Words

So today I was walking the kids to school in the pouring rain. It was pouring, like as in really wet. One of the kids thought he was too cool for an umbrella so he let me borrow it. It was barely big enough to cover my head but I was grateful none the less. I shall never foget my umbrella again! Also, I now realize my boots are okay in the snow but once I'm ankle deep in water they aren't of much use. My feet were soaked and they were hurting because it was so cold. I thought to myself, there could not be a worse start to a day. (Yes, I'm quite aware that there are worse things that could happen but at the time this seemed bad) Then, just as we were in the home stretch it got really bad. The sidewalk was almost impassable. Yes, I am dramatizing this a little bit, but I want to make this interesting. Anyway, It was wet. I felt bad for the kids because they are little and it was like up to their knees. So we decided to walk on someone's lawn even though I always tell them not to do that. So i was half on the lawn, half on the mushy sidewalk when my feet start to slip. I knew right away that I was going down. It must have been a funny sight because as my feet come out from under me and fly up into the air and my derriere splashes into the slushy puddle, there is an uproar of laughter from behind me. All my kids were killing themselves laughing and then proceeded to complain about how wet they were. I just stuck my butt out and showed them how soaked I was and told them to suck it up. They thought it was great. So that is that!

We got another kitten two weeks ago today. We named him Tobias, like Tobias the never-nude from Arrested Development. He prefers to be called Toby, but I call him Tobes and Nathan calls him Poop-sack or butt-nugget. He seriously stinks sometimes. And he's constantly putting his butt in our faces. I just don't get it! Nathan just wanted to add that Aysha was cleaning Toby's anus today. haha. I put lotion on them a few days ago so they would both smell like vanilla spice. Mmm mmm mmm. Toby and Aysha love each other and we are a very happy family!




Nathan and I put up our very own Christmas tree yesterday. It's so exciting and our place looks so incredibly cozy! I love the Christmas season! And do you know what else I did yesterday? I made a really yummy meal and it did not poison anyone. It was really exciting. Not that I've poisoned anyone before...

It was Spencer and Kelsey's wedding this past friday and I had a lot of fun. I'm glad it has finally worked out for them and I'm sure it was a very special day for everyone involved. Nathan was Spencer's best man and I'm pretty sure there's never been a more handsome best man EVER! Nathan and I also bought them a really fun present... we told them to bring it on their honeymoon if you know what I mean haha. Hopefully you guys have enjoyed it so far. Congratulations on the nuptualizing our dear friends! We wish you the very best. Marriage is such a wonderful blessing!

And I just want to wish my mom an early birthday. I won't say how old you are on here, but you're still really young right? Yup. And to Chris and Kellee... Congrats on getting the job! Nathan and I are really happy for you and we're so glad you're having a good trip!

Nathan was trying to be like that cat.


So that was like half a month ago that I said I would write a new post. Oops.

I'm trying to think what is worth writing about.... Hmm.... For those of you who don't know we got an adorable little kitten in October and we named her Aysha! She's a pure-bread siamese and she's so cute but she's also really annoying and I want to kick her sometimes. I woke up this morning to find my plant on the ground with wet dirt all over the carpet. And we went away last weekend and I came back to find one of my lamps completely destroyed. She's such a little bugger. She's sleeping on Nathan's lap right now though so I like her now. And just so you know, I would not actually kick her on purpose!

So I have had extremely bad luck with cars over the past little while. Two mondays ago I was on my way to pick up Nathan and my stupid stupid butt head of a stupid car stalled on 64th right before King George. I was seriously not impressed! I phoned Nathan who was at the McDonald's on 72nd and I was bawling and it was just not good. So he ran all the way to me. Isn't that sweet? And Lindsay came and picked me up and then we went out for dinner. It was a very traumatizing experience. Luckily our car is fixed now. BUT...

We had to borrow Nathan's parent's van while ours was getting fixed and it's huge. Two days after the stupid stalling incident I was trying to back out of our drive way to take Nathan to his car pooler's house when I couldn't find the break and we crashed into my parents' fence. Yeah, it's funny now, it wasn't when it happened. Why would they make such a stinkin' huge vehicle with such a stinkin' small break? Like seriously, what is that? So we had to wait for the tow truck man to come and save us. It was actually kind of nice to have Nathan get half a day off of work. I enjoyed the company.

We went to Victoria for the long weekend and stayed at a beautiful hotel called the Magnolia. On the ferry ride we saw a seal eat a seagull. It was really cool. All the little seagull's friends started poking at the seal. I felt bad for the little seagull family. It was SUCH a good weekend! We did all the touristy things including going on a half an hour horse and carriage ride. It was fun. We definitely needed this weekend to just get away from all the business. I want to do that EVERY weekend.

Okay, I think that's all for now. My family is coming over for dinner and a movie tonight. It's actually the first time we've had them over for dinner so I think they're excited haha. I have to tidy and make Nathan stop playing his new video game. It's called Assassin's Creed and it's actually pretty cool but I don't like all the blood sprays. Have a nice day everyone! Oh yeah, sorry there's no pictures. I still don't know how to get them from the camera to the computer.

The title says it all

The counter is showing me higher and higher numbers, yet only two comments. Don't try to tell me the counter is lying, it never lies. I'm going to eat some apple cinnamon cheerios!! Grr.

Actually, no it won't be, I just wanted to try to capture your attention, did it work?

I'm not sure why I'm blogging, I am bored that's probably why. The weekend that just passed was one of the best weekends I have had in a long time. It pretty much consisted of nothing that would be interesting to all you people reading this right now, but it was just an amazing time of bonding for my husband and I. On friday we had youth group, and other than someone trying to tip me over in the porto-potty my first time using it (If you read this, yes I am still bitter) it went on without a hitch. It was actually a lot of fun. I didn't do the mud thing, just kind of hung out with nathan and kellee, but it was just really fun.
Saturday we were lazy, Sunday we were lazy. We decided that instead of doing thank-you cards we would watch movies all day, I think it was a good idea, it was fun. We moved the t.v. onto our dresser and watched V for Vendetta and The Transporter. It was good.

Oh, just a little side note here... To anyone who is reading this and thinks I am SUPER rude for not sending out my thank you cards for wedding presents yet, I am sorry. We've had a lot going on and we were pretty busy during the summer and I'm sorry for not getting them out sooner, but you will have them sometime, don't worry. AND i am very thankful for your gift!

Tuesday was my Uncle Bill's memorial service. At first I thought it was weird that they were having a party type thing. They asked everyone to bring a plate of food because there would be a potluck afterward and dancing. The dancing didnt happen but the potluck did and it was such a good idea. It gave everyone a chance to chat and it may sound strange but I actually had a really good time. It WAS a celebration of life and of things he loved. It's what he asked for because he loved cooking and he loved potlucks so it was a really good way to honour him.
Afterwards we headed home to quickly change and then we went to youth group. It was different on tuesday. Instead of staying at the church we went to timmy's and then to the beach where chris did his talky thingy. It was so good! It was about habitual sins and he challenged us afterwards to find a quiet place and bring them before God. I am such a sinner. It honestly disgusts me sometimes and it seems that often I just don't want to let go of them. OR that I won't let go of past sins that God has already forgiven me for. I just feel so bad for some things that I won't let God heal me from that. Well there you go, that was a little personal for me. But maybe someone will be encouraged by that, who knows?!

Yesterday was Lindsay's birthday. She is such a wonderful woman, seriously! I have so much fun with Lindsay, she is one of the only ones who understands my sense of humour. Example:

Lindsay Samson
7:36pm August 8th
You are online. you just ate chicken at my house. That is coo.


Kerri Braunberger
7:37pm August 8th
coo coo. that's pigeon, not chicken. what time does show start?


Lindsay Samson
7:39pm August 8th
show start 23 minut.


Kerri Braunberger
7:40pm August 8th
why yo so bad at stuff lik type?


Lindsay Samson
7:41pm August 8th
Why u so bade at stuf lik speeek.?


Kerri Braunberger
7:44pm August 8th
me no no. k, i go putz cloth away den i cum oova kkk? oop! me no part of de kkk, ok?


Lindsay Samson
7:46pm August 8th
okkk yees.



I'm sure no one else thought that was funny but it made me laugh out loud so I thought I'd include that. So I guess my point is that I feel sorry for all of you out there who do not have Lindsay Samson as an older sister. You're missing out, I wish there was something I could do for you.


I think that's all for now, I'm sorry for the lack of profoundness and the longevity of what I just wrote. It's probably not actually that long, it just seems long to me because my fingers are starting to hurt from typing.

And one last thing. Will people please start leaving comments! I know people are reading my blog because I have a counter but no one leaves comments anymore and it's starting to creep me out because i don't know WHO is getting this little inside look into my life.




4:02pm July 10th
I just made an album. I'm so technological!


Kerri Braunberger
4:05pm July 10th
yes, im going to look at it right now. are you coming back over? probably not right? i wrote my speech, it's short and super sweet haha


Lindsay Samson
4:06pm July 10th
me just stay here


Lindsay Samson
4:07pm July 10th
i need to shave and what not


Kerri Braunberger
4:12pm July 10th
yeah, your stache was getting pretty narsty


Lindsay Samson
4:13pm July 10th
you're narsty.


Kerri Braunberger
4:15pm July 10th
yeah, i am. i love eating sushi taht has been sitting on the table for half an hour in 40 degree weather, and then i put sweaty head cheese on it ,it's so good and narsty


Lindsay Samson
4:17pm July 10th
so sig douwg nasty peice of trash poo nasty nast nast with a rotten banana on top.


Lindsay Samson
4:17pm July 10th
pretty creative huh?


Kerri Braunberger
4:24pm July 10th
it's so nasty that I died and then the toxins bumped my heart back to life. But they were toxic so they killed me again. Kathizzle called ems (emergency response something) and they brought me back. I've been burping something fierce ever since, the plants in my house died, they don't like my narsties.


Lindsay Samson
4:25pm July 10th
That is nast. I'm sorry you had to go through that.


Kerri Braunberger
4:27pm July 10th
yeah, it was as bad as a lion coughing up a fur ball. anyway, i think I'll go scrape my heels or something. holla back you


Lindsay Samson
4:27pm July 10th
I shall go do something of the like. see ya dawg.

The LORD is my light and my salvation-
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life-
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then willl I be confident.

One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beatuy of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who suround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will reeive me.
Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

I am still confident of this;
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD:
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.
They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

This has been the worst september of my life.

My Uncle Bill passed away on Sunday September 16th, two weeks after his mom died. He is survived by his wife, and his three kids who are the same ages as my sisters and I. It was so hard to see him on sunday because he didn't look anything like the Uncle Bill I knew. He was so skinny with no hair, he was only semi-concious, and he was struggling to breath. We only were there for about two hours and then he was gone. Something that was really nice to see was the way his wife was taking care of him. You could tell that they were still totally commited to loving eachother even after twenty-five years of marriage ( It will be their 25th anniversary this tuesday, the day his funeral is planned for) My family prayed fiercely that God would open Bill's heart and he would accept Christ before he died. We won't know until we meet our Heavenly Father if he did.

This has been such an incredibly hard year, I can't even explain it. There has been so much to be discouraged about but we've always pulled through because of the hope we have in Christ. I've been realizing that almost NOTHING is in my control. So many people would think this a scary thing, but I find it kind of relieving. I can always be assured that God is working for the good, and no matter what happens in my life that I see as "bad", God is using it somehow for His Glory. This doesn't mean I'm happy with my circumstances, but it does mean I can be joyful and hopeful.

Do you know what was really neat? My parents told me that they were feeling down and oppressed and they felt like they needed to read the passage about the armour of God. They picked up the nearest Bible and it happend to be my granny's that they took home after she passed away. They looked it up in her Bible, and there is was circled, the whole passage. We didn't even know if she had been reading it. I just thought that was neat, if you don't that's fine, I'm not very good at telling stories anyway. Do you know what else is neat, through everything that has been going on we have had multiple opportunities to share the gospel with our family and to pray with them, something that would never have been accepted before. Our greatest hope for them is that they will come to know Jesus as their Friend, Saviour, and Lord, He is the only way.

I still don't have a kitten and I really want one. I think God is teaching me something about patience, I don't know. haha.





Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, witht the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation ad the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Ephesians 6: 10-20

Well, I'm back at work now. I haven't decided how I feel about that quite yet. It is definitely nice to have a routine again, but those preteen boys are just so irritating it makes me want to pull my hair out. And the thing is, they're way worse for me than they are for any of the other staff because I'm young and apparently I don't deserve respect. They said yesterday they'd rather be rude than weird. I think that generation is going to have major problems.

On Friday night Nathan took me out for a date and it was fantastic! We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner, then he took me to Marble Slab for dessert, and then we headed out to High Knolls to play a round of mini golf. It was so much fun and we tied so I didn't have to be fake mad at him for kicking my butt! Random note: I discovered a dead bunny just off of hole 10. That's not really very important or interesting, but I thought I'd share that anyway.
Saturday we had a youth worship practice at 9 in the morning, I did not pick that time nor did I want to get up but I had to because Nathan threatend to meanly tickle me until I got out of bed. That pretty much means that he'll sit on me, put on a scary face and pretend he's some sort of savage animal attacking me, so I got up. Afterwards we had a very very long nap and a wonderful rest of our day bonding and having a really good time. Sunday looked pretty much the same except the nap was way longer haha. It was so long we didn't go to bed until about 4 in the morning. Monday was my dad's birthday so we went mini golfing again and we ate a dinner of steak and massive baked potatoes at 3:30 before Kate had to go to work. Then we watched the first Die Hard in the trilogy we got my dad for his new big screen t.v.

Unfortunately the weekend didn't really end on a happy note.

Nathan and I were about to walk out the door to go grocery shopping when there was a loud knock from the other side. I knew what was coming.... My mom was there with tears in her eyes. "She's gone." My granny had finally lost her battle with brain cancer.

Marguerite Riel (I think her dad was cousins with Louis Riel) was born in Saskatchewan in the 1920's. I would ask my dad what exact date but he's on the phone right now, and I don't even know if I spelled her name right. Oh dear me. Anyway... She married a man named Dollard Samson and had eight wonderful children, four girls and four boys, with Mr. Gary Samson being the wonderfulest of all of course! She enjoyed going dancing and dressing very funky for her age. We're talking mid-drif baring tops not too long ago haha. She was a pretty hip granny!

I was telling Nathan on Monday that he needs to really cherish his grandparents. I only have one gramma left, I didn't even get to meet my mom's dad. I'm only twenty and I know people who are way older than me who still have all of their grandparents. Cherish them, you're lucky if you still have them.

With all of these things going on in my family, my granny dying, my uncle being in the hospital with cancer, my dad having a stroke and then just last week having to go back to the hospital with other problems, has really made me realize that life is short. I don't want to have a wasted life, do you? Probably not. The only way to not have a wasted life is to live with Jesus as your guide. Give Him everything you are and your life will count for something.

I really want a kitten.

That's all folks.

My dad meant to say "out of breath"

The dishes and laundry are piling up so I think it's time to write another post. Isn't that how it always works? I think so!

Of course I'm going to have to mention how married life is going. We don't really understand why people say newlyweds always fight because we haven't been. I'm actually wondering if there's something seriously wrong with us. haha. We decided that we get frustrated with one another but not angry, which I'm sure is a good thing. We expected to get frustrated with one another, we're totally different people trying to "become one" as they say. We've found it quite entertaining to see how each other react in a situation, and then talk about it after and analyze where our thoughts and actions stem from. You all should do that one day, it's fun! There's so much more I could say about marriage, even though i've only been a part of one for 7 weeks... I think I'll write a book. If everyone who reads this promises to buy my best seller I will give them 50% off, what do you think?

On Sunday night, Nathan and I had our night caps on, ready to settle in for a long winter's nap when all of a sudden there was stirring on the other side of the bed from me. Nathan quickly got up without saying anything and I knew right away what was going on... we had an intruder!!! Are you all nervous? Don't be, it was just a spider. But seriously, this spider was the mother of all spiders. I have seen bigger but I was in Africa so that doesn't really count. So Nathan dashes out of the room with me screaming "He's on the move, he's on the move!!" And he comes back adorned in steel toed boots and with a weapon (a broom) in hand. After having a short photo shoot with the spider, Nathan announced that he was going to "Show it who's boss!" I held my breath as my brave knight (just to make it a little more dramatic) lifted the broom above his head and swatted the beast from it's perch. It was stunned but it's legs started moving a mile a minute towards my closet. Screams could be heard from a mile away as I realized the perspective horror of a spider getting lost in, and eventually inhabiting my closet. So Nathan's savage insticts to protect his woman came out and he brutalized the spider once more. He took the broom and launched the spider through the air into our bedroom door. This time it just lay there, a few legs missing, and nathan took his foot and stomped the crap out of it. Then to end this dramatic moment in our lives, he dust busted it up and we went to sleep.... But not without the fear of the mother spider returning to haunt our dreams.
The End.

I will put some pictures up when I figure out how to get them. Yes, I am technologically challenged.

I had one other adventure that I do not care to go into detail about. All you have to know is that I almost puked on someone's head. Lindsay can testify to that. No chunks, just lots of gag. Oh, I'm going to the P.N.E. this weekend. Woohoo.
Have a wonderful day everyone!

Being the professional procrastinator I am, and at the request of my sister, I have decided to update my blog. I'm supposed to fold all of mine and nathan's laundry. That's boring and I hate folding laundry so I don't think I'll do that right now.

So I'm sure lots has happend since I've last updated, but nothing super excting comes to mind... so here I go rambling.

Rough Acres was really really cool. My job for the week was to look after the support staff. I pretty much ran around telling people where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to be doing, and asking them why the heck they weren't doing what I told them to. haha. It was a lot of fun. The best time was definitely when all the kids left. That night we had a campfire and it was just an amazing time of worship and prayer. It was beautiful with the fire, and the millions of stars above, and the cool clean air. It was just one of those times that you can't really explain, but you know you just don't want to forget. God's presence was very evident and you could just feel it. Yay!

I'm watching Dr. Phil right now and he's doing a show on wedding disasters. I'm so glad nathan didn't get drunk and punch my dad like this woman's groom did... So, living with Nathan has definitely been interesting. We are learning so much about eachother and how we react to situations. It's so good though because although we have a little conflict at times, it has definitely strengthened our relationship instead of tearing us apart. It's an adventure and it's so much fun! Except for the whole farting in bed thing. Why do men do that? haha.

Nathan and I went to see Hairspray last night and oh my goodness gracious it is soooo good! I laughed so much because it made me so happy. It is probably one of the funnest movies I've ever seen. I literally danced out of the movie theatre, of course with Nathan holding on to my arm hoping that I would end his embarassment very soon. I respect my husband so I did stop my attempt to make my life into a musical. I really want to go see it live now, wouldn't that be lovely?

I have pictures of my new home but I still don't know how to use this computer so I can't get them off the camera on to the computer but that's okay. I'm really enjoying living in our basement suite. I love our patio... I just really wish i had two lounge chairs so we could sit out there and sip some iced tea, just looking into the beautiful, lush green forest. I love trees! Anyhoo, I should really go accomplish something for the day. Laundry, here I come!

p.s. if anyone wants to donate lawn lounge chairs to us it will be graciously accepted haha

Guess what! I'm married! I've been married for like two and a half weeks now though so it's kind of old news. Hopefully at the end of this post I will be able to put up pictures, but nathan's computer is a mac and I have no idea how to work these babies.

Our wedding was even more than I hoped it would be. The decorations were gorgeous, there were absolutely no gliches, it wasn't stressful, and the day was full of romance. I had so much fun! Nathan and I made sure the ceremony was really personal, we wanted to tailor it completely to us and it was. Even right down to me giggling as I walked down the aisle. Chris did an amazing job as our officiate. I honestly don't know if I've heard a more interesting wedding speech thingy (Yeah, I'm biased), It was so personal which I loved. I'm so glad He was able to be our marrying guy!
Our wedding party was seriously amazing! I think we must have picked the funniest 10 people we know to be our attendants and they were a big reason that the day was so much fun. They were all so helpful and I feel very blessed for their friendship.
Our wedding day was the most amazing day of my life thus far. How could it not? I was surrounded by people I love, I got to wear pretty clothes, and I married the most incredible man I have ever met. I had so many people come up to me and say that it was the best wedding they have ever been to or it was the most beautiful wedding they've ever seen, from the decorations to our vows to eachother. I'm not trying to brag, I swear, it was just a really special day. Thank you all so much for sharing in it with us, and I have to thank our Heavenly Father for really blessing the day for us. May He be honoured in our marriage!

Our honeymoon was wonderful too. It was full of relaxing and just getting to know eachother better. We went to a really cute place in Lynden, Washington. Seriously, Lynden is beautiful! We had an incredible view of Mt. Baker and a whole lot of other mountains. I love mountains. We went for walks, cooked A meal (we ate a lot of cereal haha), and bought some fudge.

Married life is awesome! I'm seriously loving being Nathan's wife. I actually enjoy cooking for him and cleaning for him. What is this new phenomenon? hehe. I love waking up beside him. I love it when he comes home from work. It's all so exciting right now. Oh, and he talks in his sleep. The other night I woke up to him kissing his pillow and telling it he loved it. Here's the diaglogue:

Kerri: Nathan, what are you doing?
Nathan: I'm kissing you (says I love you to the pillow)
Kerri: No, actually you're kissing the pillow
Nathan: No, I'm kissing you (kisses the pillow) and I love you. (Rolls over and is asleep again)

Yeah, it makes for funny stories, but not such a good sleep. I love it though. Nathan has been such a great husband. He's so attentive, and wants to help out around the house. I had been slacking on the dishes and he woke up on saturday morning and the first thing he did was start on the dishes. I went to go help him but he said, just relax. It was really nice. We haven't had any disagreements or anything yet, I'm just waiting for the conflict... Marriage can't be THIS good can it? haha. Yes, I know we're still in the honeymoon stages.

Sorry that this is so incredily long and you are all bored out of your minds right now. Thanks for reading though!

Oh, I'm going to Rough Acres in two days and Im so excited, AND me and Linds got our noses pierced! woohoo! bye!
And one last thing, Kellee I loved the cake, it was so pretty. I just have to say sorry for cutting it so horribly, I didn't know what to do!

OR is it the beginning? Let us ponder this for a second...

Okay, times up! Although wedding plans have been a tad stressful lately I have still enjoyed them and I will probably miss the excitement when it's all over and I'm no longer a bride, just an old maid. Just kidding of course! I am honestly more excited for the marriage than I am for the wedding. It is such a privilege to be able to spend my life with someone I love so much! I know I'm in the "honeymoon stages" right now, but I really hope I don't lose that outlook once I've been married for a while and he leaves toothpaste in the sink and other gross things like that and I'm not feeling so 'lovey dovey'. But as I've said in a previous post... it's not all about feelings. You can't rely on your emotions!

So on Saturday my darling friend Vanessa came all the way from Wetaskiwin, Alberta to spend a whole week and a day here with me during this exciting time. Yup, she's one of my bridesmaids. We've been busy watching movies and the o.c., shopping, and lots of other important things. I'm sure that kind of fun will end today when the busy wedding week begins!

You know how you have horrid dreams before a big test or some other important occasion, and you wake up in a sweat (well, not for me) and possibly even with tears in your eyes? Well, I've had a few of these dreams and it's usually about my hair. My hair being messy and frizzy, my hair not getting done on the wedding day. Well, on Saturday, one of my dreams came true! Well, not really, just the concept.
I was sitting in the barber chair and I asked if she could give me bangs again. The last time she cut my bangs I was impressed so I thought she would do a good job this time as well. Big mistake! She took a chunk of hair in the front of my head and just chopped it. No shaping, no nothing, she just chopped it. I was horrified, but didn't say anything out of fear that she would try to fix it and make it worse! So later on we went to a salon in the mall and I told them my situation. They were all very shocked at what an atrocity this woman just committed (it was actually pretty funny.. I was treated very well because I'm a bride and apparently something like this shouldn't happen a week before the wedding haha) Luckily, some russian lady was able to perform emergency surgery on my bangs, and they turned out pretty good. A little short, but defnitely better than my other "forehead grass". I'm not actually sure why I called it that.

So, as I wind down this entry, I will say that this will probaby be the last time I have a chance to post before I am Nathan's wife. I'm pretty dang excited, and I hope I will see many of you who are reading this at the wedding! Pray for us! haha

That's more for a bath and I'm going to talk about a shower... but do you see how it's all connected. It's not really, but let's pretend.

On June 1st my amazing friend Leah Peah Diarreah planned a wonderful bridal shower for me! They were an hour late picking me up, but that's okay. haha. I got there and oh my goodness gracious there was so much food! Sam bought a chocolate fountain just for this event, and planned to take it back after giving it a thorough cleaning. They had brought all my favourite goodies, it was very thoughtful! We played lots of fun and embarassing games, one of which I do not wish to describe on my blog. There could be under age readers. Now I made it sound really bad, it wasn't, it was just a little embarassing. Anyway... we played this one game called "How well does the bride know the groom?" They had asked Nathan a ton of questions and I had to guess his answers and with every one I got wrong I had to put a piece of double bubble in my mouth! According to this game I don't know Nathan very well... how am I supposed to know what his parents would have named him if he were a girl? Let's just say, at the end of it I was drooling and gagging and everyone had a good laugh.

I'm trying to think of what else... OH yeah! My sister got home on monday! It seems like longer, I don't have my own bathroom anymore. That's okay though, there haven't been any fights over the shower yet and I should enjoy this time because there are only 22 more days that we get to share a bathroom. Then I have to share one with a boy. I haven't seen her pictures yet because she's waiting until my faja comes home from the hospital, and we don't know when that will be yet. She brought us some really cool gifts. I got a silver toe ring, a change purse, and a gorgeous hand painted bracelet that is REALLY hard to get on and off! haha. I'm sooo glad she's home. And do you know what? She has a tan! Yes, my very very white sister has a tan. She's darker than me and we are all very proud of her for this. Congratulations Lindsay!

We went to dancing lessons last night, learned some very cool new moves, and I DID NOT have another encounter with "Betty" the dog. It was a joyous evening. And Leah came to this one, she was partners with Brandon and I felt sorry for her. haha. He's improving though! Good job buddy! Okay, I think that's all for now because I've been typing fast and I think my fingers are about to spasm! haha. Oh, I have another shower tonight... a kitchen one. It shall be interesting!

That just means construction paper... I'm not french or anything.

Did I leave all of you in suspense? Are you all wondering what my two humorous stories are? I'm sure some of you have already heard but I will tell them anyway. They both take place monday night. It goes a little something like this.

"Wow, Dancing sure is fun!" Kerri thought to herself as she sat down on the steps to make another appointment with her dance instructor. Kerri was very glad she wore capri pants because it was a very warm day! The little dog that bit TJ last week came into the room. Kerri wanted to be brave so she didn't try to run away from it, although that WAS her natural instinct. Instead she let the dog sniff her, thinking maybe she had made a new friend in this dog. Little did this naiive girl know that the dog had something else in mind. The dog came a little closer, and a little closer, and a little closer until she was right by Kerri's naked shin. Then to everyone's horror this little dog attempted to make babies with Kerri's leg!! It took only a second for Kerri to realize what this FEMALE (I think, I didn't feel anything extra if you know what i mean... ewww...) dog was doing and she took her pointy dancing shoes and swatted the dog away. Everyone laughed, Kerri almost cried (but not really). How disturbing it was!!! The dog then left the room and came back a few seconds later to try and take advantage of TJ's leg! Just because the dog is in heat gives it no right to sexually harass unsuspecting humans! especially when they are not wearing full length pants! So that is Kerri's story. She has to tell it in third person because it was just to traumatic for her.

This one will be in the "normal" person now. No third....

Characters:
Kerri Samson as Kerri
Nathan Braunberger as Nathan
TJ Miller as TJ
Gareth Braunberger as the boy who does gross things

After dancing, my parents really wanted the michael buble c.d. so they could practice the fox trot in our kitchen so the four characters mentioned above went to get it for them. I was in need of a boost though, so naturally, we went to booster juice! Tell me, how corny was that? I got a delectable raspberry rapture with the go girl booster. It was really good. But my drink doesn't really come into play in this story, I just wanted to tell you all that. Moving on...
So after Nathan, TJ, Gareth, and I got our drinks we headed off to best buy to pick up the c.d. We met the Braunberger parents in the parking lot and they said best buy didn't have the c.d but we decided to go in and explore anyway. We came to the aisle with all the cool video cameras and they fooled around with those for a while. Everything was going great until I hear a hushed voice say.. "Oh Crap, we gotta get our of here!" I turn around to see a HUGE pink blob of booster juice all over the carpet, and Gareth Andrew Braunberger holding an empty cup. We're not talking a little cup, we're talking a BIG cup. And thirty seconds before it was almost full. To save myself from embarassment I immediately turned around and headed for the door and gave Nathan the "You better get your butt over here RIGHT now or you're gonna pay for it later" look. The other two followed. When we got in the car we had to explain to TJ what had happend. He was oblivious. We were driving along and then I noticed Gareth. I was curious as to why Gareth still had his cup in his hand. And I was even more curious as to why he was drinking out of the cup. It turns out he had scooped it back into his cup to clean it up. But what a waste it was to just throw it away, so he decided to drink it. Why Gareth? Why? He may have paid for that decision though because that happend on monday and on tuesday he got majorly sick. So, if you learn anything from this, don't drink stuff off the floor or you'll puke. Thank you for reading!

p.s. Now I'm only 30 days away from my wedding! 30 days and two hours exactly! woohoo to that!

Guess what thirty one means. Yup, that's right. We are thirty one days away from the event of the century. Am I conceited or what? I have my very first bridal shower this friday and I am very excited! I get to wear my veil! Woohoo. This cotton stuff flying through the air needs to stop, it looks like it's snowing!

Oh man, I forgot I have to go to the dentist today. So now I have no time to finish my post. And I actually have two funny/ disturbing stories to tell! I suppose they will just have to wait. Goodbye for now my loyal readers! haha.

So I'm sure whoever reads this already knows that I went to maycamp so that is what the majority of this post will be about! It was not a fun decision to get to but man, am I ever glad I went. I read amy's blog and I definitely agree that there is way too much to try and type out so I will mention a few of my favourite memories...

1. Dancing in the cabin with emily and kiana and amy and whoever the rest of the girls were. That was hilarious!

2. Nathan and Brandon calling Amy Garner "Stranger Danger". Did you know she has pictures of like EVERYONE on her wall? haha.

3. Hanging out with Amy Iggulden and Danica (my sister in 37 days). They are some seriously cool girls!

4. All the group building games... most of which I did not participate in but had a lot of fun watching. What kind of leader am I? Let's play skin the snake... haha

5. Watching all the youth drink the Pollywort and Grass Jelly (banana flavour!) drinks nathan and I brought. Definitely got that on video!

6. The speaker. He was from GREAT (he made sure he emphasized that) Britain. He was hilarious but not overdone like some other speakers I have seen. He talked about being radically obedient to God. Wow, what he talked about was powerful and I know it hit home with a lot of our youth. I just hope it sticks!

7. Starfield! They did a performance/ worship service. After Glen spoke they came up again and Tim Neufeld (lead singer) kind of just started talking about how he met Jesus. He has a great story, just like everyone. That definitely made it easier to praise God instead of just focusing on Starfield themselves. They had us all get in circles to just pray for eachother. They had us lift our hands as an outward expression of worship. It was powerful, not manipulated. It was also kind of cool that we got to meet them afterwards... I asked if they'd play at our wedding. They laughed. I guess that was a no? haha.

8. The Bus. I swear I had some of the best times on the bus. "NO STANDEES PERMITTED!! NO VIGOROUS TOUCHING!" That was Brandon's anthem for the weekend.

I had an awesome time and I knew I would. It's funny how sometimes you know you're going to have a good time, it's just convincing yourself to go that's the hard part. It was such a privilege to be there when all of our youth experienced God in such a real way. I am so glad I was able to be a part of that!

So, that was maycamp.

Here's some other updates:

MY DAD IS HOME!!!! woohoo! I was so excited when I found out he was going to be home on tuesday and it has been great having him home.

I get married in 37 days and it feels like there's still so much to do. I'm sure every bride feels this way though and that is what keeps me from stressing out. If anyone has any tips on anything... let me know! I'm so excited for my wedding showers! My first one is on june 1st with some highschool friends. That should be interesting... I told Leah that she better not plan anything that will embarass me!

Lindsay is hiking in the himalayas right now (as far as I know, she doesn't email that often) and she's sick! She's on antibiotics right now. If you think about it, pray for her health and the health of the others on her team.

I'm excited for life right now. It's a hard/ stressful time with all this stuff going on, but God is good! I just want to encourage you all to bring everything to God. It's amazing how burdens can be lifted and bitterness can be washed away and you can just feel clean and rejuvenated and alive!
That's all for now... Sorry this was so long, if you made it this far, congratulations! Leave me a comment! haha

Kerr.

Oh, One last thing. I also encourage everyone to go down the import food aisle in the store and see what interesting things you can find. I recommend the aloe vera chilled dessert! No, I haven't tried it but it looks interesting.

Oh, and one actually last thing. CONGRATULATIONS to Chris, Kellee, Tyler, and JJ! You have a beautiful new edition to your family and I'm so excited to get to know Emilee Renee!

The title was pretty much just for Nathan, Lindsay, and Vanessa. I hope it gave you three a good laugh!

So, this week has been interesting? It has been full of highs and lows and mediums and a whole lot of what the heck is going on. A few weeks ago I was thinking to myself, "Kerri, do you know what would be horrible? It would be horrible if your dad wasn't able to walk you down the aisle." And then I thought back to myself, "You're right, that would be horrible!" And no sooner than a week later my dad has a stroke. I think I have premonitions or something. Now let me tell you, was that ever terrifying! It is so hard to see the protector of your household lying on a bed in the emergency room unable to speak or feel his right side. By the grace of God though, he is recovering well and he is expected to make a full recovery. God orchestrated so many things that I can't even list them all. He has been good to us. I truly believe that this will be a testimony to God's greatness to believers and non-believers alike. Through it all, my dad has trusted God. Monday night he practiced the name of Jesus so he could say it perfectly. On tuesday when we went to see him he managed to get out the words "God is good." Well said Mr. Gary Samson, well said. He has been through a lot and is still praising the name of Jesus. This has spoken volumes to me. He is "suffering well" as my mom says. I am so thankful.

Last night at youth group we watched the Nooma video "Lump". Seriously, it seems like Chris chooses the right nooma video at exactly the right time. In this one he was telling a story about how his son had been caught lying to his mom. When he got home he found his son lying under the covers in his bed. He had been under there for two hours; He wanted to hide his shame. The dad took his son into his arms and said There is nothing that you could do to make me love you any less. We have a choice to either keep hiding under the blankets or uncover ourselves and let our merciful Father meet us where we are and hold us in his arms and let us know that there is nothing we could do that would make Him love us any less. What a privilege it is to belong to the Almighty, and yet I more often than not take it for granted.

Wow, I sound so emo. In a good way though. A hopeful emo. Is there such a thing? Who knows, let's just pretend.

How about I finish this off with some funny things my dad has said since he had his stroke. He understands everything we say and he knows when he says words wrong, nonetheless a lot of things still come out all jumbled up. Example:

English: Pull up a Chair!
Dad: Pull up a Fred!

English: They gave me a sponge bath.
Dad: They gave me a bum bath. Did I just say bum bath?

English: Blueberry muffin.
Dad: Poo Kerri muffin.

(speaking to me while playing cards)

English: You're a wuss!
Dad: You're a woof!
Kathleen: No, wuss. Sound it out. WU - SSSSS
Dad: Oh, WU - SSSS
Kathleen: Yup, that's right.
Dad: (turns to me) You're such a woof!



My dad laughs at himself too, so it's okay. We'll see what my next post will be about. Will it be about maycamp or will it be about what I did over the long weekend that did not involve going to maycamp? I still don't know. This is a hard decision.

Did you know I'm getting married in 45 days? Oh my!

So this last week I have been challenged a lot! At youth group on tuesday Chris brought to our attention how bad gossip really is. It tears people apart, it ruins relationships, it does nothing but destroy. I know I have definitely let myself slide in this area. If people hurt me in some way or do something I don't agree with I tend to talk about them with others instead of bringing it to God. When you talk about it with others you are tainting their view of whoever you talk about and it also makes it bigger in your mind. I want to stop gossiping... I don't want to be one of those people... I don't want to be bitter! So if I start gossiping to you, stop me. Thanks!

In pre-marital counselling we are talking about how we would define love in a marriage relationship. Dr.Ed was telling us about a man who came in to see him and said he didn't love his wife anymore. This man didn't feel like he used to about his wife. Dr. Ed challenged us to really think about what love is. It is a commitment to one another to grow and mature and keep going even when it's hard. I was thinking about it, and honestly, I wouldn't want anything less than this. When you love like this both partners can feel secure, they can trust, you know someone is totally and utterly committed to you. I think that feeling is better than any 'lovey dovey' feeling that man who fell out of love with his wife ever felt! I am so excited to be married to Nathan. I honestly view it as a privilege to be able to be his wife in 54 days and I am SUPER glad that my parents are paying for our pre-marital counselling! It has been a blessing!

On Friday Kellee asked Nathan and I if we wanted to go for dinner with her and the boys. The Synesael family is so much fun! haha. They have been a huge blessing in mine and Nathan's lives and I'm so happy that Chris is going to marry us and that Kellee is going to make a beautiful and delicious cake for us all to enjoy! And the boys... they're just so darn cute!

Yesterday my mom's friend Heather came over to show us what she came up with for the flowers. I love planning these kinds of details... they're so much fun and now all of us are so so so excited for the wedding to finally come. I can't believe I get to be a bride! Oh boy!

Sorry if this was boring, but it was what was on my mind! I hate world vision commercials... they make me sad! I can always hear them in the background because for some reason my parents ALWAYS leave the t.v. on this channel when they go to work. At 10:00 it's usually the one where Fred Penner travels to Zambia... haha. I'm feeling all emotional... I think I'll go work on my wedding vows! Bye! Oh, one other thing... Lindsay and Vanessa are doing pretty good. I think Lindsay is still in culture shock, but she's adjusting. She asks for prayer that her team's ministry will be effective and they will accomplish what they went there to do.

p.s. the title is in Krio (kind of) Can you decipher it?



All creation proclaims how great You are!

Although I put this on my facebook thingy, I thought it was important to share it with my blogger friends. This is no laughing matter, please don't try this at home.


I wanted a fudgesicle, and I wanted it bad. I thought I would be funny by showing my dad how I could stick my tongue to it like the kid does to the pole in "The Christmas Story". I thought it would only stick a little bit, but it stuck a lot. I screamed out in pain, yes, my tongue was stuck to my fudgesicle. It hurt. I tried to pull away from the frozen treat, but it did not work. Only one little tastebud would come loose at a time, and time is not something I had. I could feel the chocolatey goodness start running down my chin and I knew I only had about thirty seconds before it started leaking all over my clothes. And my tongue was going numb. Did I mention it hurt, because it did. I ran to the sink, I ran hard. My dad laughed at me as I poured hot water over my injured tongue to release it from the fudgesicle. BAM! it works. I could not feel the end of my tongue so I went to go look at it in the mirror. There were little patches of missing tastebuds. And I was losing blood fast. (I actually wasn't losing blood fast, I just added that for dramatic effect) I thought for sure there would be permanent damage. But there wasn't because today I am fine. Please be careful when eating frozen goodies.

Now how intense was that??

So last night we had a small group "outing" at chris and kellee's house. And it was definitely a small group considering there was only me, kellee, amy, kiana, emily and kathleen (who isn't in my small group but came anyway) But oh my goodness I had a good time. We had chocolate fondue, which might have been better if we didn't burn it. But I am definitely not blaming anyone because it was our first time using the pot and how were we supposed to know that it was going to get so hot? And for all you curious people out there, burned chocolate tastes like coffee and burned marshmellow. Was definitely not my favourite combonation but the girls didn't seem to mind. We also played scattegories which I LOVE. Amy thought the friendly ghost's name was Jasper. I laughed a lot. I really enjoyed all of the girls who were there last night. I kind of like it when there's only a few people. When there's more the shy-ish ones get lost.
So my sister leaves for India tomorrow and I haven't talked to her yet! This makes me really sad because I don't know if she knows she's supposed to get me a present! hehe. I guess all I can do now is pray for them.
OOh, Danica and I are going to make necklaces for all of the bridesmaids. I have been looking and looking but I haven't found anything that I thought would look nice with the dresses. But luckily danica is experienced and we're going to have a sisterly bonding time of necklace making haha. I should get the rest of the invitations out!
I just thought of this... If anyone ever goes to applebees, you seriously have to have dessert. They have some of the best desserts I have ever tasted. Last weekend nathan and i went and had what the title of this post is. It's like cheesecake with apple chunks wrapped in a tortilla type thing, deep fried and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. I know my blog explains my philosophy about fruit chunks, but this dessert was seriously good. Go and get yourself one.
They also have really good orange pop which i have been a big fan of lately. I haven't had pepsi in like two weeks! I have probably drank like 1,542,901 litres of orange pop though. I wonder if it has vitamin C in it. I'm going to check. It doesn't. K, bye.

If anyone even reads this and you are wondering why I haven't posted anything it is definitely because I couldn't figure out how to sign in. Now that I actually tried and have finally succeeded, I feel like a complete idiot.
In other news... Lindsay is graduating from prbi tomorrow with her associate in christian studies. I am so proud of her and I really wish I could have gone but unfortunately I had to work. booooo. And I am very proud of my greatest friend Vanessa too. (She's also graduating) I remember last year around this time I was getting ready to go to Sierra Leone and I had plans of going back to school next year. Wow, things have changed haha. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice of not going back to school. Vanessa really encouraged me in this though by saying that even if it wasn't the right choice it's not like God is saying "Oh, she made the wrong choice, she's on her own now." So thanks Vanee, you made me feel way better.
Oh, and I'm also pretty jealous of these two because they are leaving for India in two-ish days and I have to stay here. But i'm getting married so that kind of makes up for it haha.
Okay, i'm done for now. I hope I have enough interesting things happen in my life so that I can actually write something that people will want to read.