the low down on FLORIDA!

I had such an amazing time in Florida! aaah! I could just relax and enjoy some great fellowship. I got to lay out, go boating, play in the ocean, watch the sunset, eat chicken salad under the cabana... I had the time of my life! The girls and I spent a good chunk of time laying by the pool. Who cares if we end up wrinkly old women... it's ALL about the tan! I would also like to report that it was sunny and partly cloudy everyday and it sprinkled for about 10 minutes one day (but that was IT)! The weather was PERFECT! I'm so thankful. I took about 300 pictures on the trip, which was a chore to upload; however I dwindled it to 5 of my fav pics that I thought summed up the trip! Hope you like 'em :)

fLoRiDa!!!

I am so excited! One of my graduation gifts is a mother/daughter trip to florida with my mom, meg, and I and THEN all my best friends and their moms too! There's 12 of us. That is a LOT of estrogen, people! Here's the possible problem though- I looked up the weather and it is supposed to be thunderstorms ALL week! O my word! I know I have made myself notorious for silly prayer requests but He says to make your prayer requests known... so gosh darnet I'm MAKIN EM KNOWN! haha! Please be praying that it is sunny and beautiful weather. I've been looking forward to this trip since November and now even more since this looong spring. Somedays all I could think of while I was in the hospital bed was laying out on a beach in Florida! I am leaving EARLY tomorrow morning and then getting back next friday! Actually half of the girls are already half way there on a plane as we speak! Be praying for safe travels :) ciao

ALUMNI COMIN THROUGH!!!

Well folks... its over. High school is no more. finished. gone. forever. WHAT!?! I can't believe that it's over! It really does fly by. This last week has been craziness because of my open house and graduation all in the same weekend so I haven't been able to blog lately but I'm back on the horse again! Yeehaw! Is that how the saying goes? Anyway, I guess I've hit quite the mile marker! This week has really been emotionally spending. I think it's because this milestone is so much sweeter knowing that I was never guaranteed I was going to make it there. Okay so maybe that sounds morbid but thats how I see it! God is so unbelievably good to me. We wake up almost every morning acting like we were entitled to this day but really it is a gift. It's really hard to live with that mindset sometimes but it is such an important principle... to live with a heart of thanksgiving. I am so thankful for all the amazing high school memories that I have, I'm thankful for the incredible fellowship I have, for the opportunity to have a high school education, for supportive parents, for the ability to graduate after missing a whole quarter of school... there is so much to lift up in thanks to Him. When you have a heart of thanksgiving towards your Master, you gain a clearer view of His glory.

YOU'RE INVITED

My graduation open house is rollin around the corner! THIS SATURDAY... can you believe it?? I am having it with my two very best friends AND future razorback companions, Ally Smith and Danielle Trott. We're callin in the hogs for this party! WOO PIG SOOOIE! Haha don't judge me for my Arkansas ways! There is gonna be AMAZING food- we're not talkin the typical potato salad and sheet cake! NO MAAM! Me and the girl's favorite foods will be there... Buffalo Wild Wings, Jimmy Johns, Bo Lings, BBQ brisket, and about 700 of grandmas homemade cookies! We take the saying, "Go Big or Go Home" very seriously :) And that's not all... We'll also be featuring an inflatable moon bounce (slide included)! No, we're not turning 6 but I like to think of it as celebrating our childhood! Anyway, everyone is invited! Here are the details...

Saturday, May 15th
5-7 pm
My House :)

Follow up

I had my follow up doctors appointment yesterday. I wish you all could see my scar! It's beautiful! There's about a 3'' by 3'' area under my scar that is numb and the doctor said that those nerves heal 1 millameter every 6 weeks. Haha patience will be key! He told me I could go back to regular exercise and activities 6 weeks after surgery so I've got 2 weeks to go. YAY! Confession: I definitely tried a sit up last week and the dr. just told me that I could get a hernia trying that this early :/ whoopsie... well now I know! I've already set the date for when I can ride horses again at Danielle's house! I continue to move forward everyday towards a normal life! My open house, graduation, and summer are all rolling in so quickly! Pretty soon I'll be starting school at Arkansas! Look out life... here I come!!!

sleep trouble

For some reason lately I have trouble falling asleep. It is so frustrating because I can't fall asleep for at least an hour or two after I get in bed. I feel like I'm five years old again because I dread bedtime... seriously dread it! It's because I know for the next couple hours I'll be up all by myself at home while everyone is enjoying their rem cycles and Im stuck hopelessly staring at the ceiling! It is so frustrating lying in bed trying to trick myself into falling asleep! Even during the night I don't get restful sleep. This is so annoying because I am the QUEEN of sleeping! It is one of my few talents! I have my follow up drs. appointment in a couple days so I'll ask my doctor about it... guess this would be a good prayer request :)

human again :)

It has been a little dehumanising to not be able to do anything on my own or live life as usual. However, I am hitting a turning point in my recovery! Today was my first day back at school which was pretty big. I also went to lifetime fitness and walked almost a mile on the treadmill and got in the pool for a little! WOW now that I'm reflecting on all I did today I'm pretty impressed with myself! Way to go Kaaate! woo! I think I'm gonna continue to try to exercise everyday to gain my strength back! I also discovered at lifetime how great the pool is to test my abdominal strength without killing myself! Even when I'm just standing still and I loose my center a little I'll start to topple over! haha! It's so great to be living a little more normally lately! Still got a good bit of healing ahead of me but I'm getting more used to living the "one kidney life". OH for example, yesterday my mom subscribed to a website that emails you kidney-friendly recipes every month! TOO FUNNY! Now I'm just trying to enjoy my last two weeks of high school- wow that is crazy to believe this chapter of life is coming to a close! Thank you for all your faith and prayers in my healing! ITS WORKIN!!!