I'm a fan of bike riding. Sunday after church I rode between 25 and 30 miles with a group of other people from church. It was a long ride, but we finally made it. I was sore for like 2 days afterwards, but it was a great workout and totally worth it.

On a random note....Two different friends came up to me and said they didn't think they'd ever seen me in gym shoes...probably because I only wear them for indoor volleyball.

Yes, I actually do need new shoes.

Tomorrow is the last day of week 5 of school. And studying. And procrastinating...mostly procrastinating (Like I'm doing now, for example). I really should be getting to bed...

Pretty much...

I love community college so far. Tuesday was super fun. I went to speech class, all ready to listen to more people give speeches, but when I walked into class, a few of my classmates informed me that class was cancelled. I was borderline disappointed at first, but I ended up having an awesome classmate  bonding time with a few of the other kids there. We decided that it was kind of nice having our professor randomly cancel without warning. :)

That's all for now!

Last week was crazy. Crazy in a good way(I told you some exciting things were going to happen, right?).

To start things off, Christine stayed at my house for her fall break. I've had the privilege of knowing this awesome girl for almost four years now. It was so fun having her stay at my house for a whole week!

We went to Bdubs for 60-cent wings!!

Time goes by SO fast.

Also, my best friend turned 18 last week. She's been my best friend basically since I met her, about nine years ago. Long time, right? I feel so incredibly blessed to have her as a friend.

Happy birthday Jenny!

Thanks for encouraging me, praying for me, laughing with me, and being there for me whenever I needed it. :) I could literally write a book about all of our crazy memories and adventures together.

...Making "secret hideouts" at church...

...Making up numerous nick names for ourselves and signing our letters with them...

...Playing random and crazy games like "Statue maker" and "the Four Kings game" ;)

...Painting our faces green for St. Patty's day...

...Going out for coffee in the morning at Starbucks...

...Making our hair all crazy for new years...

...Shopping at the mall...

...Playing volleyball all summer...

...Walking around and talking for hours...

...Talking on the phone...

...Mixing our tea ;)

...Surprise birthday parties...

...Non-surprise birthday parties...

...Memorizing Psalm 34 (Even if we didn't quite finish)...

...long car rides...

...sleepovers...

...Fourth of July skits...

...Singing a duet...

...Sitting through long sermons, lectures, and conferences...

...Passing notes during math lessons...

...Inside jokes...

...Pranking...

...Our super-long "secret" handshake...

...Christmas caroling...

...Instant messaging...

...Sending letters and postcards...

...Sharing music...

...Watching movies...

...Pulling all-nighters...

...Dressing up as fairies...

...Accidentally calling someone while we're on the phone ;)

...Writing Classes...

...Matching dresses for church...

...Grocery shopping...

...Crying for (almost) no reason...

...Praying...

...Baking and cooking...

...Trying each other's cooking creations ;) (Chocolate-chip hummus and homemade cough drops--Yep, we're brave)

...Laughing so hard that our abs get a good workout ;)

...And so much more. Love you Jenny!

Well, that's all for now.

Peace. :)

Classes at Waubonsee have officially started. So far, I love it!

Here's the crazy part.....I'm only taking two classes, and in each class there is someone I know from outside of class, and we didn't even plan it. Not only that, but both of these people happen to be friends of mine whom I've known for 12+ years! Isn't it awesome how God works these things out?

I ran into so many people that I knew when I was walking to and from class. Small world, right? :)
Both of my professors are super nice and understanding. I'm going to have a great year.

So that was last week. Work is finally slowing down, giving me more time for school(not much). So far so great. I got this. ;)

Today is a special day. My *almost* brother would have been twelve(Wow, I feel so old).

Life is precious.

I'm really excited about this week and the next. My first speech and first test of the year will be "under my belt"...Annd there are a few more exciting things happening, which you'll hear about later. ;)

Love you all!

Summer is almost over. The strange thing is, I'm actually a little excited about starting school again next week. I'm excited about learning again. :) Working less will be nice too.

Monday I went to Waubonsee to see where my classes are for this semester.
Tuesday through today....working.

Okay, I'm not a big oatmeal person, but one morning I made some baked blueberry oatmeal, and it was actually really tasty. You should try it!

Oh! And I hung out with Levi, one last time before he leaves for college. :( I'm gonna miss him! (Forgot to take pictures...ugh.)

I played volleyball with church friends tonight. There was another group of people there that we challenged to a game. They weren't half bad. :)

Yep, this week has been good so far. Life is beautiful. 

Compassion, Anyone?

This morning I got up pretty early (for a Saturday) and made "Breakfast grilled cheese"with Jenn.  It consisted of two pieces of french toast and a yummy cream-cheese/powdered sugar mixture with blueberries. It was super tasty. :)

I started a devo book a few days ago that is REALLY good so far. It's a book for girls and I would highly recommend it to any of you ladies out there in need of a good book for your morning devos. :)

Today's "character" was "Compassion". What hit me the hardest was that Jesus had an insanely busy life, ministering to and healing people everywhere. He was so famous that *everyone* who was sick or demon possessed was coming to him (And I thought I had a busy schedule). Yet, He had compassion towards all of them. One thing I realized while I was reading this chapter was that Jesus could have just healed everyone all at once if He wanted. He could have just spoken one word and instantly healed everyone, but He chose to minister to people individually. That's pretty awesome. If I had the capability to speak one word and have all of my jobs/chores/tasks for the day done, I certainly would have a hard time resisting. Jesus is so awesome. :)

Anyway, thats my thoughts on today. I had more to say but I'm running out of time.Thanks for listening. Love you all. :)

Tubing, Cooling and Moo-ing. :)

I believe a post has been in order for quite some time now....

Updates? Yes. My parents came back safely from CA.

July 4th--Annual church picnic. I *almost* got our whole family(thats right. Mom and Dad included) to dye our hair blue. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures....my bad.

July 5-9th--Annual church camping trip! I think it's safe to say most of us would consider it the highlight of the whole year. It's hard to sum up the whole trip in a few sentences...

• We did a lot of boating, swimming, and volleyball. 
• All of the girls had a movie night, and afterwards we slept under the stars by a campfire that the guys had kept going while we were watching the movie. 
• We had church in an old (I mean, OLD) chapel boxcar. It was by far the coolest service I've ever gone to. :) Dr. Fred gave a really good message, and because there were so few of us it was actually interactive. Sam and I sat in the front. It was awesome.
• Sam, Jenn, Emma and I made cookies on the last night. They were delicious!

That's all of the exciting things I can remember at the moment...although really the whole trip was exciting. :) Oh, I forgot my memory card so I couldn't take any pics...these are Sam's.

Moving along, after camping was over, we had a day to relax and then...more volleyball! :D 

Yep, volleyball two days in a row actually. I know, we're intense.

Soo that brings me to today. Cow Appreciation Day! 

Dress up as a cow and get free chicken at Chick-Fil-A. 

This week was pretty awesome. 'Nuff said. XD

Six Flags!

Four more days have gone by. One week left without parental units. =/

Saturday and Sunday were full of relaxation and work. On Sunday we played volleyball, went out to eat, and then went home to prepare for Six Flags the next day. I was up past 2. :(

We had a crazy-amazing time at Six Flags. Candace, Leah, Natalia and I went on about nine rides throughout the whole day.  We had to stand in a few super long lines, which actually gave us a great chance to talk and catch up with each other. :)

Natalia and I during lunch (:

During the evening, Leah and I were in line for Panda Express when a random girl came up to us and asked which ride we liked better between Raging Bull or the new X-Flight. We had to say Raging Bull, although X-Flight was a close second. So, if you're going to Great America for the first time, make sure to put Raging Bull on your list of rides to go on before you leave. ;D

The four of us spent the night at Leah's house Monday night. We were SO tired. In fact, I still feel like I need to catch up on sleep from the past few nights. 

All in all, we had a blast. It was super cool to see these people again. :) 

That's all for now!

Why Hello, Summer. :)

My parents left two days ago for California. My dad is delivering stuff for a conference there, and my mom decided to go with him. Know what that means? Thats right. Jenn, Joe and I have the house to ourselves for almost two whole weeks. :)

So far so great. Thursday was the first day. We went to the mall with Sam and Jenny to shop for swim suits (With only 1 1/2 hours to shop....needless to say, we didn't have nearly enough time to find what we were looking for) before heading out to Naperville for some soccer and volleyball.

Floppy hats <3

The next day(Friday) we hit up the Studio Movie Grill in Wheaton with Will, Sam and Grant. Our friend Abby got some tickets for us, so we decided to use them together. It was a super fun experience. :)

Afterwards, we went to Friday Frisbee and then to the Storms' to hang out, as usual. 

Sam and I felt the need to try on some ridiculous hats and take pictures. ;)

Ah, yes. Summer is here. Honestly, there's nowhere I'd rather spend it than right here, at home, with my family and church friends (who are also basically family). Even though the month is almost over, it still feels like summer has just begun. It's flying by so fast. 

Well, two days down, eleven more to go before my parents get back. They'll get back just in time for the 4th of July (which is always *tons* of fun and filled with so many traditions), and then we leave for our annual church camping trip on the 5th. 

Hope you've enjoyed my little update on what's goin' on! :)

Home Sweet Home.

I got home from college last Saturday night. My life has been so crazy lately; in fact, I still have about five THOUSAND boxes to unpack (Okay, maybe not quite that many, but you get the idea). On the brighter side of the spectrum, I now have 36 college credits, which means I'm officially a college sophomore. =D By God's grace, I was able to survive my first year of college! I don't know whether I'm more excited or anxious at this point...after all, they say that life only gets harder as the years go by. =/

I said goodbye to all of my friends from college, just in case I don't go back next year(which is all in God's hands at this point). I met some super awesome people, who helped me grow so much. I'm gonna miss them for sure.

Ben (a.k.a Butters)! He was like a little brother to me... I'm gonna miss him!

Candace! We were getting ready to be waitresses for the banquet (:

Christine(: I'm gonna miss our hall sleepovers. ;)

Sunday was pretty fun. We went swimming at my Uncle Rocco's house and I got a nice tan(just kidding)! After that, Jenn and I went to see the Hunger Games. I must say, it was pretty good...and since I'd read the book, I wasn't as lost as I would have been.

On Monday we went over to some friends' house for a church picnic. I hung out with Jenny all day. :D
Yesterday I went over to Jenny's house, talked it up for a few hours, and then did her hair for the WSHSB banquet that evening. I must say, I'm rather pleased with how it turned out. :)

I got home and made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and a tomato/mozzarella salad. Not to mention iced sweet tea! It was super delicious.

Today I'm finally tackling all of the boxes from college.

....One down. I call that progress. :)

On the agenda for this week? (Much needed) Volleyball and more volleyball, job search, college course/class planning...and relaxation. Should be awesome.

That's all for now!

Spring Break Happenings

I got back from spring break a few days ago. Let me tell you, it went by SO fast...so much for getting a lot of school done while I was home. =P

The first few days were pretty chill. I watched a few movies with Jenn, played volleyball in the freezing cold weather(on the way back from Indianapolis we watched the weather get 30 degrees colder), *sort of* studied, and slept in. :)

On Thursday we went over to my great-aunt's house where we got to see some of our second cousins that we hadn't seen in awhile. That was cool.

Friday=long awaited Chicago trip. We visited Millenium park, Navy Pier, a random library, and of course, we did a TON of walking. :)

Saturday we played some awesome sand volleyball. 'Nuff said.
Sunday=Easter and saying goodbye to church friends.

Andrew and Landon drove Pricella, Konner and me back to school since they needed to be in Indianapolis anyway for a few coffee meetings(which we all ended up going to anyway, making the total trip about 13 hours). We had a super fun day. Thanks guys!

Konner, Pricella and Heidi rockin the backseat (:

The faithful drivers!

...I was all lonely in the middle seat! hehe

Well, there you have it! My spring break in a nutshell. Now to tackle Biology, College Algebra, and Natural Sciences? Heh...I got this. ;)

Here's a cool verse I found today:

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12

Do I have to think of a title?

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. So much for my once-a-week posting plan. =P

To start things off, let me tell you something amazing that happened to me last week: I passed an English Literature CLEP test (worth 6 college credits).  Okay, I know it doesn't sound that amazing...but for me, it totally was.  Why? Well, lets just say literature was not my strong point. The test had lots of analyzing in it, which is *definitely* not my area of expertise.

Anyway....I started studying for it about a month before I tested, but didn't really get much done the first three weeks due to a trip home, and a 2-week Graphic Design class.  Okay, so I had basically a week to study all of the basics of English Literature that I supposedly learned in high school(of course, I didn't remember any of it).

I took two practice tests, and failed them both...by a lot.  By Thursday, the day before I wad supposed to test, I had studied everything I could think of that was a main deal in English Literature. I still didn't have a good practice test score, but I told my Program Advisor that I really wanted to just take it since I had already studied so hard, but I wanted a few more days to study.  The next testing day was Tuesday.  I studied super hard till then(mostly cementing everything I had already learned).  A few of my friends had study-sessions with me, and everyone was super encouraging.

Well, Tuesday finally rolled around, and I had a 3-hour class that morning that had nothing to do with English Literature.  Candace and Leah spontaneously came into class with Starbucks for me and a few other special girls. :)

So, after praying with several people, I went in to test.

I had a super weird feeling....I still felt anxious because I had no idea whether or not I would pass or not, but at the same time, God gave me a peace through the whole thing.  I knew I had studied everything I could, and I had to leave the rest up to Him.

Finally, after an hour and a half of answering questions(I had just barely enough time to get through all of the questions without having to skip any), it was over.  I passed, and by a pretty good amount, too! :D

All that to say...I think that was God's way of saying, "Trust me Katie, I got this."

:)

Last weekend was super awesome.
I got to go home and visit my family and friends!  It was only for a few days, but it was totally the highlight of my week(besides passing English Lit, of course. ;)).

Jenn and I had a movie night on Saturday! Sam, Sarah and Sophia came over and watched Leapyear with us(Right in between Leap day and St. Patricks Day! How appropriate is that?).  It was super fun to have dinner, watch a movie and then play a few games with a few of my Illinois friends. :)

On Sunday I went to church and surprised more friends, went to Joe's soccer game, then to a church open house to top it off.

Oh, yes, and a spontaneous photoshoot with Jenn to practice my photoshopping skills that I learned during Graphic Design.

Well, there you have it, everything (or at least all of the major things that I can think of at the moment)that happened in the past month. :)

TTFN!

Home Sweet Home...(:

Alrighty, Peeps! Time for another weekly update! Last week in one word: Chill.

On Saturday, I rode back to IL with Candace to surprise Jenn for her birthday.  We watched the superbowl, ate lots of good food, watched movies...you know...chill stuff. :)

I love long car rides with friends. (:

On Monday, I came home from Candace's house to surprise Jenn for her birthday.  I must say, she was totally surprised! She didn't suspect a thing, even though everyone knew about my plans to come up for weeks.  

Tuesday was Jenn's bday!  We went to the mall with Jenny, tried on some awesome hats, and bought a few things. :)

Wednesday=Movie night with my girls, Sam and Jenny! (Joe joined in a little while later too for some games;))

Friday we celebrated Jenn and Andrew's birthdays by going laser-tagging with the groupsters. It was TONS of fun.  Happy birthday again, Andrew and Jenn!

The next morning(Saturday), I went out with my best friend Jenny for coffee.  We had a great time chatting one last time before my break was over. :)

Annnd finally, to continue this birthday celebration, we all went to Andrew's house later for a game night(because one day is NOT enough time to say "happy birthday" to these totally awesome people)!

All this to say, last week went by WAY too fast.  It felt like two days.  I love all of my friends n family from IL! <3

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY JENN!

Today is a very special day.  It is Jenns 18th birthday!  I love this girl to death!!!

Why?  Let me just paint this picture for you...

37 Reasons why I love Jenn:

1. She loves Jesus. :)
2. She's a beast volleyball player.
3. She's smart and intelligent.
4. She knows how to keep a secret.
5. She's a great friend.
6. She knows how to encourage me and always makes me feel better when I'm upset.
7. She's the best roommate ever.
8. She makes me laugh.
9. She makes inside jokes with me and laughs when no one else thinks it's funny. XP
10. She lets me do her hair.
11. I can go to movies with her.
12. She stays up late talking to me.
13. She lets me borrow her clothes! 
14. Her style is awesome.
15. She's really pretty.
16. I can go shopping with her.
17. She can read my mind.
18. She knows what my tastes are better than anyone else I know.
19. She knows what makes me happy, and what makes me mad.
20. She loves playing with little kids.
21. She's always there for support.
22. She surprises me.
23. She never gives up.
24. She studies hard.
25. When I am sick, she comes in my room and gets me stuff. (Medicine, food, laptop--whatever. ;P)
26. She wakes up and talks to me when I'm sad for some reason in the middle of the night.
27. She plays "Who would you rather" and other such games with me at night. ;)
28. I can talk to her about ANYTHING.
29. She always likes my cooking! :)
30. She sings with me.
31. She's determined.
32. She gives great fashion advice.
33. She watches TV shows with me.
34. We give each other hand-me-downs.
35. My favorite Christmas/bday presents always come from her.
36. She understands me.
37. We always have fun together.

A few favorite memories...

On our way to the church camping trip!

baking cookies with Kayla and Rachelle!

Crazy hair for the new year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENN!!!!!



So, thanks to my dear friend Candace, I got to come up to see her for her birthday. :D

Candace and I drove up Saturday, and yesterday my mom picked me up and we went out to eat with the grandparents to celebrate.

Today, Jenn and I went to the mall with Jenny. :D  We got to spend some time there, found a few cute things, tried on some crazy hats...

*Jenn and I as we are walking out of the mall*: "we shoulda bought those hats....."

After we got home, we watched Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with popcorn (which I seasoned with salt, pepper and a lemon-herb seasoning)!

Oh yeah, and I made cake balls. :) They were pretty good.

That's all for now.  Just thought you all should know how awesome of a sister I have. =D

A wonderful day... (:

I can't describe the past week an a half in one word, so I'm not even gonna try. (Trust me, that's probably a good thing.)

Yesterday was a pretty good day.  Lets see...

I woke up early. (7:15. half an hour to get ready for chapel. I'm starting to wonder if it's even possible for me to get used to getting up that early.  I think not. =/)

Chapel. 

I read a few chapters for a book discussion group:

Super good book about time management, and prioritizing...something I will honestly say I'm pretty bad at.  Anyway, the chapter I read today was on how we need to make make sure we put our focus on what's THE best thing for us to do, and not just something we *really* want to do.  That's one thing I'm trying to work on.  I have a habit of procrastinating on the things I need to do the most, and then to make myself feel better about it, I do something else instead that is still important, but just not as much.  A little voice inside me says, "Well, [this] needs to be done too, so at least I'm not wasting my time..."
Yeah. Still working on getting better at that. ;P

Anyway...back to my day...

Symposium was good.  Candace, Alison and Victor gave great speeches. :)  I'm due for a speech sometime in March.  I'm trying to think of a good topic to speak on.  (Ideas??)

Dinner was totes delish.  GREEK night!  Gyros, waffle fries, an amazing greek salad, and baklava for dessert.  (Don't worry, I didn't know what it was either) :)  I went out with Janet, Lindsay, Butters, Steven, Abby and Josh to DQ for ice cream...haha, I definitely think I'm gaining the freshman 15. =P

And LASTLY........I got back and talked to my BESTIE on the phone!  Highlight of my whole day.
Can I just say I am so blessed with the friends I have?  They're always there to encourage me, pray for me, and just talk about whatever with me :).  All this to say, last night Jenny and I had a super uplifting conversation that I really needed.

I love her!

Yep, that was a pretty good night.

:)