Little Ways

Hello again!
You know, I can never think of a good way to writing something without diving right into the action. Its always been that way too. All my stories or essays have just cut to the chase and I don't know what to do about it!
So, to stick with tradition, I will cut to the chase!!
It has been exactly a week since school ended and goodness it has been exactly what I had imagined. Friday I basically took advantage of it being the first day of Summer break and was just lazy, slept in till noon and lounged around the house. But later my older brother graduated from College so we went to that ceremony and then to his Fiancé 's house for a little family celebration. On Saturday I went to my younger cousins graduation from highschool and my best friends. I felt so old over there, even though I only graduated last year it just kind of hits you when people you always hung out with are behind you a year.(If that makes any sense)
Now here's the best part; Sunday we started on the garden!! I raked out the entire garden and planned it out, then my mom and younger sister helped plant. We got cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and a squash planted. After that at about 4:20 I went to Mike's graduation. And let me just tell you, I felt REALLY old over there! Most of the kids that were there hadn't even graduated. When one girl asked my age and I said 20 in January she just kind of stood there looking at me like "Wow...I thought you were 15..." I really don't look my age. Right now it seems like a curse, but I'm sure in about 40 years I'll be very thankful. ;)

That party was really fun, despite all the younger kids. While I was there something hit me...I realized this was the first time I had ever gone out on my own to one of my own friends places and hung out. I had always hung out with friends from church, ALWAYS. I felt proud of myself! And what was really great was the fact that I could easily talk to complete strangers and hold conversations! I guess the credit for helping me be more outgoing should go to my mom and best friend. They really pushed me to get me out there. Oh, and some credit to Colin. If he hadn't been a dork in Public Speech class, I'd be still shyly murmuring to people from a dark corner. ;D

Anyway, moving on! This week...Yikes. Let me just say, it has been one loooooong week. I hadn't really realized how hectic home had gotten now that dad was home all the time. Being at school really kept me sane, believe it or not. I can't really describe my dad...He cannot be doing nothing. EVER. This week he has started at least 5 projects, at once, and not finished one. He ripped up our front yard because we needed "parking space", he tore apart out laundry room to put a freezer in(granted we did need that new freezer) but the laundry room floor is a mess. Not to forget about the bathroom floor of course, that thing still doesn't have flooring...haha. Let's see...What else? Oh, on Sunday he said he would make bean and pea polls for the plants. He never made them and has yet to make them. We need them soon too!

Today we took apart our pantry cupboard in the kitchen and he put bigger shelves in. Again, granted we did need the shelf space it could have waited till everything else was done. He starts these little things without finishing any of the other little things and soon the house is a chaotic mess and he blames us for being unorganized!...*deep breath*
Lord, give me thy patience. How on earth are you so patient with us, dear Lord? I know you must get pretty impatient with me...Always being angry and all. I can't figure out how to just calm down...Sometimes I'm accused of being like my dad and man that just burns me up. I don't want to be like my dad and yet it's sooo hard to be patient and calm with everyone in this family. They're all at this point in their lives where they just seem very annoying to me. As if they are doing everything on purpose. But even when they don't do things on purpose and I get angry they retaliate by throwing fists or yelling and such.
I just really need to get away.....As I've said many times before.

Anywho! Tonight I am going to try something with myself.
After being outside all evening planting kholrobi, beats and pumpkins in the garden while thinking of anything and everything(and saying my night time prayers, which I must say was very relaxing) I came inside and watched a movie called Therese. It's about Saint Therese the Little Flower. I had always been fascinated by her, considering her my patron saint. However she had always just been a "good little girl" to me.
The movie, although very poorly acted, made me realize that doing good deeds in a small way isn't easy. At one point Therese was accused of breaking a pot which she found on a pew. She was about to object but sucked it up and suffered the consequences. I would have found that impossible to do!! I would have gotten angry and kept on objecting.
This coming week I am going to try my very hardest to stay happy. At the beginning of Summer break I told myself that now that I had more free time I would work on being kinder to the people around me. Honestly, I failed in that because I've gotten in big trouble 3 times by my mom since then. Sheesh that sounds so immature and childish, to get in trouble for back talking or fighting...
Anyway, I am going to work on that, try not to frown(I swear I wear a perpetual frown) and try to keep my temper down. This is going to be hard since my dad is home. I never lose my temper in front of him because I know the consequences would be severe so I always turn my anger on everyone else. Not a good habit!
So, to end this blog I would like to share a couple of prayers to help me in my trial.

For patience...
Dear Heavenly Father,
Praise be given to Your Holy name for Your forbearance and mercy. You have dealt gently with Your children in love. You have been patient with me in my humanness and stubbornness.Lord, through the work of Your Spirit, prompt me to be more jubilant in hope, more patient in times of trouble, and more consistent in my prayer life. Teach me, Lord, to wait with faith and expectancy, and may my trials be seen as times for growth in grace. Through Christ our Lord, I pray. Amen.


For..Anger management. x(
I beg you, Heavenly Father, to help me to be slower to anger than I am now, to stop lashing out at others with harsh and angry words and if I do, to seek their forgiveness immediately, to be quick to forgive.

In Your Son's name,

Amen

God bless you all and I hope you are having a much better beginning to Summer break than me. But if it is worse, than may God aid you first! =)

In Christ Jesus,
~Katherine.

*Saint Therese the Little Flower, pray for me*

"You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love at which we do them."

Computer Piano Projects

I wanted to add these. These are two of 4 of my projects I did for my Computer Piano class.
I created some quick(And when I say quick I mean quick) slide shows to go along with the music. I just wanted to show the music but didn't know how to share my music without turning it into a video. SO! Enjoy but listen to the music more than focusing on the slide show. x)

P.S. The program we used in class was EPIC. I'm sad it's over, I had fun with that thing. If you're interested look up Reason 5. It is amazing what you can do with it!


Project 2: It was just an assignment to do whatever but the music had to be a certain amount of measures long.

And

Project 3: This assignment we had to create a song that might be used in a movie. Mine turned out more of either a memorial tribute, a trailer, or the ending to a movie. (It had to be a minimum of 2 1/2 minutes long)

Wow, I always wait too long!

Oh my, where do I begin? It's almost been a month since I last posted and by golly a lot can happen in a single month!
Seriously though, I'm not sure where to begin! First, personal news before social!
So, I told you about my dads company and how he has to sell it, correct? Well, the day finally came. As of the 4th, I believe it was, my dad sold his company. We are now living off the money that the company was sold for until whenever my dad can find a new job. I don't mean to sound like a horrible daughter, but I hope and pray he finds one soon. He isn't an at-home dad. He goes crazy trying to find something to do and ends up just getting in a bad mood and spreading that bad mood all through the house. Unfortunately, he was offered a job in Idaho. Sure, it's a great job, it comes with benefits you could only imagine! It's our last resort, but let me just tell you, if we have to move, I'll be moving into my college until I'm done, then I'll find an apartment in or around our little town. I grew up here all my life, we've lived in the same house for 18 or the 19 years of my life. I could never imagine moving 2 States away. Never!

There are so many memories here, change is my biggest weakness. Growing up...Moving on...Leaving the past for something new. Maybe this sounds appealing to most people, it's normal. But me and my family, we're not quite normal you see. ;) Ok, I'm getting all sentimental, I need to stop before I start tearing up...Haha! SO! Moving on to better news, my sister and I MIGHT have a car by Monday or Tuesday. It's my brother's fiance's grandma's 1999 Saturn. Yeah, old, granny car...But you want to know what else it is? FREEDOM! I can go exploring and be alone and be away from this crazy house, haha!
However, I am going to be searching for a job like freaking crazy because next year my Financial Aid for college wont be enough to provide for tuition and classes and books....Not to mention the car payments and gas to/from school. Dang I hate money, but it's so weird, this little green papery thing and those shiny metal disks is what practically runs the whole world. It's just crazy and blows my mind!

So, what else about my personal life? Well, not too much. Now that school is over (As of today actually, and I'll get to that next) I really don't know what to do other than look for a job. My school was what ran my whole life. It was something to do and I was able to make lots of friends and actually meet up with them in the same place without having to plan anything. =) Sadly, Summer is here. People have places to go, other people to see...Whenever I plan anything it never seems to work out. So! I will have to wait to be invited to something...Or just talk to people on Facebook...(LAME!)
Oh, speaking of planning things, haha, I went up Mt. Peak again! On Saturday the 4th. With Colin. Just Colin. It was kind of awkward because we had gotten two other people to go with us, but they ditched at the last second. I really wanted to go up though because it was a gorgeous day finally, so he and I just went up. It went fine, of course. I was actually expecting it to be a lot more awkward, but him being Colin of course, we had plenty to talk about...Kind of, haha.

SO! Speaking of friends, my Social Life!
My last post I was just rambling about how much I love nature. Well, Mother Nature and God got together one day and, as a last few weeks of school prank, set the schedule for our weather. We have gotten week after week of rain. Not very encouraging with Finals that were coming! Fortunately for us the weekend and today, my last day, was nice! Finals were relativity easy, got a 94% in my History final, and an 80% in my Math (Actually that was my worst score all quarter...xP) and I'm not sure what I got on my Music final.
I'm going to rewind just a little. This is going to lengthen my post a little bit but I feel I gotta talk about it.

I started College Spring 2010. I didn't really learn much then, I was new to everything and the whole quarter passed in a whirlwind of new experiences, both exciting and frightening. I took Math, Choir, Kick Boxing, and Psychology. Math I learned that I hated in-class math classes. Choir I learned that there are some crazy people in the world but also that I really and truly enjoy singing as loud as I can to my hearts content. Kick Boxing I learned that, even when you feel as if your lungs are going to collapse and your about to just die on the exercise mat, I still had a lot of energy.(And also that working out to music rhythmically is really fun!) In Psychology I learned that there are some pretty creepy and perverted teachers out there, but no matter what, you gotta just keep going till you reach the end. (I found that ignoring his lectures I did better in class, haha!)
After that quarter Summer began, I graduated, got a job, things were getting more and more new.

As Fall Quarter came closer that same feeling of dread came to me. I wasn't returning to my familiar high school with all my friends. I was going to College. This time for 3 whole quarters, one after the other.
So, Fall began! I took Math again, Piano, and Public Speech. In Math, I learned that online math classes are THEE best! (If you ever need a good math program to learn from Hawks Learning is the best!)
In piano I learned that, sure, I love playing the piano. But reading notes is such a bloody drag! I would rather make up my own songs than spend hours on a song I may never master for years.(And yet it's so rewarding in the end...xP I'll have to work on that over Summer!)
Now, here's the best one yet, Public Speech. I will never forget that class! I was my usual shy self, Sat in the back next to foreign exchange students from Asia who hardly spoke English while all the outgoing people were all up front. I remember clearly a very special day. I swear God smacked me in the head with a hammer, because I don't know what came over me! That day I got to class, I think it was about 3 weeks into the quarter. There were only a couple of students in class, the teacher wasn't there yet. I sat in my usual spot, all alone in the back. I got my book and notebook out and sat waiting. Then, there was the Heavenly hammer!! I shut my books, grab my backpack, rose from my seat and sat in the middle row where the usual talkative people sat. Something inside of me was telling me that I wanted something more. I wanted my own friends and God sure as heck heard me!

As students filed in and took their usual spots, a girl named Danielle sat to my left, a guy named Isaac to my far right, and to my immediate right sat a guy named Colin. He sits down turns to me and smiles as he says "Hey! You moved up from the back, hi!" Thus began the best class I will probably ever know. The teacher was AMAZING and the students I sat with were just as cool. Well, ok I lied, just those three I named. ;D Danielle and I would talk about usual girls stuff while we cringed and plugged our ears when the two boys talked about politics and guns.(Though, I would chime in now and then about exploding stuff. Hey, I grew up with two older brothers) Anyway, it was great! But alas, the quarter was winding down to an end. Fortunately for me I found out that a guy I (sortof) met in Choir of Spring, who was also my friend on facebook, was neighbors with Colin so naturally I found him on facebook too. Sadly Isaac didn't have facebook and Danielle and I didn't exactly get that close and I haven't seen her since then.
Thus ended the best and my second quarter.

Winter Quarter wasn't too bad either, but I'll go fast since I've already written so much and still have today to cover! Winter Quarter, I took Math..yet again, Weight Training(suggested by Colin for my required PE) and online Photography. Math, nothing new here except for a few formulas, Weight Training; I love working out and also even if I did talk to guys in Public Speech I still couldnt work up enough nerve to talk to that one cute guy!! And Photography, well, my sister is a professional photographer so nothing much new there.
I still talked with Colin over facebook now and then, I even got his number for texting. (I was going to ask him in Public Speech but it was easier over facebook, haaaah!) And actually the first day of classes I saw him and Isaac for a split second (each at different times). Anyway, about mid-way through the quarter I said, on facebook, that I hated being shy around people. Colin commented saying I should hang out with him and his group of friends, I wouldn't be shy after that! I remember feeling a little awkward and slightly afraid. After all, there are some pretty strange people out there. But I did end up meeting up with them that week. I met the group which included Mike and found out there was a girl who was at my highschool so I kind of knew her. Thus, more friendships were beginning to blossom! And that was really all Winter Quarter was.

Now, Spring Quarter. Oh. My Goodness. Ok again I lied, THIS was the best quarter. I took Math 97, Ancient History online, and Computer Piano.(Again suggested by Colin who was taking it with Mike) In Math 97, I learned that taking an in-class math class is CRAZY. I don't know how people do it. My sister and I dropped the class after 3 weeks and got into another Math 97 class...Online! We had to catch up though, so I ended up doing 13 lessons in 5 days. The average lessons in 5 days is about 3...It was heck.
In History I learned that yes, there are people out there who believe that we evolved from monkeys...and that's actually very very very very INSANE. Goood grief Charlie Brown!! Professors are just really and truly brain fried aren't they? Anyway, I also learned that I want to be a teacher, yes, but I want to minor in History. I love History! I love learning about the past, and I also found out I love learning about other cultures and religions. It's all just so fascinating. =)
Aaaaaaand best of all...Computer Piano....<3
Best. Class. Ever. (Right up next to Public Speech, haha) First off, this class was awesome. It was basically what the name says. You play the piano connected to a computer and it records it and you can do amazing things! I became closer to Colin and Mike and also met two other guys, Jason and Miles. I'm not really that close to them because I wasn't really open till about the last 4 weeks of the quarter. Anyway! The class was just awesome and I got to hear so many cool creations.
Over that quarter I also became closer to the "Gang" which we were named now. And I was officially apart of it! There are about 6 people not including Colin, Mike and myself.
So, now to the last week. Tuesday was my second to last day, I wouldn't be seeing the Gang again till maybe Fall quarter(I'm not sure who all is graduating from the college or not) so we all went to Subway and just hung there for awhile. A friend dropped me and Colin off back at the school afterward, he left and I waited for the bus. It was very nice but rather sad...I really don't know when I'll see them again. =(
As for today, I woke at 4:40 because my ride had to leave earlier than usual. At 8 I did my Math final(2 and a half hours long!!) And at 11 I went to our last day of Music class. We sat through an hour and a half of songs and I was very sad when it was beginning to end. Fortunately for me Colin decided he would be nice and give me and Mike rides home! I was so glad that I didn't have to take the bus. On the way home we stopped by Taco Bell and also met up with Miles.(Funny guy!) I had never been to Taco Bell before so I took up 10 of the 30 minutes we spent there just trying to decide what to eat! It was so funny, the guys were done in 10 seconds each and when I took longer than 5 minutes they thought I was worried about calories. Silly boys...not calories....Money! I finally just got a hard taco and Dr. Pepper. =P
It was nice, we talked about school, which led to Summer, which led to jobs, which led to fast food, which led to the disgusting but entertaining topic of fat people...Hahahahaha!! I thought I was going to choke on my taco while laughing at them.
Anyway, Colin drove us home and now I have been home ever since.

Argh...All that goodness is gone. I have to wait till my little freedom comes so I can drive around for hours to find a job and waste my summer working instead of hanging with friends, which is what I should have been doing for the past 3 years. Blah, they always say "Your life is just beginning!" and yet it's the first 20 years that are spent with fun and carefree-ness. My 20 years are almost spent. The rest will be worrying about money, college, money, maybe a love life, college, work, money and repeat.

If you haven't noticed, I'm a pessimist most of the time. Hehe, I give God a hard time making my life good. x) BAD!
On the bright side...Uhm....OH! I'm still alive and God loves me with all his heart! =) That's one person I don't have to worry about forgetting about me or not including me in his plans. <3

So, without further adieu, God, you are greater than anyone could ever imagine. Everything you do is for a reason, good or bad. In this case, you have made my first year at College a success. I give you thanks from the bottom of my heart and am excited(and a little terrified) about what Summer will bring.

Your faithful daughter,
~Katherine

P.S. Who knows when I'm going to post next but hopefully it won't come close to 3 pages...SORRY!

Just a bit of optimism!

I thought for once I should post something happy and uplifting. So! For the first time I will marvel at God's creations.
First, let me share a facebook status I posted about 2 days ago;
"There is nothing more beautiful than standing in a forest looking up at the tall trees with their leaves of multiple shades of green glowing in the warm spring sunshine; the gentle breeze rustling the leaves into a slow dance while the Swallow and Robin share in a beautiful duet of cheerful song. ♥"

It's the little things in life that keeps me happy really. That day was a beautiful day for us Washingtonians. Out of  the unending weeks of rain we were rewarded with a sunny 67 degree weather day. I went on a walk with my younger sister, Marie, and we were just silent and soaked up the sun. The birds were beautiful as they sang their songs of Springtime. 
I love nature so much. Not to the point of being a "tree-huggin' hippy-lovin'" PETA, it's just that nature is the second most amazing thing God ever created. Everything works in such harmony and has a purpose for what it does. The grass is green and the sky is blue for a perfectly good reason. I'd have to go into a bunch of scientific jargon to explain it, but there is a perfectly good reason! Tree's are just so tall and magnificent, and mountains too! I will never forget that hike I went on with Colin and his parents. I wanted to just stand back for an hour and take it all in. Unfortunately we got to the top and ran all the way down....Soooo I didn't get to enjoy the view on the way down, haha. But my point is that the view was spectacular! Everything was just turning green, and the city river rushed below shining in the golden sun. The gentle breeze was very refreshing too!

Yesterday morning I woke up at 5:30am to get ready for school and right in the middle of everything I opened the front door and just stopped. There before me was the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen! I rushed to get my camera and here is one of the pictures. 

After that I just left the door open and listened to the morning birds sing. =) It was sooo nice!


Not only is nature beautiful, but the creatures are too! Swallows are my favorite bird/animal. They just fly about doing tricks in the air without a care in the world, and they always remind me of Summer, my favorite season. We have a pack of 12 deer that hang out in that field you see in the picture above, usually with about 3 fawns. I saw half of them about 3 days ago just lounging in the tall grass letting the morning sun warm their now-free-of-a-winter-coat fur. 
Oh! I have to share this little story too!
When my sister and I were coming home from our walk we were attack by a hummingbird! No joke either! He must have been guarding a nest nearby. I saw him again today when we went on a walk too...He zipped right past us and into a cluster of trees. Hehe, too cute!
Let me see, what else can I marvel at? The clouds? They were big and fluffy yesterday but really smooth and silky today. Sadly this usually means our two day streak of good weather is about to end...And then comes a long week of more rain. =(
Well, I guess I'll just conclude here. I just wanted to share a little bit of my love for God's second greatest creation of all time! (His first is human beings)


Have a great weekend and God bless you with beautiful weather!
~Katherine

Happy Mother's Day!....And oh my goodness...

First of all Happy Mother's Day!
Today is a day to celebrate God's greatest creation. Mothers....What would the world do without them? I know what I would do...Roll up into a little ball and be completely miserable! My mom has done so much for me, so much it boggles my mind. She has helped me stay true to my faith, to love God with all my heart and mind and soul. I love her more than anything in the world! =)
Thank you God for creating this beautiful person and making her my mother! As you love your mother, I love mine and I thank you for her with all my heart!

Today I made her breakfast and dinner with a little help from my siblings. We cleaned out the chicken coop today as well! Haha, I'm sure you're thinking "Oh...Well why would you make your mom do that?" It was actually rather peaceful. The sun just managed to peak out from these suffocating rain clouds and we cleaned in nice warm sunshine. =)

That was only part of my day though.
Here is something exciting...My Parishes prayers have been answered. This July our current priest will be leaving! Now that his 3 years are up, we are being sent a new priest. I can't believe this and yet I knew god would provide for us. =) We looked up this new priest who will be coming in July and he seems like the kind of priest we need very badly! At the church he is at now it has a school and he plays basketball and football and has a minor in education, meaning I am sure he will be will to let us start a Youth Group again! My vision I had, the one I planned out on paper and wrote out all this on even more paper...It could possibly come true! Ohh I am praying so hard that this priest is what we've been looking for.

I have to go now...It's rather late and my excitement got a hold of me!...And I have school in the morning, haha!

Well thank you for all your prayers and please don't stop! =D

In Christ,
~Katherine

This is my life.

Where to begin?
This past weekend and week has been such a whirlwind experience...
Everything I believe in, Catholicism, is being tested...again. God, you are great and wonderful, everything that happened to me has a reason.
I made up this little saying for myself because it helps me get through these tough times;

"Everything happens for a reason. 
Whether God wants you to know 
what that reason is or not is up to him."

I guess I will first address some of my family issues.
My dad owns his own company. It's a saw mill. He cuts wood for people...
Well, ever since the economy started to crumble so has his company. Each year we bring in less money and this year has been the scariest so far. His partner in the company has suddenly decided he thinks my dad has somehow cheated him out of money and so right now we're trying o prove his innocence. I know my dad, he wouldn't do anything like that at all. We're trying to figure out who is telling his work partner these things...Today my dad confronted him and said he was done with the whole game and offered him to choices. He could either buy my dad out so he could be free of the whole business and find a new job(May take several years) or my dad would buy out his partner. If he can't agree to either that means my dad will have to close the doors until we figure something out. It's getting very serious and we're going to have to tighten out belts for awhile...
Not only do we have to worry about this whole situation we also have to worry about robbers who have been stealing random things from his mill, expensive things. We've put up security systems, they've knocked them down. We've called the police when my dad clearly saw the thieves leaving his property, they couldn't and still can't do anything. It's really horrible and I often wonder why these things are happening to us. My dad has 9 people to worry about feeding and keeping safe...This whole work thing has really stressed him and my mom out. =/
So, if you're reading this and you believe in praying, I ask a special request from you. Please keep my dads company in your prayers. Pray that God provides us with enough work to get us through these tough times. We don't need anything big (Though it would be nice for a change) just enough to get us through. Thanks! =)

Next...My social life issues.
Can you guess what I'm going to be talking about? You guessed it! Christians...
I am so jealous and frustrated right now...This may be wrong to say but it's the truth, our home parish has become lazy. Terribly so! That's what I'm frustrated about. What I'm jealous about is how lucky my Christian friends are. Yes, I'm talking about Colin and Mike and all the friends I hangout with at school. It's driving crazy! Almost every single friend I hang out with is Christian and from the same church...Haha.
The reason they are lucky is because they have this really neat sounding Youth Group. All the people there   look so active and lively. The church and Youth hold picnics(we use to do that...) and they go camping and hiking and traveling...All these things I wish our Parish would do.
But no. Our parish is asking the congregation for money to be able to keep the church property. They've taken out the play ground and youth building, we're not allowed to play on the basketball court due to "Insurance" stuff...our priest is worried about someone getting hurt. In the past we've played basketball, baseball, soccer, frisbee, capture the flag...I could go on forever...
Our youth has always been small due to the church size, but we had been fine with that. We use to invite friends and have games and talks and sports. But the one thing we never really did that I've noticed most Youth Groups do is community service. The Youth was very shy and only stayed on church property. We had done a couple of things like car washes and garage sales, we even painted a long stone fence white. But here's the catch...The money went to the parish and the fence was in the parking lot. We're so busy worrying about what other people will think that we're losing people in the parish. It's Not Right!
I have this vision...It's a pretty sweet vision. The Youth Building would be renovated, there would be a blossoming Youth with the right leader (Heck, I'd volunteer!) with games and sports and activities and camping and hiking in the Summer. But above all this I would set up some kind of spiritual thing to connect everything. We could have talks about the Bible and the duties of being a Catholics and what we could do for our (stuck-up) community to better it.
Just thinking of this vision makes me depressed though because I know that as long as this priest remains here we aren't going to be able to do very much at all with the Youth of our church. And as long as people continue to be afraid to stand up for this we won't get it.
Which brings me back to my problem with my Christian friends...
I told Colin that I missed having a Youth Group and that I was jealous of him and his friends. I don't know if this was a good or bad idea because then he suggested that I come to his Youth Group. I told him that I had thought about it once and that maybe I would some day. This was about a month or less ago.

As the weeks went by I came to really like hanging out with Colin, and his friends. Just this past Sunday I went hiking up a small mountain(more like a hill) in our county with Colin and his parents. I had a lot of fun! Then today Colin invited me to come to their Youth Group. I said I couldn't just yet due to family issues...

But I got to thinking...What am I missing out on? Here is an opportunity for me to become closer to God with a group of people I honestly love being around, but the downfall is that they're all born-again Christians, ALWAYS wanting to save you...Any chance they get they'll try to telling about their amazing truth and how all you gotta do is believe!
I'm not buying it and I'm afraid I may end up laughing myself to death if I ever go to their Youth Group and they do some kind of overly exaggerated worship thing...I also could not bring myself to join in. I'd be standing there like an idiot all alone as usual. When I asked myself "What have I got to lose?" the answer was a lot. I don't even want to ever THINK about if I ever began to question my faith. I don't want to be pulled into their little worship shindigs.
I just want to hang with people that love God without wanting to change your religion....Example: A Catholic Youth Group. =/ I'm so depressed right now...The time I am tested the most and I have nothing and no one to fall back on. I am at the age where I have to make my own decisions...

When my brother gets back from Africa I want to talk to him about starting an OFFICIAL parish Youth Group. Maybe by then our priest may have gotten word that it's time for him to go...this sounds bad but I hope so.
In the meantime, I'm going to talk to my mom about the Christian youth group.(Actually it's Presbyterian) I want to, out of my curiosities for other religions, go to it at least once to see what it's like. Maybe it isn't as bad as I'm making it out to be, I don't know.
So, this is basically my life. We're struggling with the economy, I'm struggling for my freedom(I neeeed that car!!) and I'm also struggling with my social and religious life. Please keep us in your prayers, I would really appreciate it.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, 

was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; 

from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, 

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
Amen.

And I pray I may never ever forget this.

God bless and watch over all of you,

In Christ,

~Katherine

Alleluia! Praise to Jesus Christ!

And in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. And the angel answering, said to the women: "Fear not you; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified." 

"He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen: and behold he will go before you into Galilee; there you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you." And they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell his disciples. ~Matthew 28:1-10

Jesus Christ has risen today! Alleluia!
Happy Easter everyone! <3

In Christ,
~Katherine

Forgive them, Father...

"And the governor answering, said to them: Whether will you of the two to be released unto you? But they said, Barabbas. [22] Pilate saith to them: What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ? They say all: Let him be crucified. [23] The governor said to them: Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying: Let him be crucified. [24] And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it. [25] And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children." - Matthew 27:21

That last sentence gives me the chills. We are those children whose parents mocked and spat at Jesus and condemned him to be crucified. We are those children whose blood has been tainted by the evil that these people committed.
We, Gods master creation; his children, killed his only son. And in doing so, this man, Jesus Christ, saved us.

It blows my mind. We killed a man completely free of sin, completely without blame and in return he saved us from our own curse of sin that Adam and Eve brought onto us.
It's like this, God is our Shepherd we are his sheep. But we seem to be robotic sheep with our brains set to "disobey"; wandering past our safe-haven and into the brambles and ditches of darkness and evil.

"And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there; and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." - Luke 2:33
Even when Jesus had been treated so badly, beaten, mocked...He forgave us and asked God to forgive us.

Is it even possible to forgive someone after such a thing happened? If I had been treated this way, would I have been able to forgive my persecutors? Jesus is the ultimate man. To die for those you love (without fighting back) is the greatest thing anyone could do. And it wasn't just a single family he faught and died for, not like a man going off to war because he is thinking of his family. This is for the world. He endured all of this for the entire worlds sake, and Heavenly Father I am so thankful for your son. I wish with all my heart I could be like him, to be able to correct people and preach to people about the truth without being afraid or caring what the consequence would be.

Why is Good Friday good? I have heard this question asked before, and recently in my Kindergarten Religious Education class I teach.
The reason the day our Lord died is good is not because he died but because of the intention of his death, the good intention, saving all of us from the snare of sin.
I could go on forever about how important the death of our Lord is and how intense a sacrifice it was but I'm sure you all know this story very well, and if not you should really take a few moments to research what your faith is really all about.

So I guess I will conclude with these words; Jesus Christ, son of God the Father thee Almighty, from the bottom of my heart I thank you for giving up your life to save us from the stain of original sin. Please, help me to walk your path of truth, though it be narrow and very rocky, take my hand and lead me through it all.
The Holy Spirit, fill me with knowledge and understanding of my faith that I may be able to change the lives of those about me with the true faith.

Hope you all have a grand Easter weekend!


In Christ,
~Katherine


"'It is finishes.' And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit..." - John 19:30

God Give Me Patience.

Well, here I am, as I promised. But I don't really have anything optimistic to say. I guess I'll just start with the good news. The only good news is that I'm doing better with my Lenten sacrifice. I'm trying to limit how many nice things I get/buy and offering up some of my hardships.

But even so, these hardships are weighing down on me and I can hardly take it. So, now I'll start with all the bad news.

First off, school. My math teacher was insane so I had to drop that class. Everything was so hard and the teacher was just so rude about everything. My sister and I weren't understanding anything and she even accused us of cheating. We dropped the class yesterday and are trying to get into another class. Our math teacher from laster quarter was saying she would let us join her math class, which is awesome because it's online and I can go at my own pace (Once we catch up of course...We're coming on the 4th week...). However, her class is at 8am this brings me to my second problem.

You know how I said we were looking into getting a car? Well, my sister and I found one and really liked it, drove it around and everything. We looked into it more and found it had been stolen at one point in time, nothing bad done to it, they just added some miles. My dad said we should look someplace else and what my dad says goes. We went and saw another today, we liked it as well and my dad liked it too. We told the owners we were interested....But, they had a couple coming to look at the car later. And guess what? They got there, liked the car and had cash on hand and the deal was closed.

We, having a loan by the bank, have to wait 2 days after deciding we like a car to actually hand the people a check. This is a great disadvantage because having cash in-hand really helps, cash speaks.

It's like this...Lets say you like this car but it's $4500. You're thinking "Ok, maybe I can get the price lower." Well, if you happen to have $4200 on hand and say to the owner, if you like the car, "I like this car, would you lower the price to $4200?" and then show them the check honestly they can't really refuse. (If they do then you don't want to buy from them because they're just being picky now)

The fact that we can't do this is really REALLY testing my patience. Oh...All of this is with a private dealer. It's a bit easier to buy a car from a dealership then a private dealer when you have a loan...Dunno why.

Anyway, my sister and I really thought we were going to get this car. We agreed with my dad that if we don't get the car we'd look someplace else for something else. However, I don't want something else. The car we are looking into, a Dodge Neon, is a great commuter car(We need it for college), has great gas millage, is somewhat safe, and the thing I think is important is it is comfortable to drive. (I cant stand big nosed, slanted windshield, long and cramped cars. This model is exactly what I'm looking for.)

So my mom and I called the first people and asked if they still had the car (The one that had been stolen once) it is in fine shape with no internal problems, is cheap, and close by. When my mom told my dad we were going to go see it again tomorrow he totally blew up. He decided he wasn't going to see it (And this is bad because it's his loan so we need his approval) This is seriously and UTTERLY ridiculous! My dad is crazy, that's all there is to it. He's looking at cars we can't afford and are sinfully ugly and look just really unnecessary. It takes him seriously 2 months to look for a car and I don't have that time. I've been having my brother and mother drive us to school and it's really costing us. I need one by the middle of this coming week or else I swear I'm going to go insane. I've just had it with "His way or the highway." Man, I'd hit the highway in a heart beat but I NEED A CAR FIRST!

Arghhh.........."Lord give me patiences."

I'm sorry for ranting. I just really have no one else to talk to. If you're thinking "Well why don't you just talking to him?" Heh, you don't know my dad. He is painfully prideful. You say something he doesn't like and he will make your life living h-...well, you get the idea.

Ok, I'm done with the above....for now. Now for the next bad news.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, a Sunday me and my siblings love so much because of how light hearted our church becomes. That day has so many memories from when I was little. We would always stay hours after church to play with all the kids.

This year is going to be totally different. Our priest has scared away so many people; the church is practically empty, and he has an attitude about him that says "I guess I could serve mass if I had to....*sigh* I'm too good for this." It's so annoying because that's not what a priest is suppose to like! As I have gotten older I have become very interested in the Mass. It is so beautiful and I've always loved it. But since this priest has come I find myself zoning out or rolling my eyes. It's just all so seriously wrong!

On top of this is the choir. I believe I told you about our Music Coordinator, how she's so flamboyant and 70's worshipy. We have been sort of restraining her, telling her what we are not comfortable with and such. Last week I really thought we choir girls finally got her to understand how we do everything.

I was wrong. Tomorrow in church we are going to be waving palms, clanking finger cymbals, and she will be strumming a guitar. AHHHHHH!!!!! Never in my entire life would I have thought our little church would be turned into some 70's weird worshipy thing. We are very traditional! Why can't she understand??

Well I'm done with it. Tomorrow I have decided is my last day at choir. I was going to write her an email telling her what was wrong with everything, but I'm going to do it in person...Before mass. No cymbals and no strumming a guitar up the isle. I'm just so utterly frustrated at her! Why won't she listen to us? She asked us what songs we would like to sing on Palm Sunday and we told her two songs, letting her pick the rest since she is after all the music coordinator. She only used one and told us she was "Breaking away from our tradition for a bit tomorrow..." Uh, say that again? Not happening......

Ugh......I just sent her an email saying that we(The other choir girls and I) were going to be talking to her about the future of the choir. If we cannot get to her then I am leaving. It is not worth it. I cannot focus on the Mass and Gods presence in church with all this complicating and bizarre music going on.

Anyway, I'm done with all this stuff.

God, teach me to be patient, 

Teach me to go slow,

Teach me how to wait on You 

when my way I do not know.

Teach me sweet forbearance 

when things do not go right

so I remain unruffled 

when others grow uptight.

Teach me how to quiet my racing, rising heart

so I might hear the answer 

You are trying to impart.

Teach me to let go, dear God, 

and pray undisturbed 

until my heart is filled with inner peace 

and I learn to know your will.

Amen.

I really need to remind myself about how God feels. He must get pretty impatient with us, waiting for us to 

turn to him and realize who he really is. 

Lord, your children have abandoned you and yet you wait so patiently.

Please teach me your patience...

Yours truly,

~Katherine

It's been awhile!

Oh dear. It looks like I haven't kept my promise of posting once a week. Well, at least I know I have a bit to talk about! First off I want to apologize for not posing for so long. Since Spring Quarter started up on March 28th I have been very busy with a new schedule along with one surprise after another. It's been very hectic and I keep forgetting myself in all the crazyness.
So let me start where I left off, a few days before Spring Break. That Sunday I got to drive myself to choir! It was the best feeling ever. Being alone in that astro van, cruising along with no one to tell me what to do. I got the first taste of freedom and that taste wont go away.
I thanked God at mass that day, praying that he would keep me safe and that I would always drive responsibly. I thanked him for all of the amazing things he had done for me over the past weeks and then asked him to watch over me during Spring Quarter. I was a very happy person!


Then...Monday came, the first day of Spring quarter. It was so overwhelming. My first class was math. I wasn't use to being in an in-class math class, I had always done it online. Well, the teacher is very different than what I'm use to. She doesn't seem to really care about much other than how neat a paper should look. She didn't even hand out a syllabus. She doesn't really teach, just lecture about nonsense. It's really annoying and I don't like it at all.
Next was a piano class. I had taken a piano class in Fall quarter so I was use to the pianos and such, but this class is different. It is a computer piano class, you know, play something and then edit it on the computer? I said "Ah why not. Two friends are signing up and I know piano playing and computer technicals." Well, I have no idea what I'm getting into. It's something totally new. My friends, one being Colin (You remember, the kid who wants to "save" me? ;) ) and his friend, I'll just call him Mike, well they took to the class like fish in water. Yeah, I know Colin is great at the piano, heck I'm jealous, but I should be able to do just fine in this class. But I keep having blond moments or something (Call it what you want...). Arghhh!!! It's so frustrating. =/
Anyway my other class is online, History 101. This was the class I was dreading the most because of all the reading and writing. But so far this class is the best! Other than the fact that they think we evolved from monkeys (Silly evolutionists!) it's really great. I love reading about ancient history and all those events.


So anyway, the classes are just really clashing; taking up all of my time, making me go crazy, forgetting myself. I keep getting so angry especially at my family. I know this may seem harsh but I need to get out. I need to move out and taste that freedom again. I guess the problem is this......You know that astro van I talked about? The one I drove to taste that freedom? Well, my mom and dad sold it last Tuesday. My only means of escape. Yes, we have another vehicle but us kids aren't allowed to drive it. So here I am with a license and a want for freedom and I have no means of escape. My sister Jeanne and I are looking to get a loan to buy a car sometime this coming week, but it seems as if she's not even trying to look. I really need to get a car!
Ahhh, anyway. That's what we did today; went out looking at cars and then got home and searched online. It seems God is really and truly testing my patience, with my friends and family. My friends he uses to taunt me about not being able to drive to school and about my blond moments (Haha) and my Family he uses to test my temper. I have become so frustrated with my dad. If you knew him you'd understand, but I don't feel like ranting about him online. Today I said something to my mom I really regret and I know it was wrong...It just came out. I'm just so confused. Over homework and this lent I can't balance it out. I'm going crazy!


My God, I believe in you, I trust in you.
I love you above all things.
With all my heart, and mind, and strength.
I love you because you are supremely good and worth loving,
And because I love you I am sorry with all my heart for offending you.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner,
Amen.


*Sigh* I really need to focus on God. Lent is ending soon and I feel as if I haven't done anything to prove my love for him. Lent is a time where you reserve a bit of your life over the span of 40 days to focus on God. You offer up sacrifices for him. I feel like I haven't done a single thing for him except get angry. Tomorrow I can't stay longer after mass to say a couple more prayers before going to talk to friends like I did last week, but I can focus on mass itself, the blood and body of Christ is present and I have forgotten the importance of mass ever since things got busy. Singing has become a distraction instead of helping me stay focused because of our new Music Coordinator. But since I got to pick out music for tomorrow and I know they are good songs I can stay focused and start some new Lenten sacrifices for last two weeks of Lent.


So other than my failure as a Catholic to stay true to the Lenten season not too much has happened!
This is about the 3rd week of Spring Quarter and I am beginning to get use to my new-found friends. Mike and his girlfriend are really quite amusing. I found out his girlfriend is my old highschool teachers daughter! It was so weird but really funny. =)
Anyway, as for Colin...I cant figure out how I feel about him. He's a Christian who wants to save everyone around him. His friends are Christian as well but they don't know about our little discussion, haha(This is good because I don't want them ganging up on me!) Other than being a Christian he is really quite funny and as I said before he is very talented at the piano. As a test I gave him some sheet music from my favorite movie Gladiator. Apparently that is one of his favorites too and he's now halfway through the song. I am very jealous!
Though I am just waiting for him to bring up our discussion again...I'm keeping my distance...But I cant help but want to hang out with him and his group of friends, they're so open and funny. =)


So! Now that your up to speed with what's going on I'll leave you now. I will try as hard as I can to remember to post again at the end of this coming week. It's just really hard to remember with all of my homework.


Well, God bless and watch over you! Hope you're all doing better with your Lenten Sacrifices than I am!
In Jesus Christ,
~Katherine


Coming up next: Hopefully some good news on a car and better Lenten sacrifices!

Lord,
what you ask of my life seems so right.
It is how I want to live,
following your Son, Jesus, so closely.
And yet I fail so often to stay on that path.
I cannot do it alone, loving Lord.
I need your help and guidance.
I need to remember your love for me
and I want to remember
how very much I need you in my life.

Amen.

Jesus Christ be with me, always.

Japanese Friends

Hello again!
Wow what an intense two days! the reason I didn't post yesterday was because I was so tired! So I'll talk tonight. ;)
Wednesday we went to the State Capitol and had a tour with a homeschooling group. It was amazing! Out of the many years we having lived in Washington (My mother's life included) we had never gone to the Capitol. I felt powerful standing in that building...Haha.
I like Politics, but not in the way you think. I love the History of it. The fact that people stood in that building so many years ago is just so fascinating. (I'll be majoring in History in College. ;D) Anyway, I got to play the Capitol's piano too! I messed up a lot because the piano we have at home has letters written on the keys for the younger ones.
After that we traveled over to my aunt and cousin's house. Almost 2 years ago they had a foreign exchange student over from Japan, Miki. She and her mom came back for 4 days and we got to meet the mom, Tsugiko. She was the nicest person I have ever met! She was so open and spoke quite a bit of English. (Miki only new tid-bits so it was hard to communicate with her) When she didn't understand something she would have us stop and describe it or pulled out an electronic English-Japanese dictionary. ;D
It was so sad though...She was describing the experience with the earthquake/tsunami and how she lost a friend. She teared up at one point too. =( I felt so bad for her. I couldn't even imagine how I would feel if something so tragic happened to us.
For dinner we had stir-fry and sushi made by them so it was really good!
Anyway, we talked a lot about Japanese stuff. My mom, when she was younger, lived in Okinawa so she knew a lot Japanese foods.

Yesterday our aunt and cousin and the Japanese friends came to visit our house. They couldn't believe how big our house and yard was! Us having 9 people in the family we kind of need it. They said the biggest family they know has 3 kids! How crazy is that?
We showed them our four 1-year old chickens and our heoko(sp?) (That's Japanese for baby chicken(s)) we have 8 of those.
We made a spaghetti dinner for them with Caesar salad, garlic bread and a plate of cheese and olives and such. God even blessed us with a beautiful day of 60 degree weather! =D (Although it was very windy)

Today was intense....
Last week I registered for my drive test to get my license and it was today. All week I was stressed out and today was the worst. BUT, I passed! =D I am so glad! All my friends have their license and they are all younger than me. So now, even though I don't think I'll really be driving alone at all, I can show it to my friends and kind of be a part of the whole "I can drive" thing. x)
Later after my test we headed to Seattle to meet up with our the same family and friends. We went to Pike Place Market, The Cheesecake Factory, and my family's favorite, Uwajimaya!(That last one is a Japanese and Chinese store. It's so neat!)
You know, after being with this Japanese family I realize something. They have so many traditions and History  and, well, Japanese stuff. The kimono's, the food, even the language is all unique.
Then when you think of America, it's like "Ok, so what is American?" Hot dogs? That's kind of German. Sports? Yeah, why would people from across the world come all the way to see a sport?
I mean, all the food is pretty much taken from other countries and altered slightly thus making what we call "American cuisine" Honestly! Can you think of a single food that is ALL American?
And our clothes. As I said before the Japanese have the kimono. That goes back a very looooong time ago. They even still where it and it's still kind of in fashion. But here in America we don't really have anything like that...I suppose the cowboy hats and boots and such, but that's not ALL American....
Arghhh I just wish we could brag a little more. xD I try to put myself in their place and think "Ok, if I were living in Japan, why would I want to visit America?" I couldn't think of anything except maybe the countryside and ocean to see how different it is. Other than that our culture isn't all that exciting. Yeah, sure, we're independent and passionate about patriotism, but isn't that what all countries think about themselves as being?

Anyway I'm just rambling now. Tomorrow is my last weekday of Spring break and I plan to spend it being lazy and thanking God for all the great things he has done for me and my family.
Oh! Speaking of family (Yes, I have a little bit more, but I promise I'll be done after this!)
As I told you before my brother James(The eldest) is in Ethiopia, Africa. Well, we just found out that Muslims have been targeting Christians in a nearby town. It is about 60+ miles away from him. They have burnt 69 churches, 1 school and 1 office building. 1 person has died as well. This all started March 2nd so we're a little late in hearing the news.
We plan on calling James tomorrow to warn him and make sure he is safe. Any weird business going on over there and he needs to leave! It's just so scary. I can't imagine how mom and dad feel. =(
So, I would like to make a request. While you are praying for all the troubles going on in the East and West (Japan, Libya, New Zealand, Egypt...etc) Please keep in mind Ethiopia. There are many Christians over there doing Mission work to help the poor and uneducated. And especially pray that my brother makes it home safely for my other brothers wedding! (If not sooner. ;) )

This time I know I am done. Tomorrow I will begin enjoying break and Monday my first day of Spring quarter begins. I may write again next Saturday depending on what happens over the week!

God Bless!
~Katie

Coming up next: I have no idea! xD

                                                               Japan

Ethiopia