happy birthday bud.

there is this boy.
he is a cutie.
and says the darndest things.

his name is gavin.
I call him gav.
he is my little brother.

and I am going to miss..
his dancing,
his beatboxing,
his magic tricks,
his hugs.. or attempts,
his loudddd laugh,
his hilarious comments,
and just him altogether.


I love you gav.
anytime you need me I will be there.

love, sissy.

blessings.

blessings.

"a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness."

have you ever sat back, looked at your life, and really considered all the blessings you have.
well this past week I did.
I spent seven days in a poor, underdeveloped, unclean country.
it is called Guyana and if you have never been there you just really can't understand.

the houses were more like what we Americans would call shacks.
animals we usually have on farms roamed the roads like nothing was the matter with it.
little kids didn't have clothes, shoes, or food.
disease is prevalent.
many of the toilets were just holes in the ground.
many of the people walked miles just to get places because they didn't have a car.

I could go on and on but I think you get the picture.

it is an experience you can't put into words.
well, I am sure someone can but I am not that talented of a writer.

all I know is, before I go to feeling sorry for myself, I will stop and remember that small south american country.
I will remember my family, country, and God.
and I will not let myself forget my blessings.

take the road less traveled.

two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.

-robert frost.


goodbye usa.
hello south america.


be back in eight days.

think about home.

thoughts on home.


this guy has it down pat.

wear red, white, and blue.

fourth of july.
it's my favorite holiday.
excluding christmas, but that is just a given.
but anyways.
FAVORITE HOLIDAY.

I love everything about it.
the patriotism.
the red white and blue everywhere you go.
the hotdogs and hamburgers.
the sweet tea.
the ice cream.
the parades.
the outdoor games.
the people you surround yourself with.
the swimming.
the sales at all the stores.
the sparklers.
the fireworks.

and of course the pictures.

thank you to all of the military men and women that have given some, or given all.
this country is so very blessed.
and it is because we were founded on Godly values and brave men and women have been willing to fight to defend them.

meet freeman.

welcome to a new blog segment I will call meet someone monday.
I have been thinking and there are so many important people in my life that I would love to tell you all about.
these people can be friends, family, or people I have only talked to once, but in some way have impacted me.
so every monday I will choose one person to introduce you to.
hopefully this will last a long while....

the first person I want to introduce you to is freeman.
well coach freeman.
or mr. freeman.
but I just call him freeman.

freeman is my all time, hands down, favorite teacher.
hopefully you all had a teacher that was as passionate about teaching as he is, and if you didn't then you missed out.
now maybe it's because I love history, guitars, and accents, but I learned more in his classes than in almost any of my other ones.
he checked on me when I was going through a tough time and told me I should go get some ice cream.
he is a christian and loves God. and sets an example for all of his students.
he has a beautiful wife and three of the cutest little boys you have ever seen, and makes it evident that he loves them to death.
he is a yankees and carolina fan... yeah thats the bad side of him.
he taught me for freshman world history, ap world, and I interned in his class my last semester of high school.
everyday of his class was interesting and we were always laughing.
he cared about all his students, even the ones that you could tell drove him crazy a lot of the time.
HE MADE ME WEAR A YANKEES JERSEY AND TAKE A PICTURE... I hated him that day.
he was the first teacher I met when I moved to pmount.
he is a baseball coach and loves the game.
he teaches because he loves it... and it shows through everyday in his classroom.

I am so glad I was able to see how a person should be when they are working, granted there were days he was upset and angry at stupid kids doing stupid things... but he always cared.
I would give him an 100 as a teacher and a person.

thanks for being such a great teacher, mentor, coach, fan, friend, etc.
I'll miss you next year.
and I will see what I can do about those yankee tickets (:

break out into song.

I have a confession.
I love musicals.
like literallly loveee them.

and high school musical two is on.
exciting I know.

let me tell you a little bit about my musical love.
me and my best friend sang and entire song "without love" at lunch one day. we entertained our entire lunch table. and we weren't half bad if I do say so myself.
it's on my bucket list to break out in song and choreographed dance in an incredibly crowded place.
and if my high school had put on musicals like east high does...
I WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY DONE IT.

so there is that.
my love for all things musical.