Author Archives: kristen

Another Year Ends & Then Begins

Everyone’s back to school. Michael’s searching for summer work for 2010. Lexi started ballet. I’m driving from Southside to Woodlawn or Crestwood (and back) 3x a day, fighting the UAB students for parking, and, of course, running a business.

It’s all just the same. The grind. Different grind, but the grind all the same.

In tweaking some godly play lessons for our church, I worked on one lesson about the church calendar. The original version talks about how time will cycle on and on, forever and ever. I made an addition of “until one day, when Jesus returns and everything is made new. Our circle will be broken with the new time of the new heavens and the new earth.” This concept of new time was not one I had ever thought of, but I am starting to long for that part of eternity, too.

She’s Off

We dropped Kate off at kindergarten this morning. She was ready, excited, and did not shed a tear. Neither did we. Praying for a great first day!

15 Books That Stick

I have been tagged a bunch of times on Facebook for the 15 books that stick with you meme, where you quickly come up with 15 books that you will always remember (in less than 15 minutes.) Here’s my list (in no particular order):

My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Koninsburg
Gilead/Home by Marilynne Robinson
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life by Bob Lupton
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Chronicle of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
The Second Coming by Walker Percy
The Time Trilogy by Madeline L’Engle

Tag me on facebook or leave a comment if you do one, I’d love to see it!

Still a Great Adventure

Today is our sixth anniversary. Michael and I have done a lot in the time we’ve been married, and as I look towards the future more change and challenge awaits. I’m thankful we’ll be tackling it together.

I Like to Give Things Away

Seeds Family Worship contacted me a few weeks ago and offered to send me a set of CDs to giveaway. I decided to do so at another blog I contribute to, feel free to go over there to enter. The songs are pretty fun, and all straight from the NIV, you can listen to them on their website. I have a coupon code for 20% off – KSTEWART09 – that doesn’t expire until January 10th, 2010 if you’d like to order some for yourself.

KSP Giveaways

It’s been a good year so far for Kristen Stewart Photography, and for that I am very thankful. To beat the heat and thank my customers I am doing three giveaways in the next few weeks. The first one ends tomorrow. If you are local to Birmingham or Raleigh, or willing to travel there, you should enter! Get the details on the blog or facebook page.

Choosing a School or Why Cornerstone?

A year ago, we were in the midst of trying to start a small city grammar campus – starting with just one class – of the local classical school that is sponsored by a large suburban PCA church. In a lot of ways, this was our ideal. School in the city, with an urban culture, but under the oversight of an established school and its board, with most of the factors such as curricula already decided for us. Michael taught at the upper school before law school, and we saw firsthand its many benefits and excellent results. However, the idea of sending our children 15 miles into the depths of the suburbs for 13 years of education (and driving our fair share of carpools there and back) was not that attractive. So the idea of a grammar school in the city (and then maybe a bus!) sat well with us, and we were very hopeful that we had a good chance of pulling it off.

Due to a number of different disappointing factors, things never coalesced, and we never reached the momentum we’d need to open with even ONE class. In mourning the loss of a great idea unrealized, I had a really hard time getting excited about the good and fine grammar school in the suburbs. Trying to think about how I would make it work even with carpooling, since Lexi’s preschool is 5 miles in the other direction (and it takes 40+ minutes to drive between the two), gave me a headache. And I feared the headache would continue every school day for the next two years as I drove non-stop, tiring myself out. Continue reading

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Watch over thy child, Kate, O Lord, as her days increase; bless and guide her wherever she may be, keeping her unspotted from the world. Strengthen her when she stands; comfort her when discouraged or sorrowful; raise her up if she fall; and in her heart may thy peace which passeth understanding abide all the days of her life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ + +

Five seems like such a milestone and this birthday seems so emotional for me, but one thing I am certain of is that I am blessed to be Kate’s mom. It is amazing to me that many of you kind readers were around when she was born, praying for us, guessing when she’d make her debut, checking in for news. Thank you for your prayers for Kate, then and now. May she be a woman known for wisdom and compassion, may she bless others with her kindness and love, and may she always rest in the knowledge that she belongs to Jesus.

Summertime and Isaac Watts

Whatever this season is in the life of our family, it isn’t one of blogging. It is busy. So busy, I smocked dresses this spring and finished them a week before Easter morning but haven’t carved the time to construct them. I said that I’d do it before Eastertide passed, but it has. Work has consumed a lot of my time and Michael’s as well. His 1L year is done and I’m proud of how well he did. This summer he’s working hard doing lawyerly things and I think he’s going to be a great attorney someday.

Now that the girls are out of school, I wish that I had a little less to do so we could spend more time at the library, pool, etc. but we’re making it around to such things regularly, which is better than not at all. They did just finish a week at backyard ballet camp and you can view a precious video of their recital on facebook. When Kate was born, I daydreamed about when she would be five and I could dress her up in her jumper as “kindergarten Kate.” That day is right around the corner, with her birthday next week and the uniforms needing to be bought. It’s a strange feeling to watch someone grow up before your eyes. Whomever said the days are long, but the years are short is full of great wisdom.

Every year I see more and more my need for community, probably because we’ve never lived in the same city as our families or lots of people we’ve known forever. And little by little, community grows, even when I feel like I have so little to offer my family let alone those beyond it. It’s a beautiful thing. We sang this hymn on Sunday, that talks about the windows of God’s grace where we see the Lord, and to me, that’s often through kindness, empathy and encouragement. The manifestations of community are the goodness of God to me in a very real way. Anyhow, every time I hear this hymn, it sticks with me, so I’ll share it with you, kind reader, until I post again (sooner or later.)

I love the windows of thy grace,
Through which my Lord is seen,
And long to meet my Savior’s face
Without a glass between.

Oh that the happy hour come
To change my faith to sight!
I shall behold my Lord at home
In a diviner light.

Haste, my Beloved, and remove
These interposing days;
Then shall my passions all be love,
And all my powers be praise.
–Isaac Watts
(more info, sample, CD, etc. found here)

The Complete Persepolis

The Complete Persepolis is a graphic memoir, a coming of age story of a girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution. It’s sweet, funny, educational, serious, and sad all in turn. The reader acutely feels the longings of the author for love, for normalcy and for acceptance, but in an irreverent and lighthearted way.

The second half of the book focuses on Satrapi’s time spent in prep school in Austria. Her experiences as a third culture kid, in a country without parents, are a valuable insight into the loneliness and isolation of that situation. The story doesn’t end with a difficult and confusing childhood, but rather sees the author through her maturing process.

The simple pen and ink drawings fit the story well, the author is obviously talented and the starkness of them serves to convey the mood. It’s a graphic book that’s accessible to those less familiar with the format and is well received by readers of a variety of backgrounds. (9/10)

Breaking the Silence

Praying for Elizabeth, Sloan and Henry today.

As I think of all the ways that those whom I love suffer, all I can pray is help our unbelief, help us to know that this pain is not the way it’s supposed to be.

April Comes And Goes

I’ve spent a lot of April contemplating. The things I’ve wanted to say, are easy to say in 140 characters or less. But I want to break the silence.

Hypothetically, Michael going to law school was a step out in faith, that God would provide for our family and that this move would be a positive one for us. But in reality, I saw it more as a logical, easy decision at the time. With the economy where it is, it’s actually turned out to be a lot more risky and scary than I thought it would be. And that’s okay, for right now. I spend a lot of time praying “help my unbelief.” Actually, that’s what I always end up praying historically, but it seems different somehow right now.

Sometimes I am really overwhelmed. Sometimes I honestly laugh and think, “this is going to be a fun story someday.” Those times often sequence in seconds or minutes, which is another story unto itself.

God’s goodness isn’t far from us. I feel it tangibly every day. I wonder what God is doing, but I see that he’s doing something. Looking forward, I can see a lot of neat opportunities we have as a family and I get excited, and I can’t wait to tell all of you about them. But I need to get some work done before preschool is over!