol That was my moment. LOL

MoMass Chorale Tour '07

I just got back from Chorale Tour!! We had sooo much fun!! We sang Wednesday night at The Santuary in St. Louis, Thursday night at Bethel UPC also in St. Louis, Friday night at West Point UPC in Doniphan, Saturday we had a free day/travel day, and we sang Sunday morning at my home church, The Life Church, here in Kansas City! It was great and God did some awesome things in every service!!! Not only that but I got to meet some more wonderful people from the good ole state of MO! Can't wait till next year!! Love yall!!

MO District Camp-meeting!

Last Friday afternoon I drove to St. Louis so that I could be at the last night of campmeeting. Apparently I woke up late for a reason that morning and didn't have time to pack everything in the car before I left for work. Plus I had to get my oil changed. I had been driving for almost an hour when traffic came to a complete standstill. I was kind of irritated for a few minutes until I realized what happened then I was very thankful that God had allowed me to be delayed that morning. As we crept upon the accident, I noticed that they had to call the LifeFlight Helicopter out and the car that had been wrecked was on its side with the entire roof of the car dangling off and all the glass was shattered. Who knows why I was delayed that morning but I believe God was keeping his angels of protection on me that day! Thank You Jesus!!! HE is sooo good to us!!! (I didn't get any pictures at Campmeeting....I know, I know....don't be too shocked. LOL)

So Much Fun!!

Saturday night, Christina and I met up with our friend Jennifer from TN!! Her and her husband, Brady, were down for a wedding and we were able to spend a few hours with her!! We had SOO much fun!! We met up at Zona Rosa about 9:30 (after the wedding) and we didn't leave till 1:30 in the morning!!! LOL The weather was beautiful and we were having way to much fun talking, for hours!! Literally! lol I love these girls so much!!! The pictures that we took were all taken at about 1:00 in the morning, so you'll have to excuse our craziness! lol Hope you enjoy!! :)

Classic Movie

Here is a short video clip of "Singing in the Rain"....I love it!

Friday Night Flicks at Crown Center!

Last night, Sarah and I went to Crown Center. Every Friday night in July they feature a different classical movie. Last nights feature was "Singing in the Rain". We both loved it! It was amazing!! It was awesome sitting outside on the lawn listening to the water fountains and everything while we were watching the movie. It was definitely a classic. If you haven't seen it-you should. You'll love it!

July 4, 2007

I know this is a little late. lol But, the 4th this year was pretty interesting! ha About noon, I met up with Jonathon and we went to Weston, Missouri and went into some of the old, quaint shops there. We wanted to do something different...and thats what we came up with. lol So, as we were leaving...it started pouring down rain, but the rain would come and go for quite a while. So later that afternoon we decided we were going to go to Worlds of Fun (an amusement park here in KC) even tho we knew it might rain. The storm was moving pretty fast so we figured it would be okay. Well, we got there and we were taking a picture before we went into the park, so that we could leave the camera and the rest of our stuff in the trunk. To make a long story short, we locked the keys in the trunk on accident and we had already locked the car. By this time, it had started to rain again, so we tracked a security guard down and they were going to send someone to help us. She said it would only be 5-10 minutes so we were like well we'll just wait here because by the time we get down to the gate then we'll have to walk back. A hour and a half passed and no one showed up!! And we were just standing there getting drenched this whole time! ha Needless to say...3 hours and a locksmith later, we got back in the car! ha By this point we lost all interest in actually going in the park, so we just left and ordered pizza. Later that night, we watched the fireworks in Parkville. It's all goodness! :)

The Saiz's

I just had to put this picture on here! If only you knew these wonderful people-- Bro Steve and Sis Debbie Saiz!! They mean the world to me!! They are the National Singles Directors for the UPCI. I first met them on the very first SAM (Single Adult Ministry) trip I went on, which was a Caribbean Cruise. And have been on several more SAM trips since then. Each time I see them and are around them-the more I love them. They have the most wonderful spirit. They inspire and encourage me. I love to hear Sis Saiz speak-she always gets down to the deepest part of your heart. God is using them in such a mighty way to minister to single adults and I just appreciate them so much!!
Bro & Sis Saiz...thank you so much for everything you do. I'm sure people don't tell you that as often as you need to hear it. I love and appreciate you guys so much. I love hearing your testimony about how God brought you two together! :) Maybe one day soon we'll take you up on the offer and be able to come out there and spend a few days in wonderful Cali! :) By the way, it was SO good to see you in Memphis!! :)

Memphis 2007

I just got back from going to the Memphis Power of One Singles Conference. It was awesome! God did so many great things in the services this week. It was incredible! Not only that, but we were able to meet SOO many new friends and saw many other friends as well!!! We had soo much fun and I am so thankful that we got to go!! Some of our group that we hung out with was able to go a little early and see some of the Elvis Presley stuff--but we weren't able to go and see hardly of Memphis at all. But thats okay-it was well worth the trip. :) Enjoy the pictures! :)

Goin' to Memphis!!!

I am SOO excited!!! I am leaving tonight (in a couple of hours) to head towards Memphis!!!!! We are going to the Power of One Singles Conference!!! Check back soon for an update and pictures!!

Lake Fest 07

Tonight, Mom and I went to part of the Lake Fest. It was such a beautiful evening outside!!! The weather was perfect! We walked around, took pictures, and sat for a little bit before the fireworks started. We had a perfect view of the fireworks!! Right where you could see the reflections on the water. It was awesome!

Sunsets

I absolutely love sunsets...and sunrises!! I was driving home the other day and the sky was just beautiful!! This picture just does not do it justice. It was absolutely beautiful!

New Orleans!!!

This past weekend I went to New Orleans (June 8-12) for a Girls Trip. We had SOO much fun!!! We had Lori and Hannah from New Orleans, Melodie from Arkansas, Jennifer from Tennessee, and Sarah and Heather from Maryland, and of course Me from KC. Alot of people down there asked us how we knew each other since we were from all over the US. Most of us used to hang out together and then everyone scattered all over! So, we all got together for a girls weekend and we had a blast!!! Friday night we hung out and ate homemade gumbo and New Orleans Style bread pudding and potatoe salad. And we had spinach dip for the appetizer. Then Saturday we drove around and saw the damage from Hurricane Katrina then went downtown and French Quarters, etc. Sunday we went to church and then hung out and ate some more. lol Monday, Mel and I drove to Gulf Shores, AL...and got burnt! lol It was worth it tho! Then Tuesday we drove back home! I miss these girls soo much and can't wait to see them all again. I love you girls!

Hurricane Katrina Damage

This past weekend I was in New Orleans and was able to go see alot of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. It was really neat to be able to see it but it was sooo sad. We also went to the Ninth Ward where most of the damage took place. They marked every house with an X and each X had a number on it of how many people they found dead in that house. So Sad! There was neighborhood after neighborhood that was completely empty. There were houses occasionally that was starting to get fixed up but most of them had windows busted out and doors were just swung open. There are still so many people who haven't gotten the money yet to fix their home. But at the same time, there are many that won't be returning. They said that the hurricane itself wasn't that bad, but it was when the levy's broke that caused most of the damage.

Carnival Night

So Friday night, I just thought I was going home! lol Michelle called me and wanted to know if I would go to the Carnival with her. So I decided to go and am soo glad I did-we had SO much fun! We walked around for awhile and ate dinner at this yummy Mexican place (at the carnival) then met up with the other girls. We were all sitting there talking when Venita noticed this couple across from us at a picnic table. They had both sat down at the same time on the same side of the picnic table and they both fell backwards!!!! LOL It was sooo funny!! They were both laughing histerically! I wish I would have had a video camera! After we all ate we decided to go on a ride. It was soo funny! It was the only one we could go on with out being spun to death and getting sick! lol After that Michelle had a few extra tickets left so we were going to ride the ferris wheel! haha Right before we were stepping up to the ride it started POURING down rain!!! It was insane! All 5 of us were tring to get under ONE umbrella!! haha But we soon gave up considering that we were DRENCHED already! lol We still had to walk to the car (about a mile). haha But it was worth not being able to see while we were walking. haha We had alot of fun together! Enjoy the pics!