This is it!

Does it seem like life flies by quickly that sometimes you have to take a moment to stop and look at your surroundings? I wish I could take in God's beauty everyday, but sometimes I let little things in life stir me up too much.

If there is one thing that I have really thought about a lot lately, it is this: God is good, and God is generous. His generosity shows no boundaries.

I have really had to begin to accept myself for who I am. I want to do something. I want to make a change in the world. I feel God's perfect timing coming soon, and I cannot wait to see what He uses all of us for!

Late nights

This is the second weekend in a row that I have done the unthinkable (for me anyway)! I have stayed up past 3 AM... If you know me, this is a great feat because I do love getting enough sleep during the week. My typical bedtime is around 9:30 or so.

So here is what I blame on this atrocity:

-Kara GK. That lady sure knows how to talk! Of course, I had nothing to do with it whatsoever. :) But, no, really. We went on a retreat with the youth last weekend, and Kara and had were in the same room together. We lied down to go to bed around 1 AM and end up talking until after 3. Love her!

-Randy and Lance. I go out with Randy, Lance, and Lee for a lovely dinner to Chili's in Fultondale. The next thing I know, we get booted out of Target and Books-a-Hundred because they close. After loitering in front of the bookstore until around 1:30, we finally make it to Whataburger until around 2:40ish. It's a good thing that I got to sleep in today!

So who can I blame on for staying up next weekend? Any takers?

Review of top headlines

Here are my responses to some of the top headlines for today:

How is it that Florida is getting snow and sleet, and we got nothing? Just doesn't make sense.

Jay Leno may be moving back to his old time... I wonder if this is because his new show STINKS. Wait.. I didn't say that. :) Conan rocks!

Did you hear about the Amtrak issue? Passengers were not only stuck on the train for 24 hours due to snowy conditions, but then the train also hit a pickup truck. As if this wasn't bad enough.. then they didn't have enough food on board to supply the delays. This would have been a perfect scene for "fight to the death".

This one is my favorite... in a strange way. South Africa is supposed to be holding the next World Cup. Unfortunately, nearly half of South Africa's prostitutes are HIV positive. Due to this, many places are asking that South Africa take a more active stand on arresting prostitutes since it is illegal there, after all. Does this disturb anyone else besides me? What kind of world do we live in that we have to be worried about the spread of HIV because of an increase of prostitution during the World Cup?

What are some top head lines that interested you this week?

A New Year

I cannot say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed sitting around and resting these past two weeks. Going back to work looms in the back of my mind, but I know that I must enjoy these next two days.

Have any of you made New Year's Resolutions? Honestly, I really haven't. Most of my resolutions for myself I have tried to make since last year. These would include:

- Growing in my walk with Christ

- Controlling what I eat (this has NOT been good this year)

- Exercising more

Lance has been doing the Men's Fitness Year-Long workout. I tried looking all over for a Women's fitness one because I get bored easily with my workouts. Unfortunately, I did not find one.. so.. I decided that I will be a man for a year.

Check out http://www.mensfitness.com/ylw/fitness/workout_routines/312 to see what kind of fun stuff I will be doing throughout the year! The best part: most of the routines are only 3 days a week!

I am not considering this a New Year's Resolution.. because I started it before the New Year! :)

I'm Back.. Maybe! :)

Well, it has been a very long time since I last wrote. Life has been very hectic since this past summer. I started the dreaded graduate school! I came up with every excuse not to go, but finally, I gave in to myself! I am working on my master's degree in elementary education. I really wanted to do middle school education, but it just didn't work out because I would have to do student teaching all over again. This is kind of a dilemma because I have to work! So.. elementary education it is!

So.. anyway.. times have been busy. I have moved from 4th grade to 5th grade, so I have had to redo all of my lesson plans for the year. It is almost like starting all over again, except the classroom management comes a lot easier. Luckily I have the most precious class! I have some of the sweetest, funniest students this year, which has been a huge blessing!

There are lots of things that I am looking forward to in the next couple of months:
- the D.A.R.E. graduation for my students
- our Christmas program at Westwood on Dec. 2 (I get to sing in the choir instead of orchestra for this concert!)
- my birthday on Dec. 4
- Operation Christmas Child in Atlanta on Dec. 4-5 with my church
- youth Christmas party on Dec. 16
- getting together with my sweet friends, Chandra, Laura, Lulu, and Erin for Christmas time
- visiting with my family for about 5 days for Thanksgiving
- going to Gulf Shores with Lance's family for Christmas
- finishing up with this semester's grad school on Dec. 6


Phew! That seems really busy, but November and December are usually crazy anyway!

Hopefully I can get this blog updated more readily!

Weddings

Weddings, weddings, weddings. The past month of my weekend life has been surrounded by weddings. I am worn out; although I love weddings. It is so much fun to see what the bridesmaids are wearing, what color flowers are picked, the music, and of course the food at the wedding!

My favorite part is when the bride is first walking down the aisle, and the groom sees her for the first time. Two of the weddings I attended had all of the pictures taken before the wedding started. This means that he saw her before she walked down the aisle. Now, I know tha tmost of them do it so that the pictures don't take so long after the wedding. Still, my favorite part (the part that almost always makes me cry) is when he sees her coming down the aisle for the first time. There is something special about that moment. I usually take my eye off of the bride and look at the groom.

Another moment that I love is when they are saying their vows and looking directly into each others eyes. This moment is so sweet, and you can really tell that they mean it. (Or at least, they're good actors!)

What is your favorite thing about weddings?

Far too long

It has been far, far, far too long since I last posted. Needless to say, I've been busy.

School has ended for me, which is a bittersweet time. I will be moving on up to fifth grade next year and cannot wait to see what adventures will occur with this new group of teachers! :) One of my dearest friends is moving to Texas in a month, and I will miss seeing her lovely face each school day.

I have started my graduate school at UAB this summer. As of right now, it is not as difficult as I had originally thought it would be.. but I probably just messed myself up by saying that. Dear Heavenly Father.. please pretend that you didn't read that last statement! :)

Summer plans:
Graduate school (3 classes)
Two week long workshop on teaching math in July
Beach Retreat with the youth at church!!!
Gatlinburg with Lance's family for the 4th of July
Possible beach trip later in the summer
Another workshop for 3 days in June
Being a bridesmaid in Julie's wedding in two weeks
Cheering Lance on in Todd's wedding in one week
Getting my classroom ready for the fall
And this isn't a summer plan, but going to Chicago in September to go see U2!!

Well, this post was not very insightful to my heart and soul, but it will at least give you and idea of what I'll be up to.

What is the best thing that you are doing this summer?

Much love,
Katie