Valentine's Day - by Kim

So....2 of the greatest men in the whole wide world gave me flowers today...and I just wanted to share them with you. (And my mom was also a part of the flowers from my daddy!) Daniel delivered the
tulips to me while I was tutoring at school - what a sweet surprise. And the flowers from my folks were waiting for me at the house when I got home that evening!!! What a great Valentine's Day!!

Be An Abolitionist

Modern day slavery. I had never thought about it until last night when Daniel and I saw a preview of the film, "Amazing Grace." It debuts in theaters February 23. We encourage you to go see it!

Here are a couple of websites to learn more about modern day slavery and human trafficking. www.theamazingchange.com and www.freetheslaves.net The following are statistics and brief stories taken from The Amazing Change website. For the complete stories you can click on this link.

STATISTICS

27 Million: Number of people in modern-day slavery across the world
Sourced by the UN, New York Times, Amnesty International, The Christian Science Monitor, and Free The Slaves, among others.

800,000: Number of persons trafficked across international borders each year
Sourced by the US State Department, International Justice Mission, and Antislavery.org, among others.

17,500: Number of foreign nationals who are trafficked into the U.S. every year
Sourced by the US House Of Representatives, and the Polaris Project, among others.

91: Number of cities in the United States with reported cases of trafficking
Sourced by Georgia State Representative Jack Kingston, Freetheslaves.net, and Polaris Project, among others.

50: Percent of all victims are children
Sourced by the US House of Representatives Committee on International Relations, and the US Department of State, among others.

$50 Million: US Government budget for efforts against human trafficking
Sourced by the US State Department.

$19 Billion: US Government budget for efforts against drug trafficking
Sourced by the White House Drug Policy website.

20 Million: Number of bonded laborers in the world
Sourced by Free The Slaves.

218 Million: Estimated number of children working aged between five and seventeen
Sourced by the International Labor Organization.

126 Million: Estimated number of children who work in the worst forms of child labor - one in every twelve of the world's five to seventeen year olds.
Sourced by the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and the US Embassy in Uruguay, among others.

300,000: Estimated number of child soldiers involved in over 30 areas of conflict worldwide, some younger than 10 years old.
Sourced by UNICEF, the BBC, and Amnesty International, among others.

STORIES

James
An abducted child kept as a slave in the Lord's Resistance Army, James was forced to brutally kill his own brother who had been abducted with him. He was rescued from captivity, but demonstrates the fragile psyche of a child victim forced to kill or be killed.

Sita in Bihar
Thanks to Free The Slaves' presence in Purnea, India, Sita is no longer suffering at the hands of her captors as a bonded prostitute.

Kani
International Justice Mission had just raided the rock quarry rescuing 76 people from bonded slavery including many children. Just as the operation was complete and IJM staff were leaving, a desperate woman banged on the door of one of the cars in IJM's caravan.

Nagaraj
For Nagaraj, the hope of a life of freedom was stronger than the threats and abuses he and others endured in the brick kiln. The worst part, he says, was seeing his children there, getting sick from excessive work in the searing heat, knowing that they could never go to school and would grow up to become another's property. Nagaraj himself was a slave since the age of 12.


Laxmi Shrestha
Lami is a ten-year-old RUGMARK student who was rescued from a Nepali carpet factory by RUGMARK inspectors at the age of six. She now lives at a RUGMARK rehabilitation center and attends fourth grade at a nearby private school.

Super Bowl XLI

We had a really low-key Super Bowl party, but had a great time with our friends, Brent and Rebecca. Rebecca impressed us with delicious ribs...and it was her first time to make them! Props to you, Rebecca.

Rebecca and Brent have become sweet friends of ours over the past year. They have been married about 2 years and have shared with us some of the the wisdom the Lord has given them about marriage. We're thankful for their hearts for Jesus, for missions, and for holiness. They are a great couple to share life with...and eat ribs with! And in just a couple of weeks, they're gonna be mommy and daddy!

6 months and counting...

Monday will be our 6 month anniversary. We celebrated this weekend! I (Kim) had mentioned to Daniel that what would make me the happiest is if he would plan the entire evening. And wow-zers...did he ever!! If I were a teacher, passing out grades, he would get an A+. If I were an olympic judge, he would get a 10.0+.

What did he do to deserve such applause? The pictures won't do justice to the evening, but here are some for your viewing pleasure:

The night began around 4:00 when he told me I should dress up a little - well, at least "no jeans" is what he actually said. We were to leave at 5:00. In the car, we headed down I-35, toward downtown Fort Worth. He knows I love downtown Fort Worth, so I thought that might be where we were going. But, then we took the exit for I-30, which leads to Dallas. Our destination? Reunion Tower. You can click on the link and see a picture. Reunion Tower is the tall building with the lighted ball on top. The restaurant revolves for a beautiful view over Dallas. Romantic. Pricy. Delicious. We enjoyed sirloin steak, au gratin potatoes, veggies, blackened ahi-tuna, mashed potatoes, and gorgonzola-stuffed ravioli, and finished the evening there with an apple torte with ice cream. After dinner we hung out at Starbucks and laughed like crazy as we walked down memory lane of the first 6 months of our marriage. After Starbucks we headed home. Little did I know what I would come home to - every girl's dream evening. Yes, Daniel had asked our friends Mike and Tina Niemi to come set up our house for a romantic evening at home. And romantic it was. I walked in to hear love songs playing on a CD, tea light candles lit in our living room, hallway, and bedroom, gerber daisies in a vase on the table, and flower petals on the floor leading to our bedroom.


We were both so tired, we went right to sleep. ;-)

21 is way fun!!!

And here we are - that CRAZY AUDI

family I was speaking of in an earlier post. We've almost run out of room on the steps. We've got room for one more adult - Rachel's "Mr. Right," and I guess we have laps for the kiddos that will come in the future!

Starring...MEREDITH!!

WINTER WONDERLAND

We woke up this morning to SNOW ... yes, I said SNOW!! Daniel and I had gotten up, he had showered, dressed for work, and I had made cereal and packed his lunch, and he was about to take the trash out, when he opened the door and said, "Nuh-uh!!!" I thought, "Great, yet another random catastrophe at 4016 Stanley Avenue." But, when I peeked around his shoulder and into our backyard, all I saw was a white-blanketed yard! WOO HOO!! No work for us today!!!!

It was fun to watch the snow continue to fall this morning. It fell until about 9:00 a.m. and it's beginning to melt a bit now.

Thank you JESUS, for a needed day off after a long, but somewhat unrestful weekend!

XMAS with MLK in MD

Enough letters there for ya?

We flew out of DFW Thursday night at 9:30 and arrived in Maryland around 1:00 a.m. eastern time, just in time to meet up with Josh and Elizabeth, Becky and Lance, and Mom and Dad Audi. Having not all been together since the wedding, we were excited to see each other. So excited that we made the poor decision to stay up until 3:30 a.m. on the first of 4 nights with 21 Audis!

Our reason for gathering? Christmas! And a wedding shower for Josh and Elizabeth!

The Audis have a Christmas family tradition of singing a song they made up when Steve, the oldest of the 6 children, was around 11 or 12. Here they are singing the Audi hit single, "Ooooo-yeah-yeah!"

Meanwhile, the in-laws sat together pointing and laughing at the crazy family we married into!

In other weekend news, the girls took Elizabeth, our soon-to-be (April 14) sister-in-law, out for coffee and s'mores in downtown D.C. I have had the privilege of getting to know Elizabeth since she's in Texas with us, but this was only the 2nd or 3rd time for most of the family to hang out with her. Elizabeth, you passed ... with flying colors!! I know everyone is so excited to soon call you an "Audi"! If you squint your eyes you can see the capitol behind us! Yes, we stood in the middle of the street in downtown to take a picture!!

We had a great weekend, with LITTLE sleep...but that's what happens when the adults want to have adult hang out time after the kiddos go to bed around 8 p.m. - we start our night at that time! Here are the little munchkins!

Reflection on 2006

Saw this on a friend's blog, so Dania, thanks!

So, are you excited for the new year?
Very much so - it's our first full year together and we're seeking the Lord about decisions we'll make in this new year!

What was your favorite thing about this past year?
I married the man I have prayed for and dreamed about for years on July 29!

Who was your best friend(s)?
Daniel.

Did you fall in love this year?
No, did that in 2005.

Did you get your heart broken?
No, just the opposite. I've learned more about the Father's agape love this year as He has shown it to me tangibly through Daniel - I'm learning of His unconditional love, forgiveness, new mercies. It's so much clearer in this tangible covenant relationship He's given me.

Did you get a new car?
No, still have the one my daddy bought me when I graduated from high school in 1997. The Honda's still running nicely!

Go somewhere exciting?
Colorado with the Cornerstone, Little Rock for Ashley and Austin's wedding, Maryland to see Daniel's family, and the Dominican Republic for our honeymoon.

Did you have a resolution for this year?
Was just reading in my journal to see if I made any. I asked the Lord to sharpen my character this year. Not sure if it really counts for a resolution if I had to go back and look to see what I set as goals!! :-)

Did you keep it?
My character is being sharpened. Some days I uterly failed in the decisions I made. Other days I was somewhat victorious. The Lord especially used our getting engaged in February, planning a wedding from February thru July, and now in marriage learning more and more to throw away my "single girl" mindset and my selfishness and run hard after Jesus, displaying Him in my love for Daniel and in the way I treat him....oh, yes! Jesus is sharpening my character!

Did you dye your hair?
Nope.

Lose any friends?
Don't think so.

Make any mistakes?
Sure, that's part of life.

How much do you think you changed?
Not really sure. Probably it would be more accurate to ask Daniel and my family and other friends.

What month was your birthday?
March!

Was it special?
Um....the day wasn't so hot - I had finals at the seminary. But, my roomie made me cinnamon rolls, which are my favorite!!! The evening of my birthday was MUCH better - Daniel took me to dinner at Papadeaux's and then surprised me with listening to a tape he had recorded throughout the day with birthday wishes from some of his ESL students, random people in stores he went in that day, my co-workers, and sweet words from him! Super sweet!

Do you regret anything?
Yes - I regret holding on to concerns on my own strength, giving in to the enemy's attacks on me with putting fears and insecurities in my head and in my heart that are silly and definitely not from my Daddy...

Anything you regret NOT doing?
I regret not trusting the Lord's sovereignty in so many of those concerns, not choosing to believe the Truth Jesus gives.

What are you most thankful for this year?
The gift of getting to marry the man who became my best friend in 2005 and who I fell in love with. I read through so many journals I have written in years past and discovered over and over how much the Lord heard my heart's desires - from big things to tiny little details. And He gave me my heart's desire in Daniel!

Did anyone you love die this year?
Yes.

How many significant others did you have?
Daniel is the only one who has my heart!

Did you get in trouble a lot?
A lot?....no. Some?....yes.

What is your resolution for next year?
To know Jesus more and more. To trust in Him in all of my insecurities and fears. To believe that He is Sovereign and live like I believe that.

Who's house are you going to party at?
We invited friends to ours. (see blog below)

Going to watch the ball drop on TV?
We turned on the TV at 11:50 and watched the countdown at 11:59!

Will this year be better than last year?
Certainly - growing in Jesus, growing in our marriage!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

We brought in the new year with Daniel's brother, Josh, and his fiance, Elizabeth, and our friends Michelle and Caleb. Daniel and I got the game "IMAGINEIFF" for Christmas and we all played it until we brought the new year in at midnight! It's a game with questions like, "Imagineiff Kim were a body part, which would she be?" And the choices are: 1. toes, 2. stomach, 3. brain, 4. mouth, 5. leg, 6. head. Then each player gets to choose one of the choices. The answer with the most votes allows those players to move forward one space on the game board. Another question is, "Imagineiff Josh were a girl's name, what name would he be?" The choices are: 1. Summer, 2. Brittany, 3. Olga, 4. Victoria, 5. Sybil, 6. Mary. We had so much fun! If you're looking to get to know your friends better as well as laugh the night away, this game comes highly recommended - at the end of the night, we all commented that we hadn't laughed that much in quite a long time!

Amidst the fun night of laughter, we had some sweet time praying for each other and talking about what we'd like to see happen in our lives in 2007.

As the clock ticked down to midnight on the tele, we watched the one-hour-delayed countdown in NYC. I had made virgin strawberry daquiris to drink at midnight so we could celebrate in style! The night ended for us at 3:45 a.m. - the latest Daniel and I have stayed up in a looooong time! But we had a blast with our family and friends!


HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!