The Kate Box

It's been a long stretch of time since my last break, and I am very thankful to be spending it with family. I haven't been counting down the days, and I'm also thankful for that.
So, enjoy your break, eat lots of good food, and know that I am thankful for those people who actually read this.

I'm still just as busy...maybe even busier. However, I know this is not a good excuse for letting thekatebox go unupdated for almost a month! This past month has been a phenomenal one, with a couple of major events and numerous smaller moments.
To start with, my girlfriend reunion was just what I needed. It was refreshing, encouraging, challenging, and so incredibly comfortable. I LOVE these friends so much. We started the weekend with pizza at Guido's in Rogers, and then we moved the party up to my house for the night. The nine of us participated in our first "Share and Tell"-- a tradition that MUST continue. We each brought something that represented our past year to give to everyone, and then we all told about the year. We got an awesome So You Think You Can Dance DVD and a great mixed CD from LC, a copy of "The Heat" by Needtobreathe from Lindsdawg, a book thong (I had never heard the name for these little bookmarks before) from Ying, a beautiful scarf from LT, and a little bundle of LeeLee's "Favorite Things" including nail polish, hair spray, peanut butter M&Ms, perfume, and many other things. Brooke gave us all notecards, Beth gave us each one of her business cards as a real-life physical therapist, Lily brought an apple (the size of her baby that week) and some whole grain Goldfish, and then I gave everyone one of my school pictures, some trail mix with dark chocolate M&Ms, and we made little note pads as our craft. This "Share and Tell" took us way into the wee hours of the morning, and we finally headed to bed right before the sun rose again. Saturday morning was a little dance party to "Sanctuary" and then primping for our photo shoot. I'll let the photos speak for themselves on that section of our weekend. We then headed to Fayetteville to Marketplace Express for a late lunch before heading to Different Strokes to paint pottery. We watched the Arkansas-Ole Miss football game on TV at LeeLee's house, and then we came back to Bentonville to rest our eyes for a few hours. Sunday morning was Lily's surprise maternity shower, lunch with the guys, and then lots of tearful hugs. Man, these girls mean the world to me. At the drop of a hat, any of us would be there for the other.
The other big event has been taking place over the past week and half. JB and the kids are spending almost a month in Arkansas, and we have gotten to play a little and celebrate a family wedding in Little Rock. I love my families, and I just feel incredibly blessed every time I'm around them. Mom and I got to do a little shopping this weekend in Conway, and those times are so dear to me. It's a mother-daughter bond that Wes is starting to understand. :)
Let's see...other news. I started teaching an old school hip-hop dance to the cheerleaders today. They are performing it for the first basketball game in a few weeks, so my afternoons will be taken up for a while. I still love my job, and I am so honored to work with the people around me. I definitely have trouble keeping my head above water, but luckily, I don't let it get to me that much.
Thanksgiving is soon, and that means Christmas is around the corner. I LOVE "the holiday season." So I promise to post some pictures and other stories soon. I've decorated the house for Thanksgiving, and I really think it may be the first holiday decorated for in my house that no one will see but Wes and me. I'll take some pics and share so I'll feel like it served some purpose.