"The little things you do to me are taking me over, I wanna show ya."

Hello everyone!

Here are just a few thoughts and updates.

Thanksgiving:
I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! It was wonderful seeing my dad's side of the family, but it was different not having him there. He was able to call on Thanksgiving night and it was so nice that I was able to actually TALK to him. He is doing really well, but is ready to come home; mom and I are DEFINITELY ready for him to come home too! Dad's trip to Bangladesh has definitely been an "experience" for him, but the whole family also. Being away from daddy 40 days hasn't been as bad as I thought it was going to be; then again, I still have 16 more days to go! He'll be home just in time for Christmas! I think about him several times during the day and pray for him every night. It's a very admirable thing he is doing over there and it appears that Bangladesh has a plethora of history behind it. The country is very poor and their government is very corrupted; their laws haven't been updated since the 70s. I don't see how they're even functioning. Although, I have very little knowledge of the country and their current situation it appears to me that if they were able to update their laws, that they would still have trouble implementing them considering their financial stability. Then again, if they were able to update and implement them, I feel as if they would be able to prosper a bit more. Who knows though, I could be completely off. Like I said, I have very little knowledge of the country and where the stand in the world. I expect that I will learn a lot more about it once daddy returns and I'm looking forward to it!

Anyway,  Thanksgiving went well. My boyfriend was able to come to my hometown Saturday. It was his first glimpse of where I grew up  and where my mom's family is from! I'm really glad he was able to see a part of it and meet my grandmother along with my church family! He seemed to enjoy himself; although he was only there for a very short time. While I was on break, I found out that my mom is going to have surgery on her foot on December 21. Please say a prayer for her. It's definitely going to be a challenge for her.



The Little Things:
Through out my journey, I've noticed that it's the "little things" that mean the most to me. It wasn't until my junior year in high school that I came to this realization.  The guy I was dating at the time is the one who pointed it out to me. His church has "youth Sunday" and he was given the opportunity to preach and it was the "little things" that his sermon was on. I don't think I'll ever forget that Sunday. After that, I started to notice the little things more and more. Eventually, I noticed that it was the smallest things such as a smile, or someone simply asking "How are you?" and knowing they were saying it with sincerity, is what meant the most to me.        

I suppose this is on my mind, because yesterday I noticed one of the "little things." My grandma is the best for contributing to the smallest aspects in my journey that make me smile. You see, she does things for me that she doesn't have to do (and she knows she doesn't have to do it, but insists on doing it anyway). She is ALWAYS trying to give me money. It's true...I'm a broke college student, but I've been blessed with more than enough. Granny could use the money more than me, but she some how manages to give me money. I really don't know how she does it. Her lately, she's been sending it in the mail, but this time she was sneaky. She left me an envelope and wrote on it that I was not supposed to open until 7:00 PM that night (she knew I would be back at school). Of course, I do what she says and there is the money and a card. Her cards and little notes are always so thoughtful. Aside from always trying to give me money, I always "hear" about how she's been bragging about me; I'm really not that special. Granny likes to go Burger King to get her dinner some nights and the staff now knows her. I've been with her a couple of times to eat when I'm home from school, so they recognize me also. They know me because I'm her grand daughter and they're also aware of my dad's political position he holds at home. Therefore, it never fails that every time I go into Burger King they always speak to me, but I swear that they know more about me than I know about myself!  It's little things like that, knowing that my granny is so proud of me and loves me so much, that mean the most to me.

This week, I ask that you pay attention to the "little things" and notice the joy that they bring you.

Below is the song "You Are My Sunshine." Granny has always told me that I will always be her sunshine, that's even what she calls me. Well, she'll always be my sunshine too!