Happy Wednesday!

I'm driving back from visiting friends today. I had to post this ahead of time because of the new "no texting while driving policy." Not that I could actually write a whole post via the iphone and manage to keep my car on the road too.

My friends Jon and Kelsey own a company called FocalPoint Cinematic Weddings. They're amazing, so you should definitely check them out in general or if you have an upcoming wedding. They did some work on a video called "The Dork Anthem," which I enjoyed and decided to share with you today.


The Dork Anthem from FocalPoint Cinematic Weddings on Vimeo.

Turning Three.

I spent Sunday afternoon hanging with some friends at the birthday party of my friend Natalie's daughter, Evie. She is so adorable and was even rocking sequin leggings at the party. I realize that some of you want to run out to buy a pair right now, but you must stop yourself. Only little girls under 10 can come near something so bright and shiny.

Here's a few of my favorites from the party.

Can You Feel It?

I walked outside yesterday morning and was instantly a little excited. It wasn't about what I felt, but it was the absence of what I normally feel. Humidity. That brief little break in the unbearable heat gave way that change is on the horizon. Fall is SO close, and I couldn't be happier.

Cooler weather is coming, which means lots of great things. It's walking to my car without sweating, it's amazing photography weather, it's picnics on the lakefront, it's jackets and cardigans, and it's cute winter clothing. Yay!

I'm out of town visiting friends, but check back tomorrow for a few pictures of Evie's birthday party.

Sweet Laney

Remember my friend, Lily, from yesterday. Well, we were really out at the park getting pictures of her little sister.

I got in early with this one; I've been around since the beginning. I took pictures of her when she was just 7 days old. If my friend Andrew doesn't steal her heart first, I think I might have a chance.

Laney was a trooper, considering that she hasn't completely mastered the skill of sitting on her own for more than a few seconds at a time. Thankfully, Lily was there to fulfill her big sister role by keeping her laughing, and I was able to capture some great photos with her help.

I'm a sucker for dimples, what can I say?

Friendship in the Smallest Form

It has taken a couple years of cultivation, but my friend, Melissa's, daughter has decided she likes me. I am so stoked! After our shoot the other day, she invited me to stay over for awhile. At the time that I said, "Yes," I didn't realize that I had some special treats in store for me.

She was quite the hostess and fixed me a glass of water, even though she isn't tall enough to see whether or not the cup is going to overflow. She offered to comb my hair, and then she proceeded to do my makeup. She chose a lovely burgundy eye shadow and chocolate lipstick for me; thankfully, there isn't a picture to commemorate our fun together. We almost took one, but I refused to be in a picture alone, especially after my gorgeous makeover.

Here's Lily being Lily.

I Don't Know Much

I don't know much these days, but I know God is in control. It's not because he's given me a clear direction on what to do next or provided any reason for why he's allowed this interruption in my life; in fact, I regularly want to have a total meltdown and question why, why, why? Despite my humanness which sometimes results in overwhelming emotion, I'm doing my best to trust God.

There are two reasons that I'm completely confident in Him. I believe the Bible when it says, "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippines 1:6)."

And...

I've also experienced God's faithfulness in my life numerous times. He's NEVER failed me, so I have no reason to doubt that he'll come through for me this time. Now, it may not be in my timing or look how I think it should, but He will come through. I may not have a dollar to my name when that day rolls around, but He will still be God. Of course, I hope I never get close to that point, but I want to believe that I will still praise Him if I find myself in such circumstances.

One idea that has continued to permeate my thoughts the last few weeks is...He is worthy! No matter how I feel, God is worthy of my praise in any and every circumstance. I believe this to be especially true when I don't want to praise Him. You see, praising Him anyway really puts me in my place; if I allowed my feelings to keep me from worship, I would be elevating myself above God. I would be saying that I am more important than Him, and we all know, that is clearly not the case.

There's not much else to say, but I'd love to challenge you to worship, even when it is a very difficult thing to do.

Look forward to pictures of my friend's beautiful child tomorrow, and in honor of the Saints win last night, here's a photo from one of the preseason games.

The Infamous Power Slide

This is my first installment of fun stuff from when I lived in the Philippines. I lived there for two years, so there's lots to tell.

I moved to Davao, which is a major city on one of the southernmost islands, for my second year. My roommate, April, was doing college ministry there, so I got involved in her ministry during the daytime and did my design work at night. The students were amazing, and they always talked about this annual camp that happened each spring. In addition, April had relayed her personal experience with The Power Slide from camp the previous year (now remember that she was the only american at the camp).

There's an entire day at this camp that is filled with games. It's super hot in the Philippines with no air conditioning in most places, so they start the insanity really early in the morning - 6 am early. The last game of the day is The Power Slide. They put a piece of plastic on the side of a hill, and you're expected to run UP this soapy plastic while they continue to douse your feet with even more soapy water. Every person from your team MUST make it up the slide. Poor April never made it up the slide, so there was bit of intimidation and stress involved in my participation.

Here's my account of that fateful day:
It came time for the power slide, and my heart was literally about to beat out of my chest. It was my team's turn, and they each easily scampered up the hill with absolutely no difficulties. I was amazed that it seemed so easy after hearing about April's experience.

My turn came. As I was standing at the bottom of the slide exhausted from the day of games, only two thoughts came to mind. One, I thought, "Katie, you MUST do this!" Two, I though about the movie Gladiator. You know the part, where he's in the middle of the arena after kicking some major butt, and they're all chanting his name. I felt like him...I am Russell Crowe in this experience, just without the butt kicking. EVERYONE was standing around chanting my name...KA-TIE, KA-TIE! No pressure or anything.

Here goes nothing. I run up the slide about halfway, only to fall to my knees and slide back down. Big let down, but this is Christian camp with lots of chances. :) On about my fourth try, I ran halfway up and still fell to my knees, but I managed to cling to that spot for all I was worth. I inched my way slightly up very slowly until I could reach my teammates hand, and he pulled me the rest of the way up. Thank goodness! There was lots of rejoicing that the pathetic white girl could make it up the hill. Wahoo!

Now you realize why that day is so infamous for me. What would a great story like that be if I didn't include pictures of myself? :) I can't find my original negatives at the moment, so I had to scan these out of my scrapbook, and I included a couple extras.

Biking and Bridges

I got a bike not too long ago; it's my first one since childhood. I can still ride, hooray! Immediately after this purchase, a friend of mine suckered me into a commitment of participating in a mini triathlon. I realize that this is nuts, but I'm doing it anyway.

I have a great fear of wearing spandex. It seems that everyone participating in these types of events wears it, so consequently, our team name is "Spandex Situation." :) Despite the team name, I still make no promises of wearing spandex this coming April.

I've been biking to train for the triathlon and just for exercise in general. On my route, I ride underneath the bridge, and I kept thinking how cool it would be to take pictures of it from those angles. That's right, I'm a rockstar! I strapped my camera on and biked with it to capture these images; be amazed. Ha, ha!

Finally!

I've needed a website to promote my freelance design and photography for a long time now. I put it off for awhile because I just couldn't seem to consistently find the time. Well, the time issue was cleared up as soon as I heard, "We're going to have to let you go."

Since my unexpected unemployment, I've been working fast and furiously to get my website together. You see, most people don't realize how much work goes into a designer applying for a new job. It's not just about your resume; it's about your resume, your online portfolio, and your printed portfolio. These portfolios don't just come together without some effort, especially if you're working from scratch like me.

I'm happy to report that I'm finally done, at least with the initial site. Wahoo! A few good heel clicks and a happy dance should be involved in this moment. I couldn't be more relieved to have this completed. Check it out, and let me know what you think. If you see any problems or links that aren't working, let me know.

Ella & Annie

Recently I made a hop, skip, and a jump over to my friend Mandi's apartment. She's an amazing chick, and we have some great things in common, not to mention that I love her sense of humor. You should check out her blog. She also has two gorgeous little girls, which were the focus of my visit that day.

We spent some time outside playing with chalk and getting all dirty. They drew on the concrete and all over themselves. Typical. I love it when parents allow children to be themselves, and I'm just there to capture a few glimpses of their personalities. Here's a look at our adventure.

Baby Macie

My friend, Jennifer, has a new baby in her home. Macie was born just a little over two weeks ago, and Jen was nice enough to let me invade their space for a couple of hours. Macie was just 9 days old when these pictures were taken, and she is just too adorable. Plus, she was awake for the entire shoot...she actually refused to sleep.

I also took a few portraits of her older daughter, Madison. Madison usually doesn't like me very much, but when I showed up that morning, she was very happy to see me. I couldn't figure it out. The home turf must have made me seem less like a grown up or something. All I know is that she smiled at me, and I couldn't believe it. She also made some hilarious faces that I was able to capture too; I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.