In the month that we celebrate Thanksgiving, our family is truly thankful for our wonderful Brookwood Community. We bought our first home in Dogwood Plantation in 2006 with an amazing cul-de-sac, mature trees, and plenty of space for us in our early twenties. Chris and I met at Clemson University while members of Central Spirit, an organization that supports athletics at Clemson. We’ll celebrate our eighteenth wedding anniversary in March! Our family loves traveling the country to bowl games with the great big Clemson Family. So far we have been to the ACC Championship, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and two National Championships. Win or lose, we love our Clemson Tigers and still sport our orange proudly. I earned my degree in K-8 education from Clemson University, and later my Masters Degree in Reading and Literacy. This is my seventeenth year as a Gwinnett County teacher. I am a two-time Teacher of the Year winner, and currently have the extreme privilege to teach students in my own community, at Crews Middle School. I teach STEM Connections and Biology, co-sponsor the Garden to Table Club, and work with students to maintain our Crews Student Garden. (Instagram @crewsstudentgarden) Chris earned his degree from Clemson in Computer Science and is a Senior Staff Engineer for Navex Global. Chris is on the board of Brookwood Athletic Association Baseball and Softball and has coached many young people during the last eight years. Chris volunteers hundreds of hours a year working on events, registration, social media, scheduling, and field maintenance. The ballpark is truly one of his happy places, and “Coach Chris” loves watching players grow in their skill and love of the game. (Registration for Spring 2022 season begins in December at baabonline.com)
We have two children, Parker and Catherine. Parker is a seventh-grader at Crews Middle School and is involved in intramural sports, tennis club, student government, STEAM, chess, Junior Beta, and he plays the tuba in the band. Outside of school he enjoys playing baseball, and you can often find him behind the plate, as the catcher. Catherine is a fifth-grader at Brookwood Elementary School where she is in Art Club and a Student Council Representative. Catherine is a competitive baton twirler and on the Performance Team of Forte Twirl and Dance. She is hoping to one day be a majorette for the Brookwood High School Band. The furry heart of our family is our nearly two-year-old chocolate lab, Tilly. She loves people and is working on her AKC Trick Dog title. She has the best personality and keeps us smiling.
After thirteen years, our home in Dogwood Plantation did not have the layout we needed for two active children, and a husband working from home full time. In the fall of 2018, we made the tough decision to find another home. Our realtor, Kenny Everson with Faith Realty, knew our criteria for space, but more importantly: the home MUST be in the Brookwood district. In Bright Water, just a hop from our first home, we found the perfect layout for us. We moved into our Bright Water home in April 2019. We have another amazing cul-de-sac, and although we miss our neighbors from Dogwood Plantation, we are so happy in our new home and neighborhood. The sidewalks, Lake Matthews, the awesome pool, playground, and clubhouse make Bright Water perfect for our family. Fifteen years in the Brookwood Community has gone by in the blink of an eye, but we are so thankful to be a part of this community!