Bragging and Thanking

I've been working a lot on the Going Away Giveaways that start TOMORROW.

For that reason, I probably won't have a lot of time for other blogs this week. But, after a wonderful past few days, I had to do a little bragging and thanking.

Bragging first. Not on myself. On this lady.

She was one of the first moms that I met when I moved to Atlanta. She was the first one that asked me to baby-sit for her child. Saying that it has been an absolute privilege and blessing to have her family in my life is such the understatement. I fell in love with her family first through her precious daughter, Ella. What can I say, the way to my heart is through the kids. But, it didn't stop with that little girl. Courtney has poured into me. Mentored me. Loved on me. Encouraged me. She's the best things of a Mom and a sister rolled into one.

Well, I'm a frequent reader of Buckhead Church's blog. Imagine my delight when I pulled it up the other day and saw this little post that Courtney wrote about how she took the challenge from Jeff Henderson's last message, The Waiting Room, and put it into action. Isn't she just incredible?!?!

Thanks for being so open and honest, Courtney. Thanks for putting yourself out there for the thousands! I'm so thankful that The Lord has woven you into my life!


Now a little thanking.

I have THE BEST FRIENDS in the entire world. Seriously, I would put my friends against your friends ANY day! This past weekend my roomie got some of them together for a little dinner at an Atlanta restaurant that I've been wanting to go to for months. Einsteins. It was super yummy.


All of these girls work at Chick-fil-A and except for my roommate, I haven't seen them in a while. We crowded around a table and laughed and exchanged stories for so long that we ended up having to catch a later showing of the movie. It was so fun to catch up with them.

Cason...my partner in crime in Brand Development. I was so excited when you came to Chick-fil-A. I finally had a young, cool, person on my team. You proved to be so much more than the young, cool person though. You are by far one of the sweetest people that I know. You have about 100 close friends and I know why. Once people meet you, they want you in their lives forever. So many of my favorite Chick-fil-A memories include you. I loved going on business trips with you, enjoyed planning retreats with you and even had fun walking the trails with you. You're the best, buddy!

Noel...my first Atlanta friend. I remember when I saw you on my first day at Chick-fil-A and I thought, maybe we could be friends. When you told me that you had tried on my suit, I knew we would be fast friends. My closet is full of things that you liked but didn't look right when you tried them on. Your closet is full of things that I liked but didn't look right when I tried them on. We have the same style, but none of the same clothes. You had the ability to make me laugh on even the longest of the work days...and to this day, I can't drink a Chick-fil-A lemonade without thinking of you and smiling.

Christen...my roomie for life. I don't know how to begin to tell you how wonderful she is. The memories that we share can't be listed in such a short paragraph. When we're together, we laugh a lot...usually about things that only we think are funny. WIn a short amount of time, she has taught me so much. She's taught me how to work hard and have fun in the process. She has taught me to love people the way they want to be loved. In the past year, we have grown to be pretty much inseparable. We joke, but I am positive that I am going to go into withdrawals when she's not around. Good thing I've already given myself an unlimited invite to her new place!

Ashleigh...member of the fab 4. I met Ash when I first got to Chick-fil-A. She was a marketing intern and along with Ansley and Sara, we went anywhere and everywhere together. It didn't take us long to take over The Original Dwarf House (home to the first Chick-fil-A sandwich). Then, about a month after we met, we decided to drive 5 hours on a spontaneous road trip so we could spend the weekend in Daufuskie. She went back to school, but we stayed in touch through trips to Athens and Tuscaloosa. She's a rare gem of a friend. A bubble of happiness.


So, there you have it...my bragging and my thanks.