A Couple of Letters...

SAY IT ALL!!

A for Awesomeness!

Cousin Sara and I

O for Oblivious...love you guys :)

Erik and Cousin Jon

C for Caines

I CAN NOT wait, I am one lucky girl!

Plans...

Rarely go my way! And I thank God for that..hahha. I daydream and plan in my head constantly, about everything!! And God is continually teaching me to let Him guide me, to trust that He knows what my soul truly needs.

A wonderful example of this, Halloween! I kid you not as Erik and I were driving home from last year's Halloween party (which was WAY FUN) I was planning what we would do this Halloween. We decided we would dress up as Captain Hook (Erik) and Peter Pan (me). So then a year passes and we are trying to decide when to get our costumes and where we were going to celebrate. At this point its not even fun and its the week before finals. We were stressed and tired due to work and school schedules, yet we HAD to stick to the plan. Finally, Erik being the more sane, realistic one as usual suggests we just let it go. I had been planning for a year how much fun we would have... how could we just not do it?! But we didn't, I spent the day in the library studying and Erik was at work. Then we met at school and had one of the funnest nights!! What did we do? Had dinner at Panda Express :) Sitting across the table from my best friend and eating my orange chicken I knew things were exactly as they were meant to be!!

We both still love that night, and remember that our Joy is NOT defined by our circumstances.

TRUST.LOVE.FAITH.

The other night Erik and I were filling out the application to have our ceremony at Glenkirk. The application contained logistic questions (date, time, etc.) and also questions pertaining to our faith, beliefs, and views of marriage. One moment from that night has been replaying in my mind.

There was a portion of the application that had a series of open ended statements. I read aloud, "Divorce is..." Erik replied, "Not an option for us." Such a simple, yet appropriate answer. However, what impacted me is not only the words that Erik spoke so matter of fact but rather the manner in which he spoke, without hesitation, with such truth and authority. More than ever I am convinced that our God is the only one who can provide such certainty to a union of two people, two souls united forever.

Mark 10: 6-9

But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.

LA County Fair!!!

With all of my whining on the blog, I don't want anyone to feel too bad for me. Occasionally, I do interact with the outside world and have some fun :) The most recent outing being the LA County Fair with Erik! We had such a great time just goofin around all day together! So here is living proof that even in the midst of the DPT program life goes on and there are still laughs to be had and special memories made!

Our Future

The baby goats are our Favorite!

The dinosaur exhibit was super awesome

Thats my man :)

Study Break

I am at school and have an exam and a quiz tomorrow, and should totally get back to studying :) But I wanted to share what we think our wedding colors are going to be... Be warned I have changed my mind quite a few times, but so far I really really like these and Erik does too!!

Isn't it the perfect fall green??

I will trust in HIM

Well, lets see not much has changed since the last time you came to kick it at my spot :) I am just taking it day by day with school, the 2nd year students warned us about the Fall quarters and oh WOW! Even with all of the warning I had no idea what I was in for, I have never worked so hard in school. Given that I have now been in school non-stop for eighteen years of my life, this is really sayin somethin! So, here and now I publicly apologize to all friends, family and especially my sweet fiance :) This has been a tough adjustment and I may lose it here and there haha... As far as my classes, I had the name of one class wrong (WHOOPS!) I am not taking orthopedics this quarter, but instead therapeutic exercise... ortho is next quarter, they all kinda start to blend together. But anyway, I really love therapeutic exercise! A lot of the stuff we are learning in therex I have practiced while working as a PT aide, but I am now learning when and why certain techniques are more effective than others and what effect therex has in the healing process on a molecular level, it is soo awesome! Call me a geek, thats fine :) Pathology is going well, we are starting to get into differential diagnostic tables, which is really neat to start to be able to categorize different signs and symptoms. Neuroscience is not my most fav. We are learning all of the nerve tracts, Lord have mercy!! I have also started my research project. I am on a research team with five other students from my class. It is an incredible opportunity to do research for an exercise company. The company is developing a diet and exercise program for mommys! I will be writing my thesis paper from this research, and our paper(s) will possibly be published. Right now it feels very overwhelming to add one more thing, but I think in retrospect i will be very thankful that I did not let this opportunity pass me by. God is constantly teaching me that through Him I can do ALL things, I trust that He is leading my path and would not give me more than I can handle. So heres to not holding back and giving it all I've got!!

Ethos

Our Vision:

We are a Christian community called to worship God by impacting our neighborhood through meeting physical, educational and spiritual needs, resulting in devoted followers of Jesus Christ.

Ethos, our church, has been a wonderful answer to prayer. When Erik and I moved back from LB we wanted to find a church together. As we set out on our hunt we came upon many amazing churches although none of them felt right for us. In Sept 2008 Ethos began; we were there for the very first night. Ethos is truly OUR church and it has been a really good year of growing with the church. I am so excited to see what God has in store for Ethos and everyone involved in this upcoming year!!

Last Sunday Erik painted throughout the service, Here's what he came up with

The people at the bottom represent the Church, followers of Jesus Christ. Above that are people and circumstances that we have a tendency to ignore or become judgmental and dismissive of: war, death, politics, homosexual rights protests, homelessness, and sexual perversion. We as followers of Jesus have been called to be the light of the world. The hope and truth that God has given us are meant to be shared with all. I believe we are not called to stay in our own circle where we feel safe and comfortable but rather, to reach out to others, meet them where they are at and be a light for them. The painting represents the Church being a light for the world.

And then, here's the artist with two of his biggest fans :)

First Week of School...

Hi All!!

I survived my first week back to school. It is always quite an adjustment to start school after a nice, relaxing break but this time around was definitely easier because I knew what to expect. The classes I am taking this quarter are: Neuroscience, PT Differential Diagnosis and Treatment (Cardiopulmonary pathologies), PT Clinical skills of Orthopedic therapy, and Pathophysiology. So yeah, it is going to be challenging thats for sure! At this point I do not have a favorite class, they all are really interesting and very applicable to my one day profession as a therapist. The more time I spend in this program, the more I appreciate the people I am surrounded by and the knowledge I am gaining. I have my first two tests this Tuesday, so if you think about me say a

little prayer :)

Meanwhile, the wedding planning is still in full swing... Erik has kind of picked up where I left off. He has been so amazing making sure to take care of wedding details so I can focus on school. Although he is working full time he managed to book our ceremony and reception sites; for this I am very very thankful. Also, many of our family members and friends have helped soooo much, I really can not tell you how loved we feel. Your excitement speaks volumes in this busy time! THANK YOU ALL!!

Well I better get back to studying

Hope all is well

Im Engaged!!!

Holy Smokes!It totally happened, Erik proposed!

I was in complete shock and feel so blessed to have snagged such an incredible man :) All of Erik's careful planning totally paid off, the night he proposed was perfectly romantic and I could not have been more surprised!

He proposed at "our spot" which is in La Jolla, San Diego. A couple of friends were hiding out photographing the whole thing (I was SO clueless). I love that we have candid shoots of the proposal, I will treasure them forever. Later in the evening we met family and friends at our favorite Italian place, Filippis. I was on cloud 9, It just does not get any better!!

Us with his family, Minus Erik's Dad, Dan. Unfortunately, the picture with Dan is blurry, but he was definitely there to celebrate with us... shout out to Dan, much love!!!

Us with my family

Hi!! Welcome to Kickin It With Kel!!

I created this space with you, my loved ones, in mind. I want to be able to keep friends and family updated on my life and thought this would be an excellent way to do just that. As most of you know, I started the DPT program at Azusa Pacific University in February 2009, being a student in this program is such an amazing blessing and also provides many challenges. With much of my time spent on school I have not been able to keep in touch with you all as much as I would like. So, please check in frequently as I will try and update as much as possible. Also, I would love to hear how all of my peeps are doin, so e-mail me when you get a chance

With Much Love

Kelly

As of Late...

I have officially completed three quarters at APU! YAY! Some of my favorite classes being: PT clinical skills (joint range of motion and manual muscle testing), assistive devices (canes, crutches, wheelchairs, etc.), modalities (heat, ice, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, etc.), and Patient Relations (the warm fuzzy stuff). My least favorite class being Anatomy, holy smokes!!! The toughest class I have ever taken, I was working on a cadaver affectionately named Smelly Nelly. Although, this class was somewhat grueling I did learn A LOT! All and all my passion for physical therapy continues to grow. It is such a privilege to be at APU. The professors are incredibly knowledgeable and continually put an emphasis on paring knowledge with a servant attitude, so important in any medical career. I have gained such a tremendous respect for each person who dedicates themselves to a profession in the medical field.

As I diligently work on my degree Erik continues to make huge gains in the world of art. I am so very proud of all of his hard work! In the past couple of months he has taken three storyboard tests. These test are very intense requiring him to come up with characters and sketch out each sequence of a story he creates. To check these out visit his website. My personal favorite being The Waiting Room. We are still anxiously awaiting his first book, which he illustrated. Some of these illustrations can also be found on his website. He is also working at Disneyland (California Adventure) in the Animation Academy as a Disney artist. He teaches guest how to draw Disney characters. I have had the privilege of experiencing several of his shows, sooo much fun!! I did the embarrassing girlfriend thing and videotaped one of his shows; I am hoping to figure out how to put this video on line… so I will keep you all posted.