So. Tired.

**I started this post yesterday, but I'm just now finishing it. So here ya go.**

O my, ya'll. I'm extremely exhausted. But. I'm here. At school. With a smile on my face and a big fluffy sweatshirt on to make this rainy day before Thanksgiving break a little better.



Ok. That's my rant for this morning. Ha.



Anyways, this week is one of my favorite weeks of the whole year! Everything about it is awesome.



1. All of my siblings are here. Which is kind of impossible. Love it though.


2. The rest of my family comes over, too. Precious Grandparents. :)


3. Food. Lots and lots of food. And let me tell you, I come from a longggg line of UH-MAZING home-cookers. :)


4. No School. At least for 3 days. Pure wonderfullness.

5. Lots of reading, painting, sleeping, and other things that make this girl happy. :)

Ok. So now that I've reached a good number of happy Thanksgiving things, I guess I will go! Just to finish this day of school and then on to Thanksgiving break!





P.S. Sassy is laughing histerically because she thinks blogs are ridiculous... She's starting her own as I type. Whose ridiculous now?!? :)

A Quick One

Hey! Look at me... Blogging two days after the last post. :) You should be proud.

So this will be quick, because I'm at school, but just wanted to leave you with a video that our youth group watched a while back. Such an awesome reminder of how our relationship with Christ SHOULD be. For me, it isn't most of the time. I really struggle with giving Christ complete control over every aspect of my life. But this video is an awesome illustration of that struggle.

So. Get off your stool, and let Christ sit down for a while. :)

Junior Year Thus Far

Well, hello there. :)

I know, I know. It's been too long. But my semester so far has been pretty crazy. PRAISE THE LORD I ONLY HAVE ONE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING BREAK!!! One thing I'm thankful for... Thanksgiving break. ;) Ha. Well, school has been crazy. Along with balancing all of the other parts of a teenage girl's life. Oh, Lordy. It's been insane. But, things are looking up, and I think they are starting to settle down... Hopefully.

Lately I've been struggling with a lot of stuff, like I said in my last post, and I think I've come to some sort of conclusion. Basically, I've realized that while I constantly wish for my plans to actually go through, I need to be reminded that my plans may not be God's plans. Honestly, most of the time they don't match up. But even when I think that nothing will work out. That everything is all too stressful. When I feel alone, confused, or whatever. I know that GOD is with me. And HIS plans are much better than mine ever will be.

My life verse, at least for right now, is Psalm 34:18. This is a verse that I think every teenage girl should know. Memorize it. Think it. Believe it. Live it.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed."

So... That's that. I promise that I will try my best to be more disciplined about posting more. You know, I don't know who created blogs, but they have really helped a girl out. It's always good to simply write about drama/struggles/anything else. Whether anyone reads this, or not, I really think that this blog has made me more honest with myself... Thanks Mr. Super-smart-nerdy-blog-maker-guy. :)

Well, I guess I will go now. Yo necesito estudiar para mi examen de Espanol. **Translation: I need to study for my Spanish quiz.** Looks like I've got a head start! Talk to you soon. I promise. ;)

Blogging in Computer Class

Alright. This one will be short. I'm sitting in Computer Class. Blogging. Ironic? A tad, yes. Haha.

I've already finished my projects, so I decided... Why not blog? I don't have any other time to do it anyways.

So... My life has been flying fast. School was crazy last week. So. Much. Homework. It was slightly ridiculous. Ok, very ridiculous. Anyways, a couple of nights of being up until almost two did me in. I'm still catching up on all that lost sleep. Oh, well. Maybe better this week... Yeah, right. :)

My life is kind of boring right now. School. Home. Homework. Eat. Hold my cutest-in-the-world nephew. Sleep. And the cycle starts all over again. Maybe in a couple of weeks, things will pick up. Not that I need to lose any more sleep. Ooof. Makes me yawn just thinking about it.

Spiritually, I'm just dealing with some stuff right now. I'm not exactly sure what that is, but when I figure something out, I will most likely blog about it. Maybe. ;)

Well... Told you this would be short! I'm about to get graded, and I'm pretty sure it isn't on my mad blogging skills. Haha

Talk to you soooooon :)

I AM

Hey... Been a while, huh?

Well, let's just say that these past 3 weeks or so have been more than stressful. Exhausting. Mentally. Spiritually. Physically. Emotionally. It's been insane to say the least. School started, my Brother, Sister-in-law, and Nephew moved in, and just normal life has happened.

I don't think I've ever felt quite like this in my life. It's an odd feeling. Sad, confused, anxious, worried. I'm not sure, but I do know it isn't a good feeling by any means. Not good at all.

So lately, I've been trying really hard to give my everything to My One True Love. But it's hard! Very hard. I definitely don't have all the answers, and I know that I could never figure this out with my own little mind, so God is my One and Only Option. He can deal with this. I can't. He knows everything. I (definitely) don't.

One thing that I have discovered... The older you get, the harder life gets. That's just how it is. But with My Love, I can do it! It won't be easy, and it won't always be filled with nice and happy endings, but when you trust in HIM, you can't go wrong. That's one good decision I've made lately. Ha.

So. Here are a few quotes from a book I've been reading lately...

"When life is more than she can bear, God is more than she needs."
-Hayley DiMarco (God Girl)

"When you learn to love no matter what the circumstances, you learn to rise above."
-Hayley DiMarco (God Girl)

"A God Girl knows true happiness because she isn't lying to herself about what her heart knows, but she puts all her faith on the fact that God is trustworthy."
-Hayley DiMarco (God Girl)

We sang this song in church a while back, and it really hit home.

"KATIE! I AM... Your Hope, Peace, Joy, Rest, Comfort, Relief from your stress, Strength, Faith, Love, Power, Freedom this very hour. I'm going to take care of you. I love you. I'm always with you."

Ahhh.... *sigh*. HE IS. He is my only hope.

Talk to you soon.

Some Type of Motor Vehicle...

Ok. Here is my dilemma.

I need a car. Actually... I want a car.

I'm really not one of those crazy sixteen-year-old girls who "HAS to HAVE" a brand spankin' new, 2010 (insert expensive car name here). Really. I'm not.

All I want, is something to get me to and from school, babysitting jobs, church, etc. etc. I just hate to keep asking Mom for the car (cough cough van...), ya know? ;)

Anyways, If you know anybody who is selling a car (we're talking cheap, people) OR who would like to "donate" a car to a sweet, poor teenage girl, just let me know. I'll be here. Searching for cars online. :)

P.S. Who knew that if you buy a car for less that $2500.00 there's no sales tax!!! Crazy. :)

Yesterday

Yesterday was... interesting. It was a day full of emotion. LOTS of emotion.

I woke up and started singing "This is the day, this is the day. That the Lord has made, That the Lord has made..." You know the rest. I'm not sure how that song just popped into my head, but I'm glad it did. It's a song from kids choir that came from the scripture, "This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24. I will just say that it wasn't easy to rejoice. It wasn't easy to be glad about yesterday. Not at all.

Paris moved. People say... At least it's just 8 hours, right? Yes. Eight hours. But 8 hours is a lot different from 15 minutes.

I woke up, got ready, helped her finish packing, and then said goodbye. It was the weirdest feeling. All day I just kept thinking that she was just going on vacation. But then it would hit me. She's not on vacation. She isn't coming back in two weeks. She's really gone. And no, it isn't like she fell off the face of the Earth. We have facebook, texting, e-mail, Skype. And thank the Lord for those things. But it just isn't the same as sitting across the table or being in the car together. Just not the same.

When the time came for me to leave (about an hour before she left), I just broke down. We hugged and cried. And then cried some more.

This sounds so dramatic, but it was. Yesterday was the day that we have been dreading for two years. Two whole years! The past two years have been the best, and the worst. We have had "good friendship days" and "really awful friendship days". I am so thankful that My Love didn't let her leave on one of those bad days. It's good that we worked those problems out while she was still here so that once she was gone we would still be best friends. And both of those are true: She's gone, and we are still best friends.

It was hard waking up this morning and realizing that she isn't just across town. More like across two other states. Blugh.

I don't think that I have ever been this sad in my life. I know that a lot of people say things like that, but I say it with complete honesty. I really haven't had any other time in my life to be this sad. And I know those days are coming. Maybe this is the Lord's way of preparing me for harder days to come. Oh man... Harder than this?

I've just come to the conclusion that any plans I make will most likely not happen. I planned for us to have our entire high school years together. To plan for college. (Another plan that probably won't happen the way I think it will...) To go to proms and on mission trips. But that all isn't happening now. But I know that this is God's plan, and even as hard as it may be, I'm going to trust that He has other times for us to be together. Maybe later in life, but not now.

And I guess that is OK with me. I hope it can eventually be OK with me. It just might take some time getting there.

That's all for now. Talk to you soon.

LIVE

Ok. So life has been quite eventful lately. And it seems that the events have only begun. School starts in just a short 3 weeks, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew (and their dog) are moving in with us in the first week of August, and Paris is leaving next week. Next. Week. So there you go. While not all of these things are bad, all three together just create a lot of craziness.

***This is a CRAZY excited Auntie, though!!! :)***

Anyways, to say that all of these things are kind-of hard on me is quite an understatement. Throughout my entire relationship with Christ, I have really never dealt with asking God questions like, "Why me? Why now?". God has blessed me with a wonderful family, loving friends, a great church and school, and so many other things that I always take for granted. Honestly, I haven't had a reason to ask God those questions. But let me tell you, this whole situation with Paris moving is really taking a toll on me. Most people would assume that we have been best friends since kindergarten, but that isn't the case. God has given us an incredible friendship that I am so thankful for. I love Paris SO much. We all do. And I'm not quite sure what we will do without her.

All that to say... Last night at Overdrive, our student pastor spoke on the word live. It is such a simple word that relates to many complex things. Yesterday afternoon, honestly, I didn't really want to go to Overdrive. But I am so glad I did. This message gave me so much encouragement. He had 6 main points on how we are supposed to live... Here they are.

1. We are to live through Christ.
2. We are to live with Christ.
3. We are to live for Christ.
4. We are to live for the Lord.
5. We are to live forever.
6. We are to live by faith.

Then, at the end of his sermon, he asked us all a question. "What is the one way I need to live this week?" I thought. And thought. He said, "Maybe you don't need to write it in your notes, but at least write it on your heart. That's more important anyways." So... I started to think about which of the 6 points I needed to focus on this week. And then it hit me. Number 4. I am to live for the Lord. Lord=Boss. Keith said something like, "As Christians, God is our Lord and Savior. And that means that God is our boss. You always do what the boss says. No matter what." And Keith talked about what having a boss meant. When you have a boss, you do what the boss says. So, if God is my Lord, then He is my boss, and I do what He says. Concerning the whole "Paris Moving Thing", God told me to give Him control. To trust Him. And that's what I plan on doing. It my might not be easy. But I'm going to do it. He's my Lord. He's my Boss. He's my One True Love. And I owe it to Him to give Him my trust. He will do a better job at dealing with these issues anyways. :)

That's All.

Psalm 16:8... I have set the Lord always before

me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Halfway Over

Hey!

So, I am definitely that ''blogger'' who waits almost two full weeks to blog again. It's not like I try to wait that long, my life is just SO busy right now. I envy all these Moms who can blog everyday or sometimes even twice a day! Crazy.

I hope that you had an amazing Fourth of July weekend because I know we did! Church was amazing Sunday morning with honoring our Armed Forces, and then we ended the night with a huge fireworks show at the church! It was so awesome, and we all had an amazing time hanging out together. Paris, Scout, Jenny, Abby, and I (plus a lot more who don't have code names) were all there, and it was tons of fun. I love the Fourth of July and I am so blessed to live in the good 'ole U.S.A.! :)

Well, hence the name of this post's title, summer is already halfway over... :( Our fall classes start on August the 13th so we have about 5 1/2 weeks left of Summer. I can't believe it! Time flies when you're having fun! Although, because Summer is coming to a close, that means that Paris will be moving in about 3 weeks. We are all pretty bummed. Most of the time, if someone talks about it, we all kind of go into denial and say, "I don't wanna talk about it!" But even though this is a hard time for all of us, we know that God is in control.

Ecclesiastes 3:11-12, "God has given them a desire to know the future. He does everything just right and on time, but people can never completely understand what He is doing. So I realize that the best thing for them is to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live."

My sister is halfway done with her Summer adventure, also. She is having an awesome time in Africa, and I wouldn't be surprised if she ended up over there again. :) Here is her blog address if you want to follow her journey... www.alyssainmalawi.blogspot.com.

My Summer has been filled to the brim with babysitting! I love it SO much, and love these kiddos, too! I can't even imagine what God will do with these awesome kids. He has an incredible plan for their life, and I can't wait to see what it is... Being around all these kids has made me realize something. Whatever it is that God has planned for me, I know that in some way He will put me around children. I'm not sure what that means yet, whether it be just being a Momma, or a teacher, I have no clue. But I do know that God gives people desires and gifts, and since those gifts and desires are God-given, why wouldn't He want them used for His glory? Just something to think about... I can't wait to experience what My One True Love has for me. :)

Well, I would imagine that the "sleeping-peacefully-baby" will wake up soon, and be a "give-me-my-bottle-NOW-baby," so I guess I will head out. :) Talk to you soon!

Happy Summer-ing!!!

P.S. HAPPY 17th BIRHTDAY DEAR JOHN!!! :)

On Your Side

So we don't even use Nationwide for our insurance, but this video is HILARIOUS. Haha. Just something to brighten your day. :)

Fun in the Summer Sun? Nah.

Hey...

Well. I am supposed to be on the way to Student Camp with our church right now. But... I am at home. sitting in a chair. With antibiotics and a sore throat to blame. Anyways, I am supposed to be leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I hope that works out! I'm not quite sure why this is happening now, but I know God knows and that's all that matters.

So far, summer is still going well. Other than the whole being sick thing, but if you know me, that's nothing new. ;)

1. I have been SO busy with babysitting, that I have not even had time to think! Crazy...

2. Yesterday my brother and sister-in-law came over for lunch, and we all skyped with my sister in Africa! I had talked with her once before, and she seemed to be doing SO well. She really loves it over there! She is definitely in her element. God is going to do some amazing things with that girl. I'm proud to call her my sister.

3. Last week was the Southern Baptist Convention, and some major things happened. The Great Commission Resurgence Document passed with flying colors in the convention, and while all that might not mean a thing to you, just know that God is working in the hearts and lives of Southern Baptists just like He is working in the lives of the people of Malawi, Africa, and all over the world. We serve an incredible God, and everybody should hear about how He has saved them!

Well, this was pretty much the most boring post, ever, but oh well. I guess I will go take some medicine or something like that. Ugh. I hate being sick. At least I get to go to camp tomorrow!

See you when I get back!

Better Late Than Never

Hey there!

Well... I am officially one of the worst bloggers there is. But in my defense, I have been super busy. School ended, and SUMMER started! LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Except for the intense sunburn that I got on the VERY first day of Summer. If you have known me for any amount of time, you know that my skin is pretty much sun-resistant. I start out snow white, turn tomato red, and then go back to white... and the cruel cycle continues. Never ever will I be tan. Better come to terms with that now. Darn you, Sun. ;)

A lot has been going on around here lately... Here are some quick updates.

1) School Ended. THANK GOODNESS! After finals were all over, it was such an awesome feeling. I barely kept my "A" in Algebra 2, and even though I ended that class with a 91, an "A" is an "A", and that is all that counts! We also got our Summer Reading Assignment, and the book we have to read is titled, On Writing Well. Anybody ever read it? It is literally about "writing well"... We will see how that goes. Obviously, I also have to write a paper at the end of reading the book. Oh, the dreaded Summer reading...

2) When Summer actually started, I think we (all of my friends and I) were all SO worn out that we haven't even spent very much time together yet. But... I know that it will soon start! I started babysitting this morning, and I am excited to do that for the rest of the Summer, too.

3) Student Camp was planned to be at Orange Beach, AL this year, but because of that stinkin' oil spill it was moved to Camp Windermere in Roach, MO. Definitely not the beach, but I think we will still have a ton of fun. Can't wait for camp!!!

4) Last week was my Grandma's 90th birthday, so all of my cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. came into town! We had a blast, all together. Also, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came home! I couldn't believe how much that little nephew of mine has grown! He is too cute. I already miss everybody being here! Just me, mom, and dad now. :( Pretty lonely around here now!

5) On Sunday, my sister left on a Summer internship that is in Malawi, Africa. You can keep up with her blog here... http://www.alyssainmalawi.blogspot.com/. She will be in Malawi for 8 weeks helping with Esther's House Orphanage. She is SO excited and I am SO excited for her! :)

Well... Tonight we have Wednesday night church, so I am going to head out! I promise that it will not be as long before I blog again! Talk to you soon!

Life Right Now...

Hellewwwww :)

Life. Is. Crazy. Right. Now. With school ALMOST over (Thank goodness!!!), it is pretty hectic around here. Tons going on... End of the year band/choir concerts, art shows, graduations, award ceremonies. Not to mention normal homework and fun stuff like that. ;) This week is our last full week of school, and then we have finals next week. Pretty nervous. If you think about it, send up a prayer for my friends and I, this is a pretty stressful time! Anyways, we are all extremely ready for summer to be here! Here's just a few reasons...

1. Pretty Weather: It rained pretty much all last week... depressing. So I know we are all ready for sunshine and hot summer days.

2. NO SCHOOL: While school is (somewhat) important :), It is going to be SO extremely wonderful to have no homework, Algebra 2, Chemistry, and other crazy subjects that we will never use in daily life to worry about. Haha. O well... 10 years down, 2 to go. I will miss seeing these beautiful faces every day at lunch though. :)



3. Summer Jobs: Now, most people I know aren't looking forward to waking up early and working all. day. long. But I am!!! I'm super excited about my job this summer. I am babysitting 5 days a week. 4 days for one family, and 1 day for another. I know it will be busy, but I am still looking forward to it. So blessed to have this opportunity.


4. Wednesday Night Church: There is just something about Wednesday night church in the summertime. I am really looking forward to Overdrive this summer at our church. If you don't go anywhere on Wednesday nights, you should come check it out sometime! Awesome speakers, great worship, and sand volleyball afterwards. Also... can't wait for Frozen Tung's Sno-cones after those nights. So much fun!




5. Fun all around: Swimming, Sno-cones, Water Reservoir Limitation Device Walks ;) (AKA walks on the Lake Fayetteville Dam), Movie Nights, Staying up late... etc. I. Can't. Wait. For. Summer!!!


Listing those things makes me want summer to be here right now! Patience, Katie. Patience. It will be here and gone before we know it. Well... I listed some of my favorite summer activities... What are some of yours?





P.S. 8 DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!! :)

Birthdays+History Day+Preschool Choir=CRAZINESS

Hey there!

Well... I promise that there is a really good reason for not posting a blessed anything for so long! A crazy semester at school plus a number of other things can cut into a girl's blogging time, ya know? ;) Anyways... Here is a recap of the last several weeks.

1) First, in early April, Paris turned Sweet 16! O yeah! We had a TON of fun at her party. First, Cheyne and I did a little scavenger hunt (O sweet revenge. Haha) for the birthday girly. It was pretty hilarious... She figured out the clues pretty quick! Thank goodness for that because the people at an unnamed eating establishment were not very kind... Oh well. We still had fun. :) After eating, we headed out to Cheyne's for cake, presents, and Wii. O so fun! My friends. O dear. Haha Gotta love them though!

Here is just a peek of the fun evening... :)

2) Second... is History Day. O sweet, dear, lovely, and SO HAPPY IT'S OVER History Day. :) Well, we got to state History in our wonderful state's capital, and had a blast down there. We played all sorts of games, and had a really good time... Until the awards ceremony. We (Paris, Other History Day Partner, and I) thought we did AWESOME in our judging time. They loved us and our project, and we really thought we had a chance. And we did. Let me just say that the project next to ours was about Prostitution. Yes. A History project. On that. I don't see the impact and change in a great innovation with THAT topic. O well. Haha. Through the grapevine, we heard that our project was in the finals for judging and in the top 4. Well... Let's just say we got 4th. Haha. There is obviously only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and 3rd doesn't even go to Nationals. But we were happy with our "4th place" even though we were not "honorably mentioned". Ha

*Here's an interesting fact about one of our judging sheets... On one of our sides, the title of that specific side is "Commemorative". And on our judging sheet they said, "On side 3... the title 'commerative' is kind of hard to read." Yes they did. They spelled Commemorative wrong. On the judging sheet... Umm, excuse me Mr. Judge. Yes, you. Well, could you maybe not count off for something you can't spell? Ok. Maybe I am a tad bit bitter... Nah. :)

Here is a cute pic of our group...

3) Preschool Choir. Ya know... It's really a lot harder than it sounds. People say to me, "Come on. How hard is it to get some little kids to sing some songs??" O people. Let me tell you. It is not only getting them to sing some songs. It is maintaining control of a group of 3-yr.-old children on the HUGE stage in the Worship Center. It is getting them to not pick their nose, lift up their shirts (or any other article of clothing for that matter), hit some other little child and knock them down, etc. etc. It is getting these sweet little kiddos to smile innocently while their loving parents sit and "Oooo-and-Ahhh" over their precious babies. Yes, folks. Much more than just singing some songs. But even through all of the chaos. Even through the snot drips (and snotty attitudes), I love those kids. It is really an honor to be a part of helping them learn how to worship Jesus. And that my friend, is ALL that matters.

Just a picture of those sweet kids on their last night of choir (Along with their beautiful choir teachers. ;) THANKS GIRLS!)...

Well... There you go. My life for the past month or so. What a time in my life. :) I'm sure there are some even busier days ahead for this Sophomore. Off to do homework!



P.S. 18 DAYS LEFT OF MY SOPHOMORE YEAR!!! Can you tell I'm a little excited? :)

Life... With Scout :)

Scout in real life.... Hahaha

Umm... Ha

"I'm Batman!!!! :)"

"THAT FLASH IS SO BRIGHT!!!!"

Oops.... Hahaha


Precious :)

See ya later! Off to teach little kids how to sing about Jesus! With Scout. and Paris. :) Best job ever.

Just the Simple Things....

It's just the simple things that make my day... Like:

Drawing my sweet nephew in Art class. :)

Cute Summerish Shoes (yes, I just made up a word)

Pretty, white clouds on the drive home from school

Having a cute, fluffy dog who is happy to see you when you come home :)

There you go. The simple things in life. What are the simple things in your life that make you happy? :)

See ya later!!!

The Ressurection and the Life

Hey!

As you know... Today is Easter. I think Easter is one of my very favorite holidays of the whole year. I think because I am a pretty anxious person who needs reassurance constantly, today is great for me. All day long I am continually reminded of what my One True Love did for me. What the God of the whole world did for me. I cannot even begin to understand His everlasting love.

I have heard the "Easter Story" countless times in my life, but until about 8th grade, I don't think it really set in. My Savior died the most painful and agonizing death EVER. For me. For this whole screwed up world. Why?!? One word: Love. Like 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because Christ loved us first." I will never understand this love that He has for me, but I will understand that it is ALWAYS there, and He is always there. Whether other people want to admit it or not, the Creator of this world, the only perfect man to ever walk the earth, LOVES them unconditionally. Even through their crud and selfishness, HE loves them. Don't fight it, accept it. :)

I hope that your Easter will be full of reassurance of the love that Christ gives to us.

John 11:25-26
"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will have life even if they die. And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.'"

I'm an Aunt!!!

Well... Life has been crazy within the past week or so. Last week was my mission trip with MOTION, and it. Was. Awesome. There were almost 150 salvations and it really was an amazing trip. In my next post I will share some pictures, but for now I HAVE to talk about the newest form of excitement!

My brother and sister-in-law were due to have a baby boy in late April, but he surprised us and came early! 3 weeks early to be exact! Praise the Lord for a happy, healthy little boy. He is just perfect. Here's the little bundle of joy... Titus Johnathan Stewart. 7 lbs. and 9 ozs. and 21 and 1/2 in. long. Precious...


Isn't he just great?!?! He is such a sweet baby and I'm a VERY proud aunt! Well... We are leaving here tomorrow, so I better go hold that sweet little boy. Talk to you soon!!!

Happy Spring Break... Kind-of ;)

Just a glimpse of what we are dealing with....

Yep... you read that right. 11 inches. Crazy. Less than 48 hours ago it was sunny and 70 degrees. Who knows...

Our trip has also been delayed once again. The plan right now is to leave tomorrow at 10 a.m. Which is wayyyy better than 6 a.m. like this morning... Yeah, I think I'm going to go take a nap now. Haha

See ya soon!

Snow... Really?

Well...

I should be on my MOTION mission trip right now, but it is snowing like CRAZY outside. If we had left this morning, like we planned, we would have already been there. That shows how sometimes (most of the time) God has a different plan. ;) O well... He is ultimately in control, and I'm sure this will work out. The plan as of now is to leave early tomorrow morning.... We will see what this weather does, I guess.

I won't stay long because my sister is leaving on Monday (if this blizzard-like-weather lets up-haha) so I'm going to spend some time with my family. If you think about it, pray for MOTION. Pray that we will eventually get on the road, that people's hearts will be open to the gospel, and that God will do incredible things.

Talk to you later! (as in like a week from now... ha)

Top Three Things...

Hey!

Well... I pretty much have absolutely nothing to talk about, but since I have time, I hate to not blog. Ha. So... I figured I would just talk about some random things...

1) School: Well... School is pretty overwhelming right now. Since spring break is next week (WOOOHOOOO!!!!), all of our teachers are piling on the homework. I've got algebra 2 (I'm sure I will be calling one of my friends later about that), an English paper to write, a Spanish PowerPoint presentation, and a Christian Studies presentation to do on Habakkuk. Yes. I just said Habakkuk. I'm definitely going to have to read up on that. Teachers are just wonderful. They think that we have no life outside of their subject.... Frustrating. Ok... Stepping off of my soapbox now... ;)

2) Music: A ministry in my youth group, called MOTION, is going on a trip next week. On our mission trips we use step routines, songs (hence the reason that I put this topic in Music), dance routines, and stomp routines to share the Gospel. Yeah, so cool I know! It really is an awesome ministry, and I can't wait to go on this trip. Last year, we saw over 200 people saved, which was SO awesome. If you think about it, Will you pray for us next week?

3) My One True Love: Lately, I've been dealing with a lot. Paris might be moving... this Summer. Which is very hard on me (and Scout) but I really feel like God is right here with me. It will be extremely hard for her not to be here, and I know we will all miss her like CRAZY, but I know that God is right here in the middle of the whole situation. He knows where and when we need help, and He is always there... Such a reassuring thought. I love Him. :)

Well... I guess I will go attempt some algebra 2. Key word: attempt. But first, I will leave you with a verse. A reassuring verse.

Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and He saves those whose spirits have been crushed."

Talk to you soon!

Regional History Day 2010.... PARTY!!!

Hi There!!

Well... I said that I probably wouldn't get to post while I was in Louisville last weekend... and I was right. We had a lot of fun though, and it was really good to see the family. :) My sweet little nephew was kicking all around... So amazing how God already has plans for his life... and he's not even here yet! Crazy, crazy, crazy.

This week has been pretty overwhelming getting caught up on homework (which I am still not caught up on). Monday was a full day of driving home... ugh. But I did finish a book called A Bride in the Bargain. The author's name is Deanne Gist. She is soooo good! Paris knows what I'm talking about ;). Here's her website if you are interested... http://www.deeannegist.com/
Anyways, Tuesday was a rude awakening of coming back to school. Blah. Spring Break couldn't come any slower. Wednesday was OK, because Scout, Paris, and I had 3-year-old Choir. Crazy fun. Here is a funny story about one little girl in our class...

While going over the types of notes and clefts, I held up the flashcard with the bass cleft on it. I said, "Who knows what this is?" To which almost all of them replied, "BASS NOTE!" Paris said... "It's not a note... but you're close!" So one of the sweet little girls in our class said... "It's a basement!!!!" Hahahaha! Everybody lost it. Just a little insight of a normal night at Preschool Choir. :)

So... Today is Regional History Day. If you don't know what that is, it's a huge competition between schools in our area. You have to create a topic, based on the theme, and then you display your topic in a creative way. First, there is a school fair, then regionals, state competition, and nationals. Like I said... today is the regional competition at a local community center and we are having wayyy too much fun! We have a whole day off of school, and sit around playing cards (MISS ELLIOTT!!!) and other stuff, like in my case, blogging. Nerdy, I know. :) The only serious part of the day is when the judges come and do an interview with you for your project. I'm pretty sure we did well... but I guess we will know soon enough. :)

Well... I guess I will head out for now. We got a mean game of Uno going on, so I better get involved here. ;) Talk to you later.

*UPDATE*... Paris, Other History Day Partner, and I placed 2nd in our category!!!! State, here we come!!!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Hellewww, :)

Today was a good day. Simply put, I know. But when the day starts with no homework, continues with no homework, and ends with no homework, life is good. I guess the the 'no homework' doesn't really count since I didn't finish my homework from yesterday... Hmph. O well.

Anyways, today was awesome. Lunch was good, as usual, but Cheyne and Dear John had a family group meeting so that's always a bummer, but the rest of us still had fun! Lunch is always crazy. There will most definitely be some crazy stories about lunch sooner or later. ;)

The temperature got up to around 60 degrees this afternoon so the drive home was absolutely wonderful. Not to mention all of the strange stares I got from people at stop lights because I was blaring the radio with the windows rolled all the way down... Haha. I guess that part wasn't so wonderful. Ehh... those people should have been enjoying the once in a lifetime day of wonderfulness... Condsidering that thunderstorms are predicted for this weekend. Ugh... Enough weather for today... Onto something else... :)

Once again, after talking to my friends today again at lunch, we (Scout) decided that it would be good if every once in a while I said some quotes of theirs... again--- *WARNING* My friends are a tad odd and most of these will be "be-there-moments", but some are funny, too. I don't have any really good ones right now (that make sense), but I will soon I'm sure. So I hope they will make you laugh.... maybe. :)

Well, our family is going to see my brother, sister-in-law, and (almost) nephew (my sis-in-law is still pregnant) this weekend so I better go pack. But I will talk to you later!



P.S. Forgive me if I don't get to post this weekend! I will definitely try, but I don't know if I will have time. If I don't, I will see you Monday! Bye!

Codenames

Hello again!

Well... After talking to my crazy, I mean completely awesome friends at lunch today, I realized that if I was going to share the stories of my everyday life, I probably needed 'codenames' for them. Ya know, so they aren't like completely embarassed if you happen to know some of them. So... I'm going to give their "name" and a simple description of who they are. *WARNING* My friends are... Well, let's just say a little "out of the ordinary" (Love you guys!) Anyways, here are my friends.

Paris: 3 Words- Best. Friend. Ever. Paris loves to read, (like me) plays soccer, is in the band: clarinet, and is very blonde... but brunette. :) Haha

Scout: Although she just moved here, we all feel like we have known Scout forever. She is amazing, and super hilarious. Stories about her are going to having you laughing. She is awesome!!!

Dear John: I've known Dear John since elementary school, but we really weren't friends until about 6th grade. He's a hunter, drives a Jeep, is really sarcastic, and is wayyy better at Algebra 2 than me. Haha.

Cheyne: I've been best friends with Cheyne since before kindergarten so there are TONS of stories about us. Haha... about that. Anyways, he is a computer geek (kinda), loves to run, and is very very funny.

Catherine: Be-a-u-tiful. Catherine has a sweet and kind spirit. She is very quiet... except for sometimes. :) You just have to know her. Anyways, she also plays soccer with Paris. (They rock!)

Shorty: Well... Shorty is just shorty. :) He is an avid runner (training for a half-marathon) and he is wayyy shy. But we love him, and I'm glad we are friends!!!

Abby: Oh man, I love this girl. She cracks me up. Just like Cheyne, I've known Abby since before kindergarten. I've got SO many great memories with Abbs. She is hilarious and so fun to be around.

Jenny: I LOVE YOU, JENNAY! :) Jenny is super funny and beautiful inside and out. Super smart and always hilarious. :) Love you, friend!

Sam: Sam and I have had so much fun together! She is a CRAZY fast reader (super jealous of her for that!!!), and so sweet. Love her to death. :)

Well, that's about it. For now atleast.

I have to go teach some 3-year-olds how to praise Jesus. How much fun is that?!? They are super cute. I'm sure I will have some crazy stories about them too. :)

See ya later!!!

Start a Blog? Sure... Why Not.

Hi there! My name is Katie. Well, I'm pretty new at this, obviously, but I just figured... "I love to read blogs... So why not write one?" So I did... At least I'm starting to.

This whole blog will probably be about 3 things: School, Music, and my One True Love. (Hence the name of the title... witty, I know.) Anyways, the School part is just about... ya know, homework, boys, dramatic friends, etc. High school can be pretty eventful if you didn't know. ;) Music, well... that is kind of self-explanatory I guess. Just fyi: My favorite music consists of Michael Buble, Natalie Grant, and some random other people. Haha. And last but not least, my One True Love. Now, most teenage girls are all boy-crazy and just HAVE to be dating someone all of the time. But thankfully, I'm just not like that. By watching other people, I've just realized that "high school relationships" are not for me. When I say, my One True Love, I mean my Almighty, Loving, Never-ending, Savior. He is my everything. And if He wants me dating, He will bring the perfect guy into my life.

Well... That's all for now. I will talk to you again soon!



P.S. When I told my Mom about this blog... Her response was, "Well, just finish your homework first." Awesome. Don't you just love high school?? :)