My Christmas to do list:

With just a few days left until Christmas I am making my to do list and checking it twice!

*Drive all over creation to find a Christmas tree farm, discover it is only open on certain days. End up finding a tree at a garden center and stare in wonder at their slim pickings. (Done)




* Decorate the tree (Done)* Take Caroline to her first performance of "The Nutcracker" at the Carolina Theater. Get a little teary-eyed as I watch her face light up at the magic of it all. (Done)

* Do my Christmas baking. (Almost done, I have all the ingredients. I am waiting for my cute sous chef to finish school.)
*Find our family stockings. These will be the ones we have forever so we have to be picky.
*Watch "It's a Wonderful Life". (Almost done. This movie is being shown at the Carolina Theater and I WILL be there.)
*Print, address, and mail Christmas cards. (Done. I finally gave in this year and got them printed at Sam's. Great price and they turned out great.)
*Listen to Christmas music. (Listening to the new Michael Buble CD and it is like butter!!!)
*Enjoy all the new Christmas crafts Caroline is bring home from school.
*Shop for Christmas presents (Almost done. I hope to be done by the 22nd so we can play, play, play.)

I love this time of year. I love the music. I love the hustle and bustle. I love that everything has a Christmas-y feel to it. I love having my family close and can't wait to see what Santa brings us ;)

Message received...

Two days before Brynn was born we ate dinner at a Japanese steakhouse with Kevin's family. After dinner, fortune cookies were passed around to everyone and mine said, "You will have a beautiful family." I still have that slip of paper in my wallet.

Today I received hard evidence that this is true. We got our family portrait CD in the mail from the lovely Courtney Beck.

(Pace yourselves. You know I don't understand the meaning of the word moderation when it comes to pictures.)



I researched to find the right photographer for months. I saved for this photo shoot for months.
We drove 1.5 hours to Charlotte for our session. I have been waiting for my CD for 2 weeks.
And the truth is, IT WAS WORTH IT!!!!!

Courtney Beck, you are a rock star. Go and check out her website here. You know you want to.

And so it begins...

It was only a matter of time.

Multiple Choice...

Time for a quiz. Take a look at the picture.

Today, will I ...

A. Walk in Brynn's room and quickly walk back out.

B. Walk in Brynn's room, shut the door and scream.

C. Walk in Brynn's room, walk back out, march into my own room, crawl in bed, and pretend THAT doesn't exist.

D. Walk in Brynn's room, shut the door, and get to work.

Want to know what all that is? It is box after box of clothes. Some are clothes she has outgrown that need to be boxed up and put in the garage. Some are the next size in clothes she needs. Some are the clothes she is wearing right now. I am so grateful that I have 2-girls worth of hand-me-downs but there are some times when I want to just strike a match...

That's what she said...

When Caroline was younger and we would make her laugh she would say, "Mommy, you knock me down" instead of "you crack me up". We loved it so much it has become a staple in our family.

Here are some of the things she said lately that have "knocked us down."

*Caroline had been having a rough time going to school in the morning. She would cry when we dropped her off. We tried everything to help her not be nervous. One day on the way to school she piped up from the back seat, "Mom, I wish I was a mom like you. Then I wouldn't have to go to school."

*I told Caroline that on the first day of school I was going to take her picture on our front porch and at school and with her new teacher. She rolls her eyes and tells me, "Mom, you can't take too many pictures. It will give me a picture ache."
Only my children have to worry about that :)

Stink Face

I LOVE this picture.

Her majesty!

"And summer's lease hath all too short a date..."

Closer...

Gotcha!

The infamous Too-Too

I love this view

It has been in the 80s this week and on Saturday the high will be 64! So we enjoyed the last seconds of summer by going outside...

in our backyard.

I love saying that.

Mother Knows Best

Have you seen Tangled?

I have, like, a million times. That is what happens when you have a girly girl.

And since I have seen it a million times I have had time to ponder the underlying meanings and overwhelming symbolism and the thematic nature of it all. And I have to say...

Mother Gothel gets a bad wrap.

I mean, sure, I guess it is bad form to steal a baby just because the baby's magic hair will keep you young forever,

but, you have to give her credit. She keeps Rapunzel locked up in the tower for 18 years to keep her out of harms way. She is right. The world is a dangerous place. People will take advantage of you and there is that pesky Plague. What about the poison ivy? The quick sand? It IS better to keep them locked away.

She had a point, right? Right?!?

I have had time to ponder all this because, you see, my dear sweet Caroline made a very big step into the world today.

She started Kindergarten.

Oh how I wish I could just lock her in a tower and teach her all the things she needs to know and protect her from every bad thing that COULD happen to her. How I wish I could guarantee that she would never be hurt, or sad, or disappointed.

But I can't.

What I can do is create a safe haven for her. A place that she can return to over and over for reassurance, guidance and love when the world is too much for her. A place that will always be warm and inviting and constant when the world is not. I can create that place right here in my home. A home base where she can recharge, get back out there and thrive.

And if that home is way up high and really hard for any boys to find, let alone reach it, that would be ok too.