i have found my love

Constellations

2010-06-22T09:12:00.005-05:00

I can't remember if I have shared this before or not. My sister Kellie is super fabulous and talented. Not only does she run her own photography business, but she plays around with video making.

One of her friends from high school went potluck to find a roommate at college, and they ended up being very similar people. They started a band - The City Sounds - and wanted a video made for one of their songs. Kellie rose to the challenge and came up with the video you see below. It's made from over 800 still images, put together like a movie. And if you miss it the first time, make sure you watch the tree, starting at 0:59. Amazing.

****Note: For some reason, it looks like my blog is cutting off half of the video screen... I think you may have to click on the video to go to the youtube site to view it. Sorry. This is the first time this has ever happened and I can't figure it out!****

Thursday Yum

2010-06-10T13:48:00.003-05:00

Last week, Sarah gave me the recipe to her amazing chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

I went out and bought the ingredients (does anyone know what turbinado sugar is?) and then today, I had some fun.

My girls' Bible study group is going to eat these tonight. I think there's enough for three each. :)

And yes, I am aware that the picture quality is not great. They were taken on my phone since I have no idea where my camera cord is. That's what happens when you move - you lose things.

Thank you, Sarah, for the recipe!

Little Nasties in the Garage

2010-06-08T19:53:00.002-05:00

Confession.

I am terrified of my garage.

Before we moved in, the A/C was turned off, so everything was hot and humid outside and inside our home. Every time we would visit the house to bring a load of boxes over, I would see dead cockroaches in various corners. Thank goodness they were dead. I always made Austin pick them up with the fly swatter and dump them in the trash. Who cares if they're dead? I want them out of sight!

I went out and bought some roach killer (you know, those horrid-looking round black things that you place strategically throughout your house). I placed them all around our house - most of them are not in dark corners, as the package suggests, but near doors and windows. Wherever I have seen those gross things.

Now that the air is working again and we have moved in, I have seen a few more cockroaches in our house. One appeared (dead) in the living room, and the others have been in the garage. There is no A/C in the garage, so of course the cockroaches love it.

I am petrified.

Every time I have to go out to my car, I scan the floor for roaches before stepping out of the laundry room. And I never, ever try to get in my car unless the garage door is open. Heck no.

As we speak, there is a roach lying on his back by the passenger door of my car, squirming and trying to turn himself over. I'm not sure if he ate the roach poison or not. But for good measure, I grabbed the can of Raid (it's not even roach killer Raid, it's the kind for flies and wasps) and sprayed him good.

He squirmed some more.

Can't roaches hold their breath for a long time? I'm probably spraying in vain. Someone told me the only way that roaches die is when their heads get cut off, and then they only die due to starvation.

In Wall-E, the roach lived when everyone else died. He was cute, though. Not like the roaches here.

They are really gross looking.

Well, I am trying to eat now, and all this talking about roaches doesn't help.

See ya.

Now I Have to Shave my Legs Every Day

2010-06-08T16:50:00.002-05:00

Yayyyy summer.

It's hot. It's humid. It's Houston.

Back to the days of getting branded by the seat belt buckle, getting bitten by mosquitoes and having to shave my legs every day if I want to look normal.

Now that I have a year of school under my belt, I think this summer is going to go by very slowly. That's a good thing. I don't have a lot to plan for, since I know what's coming. I get to spend my days reading, relaxing, and setting up house.

Oh yeah, Austin and I bought a house. Our first house!!! We will be here for a while, we hope. It is big enough to grow into and in a great location. Our kids can go to elementary school right down the street, and possibly even to middle school and high school, although we might want to move before that time comes. It's not a giant house.

I really love living here. It's quiet and our neighbors are great.

We have an HPD cop who lives next door and a sheriff's deputy down the street. I feel very safe!

If you want to come visit me, we have a guest bedroom. Shoot me an email. :)

It's going to be a good summer.

-Katie

Creative Outlet

2010-05-17T15:33:00.003-05:00

Hello?

I type that word, half expecting to hear an echo back, repetititve yet strikingly quiet, as if uttered from a mountain top where I am standing alone.

It has been a long absence. Probably the longest I've had since I started blogging back in 2003. I was a high school junior when I discovered the blogging world. Since then, it has been my creative outlet.

When I was younger, I carried around a bright pink art case-slash-drawing board. It was filled with sketchbooks, how-to books, my prized colored pencils (what the "real artists" used) and my collection of drawings. My work. I liked to draw people. Just heads. I had no idea how to draw arms, legs and bodies, but I could draw heads, as long as they were looking straight ahead. Each person had a name. Whenever I got a break in my day - one that allowed me to sit for more than five minutes - I would open up the art case and pull out my people. I loved getting compliments on my drawings. They really weren't anything amazing, but to me, they were special.

As I grew older and started going to real school (read: private school in England), I discovered other artistic abilities that I had. I could mold clay. Not well, but I was darn proud of my "nature pot" that I made in seventh (?) grade. The art studio in my school felt like home. There were so many tools and machines in the room that I didn't know the purpose of. But I wanted to use them one day. I always earned 1+ in art class. That was the highest grade you could get. I was so proud.

My other favorite class was design. Later, they changed the name to "Design: Resistant Materials" to make it sound more classy, I think. Or perhaps more rugged. Since I went to an all girls' school, we were always looking for ways to be better than boys. In design, I made an acrylic clock, a wooden jewelry box, a metal CD shelf, a bowl using the vacuum former, and a very large wooden chest. The design room felt even more like my home than the art room did. I made the highest grades in the class, despite the fact that my teacher really didn't like me and made me cry on several occasions.

When I was a sophomore in high school, we had to drop every fun class that we took to focus on our GCSE exams. Don't ask me what GCSEs are - just know they were very important and took two years to study for. We had to take a small selection of "core" subjects, and then got to pick three additional classes. I chose to take ICT (computers), design and art.

My choices were rejected.

Apparently, three project-type classes was a lot of work. I could only pick two, and then I needed an academic subject.

So I took design, ICT (computers were important, I thought), and German.

I loved design. That's when I started crying all the time because my teacher was mean.

I spent the next two years of ICT learning how to use Microsoft Access and creating a ginormous database. What a waste of time.

And German... well, let's just say that I don't sprechen Deutch anymore. No one in Texas really uses it. (Who knew?)

That's when art died for me. I did take one art class in college, though. My work got best in class. :-)

Ever since my sophomore year of high school, I really have been missing a part of myself. That's probably why I started up a xanga during my junior year of high school. That, and the fact that all the cool kids in America did it.

Speaking of xanga... I just check out my old account. I still exists.

Writing was a way that I could express myself and let out feelings. I'm not good at it - at all - but I do enjoy it. In my head, I am a much better writer. But when I sit down to publish my thoughts, my extensive vocabulary and lengthy sentences seem to fly right out of my brain. I think I checked once, and my blog is at an 8th grade reading level, which is appropriate, considering that I teach 8th grade. Not to read and write, thank goodness. I teach them about the world that our beautiful Father has created. That goes down much better than reading and writing could.

Since I started teaching, I have had barely any time to myself. Even on the weekends, I spend 8 hours or so grading student work. Blogging never comes to my mind as something to do when I have an ounce of spare time. My life is teaching, and I am not sure it was ever meant to be that way. Actually, I can say with confidence that I was not made to spend all of my time teaching. My life was not meant to be about work.

My heart has been yearning for that creative outlet again. It's like fresh air for me. Since the summer is close, I have been planning creative things to do. One of those is to blog regularly. Wait for it - it will happen. Another is do re-vamp a piece of furniture that Nana is kindly giving to me and Austin. It was made in the 50s and bought by my great-grandmother when she came to live with Nana. I will finally have a project! I have some more things on my list, but I will save those for later.

Right now, I am focusing on completing my first year of teaching. It has been one of the hardest years of my life. I'll probably write more about that once I finish.

I can't wait to tell you more about what God has been doing in our lives for the past few months. It really is blog-worthy.

You might just have to wait until June, though, because this "blogging time" is very unusual for me to have. It just so happens that I have been sick recently and left school early today. My second day off this year.

I got home, ate lunch and then fell asleep for several hours. I'm not sure what's wrong with me. It feels like mono all over again, minus the constant vomiting.

Anyways, since I had some time off, I decided to blog. Just a little reminder that I am still here, and I still check my blog several times a day to read the blogs that I follow.

I'll be back.

Until then, I'm counting down the days until June 4th.

18.

-Katie

Field Trip Day

2010-02-23T19:56:00.005-05:00

45 kids on a bus.

Three buses.

1/3 of the 8th grade.

21 miles of laughter and excitement.

Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

Houston Holocaust Museum.

One hour "early" arriving at the Museum of Fine Arts. Actually, we arrived on time. Field Trip planner booked the wrong time.

62 teenagers sitting on the steps, trying to keep quiet.

Six teachers desperately trying to sort the situation out.

45 minutes of "self-guided tour" at the Museum of Fine Arts.

10 students to follow me around.

One docent to give us the real tour.

60 minutes of art-explanation.

10 amazingly well-behaved students incredibly interested in the art.

45 students back on the bus.

15 minutes for lunch.

One stolen bag of Goldfish.

One unhappy 14-year-old.

One trash bag.

45 students' trash in the trash bag.

One smelly bus.

45 students off the bus at the Holocaust Museum.

21 students in my group for the tour.

2 teachers monitoring.

23 stones placed in the garden in memory of loved ones.

90 minutes of Holocaust tour.

One docent trying to keep students involved.

One boxcar used to transport Jews.

42-degree weather.

21 cold students.

23 aching backs.

46 aching feet.

45 students back on the bus.

Three buses.

21 miles of laughter and yawns.

7 "we should have gone to..." suggestions.

19 suggestions for next year's field trip.

Thousands of droplets of water hitting the windshield.

135 8th graders back at school.

49 minutes of 7th period.

One exhausting day.

Happy Birthday Carolyn!!!

2010-01-26T22:12:00.007-05:00

Today is my beautiful sister's 22nd birthday!

Carolyn and I have been best friends since she was born. When we were younger, people thought we were twins. My mom would always have to correct strangers.

"Nope, they're about two years apart!"

Before I could say her name, I would call her "Cornyn", only I would draw out each syllable. Corrr-NYNNNN!

Throughout our childhood, we developed a love for frogs. In our family photo album, there are several pictures of us together where one of us is squeezing some poor amphibian to death.

Oh yeah, and we used to catch lizards and walk them. By "walk", I mean tie thread around their necks and jerk them from place to place. It was the same thing as a noose, basically.

No, I don't have any pictures of that.

Carolyn's love for animals has never died. She can't stand listening to stories about poor innocent animals being killed or hurt. She thinks that she is Tawny's (our family dog) best friend.

Carolyn has a beautiful heart. She loves the Lord and desires to do His will. She is passionate about prayer, ministry, discipleship and relationships. I am so confident that God will use her in amazing ways. I am so blessed to be her sister!

Carolyn, you are beautiul! I hope that you had a wonderul day. I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to you on the phone... Hopefully I'll be able to get a hold of you tomorrow. I love you!

Estrogen Party

2009-12-30T15:39:00.005-05:00

I am writing on here to avoid documenting my SpEd accommodations for school. I might put a movie on later while I do those.

It's a chill day here. Relaxing, drinking tea and eating Terry's chocolate orange while we work on our laptops and watch movies. Austin was sweet to let me stay in Dallas with my family for a few extra days. He left to go back to Houston to work and so I've been able to spend some more quality time with my parents and sisters here. Carolyn and I are going to go to College Station tomorrow morning and then Austin is going to come pick me up.

Since I've been husband-less for the past few days, we decided to take advantage of the testosterone-free environment and have a sleepover. My oldest and dearest friends came over to the house and we had so much fun making homemade pizzas, wassail, pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin maple syrup. My friend Sarah is a real-life chef in Dallas... so... she knows how to cook things that taste amazing. We watched Little Women, our favorite movie when we were young, and tried to catch up on months of separation.

Anna and I have known each other since we were 2. We apparently met in the church nursery... but we have no way of confirming that story. All I know is that I don't remember not knowing her. We grew up going to different schools and living in different cities, but we got to me roommates in college for a few years.

Sarah was my babysitter when I was little (and also Anna's) and is now a wonderful friend of mine. She would inspire us to put on plays and musicals for my parents whenever they would return home. She allowed our imaginations to run wild and free.

When I moved to England, I would come back to Texas twice a year to visit Anna and Sarah. We had sleepovers and did wild and crazy things when we were together. :)

We liked ballet.

Roomies in college

At my wedding last January

At our sleepover

I Wanna Wash My Hands, My Face and Hair With Snow!

2009-12-24T20:36:00.002-05:00

So guess what? Denton is going to have a white Christmas this year! It started snowing today at lunch time and didn't stop until a few minutes ago.

Everything is white.

Peaceful.

Beautiful.

Quiet.

I love it!

We tried driving to Denton Bible's Christmas Eve service, but the roads were so ridiculous that they ended up canceling it and making everyone go home as soon as they could. We drove at 20 mph for the entire journey home... the roads were completely frozen and the snow was STILL falling - hard! Someone actually rear-ended my parents since everything was so slippery. Nothing serious, though.

I'll try to take some pictures tomorrow morning of my parents' house in the snow. It's just gorgeous!

This year, Austin and I are spending Christmas with my family in Denton (as if you couldn't figure that out). We drove here yesterday and have enjoyed spending time with my sisters, parents and grandpa.

I love being home. Everything feels relaxed and cozy. I love our giant couch that takes up the entire living room. My entire family can sit on it at the same time.

I love watching movies with my family and playing games with my sisters.

I love having a big family! Having four sisters is so much fun.

Well, to catch you up on the past few weeks:

The first half of the school year came and went. I love my students even if they drive me crazy sometimes! Oh, and finals week is the best part of the year! It's so wonderful to have complete quiet. I was able to fully plan the first three weeks of the next quarter. Oh, it feels good.

Austin and I have been looking for houses on and off. We'd like to find a house in the next few months, but we'll see how that goes. The area we're looking is pretty popular and so it's hard to find a lot of quality houses in our price range... but we're trying!

Our first anniversary is coming up in about 2 1/2 weeks. It's hard to believe that Austin and I have been married for a year! Craziness. I'm not sure how we're going to celebrate. We may or may not have a new niece by that time... Sadie is supposed to be due around the first week of January! I can't wait!

Ok It's really hard to write and watch a movie (It's a Wonderful Life) at the same time... so I'll have to write again later.

Before I post, I wanted to include something that was written inside a Christmas card that my family got. A family friend wrote it and I just loved her words:

"This Christmas may you rest in the deep satisfaction that because you have Him you have everything."

I just love that.

I am richly blessed.

Christ is everything.

Be blessed this weekend!

Tweet Tweet

2009-11-01T22:06:00.001-05:00

I tweet
You tweet
We all tweet
For....

Well, I'm not really sure why.

Encouragement

2009-10-25T20:20:00.002-05:00

God is so good to me.

Last week was one of the longest and hardest weeks I have had in a very long time. I was incredibly discouraged almost every day and really feeling the pressure of my job. I always seem to have so much to do, yet I am not the kind of person that can stay up all hours of the night and function on less than 8 hours of sleep.

I think the correct description of my current state would be "burnt out".

Yet God is faithful and good.

My wonderful husband has been amazing this past week. He cooked dinner for us every night and rubbed my feet/back/neck when they really hurt. He helps me grade if he can and then does other tedious jobs for me. Today he cleaned the entire apartment while I wrote lesson plans. He never complains, but serves me and loves me. I just love that God has blessed me with him!

Teaching is hard. I won't lie. I am challenged every day to love my students and not whine or complain about anything I am supposed to do. Most of the time I feel completely overwhelmed but the Lord sustains me.

Monday was a particulary stressful trial. I called Carolyn on the way home because I knew she would listen as I talked and then provide me with much-needed encouragement. That night, at 2 in the morning, I got the longest text message in the world:

"I am praying that as you wake up this morning that you put your hope in Christ to affirm you and uphold you emotionally and spiritually and that you would acknowledge that He supplies you from His own power with strength to endure with patience. I am convinced that the verse I quoted is of the very heartbeat of our Daddy God who cares so much more about our dependency on Him and surrender to Him than about giving us the answers we plead for. Wake up this morning and thank Him first for this opportunity to see His power, to know more of His providence and to worship Him despite what it seems to be costing you. Before you open the door to your classroom just present your requests to Him, rest in His peace and say, “Unless You build the house, its builders labor in vain (Ps. 127). Jesus, I love You. This is for You, Love.” I am thanking Him for having already answered you. Remember that He is a God who calls us His dearly loved children (Eph. 5), who delivers us from our fears (Ps. 34) and who created the Earth and the land (Jonah). So go be a testimony to the joy and hope that Jesus gives despite the weight of the world. I love you and I am praying for you. Your Love has got you. And He is so pleased with you and wants you to know that. :)"

Later that evening I received a second message from her:

"One of the things that God has taught me in the past couple of years is that whenever I am struggling in one way or another or in a place of attack or sin, that I am just one small stone of a temple and that what I am undergoing is for the building up of the whole body, not just my own sanctification. Most of the time, what God allows me to experience is for the purpose of intercession. I may not know who it is that I am praying for, but I am reminded that I have a brother or sister somewhere who needs prayer for the same thing I am dealing with and so I pray for them instead of for myself. There is someone God wants you to be praying for while you are experiencing this discouragement. Someone is experiencing the same things."

Did I not tell you that God is good? I love my sister! I hope you don't mind that I posted this, Carolyn. I think others will be blessed by your words.

Tonight I am tired and I have a lot ahead of me this week. Please pray that I will rest in the Lord and rely on Him for strength. :)

Goodnight!

I Love Thursdays

2009-10-11T19:47:00.003-05:00

Writing on here is like talking to a long lost friend.

I miss you, friend.

Life has been filled with school, 8th graders, dead car batteries, trips to College Station and wonderful conversations with my girls.

My Thursday Girls.

Every Thursday, I get to breathe, get to pray for others, and get to share ideas and life.

Thursdays are like an almost-the-end-of-the-week pick me up. Eight or so of us girls meet downtown and bond over lattes and bagels with cream cheese. We leave when it's dark knowing that we are loved and prayed for.

We started off our group as four girls who had been led to Houston but had never lived here before. We felt alone as we began our next big stage(s) of life: new jobs (and marriage, for some o us). We prayed for God to bless our group and God gave us big visions and dreams for our little meetings on Thursday nights.

Since February, we have more than doubled in size and continue to grow almost every week. The way that God has woven our lives together is really quite incredible. We challenge each other, encourage each other and devote time to one another in prayer as we desire to live lives that are pleasing to God.

I love Thursdays. If you are a girl who lives in Houston and you're looking for some friends, feel free to email me and I can give you details of the group. We'd love to have you.

-K

Sunday Night Break

2009-09-20T19:32:00.002-05:00

I guess it's been a pretty eventful week. I've been crazy busy and barely had any time for rest.

Friday was going to be a wonderfully relaxing day where I barely had to use any energy, but that changed once I found out that I had a flat tire after arriving at school. It was flat flat. I spent the day trying to figure out exactly how I was going to get home since Austin had five appointments that day. I thought I would be able to get someone to come change it while I was teaching, but apparently no one does that. Austin ended up being able to come with one of his colleagues after school to change the tire. Unfortunately, that meant that I left school at seven pm. On a Friday.

I've been pretty lucky though, with cars. I've never been pulled over, gotten a ticket of any sort, been in a wreck, or had any sort of emergency happen while driving. I should count myself blessed!

Saturday made up for the fact that Friday was pretty exhausting. Austin and I had breakfast at Buffalo Grille (yum) and then spent the morning browsing around Cactus Records. Austin is pretty retro - we have a record player in our living room. No CD player, radio or iPod player.... just a record player. I would say that most of our "entertainment" money is spent on music and movies. We love going to Half Price Books or pawn shops and looking for records or CDs. Austin normally buys records, and I buy CDs. Austin suggested that we go to Cactus Records to look for a "modern" record for me. I don't get excited about classic rock, so the only kind of stuff I listen to on record is either Frank Sinatra or musical soundtracks.

Cactus Records has a lot of new artists' music on record. However, the only things that I found that I liked were some Coldplay albums that I already had on CD and then a giant compilation of John Mayer live performances. That's what I really wanted - it had 4 records full of my favorite John Mayer songs. But the collection was $41 so we decided against it.

Instead, I left the store with Mat Kearney's new CD. I found it used for half the price that you'd normally find it! :-)

We spent the rest of the day at the Galleria, drinking the tea samples from Teavana and trying to find Austin some new jeans. No other guy on the planet seems to be his size - tall and skinny. Apparently if you're tall, you're fat, and if you're skinny, you're short. You can't be both according to Macy's.

Today I've been working on school stuff all afternoon. It never stops! I should probably keep going since I'd like to be in bed in an hour.

Goodnight friends!

Every Weekend Should Be Three Days Long!

2009-09-07T20:08:00.002-05:00

Yahoo Labor Day!

I have enjoyed it immensely. I went with Austin, his parents, and his sister and brother-in-law to the Farm for the weekend. It was great to relax and enjoy sleeping and hanging out. I probably ate too much food but it was wonderful to have time away.

Some exciting news: Kristin, Austin's sister, is going to have a baby and she just found out the gender of the baby on Thursday! She's going to have a girl! I'm excited because girls are all I know. It's going to be great being an aunt. Austin and I say that it's a practice run before we have our own children. ;-)

So I've taught for two weeks already. It's flying by! My kids are pretty great for the most part. I have four amazing periods and two periods that are on the challenging side. I just reorganized the seating charts so hopefully things will be better from now on! The only bad thing right now is that this weekend I started feeling a little under the weather. I'm achey and have a really stuffed up nose. I've been using my sinus rinse since I started feeling bad and taking Airborne like nobody's business, so hopefully I can kick it in the butt soon. I hate feeling sick!

Oh, one more thing to make the sick thing worse - Austin and I got home this evening and discovered that our water doesn't work. We asked our neighbors if they were having the same problem and they said they didn't have water either. Fun, fun. If we don't have water in the morning I will NOT be a happy camper.

Right now, we can't even flush the toilet.

Or wash our hands.

Gross.

Well, I need to go finish getting ready for this week. I'm going to bed early tonight!

-Katie

The First Two Days

2009-08-25T19:57:00.002-05:00

Since I have a spare minute or two, I'll update you guys on my first two days of school!

Yesterday went really well. I met my precious kiddos (did I mention that I LOVE middle school students??) and they are amazing. I have one class that will be a challenge because I have something like 24 boys and 6 girls. They won't quit talking! I have some quiet classes and some classes that are going to be a blast.

It's going to be a good year.

Last night was not as fun as the day, however. I got home with a migraine and was exhausted from not sleeping well and waking up at 5 am. I still had a lot to do and I was overwhelmed. Luckily, I am married to a wonderful man who loves to help me! He did so much work for me last night and I didn't break down in tears like I thought I would. He even brought me some pretty purple flowers and a bottle of blush wine. :-)

Today went well also. It was more like a regular day so we went over procedures and rules of the classroom. I don't like talking for 40 minutes but it was necessary to get everything done.

The best part of my day was receiving an email from an angry parent saying that she wanted to have a conference with me, her daughter and the principal. Her daughter asked to use her cell phone at the end of class to tell her mom that her bus was late. I said no, and apparently that was completely unacceptable. After I got the email I immediately looked up cell phone use in the middle school handbook and I was relieved. Sure enough, it says students cannot use cell phones on campus, even to inform parents of late buses. It's even in bold and underlined.

The principal replied so I wouldn't have to.

Whew!

I was surprised that a parent would get so upset about that. The student is the sweetest girl ever and didn't even complain or whine when I told her "no".

Sigh...

Tomorrow we start "real school". Yay for science safety training!

I also get to meet with my mentor to let her know how the last two days went.

So far, so good.

And now it's time to plan for tomorrow.

-Katie

Tomorrow

2009-08-23T19:58:00.002-05:00

...is my first day of school!

I think I am as ready as I can be. I can't believe it's finally here.

Please pray for me! I will probably be nervous.

-K

School is... Around the Corner

2009-08-21T17:45:00.005-05:00

"Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

Name that movie. There's a clue in my post title. Gotta be one of my favorite movie lines ever. I really want to make a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils just to have one to look at. I imagine a bouquet of pencils to look something like this (just no cup and all sharp pointy ends facing up):

However, this is much prettier:

Mmmm.

School.

If you haven't been able to tell by the fact I've been missing from the blog world for weeks, my life is crazy.

I just spent two weeks going to teacher trainings every day. There's nothing more exhausting than sitting in a chair for 6 1/2 hours every day. I honestly think I've gained weight from it (None of my pants fit, anyways... I want something to blame. No, I'm not pregnant.).

I left my school today feeling pretty prepared for next week. My room looks great, if I do say so myself! It's big and beautiful and has lots of bright colors in it. I wanted it to be a place that felt fun and exciting, and I think I got there. It is so surreal to think that my room will be filled with wonderful 8th graders in just three short days.

My team is great so far. I have been bonding with several teachers and my school is finally beginning to feel like home. Last semester was... horrible, really. I remember feeling so lost and not "with it". My students were terrible and I felt like a failure as a teacher. I really hope that this year will be better. I have had quite a few people tell me that this year is going to be a great year. You know, it is really nice to hear that from people!

I am so glad that I have a super awesome mentor. She is the department head and I knew her last semester. She is so helpful and I know that I am really blessed to have her as a mentor. Plus, she's an Aggie. :-)

Really, I never expected to feel like this just days away from starting my first real teaching job. Over the summer I was a nervous wreck. I told my girls group to pray for me and so for weeks they have been praying that I would have peace. One of the girls told me a while back to meditate on the fact that God is always present with me and that I am not alone. I just love that. I can tell you that I am so comfortably chill right now as a result of that meditation. I don't feel alone and I don't feel stressed. I have so much peace right now and it is amazing! I'm not even completely prepared and I feel great!

Today I was walking down the hallway after visiting another new teacher (I just know we're going to bond), I thought about how blessed I am. I wasn't 100% sure that I was going to like it at my school, but I still trusted God. I didn't want to teach 8th grade science, but I still trusted God. Now, I am grateful that I don't know what's ahead and He does! I have an amazing new school to teach at, a wonderful group of teachers to learn from and get help from, and I'm really excited about teaching 8th grade science. TAKS scores were not great last year and so I see it as a challenge to bring up those grades.

Thank you, Lord, for everything. :-)

So I promise that this was going to be longer than this. My brain is exhausted from working for 9 hours straight today.

At least I got free lunch today.

And a $150 gift certificate to the teacher store.

Sweet.

-Katie

I Swear,

2009-08-17T20:47:00.001-05:00

I have very good intentions of writing on here soon.

I check this page every day and think about how I want to write.

I have lots to write about.

Just not much time.

But soon.

-K

Mmm, Science Fiction.

2009-07-13T20:44:00.002-05:00

One of the things about getting married is that you do things that your spouse likes to do. One thing Austin enjoys is watching sci fi movies. He enjoys this a lot. I had the privilege of watching all the Star Wars movies with him and now I'm watching the Star Trek movies (starting with #2 because apparently the first one was pretty crappy). I'll be honest though - I don't really get into this stuff. I think most of them are kinda corny. I did watch the new Star Trek movie with him and I liked that, mostly because the special effects were up-to-date. Still, I love to watch these movies because Austin loves them. :)

So today I spent nine hours with two children: a 9-month-old and an 11-month old. Fun times. I absolutely love babies and the crazy screaming/crying/pooping does not stress me out, but having two babies do that at the same time is slightly overwhelming. They were not siblings (obviously) so there was only one of everything and that was difficult, especially since the 11-month-old is a toy thief. Nap time was super fun because 9-month old refused to sleep in her crib (she wanted to be held) and 11-month-old cried for 20 minutes before falling asleep. I have these kids for the next two days and I have some new and different strategies cooked up in my mind...

Well, this whole blogging thing is keeping me from watching the movie, so I'm out.
-Katie

The Slate Has Evolved...

2009-07-08T16:27:00.005-05:00

I have been doing a lot of comparison shopping for my teaching supplies. As it turns out (and I predicted this), the teacher supply store prices are insane. I am not going to pay over two dollars for a single Expo dry erase marker.

Right now, Walmart is the place to buy some of the basics. Their glue sticks are 25 cents and you get two in a package. I spent $3.75 for 30 glue sticks, and you can buy the exact same thing at Office Depot for $13.99. Give me a break! You can also get Crayola colored pencils (12) for a buck. For those of you interested, Big Lots is the place to buy scissors - you get a pair of those antibacterial ones for a dollar, and they aren't the kiddie ones. I think a 14-year-old can be trusted with normal scissors.

I went to Hobby Lobby also and found a little gem in the clearance section. I had seen this new invention on the Container Store website and thought it looked cool, but not cool enough to spend $19.95 on.

It's called the Cocoa Slate, and it's basically a customizable dry erase board. It's double-sided with clear plastic on each side and a slot to put your own paper in the middle. This was ideal for me because when I am teaching, I often reach for paper to show a student how to do a certain math problem, diagram or graph. I use a LOT of paper this way, and I thought I could save some money buy "going green" with the dry erase board. The Slate also comes with a CD with over 500 inserts that you can just print out and stick inside. (I just discovered that http://www.cocoaliving.com/ has the same templates for free, just in case you lose your CD. Very handy!) Ingenius.

Hobby Lobby had these in the clearance section for just under $11. I bought one and I love it! It came with magnets but I think I'm just going to hang it by the handle. I have a feeling that my students will want to play with it. I might make it a reward for good behavior/work. :)

In other news, Austin and I went to Denton last weekend to see my family for the 4th of July. It was a lot of fun! My Pop (dad's dad) was there and so we got to see him. We played a lot of card games and enjoyed seeing everyone.

While at home, I found a CD that I had forgotten about. A few years ago, a man named Andy Gullahorn came to Community Church (my church in College Station) and did a little show. I think he was friends with Ross King or something. I bought his CD and then never really listened to it. I brought it back to Houston and I am now in love! His music is amazing and I love his clever and humorous lyrics.

Some really exciting news now - I'm going to be an aunt!! Austin's sister is pregnant and due just after our one year anniversary. I have already decided that it's going to be a girl, but I guess we'll see!

I think those are the only updates I have for right now... I wanted to post some pictures but the memory card from our camera is not being identified by my lovely laptop. I'll get Austin to fix it later. ;-)

Love to you all!

-Katie

Any Minute Now...

2009-06-24T18:31:00.003-05:00

I always get really antsy around the time that Austin gets home. It's like I am by myself all day and then in the evening I get reminded that there's this other person I live with who is about to return so I switch out of "hermit" mode and get really excited!!! Yay for conversation and hanging out!

I heard that USA beat Spain at soccer?? That's about all I know, but since when was the US good at soccer? This is news to me. I guess we're pretty much awesome!

So for some reason my car's AC has decided that it will go crazy on me. Why it chose the summer to freak out is beyond me. The air still blows but the actual air conditioning stops. So it's just blowing insanely hot (and humid, might I add) air around the car instead of cooling me down. I tend to arrive at my chosen destinations in a pool of sticky sweat. Not so awesome. Austin and I just hope the car lasts through the summer and long enough for me to start getting big-girl paychecks. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

I just remembered that I haven't checked my Google tracking thing for this blog in a few months. Apparently I am down over 17% in the number of visits to my website. I don't know exactly what it means, but I think it has to do with the fact that I rarely update anymore. Oops.

Well, my back is starting to hurt since I'm sitting on the floor in my dining room, so I'm gonna end this post and get to the nearest couch.

Peace!

My Big-Girl Job is Scaring Me...

2009-06-23T15:02:00.002-05:00

The summer is in full swing. I am enjoying my "off" time but in the back of my head I can't stop thinking about school.

What goes through my head most of the time is I have so much to do.

I feel like I haven't got the slightest clue where to start. I want to buy things for my classroom. But what do I need?

What is the best way to organize the classroom? How should I arrange the seating?

What do I do on the first day of school?

What if my kids get horrible test scores and I feel like a failure for teaching them nothing?

It's at times like these that I just have to switch my worrying off and tell God my concerns. He cares for me.

I want a teacher with one or two years under their belt to go shopping with me and help me furnish my classroom because I feel overwhelmed.

Okay, enough about school.

The one downside to summers are the gazillion weddings. I'm not sure how many I've been to so far but I still have at least three or so to go. Thankfully, the next two weekends are wedding-free. Austin and I are going on a camping/the Farm trip with our Sunday School group and then next weekend we are going to see my family up in Dallas. Pop's going to be there and I'm so excited!

I have stuff I need to do now so I'll have to write again later.
-K

June 6, 2007

2009-06-06T21:07:00.002-05:00

Two years ago was a special day - I met Austin for the first time! I can't believe that it's only been two years. And we've been married for 5 months. You do the math. :) We don't waste time! No, we are not planning on having kids soon. That we can wait on!

Since I haven't written in forever, I have so much to update on. Since you don't want to read a novel, I will use bullet points and summarize:

My birthday came and gone. We left for New York on my birthday and headed to Austin's cousin's wedding. Afterwards, we hung out in the city for a few days. I got to see two Broadway shows: Phantom of the Opera and Mary Poppins. They were both incredible!
School has ended. I am breathing a sigh of relief because that long-term sub job was HARD! I am now officially excited about teaching for real next year. I am trying to plan how to organize and decorate my classroom. I want it to be cozy, clean and fun. Austin and I went to IKEA today and I got a lot of ideas!
It's SUMMER! Which means lots of time to plan, prepare, chill, hang out and relax. It's going to be awesome.
Austin is paying for me to have voice lessons this summer from his own voice coach. I am excited and a little nervous. I love singing, but not in front of people. He's hoping that these lessons will give me confidence in my abilities. He might be more excited about them than I am!

I think that's pretty much it. I am watching Sister Act right now with Austin and so I need to pay more attention. :)

-Katie

Perks of the Job

2009-05-18T18:28:00.002-05:00

Last week I got to hide in a dark, locked classroom for 30 or so minutes while one of my students was escorted past my classroom and out of the building.

Actually, he ended up going to ISS.

I was responsible for getting him suspended and this student has a history of attacking teachers (no joke here - there was a lockdown at the school 2 months ago).

So just in case, the assistant principal told me I should get somewhere safe.

You're never really prepared for that sort of thing.

The fun part was that he was back in my class the following day.

Oh boy.

5-Minute Update

2009-05-12T20:43:00.003-05:00

1. I have a job! I will be teaching 8th grade science at Baines (where I am doing the long-term sub job now) next year. I've been told the current 7th graders are awesome so I am super excited.

2. This means that I am a Longhorn... which I never thought I'd say.

3. Austin brought me flowers and a candy bar today because I had a break down last night. Things at school were getting overwhelming and I wanted to quit.

4. I didn't quit. I was extra cheerful today knowing that God gives me strength and helps me love my not-always-so-precious 8th graders.

5. I have returned to the world of grading and feeling super tired. I have a feeling it will be like this for a while.

6. A huge chunk of my students are failing. Yayyy previous teacher.

7. It's relationship status season again! That's what happens in the spring - relationship statuses change. People start dating, they break up or they get engaged or married. Seriously, check Facebook and you'll see.

8. Austin's watching some sci fi movie that I have no interest in. It will make it that much easier to grade.

9. Back to grading!

10. -Katie

"Don't touch me! You have swine flu!"

2009-04-30T20:45:00.002-05:00

Seriously. I have heard that phrase a million times this week.

Every 8th grader is convinced that a) the person sitting next to them has swine flu and b) they will catch swine flu and die.

They Chlorox-wiped down their desks yesterday and 1/2 of a large bottle of anti-bac hand gel is gone already (after a day).

And I get to teach these kids all day.

Tomorrow is day one of 8th grade TAKS - it was supposed to be today but since Houston flooded and school was canceled on Tuesday, everything was pushed back a day. The social studies test is on Monday so yay... TAKS gets to last even longer this year!

I really hope that I get to be a bathroom monitor so I can actually read something. If I am put in a classroom (which they can totally do since I am a certified teacher) I will cry.

Speaking of crying, I almost broke down at school today.

I wrote 4 referrals and confiscated a phone. Then the science specialist wrote some more referrals. It wasn't too pretty.

Let's see... one student said my voice was annoying and he "just thought he'd let me know". Later he called me racist after I wrote him a referral. Two girls threw hissy fits after I wrote them referrals too and I wanted to pull my hair out. One girl kept arguing with me about why it was so unfair.

"Unfair...??? Let me tell you about unfair!" I wanted to scream.

Unfair is the way I am treated every day!

Yet I pray that God gives me the patience and love to persevere and return each day. These kids need so much love.

The funny thing is, despite the way that "mean Mrs. Cox" appeared in the classrooms today, I still had kids telling me that I was their favorite teacher.

"Seriously, Mrs. Cox, we didn't learn anything until you got here. We have learned more in the past two weeks than in the past 8 months."

That just about made my tough day worth it.

That, and 7th period. Unfortunately I had to start the period by warning them: "At least 5 referrals have been written today and I took away a phone and gave it to the principal. Seriously. Don't mess with me."

God blessed me with amazingly well-behaved students for the last 50 minutes of the day. They were awesome! I got to spend all my time with three special ed kiddos who needed the attention so badly.

I love working with struggling students. It really is a passion of mine. I don't think I have a gift for working with all special ed kids, but I do like to work with really struggling ones. We played a science review board game that the science specialist had made for them. Most kids thought the game was boring and didn't take it seriously, but the sped kids loved it. I sat with them and read the questions and made sure that they didn't hog the dice or roll again if they got a one. It was the best part of my day, and they didn't even finish the game (which is crazy since most groups played about 5 times during the lesson).

Now I am physically exhausted yet emotionally and spiritually energized after meeting with my Bible study girls. We really need a name of some sort. I am truly blessed by our weekly meetings. I love my girls!

I think I'm going to go take a nice hot bath.

Goodnight, friends!

-Katie

P.S. I found the picture above online... it made me laugh! I am seriously going to do this if we all are forced to wear masks! Which makes me think... do the masks really do a lot? Surely it can't really protect you very well... (Maybe I'm stupid...?)

No School

2009-04-28T08:19:00.005-05:00

Due to the crazy weather yesterday and this morning, Fort Bend ISD is closed! It was a surprise to me this morning, although I was trying to figure out how I would get all the way over to the school I'm at with the flooding that occurred.

So I have a rainy day!

What am I going to do with my rainy day?

Right now, I am enjoying relaxing on my bed and listening to John Mayer's album Heavier Things. It's great rainy day music (and winter music... and mellow music...). I think I'll spend my day cleaning and organizing and menu planning. Maybe I'll even make it to the grocery store. We'll see.

The day is full of possibilities.

-Katie

P.S. The photo above was taken by my sister Kellie. You can view her amazing work here and here.

Ok, So Maybe I Want to Teach 8th Grade Now...

2009-04-21T17:02:00.002-05:00

Did I mention that I have a job?

Heck yes.

Not a real-life grown-up job, but a long-term sub job. (We're working on the grown-up one...)

I get to teach science to 8th graders!!! Their teacher is sick or something (been out for 2 weeks already... could be gone all year, who knows. Could be gone forever... = possible job?!?!)

Anyways, today was my second day. It is going great so far! I love the kids and they are already begging me to stay and be their teacher from now on. I guess that's a good sign. :-)

I got the job because I subbed at the middle school last week and asked about jobs for next year. They said they didn't have any openings at that moment but were looking for a long term sub and asked me if I had a lot of experience teaching science.

Oh, did I.

I sent in my resume that afternoon after meeting the principal and assistant principal (and it just so happened that I was subbing for the science department head that day... so I met her, too). The next morning, I got a call telling me they wanted me to be the long-term sub! They actually wanted me to start last Wednesday (the day I got the call) but I still had other sub jobs for the rest of the week. So I started yesterday.

It's a new school with great teachers and kids bored out of their minds (well, the class I am taking over anyways)!! Today we made a model of a chunk of land and cut it in half so we could model the three different types of faults. I was absolutely shocked because the kids LOVED it - they told me they had never done anything that fun before!

Are you kidding me? These poor students!!! Apparently their teacher just made them read from the textbook. I wanted to cry when I heard that.

I can't take the credit for the fun activity, though. We have a science specialist in the school who has been planning all their lessons. According to the students and two teachers, they really haven't learnt anything all year and are at risk of failing the TAKS.

I am so glad that God has given me this opportunity. I can't wait to get to know the students better.

Oh and one random thing - after I introduced myself yesterday and told a brief summary of my life story, a student came up to me at the end of class. She told me that she was born in England and lived there until 2 years ago! I asked her where she lived and she said Leicestershire. I about died because NO ONE seems to know about that area! She lived in Oadby, only 3.5 miles from the center of Leicester, where I used to shop and attend church. Her house was about an 18 minute drive from where I used to live.

Imagine that!?!

She had even heard of my junior high/high school.

I wanted to hug her. :-)

It's a small world.

-Katie

He's Not Finished With Me Yet...

2009-04-19T16:41:00.003-05:00

This week has left me wondering why my life has turned out the way that it has. At this point in my life, I am searching for a job as a middle school science teacher. If you would have told the 10-year-old me this, I probably would have laughed, and not believed it. When I was younger, my interests were much different.

Art was my passion when I was in elementary school and middle school. I carried around this art case that had a ton of sketchbooks, how-to books, pencils and other artistic utensils inside. I loved that thing. I would sit for hours and draw people's faces.

When I was seven, my parents bought an acre of land (and didn't build on it until I was 20). I was fascinated by the blueprints for our future house and became obsessed with drawing my own blueprints. I would color them and add furniture and everything. For a very long time, I wanted to be an architect.

Art was such a huge part of my life all through middle school. It was my best subject in school and I wanted to continue taking art classes. However, I could only choose three extra subjects to take after 8th grade. I had chosen art, design technology and information technology, but the teachers would not allow me to take 3 classes that all had huge projects as part of their coursework - the limit was 2. For some insane reason, I decided to take art off my list and take German instead. I was very good at German, but I look back now and wonder why on earth I thought it was more important than information technology (that class was horrible - my only B).

From that point on, art started getting squeezed out of my life. I still had design technology and I loved it. I got to make things with wood, metal and plastic and still be creative. It was my favorite class ever, hands down. I wanted to continue taking it after my sophomore year of high school but my school didn't offer it. It was at that point in my life that I chose to take math, chemistry and English literature for my junior and senior years of high school. The art was gone forever.

Suddenly my life had gone from art-filled to science/math-filled. I had always loved science and math but I had never thought that I would choose a job related to those subjects. I went to college thinking I wanted to major in engineering, but after a year of painful physics classes I changed my mind and choose teaching.

I got to take one art class during my sophomore year of college and I loved it (my teacher said I was the best in class... which was the best compliment ever).

Thinking about all of this just made me think: why? Why did all those things happen that shut art of my life? Recently in Bible study we were talking about creative gifts that God had given us and the ways that we used them. While answering that question I realized that it was a part of me that was missing. I felt like I have lost part of my personality.

That hit me hard.

I talked about it with Austin a lot. I wondered why God wanted me to pursue something that was completely different to what I was passionate about as a child. I am passionate about teaching math and science to middle school students now, but it is something I would never have expected. I still miss art.

I believe that God allows us to make choices for ourselves instead of choosing every single detail of our lives for us, but still has a plan for us. I know that I will never know why I was supposed to be a science teacher instead of an architect or an art teacher. But I trust God and will follow Him.

The title of my post is from a song called "Wait and See" by Brandon Heath. Look it up if you don't know it. I love that God is not finished with me yet and He still has a plan for me! I am excited to find out what it is. :)

I know that as far as art goes, I plan to incorperate a lot of art into my science classes. I'm not sure exactly how yet, but it's going to be awesome!

-Katie

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Hey Honey, I'm Home!

2009-04-08T17:44:00.003-05:00

I saw this on a facebook status today and thought that I'd share with you. I have literally laughed out loud on a number of occasions. I think July 12 is a personal favorite.

Well, folks, I'm still here. I've been subbing a lot, which I guess is good. At one school a lady told me that her principal noticed me and told her to make sure that I didn't leave without giving them my name and number. That's a good thing, right? The school even called me today to see if I could sub tomorrow. I already have another job, though.

About a week and a half ago I went on a women's retreat through my church. I normally get kinda shy when stuff like that comes up and so I never apply for them. However, it was Austin who first heard about it and encouraged me to go. I found some more girls from our "honeymooners" Bible study and we all signed up. I had a wonderful time. The theme was "Why We Need Girlfriends" and was focused around the story of Mary and Elizabeth in Luke 1. I had heard their story so many times but this time my eyes were opened to the beautiful friendship that these two women shared. Elizabeth was elderly and had been through so much pain and shame in her life because she was barren. Mary was a teenager and had yet to experience pain and shame because of her pregnancy. Because Elizabeth remained faithful to God, despite the fact that she could never have children, God was able to bless her and use her. In His timing, Elizabeth became pregnant. Mary and Elizabeth were able to comfort each other as they carried the babies of perhaps the two (at least one) most important men in the Bible.

Houston is so different because it is so new. I don't have a lot of friends yet, but I trust that God is going to show me women with whom I can bond and have a deep friendship. He has already blessed me with some girls that I meet with every Thursday night. I think I mentioned that two of my friends from college, Stacie and Haley, are living on the west side of Houston. Haley literally lives less than 10 minutes away from me! None of us are from Houston, but we all ended up here. At my wedding, Haley and Stacie actually talked about how they didn't know any girls and needed that fellowship... So the week after they started meeting. Now I get to be a part of the group and we are loving it!

This week we are starting The Names of God by Ann Spangler. There are 52 different names of God that the Bible uses, and we will start studying one each week. I can't wait to grow and learn more about the characteristics of God with these girls! They are such a blessing to me!

So my friend Catlin mentioned that she uses Google Analytics for her website. I decided to try it out, too. Yes, that's right people.... I'm tracking you! It's so much fun. I'm actually surprised that so many people visit my site when I don't even update. No wonder they only spend an average of less than a minute on my page... :-/ Well, so I think it's really interesting. I know that I have readers in Texas (surprise surprise), Florida (Erin I assume!), California (who are you!?) and Colorado (Lauren!). But I also have a reader in Wales and one in China. I am global, ladies and gentlemen! Haha. But seriously, I think it's interesting. I wonder who they are!

I know that I read many blogs regularly of people who don't know me at all. I've been tempted to email them or comment on their blog, but I don't since I think it might creep them out. I love random comments, though... so if you want to introduce yourself... :-)

Ok, enough about my blog.

How about someone else's blog? My mom told me about this newlywed's blog and so I have decided to write about it.

I am not a fantastic chef but I want to learn. This website has helped me! Elizabeth, the blogger, loves to cook and try out recipes, and she takes pictures of her creations. But better than that, she takes pictures at each step of the food-making process. I love that! Go check out her site. Yesterday I made the tamale casserole. It was yummy!

Well kiddos, this girl is hungry for the brownies that she made last night (also on the website mentioned above... except that I didn't cook them long enough). I'm gonna go eat one.

Peace out!

-Katie

Crying and Clinton

2009-03-26T21:13:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow will conclude my worst sub assignment ever.

I took a 3-day job teaching 6th grade at an elementary school. I know what you're thinking. Yes, they squeezed 6th graders into all the elementary schools in this particular area and it is not working out.

Yesterday was the worst subbing experience I've ever had. It consisted of:

- kids not listening to me at all
- students running in and out of the classroom for no reason
- lots of tattling
- physical stuff, mainly pushing and shoving (followed by more tattling)
- kids so out of control two policemen were called to the school
- desks thrown and chairs thrown
- kids refusing to do anything when I yell "PICK UP THOSE DESKS!!!"
- me giving a 10 minute speech to my homeroom kids at the end of the day which resulted in
- me crying in front of all the students.

Yes. I cried. Not because of the disrespect I was shown. But because of the lives these kids are throwing away. They don't care about school or their future. They really don't care about anyone but themselves, and they will suffer greatly for it.

Two girls went and told another teacher that I was upset, and when the teacher walked in I started bawling.

I am not one to show my emotions like that, especially in public. ESPECIALLY in front of complete strangers. But I did.

Today, the kids were a lot better.

Not all of them, but some. I still had to call for an administrator to remove one student from my classroom. (He was the one laughing at me when I was crying while all the other kids were yelling at him to shut up.)

Anyways, I returned to the school today, mainly because I had to, but also because I don't give up that easily.

The teacher in the room next to mine was shocked. "You came BACK!?"
I told her that I don't give up easily and she just said, "God bless you. God bless you."

Tomorrow I return again. I just pray for the strength to love these kids and be firm with them. They need that so badly, as weird as that sounds. They need discipline.

* * * * *

On a lighter note, I tried to contain my laughter during one conversation I had yesterday. A student was reading "100 People Who Changed America" and pointing out different incredible people. He got to a picture of Abraham Lincoln and then said, "Do you know who my three favorite presidents are?" I told him I didn't. "They are Abraham Lincoln.... George Washington..... and Obama."

That right there made me want to laugh. But not as much as what followed:

"Do you know who was president when I was born?"

"Hmmmm...." I said. "Let me guess. Clinton?"

"Nope. No, it was uh, it was Clinton's husband."

I had to think for a minute before I realized that I had a generation gap on my hands. The only Clinton he knew was Hillary!!!

Oh, kids.

-Katie

Sick Times Three

2009-03-19T20:24:00.005-05:00

Did I mention that I am getting over being sick for the THIRD time in a month and half?

This time, the doctor gave me steroids and stronger antibiotics. He also gave me a cough syrup with codeine in it that made me sick. It was a little bottle of evil and I had to lay on the couch for a few hours in the same position until the room stopped spinning.

Anyways, I think the steroid/antibiotic combo is working and hopefully I'll be back to normalish by tomorrow.

I don't think my body gets along with Houston very well. I have never had such horrible allergies.

It kinda stinks that it's Spring Break (and I actually get Spring Break off) and I'm sick. Not that I was planning on doing a lot of crazy things, but I wanted to get out instead of staying inside all day on the couch.

Maybe I can pack all my fun in tomorrow. ;-)

-Katie

Fun Being Frugal

2009-03-16T13:49:00.002-05:00

One of the reasons I love Austin is because he is very good with money. I mean, he's a financial advisor so that says something in itself. But he has always been good with his money.

Most kids go to Chuck-E-Cheese, get some tokens and then buy whatever they can afford at the end of the day. Austin, on the other hand, would save up his tokens for who knows how long and buy the super nice prizes. Not very many kids have the patience to do that.

I love that Austin is smart with his money. He is generous - he loves giving at church and to missions. But he is also a saver and knows not to blow his money on stupid stuff.

Since we just got married, and since I don't have a job, we have to be smart with money right now. We love to eat spaghetti since it is really cheap. We also have found out some really awesome ways to have fun on a budget.

Austin loves pawn shops. I admit that before I knew him, I had never dared to venture into one. They scared me a little. But Austin has opened my eyes to the world of pawn shops. Yes, they are filled with power tools, electronics, guns and ugly jewelry, but they are also filled with cheap DVDs and VHS tapes. Since we love movies and have a VHS player (bought at a pawn shop), we will go to pawn shops and buy tons of VHS tapes. We actually did this on Saturday. They were 25 cents each!!! You can't beat that.

The pawn shop we went to also had a lot of CDs, which is something I had never seen at a pawn shop before. They were $1.50 each. We got a Jason Mraz album for $1.50. No scratches. Seriously, pawn shops are better than Half Price Books sometimes!

Another thing we love to do is go to the dollar theater. Who wants to pay $9 to see a movie? Not me. We spend $3 for the two of us to see a movie that's been out for a while and take some quarters along with us to play some arcade games!

We also did some inexpensive decorating on Saturday. Austin has a large collection of records - mostly classic rock and big band - and so we bought some record frames at Target and framed four of the album covers. They're so cool looking!

Do you have any money-saving tips? I'd love to hear them!

-Katie

Yay Middle School!

2009-03-12T16:39:00.003-05:00

There was once a time during my college days when I couldn't decide if I wanted to teach sweet and cute little elementary kiddos or sassy and cocky middle schoolers.

Somehow, probably by God's grace, I chose the cocky kids.

I am beyond thankful.

I know that subbing is not like real teaching, since you only get to be the "teacher" for a day most times. I know that a sub job is not really an accurate experience of what the class is normally like.

Still, my two worst subbing experiences have been in elementary schools.

I don't know if it's because I just haven't had experience in an elementary school or what, but they have been terrible.

The first was 2nd grade at an open concept school.

Don't know what an open concept school is? Think of a huge room of office cubicles, and turn the cubicles into classrooms. There are no doors and most walls are about 5 feet high. It's noisy and you don't have much privacy. There are points you can stand at and see into four classrooms at once. It's a very 60's design and it pretty much sucks.

Anyways, 2nd grade was not fun. The kids were whiny and tattled on each other every five minutes.

Today I had a fifth grade class. Even though I was actually certified to teach this particular class (it was math/science and I am certified to teach math/science 4-8), I still felt a little lost.

I think because it was at an elementary school. You have to line everyone up in a straight and very quiet single-file line to go anywhere. Impossible.

The fifth graders I had today were so disrespectful. They would talk when I was talking and kids would get out of their seats whenever they wanted. I even had kids leaving the classroom for no reason at all.

I've never experienced anything so horrible.

I also had recess duty, which made me want to cry.

I got another class for recess and since it was raining outside, they came into my classroom to watch a DVD. Except that the DVD wouldn't work on the computer because it wasn't Windows XP or higher. So we tried a VHS tape. That wouldn't work either. So then the kids decided they want to play a game. They start screaming and yelling and fighting and running. I desperately tried to get things under control but the kids didn't really care since they had no idea who I was. The behavior specialist had to come from down the hall (because the kids were so loud) and straighten them out. She gave them an amazing lecture and they sat in silence for the remaining 5 minutes of recess.

I wish I could be that lady. She was my hero.

I gave my class a nice talking to at the end of the day about how horrible they were and how they were representing their school and they should be ashamed of themselves.

I hope that when I have my own class, my students know how to behave when a sub is there. I was truly appalled.

All that goes to say, I love 7th and 8th graders. Most people think I am crazy but I would rather spend a week with them than a day with elementary school students.

Yay middle school.

-Katie

More.

2009-03-06T15:08:00.004-05:00

Do you ever hear a song that immediately takes you back to a different time and place? I'm not just talking about songs that remind you of junior high. I'm talking about songs that seem to transport you to a completely different year, town, season, etc. The lighting seems to change and so does the temperature and even the scent of the air changes. I'm talking about those sorts of songs.

Whenever I hear "More" by Matthew West, I am walking across Academic Plaza at midnight (or even later) after Upstream on a Thursday night. Upstream is a Bible Study that I used to go to during freshman year. It's only for freshmen and it was awesome! I used to go there with my friend Catherine, but since we were in different Bible study groups, we would finish at different times and we never walked back to our dorm together. To keep myself company on the long walk back to southside from northside, I would put my iPod in and turn up the music. I listened to "More" many times freshman year, but I especially loved it as I walked back to my dorm. I would look up at the sky as Matthew West sung those beautiful words...

I love you more than the sun and the stars

That I taught how to shine

You are Mine

And you shine for Me too

I love you yesterday

And today

And tomorrow

I'll say it again and again

I love you more

It it is amazing to be reminded of the amazing love that God has for us. No matter how alone or small and insignificant I feel, God is not going to let go and He will never forget me. Freshman year was so much fun, but I felt very alone a lot of the time. My family was 5,000 miles away and I only knew one person (Anna!) when I started college. The lyrics to "More" were comforting to me. If you don't know the song, I recommend looking it up to listen to it!

It's no secret that I love John Mayer's music (Austin's not a fan, but that's ok). My favorite song is "3x5". It's probably my favorite song, period. Well, if we're not throwing praise songs into the mix. When I hear that song, I am sitting on top of a hay bale, alone, looking at the sunset over the English countryside in the summertime. I didn't like to take walks very often when I lived in England, but I remember this one walk I had that I really enjoyed.

Didn't have a camera by my side this time

Hoping I would see the world through both my eyes

Maybe I will tell you all about it

When I'm in the mood to lose my way with words

You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes

It brough me back to life

You'll be with me next time I go outside

No more 3x5s

I listened to this song, sitting on that hay bale during summer 2006. It was the last time I was going to be in England for a long time. My family moved back four months later. I guess I was trying to take it all in. There are very few people I know who have experienced that part of my life with me. Austin is not one of those people. No matter how many photographs I show him, he has no way of really knowing what my life was like. Pictures just don't do it justice. Sitting on that hay, I knew that the next time I came back to that spot, I would have him with me (even though I didn't know him then). That day I finally overcame trying to fit the world inside a picture frame. I love that song.

Summer 2007 was another big summer for me. It was the first (and only) summer I took summer school at A&M, and I loved every moment of it. It was also the summer that I met Austin and fell in love (okay, maybe not "fell in love", but I had a crush...). Whenever I listen to Jon McLaughlin's album "Indiana", especially the song "Industry" when I'm driving in my car, I am no longer in Houston/Dallas/wherever. I am in College Station, after class one hot day, with Carolyn in the car, blasting the music, and we are planning something awesome to do for the rest of our day. I loved that summer. I felt so free. We had so much fun hanging out, sharing an apartment, going to Coffee Station and doing completely random things.

Caedmon Call's song "Table for Two" also reminds me of that summer. When I hear it, I am walking across campus one beautiful morning from G. Rollie to Blocker. It was a long walk, and I enjoyed listening to my iPod during the walk. I remember "Table for Two" for some reason. I would be wearing my stretchy pilates pants (I had pilates first, and then statistics), feeling a little self-conscious in such tight clothing, but choosing not to let it wreck my morning. Haha... and then if I was lucky, Austin would be at Blocker waiting for me. Haha.... oh, it's funny to think back to those times. I recently told him about how I felt self-conscious in those pilates pants, but he doesn't even remember them. I'm trying to remember why he was even at Blocker at that time in the morning... I honestly think he just went there to see me. :-)

Wow, it's fun to think of old memories. And those are just a few songs I thought I'd share. Are there any songs that "transport" you to a certain time and place? I would love to hear about them!

-Katie

You've Got to be Kidding Me.

2009-03-04T18:24:00.002-05:00

Here I am, sick AGAIN, laying on the couch. For the second day in a row.

How did I get sick again only a month after my horrible puking virus? This time, it's sinus junk. That seems to be the story of my life.

I kind of blame myself, though. I told myself that I was going to use my Neti Pot (well I don't actually use the pot anymore, I bought the more extreme version to use) every day. And I didn't. The wedding was near and I was busy and stressed and I couldn't remember to use it every day.

I'm going to get better at it and then hopefully I won't have another episode like this.

When I'm sick, I become a completely different person. I don't care about washing my face or hair or brushing my teeth. I also want to lay around all day which normally drives me crazy.

Sigh.

I really want to cook dinner for my sweet husband tonight so I'm going to go see if I can do it. We'll see.

-Katie

Good News!

2009-02-25T15:03:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I subbed for a 1/2 day at the closest middle school to my apartment. It took about 3 minutes to get there. Sweet.

I had always wanted to get a sub job there because I wanted to know what kind of school it was. If it was anything like the schools I had already subbed at, I wasn't interested.

Yesterday, I got my wish. I was able to get a 1/2 day of 6th grade math. Hooray! Something I was actually certified to teach! (Yesterday morning I was being offered jobs like 1st grade bilingual. Yuck. Gag me. Oh, and Middle School Boy's P.E. Really? Who on earth thinks I am qualified to teach that? Not to mention the correct gender.)

Aaaaanyways. I got to the school at 12:15 and got to meet the teacher before she left. She seemed pretty nice, and she was NOT leaving me worksheets for the kids to do. I had to actually teach! I was so thankful. Worksheets make me sick! For the three different classes I had, we got to learn about and discuss the metric system (length, to be specific) and I loved every minute of it. I know that I don't want to teach math, but I still love it.

The second class I had was actually an inclusion class. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means that there are special education kids in your classroom so there is a SPED teacher in there too. After I had started teaching and the kids were doing some practice on their own, the SPED teacher asked me if I was a teacher because apparently it was pretty obvious. I told her that I was and we talked for a minute or two about how I was looking for a job in Fort Bend. Later in the class she asked if I carried copies of my resume with me. Unfortunately I am in the process of updating it so I didn't have any.

Well, that class ended and I tried to go meet the principal during the planning period that followed but I didn't have any luck because he was in meetings. Shortly after the planning period ended and I was standing outside the door greeting the next group of kiddos, a man walked up to me (by a teacher's description I knew it was the principal) and told me that he had been told by the SPED teacher to come up and meet me. He was like, "So you're certified to teach math and science? Well I can tell you that we have a few math positions opening and one or two science positions that will be available for next year."

I asked what grade the science position would be.

"That would be, uh, 7th grade."

BINGO!!!!!!

I hope he didn't get scared because I put my hands up in the air and said "YES!!! That's my favorite!!!!" He told me to shoot him an email next week with my resume included.

How super cool is that? Of course I don't know if that will work out and even if it does, I still want to see what's out there. But it's a start.

Everyone at the school was nice and helpful and had nothing but wonderful things to say about the school.

And I sure would like to only drive 3 minutes to get to school. I mean, that would make my millennium.

God is good.

Now I'm sitting at Panera again because I didn't get a job today. I got some calls once I was taking a nap (at like 10 or 11) but rejected them because the job was from "8:20-4:20" and really far away. By the time I got to the schools it would only be a half day. Plus, I don't know how it works if they offer you a job after school has already started. It's not like I can talk to a real person about it. VIPER is automated.

Speaking of Panera.... I have discovered my new favorite hot tea: Ginger Peach by The Republic of Tea (it's a black tea). A little of the brown cane sugar and a spot of milk and it's perfect.

So that's all I have for right now. Later!

-Katie

Are You a Teenager?

2009-02-21T16:51:00.004-05:00

It's Saturday afternoon and I'm here at my [new] favorite coffee place. Austin is sitting next to me with his dad, and they're working on a seminar that Austin's going to be doing with churches in the area. (Know anyone who needs any long-term care?)

I've been having fun drinking hot tea and working on a facebook photo album of our honeymoon pictures. If you'd like to view them, go here.

So let's see. This week I got to sub three times - all at different schools. Hopefully I will be able to sub five days a week from now on. I was just getting started this weeks so things were a little different. I was really excited about my sub job yesterday because I was supposed to do 6th grade math and science. I'm certified to teach those subjects so I was like, "YEAH! I can do this!!" The bad thing was, when I got there, this guy walked into the classroom and said that he could take over, and that I could go work in the library.

Fun, fun.

I didn't know if he was a teacher or another sub, so I thought I should probably trade with him. We traded, and my day was very... well, let's just say that I know why I chose middle school over elementary. (The 6th grade was added with K-5 at this particular school.)

Sheesh! I spent the day having 45 minute sessions with grades K-5. We showed them all the same video about the book fair that's coming, and then we either showed them The Cat in Hat or Holes (depending on their grade). Now, I honestly love Holes, but watching the first 20 minutes over and over again was not so fun.

When I wasn't working with the kiddos, I got to talk to the other librarian. We had a very long conversation about her pet schnauzer. She told me how she wanted to get her a "mate" so she could have the experience of having sex in her lifetime. Not for puppies or anything, but for the pleasure (??) of it. She said that she would let her "have a boyfriend for a while and then get her spayed". She didn't want to deprive her dog of doggy sex. The entire time we were talking I was trying to convince myself in my head that this was a very normal topic of conversation and that it wasn't weird at all. But the truth is, that's just freaking weird. She was a very nice lady, though... I was just weirded out.

I also got told by a first grader that I had "bouncy hair" and one third grader asked if I was a teenager.

Nice.

Another fun part of the day was when some of the kindergartners started crying because they didn't get a sticker. We gave some stickers out to the kids who were quiet and watched the movie and the ones who were bad didn't get them. So of course we had lots of bawling as we handed them back over to their teacher. The teacher was confused so we explained it and she was like, "Well, if they didn't deserve it..." Haha.

Other than that strange subbing experience, my week was pretty good. I met up with two friends for a ladies' small group on Thursday night, and it was amazing.

Haley has been a friend of mine since freshman year of college, and I've known Stacie for a few years. She married my friend Kurt and they now live in Houston. We had a wonderful time having tea and chai lattes.

I discovered that Kurt and Stacie live 15-20 minutes away, and Haley lives 9 minutes away from me. Seriously. I couldn't believe it!!! Out of all the places that your college friends can move...!!! We all live pretty close to each other and I can forsee lots of hangouts in the future. We went over to Kurt and Stacie's apartment last night and had a blast. We played Nerts (or is it Nertz?) for hours on end and had chocolate fondue. Yum.

I am excited about the ladies' group and I know that many purposeful conversations will come from our meetings.

Things are starting to look up!

-Katie

My Job Begins...

2009-02-17T19:35:00.003-05:00

Today was my first day of subbing.

Wahoo!

I took over a 7th and 8th grade Spanish classroom, which was a lot of fun actually.

Besides the fact that I don't speak any Spanish!

I was one of only two white people I saw the entire day, including teachers. It was a different world for sure, but the kids were great. The only problem I had was the fact that the kids had to do this incredibly tedious worksheet. It was very repetitive.

The kids were pretty nice for the most part, and the teachers were very friendly. I don't have any funny stories from today, but maybe I'll have one soon.

Tonight I'm on my own. Austin has spent the day in College Station doing some recruiting for his company. They also have a Meet and Greet tonight, so after I got home from subbing, I was alone. He's going to be gone until late tonight. That's why I decided to come to Panera Bread and use the internet!

Right now I feel very full. Full of food, first of all, but also full of emotions and thoughts. It's still hard for me here in Sugar Land. I knew that it would be a big change once I got married, but I didn't expect to feel this alone. I wish I had friends! I guess I should say: I wish my friends lived closer!

Sigh.

I just put my blog back up on Facebook. I took it off for a while during student teaching because I wanted to be cautious, but it doesn't seem to be a big deal.

Ohh! Just as I type, I got a call from the sub system. I was requested to be a sub tomorrow for middle school math. Yippee! A subject that I actually know and can do! I'm excited. Now to figure out where it is...

I'm gonna go now. I need to call a dear friend and catch up. :)

-K

Oops.

2009-02-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

The event password is hillcox.

Sorry guys!

They're Here!

2009-02-13T12:06:00.001-05:00

Check it out.

Pictures! Coming Soon!

2009-02-12T16:19:00.004-05:00

I just got two emails from our wedding photographer saying that our wedding pictures are going to be up soon!!! Yay! I'll let you guys know when the album becomes available.

Good news: I am officially in the Fort Bend ISD sub system! Well I actually think I have to call a number to get my little pin thing, but I got the email telling me so which is the most important part.

Things are looking up here in Sugar Land.

Also, I bought Lecrae's new album, Rebel, yesterday. It's freaking amazing! I love rap and hip-hop music, but hate the filthy lyrics that accompany the mainstream stuff. Lecrae's music is God-glorifying and an awesome ministry. My favorite song right now is Identity.

Ok, I don't really have a lot to say right now. I need to rush home and cook for my husband! Yippee!

As a special treat for reading this post, you get to see two pictures of me and Austin on our honeymoon! (I JUST put all our pictures on my computer today... I'm about a month late. :-/)

Peace out!

-Katie

Can Anyone Say, "Barf?"

2009-02-05T13:35:00.002-05:00

Today is my first day "out" on my own since Sunday. Austin and I went to watch the Superbowl at some friends' house and I ended up throwing up in their toilet about 15 times. Then I threw up twice on the way home, crying most of the time. Then I threw up all night Sunday night. Actually, I had it coming out of the other end, too... so I was throwing up in a pot while sitting on... the... pot.

Sorry, is this TMI?

I can be the queen of TMI if I'm not stopped. I really don't mind sharing very personal details with complete strangers. You can ask me about bodily functions galore or even birth control, and I will tell all. It doesn't bother me.

So anyways, I have been really sick for the past four days.

Austin said that in his entire life and college career in the corps, he has never heard anyone throw up that violently.

I guess that sometimes my stomach doesn't like me! I haven't been that sick in a REALLY long time.

Now I'm back on my feet, feeling still a little queasy, out to conquor the world.

My first battle was at the FBISD offices, trying to sort out my subbing junk. I think I'm in the clear, though! I even have a badge made. I also have a long-term subbing job lined up! I get to teach math, science and social studies to 4th graders, which should be a lot of fun!

My second battle will be grocery store shopping. I'm not going to do much, but I I need enough to live. I had to make oatmeal with water for breakfast this morning and it was nasty.

Well, friends, I must leave. I'll try to get on here soon. Panera Bread is just too cold for me right now!

-L

Where's the Zyrtec?

2009-01-28T13:44:00.003-05:00

I have such sweet blog friends! Thank you, all, for your encouragement sympathy. I think any new chapter in life not only brings sweet times but also a little bit of pain and frustration. I have been doing much better since I posted last. I think your comments helped me a great deal! That, and the fact that Austin brought me flowers last night. I have such a wonderful husband! :-)

Although there's no establishment that can replace my beloved Coffee Station, I believe that I have discovered my "grown-up" Coffee Station, complete with sophisticated-sounding drink names and wealthy businessmen instead of scruffy college students. The owners are incredibly nice and they make sure that you get a cold glass of ice water after your Cioco Delice, which, by the way, is my favorite new "drink" at this coffee shop. I use quotations because you have to eat it with a spoon. A Cioco Delice is essentially chocolate soup, and it is delightful! It's hot and has frothy whipped cream on top, as well as a rich chocolate drizzle. You can't go wrong with a chocolate drizzle! I come here to use the free wireless internet and enjoy chocolatey goodness, a relaxed and soothing atmosphere as well as excellent service and relatively low prices. You can't beat that. Plus, I think they play Frank Sinatra.

Yesterday I did something dangerous: I picked up a book. I'm not much of a reader, to be honest, but when I do start reading (a book I am truly interested in - not a textbook or anything!) I can't put the book down! I was organizing the apartment and I noticed Searching For God Knows What by Donalad Miller in a stack of books. I have read this book before, and I'm sure I blogged about it, but I picked it up again because I couldn't remember exactly what it was about. All I remembered is that I love Donald Miller and am always amazed by his writing! I read for several hours yesterday which rarely ever happens. I'm a slow reader, however, so I'm only on page 87 or something like that.

Wow, I hope I'm not getting sick. I've been sneezing all day and I'm starting to feel a little icky. Maybe it has something to do with how it was 80 degrees yesterday and now it's 39. Seriously, though, where's the Zyrtec when I need it?

Well, I'm about done here. It's time to blog stalk and spend a few more hours on the internet before going back home.

Love to you all!
-K

Panera Thoughts

2009-01-26T17:14:00.003-05:00

I feel very far away from everyone. Right now I am sitting in Panera Bread, alone, using their wireless internet since we still don't have internet in our apartment. The past couple of days have been somewhat difficult for me as I have been trying to adjust to my new life here in Sugarland-ish. (I say ish because we don't technically live in Sugarland... it's on the border though!) I miss the days filled with classes and studying and random adventures with my friends. I miss being able to go to Coffee Station and see at least one familiar face. Here, I feel very alone during the days.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely love being married! It is such a blessing to have Austin come home to me every evening. I love spending time with him. We have such a blast! We love cooking together and going on fun dates together. I wouldn't trade being married for anything! But while Austin is off at work, I crave spending time with my friends. Growing up kind of sucks in some ways.

Yesterday gave me hope, however. We got to go to church for the first time as a married couple, and we went to the married Bible study class afterwards. It was my third time to go, so I knew a few people already. The people are so much fun and they are so friendly! We went to lunch with some people afterwards, which gave us the opportunity to talk to them more. I know that I am really going to enjoy being at that church. :-)

Really, all I am saying is this: I love being married and living here, but to be honest, some friends would be nice.

Married Life

2009-01-21T13:18:00.003-05:00

I promise I'm still here!

Austin and I just don't have internet yet and so I only get online when I can get to Panera Bread... but I'm not a huge fan of using my internet in public. We'll get it sorted out soon and then I can write a real post.

This one is just to say that we are married (YAY) and that our honeymoon was amazing. We had so much fun! Now Austin's back to work and I'm waiting to hear back from the subbing lady to see if I can start working! I'm ready to earn some money!

As soon as I get pictures I will post them. I just haven't seen a ton yet. Let's see if these pictures show up:

I know they're small, but it's all I can do for right now.

Married life is a blast so far!!! :-)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T09:57:00.001-05:00

I thought you guys would enjoy this. Merry Christmas!

17 Days

2008-12-24T15:27:00.002-05:00

I have only seventeen days before I am Mrs. Cox. I keep expecting the whole "I'm getting married" thing to sink in at some point, but it hasn't yet.

Right now I'm spending my last few days at home before moving to Houston to work on wedding stuf. It all feels really surreal. It feels like it will last a week or so and then I'll go back to my normal life. However, marriage isn't a temporary thing. It's for forever.

I'm SO excited!

We're almost there with the wedding plans. There's just a few things to organize. Austin and I decided not to go with RSVP invitations, so we really don't know how many people will be at the wedding. We do know that it will be big, though!

I can't wait to dance with Austin at the reception and then jet off to Jamaica two days later.

We're doing things a little differently than most people. I hear stories of people who drive for hours to get to their hotel, or who end their wedding so late that it's after midnight by the time they reach their hotel, or people who have to wake up at 4 the following morning to make their flights.

Not us!

We're staying just 2.5 miles from the church on our wedding night.

The next day, we are going to go back to our apartment and open presents/relax after the wedding, and then leave for our honeymoon on Monday.

We're going to Jamaica, if you didn't know!

I am thrilled to begin this new life with the most wonderul man I have ever met!

So thrilled.
-Katie

I'm a Little Teapot...

2008-12-16T18:20:00.003-05:00

I woke up this morning feeling pretty crappy. My back hurt, my head hurt, my ears hurt, my cheeks hurt. I was sniffly and my throat felt scratchy. I knew there was no way that I could get sick because I have to go to College Station and Houston this weekend! It was going to be an exciting time!

Darn these sinus problems! I suffer from sinus infections (really bad ones) at least 2 or 3 times a year. I was sick of having to put my life on hold every time the weather changes.

I've been hearing a little bit about the Neti Pot, an easy way to clear sinuses. Apparently Oprah had a show about it, although I never saw it (I don't watch Oprah). Anyways, I decided to head out to my local Walgreens today and buy a Neti. In case you don't know what a Neti Pot is, it's basically a little teapot. I've seen many pictures of ceramic ones, but the one I bought today is plastic. You put some warm water into the pot and then dissolve a packet of the Neti salt in the water. You then lean over the sink and tilt your head to the side. Then you stick the spout into your nostril and wait until the water comes out of your other nostril. No joke. After doing this, you blow your nose gently and dislodge all the nasty stuff that is making you feel horrible! You do this to oth nostrils and feel great afterwards. Seriously, I can breathe now!

This video explains it better:

I know it looks like a joke, but it's not. It's definitely one of the weirdest things I've ever done. But it works, and I'm going to do it every day.

-Katie

Done and Done

2008-12-15T20:06:00.003-05:00

"Feels like 14 degrees." That's what the weather forcast says here. It's 27 degrees outside (and will get down to 26 tonight) and the windchill is making it half as warm.

Thanks to the weather and the fact that it was probably 60-something yesterday, I am stuffed up, I have a sore throat, my eyes are burning and I constantly feel like I need to sneeze. I could use a back massage, too.

Yay, weather.

On a very positive note, I graduated two days ago! It feels so weird to be completely finished with college. I don't think it's hit me yet. Student teaching enabled me to slowly disconnect with Texas A&M. My emotional time came in May, when I went through the "this is the last time I'll..." phase. Student teaching in Frisco was great because although I was still a student, I didn't really feel like one. Now, I'm not a student anymore at all. I have a diploma to prove it!

Saturday was the first time I have graduated in my life. I didn't graduate from high school, really. I mean, not in the way that Americans normally do. Since I went to a British high school, all we did was have our "final assembly" and we were done. No diploma. No cap and gown. No nothing. The end. I have always wanted to wear a cap and gown, and on Saturday, my dream came true. However, I didn't have a tassle in my cap and gown set, so that was a bit of a let down. Whatever, I graduated and that's all I really care about!

With graduation behind me, I can focus on the next milestone in my life: marriage.

Can I just say that I get married in 26 DAYS?!?!??? Really, that is so strange to me! I have been working on wedding stuff today and it is surreal that the wedding is so close. I have a lot to do! Please pray for focus and discipline during the next few weeks for me. I tend to get overwhelmed when I have a lot to do and I want to push things to the back of my mind and not even think about them. Not what I need to do when I have a wedding to plan!

I have to go eat now. I'm sorry this is a shorter post, but I thought I would sneak a few thoughts in while I could.

-Katie

Scary Mall People

2008-12-04T19:38:00.005-05:00

I wonder how many times I have been offered a little soap slice when walking through the mall. Each time I shake my head and say "No, thank you." But I still feel a little mean. But really, what am I going to do with a small sliver of soap? Turn around and head straight for the bathroom to try it out? Stick it in my purse and then find it days later when it has melted or rubbed all over the inside of my bag? The poor people operating those soap stands seem to get more and more desperate each time I visit the mall. I think they try to invent creative and charming ways to present you with the soap sample. The tall, dark-featured foreign guy (maybe Spanish?) that I passed today tried to pretend that it was a present for me. He held the little glycerin treasure with both hands and reached out real far, with a desperate look in his eye. "Present, for youuuu!!!!" he exclaimed, but I gave him my "I'm really sorry" smile and kept walking. It really amazes me that these little stands have appeared at malls everywhere, because I didn't think there was really a need for MORE scented body products in the United States. Maybe I'm wrong...?

Oh, and right after I passed Fabio, I ran into another girl who extended her hand to me, only this time it contained a postcard-looking thing instead of a hygiene product. She asked me if I would "take her card", and I thought that it probably wouldn't hurt. It's just a card, right? But as soon as I even applied the slightest pressure with my fingers in order to receive it, she tightened her grip and jerked her arm in a little bit. She stepped into my personal space and examined my face. "What make up do you use?" she asked, as I tried to keep walking, although I knew that I wasn't going to get very far. I answered her question and then she asked me if she could show me something. Oh, crap. I told her that I didn't have enough time (I was starving and I had no idea where the nearest Pei Wei was). "Just two minutes???" she pleaded. I thought to myself, "yeah, right... more like 10" and shook my head again. I could see behind her an array of brightly colored powders and Bare Escentual-wannabe products and realized what I could be getting myself into. And at this point I am still holding on to that darn postcard thing. I told her no, I really didn't have time. I'm pretty sure she clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes and then yanked the postcard back without saying a word.

Yikes.

I used to be scared of the people with the hair straighteners. One look at my curly hair and they just about attacked me. For some reason, it was really bad in the College Station mall. The same girl would always be working there and as soon as I would venture around the corner in an attempt to visit the JC Penney end of the mall, she would start following me, voice raised. It got to the point that I would have to pretend I was on the phone or something, or wait until she was turned the other way before darting past the booth. I don't know what those people want to do with me. They wouldn't be able to just straighten one lock of hair and not have me look like an idiot. They would have to straighen my entire head, which would take about an hour or so, but it would look AWFUL because of all the gel and cream that is in my hair.

Sigh.

I know that these people have jobs and they have to be somewhat aggresive in order to get clients, but they scare me. And I think there is a line. And I think that line gets crossed more than it should. :-/

Chrissie wants me to help her with her homework now, but before I go, I want to do a little plug:

My sister Kellie, as many of you know, is a photographer. She recently just got her first official website, and it is incredible. I swear, you will be looking at her pictures for hours! http://www.kellierene.com/ is the address. Her work is insane! Go see!

Peace out!
-Katie

Do People Even Read This Anymore?

2008-12-02T20:22:00.003-05:00

Good grief, it's been a while. I promise that I am still here and still well. I haven't gotten sick or anything (which is kind of miraculous considering how busy I have been!).

What's happened since I last wrote? Well, I finished student teaching. That was so sad for me, because I was so attached to my 7th graders. As a token of my love for them, I made 168 cupcakes, which came in three different kinds of cake, two kinds of icing and were complete with sprinkles on the top. My kids loved them! It has been almost three weeks since I last saw my children, and it feels so strange. I hope they are all doing alright.

I have been really busy now with wedding stuff. I have 5 1/2 weeks until the BIG DAY, so it's full steam ahead for me. I addresses most of the invitation envelopes today in calligraphy. I have decided that I really enjoy writing in pretty handwriting. I went out and bought a cartridge calligraphy pen and I definitely prefer it to the felt tip one that I had been practicing with. If I do say so myself, the envelopes look beautiful.

Today I got my wedding dress back from the alterations place, and it fits like a glove. I am in awe!!! I won't lie, my wedding dress is amazing. It is so perfect for me and I can't wait to wear it as I walk down the aisle towards my handsome Austin! Whoohoo! All that I need now is a pair of earrings and my shoes. That shouldn't be too difficult.

Tomorrow I am getting a haircut at a CURLY HAIR SPECIALIST!!! I am so super excited about this! The hair guy has curly hair himself and has been learning how to care for and cut curly hair for the past 18 years. He has some certification that means that he knows a lot about curly hair. I can't wait to see what he does! My hair appointment comes complete with a "class" on how to care for and style my hair. How fun is that?

Well it's time for me to go eat some pizza. My stomach is rumbling.
-Katie

Right Now

2008-11-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

Hello, world.

I'm here. I'm okay. It's been a while, but I can finally spend a little time by myself on my blog. Translation: student teaching is slowing down!

I have written about 27 posts in my head in between my last real post and this one. I have played with words in my mind and tried to find some worth posting. Yet now, on this stormy evening, I have forgotten every word that I meant to put on here. Instead, I am left with me, now. My mind at this very moment.

Right now, I am tired. I just finished my last two weeks of full responsibility in the classroom. It was so busy that I could barely keep my head above it all. I was doing everything. My students forgot that they even had another teacher, and in fact, MJ was gone last week for 3 out of the 5 week days. The other two days, she stayed out of the classroom all day. I got used to being the teacher, and I loved it. The kids became mine, and today was my day to give them back. When I told my kids that this week was my last week, one student said, "Who's going to be our teacher?" as another student rolled their eyes and replied, "Our teacher!" I had to laugh, and felt quite proud of myself. It meant that my students saw me as a real teacher, and it made me happy. I can't wait to have a classroom of my own, where I am the actual teacher, and I don't have to leave my kids after 12 weeks.

Right now, I am reunited. This weekend we had our annual family reunion for my dad's side of the family. I got to see my aunts and uncles as well as my cousin and grandfather. It was a wonderful weekend full of conversation, memories and laughter. Austin was able to meet everyone and it was special. Everyone loved him and told me so. Last night, we had "Celebrate Pop" night. We had a cake specially made in honor of my grandfather, and everyone presented him with handwritten notes that we had made for him. It was better than any gift we could have given to him. Now everyone is gone back to their respective states, and the house feels empty. I have my bed back, but I didn't even mind giving it up. It was a great weekend.

Right now, I am learning. The weather seems to be reflecting my life lately. The major theme right now seems to be "change", and I am experiencing much of it. There are so many things that I have been learning recently, most of which relates to marriage. Austin wrote up a budget for us, and explained it to me. We are going to be saving anything that I make and putting it towards a house and kids' college stuff. Hopefully, by the time we are ready to have kids, we will have a house and have saved up a good amount for their college expenses. Austin is so wise with money. I love that he seeks the Lord and is so generous yet smart with what he earns. He is a wonderful provider and I know that I am in good hands!

So, that's Austin's thing. My thing has been my charting. I am convinced that most of the couples who have difficulties getting pregnant wouldn't have problems if they charted the woman's waking temperatures and CF. I have learned so much about my own body by charting! I discovered that I have a short luteal phase (the second half of my cycle) which can cause difficulties when trying to get pregnant because the baby needs at least 10 days for implantation to occur. However, I found out that the problem can be easily corrected by taking vitamin B6 supplements. I started taking it today so I'm going to see if it helps. It is insane how much I am learning just after two months!

Right now, I am trusting. I have been reminded many times recently that I am not God. I often feel overwhelmed with how much I have to do in the next two months, but I know that God is faithful and that I am not alone. Things don't always go the way that I want them to, but I have to keep trusting that God is in control.

Goodnight, world. I'm sorry I haven't updated recently. It's been crazy around here!

-Katie

No Time to Write

2008-10-29T19:55:00.002-05:00

I have been dying to write in here but I haven't had any time. Teaching has suddenly become more challenging and I am swamped with stuff to do. It doesn't help that I have been getting home really late the past few days!

Pray for energy and time for me to get my list of stuff done. I have a feeling that it's not going to slow down until I'm finished with student teaching... and then a whole other pile of stuff will be added to my "to do" list.

Whew.

I'm getting ready for bed.

-Katie

Turtlenecks and Cardigans

2008-10-11T20:28:00.003-05:00

My room is smelling oh-so-great, courtesy of Bath & Body Works. I got a free mini-candle today since I spent $10 there, and I love that my room is filled with the scent of "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" now.

I can't wait for it to get cold! This scent is making me feel cozy and warm... now if only it would be cold outside! I finally unpacked the suitcase containing all my fall/winter clothes tonight. I realized that I own a lot of turtlenecks and cardigans. I am the sort of person who gets stuck in a rut with certain clothing items. If I find something I love, I tend to buy lots of the same type of item. I love the way that turtlenecks feel: they keep your neck warm and make you look sophisticated (most of the time). Cardigans are great because they can be dressed up or down, and they're so easy to wear.

I also want it to get cold so I can make hot cocoa all the time. :)

Claire went to her first Homecoming tonight with Ian. She looked so beautiful in her little black dress! I hope that she is enjoying herself and feeling quite grown up. I was never a huge fan of school dances when I lived in England. I never had anyone to go with and to be honest, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed myself if I would have had a date. I didn't learn how to enjoy dances until I met Austin. That's probably because he taught me how to dance and takes the time to have fun and live it up at parties. Hopefully our wedding will be a really fun party. We'll be dancing all night!!!

Right now I'm going to go finish The Blessed Marriage, a book that Austin bought for us to read. I want to finish it before he does (which may be impossible since he was reading the last chapter this morning)... :)

Goodnight friends!

Things I Will Never Do

2008-10-03T21:18:00.003-05:00

After being at school today, I started to make a mental list of things I will never do. I figured that I should post it so that y'all could read it and add your own things. Here's the beginning of mine:

I will never get a puppy before I have kids. I know it's the cool thing to do when you're a young newlywed couple, but Austin and I will not do that. I like dogs, but it just seems like a big pain. You are constantly tied to a little animal that lives on a schedule but can only leave your house when you go to dog-friendly places. I don't want to be married and worried about going on a trip or something because my dog needs food at whatever time and has to have a walk every day. Oh yeah, and I don't want pee all over the place. Austin and I think we will wait until we have kids and they beg for a puppy. I just want to enjoy being married for a while. Plus, I want kids way more than I want a puppy. I think we both do.
I will never use the name "Bubba" as a nickname for one of my children. I think it's downright weird. I think it's especially weird when parents get their older (like 2 or 3 years old) children to call their baby brother that. When I become a parent, I know that I will think long and hard of a wonderful name to give my child. I want to use that name and get any siblings or relatives to use it, too.
I will never give my children McDonald's almost every day for lunch. I've seen one teacher at my school do that and it's really nasty.

That's my list so far. I'm sure there's more things I will come up with.

On a different note, my mom had her back surgery today. She will be in the hospital until Sunday night. Please pray for her - she has to be in a neck brace for 6 weeks and she cannot drive until it is off. The operation involved cutting into her neck/throat in order to repair whatever was damaged, so her throat is going to be really sore for a while. Please pray for a quick recovery and minimal pain. :)

Oh, guess what?! I got a call saying that my wedding dress arrived today! I am going to pick it up tomorrow. It's convenient because I was already planning on going tomorrow morning to order bridesmaids dresses! I'm so excited!

I have to go pick Claire up now, so I need to end this. Goodnight!

Bouquets of Sharpened Pencils...

2008-10-01T17:41:00.004-05:00

****Lauren kindly pointed out that I am an idiot. Then she laughed at me. ;-) I swear, spending all day with 7th graders does something to your brain! I changed my mistake!****

I absolutely love the fall. I think that secretly, it's always been my favorite season (there you go, Lauren). I love the whole back-to-school vibe and I get excited when I go shopping for new school supplies. Fortunately, I chose a career where I can still buy school supplies (year round!). I'm like a kid in a candy store when I walk down the office supply aisle! My new favorite things are Papermate "Flair Bold Colors" marker pens. I use them for everything: grading, taking notes or decorating my science "scrapbook" (as Austin calls it).

More than office supplies, however, I love this weather! It's a little chilly in the morning, and I actually have to turn my car's heater on to lose the goosebumps. By mid-day, it's warmed up a lot but still not overwhelming. I wore a long sleeved shirt today and started feeling a little toasty after 20 minutes of standing outside during a fire drill. Or fire. Us clueless teachers still aren't sure if it was real or not. Anyways, I am just excited that the weather is starting to cool off, even if it's just a little bit. Soon it will be winter... which means that Christmas is near (can you believe it?)... and it also means that I will be married soon! I calculated today that I get married in 14 1/2 weeks. Craziness.

To be a little more exact: 101 days. :)

I have a lot of grading to do today, so I will have to quit writing right now.

But before I go, name the movie my title is from. Amy, you should get this one! ;-)

Short and Sweet

2008-09-29T19:25:00.002-05:00

I have been pushing myself so hard for the past however many weeks and I really haven't stopped. This weekend was just as crazy as the weekdays were - I went to College Station for the game. I feel like I'm running ragged and will eventually get sick if I don't slow down soon.

So in an attempt to relax tonight, I got my work done early when I got home and now I'm making myself a cup of hot tea. It is my personal belief that hot tea makes everything better. My tea of choice right now is Tazo Zen, a green tea with added essences of lemongrass and spearmint. Delightful.

I'd love to be in bed in an hour, but dinner isn't even ready yet. Being at home and having my mom cook for me every night is AMAZING during student teaching! It is the hugest blessing.

I need to set the table now so I'm going to cut this short.

I hope you are all having a great start to your week!

Whoohoo! Temperature Shift!

2008-09-26T05:31:00.001-05:00

Maybe I'm normal after all. :)

Lady-Comp Update

2008-09-24T20:44:00.002-05:00

I've wasted entirely too much time tonight. I've been trying to write a lesson plan but I can't finish it because I don't have all the information I need.

I'm listening to Jason Mraz, getting way too interested in changing my blog's layout and settings. It was too busy and crazy for me with all that brown scribble. Does anyone know how to put pictures up by the blog title and actually have it work for them? For some reason, my picture does not fall within the border given. I am fed up trying to resize it. I appreciate any help I can get.

So, after I told you that nothing really amusing happens in class, two kids broke a thermometer during lab. This occurred yesterday, while I was alone in the classroom with the worst class of the entire day. I wanted to throw the children out of the classroom, but I had no idea where to send them. They were so scared and I was so mad because I had just given instructions which they did not obey. They were lucky that I am a huge softie inside because otherwise, they would be doing some serious work to fix their mistake. My mentor teacher and I came up with a wonderful punishment: to clean ALL the lab equipment we used. Believe me, that's a punishment. They will spend hours in there.

Lady-Comp update: I have been using my new contraption for nine days now, and so far, so good. The electronic gadget works great, but it's my own body that I'm worrying about. I'm on day 18 and I have not yet experienced a shift in temperature. I fear that something is wrong with me. Is that normal? I told Austin about this yesterday and he pretty much told me that I was overreacting and that I'm probably not going to die.

I like the Lady-Comp, though. It wakes me up in the morning with a beeping noise that starts pretty quiet and gets gradually louder. I have been plotting my temperature as well as letting the gadget do it. I want to visually see what is happening to my body temperature. It's really interesting. I feel that I was missing out in not knowing that my body followed a certain pattern each month. No one ever told me that your temperature rises halfway through your cycle. I think this should be common knowledge for teenagers! There is so much cool stuff that your body does that just amazes me.

I hate to end here, but I really need to get to bed and I haven't even made my lunch yet. Gosh, I miss the days where staying up till 1 was no big deal.

-Katie

I Wonder What Accupuncture Would Feel Like

2008-09-22T19:19:00.002-05:00

It seems like most teachers come home with scores of "student stories" to share. For some reason, hilarious moments never seem to occur during my teaching experiences. I'm trying to rack my brain right now so I can share an anecdote with you, but nothing comes to mind. It's not that teaching isn't eventful, because every day is so busy and crazy that I barely have time to breathe. Maybe it's something to do with the 7th grade. Honestly, the funniest moment that I can think of is when one student asked the girl across from him for her number. In the middle of class. She felt so awkward and I was standing right next to their table. Poor girl.

Teaching is a tough job. Way tougher than I ever imagined it to be. My first week of full responsibility started today, and everything went smoothly. Everything except the fact that my supervisor failed to show up today to observe me. She missed the last appointment, too - well, she forgot about it and came an hour late, but by that time we were doing other things and she didn't get to see me teach. Which is why she scheduled an observation for today.

Sigh.

I am so tired right now and to be honest, I shouldn't be on here. I need to grade papers so that I can go to bed early. (And when you consider that "normal" time is 9:30... early is pretty early.)

If I could have one wish right now, it would be to curl up on my bed in my fuzzy blanket, have someone bring me a cup of hot tea and give me a foot massage. :-) (Austin, this is what you get to look forward to when we get married!!! Haha!)

One more thought: The Office comes back on Thursday. I honestly can't wait!!!! It will be the one time I turn my TV on every week. Seriously.

-K

I Love Surprises!

2008-09-11T17:45:00.003-05:00

I just found out that Austin is going to be at my house in a few hours. I nearly lost it after school because I got a text message that read:

"Do you want to watch a movie tonight?"

Seriously, I just about peed my pants. I was going to smack him with a baseball bat the next time I saw him if he was joking with me.

Turns out, he wasn't joking. His family had to evacuate because of Ike, so he decided to drive all the way up to Dallas and spend the weekend with me and my family. Wasn't that sweet? I'm stoked. And yes, I just used that word.

Random question: what do you do with cocky kids? I mean, I love all my students, but there's one kid who is really starting to bug me with his arrogant attitude. He's extremely bright and really "cool". 7th grade cool. This guy is going to be an engineer one day, I just know it. A cool engineer. And I think he knows it. I am very impressed by his knowledge, and I complimented him the other day. I told him that he was "way ahead of the game" and I don't think I should have. Ever since then, he's been asking me things like, "Are we going to study radioactivity?" or "Do we get to learn about quarks?" ...in front of the whole class. I mean, he'll stick his hand up in the middle of lecture to ask a question like that. Today I caught him telling his entire group that he has been G/T since he was in 2nd grade.

I love his enthusiasm for science and learning, but the arrogant attitude he has is going to slap him in the face if he's not careful. I want the best for all my students, but I can tell that the other students really don't care. They are just struggling with the fact that protons are positive but neutrons are not negative.

Sigh.

Teaching is so much more than I thought. I love it, but it is SO HARD. I thank God for giving me strength every day to face the 6 periods I have to teach or co-teach.

-Katie

Oohhh, she said "period!"

2008-09-10T18:53:00.005-05:00

Wow, guys! I was really blessed by the responses I got on that last post. I had no idea that
a) so many people read my blog, and
b) I am not alone on this issue.

It was a blessing to hear your responses. Our God is good!

My Lady-Comp is due to arrive on Monday, so I am checking my doorstep every day until then. I am anxious to figure out how it works!

So guess what? In four months, I will be married! That makes me so excited and a little nervous, because I have so much to do before then. I feel like all my energy is focused into student teaching right now, and all I have when I get home is enough energy to eat, grade papers (if needed) and get prepared for the next day. Wedding planning is a slow process right now. I am having a difficult time believing that I will be a wife in four short months. Sometimes I don't feel prepared for that task!

Austin has been looking at places to live. Right now we are looking at Alief and Katy. (ASHLEY!! I could live so close to you!!!) I really don't know anything about Houston, so I'm very clueless. Everything about living in Houston seems strange to me. I know that I have moved countries before (heck, I've moved continents!), but moving to a new Texas city seems scarier. It'll be a lot to adjust to. Gosh. There's going to be a ton of change in four months: I'll be married, living with a boy, be hundreds of miles from my family, be a graduate, and be living in Houston. I might need therapy...

On a different note, I am really enjoying student teaching. I am already teaching for most of the day, and I've only been at the school for 2 1/2 weeks. My mentor teacher told me today that I didn't seem like a student teacher to her. I guess that's good, right? I really love my students. They are all so different and unique! I love standing at the door at the beginning of each period and shaking their hands. They love it, too. Some of them will walk up with their arms extended, ready to shake my hand. Haha, some of those 7th graders haven't quite mastered how to give a handshake. There's a few guys who have really great handshakes, but most of the girls are "limp fish". You know what I mean? :)

I'm really getting into the groove of teaching, too. At first it was a little frightening, but now it's fine. As long as you say something with confidence, they will listen and believe you. (I guess that's a little scary... haha!) 7th graders are wonderful. They have so much life and are simply hilarious. We are doing chemistry right now in science and we have been studying the Periodic Table. I think it's hilarious when I talk about "periods" on the table because you can tell that they giggle a little bit and squirm in their seats. That word still makes them embarassed, bless them.

I can't help but think about how I would love to work with that age in a church. They're so impressionable and enthusiastic. I just want to be able to talk to them in small groups and know what is going on in their lives. But then I think about how that would be weird if I taught 7th graders in school and also in Sunday School. I'd be different in each of those situations and I don't know if it would be a good thing.

Anyways, these are just thoughts right now. I'm craving a bath so I'm going to go relax a little.

Enjoy your Wednesday night!

-Katie

Yes, I'm Actually Telling You This!

2008-09-06T18:54:00.006-05:00

Note: the topic of this post is controversial. I am sharing my opinion, but I am not saying this is the only way or the best way to do things. I will share my research with you on this topic and the conclusion I came to. Please understand that I am not judging you if you do things differently! I just wanted to share this with my readers because it was a big decision in my life.

* * * * * * *

I am waiting for a package right now. You know what that feels like! I'm excited but a little anxious at the same time. Austin and I ordered the "Lady-Comp" a few weeks ago and it should be arriving at my house any day now. I'm a little anxious because this is a territory that I have never ventured on before:

Birth Control.

It's the topic that every engaged couple should discuss (but I'm not sure all couples talk about before they get married).

People don't talk about it very much, and to be honest, I have no idea what any of my married friends are using, if they decided to use birth control. I wish I knew more about this part of married couples' lives, but for some reason, no one seems to mention it, at least not to me.

I believe that all decisions, especially one like birth control, should be prayerfully considered and Biblically researched. The problem is, the Bible doesn't have any specific chapters regarding the subject. The only one I know of is in Genesis 38, and that story is apparently very controversial.

My assumption for most of my life was that birth control = the pill. Honestly, I thought that was really the only way to go (and I'm not quite sure what I thought the purpose of condoms were if you were using the pill...). Anyways, I just thought that was the norm. You got engaged, you went on the pill. You wanted to get pregnant, you stopped taking it. Simple.

Then several months ago I started thinking about birth control more. More and more of my friends were getting married, and some people seemed to get pregnant straight after their weddings. If they were all using the pill, and it was supposed to be so effective, then why was this happening? It dawned on me that maybe not everyone chose to use the pill. I started doing research and discovered a whole world that I never even knew existed. Sure, we had that nurse lady come and talk to all of us in 9th grade, and sure, I had heard the names of other forms of contraception such as "spermicide" and "diaphragm" but I didn't know much. And I didn't really listen to the nurse lady because I was nowhere near marriage.

During my time of research, I tried to figure out what I believed. I had no reason to think that the pill was the best thing out there other than the fact that most people seemed to use it, so I was going to go into the research with an open mind. My mom had told me that she could never use the pill because it made her crazy. Completely insane. The same thing happened to a friend of mine who was engaged, and it made me think about them: what was the solution?

I started with the pill. I was actually on the pill for a year and a half because of acne, but eventually I went off of it because I didn't have a strong reason to stick with it, and because they didn't sell the same pill in the U.S. that I was taking (it was a British one). I ended up with headaches every month after getting off the pill and never thought the two were related until my mom suggested it to me. I had heard other negative things about it from someone else, so I decided to find out exactly what the pill does.

Basically, it delivers hormones to your body and suppresses your period each month. The only reason you bleed is because your body goes into withdrawal since you don't take the pills for seven days each month. It's not an actual period. It fakes everything. The only reason why you take these fake pills (or no pills at all) for seven days each month is because doctors thought it would freak women out to not have a period at all. It's all psychological. It's funny because now there is a pill called Lybrel that suppresses your period all together.

The pill is medically designed to do three things:

1. Suppress ovulation

2. Prevent the sperm from meeting the egg by thickening the body's mucus

3. Prevent a fertilized egg from implanting on the wall of the uterus.

Did you read that last one correctly? Yes, a fertilized egg can die because of the pill. The pill is not actually a contraceptive because it may allow conception to take place. If you believe that life begins at fertilization, then you have a problem on your hands because that little baby embryo, no matter how small it is, is left to die since it cannot implant. The pill is actually defined as an abortifacient. Seriously, look it up online, it's everywhere. I was shocked when I read that because I had no idea that a baby can actually be made when using the pill. I honestly thought that its purpose was to suppress ovulation. No egg, no baby, right?

What I discovered was that it's the estrogen that mainly suppresses the ovulation. However, pills are containing lower and lower doses of estrogen now. You've heard of "low dose", right? That's talking about the estrogen content. There's even a progestin-only pill (the PoP), which doesn't contain any estrogen at all. Therefore, ovulation is barely suppressed and so job numbers 2 and 3 (listed above) happen more and more.

Another shocking thing I found out was about the morning-after pill. Most of us know it as an emergency early abortion pill (sometimes called "Plan B") which can be taken up to 72 hours after having sex. It causes a very early abortion and the baby is flushed out of the uterus, pretty much. Well, I found out that the morning-after pill is just a high dose of progestin, the same stuff in the regular pill. Yep, same darn stuff.

I had no idea that the pill caused early abortions!

Some people don't have a problem with this fact. I talked to my grandmother about it (who is a super conservative southern Baptist) and she didn't think it was a big deal at all. But for some reason, those facts really bothered me. I also didn't like the way the pill completely reverses everything your body is made to do. God made us in such a beautiful way and it works so wonderfully naturally. The pill pretty much screws everything up and makes your womb so foreign and uninhabitable for life to occur. I just didn't like that. There are also other nasty side effects like blood clots and headaches (like the ones I suffer from now).

So anyways, my research of the pill left me feeling uneasy and weirded out. I knew that I couldn't use the pill when I was married and feel completely comfortable with it. I began to pray about it, even though I wasn't engaged at this point, and I wanted God to show me His plan for my life in regards to birth control.

I researched other things:

-male and female condoms

-spermicides

-the IUD

-diaphragm

-cervical cap

-sponge

Almost everything I read about had something about it that I didn't like. I didn't like the IUD because it did basically the same thing as the pill. I didn't like spermicides because I didn't like the thought of putting a foreign chemical inside my body, especially one that some people are allergic to. The diaphragm weirded me out and it seemed kind of old-fashioned.

I couldn't figure out why on earth I wasn't at peace with anything I was reading about! I wasn't even engaged at this point but I wanted to figure out what God's will was for me. (I got engaged about a month or two later, though!)

I don't remember why I started reading about natural family planning. I honestly don't know why I started finding out about it. At first, I was completely against the thought of not using any form of contraceptive. I didn't want to be pregnant for the rest of my life! Natural family planning was so foreign to me. I read about taking your temperature each morning, charting it, and looking at cervical mucus (ewww) every day. I also read about how it increases communication between the husband and wife and how you actually learn more about your body. And an added bonus is the fact that when you want to get pregnant, it's a lot easier!

People sometimes use 1 Corinthians 7:5 as an argument against this method of contraception. I have thought about it, too. However, the Bible says that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. We can learn to control our own bodies! Also, the husband and wife may be separated for various reasons during their marriage (business trips, going to see family etc.), and of course they cannot have sex then...! If you both agree to abstain during certain days of each cycle, it's okay. I don't see a problem with that. (You're only fertile for 6 days out of each cycle anyways!)

Another thing: natural family planning is accepted by Catholics, and they do not agree with using any other from of contraception. I'm not Catholic, and I don't see a problem with using a condom during those fertile days if needed.

I discussed these forms of contraception with Austin about a month before we got engaged. It was a general conversation, not talking about us personally or assuming that we would get married. Come to find out, he didn't really like the fact that there were health risks associated with the pill. He also didn't have a problem with the fertility awareness method (what you call the non-Catholic version of natural family planning). Austin's best man is Catholic, so they have talked a lot about it and how good it is.

It's good that we discussed birth control before we got engaged, because it made it a lot easier afterwards. We agreed that we would use the fertility awareness method once we were married. Good grief, never in a million years did I think I would do that!!! I seriously could not have guessed.

I discovered something online called a "Lady-Comp", which does all the temperature readings and charting for you. After it gets to know you and your cycles, which takes a few months, it can accurately tell you whether or not you are fertile each day. It gives you a red, green or yellow light depending on if you are fertile, unsure, or infertile. I liked this concept because charting seemed like a pain to me.

It was expensive, but not compared to using the pill each month! One of those little gadgets works for about 10 years or so. Austin bought it for me and so I should be receiving it any day now!

Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention about the Lady-Comp (and natural family planning/the fertility awareness method in general): it's 99.3% effective. Seriously. That is, if you use it correctly!

I am so surprised that I just wrote a whole post about this. I'm honestly interested to see what people think. I would love to hear from you guys. It's ok if you don't want to post on here - you can email me. Are there other people out there who use the fertility awareness method? Does anyone have a Lady-Comp? Is anyone using the pill? I'm just curious. This really is a whole new world for me!!!

Well, I'm tired of writing so I'm going to end here. If you have any questions about anything that I wrote about, I don't mind listening and answering. I'm not an expert by any means and I am still learning myself. I might have gotten some of the terminology messed up since I'm not a doctor, but I did my best!

Also know that I didn't write this to try and make anyone on the pill feel guilty, or try to persuade everyone reading this to buy a Lady-Comp. I simply wanted to inform you on our decision and let you know why we chose the fertility awareness method. Yes, we could get pregnant on our honeymoon, but so could anyone. We trust that God's plan for us is best and the He knows what He's doing. Choosing the fertility awareness method was a huge step of faith for me. I want to be in control of my own life, and by deciding not to use the pill took a lot of trust. (And honestly, if you're married and you get pregnant, how could you not be excited about that?!) So there you go. I'll let you all know how the Lady-Comp is once I receive it!

-Katie

Alleluia

2008-09-04T18:13:00.005-05:00

I changed to a picture of me and Austin because in just over four months we will be one person, pretty much. Four months!!! I am freaking out thinking about it. I don't think I realize how much my life is about to change. I can't believe that I won't live at home anymore, I won't be close to my sisters anymore and I won't have to rely on my parents for anything. I don't like thinking about not seeing my family that often. How often will I get to make the drive from Houtston to Dallas? It seems so far.

Having to drive 30 minutes to get to school in the morning isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's become one of my favorite times in the day because I'm not in any rush (I get to school with plenty of time to spare), I usually have some sort of hot drink with me (today it was green tea) and I can listen to music and watch the sun rising in the sky.

Thou burning sun with golden beam,

Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia!

It was so neat seeing the sun's orange glow become stronger at that point in the song.

Thou rising morn with praise rejoice,

Ye lights of heaven, find a voice!

O praise Him! O praise Him!

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Beautiful.

Don't you just love the fall? I love everything about the back-to-school season. I love new pens, pencils and school supplies. I love the way the weather slowly cools down. I love the way that I can start wearing sweaters and closed-toe shoes. I love drinking hot tea when I drive to school and also when I relax after the long day. I love hot baths that warm me up after being in a cold classroom all day.

I love how I can see God's beauty from my window. All I can see are tree branches, leaves, squirrels and a blue sky. Literally - that's all I can see from where I'm sitting! I am enjoying living at home more than I thought I would.

Well my friends, I have things to do. And dinner to eat.

-K

Growing Up Makes You Tired

2008-09-02T20:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I bought my first pairs of "teacher shoes". They are comfortable and kinda cute, and look like something I would never wear. Well, one pair does, anyways. I have spent a week on my feet and it didn't take me long to figure out that if I was going to survive student teaching, I would need some decent footwear. I got two pairs of shoes and so far, so good. Unfortunately my feet are still recovering from blisters I got on Monday last week...

Austin and his family were here this past weekend and I had so much fun. We set up our registry with Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond and enjoyed our time looking around in the stores. It is so strange to be scanning things that we want, as if it's a Christmas present wish list. It's so funny how Austin and I are so similar when it comes to stuff like that. We take our time considering the price of the item, whether or not we really like it and really need it, how much we will use it, and who would buy it for us as a wedding present. Only when we're really sure will we scan the barcode. It took two full afternoons to scan items at the stores, and we still didn't get everything (mainly bedding stuff left).

So, Austin started his job at IMG Financial Group today! I was so excited for him. It's all official! On Saturday he takes his third and final test, so after that, he will be able to sell insurance and make money.

As much as I would like to continue writing, I need to go get ready for bed. I am absolutely exhausted and I would love to be asleep by 9.

Goodnight!

-K

Humpday

2008-08-27T18:57:00.003-05:00

Maybe I've got this "waking up at 5:20 am" thing down. I am not a morning person, and I never was. Something in my body makes me wake up whenever it gets dark. It's like a strange curse. I could have been up for 20 hours and be completely exhausted, but once it gets dark outside I get energized and decide that there's a million things I want to do. Oh, me...

Student teaching is still going well. It's tiring, especially in the afternoon. I have four classes back to back, and it begins to feel like a broken record after a little while. Last semester wasn't as monotonous since I taught 7th and 8th grade. But since it's only 7th grade this time, six classes of the exact activities gets to me a little bit. My main challenge now is memorizing names. I have a good chunk memorized now, but there's still those kids whose names I cannot remember for the life of me.

"Tristan" was a popular name for 1995-1996. I have four of them. So were the names "Haley", "Chandler", "Zoe", "Madison", "Madeline" and "Ashley/Ashlyn". It's so funny. If I forget a girl's name, I can usually guess it by saying one of those names.

I have been learning so many new strategies and activities to use in the classroom. I also get a hard "master copy" of every activity we do in class each day. Oh, and my mentor teacher is going to let me hook my hard drive up to her computer and take all of her documents and lessons. Did I mention that my mentor teacher is awesome?! Seriously, she is great. She is so flexible and laid back, but SUPER organized for every class. I have a composition notebook that I take with me every day. I write in it different strategies that I like, ideas I have, and things to apply to my own classroom. The kids love her and she has amazing classroom management. I think she is Superwoman in disguise!

On a little bit of a different note, wedding planning has slowed down recently because of student teaching. I feel like my evenings disappear so fast! I get home at 5:00, relax a little, eat dinner, take a bath and then go to bed at 9:30 or so. It's just ridiculous! There's barely any time to do any sort of major planning. Tomorrow I am going to order my wedding dress, though, so that should be pretty exciting! I love it.

Austin and I have gotten some of the major things out of the way so far: date (January 10, 2009), ceremony and reception site, some musicians, rehearsal dinner site, honeymoon location and tickets are booked, wedding dress is chosen and about to be ordered, and I've thought some about colors for bridesmaids' dresses. I want to use blue, and I like a darker, deeper blue that is sometimes refered to as "midnight blue". It is SO hard to find in a style I like and for a price I like!

Well, I need to go get ready for bed now. I really want to be in bed and ready to go to sleep by 9:00!! (Let's see how much luck I have with that...)

-Katie

Oh, Now I Remember Why...

2008-08-25T18:37:00.002-05:00

I was reminded today of why I decided to become an education major.

I was reminded today of why I stuck with it.

I was reminded today of why I love the classroom.

Today was my first day of student teaching, and I loved it. I woke up at 5:25 and left the house at 7:00. MJ's classroom was clean and organized, and she was pretty much 100% ready to go. We went over classroom procedures and she explained what the class time would consist of today:

1. Bell Ringer

2. Seating explanations and organization

3. Introductions

4. Pig personality profile

5. Syllabus review

Simple. Fun. Efficient.

I am so glad that I was able to observe the first day of school with an amazing teacher. The kids already love her and her classroom management style is great! I am going to copy her when I become an official teacher.

The day blew by and I learned so much. I am going to start journaling and writing my ideas down during the day. There is so much to take in and so much to learn.

After all, I'm a student too.

I loved walking back into that classroom after being completely out of the "school" mindset this entire summer. Everything I love about teaching rushed back into my blood and I felt at home. The nervousness subsided. My heart beat faster after looking at the brand new pens, pencils, paper, binders, markerboards...

But what really made me melt was meeting the kids.

All 142 of them.

I shook their hands as they came into the classroom and introduced myself to them.

They are all completely different. Some kids are bigger than I am (which I predicted), and some kids look like they could still be 8 years old. They are tiny! I praised God for human life and variety as I saw each class and the colorful display of skin, height and personality displayed.

I met confident, healthy children.

And I met broken, hurting ones.

I love them all!

This semester is going to be amazing, and I can't wait to put to practice the things I learn. I am blessed to have an incredible mentor teacher who knows what she is doing.

I'll share more about my experiences later, but since I have been up since 5:25, on my feet for at least 7 or 8 hours, and since I ran a mile once I got home... I am exhausted. It's 9:18 and I'm going to sleep.

Tonight I praise my Father for life and breath and relationships. What a beautiful experience I am going to have for the next few months!

-Katie

I Finally Found It!

2008-08-23T22:38:00.006-05:00

After hours of trying on dresses and spending time at several bridal boutiques, I have finally found the perfect dress. It's not what I originally thought I would have wanted, but I'm sure there are millions of brides out there who say the same thing when they get their dress! Here's a picture of what I hope to look like:

I decided to go with a "Lord of the Rings" theme. I'm even going to straighten my hair and dye it black. What do you think??

Haha, just kidding. No offense to anyone out there who thinks that's cool.

I am not going to describe my dress to you, but if you really want to see it, I can try to send you a link.

My biggest challenge right now is bridesmaids dresses. I want something classy and fun for my bridesmaids at a low cost. Not just for them, but for my poor dad, who has to pay for 4 dresses since all of my sisters are in my wedding. If you're married or engaged, where did you get your bridesmaids dresses? This is something I need to take care of soon since they take a while to get in and then get altered!

On a different note, I start student teaching on Monday. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I don't feel completely prepared, but hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to get ready for it.

I'm going to bed now since today was a long day. Long, but productive! :)

-Katie

Wedding Planning

2008-08-18T15:47:00.002-05:00

Casually planning a wedding in your head before you get engaged is completely different to actually planning one. I've been engaged for just over a week and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. I didn't realize how many different things there are to organize. Nothing is a huge surprise, but when you put it all together with the understanding that everything must be sorted out in five short months... the task seems a little daunting.

Most of the time I'm a very laid back and relaxed sort of person. Exceptions to this come when I am late for anything or when other people around me are freaking out about unncessary stuff. Before I was engaged, I would hear about ideas and think, "That's a great idea for a centerpiece" or "I like that dress", but now things are completely different. Espcially since I have a budget to think about.

After I got engaged, I went and bought three bridal magazines (you have to start somewhere) and a Real Simple Weddings planner-helper type deal. Flipping through the pages made me realize that this was going to be a busy semester. Austin and I are getting married in Houston, so planning is going to be even more difficult since I am going to be north of Dallas. I can't just stop by to talk to a florist or go talk to a DJ.

Thank goodness I have Austin to help me! He is so great. Today we have been looking at honeymoon stuff. Since we'll be getting married in January, we want to go somewhere that isn't freezing. Right now we're researching information about Jamaica. I love that he is so involved in the planning process. It is going to make things so much easier.

Wedding planning is the kind of thing that can really mess you up. I'm beginning to see that very quickly. It's easy to get caught up in tiny decisions that really don't matter. Sometimes decisions will start to overwhelm me, and I'll have to close my magazine or walk away from my computer and just pray that God helps me to focus on what is really important. No matter what happens, Austin and I will be married in five months. That's the whole point of having a wedding - to get married. Years from now no one will remember if the cake wasn't so great or the music wasn't awesome. No one will care, not even us.

God is faithful to continually give me peace and guidance through this whole process. People plan all sorts of weddings all the time, and this is just another one of them.

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:13

Does anyone have any tips or hints? What was the hardest thing about planning your wedding? Any ideas from non-engaged people? I love advice!

-Katie

Engagement Story

2008-08-15T21:59:00.005-05:00

****EDIT**** I just added pictures of the engagement. If you want to see my entire facebook album, go here.

I got back this evening after spending three days in Arkansas with my family. Because that's what you do when you get engaged, right? Leave the state for a little bit? It was a great time to get away and think without being able to use the internet or phone. But since I'm back, it's time for me to tell you all the story of how Austin and I got engaged. It's going to be a long post, I think.

Pre-engagement

I am still in shock that I'm actually engaged. I keep looking down at my left hand and noticing that there is now a diamond on it (actually there are 13). I think back to last weekend and wonder if the proposal actually happened. It feels like a dream that I will eventually wake up from. It really is the weirdest feeling. Before Saturday, Austin and I did not talk about getting engaged. At all. We never used the words "when we're married" or even "if we're married". There were some implications and hints, but nothing direct or outright. Most people think this is really strange, but Austin had his reasons. He actually told me before we even started dating that he didn't think he would talk about getting engaged with whoever he married before proposing. Although there were times in our relationship when I wondered what on earth was going through his mind regarding our future, I am so glad that I never asked him and that he never told me. Austin knew that girls get emotionally attached easily, especially when marriage is talked about in a relationship. Expectations begin to form and if the relationship ever had to end, the pain is so much greater than it would be if marriage was not discussed. By not talking about marriage, Austin was guarding my heart and preventing me from forming expectations before commitment was made.

The words "do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires" are used on three separate occasions in the book of Song of Solomon. I think Austin tried his very best to prevent me from thinking about our relationship on a different level until we were engaged. That level of love was not ready to be awakened yet. I realize that most people choose to talk about marriage before a proposal happens, and I know that this makes most sense to them. Please know that I do not think that our way is "better" or "ideal". I do not think that one way is better than the other. I only know that I could not have been more pleased with the way that Austin handled everything in our relationship. He kept my heart from longing for something that had not been promised and my mind from drifting off into daydreams.

Even though Austin and I never talked about getting married, before we got engaged we discussed many important topics: church, sex, disciplining children, adoption, financial issues etc. You name it, we probably talked about it. We viewed marriage as a possible goal/end to the dating process, and we wanted to make sure that we were on the same page with the issues that we talked about. Getting engaged was not some wacky, crazy thing that just "happened". Although I was surprised and couldn't have predicted when it was going to happen, I knew that it was somewhere in the future. We were serious about our relationship with each other and knew that we would probably get married. We just didn't say that.

There were many points in our relationship that I just wanted to know. I was especially nervous about what I was going to do after graduating in December. Austin would reassure me, saying, "I promise that everything will be fine." At one point he told me, "You don't need to worry about what will happen to you after graduation. Just focus on being a good student teacher and I'll take care of the rest." Yet I still became unsure and uneasy about my future! I would tell my friends my thoughts and they would advise me to "just ask him". That doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you understood our relationship and how Austin does things, that wasn't some small thing. Not only was I not trusting in what Austin had told me, but I wasn't trusting in the Lord. He was using Austin to lead in our relationship, and yet I wanted to take control and sort things out for myself. I wasn't trusting God's perfect timing and I wasn't trusting that what He had for me was the best. It was a trust issue. I have had large trust issues with God in the past. Some of them didn't go over well, but in the end I was always kicking myself because God was always right. Always. He has never disappointed me. (Side note: This doesn't mean that God has always given me what I want! He always does what is best for me. Sometimes this is very different from what I think is best.) Anyways, I am so glad that I never confronted Austin, because I knew deep down that I should just trust in what He had said and trust that God would lead him.

Engagement Day - Saturday, August 9, 2008

Austin graduated the day before. For those of you who don't know, he was a finance major at Texas A&M and has a job working as a financial advisor for IMG Financial Group in Houston, starting in September. His family planned a graduation party at "the farm", which is some land his family owns about an hour away from College Station. He invited my family to come, and to my surprise, they all agreed to be there. My family drove to College Station on Friday night and attended Austin's graduation dinner. The next morning, we drove to the farm and made it there by 9:30 or so.

I had completely forgotten to bring my tennis shoes to the farm so Austin presented me with a brand new pair of $20 ones he had bought the day before. I thought it was completely unnecessary, and suggested that we just didn't walk around on the land. After a few seconds I realized that he really wanted to go on a walk, so I dropped it and accepted the beautiful white, gray and pink tennis shoes.

We hung out with the family for a little while, and then at 10:45 or so Austin told me he really wanted to go on a walk with me before it got to hot. I began to suspect something, but I calmed myself down and told myself not to get my hopes up. There was no way that he was going to propose! We walked around the land for a while, looking at frogs and cows and other nature, and then he led me around the pond into a grove of trees. I spotted rose petals on the ground and knew immediately what was going on. Apparently, I started squeezing Austin's hand and shaking nervously, and I said, "Wow, this is pretty" or something equally dumb.

He had a blanket laid out by a fallen tree, and had placed two things on it (it wasn't until later that I saw what they were). By this time I was shaking uncontrollably, and so Austin told me that "I better have a seat". I sat on the fallen tree, and he sat beside me. He started it off with "I know you need clarity, so I'm going to be very clear here..." (a day or so before this we were talking about how we started dating and how I wasn't sure if we were boyfriend and girlfriend for an hour or so... and how I needed clarity in relationships). Austin then asked if I saw the tree, and pointed behind me. I turned around (and I don't know how I missed this) and saw a gigantic tree behind me with the words, "KATIE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?" carved into the trunk. I remember at that moment feeling completely overwhelmed and amazed. It truly was like something from a movie.

I don't think I knew what to say or how to react, but Austin said some sweet things to me and then showed me a box he had made. The top of the box looked like a treasure chest, and the bottom part looked like the trunk of the tree that he had carved into. He actually carved the bottom part himself, that talented guy. He opened up the box, which had a ring box inside of it. He then opened the ring box, took out the ring, and got down on one knee. Austin asked me to marry him, and I said "of course!" and he slipped the ring on my finger. I wanted to cry, but I was too happy and so tears wouldn't even come! We hugged and talked about everything for a while. He had carved the words in the tree earlier this summer, when he lived at the farm for a month. Apparently he would come out to the tree every day for a week and carve for a few hours. He handed me a plaque after proposing, with a poem on it that he had written. One of his friends burned the poem into the wood. It says:

"'In the midst of the garden
And bearing God's Son,
Trees often were used
for God's purpose,
As when it started
Twill be in the end
Where the tree that gives life
Will sustain us.'
~A.H.C."

We had our very first date underneath a tree (it was a picnic) and began dating in a tree (kinda), so Austin carried on the tree theme with the proposal.

I was amazed at how much planning he had put into the entire proposal. It was insane! After an hour or so, we headed back to the farm house where our families were sitting, all in a circle. We walked out, holding the box and the plaque, and I simply held up my left hand and was giggling like crazy. Everyone knew except for our grandparents and my youngest two sisters. We had a wonderful time talking about the proposal and future plans for our wedding. And of course, everyone wanted to see the ring.

It is the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen! I could not have chosen a better one myself. I love that I did not give him any advice or help with it. He did everything - EVERYTHING - himself! It is beautiful and very suited to my taste. I love it!

Wedding Stuff

We got planning right away - like five minutes after Austin proposed. We are thinking about getting married in early January, which is pretty soon considering that the average engagement period is 16 months. I have started playing around with colors and flowers, and we've been doing some research for a location. We'll get married in Houston, but we're not sure exactly where yet. Austin is so good when it comes to wedding planning stuff. A few weeks ago he was telling me that he thinks it's silly when the wedding is thought of as just the bride's. For many couples, the engagement period consists of the bride doing a ton of work, and the guy just sitting back and doing whatever for however many months. "And that's how you start off your marriage??!?!" Austin says.

Austin is such a wonderful leader, and so wedding planning is a beautiful way to practice the husband's (or future husband's) leadership before marriage. Right after proposing, he showed me a list of things to discuss and think about that he had made on his computer. He is definitely taking the reins and I feel so at ease with wedding planning. He is so wonderful!

I still can't believe that I am engaged. I keep looking down at my ring, thinking, "this is the same ring that I will look down at when I am 80 years old" and I'll think about Austin and think, "this is the same man who will help me move our college kids into their dorms". It is surreal. I am so excited about marrying him! I have to admit, I freak out a little when we talk about getting married since we didn't talk about it at all before Saturday!

. . . . . . .

I have a lot of topics that I want to write about on here regarding marriage and preparation for marriage. There are a lot of topics where I would LOVE to hear your opinions (those of you who are married). I desperately want to seek the counsel of older men and women. I want to hear advice and wisdom that will help me prepare for marriage, so if you have anything to tell me, please let me know! (You can email me if you like.)

I hope you don't get sick of hearing about marriage stuff. I hope that what I think about and the experiences that I have will help those of you who are not married yet, when the time comes for you to plan a wedding. I desire that this blog would be used for God's glory and to benefit the body of Christ. Hopefully I can address some topics that a lot of y'all are wondering about!

It's getting late here so I'm going to stop writing now. I'll add pictures later so check back for that.

-Katie

back soon

2008-08-15T12:46:00.000-05:00

I'm on vacation but I'll be back tonight to write about all my exciting happenings!

Real Post to Follow...

2008-08-11T17:13:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday

2008-08-03T14:04:00.002-05:00

Austin is 23 today! Go wish him a happy birthday!

I am going to bake him a cake and then we're celebrating later on tonight. He is working on a group project now so I'm sure it doesn't feel much like a birthday, but hopefully tonight will be a fun little party.

I'm going to take a little nap now before I begin baking (carrot cake, if you're wondering) so I'll have to write a better update later.

And College Station is awesome, by the way.

-Katie

Chelsie Got Voted Off and I am so Sad

2008-07-31T22:55:00.003-05:00

...It's true. My favorite contestant on "So You Think You Can Dance" got voted off tonight. I was devestated because I thought for sure she was a shoo-in. I wanted Courtnie to go. I liked Mark, too, but I thought Joshua and Twitch were better. (I want Joshua and Katee to win now.)

Anyways, I've been meaning to write all day but to be honest, I've just been lazy about it. Tomorrow I get to wake up and drive to College Station, which is pretty exciting. Tracey gets married on Saturday and then Austin's 23rd birthday is on Sunday. Big weekend! Thursday marks our 1 year anniversary (awwww) and Friday Austin graduates, followed by celebrations on Saturday.

It's going to be an eventful week.

Carolyn got her wisdom teeth out yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her act "totally normal". Basically, she was slurring her words a little when she got in the car and insisted that I buy her a "cheap toothbrush with hard bristles" so she could "brush the teeth". I literally laughed out loud in the grocery store because if you know Carolyn... well, that's just funny. She honestly wanted to scrub off the wisdom teeth that the dentist gave her to save. She was so proud that she showed them off to me twice during the journey home. "That black dot is a cavity!!!" Now she's back to normal (by my definition) and can eat applesauce without it spilling out of her mouth.

Christina has insisted that she sleeps in my room for the second night in a row because she "forgot" to wash her sheets. Basically, she wants a slumber party. Unfortunately for her, Carolyn and I are old now and go to bed at 11. Nevertheless, she has made a pallet on the floor near our bed. She's so funny. She gets nervous when meeting new people but does not want to sleep alone. Before Carolyn got back from Africa, Chrissie would sleep in my bed with me every night. Claire wanted to sleep in the same bed as me one night and so I tried it out, but it ended with her butt in my face, legs on my side of the bed and a very grumpy and sleepy Katie in the morning. I love her, but she is a difficult person to share a bed with!

I bought some bright yellow high heels to go with my little black dress. They were only $10 so if Austin hates them or if they break or something, it won't be the end of the world. I am just trying to be a little more crazy when it comes to my wardrobe. I am a very safe dresser most of the time.

My mom's birthday is tomorrow but she has to be at UNT for Kellie's orientation all day, so I won't get to celebrate with her. By the time she gets back, I will already be in College Station. I am very sad about this, but thankfully my family will be joining me in Aggieland for Austin's graduation festivities next weekend.

Well, my teeth need to be cleaned and I need to get some sleep now. I might not be writing on here for a little while, but be warned: I will still be stalking blogs every day! :)

Love to everyone.

-K

It's Weird Having Married Friends

2008-07-28T13:44:00.005-05:00

Last night I came back from a whirlwind weekend in College Station. My friends Ryan and Erin got married, and I got to witness it! I was surprised at how well everything came together. It was beautiful, and the reception was so much fun! I got to dance a lot with the best man, who was really cute. ;-)

Here is a picture of me with the bride:

It's funny having married friends. It feels weird to me that I am entering the chapter of my life where I have married friends who are my age (or younger, for that matter). Soon, most of my friends will be married, and then we'll all have kids... and things will get even weirder... oh gosh, I am finally growing up!

Anyways...

After the wedding, I got to see The Dark Knight, which was really good. I am so bad at following fast-paced movies, though, so I should probably watch it again to understand it better.

I was uploading my photos to my computer and noticed that there were pictures of my little scorpion friend on it. I think I talked about him in one of my other posts. I think there are two scorpions because the first one was huge - about 3 inches long. He appeared in my mom's sink while my parents were gone, and then later that day disappeared. Right before my mom came back, another scorpion showed up. I wasn't going to let him get away, so I plugged the hole at the top of the sink with a cotton ball and then put cling film over the top of the sink to make sure that he couldn't get out.

Check it out:

Look at our lovely invention!

I'm sorry for the hair in the sink. I think he came out of the drain and brought some hair with him. I just thought it was cool that there was a scorpion in the sink.

Well, Kellie wants me to go watch a new TV show with her, so I think I'm gonna jet.

Peace out, friends.

Little Black Dress

2008-07-24T22:12:00.003-05:00

I am completely exhausted after taking TWO trips to the SAME mall at DIFFERENT times today. My feet and calves are aching and I wish I had someone to give them some relief! It was a very successful shopping day, though. I got a pair of brown heels to use with the dress I'm going to wear to the wedding this weekend. Carolyn is a speed shopper, and so focused. She doesn't mess around looking at other things along the way. She hunts: she knows what she's looking for and go from store to store until she finds it. She's in and out in less than 5 minutes. So I have my heels and they are great!

The other thing I got is something that apparently all women need.

The "little black dress" is supposedly a wardrobe staple, and I got one for the first time today! I definitely wasn't looking for one, but after I got back from the mall the first time, my mom decided that I don't have enough dresses (true story). After going through the whole mall looking for dresses, we found the perfect dress. It's the right cut for me. It fits me like a glove. It is timeless. It can be worn for years to hundreds of different functions. It's now my favorite dress. I think it's all the things that a little black dress should be.

I have to admit that I feel very shallow and materialistic writing about this, but I am honestly pretty excited. I'm going to wear it to Tracey's wedding next weekend.

I'm very tired now and since I'm going to College Station tomorrow, I should get some sleep. Goodnight, world!

They're Back

2008-07-23T22:10:00.004-05:00

I picked up my mom and Kellie from the airport this evening. It is great to have them back from England. Both came bearing gifts and I am now the proud owner of a new floral skirt, which apparently is very "in" right now. It's so pretty and feminine and I will be able to wear it at school!

The next two weekends will be wedding-filled, and I am so excited! I get to hang out with all the B-Co people this weekend, and see all of my "original" college friends the next. I can't wait to see everyone at Tracey's wedding. It's been far too long!

I don't really have a lot to say right now. Hopefully I can update soon, but right now I need to go to bed.

Goodnight!

A Random Smattering of Thoughts

2008-07-21T16:12:00.003-05:00

I am constantly amazed at how my British high school friends have been able to remain friends with each other over the past four years. Most of my friends in college haven't kept in contact with a lot of their high school friends, and even if they end up going to the same school, they don't hang out all the time.

But with my British friends, this is different. If two of my high school friends ended up at the same university, they are still good friends. I can look through any of their Facebook photo albums and see more than one of my high school friends in it.

Even if my high school friends don't end up going to the same college, they are still best friends again when they go home. I can stalk Facebook walls and see things written like,

"what date are you back?? do you reckon you might want to come out to ibiza or nat? lots of special kisses xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

or

"We need to arrange a weekend to get everyone together for some fun and frolicks xxx xxx"

or

"Miss you loads, looking forward to seeing you in three weeks!! lots of love xx"

Those were actually copy and pasted from different friends' walls. I hope they don't mind.

Which brings me to another thought: What the heck is up with the little x's??? This is a very British thing to do. At the end of any message, letter or email, British people put tiny x's. It's so weird to me and looks strange in my opinion. In the United States, the "x" stands for a kiss, but in England I think they are past that point. It's really just "something they do", and it doesn't seem to stand for much anymore. It's just so bizzare.

Anyways.

I just took some cupcakes out of the oven. It's the second time in less than 24 hours that I've made a batch of cupcakes. Last night I made some from scratch, and they were pretty good, but today I went for the boxed ones. It'll be a taste test.

As most of you probably know, I am playing "mommy" around here right now. My parents are in England and so Carolyn and I have been holding down the fort. It's been a pretty interesting week, to say the least.

We cook and clean every day, but most of it has been playing taxi. Claire was involved in Vacation Bible School every day last week, so we had to take her and then pick her up afterwards. And then she would hang out with friends in the afternoon. Or friends would come over here. We've had sleepovers galore, and I am feeling the stress of becoming a "mom" prematurely.

I actually have to leave to pick Claire up in 10 minutes.

We've had some funny things happen this week, though. Like the time that we found a 3-inch long scorpion in my mom's sink and then it disappeared 10 minutes later. Or the time that we had to have a back-to-basics talk with my not-so-young sister to explain that ovulation does not occur during menstruation. That was a fun evening.

Fun week.

Oh gosh, I have to leave. :-/

More later!
-K

It's Like Austin, Only Smaller (I'm Talking About the City)

2008-07-18T17:07:00.005-05:00

Moving from College Station to Denton didn't seem like as big of a change as it actually has been. I'm not really talking about how my schedule, friend group, church and living accommodations have changed. I predicted those changes and expected them. I'm talking about the actual towns and their cultures. Those are big changes.

College Station is such a conservative town and I can relate to most people there. I share the same values and am on the same page politically with most people in the town. Not to mention I'm the same age as about 90% of the residents (well, that could be an exaggeration...) and everything is just great.

Denton, on the other hand, is a different story. Although there are two universities in the town, both of them are more geared towards liberal arts majors. Therefore, the town reflects the interests of these types of people. There is art and music everywhere (and I love both, so this isn't a bad thing), but there are also interesting people everywhere. It's perfectly normal to smoke in all areas of this city, and I think it's so gross. I was used to Coffee Station, where you might see the odd person with a cigarette. Jupiter House on the square here is just nasty. The whole place smells like an ash tray. I miss the nice workers at Coffee Station. I shared the same values as most of them, and they were all so friendly and helpful. They knew my name, too. Until recently, the workers at Jupiter House were rude and loud. The last time I went in, the girl that helped us only had half of a shirt on. I'm serious - the entire back of her shirt was missing except for a couple ties to keep the material in the front on. There was just skin. And their coffee isn't nearly as good. The atmosphere is cold and impersonal. Did I mention that I miss Coffee Station?

Denton has this sort of run-down-yet-we-like-it-this-way atmosphere. Maybe it's just old, but I'm pretty sure that College Station is old, too. I think that Dentonites embrace the dilapidated buildings and ghettoish areas. I bet most of them would say that it adds to the character of the town.

And I have to agree - the town does have some character.

One thing that I love about Denton is the fact that is has a square. I think all towns should have one. I absolutely love the courthouse and all the surrounding stores.

I love that emos (or is it emoes?) sit on the steps of the courthouse at night and film themselves playing their guitars and making up songs.

I love the Christmas lights that they leave up year-round in the trees around the courthouse.

I love that there is an old-fashioned ice cream shop on the square with the best ice cream ever. It makes me think that I live in a different era.

I love the hardware store and the pawn shop. I love the mini mall, old theater and of course--the recycled book store. It used to be the opera house. How cool is that??

Denton is filled with hippie-type people, health food stores galore and unique individuals. I will be driving down a street in town and Carolyn and I will see people and say, "Where do people like that come from?" We do this on a regular basis.

It's strange to me that the church I go to here is known as the "mega church" in the area. I admit, it's big, and a HUGE change from ComChurch, but it's a good church. It's been hard to find people my own age, but I bet that will change once school starts up. I will either get involved in the college ministry or the singles ministry. What do you think?? I don't feel old enough to be in the singles group but I feel like I'm done with college since I'm about to graduate and I'm no longer taking classes at A&M. Hmm...

It's just been a big adjustment this summer. I'm glad I have the summer to get used to the area, though, before school starts. That will be a big enough adjustment in itself.

So to sum up, I guess I just miss people who wear maroon t-shirts and jeans all the time. I miss the friendliness and approachability of the citizens of College Station. I miss knowing everyone and being about to call someone up and hang out 10 minutes later. It's hard to come to the realization that those days are over - OVER! Completely over. A new chapter of my life is starting. I just need to embrace it.

-Katie

P.S. I just tried to upload some pictures but they didn't work. Oh well.

Too Scary?

2008-07-12T22:23:00.001-05:00

Is my picture too close-up and weird? It's just my head and I'm a little self conscious about it.

What do you think?

Fun Houses

2008-07-12T11:27:00.004-05:00

I watched No Reservations last night with my family and fell in love with New York City again. I've never been to New York City, but I've always wanted to go. My dad told me that I might be able to go in the fall because he has to take a business trip there... I really hope I can go!

I have a several dreams in my life, most of which will probably never come true.

One of my dreams is to live in a New York apartment for a little while. Not too long, just long enough to get a feel for the city and not feel like a tourist. I love watching movies and TV shows where the characters live in these beautiful old apartments on streets lined with gorgeous trees. I think it would be so fun! However, this dream will most probably never become a reality. I'm okay with that. There's really no reason I would ever move to New York. (I love Texas way too much!) I'm really just in love with the old apartments.

Another one of my dreams is to live in an old house built somewhere between 1900-1930s. I have a picture of the kind of house in my head, but I don't know how to describe it. There's probably a name for it, but I don't know what it's called. I'm trying to find a picture on Google but I can't. It's a small type of house, with a porch... nothing fancy. I just love old houses because they have so much character. I love the old wooden floors and cool doors and fireplaces. They're just so much cooler than brand new cookie cutter houses.

Hahaha. Even though the world won't end and I won't cry if these dreams don't come true, I think it would still be fun!

Underdogs and Looking Old

2008-07-10T14:28:00.004-05:00

I've been listening to old school Audio Adrenaline today. When I was fourteen, Underdog was my favorite CD. I loved it! As I was listening this morning, I remembered a conversation I had with Christina years ago.

She was probably six or seven, and we were sharing an iPod on our way to school one morning, listening to "Underdog" (the song). After a minute or so of listening to the song, she quietly asked me what an "underdog" was.

"It's like a weakling, someone who isn't strong and always comes in last place... kind of like a failure. No one really likes underdogs."

She nodded and kept quiet for the rest of the journey.

After school, we got back in the car and started listening to the music again. After a few minutes or so, she turned to me and simply asked me,

"Am I am underdog?"

Bless her. She had been thinking about it all day!

Haha, Chrissie just came in here and read the last paragraph or so and was wondering what I was talking about. I told the story to her and she laughed and said, "I don't remember that! I don't remember asking if I was an underdog!"

Speaking of Christina, yesterday I took her to American Eagle. While we were standing in the check out line, an elderly lady sitting on a stool near us looked at us and said to me, "You and your daughter are very beautiful."

Hold up.

My daughter???

Do I really look that old?

Either I look

a) 37 (if I had her at 24)

b) 29 (if I got pregnant in high school at age 16)

c) my age (22 - which means I would have gotten pregnant when I was seven).

Or maybe Chrissie just looks young, which is unlikely, since she is only 2 inches shorter than me and looks like an average 13-year-old.

Good freakin grief.

I politely told the lady that Chrissie was actually my sister.

It reminded me of the time an elderly lady told me I looked eight years old when in fact I was at least 10. It really offended me back then, and I haven't forgotten it.

But seriously - do I really look that old? Austin has always told me I could pass as a high school student or even junior high.

"You're just as tall as the kids you'll be teaching."

Haha.

What do I need to do to look my age?

My Element

2008-07-09T18:46:00.006-05:00

I have so much pent up energy that I don't know what to do with it. And it's so dang hot outside. I wish I had something to do instead of relaxing all day. I know that sounds completely crazy but I'm driving myself crazy with nothing to do.

Last weekend was amazing - I wish I could hang out with friends and family all summer! It's unfortunate that Texas is so big! I got to hang out in College Station with Nana and then Christina and I went to Houston with Austin for the 4th of July. We had a blast (no pun intended) and then spent the day on the beach on Saturday.

I decided that I have found my element again.

When I was little I would go to the beach whenever I would visit my grandparents. Nana and Papa lived in McAllen, so we would go to some beach (Port something or other) and then Pop and Nonnie lived near Destin, Florida. I loved hanging out in the sand, building castles and chasing the waves.

There are pictures of me as a young child dancing on the beach with my arms outstretched and a huge smile on my face. I loved the beach.

When we moved to England, there weren't that many opportunities to stick my toes in the sand and sit by the water. Let's face it: England isn't known for its beaches.

To be honest, I became disconnected with the beach and didn't care whether or not I got to go. I was excited about going to Galveston this past weekend, but I wouldn't have been all that disappointed if it didn't work out.

For the first time in years, I was able to play in the ocean water again. We had a picnic in the sand and I got chased by seaweed and I rode the waves on a boogie board. Austin surfed and I got a "sand spa treatment" and the girls waited 30 minutes to share a cold shower to get clean. I reapplied sunscreen three times and got slightly burnt and swallowed salty water and dried off in the sun.

It was magnificent.

I was in my element again. I couldn't have predicted that. I never thought I was a beach person.

I want to go back tomorrow! (Except now I'm hundreds of miles away.)

I have decided that I want to live by the beach when I am older. Not too close, because I am scared of hurricanes, but close enough to visit now an then. I want my kids to love the water since I didn't. And if I can't live near the beach, I want to visit one often.

There was one thing I wanted to do, however, that I didn't get to do this past weekend - build a sandcastle. Maybe next time. I guess we didn't have the right tools. Well, that's my next goal: to build a sandcastle on the beach.

-Katie

Don't Talk to Strangers

2008-06-30T19:01:00.007-05:00

My parents raised me to have a crazy fear of strangers. I'm sure most of you can relate. One of the main reasons that I was terrified of going to public school (I was homeschooled until 6th grade) was because I was scared that the stories my mom told me would become true.

I was afraid that one day, a man would walk up to me after school and tell me that my mom had arranged for him to pick me up that day. He would grab my arm and drag me out to his van, and I would never see daylight again.

My mom literally told me about children who had similar things happen to them.

When she was in first grade, she was playing at the park of a local school ground one day. She was walking through an outdoor hallway and suddenly noticed a man standing against a brick wall in front of her. The man had his pants unzipped and was exposing himself.

"Hey little girl, come here," he said, but my mom bolted in the other direction and got home as quickly as possible. She told my Nana what had happened (those of you who know Nana - can you imagine??) and Nana put her in the car and they drove around trying to find the man. I don't think they found him.

I had never met any "strangers", but I knew what to look for: a shady sort of guy, maybe missing a few teeth, with a window-less van parked close by. He might claim to know my parents and would offer candy or stuffed animals to me, but he wouldn't ever give me these promised goods. If I accepted his offer, I would be shoved into his beat up van and be escorted to his secret shack, where I would be locked up for forever.

I learned never to trust a stranger.

Once, when I was about four, I was hanging out on the driveway of my Nana's house in McAllen (near the Mexican border) after dinner with Carolyn, who was probably 2. Nana was there, and so were my parents. This Hispanic man walked up to us and started talking to the adults for a few minutes. When he noticed Carolyn, he made a few remarks about how cute she was, and then tried to coax her to walk towards him. At this point, I freaked out. I started screaming and crying, "Don't do it, Carolyn!!! He'll take you away!!!" and one of my parents had to take me inside and calm me down. They had to explain that he was Nana's gardener and that she knew him and trusted him, and that it was okay to talk to "strangers" if your parents are talking to them, too.

Another time, my mom left my sisters and me in the car after our homeschooling enrichment classes. These classes were held at a church building and were taught by other homeschooling parents. My mom had to go inside for a few minutes so we sat out in the minivan with the door open. A woman carrying a bunch of stuff approached the car and poked her head inside for a few minutes. She told us that she knew my mom (red warning light number one) and then offered us "leftover" candy from a basket she was holding (red warning light number two). Of course my sisters wanted some, but I politely declined for all of us, since it was probably poisonous. I'm sure I started praying for God to keep us safe from the stranger lady and for my mom to get back soon. My mom finally emerged from the church, and recognizing the stranger lady as a homeschooling friend, she talked for a few minutes. I began to wish she would offer us candy again.

In addition to our regular stranger education, my mom made my sisters and me read a book called My Body is Private. I had no idea what the concepts in the book had to do with anything, and thought it was a dumb and boring book. Apparently, if someone was touching me and I felt uncomfortable, I was supposed to say "Stop: my body is private!" and the person was supposed to obey me. It wasn't until years later that I understood what the book was actually talking about.

I am thankful that my parents made me afraid of strangers, even if it caused unnecessary panicking. I'm sure that my parents' teachings saved me from some pretty horrible situations.

Philippians 3:7-11

2008-06-29T22:36:00.005-05:00

Carolyn got back this morning - her team actually missed a connecting flight and had to stay in Houston overnight. It is so great to have her home! She is still trying to recover from jet lag, so it may be a while until she is "normal" again. She is taking over Kellie's room and enjoying the space. It's been a long time since we've had our own rooms at home (even though these rooms really aren't ours)!

She shared many stories about her trip with the family. I got a kick out of the text messages that were sent to people on her team from some of the North Africans they met. They sounded like inspirational quotes or things from greeting cards, yet these people were completely serious! Here are some they got:

"Friendship is like a war: easy to start, difficult to end, impossible to forget. So I'm starting a war with you. I hope you don't want peace."

"I must have been born under a lucky star to find a friend as nice as you are. I will follow the rainbow to the end if you promise to remain my friend." (Sent to a guy from a guy...!)

"The day you came to the world it was raining. But actually it wasn't raining. It was the angels' tears because they had lost one of them...!" (Carolyn got send this one!)

I laughed. The North Africans sound so sweet and amazing. They have the gift of hospitality to a degree that is completely foreign to us. Families would invite Carolyn and her team over to their houses, allowing them to stay all day and encouraging them to take naps (on their beds!) in the middle of the day. Some of the mothers would even make the girls try on their wedding dresses, and take pictures of them wearing them. Can you believe that?? They would feed the kids and care for them, even though these families had very little. It impresses me that there are people like this in the world, when in the United States, everything is so private and personal. We have so much and share so little. We don't trust our neighbors and normally would not even think of allowing strangers in our houses. Let them take a nap?? On our beds?? That's absurd!

I really want to learn hospitality more. I hope to become better at this as I get older. I want to extend hospitality in my own home in a way that is not normally seen in this country. I'm not very good at things like this, but the Bible instructs us to! And without grumbling! (Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9)

Carolyn and her team shared the good news about Jesus Christ with 115 people during the six weeks they were there. Persecution of Christians is insane there. One girl accepted Christ as her Savior and was slapped by her father when she told him. She knew what she would face by accepting Christ. This was no surprise to her. She still decided to be born again. By becoming a Christian, she completely forfeited everything - a life of comfort, acceptance, marriage etc. This girl will face hardship, ridicule and persecution for the rest of her life because she is no longer Muslim. Can you imagine? Yet she saw that everything - her whole life - was rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). Pray for this girl. Pray that a discipler would be provided for her. There are only 350 Christians in the country Carolyn went to. There are tens of millions of people. It is going to be a tough road for this faithful young woman.

Did you know that there are 99 names for Allah, but not one of them is "Love"?? These people fear Allah. They are distant from him. One girl was asked by a team member what her greatest fear was. Her answer was, "God". To me, this seems crazy. I can have a close, personal relationship with my God - the Creator of the Universe who loves me unconditionally and accepts me where I am. I am not scared of Him. I am loved by Him! But this is not something experienced by these North Africans. They live on a points system: the more points you get, the better chance you have of getting into Heaven. No wonder they are scared of their God! They have no way of knowing whether or not he is going to accept or reject them! Constantly striving to live a good life leaves you tired, upset, frustrated and let down. You will never reach the level of "goodness" you want to reach. It is so hard for me to imagine a lifetime of guilt and shame. I would beat myself up after ever evil act, trying so hard to make it up with "good" deeds. I would feel like a failure until the day I died.

Please pray for these North African people. I wish I knew more about the way they live and what they believe, but my knowledge is limited. I'm sure Carolyn could tell you much more.

I am going to bed now. I love you all.

-Katie

Are We Halfway Through the Summer Yet?

2008-06-27T13:09:00.002-05:00

I walked through Nordstrom's shoe department the other day and secretly wished that I could buy some of those pairs of shoes. They are just so cute and fun! I admit that I felt a little self-conscious of my $10 Old Navy jellies, even though I think they are pretty adorable. I have never been a shoe person, simply because I don't have a lot of money. And if I had a lot of money, I wouldn't spend it on shoes unless they were ones that I would wear every day and were very comfortable (translation: teacher shoes!). I normally wear $5 flip flops and I love them. If they break, it's not a big deal.

My sister Carolyn gets back tomorrow from North Africa. I am so excited! I can't wait to hang out with her every day and go on random adventures with her. Last summer was so much fun. We got to live together and since we share a car, we did everything together. People called her my "other half" and would be shocked if either of us went somewhere without the other. We are so different and yet we get along so well. She knows how to encourage me and make me feel special, and will tell me straight up if I'm being selfish or stupid. I hope that the rest of this summer is a time of great growth for us.

Can I just say how much I miss HEB? I wish they had them in the Dallas area. That is the best supermarket in the world. Kroger and Wal-Mart don't even get close!

Well, I know this post is short but there's not a lot to write about. Hopefully I'll have more news soon!

-Katie

A Little Getaway

2008-06-24T18:52:00.002-05:00

Sometimes days just go by too fast.

I spent the weekend in Leona/College Station visiting Austin and my Nana. It was fun, relaxing and like a mini-vacation. I got to eat at this wonderful steak place with Austin, where our waitress gave him advice on how to treat me on our "date". She must have thought it was our first date or something, because she kept giving him tips on what to do. It was hilarious.

We took a trip to a state park that was down the road and had a picnic there. The lake was beautiful and we listened to Tree63 on Austin's fun speakers as we ate. We had to murder a couple spiders and ants during lunch, but it was a wonderful afternoon.

We also walked around at the farm and discovered a garden spider who had made his home on a deer blind. Austin caught a couple grasshoppers and threw them into the web, and we watched Ziggy (I named him) run over to his lunch, wrap it up, and return to his original resting place in just a few seconds. On the same walk, we saw a snake by the creek, which we could not identify. He was greyish-yellow on the top and light yellow on the bottom, and he wasn't a particularly long snake. Any ideas??

For the first time in months, we took advantage of $4.00 tickets and went to see a movie - Get Smart. Has anyone else seen this? It was funny, but not one of the best movies I've seen in a while. I really wish movies weren't so expensive. The $9.50 you'll pay in some towns is just ridiculous.

One of the highlights was seeing Austin play the drums at a church in Madisonville on Sunday. Good grief! I really can't believe that boy taught himself how to play the drums, starting a mere six months ago. Well, actually, I can believe it, because Austin can pretty much do anything (especially if it relates to music)!

I had really great Italian food with Nana and Austin on Sunday. I wish I could eat food like that more often! I'm so excited that I get to go back to College Station next week before 4th of July in Houston. Hopefully I'll get to catch up with Nana some more.

All in all, the weekend was great. It made me realize how much I miss College Station! I think the new Super Target is open, and although I have about 3 different Super Targets near me (that I can think of), I am still a little sad that I no longer live there.

Oh I gotta go - time to eat!
-Katie

See America By Accident

2008-06-18T17:18:00.002-05:00

Kellie is probably on a plane right now, about to fly to England. My mom took her to the airport and Christina (my youngest sister) and I had to stay home. We couldn't fit in the car with all of Kellie's luggage.

Since we had the day to ourselves, Christina and I decided to take a trip to the closest "It's a Grind" coffee shop. We wanted something different than Starbucks yet still familiar. We drove all the way to Frisco and ordered some cookies and frozen coffee. The shopping area didn't have anything interesting to offer so we headed home. On the way home, we decided to take some detours.

I live in this tiny town called Oak Point. It's on the lake and yet I really know nothing about the area. Chrissie and I were in a driving sort-of mood (which I guess is bad considering gas prices), so we decided we would play a little game that my friend (and babysitter when I was little) Sarah made up:

See America By Accident.

It's where you drive around and discover new parts of the country you live in. You turn on any road that you want and just admire the scenery. If you stumble upon anything interesting, you get out and look around.

So that's what we did.

First of all, we drove through an old neighborhood next to our subdivision. It's at least 40 years old and has a smattering of all sorts of old houses. None of them are particularly attractive, since most of the houses were built as lakehouses or getaway homes back then. Christina knew where the Oak Point Lake Club (or something like that) was, so she led me there. I was actually blown away by how beautiful it was.

I sat down on a rock and was able to look at a huge portion of Lake Lewisville. The lake was smooth and clear and I was amazed at how big it was.

We saw a cool-looking house across a small part of the lake and decided to go find out where it was. The lake surrounding it look so gorgeous and we wanted to know how to get there.

So we drove some more.

We discovered the Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club and wished that we were members so that we could walk around inside the property.

We noticed "Wooded Lots" advertised on a side street and drove around inside. The area was relatively creepy but nicely wooded. I guess the sign wasn't lying.

Chrissie and I also drove around inside a subdivision that we almost lived in when I was younger. There is a house just inside with a ZEBRA in the front yard. A real zebra!!!! We freaked out a little bit and decided to Google "zebras for sale" when we got home to find out how much they cost.

We're going to buy a zebra and name him "Stripey". (Chrissie's idea, not mine.)

We found a cool park that we're going to return to. There were some crazy awesome nature trails that looked fun. The park was right on the lake and a sign there said "residents or invited guests only", but who will know? We won't disturb anyone.

Christina and I discovered that Oak Point was much bigger than we originally thought. I know now why it is called Oak Point and will be making trips down to the lake more often, I hope.

Am I the only one who plays this game? Does anyone else drive around and discover new places? I used to drive around College Station, too. I once drove to the end of Anderson and found out that CS has a so-called arboretum. Who knew??

It's kind of amazing how much you can discover by driving somewhere new. Just for fun. And it's nice to have someone with you, too.

Maybe when gas prices go down a little I'll do this more often!

-K

Not Much Up There Right Now

2008-06-16T18:18:00.002-05:00

Writing without any sort of inspiration or motivation is like trying to scrape the last bit of peanut butter from the jar. It doesn't amount to much and it doesn't satisfy.

I have a lot of thoughts, but nothing that seems good enough to put into a post. Maybe I'll feel more like writing after dinner.

Part 2 - Don't Read if You Don't Like Romance Stories!

2008-06-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

Today, Austin posted on his blog and wrote his version of how we met. He actually continued the story beyond where I left off a few days ago.I thought that maybe I should write more about what happened after I didn't think he was creepy anymore. Parts of the story have begun to get fuzzy to me, but I'll try my best. Here I go.

The night that Austin invited my sister and I to the barbeque party was the night that I realized he wasn't actually a weird stalker who was just interested in dating one of us. Carolyn and I began to hang out more with his buddies and we would meet up almost very single day at Coffee Station to study.

Austin met my family long before we ever started dating. My family would come down to College Station for the weekend and my mom would cook dinner at Nana's house. One weekend, we invited him to have dinner with us and he agreed to come. I think that time Carolyn and I tried to cook for everyone and it ended up not being as good as I wanted it to be. I'm thankful that it didn't scare Austin away!

Although I began to warm up a lot to Austin, things really changed the weekend that he invited us to the "farm". His family owns some land in Leona (where he is right now) and there is a little house on it. He invited us to go hang out, shoot guns, fish, build a campfire etc. with some of his friends. Carolyn and I went, and we had a blast. I became a real Texan that weekend! Carolyn and I decided to stay for two nights, and Austin's friends left for the second night. It freaked us out a little bit, but I reassured Carolyn that it would be okay.

That second night ended up being so much fun! Carolyn, Austin and I talked in the living room for hours before going to sleep. Carolyn actually got too tired and ended up going to bed, but Austin and I talked for a little while longer. I remember talking about past relationships, the job I had the previous summer, what we were passionate about and probably some more things. It was at that point that I began having feelings for Austin. I could tell that he genuinely loved people and cared deeply for everyone that he met. He was thoughtful and friendly and loved Christ with everything he was.

I denied that I liked him for a while, but every time I would hang out with him, he just got cooler. I prayed about our friendship a lot and realized that if God wanted our relationship to progress, then I would have to surrender. I left everything up to God and Austin, pretty much. I decided to let him pursue me if he wanted to. For me, this meant not telling Austin when I would be at Coffee Station and not initiating meetings with him (unless we were having a party or something at Nana's house).

I started going to Coffee Station on Sunday nights after church, where I would see Austin. It became a little tradition, and we would meet and talk about all sorts of things - from jobs to spiritual warfare, predesination, the Baptist church and Tongues. Austin had so much wisdom and knowledge and it blew me away. Even now I can still listen to Austin talk for hours and never get tired.

I got to meet Austin's sister Kristin when he invited me to go to the Hall with them one night. I had never been before, and I didn't know how to two-step, but they taught me beforehand at his house. I had so much fun! I even learned how to play pool. Kristin was so much fun and I had a blast hanging out with them. I loved that they were so close and had such a strong relationship. It reminded me of my relationship with Carolyn.

I remember the night that Austin asked me to lunch the next day. I wanted to scream and jump up and down - I was so excited! He ended up taking me on a surprise picnic in Academic Plaza. He did everything. He made the sandwiches (EXACTLY my favorite) and put special care into the drink he chose for me. It was by far the sweetest date I've ever been on. We ate underneath my favorite tree in Academic Plaza. I had actually written a little bit about it in my blog, but I didn't specify which tree it was or show a picture. He found it on his own by going to Academic Plaza and simply guessing. I was extremely impressed. Anyways, that was our first date. I wanted to climb the tree, but since I didn't know that we were going there, I hadn't dressed appropriately.We ended up just talking for about four hours instead, and it was great.

Every time I would hang out with Austin, Carolyn would ask me if he had said anything about dating yet. We never shared our feelings with each other and he had never openly stated his intentions. It drove Carolyn crazy, but I had an extreme peace about everything. I wasn't anxious to get into a relationship and was sincerely enjoying our friendship.

About a month after going to the farm, Austin sent me an email asking if I would go to Houston with him to celebrate his birthday with his family. He told me that if I wanted to bring Carolyn, then she could come, but he would prefer it if it was just me. I was so naive and I had no idea that he really liked me. I guess I thought, "Well, it means that he has more of an interest in me..." I really didn't have a clue.

Surrendering the relationship to God was so wonderful because I was no longer concerned about what was going to happen. I think that sometimes, being a girl is difficult because you are waiting a lot. Waiting for the guy to act or initiate or pursue you. It takes a lot of patience! God gave me so much patience, though, that I was never anxious about the relationship.

We had an absolute BLAST in Houston. I met his family and basically fell in love. Everyone was so friendly and hospitable! We ate at this great seafood restaurant at Kemah and walked along the boardwalk and ate Dippin Dots. Thinking back to that night, it's funny to think that I wasn't actually dating Austin at the time. Austin took me on a date the next day and we went to Rice Village for the afternoon. It ended up raining like crazy, so we spent most of the afternoon in Half Price Books looking at all sorts of things. Still, nothing was said about dating.

A few days after getting back to College Station, Austin asked me if I wanted to have another picnic and actually climb the tree this time. We went on a second picnic and again, Austin prepared everything. We talked for about five hours and Austin expressed his feelings. We climbed the tree and he grabbed my hand - I was seriously freaked out. Not only was I holding this guy's hand for the first time, but we were way up high on this tree branch! We talked for a little while longer about dating and then Austin prayed for our relationship before we went back to the car. That evening, we watched Singin' in the Rain and ate Totino's pizza. The whole day was simply grand.

...And that's how it started. I am trying to remember all the details, and that's the best that I can do.

I know this story might be kind of boring to most of you, but to be honest I primarily wrote it for myself. I needed a written out account of the story somewhere!

Alright. My fingers need a little rest! :)
-Katie

Yeah, Something's Wrong Here...

2008-06-11T23:10:00.007-05:00

I'm sure that many of my female readers (and perhaps some of my male readers) have seen the show on TLC called Jon and Kate Plus 8. It's pretty entertaining and can make you exhausted just by watching that family for half an hour. For those of you who have never seen the show, it is about a family with two sets of multiples: two 6-year-olds and six 2-year-olds. (Actually, I think the twins are 7 now and the sextuplets are 3.) They have five girls and three boys. Good grief.

I don't watch the show very much, but I catch it every now and then. The kids are adorable! Most people I know make fun of me, but I like to watch parenting shows such as Supernanny and watch the different techniques used to train the children. I just watched a 1-hour special tonight where the entire family went on a vacation to Disneyland. It was entertaining but I have trouble watching the show without getting frustrated.

When I watch shows where whole families are shown, I pay special attention to the parents. Have you ever seen Wife Swap? I cringe when I see the way that some of these women treat their "new husbands" and vice versa. It makes me sick to see the lack of respect shown and the women given complete control over the household.

On shows such as Wife Swap or Supernanny, the marriages are often the root of the problem. Of course, Supernanny wouldn't say that, but there is a strong correlation between the strength and quality of the marriage and the way the kids behave. You can look at almost any family and see that. I'm getting a little off-track here, but it is so clear to me that the marriage must be strong in order for the children to be disciplined the right way. A lot of times these children are being disciplined one way by their dad and a completely different way by their mom. Definitely not the way it should be!

Anyways, I was talking about Jon and Kate Plus 8. I often get frustrated when watching the show because I don't like the way that Kate treats her husband, Jon. She will boss him around, tell him what to do and I see her treating him like a child in some of the interviews. There is much disagreement between them and I see different parenting styles displayed. I see hurtful words thrown at each other and it makes me so sad. It is very clear that Kate runs the show in the house (it has even been said in interviews) and Jon is there to get yelled at and obey any requests that Kate has.

I'll tell you what, I don't see submission from Kate and I don't see Jon being the leader of the family. Watching a lot of these TV shows, you definitely see the woman being the leader a lot. Can you imagine what a wonderful witness it would be to be on TV and model a marriage that glorifies God and is aligned with the roles a husband and wife that Scripture gives? Well guess what?! You don't have to be on TV to do that! I know most of the people who read this aren't married, but some of us will be soon.

If you proclaim to be a Christian (and Jon and Kate do), you have the wonderfully difficult job of being a witness to the world. Marriage is supposed to be a beautiful symbol and picture of Christ's relationship with the Church, and we get to be a part of this picture when we are married! I'm so excited! It's a tough and humbling thing to do, but we are all called to show Christ's love in that way.

I really hate to see women wanting (and having) complete control over the family. I don't like seeing these women making all the rules and decisions and then ordering her husband around. Ladies, if any of you see me doing this when I am married, please hit me with a baseball bat! This was never God's intent for marriage. God calls men to be the leaders of the family, and the wife gets to stand beside him and love him and support him in his decisions (most of which are made with her help!). How fun!! Personally, I am very excited to have someone be decisive and make decisions. I am horrible when it comes to that. I know that a lot of girls think of submission as something negative, but it is supposed to be a beautiful thing when the husband and wife are both looking to the Lord for direction.

Girls: if you can't respect your boyfriend or fiance now, what makes you think that you'll be able to do that in marriage? You don't just change overnight. And your boyfriend/fiance doesn't just become an automatic leader after you say "I do". People don't change when you marry them! Problems and issues become magnified after marriage, not reduced! I believe it is so important to be thinking about these things before you date someone and especially before you marry someone.

Are they relying completely on Christ as the ultimate leader of the relationship?

Are they encouraging you to draw closer to God and rely on Him instead of your boyfriend? Most importantly - do they love God more than they love you?

I had so many problems in my last relationship because of these things. And things would have only gotten worse if we had continued in our relationship.

It's late and I sincerely hope that everything I wrote down agrees with what the Bible says about relationships. Please correct me if something is not quite right. My writing tends to be messy at night and I am a little scatterbrained right now. I didn't even mean to write all of that -it just started flowing. Anyways, it's time for me to sleep.

-Katie

Male Readers Beware

2008-06-10T21:31:00.005-05:00

I wish there was a cure for PMS. I really do. And I can say that on here because most of my readers are girls and I know they sympathize with me. I wish that I could read a sweet story without getting choked up or watch Monsters, Inc. without tearing at the very end. It gets pretty ridiculous at times. I tell myself, "It's really not that sad or touching," but then end up fighting back eye mist.

I also wish I could stop the dull headache and back pain. Oh, and the knee pain, too. I generally ache all over with PMS. I didn't take any ibuprofen today and I'm feeling the effects of it. Hopefully some sleep will ease my pain a little bit.

I could definitely do without the monthly zit erruptions. I mean, seriously? Why does my face hate me every four weeks? I didn't fight it today. I didn't take a shower this morning and went for over 12 hours without washing my face. I let the acne win.

I typed "PMS" into Wikipedia and the results were pretty hysterical. I personally loved the list of possible symptoms. It explained that "extreme tearfulness" was one of the symptoms, and I guess that explains the inability to watch children's movies during that-time-of-the-month. I never thought that my PMS was that bad until I realized that I experience most of the symptoms listed. And there are 19. I guess my symptoms are much milder than most womens'.

The fact that Wikipedia explains that it's not normal to diagnose PMS with lab tests or physical findings. makes me laugh. Haha. I think normal diagnosis should be a simple yes or no question: Are you a woman? Obviously, an answer of "yes" would immediately diagnose the person as capable of suffering from this wonderful disease.

Wikipedia lists a few treatments for PMS but honest, I think it's best to take ibuprofen if you really need it and just tough it out. I tried taking a little walk this morning to help with the cramping, but it didn't do much.

If this whole post is too much information, then you're really just going to have to deal with it. If you're a girl, you know what I'm talking about. If you're a boy, well, you'll probably be married to a girl one day who will of course suffer from PMS and you'll have to get used to the mood swings, tears, complaining about bloating and [seemily] unexplained depression.

Sorry, but since I have PMS, I don't have a lot of sympathy right now. :)

-Katie

*Little side note: I really don't have bad PMS. I know girls who have it way worse, and I can't complain.

A Little Mad

2008-06-08T23:13:00.001-05:00

I just changed my background and it deleted ALL of the blogs that I read. I was a little upset because I don't think I can remember them all. If you read my blog and you don't see your blog on the right hand side, could you let me know so that I can add you again? Thanks.

Also, what do you think of the facelift? Ali changed the look of hers and I just LOVED it, especially that fresh green color. So I gave mine some grass! :)

Also #2, what do you guys think of the music? You can tell me if it's annoying and I'll take it off.

Questionnaire Time

2008-06-08T20:37:00.004-05:00

Hmmm. I guess that romantic stories are what the masses want. I haven't gotten that many comments on one post since I was a Xanga-er back in high school.

However, I do not have any romance novels for you today.

But while I'm kind of on the topic of romance, Austin is actually visiting me tomorrow so he can get one of the three licenses he needs in order to be a financial advisor. He'll be here for less than 24 hours but I'll take any time I can get!

I have been trying to get a job for the past few weeks, and it's been frustrating. I have an interview tomorrow, so I'll let you know how that goes. If I don't get a job, I won't be able to get a car. And if I don't get a car, I won't be able to get to Frisco each day for student teaching in the Fall. So I need a job.

Chrissie and I are watching Hairspray right now. I love that movie. It was definitely my favorite movie of 2007.

So this questionnaire has been floating around Blog Land and although I haven't been "tagged", I am going to fill it out and tag some of my readers, to make sure they are paying attention. ;-) Some of them probably won't fill it out, but I'm going to tag them anyways. I normally don't fill out these types of things, but I thought it would be fun this time. Here goes.

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing 5 years ago?

Let's see, it was 2003 and it was the summer in between my junior and senior year in high school, and I was 17...
1. I was preparing for an extremely tough year of taking only three subjects (Chemistry, Math, English literature) in a great amount of depth.
2. I was spending my time relaxing in England for part of the summer.
3. I went on a trip to Texas to visit Anna with my sisters Carolyn and Kellie.
4. I was writing in Xanga a lot (starting that Fall) and haven't stopped blogging since.
5. I was waiting to get my test results back from my junior year's standardized exams.

What are 5 things on your to-do list today (not in any particular order)?

Most of today is already gone so I'll list things I've done:
1. Go to Bible study on Esther with my mom
2. Go to church
3. Go to Target with Chrissie and Kellie
4. Apply for a job
5. Watch "The Next Food Network Star" (in the process of doing this now)

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

1. Yogurt covered pretzels
2. Sundried Tomato & Basil flavored Wheat Thins
3. Crackers and red pepper hummus
4. Anything with chocolate
5. Cereal

What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Ask Austin how to invest it and then put most of it into some sort of high-risk account thing (he knows all about that stuff)
2. Buy a car for myself and another car for Kellie since she won't have one yet for college
3. Give a lot of it to Carolyn so she can go live in another country and be a missionary
4. Help a lot of families to adopt children by covering their costs
5. I would want to help people in need such as the homeless or those in poverty, as well as those who are lonely or hurting. I would probably go to a homeless shelter and take them all out to dinner at a really nice restaurant (how fun would that be?!) or hold a fun activities night for nursing home residents - complete with live band, costumes and decorations

What are 5 of your bad habits?

1. Sleeping for too long if I don't have anywhere to be
2. Not finishing things once I start them
3. Interrupting people when they're talking by agreeing with them (and then sharing a short story) - I'm working on this
4. Procrastinating while getting ready in the morning
5. Popping my neck, fingers and sometimes toes

What are 5 places you have lived?

1. Corinth, TX (the house I was born in and lived in until I was 10)
2. Denton, TX (we rented a house for year because we thought we were going to build...)
3. Woodhouse Eaves, Rotherby and South Croxton - all in England (I lived there with my family for 7 1/2 years)
4. College Station, TX (from 2004 until this summer, for college)
5. Oak Point, TX (where I am now and will be for ?? - at least Christmas time)

What are 5 jobs you've had?

1. Babysitter for about 27 billion kids
2. Research and Development Technician for PepsiCo International - basically I helped to make new kinds of chips in small batches for the British version of Frito Lay (called Walker's Crisps)
3. and
4. that's
5. all

What 5 people do you want to tag?
(I'm tagging more than 5!)

1. Ali - We have had almost the exact same classes for the past year, and I get to be [fairly] close to her this next semester. I bet she would have some really great answers, and I want to get to know her better!
2. Ashley - My other whole and old math buddy. She is now a teacher in the Houston area and I miss the heck out of that girl!
3. Austin - The bf. I doubt he'll do it but I'm tagging him anyways.
4. Erica - A precious friend from this past year! I haven't seen her in so long and I want to know her answers!
5. Erin - Austin's roommate's fiancee. I bet she'll do it and I know I'll love reading her answers.
6. Helen - A beautiful friend from high school who loves to do these things. ;-)
7. Lauren - Another education friend that I miss a lot! We love acting the same age as the middle school kids we'll be teaching!!
8. Leda - Erica's sister. She is a new blogger and loves to write!! I know she'll have great responses!

That's all. I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday evening!
-Katie

366 Days

2008-06-06T13:50:00.007-05:00

Do you remember where you were a year ago?

A year ago today, Carolyn and I were taking summer school at A&M and living at The Crossing Place together. We were practically attached at the hip and we did everything together.

A year ago today, Carolyn and I were driving to Sweet Eugene's to study. Carolyn suggested that we go to Coffee Station since we had never really been there before. Being the summer, no one was really there, which was nice. I was starting to feel sick so I got a drink without caffeine (chai latte) and we sat down on the big blue couch for a while.

We studied for a while but then ended up reading the Bible together, which was a lot of fun. At one point during the afternoon, this guy walked into Coffee Station and sat down across from us. I thought it was odd because there were plenty of places to sit in the store, but instead, he chose to sit at our section. Upon further inspection, I realized that he was a corps boy and immediately put him into the corps boy stereotype that I had formed in my head.

He saw two young girls and came to sit near them. He would probably flirt with us and throw in the "good Christian" card. He studied geology for a while, a class that both Carolyn and I had taken. I think we started talking about it because it was the one thing (at the time) that we all had in common.

I guess he noticed that we were reading our Bibles and told us a little bit about a mission trip to Zimbabwe that he had been on the summer before. "There it is," I thought. "The good Christian card."

I mean, he was a nice, friendly guy, but I was still extremely skeptical. Although we talked for a few hours, we didn't introduce ourselves to each other so I never got his name.

Since I got sick after that day, Carolyn and I didn't return to Coffee Station for a little while. The next time we did go, however, we saw the corps guy there and I finally introduced myself. He added Carolyn and I as his friends on Facebook, and ended up contacting Carolyn a few days later.

I knew it.

Corps guy after the ladies.

He invited us to a movie with his "buddies" (I was convinced they were fake) and then tacked his phone number to the bottom of the message. I told Carolyn, as she was responding to his message, that it was a clever way for him to get her phone number. "Don't give it to him! He's a stalker!!" I told her. She did anyways, and he started calling her after that. We told the guy that we wouldn't go see the movie with his "buddies" since our family was in town, but that if he wanted, he could come see a movie with us and our little sisters.

I thought that would scare him away for sure.

It didn't.

He came anyways.

He came to see a movie with two college girls he didn't know, their two youngest sisters and another college girlfriend. I thought he was insane.

I ended up getting stuck sitting next to him and much to my surprise, we laughed the whole way through the movie because we had no idea what was going on.

A few days later he invited Carolyn and I to a barbeque party with his buddies. I found out that he wasn't lying and that they actually existed. I also found out that his passion for God was real and not something made up that he used to impress cute Christian girls. He had a heart for missions and cared deeply about anyone and everyone's relationship with Christ. It blew me away.

He played songs on the guitar that night that he had written, and he sang. I'm sure my eyes were as big as saucers and my mouth might have been open - I'm not sure - but I do know that he was a talented musician who had a wonderful voice.

He ended up becoming one of our "summer friends" and we hung out a lot during the rest of the summer.

The creepy, friendly, talented corps guy stalker and I started dating about two months later.

Tomorrow will be our 10 month anniversary. (I realize that sounds lame.)

My life was forever changed that June day one year ago. Here's to 366 days of great memories!

I love you Austin!

Being Smart

2008-06-04T22:34:00.004-05:00

Because of Ali, I have now become addicted to playing Text Twist with my youngest sister Christina. I played it by myself for a while at first, which was fun, but playing with Christina is much more fun because she is so good at it. She can unscramble those letters and come up with words that I would never think of. It impresses me that my thirteen-year-old sister is so smart. She knows way more than I do as far as language arts stuff goes.

I am constantly impressed by how smart and clever my sisters are. As an oldest child, it's easy to think that you are the smartest. It was that way in my family for quite some time, but now that I am in college and my youngest sisters are older, things have changed. I may be smart, but the stuff that I know is related to math and science education.

Carolyn knows a lot as far as biology, physical health and nursing is concerned. She also knows a lot about the Bible and can recite verses very well (I have always had a hard time memorizing verses, especially their addresses). When it comes to a lot of scientific facts, Carolyn probably knows more than me.

Kellie is extremely artistic and knows a lot about photography. Quick plug: she is one of the best artists that I know. The link attached to her name will take you to her online gallery. She takes a lot of senior pictures right now, as well as pictures for fun. She just got a new lense today, too, so be looking for new pictures she took using it (it's amazing!!!).

Claire is sensitive and knows so much about poetry, arts and crafts. She also gave me a quick terminology about horseriding tonight. I had no idea that she knew all that stuff! I was impressed and sat next to her thinking, "Is this really my little baby sister??" I guess being 15 doesn't make you a baby anymore.

Chrissie is the baby and makes almost straight As. (Her one B is in science! Go figure.) I think this is astounding considering the fact that she was diagnosed with severe dyslexia when she was younger. She is great with words and will correct you on any spelling or grammatical error you make. She also has a quick wit and can throw around some real one-liners.

Austin always makes fun of me because I am constantly impressed by what my sisters can do. He tells me that I will be "one of those moms" who frames her child's first "A", or cries over a scribble on a paper, or takes a picture of a block tower. And he's right. I probably will. Sometimes I will tell him stories or show him pictures of what other young children have done, and he just laughs and says, "Isn't that normal for that age?" Haha! I think he was just a super talented child. He can do anything well, in my opinion.

Speaking of Austin, I should probably go call him. He's in a small house all by himself, and will be until the end of the month. I would go crazy, but he can deal with it. I have to be with people or I will go insane, but I think he does better with alone time. I spend my days feeling sorry for him - as if someone put him there for punishment or something. I have to keep telling myself that he chose to be there and do this.

If you don't know what I'm talking about - basically, Austin decided to live in the small house in Leona that his family owns. He is doing missional work there for the month of June and helping out with churches in Leona and Madisonville. I think he will be doing VBS stuff next week. leading worship and helping out with the youth. He has also been talking to random people and meeting them in their homes. Oh, and he's been playing the drums a lot, reading and going on walks and bike rides. :)

That's a little summary. Just to keep you informed. You can be praying for him!!

Ok, time to call and then to go to sleep.

-Katie

Thought Vomit

2008-06-02T22:45:00.004-05:00

I think I have a problem with wanting to write about a million different things all in one blog. These thoughts accumulate during the day and then I want to vomit them into one single post. Should I narrow my posts down to one specific topic? Should I make them shorter? As you can see, I have a lot of issues with blogging. Do people stop reading my posts mid-way because they are too long and boring? I kind of wonder about these things.

Whatever. I'm just gonna write this post my way, in my Katie-like style.

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed how everyone's relationship status changes over the summer?

Single to relationship.

Relationship to single.

Relationship to engaged.

Engaged to married.

Engaged to single.

The summer seems like the time when feelings either blossom or fade away. I am no exception to the "summer rule" as I am going to call it. I started dating Austin last August. What makes the summer such a strange time? I have theories. Maybe it's due to the free time you spend with a person. You either spend so much time that you fall in love with the person they are, or you are spending more time with a person and realize that the person they are isn't actually all that great. That sounds horrible, but I think you know what I mean.

Every single day, someone on Facebook changes their relationship status. Sometimes I try to make it a game and guess what the status change is. Is that wrong? I don't know. Facebook must know that the summer is a time of relationship change because I have small ads on the left hand side of my profile/updated friends pages etc. of engagement rings galore. It's actually three things that normally pop up: engagement rings (often made of "Palladium" or something like that - whatever that is), shoes, and weight loss techniques. I read a few months ago that Facebook would start having ads targeted to your individual interests based on your profile information. Apparently Facebook knows exactly what my three interests are.

My house is contaminated with spiders. I guess that comes with living in a newly-built house in the country. I kill at least one spider every day. I saw a spider today that was about four inches in diameter and would have made a horrific squishing sound if I would have killed it. But of course I wasn't that brave. I am getting braver, and I know that if it had been in my room, I could have squished it. However, the large arachnid was in the garage, so I felt semi-safe leaving it there. The spider I killed today was a tiny little thing next to the toilet. I smeared it when I used the bathroom earlier. I hope that's not too much information.

At the mall the other day I saw a poster that made me made. It was hanging in the window of a glamor shots-type place. It had two pictures: a before and after. Underneath the pictures were the words "From MOM to WOW!" and they made me mad. In essence, they were saying that all moms were dire looking and in order to be beautiful, needed to get dressed up, put on too much makeup and get their pictures taken. Obviously, "mom" and "wow" are two completely different categories. Don't you think that's sad? These are the sort of messages we are receiving without even thinking much about it. It makes me upset.

I think I am slowly coming to terms with growing up. Knowing that I will not return to A&M makes me sad, but I know that it's time for me to get out in the real world. Student teaching is going to help a lot, especially since I'm student teaching in the Dallas area instead of College Station. I discovered today that The Limited is a perfect place to buy great teacher clothes. It's cheaper than Banana Republic (my favorite) and has some cute things. However, I don't see many of these stores around anymore.

I have a lot of thoughts right now, but for some reason I don't want to write them all down. Maybe because I'm tired - I don't know. I think I'm going to end this and write in it again later.

Goodnight loves.
-Katie

Community

2008-05-30T21:12:00.002-05:00

I sit in my bedroom tonight not knowing exactly what to do with myself. I did some thinking earlier and realized that there is a dull ache inside me that hungers for community. Since I left College Station I have not had any regular fellowship with other Christians. I wish that I was able to eat dinner with some fellow Believers and laugh and be vulnerable and transparent with them.

I feel dry.

We were created for community, and life without it feels empty. I am amazed that there are Christians who float from church to church, trying to find "the right fit". True, we are able to serve each other better with Christians that share similar beliefs, but there is never going to be a perfect church. I can't imagine not settling into a Body and serving consistently in a group of Christians.

It makes me sad that I will only be in the Dallas area for 7 months or so. I mean, that's what I'm assuming. I want so badly to be plugged into a church, but knowing that it would be for a short time makes me hesitant. I like long-term commitment. In the back of my mind, I ask myself, "What's the point?"

In Ross King's song Happy, he talks about the American megachurch. At one point, he asks the questions

Would you notice if I was gone?
How easy would it be to move on?

I know that the situation he talks about is a little different (he is picturing himself in a church of 14,000 people), but church should still be the same. 1 Corinthians 12 compares the church to a human body. Paul explains that every part of the body is equally important and the body cannot function as well if pieces are missing.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
1 Corinthians 12:21-26

If I was a part of a church and I left, the church should suffer somewhat due to my absence.

If you chopped your finger off, you would notice, wouldn't you?

You would feel some pain.

You would find it difficult to continue living your normal life without that finger.

That's how it should be in the Body of Christ. Yet this doesn't happen much. I am going to a church right now that is so big that I feel unimportant. I could sit in my seat on Sunday and it would be no different than if I wasn't there. The service would continue in the exact same way regardless of whether I was there or not. No one would wonder, "Where's Katie?" because it really wouldn't matter. I'm not trying to sound cynical here, but it's the truth, and it doesn't feel right.

Everyone longs to be important to others, and it's no different with me. I will be excited for the day when I can get plugged into a church and know that I won't be leaving for a long time.

As for right now, I am still craving that community, but I don't know where to begin. Please pray for me this summer and next semester, because I want to be a part of a Body where I am needed and I can use my gifts to serve and to minister to others.

I think I've been writing in my blog so much lately because I am trying to connect with people on some level. I know that people read this, and I take comfort in that. It's nice to know that there are other people there, listening. Or reading, I should say! :)

* * * * *

In other news, I went to the mall today to buy some new makeup. It seems like I've run out of the essentials all at once. I approached the Clinique counter and waited for someone to help me. This woman with a thick foreign accent approached me with an unhealthy amount of energy. Why do makeup people have foreign accents? I have always wondered this. Anyways, I told her what kind of eyeliner I use and what color I like, and she told me they were out.

"But I have the mos BEAUUUUTIFUL color that would jus look great on you! Look at dis brown color."

"Yeah, that's nice. I guess that will be okay."

"What kine of mascara you use?"

"High impact. I use brown."

"No no no. I see your hair, it's light, but I think you need more defnition. You use black."

She handed me a tube of black mascara as she closed the makeup drawer. I was not going to buy brown mascara because she said so. And I am too much of a pansy to argue with sales people.

At least I got the free bonus gift. Gosh, I love those things. It makes the pain of dealing with pushy cosmetic sales people bearable.

I bet Austin is reading this and shaking his head. He is so much more assertive than I am. :)

I am getting tired of writing. I have a lot of thoughts now but I should cut it off.

Until next time,

Katie

A History of the Past Week

2008-05-28T18:00:00.008-05:00

I have so much to write about! Expect a long post today.

I need to start by going back in time, a little bit, to the weekend. Two of my friends, Macie and Korey, got married on May 24 in Sudan, TX. Austin was a groomsman, so his mom, another B-Co mom, and three other B-Co girlfriends (well, actually they're fiancees) made a road trip out of it. We packed up all our stuff and drove out there in a big Suburban. I only had three hours of sleep the night before, so the day of the wedding I was absolutely exhausted! We had so much fun at the wedding! Korey burst into tears when he saw his bride. It was precious. It was the sort of wedding that you go to and you think to yourself, now there is a couple who belong together and who have their lives focused on the Lord. It made me so happy to watch them get married, knowing that their marriage would be blessed and would glorify God.

I had to say goodbye to Austin after the wedding, which was hard. I wasn't going to see him for at least a month, and it wasn't the idea "goodbye" situation. Our group had just eaten at Pizza Hut and we were parting ways to go back to our hotels. We had to say goodbye in the parking lot, which really wasn't fun. I have such a hard time saying goodbye. I can say goodbye and then the moment I don't visually see that person anymore, my heart wrenches with pain. It's hard to breathe and sadness overwhelms me. I normally have to go listen to some music or do something to get my mind off how sad I am.

We drove back to Fort Worth the next day, and then I drove home from there. My birthday was yesterday, and I was sad to be spending it without Austin. I didn't have anything fun planned and was a little down about it all. Also, my dad wanted me to be awake and dressed by 9 AM on my birthday because a workman was coming to fix something on the house. I got ready and then laid down on the couch for a little bit since I was so tired. A few minutes later, I felt a hand on my shoulder so I turned around and there was AUSTIN! He had driven alllll the way up from Madisonville just to see me on my birthday. He surprised me with some beautiful white roses and other flowers (I don't know what they're called), and we were able to spend the afternoon together.

We went to this wonderful Thai food place for lunch at The Shops at Legacy and then had fun driving around this place, which is actually a short drive from my house, believe it or not. There were these cool-looking model homes set up, so we toured a few for fun and had a blast trying to escape the Realtors, who would try to ask us questions about what kind of house we were looking for and where we lived now, etc. We just had to listen intently, instead of just saying, "We're actually just here because we wanted to look inside your picture-perfect but almost creepy houses and can't actually afford any of this. We're not even married - we're really just college students." Our favorite house model was actually called the "Savannah" and was WAY bigger than it looked on the outside. It had three stories and all these random nooks and crannies. It was a fun afternoon.

Last night we grilled steaks and sat outside for my birthday dinner. Instead of a regular cake, I had a cheesecake (my favorite). Austin and I watched Star Wars afterwards because he insists on making me a fan.

I got a new iPod player thing since my old one broke, and new iPod headphones since mine were 2 years old and pretty much shot. Austin gave me this awesome candle that crackles like a fire, and the scent is actually called "Fireside".

I love it! As well as the candle, he gave me this beautiful bracelet from James Avery. It is so "me"!!! He was afraid that I wouldn't like it, but I do. I'm not the sort of person who screams and jumps up and down when I open presents I like. But inside, I am going crazy. I cherish presents like the bracelet Austin gave me, and you can bet that I will wear it every day for the rest of my life, or until my wrists get too big. ;)

Another wonderful things that happened yesterday: I got a letter from the College of Education saying that I was officially on the Dean's Honor Roll. I got a certificate and everything, in recognition of my "academic excellence". I basically just got a 4.0 this past semester and the certificate was to congratulate me. :)

Austin left this morning, after I left at 7:40 to go meet the mentor teacher I will have for student teaching. Saying goodbye on Saturday night was hard, but today was so much harder. I really don't like being apart from him! This next semester is going to be terribly difficult with us being about 310 miles apart. Did I tell you guys that he has a job now? I can't remember. Anyways, he is going to be a financial advisor for IMG in Houston. He is going to do GREAT. If you need someone to help you with your money, Austin is the person to go to. He is patient, a wonderful listener, great with people and doesn't shove his opinion down your throat. I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished! He is such a hard worker and yet is so far from being a workaholic. His priorities are straight and he knows what is important. If any of you guys are going to be living in Houston, you should seriously think about buying insurance from him. Wink wink!

Ok, so back to the meeting I had with my student teaching mentor teacher today. Let me just say that I seriously lucked out!!!! I got a GREAT school in a GREAT area. The school is pretty much brand new and has amazing facilities and is just beautiful. Everyone is incredibly friendly and nice. Not to mention, the teachers all seem young and energetic. It's a wonderful environment and I could tell that from just spending three hours there!

My teacher is AMAZING! She is 31 and I think she may be Superwoman in disguise. She is married with two 4-year-old boys and still wakes up at 4:00 in the morning to go work out. She loves to talk and is incredibly friendly. And she is SUPER ORGANIZED! I love it!!!! Her room is neat and tidy and so so clean. She has it decorated like a living room, complete with flowers, a table lamp, homey decorations, beautiful picture frames on the wall containing pictures of her family, candles, [fake] plants and a bookshelf. It's beautiful and so tastefully done. It's rare to see a science classroom like that! I guess it's easy to do when you don't do labs in the same room. There is a separate lab room with state-of-the-art lab tables and facilities. She showed me pictures of labs they had done and it looked like so much fun.

Everything in the classroom has a place. She showed me a binder for each six-weeks semester and inside had a separate plastic sleeve for each day. She also journals and loves to draw and doodle - she had made two full composition notebooks full of teaching ideas and activities. Each page was colored with crayons and pencils and had pictures on it. My teacher presented me with a binder she had made for me (it had my name on it and everything!) when I first got to the classroom. It had divider tabs for sections like "Observations" and "Lesson Plans". She had put a lot of pages in it already and told me she would work on it more over the summer. When I told her my major was science and math, she said, "Oh! Well I'll get you observing some in the math classes. I'll arrange it so that every day when the teachers print off their resources, they'll print an extra copy for you and you can start a math binder, too." REALLY!?!? I mean, I think I got the best teacher out there!!! She was so prepared, organized, friendly, and fun. She told me that her student teaching experience was awful and she cried every day. She is doing so much for me and really wants me to have a great experience. What an answer to prayer! She introduced me to everyone and was just so excited to have a student teacher. I am going to have a great semester in the fall, despite being so far from my Austin.

Anyways, that's pretty much it for the last few days. It's been jam-packed with busyness and activities. I've had so much fun and am looking forward to the rest of the summer. I just need to get a job, now!

Gotta go eat dinner. I'm starving!

-Katie