Remember...

Do you know what today is?

Memorial Day.

Do you know what Memorial Day is for?

Not just for cookout and visiting your family and getting the day off from work.

Today is America's day to remember.

What are we remembering?

The fallen soldiers who gave their lives to protect us.

That's something that really stands out to me. These brave men and women who fell in battle, who gave their lives for the safety of others.

And you know what?

You are one of those who are safe because of them.

And they didn't even know you.

Think about that. Just imagine it, for a moment.

A young man, lying in a ditch, on foreign soil, bleeding out. A woman, closing her eyes upon the world for the last time.

They may not have even known your name. But they died for you.

This really is the definition of Christian love. Giving your life for the saving of thousands.

Think about this: your children, grandchildren, mothers, fathers, cousins, uncles, aunts, friends, they are all living comfortably now because of the selfless act of one of our brave soldiers.

And to those who have lost someone, and so spend this day grieving:

I cannot imagine what it must have been like to discover the one that you loved had perished in battle. I cannot imagine the scars that must have left for you. I cannot imagine what pain and anguish you must go through, knowing that they are gone.

But I do know this: they gave their lives in the protection of an entire country. Every. Single. Person.

And now they are a hero.

They are better than Superman or Captain America or any of the best, coolest superheros.

Because you know what?

They are real. They lived on this planet. They were there for the ones who loved them. They laughed, they cried, they were completely human. And that makes them special, more special than any fictional character could ever be, no matter what amazing super-powers the writer wants them to posses.

Do you know who these fallen men and women remind me of?

Christ.

The man who was God's son, who could have stayed safe and comfortable in heaven and let the world go to hell, but who chose to come and give his life for the billions that would never even get to see his face on earth.

But you know what?

One day, we will see His face, in heaven. Those who are believers in Him.

Our soldiers, the defenders of out nation, followed in His footsteps, they gave their lives for the good of many, they laid their own hopes and desires down so that others could fulfill theirs, they sacrificed themselves so that we can live in peace.

So remember, on this beautiful Memorial Day, remember what Memorial Day is for. Remember those who have fallen. Pray for the loved ones who were left behind. Thank God for those selfless individuals who gave their lives so that you could spend this day grilling hamburgers with your family.

God Bless America and those who gave their lives defending it.

My random, kind of teenage angst, photo shoot

So, I decided to do another photo shoot today.

Since I watched Mirrormask last night, I was thinking of doing a circus thing, but I couldn't find a costume fast enough and we have company coming in a very little while.

So instead, I decided to do a teenage angst/ emo teenager photo shoot. I figure, I'm only a teenager for so long, so why not do it while I'm still in the teen years?

Okay, first of all, I am going to put the disclaimer that I am not really this emo and I don't usually wear this much makeup. It was really weird for me.

 Okay, so I teased my hair, put on lipstick and a massive amount of eye shadow, glitter on my face, although you really can't see it here, earrings that I never wear because they get caught in my hair when it is curly, the dress I was wearing has these weird little pokey things on it (you can't see it in this picture yet). In short, this was very uncomfortable.

 My string of Christmas lights has come in very useful in a lot of photo shoots.

 And also my mirror is good for pretty much every photo shoot. And I think it's weir that I look almost like another person in the mirror. It must be the me from Mirror Land.

 Ignore the mess on the floor behind me...I'm an emo teen, I don't clean my room.

 Okay, so my mom gave us these window panes for art class, and so far I've only used them for class once, and since then I've just been drawing Wolverine, Ralph Macchio, and Benedict Cumberbatch. So I thought I might put it to some...other artistic use, not just drawing some of my favorite dudes.

 Sitting on my desk.

 This one was actually really hard to take because of the way I had to hold my laptop (no I don't have a real camera yet).

When you see it....

I was sitting on my bed in this one. My mom thinks it really capture the teenage angst look...

I'm not really this pale, but the lighting made me look like it.

Again, one of those really hard to take because of the way I had to hold the laptop.

Clearly, I like to take them in front of my mirror.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one, but my sister really liked it, so I'm putting it in for her.

And just to prove that I could still smile after all that.

Cheers!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

Guys! This is so exciting! I found out that Sherlock and John really do have blogs!

I'll put the links on here for you other Sherlockians:

John's Blog

Sherlock's Blog

Of course, these are from the episodes that have already happened, but once the new season comes out, I bet they will update it with the episodes, so keep checking!!!

Cheers!

John's Blog

So, I was thinking, I wonder what John's blog post would be after Sherlock fell?

And I think he probably didn't write one, because he needed to get away from it all, but imagine if he did.

I bet it would go something like this:

This is something that my therapist told me to do.

It's the only reason I am doing this.

I met this man, named Sherlock Holmes. If you've been reading my blog, then you know who he is already know who he is.

He is my best friend. My only friend really. Before I met him, my life was filled with terror, from the war. After I met him, my life was filled with a different kind of terror, but the kind that I flourished in.

I went on all kinds of adventures with Sherlock. Everyone could clearly see that he was the brains behind the mystery solving, but even still, we were a team. Me without him, and him without me, well, we always managed to get ourselves in trouble.

Even when we were together we got in trouble of course, but it was a different kind of trouble. We could always help each other to get back out of it. Well...almost always.

I'm sure you remember the case about James Moriarty. And I know that many of you don't believe he ever existed. But he did, and as Sherlock said, he was a spider.

You've read the papers, you know what happened. How Moriarty was innocent, even though he wasn't really. And you saw what happened afterwards, when people stopped trusting that Sherlock was who he said he was.

But I never did. And I never will. Because while he was an annoying person, and most of the time I couldn't stand to even look at him because he had that face on, he was still Sherlock Holmes. 

And I am still John Watson, the man who stood by Sherlock's side through everything. 

When he...told me...that...the stories were true, that he wasn't who he told me he was, I didn't believe him, not for one second.

And when he...fell...and I watched...I could see every moment that Sherlock and I shared pass before my eyes.

And I realized that I never told him how glad I was that I met him. 

I told him plenty that I thought he was a jerk, or a heartless, non-human creature, but I never told him how much I really need him.

Sherlock, I hope that you are reading this. 

And if you are, please, do one last thing for me.

Please. Please Sherlock. Don't be dead. Just this one last thing, for me, please, just don't be dead.

Yeah. Okay.

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graduation, Ironman, and Flooding...in other words, my weekend

Sorry I haven't really been posting much guys, my life has been a flurry of activity.

Why? you ask.

Because I graduated Saturday! 

Yep, I'm no longer a homeschool student. I've officially joined the ranks of kids who survived highschool.

Although I must say, my highschool experience wasn't that bad. I rather enjoyed my school years. Being homeschooled, I was able to learn a lot of things that interested me. And now that I am done with 'school', or at least the State of North Carolina recognizes me as 'done with school', that doesn't mean I am going to stop learning or reading good books. We never stop learning. And we really never should want to.

Anyway, instead of having a traditional graduation, with a cap and gown and everything, I decided to have a party and invite my closest friends (I would have invited more of my friends but my house can only hold so many and therefor I had to just invite my closest and best friends). 

We had cake and snacks and I made a video for everyone to watch of my highschool years (which I will upload if I can, but no promises). 

And of course there were lots of pictures of me with my friends.

Okay, first of all, there were 25 people who came. They ended up coming in shifts because certain people had to go do stuff or some people stayed until really late.

This was before the party started, while we were waiting for people to show up.

My grandparents came before anyone else because they didn't want to be there when there were a bunch of teenagers running around.

And then me and my sister were still waiting for everyone else to get there, so we had a dance party.

Me and my sis again.

And then finally people started showing up. This is (left to right) Mrs. Ormand (in the doorway) Katie, Sharon, me, and Miriam. 

My mom decided to take pictures of me with all the people who came...be prepared for a lot of pictures.

Me and the Gwyns, Tylor (the tall one) Mrs. Gwyn (the one behind me) and Katie (the really pretty one).

Me (the short one) and Loren (the tall one). And Mrs. Gwyn (the sitting one).

Loren and Tylor decided to pretend to be my 'bodyguards'. After this Loren told me to duck and cover. And then I died. They were fired.

And then the Covingtons and a random kid I don't know showed up. From left to right: Chris, Honor, Random kid (I think his name was Josh) and me.

Left to right: Summer, Forrest, Me, and Promise, sitting on me.

Me and Mim...again

This is Promise, the cutest child to ever walk the earth.

Me and Mr. Covington....I'm really not sure why Tylor is in this one...

Me and my cousin, Paige. Kesha, Paige's sister came up too, but she wouldn't be in any of the pictures from my party.

Me and my girls (except Kesha and Ashton weren't here yet).

Left to right: Mr. Covington, Honor (on Mr. C's lap), Me, Promise (on my lap), Mrs. Covington, Miriam (on Mrs. C' lap)

My cake, made for me by my Aunt Jane. I love her.

This is me. Someone told me there was something else in this picture, but I guess it must be a ninja, because I don't see anything else.

And me and Ashton, who stayed after everyone else had left, went to church with me, came back, went to go feed a friend's dog with me, came back, watched Doctor Who, then stayed at my house until 11:30 at night. This is why I love her so much.

Anyway, so that was my graduation party.

The next day, Sunday, which was yesterday to me now, my dad took me to go see Ironman 3 in 3D. It was epic and if you haven't seen it you need to go see it. Do it now.

I really enjoyed hanging out with my dad too. We wandered around downtown where it was pouring the rain and we both got soaked, but it was so much fun. 

And now today, it has flooded everywhere. Nobody had school today because nobody can really get out of their house.

My cousin, Kesha, who would not let me take pictures of her at my party, came up and we hung out for a while today, wandering around outside, looking to see where the water had risen around our houses, drawing faces on the balloons left over from my party, and finally she let me take some pictures with her.

In the words of Kesha herself, concerning these pictures: The world may never know.

Anyway, that is how my weekend went. I hope you guys enjoyed these pictures!

And if you live in the high country, don't get swept away with all the rain!

Cheers!