Outside the snow is falling...

How totally great is this shot? The kiddos were playing in the snow a couple weeks ago and I looked out the window to see Leyton (5) peeing in the snow. Hilar.

I'm thinking of framing it for them for Christmas. It's just too fabulous to not share!!

Relax, Take it Easy!

Fall is so delicious and cozy and warm, isn't it?

Delicious = My 1 pump pumpkin, 1 pump toffee nut extra foamy latte.

Cozy = My new black cable knit sweater that is totally divine.

Warm = The sweet little fireplace in my home.

And here's one from the archives...

My new pup Mongo(!), who needs to be introduced to the blogosphere, loves running around in the leaves that are starting to accumulate in our yard. He pounces on them as they fall to the ground and gets startled when the bounce back up again. It's adorable. But more on Mongo Stanley later... :)

Italy in Photos

8.26.10

"Thank you for being born so that I could love you."

-Dustin Hill, August 26, 2010

blessed.

bellingham. gorgeous, friendly, green and uniquely bellingham. it's a city all it's own.
a.) work --> hours --> money for bills. b.) i actually like my job. and who wouldn't? they're adorable.
dustin dean hill. inspiring, encouraging, faithful, loving and sweeter than sweet.
mom and dad. they love each other, and they have for 31 years.
these are my cousins. i love family.
double wammy. wonderful, inspiring friends like Sarita, and a fab-u-lous trip to Mexico.

See? I'm blessed.

New York, New York!

"Start spreading the news,
I'm leaving today.
I want to be a part of it,
New York, New York!"

Love ya, Frank.

Well, the secret is out. I'm moving to New York in January. I bought my one way ticket a couple days ago and I'm heading out. I won't be gone long though, I'm thinking about coming home to Bellingham in June. Sooo six monthsish? Not too bad. But I feel like everyone and their mother is wondering about what this plan is all about, so this will hopefully clear it all up.

As most of you know, I have had the privelage of nannying for a great family in New York. This is the same family I've traveled with, most recently this past June and July to Italy. I love them dearly, and they treat me like gold. They are so wonderful, and I really value my relationships with all of them. Over the past couple years, Jen and I have talked about me moving out to NY. They have offered me their home, and said I am welcome to stay with them as long as I want! This summer I started seriously thinking about it, and I spent the Italy trip in prayer. I feel very confident in my choice to move to New York, and I'm really excited about it! There is no other time in my life that I can just pick up and move, so I'm going for it!

Now, I am well aware that I am dating a handsome man who lives on the West coast, and I am also well aware that New York is quite far from the little town of Sheridan, OR where he resides.I also know that both he and I are less than millionaires, so traveling back and forth will be minimal. BUT, I know that we have something pretty darn special going on, and we're really confident that we'll be just fine. (Think Skype. Lots and lots of Skype.) He has been nothing but encouraging about the whole thing. Of course we're both totally bummed about spending so much time apart, but six months isn't that long in the grand scheme of things.

In New York, I plan on doing some babysitting on the side for friends of theirs, most of whom I have already met many times over the past few years. I may also apply at the Starbucks in their town. I'm going to have to take one more class over in Westchester, so I'll get that done winter quarter. Other than that, I'll just be taking it one day at a time.

I love them.

Me and Jenny Bug in Rome.

See? We love each other.

Baby sister.

(:

Anyways, I'm thrilled to bits to be heading out and chasing this little dream of mine. Prayers are welcomed and encouraged.

You know what's funny?

I just read the blog post I wrote from the first time I visited Dustin. We weren't dating yet, and that weekend was actually relatively awkward... I had a lot of "Does he like me? Does he not? Oh my gosh- he touched my hand!" types of conversations with myself. Yet of course, I wrote about it in my blog as if it was the perfect weekend, and while it was fun, it was no where near as fun as our weekends are now.

Here's what went down last weekend:

Friday:

1:35 PM: Leave Sehome Starbucks and get on road.

1:36 PM: See a hitch hiker on the side of the freeway, realize I recognize her, pick her up.

3:23 PM: Drop her off (after some very good and much needed conversations), and begin my drive from Darrington, WA to Salem, OR.

*** As you may notice, the drive with her took me nearly an extra hour and a half, which was fine, but then that put me on a very poorly timed route..

4:19-8:27 PM: Sit. In. Traffic.

10:21 PM: Finally arrived in Salem. My legs hurt from constantly putting the clutch in and out, and my back was tied up in a huge knot.

10:22 PM: Hug Dustin and decide I never want to let go.

Saturday:

8:39 AM: Dustin knocks on my door as I'm blow drying hair. He delivers me my horrendously long Starbucks drink. I fall in love with him again.

10:01 AM: Drive to Roger's Landing and get picked up in a boat by one of his friends. Spend the next five hours tubing, wakeboarding, and roasting hot dogs in the sunshine.

6:13 PM: Go on a bike ride down to the river, just the two of us, and pick delicious blackberries. Laugh till I can't breathe any longer. He lifts me up to get the high berries and I laugh and kick and tears and mascara slide down my cheeks.

8:31 PM: Ride our bikes over to a big, empty field. Watch the sun set and spend some time thanking the Lord for each other, our relationship and the beautiful world we live in. Perfect way to end my evening.

Sunday:

9:27 AM: Walk into church, cross our fingers that Logan Martin is leading worship.

9:29 AM: Discover he's not leading today. Sigh. I guess we'll stay anyway.

10:47 AM- 1:27 PM: Coffee, lunch, antique stores. Check, check, check.

2:01 PM: Put chairs in the river that Dustin lives on, and soak our feet in the cool water.

2:02 PM: Dustin thinks it would be real funny to splash me.

2:03 PM: Dustin begins the attack.

2:03-2:09 PM: Drench each other with cold river water, laugh like a five year old. (See a theme here?)

3:14 PM: Pick more blackberries, eat more blackberries... Mmmm...

5:11 PM: Get on the road. :( Sad goodbyes.

Sigh. We had so much fun. Really, it was fun. We laughed and played for two full days and it was glorious! I miss that little fire-fighting man of mine. Can't wait to see him again!

Sunshine Through My Window.

It's a beautiful Bellingham day.

It started with a visit to The Fern Gully to see my sweet friend Ashley. I like starting out my day with laughs and smiles.

Then I went to my parents' to clean/unpack/re-pack that darn bedroom.

I came to my humble abode (which, by the way, is very humble indeed), and promptly fell asleep. Whoops. I'm cleaning up and re-organizing and have spent the last hour and a half looking at cute re-decorating/diy blogs. Check out this one or this one to see what I'm talking about. The second one is less cutesy, but I totally adore her eye for finding inexpensive items... Like what she did for her husband's small nightstand issue? Genius!

I'm going to post pictures of my new place later this evening. While it is teensy-teensy-tiny, and I think my old American Girl Doll had more space to live in, it's adorable and it's home and I love it!

There really isn't much sense in spending cash to decorate it any differently, because who knows where the wind will blow me in the future. (Well, I know, but it's for me to know and you to find out.) Sigh. If only, if only.

For now, here is this little glimmer of sunshine.

Oooh I love him. I do, I do, I do.

Italia.

Hello friends!

I'm back in Italy, and all is well. Sunshiney skies, wild flowers, bruschetta for every meal, vino (lots and lots of vino), and lots of fun with Jen and the kids. I'm having a great time, and am so happy to be back in this gorgeous country.

I've tried to put up pictures, but the connection is just too slow. I'll try again and maybe we'll get lucky!

We arrived in Rome on Friday, and after a quick jaunt around the city (Think Colosseum, Vatican City and Roman Forum), we all crashed for a nap like sardines in my hotel bed. Jen, Isabelle (8), Jordan (9), and I had some good food the first day, but were more tired than anything after not sleeping. Jen and I didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane, but the kids each slept 2 or 3 hours. Saturday, we drove out to Tuscany and found our villa right before sunset. It is to die for! It's a huge terracota villa that sits up high above miles of wild flowers and wheat fields. A quick walk through our backyard leads to the beach and the Mediteranean Sea. Not a bad view, huh? It's been incredibly relaxing. The kids have the beach to play on or the little pool off our back patio. They've been happy, and thus I've been happy. :)

I love this family, and I'm loving being here with them. I wish I could post pictures- its just too slow!

Miss you all- I'll try and post pictures another time. :)

Life Lately.

Life lately:

1.) Trek to class Monday through Friday.

2.) Worked anywhere from 25-35 hours a week.

3.) Planned a trip to Mexico with the ever lovely Sarita Falcon(!).

3b.) Riviera Maya- May 18- May 24. Can't. Hardly. Wait.

4.) Talked to Dustin about how much we hate not seeing each other and discuss other things like, but not limited to, firefighting, roommates, the weather (I like the rain, he does not.), Jesus, families, school, hopes, dreams... You know, the usual.

5.) Looked at pictures of me and Dustin. It's pathetic, but I swear I look at my photo library at least 4 times a day. We only Skype a couple times a week, so sometimes I forget what he looks like. (kidding.)

6.) Listened to Pandora- JJ Heller site. Amazing.

7.) Consumed lots and lots of Trader Joe's sweet corn and green peas.

8.) Played soccer, strained my groin. Not so fun.

8b.) Iced my leg.

I have cleverly bolded all of the actual activities for your convenience.

School. Work. Dustin. Music. Mexico. Oh, right. Groin.

Me and D a couple times ago that we saw each other. A month ago? Yes.

Oh! I'm helping my friend Tonia out by making her brochure for her business, Fit Adventure. She is a personal trainer and also offers small group fitness classes. We went up to Galbraith and went mountain biking. I love this picture of her. ("Get Out. Get Fit." is her tagline.)

This is up at the top of Oyster Dome.

My foot is falling asleep. That's all.

"So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover's life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God."

-Philippians 1:9-11, The Message

Baby Goats, Cleaning Closets, CNA.

Here's to a random blog post about the last month of my life!

First off, these are pictures from our day in Seattle the weekend after Valentines Day.

I fed baby goats in Oregon with Dustin. I know I shared pictures earlier, but I have more. They were seriously the cutest little creatures ever!

As soon as I got home from Oregon, I started my CNA program (Certified Nursing Assistant). Really though. I got home at like 11:15 in the morning and was in class by noon. The first two weeks was all lecture. Every day for 6.5 hours we'd meet at BTC and learn about exciting things like infectious diseases and not-so-exciting things like how to clean dentures. Awesome. The first two weeks were busy, but I did really well with the theory portion so that was exciting.

The second two weeks were spent in the clinical phase of the class. Every day from 2:00 to 10:30 at night, we'd go to Mt. Baker Care Center and work with the residents. We were assigned a partner and 4 patients that we would take care of for the day. This was tiring. Holy smokes. Basically the process was checking to make sure the patients were "clean and dry," changing if necessary, then getting them ready for dinner. We'd help feed them dinner if they needed it, give bed baths or showers, clean them up a few more times, and get them ready for bed. Some of the patients were really great to talk to, and some not so much. But for the most part, it was an encouraging experience. I grabbed an application and I'll, hopefully, be working there soon. It always felt good when a patient would remember me or be thankful for the work I was putting in. Others would just mutter profanities at me, claw at me, try to slap me... You know.

This is a picture of my clinical group at our celebration slash victory dinner. :)

It was probably entertaining for Dustin and my Mom, because I usually called them during my break. My part of the conversation was either "I just hate this place. It's horrible. I just had to do ______ and it was awful, and in the meanwhile I got yelled at by this person. It's terrible and I want to cry." or it was more like this: "I really love being here. I was helping out with this lady and it was super encouraging to talk to her. I love being able to help and take care of these people, I know this is what I was made for!"

Anyways. Crazy month, glad it's over, but it was nice.

it's a good life.

This sucker hasn't been updated in awhile. I'm also pretty sure that 4 out of every 5 posts begins with that statement, or one like it.

Here are some pictures from the last little while:

OH! First off, let me explain a little something. My blog title, "Wait for the Rain," comes from one of my very favorite songs. It's called "Colorless" by Logan Martin. He opened for Shawn McDonald at a concert I was at 4 or 5 years ago, and I just fell in love with him. His voice is amazing. Powerful lyrics, rich harmonies, the lot. It's great.

So, I told Dustin about this Logan Martin fellow awhile ago, and all of the sudden, everything clicked! Logan Martin, too, lives in Salem! (I remember this from reading the insert in his CD.)

Long story short, Daniel, one of D's roommates, is pretty good friends with Logan. So the last time I was in Salem, we arranged to meet up with him! Woo hoo! (Boyfriend and Daniel = 2 points each.)

So fun! (And I got a cute new jacket at Nordy's.) :)

D came up for Valentine's Day weekend, and we had a really good time. We had dinner with Derrick and Kathy (and Eli) on Saturday night, and spent Valentines Day at church, out kayaking on the lake, and then had lunch with the Hills. Then he left at 5 PM and I spent the night sulking. Kidding, it wasn't that horrible, but I'm not so good with the good byes. This is a particularly dweeby picture of us- an insane amount of squinting and big, puffy, orange life jackets. But oh well. We're relatively cute most of the time.

There. That's a decent update. Now I've got to get my scrubs on and get ready for another round of clinicals.

I'm exhausted. I left Salem this morning at 6:03 AM and arrived home in Bellingham with my gas light on at 11:13. Despite it being early in the morning and me being sad about leaving, and also the fact that it's a five hour drive, there were highlights.

-I got to see the sunrise over Portland and it was gorgeous.

-I had the most wonderful-perfectly-hitting-the-spot latte from a Starbucks in Tumwater.

-I listened to the CD Dustin made me about 97 times.

-I had a great prayer time. Solitude is kind of nice sometimes because it gives me a chance to slow down and just talk to God. Thank him for the blessings, ask for grace and forgiveness, think about all the beautiful ways he shows himself to me... Peaceful, isn't it?

Okay. Apparently there were only four highlights, but that's good enough.

I had to go straight to class after a quick shower and proceeded to sit in a 6.5 hour lecture. That's right, six. and. a. half.

I haven't posted in forever, but I wanted to put up just a couple pictures from the weekend. I'll blog about the actual weekend (not just the car ride) another day this week. :)

We fed baby goats and they were the most precious little things ever!

Okay, that's all for now. It's 9:52 and I am going to bed. Tomorrow comes early.

Helping Haiti

Hi friends,
I hope this note finds you well. I am writing in regards of a new mission I am on. Recently I have began working with Childcare Worldwide as an ambassador. My job is to find sponsorships for children who have either been orphaned or whose parents can not support them. My heart is breaking even now as I watch CNN and am hearing about this terrible situation in Haiti. Thousands and thousands of children are in desperate need of our help.

I have been supporting a little girl in Uganda for three years now, and have been so blessed by it!

The cost is $35- a month, and it is such an easy way to get these children what they need. Childcare Worldwide ensures that they are well fed, have clothes on their backs, and also receive all items necessary to go to school. Kids are taught in schools until they either go to college or begin an apprenticeship program. It is our hope that children can start breaking the cycle of poverty if they have an education. If you have any more questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Childcare sponsors children in Haiti along with other third world countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, and right now, I can assure you that there are thousands more orphans who need your help.

If you decide that you want to join me in this endeavor, we can meet together and I will give you pictures and information on different children.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Blessings,
Katy