Proud

Caton and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember and I have always been proud of everything she's done. She's won speech contests, shows, held leadership roles and still managed to be a great friend through it all.

But now... I am really proud of Caton

Because she is absolutely amazing!

Caton works for Teach for America. It is an organization designed to help children in underprivileged areas by providing them with good teachers.

Caton is an excellent teacher. She shows such a huge amount of dedication to her students. Even though they aren't always "model children" you can tell that Caton loves each and every one of them as individuals. I had the pleasure of reading letters that "Caton's kids" wrote to her this weekend and I was overwhelmed with emotion and pride. Each letter spoke the true feelings of the children. You can tell that every student felt that Caton had really touched him or her and helped to make life just a little bit better. Caton took the time to let every single student know that success is possible for anyone. She shows real belief in everyone and uses unique teaching methods to cater to different learning styles. I am so proud of Caton for touching such a nerve in each child's heart, but at the same time reading those letters broke my heart - It sounded like Caton was the first person to believe in these kids and they are in high school!
Great Job Caton! I'm so proud of you!

Daily Dose of Laughter

Everytime I spend a day with the McKenna family I get more than my daily dose of laughter. They are completely halarious. Spending a day with them keeps you on your toes. Even simple tasks like signing and stuffing christmas cards is a rib-cracking experience. Each family member plays their own unique role that contributes to the ultimate halarity of the situation.

Kerri: The organizer. Knows exactly what needs to be done and desperately tries to keep everyone focused.
Caton: The oldest "youngest" child. Caton is biologically the oldest, but plays the part of letting Kerri do all the organizing and begrudgingly follows her orders.
Betsey: Just crazy. She is mainly busy trying to tell stories about her friends but she's really not a very good storyteller (shhh. don't tell her I said that)!
Jenny: Mostly silenced by Betsey, but when possible has a lot to talk about of her own. She also has a very creative signature (a heart connected to the end of Jenny)
Mrs. McKenna: the ultimate prankster. Always trying to make everyone laugh and get a rise out of the crowd.
Mr. McKenna: quietly sits in the corner. It's hard to tell if he's amused or if he's just wishing he wasn't there.

The whole scene is side-splitting. The McKenna's alway participate in a comical play at their church each year and I think next year, it should be based on a segment of their life. I spent the day with them on Saturday and it was amazing! I haven't had my daily McKenna dose of laughter in a long time and this day more than made up for it!

Up

On Thursday night, I watched Up. I realize this is a cartoon and possibly made for children. But it was a recommendation to me by my dearest friend Caton and I couldn't pass it up. It was absolutely incredible! I would highly recommend it to anyone.

A few favorites without giving anything away:

The first ten minutes of the movie. I watched the whole movie through and then went back and watched the beginning again, just because it was soo good. It didn't even need any words and it was fantastic.

"I know it sounds kind of boring, but sometimes I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most" - for some reason I really like this quote

The credits. They were unbelievable cute and creative. I literally watched them all the way to the end. Now I really want to make a scrapbook of some sort.

The old man in the movie reminds me of Martin a little bit. In the sense that he holds on to things and tries to keep them alive even when they are gone. I can picture Martin refusing to move as they are building a city all around his house!