Book Review: Stephen

"Norman Mavrich has no need for another hired hand, but when a young boy shows up asking for work, he can't turn him away. But where did the boy come from and what really brought him to the Triple Creek Ranch? The search for answers sends Bruce on an investigation and brings an unexpected conflict to the ranch family. Join the Mavriches, Mrs. O'Connor and the ranch hands for an eventful summer of hard work, fun and excitement."

If someone asked me which of the Triple Creek Ranch books by Rebekah Morris is my favorite, I would probably just give them a blank stare and say, “Ask me a question about the end times—even that would be easier to answer.” To tell the truth, Stephen comes the closest to being my favorite. I actually read it soon after we moved down here last year but never had time to write a review. I hadn’t realized how much I liked it until I just reread it. ; )

The Setting:

The story is, of course, set on the fabulous Triple Creek Ranch during summer. Awesome descriptions of the season and ranch life (including how to fix a fence, though I still don’t think I’ll ever be able to do it since I’m not strong enough). ; ) Probably my favorite part of the whole setting is the horses especially since there are a few new ones added in this book.

The Storyline:

The storyline was really amazing! Although the book is mainly about Stephen, the author didn’t drop the continued story of Orlena’s growing in Christ. I loved the lessons on reaching out to other and loving them especially the part where Norman says, “God made love to grow, if we share it. We can’t use it up.” Once again, the love of Christ really shone through the characters, and I loved the story of how they cared for Stephen.

The Characters:

The characters were delightful (and I almost have the ranch hands’ names down!) as always. The Mavrichs are just the cutest ever, and I love watching their family grow. Lloyd, Ky, Stephen, and Orlena rank next in my favorites; but I enjoy just about every character there is. (Nice detective work, Bruce! Thumbs up!)

The Concerns:

Parents should have caution in considering this book for younger readers because of some schoolgirl spats including calling another girl a liar. (Resolved, of course.) Also, the marriage relationship in this is very sweet and godly, but some parents may not want younger children to read this because there is a lot of married kissing throughout the book. : ) My main concern however would be SPOILER ALERT!!! an evil, distant relative that has mistreated the boy and is coming to take him back.

I was very excited to read this book and bought it ASAP with the Amazon money I was gifted with for that Christmas. (My relatives know me!!!) It arrived at our new house as we were barely just moving in, and I hurried to read it up. (Like snap it up. Yeah, forget I said that.) Now, I’ve started this year almost the same way (but not with the moving part, thankfully) by skimming Stephen again so I could finally review it. I’m sorry if this review is a little sketchy since I usually like to write them directly after I read the book the first time.

Altogether, I really loved this book! The only disappointment—after reading Rustlers, I had been completely drawn into Ky’s storyline and hoped to hear more about him. And then Rebekah Morris asked me to test read the fifth book—Ky’s book. But that’s a story for another time. ; )

Living Sermon

Here is my dad's sermon that I promised a few posts ago. This sermon has really blessed me, and I hope it blesses you as well! Have a great day!

A Few of My Favorite Things (Blog Tag)

The wild southwest has its pros. It also has its cons—one of which is definitely that winter always seems to end with Christmas. Now, of course, we still do have some good weather, but it doesn’t quite feel winter-y probably because of the lack of snow. When I found out that Elanee (from Elanee’s Endeavors) had tagged me for this survey, I was super delighted. And then I began to wonder, “How in the world does a desert gal like me write a post about her favorite Christmas/winter things when it really isn’t either right now?” I’ve decided to give it a try, and we’ll see what I come up with. ; )

The rules for this challenge happen to be… (1) Use the same title and adorable picture. (2) Answer the questions. (I promise to do that in a sec.) And (3) Tag five fellow fanciful fantabulous bloggers.

Okay, let’s get down to business…

1. What are some of your favorite “Snuggle Weather” books?

Good question that I’m really not sure how to answer since I love so many different kinds of books. I would have to say my Bible and anything that stirs me poetically and fits the moody weather. ; ) Those would probably be The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis (amazing essays), Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W.E. Cule (medieval Pilgrim’s Progress-like journey), Dreamlander by K.M. Weiland (amazing fantasy), Gift from the Storm by Rebekah Morris (heartwarming family story), and on and on. Another really great winter story I discovered last month is At the Christmas Lodge by Rebekah Morris. It is so cute! I also think that if I had the Aggie’s Inheritance series, I would definitely be reading through them right now. ; )

2. What is you favorite wintry snack?

Oh, snacks. Yummy. Definitely apple pie!!! I love making it, I love eating it, and I love the joy it brings to the people I serve it to. I can also convince myself that it is pretty healthy since the crust is so thin. ; ) Peppermint bark and some ginger cookies I just discovered (that I simply MUST get the recipe for) are also high on the list. Because we are trying to switch to gluten-free, however, my answer should probably be different next winter. ; )

3. What are some of your favorite hot drinks?

Chai tea!!!! I am totally crazy about it right now!!! It’s spicy, it’s milky, it’s sweet, it’s like coffee without the dirt taste and (the way I make it) without the caffeine! What could be better? The people in my family who usually don’t drink tea love it too! ; ) (And, just so you know, if you eat some chocolate on the side the flavors are even more perfect.) I also really like hot chocolate and hot apple cider, but Chai definitely ranks first. ; )

4. What are some of your favorite Christmas movies?

I can answer that one really easily!! For as long as I can remember, we’ve watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Nativity Story” every Christmas. They definitely spell Christmas for me! (Although I was all right when I didn’t get to watch the first one this year. ; P) They are both so amazing, but I especially love “The Nativity Story” as it reminds me of how beautiful God’s Gift to man really is. I also really enjoy “A Joan Walsh Anglund Christmas” (great childhood memories with this one) and “The Fourth Wiseman”. ; )

5. What are some of your favorite holiday songs?

Andrew Peterson’s outrageously awesome cd “Behold the Lamb of God”, Nat King Cole’s cd of Christmas favorites ; ), Josh Wilson’s recent song “Once A Year” (if that’s the right name…), and, of course, “The Carol of the Bells” in all three versions. ; ) I also love the hymns we sing in church to celebrate this special season especially “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”. “Adam’s likeness now efface…Stamp Thine image in its place…Second Adam from above…Reinstate us in Thy love…” We really should sing Christmas carols all year!

6. Favorite snow [rainy, cloudy, rainy-ish, cloudy-ish] day crafts?

Well, definitely writing. Cozy, gloomy weather helps me to get in the creative mood sometimes. ; ) I also discovered this year that I kinda’ like making Christmas cards whether or not I’m good at it. Baking, some sewing, and a bit of knitting are always fabulous too. ; )

7. Do you want to build a snowman?

No, actually. *sheepish smile as I prepare to make a horrible confession* I-don’t-really-like-snow. Phew. There, I said it. ; ) Don’t get me wrong—I love the decorative aspect of snow, the crunchy pretty aspect of snow, and even occasionally a vicious snowball fight—but I don’t love being in the snow. I’d rather stay indoors. ; ) (Though I have to say toddlers that look twice their regular chubby size because of their snow clothes are definitely special.) ; )

So, there you are! Those are just a few of my favorite things, but since I don’t get bit by dogs or stung by bees very often I’m very grateful for the reminder to look for the marvelous things in every day. ; ) What do you love most about Christmastime/winter?

Since that was so much fun, I’ll pass it on to Perry, Holly, the Tons and Bunches people ; ), Mrs. Bowes, and Rebekah.

Have a great day, everyone! ; )

Busy and Blessed

This weekend has been super busy and blessed. Added to the regular activities of usual weekends, it’s birthday season for us! ; )

Thursday

Buddies' actual birthday; but, since we were going to celebrate it on Saturday (so we could have Perry, Tyler, and the nephews come), a school holiday was declared as long as we played with the birthday girl all day. ; ) After some chores, a little bit of school that had a deadline, and that silly selfie session from my last post, the younger girls launched into a game of dollhouse. It was, of course, only a precursor to the main event when they were allowed to go outside and build a town. That’s right—a town. Em set up a very nice Doctor’s Office in the tree house (which was kind of funny because “injured” people had to climb up the ladder to get there) where I got a real bandage for a real injury; and Pearly set up a sort of carnival/game tent (Literal tent and one of the walls was held up by a rock on the roof that fell off later. No one was hurt!) with activities including guess the number of Skittles in the jar, a penny toss, a raffle, a hidden object challenge (bottle of rice with small objects in it—the challenge was to find them all), and a ball ramp she had made by herself. There were prizes and even badges that said things like “Champion of the Skooter Race” that they got to wear all day. (Em had her doctor name tag and two champion badges, so let’s just say she was very decorated!) ; ) Also very popular were the bags of complementary popcorn  with a few turns at the games. (Which was really good, because we were so busy playing that our meals were a bit off schedule.) ; ) Speaking of lunch, the Birthday Girl herself served it through one of our back windows as a drive through. I made a big batch of chai tea and served it in my new adorable glass mugs. It went like hotcakes! Buddies even wanted seconds after it was gone so she went and made herself more (with a little help from Aimee). ; ) Paul spent most of his morning on the computer making something mysterious and interesting for our game. None of the younger girls were allowed to look at the computer, but if they had I don’t think they would have understood what he was doing. (I had to be told, myself.) He coded an app for our family phones that read smart tags off “debit cards” that were linked with play bank accounts. Talk about an advancement from the tinfoil coinage of the old days when the big girls were little! He set up a tent and chose Birthday Girl as his assistant. She was so cute sitting there reading a book as he explained the cards to his primitive customers. She had dressed up for her birthday complete with stick-on earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet. Anna had done her hair in a French braid and twisted little hair jewels into it. Very grownup! ; ) She got even more dressed up because of the salon hosted by Anna and I. Anna set it up next to Pearly’s game tent on an old bureau that decorates the back porch in it’s own rustic way. She took a mirror, all the hair stuff, and a ton of small decorating items (including Christmas lights!!) outside and arranged them to make a very pretty picture. ; ) My job was to paint fingernails and toenails while she did hair and makeup. Mom let us have the rare treat/torture of using some of her makeup like face paint. (I tried a little and it turned out like war paint so I washed it off.) ; ) Anna got into the act and dressed up as a crazy salon lady, and we used a little face paint to get the clown next door into character. The pictures say it all. ; ) Tyler surprised Buddies by dropping by on his way home from work to wish her a happy day. He was a little astounded by our costumes; but he seemed to enjoy seeing the town, and she certainly enjoyed showing it off. ; ) So we played until it was almost completely dark (or maybe it was completely dark), then came inside to warm up. My favorite part of the day was definitely when Birthday Girl thanked us all by saying, “Thank you so much for playing with me, guys!”

The lovely M.D (Mother on Duty)

The "clown"

Mayor and secretary

Getting dark!

The crazy salon lady, the M.D., and a little sliver of Yours Truly

Friday

We did do some school, and I did get some editing/writing in. I actually finished editing “The Book of Dreams” as much as I can, and I’m looking forward to sending it out to test readers hopefully soon. My current writing WIP is “One Day After Eden” and my editing WIP is now “Letters for Victory”! ; ) That evening, we went to some friends’ house to have dinner with them and learn to make their Paleo friendly apple cake. (It was so good!!! I’ll have to put the recipe here sometime.) We had a great and blessed time with them. ; )

Saturday

Oh, wow. We packed in four days’ worth of stuff on this day! The first day of this day was Dad’s birthday celebration (since it was actually his birthday) where Mom gave him a collage she had made to commemorate our years in the Northwest. The second day, Dad, Em, and I had to do some last minute birthday shopping for Buddies before her celebration later that included going to Barnes and Noble and the Christian bookstore. *angels sing* It was a ton of fun! Back home, I helped to finish cleaning the house and Em and Anna closeted themselves to wrap the presents. (They did an adorable job!) Day three: the relatives arrive! Perry, Tyler, Chap, Chum, and Brudder Baby as well as our local aunt and uncle! We had a nice party appreciating Birthday Girl, eating too much ice cream, and watching as she celebrated over each present. ; ) Dad also got another present—this time from us. Starbucks giftcard but since we only have non-birthday girly cards in the house, Aimee’s sense of humor told her to use a sympathy card. “In sympathy for all the health problems this coffee will cause.” ; ) ; ) ; ) And then day four, all the adults left for a courtship discussion with a few other families from church as they introduced the idea to a homeschool group. We got the babies!!!!! (All except Brudder Baby but I didn’t complain too much.) ; ) Chap and Chum kept us on our toes (and themselves happy way past bedtime) with dancing to “The Fiddler on the Roof”; cooking with kid kitchen (They both pray over food, and Liam loves “cutting” wooden food with a little wooden knife. He would have done that all day if there hadn’t been anything else to do!); playing doggy with streamer leashes; and just being generally cute. Buddies got to share one of her birthday gifts, the first volume of What’s in the Bible with Buck Denver, with them which was pretty fun. I think they liked it even if they felt the need to play a little Duplo when they got bored for a moment. ; ) So cute! Anyways, it was a great day!

Birthday Girl!!!

Chef Chum ; )

Sunday

Dad wanted to take us to Savers for his birthday, and since there was a big sale we thought we would snag a little time at the store before our afternoon church. We found some great things, but we were a bit rushed getting to church since it ended up taking a lot longer than we had thought. Dad preached some of the last few verses of the book of James this Sunday. It was so good! The sermon will definitely be posted here in the near future since it is about serving God in every area of life. The communion service was really great too, especially since one of our piano players from the church’s early days was in town so we resurrected a really amazing communion song we used to sing. Fellowship afterwards was simply amazing as I found myself talking to people I don’t usually get to, and we were discussing amazing principles from the Bible (and coming up with analogies that include water balloons so they definitely break down). And the nephews were awesome as always. That’s a given. ; )

Monday

Oh, wow, that’s today! The only reason I’m writing this right now is because I’m the only one up and my computer was handy, but today is going to be busy. We’re renters, so it’s time for the annual walk through and we have a few things to do. (Like yardwork—because weeds always grow.) Dad is home because it’s MLK day, so I’m excited to see what we’ll do when the work is all over. Mom’s birthday is tomorrow, and we have a good long week of school (and editing/writing!) ahead of us so I’m excited. ; )

What about you? How have you been busy and blessed?

Sister (and a Brother Too) Selfies

Sister selfies... We were all either sitting on or smashed against Anna. She very valiantly held onto her phone and took these pictures amidst buckets of giggling. ;) 

Oh, wow, and a brother too! Yikes!

I am so blessed to be a part of this crazy fun group! Hopefully next week I'll be able to tell you about the awesome play town we made together. ;)

Book Review: The Blackstar of Kingston!!!

"A century before Heather and Picket's adventures in The Green Ember, a displaced community fights for hope on the ragged edge of survival.

My place beside you
My blood for yours
Till the Green Ember rises
Or the end of the world.
Whitson Mariner and Fleck Blackstar face old fears and new enemies, forging a legend that will echo through the ages. 
Old wars haunt. New enemies threaten. An oath is born. 
A hero rises." (Amazon synopsis)

So after I read The Green Ember and loved it to pieces, I began to try to stretch my Amazon money to buy a paperback copy of its prequel. The author, S.D. Smith, had done such an amazing job with his other story that I wanted more, more, more. ; ) And why not buy paperback while I was at it? While I was still in the stretching process, The Blackstar of Kingston became free on Kindle. Oh the temptation to pick it up! Then I found out Mom had picked it up. Oh the temptation to read it! Don’t ever look at the cover, table of contents, prologue, and first chapter of a book if you intend to wait on reading it. Confession: I read it in a day and a half.

The Setting: Again set in the fantasy world of Natalia, this book has a lot of the same feel as its sequel but a whole new dimension of its own. Instead of a broken kingdom with a lost king, this time it is the beginning of a kingdom being carved out in a new land. And again, it’s so awesome that the characters are rabbits because it makes action and danger so different. This time it’s not just rabbits with swords—some of them have bows too which is good because they are being attacked from above! (And the rabbits look really cute with them in the pictures, but that’s beside the point.)

The Story: This book was a lot shorter than The Green Ember which naturally made it more fast-paced. While it lacked the fabulous mystery of its sequel, it made up for that in brilliant action and inspiring moments. (I underlined so much in some places because I seriously couldn’t read a page without finding some gem!) ; ) The main lessons in the story were being loyal and hoping for the future. I loved reading about Heather and Picket’s heroes of old, finding out the significance of the green ember, and having something more to read about Natalia. ; )

The Characters: I loved Fleck Blackstar. He was loyal, passionate, cautious, and heroic. Definitely one of the best rabbits ever. (He invented that really cool pledge!) Humble King Whitson Mariner, Massie, Burnley, and Gavin were also huge favorites of mine. And little Prince Lander is pretty cute. ; )

The Concerns: Parents should have caution in considering this book for younger readers because of some intense un-graphic action. (Seriously, birds of prey with blades strapped to their feet and torches to set your ships on fire is really scary when you are a rabbit!) Other concerns include a young child/rabbit in danger, a destroyed town, and a rabbit who is so scared it's making him go crazy.

So, that’s the prequel I was longing to read. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to decide which book is better because this one is an action-packed story of their inspiring history and the sequel is a complicated, surprising mystery full of hope for the future. To make this decision even worse, the author is coming out with another book this spring. (I seriously cannot wait to see what happens to my most favorite rabbits ever!) Sigh.

I really liked this part of the book because it was so unlike others I have read...

“’They are well, thank you,’ the king said. ‘Last night I broke the news to Prince Lander that he was not to accompany us on our return trip, and he was—how shall I say it—Most displeased.’ Fleck smiled. ‘His Royal Highness has spirit. It will serve him well when he is king.’ ‘But he must learn obedience,’ the king said. ‘That will serve him better.’”

And I have to share just this one quote in closing so you can see how awesome Blackstar is. ; ) 

“It was the little prince who spoke, arresting Fleck’s waking dream. ‘You don’t seem afraid, Captain Blackstar,’ he said. ‘You’re smiling.’ Fleck realized that he was and that now the prince was smiling too. ‘I am afraid,’ Fleck said, tenderly touching the prince’s head. ‘But I keep on loving what’s on the other side of this fight. And that will have to make me brave.’”

Spring is just too far away...

King Tut, Chicken Feed, and Editing

A lot of cool things have happened this year. (This year as in the last week, because that’s all there has been.) I mean, there’s been cheesecake, funny moments, new schedules, etc. What’s not awesome about that? ; )

I’m grateful for…

Cheesecake. I made my very first cheesecake ever, and it was so much fun! I got to smash graham crackers, get my hands all yummy messy pressing them into the world’s coolest pan, snitch a little occasionally, taste my cream cheese mixture to see if it was just right, and peak at the gorgeous creation (well, it didn’t turn out perfect looking, but I could see deeper) sitting in our refrigerator. And then we ate it. So yummy. So yummy. So yu---you get the point. But you still need a picture...

And also I thought it was really cool how the graham crackers in the pan looked like a bucket of chicken feed. Don’t you think so?

Our new Bible reading plan. It’s a chronological approach to reading the Bible through in a year; and it’s only five days a week, so if we get behind there are a couple days to catch up. It’s been really great how our family has been all on the same page, so to speak, so we can discuss our reading together. I haven’t read the book of Mark very well since I tend to prefer Matthew and John, but our schedule has opened my eyes to some of the treasures in there. For example, when the demon possessed man whom Jesus had healed wanted to come with Him, Jesus wouldn’t let him and said this instead, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” (Mark 5:19b) Words to me too!

School. I finished up all my textbooks last year, but I have a bit of science and history to do now that our school year has started again. It’s been really fun to study alongside my siblings especially when my brother says “scientific attitude” in the Lobster Bisque voice during our discussion group or we research extra information on King Tut (because our books are over twenty years old, and we wanted to know the current research) or the Foucault pendulum. There are some pretty fascinating things to know out there! I also love how God-honoring our science textbook is. No evolutionary fairy tales to deal with there!

Editing. Since I don’t have that much school to do and since I counted and I have five to seven works I want to publish and since I’m a flake about editing and jump to the creative writing first, I’ve been editing. I don’t really set New Year’s goals or resolutions, but if I did that would probably be one—discipline yourself, Katie, and edit. I’ve started a sort of rewards system for myself. If I edit for half an hour, I am entitled to up to one free hour of creative writing. ; ) I’ve only done this four times this week, but I’ve seen the results and love it! The creative writing doesn’t always go for very long (depends a lot on when dinner happens), but I’m happy to get some editing done. ; )

Our littlest student. She can read almost perfectly, and she’s not even the age I started learning at! When we read the Bible aloud during family devotions, she amazes us all. ; ) She’s still learning the spelling side of things, but I thought I’d share this picture of her adorable school sheet.

A short story. I was on Amazon (I do that often) looking through Rebekah Morris’ sale on her books when I saw her short story “At the Christmas Lodge”. Oh, nice, something new to read. Only a buck. Kindle. It’ll be here in two minutes. I’ll buy it. It was awesome! Very cute and Christmas-y. I highly suggest you go check it out if you’re looking for a nice, quick read. ; )

FroYo and FroCo. Yeah, I’m a nerd. Those stand for frozen yogurt and frozen coconut in case you were wondering. (I think I made the second one up, so you were most definitely wondering.) We’ve been trying to go low-carb, gluten-free, almost Paleo just because it’s better for my sister’s T1D and everyone else in the family’s possibility of getting it. We haven’t been doing the best at eating this way, but when we do her glucose numbers are awesomely regular. I’m the breakfast cook in the family, and it’s been interesting to try to switch my brain over from the sugar-y wheat bombs to something actually nutritious that still tastes pleasing. There are only so many options for breakfast food, so we’ve been trying to think creatively. (Sweet potatoes for breakfast, anyone?) Hence my frozen stuff. We have smoothies planned for this week and since we’re trying to stay away from milk and bananas (my usual staples in the smoothie world) I’ve decided to experiment with yogurt cubes and coconut milk cubes. They are just the coolest frozen! I’ll let you all know how they taste in blueberry smoothies and chocolate peanut butter smoothies. ; )

Nephews. Even though we haven’t gotten to see them in a little while, it’s been awesome to hear stories about them. The other day, for instance, Chap walks up to his mom and says, “Kungun needs chlokit.” (Kungun is how he says his name.) Isn’t that so funny?!! We love our “happy boys” as Aimee calls them. ; )

So that’s what my week has been like. How about you?

And I can’t get over that “chicken feed bucket”. ; )

Top Ten Posts of 2015

I had a lot of fun looking through my stats to figure out which posts people seemed to enjoy the most. Of course, it is a little heavy on the reviews because those tend to be shared on social media more; and several posts tied for their places, but here you are... ; )

1. Book Series Review: Aggie’s Inheritance

It's rare for me to find a series I can recommend so highly. It's even rarer for it to be a series of "romance novels". These books are so awesome, and this was probably one of my favorite posts to write this year! If you are a young woman looking for a good read, I highly suggest this series. ; )

2. How to Spell “Aimee”

In which I share funny pictures and attributes of one of my favorite older sisters. ; ) (She was a teeny bit mortified and also blessed to get this post about her. ; P)

3. Book Review: Be Thou My Vision 

I honestly think this one got so many views because the book in question was free at the time. ; ) Just be sure to notice that it is no longer, but it's a pretty good book so maybe it's worth buying. ; )

4.-6. My Bookshelf of Oddities and Amazingities (Part Two), My Bookshelf of Oddities and Amazingities (Part One), My Ebookshelf (Small Though It Be)

Um, yeah. Books. Um, yeah. I have a problem, don't I? Well, if you want help with your problem or want to see just how bad mine is, you might enjoy these posts. ; )

7. Book Review: The Green Ember!!!

I love this book! It is so awesome-ly, awesome, and awesome-ish. I'm running out of words to describe how good it is, so go ahead and read the post because I say it a lot better than I can. (Wow, that was awkward.) ;)

8. New Experiences Every Day

In which I describe pop rocks, a little of our Bible Bee adventures, and introduce my blog button.

9. Spray Bottles, Dragons, and a Makeshift Choir

I loved writing this post, and the title just makes me smile remembering some of the smaller blessings I have had this year. ; ) 

10. A Camping We Did Go

This was one of our highlights of the year as we enjoyed hanging out with church family and family family. ; ) I loved taking the pictures and enjoying the happy memories all over again as I put the post together. Definitely a very awesome, fun experience this year!

So, there you are! I hope you all have been having a splendid new year!!! ; )

Grateful for 2015

Wow, I can hardly believe that 2015 is already over! Every other blog post you’ll read this week will probably start with those same words, but isequelh it’s the truth—time flies. There has been so much to be grateful for this past year, even the fact that this year happened. The world was supposed to end in 2012, so don’t forget that we are all miracles, folks.

It would never do to try to exhaust everything awesome that happened in the last 365 days. My brain would steam and yours would fall out your ear. So I’ll just cover the categories and please forgive me if I leave something out. ; )

I’m so grateful for…

• My family. The more I live the more I learn that my family is awesome. They are my built in friends, Romans, countrymen, critics, laugh track, comedy show, iron sharpeners (‘cause I have a pastor-dad!), and friends. Nobody else in the world would giggle at 11 o’clock at night about dropping flashlights or understand the joke “the eggs rolled off the ceiling”. (We don’t even understand that one.) Nobody else in the world would properly appreciate the term Calminian or be able to go on all day about the Trinity and constitutional rights at the same time. And definitely no one else would die laughing over our brother’s ability to mimic the voice of everyone in our family and beyond.
• More of my family. Yeah, I’m talking about the cute chubby ones and their chauffeurs. The Chap and the Chum and their tiny brother who is trying to learn to crawl so he can join them in throwing all their toys out the bedroom window and hosing each other down when Dad and Mom aren’t looking. They lived with us for five months this year in which we got to witness Chum getting un-chubby enough to be able to walk, Chap learning to do fist-bumps and say all sorts of intelligent things, and their fabulous brother being born. Then we got to help move them into their own little house, and altogether it’s been altogether amazing. ; )  The chauffeurs are pretty amazing too, by the way. Perry is great for calling and telling all about the three mile thick novel you are never going to write or getting all the advice you could ever need whether you want it or not. ; P (Hi, Perry! I know you are reading this! This part is for you!) And Tyler is awesome to bake for and shoot with Nerf darts.
• Church family. Since we started out on that infamously crazy road trip to move down here a year ago, they have been so welcoming and helpful. It’s been great to learn and grow and laugh and love with them all. Probably my two favorite things I’ve done with them all this year were our church picnic in April and caroling this past Christmas Eve.
• Friends. Most of my friends are at my current church, but if I didn’t talk about this category I’d be leaving out the special people back in the Northwest and my pen-pals far and near. All of these people have enriched my life so much.
• Media. I don’t mean the tv/social networking/newspaper kind. If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you’ve probably noticed that this year has been a book explosion for me. There are definitely too many books for me to mention; but my favorites this year have been Dreamlander, Gift from the Storm, The Green Ember, its prequel The Blackstar of Kingston, The Warden and the Wolf King, and the Aggie’s Inheritance series. It’s not just books that I’ve been enjoying this year either. Andrew Peterson’s albums “After All These Years” and “The Burning Edge of Dawn” have been used by God to draw me so much closer to Him, and Handel’s “Messiah” is going to be a forever favorite now that I’ve heard it live. Two of my favorite movies this year are probably “Inside Out” and “The Stratton Story” (Jimmy Stewart—yup, yup!); but “Cinderella” isn’t on there just because I still haven’t seen it yet. (Goals for this year…) ; )
• Projects. Very sorry to bore you with more of “Kate’s Nerd Stuff”, but this year has been awesome for writing and test reading. I’ve written three short stories, two 10k words stories that I like tolerably well, and I’m halfway through another. I’ve also gotten to test read three manuscripts this year, which is always fun because it’s been rare for me to get to read something by someone who’s living and breathing right now and is asking my opinion. ; ) I love working out my worldview and imagination in story form and the sharpening from fellow authors is pretty awesome. The two Rebekah’s and the lovely people at Noble Novels have been a big part of that process this last year. (And those funny phone calls with Perry!) ; )
• Little things. A mini muffin tin; family celebrations; our sweet dog Ella (Nana if there ever was one!); sunny, breezy days; boots (I just got some for Christmas!!!); driving two hours just for the world’s best Mexican food; teaching a little friend from church how to say my name; old pictures; swings… There’s so much more, but you get the idea. Aren’t you proud that I didn’t accidentally sneak more books into this category? ; )
• Lessons and love. I have big problems with fear. I have big problems with change. I have big problems with adoring people but not wanting to talk to them because they are just too scary. I have big problems with controlling my imagination. I have problems with trust. I still have problems with crying when I smash a dish and then getting all defensive. I have problems with managing to get everything done. But when God said, “Let there be a Katie”, He knew there would be a lot of problems with her. Her teeth would be crooked; she would be afraid of the dark; she would love Him one moment and forget Him the next. God knew all of that. He loved her unconditionally. He sent His Son to atone for all of her sins. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in her heart to conform her to His image, and He gave her lessons this year to teach her. And someday, when all things are made new so will Katie. Right now she’ll listen to Andrew Peterson’s songs “The Rain Keeps Falling” and “Rejoice”. She’ll talk about herself in the third person so she can tell her blog readers about herself while pretending that that problematic person is someone else. ; ) And she’ll strive to love people and listen to the Holy Spirit. 

All of that is why I am grateful. What about you?