wait for the rain.

Mongo Stanley.

2011-01-16T22:47:00.001-08:00

October 1, 2010, I was sitting in my bed pouring myself over adoptapet.com, petsmart, petfinder.com, and every animal shelter from Vancouver BC to Vancouver, WA. I went to the NOAH adoption page (you know, Noah? It's the really pretty lodge-like animal shelter on the side of the freeway in Stanwood), and saw that they had a beagle-lab mix puppy. There was no picture, but they said he was 23 pounds and darn cute. I called them immediately, asked if he was available, and proceeded to jump in the car to start my journey.

I walked up to the counter and asked to see "Forrest." Someone had just looked at him though, and the receptionist said she didn't know if he was still available for adoption (Insert my heart beginning to break). As you already know, though, this story ends well. That family said they were going to come back the next day (suckers!) to make their final decision. I was led into his room, and saw this little cutie. This picture was taken about five minutes after I decided to adopt him. And if I believe in love at first sight, it's only because of my initial encounter with Mongo.

I walked in, immediately began to exclaim that "I love him already!" repeatedly. I took him on a walk, played with him in the yard, and hugged him and kissed him like crazy.

I took him home six days later after they had him fixed.

He's annoying, he sometimes poops in my house, and he is afraid of walking over railroad tracks, heating vents, and windshield wipers. But this face?? Ahh, this face. Too much cuteness.

Thus, the story of Mongo Stanley Robinson, and how he came into my life.

Outside the snow is falling...

2010-12-08T10:34:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-10-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

8.26.10

2010-08-28T21:11:00.001-07:00

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

-Dustin Hill, August 26, 2010

blessed.

2010-08-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

"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?

2010-08-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-07-24T20:12:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-06-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-04-23T19:15:00.001-07:00

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.

2010-03-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

"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.

2010-02-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-02-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-02-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

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

New Years

2009-12-31T20:08:00.000-08:00

2009:

Fabulous year. Another year at Western, new friends, new adventures. I traveled multiple times to New York, went backpacking through five European countries (Italy, France, Ireland, Scotland, England), and also recently made a trip to the Oregon Coast. Most of my time was spent in Bellingham though and I'm happy about that. I've got a new nephew and a huge family that lives here. I am blessed for sure. I continued to lead worship at my church, Hillcrest Chapel, and decided to start leading a Bible study for college women. I've grown a lot this year, and while I've certainly had a significant amount of failures (think Behavioral Neuroscience), it's been mostly uphill. And recently in my prayer times, I've been able to confidently tell the Lord that I'm content. My worship pastor and friend wrote a song called "Home" and one of the lyrics is "Whether to the right or to the left, you'll say 'Go and serve this is the way.' I'll follow you today." That right there seems to be my life motto right now, and I'm loving it. All in all, 2009 was great.

2010:

I'm looking forward to becoming a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) this next quarter. I'm taking the class at Bellingham Tech, while taking Biology at Western and a nutrition class online through Bellevue Community College. It's going to be a weird quarter, but it'll be good to get more pre-reqs finished. Hopefully I'll be making more trips, nothing quite as crazy in '09, but Hawaii, more trips to Oregon, and New York are all in store. Oh wait- kidding. I forgot. I'm going to Tuscany in June to nanny, and also to Nantucket. :) I'll be applying to Nursing schools soon, and I'm thrilled. I'll continue my Bible study and also leading worship.

Resolutions:

Last year I chose three Fruits of the Spirit to work on. They were kindness, goodness and self control. It was amazing to see God working in me in these areas. I've been thinking and praying about which three to choose for this year, and patience is certainly going to be the first one. I'm not sure which other two I'm going to choose, but I'm still thinking and praying. I love seeing the opportunities God puts in front of me. When I prayed for kindness, I found myself in situations that I had to be choose to be kind.

So for now, patience. More to come.

Connecting the Dots

2009-12-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

My mom came up to me yesterday and told me that lots of people have been asking her what I'm doing. "Is she moving to New York?" "Is she going back to live in Europe?" "Nursing? Not nursing?" Apparently my life is confusing to people. If that's the case, read on! I'm going to connect some dots, cross some t's, dot the i's. :)

New York: As most of you probably know, I nanny for a wonderful family in New York from time to time. Since I've been able to go out there so much, I've gotten to know the cities surrounding their town of Mt. Kisco and have totally fallen in love with the whole state. I am seriously considering moving to NY either next Fall or the Fall after. I want to go to Pace University, but am applying to a few other schools around their home in Mt. Kisco as well. The Kleins have graciously offered to let me live with them if need be. (They are incredible.) So, that's New York for ya. Hopefully I'll end up there for at least two years. If I go to New York, I fully and completely plan on moving back here.

Europe: I went backpacking in Europe for a month this past Spring, and discovered that I LOVE European countries and would love to live there for awhile. Right now this isn't really an option, unless I put off school for awhile. (Not going to happen though.) It's a dream. I would love to make cappuccinos, read books, speak Italian and eat fresh pasta and do nothing else for a year. Unfortunately, for many reasons this isn't a real possibility. Boo adulthood.

Why Leave Bellingham?: I'm at Western, but WWU does not have a nursing school- which is d-u-m-b dumb. I'm applying to Whatcom as well as a few other in state schools in order to complete my RN. It's possible that I might stay here, but I'm applying to lots of other places too.

So- that should probably wrap up any confusion about my life. Right now I have three more classes to take before I can enter nursing school. (Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology I and II.) If I can finish these by Summer, that would be sweet and hopefully I can apply to nursing school earlier. WWU doesn't offer A&P II in the Summer though. Whatcom maybe? Once again. We'll see.

Phew. That's a lot of me talking about what could be. For now, I'm trying to ace classes and work so I can make enough money to eventually move to Europe. ;)

For the love of Starbucks.

2009-12-18T14:47:00.001-08:00

I visited Starbucks this morning for a hot cup o' joe. I broke away from my usual drink and decided to just go with a tall drip. (Pike Place Blend.) Yum. Look how cute this cup is? Love it.

The purpose of this post is to tell you that I spilt my coffee on my lap a record THREE times. THREE!! That is just ridiculous.

and also that:

A.) I love the red cups.

and

B.) I will finally give into being called the "Tornado" by my adoring parents. I suppose the shoe really does fit in this case.

Ore-Gone

2009-12-15T14:20:00.000-08:00

White sand?? Yes please!

I have found the recipe for a great mini-vacation. It includes the following:

-Rock climbing

-A beach

-Flying a kite

-Climbing up to the top of a lighthouse

-Fresh fish and chips overlooking the harbor

-Car games

-oh... and laughing till you cry.

I went to Oregon for a few days to visit my friend Dustin. He recently moved to Salem, so the day after my finals were over, I went to go visit him! We had such a blast. We drove to Portland for rock climbing at this great bouldering gym called The Circuit. I'm embarrassed to say that my shoulders are still a little sore. What a blast though. Then the next day, we gassed up his car and drove to the Oregon Coast. We went to Newport beach. It was gorgeous, and much warmer than we anticipated it being. (Warmer = about 40 degrees.)

This is right next to the lighthouse, overlooking the ocean.

Possibly my favorite picture of all time- we went to the tide pools below the lighthouse.

Dustin looks like he's six.

Here's the lighthouse. It wasn't that fabulous of a view, to be honest, but the tour guides made up for it. (I had to keep myself from looking at Dustin because I knew if I did I would burst out in laughter.)

When we first pulled into the beach.

We had super yummy fish and chips overlooking the harbor, we climbed to the top of a working lighthouse, and attempted to fly a kite that we purchased. There was literally NO wind. I forced Dustin to try and fly it though, because I figured that we bought this stupid little octopus kite, and therefore we are going to at least try. You know? So Dustin just started sprinting around the beach yelling "Katy! It's working! It's working!" I was trying to take pictures but had tears streaming down my face from laughing.

Dustin and our octopus.

Down on the beach.

All in all, it was a super fun little vacation. Neither of us had been to the Oregon coast in years, so it was fun for both of us. And it was also nice to take a break and just have fun after weeks of sitting in that stinkin' Western library.

Nursing, Nursing, Nursing!

2009-11-28T16:51:00.000-08:00

I just registered for the Certified Nursing Assistant program at BTC for Winter quarter. Excuse the short post, but I am so, so, so excited!

New Plans: The College Update

2009-11-18T09:32:00.000-08:00

This might not be a super interesting post, but it's all about my newest plans for schooling. As you all (probably) know, I'm going to school for Nursing. I'm not in a nursing program yet, and Western does not offer a program which is a huge bummer. So I've been looking into schools that I can transfer to.

Here is the new and improved list:

West Coast:

University of Washington

Northwest University

Seattle University

Seattle Pacific University

Whatcom Community College (don't really want to go here, but I'm applying anyways)

Biola University

East Coast:

New York University

Pace University

Cochran School of Nursing

Westchester Community College (Also don't want to go here, mainly because I would only receive my Associates degree, and I really want to graduate with a bachelors.)

So. That's the list thus far. Some of these schools are incredibly expensive. NYU? Like 45,000 buckaroos a year. Yeah right. So if I end up deciding to go to some of these schools, I'm hoping for some prayer partners to make it happen.

My new MacBook

2009-11-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

It's sleek, shiny, thin, awhh. Beautiful. I somewhat impulsively purchased a new MacBook this past week, and I love, love, love it! Reese likes it because of the Photo Booth application. Last night she and I took about 75 pictures on it. I'd like to share the highlights. There are a couple cute ones, but there are some disastrous ones too... Reese just looks so funny in them!

A Perfect Afternoon

2009-11-06T14:32:00.001-08:00

Let me paint you a picture. I would ask you to close your eyes in order to see it better, but for obvious reasons, that won't quite work.

I am currently sitting inside the Woods Coffee in downtown Bellingham, typing on my beautiful new MacBook. I'm wearing a summer dress with cute black stockings underneath, and a long sweater over top. I have a scarf on, too, and my trusty "jingle flats," as I lovingly refer to them, are on my feet. I'm drinking a warm nonfat vanilla latte that is in a for-here mug. (Much better than the to-go cups. I'm working on slowing down, remember?) Oh. And one more thing. John Mayer is singing "Gravity" in my ears and I love it. Now, right here, in this moment. I am content. Oh so very content.

Contentment seems to be this crazy, radical idea that is always just out of my reach. I love my life, and I always have. I'm happy, and I feel like I always have been. But contentment just seems to never be approachable. But awhhh let me tell you. Today, I have discovered it. I've been thinking about Paul, and how he says "I have learned to be content in every situation." I love The Message version:

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."

Okay. How beautiful is that?! Love it.

So. Right now, I'm content. And man oh man, am I loving it.

This kind of has to do with this post, but not really.

These kids are the lights of my life.

These kids just bless my life so much. So much joy. So innocent. They add to my joy for life.

Be Still.

2009-11-03T19:25:00.001-08:00

"Be still and know that I am God."
-Psalm 46:10

Be still.

Quit the worrying, quiet your heart, and just be still. Stop talking and over-thinking. Just. Be. Still. Take a breath and listen.

And know that I am God.

The Prince of Peace. The Solid Rock. The Good Shepherd. The Creator of All Things. The Alpha and Omega. The Beginning and End. The One who was, and is, and is to come. The Lord Almighty. Maker of Heaven and Earth.

"Be still, and know that I am God."

New York: When Tino Came to Visit

2009-09-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have about a million pictures of my family in New York; Sorry, I should specify. Not my family, per se, but they've pretty much become it. All those pictures are on my second camera though, and I have yet to upload them to my computer. That blog post will come another day.

For now, I have pictures from my point and shoot, which are pretty much only of me and Tino from when he came to visit! We had so much fun. The first full day he was in town, the two of us went on a 25 mile bike trip. What a blast. It was gorgeous out, and we really loved being able to catch up after missing each other for 3.5 weeks. While it was sunny and beautiful for the first 19 miles, we hit a major rain/thunder/lightning storm on the 2oth. At this point, we were crossing a bridge over one of the reservoirs. I gotta say though, we embraced it. We were laughing and enjoying the rain. It was dumping, and in a matter of seconds, we were completely soaked. Oh well. We got good pictures.Can you tell? We are completed drenched.

Besides the bike ride, we went into the city twice. Once in the daytime for like 7 hours, and then later in the week at night. (Left around 5, had dinner, walked around Cental Park for a couple hours...) Very fun. And we spent lots and lots of time with the Kleins. It was a lovely trip.

We played frisbee in Central Park.... And I was wearing my new cute Target dress! Woohoo!

2009-09-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

I have this problem. I don't have a husband or any cute kids to blog about (which really isn't a problem at all, come to think of it...). But this makes me wonder what interesting things I could possibly write about. Most of the blogs I read are either cute little families or amazing superwomen-type folk like the Pioneer Woman. And you know something? I just don't fit into either of these categories. Therefore, it's been two months since I've blogged anything which is just pathetic. So here I am. Back in action.

Today was my first day back at Western. I walked through the Arboretum to get to school, and from my house it only took 12 minutes! This is exciting news. I walked it four times today, and am thankful that I got to enjoy some peace and quiet in between classes. I used my morning walk as a prayer walk, and prayed specifically for my sister and her munchkins. (It's Reese's 3rd birthday tomorrow, so she was on my mind.) I also took time to thank my Jesus for my generous parents who are blessing me with the gift of an education at Western.

...Then I started to think about what I am thankful for. It wasn't hard to make a list...

I am thankful. I am thankful for the beautiful colors of the leaves and trees. I am thankful for the view of the Bay on my walk to class. I am thankful for my friends- faces that I haven't seen in months, lining the fountain in Red Square. I am thankful for freedom. I can make my own decisions. I am thankful for the gift of relationships. I am thankful that I get to serve at my church. And tonight, tonight I am thankful that I have a constant friend in Jesus. I may not get to see Jesus in skin form, but I see him everyday. I saw him at my worship night tonight. Friends gathered in a basement to sing praises to our God; to pray for one another and for our campus. I saw Jesus in Tino. He blesses me everyday and spreads Jesus' love. I heard Jesus in my mom's words today. She looks out for me. She cares for me. She wants me to succeed in all areas of my life. Today, I am thankful. I am thankful that the people around me spread the love of Jesus. These people really are the hands and feet of Jesus.

I just had a little baby Bible study over the phone with T. We read some of what Paul spoke to Timothy. "Flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness..." So, as I begin my Fall quarter at Western, I plan to pursue righteousness. I plan to pursue godliness, and to live a life of life. A life that is truly life.

I'm inspired by the Word of God, and I'm ready to fight the good fight of the faith on my campus.

Peace

2009-07-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Currently I'm in New York nannying for the Klein family for a month.

Let me put you in my shoes:
At this exact moment, I'm listening to four adorable monkeys talk about their spy operations. Apparently, they are all from different places around the world. (ie. Jordan is from Sydney, Australia and is currently working on perfecting his Australian accent. William is from the UK- London to be exact, and Paul, after hearing William say he was from the UK, informed me he was from the SK.) Go figure.

Look at that graph that Jordan made! He informed me that our economy is in trouble and we need to "stimulate it if we want to make things happen."

Here is William working at "the office."

Paul and Isabelle at the mini picnic table in the back yard.

All in all, life is great over here and I am really enjoying the kiddos. :)

And in other news...

Tino is coming to visit!!!
He is flying out here on August 20th and I am so excited! Can't wait to see him again.

More to come later. I hear a screaming child.

Raspberry Picking!

2009-07-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

Tino and I went raspberry picking a week or so ago and had so much fun- the raspberries out at Boxx Berry Farms were gigantic. Like, huge. Seriously. We made a delicious cobbler and it was so good that we decided to go out picking with some friends and make it again.

We went with our buddies Chris and Linden. The berries weren't quite as big this time around, but still delicious and the cobbler didn't fail us.

We plan to become professional bakers by the end of the summer.
Chris and Tino shared a cabin at Royal Family and have become good friends.

Linden and Chris! So cute.

England

2009-07-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots from England, as promised!

This was definitely one of my favorite stops while we were in London. My favorite movie of all time is Notting Hill. My mom and I have probably watched it 30 times, and we still laugh and cry at all the same spots. Anyways, Hugh Grant's character, William Thacker, owns The Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill. THIS IS IT! It's the real one! I peaked inside (it was closed) and everything is the same. There is a small wooden desk in the corner where he had his cash register etc. etc. Matt couldn't quite understand why I was so enthralled with this store, or why we had to take a 30 minute Tube ride out to Notting Hill just so I could see some bookstore, but he went and happily took pictures for me.
Here is Matt in front of Center Court at Wimbledon. We were nearing the end of our long day in London but knew we wanted to get out to see Wimbledon, so we arrived here around 8:30. It was great to see the courts! We couldn't go in, but we took lots of pictures outside the gates.
Big Ben!
This is in Southampton. Matt and my oldest cousin, Ian, went to a tank museum for the day while I hung out with Mark and Holly. (Mark is 23(?) and Holly is 11.) We went out to the beach and saw the Isle of Wight. It was a great day! I didn't want to go to a tank museum, that's for sure, but Matt and Ian had so much fun!

From left to right: Ian, Katy, Fred, Mark.
This is in their house in Southampton. It was great to spend time with them- they are such great people, and I'm sure I've said this before but they were so good to us! We want them to come visit us soon!

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-03T00:19:00.000-07:00

Matt and I arrived home last Tuesday after a good rest of our trip. We wrote a post in England, but for some reason it didn't post nor did it save! Bummer, I know.

We had an incredible trip! England was amazing, mainly because we got to know my family. It was fun to share stories and to enjoy their company. My family was nothing but welcoming and loving towards us, and I can't wait to go back to visit! All my pictures are unorganized on my computer, so posting any pictures would prove to be a nightmare right now. We had a great time though, and I really appreciate all of you following this blog! Though I won't be posting much more about Europe (I'll organize my pictures tomorrow and put up some from England), continue to read this blog so I can update you on my busy life!

Hope everyone is doing well. I'm feeling particularly blessed tonight. The Lord's love is so rich, so perfect, so refreshnig.

Hello from Scotland! -Matt

2009-06-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Me Kilt and Katy at the Edinburgh Castle, ignore the elvis hair, it was really windy!

Kilt and Katy overlooking Edinburgh
A couple hundred years later....

At the Roslyn chapel

(this is the castle I found in Dublin, it was pretty cool)

Yep you read right, Im actually blogging again! Its been a great great time in Scotland with Nick and Im loving it here. It was great to see him again not to mention Edinburgh is absolutely beautiful! We have seen a good amount, my favorite is just the countryside itself. Everywhere you go its giant green rolling hills spotted with white sheep. Unfortunately it is true, Katy did lose her camera the other night but we still have not lost hope. To be positive, we still have all of my pictures (many of which are very similar) and Katy still has her first memory card, which has about her first 800 pictures or so. But its still a real bummer. The first day we arrived in Edinburgh we hung out with Kilt, and then got to meet a couple of his friends and watched some rugby, then went out to a couple of really neat bars. The first was called the Standing Order and it was originally a bank so the inside was amazing and it was a really beautiful building. The second was called Opal and it was really cool as well. It was a real good time. Tuesday was definitely the day of rest we needed. Slept great, Katy had been off and on with a cold, and now I have it was well. Luckily its just been a little bit of a runny nose, nothing that is affecting our trip at all. We still managed to get out to town and look for Katy's camera. We checked both The Standing Order, and Opal but didn't have any luck at either. We then got some great Italian dinner and some desert which was amazing and headed home to relax back at the house. Then Kilt and I took a drive for about 80 miles through the countryside. Katy wasn't feel so hot so she stayed home and relaxed. We drove all through the middle of nowhere in the countryside, blasted music and caught up, it was a great time. Then today we got up around 11! We couldnt believe we slept that much! I woke up with a cat on one side of my head, a dog on the other side of my head, another cat on my chest, and another one on the couch next to my bed. Im starting to get the feeling they like me. But we got up and got going right away. We first went to Roslyn Chapel, then to the Edinburgh Castle which was so awesome! There was so much to see! The Crown Jewels, the names of all the Scottish soldiers lost in WWI and WWII. It was really something to see. Then we had some great Chinese Buffet! Kilt and I ate until we were sick, we then had to sprint 3 blocks for the bus so by the time we got on we were feeling it! We then came back to the house and have been relaxing ever since! Its been awesome to see Kilt and meet his family. Were taking a train down to London tomorrow evening at 5:30. Should be exciting!

Because I know some of you LOVE to pray...

2009-06-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Umm I lost my camera last night. There are only two places I think it can be, and then just the short distance that we walked in between them. I called both places today, and neither has seen my camera. :( I also called the Edinburgh police station and wasn't able to get through, but I'll try again. (They have a lost property number you can call.) I'm just really frustrated. I never forget things, and I'm always super, super careful with my camera. At this point it's not even so much the camera as it is all the pictures that are on it.

So please pray that it'll show up. I'm worried that someone took it and isn't going to return it. I don't know. Please just do me a favor and pray that it turns up. Thank you, thank you.

Matt's Turn

2009-06-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

This is in Dublins St. Stevens Green

Alright alright Im blogging again. Been a while but the trip is good. Everything has been great so far and Im having as good as a time as katy. I am having a little bit of withdrawl from the sports world, its starting to really take a toll on me. You never realize how much you take sportscenter for granted until you get to Europe. Getting to Dublin was a little stressful but since then everything has been great. Met some really great people from a lot of different places, seen a lot too. Dublin is cool because I dont feel like we are going from Church to church and museum to museum and all that jazz. There are only a couple real sights to see here, but other than that its just hanging out and enjoying the everyday beauty and atsmosphere of the area and the people here. The people here are the nicest of any place I have ever been to, better than the States, better than Bellingham. I have never met happier and nicer people in my life. The parks are awesome, the shopping is really cool here, they have entire districts simply dedicated to Pub Bars and Clubs, another section with just shopping and stuff like that, none of which have any cars running through them. Makes it really fun and really nice to just stroll around and see all the cool stuff. Im loving it here. Its a really fun place to come and stay. I think Katy has covered all the other basics on what we have been doing, but as far as Im concerned its fantastic and hope the trip finishes out just the way it has been so far...great!

Evan: Wakeboard and jet ski soon yes?
Harry: See you soon, blazing sattles night when I get home.
Mom: Never missed home cooking more in my life...
Lizzy: Keep watching Thomas the tank engine while im gone, make me proud
French movie being shot at Versallies

New shirt

Finally in Dublin!

2009-06-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Its Katy, but Matt will be posting something in a sec. He is on the phone with Lauren right now. :)

Here we are walking around beautiful Dublin at night! This is us in the Temple Bar district- right outside our hostel.
So, we had some awful delays when we were trying to leave Paris. Our flight was canceled due to an Air Traffic Control strike, so we had to stay an extra night in Paris. This isn't quite as lovely as it sounds- we were sitting at this random bus station for 2 hours, trying to make a plan, and then didn't get back to our hostel until late that night. We were up at 5 the next morning, got on a metro and the shuttle bus and were out at the airport by 7:15. We had to sit there until 1:20 when we were put on a flight. We were worried RyanAir wouldn't compensate us, and that was what was so frustrating. Its a long, detailed story which involves me crying in a phone station and Matt devising plans as to how he planned on giving RyanAir a piece of his mind. We were not happy.

Oh well. We're here now and we LOVE it!! We've made new friends again, for wonderful girls from England, and we are going to visit them on our trip from Edinburgh to London! We can't wait. We went out with them last night and had an absolute ball. Today we went to the Guinness Storehouse and sampled a pint of Guinness at the top of the building that overlooks all of Dublin. It was so fun, and really interesting. There was a lot of history that we were able to walk through, and we learned all about how they brew their beer and why its so special. :) I still don't like the taste of beer, but I've got to say, the 7 or 8 sips that I actually took were pretty good! We also walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral and yesterday made a trip to St. Stephen's Green, Trinity College and walked through the shopping district. There was tons of live music and lots of entertainment!

Here is the something something Christchurch church. (Sorry about the redundancy there...)

Yes! The Guinness factory. It was so cool to walk through this building! Did you know that Arthur Guinness got a 9000 year lease on the St. James building because he was so confident that his product would be this good??? They are celebrating their 250th year right now. Unreal. haha I was apparently mad at Matt and ripped our map right in half. Oops...

Okay, I think- op, yep, he just walked over. He will write a blog next. :) Love you all, and I can't wait to come home so soon! We're heading to Edinburgh tomorrow.

Miss you all,
cheers,
Katy

Hark! (That was for you, monkey!)

2009-06-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I love Paris.
(So does Matt. I also love blogging- not the same for him.)

Okay, here we go...

Yay! We made friends! We met two new friends from eastern France in the train station the other night, and they had just missed their train and needed a place to sleep for the night. They have been away in Sweden for ten months and were trying to get home. We walked them over to our hostel, and they asked if we would like to go out with them for the night. There names are Emily and William, and they were so much fun! So the four of us, plus Netty and Henry (our roommates from Texas) and another friend from Paris, Thomas, went out on a late night adventure. We left our hostel at 11 at night and walked around Paris for a few hours! We had so much fun!! We laughed so hard and also got to see Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower all lit up. We sat on the Pont Neuf (a beautiful bridge overlooking all sorts of gorgeous buildings) and shared stories and adventures. I just realized that I have a new memory card in so I cant show you pictures of us all. Bummer. Sorry.

Today I've been a little under the weather, I started to feel really gross last night and ended up laying in the hostel reading for a few hours while Matt went out. We walked to the pharmacy this morning and got me some meds, so hopefully that'll help out. We had a pretty low key day today because of this, but it has actually turned out to be my favorite day in Paris! The sun finally came out, and we were able to walk around and really enjoy the scenery. Everything is much more beautiful when the canvas behind it is a bright blue sky!

We walked back over to Pont Neuf, and then walked over to the Louvre. We decided not to go inside, but instead walked around the gardens and fountains. It was so gorgeous! Next we walked over to the Arc de Triomphe. This was a few mile walk, but it was really nice in the sun today. Lots of peope were out walking and biking around.

Matt on Pont Neuf.

Us at the Arc de Triomphe.

Yesterday we went out to Versailles, which was amazing. The decoration in there totally blows my mind! The gardens are absolutely stunning, and to see the King and Queen's chambers was really something!

Can you imagine having every single room in your house painted like this?? Yeah. Crazy stuff.

We head out late tonight to Dublin. We have to catch a bus at 8:30 tonight to get to the little airport, and we have a room booked for tonight. :) We are SOO excited!

Hope all is well, here are some prayer requests:
-That I'll start feeling better.
- That our flight will go smoothly. (Apparently these little planes are a little sketchy!)
-That we quickly find our hostel tonight! We're arriving after midnight so we won't have much help getting around.
-That we'll regain some energy. We have both been dragging for the last couple days, and we want to keep going as hard as we have been. We've seen a lot, and definitely want to keep that up.

Thanks everyone, hope Bellingham isn't too lonely without us. :)

Oh! Oh! Oh!
PS. We found our first Starbucks yesterday and it was amazing. I was a very happy girl!

Au revoir!

Bonjour!

2009-06-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! All is well in Paris. I only have a couple minutes so I will make this a quick post! We climbed the Eiffel Tower today and despite freezing temperatures, it was so so wonderful!Its a long way down, and Matt doesnt like heights!!

When it rains in Paris...

2009-06-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

...it pours.

We arrived this afternoon and unfortunately hadn't heard back from Hugo, so we booked a hostel for the night right around the corner from the train station. This is our first time doing a dorm room, but I think it will be alright! We met the girl earlier today, she is a student at the University of Houston. Her and her boyfriend are just ending their three week trip through Eueope. She's really nice and we got along quickly. After a quick bite to eat, we walked to Notre Dame! (It was about a half an hour walk from our hostel.) We walked inside and there was a service going on. There was beautiful singing ringing through the whole building. It was great to be there when a service was going on. We'll head back tomorrow or the next day and walk around some more. There was a lot to see. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the title, it is absoultely pouring down rain. I'm wearing shorts and flip flops and there are droplets of water all over the keyboard right now! Rain is just pouring off of my jacket. Oh well, we're used to it. Since its raining so much, we decided to just hunker down for the night. Matt is across the street at a grocery store picking up our usual. (Diet Coke and iced tea... mmm...) and then we'll head back to the hostel. Here are some pictures!

This one is from our hotel terrace last night in Milan. You can't really tell, but the moon was absolutely brilliant! It was shining down on us and lit up the whole street. We sat out on the terrace with our iPods until late last night, it was great!

Heres a shot from our morning in Venice yesterday before we got on the train to Milan:

And here is today on the walk to Notre Dame.I just realized that this picture is a little awkward. I think I was trying to point to both buildings behind me, but I don't think Matt knew that was what I was going for. Haha

...and heres Matt!Okay. Just kidding. I apparently dont have one of just Matt on my camera... Sorry Matt! But, here we are in front of Notre Dame. :)

Love you all, tomorrow if its nice we are going to the Eiffel Tower. If not, we'll figure something else out!

Attack of the crazy man. Welcome to Milan.

2009-06-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Oh Milan. Here's a good story for you all:

We arrived at the train station this afternoon, and Matt and I walked downstairs to book our tickets for Paris tomorrow. So I tell him to go jump in line, and I proceed to sit on the floor about 25 feet away from him. A man walks up to me and explains that he is homeless and needs some money. His english was really, really hard to understand, but I shook my head and said "No- I'm sorry. Can't help." you know, the usual. So, he keeps talking to me. From my view down on the floor, he looked HUGE towering over me. I'm extremely uncomfortable, and dear Matt is just watching me (probably laughing to himself). I kind of stopped making eye contact with him, hoping that he would just walk away. Two police officers walk up to the man to get him away from me at this point. The guy throws up his hands like "Hey- leave me alone! I'm not breaking the law!" The policemen pull on their black gloves and are gripping their baton things, ready for battle. (Mom, are you laughing yet!?!) Everyone in the ticket line is watching this little episode, and Matt informed me later that the two American girls in line next to him were saying "That poor girl! She's all alone!" Matt goes "Oh no, shes with me." He's so great. Always looking out for me. ;) After a few solid minutes of trying to escort the man out, a third officer walks up and they all walk him out the door. One of the officer winked at me as he walked through the door, and I lifted up my hand to thank him. Great. I officially hate Milan.

It got better though, promise! That was just a little taste of our first 30 minutes in Milan. We found a little hotel a few blocks away from the train station, grabbed some dinner and walked around the city. We get on a train at 8:10 tomorrow morning, and will arrive in Paris around 3 in the afternoon. We're still waiting to hear about our arrangements, but I have faith that it will all work out.

Thanks for following our blog, we love getting comments and hearing from you!

xoxo

Katy

Venice!

2009-06-06T10:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday sucked. Lets be honest. We had a stressful few moments on the train ride over here (I wanted to cry. Matt was fine though, of course) A certain someone was in an awful mood all day, and I was hungry and feeling extremely dirty and gross after using the mens bathroom on our train ride... Translation- I wasnt happy either. Then we got to our extravagant hotel. We're talking five stars, overlooking the canals of Venice. Soooo gorgeous. Welp, wouldn't that have been nice? Our actual home: A cheap little campsite. The first thing I said to Matt was that it looked like a cult site. All the cabins are built the exact same. There are rows and rows of them. Too funny. :) But we're actually really enjoying it! Theres a big swimming pool and restaurant on the campus, along with a tiny supermarket, volleyball courts etc. etc. But basically last night was spent doing this:

Today we walked around Venice for hours. We loved it! Venice is totally our type of city. There were lots of little shops and San Marco was absolutely gorgeous. Oh my word. It's hard to describe the beauty. We had lunch and dinner in the city at a couple little restaurants overlooking the canals, and we enjoyed some live music when we were by San Marco. It was a great day! Its amazing to us that this city is run primarily by use of the water. We took about a million pictures of the flowers, canals, boats and gorgeous churches and old buildings. A day well spent.

We changed our travel plans a bit. Tomorrow instead of going to Geneva, we are going to take a train to Milan. After we spend one night in Milan, we will be going up to Paris where we will (hopefully) stay with a friend of Matt's. Our Paris plans aren't working out anymore, so we are crossing our fingers and praying that this will work. Unfortunately for us, we are still poor college students, so a free place to stay would be just lovely. :)

Oh... I almost forgot. I had the most glorious cappuccino today. The glass was covered in nutella or chocolate or something. I dont know. It sounds like sugar overload, I know, but it was amazing! Then the caffé was poured inside along with five or six real hazelnuts. I had no idea what I was ordering, I just saw the word hazelnut (in Italian) and knew I wanted it. It was amazing. This is a real silly thing to post, I know, but it was heaven. Absolutely wonderful.

(Oh, and dont mind my hair. Matt thought it would be super funny to just not let me know abouot that. Gotta love backpacking and looking like a trainwreck the whole time...) ;)

Okay. We're off. Tonight we are going to hang out with our new friends from Wyoming, and then we are going to pack up and get ready to head out tomorrow. Love you all, miss you so much!

Katy & Matt

2009-06-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

At the top! (Piazza del Michaelangelo looking over all of Florence.)

Here we are on the streets of Florence.

Well, I tried to post two more pictures. The internet keeps cutting out though. Sorry!

Florence.

2009-06-04T07:58:00.001-07:00

Today we spent a good six hours walking around Florence. We saw two of the David statues, walked into the Uffizi gallery, saw the Santa Maria del Fiore and the Duomo and also walked to the top of Florence- the Piazza del Michaelangelo. That was my favorite stop of the day- it was so gorgeous. It looks over all of Florence. And we definitely had a perfect day to be up there. There was bright blue skies and plenty of sun for us! We are tired though. It is sooooo exhausting to walk around all day. But thats okay. We are definitely getting used to it! This felt like our crazy Rome day. We just walked around and popped into whatever we thought was worth seeing. These cathedrals are amazing. You cant focus on the extravagant marble floor designs because you have to look up and see the crazy paintings on the ceilings. But then you have to turn to your right and left to see the statues on the sides! They are gorgeous. Its crazy to think about all the hours that go into building them.
Apparently there are usually three hour lines for the Uffizi, or you have to make reservations, but we stood in a ten minute line and got right in! We have been pretty lucky, dont you think. Oh side note- I cant make an apostrophe, question mark or parenthesis on this stupid keyboard... sorry about that. Its all weird and wont let me make them. Its totally bothering me.

Its also taking forever to load the pictures. I will get on later tonight to post some shots from the day. I need to go buy more minutes for my internet use. Check back in a couple hours to see pictures!

Love you all, Katy

Sad to Leave

2009-06-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Katy here again. We arrived in Florence this afternoon and easily found a GREAT hostel. It is totally aimed towards college aged kids. There are a ton of Americans here so we're enjoying the company! Google "Plus Florence hostel" and something should come up. :) Yesterday we enjoyed the beach like we said we would. It was so nice! This morning we took the train back to Vernazza, our favorite town, and had a quick lunch before getting on our train to Florence. (We got seats this time!) Anyways, there isnt much to post because all we have done in the past 40 hours is relax, but here are some pictures anyways!

Here we are this morning in gorgeous Vernazza!

Yeah, see this view? This is from our roof top terrace at our hostel in Florence!! Gorgeous.

Tear. :( This is us our last night in Levanto.

Okay, we're going to go up to the roof again and hang out with some new friends. Love you all! Tomorrow is our day to tour Florence; we'll see the major sights and hit a flea market for some shopping. Talk to you soon!

Dear Italy: We love you.

2009-06-02T01:54:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone! Katy here. Matt is back at the room showering up before we head to Monterosso for our beach day. Yesterday we completed a loooooooong hike that stretched across all of the five lands of the Cinque Terre. BEAUTIFUL. Parts of it were like walking through the jungle, and other parts were through true Italian countryside: with little bridges and stone pathways high above the sea. I can't even descibe it. Amazing. The hike took most of the day, because we stopped in a couple of the towns for lunch and, you guessed it, more gelato. :) Yummm! We love the town of Vernazza, it's my favorite for sure. There is a little cove with boats docked in it, and there are tons of bright buildings and colorful umbrellas that line the streets. It's exactly what I pictured Italy to look like! (I guess you can just look at the picture and see what I'm talking about.) Parts of the hike were challenging because it was stairs straight up for MILES (okay. exaggeration.) But it sure felt like it! Otherwise, it wasn't a super difficult hike, but it was so rewarding to look at the views!

This is me in Vernazza. This was our first stop on the hike, about two hours into the hike. Here is Matt at a local wine bar. All of their products are made right in the Cinque Terre!

This is us on our hike, looking down on the town below.

We took the train back to Levanto at around 7:30 last night, showered up then bought some pizza and had dinner on the beach. We both plugged into our iPods and nearly fell asleep on the beach for a good 2.5 hours just listening to music after the sun went down. So today we are going to lay on the beach all day. Yes. All day. We have no other plans. Have a good day everyone, love you all!

Here are a couple more pictures from the day before yesterday. We went into the neighboring town of Bonassola for dinner. It was so beautiful!!

Matt and I found out pretty quickly that Katy and tequila don't mix well...

Matt and his pina colada. :) Happy camper.

We love you all!! Miss you!

Italy Update: By Matt :)

2009-05-31T03:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, where to start. Some events of the last couple days are beyond any explnation! It has been an absolutly amazing time since our last blog. So on Friday we did it all. We must have walked at least 10 miles, basically circling rome and hitting all the major sites. We hit the treve fountain, pantheon, as well as many new ruins, all the way to the vatican city and more. We decided to just walk it out rather than take a bus and we had a really good time doing it, although at the end of the day we were absolutly beat. We had a great break down by the river and just sat and looked around at all the beauty around us. We then went back to our part of the city, got Gelato and passed out, we had an early Saturday morning wake up for the train to Cinque Terre. We woke up Saturday morning at 7:01 sharp for our ride up to Cinque Terre. After a quick check out and a cappaucino out of a machine we were on our way to the station. Our train left about 10:00 after a short delay and a great time hanging out in the station. We then got on our train only to find out that It was completely full and our tickets were valid for standing room only! We found some seats for a short time, but were then forced to find another place to go. We set up camp in a stariway entrace to one of the cars. Katy displays our accomadations here:

However with our ipods, and books we made the most of our trip through the beautiful Italy countryside. We eventually found some seat for the last hour of our trip and they were terrific! We then arricved in La Speiza where we had to catch a small connecting local train in order to get to Cinque Terre and monte rosso. For this train we had our own car! and It was a beautiful ride through the 5 lands until we arrived 20 mintues later in monte rosso.It was as beautiful as ever, all the colors combinded with the beach and the ocean cannot be done justice by a postcard. This is where the story gets crazy...Unfortunatly for us, this beautiful place is no secret and it is the Italian independence day this weekend. Everything was full, we tried every hotel in town and it was all packed. So we hopped back on the train over to a little bigger town called Levanto, this place is not as much as a tourist attraction but is just as beautiful if not mroe beautiful than the other 5 towns. We wakled into town with no idea what to expect and things were looking pretty bad. Then Matt randomly saw some people in a drug store and decided to go ask where we could find a place to stay. They all looked him and shook thier heads as everything in town was full as well. One man with dark hair tried to make a quick call to a friend but had no good news. Then another man in the store, who looked to be about 65+ took us on a 20 minute journey all through town to try and find us a palce to stay. He tried 2 friends who both had no rooms available. At the second palce we went, his friend Marco phoned his good friend who was just opening up a bed and breakfast that was not quite open yet but he told Andrea (male) that it must open tonight for us! We then followed the old man to teh other side of town covered in huge houses and beautiful landscapes, we could not believe where he was leading us. We then met Andrea who was a terrific guy who runs this bed and breakfast with his mother and they were both so sweet. He moved us and in and showed us to our beautiful room with our own bathroom and all for a very decent price. He then pointed us where to go for dinner and drinks all around town. We went for a walk on the beach and had a great callzone dinner it a palce of paradise. It was the adventure of a lifetime and we are still going storng!

A picture from the beach in Levanto!

When in Rome...

2009-05-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! We are in beautiful Rome, and we love it! We got off our plane early yesterday morning, hopped on the train and came into the city. We decided to just start walking, with no plan in mind, and it worked! We literally stumbled into St. Mary's and found ourselves staring up at the Sistine Chapel ceiling. It was amazing! We walked all over the city yesterday. We went to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum in the afternoon and made the walk back to our hostel around 4:3o to get ready for bed. We were totally wiped. Hmmm. How to describe our hostel. We left the showers possibly dirtier than when we entered, but it felt nice to cool off in a cold shower. Our neighbors across the courtyard have a very lovely baby with a nice set of lungs. There was a loud knock on our door once we sleeping. I freaked out and made Matt go get the door. Op- no biggie. Just a nice man delivering our breakfast for this morning. :) Matt can sleep through anything, apparently, but I had my ear plugs in and still couldn't get to bed. Everytime someone uses the bathroom, it sounds like Niagra Falls is about to dump itself on our heads. (It's right behind our wall...)

Here I am at the very top of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We don't really know the history behind it, but we know that A.) It's a great workout to get to the top of it and B.) It's an amazing view from up there! This is Matt with the best gelato in the world. Mmm. We're going back tonight. :)

So, so far so good, we love it here but are excited for tomorrow. We are heading out to the Chinque Terre in the morning! Love you all!

New York, New York!!

2009-05-14T08:45:00.001-07:00

I'm sitting at the computer in the Klein's home. (I'm supposed to be finishing up my homework, but I've been at it for at least an hour and I want a break!) I love it here. It's such a fun city to play in. Kleins, if you're reading this, I just love you. For everyone else out there, I love this family. They have become so dear to me over the last five or so years, and I am so blessed by them! It's been so fun to watch the kids grow up, mature, change interests etc. etc. etc. They are toooo cute.

Anyways, I don't have much to say except that I arrived safe and sound to JFK two nights ago, and since then have been relaxing with Jen and Julie (Jen's best friend) and playing with the munchkins. (Oh- I also read another James Patterson book from start to finish in under 24 hours. Shocker, right?)

Okay, back to the homework. Dear Bellingham- I miss you.

All Squared Away

2009-04-20T12:51:00.001-07:00

I just bought all our flights for within Europe.

Paris ------> Dublin

Dublin -----> Edinburgh

At this point we will just take a bus from Edinburgh to London (which will suck... but oh well.)

I'm so excited!

Easter

2009-04-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

He is risen! We celebrated Easter with lots of family. It was perfect.
I led worship at church (and by the way- the sermon was amazing. I sat in both services and learned even more the second time around.) Then we finished up watching the Masters. I still can't believe that Kenny Perry didn't pull out a win, but thats okay. And then we headed over to Jay and Leslie's. I love my family. :)

Uncle Warren, Steve and Terri

Doesn't get much cuter than this!

Me, sister and Kyler!

Me and my "sweet step cousin Devin"

Brother, Katy, Clea, Devin

Hope you all enjoyed your Easter! He is risen!

Baby Kyler

2009-04-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Baby Kyler is finally here and he is just perfect!

Liss' due date was Easter, so he was born two days late. I think that's alright- he was the perfect size at 7 lbs 2 oz, and 20" long when he decided to come out. This morning around 2 AM, Liss' water broke and her contractions were close together and getting stronger. She arrived at the hospital around 4:00. My dad drove out to her house to get her, and then she and my mom went to the hospital. She was already 4 centimeters dilated when she arrived. She received her epidural, much to her satisfaction, soon after she was in her gown and ready to go. Lucky for her, she only pushed for a minute. Maybe two. Then out came Ky, and like I said earlier- He was perfect.

Here is my favorite family around.

Later in the afternoon, after I took Reese Makena home for a nap, we returned to the hospital. Reese wore her new "I'm a Big Sister" shirt that I bought her and looked pretty darn cute.

This movie is a-dor-able. Seriously. It's cute.
Really sorry people, but I have no idea how to flip a video. So either turn your head or turn your laptop. Please and thank you. :) Basically, life is just great. I have a perfectly sweet and charming niece, and now I have a handsome nephew as well. Thanks, Jesus for such incredible blessings.

Welcome to the World!

2009-04-14T13:58:00.000-07:00

Kyler Cruz Robinson

April 14, 2009
8:48 AM

7 lbs, 2 oz.
20" long

Photos to Come! Stay tuned!

Keep praying for baby Kyler, a smooth transition with Reese,
and a quick recovery for Mama Alyssa.

Jesus, Jesus, How I Love Thee

2009-04-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

I love Jesus. Gosh.... Yes. I love him. Every Wednesday I go to a worship night at some friends' house. Anywhere between 15 and 35 of us head into the basement where mismatched carpets line the floor, tea lights flicker (to create ambiance, of course), and a single strand of blue Christmas lights stretch across the ceiling. It's perfect. What I love about it is that there aren't any frills. It's just a dark freezing cold room filled with passionate students ready to worship our creator. A couple friends play guitar and we have an overhead projector so we can all follow along. Are you picturing it? Tonight was a great night. It was a good worship set, which always help, and I could just feel the passion. We sang Amazing Grace, a different version than what most are used to, but I absolutely love it. It is such a powerful song, even though I've heard it about a million times before.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound.
That saved a wretch like me.
Once was lost but now I'm found,
Once was blind but now I see

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

So powerful. What a blessing it is to be able to serve a God who loves us- a God who wants to save us, and wants us to be free. Free from bondage. Free from slavery. Free from being silenced by fear or anything else.

How sweet it is to be in the presence of a God who is compassionate, strong, courageous, gentle, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Be blessed, my friends, and know that wherever you and whatever your story- there is a God who loves you with a love deeper and more unconditional than your mind can even fathom. As I once read, he loves us to the very core of our beings- and that is something I am dwelling on tonight.

Secret Beach & Foil Dinners

2009-03-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

If any of you have ever been to Camp Firwood, you know what I'm talking about. Ahhh the glory of a foil dinner. Bell peppers, potatoes, onions, carrots, and, of course, lots and lots of sausage. Mmmm delicious. I remember being a camper and always wishing (and praying, I'm sure) that my cabin would win the barbeque sauce for our campout. Long story short, tonight we had bbq and it was absolutely fabulous. I made the trek down to Secret Beach with my good friends Dustin and Nat, and then three other friends who staffed at FW with D last summer. We had such a great time. This is me and Dustin down at Secret Beach, which is located off of Chuckanut past Larrabee State Park. This next picture had great potential, but our lovely friend Dustin wanted to join us.Can I just say that Nat added an awful lot of spice to this little trip. He is deathly afraid of heights, and not exactly what one would call "the outdoorsy type." I laughed so hard on the way down the mountain. It's steep. VERY steep. So Nat just looked down in absolute terror and he clawed his way down. For me, it was completely hilarious. Poor guy.

This is Keaton. Yes, he is a stud, and yes, he is holding a disgusting, rotten crab. Sick. He pitched this crab to Dustin and D hit it with his makeshift bat into the water. The poor crab broke into a million pieces.

Overall, the night was great. It was a nice night, no beautiful sunset, but no rain. We had the beach all to ourselves, and it was so good to enjoy the company of friends. The one downside? I smell like campfire. Boo.

i love matt giraud.

2009-03-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've currently listened to Matt Giraud's performance of "Let's Get it On" about fifty times. Gosh I love TiVo. It's fabulous. Every season of American Idol there seem to be three or four songs that I completely love. This is one of them. He's amazing. This is a silly post that I'm sure no one will be too interested in, but considering that there is no one in my house to talk to, I'm letting you all know instead. Cheers. Have a good evening!! :)

No Place Like Home

2009-03-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

After two quarters in the dorm, I moved out. I'm back home with my parents. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I'm not going to Western next quarter. I will be going back in the Fall, but for now, I'm taking online classes and will be working as much as I can to continue saving up money for Europe. I head out to New York on May 11th to work out there for a week and a half or so. It will be great to see the Kleins again, I've missed them! (You can see some pictures of the kiddos in my last photography post- Isabelle and Jordan.) Anyways, currently I'm in my nice cozy bed with my little pup laying next to me. The last few days have consisted of me throwing stuff out, gathering clothes to ship off to consignment stores and Goodwill, and also nailing up pictures. Here is the final product of one corner of my room. It's my favorite bit of the room for sure.
Currently I'm listening to Brandi Carlile. If you don't know who she is... Please do yourself a favor and click here. She's just fabulous. Downpour, My Song and Turpentine are some of my favorites. Definitely give her a go. I doubt you'll regret it.

Photography

2009-03-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

I've decided to put up some pictures up that I've taken over the last year or so. I've totally fallen in love with photography, and I wanted to share some of my favorites. Keep in mind that I'm a nanny 50% of the year, so lots of these pictures are of the kids I work with.

Sunset at Eliza Island

Here is Jon, Jordan and Isabelle
in Argentina

Jordan

Reese- 2 Year Pictures

Cleary STILL an Amateur

2009-03-04T23:49:00.000-08:00

Let's just throw that out there.

Don't judge me for the awful paragraphs that consist of two words per line while posed next to a picture. I'll learn, I promise!

Phew.

2009-03-04T23:16:00.000-08:00

Gosh. It's been a long time since I've done this. I've started about 5 posts since I last published anything, but I never finished them for one reason or another. Well, I guess there's a lot to say! I passed all my classes last quarter, thank the Lord, and am nearing the end of another quarter. It went by quicky! Spanish is again proving to be difficult. I honestly had no idea there could be so many tenses for a language. English and my Social Psychology class are going well, and I've got a good grip on the content.

Here's something exciting- I'm going to Europe for a month this May and June! I'm moving out of the dorms for the Spring quarter and will be taking online classes. (Don't worry- I'm coming back to Western next Fall!) It just makes more sense because I will be in Europe during the academic year. I honestly can't wait! We (me and my good friend Matt) will be going to France, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, England and Scotland. We've got lots and lots of plans! We are staying with Matt's friend in Scotland, my dad's family in England, and then with some of his cousins in Paris. We'll be staying in B&Bs and hostels for the remainder of the trip. Feel free to donate to the Europe-or-Bust fund! Only kidding. (Kind of...) :) I'll talk more about that later. For now, I'll just share some pictures with you from the last couple of months. Here is me and Missy at Boulevard. Missy is one of my very best friends and I'm sure you have all heard me talk about her at one point or another. We went to Arizona in November together and had a blast!

Me and three friends went up to Whistler and stayed in Carly's house for a long weekend. Here are a couple pictures from the trip.

L-O-V-E! Get it?
Max, Carly, Me, Noah

This is Noah, Carly, Max and me up on the ski lift at Whistler! We went for a long weekend and had sooooo much fun! The snow was crummy, but it was amazing weather. It was so great to relax with friends, hot chocolate and hot tubs.

That's all for now, I suppose. I'm off to bed. Spanish quiz in the morning and then a day full of Europe planning. (Rick Steves is my new best friend.) Blessings to you all!

Cheers,
Katy

Finals and Friends

2008-12-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

This is my roommate Rachel and I at the CCF (Campus Christian Fellowship) Christmas party. She is from the Kent/Renton area and is such a great girl! We get along really well.

Today I had my first final for my spanish class. I woke up at 6:45 and walked into class an hour later with three sharpened pencils. :) I think it went well, but, as I told my mom this morning, I learned seven new tenses this quarter. So basically, its very possible that I mixed some of them up. Who knows. I wont know my grade for awhile.

I'm giving myself an hour long break before I start preparing for the long day ahead of me. I'm going to take a half hour nap and I figured I'd write a blog post in the meantime. I have my Chem final at 8 tomorrow and then my psych final at 3:30.

Enough with the finals, though. On Saturday night, I packed five of my friends into the back of Big Blue and we drove around town, stopping at some of my favorite places in Bellingham. We ended the night with spaghetti and fresh salad at my parents' house. Then we watched Elf and just relaxed for the night. We had a great day and it was so good to be able to fully relax for a full day.
The picture to the right shows all of us, from left to right, Mikaela, Carly, Me, Noah, Chris and Becca. They are great people and we had the best time hanging out together!

Time for my nap- I'm heading out!

Life as a college student

2008-12-05T11:41:00.000-08:00

Hey there! So this is my blog. I created this in hopes of being able to stay connected with people. It's hard to find time to update everyone on my life, so hopefully this helps!

Just so everyone is on the same page, although I am still in Bellingham attending Western Washington University, I am actually living in the dorms. What a good decision! I have met so many great people, and I'm having such a fun time. I live in Mathes Hall, which is one of the dorms that looks out over the bay. I'm on the 8th floor which means I have a great view of the bay, downtown Bellingham and the Canadian mountains. I love going to bed at night being able to look at the city all lit up. Its gorgeous! Here's a picture of the view out of my window.

So, while a lot of my time is spent goofing around with friends, I'm studying my tail off in hopes of getting some decent grades this quarter. I'm in a Chemistry class, a 200 level Spanish class, and I'm taking the Psychology of Happiness. (No, thats not a joke!) The first two courses listed have proven to be pretty tough, but I love my psych class and am actually learning a lot of practical ways to increase my happiness!

Currently I am surviving Dead Week. Phew... Glad it's almost over! I have three finals Monday and Tuesday, and then I'm done for a whole month! Carly, one of my best friends at Western, has offered to take me to Whistler with her family for a week over the break.
Should be fun! Wish me luck as I enter into my first finals week as a Viking. I'll need it!

I'll attach some pictures of my new friends, too. Here is me and Carly. The second picture is a group of us with our paintings. We watched an episode of "The Joy of Painting" with Bob Ross last night and finger-painted along with him. Too fun! Well, have a great day and I'll be back soon with updates on how my finals went.