Paris on the horizon

I realize that it has been a really long time since I have blogged. Life has been so busy lately, but I've been loving every minute of it!

Currently, I'm sitting in an airport in Lubbock on my way to Dallas. I just spent a week in El Paso with my precious family and it was wonderful! I love my family with all my heart! I love our traditions, camaraderie, inside jokes, sarcasm, and the fact that it doesn't matter where we are, as long as we are together, it always feels like home! Lorin and Phil weren't able to be with us this year for Christmas. Lorin had to work and so they stayed in Galveston and spent Christmas with Phil's family. I will admit that it was hard to not have her around! She's my other half! She was deeply missed but this is part of growing up, right? Sharing isn't always easy, but I understand that sometimes it's necessary.

Now, I'm headed to Paris to visit my best friend Danielle! We planned this trip while I was visiting her in Taiwan (her current home) way back in March and sometimes it felt like it was never going to get here. But, now, here I am, sitting in an airport waiting to head that way. Danielle's mom, Joanna, is also meeting us there. She is coming a day later, but will be flying back with me. I'm so excited! We have lots of fun things planned and I just can't wait to ring in the new year Paris style!

I pray that all of you, my dear friends, had a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you abundantly in 2011!

Oh, and don't worry! Pictures and a full report from Paris will be coming soon!!

Sweet Suite Life

Oh my friends. I have been a bad blogger lately. I think I've been too busy living life to sit down and write about it. I think having a roommate contributes too, because now there is always someone around to talk to, so I'm not sitting alone with time to reflect as much. I do miss blogging, and I hope that I'll get back in the swing of things again starting now.

Today I've lost my voice and so I can't talk. Probably why I'm more inclined to write. Here's a recap of things lately. Two weekends ago I went to Dallas and saw Lady Antebellum in concert with Candice and her parents. It was SO much fun! They are an awesome band (even if they do sing country, haha) and they actually won the Vocal Group of the Year at the CMA's a few days later. After the concert I went over to DBU and stayed with my sister Jamie for the weekend, which was great! We had such a wonderful time catching up, shopping and enjoying the city of Dallas. I love my little sister and am so proud of the amazing woman she is becoming.


That Sunday I headed to McAllen, Texas (way south, practically on the border) for the Baptist General Convention Texas Annual Meeting. This was the last year for my dad to president and to preside over the meeting and I was sooo proud! The convention was actually my favorite one that I've been to. There was such a great spirit in the services, the sermons were great, music was so good and we even had the opportunity to participate in mission projects in the city. I went with my parents to the border to pray on an international bridge. Being that close to the danger and violence on the border was really eye-opening and humbling. There is definitely a war being fought on the border everyday and so we came together as believers to pray for the Prince of Peace to come and heal the land. We prayed for the violence to end and for God to be glorified.

I came back to Brownwood for a couple of days before I headed to San Antonio to celebrate my 26th birthday. Candice and I drove down and spent the day with my college buddy Maria. We strolled the Riverwalk, stopped by the Alamo and then went to a Spurs game. There was an HPU alumni event at the game that night and we got to watch the game from a private suite, which was really sweet! :) I was the photographer, which was fun. The game was pretty exciting and afterward we stayed to watch HPU alum Coffey Anderson perform a concert. All in all it was a really fun birthday! Definitely exciting!


I really will be writing more often from now on! Sorry for the silence. I'm excited about being 26 now and seeing all of the great things God has in store for me this year. 25 was really awesome. I grew so much, had a lot major changes happen and made some great new friends. I'm going to keep delighting myself in the Lord and look forward to seeing Him giving me the desires of my heart.

Coming Home

Last weekend was HPU's Homecoming and it was so much fun to have so many of my friends come "home!" I obviously have a different experience, having stayed at HPU, so it is always so much fun to have my friends come back so we can relive the good old times! It was also different this year, because I didn't have to "work" the weekend as an alumni staff member, so I had more time to spend hanging out and enjoying the festivities - which was awesome. Not surprisingly, though, I was still exhausted by the time Sunday came around. Here are some of the highlights: Alumni Award banquet, BSM Coffee House, bonfire and float building at the barns on Friday night. Then Saturday morning we went to the All-Class breakfast, parade, toured Mims and Grace Chapel, lunch at Mi Familia, the football game (it was a sad loss, better not to talk about it), then dinner and a walk around campus that night. It was such a wonderful weekend! I'm blessed by amazing friends and I'm so thankful for the impact that HPU had our each of our lives!

What Dreams May Come ...

For my 100th post on my blog, I'm going to talk about my dreams. Not my "oh, I want this in my life someday" dreams, but my literal, while I was sleeping this is what my mind came up with dreams.

Last night I had a good old fashioned crazy dream. It involved an inflatable kayak, Tarzan, a proposal of a very unlikely couple (not me, don't worry) and needless to say it was pretty far-fetched. Which, incidentally, is what most of my dreams are like. They tend to be very vivid, involving people from different times in my life, quite "out there" and sometimes, believe it or not I do believe I have deja vu! Sometimes I really dream things that come true! People can say that my mind is playing tricks on me, but I just can't rationalize that. I legitimately remember these random conversations or events from my dreams. I can't tell you it's going to happen before it happens, and the dreams/real life situations are never really of great significance, but I promise. Sometimes my dreams come true.

I was telling my mom about my crazy dream from last night and she said, "it's so interesting because you didn't really use your imagination as a kid, and so it's like you are using it now that you are grown up through your dreams." It was quite a profound thought. As a kid, I wanted to be a grown-up. I didn't really play "make believe" much, instead I played "real life." I would be a lawyer or a doctor or a secretary. I made file folders and diagnosed diseases and solved the world's problems. I wasn't very big into imagining far off lands, villains or spaceship rides. I wanted to imagine what I would be like when I grew up. Of course, what I imagined is not at all what my "grown up" life is like now (it's so much more fun than I pictured!). So, I guess my imagination had to be put on hold for about 20 years, until I grew up, so I can imagine crazy things while I sleep.

Who knows what dreams will come in my future. All I know is they are probably sure to be entertaining ... if I can remember them.

So You Think You Can ...

DANCE! I would be remiss if I didn't give you, my wonderful readers, a detailed account of my amazing night at the So You Think You Can Dance tour last week. I went with my friends Larissa and Rachael to Grand Prairie for the tour. It was featuring the cast from season 7 (actually the first full season that I have watched all of the way through). I was excited to see all of my favorite dances performing my favorite dancers (most of them included Robert, my fav).

Here we are before we went in to the show:

So, while we were waiting for the show to begin, we were just sitting in our nose-bleed seats watching the slideshow that was meant to entertain us. Larissa had to go to the bathroom, so Rachael and I were reading the slides when one popped up that said "Got2B is giving away free backstage passes to the loudest fans, so make some noise." Well, Rachael and I started yelling, just for fun, and then another slide came up that said something like "You can do better than that, get louder!" So, we looked at each other, shrugged and thought, why not? So we yelled a little louder and threw our arms up. There weren't many people in our section at this point and we were pretty much the only ones yelling, so I guess we made ourselves noticable because less than a minute later this man and woman (with camera in tow) came up the stairs and gave us free backstage passes for being the loudest fans. It was AMAZING! We were in shock, to say the least! I've never won anything like that before! It was so fun! Here we are right after we won the tickets:

We were bursting at the seams for Larissa to get back and tell her our exciting news! She was shocked too. We were all so giddy and just kept laughing and saying "I can't believe this!" Well, then the show began - and it was awesome! They did all of my favorite dances, plus some bonus dances that were just so much fun! Then it was the big event! Time for us to meet all of our favorite dancers! We had to wait around about an hour after the show, but it was well worth it!

We met the winner of Season 7, Lauren, along with my favorite Robert, and Kent, Jose, Billy Bell, Dominic (all-star), Russell (Season 6 winner), Kathryn (all-star) and Ashley. It was so great! They were all so nice and just stood around and talked with us for a long time! My favorite person to meet was Kent. He was just precious! And I had a lot of fun when Dominic and Russell fought with me over who was more awesome! I still contend that they are so awesome, but they were pretty sure I was the awesome one, haha. Needless to say it was a really fun night! Here's some more pics for your enjoyment ...

Rachael, Kent and me

Larissa, Kathryn, Jose and me

The Awesome Dominic and Russell

Rachael, Larissa, Lauren and me

Me and Robert!

Treasures on Earth

Do you ever have times when God is speaking to you about something and everywhere you turn, there it is again? Well, that's how's its been for me the past few days. I've been really convicted about my "riches" here on this earth.

On Tuesday night at Bible study, Beth Moore (via video, no, she wasn't really here) was talking about the wealth we have in America. She said that if we own one book and are able to read it, we are some of the wealthiest people in the world - because of the education we've received and the money we have. It really struck a chord with me and I've been thinking about it a lot this week. I know that I have so much and I know that I am not the best at sharing my wealth.

This morning in Sunday school, we had a guest teacher - one of my favorite people in the world - Dr. Carol Boren. She taught from James 5 and was talking about hoarding our wealth rather than blessing others with it. She talked about how the money we have been given is not a bad thing, but it is important to be wise in how we use it.

So, here are some of my thoughts. I know that I have not been the best steward with my resources. A lot of times I just blame it on being single - I know that I have money in the bank and I'm the only person to buy things for myself, so I usually just get what I want when I want it. Do I always need it? NO! Absolutely not! But there's no one around to spoil me, so I just spoil myself. That's so selfish! I try to bless others with gifts from time to time and give money to offerings, mission trips, and other things that I feel inclined to, but it's sporatic and not always intentional. I really feel like God is calling me to be a better steward. To use the money and resources He has entrusted to me to bless others and help those who need help.

So, starting October 1, I'm going to try to start budgeting. I'm not sure how good I'm going to be at this, but I'm going to try. First, I'm going to evaluate where I'm spending my money and set limits for myself on certains areas - like shopping, eating out, etc. I think that part is going to hurt! Then, I'm going to really seek out areas that I feel like God is calling me to give. I don't know what this is going to look like yet, but I really want to bless others and support mission opportunities (locally, nationally, globally). I think I'm writing this plan out to help me stay accountable. I really pray that this is a lifestyle change that will stick! I want to be so much better with my money!

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Kickin' it with Consistency

Tonight I went to Turbokick for the first time in at least 3 weeks. And you know what? It was hard! I know that it wore me out a lot more that it usually does. My schedule has been so crazy lately, I just haven't had time to go to the 5:30 classes, so I've been walking, doing the eliptical or other forms of exercise, but it's just not the same. Turbokick is intense - and it works for me! Since I started the class 5 months ago, I've lost around 20 pounds. This is a such great achievement for me! You don't know how long I've tried to lose weight, to no avail.

So, here's a summary of what I'm telling you - Turbokick works for me and yet, the past few weeks I haven't made time for it and so now it's kicking me in the rear end. Conclusion? I need to be more consistent with what I know is good for me. I need to make time for Turbokick in my life, because I know it's beneficial and don't tell anyone, but I really enjoy it too.

I feel like the same is true of my devotional time. When I am studying God's word, I can see the fruits in my life. I have more joy, no matter the circumstances around me. I am rooted in God's truth and I am less likely to faulter. And yet, so many times I'm inconsistent. I see how good it is when I spend time with the Lord and then I go and get busy and one of the first things to go is usually my quiet time with Him. Why is that? Why can't I remain consistent?

The new Bible study that I'm doing with a group of precious friends is on the book of Daniel. Last week we were talking about integrity and how one of the greatest keys to integrity is consistency. To remain consistent in what you say, what you do and who you are. So, my new personal goal is to be more consistent - in my quiet time, in my exercise, in my speech and in my actions. Now, I'm going to log out of skype and facebook and blogger and go do my Bible study!

I Blame Belle

I want adventure in the great wide, somewhere

I want it more than I can tell

and for once it might be grand

to have someone understand

I want so much more than they've got planned ...

This summer I went to see Beauty and the Beast the Musical with my friend Katie Ellwood. As we sat there and watched one of our favorite childhood musicals come to life, I realized that this story has a lot of meaning in my life right now. My dreams are bigger than I ever thought they would be. I want adventure! I don't want to settle for what people expect of me! I want more than that! I have a huge desire to do more, see more, be more! When Belle sang the verses above, I have to admit, I got tears in my eyes. I felt like she was singing my song.

I never dreamed when I was a kid that I would be like Belle, but now, I blame her for all of these huge dreams and aspirations I have. I feel like her story may have actually inspired me growing up without me even realizing it. Her thirst for knowledge, courage and independence are all attributes that I admire. She also is so kind and compassionate. She was willing to give her life for her father's and then when we was practically imprisoned, she made the most of it. I know it seems a little ridiculous idealizing a Disney princess, but Belle embodies a lot of who I want to be. And her song is my anthem of sorts.

The great news is that God knows all of my dreams and aspirations! He knows my heart, even better than I do, and He has an awesome plan for my life. Like the old hymn that I love so much says, "Wherever He leads I'll go, Wherever He leads I'll go, I'll follow my Christ who loves me so, Wherever He leads I'll go."

So, I think it's okay to want to be like Belle, because my mighty Savior is leading me on toward the many adventures ahead.

Note: Katie and I both decided to blog about "blaming Belle." Katie is a precious friend from college and someone who really understands me at this point in my life. I encourage you to read what she had to say on her blog! It's really wonderful!

Surfer Dude and the Beach Babes

It was a perfect day at the beach!

The clouds were rolling by, the water was beautiful,

there was a cool breeze and the waves were frequent.

Lorin and I sat and soaked up the rays

while surfer dude Phil attempted to ride in the bodacious waves.

As Lorin and I were gazing at the sky, we were reminscing about the time when we were little (I was 6, she was 4) and we were watching the clouds when out of seemingly nowhere came a tornado. It was a scary experience we won't soon forget, fortunately we lived to tell about it. When we woke up this morning in Galveston, it was pouring down rain and the winds were really high. We soon found out why yesterday the waves were rolling in, there was a great breeze and the clouds were going by so quickly. It was because of Tropical Storm Hermine that made her way up the Gulf today. Thankfully Hermine didn't cause any real damage that I know of. God just used the tropical storm to provide us with a perfect beach day! Now, maybe next time Phil won't lose his clothes while he's surfing... hahaha

Thoughts on Friends

Friends are such a wonderful gift from God.

True friendship is such an interesting phenomenon to me. It requires love, work, time, investment, giving of yourself, vulnerablility, honesty, kindness, acceptance and usually forgiveness from time to time. I guess this is true of all relationships, I just don't really have experience with romantic relationships, so friendships are what I know.

I have friends that are 4-years-old and friends that are 80. Every friend blesses my life in a different way. I'm thankful for each of them and what I can learn from them. Four year olds can teach you about wonder and amazement and unconditional love. Eighty year olds can teach you about strength and courage and joy in the midst of all circumstances.

Sometimes friends are just for a season. This is kind of difficult for me to accept, because I really like permanence. I usually tell my close friends that they are stuck for life. It's true, because I really hate letting friendships subside. But, I truly have seen God place people in my life for a time, when I needed them or they needed me. And then we drifted apart, and you know, I think that's okay.

Friends can have a great influence over you for good or bad. It's up to you to decide. So many friends of mine have made my life better, just by knowing them. I hope my friends can say the same of me.

And then there are best friends - the ones who know everything about you, and love you anyway. The people who understand you better than sometimes you even understand yourself. The ones that you laugh with until you cry, the ones you cry with until you don't have any more tears left. The ones you can call at anytime and know that they are there for you, even if they live thousands of miles away.

I'm not sure where all of this came from, just thoughts floating around in my head this morning. I am so unbelievably thankful for the friends in my life. My list of priorities in life goes like this: my God, my family and then my friends. If you are reading this, and made it to the bottom, then you are most definitely my friend! :) Thanks for the blessing you are in my life.

Close to Home

The war on the border is starting to hit closer to home for me. I was reading my Dad's blog tonight about how this week there was another gunfight in Juarez that spilled into El Paso. A stray bullet actually hit Bell Hall at the University of El Paso. No one was hurt, thankfully, but my mom is now a student at UTEP and will be on that campus several times each week. It's such a scary thought to know that she is directly "in the line of fire."

El Paso boasts that it is the 2nd safest city in America. Seriously, they boast about it. It's all I heard both times I visited, and yet it is across the border from one of the most dangerous places in the world right now. I read in the paper yesterday that more than 1,800 people have been killed in drug related incidents in Juarez just this year. Hearing about something like that halfway across the world is horrible, but honestly sometimes I don't grasp the reality of the situation. Hearing about something that is happening just 2 miles away from where my dad, mom and sister are living is VERY real to me.

I know that God has called them to El Paso for such a time as this. Jesus is the only answer for healing on the border. I am a firm believer in Jesus' power. I believe He wants to do great things in the midst of this chaos and turmoil. And I am trusting that He has my family in His hands right this moment. If you think of it, please pray for protection over my precious family. It's hard to be so far away, especially knowing what is happening day to day in their area. Pray for healing in Mexico. Pray for an end to this war. Pray that God's love will be preached on the streets and that people will come to know Him in a mighty and powerful way.

My Dad quoted Psalm 91 in his blog, and I think it's a great passage to cling to:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.”

Who I am

"Who you are alone is alone who you are."

The other day I was talking with some ladies and one of them shared this quote. It really struck me and I like what it says! I feel like over the past few years I have had lots of alone time. And during that time, I've found out a lot about myself. When I was in college, I was NEVER alone! Like seriously, I think it wasn't until my senior year that I even went to Wal-mart by myself. I was definitely dependent upon my friends. I didn't want to be by myself and have to reflect on how I was doing, what I wanted in life or any kind of introspection. So, I just filled up all of my time with people. Now, I did love spending time with my friends. Those friendships that I developed definitely have stayed with me and are such a big part of me now. I'm thankful for all of the time I spent with them and glad I did it. But I didn't know who I was really. I didn't know what I liked and what I wanted and what was motivating me.

Living by myself for three years definitely was eye-opening. I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and didn't have to justify it to anyone. For a while, I was really lonely. But during that alone time, I began seeking after God more than I ever had before. I realized that He was truly ALL I needed. He wanted to be my best friend - the one I cried to, the one I shared my hopes and dreams with, the one to celebrate my joys with. God wanted to be my ALL. I'm still working on giving my life completely to Him, but the process has been amazing. Through this "soul searching," if you will, I have found more of who I am.

I am passionate about people, I love to travel and see new things and experience new cultures, reading is my escape - mostly for pleasure and sometimes to better myself, I'm inspired by testimonies of how God is working in people's lives, watching t.v. shows is my favorite way to make new friends, communication is the key to me - in my work life and my personal life, I love words!!!, I have a need to be spontaneous sometimes, road trips make me happy, my heart breaks for orphans, laughing is my favorite thing, dancing is so much fun (even all alone), I like to be original in small ways - like with necklaces, shoes and purses, I want be married and to be a mom, but I am finally content to wait on God's timing and not my own. These are just a few things I've learned about myself. Those who know me well probably knew a lot of these things and it's just taken a while for me to recognize them. Some of this stuff is trivial, other stuff is very personal, but it's all me.

I love you, too!

I just finished going through my first Beth Moore bible study on Saturday with my friends Katie and Melissa. We did Breaking Free and it was really wonderful! I learned so much about who I am in the Lord, who He wants me to be and how to get over things in the past so I can live in the freedom that only comes from Christ.

During our Moore-a-thon, one of the things that Beth was talking about was God's love for us. She challenged us for a week to say to God, "I love you, too" instead of "I love you." Her rationale was that God loves us - it's so obvious! He sent His son to die for us. God IS love and while it is a great realization to know that we love God, it is also so important to realize that everyday He is saying "I love you" to each of us. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this as eloquently as she did, but it has been neat over the past few days to say this to my Father. To imagine Him saying "I love you, Kalie" and my response being to acknowledge that and return it. I'm so thankful that God loves me. I don't know where I would be without His love in my life and I pray that my life is a reflection of God's love.

This study was really great for me, because not only did I learn a lot, but I also developed some discipline with my quiet time and spent intentional time with the Lord each day. I'm starting a new Beth Moore at my house in a couple of weeks with my 20-something friends here in Brownwood and I'm really excited about it! There are at least 10 ladies right now that are interested and I think it will be so wonderful to get to know some new friends and learn together.

My TOMS: Eyeballs and Gobstoppers

Last night was super fun! Two of my favorite HPU students, Amanda Hendrix and Molly Gore, graciously volunteered their awesome art skills and came to decorate my new TOMS. If you don't know about TOMS, you should check them out! With every purchase of a pair of shoes from them, a child somewhere in the world who doesn't have shoes receives a pair too. How cool is that? They have lots of really cool designs, but I decided that I wanted to be different (shocker, right?) and have my own original pair. Don't worry, I photographed the whole process so you can see exactly how I got the coolest pair of TOMS in the world.

Here is what we started with:
A plain white pair of TOMS

The design inspiration (thank you Houlihan's)

The supplies

First, Molly and Amanda sketched

their design in pencil
Then, they started painting
After a while, they switched shoes,

so that the shoes would be similar

They worked really hard for FOUR hours!!

And then they were done!

TADA! Aren't they awesome?
I've decided to become their manager, so if you would like to have the awesome team of Molly and Amanda design a pair of TOMS for you, contact me. Pricing is negotiable. :)

Bloomin' Awesome!

Last week I had the priviledge of going to the Brownwood Community Garden - and it was awesome! One of our HPU professors, Mr. Kimery, and his wife Cindy took me to show me around and share more about the garden for a story I'm working on. This garden is awesome for many reasons, but the main reason being that half of all of the produce grown here goes directly to the Salvation Army and Good Samaritan to feed the hungry in our community. The planting boxes designated for donations are gardened by volunteers and I think it is so wonderful. In fact, I talked to my friends in my Tuesday night Bible study and I think we are going to go out there next week and help pick beans, or whatever veggie is ready for picking. What a great way to serve our neighbors in need!

And it's so neat to see produce in its element! The Kimery's are so knowledgable on all things "green" and they took me around and showed me all of the different plants, describing what they were, why they were growing that way, etc. I ate fresh okra and sweet peas right off the vine (or whatever they grow on) and saw almost every veggie you can imagine. I learned a lot and can't wait to start on the story! Its days like these that I really love my job!!! Getting out in God's creation and learning about how people are serving people. So cool!

Here are some of the pictures I took on our adventure:

Blogiversary

Monday is my one year blogiversary. I must admit, I enjoy blogging a lot more than I thought that I would. It's so neat to look back over the past year and see all of the places I've been, the things I've learned, people I've seen and how I've grown.

Believe it or not, here are all of the places I've been in the past year - Orlando, Florida; Galveston, Houston, Amarillo, Dallas and El Paso, Texas; Kansas City, Missourri; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; New York City, New York; and Taipei, Taiwan. (I provided links so you can read about the adventures you may have missed out on!)

Some other big changes include a job promition to Director of Media Relations, moving offices from the Harrison House to Packer, moving out of my apartment and into a house with a new roommate and my family moving from Canyon to El Paso.

I feel like this past year I have grown a lot in my relationship with the Lord. I'm learning more about who God is and how He loves me. I'm also working on figuring out His plan for my life. That's definitely a process that I know will continue the rest of my life, but God's given me a new confidence in who I am in Him, which has really changed my perspective.

Lots of new people have come into my life - new friends, a new pastor in my church, a new president at my school, a new Sunday School class.

Not to mention I joined the Quarter Century Club in November - being 25 has rocked my world! I'm in my mid-twenties. Whoa.

It's definitely been a pretty big year in the life of me! Thanks for being a part of it! I look forward to the next year of blogging - sharing about my trips, my thoughts on God and life in general, updates and just for fun stuff too.

So, here follow me as my Tales of Wanderlust continue...

Salt & Pepper

Great news! My computer is up and running and so is my internet! Yay! So one of the big themes of my summer have been change and moving. I've told you about all of the moves (my apt, new office and the parentals in EP) but another big change has been my friend Kristy deciding to leave HPU and be a stay-at-home mom.

Kristy and I have worked together for the past five years. Three of those years we worked right next to each other as the "Alumni Office" of Howard Payne. We've planned Homecomings, Senior Salutes, alumni events in Dallas, Waco, Houston, Amarillo, San Antonio and more and created postcards, e-newsletters, alumni magazines, etc. She made work so much fun! We get along really well and she has been my confidante over the past few years. I'm so excited that she is able to be home with her precious little boy, my favorite 3-almost-4 year old Tyler! But, HPU is definitely different without her being around.

We called each other Salt & Pepper because for a while there you never saw one of us without the other. And if you did, on that rare occasion, everyone asked us where the other one was. Leaving her goodbye party was sad, as I realized I was leaving by myself, without Kristy by my side. But then, God reminded me that I'm not alone! He's there walking with me. And Kristy hasn't left town either. She's still here and I know I'll see her all the time. It's just different - but that's okay!

Here's our Harrison House crew - Kathy, Debbie, Louise, Diann, Kyle, Tammy, Kristy, me and little Tyler. We're split up now, but this group will always represent the HH to me!

Rockin' and Rollin' in the New Crib

Whew, these past few weeks have been quite the whirlwind. I moved into my new house a little over two weeks ago - YAY! As soon as I moved in I lost my connection to the outside world (i.e. internet and cable), hence the lack of blogging. I've had so much I have wanted to write, but haven't been able to - so let's see if I can remember it all.

First of all, this move has been exciting, tiring, long, overwhelming, sad and happy. For those of you who don't know, I have lived in my apartment behind the HPU President's house since the week after I graduated college. It's been my home. I had two different roommates during my first year, but since then I've been on my own in my little home. It was not a big space, but it was mine. And, so it was kind of sad to think about moving out, but at the same time, I've been so excited to get into a HOUSE and have a roommate again (my friend Candice). The moving process has taken a lot longer than I thought it would - mainly because I've been busy and I couldn't move a lot of it on my own b/c A) I don't have a truck and B) I don't have the muscles necessary to lift large pieces of furniture on my own. So I had to ask for help - which is hard for me. I want to be self-sufficient and take care of everything on my own! I'm independent! Hello! But my friends Jeff and Kristy have been so sweet to help me and I'm so grateful that it's not hard to ask them to help! They even helped me move my bed and couch in the rain b/c I needed it at the house in time for my friend Maria to come visit. They are wonderful!

All that to say - moving has been an experience - for sure! Candice has only spent two nights at the new house with me so far. Our schedules have been completely opposite. But I'm sure one day soon we'll be together all the time and have lots of roommate bonding! :)

A frustrating part has been my lack of internet. I didn't realize how dependent I am upon it until it was taken away from me. I signed up for Verizon high-speed internet this week and was so excited to get the modem in the mail on Thursday night. I went straight to setting it up only to run into problems. So, yesterday, after three dropped calls and lots of "patience" I finally talked to a technician who said they will have to send someone out on Monday to look at it. I decided I was okay with that (didn't really have a choice not to be) and I went over to Jeff and Kristy's to use their internet so I could post some new pics, blog and you know do the normal stuff. And wouldn't you know it, my computer has decided to be stupid and not work. I don't know what's wrong with it either. All I know is that me and technology aren't really friends right now.

But - I'm settled into my new house now and I promise to post pictures as soon as technology and I reconcile. And here's an invitation to come visit! I'd love to show you my new crib! :)

Daddy's girl

I got a text from my dad today. It said "Kalie, you made me a dad. I am so thankful for you. Love always."

I cried.

I'm such a daddy's girl. I love my dad with my whole heart. He is the best man I know. He loves unconditionally, has a heart of mercy, serves tirelessly, never judges, always hopes and protects like no other.

The most important thing that my dad has done for me is show me a glimpse of what my heavenly Father is like. My God loves me unconditionally. He always wants the best for me. He thinks I'm beautiful and showers me with blessings. He dries my tears and comforts my sorrows. He believes in me, He's got my back. My God is mighty and awesome and loving and compassionate.

I am a blessed Daddy's girl!

King of the Wild Frontier

Yesterday I had an adventure. It wasn't intentional, but that makes it even more fun, right? Well, here's the story - I was asked to attend a funeral for an HPU alum in Crockett, Texas. I'd never been to Crockett before, so I left extra early to make sure I got there in plenty of time. It was a 4 hour drive and I ended up in town a whole hour before the funeral.

I was wondering on my long drive if Crockett had any connection with good old Davy, the king of the wild frontier and as I drove into town, my question was answered. I passed right by the "David Crockett Spring," so naturally, I had to stop! Apparently Davy stopped at this spring to get a drink on his way to San Antonio for that fateful battle at the Alamo.

I have a really good museum radar detector, and as I was looking around at the spring, I noticed a sign for the Houston County Museum right across the street. Since I had an hour, and nothing to do, I decided to go check it out. I learned quite a bit about Houston County - the oldest county established under the Republic of Texas in 1837. There were two really sweet old ladies that worked at the museum, and they spent extra time giving me a personalized tour of the musuem. They both grew up in the area, so many of the artifacts had personal significance for them. Here are some of the things that I saw:

A firetruck from the 1920s

An entire room dedicated to their old coal mining office from the 1910s

One of the ladies suggested that I go see this house in town. It was built in 1893 and it was so beautiful! Small towns can have so much charm and beauty!

On my way home I was able to stop in Waco and have dinner with my college roommate Meredith. It was great to catch up with her! Then God blessed me with an awesome sunset as I got back into town 12 hours after I left. It was so gorgeous! Quite a day, to say the least!