Words

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!