My year in review.

Wow. Looking back, so much has happened in 2011. This has been by far one of the best years of my life and one of the worst. So many ups and downs, highs and lows, but hey...we all have those. I started my year off with a New Year's kiss that will now be one of the most memorable new years memory for the rest of my life. I shared my 2011 new years kiss with my Pappy in Atlanta, GA. I started off my year by going to the event called Passion 2011. For those of you that don't know, Passion is a worldwide gathering where literally thousands of 18-25 year olds come together for one purpose...the purpose to worship our LORD and Savior. Off to an incredible beginning in 2011, I then got the news that I got accepted for the Silver Ring Thing National touring team. With hundreds and hundreds of applications, and only 4 openings for the team, I got accepted. God had His hand in it from the beginning. I had my future year planned out to travel the country with 12 amazing Godly people and who would become 12 of my closest friends. With all that excitement of my future plans, I still tried to focus to enjoy the last half of my senior year. Things such as senior semi, blast off, and graduation. MAHS Class of 2011 went down in history when our entire class came together against the Superintendent to put the initials of our former classmate, Phil Walker, on our caps. With 300 students all wearing the initials PCW on our caps, we were able to make sure Phil was with us on our graduation day. Shortly after graduation, I enjoyed the fun excitement of having my graduation party. Well, about that. I discovered that graduation parties are only fun if you are attending one. That was one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Haha, oh well. It was fun seeing everyone that came out. The following week, I took a roadtrip with my sister to Buffalo, NY to see Hanson<3 don't judge. We pushed our way to front row and I touched Isaac's hand:] haha, I'm a little screaming teenage girl when it comes to Hanson...no matter how old they get. After that, became my down for the New year making it one of the worst years of my life. I sat by my Pappy's bedside and watched my best friend slowly fade away. His last words to me being, love you boots. See you after while. Dealing with funeral arrangements was the most difficult time. My entire family still left heartbroken. The only good thing to the whole funeral week was bringing all of the grandkids back together. I don't think I've ever seen Gram more happy. A week after Pappy's funeral, my parents thought it would be good for me to get away and go on Mission trip with my church. We went to Newark, NY. Having my church family support system was a huge help to me. About a month later, I hit the road for the most exciting adventure of my life. I hopped on a tour bus, or a modified shuttle bus, whichever you choose to call it, and tour the country seeing lives changed every night and watch teenagers make the same choice I made 2 years ago. Over 3,000 commitments to Christ have been made in the 4 months I've been on the road. Praise God. This past month, I was given the amazing opportunity to travel to the beautiful island of Barbados to present the same message of abstinence to an entire nation. Working with some AMAZING people such as Praise Academy and Janette...ikz, it was definitely a life changing experience for me. I was blown away by God's glory and power. He brought me to an island to present His message...me of all people. He blows me away all the time. And He even placed me in a host home where my mom was a HUGE Pittsburgh Penguins fan! How awesome is that! God has blessed me with some incredible opportunities this year...and I feel so blessed everyday to be able to be used by Him. To Him be the glory. Well, it's almost 2012 now. And I can definitely say I am excited to see what God has in store for me this next year. Starting off 2012 with Passion in the ATL again! Thank You Jesus for an amazing year, and here's to another year to let Your glory shine! Happy New Year everyone!