Christmas lights

I love looking at Christmas lights. It is one of my favorite things about the holiday. Over the past few weeks, I have had the pleasure of getting my full dose of lights! A few weekends ago, I went to Houston for Lights in the Heights. My great friend since elementary school, Genie, had people over so we could all go together. Brad and April joined me for the Houston adventure. We dressed up in tacky sweaters, had yummy hot toddies, and got to soak in the holiday spirit. April had a bell in her hair, I found a huge bow the size of my head and made it into a headband and Brad and I went to Wal-mart and found some awesome/tacky Christmas sweaters. There were TONS of people walking through the streets. I had no idea how big of a deal it was. Some houses had bands playing in their front yard, some had decorations in their yard for us to take pictures with, while others just went all out on their lights.

Brad made a friend

presents!

awesome sweaters

check out the bell and bow

On Friday, I got a text from Brad saying that he had an idea of what we could do for the night. He said it was a surprise...I needed to dress warmly (because it was outside) and he would be at my house in an hour. I put on my scarf, gloves, boots and jacket (better over-dressed then under!) We drove to a random garage to park the car and walked a few blocks. We turned the corner and there we were! Brad took me to 37th street to look at the awesome lights. It was like Lights in the Heights, only with the Austin spin. They go all out! Everything in the yard was covered with lights. There was 1 family who dressed up like Santa and the Elves. They made hot chocolate in a huge pot in the middle of the yard, and were handing out candy canes. I had no idea there was a street that did this every year for the Christmas season!

Both Lights in the Heights and 37th street are now on my list of Christmas traditions!

organization

I love organization. One of my favorite things to do is buy a fresh new calendar and then go through each month and mark birthdays, fun events, etc. I also love new office supplies...but that is neither here nor there. Anyhoo, I love organization! Sometimes, if I have a lot of time on my hands, I find random ways to be more organized... just for the fun of it. Hmm should I maybe keep some of this to myself? Am I making myself sound super cool? Probably not. Oh well. I stumbled across this on one of my favorite blogs Bright Bold and Beautiful. I want this. I need this. Dear Santa, please build me this exact office space in my apartment. Thanks! Love, Katelyn

*PS- yes, I am fully aware of how big of a dork I am. I have embraced it. It's fine.

all

I like neat packages. I like to know what to expect. I don't do well with change. While some people love the unexpected and get bored after being in one place for a few months, I am on the other side of the spectrum. I am what you call a nester. I like to set up shop, get into a routine, learn my surroundings, figure out what to expect... that sort of thing.

Lately, I have nothing 'neat' in my life.... and it's killing me! I think this is God's way of saying "Hello Katelyn! You need to slow down and trust me." Well, God, you are exactly right. I have been trying to put ALL my faith in Him... trusting that He will lead me to where I need to be. Where do you want me to work? What do you want me to do with my life? Where can I go to better serve you?

ALL- this is such a hard word for me. I am good at trusting God with most things. I struggle with turning over every anxiety; every worry or thing that causes me a headache when I think about it for too long. :)

**ALL: entire, total, complete, everything.

My prayer these days is help to trust Him with every single little or big thing in my life. It's hard for me to give up that control, but I know it is the best thing I can do. Some days, it is incredibly easy, but it is on the tough days when I need to do it the most. Those days when I want to take matters into my own hands and handle it myself; that's when I need to stop and say, "OK. I can't do this without you. I am giving this to you."

1st adult Christmas tree

Here it is.... my first adult Christmas tree! I am such a proud mama. Since I don't have any room for a tree in my shoe-box of an apartment, Brad and I decided to get one and put it in his house. Thanks to Home Depot, we found the perfect tree! It is a 6 foot, freshly cut, well-priced tree. It made the house smell so yummy! I am slightly (very) jealous that the tree is at his house and not mine, but that is neither here nor there.

The tree! Isn't it pretty?! I didn't have very many ornaments or lights, and since we wanted to keep this a low budget project, we made do with what we had. I think it turned out pretty good. It fit perfectly in the corner. Our mission this week- find a good angel for the top.
We wanted everyone to be able to see our tree through the window. And by everyone, I mean the people in the front house and us...

purpose driven connection

I subscribe to Purpose Driven Connection emails, and this is a such a great message! I had to share.

God Made You and You Belong to Him

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Luke 1:46-47

When it comes to planning, many Christians act like atheists. They realized Jesus saved them, but they don't really trust him. They think they can plan their life any way they want to. But the reality is everyone is created by God, and he made each person for a unique purpose. He has a specific destiny for everyone.

God had a plan for Mary. He chose her and he created her to become the mother of the Son of God. And what was Mary's response? She didn't say "I've got my own plans for my life. I'm too busy. I have to do what's best for me." No, she realized God had a purpose for her life and she was willing to do whatever he wanted.

Her response was a song of praise, "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Mary recognized that God was her Lord and Savior and she was eager to do his will. She trusted him with her life even though she knew no one would believe her when she told them what the angel said.

Do you trust that God has made you for a specific destiny? The Bible says, "Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people." (Psalm 100:3)

You didn't make yourself. God made you. He created you and designed you and you belong to him. God's destiny for your life is better than any plan you'll ever come up with. So if you're going to trust somebody with your life, who better to trust than your Maker, the one who created you for a purpose?

bold

There is a grocery store near me that has the brightest and boldest colored flowers I have ever seen. I LOVE them! They make me smile. They make a statement. Instead of looking like an idiot and taking pictures of them at the store, I went online and found some pictures that are very similar to the flowers in the store. Have you ever seen anything so pretty?! For Christmas, you may get me tons of bright/ bold colored flowers. Thanks!

introducing the world's smallest tree

Yes, this is my pathetically small Christmas tree. I love decorating for Christmas, but have no place for said decorations in my shoe box. So, may I introduce... (drum roll please).... the world's smallest Christmas tree! WOOHOOOO! It sits on my little kitchen table and provides me with Christmas spirit. As you can see, I have Mr. and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers standing in front of the tree. I have plans to add more spirit around my house, but for now, this little tree will have to suffice. Isn't it cute??

the gym

With my cracked hip bone and 80 year old body telling me I need to stop running for awhile, I decided to join a gym. I settled on Gold's... mainly because they have a location just a few short skips away from my office. Getting myself motivated after I am already home from work is anything short of a miracle. So, I figured this would help with that problem....Hello best idea ever! I joined a little over a month ago, and I have very much enjoyed going. I bring my clothes to work, I don't have to worry about parking, and I can just walk down there whenever I am finished at the office.

For some reason (one I can't really figure out) I get shy at the gym. I feel out of place with all the weights, I tense up and I just want to keep to myself, work out, and then get out. The downtown location seems to be good for me. It's small and (depending on the time of day) not overly crowded. Everything is great... except for 1 small problem... the guys there are creepers!!

Example 1- I get to the gym around 10:30 on a random Saturday morning & it is almost empty... Perfect in my opinion! I get on the stair elliptical, turn up the iPod and get to work. About 30 minutes into it, this random dude who works there walks by, stops in front of me and starts talking to me. He introduces himself and says, “Hey. I would be happy to give you your free training session that you received when you signed up”, and then walked away. I figured okay, that’s odd, but, whatever. A few minutes later, he comes back with his card (cell phone on the back, of course). I say thanks, and figure that’s it. NOPE! He decides it would be a good idea to stand on the stair elliptical next to me (not work out- STAND) and say "I have some time to spare, so I figured I would talk to you." OH.MY.GOSH. By this time, I am sweating, breathing hard and in no mood to be polite to this guy who thinks this is okay. I take my head phones out and say "What?" So he STANDS on the machine and starts asking me random small talk questions. I try to be polite, but also try to give out a vibe that says “HELLO! I AM NOT INTERESTED. I am here to work out- not talk to random guys.” It didn’t work. He stayed for maybe 10-15 minutes. I ended up leaving the gym before I was finished. He annoyed me.

Example 2- This happened to a friend of mine. She was minding her own business, doing crunches on a bench. The bench is located kind of under the stairs. She had her iPod in. This rando comes up to her (while she is in the middle of her crunches) and says, "Looks like you are in the zone." First off- Way to go on the worst pick up line ever. So, she takes out her ear phones and says what? He repeats himself. Her response- oh, yeah, I guess so... He doesn't seem to get the hint. "You should put a poster of a guy on that wall so you have someone to stare at when you do crunches." Once again, I say OH.MY.GOSH. Seriously?! He then proceeds to tell her he wants a picture of Halle Berry to be taped everywhere in the gym, so he can stay motivated at all times. She did the awkward smile thing and put her music back in. He finally got the hint and walked away.

I could keep going but I think you get the picture. While the gym is a great place for me to go while I can't enjoy running around Town Lake, I do not appreciate the boys who attempt to pick up girls at the gym. Now, I am FULLY aware that I am not the only girl they hit on. In fact, I am 100% confident they hit on every girl in the place. So, please don't think I am walking around the gym thinking I am hot stuff... trust me... I am not. I asked a bunch of girlfriends their opinions and we are all in agreement- leave us alone! It's not attractive. It's not cool. It doesn't make us feel good about ourselves. Stop it. Leave girls alone at the gym! :)

**Please feel free to share any of your funny gym stories. I know I am not the only one who has them.**

pictures from thanksgiving

Mom, Allison, Rebok and Dad

Aunt Lynn, Aunt Katherine, Mom and Allison

My family... being 'candid'

the boys

the ladies

don't skip Thanksgiving

I was talking with a friend yesterday, and we came to the conclusion that, for whatever reason, Thanksgiving has been skipped this year. The stores went from Halloween decorations to Christmas decorations. No wonder time seems to be passing by at warp speed.... we forgot a holiday! I don't like to skip holidays. I love to decorate my extra small shoebox (aka my apartment). I can't wait to one day have a house and be able to decorate more, but for now, I have to stick with the very small space that I have. When I think of Thanksgiving decorations, I think of pumpkins, fall colors, candles and cranberries...among many other things. These are a few fabulous decorations I came across the other day. I wish I had the space for all of them in my shoebox! Aren't they pretty??!?! Me likey.

thankful

I am truly blessed. I have so many things to be thankful for:

• my parents
• my crazy sisters
• amazing friends
• having a job
• living in Austin
• having an huge/crazy/Godly/sometimes overwhelming loud/loving/wonderful extended family who I am close with and get to see often.
• sunshine
• roommate reunions
• church
• Estes Park, Colorado
• google maps
• the lake house
• evening walks
• phone conversations with friends who are far away
• road trips
• sales at all my favorite places
• pictures
• DVR
• Baylor University
• pockets on almost any type of clothing
• fun jewelry... or "costume jewelry" as my mom would call it.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I am truly blessed and beyond lucky. Thank you Jesus.

amazing roomies/roommate reunions

:)

my crazy family

sweet friends

my sisters and parents

never

Mark my words. I will never dress my children in matching outfits. I will never make them wear hideous matching hats. My mother should be ashamed of herself. I. Am. Appalled.

glee

I love Glee. I know I am just one of the thousands of other people who love it, and I am totally fine with that. I mean, what's not to love? Great songs? Check. Awesome performances? Check. Incredibly witty one liners by Sue Sylvester? Check. Gwyneth Paltrow on last week's episode? CHECK!

Thank you Gwyneth for the Umbrella/Singing in the Rain smash up. It was lovely. I very much enjoyed it. While we are on the subject, I would also like to give credit to the Stop! In the name of Love/Free your Mind smash up and the Start me up/Livin on a Prayer smash up. But, I will admit, I love all the smashes. If you are one of the few people who have never seen the show, please don't talk to me ever again until you have watched at least one episode. Thanks. :)

Baylor vs. A&M

Last weekend Baylor played A&M. We tried hard, but couldn't pull out a win. Right now, our record is 7-4, which is great! We are still bowl eligible and have improved SO MUCH! This weekend was full of fun friends, which equals a win in my book. I ran into my sweet little, Anna. I always love seeing her! Mary and Craig came to the game and tailgate. I am ignoring the fact that Craig went to A&M.... All in all, another great weekend for the books.

pray big

My uncle, Will Davis, is a preacher, writer and all around great guy. I look up to him so much! One of my favorite books of his is Pray Big: The Power of Pinpoint Prayers. It teaches you how to pray. He writes about how it is okay to pray for the little things, pray for yourself and pray for the things that you might not think worthy of a prayer. I learned a lot from this book, and recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Today's Pinpoint Prayer: Lord Jesus, I pray that you might pour out your grace and peace on me and my family today as I lean into my relationship with you. From 2 Peter 1:2.

Dear Lord,

Please help me learn to trust you more when I am uncertain and questioning. Please teach me how to trust the uncertainty, because I know it is not uncertain to you. You have your hand on my future, and you are looking out for me. Please help me to relax in that knowledge.

Rebok is engaged

My sweet baby sister got ENGAGED on Friday. What a wonderful night! Kyle did a great job of surprising her and getting the family in town for the occasion. He even had a photographer hiding, taking pictures of the engagement. We all gathered at his house and celebrated the couple after SHE SAID YES. I can't believe it. When Rebecca and Kyle were telling the story, I couldn't help but think she is still my little sister playing dress up. I have always been so protective of my sisters- I want them to be treated well, have a strong Christian guy by their side and more. Rebecca found the perfect guy for her. I couldn't be more excited for them! They have so much to look forward to. They want to be married in May or June, so....let the wedding planning begin!

Chocolate Zucchini bread

I have been in the mood to bake. I think it has something to do with the weather. The cold weather makes me want to make my apartment smell yummy with delicious homemade goodies. I borrowed one of Brad's favorite recipes from him mom, and decided to give it a try. I think it turned out pretty good. Granted, I am very new to this whole baking thing. I spent maybe 45 minutes in the store trying to find all the right ingredients, and I bugged my mom at least 6 times. Obviously the finished product didn't turn out as good as hers, but, for my first time making it, I would give myself an A.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. canola oil

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. buttermilk

2 1/2 c. flour

4 t. cocoa

1/2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. cloves

1/4 t. salt

2 c. grated zucchini

Cream butter, oil and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix well. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture. Mix in grated zucchini. Put into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Team TGA

What a great group of people to work with!

Baylor beats UT

Walking into the game on Saturday, I was not 100% confident we would win. I knew it was going to be a good game, but I wasn't sure if we could take it home. Don't get me wrong, I have faith in my bears, but let's be honest here, it's UT. They were going to come ready to play... especially after another failed attempt at winning a game. My goal of the game was for it to be a good one. I wanted our bears to play well, and play with confidence. If we won, it would be AMAZING! If we lost, at least it would be okay since we played well. However, WE DID IT! WE BEAT UT! Oh, what a glorious feeling!

Coming from a Baylor and UT family, I have always been a fan of both teams. Growing up, I went to a ton of UT games, since both my parents went there. However, every single person on my mom's side of the family went to Baylor... minus my parents. So much green and gold blood. It's awesome. We have Mimo (Pi Phi) and Gdad (played football and was the President of the Board of Regents), Lynn (Kappa) and Bill (KOT), Susie (Pi Phi) and Will (KOT), and the cousins... Bill, Kate, Allison, Davis, Will, Natalie and Emily. We have added 2 new members- Whitney and Leanne. All of us are proud Baylor Bears. With the win, came the family text messages, probably one of my favorite parts about the win. We have Lynn texting- Jesus can come back now. Bill texting- Unbelievable. We should call Gdad. I ran into Will and Sara as we were leaving- we ran towards each other, hugged, took a picture- it was magical. I love that Baylor brings the family closer together (sorry mom, dad and Rebok.)
In case anyone was questioning, I have photographic proof of the blessed event. Baylor beats UT- 30 to 22. It happened.
A few of Baylor's biggest fans. Seriously- these guys are legit. I was concerned about Brad's heart on a few of the calls.

time

"These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will sure come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!"

Habakkuk 2:3

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

Lamentations 3:25, 26

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Psalm 27:14

going BOWLing

Baylor Homecoming= so much fun! Instead of trying to write out everything awesome about the weekend, I figured I would go for a bullet list... it's much easier.

• Parade- Kappa/ATO float was great. Class A winner!
• Tailgating- A huge success. I got to see a bunch of fun friends, including my old roomie, Paige, and her husband. The rain/wind/ hour and 45 minute game delay only made the day more exciting. The mud, on the other hand, sucked. My shoes are still covered.
• Game- SUCH A FUN GAME! We played Kansas Sate and WON! The Baylor Bears are now bowl-eligible for the first time since 1995. We now have a 6-2 record! We are 24th in the Coaches Poll and 25th in both the AP and BCS polls. I have so much Baylor pride. We have come such a long way, and I am so proud of us! SIC EM BEARS! The last time we were bowl-eligible, we weren't picked. I don't even want to think about that happening again...so, I won't. I will be thinking about our game on Saturday against UT!

shopping spree

Natalie (my cute cousin), Rebecca, my mama and I all went shopping this past weekend. Lisa came in town and was ready to treat her girls to a few fall treats! We headed to the Domain and spent the rest of the day shopping and enjoying our "girl time." Of course we tried on way more then we actually purchased, but that's half the fun right?

We found great skirts such as this one at JCrew. Add some boots and a sassy tucked-in shirt and you are good to go! My favorite thing about the skirt? It has pockets and it's purple! A win-win in my eyes.
Anthropologie is always full of glorious items to pick from, and this time was no different. We tried on some cardigans, jeans and dresses. This is one of the cardigans we saw. It is a great fall color!

Natalie found this delicious gem at Free People. She tried it on, and it was amazing! I think we all instantly fell in love. She promptly took a picture of it and texted it to Lynn as a Christmas list must.

Mom even picked up a few things from AnnTaylor Loft. She might be the best dressed working mom out there.

old school

Nintendo 64- a thing of the past? Um, not so much. I am officially back in action with this gem of a game. Mario Kart is by far my favorite game, as I am sure it is for many people. I can't tell you how many hours Allison, Rebecca and I spent playing this game when we were growing up. After years of not playing it- I am back behind the wheel. I was a little rusty, and can't figure out how the 3 of us managed to play it for so many hours.

A few things I realized after playing a few rounds:

• My fingers hurt from pressing the controller joystick a little too hard. (Because obviously the harder I push it over to one side, the more the car will turn... fail.)
• I yelled at the players much more then I used to.
• My eyes were super blurry from staring at the TV.
• I am just as competitive as I was years ago.
• I am still just as annoyed with Peach as I was back then.
• I forgot about the random bombs that come into action when playing 1 vs. 1. Whoops.

I am thrilled to have it back in my life. Some might say that playing an old school computer game in your mid to late 20s is silly. I disagree.

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

We had the Alzheimer's Memory Walk on Saturday morning. Our team- A Walk to Remember- Walking for Jeff Davis- raised over $2000! We had so many friends and family members show up to support us. It was such a sweet blessing to look around and see all the people who care about my dad and my family...enough to get up early on a Saturday morning and walk 3 miles. :) We had old friends who we have known since elementary school to friends who we hadn't seen in months show up for the walk. What a great day! Our team last year was awesome. This year, we increased in numbers and donations! Thank you to everyone who walked, donated and prayed for us. It was a huge success and an answered prayer!

Ephesians 3:20- "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more then all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

Jeremiah 33:3- "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

oreo delight

Let me introduce to you the Oreo Delight. It is delicious and delightfully bad for you. Unless you are making it for a party or an occasion that involves more then 4-6 people, I suggest cutting the recipe in half. It makes a ton!

25 crushed oreos

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 gal vanilla ice cream

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

6 oz. chocolate chips

8 oz. cool whip

Mix oreos and butter. Press in bottom of 9x13 inch pan. Soften ice cream and put on top of oreos. Freeze. Melt chips with condensed milk. Cool and pour over ice cream. Freeze. Top with cool whip. Freeze. Eat and ENJOY!

**The recipe calls for the Cool Whip to go on top. I, being the chef that I am, went a different way. I added another glorious layer of oreos and made the cool whip optional. Personally, I am not a huge fan of the whip. The Oreo Delight is already so sweet, and the cool whip adds a bit too much for my liking... but, thats just me.**