I'm Krista. I'm a wife, a mom, a daughter, an artist, singer, and a dancer. I'm a stay-at-home, God-seeking, art-making, people-loving woman. I have the most amazing husband a girl could ask for (Ryan), and the sweetest little 9 week old baby boy in the whole entire world (Judah)! We live in Michigan where my husband has a job that has been a total blessing, and I get to stay at home with our little sweet pea and lead worship for our church.
I'm originally from Florida, but moved up here my 4th year of college and never left. Sometimes I miss it, sometimes I don't. My love for Michigan is comparable to a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts - the first one tastes amazing. You go for the second, and it tastes OK. Your belly starts to question your mouth by donut number four. And by your sixth, you're sick to your stomach.
It's not so much the state of Michigan that I dislike, it's more the weather. That's the donut part. I grew up on the beach. I haven't seen the beach in three years. My skin was born to be a natural sun-kissed bronze 365 days a year, but I'm currently a little more on the Pillsbury Doughboy side of white. And speaking of tan, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to get one by the time I stand in my sister's wedding in 5 weeks. Morgan is 28 and lives in LA with her fiance Andre and their two abnormally spastic cats. But they're getting married in South Carolina, just miles from my mom's house in North Carolina. Morgan and I fight like sisters and laugh like sisters. Does that make any sense? We're so alike, and so different all at the same time. And sometimes, all she has to do is look at me and I know exactly what she's going to say. My mom Gail and my stepdad, Jim bought an old house in North Carolina, and my mom has been living the life, doing what she loves to do - fixing up the house, and bouncing back and forth from there to Florida where Jim still works. My mom can be crazy, and obsessive-compulsive at times, but regardless of how much she drives me nuts, she's my heart and soul. I wouldn't be the person I am without her.
Ryan and I have been married for almost two years. When I met Ryan, I couldn't have gotten any more messed up. I walked around pretending to be someone I wasn't. In fact, I'm not sure I knew who I was anymore. Thank you God, for Ryan. He helped me find myself again. Ryan went to school for teaching, but never found a teaching job. I went to school for theatre, but never found a theatre job. Together, we have been denied by every school system and entertainment venue in the tri-county area, but nevertheless, loved by the banks that are collecting our unconceivable amount of student loan interest each month. We live in a tiny 1400 square foot apartment and dream of the day we can finally buy a house. Ryan drives 120 miles each day to his 100% commish job where he has no room for growth, but we thank the Lord for each day. I make my art (and that's a very general title because the list of my interests seems to grow every hour) at home, dreaming of the day when I can sell it somewhere and actually make a profit from it. And we attend our small, but beloved church where my in-laws, Pat and Theresa, are the pastors, and I lead the worship team on a volunteer basis. (Mama warned me I'd never make any money in the arts - I just didn't listen) Pat and Theresa have Ryan, my husband, Joe who is my age, and their newest daughter, Bryn - born in Cambodia, adopted by a family in New Zealand, and then given a second chance with us.
But really, the honest-to-goodness reason I'm here (and by here, I mean on this earth) is for 13.1 pounds of giggling, smiling, pooping, eating and drooling deliciousness- Judah Ryan Brady. He has cheeks a squirrel would envy, hair on only 1/3rd of his head, and rolls upon rolls that make me want to break out the butter. 9 1/2 weeks of this little guy, and I can't remember how I breathed before he existed.
He thinks his hands are the coolest toys around, yesterday he discovered his tongue and sticks it out every chance he gets, and when he smiles at us, oh when he smiles! It reminds me how precious life is, and why we are here in the first place. It isn't really about finding the dream job we can brag about, or a house so big that your stuff has 'stuff'. It's not about the overdue bills or even (yikes) laying out on the beach and getting a perfect tan. It's about the uncontrollable love I have for all of these people that I just mentioned above. It's the relationships I've had, and the ones I'm creating. It's about a hug, a phone call, a wedding, a birth, a new sister, a second chance and a smile that takes your breath away. It's about love. And that's what I'm here for.
God reminded me just two days ago when I was up on stage singing: Love is the Answer. Sometimes I just need a friendly reminder.
No comments:
Post a Comment