Top 10 of '13

So, it's January 11th, and I still haven't written anything about last year. I'm a slacker.

My dad went to get us breakfast this morning and when he came back, he asked me, "What is your top memory from 2013?"

And it got me thinking. I couldn't choose one, it was nearly impossible. 

So, in order to recap 2013, I present to you: my top 10 of 2013. *Enjoy!*

10. Youth Sunday

I play in the youth praise band and we had the privilege of leading worship two Sundays last year. These are my beautiful friends Caroline and Jenna, whom I love dearly. 

9. Hunter Hayes

My best friend and I got to go see Hunter Hayes in concert in November. It was great and we had fabulous seats. Definitely a night to remember! 

8. The Beach

I actually got to go to the beach twice last year, but Emily Grace came with us both times. So many laughs and good memories shared! 

7. Camp! 

Church camp this year was in Myrtle Beach, SC. We went to Student Life and had an amazing speaker(David Platt!) and awesome worship leaders(Kristian Stanfill and his band!). 

It was one of the best weeks ever, filled with friends, laughter and amazing memories!! 

6. NYC

I had always wanted to go to New York City. Last Christmas, my parents surprised us with a trip there! 

Here we are on the big piano at FAO Schwarz. Biggest and best toy store EVER. I'm pretty sure the employees couldn't tell me apart from the average five year old. 

5. Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, and Kari Jobe

While in NYC, we got to see Chris Tomlin and Kari Jobe(my favorite female artist of all time) in concert, in Madison Square Garden theater. Louie Giglio was also speaking. *insert squeals of excitement!* We just so happened to be able to sneak backstage(with the use of backstage passes, of course!) to meet them afterwards. 

Can we talk about how I'm taller than Chris Tomlin? 

EEK! Favorite picture ever. Even though it's super blurry because I took it with my old, non-smart phone. 

And Louie Giglio, the man who started Passion conferences for college students. 

 4. My 16th birthday! 

I love to plan parties, and that's no exaggeration. So, my 16th party was so much fun to plan and have!

We had a projector and a big screen to play Just Dance and Sing It on the Wii. We were dancing to "We're all in this together" from HSM.

 3. Uganda! 

I got to travel to Uganda last summer with my best friend, my dad, her dad and four other guys from our church. We worked with an organization called Sole Hope, you can see more of what they do by clicking on this link: Sole Hope.

Here Emily and I are with the Sole Hope founder's little girl, Quinn. Such a sweet girl! 

2. Rope Swinging into the Nile River! And Best. Day. Ever. 

While in Uganda we visited the Nile River camp. They had American food, a rope swing and HOT water for showers! 

Emily and I did the rope swing into the Nile. It probably wasn't the safest decision- but, hey, when will we ever get that chance again? 

One day while we were there, we got to a clinic to work on children's feet, and they needed Emily and I to entertain the kids who weren't getting their feet worked on. 

To sum it up, it was one of the best days of my life. We had the best time with all of those kids singing, dancing, and clapping for hours on end.

This was a hard decision, but here's number 1. 

1. Finishing my very first book. 

I walked down the stairs and with a smile on my face, said, "Finished." 

And I was. After two whole years of writing and rewriting and editing, I was finished with my first manuscript! It was glorious and I felt SO accomplished. 

Sorry there's no picture, but I don't know what the cover is going to look like yet! 

I have such great hopes and expectations for 2014 and I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do through me and in me. 

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

~Bailey