beauty.

I live on a game reserve at the foothills of three mountains. It is by far the most beautiful place I’ve ever lived. I hate even admitting this at the risk of seeming ungrateful; but there are days where it feels normal. Days where it doesn’t awe me when I’m outside and see the most amazing sunset through the gap between two mountains, or mornings where I’m running as the sun is rising and I hardly give it a second look.

But then, there are days like today. Days where I am speechless and utterly amazed at what my backyard contains. Days where I wish I knew more about rocks and how they are formed. Days where I could sit on top of a mountain and stare out in to the distance for hours, just taking in the beauty of creation. So thankful for the Creator.

just look up.

Allan: do you ever get sick of Africa?

Jody: have you seen the stars?

well said, jodes, well said.

a good day.

today was a lazy day. one i’ve been looking forward to all week. although i had plenty i could (and probably should have) done. instead i got to spend a large part of the day with a good friend. it was good.

friends

I’m just going to throw it out there. I have some of the most amazing friends anyone could ever ask for. I knew this, but I just keep getting reminded over and over again. People that put up with an ocean between us, often unreliable internet, dropped phone calls and a 6 hour time difference.

And tonight I’m so excited because one of my favorite people in the world booked her plane ticket to come out here (or down here??). Granted, it’s still over 5 months away, but I can hardly contain my excitement.

Okay, I’m off to bed. [I'm pretty sure I'm going to fall asleep with a smile on my face tonight.]

saturday.

Yesterday was a good day. We painted hope house during the day…

and had a costume party to celebrate Marc’s half-birthday at night.

we didn’t get a picture of everyone. shame. but here are 10 of us. [i was a substitute teacher. a costume i blatantly stole from amy--she was one last year for halloween. i intended to be pippi longstocking, but forgot about trying to find a metal hanger for my hair until the last minute.] click here for more pics.

*check out Jody’s hair (in the pink), she was Cindy Lou Who from the Grinch. Nice, huh?!

hope house.

I posted pictures from the last couple of weeks. Click here if you want to take a look.

We’re painting a base coat in the hallways and bedrooms at Hope House tomorrow. I’m excited. When we’re done the plan is to have the kids pick themes for their rooms and we’ll paint accordingly. 16 Outreach Staffers arrived this week to help with the busy Outreach Season. They’re coming along to keep the kids busy outside while we’re painting. I’m excited to for them to meet the kids! I have a feeling they are going fall in love with them just like we have.

hello. my name is…

i posted this on my other blog last week. but, since people can comment now, i’ll post it here too.

there are 2 katie’s here and all through school i was katie “t”, I don’t love it. SO, we decided I needed a new nickname to avoid confusion. here are the options (in no particular order):

Kate

Kat

Katie Jo

Casey & JoJo (I can’t believe I’m even listing some of these…)

Tyler (random?)

TJ

Suzanne (which had now evolved into Suzy…)

K-Mart

Kathy (absolutely not!)

…that’s as much as I can remember. Thoughts? Other suggestions? I really can’t believe I’m even posting this. I have a feeling it’s about to get ridiculous….

24 years ago today…

…i was born. here’s what we did to celebrate…

peirce woke everyone up by yelling “wakey-wakey eggs and bacey”

kaylen made amazing omelets (and there was french toast, pancakes, apple goodness, chocolate chocolate chip muffins, appletiser, the list goes on…)

pictures of me sans make-up are always interesting…

marc decided to match in honor of my birthday (if he can just not wear this same outfit 3 days in a row again, that would be great….)

we watched a little tv and i went and took a nap. then, i painted my nails…

linkin park after dark…my current favorite (mom– it’s not black, it’s dark purple…)

i went running…today was beautiful!

then, we watched a little bit of the world cheerleading championship (it was a re-run, i think we watched the same thing a month ago…). and my friend Stephanie called. We tend to have a little issue with phone tag….

i can’t even express how amazing it was to hear her voice!…(this is a pic of her and Sean the night before I left Orlando…). I got to talk to parents and wish my dad happy fathers day

we had a little pizza for dinner…my friends made me an amazing birthday video, complete with a “music video”-i’ll post that after it’s compressed…it’s really funny

and i talked to Amy for awhile. she’s in Iowa…i love the stories! (this picture is an oldie but a goodie–showing off our happy meal watches in belgium 2 years ago–I don’t think we ever figured out how to use the watches…) AND I was able to have a quick convo with Carolina before i went to bed.

it was a good day.

birth.day.

last night i got together with a few friends for a journal making party. it was fun to be able to spend time with the girls. my creation is a little rough around the edges, but that just gives it character right?

my friend Brittany had me over for a birthday lunch today. it was amazing. it’s no exaggeration to say it was the best cake of my life. even Brit was impressed with her creation, and she’s her own biggest critic. and she even set me home with leftovers!

the table….we had black bean soup. my fav! AND you have to import the black beans from the states because they don’t have them here, so this is a big deal.

my cake….

close up of the cake….so amazing!

24?!

i’m not a huge fan of birthdays. and i have to admit, i was really dreading this one. there is something about 24 that seems so weird. i think i was frustrated because i felt like i should have done more with my life by now. had i gone straight to grad school after undergrad, i’d be finished. i started going through all the “if onlys” and started to think where i could be by now. ultimately, i guess i had assumed i’d feel like more of an adult by 24. confident. self-assured. mature. funny how most days i feel none of these things. it reminds me how much of life is a journey and we will probably never really feel like we’ve “arrived”.

but then i was reassured that i am still in my early-twenties. so, i don’t even need to worry about this until next year. whew. so, now i’m looking forward to a low-key birthday weekend. bring on 24!