Well...

It is fairly obvious that I am far too busy to maintain this blog anymore...except to look back on it in 10 years to remember what I did during high school. Even then, this isn't an accurate documentation of my life. Just for fun, I'll update on what I have done in the past 5 months. I have a job, and I like it. I like the people, the work, the hours, and my boss.
I finished my junior year and passed all my classes and exams with a's. I started looking at colleges, and it is scaring the absolute shit out of me. I don't know where I really want to go...I really like UTC for their medical program, the close proximity to home, and the size. I also know who I would room with!! But I truly don't know if it's what I want. I also haven't come across any schools that really have sparked my interest either. I'm just hoping that the obvious decision will be shown to me soon...or I'm in trouble!
Spring break was a change this year. Hannah, mom, AJ, and I went to gulf shores for the week. It was a lot of fun! Then the first week of June, we went as a family to Destin like we do every year. It was relaxing! Then we went on a surprise trip to Disney world the last week of June.
I just got back from Nicaragua for the second time! It was so much better than last year in so many ways. I got to do more things that were passionate to me. Such as handing out food bags to people in need. That is important to me! I even got to meet some special needs kids and their families. That was a really special and incredible experience! I know I will go back there some day, just not next year. I honestly don't know when, but I know I will soon.
In the next two weeks I will be working 76 hours...just thinking about it makes me exhausted. 76 hours in 14 days. That's roughly 5 hours a day. Not to mention that tax free weekend is coming up and I have to work that too! Yikes...
I had my 17th birthday this month. And to be honest, I don't feel any older. The only good thing with turning 17 is that I get a later state curfew...hahaha
I start school August 10th and I am not looking forward to it...I feel like I have wasted my entire summer and it's all starting to catch up to me now. Being a senior is scary to me but I am really excited. I've worked really hard the past 3 years to get where I am now! Both academically and as a person. I am a totally different person than I was 7 months ago. I'm still deciding if it's for the better or worse.
Well that about raps it up for now!
~m

Kony 2012: Make Him Famous

I am sure everyone has heard of Joseph Kony and what he has done. He is an awful man who needs to be stopped at once. To do that, we need to keep US forces in Uganda to assist the Ugandan troops in finding and capturing Kony and anyone else relevant to the situation. The LRA(Lord's Resistance Army) is too powerful and needs to be stopped. Like Jason(The man who made the video) said, if a man and his army started snatching children in the middle of the night and forced them to kill their parents, it would be everywhere.

Join a fight that is worth the fight. Make Joseph Kony famous. Save the Invisible children. Do your part.

http://www.kony2012.com/


KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.


~m

NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!

HEEEEEY TIGERS! WE JUST BEAT THE HELL OUTTA YOU! RAMMER JAMMER YELLOW HAMMER GIVE EM HELL ALABAMA ROLLLLL TIDE ROLL!


Sorry LSU, but you have to really want it to win it. Obviously you didn't want it enough because Alabama won 21-0. Who cares if there weren't more than one touchdown for Alabama, at least they SCORED! WOOHOOO NUMBER 14 BABY!!

Is It Really Almost 2012?

I can't even begin to imagine how fast this year has gone by! I have never felt so rushed before either. I kinda feel robbed of 2011! So much has happened this year, some good and some bad. A lot of the bad happened when I started junior year, but that is too personal to post on the web. A lot of good has happened too! A lot of new babies, relationships, friends, experiences, and more. I would normally say all the big things that have happened this year right about now, but it has all been over exposed. Life right now? Is ok, I haven't been myself since August 19th. Again, too personal to talk about. It's not anything life threatening though!

Current news: Exams are over, and I am so grateful! I am just so burned out on school right now, I really needed this break! Not just for sleep, but for reconnecting with some friends and easing up on myself. I have been so incredibly stressed out about school and college and lots of other stuff. Money is a big issue as well. I have no clue how I am going to get a car, go to college, live on my own, or pay for my own stuff(which I do a lot of now, but it's definitely different once you turn 18). I hope to relax a little bit and let God take over when he decides to or when the time is right! I have been reading Jeremiah 29 a lot lately, because it has been redefining how I see things. It helps me remember that I am not in charge of my life, God is. I really wish I remember that more often and not just not now.

Nicaragua? I am going back as of now, I have roughly $200 saved up. So, I have a pretty good head start! I just need to send letters out!

Everything else is good; family is good, friends are good, and I am pretty good too. I just felt the need to document this crazy time of year!

Merry Christmas!

~m

What I'm Thankful For...

I'm thankful for wonderful friends, family, and church. I'm thankful for waking up each morning, starbucks catch up sessions with good friends, and warm beds. I'm thankful for a good education, a loving home, and good books to read. I'm thankful for technology, God, and Nicaragua. I'm thankful for cry sessions with best friends and make up sessions. I'm thankful for good guy friends, amazing best friends, and my dgroup. I'm thankful for being provided for, having loving parents, and a honest relationship with my parents. I'm thankful for good weather, a safe neighborhood, and reliable friends. I'm thankful for safe water, good food, and clothes.

Needless to say, I'm thankful for lots of things, even though I don't always acknowledge it. I love my life, and everyone in it! I'm so thankful to even be breathing as I write this. I'm so fortunate for everything that I have. Including the laptop I'm typing on, and the phone that I communicate with. Not everything in life is a right, a lot of it is a privilege. I'm trying to remember that each day, that I'm incredibly lucky to live this way and have all that I have!

I thank my God every time I remember you- Philippians 1:3

~m

It's Been Awhile...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1861668942850.251959.1274733448&type=1&l=7d0267c4d7


There is a link to almost all the pictures i took in Nicaragua in July! A week ago today, I receive some amazing news! Our church senior high group is going BACK TO NICARAGUA NEXT SUMMER!!! I am so excited to be going back to a place that struck me so much as beautiful and joyous. Nicaragua is a place that will always hold a special part of my heart. I could easily give up all the luxuries of America and live there, and no...I'm not just saying that! If I could, I would move to El Ayudante and live there for a year and continue what we all started there this summer. I want to build another house, if not two! I am so glad that God put it upon my youth leaders hearts to return to Nicaragua. I am beyond excited to be going back, and I hope that next summer will be even better than this year!!


In school related news, I had to drop Chemistry Honors because I was failing. Lucky for me though, I brought my grade from a 58 to a 78 in a few weeks! I'm just grateful to have passed! That grade brought my GPA down really far, I went from a 3.8 to a 3.3, I'm very disappointed with that. Otherwise, everything else has been great! I have a high B in Algebra, which I am very proud of! 


Family news? Not much new stuff, I got my license on August 26 though! I have been driving everywhere since then, only driving moms car though! I can't drive dad's considering he has a stick shift. I'm learning though! Axel is a year old now, and weighs about 55 pounds. He's still a wimp haha! 


College stuff has been kinda overwhelming. I haven't really sat down and down much research on anything really. I just want a good college, low tuition, a good biology program, and I'd rather it be in state! I'm not very picky.


Well, That's a pretty good update over the past few months. I'll try to update more often, I have had bloggers block! I don't really have much to blog about. Everything has been kinda boring and not special? I guess you could think of it as that. Enjoy this beautiful weather while it lasts! Every day is a gift from God!


~m

One of the Best Decisions I've Ever Made: Nicaragua 2011

I know this post has been a long time coming. I have tried sitting down and writing this, but it's just been so hard to wrap up that week into a blog post. There is so much to describe, analyze, and share; I just don't know what all to tell and what not to tell. All the things I witnessed down in Nicaragua, are still so real to me. I saw God there so many different times, in so many different people, locals and non locals.

On the plane to Miami on July 23rd, I was terrified. I wanted nothing to do with the flight, trip, or anything about it. Once we landed, however, all my worries were gone. God is so good at supplying what I need at the right times. We landed in Managua around lunch time. We got to the compound(El Ayudante) around 2:00 that afternoon. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. Bed time was at 10 every night.

On Sunday, we had church. Breakfast was at 7 every morning. We left for church at 9:30 that morning. We had lunch at 12 noon. There was a soccer game, Nicaraguans vs Americans. I believe we lost! I had a migraine after dinner.

On Monday, we actually got started and had a schedule! We went to VBS in the morning. We went to a special needs school, the kids there were so sweet! Then we came back for lunch, and we got ready for the second half of the day. I stayed back on the compound to help sand and stain doors and windows.

On Tuesday, we went to a second VBS. This school took an hour to get to, the kids there were so energetic! I went to the house the second part of the day. I became a brick mason! We got the rest of a wall done in 90 minutes! Later that night, Bead Amigas, came go El Ayudante. They sold homemade jewlery to us.

On Wednesday, I went to a third VBS. This school was much closer than the previous one. The kids there were considered middle class, the neighborhood was relatively nice. The second half of the day, I went to an adjoining neighborhood to help distribute food bags to previously picked out homes. The home I prayed over, I was just drawn to it, like a magnet. I knew that this was the house that I was going to pray over. The youngest child, a daughter, had a heart condition.

On Thursday, I went to the volcano, Cerro Negro. I had intense vertigo on the way up so I had a hard time coming up. I walked/slid down the volcano! It was so fun! The way down at least. We then went back and ate lunch, and had 2 hours of down time before we went to downtown Leon. We had dinner at Hotel Suyapa on the beach, it was beautiful!

On Friday, was our last day at El Ayudante. We left around 9 that morning. I cried on our way out of the neighborhood, it was so hard to leave there. It felt so final, like I was never going back there. I so hope that I will, I have a job down there that I need to finish. I left half of my heart down there and I have an intention of giving the rest of it away to the children there. Later that morning we went on a zip line that was terrifying. Then we went to the market to shop, it was really crowded and I had to be with a guy the whole time. Then we went to our hotel and ate dinner there.

On Saturday, we left the hotel around 10. We got to the airport shortly after, our flight got delayed three times! Instead of leaving at 12 that morning, we left at 2:15! We landed in Miami around 6, and it took us about an hour to get through immigration and customs. We got to our gate, which was wrong and had to move, then they changed it back to the previous gate! We took off around 10 that night, after they discovered a 'minor mechanical discrepancy'. We landed in Nashville around 12:06 Sunday morning. I got home at 1am.

I will make a post later about how I feel about the whole trip, but I feel that this post is long enough! I will also add a picture post later

~m

Nicaragua!

This Saturday, I am going to be getting on a plane. I am going with my church, on a mission trip to Nicaragua. We leave Saturday at 6am! This next week is going to be so physically and emotionally demanding. Am I ok to say that I am scared out of my mind?? I have NO idea what God has in store for me and my life this next week. I so hope that I can impact someone's life down there like I did to Jaylen in St. Louis last summer; here's his picture if you don't remember what he looks like:

I miss him like crazy. I certainly hope to see him again!!

Anywho, I'm almost packed for the trip. I think i'm most nervous to be flying on a plane, I haven't been on one for almost 3 years. The regulations have really changed since then. I hope I won't need to get a 'full body pat down' ha!

Well, for those of you who read this; I could really use some prayers for this next week! Specifically that I will adjust really well, I will be able to connect with the kids, and that I can stay really healthy considering how underdeveloped the country of Nicaragua is.

With saying that, I really need to finish packing!!

I'll post again when I get back! It'll be after July 30th, most likely.

~m

Yet Another Hiatus

After a short summer bloggy 'vacation', I've decided to post again. I've just been enjoying summer and hanging out with friends. I've even considered completely stopping posting on here, seeing as though not many people even read this. I think I'm just doing this for my sake, to document a day in age of the technology generation.

As that was said, here's a quick update: I'm 16, I turned 16 on the 10th. I had my sweet 16 on the 15th. It was pretty awesome! Axel is 50 pounds now, and almost 10 months old, he's still a cutie! I'm leaving the country on Saturday morning to go on a mission trip to Nicaragua-yes I'm scared out of my mind! School starts back on August 11th-EW. No, I haven't gotten my license yet-yes, I REALLY REALLY want it! Mom is just standing in the way!

Well, that seems to be about it for updates. It kinda stinks being 16 without a license and a car!

~m

Crazy-ness

This past month has been absolutely insane. Just because I've been so busy with friends and taking care of animals and babysitting and so on.

I went to Florida about a week ago, it was really relaxing!

I've been hanging out with friends all summer so far, and going to the pool.

well, this post was meant to be short and here is the end of it! Until next post!

~m