We have been blessed by the presence of a precious young lady, named Katie.

We’ve known Katie for a long time – she was a student of my husband and I years ago. Each year, she has come to visit us in Colorado, and then she came to school here for a while. I can’t tell you how much my heart is breaking that she is leaving us. She’s part of our family and we all love her so very much. Of course, her Mom is one of my dearest friends, and I’m so thankful she’s going home ’cause I know how close she and her Mom are (and I know she needs to do the Lord’s will) – but I wish I could pack them up and move them both here- RIGHT NOW – next door! (I’m not demanding, now am I?)

So, in my mind I’m seeing this flashback of scenes — all of our adventures with Katie (which are too numerous to list here in entirety) — and so I’m dedicating this “Adventure Montage” to our Katie! WE LOVE YOU!

As we reminisce, you should imagine some really great, emotional, tuggin’ at the heart strings, tear jerkin’ music – and pretend all of this is in slow motion… That should make it more fun. 🙂 BRING ON THE KLEENEX!! (Some of this might not make sense to some of you – but there are many that I’m sure you’ll recognize from other posts about our adventures…)

And so I proudly present: “Katie’s Adventure Montage”

Wet dog smells, black painted cabinets, locking gas caps, “something smells fishy”, climbing into a ginormous fish tank, car breaking down, towing that same car, Katie driving a car (not a truck) for the FIRST time ever, rebuilding closets, foot spas, picture hanging-falling off stools, bum knees, ladders, trapeze-hanging “Holly’ll do it!”, “It was Katie’s idea!”, decorating for Christmas (you have NO idea) “Kim, why do you have 60 boxes of JUST Christmas?”, Holly’s surprise present, producers, interviews, book-reading, 57 loaves of banana bread in one day, bad brakes, Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies baseball game, turkey diving, video cameras, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, angels spilling out freckles, unpacking, more unpacking, and yet some more unpacking, church at home (how incredible that has been!), David Phelps Live Concerts on the theater screen – over and over and over and over…, refrigerator clean-out, babysitting, DVD players that don’t cooperate, “Must be smarter than program to operate!”, “She’s one of us!!”, singing the William Tell Overture to one another when we need to get moving, Five Cent fines, brand new coffee makers that don’t work “but I really want it to work!”, shopping in Safeway when we have no business going out in public, that lovely shade of greenish yellow that makes you want to throw-up is now a beautiful shade of blue, climbing up into the bowling alley, Snow, snow, and more snow, fake grass, dirt pudding, gumbo, jambalaya, teriyaki chicken, truffles, and ROLLS, Pikes Peak, watching movies on the big screen sittin’ in a Ford mustang, ice cream – LOTS of ice cream, “little” shoes, “horse” clothes, being followed in Vitamin Cottage – “She’s calling her friends- She recognizes you!”, Christmas parties, “Where’s Las Vegas?”, reading and re-reading and re-reading again Kim’s chapters, laughing until we cry, crying until we laugh, smiling and hugging and loving one another.

Katie – when can you come back?

We love you!