Change

It has been way too long since I have blogged, and just decided I want to get back into the habit of blogging! 

Change. Change has been the theme of my life for the past few months now. There has been good change, and bad change. No..bad isn't the right word...more like change that has been difficult for me to accept and deal with. I guess all this change started when my grandpa died in June. I know it was his time, and I knew exactly where he was going, but it was still a change and I had a tough time with it. About the same time I was dealing with that I also had to let go of a close friend. He means the world to me and I miss him everyday, but I know it was what I had to do and I don't regret it. It was just another big change in my life. I graduated from highschool, another change, but an exciting one. The summer was tough. I look back on it and although it wasn't what I had imagined it to be, God blessed me abundantly. He put some truly amazing people into my life to help me get through and I don't know where I would be without them. College started at the end of August, another change, but a good change! I absolutely love college. Thanks to my friend Joe, I have met a lot of truly amazing people. I love my classes and the new freedoms I have. My group of friends have changed, but I think it was something I needed. Anyway...I was camping this weekend and was looking at all the beautiful trees changing colors. It got me thinking about change and how much has happened to me in the past few years. I have changed a lot. I have had my share of mistakes...but everyone changes and matures. Like the trees, I have entered a new season of my life and although it can be scary at times, everything is going to be okay.

RIP Grandpa

"I have the best doctor of all, God." I remember the day my grandpa said those words to me. My family and I were sitting in my grandpa's hospital room a few weeks after his legs had been amputated. It was such a typical thing for my grandpa to say. As bad as his situation seemed, he was always so incredibly positive.

I learned a lot from my grandpa during the long four months he was in the hospial. I realized that I am going to encounter challenges in life. It is how I handle them that matters. My grandpa could have easily lost faith when his legs were amputated. He could have complained about the unbearable amount of pain he was in, and about the length of time he was in the hospital, but he did not. Instead, he made the best out of a bad situation.

When I am faced with a challenge I have to embrace it has a chance to grow. I have to realize that there is a reason for that trial even though I may not be able to see it at that time. Because of my faith I believe that we grow and learn from our difficult times.
James 1:1-4 in the Bible says:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything."
My grandpa is an example of a person who lives by this Bible verse. He has faith in God that when it is his time to die, God will take him. He is not afraid of death nor is he angry with God and the trials he has had to face. He has shown me how to embrace the challenges we face and to always count our blessings.

Looking back on this experience I realize that my grandpa's illness helped me learn more about my grandpa and his beliefs. It helped me grow closer not only to him, but to my family. The experience has special meaning to me because I learned from my grandpa to put all your faith in God and never give up. Everything happens for a reason even though you might not understand why you're being put through something at the time. I didn't understand why my grandpa was experiencing so much pain. I realize now that God used my grandpa's challenges to influence the people around him, including me. My grandpa showed me how to embrace life, and will one day show me how to embrace death.



I wrote this essay for school at the beginning of the year. I was just going through my old stuff and came upon it. The past few months my grandpa had really been struggling with his health. He spent all his time in bed. He really went down hill in the past few weeks, and last Sunday he passed away. I remember him telling me that although he doesn't have legs now, soon he will be dancing in heaven. RIP Grandpa. You're dancing with angels.

People Change...

I have been thinking alot lately and it is amazing how things change so quickly. I was thinking about my friends and the past year and so much has changed! Some things for the better and some things for the worse. I feel like this past year so much has happened its crazy!

One thing I was really thinking about was my friends. I have been really frustrated lately because a few of my friends in particular are not the people I remember them to be. I have grown apart from them and it makes me sad because I miss them. But then I realize the reason we grew apart was because they have changed. Whether I like it or not they are not the same person I used to know. I see it when I finally do hang out with my friend(s) that it is just not the same as it used to be. It makes me so incredibly sad because I realize it is the old person I used to know that I miss, not the person they are now. On the other hand, I have started hanging out with other people and have built some amazing friendships.

I look back on everything I have gone through the past year and it just doen’t seem possible. It is really hard to explain but I feel like everything that has happened has been like a lifetime long. It doesn’t seem like it has only been a year.

I know I keep jumping around and this might be really confusing to read but I just felt like I had to get it out. I am just speaking my mind and my mind is all over the place. But anyway..I just wonder have my friends really changed, or have I just changed? Or maybe no one has changed. Maybe I am just seeing a side of them I have never seen before? I just really wish I could get my old friend back. But life goes on I guess...

Hiking in Ithaca

It has been way too long since I have blogged! So I decided I should prob post something! This week has been flying by. I haven't done anything too exciting but I have had alot of fun. Actually my break started off pretty horrible lol. I was sick starting the Thursday before break! I had a sore throat, cough, runny nose, achy, and my ear hurt a little too. Soo on Monday when I realized I wasn't feeling much better I decided I better go to the doctor. The doctor gave me antibiotics and now I am feeling alot better! On Tuesday I went to the Syracuse mall for the day to buy some new spring clothes! I bought a few shirts and a sweatshirt :-) Yesterday I went to Ithaca for the day with my family and my friend Matt's family. We hiked Taughannock Falls (which was beautiful!) and then went to this Italian/American restraunt called Joe's. After dinner we decided to check out Buttermilk falls since Matt's family had never been there before. We didn't hike the whole thing because it was getting late and we were all tired, but me and Matt raced up part of the falls (he won) haha. On the way home we stopped for icecream which is always good! I got vanilla soft serve on a cone :-) After icecream we said goodbye to the Hojsik's and raced home just in time to watch The Office! It was a really fun day! I love hiking! :-)

Where a kid can be a kid

So my family is really close to this other family, the Larnerds. My dad and Mr. Larnerd have been best friends since they were 13. Jory and Karen Larnerd have 3 boys: Colin, 17, Cameron, 13, haha and Caleb 12. Recently their cousin Jorden moved in with them too who is also 17. So we always have alot of fun hanging out with them. When we were younger we started going to Chuck E Cheese alot when we would hang out. The kids could play while the adults hang out and talk. That way we could entertain outselves and my mom wouldn't have to worry about having 3 boys running around the house :-p So I guess the tradition just kinda stuck. We don't go to Chuck E. Cheese as much as we used to but once in a while we still go there to hang out. Last night was one of those times. It was the entire Larnerd family (plus Jorden) , my family, Tash, Matt, and Joe Yost. It was a really good time. We played skee ball, basketball, climbed in the tubes, and took really awesome pictures (my personal favorite :-p) So yup. You are never too old to have a good time at Chuck's place.

Feelin' So Fly

Sorry I haven't gotten to blog in a while! I have been busy and then I haven't really felt so good the last few days. But anyways! Last Saturday night I went to a Tobymac concert in Elmira. Most of you have prob never even heard of him, but he is a white christian rapper haha. Funny image right? He isn't like my favorite artist or anything, but his songs are really catchy, and he is AMAZING in concert! I have seen him twice now in concert, and they were both like the best concerts I have ever been to. Tobymac has so much energy! You can't help but get up and dance! I went to the concert with my family and 6 other girls from my church. I told my mom before we went to the concert that she was going to love it. I told her he is so amazing in concert, but she said to me after the concert "wow Katie, I didn't think it was going to be THAT good!" It is one of those things you have to experience for yourself to get it :-p But anyway it was a really good time! I have a video you can watch below but it isn't that great a quality and doesn't sound nearly as good as in concert. Like I said, you have to be there to truely experience it :-p

blind as a bat

I went to the eyedoctor today for my annual checkup, and I realized that if it wern't for the invention of contacts/glasses I would be blind! The eyedoctor first checked my eyesight with my glasses on. So when the eyedoctor took my glasses off to just look at my eye, I realized that the chart that I was reading with my glasses on just seconds before, looked like it had nothing on it when my glasses were off!

A few weeks ago, I did the 30 Hour Famine. One of the games we played at the church was this tribe game. We got a card with a picture of a child from Africa on it. It had a small paragraph about the child on it and at the bottom it said what the child's disability was. My child was blind, so for the remainder of the game I had to be blindfolded. I had no idea how hard that was going to be! I had to take a jug of water to the other side of the room, dump the water into a big bucket, take my socks and shoes off, wash my feet in the big bucket, put my socks and shoes back on, refil the jug again, and bring it back to the other side of the room to the next person in line. I had to do ALL this blindfolded!!! It was so hard. I had no idea where I was going, or where the big bucket was I had to dump the water into. It is amazing how much i take my eyesight for granted.


Thank goodness for the invention of contacts/eyeglasses!