Quick Update

Oh wow! It's been a long time! Saying that I haven't posted because we have been busy would be an understatement! Let's just say I can't wait till Christmas break where I can sit back and relax for a few days! :)

So here's what's been keeping us busy....

I (Katie) have been super busy with not only my photography business, but also my felt flower headband business. I am so very grateful for both business and creative outlets. I have been traveling almost every weekend for the last 3 months for either photo shoots or craft shows. It's been great! I can feel myself getting closer and closer to being able to just do photography and headbands full time! My daily job has kept me super busy as well. Just like in any other business, people want their stones just in time for Christmas so their visiting families can see them. So we've been on full speed for the last few months.

Blake has been busy, as usual, with school. He finished up his first quarter in the beginning of November and is now half way through the winter quarter. He has really enjoyed his classes this year. He recently competed in a client counseling competition with a good friend of ours, Mallory. They made it into the top 9! I am so happy and proud of both of them. I know they really enjoyed it!

That's about it for the Penfield's at this time. I had to share one of our Christmas pics that we took of ourselves with a tripod for our Christmas card. :) This is not one that we actually used on our Christmas card. Didn't want to give it away before everyone gets the card....but it's still one of my favorites!

I hope to be a little better about posting on here in the next few weeks! If I don't though....Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone! :)

Happy Birthday Blake!

Today is Blake's 24th birthday!! I am blessed to be able to celebrate another year with my sweet husband on his birthday!

He is the most amazing man and deserves to be celebrated! I love you Blake and am so proud to be your wife. Happy Birthday babe!

Love,

your Katie

busy, busy, busy

Well it's been over a month. My only excuse....we have been busy. And when I say busy, I mean BUSY! :) I was sort of looking for the summer to be over because I thought that meant we would slow down, but it didn't. We only got busier! For the month of August we were only home 1 weekend and September and October are quickly becoming like that as well. The good thing about all this busyness is that a lot of it is because of my photography. I have been driving all over Texas taking pictures of weddings, seniors, families, etc. I have to say that I absolutely LOVE it though! Being a full time photographer is my absolute dream and I feel myself getting closer and closer with each new photo session.

Right now the biggest thing is senior portraits. Everyone wants to get them done in the fall because they are due in, in early spring. So it has kept me running. But they've been fun! Young people are always the most fun to photograph, whether they are 2 or 18! I have also been really busy planning for the craft fair that I will participating in, in early November. I will be in the Waxahachie Civic Center in Waxahachie, TX. I am really, REALLY looking forward to it! I will have my own booth selling my felt flower headbands and hair clips. So come out and visit if you are around the area! :)

Blake has also been super busy with school starting back up. It's back to the grind and the end is a little nearer in sight! I'm so proud of him and everything he's accomplished thus far. Law school is no easy thing and he has done so well.

Other than that not much else is going on in our lives. Of course we hardly have room or time for anything else! I will try to be better about updating on a weekly basis!

family reunion

On to a much lighter post! :) Last weekend I got to meet our little baby and if I wasn't in absolute love before now I totally am! She is so so so so sooooo sweet. As I was walking around holding her at the hotel that we stayed at for our family reunion, I kept having people stop to look at her and they kept asking if she was mine. My initial reactions was, "oh no! She's not mine, she's my parents foster baby!" A lot of people would then ask oh so you guys only get to keep her for a little while? And that broke my heart. So then when people would ask I would say with joy, "Yes she is mine. She is my baby sister!" :)

There was a few times that Blake would be walking with me when someone would ask that and it was pretty funny to see his face. He is definitely not ready for kids right now. Which is completely understandable! For one, he's still in law school and it would make it very difficult. But also you need more that an hour of time to prepare for having a child! :) She was a good practice for him though. And I must say, she had him wrapped around her little finger just like the rest of us.

Overall we had a wonderful time visiting with family this past weekend. We also got to see some really good friends of ours that are living in Abilene. Blake finally got to see their super cute house! We'll actually be back in Abilene at the end of the month for a wedding that Blake is in and that I am photographing! Really looking forward to that weekend!

This weekend has been a nice and productive, but relaxing weekend. I was able to deep clean my apartment for the first time in a very very long time. I mean I've kept it clean, but this was a serious clean. Like cleaning baseboards, fan blades and inside the oven. Yep....that's a deep clean. It feels good though.

I also got in the mail an order for new felt colors that I've been anxiously waiting for!! So I've been busy with some new designs. The couple of new designs I've made are on my etsy shop. Here's a few pics of the new ones:

All of the styles are $8 and can be found on my etsy shop. You can choose between stretchy or hard headbands.

That's it for now! I'll try to get better on keeping you informed of the Penfield happenings! :)

a plan and a future

So a lot has been going on in our little babies life. I won't begin or even try to explain all the legal things going on mainly because I can't share them, but mostly because I don't understand them. All I know is that we are all fighting to keep her and are praying that in the end we get to.

I've been thinking a lot about her life already so very complicated. I know in my heart that God knew everything about her and everything about her life before even time begin. But it doesn't stop me from hurting for her. I praise God that she is so small and does not have a clue of what is going on.

When my Mom was telling me today about some of the things that are going on right now I couldn't help but think of this verse:

Joshua 29:11

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

I've heard this verse so often when a student graduates from high school or finishes college and begins their life. It is a very fitting verse for all of these occasions, but never has it spoken so strongly to me as it did today thinking of our sweet baby. The Lord has mighty plans for her even at only 6 pounds and 4 ounces! He knows all that will happen in her life and wants to prosper her and not to harm her. And boy do we all feel the same.

Everything that we are doing and hopefully the state is doing is with the intention of giving her a hope and a future. Though we don't know what her future will be like, we are attempting to direct it in our own human abilities. When my Mom told me about what was happening I immediately started thinking of all the things we could do as humans to try and fix the situation. But it quickly dawned on me that it is only God's plans that matters. And it is only by his ways and his will that her little life should and will follow.

Like a said in a couple posts back, I am loving her with all I've got. And that's all I can do for her now no matter how much I want to protect her. It will hurt at times and I am prepared for that. But I will continue to remind myself that the Lord knows the plans he has for her and he will direct her future. With only a few weeks lived on this earth behind her, this little girl is already taken over the hearts and lives of our family. We love you sweet baby no matter what, you are ours.

grandparent time

Blake and I traveled over to my grandparents house last weekend to spend a little time with them and my great-grandmother. It had been a while since we had both seen them and almost a year since Blake last went to their house. It's funny how no matter what age you are there is something magical about going to your grandparents house. Knowing for a weekend you can just relax and enjoy your time together. Knowing you will get lots of good food and yummy desserts.

As a kid I would spend a week every summer at each of my grandparents house. Those two weeks were the best weeks of the summer. They each were a week where YOU were the center of attention and you got to have ice cream after dinner every day.

Anyways...we had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed getting to spend time with my grandparents and my great-grandmother. Can't wait for this coming weekend when I get to see all my family again! :)

little baby

Well we've experienced some big changes on the Gager side of the family in the last few days. My parents recently became licensed to foster children. After several weeks of waiting they were offered a 5 day old baby and they accepted! Crazy right?!

I can't share much about her or her name, but I can say this.....she is absolutely beautiful. I have only "seen" her through pictures and skype, but I can't wait to hold her and love on her in person. My parents just got her yesterday afternoon, but have also already fallen in love with her. She's super tiny, weighing only 5 pounds. But let me just say, she has a super big name to grow in to! :)

When my parents first told me that they were wanting to start fostering children I was surprised. I mean yes we adopted Karleigh Mei, but I guess I thought my parents were done. Obviously the Lord had bigger plans. They told me that their plan was to foster with the hope of one day of adopting. It was kind of a strange and new idea to me because last time around I knew that whoever we were "assigned" we'd be adopting no matter what. Once I saw KM's picture I knew for sure that one day she'd be my sister.

Part of me immediately put up walls around my heart. Not that I didn't want to love with my whole heart whoever the Lord gave to our family to foster, but I just didn't want to get my hopes up only to have them crushed when for some reason we were not able to adopt this child we've come to know and love. Even when my Mom sent me a text on Thursday saying that they had been accepted to receive a 5 day old baby the walls came up and I prepared myself. I mean my heart did break at the thought of such a small baby going into foster care, but like I said before....I didn't want to get my hopes up.

I don't want to make it sound cliche like it was "love at first sight", but when we talked on skype and my Mom held up this fragile little five pound baby, that at this point has no one else but us, my heart melted. All the walls I had been building came crashing down. I quickly realized that these thoughts I had been having were very selfish thoughts. All I could think of was my own pain and heartaches. Yes I would love her and yes I would want to take care of her, but I couldn't think of anything, but what it'd be like to lose her and the heartbreak. So to remedy that I'd just bar my heart from complete and utter love.

As soon as I saw that sweet baby I heard the Lord say to me, "I dare you to love her with all you've got. I dare you to love her as your own sister and cherish her. I dare you to love her so much that if one day you were to lose her you'd be heart broken. And SO WHAT if you are. At least for this time, YOU loved her with all you had. And for that she will be grateful."

So sweet little baby.....I love you with all I've got. You're mine and I will always love you. If for some reason in the future I am forced to part with you my heart will be broken, I promise you that. But for now I will cherish you like we have forever together and I love you with all my heart.

Love,

Your Big Sister....Katie

our anniversary trip

We had so much fun on our anniversary trip. We traveled down to Austin for a few days and hung out there. We arrived on Saturday, late afternoon, and checked into the Holiday Inn downtown on the lake. Then we headed down to 6th street to witness all the crazies and get tickets for a showing of the A-Team at the Alamo Drafthouse. 6th Street is definitely an interesting experience! We only lost about $3 to hobos! :)

That night we saw our movie and enjoy a super yummy dinner there at the drafthouse. The next morning we went to breakfast at a place called Juan in a Million. It was super yummy and we were completely stuff by their famous "Don Juan" taco that is enormous! Then we went to the Capitol to tour it. Here's some pics on our crummy little camera:

Then we visited the historic home of Clara Driskell called the Laguna-Gloria. It was right on the lake and is now owned by the Austin Museum of Art. It was really pretty and had an interesting mix of Italian and Mexican architecture. Sorry but I didn't take any photos. :( After that we headed downtown to try out a little coffee shop called Little City. We got some super yummy frozen coffees and italian sodas because it was super hot outside!

That night for dinner we had a super fancy dinner at a place called Sullivan's. We had some AMAZING prime rib and for dessert banana bread pudding. Here's a pic of Blake with his!

Then that night we used our champagne glasses that were given to us by Blake's Paw-Paw on our wedding day to be used every year on our anniversary!! Here's some pics:

Thanks Paw-Paw Penfield! :)

The next day we headed down to Schlitterbahn for the day! We had sooooo much fun! Unfortunately I don't have any photos because I did not bring my camera for fear of it getting wet. That evening on our drive back to Austin we stopped off at a little BBQ restaurant called the Salt Lick. It was out in the middle of no where and we got a little lost. We definitely drove more than was necessary, but we made it eventually with the help of my Mom! :)

Finally the last day on our way back home we stopped off in Round Rock at the famous Round Rock Donuts and enjoyed a super tasty breakfast!! They have a donut that is enormous and weighs about 2 pounds. Here's a picture of me with my regular sized donut:

That is the end of our trip. We had a super wonderful time celebrating our first year of marriage!!

happy anniversary

our happenings...

So you might be wondering.....what has happened to the Penfield's?! A lot. That is for sure. Obviously I have been terrible at keeping our blog updated, but this will be my attempt at catching you up on everything that has happened since my last post on April 21.

May was a SUPER busy month for us. There wasn't a weekend that we were actually in Waco. The first weekend we traveled up to my aunt and uncles house to celebrate my cousin's first birthday! Here's a picture:

Isn't she cute?! I don't know if you can tell, but she likes cake! :)

Then the following weekend Blake went down to San Antonio with our friend Seth for a bachelor party and Seth's wife Jennifer came up to Waco with me to hang out. We had lots of fun shopping and just sitting and talking about old times, new times, etc. :)

The weekend after that we headed down to San Antonio for our friend's wedding, which was on a Sunday evening so I ended up taking that Monday off and having a long weekend. Which was nice. :)

The weekend after that we went down to San Antonio again for Blake's sister, Chelsea's, graduation. GO Chelsea!! We are soooo proud of you!

The weekend after that I traveled up to Ft. Worth to photograph a wedding and got to see some family while I was up there.

And finally the next weekend, which was the first weekend of June, we traveled to San Antonio yet again to see my little sister, Karleigh Mei, in her first dance recital. Here's a picture of that cuteness:

She was the best one up there!!

So the last two weekends after that we've been enjoying just hanging out here in Waco. Next weekend, I can hardly believe it, is our 1 year anniversary!!! We are going to celebrate and go out of town on a little vacation! :) I CAN'T WAIT! :)

I will try to be better about posting on here and keep everyone up to date on our lives. One little bit of exciting news that I have to share really quick is that Blake got an internship with the DA's office here! He's only gone one day so far, but is really enjoying it already! I am so proud of him and so happy that he got this awesome opportunity. Anyways...that's all for now!

some pics of us....

I was just itching to go and take some photos around Waco. For the last few months I've been scoping out some cool locations to take photos around down town. Yesterday I finally decided I couldn't take it any longer and just had to take some photos in these cool locations. So I asked Blake to be my model. :)

Here he is eating his orange that he brought along.

His feet...

Our feet....we both have Tom's Shoes

Super cool wall that I really want to take more pics in front of....

busy, busy, busy

We have had the craziest past month and still have another crazy month ahead of us! About a month ago on March 20 we were down in Kerrville, Texas for our good friend's Seth and Jennifer's wedding. Nothing is cooler than seeing friends that you grew up with get married. Blake and I were both in the wedding and it was just absolutely awesome experience. I thought I'd be fine and not cry, but before Jennifer could even get down the aisle I lost it! :)

Two weeks after the wedding we headed down to San Antonio for Easter. This year we spent easter with my (Katie's) family and had a wonderful time. It was a nice three day weekend! I even got to take some photos of my siblings while I was there, which is always fun for me!

The week before Easter Blake's grandfather was in the hospital because he was developing some fluid on his lungs. We were able to visit him at the hospital on Good Friday. He's out now and has gained a pacemaker through the whole ordeal. We talked with him just a few days ago and he seems to be doing really well. Right after that on Easter Sunday my grandfather was admitted to the hospital unexpectedly with a hernia in his colon. He was able to have surgery the Monday after Easter. He spent about a week in the hospital and is still recovering and healing from all that. I was able to travel to San Angelo this past weekend to visit my grandparents. It was really good to see them and spend some time with them.

This weekend we are resting the Waco, but have a full couple of weeks ahead of us. Next weekend I will be traveling to Abilene for some photo shoots while Blake stays in Waco and begins his finals for this quarter. The following weekend, after Blake is finished with finals, we will be traveling up to the DFW area to celebrate my cousin, Ella's, first birthday! Then the next two weekends we will be in San Antonio for a friend's wedding and then Blake's sisters graduation! So as you can see we are going to be busy!!

What an exciting time of year though! When I think back a year ago, Blake and I were about to graduate from ACU and were about 2 months away from our wedding. Hard to believe how time flies! What an amazing amount of things the Lord has done in our lives!

Finally the last bit of news in the Penfield house is that I got my hair cut. And when I say cut, I mean CUT! :) Here's some pics:

i choose

Yesterday my sister shared a quote of Max Lucado's on her FB status. It is actually an excerpt from one of my favorite things that Max Lucado wrote. He wrote:

I CHOOSE LOVE…..
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love. Today I will love God, and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…..
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical ….. the tool of the lazy thinker.
I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…..
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…..
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…..
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…..
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…..
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…..
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL…..
I am a spiritual being…… After this Body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control. To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace.
And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on His pillow and rest.

Max Lucado
When God Whispers Your Name

I absolutely love this little piece. The first time I read it was when I was in high school and honestly I don't think I've read it since then. When I saw it on my sister's status I was reminded again of this awesome writing so I decided to find it on the internet so that I could read it once again.

It spoke volumes to me the first time I read it and it speaks volumes to me once again. Now it touches me and my experience at work and as a married woman. It caused me to reflect on each of the fruits of the spirit and why I, Katie Penfield, choose each one, each day.

I choose love....

I choose to love those around me both near and far. Those that are hard to love and those that are easy. I choose to show those that I love, that I love them and never take a single day with them for granted.

I choose joy....

Each day I will choose to begin my day with an attitude of joy. I will not look at rising early for work as a chore, but as a blessing that God has provided a job. I will choose in the midst of hatred, chaos and bitterness around me to be joyful from the inside out.

I choose peace....

I choose each day to take a deep breath and be at peace. I will seek to remind my self of the peace that passes all understanding and I will share this peace with those around me.

I choose patience....

I choose to be patient despite the circumstance. If those around me seek help and are unwilling to take no for answer, I will be patient. I will seek to be the source of aid despite the difficulty it might take to reach the solution.

I choose kindness....

In the midst of the unkind and angry attitudes around me I will choose to be kind. No matter what words are spoken against me or those around me I will not gossip and become a part of the source, but will be kind.

I choose goodness....

I will seek the favor of those around me in honestly and trust. I will provide those that know me with a person that can be depended upon.

I choose faithfulness....

My husband will never doubt my love, my employer will never doubt my loyalty and my family will never doubt my devotion.

I choose gentleness....

A soft word spoken in the midst of turmoil will soothe the soul and provide a gentleness that encompasses all unsurities.

I choose self-control....

I will love, be joyful, have peace, be patient, show kindness, offer goodness, be faithful, delight in gentleness and in these things I will exhibit self-control.

end of winter, beginning of spring

I meant to share some photos from a few weeks ago when we had snow here in Waco! Blake and I went out to this old historic cemetery that is right next to the law school and took some pictures of the snow.

And on a totally different note....I've planted some flowers in pots outside our apartment!! Spring is in the air! Here's some pics of these beautiful flowers!

I can hardly believe it's already March!! 2010 is already starting to just fly by. We've been pretty busy lately and have a busy month ahead of us still. Two weekends ago we traveled down the SA to visit family and for me to throw a lingerie shower for one of my best friends that is getting married to one of Blake's best friends. That was a lot of fun and we are now gearing up for their wedding that is less than two weeks away! Here's one of their engagement photos that I took of them that same weekend:

Just this last weekend we headed down to Houston on Friday and stayed with some family of mine. Then on Saturday evening we went to a John Mayer concert with Blake's brother, Travis, and his girlfriend Jackie. We had a lot of fun!! It was a really great concert.

Blake is now on spring break this week. I took today, Monday, off so I could hang out with him and re-coup from our busy weekend. It has been well worth it! We have just been relaxing all day and went to the movies to see Alice in Wonderland. We were a little disappointed with the movie, but still had a great time.

Anyways....that's about all for now. We'll have a semi-restful week and weekend this week with Blake off and us just staying home this weekend. But the following weekend we will be off the Kerrville for our friend's wedding, which Blake and I are both in! I am sure I will have lots of pictures to share from that!

my wonderful husband

Well we had a really great weekend just relaxing at home and a really wonderful Valentines day. We both kind of considered it our first valentines day in a way. You see, before we got married our "anniversary" was on Feb. 6. So we always kind of combined our celebration and gift-giving of valentines day and our anniversary. This year we will be celebrating our new anniversary on June 27 so it left Valentines day to be celebrated all on it's own on Feb. 14!

In the morning while getting ready to go to church Blake presented me first with a beautiful card that included a super sweet message to me. He talked about in the message how he is so blessed and happy that we are now a family, just me and him, our own little family. It was so sweet and thoughtful and of course brought lots of tears to me eyes. He then gave me a beautiful necklace that is a sterling silver chain with a round pendant that has a tree in the middle with each branch ending in a little heart. A little card was attached to the necklace that described how the tree represented family and around the edge of the pendant it says, "A family's love is natures masterpiece." It is sooooo cool!

I was of course blown away by his thoughtfulness and carefully thought out gift. What an amazing man I am married to! And as if that wasn't enough he also got me a super cute green zipper/hoodie jacket! He did awesome! My gift to him was not as exciting, but given with as much love! :) I got him a new leather Fossil wallet! Something that was much needed since his old one was ripping.

So after gift giving we headed off to church and then stopped off at Panera for lunch, which was soooo yummy! Then we just hung around the apartment, watched the Olympics and relaxed all afternoon until the evening when we went to Texas Roadhouse for a super yummy dinner!! All in all it was a wonderful day! Although I have to admit that every day with my Blake is a wonderful day! :)

jump starting a car

So our lives hadn't been too crazy here lately until this last Tuesday night. I went to the mall at about 6pm to get a Valentines day gift for Blake. All day my car had been acting kind of funny every time I tried to turn it on so I wasn't super surprised when leaving the mall I discovered that the battery of my car was completely dead. So of course, what did I do? I called Blake. Unfortunately, neither he or I had jumper cables (lesson learned: need to buy some and keep them in our cars). So he had to call a law school buddy to borrow some.

About 20 minutes after I called him he arrives at the mall. It's about 7 pm at this time. We get our hoods open and find my battery very easily and then begin looking for his. Apparently, PT Cruiser's are built differently than every other car out there. And we could not find anything that even resembled a battery. We finally discovered something in the back right hand corner that said something about the positive connnection for jump starting a car. But it was pointing to a regular looking bolt that was sticking up out of something else. Here's a little picture of an engine to give you an idea:

See what I mean? So after trying to figure it out for about 15-20 minutes (It's now 7:20 and getting dangerously close to the start of the new LOST episode) we decide that we just are going to have to get another friend to bring their car. Meanwhile I am on the phone with my Dad trying to get his advice. Thanks Dad for being so patient! :)

So we call our friend Mallory, we absolutely love, and she comes with her car. We knew it'd take her about 15 mins. to get there so we go into the mall to get some food for dinner. Cause it is like 7:30 at this point. So while waiting for our food Mallory calls to say she is there so Blake goes out to meet her while I wait for our food. Thinking that they were well on their way to getting my car started I go out to meet them only to find that Mallory's battery is just as complicated. It had absolutely zero labels as to which part on the battery was positive and which was negative.

Of course, what do I do? I call my Dad again. I explain to him that the only discernable difference is that there is a cover on my battery over the positive and she has a cover over one of her's. So my Dad says that we should just assume that a cover means positive and take a risk. He was correct!! We got my car started!

So now it's about 8 (forget getting home in time for LOST) and my Dad recommends that we park my car in front of a car repair place so that we don't have to re-jump it the next day to get my battery checked out. Our food is getting cold so I want to hurry and the only place I could think of was Pep Boys. Now I loved the Pep Boys in Abilene, but the one here is AWFUL!!! I had my oil changed by them a few months back and promised I would never go back. However, I couldn't think of anywhere else and I just wanted to get home so to Pep Boys we went.

When we pulled up we discovered that they were still open so I sat in my car while Blake ran in to see if they could take a look at my car. Luckly they could so I pulled into the garage. Now you think at about 8:15 at night when NO ONE is there it wouldn't take more than 30 mins. to look at a battery, change a battery and pay for a battery. But no....the guy there checked our battery pretty quick, but from then until the time we were finished was about an hour. The guy at the counter was not very good at organization or multi-tasking and seriously lacked in customer service skills. All a very bad combination.

So needless to say and without further explination we got home around 9:30-9:45 with a new battery, but cold food and zero patience. We ate our dinner and then went to bed because we were so exhausted. At least we have a good story to tell and while at times we were a little frusterated with each other we made it through our first big frusteration as a married couple. And praise the Lord we had just gotten our tax return money deposited so the battery expenses weren't too big of a heartache. I guess there always is a little blessing despite all the frusterations. :)

On Function, Worship, and Heaven

Been a while since I've posted (read 6 months). Thought I'd share something I've been working on. Work in progress:

Heaven will be a place where we are perpetually fulfilling our function. We will be full. Like a cup fulfilling its function, we will be full. Here, we experience fleeting moments where we truly feel like we are fulfilling our functions. We will have just finished a speech where we felt we provoked real thought in our audience; we will have had an intimate conversation with a friend that leaves us with a buzzing of happiness and purpose; or, we will have finished a large project that has been looming over our heads and be able to look at our completed masterpiece with complete satisfaction. Or, maybe we’re walking along the street and just look into the sky. We’re moved by its beauty and, in this moment of reverential awe, we feel a tremendous gratification. I intentionally give relatively mundane examples to illustrate how this fulfillment of function can exist outside of spiritual heights. God has made us to take supreme satisfaction in work well done — be it our own, others’, or His.

Worship is fulfillment of function. It is not exclusive to singing or praying or tithing or any number of other things traditionally defined as worship. God created us with a longing to feel function. We desire nothing more than a validation of our existence. This is why we are constantly seeking the approval of our peers. This is why we are so obsessed with success. This is why we need something to believe in and some ideal with which to identify ourselves. At the end of the day, we want to believe that we are important. We need religion because we desperately want to find something larger than ourselves that we can graft ourselves onto in an attempt to escape our own perceived insignificance.

Lewis referred to the fleeting moments of incomparable satisfaction as joy. In his autobiography, he credits these precise moments as the gateway to his salvation. These are flickers of divinity escaping the trap of apathy we’ve been cursed with.

Heaven will be made up of nothing but these moments. While they are elusive and fleeting here, heaven will be nothing but these moments stacked one on top of the other. And it will never end. Right when we would normally feel this wondrous feeling flee, it will make way for an even more exhilarating one. It will never end. Like a gushing geyser, our function will be positively replete with fulfillment to the point of exudation.

- BLAKE

sure and certain

A status of my Mom's on Facebook prompted me to revisit the verse we have all heard from Hebrews 1 about faith. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." As I read this verse again two words truly jump out to me when I think of the things in life that I have chosen to have faith in, sure and certain. Most of the time in life it seems like being sure or certain in anything is very hard. When someone tells us something that we don't think could be right we always ask, "Are you sure? Are you certain?".

When you really think about it, there are very few things in life that we can say we are sure and certain about, simply because of human nature. So often we make promises that we can not keep which leads those around us to question our certainty. My mom's status talked about "curve balls" that we experience in life. When I begin to think back on curve balls in my life and those around me, I see that time after time that is when our faith is most tested. And in those times when we choose to have faith in God's will, we experience the greatest blessings in our life. We may have to go through pain or be uncomfortable for a little while, but in the end we look back and see the blessings to come from it.

The one thing in my life that I am completely sure and certain of is my faith in the Lord. I know with full certainty that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save the world from death, a death that separates us from eternal life in him. When the things of my life begin to become uncertain I turn back to my sure and certain Savior.

Happy Birthday Mama Gager!

Happy Birthday Mom!! I love you soooo much and am so glad I got to spend this weekend with you for your birthday!! You are the best!

Love,

Blake and Katie

goings on

It's Monday again. Ugh... Monday's are my least favorite day of the week. Sorry Monday, that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Blake has a pretty big week ahead of him. His finals for the 2nd quarter begin this Saturday morning and continue throughout all next week. I wasn't a big fan of finals in undergrad and I've obviously never taken a final in law school, but I can tell you one thing that I've observed....they are horrible, awful things. Actually I think I can safely say that all of law school is a horrible, awful thing. :) I am so proud of Blake for pulling through and almost surviving his second quarter. I know we are both very ready for the summer.

Work is going good for me. Just the same old, same old. Design monuments, processing orders and sometimes dealing with unhappy customers. But all in all I really do enjoy my job. My photography has slowed down a bit for the holidays and the beginning of the year, but I am really hoping it will kick into full gear over the next few months. I have several weddings booked over the next few months and am hoping to book a couple of more. I already shot one earlier this month for my friend Kristen and had an absolutely awesome time! So fun to see your friend get married and be the one to capture all those special moments.

I thought it'd be more stressful since it was my friend. But it turned out to be so much fun. I really can't wait till the next wedding! So if you know any one getting married that needs a photographer....point them my way. www.katiepenfield.com

I can't believe we are nearing the end of January. I can already tell that 2010 is going to be another year that just literally flies by. It's my mom's birthday this weekend so I will be heading to SA to celebrate. Unfortunately, because of his final, Blake won't be able to make it.

Anyways....that's about all of the goings on for the Penfield's at this time. I will share more when I know more!

definition of grace

The other day at church my pastor said something that has really stuck out in my mind for the last few days. He said, "Grace is not when God removes the pain, but when he walks through the pain with you." I thought that this was such a good definition of grace. I have realized more and more as I get older and I learn more about life that every sin or mistake you make has consequences that come along with them. Whether they are big or small, they are still consequences.

I like this definition because even in the midst of your sins God bestows grace upon you. This doesn't mean that he makes the pain of your consequences go away, but that he walks beside your through that pain, comforting and guiding you along the way.

Anyways....that's really all I have to say about that. It's a powerful one sentence statement that sums up a lot about grace. :)

married friends and ham

It's so fun having married friends that live in the same city as us. The newly married Kristen and Joey came over to our apartment last night for a dinner of Ham, mashed potatoes, dressing and rolls! My awesome boss gave everyone at work a big ham for Christmas as a gift. Blake and I had just put it in the freezer and were waiting for a time to get it out and eat it. It was so big that we just kept putting it off. Yesterday morning I was thinking, you know, we should have Kristen and Joey over to help eat that ham. :)

So over they came and quite the feast we had. Now it was a spiral cut, pre-cooked ham, but I had still never cooked a ham in my life. So I was a little concerned at how it would turn out. And while the honey glaze did boil over the pan a bit and burn in the bottom of my oven (annoying to clean), we did still have a pretty good meal.

I absolutely love cooking and love entertaining friends, so it was a perfect evening! And now we still have quite a bit of ham to show for it. It was a 6 pound ham and we ate about a fourth of it last night. So needless to say, Blake and I have been trying to come up with recipes for this next week that include ham in some way. :) Today for our Sunday lunch I made a big egg, ham and jalapeno quiche. It was soooo yummy! :)

Other ideas include: potato soup with ham, pizza with ham and maybe some kind of beans and rice that have some ham in it for flavoring. Feel free to give us any ideas that you might have. We will be working on the ham for a while. :)

Happy Birthday Dad Gager!

Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you're having an absolutely wonderful day! We are sorry that we cannot spend the day with you, but know that we love you and are thinking of you all day long!!

Love,

Blake and Katie

weddings, weddings, weddings

I just realized yesterday that by the end of this year I will have either attended or photographed at least 6 weddings this year! I love weddings so I am pretty darn excited! :) We attended/photographed our good friend Kristen's wedding on January 2. I say attended/photographed because Blake and I attended and I photographed. :) Then last night, January 9, we attended our other good friend, Amanda's, wedding. They were both absolutely beautiful and such special occasions.

Next on the list of weddings is our friend's Seth and Jennifer's that will be in March. What a super fun and blessed year this is already turning out to be! Speaking of blessings I mentioned in my last post that I would post at least once a month about blessings that are happening in our life. I want to start out the year with a few blessings, that though are not new for the year, are huge blessings none the less.

First we are so blessed to be living in Waco with a job for me and law school for Blake. While at times we wish that we had more money than we do, we truly are blessed with what we have. We have a roof over our heads, clothes on our back, food on the table every day (including some extra sweets from time to time :) ), as wells as 2 working cars and tons of different gadgets and things that are just extra perks in life! I have also been extremely blessed over the last few month with the growth of my photography business.


With all of this I can't help but praise the Lord for our lives as they are now. Everyone always tells us that one day we will look back on the first years of our marriage when we are poor and just have each other and will miss it greatly. I can see why because I am loving every minute of it! So until next time....what are your blessings for today?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!! I can hardly believe that 2009 is gone and done. It seems like just yesterday we were starting 2009 with big events ahead of us like graduation, our wedding, starting law school, moving to Waco and starting my first job! It was a very very good year! I can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for us!

As we all do every year, I was thinking the other day about new years resolutions. I haven't been to successful at actually sitting down and writing some down yet, but I thought I'd share a few that I have for this blog in particular.

1. Create at least 10 blog posts every month. (this is one down for January!)
2. Include more pictures of things that we do. (you'd think as a photographer I'd be better at this)
3. Change the layout and background to fit with the season, holidays, etc.
4. Share at least once a month what blessings are happening in our lives.
5. Make my blog into a book at the end of the year. (That's why I need to stay consistant with my posting!)

That's all I have for now. We will see how it goes. I really want to do more with the blog. I just need to make more time for it.