To everything there is a season...

“To everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season (turn, turn, turn), and a time to every purpose under heaven.”

Don’t tell me you weren’t singing along in your head! I remember my mom singing this to us growing up, but I think that I am only just now starting to realize what it really means.

We oficially leave Missouri, where we spent our first two years together, on Friday. Bittersweet. We loved it here, but we remember that this was a season of life, and now onto the next one. Below are some of the seasons we have seen together in our two short years as "Steins." I got nostalgic and thought you might enjoy some funny pictures!

A time of Firsts:

First house.

First snow.


Our first Christmas together.


First Anniversary.
(Joseph suprised me with tickets to go see Lion King in Kansas City!)


The fruits of our labor in our first garden.


Our first "baby"...Tex.



My first pro baseball game...go STL cards!


A time to play...


And a time to know when to take the lighter away!


A time to admit that any man who can cook is a superhero in my book!


A time to tear down...


And a time to rebuild.


A time to learn to branch out and try new things.
(Joe rewired all the light fixtures, fans, and outlets in our home with only one minor shock incident!)


A time for celebration... (Dave and Joe celebrated their birthdays together at our house. This was the last trip Dave was able to make.)


A time to treasure the ones you hold dear.







A time to learn to have fun together...




A time to explore new places...


A time to learn to take time to relax...


A time to learn that two heads are better than one!


A time to be brave...


A time to learn each other's quirks...
(Joseph is a mechanical engineer, which means he is very organized and thinks in straight lines...some call it anal, but i call him mine!! These are his cherry pits and stems...i was laughing so hard I just had to take a picture!)


A time to learn that if puppy training is this hard, we are truly afraid of what a baby will be like!
(To our parents...we are forever grateful for putting up with us! May we be as patient as you were when we have kids!)


A time for proud parents... our Tex graduates first in his class from doggy obedience class!


A time to hope, against all odds, for a miracle...


And a time to honor a life well-lived.


Seasons will come and go. There will be sadness, but it will be overwhelmed by joy and gladness.

I love the quote by Erma Bombeck that says, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would have not a single bit of talent left and could say,'I used everything you gave me.'"

We may be headed to a new place half-way across the country from our family and friends, but I am determined to make the best of it all. In these new seasons of life in front of us, I will love deeper, speak sweeter, serve more humbly, and give more freely. I will treasure the time that i have, because we never know if this season in life will be our last. I don't necessarily care if people remember my name, but i do want to leave a legacy of love.






THIS POST IN MEMORY OF DAVE O'BRIEN, a man who left a legacy of love.

goodbyes are never easy...

This week has been bittersweet.

One the one hand, we are so excited about Pennsylvania and a new adventure ahead of us, but on the other hand, we are sad to say goodbye to some very dear friends who have become so close over the last two years here in Missouri. Here are a few pictures from going-away parties and such.

Thanksgiving with Paul and Christy since neither of us had family close.
We do the cooking...


...and the guys play video games till its time to cut the turkey!


Bowling with our Sunday School class (Anthony and Mindy, Natalie, Kendal)






Jim and Gage(the sweetest little guy you have ever met and he can quote more Bible verses than any other kid in Awanas!)


Avatar 3-D


Kendal came too!


Lunch with Jessica...who is now pregnant with baby #2! Yay...i want pictures ASAP!


Jess and Andrew who were a tremendous help in getting the house ready...thanks guys!


Whitney, Daniel and the two cutest kids you've ever seen...Corban and Abram


Bryan and Kelsey (and baby Anna who is due in February!)


Megan and her bearded husband Dan...apparently "no-shave-November" went a little long this year! :)


Kendel our sweet realtor friend who was also in our Bible study



There are so many more...Roger and Jan, Lora and David, Dee and Erin, Curt and Lyndee, Jack and Shirley, everyone at Hawthorn and Clearfield-we will miss you all!! Thanks for your friendship and accepting us into your homes and families over holidays and being there for us-even in hard times. You have meant so much to us both...keep in touch and come visit if you want to get out of MISERY...oops! i meant to say MISSOURI :)

Love you guys!

The BIG 2-5!

Well, its official. I am old...and I am sure that my mom is just about having a heart attack this morning thinking that she has a daughter that is this old! It's inevitable mom!

Today i turn 25 years old. You may be thinking 'What, 25...old? This girl must be crazy!' But really, think about it, 25 is a big deal; a quarter of a century! If you would have asked me several years ago what i would be doing at 25...well i won't finish that sentence! I feel like the plans you make early on in life are so childish and naive it's almost embarassing! But now that i am here, life is exciting and full of promise. I have a wonderful man who loves me more than I think I deserve some days, I have a great dog (no kiddos, but that will come before i am thirty...please God let it be before I am thirty!!!), I feel like I am in a good place spiritually, I am moving to an exciting new place full of opportunities...life is pretty good in general I would say.

This year I ran a half-marathon, something I never thought i could do, but not only did I do it, I ENJOYED it! I became a better wife and learned to communicate better with my husband(a never- ending process, but progress nonetheless!), I took my Walk with God more seriously and got involved in Bible studies and church and learned the importance of investing in others- that's what we're here to do afterall, I looked straight in the face of great sadness and depression in losing my dad to cancer and every day gets a little brighter- and guess what, I'm winning! I made lifelong friends, I conquered fears, I remodeled a house...If i can do all of this, I know I can face 25!

I do get discouraged when I feel like I am in a losing battle with my gray hair (already!) and the wrinkles start to settle in more pronounced, but the grays can be dyed( can i hear an amen!) and the wrinkles are only there as a reminder of where a smile has been for many happy years, and that is okay with me! Some days I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but what's the fun in having it all planned out anyways!

To quote Edwin McCain, "These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive...I've got all I've waited for, and I could not ask for more."

So here's to the next twenty-five years; may they be more fabulous and full of joy than the first! (And may i find a good hair-colorist in Pennsylvania who can help a sister out...seriuosly!!!!)

My painful birthday gift!

Hello, my name is Katy and i am a sucker for infomercials. There, i said it! Whew!

I'm telling you, i cannot watch QVC for too long or it will suck me in-- seriously, those people have a talent to make you think whatever they are selling, whether it be a purse or denture cream, i wait with bated breath to see how it works and suddenly for no reason ,i am thinking I MUST HAVE THAT WONDERFUL THING! My husband loves to laugh at me because i get SO sucked in... and for what? Well, you will be relieved to know at this point in my story that i have never given into my QVC urges...occasionally i have been known to buy from the "as seen on TV" aisle in walgreens though. Below are the products that i have fallen for and given over $9.99. Most of them are a mistake...

Bumpits.... which make Joseph laugh uproariously when i try to put them in my hair... the "hollywood bumpit" makes you look more like Elvira than anything!


Smooth-Away, which is basically very fine grit sandpaper that you "smooth" ( aka grind against your skin with considerable force) to remove hair. In my experience, it removed only patches of hair, making me look like i had some kind of a disease and then promptly broke out in a rash of hives and ingrown hairs that took about two weeks to go away totally...dont waste your money!


Strap Perfect was actually a pleasant suprise! Thye keep the straps hidden and the girls looking perky... no more bra straps hanging out-- someone out there is a genius!


By the grace of God, i do not own a snuggie!



Drumroll please.......


This is it...my painful birthday gift! The Aero Pilates System as seen on QVC.


I have wanted this thing for over two years and i will watch the presentations for hours on end when it is on tv(i told you i am a sucker). So, the other day, Joe walks out of the room as they are talking about the pilates bench, and i mention for about the twelve hundredth time that i want one BAD. He walks into the office and shuts the door. Later that night, i find the receipt for a pilates machine laying on the computer with a note that says "happy birthday love." What a guy! If it was me, i would be squirming after five seconds and blurt out " dont you need to go check something on the computer!" And that's why we are so differnet! Anyways, it came several days early and i decided that i was going to put it together and give it a whirl. All the exercises are done sitting or laying down and you just kinda bounce on the little foot trampoline ( excuse me QVC, the "rebounder") and do some stretches.

SO after the first workout video, i think, hmm... im not feeling anything, maybe ill do the next one. This went on for about two hours. I did all three workout videos from start to finish...nothing. Frustrated that i had once again been duped by infomercials and they now had my hard-earned money, i called it a night and went to bed. THEN THE NEXT MORNING CAME!!!! Boy was i sore! I hurt in places i didnt know existed!

So, the moral of the story is if you get a new exercise machine, heed the warnings and do not overdo it, you are an amateur (and possibly a moron) and your body will hate you tomorrow for doing all three exercise DVD's in one sitting! Ill let you know how the workouts go, but im really excited about my painful present, thanks to my sweet husband!

pj's all day is a wonderful thing!

So, Joe is gone to PA for the week, the onslaught of buyers has not arranged to come look at the house (yet), and i quit my job on December 18th. SO, basically, this week i have stayed in my pj's all day and slept as long as i wanted, or at least as long as our dog TEX would allow me to! IT'S WONDERFUL!!! ( dont worry, i am still showering!)

Sometimes, i get bummed because the closing got pushed back or the inspector cancelled two more times, or there's another delay with moving, but i think im gonna choose to look at it as a gift: God's giving me some much-needed time to relax and unwind, to recoup from a crazy time of remodeling, working, etc. and just enjoy the last days here in Missouri in front of the fire. Its great, i play wii fit, i watch movies, i go play in the snow with the dog, i drink hot tea and have a fire going all day, i havent even had to think of things like laundry, and if my house is dirty-who cares! I can clean it up tomorrow! I think we all need days (or weeks) like this where the things that seem so pressing dont have to be overwhelming-- they can be pushed off for two more days. This time last year i got mono and struggled with my energy level all year as a result. It was a delicate balance between getting things done and exhausting all my energy for the next three days trying to clean the house and go to work. SO i am taking this time for me and resting and not overdoing it, and frankly, not caring!

So until hubby's plane lands Saturday, i might just stay this way! OOh, that does remind me-- i need to get around to shoveling the driveway sometime soon- its good practice for Pennsylvania! :)

"If You Say Go..."

Welcome to my first blog! If you know us at all, you know that we are in the middle of a huge transition in our lives-we are moving halfway across the country (in the middle of a nasty winter, i might add) all the way to Pennsylvania!

My sweet husband Joe and i were married November 3rd, 2007 and after the honeymoon, i left Texas and moved to Missouri with him, where we have had our first two years together. They have been happy years, but also years that we have learned A LOT obout each other and communication, and jut how to be married in general-- no one tells you how much work it will be. On second thought, maybe they do tell you and your eyes are just so glazed over in goo-goo-ga-ga-love that you block them out altogether! It is possible. Anyways, like my mom says, i digress.

So, we learned a few months ago that Joe got a huge transfer and promotion with his job here in Missouri and they would be sending us to an even SMALLER town in PA...like 5500 small! For this Austin native, if you dont have a Starbucks within five miles, you're in the sticks! (Dont worry about me too much--I made it two years here without a Starbucks for an hour, so I know i will be fine.)

After learning about the move, i went to a dear friend, C, who is a military wife and has moved i think like six times in five years...bless her heart! I asked her how i was supposed to prepare my heart for this life change and how i was supposed to have a good attitude and support Joe through all of this. C's advice was simple,"Katy," she said,"you dont want to be like some of the military wives i see who resent their husband for the move... you have two choices as i see it...you can either go willingly and be excited about the change and the new opportunity, or you can dig your heels and be bitter every step of the way, but either way, you're going!" Everyone needs a friend like C who can set you back on course!

So, here we are in the middle of lots of big changes. Joe is back and forth between MO and PA until we get there. I had my final day at my job and the remodeling we were doing on ther house is finally done. I put it on the market officially on Tuesday and thought " let the people come!" somehow i thought that there would be this instant flood of onlookers lining up in the snow to come see (and buy) my house! Not so, my friends! It is one of the coldest winters in thirty years here in Missouri and we just got another four inches on top of the four to six on the ground from Christmas...its bitterly cold and the hi/low for the next few days... 0/-20! Yes, look again, the HIGH is zero and that negative is not with the windchill...that's the actual low!! SO needless to say, my spontaneous gathering of eager buyers never showed... I will expect them this weekend though :).

If you want to know how to pray for us during this time...pray for peace- that it will all go smoothly. Pray that we would trust God with the details- He does have the plan afterall! Pray that we would sell quickly and make a profit, and that we will find a church home and good friends right away...i find that is one of the most important things in big moves. Lastly, pray that we will find our purpose in Pennsylvania and serve and love on the people-- my goal when i move to a new place is that i have left the last place a little bit better than when i got there. Joe would also like to throw in to please pray that if we have children while in PA, that they do not turn out to be little yankees and say things like "watuh". :)

It will be a whirlwind month- our closing will be on February 8th, and then we're off!


If life could be summed up in a song, i think this one would be ours right now. It says:

"If you say go,
We will go,
If you say wait,
We will wait,
If you say step out on the water,
And they say it cant be done,
We'll fix our eyes on you and we will run.
Your ways are higher than our ways,
And the plans that you have made are good and true,
If you call us to the fire, you will not withdraw your hand,
We'll gaze in to the flames and look for you."



** i feel like i would not be able to call myself a true Texan if i did not say "HOOK EM HORNS!!!!!!!!...Win the national championship tonight, and A &E, (joe's sisters) we'll be watching for you girls in the endzone in Pasadena!!!