I am so excited because I am in Colorado for Thanksgiving with my brother and my new sister-in-law! The weather is beautiful, the meal was fabulous, and my brother couldn't have picked a more amazing wife. Here are the pictures of Team Hankins putting together Thanksgiving...in style.



My mountains!



Michael and Kristin cooking it up



Michael preparing to carve a turkey for the first time



The goods



Hooray for Thanksgiving!



My favorite new sister


We are having a great day, and I hope you are too! Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of my 27th birthday today, I dug through my old photo albums and pulled out a few pictures from my life so far.
Krista Trivia buffs unite...but try not to laugh too much. Here we go!



I was born with a mohawk.



And I just got cuter.



I HATE wearing shoes. I always have.



Cookie Monster is my second favorite Sesame Street character, after the Count.



I am a very creative rabbit namer. Meet Sugar and Blackie.



Once I went trick-or-treating at Christmastime and got a puppy.



I played softball from when I was 7 to when I was 17.



I had emergency open heart surgery when I was 9.



I named my first car the Golden Lima.



I secretly want to be a river guide someday.



I have been known to put marshmallows in odd places.



My hair is very fro-able.



I like to climb on anything...anytime...anywhere.



I have co-penned several songs about...chemistry.



To date, I have set foot in 21 countries:
the United States, India, the Bahamas, Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Canada, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, England, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines, China, and South Korea.



My sister-in-law is the best cosmetologist ever, because she made ME look like THIS!


Phew! I could keep going, but I think that is enough information about me to last you until next year.

Until then, I've got a whole lot more living to do!

☺

He's brought me here where things are clear
And trials turn to gold
He's shared with me His victory
He won in days of old

Oh Lord, I don't deserve
The riches of Your world
But You changed my filthy rags
To linen white as snow

The view from here is nothing near
To what it is for You
I've tried to see Your plan for me
But I only acted like I knew

Oh Lord, forgive the times
I've tried to read Your mind
'Cause You said if I'd be still
Then I would hear Your voice

My Lord, my King, my urge to sing
And praise the things above
No words could say the glorious way
You've changed me with Your love

He's brought me here where things are clear
And trials turned to gold

"Trials Turned to Gold" - PFR

I just got back from a great road trip to the east coast! 





I flew from Wichita to Albany, where my friend Cheryl picked me up and drove me up to the Word of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake, where I stayed with her and her parents and visited my students from Korea.  Cheryl and I lived together in Taiwan for four months this year.


   


Next, I took a bus from Albany to New York City to see my best Taiwanese friend, Fiona!  It was a little bit rainy while I was there, but we went to Central Park and had a great time.  The leaves were beautiful!


   


After a couple days, I left New York City and took a bus to Washington, D.C., where I got to hang out with Megos, one of my best friends from college.  We hadn't seen each other for almost four years!  We had a great weekend together, touring Washington and enjoying each other's company.


   


From Washington, D.C., I flew to Parkersburg, West Virginia to see my friend Amanda, who has been living in Taiwan for the past four months and just got back two days before I came.  It was great to see her again, and it was fun to be able to help her adjust back to American culture.  And she, in turn, introduced me to West Virginian culture (a.k.a. cornhole).


   


For the last leg of my trip, I drove to Salisbury, North Carolina to see my friend Jaime and her family.  I haven't seen her for about four years either, and since I've seen her, she's had two kids!  They are SO cute!  It was great to see what she's done with her life so far, and it was fun to play with her kids.  I raked a pile of leaves and threw her son Eli into them, and he thought that was pretty fun.


   


After spending a couple days with Jaime, I flew back to Wichita.  I am so glad I finally got to take this trip; I wanted to do it last winter, but I was too sick.  It was so refreshing to see all my friends, both old and new from here and there.  

The grand total of states covered on this trip is eight: Kansas, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.  That means I only have seven more states to go!





If you want to see more pictures from my trip, check out my photo album.

It's good to be home!

So keep'em coming these lines on the road
And keep me responsible be it a light or heavy load
And keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise
And I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

"Faith My Eyes" - Caedmon's Call

What's going on tonight?
Is everything alright?
I hope that nothing's wrong
I haven't seen you in so long

What exactly do you do, when I'm not with you?
What exactly do you say, all the time that I'm away?

You tell me nothing's wrong
Seems like I've been gone oh so long
Nothing seems to have changed
Yet the familiar things seem all so strange

I'm away, you're here to stay and I'm away and you're okay
You're here to stay and I'm away, you're here to stay and I'm okay...

-MxPx-

I've been waiting after you
There's nothing left for me to do
Picture perfect in my mind
When it comes down I don't know
Just what I'll find...

-Unknown Artist-

Yesterday I went to an archery shoot! 
We went to this farm in the middle of nowhere and it had a beautiful pond and lots of land.





There were about ten targets set up all around the pond. 
It was kind of like disc golf, except more challenging and more deadly.


                    


There were about ten people total who were shooting, and the first seven had crossbows and got bull's eyes or close to it every shot.  So I hung out behind the pack with another guy and his wife who were using a normal bow.  We took turns shooting and missing and laughing and looking for arrows.  It was just my speed.

After the shooting, we had a bonfire and roasted hot dogs and made s'mores.  It was fun.

I only ended up shooting five times (for fear of losing one of the guys arrows for good) and one of those times I got a bull's eye!    ...And by bull's eye I mean that I hit the paper that the target was drawn on.  





Hey, quit laughing.  I didn't see YOU get a bull's eye...

This week I found myself struggling against darts of discontent, mistrust, and panic that were being thrown at me by the enemy.  But one morning I heard a song about how when nothing around me seems true, He is.  And somehow it just brought a flood of perspective to my current situation.  I was so focused on one part of my life that wasn't going as I thought it should that I forgot the big picture of what God has given me. 

I realized that I am a girl who has traveled all over the world.  I have a great job where I can teach the Bible to women and develop the spiritual gifts I have been given.  I have a great family that supports me and loves me and trusts me.  I have a friend who could possibly turn into something more over time.  I know what God has asked me to do for the next year, and I am learning more and more who I am in Christ. 

With that view of my life in my mind, the situation I had been struggling with suddenly disappeared.  No matter how you look at it, I am unbelievably blessed, and I am very content to be right here, right now.  The Lord really has (and is...and will!) given me more than I could ever dream of.

***

Could it really be
Is this what you've planned for me
Cause it's more than I can dream of
My heart has never felt such glory
Each day is like a never ending story

Show me what you can see in me
And how this becomes reality
I'm willing to be what you see
Here is my all, my heart and soul
Take my hand, take my will, take control
I promise I won't let go

Is this what you see
Something to complete in me
Cause it's more than I can dream of
My eyes have never seen such glory
Each day is like a never ending story

It's clear that you're calling me
I'm trusting in what you see
I'm waiting patiently

As my life reflects all around me
I accept what you give to me
And it's clear that it's more than a dream

- Raze -

Okay, I have posted all of the pictures I have from the wedding.  I may add more later as different people's photos pop up on Facebook, but this is all I have for now.  Click here or on the link to the left to check them out.