courage

I know some of you read my friend Annie's blog. If you didn't happen to read this past month's series on courage, you are missing out. It was amazing. Loved every minute.

bathing suits and modesty

Growing up, I thought the only reason to wear a one-piece bathing suit was to hide fat. I thought skinny people wore two-pieces and fat people wore one-pieces. Just the rules. However, when I was in highschool, my friend Natalie (who is thin) wore a one-piece all the time. I remember talking to her about it, and she said that wore one when she knew she would be around guys- because she thought that her body was none of their business. I remember being surprised about that because I had never given much thought to modesty in regards to bathing suits.

By their very nature, bathing suits are not modest. They are skin tight and resemble underwear. Everything is on display. But talking to Natalie made me realize that there are some decisions you can make about someone else's ability to know everything about your body.

I was reading Elizabeth Esther's blog this morning about her daughter's bathing suit choices, and it made me remember this revelation with Natalie in highschool. Her husband reminded her that it's not about the bikini- it's about the relationship. The relationship with her daughter for her to understand modesty and purity is what matters- not the bathing suit.

I go to a camp with my church every summer, and they have a rule that you have to wear one-piece bathing suits. And, I'll be honest, there is a incredible sense of innocence for that entire week on the beach. People who come to camp for the first time always complain about the rule, but after you've gone a couple of years, you kinda come to like it. However, I do think there is such a thing as TOO modest.

I have some friends that I babysit for- their daughters are 11 and 8. Naturally, when I babysit in the summer, we go to the pool. The first time we went, I was shocked to watch the little girls get their bathing suits on and put a pair of board shorts over their suits. I mean, they're little girls. There's a part of me that feels like making little girls wear shorts or those crazy swim-outfits is teaching a sense of shame of their bodies. I think there has to be a balance.

Obvs, I'm not a parent, so I don't have to make these decisions, but it does make me think.

los does it again

I've told you before about my (web-based) friend Carlos Whitaker. He writes Ragamuffin Soul, leads worship, and rocks a v-neck. I have been encouraged, challenged, rocked by the things he says and does. My favorite thing about him is his incredible recognition of his own imperfection.

Today's post is called "God's Power, Prayer, and Paxil". I HIGHLY recommend you read it, but it made me recall my own mental health battles.

As a junior in college, I had a complete break down. I was depressed. I can word it a lot of ways and give a lot of reasons, but the bottom line is that I was clinically depressed.

My friends and family were incredibly supportive, and I've never been shy about telling people.
BUT.
I do feel like there is still a moment of shock when I tell people. Because I'm a happy person, right?! and happy people aren't depressed! right?!
For me, depression had nothing to do with happiness. It was about isolation, hopelessness, and heartbreak. I could turn on the "good times" when I needed to, but those moments of true introspection always revealed my own pain.

I've not had to be on the meds for a long time now, but it is still a constant battle and awareness. I have to keep a strong check on my own emotions bc I know I can easily be back in the same place. Not that the place is bad- it's just not my desire.

I loved that Carlos talked about the fact that the church needs to change the stigma associated with mental health issues. It's not about someone's faith or prayer life- or a question on the power of God. Most people are ok with me taking asthma meds- they don't encourage me to pray more to overcome my asthma. So why is it different with mental health?

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” -Mahatma Gandhi

adoption

Today I read two PRECIOUS adoption stories on No Greater Joy Mom- the stories of Haven and Harper are absolutely heart wrenching. I literally cried. At school. While reading these stories.

It's just made me want to adopt (even more).

no one loses the Super Bowl

Love this story.

"As World Vision sees it, in God's economy no one loses the Super Bowl"

cute little cousins

My cute little cousin Gracie turned four this week- and her mom planned the cutest Barbie-themed birthday party for her. Mt favorite part are these personalized Barbie tshirts that my aunt had made for each of the girls at the party! She found them on etsy! SO CUTE!!My cute cousins Gracie and Lily in their tshirts! LOVE THEM!!!

a month in review

Saw this monthly review post at Sasha's Barely Keeping it All Together... thought I needed to do the same!


On My Nightstand: Water for Elephants, Going Home

TV Show Worth Watching: White Collar. Oh, Neil Caffrey, you are a sexy man.

Movie I've Seen (in or out of the theater): The King's Speech, Country Strong, Burlesque

In My Kitchen: Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies (DIE of amazingness) from Picky Palate

In My Ears: Little Feat's Join the Band album- not new, but loving it lately

Three Newest Blog Reads: Skinny Runner, From Birmingham to Belo, Senegal Daily

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month: wedding showers for Rachel, a week off from school, Walking Wisely

a problem I don't have

I read at The Hairpin the other day about The New and Unworn Clothing That Haunts Your Closet-- let me just go on record as saying, I do NOT have this problem.
When I buy new clothes, I wear them right away. Not always the very next day, but usually within a week or two. Sometimes the SAME DAY. I NEVER have clothes in my closet that I've never worn. NEVER.

Am I the only one? Or are you like the girls at The Hairpin?

bitter truths

I saw this on another blog (I can't remember which...), and it made me happy. Because I totally believe it. It's from Lemony Snicket's Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid.

I liked it for a lot of reasons, but mainly because I totally live by this. If I'm going somewhere with unknown or questionable plans, I always have a book. Sometimes I leave it in my car so as not to appear rude, but you can rest assured that I always have a book.

On my birthday this year, we went around the table at dinner and everyone had to say nice things about me (family tradition, don't question it, it's awesome)-- and one of the things my dad said that he liked about me was that I always have books around. Stacks here and there. One upstairs, downstairs, in my bag, in the car.

And it's true. I love books. I love having them. I love reading them. I love looking at them. I love talking about them. Love books.

And in the technological age, I find myself wary of the e-book, but with the new iPad, I decided to try it out. Read two books on my iPad this weekend. Read Sophie Kinsella's Twenties Girl and Beth Orsoff's Romantically Challenged. I enjoyed Twenties Girl as much as I've enjoyed Kinsella's other books- cute, decently written, happy ending, mindless. Romantically Challenged was ok- one of those I wouldn't read again, but don't feel short changed since it only cost $3.

Although e-readers will NEVER replace the comfort of an actual book, I liked it. I think I would love it to travel and such.

shocking news

I went painting Saturday morning. My sister really wanted this one painting, so my mom and I went and painted them for her.
Mine is on the right, mom's on the left. My sister is muchos happy- she hasn't seen them in real life, just the pics. But, she's pumped. Like always, had a blast at Corkscrews and Canvas!

1 Year, 100 Books

During my very first year at McClure, I taught a student named Allison. She was only in my class for a few weeks before she qualified to be moved into the advanced language arts class. I was devastated when she was moved from my class. In all my years of teaching, I have never been more impressed by any student's writing ability than I was with Allison. She was simply in a class by herself. Even in her advanced class, her writing ability was incredibly better than her classmates.

Well, Allison is in highschool now and has taken a bet from one of her teachers: to read 100 books in 1 year. She turned 16 last week, and if she is able to read (and review!) 100 books by her 17th birthday, then her teacher is going to give her $200! Naturally, Allison accepted this challenge- and not only that, she's writing all of her reviews on sparklife.com! She's only read three books in her challenge so far, but she's looking for comments and suggestions. I have no doubt that it'll be an entertaining year as Allison takes on the challenge!

The link to see her columns so far: http://community.sparknotes.com/tag/one-year-100-books
I couldn't figure out how to get them in an RSS feed- if anyone does, please let me know!!

who!?

Click here.
It's not spam. This is really me. I promise. It's not a scary virus or porn. Just a happy clickage.

A tree does not stop being a tree when it loses its leaves.
A girl does not stop being a girl when she takes her makeup off.
God does not cease being good when the circumstances in our life become dim.

Wisdom and blessing from Andy Merrick.

winner winner chicken dinner

Or, in my case, new towel wrap!

As per usual, I entered a blog contest a few weeks ago for a towel wrap from the Preppy Pink Crocodile. I've been a reader for a while, but I go through phases of being interactive. And I have NOT been interactive lately.

Anyway.

I WON!! I am so excited!Of course, I got my KCS monogram- and it's going to be some combo of pink and green (naturally).

I can't wait!! So excited!!

baby Catherine

Katie and Donnie are friends of mine from highschool- and they ended up getting married after college. A few years ago they had a baby girl named Catherine.

While Katie was pregnant, Catherine was diagnosed with a severe defect called congenital diaphragmatic hernia. More or less, her diaphragm is formed incorrectly which pushed her organs too far up in her body. This caused major deformities in her organs- as shown below.

So, when Catherine was born, Katie and Donnie weren't sure about her life expectancy or survival. The first few months were incredibly precarious. When she was born, she went through multiple surgeries- and a lot of unknown.

During the course of her pregnancy, Katie started a blog: Letters to Catherine. It's amazing. It documents their fears and joys- Catherine's setbacks and victories.

Catherine is two.
She is a miracle.

You should go read Katie's blog. It'll bless you beyond words. I am grateful for my friendship with Katie and Donnie- but knowing the story of Catherine has changed my life. I met Catherine for the first time this summer at a mutual friend's wedding. She is just as precious in real life as she is in Katie's pictures and stories.

Go read Letters to Catherine. You will NOT be disappointed.

** I have more pics of Catherine (and Donnie and Katie) but blogger is being difficult...

Favorite Books

Two weeks in a row of Show Us Your Life?? You've never been so lucky! But it's about favorite books! So you know that I'm ALL about it!


These aren't in any particular order, but these are my all time favorite books. I could read them over and over again. In fact, I HAVE read them over and over again.

pretend friends

I like to pretend that I know Casey Darnell. I know people who know him. I hear him lead worship at Buckhead Church and Big Stuf. I follow him on Twitter. I listen to his music. This is obviously enough to allow myself to pretend that we're friends.

Right?

Well, I choose yes.
So, now I will tell you to go buy my friend Casey Darnell's new EP- out today on iTunes!
Honestly, after being led in worship by Casey for so long now, I honestly feel like I know him. He's an amazing man after God's heart- and you are NOT going to be sad you bought this!

Mother's Day

Only lately have I been able to admit that I feel like this.

baby names

My friend Kelly whoisnotreallymyfriendbutIreadherblogsoIfeellikewearefriends has a series called "Show Us Your Life" where she writes something, and invites you to write the same and then link back to her blog. It's pretty fun, but I usually just read and don't participate.


But today I am joining in because it's all about baby names. And I love baby names. I've been doodling them on notebooks, church bulletins, and napkins since I was in college. Go check out Kelly's, but these are mine...

Katharine Elizabeth (Katy Beth)

My first name is Katharine (yes, with an "a" in the middle- just like my mom and her namesake, Katine). And that's my cousin's name. And another cousin is Elizabeth. And my bff Maranda's middle name is Elizabeth. And I love double names. Like my sister, AnneTaylor. And I would spell Katy with a "-y" because that's how my best friend spells her name. I love that this little girl name has so much meaning behind it.

Austin Hope

When I was in the 7th grade, I knew a girl named Austin- and she was so cool. I def wanted to be like her. As I got older and actually thought about baby names, this immediately came to mind because it's my dad's middle name. I would love to use it for a baby name. THEN. Even cooler, my mom's middle name is Hope. My grandparents weren't being all sweet/spiritual- that's my grandmother's maiden name. I'm pretty sure she'd just go by "Austin", but the potential for another double name is def there.

Jake Smith

Honestly, I just love the name Jake. But I don't love Jacob/Jakob. So I would just name my baby boy Jake. And my last name is Smith, and I would love to use that as a middle name someday. Of course this will only work with certain last names, but I'm not there yet!

Cooper/Miller Ellis

Once again, I just love the name Cooper. Mainly because I love the nickname "Coop". There's nothing deep there. And I love the name Miller. I'm a little embarassed to even admit why I like the name, but here goes: I once read an article about Matthew McConaughey's brother naming his son "Miller Lyte". Well, that is the trashiest thing I've ever heard, but it made me LOVE the name Miller! And Ellis is my mom's maiden name, and I think it's a perfect middle name!

Well, that's it from me.
Keep in mind that I have no boyfriend, spouse, or children- so this may be a touch premature, but it's all good!

Faking It

Did you read Post Secret yesterday? If so, you saw this picture:

Obviously, I immediately googled it. You can read it yourself here: http://makebelievemormon.blogspot.com/

I had a bunch of Mormon friends in high school, and I knew a few people convert to Mormonism so they could get married. This is not something I'd ever even consider, so it was always fascinating to me that people would actually change their entire belief system for marriage. I guess my personal beliefs are too strong for this to be an option.

But, it made me think- How many people who change religions for a spouse are actually only just "faking it"?