if my feelings were a song...

I have no idea what the title would be. It just sounded like a good title for a blog post. Searching the words "don't" and "know" in my iTunes left not good conclusions about what my song title would be. But the notion that I typed in those two words should give you some clue about how I feel about things. I don't know. I work at a coffee shop. Check. But that isn't what I really want to do with my life. I'm almost positive I'm going to start school in July to get my Masters in Teaching, but is that really what I want to do? I don't know. I was offered a spot to travel the country for a couple months doing a sort of puppet ministry, but is that really what I want to do? I don't know. I live in Haines and I love it, but is it really where I want to be? I don't know. I don't know what life is going to bring me in the next few months or even weeks, let alone in the next few years. I guess it's a good thing that I believe in a God that has my future all figured out, cuz I sure don't. Now if I could only figure out how to trust in that a little more...

oh life

i went kayaking today. i like living in haines.

sometime life just sucks

I hit a 4-year old in the face with a frisbee today. Does that make me a bad person?

mothers day

For all you fools out there who think they have the best mom ever... I challenge you to a mom-off. Mine would win.

hawaiian pictures and randomness

the whole fam-dam

my favorite little boogie boarders, Owen and Calla


Favorite story of the week: I was playing in the pool and jumping and kinda sliding up onto the edge and my brother told me I looked like a beached whale (which from him I take as "I love you sis") and Owen pointed at me and said, "beached whale, beached whale"
Coolest thing I saw: lava flow hit the ocean and turn the steam plume bright colors at night
Dumbest thing I did: got an "anti-farmer" tan... oh what a rash guard and selective sunscreen application can do for you
Funnest place I went: Kona brewery... I highly recommend the Big Wave Golden Ale
Thing I did every day: went to the pool with the fam
What I'm bummed I didn't do: surf... we even had boards. It was just a hard thing to get everyone to rally for.
Least favorite part: Being the perennial little sibling and sleeping on the pullout couch where 1 year olds liked to play in the morning... although it was a fun way to wake up.

The newest Maxwell family goal: to find people that like us a lot and want us to use their condo in Hawaii for a week so we can do it again sometime...

words can't express

Yesterday a few kids decided that they were going to canoe to Skagway. Not the most intelligent decision, but not unheard of. But the waves were high and the boat wasn't equipped, and it tipped, and two of the three died. What do you say to that?

in hawaii

I love hanging out with my family. They make me happy. So far I've swam with sea turtles, had a fruity drink with an umbrella by the pool, seen some amazing sunsets, seen a whole heap of dolphins and hung out with my family a bunch. I like it here. :)

in the airport

I don't like traveling... I just like being in different places. Like Hawaii. Where I will be tomorrow.
In other news, this week was a good one because I got to go kayaking multiple times. I think it's finally spring in Alaska.

life and such

I love Haines. I really do. But I have been here for a total of about two months since I was last in Seattle and I feel like I am bored out of my mind. Where does that come from? It's not just that it's a small town. My life in Haines is very similar to what it was in Seattle... it's that I'm in one place. How is it that after two months in one place (even with a weekend trip to Canada) I can be so restless? Haines is home. I love it here. There is nowhere else that I'd rather live right now, but I feel so discontent. Maybe because I compare myself to friends like Becca, who do crazy stuff in Africa; or friends like Annie, who follow their dreams; or my family members, who seem to be living the "American dream;" or people like the creators of FailBlog, that can take humanity's stupidity and share it for all to laugh at and make money doing it. Or maybe it's because I know that I'm so close to being able to go somewhere where it's sunny and warm (Kona in 7 days!!) I want to be doing the best that I can to follow God and point others toward him, but how can one measure that in any way? I think that part of my discontent stems from not being able to measure that at all here. It was easy to assume that I was doing good when I was in the Dominican Republic. But here in Haines, I just have to trust that God is using me for his good. All I know for sure is that I feel like I will always be longing for more at least a little bit because this earth is not my home. But there has to be some middle ground. But how do I find that?

to infinity and beyond

How does one get to infinity? Anyway, life in Haines is good. I kinda wish that I could be with my family this weekend for Easter and stuff, but I get to hang out with part of my Haines family, which is good too. And I get to see all the Maxwells in 14 days when we convene in Hawaii, which I am STOKED about.

But tomorrow is Easter, and that is a very good thing. There is nothing more fundamental to who I am than that Jesus lived, died, and rose for me. And although sometimes that seems to good to be true, it is the only real hope that I have.

"That Jesus succeeded in changing a snuffling band of unreliable followers into fearless evangelists, that eleven men who deserted him at death now went to martyrs' graves avowing their faith in a resurrected Christ, that these few witnesses managed to set loose a force that would overcome violent opposition first in Jerusalem and then in Rome -this remarkable sequence of transformation offers the most convincing evidence for the Resurrection. What else explains the whiplash change in men known for their cowardice and instability?" -Philip Yancey The Jesus I Never Knew

no longer unemployed

I got a job :) It's a little weird having a schedule for the first time in almost four months, but it's a good thing overall. I work at Mountain Market, the local coffee shop. Right now I'm making sandwiches and doing a little cashiering, but I might become a barista or, if I'm really lucky, get to work in the attached store, Mountain Spirits, that has a crazy big inventory of beer :)
Life is good. I still need to figure out what I'm doing as far as housing goes starting in May, but I'll figure it out. Stay posted for the latest on that.
Oh, and I leave for Hawaii in approximately 21 days and 21 hours :)

ABC 123

Just cuz I'm bored... the ABCs and 123s of Kate Maxwell... harder than you'd think...
A- Awesome
B- Bored
C- Cool
D- Dork
E- Energetic sometimes
F- Frozen
G- Good
H- Happy
I- Intelligent
J- Joyful
K- Kate
L- Lazy
M- Maxwell
N- Near perfect (hahahaha)
O- Opinionated (but not negatively... I just have a lot of opinions)
P- Personable
Q- Quirky
R- Random
S - Seriously Rad
T- Talkative (sometimes)
U- Unemployed
V- Virtuous
W- Weird
X- eXcitable
Y- Young
Z- Zealous

0- states I have not been in
1- college I applied to
2- kayaks I own
3- dogs I live with
4- times I've been to the Dominican Republic
5- people in my family growing up (2 bros, ma, pa)
6- years of varsity sports in high school
7- times I've been rushed to the doctor/hospital (finger, appendix, eye, finger, head, mouth, head)
8- the uniform I wore during softball
9- years since I was a freshman in high school

winter adventures

Haines doesn't seem to know what season it is. Last week was pretty clear. Then Thursday it snowed a couple feet. Friday it rained and melted a lot, but not all of the snow. Then a couple random bits of freezing and thawing later, everything is just one big sheet of ice. But, as Alissa (the sister-in-law) put it, I have almost survived my first Alaskan winter. And there is something to be said for that.

life is...

well, kinda boring. I'm living in a summer town in the winter. I'm enjoying my days, but I feel guilty for not working. I like my life though. I've been hanging out with some puppies at the rescue kennel where my roommate works, I hang out with junior high and high school kids, and I watch a lot of tv and play a lot of playstation. I'm hardcore a slacker right now. But no where is hiring yet. I'm on the lookout though.

me and ma in juneau

We had some time to kill, so we walked out to Mendenhall Glacier (the thing on the Alaska Pale label).
This pic was taken shortly before I put my foot in some melting ice water... not recommended.



When we were in snowshoeing in Haines, Ethel fell amazingly down a small hill. You know, one of those slow-motion tumbling actions when the person gets up laughing and you know all is well... This video was me waiting at the bottom half hoping that she did it again.