to paris with love, our exciting news

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oh friends, i'm so excited to share with you some lovely little news. 

I suppose this story goes back a few years. You see about six years ago my family decided to host an exchange student. I remember my dad showing me a list of girls the organization gave my family to choose from. I mean, as if that isn't awkward...like, ok pick a girl, any girl. 

But, the moral of the story is that sweet Aline from Switzerland came to live with us for a year. And our family was never the same. In that year she became our third sister, and my parent's third daughter. Our whole family fell in love with her. 

{aline and I at my bridal shower}

Since that year, her whole family has visited our family in the US, and our family has visited her family both in Switzerland and met up when them when we were in France one summer. Aline and her two siblings even flew out for our wedding and they all pitched in to help! 

To say the least, we have been So blessed by them and love this little connection!! 

So...fast forward to this year. Aline is now getting married to an awesome Dutch man named Rick, and our family is invited to the wedding. When we moved to Nepal in April, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to go to the wedding. Flights from Kathmandu to Europe aren't exactly cheap, ya feels me? 

soooooo, I prayed. 

every day. 

I know that seems like a silly thing to pray for, but going to their wedding was something so special to me that I didn't want to miss. My whole family would be going, and I also didn't want to miss out on time with them! 

and you know what, 

God is just good. 

He knows our hearts and the little itsy bitsy desires we have. 

and for ALL his crazy power, He's so completely tender and kind. 

He is. 

That's his nature. 

For the last two months I've been checking out how many points it would take on our credit card for us to receive a free flight to Europe. 

I checked 

almost.every.day.

I was a bit obsessed. 

75,000 points it said, 

Kevin and I were almost to 70,000 and didn't think we'd make 75,000.

I was really, really sad. But trying to have a good attitude. 

Then, all of a sudden, the points dropped to 70,000. We couldn't believe it! 

But the flight only flew out of Delhi India and we are in Kathmandu Nepal. 

Hmmmm....

Then, my sweet parents offered to help get us to Delhi! I couldn't believe it! 

I seriously danced around the room praising God! 

So this past weekend, we bought our tickets! 

wait, what?!!?

YES, we're going to Paris. That was the cheapest place to fly into. 

We'll be in Paris for two days just Kev and I. We've both been to Paris a few times before, but never together, so I'm over the moon about being in the city of love with the one I love:)

Then we'll meet my family in Northern France to see and learn more about the D-Day beaches, and see Mont St. Michel (pictured below) something I've ALWAYS wanted to do! 

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To prepare for the D-day beaches, Kevin and I have started watching Band of Brothers, the HBO mini-series about paratroopers going in on D-day during WWII. If you like history, or just good tv, this is an amazing series. However I will say, I close my eyes during almost all the fighting scenes...it's hard to watch! But it makes me so thankful for all the brave men who literally gave their lives to help stop Hitler! 

From Northern France we'll go and explore Belgium, and then on to Holland where the wedding is! I can't wait to share pictures and our experiences with you all! 

Basically, I feel so overwhelmed with thanksgiving. God made all this possible. He cares, deeply. Oh, so thankful! 

Thank you for following this journey with me! So thankful for all of you readers!!! 

happy Thursday, 

Love Katie

and ps- my sweet friend Kristyn featured me on her blog here! 

where I shop...fresh fruit and veggies!

there are so many wonderful reasons why i love living in Nepal. one in particular is that the pace of life here is sooooo much slower. even in the capital city. kevin and i wake up together. he puts the coffee on and we both find our little quiet places to rest in the stillness with the Lord. 

friends, it's been a very healing stillness for me. 

time to reflect, to be very far away from so many of the expectations I put on myself in the US. 

time to be and grow in the areas where I'm so desperately lacking. 

one of my favorite parts of life here is shopping, it's an experience.

it ain't trader joes, that's for sure.  

Kevin and I do this together

 {well, we pretty much do everything together}  

which I love and cherish

at the end of our street is a big outdoor market with fruit and vegetable sellers. 

everyone has their own stall, and sells the exact same thing,

but it's fun to check out produce and bargain and try new fruits. 

the first day we went shopping for vegetables, one sweet nepali woman, with a twinkle in her eye called us over. after we bought our produce, she said "you can always come to me!". The next time we arrived to purchase vegetables we actually felt a bit guilty if we didn't buy from her, even though some other produce looked better. But wanting to build a relationship we dove right into her veggies! And that's the way it's been for the last 2 months, and she's pretty adorable. 

The fruit sellers are pretty hilarious. at first they tried to con us and charge us an arm and a leg, but we caught on. We decided to start using our limited nepali to speak to them, and the minute we did, they said "ok, now I give you nepali price!" haha. who knows if we are actually getting the real nepali price, but at least it's cheaper for us than it was before. 

before i moved to nepal I was juicing up a storm, and almost died of happiness when I discovered that the previous owner of our home left a juicer there!! so now there is even more reason for me to buy produce to juice! 

at the end of the market is an area where people sell homemade nepali food. 

samosa's, roti, mo mo's and other items {that i have NO idea what they are}

food sanitation here is a bit very questionable,

but Kevin hasn't died yet so that's a good sign. 

it feels good to walk home with a few huge bags of fresh goodness. 

 {our sweet veggie lady!}

 {one second before this was taken this guy was laughing, 

but in classic nepali fashion he is frowning for the picture!} 

 {yesterday i learned the difference between indian lychee and nepali lychee. nepali lychee (above) is more colorful on the outside and is a little more sour. indian lychee (below) is more muted in color on the outside and sweeter on the inside. we bought a huge bag of indian lychee and i'm enjoying it right now! yum!}

{this is our resident fruit man. he is HILARIOUS! love him}

{we got 5 mangoes for a dollar, i'm in HEAVEN!!!}

  {a man making simosa's}

{a boy making mo mo's...nepali's favorite snack food!}

{i'm just not too sure how I feel about a massive bowl of raw meat sitting out and raw hands, haha}

{lastly, a very typical sight. yes...a cow just chillin in front of an atm. or in the middle of the road. or in front of a shopping mall. it's really hilarious.} 

Have a great week friends! Will be sharing more of our exciting news in the next post...stay tuned! 

love Katie 

thoughts on being brave

Lately, i've been thinking a lot about bravery. 

to face your past with grace
and allow the wounds to heal no matter how painful they are to drag up.

to hope greatly for the beauty of the future,

and mostly, to live confident in the present that God is trustworthy, and we need not fear.

and then this massive wave of emotion came with a swell large and powerful,

for in the last two months of being here, i've witnessed living bravery.

in the girls.

for those of you readers who are new,
Kevin and I work in Nepal with the most precious girls you will ever lay eyes on.

who have been prey to the dirtiest of evils.

of men who pay for their bodies, and abuse their innocence.

of trafficking across borders and across towns.

it makes me sick.

but every day I watch them fight.

i see them face their past in counseling,

head to head with fears and evil.

I notice when they take steps to not let their past define them, 

to go to school and learn and be dilligent with their homework 

because they want to make a better future for themselves.

And mostly, I feel their love that radiates in hugs and blown kisses
and snuggles as we sit and talk and share life together.

And even though they have every excuse to be angry, bitter girls,

with brave hearts,

they choose to move forward in love.

it's hard for me to comprehend sometimes 

it just doesn't make sense. 

but then, the lyrics to charlie hall's song "you are God" hit me...

You fill our hearts with love and faith

You fight for us, You make us brave

You are God, You are God.

and that's when I realized, 

HE makes us brave. 

and He's fighting for us every.step.of.the.way. 

and so I thank God that in his love, he is empowering these girls to be brave, day by day. 

and in his mercy, He allows me the same power to choose courage. 

and if you're feeling low or sapped of energy, uninspired, or downright fearful,

pray that fresh fire will fall in your heart, sparking the courage it takes to face each day with grace. 

i'm telling you, it can happen

because it's happened in my black heart

and it's happening in a little girls home in kathmandu. 

and when the fire sparks and catches flame, the blazing roar can change the world. 

“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze.” -Catherine of Siena

love Katie

ps- suuuccchhh exciting news to come soon! can't wait to share with all of you! 

a 50th wedding anniversary, nepali style

this past saturday we felt so honored to be invited to the 50th wedding anniversary for our dear nepali friends, auntie and uncle. wow, 50 years, that's a long time!! kevin and I felt like explorers, watching and taking our social cues from the sweet people around us. Man, was it a PAAARTAY! 300 people showed up and mingled around bright colorful tents, with appetizers galore, a glorious nepali buffet, and hundreds and hundreds of bright vibrant flowers gifted to the special couple. even the occasional drizzle didn't stop this crowd from enjoying the day:) a highlight for me was getting to wear my sari again:) but boy, i wish you could have been a fly on the wall when all the ladies were dressing me! one lady would wrap me in my sari, and then another lady would come in and decide it wasn't good enough, so she'd unwrap me, and then start again! Three different women attempted my sari, and finally, after a half an hour they deemed me presentable! when I walked out into a room of 50 people, every one clapped and cheered. I certainly got a lot of credit just for wearing a sari, you would have thought I had just run a marathon:) oh the simple joys in this delightful country, i love it:)