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.

:)

Take Two

Wow, another week has flown by.  This week summarized in one word: Positive.

The stress level that came with the first week of the second semester at college went down a few levels. :)

Purple Day!

On Sunday, Candace came into my room while I was in the closet getting ready for church.  When I came out, I looked at her outfit and it was almost the exact same to mine.   Purple sweater, black belt at the waist, black/grey skirt, Purple leg warmers/tights, and black shoes.  It was crazy!

We also had a birthday party for Alison and and Pricella. Yay for birthdays. :D

Lastly, I got another roommate! Monett.  She's from Mexico, and I love learning new things from her!  (It's also fun teaching her new things, too.) :)

We have fun car rides. ;)

Last Wednesday a few of us went to a food show at Sysco. Uh-mazing.  There were literally 3 whole rooms full of different foods and samples.  Unfortunately, I made the mistake of eating lunch that day before we left, so I wasn't *as* hungry as I could have been. Oh well. I'm sure there will be more food shows to come.  :)

Other good things that happened?
-I talked to a few of my friends from home.  I honestly don't know what I would do without them, and I can't *wait* to see them over Spring break.
-Christine made potstickers yesterday to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They were super delicious!
-I spent a lot of time with Jesus. :)

Well, that was last week (and part of this week).  I'm off to my devos, then my nutrition course.
That's all for now!

Crazy Love

I started reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. SO powerful.  I would *highly* recommend it if you haven't yet read it.  It talks about God's crazy, unconditional, all-powerful love for us and His desire to have a passionate and deep relationship with us.

Today I read a chapter about the lukewarm Christian.  He was talking about how in Luke 8, Jesus spoke in parables so that the people who weren't legitimately listening wouldn't get it.  God hates people who fake it, and He hates lukewarmness...He says we can either be for Him or against Him--there's no in-between.

The Chapter gives a long list of signs of a lukewarm Christian.  It was super convicting to me, personally.


"Lukewarm people ask,

• ‘How far can I go before it’s considered a sin?’ instead of ‘How can I keep myself pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?’
• ‘How much do I have to give?’ instead of ‘How much can I give?’
• ‘How much time should I spend praying and reading my Bible?’ instead of ‘I wish I didn’t have to go to work, so I could sit here and read longer!’"

Basically, I realized there were a lot of areas where I was being a Lukewarm Christian.  For example, giving to others freely, without thinking "I sure hope God repays me for this soon", or "I can't afford to give that much".  I've caught myself thinking those thoughts so many times.  It really comes down to this: Am I willing to give God EVERYTHING, and trust Him completely to meet my needs? or am I only going to give 50%?  God's not interested in half-heartedness.  He says that uncommitted faith and half-heartedness are completely useless to Him.
 
All this to say, It really made me think about what my whole goal is in life, and whether I was serving God with my whole heart, or just being an average lukewarm Christian.

If you haven't read this book.....seriously, it is amazing.