Toe Heads!!!

This is the family of 4 (2 boys and 2 girls) that I get to babysit on wed. and fridays. They are one of my favorite parts of the week. They are pretty stinkin' cute and they love horses, legos, wallE the movie, and going to the library (and sports of course). I LoVe Them! Happy Thanksgiving.

Movin' and Groovin'

I must say these past few weeks have been a whirlwind of work, work and more work. I am working at lululemon and feel so blessed to get to work in such a positive environment that seeks to help inspire others to be the best they can be. I got to spend an extended weekend with my parents and sister working on Liz and Dave's new house and having good quality family time. It has been a lot of fun and now I am back to the grind working and growing in this new post college time of life. I am sitting here with Mr. Henry (a little boy I babysit on wednesday mornings) as he builds a block barn for his horsies and enjoying every minute of it. He is a little toe head and cannot fully formulate sentances so lots of thoughts come out in phases like.."Katie, help build tower, or I don't know do this!" He is pretty cute. So there you have it, working hard, groovin' to the beat of life down here in Southern Cal. Oh and p.s. it was 90 degrees all weekend and bad fires have been making lots of ash. I am ready for some rain and cold fall weather(never thought I would say that after living in Seattle)! Oh and my little newphew dog Kuma is my favorite akita dog ever. 

I have a place to live!

Yay I have a little place to live...I LOVE IT. I love my roommate, I love having a place to lay my head at night that is my own, I love my wood floors, I love my clean bathroom and kitchen (which are NOT termite or cockroach infested, PRAISE THE LORD!) I have a porch with a pumpkin I intend to carve and a sweet (to me) guard dog/doberman pincher that stays in my back yard (owners dog that is our home security system).  I have some house pictures on my camera that I am too lazy to get up and go find...so I will post them later. Here are some pics from the summer in NY. 

It's been a while

I found a place to live!!! Yay. My roommate Laura and I found a little back house/cottage in Culver City. It is newly renovated, small, but all I need. I can plant a vegetable garden, there are parks on every corner with lots of families and benches to sit at for book reading. Its in a neighborhood and for those of you who know me well, you know that I am a family girl so it is fun to live in a place where kids play and houses line the tree lined streets:) I will post pictures when I get my camera unpacked from boxes. I have been living for free this summer and it was such a blessing with all the moving around I have done, however, I am ready to not be living out of a couple suitcases anymore. Incidentally, living having only a select amount of items to choose from has really shown me how little I really do need. I have hardly missed any of my things in storage which is a good and bad thing:) My sister and brother in-law are in the process of finishing the final paperwork for their very own house. They have been so patient through the process and I am happy, no overjoyed for them...they finally get to have a door to their bedroom separating them from the living room! I am loving my new job at lululemon and feel spoiled to have my first job out of college be such a positive situation. More to come when I move into my new place. I promise there will be some pictures!!!

O.M.G.

Yes, I just wrote the text/AIM lingo as the title for this post....I guess it is sort of apart of my generation though I feel like I am a little old to be using this lingo. WHATEVER! OMG Lizzy's little puppy Kuma is so stinkin' cute. I cuddled with him last night and smooshed his little polar bear face to my face and he just looked at me like "I know you think this is fun so I will pretend with you that I like it." He is a little/big dog. His paws are gigantic, he has a muscular back and he runs around, tries to shake or move suddenly and flops to the ground. He do not quite have all the motor skills yet. LOVE LOVE LOVE him. This morning when I got up and was making my couch bed, I threw a sheet on top of him, with that he ran in circles and flopped to the ground in dismay so I scooped him up and carried him around like a little stork package. I think he loves his auntie:)

Living by faith

"So then, just as you recieved Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." -Colossians 2:6-7

Some days I want to scream at the top of my lungs I love this life, other times I want to yell cuss words and stomp on the ground because I cannot figure out why life is so stinkin' hard. Then I am reminded that there is so much more to this life then me. I know that I have a God who loves and cares for me and my stuff, but I also know that how I feel or what situations may look like around me are rarely if ever indicators of the truth. I feel overwhelmed, I feel like a crazy mess, I get afraid, I cry (a lot, but that's just what I do!), I feel ten emotions at one time and you know what Katie Jane...that is ok. There is no fixing I need to do to finally be ok. I am exactly who I am and who God created me to be, yes there is stuff to learn and always growing, but I am acceptable, who I am today is beautiful, adequate and pretty GREAT to be honest. As my mom and dad often told me growing up, "it's all good!" Yeah, I know, but sometimes I hate hearing that and really don't feel that way. God is good.  P.S. that is my lovely sister who knows how to push the right buttons in my life and make me laugh amidst the storms of life<3

Cannon Beach 2008

I come to THIS PARTICULAR part of the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon coast to breathe. Every year I get the privilege of spending a week at the Windwistle cabin in Cannon Beach, OR with all my sisters...i.e. my mama and my aunt mommy, her daughters (my cousin-sisters) and my sister. It never ceases to be a time of fresh air amidst the craziness of life and I am forever grateful to my grandma Mamie who started the tradition 23 years ago. So, this week of my life is something I look forward to each year and figure every possible way to get myself there when the time comes again. I come to the sea to breathe...to fall asleep to the sound of waves pounding against the beach, to sit by the big fire place and read a good book as the fire crackles ("everyone go grab five pieces of wood"), to go for early morning walks on the beach, and to drink good coffee (for me a chai tea or hot chocolate). But most importantly I go to Cannon Beach to re-connect with family and touch base with my roots. I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!