happy birthday, bassey!
sending birthday wishes to my favorite future bro-in-law in st. louis today! love you, bassey and hope that you have the best day- savoring every moment- which i know you will. in memory, here are some photos from my surprise trip to cincinnati a year ago today. after a difficult september last year, i decided the night before- at about 11:30pm- to drive from charlotte to cincinnati to surprise my entire family – it was beyond worth it. i loved seeing their faces when they saw me waiting at the restaurant – the tears in my dad’s eyes & excitement on all of their faces… bassey is so genuine and thanked me about 20 times for coming. my sister did an amazing job of planning the event – a family dinner, his brother coming in from texas, a surprise party downtown, surprise visitors, a party bus, dancing in mt. adams, a video, and a book of wishes & memories. loved. it felt so good to be back – ‘this midwest way of ease, it surrounds us- i can’t deny the rhythm here.’ 
thank you for treating my sister the way she deserves to be treated <3
i’ve missed you queen city of the north
mom’s monster cookies
lovebirds
speech 🙂
late night trip to shanghai mama’s … out until after 3am with the family!!
love her
love you, bassey!
enjoy your special day
here’s to many, many more…