Hi, My Name is Kristen, vol. 4

...and I'm the Birthday Girl because today I turn 34!!!

Job: A stay-at-home-mom with kiddos in school! I love being at home, helping in Kylie's classroom 1x a week, being in a Bible Study with ladies from around the world, occasionally having lunch with Dan and getting whatever needs to get done mostly done before Kylie gets home around 1pm and the big kids get home around 2:30pm! I LOVE being the one that's home with them when they get home, get a snack, relax and watch a show for a little bit and then work on homework before we start making dinner! I love that I get to be the one who answers their questions and finds out about their day and teases them and gives advice and checks their homework.

Interests: Reading, blogging, reading blogs and getting ideas, keeping up with friends on facebook, painting, making yummy food for my family, catching up with friends, having Dan play with my hair, getting hugs from Jack, cooking with Megan and chatting in the kitchen and snuggling Kylie.

Favorite TV Shows: How I Met your Mother, The Sing Off, Top Shot, American Pickers, Sons, Lots of shows on Food Network, Mad Men.

Books I've loved this year: The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, The Warrior Elite by Dick Couch, Water for Elephants by Sarah Guen, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney, Thirty-nothing by Lisa Jewell, American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield, Love Finds you in Sunset Beach by Robin Jones Gunn, Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, a handful of Magic Treehouse and Who Was/Is books :)

Favorite Foods in Kuwait: Smashed Chicken for their chicken tikka, fatoosh, hummus and amazing mini pitas! Taco Bell because we couldn't get it in Thailand :) Jacket Potato because a baked potato with mozzarella cheese, fajita chicken, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, corn and more cheese is amazing! Green curry, Som Tam and Tom Kha Gai at Oriental Cuisine because it tastes like Thailand. PF Changs for their amazing Crispy Fried Green Beans. Paul for their amazing brioche bread, turkey and brie sandwich with caramelized onions! Onion Pakora from the Fabric Souk! Ruby Tuesdays for their Minis and fries. Copious amounts of cucumbers and feta and red peppers and carrots!

Current favorite meals I make: Crockpot chicken which I love and then make homemade chicken broth with it to make soup, Sweet Potato Soup, Chicken Alfredo Soup, Cheddar Chowder, Chili, Shrimp scampi and orzo pasta salad with olive oil, garlic, feta and red pepper, lasagna, Stir fried chicken and loads of veggies, Roasted baby potatoes with garlic, french toast casserole.

Favorite Apps on the iPad/iPod: Oregon Settler, Mystery Manor, DragonVale, Tiny Village, Pet Hotel, Tap Zoo 2, Drawn, Whirly Word, Scramble, Facetime.

Current music on my playlist: How to Love by Delilah, The Cave by Mumford & Sons, All Your Life by The Band Perry, Airplanes by Urban Method, This Life by Curtis Stigers and The Forest Rangers, Mean by Taylor Swift, Get to Know Me Better by Jackopierce, Made in America by Toby Keith, Go - God is Great - Take it All by Hillsong United, Great are You by Downhere.

What I love about Kuwait: Living on the beach - seeing the waves outside our house every day! Shopping at the Fabric Souk. Dan's group and how great they are. My 2 Bible studies and the wonderful ladies in them. Friends that we are slowly getting to know! Yummy food. Our children's teachers. Dan's morning schedule since he gets to say goodbye with me to the kids in the morning, then we get breakfast and read the Word before he jumps in the shower and heads out to work!

Things I Love: Anything Turquoise, Polka dots and Stripes, My hoop earrings, my Jim Thompson turquoise blanket, Pictures with words (one of the first things I remember about my friend Amy was her coming to our house for a playdate and remarking, "Huh, you must like words a lot." I only have a few pictures or frames without words on them - and the words that are in our house on the walls are very important), my pink blanket (still - Kylie has 1 and I have the other), palm trees, swimming at the beach, flip flops, having my toenails painted, tinsel in my hair, cotton fun colored purses!

Me and my Tweeter

Cooking in the kitchen with my kiddos! One of my favorite things to do!

Debbie, Me, Nver, Marci, Nike, Gabby, Cheri and Shirley
My Bible Study Ladies