There is no God like Jehovah!

After 2 years of not going to school, I am going back!! In January I will start going to New Tribes Bible Institute with Rianne. She doesn't know this, but God has been using her over the past couple of weeks to show me His next step for my life.

Rianne started school at NTBI about 3 weeks ago. I was in a slump when she started though. We have become really extra close over the past year, year and a half, and I knew that I wouldn't be seeing her EVER because she would be spending her entire life for the next two years at school. Just this past weekend, Rianne invited me to come hang out with her and meet her friends at school. I was hooked! I have been back there just about every day since then. Everyone there is so friendly, and you feel God's presence in everything that you do there. There's nothing like it.

Over this whole week I have been praying about NTBI and if it is what God wants me to do. The first day I went, everyone was saying that I had to start coming in January. I was like, "No! I don't need it." Then the next couple days it turned into, "Well, we'll see. I'm not sure yet." Something was goin on in my heart for sure! There's no denying that. So yesterday I went for a nice little run with my Father and we had a little chat together. Boy did He have some things to tell me! But that's for my ears only. ;-) When I got home from my run I knew that God was leading me to go to school at NTBI. This little epiphany was kept to myself for the rest of the day. I was still praying about it and making sure that I wasn't forcing myself into this. 

Last night I went back to NTBI with Rianne. While I was sitting there among some amazing people, I knew that this was the right thing. I leaned over to Rianne and said, "I have a secret for you. I'm coming in January." "AHHHHH!!!" Rianne scared the entire room! Rianne told some friends that have been trying to convince me to come and they got super excited. Lot's of screaming and a few hugs. Yep, this is the right choice. Rianne preceded to run around the school telling everyone that she found that I was coming in January. Half the people don't even know who I am! But oh well, I'll let my sister have her fun.

In conclusion: God used Rianne. God told me to go. I'm going. 

'Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”'  - Isaiah 30:21

Weekend birthday bash

August 6th marked my 20th birthday! To celebrate this milestone, I decided to not only celebrate my birthday on the day of my birth, but to go all out and celebrate all weekend long. And it ended up being the best birthday ever! 

Friday started the weekend off perfectly. I got to play hockey in the morning! No other way to celebrate if you ask me. Later that day I got to help Rami out at her church doing the games for VBS. My mom, Rianne, Anna and Emma came, too! We had a bonfire and hayrides after that. Great night!


On my birthday I got to go see the Bristol Renaissance Faire! So much fun. I'm hooked! I went with Rami and her brothers, Jason and Quin. We got to see some pretty epic shows there. Plus I got roasted nuts, which are possibly the most delicious thing on the whole dang planet. The fire whip guy, Adam Winrich, was probably my favorite show. Check him out! http://www.winrichwhips.com/ We also saw a bagpipe group called Tartanic. Loved them! Barely Balanced was right up there with Adam Winrich. They were very funny and did some crazy stuff. I now have 2 more trip to the Ren fair planned in the next two weeks. Don't judge.

Adam Winrich

The day after my birthday, we made a trip over to state fair. I was joined by Rianne, Rami, Aaron, Stephen, and my friend David from our TKD dojo. Crazy fun group! And you have to love Wisconsin. Where else do you find deep fried snickers, oroes, pb&j, beer (don't get your undies in a bundle, I didn't have any!) and BUTTER?! I think with the Ren fair and state fair, it's quite possible that I gained 10 pounds! So much tasty food.

Powered?

 

deep fried pb&j! thank you Jason for opening my eyes to this deliciousness on a stick

 

 And there ya have it, my weekend birthday bash! Tune in next time for my next great adventure!

Life is a funny thing

Ya know, just when you start to think you're in the right place with your plans, God gives a little smack in the behind to remind you that you're supposed to be following HIS plans. Well, I have been the recipient of a little smack in these past couple of months.

Remember that job at Menards that I was so excited to start? Yeah, that lasted a good 2 months. It was causing a lot of issues that were making my life at my other job, and at home, a nightmare. What I did leading up the job was bad. I ignored God. What pretty much went down was me saying, "God, I'm going to reject your plans and substitute my own." Dumbest thing EVER. I don't suggest doing that. So, to make a long story short, I suffered through the job and ended up quitting. Lesson learned. From now on there will be no "I want" and it will all be "God wants." Through this little fiasco, I learned to trust God a lot more with my, er His, plans for my life. By His grace, He has granted me with a peace that I've been waiting for for about 2 years now. It feels great! God is so good.

Aside from this fun little adventure, my life has been pretty good. I am now the proud owner of a car, whose name is Appa of course. My job at the golf course is going pretty good, including a raise. Yay! Next to that, I'm helping my dad and brother, Bill, coach the high school girls soccer team that Rianne is on. That keeps us pretty busy, but we have a great bunch of girls which makes it very enjoyable. When I'm not working or coaching, I'm either spending my time with my amazing family or hanging out at my second family's (Kausaliks) house.

One thing that I have really gotten into recently is getting into shape. I am working on changing my eating habits (lost 16 pounds already!), plus working out every day. So on top of losing fat I'm gaining muscle. It feels so good to be getting into shape! It has also been nice doing all of this with my friend Rami. As much as we want to die after doing our workout, Insanity, we keep pushing through. I have never been this determined to get into shape. I love it!

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, we had a guy, Duchene, from Haiti living with us. This morning we dropped him off at the airport to fly back home to his family in Haiti. I can't believe that he's gone! He was at our house for 5 months, becoming part of our family. We got to share so much with Duchene: Christmas, the birth of my niece, Liesl, a couple birthdays, Easter, and family. He was truly part of our family and he will be dearly missed. Please pray that he is able to settle back into life in Haiti and that he is able to stay healthy.


 ~Katie~

Blessed life

Let me start off by saying what a great week God has blessed me with. I mean really, He has given me way more than I deserve. Thank you God!

Tuesday I found out that I got a job! I will now be working at Menards on the morning stocking crew. Monday-Saturday from 5am-9am. Yes, you heard me 5 AM. No more sleeping in until noon every day. Even though I'll have to be getting up at 4:30 every morning, I am greatly looking forward to starting this new job. I pray that God will allow me to shine bright for Him in this new place. Time to go flannel and work boot shopping!

On Wednesday, my new wheeled goalie bag came! I know it does not sound that exciting, but I have been waiting for quite a while to get this. My manager from Hockey Haven is one of the nicest guys and was able to secure this bag for me for almost 50% off. Thanks Hawk! I think the coolest part about this bag is that it's the 2011 model which doesn't come out until April. Ergo, I am the first to own one. SCORE! And it is called the Messiah, which is wicked awesome. To add on to the awesomeness, I got a new goalie stick as a thank you for helping out with some practices. Yet again, I don't know what I have done to deserve these ridiculously sweet blessings.


Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching the Catholic Memorial/Pius hockey team on which a few friends play. They beat Waukesha 5-2 and advanced to the next round of the state playoffs. Go CMP! To top yesterday off, I got to go see The King's Speech with my dad, Bill, and Duchene. Great movie!


I started today the way every morning should be started: I played hockey. Friday mornings are always interesting pickup games. There are lots of former pro and junior players there. This makes my job very difficult, but it also helps me become a better goalie. Besides getting slashed in the neck (ow!) it was a blast! I now get to continue this amazing day by going out with my good friend Carrie.


God, thank you so much for blessing my life in all the ways that you have. This week has made me realize that I do not have any reason for complaining...ever! I love you, Dad.


Showing hope -
 ~Katie~

Cayman pictures, as promised

Rawr!

George Town

Rum Point

Stingray on my back!

Baby sea turtle! I almost stole it...

Hockey, eh?

My not being in school and not having a job may bring a question into your mind: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOURSELF?! Excellent question. And the answer?

PLAY HOCKEY

And a lot of it. Nothing could make me happier than playing hockey. It is my passion! Yes, an uncommon passion for a girl. But then again, I'm a very uncommon person. So it fits.

The past month I have played at least 15 games for 4 different teams, and I have practiced twice with a team. A guy from one of the teams is so thankful for my playing for him, that he's going to buy me a new stick. Score! I guess you could say that I'm getting paid. When all is said and done, I have absolutely no life whatsoever, but I get to play a heckuva lot of hockey. Totally worth it.

Anyone need a goalie?...

Liesl Alexa Hardin

I believe it is high time that I introduce you to my new niece! 

Liesl Alexa Hardin

Liesl was born Januray 2, 2011 at 10:16am, weighing in at 8lb 3oz, 20" long. Both mom and baby are doing great! Plus, Alex makes the cutest daddy ever. Liesl has mommy's eyes and daddy's red face when she cries. So cute! God did one heck of a job with this little bundle of joy. I look forward to seeing her grow into a godly woman. I will be there for her whenever she needs me. Love you, my little niece!

Showing hope -

 ~Aunt Kate~

Why is the rum always gone?!

We have been back in the states for a week now, and let me tell ya; I miss the Caribbean sun like crazy! Wisconsin is the worst state to come back to after a tropical vacation. I will now attempt to recap the last days of our amazing trip.

Wednesday started out with a walk down to Dunkin' Donuts (they're everywhere!) for some morning coffee and donuts. The rest of the day consisted of sitting out in the sun getting tan...or in my case, turning into a lobster. We also did a lot of swimming in the pool there. I probably got another strawberry smoothie. So good!


On Thursday, we got to go to the sea turtle farm. One of the coolest things of the trip. We all got to hold a little baby sea turtle that was 2 1/2 weeks old. I almost died from the cuteness! Then we got to go over to some tanks where they were keeping some of the older turtles. We got to catch some and hold them for a little bit. Sea turtles just so happen to be my favorite animal, so I was lovin' this whole thing. After the turtle farm, we went back into George Town for some final snorkeling and shopping. This was the best snorkeling of the trip...until we swam into the jellyfish field! Ow. Lots of little stings from those little buggers that you couldn't see until they were smack dab in your face. Fortunately no one reacted to the stings.


We spent our last day hangin' out at the hotel packing, swimming, and taking long walks on the beach. No more tanning, for by now Rianne and I were burnt pretty bad. I would rather not get skin cancer, thank you very much. This was a bittersweet day, so we made sure not to waste it. It was a perfect ending to our trip.


As soon as I get all of the pictures, I will put a bunch up. Love you all!


~Katie~


P.S. chocolate rum fudge is delish!


 

Shopping. Sun. Stingrays.

It is now coming to the end of day 4 in paradise. We are all having a blast! Yesterday we spent the afternoon shopping in George Town. I actually bought a dress. And it is NOT pink! It's coral. Anyways, it's really pretty and I like it. :) When we got back from shopping, the resort had like a welcoming party thing for all of the guests. There was a raffle, dancing, and a fire show. No one in our group won anything in the raffle, but we sure danced a lot! The rest of the night we just hung out on the beach dancing.

Today we went to Rum Point! We had to go there to get out to Sting Ray City, so we just made a day of it. We snorkeled for a little bit, bather ourselves in the glorious Caribbean sun, and swam in the ocean. Then it was finally time to go to Sting Ray City! This was probably one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. We took a catamaran out to a sand bar where there are tons of stingrays just swimming around that you can practically pick up. If you handle them the right way, they are completely harmless. One of the guys from the boat came into the water with everyone and helped them hold the rays. After I held the first one, he had it swim across my back! Weirdest feeling ever, but so cool!

Once we were done with the rays, we got back onto the boat and went over to a different spot to snorkel for a little bit. Rianne and I saw a barracuda! We did that for about 30 minutes, headed back to Rum Point, then back to the resort. As if we didn't get enough swimming in already, the four of us girls headed over to the pool for a while. Oh, and I officially look like a lobster now.

Most of the pictures are on the Nelson's camera, so I try to get them up later. Maybe I'll get a few up tomorrow. I hope you're enjoying the cold!

~Katie~

We made it!

We made it to the Cayman's and it is beautiful!!! We landed yesterday afternoon and made it to the resort at about 5 last night. Just in time to get in some swimming. Unfortunately it is insanely windy here, so it makes the swimming a little bit chillier. But it felt so good after being up all night and being on airplanes all day! Last night we ate at the restaurant out on the dock. I, of course, got fish and chips. It was mahi mahi! YUM. Everyone was really exhausted last night, so we ended up going to bed at like 9:30.

In the van on the way to Tortuga

Today was super chill. We got up and went into the big pool. This pool has a bar that you can swim up to and sit at while you're drinking. So cool! I got a strawberry smoothie, which was delicious. After that, we went out snorkeling. It was a little rough because of the wind, but we saw some cool stuff, included a small stingray and a flounder! Flounders have really funny lips, just in case you were wondering. After we finished snorkeling, we went back onto the beach and just lay in the sun for a little bit. I have a horrible man-tan from work that I desperately want to get rid of.

The rest of the day we just spent bummin around the pools. Now we're off to have some pizza out in the ocean! Tah tah!

The view from our room!

 

It's time for da Caymans mon!

 In 12 hours we will be on our way to Chicago to get on a plane to go to the CAYMAN ISLANDS! I am all packed up and ready to go...I hope. At 4:00am, my parents will drive the Nelsons, Meghan, Rianne and me to O'Hare. There we board a plane to Miami to get a flight to the Caymans. I am so excited...my hips have clenched! I'll try to keep this updated with some pics while we're there. Catch you cats on the flipflop lata!

snorkel anyone?

Vuvuzela!

Last night was one the funnest nights EVA! My family, Rami, Jason, Aaron, and Carrie all went to an Admirals game last night. And they gave out vuvuzelas!! Our group had to be the most obnoxious group there. It was the bomb. The other awesome part of the night was that we were one of them fancy V.I.P. boxes. I guess you could say that my dad has some sweet connections. Oh, and the fact that we were in a box was made known to everyone within earshot to hear Jason yell, "I'm in a box!"

Before the game started, Rami, Carrie, Rianne and I walked around the entire arena blowing the vuvuzelas. Obnoxious? Yes. Incredibly fun and worth the tingling of the lips for the rest of the night? YES! The great thing about these pretty cheap vuvuzelas is that they leave this very attractive red ring around the top of the upper lip. Said ring was still there this morning, along with a little swolleness...still worth it though! The noise never gets old. Of course the Admirals lost, but it was made up by the amazing time spent with my family and second family. 

I had the wonderful pleasure of driving the car with Aaron, Carrie, and Rianne in it. Those three + vuvuzelas = an incredible distraction to the driver! Fortunately, we made it home to live to see another great adventure. Like perhaps...the CAYMAN ISLANDS in 3 days!


~Katie~

Milwaukee Tourism

First off, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know my family sure did!

Matt the amazing tour guide

One cool thing about having a guest from out of town, in this case out of the country, is that we get to do touristy stuff in Milwaukee. Yesterday we took a trip out to the Sprecher brewery. I learned two new things about our native beer/soda company. The first, is that they are in fact native to Milwaukee. Yes, that probably is something that I should have known already. Don't judge. The second, is that they actually brew beer! I had no idea. They actually started out as a beer brewery, then added soda a couple years later. I guess you learn somethin new every day! After a quick tour by an amazing tour guide, Matt a.k.a Dwight Schrute, we got to sample their stuff. No, I did not have any beer. Don't have a cow. But their root beer was delish!

Sample time!

Bill, dad, Duchene and 3 goofs in the back

 Today we went to The Domes. For those non-locals, they are three domes filled with flowers. Sounds fascinating, doesn't it? Well it is! One dome is tropical, one is desert, and the other is the "Show Dome". The contents of said dome are seasonal. Right now it's all Christmasy. It was a nice relaxing time of walking and lots of pictures. Tomorrow night is the much anticipated Admirals game!

Me and my momma

They obviously did not want me to sit with them. Anna and Emma so rudely pushed me off!

~Katie~

Good times in the hood...or house

Yesterday we celebrated Anna and Emma's 9th birthday! I still cannot believe that they are this old already. It seems just like yesterday that we brought them home to be with us. God has been so good!

 We spent the afternoon making Christmas cookies. Well, there goes my diet...but it sure is worth it. I am really grateful that we got to share this tradition with Duchene. He seemed to be having a good time. This was also the first year that my dad got to be home while we were making the cookies. It made it that much more special.

Later that night, it was time to go out for their birthday dinner. We have a tradition where the birthday girl (or girls) get to choose the place for dinner, keeping it a secret from the rest of the kids. Then everyone has to close their eyes on the way to dinner. The car ride is full of guesses and sometimes complaining that it's pointless to close eyes because we all know where we are know...but that rarely happens. ;) We got to Stonefire Pizza only to find that it was closed for the night. Fortunately, Anna and Emma had a backup. On to Dave & Busters we went.

When we got home, we did the ol' cake and ice cream, then presents. I know that they're growing up because my parents got them Nintendo DS's. Scary! Usually the birthday kid gets to choose a movie to watch, but seeing as how it was already midnight when we were done, we decided to wait on that. I'm pretty sure they want to watch the first Narnia. They're hooked after seeing Dawn Treader.

Happy birthday Anna and Emma!

 
Showing hope -
 ~Katie~

Success

I just finished playing the piano at the Majestic...success! The day was spent with butterflies in my stomach, and worrying about what I was going to wear. As I said before, I couldn't wear jeans, t-shirt, or tennis shoes. Anyone who knows me know that this pretty much makes up my wardrobe! Fortunately I have the best "little" sister in the world. She pulled a dress out of our closet that I totally forgot about. Go figure. Because it was black, I got to wear my awesome purple heels with it. Yay!

The best part of the night was making $10 in tips (I'll up it next time!) and four movie passes. And I guess it was nice to see Abby, my best friend whom I NEVER SEE ANY MORE! But whatever. I'm not upset. I'm just angry. ;-) No really, it was really sweet that she took the time to come and see me play. While I was playing the piano, the rest of the family and Duchene went to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Anna and Emma really liked Caspian! True Hardin girls.

Anna, Emma, Rianne, Venera, dad, me, Duchene, mom, Bill

Needless to say, I am going to play there again. I kind of got a feel for what songs will get people's attention and what songs are kind of duds. Just a couple adjustments to my set list and I should be able to up my tippage!

Showing hope -
 ~Katie~

Shh! It's a secret...

I have a secret...but you're never going to know...OK, maybe you are. That's probably why I'm telling you that I have a secret. Are you ready for this? Maybe I won't tell you. I mean, it's a HUGE secret! You probably can't handle the truth, so I'll just go...

Fine! Here it is...

I

am

addicted

to....

SHOES!

 

Yeah, that's probably not as exciting as I hyped it up to be. But there is no denying the fact that I LOVE shoes! It's getting to the point where my family has threatened to get me professional help. Well, maybe not, but you get it. It's a sickness. This picture doesn't do my collection justice. I still have boots, golf shoes, soccer shoes, running shoes (these make me wonder), volleyball shoes, etc. My prize shoes are the orange Pumas and the purple Graceland heels from Germany.

I'm glad I finally got that off my chest. There is another secret, but I KNOW that you are not ready for that. Not yet....

 Stay tuned.

Christmas Time Is Here

After procrastinating long enough, I finally got all of my Christmas shopping done! And I did it all in less than an hour. Yay me! Speaking of procrastinating, I am going to be playing the piano at the Majestic movie theater on Friday night (8-10) and I have yet to pick out all of my songs. I have a a basic idea, but I still have a lot to figure out. Oh, and I also have to wear something nice, ie; no jeans, t-shirts, or tennis shoes. I'll have to do some diggin' in my closet! This will be my first time doing something like this, and I am not a fan of being the center of attention, so please pray for me. I'm just a little nervous!

OK, on to more seriousness. I believe that this is going to be one of the best Christmas's ever. We get to share God's gift of His Son with Duchene. I don't know how much of it he is going to understand, but I pray that he will take at least a little something back to Haiti with him. 

Well, I better end this before I piddle in my pants. Love you all!

Showing hope -
 ~Katie~

Fútbol and Coke

Fútbol and Coke is the best way to describe today. I spent a couple hours watching fútbol with Duchene, while he drank about five cans of Coke today. He sure loves his sugar and caffeine! While watching a couple games, Bill and I discovered that his favorite player is Ronaldinho. Duchene told us that he used to play a lot of soccer, er, I mean fútbol, back in Haiti, but he had to stop when he got the tumor in his jaw. The sad thing is that he most likely will not be able to play any more because his jaw is so fragile. At least for quite a while anyways. 

After a couple hours of the tele, I decided I needed a little bit of our fresh 1° weather and set up our Christmas lights with my mom. Yeah it's the 14th, but better late than never! We now have the best light display in our court, if I do say so myself. Once that task was completed, I took Anna and Emma to the store to get my mom a birthday card and some purty flowers...happy birthday mom! Then we got to eat at my mom's favorite restaurant: The Cheesecake Factory. YUM. All in all, it was a pretty fantastical day!


Showing hope - 
 ~Katie~

Duchenne...who is he?

Last night my family got to meet Duchenne. He is such a wonderful person...and he has really cool hair! For however long he is going to be here, I have two goals. 1) To find out tons about him so that I am sad when he leaves. 2) Help him with his English. The second goal is kind of a work in progress and it is going to be a team effort. He told us last night that his English is not very good, but with time here it will get better.

Because of the nature of his surgery, he does not have any bottom teeth so he cannot chew food. Therefore, we had an interesting request: pureed pizza. Lo and behold, the restaurant was able to do it. That was a first, both for them and for us. Along with this, we are finding out a lot of his likes and dislikes. For instance, he loves Bob Marley! Oh, and vanilla ice cream, not chocolate (YES!). He likes strawberries, cheesecake, milkshakes, and coffee. But the coffee has to be very sweet; like seven sugars sweet. He is 28, plays the bass, and I believe he is going to school for accounting. I will have to clarify that though.

I can't think of any more yet, but that's only from the first night! Things are going great so far! Please keep the prayers goin. Much obliged. :)

Showing hope -
~Katie~

Adventure time!

Speaking of adventures (see previous post), my family is about to embark on one right now! One of my dad's patients is going to be staying in our house for a little while. It might end up being a couple weeks. The cool thing is that he is from Haiti! I know absolutely nothing about him other than he just had a tumor removed and that his name is Duchenne. We are all super excited! I'm sure that God is going to bless this time, both for us and for Duchenne. Tonight we are going out to dinner with him. This is going to be fun! I don't know where he stands with the Lord, so please be praying that we could be a help to him. Here we go!


Showing hope -
~Katie~