Ancient Egypt: By Taylor & Caiden

Church on Sunday.

On Sunday several members of my family and I went to church at the Summit in High Point. It was VERY fun and there was a good message. There are a lot of nice people at the church and there is even a band that sings on the stage. It's like a rock concert every Sunday!

The message that the preacher talked about was about making a DIFFERENCE, instead of just making a POINT. The way he explained this was by referring to the a story in the book of Luke. (Luke 15:25-32). The story is about a King and his two sons. The younger son knew that when the king died he would get half of the inheritance and the other brother would get the other half. The younger brother told his father that he wanted to have his half now. He didn't want to wait for it. The King did as his son asked and gave him his half and the younger brother left the kingdom. Years past and the brother blew his money on things that were looked down on. When he ran out of money he began working for people, getting little pay and was starving. The brother knew that he had done wrong and decided to ask his father if he could work for him, that way he could be at home and he would at least get 3 meals a day. When the brother got home he did not get what he was expecting. When the brother walked up he was embraced in a huge hug by his father. His father was so excited the the lost brother had finally returned that he exclaimed that they would kill the fattened calf! The brother went inside with his father and they celebrated. While they were celebrating one of the servants told the older brother, who was working in the fields, that they were celebrating because his brother returned and that they cut the fattened calf and that he should join them. The brother didn't go in. The father went to the older brother and asked him to join them but the older brother said this....“All these years I've slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing that you told me to do. And in all that time you never gave me even one goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!” As you can see the older brother does not feel that the younger brother deserve this and it is not fair that he gets it when the older brother has been loyal to his father the whole time. But the father sees it as he is making a difference in his sons life. He could tell him that he is not welcome back home, that would be making a point, but he wanted to make a DIFFERENCE.

I think the lesson was very powerful and meaningful. It was one of those times when the preacher says something and you're think in your head “how did he know that.....where does he have cameras hidden at my house?”. I think that everyone should hear this and figure out who they are....... The father or the older brother?

When I was younger my cousin and I would fight ALL the time. Everything that we said to each other was about whether something was fair or not. Sometimes instead of us making a POINT about whether it's fair or not we could have helped out the adults, by not fighting, therefore making a difference. Just a few days ago my mom said that her and my aunt were going to get Starbucks and I said that if she got Starbucks then I want Starbucks, that's not fair. As soon as I said it I realized that I was being the older brother and my mom and I laughed SO hard and she said, "What's your point?". That was one of those times when I realized life isn't always about being fair or making a point. 

There is a lot that I could do to make a difference. For example, The Summit does an event called The Big Serve where you volunteer around the community. I could make a point by telling people what it is or that they should help out or I could make a difference by actually volunteering myself. I chose to volunteer. What will you do?

Mesopotamia

Beginning in the year 4,300 B.C. a series of great cities and empires dominated the plains of Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was located in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which were used as the main way for transportation of goods. There were many people in Mesopotamia, so the rivers didn't supply enough water with all the daily activities they had to do. To compromise for this they built dykes, canals, and channels to capture the flood waters. 

Mesopotamia was divided into city-states. Most of the cities contained about 5,000 people, although Uruk had a population of 50,000 at its peak. Mesopotamia was the first "string of cities". Each city-state had a king who was the representative of the gods. The kings lived in a ziggurat, the holy tower, that had a spiraling ramp. In the center of every city was a temple where they kept all the food. They also sold it from there, along with other goods. Eventually most of the city-states developed into empires, including Sumer, Akkad, Ur, and many more. The best known out of all of Mesopotamia's Civilizations was Babylon. During the second millennium B.C., it rose from a providential capitol to the center of a kingdom that encompassed southern Iraq and beyond. 

In Mesopotamia the first type of writing was formed,. It was called cuneiform and it developed in Sumer. Sumerians wrote on clay tablets using a wedge, like a pencil, to carve in the soft clay. Having this writing allowed the people of Mesopotamia to keep trade records. Also scribes recorded the first literacy work known to western civilization. The literature followed the epic story of king Gil Gamesh, who embanks on a quest for immortality but ultimately failed. 

The Mesopotamians were very important to modern day civilizations. They left a legacy of law, literature, and engineering, for modern nations to build on. 

Watch a video about Mesopotamia HERE!

CNN Student News 9/13/12

Tuesday night, violence and anger in Egypt and Libya broke out. In the Egyptian capitol Cairo, protesters attacked the embassy. The Embassy is the building where the ambassador, the diplomat that represents the U.S. in other countries, and staff work. The protesters tore down the flag outside of the embassy. Things in Libya were much more violent. There was a protest outside of the consulate and four U.S. citizens, including the ambassador, were killed. It was said that the protest was used as a diversion by attackers. The Libyan and Egyptian  governments said that they didn't have anything to do with this and it was to be frowned upon. The protesters were made up of a group of people who decided to  attack on their own. 

The strike with teachers in Chicago is still not over. They have still not come to an agreement with teachers pay or the stability of their jobs. Over 350,000 students go to school in this district, which is the third largest district in the U.S. Not only does this strike keep the students out of school, but sports teams are forbidden to practice. The football team has been practicing by themselves because their coach is not allowed to help them in any way. Their coach says that this is a major set back and the team needs a coach. Many of the players want to play college football and without practice or games it is hurting their chances. Other threats include the students falling far behind in school, which could lead to them repeating the year or getting bad grades. 

In 1300, the plague, also called the black death, killed 1/4 of Europe's population, a total of 25 million people. This plague causes you to have swollen lymph nodes all over your body in places like your neck. Now there is an average of 7 people per year who are diagnosed with the plague in the United States. Seven year old Sierra Jane Downing was one of them. She was on a camping trip with her family when she came across a dead squirrel. The plague can be spread by flea bites from infectious animals. Sierra's family rushed her to the hospital after she was vomiting and had a seizure. Luckily Sierra got out of the hospital yesterday and is feeling much better now. 

CNN Student News September 10, 2012.

The U.S. congress is likely to face a fiscal cliff this upcoming season. A fiscal cliff is a series of tax increases and spending cuts. The Congress will face this if the republicans and democrats don't come to an agreement on the deficit. If they don't there will be a $110 billion dollar cut on everything from education to food inspections. I think that the republicans and democrats NEED to agree on a deficit because these businesses can not afford this big of a budget cut.

Students at Florida A&M University, FAMU, will be required to sign an anti-hazing pledge to be able to attend the school. Hazing is when someone has to do a series of things involving harassment , abuse, dangerous activities, and humiliation as an initiation to get into some sort of group. The reason that this school is making everyone sign this pledge is because last year a member of the marching bad was killed in a hazing accident. There was also a report of the same thing happening to a girl on the dance team. Personally I don't think that this pledge will help that much with anti-hazing. For instance, a lot of people sign a pledge not to do drugs or drink and drive, but a lot of people still do it anyway. There is not really any way to stop this, but there are other ways that they could prevent it. Teachers should be responsible for admitting all students into functions. Also there should be a closer look at groups of kids doing this on their own.

Boston Dynamics has recently built a number of robots that can do a variety of things. Some of them can run fast and some of them can get through very difficult terrain. One of the robots that they built, named Marvel, actually beat Usian Bolts world record which was 27.78 miles per hour. Marvel's record was 28.3 miles per hour. These robots could be used for a number of things. Including helping the army, being sent to outer space, etc.

Herodotus

Herodotus was the first real historian. Herodotus lived in Ancient Greece, in Halicanassus, Caria. He was born in the fifth century, during the year 484 B.C. Herodotus' father's name was Lyxes and his mothers name was Artemisia. When he was born, Caria was still under Persian Rule.

Herodotus is called the “Father of History”. He was not the first person to ever study history, but he was the first to collect his material systematically, test its accuracy, and arrange it into a well constructed narrative. The Histories, is his masterpiece and the only known work he has. Long after Herodotus' death, The Histories was divided into seven books, beginning with Clio and followed by Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, and the last was Polymnia.

Herodotus spent all of his life studying history, writing The Histories, and traveling almost all of the known world. Herodotus had a very productive life with many accomplishments, considering that he died at the young age of 59 in the year 425 B.C.

Boone

Boone is a city located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northwest North Carolina. Because I enjoy the scenery, changing seasons, and nature, Boone would be no ordinary place to live and attend college.

Coming into Boone is one of the best parts of being there. You're just driving and then all of the sudden as you are driving, the scenery changes from highways and roads to beautiful mountains, trees, views, and valleys.  Boone is the home of Appalachian State University, the place where I want to attend college. Appalachian is a very nice school, not only because the way the school looks or that they have a good educational program, but there is a LOT of school spirit! Everywhere you look you see black and yellow, whether it be a sweatshirt, a sign, a little mountaineer statue, or, like we saw, a mountaineer mobile. When you're at your house in Boone and you go outside to get dome air and you just sit on the back porch it is amazing. It's very peaceful and there isn't all that unwanted noise, such as cars driving by. You look out and see all the beautiful sights, the trees, listen to the rain and thunder, and enjoy the scenery.

Where we live when it rains, isn't it usually just gloomy and boring? What about when it snows? Well, that's fun, but we don't get much of it. In Boone when it rains it so peaceful! It's very relaxing to listen and watch it. Also it is always cool because it's in the mountains, so in the winter it's actually cold enough for snow! Personally I have only been there when it had snowed once, but my aunt said that sometimes she will go sit on the porch and listen to the snow. Did you know that snow made noise? One of my favorite parts about Boone is the changing seasons. When the leaves turn from green to orange, yellow, and red and it cools down. Then the trees loose the leaves, there is a lot of snow on them, and it's really cold outside. Then when all melts, it warms up, leaves grow back, and the flowers come back. Not only do you get to see the beauty of all of this, but there is so much to do. In the summer you can go white water rafting and zip lining, and in the winter you can go sledding, snowboarding, and skiing.

Enjoying the weather doesn't always mean sitting at home. In Boone you can take walks outside or at the shops because they are outside. It's very fun to shop outside at all the places and go to the restaurants there. I would much rather go shopping on King street outside than I would want to shop in a mall. As I said earlier I want to attend Appalachian. I have been to a couple schools and none of them are in as nice a place as ASU, with nature around them as pretty as it was there. I think that it would be amazing to walk to class every day and read your books for school outside while you listen to the birds, the wind, and the crickets.

After I told you all of this, do you see why Boone would be no ordinary place to live? When I get older I want to live her with all the the beautiful scenery, changing seasons, nature, and all the exciting the things there are to do. I don' think that it would ever get old, it is an ever changing place to live.

Archeology and Anthropology

Anthropology and Archeology

The study of humans past and present is called anthropology. An important field in anthropology is archeology. Archeology focuses on the study of humans in the past. These two studies are considered a science, but can also help the study of history. Without it we wouldn't know anything about the past, when people didn't leave records. With anthropology and archeology we have recovered a lot of things that tell us about history.

Topics studied in Anthropology include human origins and evolution, the organization of human social and cultural relations, human physical traits, how humans behave, the variations among different groups of humans, and how the evolutionary past of humans influenced it's social organization and culture. The field is divided into four sub-fields. Those sub-fields include cultural anthropology, the study of culture, linguistic anthropology, the study of the process of human communications, biological anthropology, the study of humans and non-human primates in their biological, evolutionary, and demographic dimensions, and archeology. Archeology is the study of human activity in the past, mainly through the recovery of things such as artifacts, architecture, bio-facts, and cultural landscapes.

The point of anthropology is to learn more about past and present societies and the development in the human race. This is why archeology is so important. If we didn't have any way to study humans we wouldn't know anything about past societies and the development of the human race. Imagine if we knew nothing about history. How often do you talk about the past? If we didn't know about history you couldn't talk about the past. It would be like not knowing something all the time. Or it would be like someone trying to tell you something and then saying never mind. You know that feeling of wondering what's going on until it drives you crazy? Or it would be like starting a movie from the middle! If we didn't have the sciences of anthropology and archeology we would be completely lost!

CNN Student News Newsquiz August 31, 2012

CNN Student News: This weeks Newsquiz

1. What is the name of the storm that made landfall on Tuesday, pounding the U.S. Gulf Coast?

• Isaac

2. What is the westernmost country in continental Europe?

• Portugal 

3. What is the name of the New Jersey governor who delivered Tuesday's keynote address at the Republican National Convention?

• Chris Christie 

4. What city is hosting the 2012 Paralympic Games?

• London

5. The southern part of which U.S. state experienced a "swarm" of several hundred earthquakes on Sunday?

• California

6. Sarah Thomas is the first female referee at the major collegiate level of what sport?

• Football

7. Who was the first person to walk on the moon?

• Neil Armstrong

8. What are hurricanes called in the northwestern Pacific Ocean?

• Typhoons 

9. Lydia Ko became the youngest winner of an LPGA tournament in what sport?

• Golf

10. What city hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention?

• Tampa Florida

Taylor@Trinity for TTP

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Have you ever heard of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura? I didn't think so! It's okay though, most people haven't. Thrombotic Thrombocytopencic Purpura is a very rare and fatal disease. Only three to for people out of one million people will be diagnosed with it and one of those people were my aunt, Rachael.

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>>>> Donate to Answering TTP in Rachael's Name <<<<

Rachael's Story

My life finally seemed to be on track after years of struggling with my parents' divorce, my mother's new marriage, a battle with depression, low self esteem, and a teenage pregnancy that landed me a new job as a single mom. My son was four years old, and the light of my life. The demons in my past were slowly fading into the background and I was moving on. I graduated high school early and we finally had our own place. I had my first brand new car, I was paying my own bills, and I had a great job working for a wonderful company. I was planning on enrolling in college the following fall to study to be an ultrasound tech like my mom. Little did I know of what was lurking in my body and how it would change my life forever. 

It started with a headache. It wasn't out of the ordinary...I had suffered with headaches since puberty. I wrote it off to being overtired and a little stressed. It wasn't extremely painful...just a very irritating and strong ache. I mentioned it to several people but didn't think much else about it. That was a Saturday. On Wednesday, things started to get a little worse. I noticed several large bruises in odd places...on my hand...my foot...my forearm. Again I just dismissed it and started to get ready for work. I was really dizzy and lightheaded and decided that maybe I needed to go to the doctor. Next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor. I was confused...”how in the world did I end up down here?”. I called my mom and told her what happened and she took me to see a PA at my primary care office. He didn't do much...asked me about where the pain was and said that I was having a migraine. He gave me a shot of stadol in the office and sent me home. Looking back, I should have mentioned the bruising and the “pinprick” rash on my ankles, but I just wasn't very in touch with my body and didn't think it was related. If I had mentioned it, maybe he would have recognized the petichae and he would have known it was serious and requested blood work. Talk about hindsight being 20/20!

I went home and slept for several hours...when I woke up, the headache was still there. I was really aggravated...after several days of dealing with a headache, I was so hoping I would wake up and feel better! I decided that I would just have to suffer with it...maybe it would go away on it's own. No such luck. 

I got progressively worse...I started blacking out at work, and I was exhausted 24/7. On Saturday, after I had a meltdown over a bowl of soup, I decided I was going to stay the night at my mother's. I don't remember putting my son in the car, or driving across town to her house. Thankfully someone was watching over me and got myself and my son there safely. My mom put me to bed and told me I would feel better in the morning. I hoped she was right, but in my gut I knew she wasn't.

When I woke up the next morning, the headache was still there. After 9 days of stressing and feeling like I was never going to be better...I was suddenly at peace. It was surreal...I remember vividly the color of the bedspread on my old bed...I remember when I walked outside the feeling of fall. I remember seeing my niece sitting at the kitchen table eating toast and smiling and talking about Maggie and the “Verocious” Beast. I remember being so grateful that I had been blessed to spend 4 years with my son, and I wondered if he would remember me when I was gone. It was as if someone slapped me...I suddenly realized that I was going to die. And I was ok with that. I walked out on the back porch where my mom was sitting and I sat down. When she asked me how I felt, I told her I didn't feel any better. She told me to go back upstairs and lay down and get some rest and she would take me to the doctor the following day. I will never forget my response, or the look on her face, or the feeling of peace that I had when I said it...”If I close my eyes, I'm not going to wake up. I'm going to die.” My mom immediately picked up the phone and called the urgent care center, and we loaded up in the car and headed to the doctor. On the way there the peace that I had felt before seemed further and further away, and was replaced by something new...panic. It crept up slowly. I felt a feeling in my stomach that started as a quiet hum, and then begin to grow rapidly...it bubbled over and began to take hold of my whole body. My mind was racing...who would take care of my son? Who would take care of my mother when she was old? Would someone tell my son how much I loved him and how he saved me from the person I was becoming? Would he remember the lullabies I sang to him before bed, or the plans that I made for our life? Would he tell his children about their grandmother? Or would he just forget me and struggle without a mother to comfort him? The feeling was terrible...it was as if every fear I had was crushing down on my heart all at once, and I felt completely powerless to stop it. 

Meanwhile, my mother pulled into the parking lot of urgent care. Suddenly it was as if I had been hit by a train. My left arm and leg went completely numb. I begin to panic outwardly...screaming to my mother that I couldn't feel my arm. She put the car in reverse and headed to the ER which was right across the street. I could see my mom physically shaking and I felt so bad for her...I remember feeling so guilty for making her so scared. 

We walked into the ER and I sat down while my mom checked me in. They didn't react...just told her to sit down and they would call us shortly. As the time ticked by, I began to lose feeling in the side of my face. I remember crying and wishing that they would hurry up. Finally they called us back. To fill out insurance papers. I remember feeling so confused...I'm dying, and they're asking for my insurance card!? As I was trying my best to answer the girl's question about my employer and my social security number, my tongue went numb. I began crying hysterically telling my mom that I couldn't talk, I couldn't feel my left side or my mouth. I've never seen her so afraid or so helpless. If the terror in my eyes wasn't apparent, I know the insurance girl could see it on my mother's face. She kept apologizing to us and telling us that it would only be a few minutes. Finally after what seemed like 10 years, a nurse came back and stuck us in a room. Again we waited...and when she finally returned she asked me a million questions that I didn't understand. Was I sexually active? Could I be pregnant? Did I have a history of depression or anxiety? The list went on and on. I remember looking at my mom and wondering why she was asking me these things. I remember looking in the corner of the room and seeing a dead baby hanging from the curtain, dressed in red...a halo around my mother's head...a woman in purple standing below the dead baby with a cane...a red “W” written across the forehead of the nurse asking the seemingly pointless questions...all things that I have never told a soul, until now. The images were terrifying, but for some reason I knew they weren't real and I did my best to hide the fact that I felt as though I was losing touch with reality. The nurse was emotionless...too busy today for this girl acting like something was wrong with no visible signs of trauma. She told me that I might need to be admitted to the psych ward for an evaluation and it looked as though I was having a panic attack. I looked at my mom and said “I am NOT crazy! Something is wrong...why is she acting like I'm crazy?” My mom shook her head and said she didn't know. Again we waited...they asked me to give a urine sample so they could determine whether or not I was pregnant. I went to the bathroom and saw snakes crawling the walls and butterflies in the toilet. I looked in the mirror and wondered if maybe she was right...maybe I was going insane. I tried to shake the mental images of slimy snakes and drowning butterflies, but I couldn't bring myself to give the sample. A nurse stood outside the door and kept knocking telling me to hurry up. I just couldn't do it. I walked out with an empty cup and she rolled her eyes and told me that they would have to do a catheter. They did...and they drew some blood. Later, they came in and drew more blood. The nurse seemed a little more concerned and came in several times to tell us they were working on it and the doctor would be in shortly. I remember an older doctor coming in, asking a few questions and then leaving. And then I remember my knight in shining armor...a young doctor with dark hair and a nice smile. He came in and calmly asked me some questions. He looked at my legs where the rash was and told me it was called petichae...he was the first person that had taken the time to look me over from head to toe, and the first doctor to notice the bruising. I remember being told that they were planning on giving me blood because my counts were so low, and if they had it would have killed me. The angel doctor just happened to be in the right place at the right time...he had done a little bit of study on a disease known as TTP while he was in med school. It was a rare disease with only one known effective treatment, and the hospital wasn't equipped to do it. The older doctor had never heard of TTP...but after a quick briefing by the younger doctor and a look in a medical journal he told my mom that they would be transferring me to a larger hospital nearby to begin treatment immediately. When my mom asked if I would be ok, he said “some people survive”. I wasn't around when he said that, but I can only imagine how my mother felt. 

The next few days are a blur...I remember being loaded into the ambulance and crying that I wanted to go home. The nurse walking beside the stretcher cried with me. I remember the girl in the ambulance asking me about my son and if I had any special plans for him for Christmas. She was nice.

I spent a few days in ICU...I remember a wonderful nurse who, oddly enough, was named Hope. She was very kind and reassuring. When the doctor came in to put in my line in my leg, she held my hand and shed tears with me when he struggled to get it in. I remember my father coming in and brushing the hair off my forehead. I met “my angel” as I call her when I was in ICU. She was the apheresis nurse who gave me my first treatment. It was the middle of the night when she walked in...the rest of the ICU was quiet and the lights were dimmed. I was wide awake...scared out of my mind because my mom wasn't allowed in the ICU but for minutes at a time. She walked in and the whole feeling of the room changed...it went from stark and cold to warm and somewhat comfortable. She explained to me that she was going to start my plasma pheresis treatment...and then she sang to me. I will never forget how her voice soothed me. 

I spent a total of 10 days in the hospital. My mother rarely left my side. Without her, I don't know how I would have gotten through it. She was, and still is, my rock. While I was there, I met some amazing people who touched my life forever. While I hate the circumstances under which we met, I feel very blessed to know them and I attribute the fact that I am still here to their dedication to their patients and their never ending research. I continued to get treatment on an outpatient basis, and eventually had my portacath removed. The side effects from the prednisone were almost unbearable...I had terrible hot flashes and night sweats, and the intense mood swings were hard to control. I gained 40 pounds from the steroids, and my face was enormous. My family and I love looking back at pictures from that time and laughing at how fat my face got. :) (Just a word of encouragement...the “moon face”, as my nurses called it, goes away eventually.)

It's been 7 years this September since I was diagnosed with TTP. I have since married the love of my life and given birth to two more beautiful children...a boy and a girl...and I have one more baby who is in heaven. I have been lucky enough to have avoided a relapse. In 2011 my doctors decided that since my levels were low during my last pregnancy that I would benefit from a rituxan treatment. They were right...my levels are higher than they have ever been and I continue to stay in remission.

My life is much different since TTP...I constantly worry when I get a headache or a bruise, wondering if this awful disease is creeping back up on me, but I've been lucky so far and it's kept it's ugly head down. My energy level is low...I tire easily and I feel as though it takes me longer to recover from daily activities. I have a lot of joint pain...but no one seems to think it's related to the TTP. I also have extreme anxiety issues and mood swings, but I have been working with my PCP to get these issues under control. In the past 2 years I have been diagnosed with ADD, OCD, and post traumatic stress disorder which she believes stems from my parent's divorce and my TTP experience. All of these issues are silent and unrecognizable to everyone else but me, which makes dealing with TTP all the more difficult. With such little research on this disease, we just don't know what is “normal” for those of us in remission. My doctors tell me that my low energy and joint pain aren't related, but when I speak to others who have been through this journey as well, they all claim to have the same issues. It's my belief that TTP does more damage to our bodies than it is given credit for. 

In spite of TTP and all of the issues that come along with it...I am ALIVE. I am here to raise my beautiful children, be a wife to my amazing husband, be a daughter to my saint of a mother and my dear father, be an aunt to my beautiful niece, be a sister to my incredible brothers, be a friend to my wonderful sister-in-laws...all of which are the most wonderful jobs I could have been blessed with. I am a survivor. While TTP is a huge part of my life, I won't let it define me, and I am here to share my story in the hopes that it will encourage and inspire those on this journey. You CAN beat TTP...you can become a survivor and share your stories too...and hopefully one day our stories will help raise awareness and fund the research needed to help others afflicted. Good luck, best wishes, and high platelets to all of you fighters!! xoxo, Rachael

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I was very young when Rachael got TTP and I don't remember much other than seeing Rachael in the front seat of the car on the way to the hospital telling my nana that something was really wrong. I don't remember much but I do know that I am thankful for my aunts "Knight is Shining Armor". If it weren't for him I wouldn't know, remember, or have the best aunt in the world. (: My mom also wrote a short story of what it was like for her, because, like me, she is very close to Rachael.

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My Mom's Story

It's been almost 7 years since the day I almost lost my sister and best friend to a blood disease called TTP. I'm thankful every day for that one person who had just enough knowledge of this puzzling disease and happened to be in the right place at the right time. In the end, it took many people working together to make her well again, however if it were not for Rachael's "Knight in Shining Armor", as she calls him (I just call him HERO), she would not be here today. 

Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura is a rare autoimmune blood disorder. TTP is diagnosed at a rate of 3-4 in 1 million people per year. Potentially fatal complications can result from internal blood clotting with damage to critical organs such as the brain, heart and kidneys. Without treatment, TTP has a 95% fatality rate. On the other hand, with treatment 80-90% of TTP patients achieve remission. Of these, about 30% will relapse.

It was knowledge that saved my Sister's life. It is also knowledge that continues to keep her in remission. Knowledge is power…so they say! I'd like for you to consider Donating to the Answering TTP Foundation in Rachael's name…by doing so, you can give the gift of knowledge. In turn, you could help to save the lives of other people who suffer or will suffer from TTP. Whether or not you are able to make a donation, you CAN help to raise awareness. Join us for the Walk to Answer TTP on September 22nd. Rachael's Team members will receive a free TTP Awareness T-shirt so that we can walk in style. If you plan to walk with us, let me or Rachael Dolan Everhart know so that we can get you registered as a part of her team!

Any donation that you are able to make and/or having you there to walk with us on September 22nd will mean the world to Rachael, our Family and the many other people who will benefit from your generosity and desire to raise awareness about this disease.

***Follow the link to read Rachael's story, find out more about TTP, say "You'll be there" and get all the details about the walk and to find out how you can make a donation to the Answering TTP foundation in Rachael's name.***

Thank you so much for your support!!

P.S. If you can't walk with us and you are unable to make a financial contribution, YOU CAN STILL HELP!! Visit your local RED CROSS for information on Plasma donation.

TTP Patients can LIVE with the PLASMA you can live WITHOUT.

About Me (:

Welcome to my blog, Taylor@Trinity. You may have guessed from my blog name that I'm Taylor. I'm thirteen years old and an only child. I live with my parents, Amanda and Eric (a.k.a. Mom and Dad, or as I call them Madre and Papi). I'm very close to my parents. We spend a lot of time together on school, watching movies, and working outside on the farm. Trinity means a group of three and since it is only the three of us, my mom thought that trinity would be a good name for our school and farm. Another reason Trinity works well with the farm is because it started out with just three cows, Larry, Curly, and Moe. Now we have 15 chickens, 1 milk cow, and 12 beef cows.

A lot of people would think that kids who are homeschooled are really geeky and don't really have a social life, but that's not exactly true. I'm completely normal...almost. I still have friends and I still do things like go to movies, go shopping, hangout, and have sleepovers. Some people who are homeschooled are completely sheltered. Luckily, my parents aren't like that. They don't always let me do what I want, which I will admit will makes me mad sometimes, but I've been told that it show that they actually care. . . .unlike some parents. 

I was a competitive gymnast from the age of seven until January of this year. I started gymnastics just for fun and then it turned into something more. I enjoyed it a lot and was really good at it. I loved it and everything about it. I loved seeing my friends, all the events, being there everyday, and even the strength and stretching. I remember trying to make workout routines for everybody in my family all the time because I loved working out so much. When you do gymnastics there is a really big commitment involved. You are there ALL the time! You have to practice four hours a day six days a week and that isn't something you want to do unless you are in it 100%, which I was. I didn't care that I was there all the time because I wanted to be. When I did gymnastics I wanted to be a college gymnast at the University of Georgia. Although after six years, a lot of things changed. I got older, didn't want to be there all the time, and realized that it wasn't what I wanted to do with my life anymore, so I decided to retire from the sport. I no longer wanted to be a college gymnast. Even though I don't do gymnastics anymore and I don't want to go to UGA, I am very glad that I did gymnastics because it taught me so much. It taught me things like discipline, how to be a teammate, commitment, how to stay strong, and how to push through something even if you don't want to do it that day.

Life after gymnastics has given me a lot of free time that I get to spend with my family and friends. Recently most of that time has been spent with my aunt Rachael or at her house. I am very close to Rachael and my cousins Caiden, Levi, and Emily. I like to spend time with Rachael because we like to talk. Sometimes we will talk about something important and meaningful and sometimes we will talk about random stuff like books, or movies, or how she smells like slimjims.(; As Forest Gump would say we are like  "peas and carrots".

Like most teenagers, I am obsessed with a couple of things and spend a lot of time on other things. I am on my computer and my phone a lot, but not as much as you might think. I try to be respectful, so if someone needs me or wants to do something with me, I will put the electronics away and help or spend time with them. A couple other things that I am really obsessed with are Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. I have read all the Hunger Games books and seen the first movie and they were amazing! I have seen all the Harry Potter movies, probably 10 times each, and I've read the first book. I want to read the rest in the series, but I haven't been able to yet. Two of my favorite movies are Mean Girls and She's the Man. I have seen them so many times that I could just about make a reference to them in every conversation that I have! I love to read! I would read all day long if I could. Then there's music, which I listen to all the time. I think music is really powerful. I love how it can change your mood in a matter of seconds and it can make you think about things that you don't normally think about. I like listening to all types of music, whether it be country, rock, r&b, hip-hop, or pop. Something I believe about music is when people write or perform a song it should mean something; it shouldn't just be about telling someone to "call you maybe". 

Since I love books and music so much, when I grow up I want to be a book editor or a A&R representative. An A&R rep. is basically the recruiter for the record label and they find new talent for the label. As of right now, the college I want to go to is Appalachian State University. I want to go to college at App because it is a good school and I know a lot of people that went there. Those people all had a great time and have good things to say about the school.

I am a christian and I believe in God and the bible. I don't believe that you have to go to church in order to go to heaven or for Jesus to be your savior. Although that doesn't mean that I believe that you shouldn't go. We go to The Summit Church in Kernersville NC. We go to a six o'clock service on Sundays and I go to a service called Impact on Wednesdays. Impact is for Middle and High school students and it is AMAZING! There are so many nice people and a lot of opportunities.  I also believe that you shouldn't do things just to please God or other people. You should do them for yourself. For instance, my parents are going to get me a promise ring because I will have respect for myself until I am married, but I am not only doing it for god or my parents. I am doing it mostly for myself.

There are a lot of things that I may or may not believe in, but I don't judge people who are different from me. One thing I feel strongly about is abortion. I don't agree with it because I believe that a person is a person no matter how small. Even though I disagree with it, I wouldn't judge someone who had an abortion because I don't know their story and I think that they have a right to their own choices and beliefs. Also I don't think that we should judge people who are gay, and I don't think that we have the right to decide whether or not they can get married. I don't know if it's right or wrong to be gay, but I do think that if you love someone then you love them. It doesn't matter if they are a boy or girl. The bottom line is that we all sin and we all make mistakes, and to judge someone makes you no than better them.

I'm not really the type of person who has a role model or looks up to anyone in particular. Even though I don't look up to people, I still see the good that they do and I see their strength. When I see someone doing something hard and they push through it or they finish it even though they struggled, it inspires me and reminds me that if you are strong and you try your hardest, things will turn out okay.

Well that's about it. This is me. Stick around and you might get to know more.(:

                                               xoxo         
                                      Taylor 
   

Grammatically Correct!

A sentence is a unit of words beginning with a capital letter, ending with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark, and contains a subject and a predicate, which includes a verb.

There are four types of sentences, which are called simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.

A simple subject is the subject of a sentence narrowed down to one word or name.

A complete subject is a group of words put together that are related to the simple subject.

The verb can also be narrowed down to one word in a sentence. This is called the simple verb. Even though the simple verb is usually one word, it can sometimes be two or three.

The complete verb, the predicate, is a group of words that relate to the simple verb.

A simple sentence is made up of a subject and a verb.

Some sentences can be a fragment or a run-on sentence. A fragment is a group of words that look like a sentence because of the capital letter and punctuation, but isn't. The reason it isn't a sentence is because it lacks a subject, verb, or both. A run-on sentence is two or more sentences improperly joined by incorrect punctuation or no punctuation at all.

An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb or an adjective.
Examples(the verb or adjective is underlined and the adverb is bold):
                         -John speaks loudly.
                         - He is really handsome.
           
A subordinating conjunction is a conjunction that introduces a subordinate, less important, clause.
Examples: although, because.

A Coordinating conjunction is a conjunction placed between words, phrases, clauses, or sentences of equal rank.
Examples: but, and, or.

Subordinating and Coordinating conjunctions are different because coordinating conjunctions introduce something that is equally ranked. Subordinating conjunctions introduce something less important.

CNN Student News August 29, 2012

Seven years ago today, August 29, 2005, hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf region. Hurricane Katrina is considered "the single most catastrophic natural disaster in U.S. history". Katrina wiped out all of the Gulf Region tearing down trees, homes, huge buildings, and telephone poles. The storm killed 1,833 people and left thousands injured and without a home. After the storm 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded. I am sure that after a storm like Katrina they have become very well prepared. For instance, there are many flood gates in the area. Several of the flood gates can pump 8,000 gallons of water per second.

It is a good thing that the Gulf region is prepared because the tropical storm Isaac, that recently hit Haiti, has turned in to a hurricane. Isaac is on almost the same exact path as hurricane Katrina was. Although Isaac is nowhere near as strong as Katrina, it is already starting to do some damage. 

Matt Stutzman holds the world record for the longest shot with a bow and arrow that hit a target. This is a big accomplishment for Matt, even bigger than you might think. Matt has no arms and he competes in the Paralympics. The Paralympics is the world's second largest sporting event, following the olympics. They are just like the olympics, but they are for people with disabilities.  Matt says that when he was little he dreamed of going into the army to serve his country. Since he can't do that he decided to do something else to help his country. He says that representing America in an event this big, while doing something he loves, is a huge honor. I think it is amazing and inspiring for someone with as big of a disability as Matt to go so far and do so much in life.

CNN Student News August 28th, 2012

The 2012 Republican Convention is being held in Tampa Florida. The Convention was really supposed to start on Sunday, but because of the storm, Isaac, they had to postpone it until today. Hosting a national convention as big as this one is probably a really big deal for the area. Lots of tourists will be coming in from around the world. With all the tourists Tampa will be bringing in a lot of money from places such as hotels and restaurants. There has to be a lot of preparing for this sort of event because there has to be available places for all the people that are coming. More importantly there has to be a place for the convention to be held, meaning a building must be built with all the things equipped for the convention in it.

There were approximately three hundred earthquakes that hit in the area of Southern California on Sunday. Most of them were minor, but the biggest one had a magnitude of 5.5. Earthquakes are very dangerous because they could be big or small and you never have a warning about when they are coming. People need to prepare for earthquakes if they know they are living in an area prone to them. Ways that they could prepare for an earthquake is knowing what to do when an earthquake hits, having extra food, water, batteries, flashlights, blankets, etc.

Kliptown is an area in South Africa that is not doing good at all in ways of the economy. There is no electricity, low amounts of food and water, and almost all of the people live in shacks. The criminal rate in the area is very high, as is the school drop out rate. Many of the children in this area drop out of school because they don't have enough money to buy school supplies or uniforms. Thulani Madondo helps these children. He founded a foundation that helps pay for children school supplies, uniforms, and the foundation tutors children as well. I'm sure it is very hard for him to accomplish these things since there are so many children in Kliptown and he himself didn't finish school. Thulani is doing this so these kids will have an education and he is very determined. Because of this I think that he will be able to accomplish what he plans on doing to help them. With all his efforts at educating these children Thlulani will help thousands of kids do something with their life. They might be able to become a doctor, nurse, a lawyer, or whatever they set their minds to.

Intro to Algebra

There really is a LOT to learn about Algebra that I had know idea about! I would really like to tell you all of it but since I can't you will have to watch the video!

This is a quote that really sums up Algebra and what it means and was said by the famous Galileo Galilei:

"Philosophy is written in that great book which ever lies before our eye- I mean the universe- but we cannot understand it if we do not first learn the language and grasp the symbols, in which it is written. This book is written in the mathematical language. . . . without which one wanders in vain through a dark labyrinth."

There is a lot of controversy about who is the "father" of Algebra, al-kwarizmi or Diophantus. The first records of people really exploring the ideas that are hit upon in algebra came from ancient Babylon about 2000 years before the common era. Although Diophantus really pin pointed algebra and he lived many years before al-kwatizmi, al-kwaitzmi wrote a book about algebra and  he was the first to use the name Algebra, which is why there is controversy about who is the "father" of Algebra.

A good word to use to describe Algebra is the word Abstract. When you hear abstract you probably think of art, like an abstract painting, but there are other things that abstract can stand for. When you think of the number five what comes to your mind? You might think of this, 5, or five, or maybe even IIIII. When in reality all of these mean five, five could be almost anything, the word, the number, five blueberries, etc. A good way to separate abstract is by realizing what we have in the real world and they labels we have for things are completely different from the ideas and the concepts of those things.

I think this is a very good video and is definitely worth watching if you want an intro to Algebra. I learned a lot of things I didn't know and are important to know.

Our Japanese Dinner.(:

Hibachi chicken, fried rice, mixed veggies, and white sauce.......oishii!

My Binder Covers.

I was taking advantage of being homeschooled and the extra time that I have, so I made some covers for all of my binders that I'm using for my subjects! What do you think?

My note...

My cousins are being homeschooled this year so I left them a note before they started school.(:

My Summer

I had a pretty exciting summer! It started of with a two week beach trip! I went from June 30th to July 7th with my aunt and some of her husbands family. I had so much fun and I got to be there on my birthday, which is July 6th. Rachael and Kimberly even threw a surprise party for me and my uncle, since his birthday is on July 15th.

Our surprise party(: My family at home was on FaceTime! Haha.

Me, Rachael, and Kimberly. They are my two aunts and hey are the ones that planned the party.

We spent a lot of time down on the beach and just relaxing.

Levi and me in the water, he made me lift him open over every wave because he din't think he could jump over them.

Then on our way home we met with my Nanaweet, Peepaw, and my aunt Summer in the Food Lion parking lot and I went straight to the beach with them and stayed until July 14th.  When I was with them we did a lot of shopping, we went to the pool a couple of times, went to a water park, and we drove around on the strip almost every night!

We made some shirts while we were there too!

Us in front of the star fish...

Me with my Nana and Peepaw

Me and Summer Riding in the Mini Cooper on the Strip. (:

One day while we were there we rented a golf cart because we were staying at Ocean Lakes. Ocean Lakes is a campground at Myrtle Beach and there are probably a thousand golf carts driving around at night!

Golf Cart!

When we came back Summer spent another week with us. (:

I also spent a lot of time at my aunts house and my neighbor Aubrey's house. A couple of weeks before summer ended me. my mom, my 3 aunts, and my cousin all went to emerald point which was a blast!

Me and Caiden at Emerald Pointe! We have a picture in the same spot when we were really little.

So all summed up a had a really great summer! (:

Spinning Emmys around in the water! She loved the "wa".

Bank Account

Friday My Mom and I went to the bank so I could update my bank account. We go to State Employes Credit Union, SECU, and when you have an account when you are younger than thirteen, it is called a fat cat account. Then when you turn thirteen you can go to the bank and get it updated to a Zard account. We went a little late, considering my birthday is at the beginning of July, and signed up for a Checking account and a Savings account, so now I have credit card and a checkbook. Plus since I upgraded I got a free bag that I used at the library after we went to the bank.(:

The bank.... my mom was taking pictures of everything while we were in there!

When I was waiting.... We thought we were going to be waiting for a long time but it was only about five minutes!

 

After holding my bag! (: I doesn't look like much, but it sure did hold a lot of books when we went to the library after!