labor day: roux makes a friend and digs to china

this is a story about a puppy named roux
and a slightly bigger puppy named nessie.

the happiest puppy named roux

met the prettiest puppy named nessie

and she showed him how to play in the pool.

she showed roux the way

so he gave it a try

and he played, and played...

and he played, played, played.

roux loved this pretty lady named nessie

 so the played chase all through the yard.

yes roux is the happiest puppy

and he loves to play all day

and he probably dreams of going back to see

our friends on white rock lake.

bath time with roux man

when we adopted mr. roux, a black lab mix, we naturally thought he would be a water dog.  

you know, that he couldn't resist a good romp through the sprinklers or making a big splash in the pool.  well, this silly little pup could absolutely do without the water it seems... 

though he is getting better (i think?).

saturday is roux-gets-a-bath-so-he-doesn't-smell-like-a-lab-and-stink-up-our-apartment-day

and although these photos look like we are absolutely torturing him,

we really do give him perfectly innocent baths.

"daaaaad stop plllleeeaase!"

"i get no respect around here."

"i still really, really love dad!"

the new addition

we stayed true to our plan:

wait until we've been married a year before we get a puppy.

so when an email went out on the med school list serve about a lab mix puppy needing a home, 

we knew he was the one we had been waiting for.

enter roux pinson:

we LOVE this little guy!

hiatus over.

aha!

apparently my blog decided to allow me to upload photos again.

we have a lot of catching up to do.

healing

Dear Mom,

Thank you for taking such good care of me this week.  I really don't know what I wold do without you. I promise I'll be more fun to hang out with from here on out!

Dear guy at Blockbuster,

Thank you for being so kind & relatable by talking to me about your recent sinus surgery.  I felt like much less of a freak walking around with a puffy face and a bandaged up nose.

Dear Glee,

You are even better the second time around. I love you!

Dear Ross, 

Come home already. I miss you.  The flowers you sent are beautiful and look pretty in our apartment :)

Dear friends,

Seriously, thank you so much for the incredibly kind phone calls, texts, care packages, meals, and notes.  I am overwhelmed with love for you and from you.  Even with a puffy and stuffy face, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Dear little kid at Target, 

Sorry if my face scared you! 

Dear Gazpacho, 

Why would I even eat anything else in the summer? You are the best. Seriously, try this recipe. 

And speaking of cooking, I'm thinking I could muster up the strength & energy to try these (with moms help!):

Healthier Biscotti Recipe via Prudent Baby

(Don't judge me for reading a blog with a title like that-

it's not just about baby related things, I swear!)

Hoping to have some fun photos and projects to share on here as I lay low and heal for the next couple of weeks. I'm so happy to have my mom & brother here with me and I need to make the most out of my time with them! Especially since I was basically asleep for the first couple of days they were here... Happy Friday!

out of commission

Dear blog friends,

I'm very sorry for the lack of posting. Between being out of town for an amazing friend reunion in new orleans, job training for my new job, getting ready for surgery, and just straight up enjoying summertime- things have just been a little busy. Though I've had time to post and even started several, these past couple of weeks too many thoughts bounce around my head and don't seem to come out clearly on paper. My surgery is tomorrow, so I will be out of commission for a little while. However, I promise to be back soon!

In the meantime, if you stumble upon this still un-updated blog, I would really appreciate a prayer for the doctors & my recovery. I never have had any surgery before, so I'm a little nervous. I've been so blessed by friends and family already and am so grateful for all of your prayers and comforting words. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you so much, Lauren, for sending me this:
"I am leaving you with a gift- peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." John 14:26

Love,

Katie

Welcome to Holland

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.