Wedding Weekend

Matt and I got off work early Friday and drove to Austin for my cousin James' wedding.

The wedding was beautiful, Megan (the bride) was radiant, James was clearly very happy and everyone had a good time. .... except for maybe Kevin, James' brother.

Let me tell you a story. Kevin passed out during the wedding. The end.

SORRY KEVIN! Poor guy had to get stitches under his lip because he face planted. It was a very exciting addition to the day. I'm assuming he locked his legs which, I hear, is not uncommon. Poor Kevin.

Here are some of the pictures I snapped during the evening.

 One of the MANY flower arrangements created by Aunt Peggy with the help of my many talented female family members. Gorgeous!

 My aunts and uncles. Mom and Dad are on the far right.

 

Me and my beautiful sister-in-law Lacey.

 

 

We stuffed the whole family into the photo booth.

Minus Coleman and Sarah who are in California and we miss dearly!

 

I enjoy going to the weddings of people I love. I'm a girl, sure. But mostly I think I enjoy weddings because it takes me back to my wedding. Weddings are beautiful and fun, but most of all they're the commitment that starts a marriage. And marriage is far more beautiful than a wedding.

I thank God every day for Matt. He's my partner, my best friend, my biggest supporter. He's the man I laugh with, I cry with and I make plans with.

Man or woman, I believe deciding who you will marry is second in importance only to your decision to follow God with your whole heart. And we make it when we're SO young.

But here's the coolest thing about marriage. You grow together.

Thanks to Megan and James for letting me and Matt be a part of their big day and reminding us about the preciousness of marriage. ..... and thanks to Kevin for being such a good sport with all of the teasing this weekend.

Until next time,

Katlynn

'Heading' in the right direction

Check out my cool new header! Created by Theresa at Sunshine & The Soul . A complete new header and, hopefully, a new design to come.

People, she did this in one night so I could have a header until I get her some photos .... really cool.

Thanks Theresa!

This week was ... clumsy

My week was one mistake after the next. I seemed bent on hurting myself and making a mess every where I went. I took clumsy to a whole new level.

Have you ever had one of those weeks?

An illustrated guide to my week.

(Pictures are stock images as I can never remember to actually take photos of things.)

I hurt my shoulder. I don't know how, I don't really know when. But getting dressed every day has nearly brought me to tears. ... I'll admit, I've been whining.

I carry this big, beautiful cup of ice water around with me every where. This week, I spilled it twice. Each time it was full. Once was on the floor of the break room at my office. The next was when I was rushing out the door. I knocked it IN TO my laptop case. ... Both times required a lot of clean up.

 Finally, possibly the most painful thing I've ever done to myself happened Thursday morning as I was rushing through my morning routine to make it to a dentist appointment.

Ever hear of Clear Care? It's used to clean contacts, but you have to let it sit for six hours. (Probably because of the hydrogen peroxide in it.) Not doing so will "cause burning and stinging or redness."

Boy does it. Instead of rinsing my contacts with saline solution, I squirted some Clean Care on one before sticking it into my left eye. It hurt. It hurt real bad. Screams, crying and 20 minutes of rinsing my eye with water followed. .... I'm not even really sure what happened to the contact. My eye was red, red, red. I looked like half of Natalie Portman in The Black Swan. I could have easily stared in a horror film.

I'm telling you, I am an a pain inflicting streak this week.

Sigh.

OK, now no more whining. It's time to pick myself up and enjoy my weekend. Hopefully accident free. I've already made a great start. I baked Matt's favorite peanut butter chocolate chip cookies without burning myself. The weekend is on the right track and it's time for me to go enjoy it.

Any one else do anything stupid this week? Let me know. .... It would go a long way towards healing my pride. :)

Until next time,

Katlynn

New beginnings

They're coming.

It's been far too long since I've updated this blog. I could go into the excuses including the fact that I write for a living and doing it when I get home isn't always the most inviting prospect. But, really, nothing is going on in our lives to write about.

When people ask us what we've been up to, all I can every say is work. For nearly four years Matt and I have lived and worked in the Brazosport Area in Brazoria County. Matt as a mechanical engineer, me as a reporter and now editor. We've done well, we've moved up.

But now, Matt has a new job in Cypress and changes worth talking about are just around the corner. For those who aren't quite sure where Cypress or Angleton - our current hometown - is, Angleton is 30 minutes south of Houston while Cypress is on the northwest side. Matt drives an hour and a half to work every day. In total, he spends three hours in the car. We are blessed that Matt has two coworkers to carpool with, cutting down on the cost, but not the time.

Sure, the drive is doable. But we don't want Matt losing that much time, especially after we have kids .... someday. So, needless to say, we'll be moving to Cypress sometime soon, or soonish. .... within a year.

Hence the new name for my blog.

While I don't know much about Cypress, I've driven through. And let me tell you, for those that haven't made the trip, it's Houston. 100 percent Houston. There is no gap between the two cities. I suppose there is a sign to indicate you've left one and are entering the other, but that's it: a sign, a line on the map.

Driving around in it semi terrifies me. Traffic, traffic, traffic. My three-accident self is a bit nervous about the idea of navigating the town and traffic.

But the traffic isn't the only thing I worry about.

I hesitate to admit it. But I'm nervous about the people. Will I, a girl raised on a cotton farm and since spent her time in small towns, find anything in common with these, for lack of a better term, city people? Maybe I'm over thinking it.

Either way, I'm finding myself very nervous and very excited about the change. Matt and I are in our groove down here. I know the area. I know the people. We have a routine in our marriage, we've developed a partnership.

Change is a funny thing. It's not black and white. You analyze it over and over again to make sure it's the right change. Almost all change is part good, part bad.

I doubt I'll be telling you anything new when I say that I'm a bit of a worrier. The heart of the matter is you never know what will happen once you make a change. And as a compulsive planner, I quake at the idea of not knowing what is coming next.

So, I will be going back to the following verse often in the coming months.

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."  Phil. 4:13

Until next time, I hope you, too, take comfort from this verse.

Love always,

Katlynn

We're Back

We're back from our Caribbean Cruise and what was truly one of the most relaxing vacations of my life. Definitely needed for both of us. Pictures to come this week ... hopefully.

Taking a week off work was so amazing for both of us. It's the first full week we've had off since we started two years ago. Can you imagine? You probably can. It's so weird going from school and college where you get two months off for summer and a month off for Christmas, to trying to make sure that you at least have Christmas day to spend with the family. 10 days. Ten days off all year and spending five of them this week was just plain amazing.

We are so blessed to be able to do that. The cruise was amazing. Cozumel was beautiful, the Mayan ruins were humbling and the pillows were super comfortable.

More to come later.

Katlynn

Visits

This month we were blessed with three weekends of visits from our family. First Mom, Dad, Coleman and Heindrick (Sorry if your name spelling is incorrect bud), then Ben and Lacey, then Penny, Sterling and Ashley!!! I had to get over the whole perfect house thing because to be honest I think I dusted once in those three weeks.

I hate living so far away from our families, but I really enjoy their visits. We have so much fun. (BTW: I beat Ben, Lacey and Matt in bowling . . . after I got last place the first round.)

Family and their visits is certainly a blessing in our lives and something to look forward to for the end of the week. Thanks to everyone for making the long drive to come see us.

UPDATES:
1. The new house thing is going great. I love it and I love the room it gives us. I also love that our visitors get their own room and bathroom.

2. I got a new car!!!! It's a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo and it was CHEAP! Those are the best kind of cars. I am so excited. I love getting in and driving it. The only downfall is the people who owned it before us smoked, so despite the multiple applications of Fabreze the smell is still pretty obvious. I have a secret recipe from Penny I still need to try, but does anyone else have any suggestions?

3. Work is going really well for Matt. His work load is picking up which I'm told is a good thing because it means job security.

4. Work for me is going well. We got a new reporter so my duties changed a little. I still cover Clute, Lake Jackson and Brazosport ISD. But I got rid of my little towns which means about five stories a month less than I used to have. This was replaced by more responsibility in special sections, taking on the Business Journal cover story every month and a greater emphasis in coverage on our big subscription area: Lake Jackson. But most importantly this change means that I have a minimum five more nights a month at home that I would have normally spent at a meeting. This change is such a blessing to me and Matt and definitely an answer to prayers.

6. We are planning a cruise for the end of August!!! Yay!! We thought about sight seeing in Washington DC and the east coast, but when it came down to it what we really wanted (and needed) was a vacation that included a lot of relaxation. A cruise fit the bill.

7. Some very important people in my life are either pregnant or just had babies. I'm so excited for them! Anyone have cute do-it-yourself gift ideas for new mothers?

Other than these few changes we're trucking along. Going to church, going to work, teaching Bible class and working on extra income options.

As always, God has blessed us richly and we have more to be thankful for every day.

To abound

"You know y'all are a lucky young couple right?"

- My Mom

She's almost always right and she certainly was when she said that to me last weekend during a family visit. Matt and I showed my mom and dad the new house for the first time. While the boys were doing something on their own, mom and I went into a back bedroom and grabbed Guitar Hero.

She made the comment about our luck when I asked her if she would like to play drums or guitar. It seems like a very simple thing to me . . . fake drums or fake guitar. But thinking back on pictures of my parents first years as a married couple, Matt and I are blessed indeed.

Yet, imperfect person that I am, I can find something to complain about. I can find something more to want. This is something that I'm working on - contentment. It's an attitude God wants me to have and when you thing about the definition, why wouldn't I want to have that for myself?

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Phil. 4:11 -13

"I have learned the secret ..." if only we could all learn the secret. True contentment comes naturally to very few people. We always want more.

What I find so fascinating about this verse is that he speaks of abundance as if that too is a trial we must go through. While it's a trial many people in third world countries would love to try their hand at, it's a trial that almost every American faces.

Do I know how to abound? Do I realize that all that I have is a gift from God? Do I trust him completely to take care of me, leaving behind my worries when I finish my prayers? Am I selfish and keep my success, happiness and money all to myself? Do I give enough?

Does anyone?

As I sit on my recliner with my computer in my lap, I can see many things around me that I truly don't need. I would not call Matt and I extravagant by any means. We live well within our budget and make saving money a priority. And I wouldn't say we're stingy with our money, we give to our congregation every week.

But is that really abounding in a way that God would be proud of? What's "the secret"?

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27

I know how to abound. I know the secret. What remains is for me to do it.