Southern Southern Southern...

One thing about taking a lot of photos before Christmas is that you can't put many of them up for the world to see until after the holidays. ESPECIALLY when you live in a Christmas card city like Winston.  Y'all, people around here go NUTS around here with some cards.  I wish you could see the wall of them in my den...  One of my very favorite parts of Christmas for sure.  (This should surprise a whopping total of no one.)

But, I can put up stuff like this because a) their card went out forever ago and b) it's not the shot on their card anyway...

Eat your heart out.  If that big white bow in her hair doesn't make you want some sweet tea I don't know what will...and I dont even drink sweet tea. :)

Boys and Toys...

Meet Patrick and William.  And the big old dirty rocks at Graylyn that made great pretend telephones.

I love little boys.  End of story.

My Favorite Pumpkins

Our 6th year at the pumpkin patch.  They get cuter every year.  Be still my heart.  There were several giggle fits today... how is that not the best?!

Blue Eyed Boy...

Jack Morrow, you break my heart a little bit more every year...

We Are Family...

So, for Brian and Christina's wedding last weekend, our family knew we had to do something fun for them.  From all over the country we learned - via emailed videos - a family 'Flash Mob'.

We totally pulled it off.  It was a HOOT.
(And please notice that Sutton, right up front. had learned the whole thing.  Cutie pie.)



Many thanks to the crazy talented Christopher Record for such a fun shot!  Goodness knows I never make it in pictures! :)

Favorite Days

I am a girl with a REALLY good memory.  It doesn't take much to make something stick.  I am phenomenal with phone numbers, can remember an insane amount of addresses, am the queen of song lyrics and movie lines,  and drive people crazy when I say "Remember the time...?" and no one else does.

I can, by default, store about all of it, but I love to really hold on to the good stuff.  Like LuLu's baptism this past Sunday.

I've said it a ton of times and I will say it again - it is a BIG DEAL to me to get to be there for big moments for the children that I love so dearly.  Whether that be a birthday party (I went on tour for those yesterday, that is FOR SURE), school plays, sporting events, you name it.  I can't tell you how many baptisms I have witnessed, but it is a lot.  Any every single one is so very special.  So Sunday, there I was again to watch precious LuLu get her turn.

It made me laugh from the front of the auditorium at First Presbyterian in the reserved seats, because there I was with dear Amy, who keeps the girls ALL the time, on the front row, constantly shuffling the girls during the service.  Between me, Amy, Matt, Stacy and Stacy's parents, the girls went round and round and round.  I started off with LuLu, then had Sophie for a while, then she swapped out with Gabby, then Caroline was on my hip as we left church.  But that's how it always is.

Since LuLu is a little bit older than most children are when they are baptized, she is a little, ahem, busier - and more vocal - than most.  Right after the minister baptized her from a bowl of water on the altar and began to pray, LuLu reached back over into the bowl and proceeded to splash her hands around in it for the remainder of the prayer.  I'm so glad everyone just let her do it because it was such a precious moment.  Right as the prayer ended, LuLu looked right at Amy and me, and right into the microphone, said "WATER!".

It was a great day with some of my favorite people.  I remember when Caroline, Gabby and Sophie were up there for their big day and it seems like that just happened.  And now they are FIVE, as of yesterday.  Sigh...

Here's to wonderful things to remember and to favorite days.  How very blessed I am to have oh so many of them...

Southern Summer...

How cute is Miss Olivia???