Blog Change...

Hey all, update where you find me in the blog world....i am now bloggin' it at:
http://yourpalkat.risingerphotography.com

my lovely husband helped me design this blog...TTFN!

Feeling Defeated...

My heart hurts...
my sister is in agony, her husband tries to be strong for her, but he aches too...
they need comfort
they need reassurance
they need hugs
they need laughs
they need time to grieve
they need time to refocus
they need to know that i believe with all my heart that God will bless them with a child...
they need to know that i believe God knows the deep desire of their hearts to be parents, and
they need to know that He knows what amazing parents they would be, and that it will happen...that they can trust Him...
they need to know it is in HIS timing...

they need to know i believe with all of my heart that there is no one else i know on this earth who deserves to be a mommy and daddy more than them...

they need to know that i trust they will be blessed with the gift of parenting because they have such a heart for children and i believe they can and will make a difference in the life of at least one child...
they need to know that it will all be okay...
they need to know i love them so much and i am praying constantly for their aching hearts...
they need to know that i know they can get thru this...
they need to know they are not alone...

Dee and Shane, you are not alone, you have eachother...and you're so strong and brave and the most amazing couple i know...i look up to you guys...i love you both so very much...dont give up, dont feel defeated, hold eachother up...
and KNOW..."that which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
hugs to my nee-nee...your sissy is with you...

Absent-minded Professors...literally!

Okay, so my first day of grad school last thursday, my professor forgot to show up to class...thought her class was at 2, but she was mistaken, its at 10...at that time, i was currently enrolled just in that class...so, um, i went home...
today, i went to another class i added and went to it at 8am...and 830 rolls around, NO professor...
Um, he slept in...Sweet...so if this is how grad school is, i should have no problems passing with flying colors...or maybe its just me, maybe i am bad luck...nah, they just happen to be "theatre" professors, so absent mindedness is a given...oh, us silly artists!
Luckily, the professor who had not showed up last thursday, successfully made it to my 10am class, where i got to play theatre games in a huge circle with a ball...with a butt load of liberal studies majors, and then there were three....three lone grad students...myself and my pals, tanae and dan...we are carpool buddies...all have the same classes, so that ROCKS!!!! anyway, my second day of grad school was, um, better!?

Who am I kiddin?

Sat down to begin some "homework" for school, and thought to myself, "who the heck am i kiddin?" man, i was in school like 6 years ago...i think i can remember what to do and how to do it, but i think it is going to be a lot harder than i expected...not that school was not hard before, but now my life is in such a different place, im not 19, im 28...so, off i go to study...one thing i can say is, i give props to moms who do this...school, being a wife, and with kids...whew, glad i just have the wife and school thing...otherwise, i dont think id be able to hang...

BIG MOUTH...your friendly neighborhood recyling buddy

So, I have this item in my house that is used for recycling...I have to admit, yes, it is a bit scary at first when you see it, but he is my recycling buddy, and if you are ever at my house, he can be your new buddy too...don't be scurred, it's only BIG MOUTH!!!
Pictures provided by: J.R.

I love my husband...

I just want to say I love my husband...Jon is so darn cute sometimes...I love that he is constantly taking pictures....and always the ones of us make me smile...I like to look at them and see that he always has this crazy grin and I just see the kid in him and I love that about him, among several other things...

Simple Saturday...

it is only 1pm, and so far, our day has been quite simple...bike ride to panera with dogs for coffee and souffle, very wet bike ride home, LAUNDRY, blogging, fire, lazy bed laying, and more food(think i will go make grilled cheese, mmmm)...go here to see bits of our day...

Pancakes, Figure 8's, and nakie night...

Friday night was just what every friday night should be like...here is the breakdown:
1. Went to Little Green Onion restaurant located in the Brockton Arcade with my mom and Jon...we were craving breakfast for dinner...isn't breakfast or dinner the best? Jon and I shared PANCAKES, with eggs, bacon, sausage, and hashbrowns...yummy! It was one of those meals that you just walk away with a huge smile, and you sigh, "that was so what i needed..."
2. then mom went home and we decided to take a bike ride....it was a perfect night for one, with just that slight almost fall chill in the air (fall officially begins the 23rd)...we biked around the area, hitting the plaza, parts of the neighborhood, java bliss off arlington, way cool, and random parking lots big enough to do some
FIGURE 8'S...i giggled as we did them...toby got dizzy in the basket..
3. then, we came home, prepared our couch bed, started a fire, poured some wine, played some bed games, and watched THE OFFICE (valentines day episode, season 2)...best show in the world, premiers next thursday, sept. 27 on NBC at 9:00pm...anyone game for our place?
it was wonderful, and even more wonderful, cuz this whole last part was all done NAKIE!!! It was a perfect friday night!

PLEASE Pray

Amber is in labor...the birthmother who my sister and her husband have been working with is in labor, right now, 4:30 pm 9/20/07...if you havent been updated on what is happening, go here and read the update...the birthmother and father have been here in california at my sister and brother-in-laws house since monday to make an attempt to speak to the tribal council in person, in hopes of convincing the tribal council that this is the bect choice for the birthparents and to allow to follow thru with the adoptive parents they have chosen, but since the child protection law of native americans babies is in effect, we do not know what will happen now...more details in the link above...that meeting was postponed from today to monday...and then she went into labor...my sister and her husband need so much prayer and protection over them right now...their hearts are so full of anxiety and stress and they are doing their best to be there for the birthparents, who let me remind you, dont want to parent the child...and all of them have invested so much into eachother emotionally that now its so hard to just "be" in the situation, all the way around...please i ask you pray for protection over all of them, especially the baby...thanks

I feel like a kid again...and it's GRAND!

So, I got one folks, and it even has a basket...I am so freaking excited about my new set of wheels...it makes me feel all giggly inside...pros, I get to spend time with nature, get to sort out my ridiculous brain of a million thoughts, get a nice butt workout, feel the wind in my face, get to serve God, save the planet...get to take bike rides with the tob-meister in my basket(he just hangs out, its freaking adorable) and my hubby...we get to chat and just be together...cons, um NONE... I think EVERYONE should have a bike...I feel like a kid again, and I love it! No really, I LOVE IT!!! Im gonna bike EVERYWHERE...

Bella in C#m

She is coming quite along in her vocal training...I must say, I am very proud!

Grad School, here I come!

the thought of finally beginning my masters program in two days, um, freaks me out...it has been a decision that has been wavering back and forth for a very extended amount of time, that now that i am finally at the "starting" point, i can't help but say i'm freaked out...because this has been so "in the distance" for so long, that i never thought it would actually happen...but it is!
my heart is so filled with desire to make a difference in the world, and i finally have peace about going back to school...i really know God has just been preparing my heart for this challenge, and only now, i am ready...thru this degree i will obtain the knowledge in how i can go out and make a difference in a classroom thru the arts...in my mind and heart, it will award me the opportunity for "theatre outreach," which is what i am calling it...i so want to make a difference in the future of our world, and if i can be a part of a program that will teach me the tools to go into a classroom and teach children important life lessons, get to play a part in their creative minds, and just make a child smile, then what better way than thru what i am so passionate about, THEATRE? i am officially signed up... so, i am ready and prepared for what God will be teaching me and what He will be doing in the preparation of my future on this planet...and so, off i go, to CSUSB for an MA in Theatre Education...to begin the next journey of my life...break a leg to me!

Adoption Journey...

Hi, to all of you who read this, here is the update on my sisters adoption...
please pray for them in this time, and for the birthparents...thanks...click here to read the update...

I crave...

I crave to be like Jesus...
to love others...
to help the poor...
to be a light in a dark world...
to comfort the discouraged...
to stand up for injustce...
to aid in healing lives...
to be humble...
to be patient...
to be persectued for righteousness...
to restore this earth to beauty...
to bear fruit...
to sacrifice for the sake of others...
I crave...to spread the infectious heart of Christ to the ends of the earth...

Just some thoughts I have been feeling lately...I crave change...

"I have a dream." -MLK...It shocked the crap out of me!

Okay, so I wanted to apologize for the other post I did titled Do you dare? I changed it, because I remembered that The Grove is doing a series right now called "DO YOU DARE?" One of the dares from last week was to:
With family or friends, search for & watch
Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech on You Tube....so I did...and, WOW! Of course I was overcome with hope once again by this amazing figure in our nations history, but this is just half of this post...keep reading...

I watched a few videos, then something caught my eyes...I started reading the comments people can leave for the videos, and man, did my heart sink...
How can you watch a video like that, and say such awful things to the person posting it, or whoever else happened to comment...it shocked the crap out of me...there was so much more to this dare card than what was just posted on it...I think it's so cool how God always leads us into a place where He can use us...look for yourself, with friends or family, read the hate, the vulgarity, and the disgust...think about what is happening, on YOU TUBE!!! and then...find yourself smile when you see someone who lives for a bigger purpose than themselves in this world reach out in faith with a comment that is filled with prayer...I think I just found a challenging place to witness...

Who Knew?

I randomly found this and was shocked for two reasons...
1. almost all coffee is not fresh, but STALE!
2. they sell ORGANIC-FAIR TRADE coffee...wow!
click here if you dare...

Enjoy the Coffee...

My friend Leslie Ellis sent this to me, said an object reminder with coffee was just the thing for her...pretty neat!

God's Coffee
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -
porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
'If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee
God has provided us. 'God brews the coffee, not the cups.........

Enjoy your coffee!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JONNY WONNY

HAPPY BITHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR STINKY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU...

Life...Family...Prayer...

Hello all bloggers and others... I know sometimes life just gets so confusing, so hard, so chaotic, so frustrating, and sometimes we feel like, "why me? why was I dealt this hand?" I for one can speak from my own heart and can say that I truly and honestly believe God NEVER gives us more than we can handle...He is not a punishing God...but something I think we need to remember is we have people in our lives we can go to, to lean on, maybe not for the answers, but for prayer, support, love, an ear, a shoulder...but even more important than that, we have God we can go to...and sometimes when we arent strong enough to go to Him on our own, there are people who can for you, who can help build up your stregnth again thru prayer...why am I spouting all this?
Well, I came across some situtations thru a blog, a phone call, and my own thoughts that need some prayer attention...so, please join me in praying for some situtations that have been brought to my attention...
My cousin Shion is the mother of two children, one of whom is 5, with Autism...I have never met Miles, but my family members says he is a wonderful child...my cousin strugggles daily with the already known facts about her son, and the years to come, and is searching for a school that will give himthe kind of treatment, care, and learning he needs...basically, Shion has so much on her plate, that something so small, might send her in a whirlwind...she is saddened, stressed, and feels so alone...my prayer request is that we would prayer for safety, guidance, a school for miles, more sanity and joy in her so stressful life, and protection over her family...
another situation has to do with my brother Steven...I won't get into details, but much prayer is needed for him...he is so lost, has so much anger towards people in our family,no one really knows whats going on in his life anymore, and just needs some guidance from somewhere that he knows he can trust...I pray he would find that guidance thru God...and I pray for healing with the people in my family who hold so much anger towards other family members...that we would all just "love" eachother...my heart breaks for the destruction, mistrust, and pain I see and feel...please pray for my brother and my whole family for that matter for continued healing...
thanks for your prayers...

9/11...REMEMBER?

Let this video remind us of what led us to this tragic event in our countries history...God is still saddened to this day by the hatred and violence we inflict on eachother...lets continue in the fight and prayer to restore God's kingdom to a place where we wont have to endure the rememberence of horrible events such as this one...We are God's voice and His hands here on earth...take action in your everyday lives that reflects love, kindness,grace, and respect...this is PURPOSE people...this is our RESPONSIBILITY...

Jon's 3rd birthday...

2 years ago, I celebrated Jon's 21st birthday with him...we had just started dating the month before, August 7th to be exact, which was right after Seussical closed...I surprised Jon with a trip to VEGAS...I drove us to the airport, and we got on a plane, arrived in Vegas, I witnessed Jon's 1st drink (a Heinie...)during lunch, then we walked the streets of vegas until I next surprised him with 2 tickets to see Avenue Q, which is freaking hilarious, then we flew home that night, and waiting for us was another surprise...I got him a subscription to the wine of the month club...so we shared our first glass of wine together...we love wine!...(by the way, gonna have a wine party soon...let me know if you drink the stuff)

Last year, I led him on a scavenger hunt for his 22nd birthday, which was fun and silly...and it led him to Citrus Heritage Park, where I was waiting with one of his favorite meals...Chili dogs...the following day he led me on a scavenger hunt that led to a "marraige proposal"...

Tomorrow, I will be celebrating the third birthday in a row with whom now, is my husband...Jon will be 23 tomorrow, and although he is almost 6 years younger than I am, I have so much fun growing up with him...Jon has been the hugest blessing in my life...I never believed I deserved half as much as he gives me...he is so talented, intuitive, passionate, loving, driven, content, stubborn, charming, silly, stern, quiet, loud, smart, really smart, way smarter than me, obedient, confusing, has a childs heart, and above all, he is my best friend...so, tomorrow, I celebrate all those things I have come to know, cherish, and adore about Jon...He is the prince of my heart, and the love of my life...I can't wait to share the next 50 birthdays with him...if I am still truckin' along, but hey, I proablaby will, he keeps me young...

Visited the in-laws...

Well, this weekend Jon, Heather, and I drove up to visit Bill, Patti, and Micah in their new home in Salinas...we got there in record time...5 1/2 hours, arriving at almost 1am...we hung out all day Saturday, watched the sea otters swimming at lunch, and later celebrated Jon's 23rd birthday (which is on wed, the 12th)...Jon I'm sure will post pics of the sea otters and other pics as well...then today, we went to watch Bill preach for the first time at SVCC, Salinas Valley Community Church, their new church...it was awesome...I forgot about my father-in-laws definition of worship, which I absolutely love by the way...I like things that just make sense when you hear it and this does...Bill Risinger says that worship= a spontaneous response to the realized presence of God...WOW, I am so lucky to have a father in law who so much of the time I have to repeat in my own head and in my own words what I think he means...and it amazes me that when I see this definition of worship I get excited that I dont have to think too terribly hard, it just makes sense...and then I don't feel so unwise around the "oh-wise" one that I call my father-in-law...anyway, we drove home today, it was sad...we don't know exactly the next time is that we will get to just hang out with them, but it won't be too long I'm sure...here is us on the way home...a sticker from SVCC that Heather is holding represents the church's motto...you see them everywhere in Salinas...Neat!

The Moore Adoption...

Well, alot of you know that my sister and brother-in-law have been in the "adoption process" for quite some time now and I have shared some of their stories with you all...this post is to inform you all that they are currently in the prcocess of speaking with another birthmother...it has gotten down to the point where they are officially matched and the birthmother will be coming to California to deliver the baby(as she lives in Nevada)...lots of other details are having to get done in order for this adoption to happen and the stress of this whole process has started to set in...so,I am asking to please please everyone keep my sister Dee and her husband Shane in your prayers...God has a plan, and I know part of that plan is to give my sissy and brother the gift of parenthood...prayers are so what they need right now, happy thoughts and good vibes and all that stuff...thanks so much...here is a link to their adoption story website...take a look
www.foreverfamilystories.com/babymoore

Um, Surprise!

So, I dyed my hair...and so did my hubby. It is weird, it is like I am looking in the mirror and I see my face, but not my head..hmmm, change is good! I firmly believe that...

The Jane Austen Book Club Trailer

This movie looks so good...I must see it with my sister Heather, who loves Ms. Austen's work...being around Heather makes me want to read more, maybe I will read all of the Jane Austen books before this comes out, that gives me until Nov.17th, hmmm, less than 2 months...not probable...I'll just go see the movie instead!

My Past...NH Theatre Awards II - Granite Star Competition

Well, some of you know I used to live on the easet coast and performed in a production of Ragtime back in New Hampshire...well, I was searching for a performance I did there and came across one I did for the New Hampshire Theatre Awards a few years back on you tube...so, if you want to watch, here is me performing for the "Granite Star" award...It is a song called "I'm Not Afraid," from a show called "Songs For A New World."

Teaching Bella to sing

I discovered during the production of Ragtime, that my dog Bella liked to warm-up with me at home before a performance...here is a clip of us today practicing our upcoming duet...performance dates TBD...

Yard Sale Sunday...BOOOOO!

Well, I am an official blogger...weird! I spend so much time reading the lives of others around me and it makes me smile, so that encouraged me to share little glimpses of mine..
Making others smile is my goal, living a grace-filled life is importnat, and having an impact on the future of God's kingdom is my desire...I am a passionate person who wants to pratice the art of living "in the tension..." So, here we go...a morning in the life of Kathy...I awoke this Sunday morning to my adorable husband asleep to my left under the sheets...he sleeps under the sheets most of the time with his face buried from the light...my sweet Bella-boo (one of my dogs) asleep to my right sharing my pillow, and my Mr. Toby man (my other pooch) at my feet buried underneath his bed that sits at the foot of ours...yes he like to bury himself too...Jon and him have alot in common, they are both creatures of the dark...I however, love the light, which is nice because our bedroom is very bright and cheery in the morning...seeing as though I'm not much of a morning person until I have a cup-a-joe gripped in my hand, the cheery part kicks in after oh, say 30 minutes....and so, off I went, into the streets of Riverside, driving and searching for one of my favorite things, "YARD SALES!"...I should have a sign on my car that reads, "Caution, I brake for Yard Sales, because I am kinda a dangerous driver when I am in yard sale mode...why do I love them so much? Um, I like other people's crap...most of the time they become my treasures...although I don't ever need a specific reason to go yard-saling, I am specifically on the hunt for a bike right now...today by the way was unsuccessful...anyway, a friend of mine and my hubbies, Dan, got us thinking drastically about our environment and what we could do to help preserve and restore it back to the way God intended it to be, and not driving "everywhere" was one huge thing we now are striving to do...so, bikes! Jon has one, but I need one now too...I do not want to spend $100 on a brand new bike, so, where do I go...that's correct people, Yard Sales...let me tell you, they are AWESOME! I feel bad about the gas I am using to drive to all these Y.S.'s, so the sooner I can find that piece of crap/junk of someone else's, the sooner I will gain another treasure that will help me in the fight to preserve and restore, and it will be fun to bike around with my hubby and our pups, Bella running along side Jon, and Toby in the little basket attached to mine...ahhhh, dreams...they can come true!!! So, if you like, keep an eye out for me...Peace out!