Dear Family and Friends,

Merry CHRISTmas! I know I’m cutting it short 2 days before Christmas, but we took such a cute Christmas picture, I might as well write the letter to go with it, right? We hope this season brings you closer to your family, friends, and the things that truly matter in this life. How blessed we are to be able to say “Immanuel!” our God is with us!

This last year and a half or so has been a trying one for us, but this Christmas we are blessed to celebrate the redeeming work God has been doing in our lives the last few months! I will try to summarize briefly –

The beginning of the year brought Dan a second job leading worship at Christ First Baptist Church of Covina, which was a blessing since I was still out of work. Dan enjoyed conducting an adult choir and leading a worship band every week. We met and got to work with dear people there, but the load of working 60+ hours a week was certainly trying on my hubby!

Then in the summer, I was unexpectedly and quickly hired at Azusa Pacific University in the Alumni Office as the events coordinator! This came at just the right time, after finding out Dan’s school district would be making more budget cuts in the fall. I love my new job, and feel very blessed to be in such a great environment like APU everyday.

In August, Dan and I had a very groovy 30^th birthday party together. Held in our backyard with a 70’s theme, we had a blast with family and friends. Thanks to all who came!

The fall brought Dan to working on his Master’s Conducting Recital – coordinating over 40 volunteer musicians, selecting and researching music, rehearsing weekly and putting a superb program together. As most of you know, it was an outstanding evening. His hard work paid off, and I couldn’t be more proud of him! (Is he now done with his Master’s, you ask? Almost – he must still finish his Thesis paper and take comprehensive exams in the spring, but let’s just say the hardest part is over.)

In November, Dan and I made a tough decision to step away from Christ First, and take a year of rest from all outside ministry. We have both been heavily involved in all kinds of ministry since before we were married, and we came to a mutual agreement that we needed a break. We will miss the Christ First family, but we know we are still “ministering” at our jobs daily, and it’s time for us to take a break from other activities for a while.

This leads us to the most exciting part of 2009 – B-Hawk! (That’s short for Baby Hawkins, BTW.) What will we do with all our free time next year? Well, have a baby, of course! We are so thrilled at God’s perfect timing – our bundle of joy will arrive in late May – just in time for Dan’s summer break to correlate with my maternity leave. We look forward to all the joys and challenges this new baby will bring into our lives!

Thank you for sharing in our lives! We pray you and your family have a wonderful time celebrating our Savior’s birth this week!

In Christ,

Dan and Kristi Hawkins

I like Thursday night TV

Wow, I haven't blogged in a long time. Today, as I was reading all my friends' blogs, I realized something. My friends who have kids blog way more than I do. And they blog about their kids. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!)

Now the reason this is a profound thought is because I'm going to have a kid of my own soon. (I think the 4 of you that actually read my blog already know this.) Does that mean I'll have more to blog about in 6 months because I'll only blog about my kid? On the one hand, It'll be exciting to have something to blog about all the time, but on the other hand, I don't want to be that mom that can ONLY talk abot her kid, ya know? I guess I'm just disappointed tonight that my life isn't more exciting or that my thoughts aren't profound enough to be blogworthy on a regular basis.

Other random thoughts from me on this Thursday night:

- Today was the first day someone looked at me and said, "I didn't know you were pregnant! Congratulations!" I guess this means I'm officially showing.

- I'm excited for the 6th season of Lost. Less than 2 months to go!!

- Dan is completely addicted to Super Mario Bros. Wii. Thanks a lot, Semsen. (Yes, it's fun, but we secretly enjoy playing it by ourselves more than playing it together.)

- I'm having a hard time sleeping these days because my legs fall asleep and get numb in the middle of the night. Apparently this happens to a lot of pregnant women, and there aren't any known cures for it, but it's really, really annoying.

- Is anyone else sick of hearing abou Tiger Woods? The older I get, the more I am convinced that no one is immuune to the downfalls of fame. I wouldn't wish fame on anyone.

- It seems that there's this trend right now on APU's campus to be a pacifist. This subject is for another blog, I suppose, I have a lot to say on the subject.

- Almost time for Bones and The Office! That means good bye for now...

Obama's Facebook News Feed

This is funny...

http://www.slate.com/id/2224422/?from=rss

Dah, da da, dah!!

The Wedding Cake!!

It took a week to make, but I'm pleased with it! I wouldn't have had peacock feathers in it, but hey - the bride gets what she wants!

From Eternity to Here

I have to be honest. I'm not actually done with the book yet. But I have read most of it, which means I can mostly blog about it, right?

From Eternity to Here by Frank Viola - "Rediscovering the ageless purpose of God"

The back of the book says, "The sweeping story of God's eternal plan". In my strengthsfinder results, one of my top strengths is "connectedness", so I happen to love meditating on the "big picture" in life...God's big picture.

I am also a hopeless romantic. So the first section, "A Forgotten Woman: The Bride of Christ", focuses on the love story between Christ and His bride. And it's romantic. It has reminded me that all our romances here on earth captivate us so much because they are all just a glimpse of the TRUE love we're longing for.

Part two is called "An Eternal Quest: The House of God" This section focuses on God's quest for an eternal home - not just a place to dwell. A home is where you live, where you communicate with your family, where you rest, where you express your truest self. Here, the author discusses how God has built Himself his home throughout the entire Bible.

Part three is called "A New Species: The Body of Christ and the Family of God" Although I haven't finished this section, it seems to focus on Christ - how He is wholly other than us, but how He calls us as Christians to be "wholly other" as well. I like stories with happy endings, and because I know the Bible ends well, I have no doubt this book will end happy as well.

The good news: I love the reminder that God has a grand scheme and purpose in life. In the day to day, it is easy to forget that. I like the author's points, and he brings up some intriguing ideas to think about.
The bad news: This author is a bit long-winded. I feel he could communicate his points more concisely. So although I love the points he's making, it causes me to want to skim the book instead of chewing every last bite.

Well, there it is...my thoughts for what it's worth! If you read the book, let me know what you think of it!

If you wanna know more - I'm supposed to post this:

The following bloggers are posting a review or Q & A with Frank Viola on his bestselling book FROM ETERNITY TO HERE today, Tuesday, July 21st. You may order the book at a discount at www.FromEternitytoHere.org – it’s also on audio book. Free discussion guide, sample chapters, interviews, and a free audio of the first chapter are available on that site also. Here are the bloggers who are participating:

Jay Becker - www.jaybecker.org
Mark D - http://deadmanstravelog.blogspot.com
Igniting Hearts - Kimber Britner - http://www.ignitinghearts.blogspot.com/
Karyn - http://tiger-kar.blogspot.com
Barefoot Preacher - http://thebarefootpreacher.blogspot.com
Every Day Angels - www.WeAreEverydayAngels.com
FaithEngineer - http://www.faithengineer.com
Kristen Schiffman - http://dancinginthemargins.typepad.com/
CrossPointe: The Church at Bevo - http://churchatbevo.blogspot.com/
Crazy Love for God - crazyloveforgod.blogspot.com
Amazima Ministries - oatsvallteam.blogspot.com
Down to Write Honest - http://downwritehonest.com
A Beautiful Mess - http://blnorth1105.blogspot.com/
The Blakes on a Mission - www.theblakesthailand.blogspot.com
Words by Jud Kossum - http://judkossum.blogspot.com
Eric Jaffe - http://www.ericjaffe.org
Reconnect with God – www.Reconnectwithgod.org
2nd Cup of Coffee - http://www.2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com
Nolan Bobbitt Website - www.nolanbobbitt.com
Klappyanne - www.xanga.com/klappyanne
Daveingland - http://www.daveingland.com
Randi Jo Rooks - http://seedsinmyheart.blogspot.com
Ephesians Five – http://ephesiansonefive.blogspot.com
Michael Bayne - http://www.michaelbayne.net
Encounter Church Helena Blog - encounterhelena.org
Thoughts B4 Conviction N2 Action - tsharrison.blogspot.com
Edevotion - http://www.e-devotion.blogspot.com
Seeking After - http://seekingafter.blogspot.com
Eric Powell - www.encounterhelena.org
Borrowed Light - http://fbcnewlondon.blogspot.com

My awesome 30th birthday -

I can't believe I'm not in my 20's anymore! But instead of whining about it, I'm gonna tell you how awesome my day was.

So my hubby took me to Carpintaria this weekend to celebrate. It was super, super great. We got there late Friday afternoon, hung out at the beach for about an hour, then went to dinner. We tried to swim in the heated hotel pool, but alas, Kristi the wimp still couldn't handle the chill out of the water. (Seriously, I can't wait to someday have hot flashes.)

While at the pool, there was another family there - two young kids, probably about 4 and 6, and thier parents - whose father was smoking at a non-smoking facility, around his kids. Anywhoo, the reason I mention it is because apparently their room was right next to ours. And apparently the children didn't have a bed time on vacation because they were screaming and bouncing well into the evening. But the real fun came at about 10:30 pm when the Fire Alarm (directly across from our door in the hall) was pulled. By some kids. For no reason. And it took the Fire Dept. a good 30 or 40 minutes to turn it off. But the fun didn't end there - oh, no - then the smoking dad next door took the next hour to yell at his kids for pulling the alarm. (Why exactly were his young children in the hallway by themselves at 10:30 at night?) Needless to say, it was an eventful evening. But no worries - Saturday took a turn for the better...

We drove to Santa Barbara and rented a 2-seater bike/buggy thing and rode along the beach for an hour before lunch - it was beautiful!

Then we went to CPK - one of my favorite places - for lunch. They give a decently-portioned sundae for your birthday, and they don't sing to you! Kristi liked.

THEN I did something CRAZY. Well, crazy on the Kristi scale...not really crazy. I went and got my ear pierced spontaneously. It hurt, but totally worth it.

Then we drove back to Carpinteria to enjoy the beach a bit more - one of the top ten beaches in the country, and now we know why! Perfect weather, a perfect day. We ended the day by stopping at the Camarillo outlets on the way home where I got a new outfit for work. Thank You, Jesus, for a beautiful birthday with my hubby, for a blessed 30 years, and I thank all of YOU for the birthday wishes you left me! Good, good weekend...always over too soon!

Yay for APU!

Breaking News! I am now officially the Alumni Chapter Events Coordinator at Azusa Pacific University! WooHoo!

What that really means...I help plan all the big Alumni events like Homecoming and the Dinner Theatre, and I oversee all the Southern California Alumni Chapters (Orange County, Pasadena, IE, etc.). And so far, I LOVE it!

What this means for all you APU Alums out there -
- Come by for a visit! Stop by the office and say hello - we love to see familiar faces and catch up with people. Our office is always open to you!

- I would love your updated contact information. It's always a challenge for our office to stay updated with Alums...we can't let you know all the cool stuff we're doing here at the 'ol hub if we don't have your current information. So just email (khawkins@apu.edu) or Facebook (www.facebook.com/klappyanne) me your recent info and we'll add you to the cool people list!

- I need your opinion and feedback. What kind of Alumni activities would you personally attend? What would get you excited to either come to a chapter event or come back to the school for a visit? How does our generation do this whole keeping-in-touch thing? (Well, you know, beyond cyberspace...)

Looking forward to hearing from ALL of you guys - thanks for letting me ramble for a minute! Hope you're all well - talk to me soon!

Blessings,
Kristi Hawkins

Interesting Video -

This video challenged me. On the one hand, I'm shocked that our president announced to a middle-eastern country that we're not a Judeo-Christian nation anymore, but on the other hand, I don't really believe a nation or government can "be" any religion. Individuals can be Christ followers, governments and institutions...not so much. Reading Jesus for President challenged me to separate the two. I hear what he's saying that our nation was founded on Christian principles though, and for that I am very grateful! But I am sad that our own president is challenging the idea. What do you all think?

Cutest. Movie. Ever.


They have officially perfected storytelling...

Observations of a Sinus Infection:

1. I think it's rediculous how much room for snot there is in the human head. How can there be that much pressure in "cavities"?

2. If you're going to be sick and stuck to the couch for 6 days, you should be sick when good network TV is on. Which is not this week.

3. You know it's time to get well when you can physically feel your spot on the couch getting more worn out by the day.

4. I don't know about you, but when I'm sick, I can't taste anything. Which just makes me want to eat rich tasting food. Which is never healthy food. Which doesn't help make you well. (Confession: I had spicy tacos for dinner, hoping the spice would clear the sinuses a bit. Didn't taste like much, but I did blow my nose a lot!)

5. There's nothing like the dread you feel when you know you have a big singing gig coming up and your voice is leaving you...

6. And last, I hate it when I'm sick for a week and postpone everything, only to have a million things to do once you get better!! (Why can't clothes wash themselves?? WHY??)


Okay, I'm done complaining about my cold. Onto the Lakers...Go Lakers!
Have you guys seen these hilarious Kobe/Lebron puppet commercials? They just showed a new one during the game THE LAKERS ARE WINNING right now, but it's not online yet...
Too bad Lebron didn't even make the finals, but they're still funny -

And it's official...

...there's a website!

www.cakesbykristi.webs.com

Okay, so it's not spectacular. But if someone wanted the scoop on my new business, it's all there! I will of course be upgrading to a much better website once the business is coming in steadily - but let's face it, trying to start a business debt free is a challenge.

So right now think of the next big event going on in your circle of people - then order an incredibly cool cake from me! Because you know you wanna be the one who brings the wow factor...

Happy cake ordering!

Random Updates -

Date Night:
Still the best night of the week...we saw Star Trek, loved it. It was funnier and more character driven than I thought it was going to be. I like their new uniforms. The little boy behind us was way too young to be watching a PG-13 movie, but it was entertaining hearing him react to everything. "Wow! Warp speed goes super fast, daddy!" Thank you, cute little captian obvious.

Lakers:
They pulled it off last night, I'm just still not sure how. It was such a stressful game that Dan and I really couldn't relish in the victory much. I think it stinks when you know how amazing they can be, and they just don't play that way every single game. My optimism hopes they're saving the amazing stuff for the finals...

The Office:
So we always watch it late because of Thurs. night band rehearsals. So the finale - while supurbly acted, and TV watching Kristi was totally beaming and welling up with happiness for them, reality Kristi was sorely disappointed the writers chose to display more people on TV doing things out of order. (I know, I know, they were already living together and sleeping together, so this line was crossed a long time ago, but still. I was disappointed.)

Summer:
This will be the first summer in 3 years Dan won't be in classes...can I express how excited I am about this?? There's only one thing that beats warm weather, the beach, evening walks, time at the pool, long days and barbecues - enjoying all those things with my hubby!

LOST rocks my socks...

So here's my biggest cake order yet...it was for someone graduating Law School, and it was soo fun to make!






LOST Season Finale -

So what did I think if it? I thought it was awesome. What did YOU think of it? Because of limited time tonight, a few highlights...

- Opening scene so unexpected and cool. We're right back to the Backgammon game in the first episode...

- The only thing I was really disappointed about was that we didn't get a Jin/Sun reunion this season...

- I'm going with the theory that the incident was caused by the drilling, not the bomb, and that the bomb did not "go off" but sent our losties back to 2007. We'll see in 9 months whether I'm wrong or not!

- I'm not ashamed to say that Sawyer's grief brought me to tears.

- I hope the "they're coming" in the last scene is referring to our losties!

- Although there was a lot of drama between the love quadrangle this episode, I thought they did a good job of continuing to evolve the characters.

I could say so much more, but I'm more curious if anyone has any different theories than these! How will Season 6 end? And what in the world am I gonna blog about when it does??

7 Years of Bliss...

As of yesterday, Dan and I have been married for 7 years, and together for 9! Time flies when you're having fun...

We celebrated a bit differently this year. Instead of exchanging gifts, we took some of our tax return money and splurged on Lakers tickets. We went to the last game of the season against the Jazz, and sat ON THE FLOOR! (Well, we were behind the basket, but it was still amazing!!) We got to see all the stars play and they won - it was so fun. We bought hats and everything. Totally a splurge we'll only get to do every 5 years, but totally worth it.

Since our 'present' to each other was before our actual anniversary, yesterday we just went on a really nice date. I got beautiful peach roses, we exchanged cards, then went out to dinner. After dinner we watched Slumdog Millionaire - GREAT date night movie! We liked this flick - highly recommend it.

After 7 years of bliss, Dan and I found ourselves both writing similar things in our cards to each other. Both of us are just amazed that the Lord has blessed us with such a strong relationship. How much of it is just God's blessing and how much of it is us working really hard at our relationship we can't say, but it's all pretty wonderful. So today I am thankful. Very, very thankful.


Best line of Dan's card...
"After 7 years of marriage, the only one itching around here is the dog."
Ha!! My husband is sooo funny!

I beat my husband at Buzz Lightyear!!

He must've been really, really tired...but hey, I gotta brag because it will most likely be the only time I will ever be able to!

Something I'm passionate about...

Help end a war! I'm inviting you all to come to THE RESCUE on Saturday, April 25th to help end the war in Uganda and rescue all the child soldiers who have been kidnapped over the last 20 years...



Check out this site, and watch the movie if you haven't already...

INVISIBLE CHILDREN

THE RESCUE

See you there!!

I got a laptop, I got a laptop!!

I wonder if having a laptop will result in me blogging more...only time will tell, right?

Good News:

I LOVE having good news to share - yesterday, for the first time in my life, I won something. I was on my way to the store, listening to the radio - I was listening to STAR 98.7, which I hardly ever do anymore since they went all hard core rocker on me. But it was a U2 song, so naturally I kept listening....and then they played another U2 song...and then I called. And I called, and I called - I must have called 11 or 12 times before it rang. And then IT RANG!! AND THEN THE GIRL WHO ANSWERED SAID I HAD WON U2 TICKETS!!! I am still on a high from it today! See, I've never won anything in my life - and I've always wanted to see U2 in concert. In fact, Dan and I were JUST talking about seeing them live once before they get too old to tour!! So on October 24th, we will see them at the Rose Bowl FOR FREE!!

Book Update:

Now what's funny about this story is I've been reading a lot of books recently that have redirected my focus on the important things in life. And U2 tickets are not important in life...but I'm sure glad I got them! Anywhoo - since my last blog I've finished "Why We're Not Imergent - By Two Guys Who Should Be", and I'm currently reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love". All good stuff. My conclusion about all these challenging books I've discovered lately is this: those comfortable American christians who "need" to read these books never will. And this thought makes me sad. Does anyone else feel this way?

LOST:

I know I've dropped the blogging ball, but I have still been enjoying this season immensely! Last week's Sayid episode wasn't the most action packed episode, but sometimes they have to have those "set up" eps every once in a while. It was worth it for the last 30 seconds - am I right, or am I right??

THIS week's Kate episode, though - ROCKED. I like that we're back to the old flashback format of the show, and we're learning more about the O6 during the past 3 years. I thought this episode was superbly acted by Evie, and gave us a lot of answers (well, a lot for a LOST episode, that is). It was fun to see Cassady again, even if I didn't agree with her "You needed HIM, Kate" line. Kate took Aaron because she felt it was the best option she had for everyone involved - but ultimately, I think Kate needed to protect him, and then let him go, and I was glad to see this come full circle. I also love that Kate's purpose in coming back was to find Claire. She came back for a reason, and it doesn't involve a hunky co-star. That means the only 2 who really came back with a purpose are Kate and Sun...

A few thoughts:

- Has the love quadangle coffin finally been nailed shut? There were plenty of scenes in this episode to make us think so. I personally am totally rooting for Sawyer/Juliet - I think them being together represents both of their characters moving on, evolving, and maturing together. And you know me - I'm all about the characters evolving for the better. I love that Sawyer admits that he wasn't "fit" to be anyone's boyfriend or father before, but that he has also done a lot of growing up the last 3 years.

I still land in the camp of "Sawyer was never Kate's first choice", and therefore was never truly in love with him. However, I also appreciate the comments from Jack that Kate doesn't like the new or the old Jack - because I believe Jack still has more evolving to do before Kate can fall back in love with him.

- Can the future change, or "Whatever Happened, Happened"?? This seems to be the biggest debate right now. The writers seem to be telling us that the future is set in stone (through ep titles, Miles' dialogue, and their own podcasts). Some people say there's no fun in that idea. I say that even if they can't change the future, their characters can change, and that's fun enough for me! However we need to think about the idea that they probably won't be stuck in the 70's forever, which leaves the chance that the series might very well end in the present, in which case we don't know what will happen in the end and there's plenty mystery to be revealed still.

-Why aren't Sun and Frank in the 70's with the others? And what year are they in? I have a million ideas, but none of them really pan out. So I don't know. Do you?

- When will Desmond return? I definitely still think that Desmond is the key to either change the future, or get our losties back to the future. I'm wondering if the end of season 5 will conclude with the return of Desmond and a major shift happening to set up season 6. Besides, I miss the brotha.

- How will the series end? I know, it's too soon to be asking this question. But I can't help myself. The writers have said a bunch of times that they've always had the end in mind. So what end could they have in mind that could possibly still happen now that the series has had sooo much...action? Here's my thought: I think that in order for our losties to get "unlost" permanently, they will have to find a way to destroy the island and make it back to present time mainland. This would do several things: It would make sure they, or anyone else for that matter, never get lost again. It would also have to be a major event that causes them all to work together somehow. I have always thought LOST is such a good group-cast show, this would stay true to that theme. It would also just bring good, permanent closure - which many TV series fail to do. How would this happen? It might involve a nuclear bomb - but I have no idea how they'd all escape. Dan seems to think the series will end on-island somehow. Is it too early to tell? How do YOU think LOST will end?
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Random Thoughts...

Missions:
I've been having the urge lately to just get on a plane and go somewhere. This is the first year in a very long time that I might not get to go on a missions trip during the summer, and I don't think I like it. I have honestly been praying that the Lord would plop an opportunity in my lap - along with the funds, of course! Feel free to join me in this prayer -

Reading:
I just finished reading "So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore?" by Jacobsen and Coleman. Highly recommend it. Not sure why it's titled so, doesn't really fit what the book is about - I would retitle it "Conversations on the struggles of church and Christianity today". When you read it, we can have a contest who can come up with a better title for the book!
Just started "Getting Fired for the Glory of God" by Mike Yaconelli. That guy. He was just amazing. I'm kinda sad I didn't have this book a year ago - it's so aptly titled for me...
Next book on the list - "Why We're Not Emergent" by DeYoung and Cluck.

Ministry:
The Servant Leadership at the Jr. High is going well - we are there everyday for their 2 lunch hours, so it's a bummer that I can't really do lunch dates with people anymore, but I'm loving being around the kids. They are really starting to warm up to our presence on the campus and relationships are forming. It's weird though, we're not really there to build one-on-one relationships, we're there to run a program, so we're not really learning names. I do miss mentoring students one on one the most, but I am very thankful the Lord has still got me in this youth ministry thing.

Cooking:
I don't know why, but the Food Network is now the most interesting channel on TV to me right now! I've been trying new recipies like crazy - I'm so thankful for a husband who will eat anything I put in front of him. Some of my new favorites:
- Creamy Artichoke Soup
- Any sort of Cake!
- Shepherd's Pie
- Pulled BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Movies:
Curious Case -
Saw it last weekend for Valentine's Day. I loved this movie. More than I thought I would. I heard it was good, but I thought it was excellent. Acting - superb. Effects - too good to be true. Story - beautifully heartbreaking. In trying to explain why it was so well done, I think I found that the idea of a man aging young is really out there and odd. But the movie didn't treat it as "out there", it just treated it as "unusual". So the main focus of the story remained on the characters, not the wierdness of the idea. Highly recommend, wish Kate Blanchette had been nominated as well.

Burn After Reading -
Watched this one with a friend - thought it looked funny. Not so much. Dark comedy with a bunch of really messed up people. I'm not a fan of movies where the entire cast of characters has major quirks, flaws and annoyances. Either it's just too twisted to be realistic, or I'm too much of a romantic to believe people are really that messed up. Either way, this movie was one of them (much like "Little Miss Sunshine" was...I know, I know, most of you people liked that one, but I did not), being too disturbing to actually enjoy.

LOST:
Oh, come on, what would a blog from me be without mentioning it?? :)
This week's episode, 316, was completely different than all the others this season. Not in a bad way, it just had a very different vibe and flow to it than past episodes. The opening scene was done well - I knew immediately that it wasn't the first time around but the second, but somehow it made the scene even better.
Questions to ponder...and my pondering.
1. Where did Kate take Aaron?
The logical answer is she gave him to his grandmother, Mrs. Littleton, because this would lead to Claire eventually reuniting with and raising Aaron. The wildcard answer is that Kate hooked up with Sawyer's babymama, and gave him to her, but I think she's in the South somewhere and Kate wouldn't have had time to do that.
Either way, I think it was a huge turning point for Kate, and a piece of her died by doing so. I hate Kate's reaction to being sad...that's the second time we've seen that happen.
2. Did Ben really make good on his promise to kill Penny?
Maybe, but I don't think so simply by the way they showed us the aftermath to keep us guessing. My guess is that Desmond was pretty ticked off to see Ben on his boat, and bashed his head in. OR...Penny defended her son by using blunt objects from her little houseboat. Anywhoo - like I said last week, I think Penny knows a lot more than she's letting on, and I think that whole "You killed my daughter so I'm killing yours" plot has more to play still.
3. Is Frank Lipidus on the island? Did the whole plane crash?
I hope Frank is alive and on the island, I love that guy. I don't think the whole plane crashed, simply because of the way they "introduced" them in the arrival scene. It seemed like the passengers simply got swept up with a "flash" of the island.

Other thoughts:
-Sun and Jin reunion, here we come! Yay...
-Did anyone else notice how the returners had all "switched roles" on the return flight? Sayid is now Kate, Hurley is now Charlie...
-Someone else online had a theory that Kate is now Claire, and she's pregnant, we just don't know it yet...Interesting. That would sure complicate the love triangle a bit. I hope she's not, I think that's unnecessary drama.
-I love how Jack is slowly but surely turning into a man of faith. Him being strictly a man of science up 'till now has seemed to be his major character flaw, and I can't wait for that flaw to be resolved so he can fulfill his potential. But hey, what can I say, I'm a Jack fan.
-I really hope they take the rest of the episodes this season to "flash back" to when the returners were on the mainland to fill in the gaps for us. (We could find out what Kate did with Aaron, if she ever kept Sawyer's promise, how Hurley gets out of jail, how Sayid ended up in handcuffs...)

Enough blogging for one night...someday I'll put up the pictures of my recent cakes. Have a blessed week, all...for we are loved by the King!!

Long time, no blog....

LOST:

This season rocks. Action, action, and more action! The writers are totally rewarding me for being so obsessive for the last 4 seasons! I get really sad when I think how soon it's gonna be over.

A few Key Questions to think about...
-Will all 6 of the Oceanic 6 come back to the island in the next 2 episodes?
-Is Christian Shepherd a "good guy"?
-Is anyone else nervous that Penny and Ben are in the same vicinity right now?
-Is Mrs. Hawking a "good guy" because she's hanging out in a church?
-Could the shotgun-toting "Ellie" in last week's episode be the one and only Eloise Hawking?
-What will be the ultimate task Jack has to go back to the island to complete?

A few thoughts...
-Just as the first few seasons were all about bad daddies, this season sure seems to be focusing on the moms.
-I wonder if Widmore hasn't gone back to the island because he knows that if he does, he'll die (nosebleeds and all), and Ben hasn't shared his secret passageways with him yet. How can Widmore take back what Ben stole if he can't go back to the island himself?
-I think Penny knows a crazy-lot more than she's letting show.
-Doesn't Desmond know that in TV-land, when you make your wife such as strong promise, that's code for "I'll end up doing the exact opposite"???

My Favorite moments/lines from this season so far -
-Ben's temper tantrum in the van this last episode. (Is Ben finally caught without a plan??)
-Sawyer - "Son of a..." (Flash) "Bitch!" (Again, with the mother theme...)
-Sayid killing that dude in the safe house with the knife-loaded dishwasher.
-Desmond and Penny named their son Charlie!! Awww...
-Sawyer:"Are you sure you don't want us to lower you down?" Locke: "Now where would be the fun in that?" (grin)
-Miles: "Don't look at me, man, I'm from Encino"

And just for fun...

My ABC's

A - ADVOCATE FOR: Jesus, youth, agape love, good books

B - BEST FEATURE: My eyes I suppose

C - COULD DO WITHOUT: Cold weather!

D - DREAMS & DESIRES: Too many to list here - to swim with dolphins in Hawaii!

E - ESSENTIAL ITEMS: Dan, good pair of jeans, Bible, Mexican food (not necessarily in that order)

F - FAVORITE PAST TIME: Reading, Creating art, traveling

G - GOOD AT: Creative stuff, performing arts.

H - HAVE NEVER TRIED: Snow skiing or oysters

I - IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: I'd divide it up and use some, save some, give most away.

J - JUNKIE FOR: Date night, Lord of the Rings, LOST, Disneyland

K - KINDRED SPIRIT: Melaine

L - LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I'm related to Bing Crosby.

M - MEMORABLE MOMENT: Getting our stuff stolen in New Zealand and depending on God.

N - NEVER AGAIN WILL I: Well...life's too short to have regrets, right?

O - OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: New shoes when I don't need them.

P - PROFESSION: I hate this question. Let's just say I'm doing exactly what God wants me to do right now!

Q - QUOTE: People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

R - REASON TO SMILE: I am blessed.

S - SORRY ABOUT: Being bad at long distance friendships.

T - TAG SOME FRIENDS: I haven't played tag in years...

U - UNINTERESTED IN: WWF, Seafood, church politics.

V - VERY SCARED OF: Poisonous spiders?

W - WORST HABIT: Leaving the clean wash in the dryer for days.

X - X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: Hawaii or New Zealand

Y - YUMMIEST DESSERT: Brownies with mint ice cream!

Z - ZODIAC SIGN: Don't know, don't care.

I haven't had an ounce of time to blog about the LOST premiere, and I know that if I start now, my hubby's gonna come walking through the door, ready for date night. So, sorry folks, date night wins for now, but my thoughts on the premiere are coming...

Just one thing - Praise the LORD that Jack's beard is gone!

For Lostie Fanatics only...

LOST Season 5 premiers in 3 days - 3 DAYS!! Sooo excited! So of course I've been hashing through the last season trying to glean anything that might be important going in to episode 5.1 this week.

There are 2 scenes that bothered me from last season. 1. When Jack visits Hurley because he's not taking his meds, Hurley tells Jack that he speaks with dead Charlie frequently, and he has a message for Jack - "You're not supposed to raise him, Jack". Then Hurley says, "Do you think he means Aaron?" Jack doesn't respond. So dead Charlie tells Jack "You're not supposed to raise him" via Hurley.
2. Kate wakes up in the middle of the night, hears a noise down the hall. She guns up only to find Claire bending over Aaron, admiring him. When Claire stands up, she says in a very angry tone, "Don't you bring him back, Kate. Don't you dare bring him back!!"

I have always thought these two "visions" were in conflict with each other - Charlie says Jack's not supposed to raise Aaron, which can only mean that he's supposed to bring Aaron back to Claire so she can raise him. (this would follow the psychic's warning from Season 1 who told Claire she was supposed to raise the baby) But if Claire tells Kate not to bring Aaron back to the island, Claire obviously can't raise him.

SOOO - go with me here - what if the "HE" in both those visions aren't referring to Aaron?? What if they're referring to someone else? My guess?? LOCKE. "RAISE him"? "Bring him back?" Like raise him from the dead? Bring him back to life? If Charlie and Claire were both talking about Locke, they wouldn't be contradicting each other. Like they know what Locke did - or will do - if he's brought back to the island. (and you know these writers - it would be just like them to want us to THINK they're talking about Aaron...)

So that's my crazy theory going into season 5. Dan never thought the visions were contradictory in the first place and isn't going there, so what do YOU think?

Happy New Year, everyone!!

Hey, all - Happy 2009! I just wanted to share the cake I did for Jackie's 21st birthday - I think it's my favorite so far!