*this is me*

i started this blog in 2008, as what i intended at the time to be a private journal. my heart and mind were reeling in the aftermath of my rape and i needed so desperately, a save haven where i could vent, and beat my hands on the walls and scream and cry and pray and most importantly, heal. i was so very broken when i created this page. and in the years and blogs since, this tiny dot on the internets' map has become my redemption of sorts.

i'm a firm believer that we all have our stories to tell; that each deserves to be heard. NEEDS to be heard. and that some of the GREATEST reads are discovered within the tattered and torn pages of our hearts. some are found in pictures. others in words.

my *book* as it were, is a work in progress, filled with some really big chapters that are not always an easy read; i know, especially not for close family or friends that read my page from time to time. because i talk about it all in this little space. and i have made some monumental mistakes.

but yet through it all, there has been Gods' unfathomable grace. and here's why i share it all. there's this great quote i read just recently: “I’m convinced that it’s when we live out real authentic lives that include our failures as well as our victories that we can be of the greatest use for the Lord in other’s lives."

so this is me. as i run and stumble and fall flat on my face. i'm a wife/ mom/ sister /daughter /friend. and at the heart of ALL that is just a girl. journeying to live a life of substance and purpose. who's growing and learning and changing. with alot of love and tears and laughter along the way.

My companions on this little journey are my husband Jason. AMAZING. and my beautiful redheaded bundle of 10 going on 20. My heart.

i work with adults with mental retardation. i LOVE what i do, but secretly always wonder if thats *ok* or if i should still dream about being that midwife/massage therapist/marine biologist/stay at home mama i thought i'd be.

i've never actually sat down and wrote out a *top 100* list. i'm goofy and random and imperfect in every way. my hair is never in style. my right eye twitches when i'm stressed out. i love thrift stores and candles and bare feet and old photographs and road trips to nowhere. i wish i could play the guitar. i wish i looked great in a bathing suit and i wish i could make yeast rolls like my mom.

people that love me call me kat.

If you leave my page with anything, I hope it is with knowing that you are precious. you are enough. you are worthy of forgiveness & an extraordinary life. and that you are loved. Ohhhh so loved, by a Heavenly Father who has never once left your side.