During the last week of school, Morristown lost a great young man. His name was Matt Seals. He was adopted and had struggled with serious health problems all his life, but until it really got bad, you would never have known by just meeting him; he was such a trooper! Matt had a great attitude and was so kind and sweet, always smiling. I'd never known anyone to have anything bad to say about him. Above are pictures from middle school when he ran cross country for East Ridge. He also played many other sports when he was younger until his eyesight got too weak. He was a great athlete, too! In the bottom picture is us with our top 3 plaques at the conference meet. Middle school was when we got to know each other quite well, texting almost daily and having great fun. In high school, his health started to deteriorate quickly, and they moved him from East to West, and eventually, he was put on homebound. Everyone's hearts were broken to hear the news of his passing. Before his burial service, we held a Trojan Train of students from both high schools, leaving school at 1:30 to go to the graveside service to show our love and support. Sadly, not everyone who personally knew him got to attend, but some who didn't even know him did. I thought that it would be great to start off this post dedicated to someone who I truly respect and believe that his spirit will encourage people for a long time! It is calming to know that Matt is no longer suffering, but is joyfully worshipping The Lord in heaven!
This is the summer life I have grown up with every year! A couple visit at times, and one has been added to our group (Magan's husband Austin), but the core of this "family" has been together since before the kids came along. Magan is behind the camera in this photo, and Austin is in the back center. Her brother Preston, who is two years out of high school now, is in front with the hat. He treats me like a sister, and I am so thankful to have him here for me! Jack and Jody, their mom and dad are the two sitting one on the other's lap. My mom is next to them and Patty next to her. Erika is Patty's daughter, to the right of her. Will is the one behind Erika, who is her new man for now. I approve of him so far! My Dad is in the bright trunks on the left side. Patty and Jody are sisters, so this family sticks together all the time, and we have always been included. My Dad and Patty were great friends most of their lives.
The going got windy for sure during that last bit til school was out! Knowing that the end was near was what kept me going.
I thought this was really cute, short, and sweet. With God, we can make it through anything and everything!
I love summer because I get to pleasure read! Unfortunately, I have to do summer reading for school, too, but it doesn't take up my entire summer. I had started Catching Fire on Christmas break (or maybe before even?) and finally got to where I could continue! I hadn't gotten far yet, but boy was it intense! I'm not much into fiction books, but this trilogy has kept me on my toes so far!
How often do you see an entire house picked up and moved?
Mom had to run by her office at school to pick up some things that were left for her, and while I waited in the car, someone else pulled in. Apparently they were too lazy to walk across the parking lot and had to park two feet away from the door.
I made muffins! These actually started out as the Martha White made with whole grain blueberry muffin mix, but I added some bananas and oatmeal, too. They came out so much better! Super moist and satisfying as well! In these fancy, no mess muffin cups, I also thought that they looked too cute.
I just love this picture! Frisco is such a loving dog, always wanting attention. Even though he smells bad, Mom actually loves on him sometimes, like this day when she let him jump up halfway on her lap. To be as wild as he is, he's actually very photogenic!
I was reading a story one night in one of the many magazines I get (not sure if it was World Vision or Decision) about the conflicts between the Hutu and Tutsis of Rwanda. We had learned a lot about these ethnic battles in one of the best classes I have taken, AP Human Geography. The teacher, Coach Morgan, is one of the best teachers I've ever had, too! He knew his stuff and was always willing to help us and go into great detail to tell us what we needed to know and help us understand.
I just have to share the joys of cool whip (at least in a picture). Whenever I plop some out to have with a dessert, I think of the little girl in Despicable Me who says about her stuffed animal, "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!" That's how I feel about cool whip.
Poor Frisco freaks out whenever he gets in a car because he thinks he's going to the vet. In this case, he was correct. He pants up a storm back there.
He also freaks out so much that he refuses to walk to or from any doors or vehicles, so I have to pick him up and carry him back and forth. This is not an easy task! Yes, I'm strong, but he's not a lightweight pooch!
I love fresh fruits and vegetables, but my neighbor is no longer having a garden at his mom's house where they always gave me tons of fresh things all summer. I decided to plant some seeds out of some plants that I had gotten from the store (apricot, apple, cucumber), but by now, almost a month later, nothing has happened, and I believe that was a failure. At least I tried!
I had to take a selfie because I really loved my bun and my outfit. I was on my no-running time after state track for 10 days, so I went to the Jeff City Community Center for a long swim and then time on the cross ramp. While I was on that, I worked on my summer reading on one of the books,
Ethan Frome, that I found for free on iBooks on my iPod touch.
This photo was in a Tennessee Magazine my mom got in the mail that she showed me as she was flipping through. I love pumpkins and squash, so I totally need this in my backyard!
