Heaven is Everywhere

Another profound conversation with a young mind. :)

If you weren't aware, yesterday was pretty much the perfect day to spend at a lake and it turned into a gorgeous night on the lake as well. So, after church and dinner we went tubing and then skiing (probably past the legal time limit to be pulling skiers but the sun was still kind of out so we could see just fine, haha) and after we got done skiing and boarding we were just driving around the lake and my "little man" Kael came and sat with my dad and I up in the front of the boat and we got into a pretty amazing (but still entertaining) conversation. He started out telling me everything a 6-year-old knows about the American flag and we discussed the significane of the number of stars and stripes etc.and then somehow (I'm not exactly sure how) the conversation turned to outer space and the moon and Kael told me that if you go to outer space you can't go to heaven...and it made me wonder what his reasoning for this statement was. So I asked him if the reason they couldn't go to heaven was because they were "above" heaven when they went to outer space to which he gave a "duh Katlin" response of "No, because heaven is everywhere...including outer space."

After my reflection on that one short statement, I agree with Kael, heaven is everywhere because our planet is God's way of giving us a small slice of heaven. So, no, heaven and earth are not the same but God has given us gifts here of earth that show us glimpses of His kingdom above and we just have to look more closely to realize what those gifts are. Contrary to Kael's beliefs though, I do think astronauts can go to heaven but the kid has a valid point and heaven truly is everywhere...we just have to look for it.

:)

My Downfall

So, I am sitting in my room writing this blog and really I should be cleaning my room and tending to other items on my ever-growing to do list...but instead I have chosen to sit here on my computer for nearly the past two hours not really doing anything. Way to go Katlin. Procrastination has always been something I am really bad about. If I can put something off, I will. I always get those things done on time but apparently I really enjoy making myself miserable and extremely stressed by not working on those tasks until the last possible moment! Just so you know...my room has been messy probably since about...March. I still have binders and things sitting around from State FCCLA Conference (which was March 30-April 1) as well as graduation gifts and cards and bags and clothes from random trips I have gone on throughout the summer. Awesome. And what's worse is that I have told myself countless times that I NEED to clean my room but I come up here to do it and I find something else to do that is more appealing (such as taking a nap, or in this case, writing a blog). 

The stress that comes from the procrastination is not something that I always handle with grace but through the years I have begun to get better at it. I like to blame this nasty habit of mine on 4-H. You probably won't understand this unless you were in 4-H but every 4-Her knows that the fair projects are never done until the night before judging and sometimes not even started until the week of judging. So the whole "goal oriented" business that comes with 4-H is really a good idea but we all know that 4-Hers don't set goals for themselves until shortly before fair so that we can have something to put on our write-up. So, when I first joined 4-H back when I was in elementary school and experienced the infamous "night before fair" for the first time I cried...a lot! I wanted to get everything done but I didn't see how I was going to be able to get all of my projects done before the next morning. This trend continued for the next few years...long enough that my dad began to label that Wednesday night "cry night" because he knew it would be stressful and a 7th grade girl isn't usually one to deal with stress well. :) Now, the "cry night" hasn't happened for several years but the stress is still there and this procrastination business is something that I try to improve upon constantly but I have yet to master it...dang.

Maybe college will help me kick that habit ;)

Off to clean!

Naps on the Beach

So, I just have to share this story from my day:

I got up to the lake this afternoon and two of my younger cousins were staying with our grandparents so we were all hangin' out up here and they left Patrick and I with Makiah and Reece while they went to church since Patrick and I are going to Teen Mass tomorrow night.

We played a lot, had a snack, wrestled, watched TV...you know, the usual. But then Reece and I decided we wanted to go outside. So we got out of the house I thought it would be a good idea to walk down to the little beach area down the street. So, of course, we were about halfway there and Reece decided he didn't like my idea and wanted to turn around and go home. But I told him he would have fun at the beach and picked him up and carried him for awhile until we were practically at the beach. When we got down to the water I told him he could play in the sand and at the edge of the water but I was going to sit on a stack of dock sections that was sitting back from the water a little ways. Immediately he said he wanted to sit on my lap. So, we just hung out and talked for a few minutes about all the things we could see but within 5 minutes he was asleep. So, I decided it would be a good choice to just hang out there for awhile and let him sleep instead of walking back to the house and risking the possibility of waking him up. After 45 minutes or an hour I decided to head back home and so I picked up his shoes and started the trek back. 

As I was walking it hit me that I was experiencing just a sliver of what Christ experienced and the love I showed for this boy is similar but on a much smaller scale. I was carrying Reece and I held his life in my arms and everything that came with his precious life. Christ carried all of our lives with him on his trek to Calvary and everything that came with our lives, including our sins. I gathered up Reece and picked up his sandals and carried his tired body back to the safe dwelling of our house. Likewise, Christ picks us up and carries us back to Him when we are too weary to find our way back to Him on our own. When we have worked so hard to find our way to our Lord and we have grown too weary to have faith anymore he is always right there to sweep us off our feet and take us back home. Once we got back to the cabin, Reece peacefully awoke and didn't throw a fit or anything! (that's slightly impressive for this 2 year old boy) and when we return to the house of the Lord we should be overjoyed and well-rested and ready to be on fire for our faith all over again. And, Reece was definitely ready to play with more energy than he had before his nap.

So, basically...God is amazing and it continues to impress me how he uses everyday happenings to bring Himself into our lives and remind us that He loves us more than we could ever imagine!

Tennessee, College, and More!

So as I write this I am sitting on a charter bus coming back from Nashville, TN and the FCCLA National Leadership Conference. It was a great week and it was so cool because now that I have been to so many national meetings I have met a ton of people from across the country and it's always exciting to see everyone at the national meetings and conferences! It is also really cool to see 5,000 people together in one place that all share such a strong passion for the same organization, its purposes and its ideals. One big highlight from the week was the announcement of the national outreach project for the next two years and all the new things we are going to do to try to publicize it even more than before! The Children's Miracle Network is our next partner and we will even have a true campaign over the next two years. We have a theme song and a Nickelodean star is serving as our spokesperson. I'm very anxious to see how powerful FCCLA can be with these resources seeing that we raised half a million dollars for our last national outreach project, Feed the Children.
Other things that are new in my life...I found out my housing assignment and roommate this past week so that was really exciting! I haven't really talked to Marissa much yet since I have been in Tennessee but I have been praying for her and I ask all of you to pray for her as well! I look forward to getting to know her and living with her in just a few short weeks! Yeah, only a few weeks until I move down to Benedictine! I went to orientation at the end of June and I got to meet some pretty cool people that I am so blessed to call my classmates! It was also crazy that when I got home I discovered that a past Kansas FCCLA officer is also going to BC and a girl that used to be in our small group will be joining our raven family. :) It's crazy how people you never expected to be will always end up being a part of your life! I love it!
You also may be curious as to how exactly I am writing this as I am on a charter bus...well, unfortunately, Verizon doesn't get any coverage in Atchison so we had to switch to Sprint and I am now the owner of a blackberry...scary huh?! I think the phone is smarter than I am and I really don't know how it all works yet :/ But oh well, that is the least of my worries these days!

But, I'm going to try to get another nap in before I get home and on top of that my phone is dying so I will continue to fill you in on my life some other time!

God Bless!

It's Been Awhile...

So, I realize that I haven't posted for over a month and I apologize but life has been BUSY! We had Baccalaureate, a couple different awards nights, my graduation open house, commencement, going to everyone else's open houses...the list goes on...and that's only things related to school/graduation! So, now I am graduated from high school and technically considered a college student now. Which is a little weird to say but I am so excited to go to Benedictine in August and see what wonderful things God has planned for me there. I've decided that I'm not necessarily happy to be leaving everyone around here but I am definitely ready to be done with high school...it's just that natural progression...I've spent 4 years in high school and now I'm ready for bigger and better things. So, no, I didn't cry at commencement...didn't even come close really because I know that I will stay in touch with some of my classmates and unfortunately I won't stay in touch with other classmates of mine but they will always be in my thoughts and prayers and like I said in my senior address at commencement "it's practically impossible to forget those people that you grew up with and spent 13 years with" so I have confidence that I will see all of them again and that graduation wasn't a goodbye but instead a "see you later".

So, other things that have been keeping me busy...I just spent a week in our nation's capital city for Citizenship Washington Focus (4-H trip) which was amazing! We got to see so many sights and visit so many monuments and memorials. I just love D.C. because as you walk through the streets and visit the national mall you can just feel the rich history of the city and you realize that our freedom and all the rights we have been granted were established in that city and it makes me realize how grateful I am for our founding fathers and the strong morals and values they possessed. I also got to meet a ton of new friends on the trip! There were 32 other high schoolers from central Iowa that went and we obviously got to be pretty close since we rode an 18 hour bus ride together! In addition, we got to meet people from Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, and Florida! It was definitely a great week and I'm so glad I went! I'm even considering applying for the internship out there next summer to show other high school students around the city for 8 weeks! But we'll see...that's far enough away that I don't have to seriously consider it yet!

In other news, JUDAH WAS BORN! I was so excited and I haven't seen him for almost two weeks and it's killing me! Both him and Ruth Ann are doing well and he is a wonderful addition to the Pometto family! Summer has started and that means it's lake season! The deck and one of the docks went in last weekend and hopefully this weekend the other dock, trampoline and boat will go in! I love spending time up there with all of my family and just being around all of them is so valuable...especially now that I will be leaving in two months! Colin came home from his year in D.C. about a month ago so it's been great to have him back and be able to spend time with him again! Monday night was girls'/I hate boys night with almost all of the TOTB girls. We had lots of fun and just hung out and enjoyed each other's company which is always a nice way to spend a night! :)

I'm thinking that's pretty much all I've got for now. Nothing too exciting, I know, but it has definitely kept me busy but been very enjoyable at the same time! I'm so glad it's summer!!

Senior Skip Day

So, today is senior skip day and it has definitely been a nice change of pace for my life. :) Last night we had a track meet...in the pouring rain and when I got home I was soaked and freezing! But afterward I went out to a friend's house for "senior campout" which wasn't really a campout because we all hung out in her garage due to the weather and then everybody went home around 1a.m. because we all so tired! ...pretty lame, i know... but I got to sleep in until 10 this morning! And the only reason I woke up is because I got a phone call...but it was amazing to finally get some sleep! Today has been pretty chill...Drew came over for a few hours and we just hung out and I went through pictures for boards at my open house and he was cool with it...thanks Drew! :)

Now, I really should be finishing my boards and cleaning the house and getting all my other stuff ready for Saturday...but instead I'm writing a blog...awesome...

Time to go be productive again!

Busy, Crazy Life of a High School Senior

Wow! Life has been BUSY! And I don't think it's going to slow down at all for at least another month...which is okay because I am usually a lot more productive when I'm busy because it forces me to manage my time well and I get a lot more done but there are definitely some days that all I want to do is relax and catch up with friends over coffee or something. But it's been a fun busy and there are so many wonderful things that are going to happen in my life in the near future that I'm excited to be preparing for it all! Here's a quick, brief look at what I've been up to...

Two weekends ago was my senior prom. I had tons of fun and really enjoyed spending the night with all of my close friends and getting dressed up. It was an absolutely stress free day for me which was really nice. I'm not the type of girl who fusses over her makeup or hair...the way I see it is it's one night and who really is going to remember what my hair looked like anyway? So, my hair took a total of 25 minutes, I did my own makeup and I called it good! I had lots of fun and I think that's the most important part!

Preparation for the open house is in full swing at the Clancy household! Dad just finished painting tonight so he is very happy to have that done and now we have moved into cleaning mode! I have also been put in charge of anything and everything picture related so I am hard at work on picture boards and a slideshow and all that fun stuff. The big day is Saturday so I'm sure things will be busy around here for everyone over the next few days!

Two weekends ago we had Gauntlet (lock-in) at church and it was AMAZING! We played laser tag at a place in Pleasant Hill which was lots of fun and I got to ride with Julia so we had some wonderful bonding time! :) Once we got back to the church from that we had some witness talks and such and it was a really good time for me to reflect on my relationship with God and what I need to work on most but at the same time we managed to have a lot of fun and hopefully all who attended enjoyed the night because I know I did!

This past weekend I went to what was possibly the last Vow of Silence show I will get to see until sometime next year if I'm lucky enough to be home on a weekend when they're playing in Ames! It was an awesome show and it was really great to see Thoughts of Crossing as well! Saturday I worked at a Junior High Boys' State Track Meet for six and a half hours which was a little bit ridiculous...especially because I got sunburnt! My nose is BLISTERING and it's quite disgusting and it's really embarrassing because I stood in the same spot all afternoon while I was working high jump so only half of my face got burnt and then since I was holding a clipboard, only half of my hands got burnt...and did I mention that I was wearing a WINTER COAT the whole day?! Yeah...pretty awesome if I must say so myself. Saturday was the Relay for Life which was good. It is always a fun event and it's really touching to see how many people have been affected by cancer and how terrible of a disease it is. But we are doing all we can to fight back and hopefully one day we will live in a world that doesn't have to face the horrors of cancer.

Looking to the future...the next few weeks are going to be just as jampacked as the last few weeks have been. This week on Wednesday we have senior skip day (which I will probably spend at home working on things for the open house...cool, right?!) and then we also have Baccalaureate on Wednesday night which should be a nice, relaxing change of pace. Next weekend, I only have a million open houses to go to including my own so that will keep me busy and I will most likely gain at least ten pounds over the course of the weekend but that's what is supposed to happen... :) Next week is awards night on Monday and academic excellence awards on Wednesday. Our last day of school is next Thursday and commencement is on Sunday the 24th!! I'm so excited but defintely wouldn't say I'm necessarily ready for graduation...I still have yet to write my speech. :/ So any pointers on that would be greatly appreciated!!

I think that's about it from me for now...hope you didn't die of boredom during this post! I'll try to make the next one more exciting! :)