the great debate

no, it is not coke vs. pepsi, target vs. walmart, mcdonald's vs. burger king, or even republican vs. democrat.

it is the greatest debate of the craft world-hobby lobby vs. michael's. i have had many conversations with other crafty friends about this issue. see, each month, i get together with some friends for craft club and almost every girl in my pod at school loves to be crafty, so this topic gets much attention. 

first, let's evaluate the situation. michael's is literally two minutes from my house. they have a weekly coupon for 40% off one item. and, well, that's about it. as far as i am concerned, they have sub par merchandise and very little customer service. hobby lobby is not close to home, but could be considered "on my way" if at preschool or my parents' house. they have a 40% off one item about once a month. they have great ads and better prices. their customer service is decent and they have a great selection of most craft items one generally needs. i typically go to a specialty store or order online if i need something specific that hobby lobby does not carry. and, they love Jesus! now, i am not declaring that michael's doesn't, but hobby lobby makes it a point being closed on sundays, playing worship music, and proclaiming it in signs about holiday and sunday closings. 

but, hobby lobby falls apart in one area. one large area-check out or cash wrap or the register, whatever you want to call it. those great ads i was praising earlier make it impossible for anyone to truly understand what is on sale, including the people who work there. while checking out, the sales person must inspect each item to see if it can fit into one of the given discount categories for the week. many times, they ask the customer or, when a question arises, they just err in the side of caution, and give you the discount. how is this a problem you ask? well, because it makes it almost impossible to check out quickly. so, if you are not the only one in line, it means that you must entertain your children as you wait your turn. but wait, i used all my tricks in the hour trip we just took through the store! never fear, hobby lobby has provided you with a vast array of candy just far enough away from the register for me to loose sight of my child and not know where he or she is. now, as i pull my child, kicking and screaming, back to the line, they are able to entertain themselves with the random collection of might need items right next to the register. items like glass candle votives, batteries, measuring tapes, bags-o-beads, peanut m&ms and, my favorite, sacramints (you gotta love a good religious pun!) i then spend the next ridiculous amount of time prying these crazy items from the firm grasp of my two year old while awaiting my turn. it is now that his sharp piercing cries are drawing the attention of others. at last, it is my turn to wait for the final evaluation and determine my total spendings. why is it that they can't join the 21st century and use the electronic bar code scanning tactics that work for every other company in the world?? and don't you dare think of taking anything back because first, you can't read the receipt to know if it includes what you are returning and neither can they. then, you have to sign more paperwork than when you bought your last house and they prick your finger so you can sign your name in blood. recently they "updated" their system. all this means is that they now have an electronic cash register and their receipts are longer. 

i hear that joann's is headed to town, but i haven't seen any evidence and, honestly, will they be any better? 

q & a

q: what do the following have in common?

woody from toy story

a chicken that says cock-a-doodle-doo

a bicycle

a moose

a: they are all costume requests miller has made for halloween!

carter's birthday present

i must have lost my mind because after 5 full days of inservice and back to school for the kids and me, we loaded up the beast (our expedition) with meme & papaw and headed to atlanta to visit grammie & papa joe. that was not our only purpose, but to also complete carter's birthday celebration with a magical trip to the . . .

after a long drive after preschool and a late friday night waiting for josh to arrive after work, the girls (carter, mommy, meme & grammie) headed to the american girl boutique. it was absolutely overwhelming and amazing. it is a little girl's paradise and every female who enters the doors is riveted by the amazing characters, adorable accessories, attention to detail, and intense desire to purchase. it is set up like a museum with all the dolls & accessories on display and the boxes to purchase underneath. each item is carefully wrapped in logo tissue paper and placed in a logo box. the store is extremely well organized and the sales people full of customer service. many of you know the cost of said merchandise, but in the stores, the lines are long and the merchandise is flying off the shelves. then, there is a bistro and a doll salon. the doll salon was impressive. on  a saturday morning at 11:00 am there were 4 stylists and a 45 minute wait-seriously! there were families with multiple girls buying each a doll and the accessories. carter has wanted an american girl doll for quite some time. at christmas, she wanted julie, but with the recent cinema attention, she wanted kit and then, right before we left, she wanted ruthie. while her character decision was ever changing, her desire for the doll was still strong. (side note: the dolls say for 8+ but i have spoken with many people who have girls who started with the older doll earlier. we decided that because it was the older doll carter had always wanted, we would let her start there. and also because we felt like if you set it up right, then she would understand the specialness of the doll and would take great care of her.) so, upon arrival, we let carter walk around and look at everything. she literally hung on someone's arm the whole time looking like a deer in headlights. it was so overwhelming. at that point, she had expressed great interest in several things, so we started with the doll. i told her to show me the doll she wanted and she took me straight to ruthie. so we picked up ruthie and then headed to the pajamas. she wanted matching pajamas. she picked out julie's butterfly pajamas. then, we picked out this, these, these, this set, this and the pink chair pictured below. carter was very good and only chose the doll, pajamas, and chair before announcing that she was finished. it was the grandmothers who then asked her about the remaining essentials before splitting our purchases and checking out. we opted not to eat at the bistro this time as we plan to do it next time. 

after all the excitement, we headed to the food court of the mall and let carter ride the carousel.

a photo op with her meme & grammie.

while hitting a few shops before we headed back to house, carter convinced meme to buy her this tiara. grammie told her that she should wave like a princess so everyone would know that she was one. this is how she walked through the mall between each store.

most of her loot on display.

precious!

the next morning

we had so much fun. for the rest of the trip, you could find mommy, meme or grammie oohing and aahing over all the other american girl items we could purchase or make. the guys kept asking who was more excited- carter or us. i think most women feel the same way after visiting a store. another interesting note, in atlanta, the dolls were everywhere. every little girl you saw was toting one along, pushing one in a stroller, carrying one in her backpack, eating with one at lunch, etc. it was the same way when josh and i were in l.a. they are so common in the cities where the boutiques are located. since our trip, carter has received a few more items. her newest addition will be another post soon. i will post the rest of atlanta as soon as josh edits them. that's right, we are waiting for josh. he promised to do all the remaining photos this week as october is going to be very busy for him. 

by the way, we were curious why she chose ruthie when she looks most like kit. it turns out carter noticed the resemblance too but chose ruthie because that is kit's best friend. she said,  "well, ruthie is kit's best friend." so she apparently sees herself as kit. how funny!

just your typical first day of school photos 08.28

thank you dvr! if it weren't for you, i would have had to sit through the political soap boxes of so many entertainers tonight as i watched the emmys. i am pretty sure we pay you to entertain us, not run our country. so, just stand there and look pretty . . . or make me laugh like ricky gervais  . . . or impress me like josh groban.

why i blog

the reason i blog is to share pictures with our family which until last fall lived 100% out of the state we live in. but, the reason I blog, is to remember these stories. these stories that we live, that my children create and tell, that occur around us, etc. because one day, like tomorrow, i will not remember. i have the worst long term memory and currently, my short term memory is pretty bad, too!

so, for some reason, the following story came to mind and i have share it before i forget it, again, or forever!

our third day on vacation, we went to spend the morning in destin with the williams family reunion crew. as i was getting the kids ready, carter requested buns in her hair. i said okay and went about our sunscreen "babing" suit routine. when i was ready to do her hair, i realized that it may be too short, huh. so we tried pigtails from where we used to do pigtails and they stuck out from the side of her head like the first time i ever did pigtails. umm, no, we all agreed. then, i tried low pigtails, which while i thought they were adorable, carter said, "i am not going if i have to go like this!" i had to cover my face so she would see me laugh! SERIOUSLY! are we starting this already??

we settled on a single bun on top of her head. josh thought we were doing her hair because i wanted for her to have buns-um, no, the time has come and gone for me to fight that battle. a bow, now that is a battle i will fight, but as long as she looks appropriate most of the time, i feel i have done my job as a southern parent of a little girl. besides, i will get to do girl hair the way i want to again one day, and that makes this southern mama happy!

a fancy affair 08.23

carter celebrated her 4th birthday on a saturday in august. she requested a fancy nancy party. as a preschool teacher, i love the idea of a book character party, so we went all out. i couldn't find another place to have the party without them wanting to decorate and supply everything. since that is my favorite part, we had 16 girls at our teeny, tiny house instead. we cleared out the playroom, borrowed kids tables from our church and covered everything in tulle, flowers, beads, ribbon, etc. the girls were asked to come "fancy", but we provided a few more things in case they wanted more. i don't believe nancy would ever say there is such a thing as too much! so, the girls added costume jewelry, boas, sunglasses, etc. 

they decorated paper lanterns like nancy used to make her room fancy.

paper and foam flowers, rhinestones, ribbon, glitter glue-what more could you want!

the very fancy birthday girl

fancy amelia

we read the story to our friends because not everyone knows about fancy nancy-gasp!!

we drank pink lemonade with umbrella straws and snacked on "sandwiches with toothpicks" and "tiny hot dogs" just like nancy.

we celebrated with parfaits-"that's french for ice cream sundaes."

the girls got to make their own-some of them consumed crazy amounts of sugar,

 including mine ;)

opening presents

as you can see, i think she had a great day and loved her party!

poor miller was in estrogen overload! he just wanted to go outside or be held. bless his heart-this is just a glimpse of what life will be like with 2 sisters. josh said he has never felt like our house was that small. every birthday i say this is the last time we will do it here, but i just won't sacrifice the details-yet! i am sure i will change with 3, but we shall see! 

what a fun day and totally worth it all for my sweet princess! we love you, carter!

the iphone

this is supposed to simplify my life. this is supposed to be cutting edge technology. this is supposed to allow me the quickest internet access. and, i thought, it was supposed to be a cell phone. umm, but no, it is not. 

this little piece of heaven allows me to use gps when mapquest provides incorrect directions and i am in no man's land georgia at 1 am with 2 sleeping children. it allows me to bid on ebay at the touch of a button no matter where i am (i know you are jealous!). it allows me to keep numerous lists which this pregnant mama needs to remember her own name right now. but, it doesn't allow me to make a phone call without constantly dropping the signal. ugh! if you check my call log, next to every call of more than a few minutes is a large number. that number is the number of times that person was called before the next number was connected. so, i am talking to my mom and i have to stand in a 3 foot radius of my home while my 2 children ask for things and need things i cannot reach without dropping my call. and, even if i stand in that space, the call will be dropped and i will have to call her back to finish my conversation. 

oh, apple, how you have let me down! see we are a strictly mac house. and josh has been dying for an iphone since steve jobs made the announcement in january 2007. when they announced the new iphone, he was determined to have one for each of us. he wanted to wait in line for hours and be able to claim he was one of the lucky ones. and he might have, if he didn't have a wedding in st.louis that day. my friend jenny said you could order them and when they finally arrived, he was in love. i just wanted a phone. so, here we are weeks later and he is still in love and i am in disgust. a few days ago, he updated my iphone and it worked for 3 days and then today, it has dropped the last 2 phone calls. i am hoping it is a coincidence. i am hoping the update corrected the issues. i am hoping i can use my phone as, well, a phone. 

expecting

yes, you read it correctly, we are expecting. we have surprised many of you with accidental run-ins or the little preggo girl on my facebook family because you just didn't know. some one today said, "umm, no announcement?" and, well, if you have known us for almost five years or more, then this is no surprise. some have called us the best secret keepers they know and others think we are absolutely crazy, but we think we get to enjoy a very special blessing to ourselves before it becomes everyone else's focus. as many of you know, we kept our first pregnancy a secret until 12 weeks, our second pregnancy a secret until 10 weeks, our third pregnancy a secret until recently and our fourth pregnancy a secret until 15 weeks. that is correct also, this is our fourth pregnancy and one that we hold very special as we believe this baby is more about God's timing than any of the others. josh and i have never "planned" a baby in the thought out manner. we have always wanted a family of at least 3 (many of you know i have always wanted a huge family) and wanted the children to be close in age (we are each 6 1/2 years apart from our brothers). as much as we wanted a family, we were busy being married and didn't notice the years passing by. i remember on my 25th birthday crying because i couldn't believe i was 25 and we hadn't had a baby-not because we were trying because we weren't, but just because almost 4 years had passed and we hadn't thought about it. ironically, i was pregnant before i turned 26. we always thought 2 years between children sounded good. (remind you this is before having children.) so, when carter was 9 months old, some friends of ours found out they were expecting their second. while i was surprised by how close in age they would be, it only took a few minutes of math to see the small window that we had if we were going to have children two years apart. at the same time, we were living in two cities (sometimes together and sometimes apart), trying to sell a house, etc. it just wasn't the time to talk in depth about it, much less try. but, little did we know that in the middle of all that chaos, God's plan was falling into place and after deciding to stay in memphis and moving into a new house, we found out that we were expecting again. after the arrival of miller, we thought uhh, maybe our next baby should be a little further apart from this one than the last. we thought maybe 2 1/2 years instead of 1 1/2 years. so, once again, we are cruising along getting into a routine with our children and josh starting a new business and all the craziness of life when i realize something is missing. umm, huh? so i do some math and call my doctor for a visit. when we went into the doctor, they did an ultrasound because i had an uncomfortable feeling about everything. thank goodness my doctor listened to my concern because we found out that day that we had miscarried. it was more overwhelming than i ever could have thought. but, at the same time, i had two healthy, beautiful babies at home. one of the hardest parts was knowing how badly my little girl wanted a baby sister, had been praying for that sister. when we came home after the d&c, she asked me, "what did you do with the baby that was in your tummy?" we had never discussed the pregnancy with her or around her. several days later as she watched me change miller's diaper she said, "i am not your last baby and miller is not your last baby." umm, wow! but, josh and i were thinking maybe he was. see, josh had always said, we have two healthy babies, why not just enjoy them. and, i could not imagine going through all of this again. so, we decided to just wait. wait until it wasn't so fresh and we could think clearly. so, we put ourselves into everything around us and just tried to move forward. well, things went a little differently than i was told after the surgery. i know i read that pamphlet like a hundred times trying to read more into it than was there. so, after several weeks, i gave up and made another appointment. i remember with each person i spoke to seeing in their face and hearing it in their voice, it didn't look good, the statistics were against us. see, i am notorious for waiting to go to the doctor. on babies 2 & 4, our first appointment was at almost 11 weeks. so, in the waiting time with this one, i had given this to God. i couldn't do this all again. i told him, he would have to carry me through this because the wounds were too fresh. that i trusted him and that if this was his will, then we trusted him and would wait and follow him through it. but, then i had to have an appointment where the truth would be revealed and the skeptics were present. so, after a routine visit with my doctor and the typical noneffective doplar (hasn't worked on any of my babies at this point), they sent us to the ultrasound waiting area. here, we waited for 3 hours, yes, 3 hours, for our ultrasound. we were both about to be sick. it was miserable-the waiting and waiting and waiting. and, then, when they called us in, the fill-in for the regular ultrasounographer warned us, "i am not really good at it this early, it sometimes takes a while to find the baby." she put the wand right in the middle of my belly, and there it was, a beautiful, precious beating heart and all the rest of the baby too!! we were so excited. she did her thing while josh and i laughed and cried about the amazing miracle that God creates in us. and, yes, after we left, we kept the precious information to ourselves (and our parents). we decided to wait until the next appointment to tell anyone. partially because we didn't have a due date (everyone had gone to lunch after all that time and so they called my doctor who said congratulations and give blood before leaving) and partially because that is just us. we only told one other couple in the next month, but only because they asked us outright. and, yes, we are that exact about it-we will not lie, but you have to ask us point blank. so, after 15 weeks, we started telling a few people here and there. i told my boss and she told my pod (the girls i teach with) and really i have just waited until i see people to tell them. many people emailed me on facebook, but mostly, we have just kept it to us. and it is so precious to us because of that. plus, when i tell people, they usually get some version of this long story, but usually they still have to at least look at me funny before i say the words. so, we are excited to say that on august 18th, we found out that carter will be getting the baby sister she has so adamantly prayed for . . . 

look at our little gymnast. 

in the other picture, she was literally standing on her head. 

please keep us in your prayers as we await this precious gift from God. we know that his plan is always better than ours. and, we can't wait to see what he has in store for her.

spiderman, spiderman

does whatever a spider can! who is that masked man, you ask! why, it is our very own miller who's meme thought he needed some boy friendly dress up clothes. i guess she didn't think a snow white dress and jasmine shoes were suitable for our little boy. hey-they are both blue, right, miller? so, at a trip to party city to pick up birthday party supplies for carter's birthday, she found this costume for $5. we found the smallest size (4-6) and before we could even make a decision, someone had the package open and mask on. miller took off running through the aisles screaming "spiderman, spiderman!" to anyone he could see until he busted it on the floor. so, he still has a little to learn about how to line up the eye holes so you can see. anyway, this is definitely $5 well spent as far as this little boy is concerned! come on, say it with me . . . 

"spiderman, spiderman, does whatever a spider can!"

boys will be boys

this is one of those phrases that drives me crazy because people use it to justify their child's inappropriate behavior. you know what i mean-a boy knocks down your brand new infant walker, breaks a picture frame into a million tiny pieces or uses rocks to write his name on the side door of the car and mom and/or dad respond ,"well, boys will be boys!" like they can't do anything to change their genetic make-up and teach them to make better decisions. but, as miller has gotten older, God has shown me that this phrase really means that boys and girls were created differently. do you remember the nursery rhymes? my little girl has always been a girl and a very girly girl at that. she loves pink and glitter and makeup and dresses and dolls and so on. she prances instead of runs, moves at her own pace, is very neat and loves to do art projects. miller came out making huge messes and loud noises. and the older he gets the more he gets into. he uses anything as a step stool-chairs, the play kitchen, the toilet, the kitchen table. he can stain a shirt without even wearing it. it is crazy! 

so, this day at the zoo was no different. this is what miller's feet looked like after the first puddle he found at the zoo (it had rained all day the day before).

then, he led the girls through this puddle. notice he is splashing while the girls are standing still.

then, after we drug them out of that puddle, we got our favorite zoo treat-shave ice! miller always has to have blue and this time carter chose green. notice the difference between how carter eats her treat and how miller devours his.

seriously! we sat right next to the kiosk by the elephants so everyone who purchased shave ice had to pass us. and, of course, they had to comment on how much miller was enjoying his treat. so much so, that i actually overheard the guy selling it tell someone else that it wouldn't stain. oh, really. well, we will see about that. look at how filthy he is! but, he was right, everything came clean. so, next time you go to the zoo, take a little break and enjoy our favorite treat! 

another trip to the zoo 08.13

after being home from the beach for just a few days, it was finally cool enough to take a trip to the zoo. the kids had been asking to go, but it was just too hot. so, we headed that way when we got a call from the tillmans asking what we had planned for the day. they were calling to see if we wanted to go to the zoo too, so we met at the front gate. the kids were so excited because it had been almost 60 hours since they had last seen each other! 

after a visit to the polar bears and sea lions, they all crawled into this little space begging to have their picture taken. i know most people want a picture of everyone looking at the camera and smiling. those are nice too, but these are my favorite kind of pictures-they ooze with personality. you can see the sweet relationship these three have together. and, yes, they are dressed alike . . . and, no, we didn't plan it. it actually happens quite often. just another example that these mommas have great style and very similar taste.

miller saying "cheese!"

so, so sweet!

all smiles!

sea captain miller leading the way.

we had so much fun and were exhausted especially after the rest of our trip through the zoo!

we remember

we remember the events that occurred on this day seven years ago. we remember those who lost their lives that day. we remember those currently fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others. we remember those who have lost their lives since that day while fighting for the freedom of others. it is a selfless act that we each take for granted every day. thank you for your willingness to serve your country!

i was saddened today by the lack of attention given to this day. i do believe it should be a national holiday-to remember and celebrate the lives of those who lost theirs that day or the days that followed.

josh talked to carter about the men who serve in our military tonight as they said her prayers. afterward, she called me in to pray with her again. i knew they had prayed for the "army men" but was shocked by her attentiveness to what he said and the questions she asked. she wanted to know about the "army men who protect us and others who live far away," she wanted to know if their were "army girls and women" who served as well, she wanted to know if they "take care of children hit by drivers and fix their booboos" and she wanted to know what they did when they came home. we then prayed for those women as well as the men she had prayed for before. it is never too early for your child to have an appreciation for the military and the sacrifices they make. i would have never thought of talking to her about this at her age, but she comprehended the importance of sacrifice and the need for protection. i hope she keeps her appreciation and it grows stronger in a society where people question their importance, intelligence and need.

a side note: she then asked to pray for "her baby" that God would "please, please, please keep her warm and happy inside until she was ready."

"we"

on his blog, josh always uses the pronoun "we" when writing about his business. for a while, the we has been in the fact that someone else drives the checks to the bank (late usually), someone else picks up the packages from the back step or the ups man, etc. but the "we" was not in the actual photography. 

for a few years, josh may have been the only photographer around here, but he isn't here every minute. and, honestly, he isn't here during the daily events that sometimes evolve into the best picture opportunities. so, around the time miller was born, i picked up the camera and started shooting away. josh was a little surprised by what he saw and excitedly wanted me to share his passion. i do share his passion, but i also have my own passion (teaching) and two children to take care of. i want to learn more and i need to learn more (about iso and aperture and other words that make no sense unless you have read your camera manuel), but josh says i have what can't be taught. our goal is for me to be able to shoot with him, but it seemed impossible until my parents moved back. now, i can go when he needs me and someone can watch the kids and it will not cost us a fortune. so, saturday afternoon and part of the evening, i accompanied josh to a wedding he was shooting. he blogged about it tonight and even included a couple of MY shots-can you believe it?? check it out here!

i've been tagged!

so my friend jennifer tagged me and so here you go . . .

here are the rules as i understand them:

the rules are:

1. include a link to the person who tagged you.

2. mention the rules.

3. tell six unspectacular quirks of yours.

4. tag six bloggers by linking.

5. leave a comment for each blogger.

1. i do not eat cooked fruit. never have. what is cooked fruit? any fruit that has been baked or warmed for consumption. examples are apple pie, fig newtons, pop tarts, etc. why you ask? because i don't like the way it taste. period. fresh fruit?? love it. could eat it all day. 

2. i am scared to death of birds. yes, birds. i believe this is linked to two experiences. one, as a child, i visited the memphis zoo frequently. at that time, for some crazy reason, they allowed peacocks to roam freely throughout the zoo. seriously. they terrified me. they made these crazy noises and showed their feathers and absolutely scared me to death. two, fast forward several years, as i drive to my boyfriend josh's house, windows down, listening to my cd player, turning off of poplar and onto kilbirnie, a bird flies into my window. SERIOUSLY. it gets stuck. SERIOUSLY. feathers and blood flying. i am freaking out. SERIOUSLY. until finally, it makes it's way back out one of my windows and OUT of my car. SERIOUSLY. and you ask why??

3. i don't wear makeup, but have to comb my eyelashes and eyebrows. i do it every morning, after showering, whenever i am headed out and bother to look in the mirror, etc. if i forget, i can feel them sticking together and it just makes me crazy! i also apply dct lip balm every night before i go to bed. i have been doing it since i got braces in the seventh grade. i can't live without it!

4.  my food cannot touch. this "quirk" has existed as long as i can remember. my grandparents used to buy me compartmentalized styrofoam plates so liquids would stay where they should and not touch unsuspecting solids. as an adult, i am not as extreme. i don't have to have divided dishes, but i still do not like my foods to intermingle. my dad says it all goes to the same place. yes, true, but i feel like it should go single file.

5. i have "rules" to naming my children. when josh and i found out we were expecting our first, i was suddenly paralyzed by the enormity that goes with naming a child. a name goes with you for life. life. my given name is mary elizabeth. i have always been called "maribeth". in my generation, the school paperwork deemed that a "nickname", so every document read "mary" and every first week or month of school i was called "mary". who?? don't get me wrong, i love my name. but i love my name because of the story that came with it. my grandmother's name was elizabeth. she was a teacher and loved the name "maribeth" combined from "mary elizabeth". she told my mother it would be the perfect name for a little girl named for her grandmothers, mary & elizabeth. at this time, my mother was young, but the story remained with her. fast forward, she and my father are dating and talking about marrying and she says "well, if only your mother's name was 'mary'." my paternal grandmother went by "bonnita". my father said,"uhh, debby, my mother's name is mary, 'mary bonnita'." and there you go, my name was decided long before i was ever conceived, and i love that it has a family history. 

so, this all being said, my name also came with its issues. i go by a combined form of my name. my brother goes by his middle name. and both of us have had major name issues because of it. people call you the wrong name, you have to sign your legal name, you can only have 3 names total on your driver's license or social security card, etc. so, i wanted my children to go by their first name. we wanted them to have a biblical name, but i feel it should also be a legacy of God's favor. no one names their child adolf, so why would you name them jezebel or lot's wife. we wanted them to have family names as well. so, we came up with the following: it must be a name that allows them to go by their first name, it cannot be shortened to a nickname that would be commonly used, the middle name is biblical with a legacy of God's favor and a family name. then we write the name out in full, first, monogram and initials and look at it, try to tear it apart and determine issues before we write it on a legal document. so far, we feel we have achieved our goal, but this one has been much more difficult. 

generation gap: my father says a name should look good on a diploma, i say a name should look good on a christmas card because it will appear on those more frequently. 

plus, when you name your daughter carter, you cannot name your son john or another daughter ann. it just doesn't look good on a christmas card.

make fun. but, deep down you are thinking, that all makes sense. but apparently, it's a quirk!

6. i write everything in all lowercase. everything. especially names. i have even convinced most of my friends that children's names look cuter when written in all lowercase. especially when embroidered on their clothing. josh says it is ironic since i teach four year olds and since i am one half of the "grammar police." at least that is the name he has given us as we cannot stand common misuses of the english language. we even see this trend being passed down to our daughter. sorry, ms. carla and ms. jennifer!

okay, tag you are it:

jennifer

rachel

kress

joanna

laura

kelly

beach pictures, take two

after the early morning picture taking debacle, we decided to try again after naps and before dinner. right off the bat, miller was noncooperative. carter was a little slow opening up, but once again, did wonderfully during the process. 

miller was having another major meltdown when i decided to pull a kevin leman, as my friends and i call it. this is when you basically pretend you are leaving your child wherever their tantrum is occurring and possibly appear to others as if you are not blood related to the child. i know, some of you are thinking harsh (one day you will understand) and others are thinking why haven't i ever tried this. well, the key is to make the child think you are leaving the area and that their tantrum is not the center of attention. the key is for them to understand you are serious and they do not make the calls. the key is to not have a nosy beach goer approach your child and appear to be their knight in shining amour and ruin your best laid plan! 

the only reason why we are posting a picture of this woman is because of how precious our little terror appears!

the girls

she finally leaves allowing josh to actually take pictures of our family minus said intruder.

our little mermaid

as miller and i stood looking at the ocean and the birds and i tried to console him, carter ventured off and totally engrossed herself in where she was. as you notice in many of these photos, her mouth is open because she is singing "ahahahh, ahahahhahh" from the little mermaid. it was too cute!

as we were headed back to the board walk, i suggested that miller show carter the birds. he did so and allowed himself to get lost in spending time with his sister and not focus on the sand and salt and exhaustion and the following photos were captured. these make this momma happy!