Fall around our house

Fooled ya!
wish that was my home!
I love all the white with black accents
rusty urns filled with gourds
colossal old clock face
grand mirror
wonderful feast prepared overlooking the country
& my favorite touch....the lyrics of "cowboy take me away" from the dixie chicks painted across the wall!!
LOVE IT!


I think as much as I get sad packing up my seashells each September, I get equally excited to see the first pumpkin at the market.
Not living in prime pumpkin country, I take my pumpkin picking very seriously.
Last weekend we took a road trip to watch a cheer competition & found a wonderful market outside of Atlanta selling fabulous pumpkins.
Jarrahdale blues
heirloom cinderella's
& of course the wonderful white pumpkins!!
oh the little joys in life!
Now, these are from my home~~



& for those of us who love martha......the glittered pumpkin!

Brinkley's toy of choice for the season....a football of course!

Yes, I know the star looks a little like Christmas.....which reminds me.....Martha Stewart Christmas ornaments are in stores.....shhhhh!!
Contrary to my families request, I have loved having the kitchen (along with several spaces downstairs) being neutral tones. Makes it oh so easy to decorate for fall & just whatever season.

Found these wonderful slips at Antrhopologie!

One more thing, thank you for such sweet comments on my Caroline entry.

What a blessing to have new "friends" out there in blogland

Happy weekend.

Sweet Caroline

No one has asked me this question, however I feel I should give an explanation to
why I photograph Caroline so often.
My older three are well past the "hey, you want to dress up & let momma take some pictures"age.
I think after years & years of taking over 1000 pics at the beach I've burned them out!
Caroline is still quite the trooper though.
I really didn't get "into" photography until 4 years ago when we purchased my Canon rebel slr. (& now I have my digital canon xt & love it).
thank ya'll for all the super sweet compliments on the girls. That always does a mother's heart good...
let me tell you why its even more special as far as Caroline.

Caroline has a genetic condition called ectodermal dysplasia. We put a couple of thoughts together & presented our concern to our pediatrician. We were sent to a dermatologist who immediately felt this was what she had. Then onto the genetics for counseling.
The disorder affects some or all parts of the ectoderm--skin, hair, nails & teeth and can be mild to be quite severe.
The most concerning presentation is sweat glands that do not function. These children can actually die due to their inability to thermal regulate. Caroline does have sweat glands which was obviously the doctors main concern.
"Have you ever seen her perspire?"
As we thought about this we talked about how when Caroline was little she would run very high temperatures
often as high as 105.6. It takes her much longer than the average person but she does cool her self down, we just have to watch her carefully.
These children can have no hair at all or it can be very very dry & brittle and fall out easily. Caroline's hair is very very soft , its just very slow growing.
She has never had a hair cut, only a few trims of her "curlies" in the back.
These children can be born with no teeth at all , and no nails.
Caroline has stunted growth of both of these. She will have her baby teeth for some time.

I know there are many worse case scenarios . I am very very thankful she does not have it any more severe than she does. She will need further genetic counseling to determine whether she carries the dominant or recessive gene and how that will affect her future.
That & the fact that she will require extensive multidisciplinary intervention regarding her dental needs, that's "all" we have to worry about.

But lets face it, children can be mean.
She came home the other day very sad because a couple of the children picked on her because she hadn't lost her baby teeth yet.
grrr...
She often times asks "when will my hair be long like my sisters?".
I told her God created her very special & made her absolutely beautiful with curly blond hair & beautiful blue eyes.
She is very smart & has such a fun outgoing personality.
She is talented in gymnastics.
I know these qualities are gifts & will be assets to her as she grows up.

Anyway, I say all that because I pray that through the many many photos I have taken of her that I will help boost her self confidence for those days when someone says something unkind.
I pray that she knows she is beautiful indeed.
I love all my girls equally just photograph Caroline a little bit more!

Sweet Caroline~~

Happy first day of autumn

a cool breeze, cleanliness, & my compulsions

aaahhh....finally
today we have a wonderful breeze!!
i have the windows open & the attic fan on. the little birdies are outside my window chirping & i can hear the trees blowing in the wind....lets hear it for fall!!

tidiness
order
cleanliness
i need these ...
why am i this way?

actually- the diagnosis may be more than i can handle-ha!
i have always needed order before i can relax. even as i child my room would be completely picked up before i could sit down & focus on homework.
this phase of life i am blessed to be home most days of the week (ususally work at the hospital on saturdays) & i do consider that quite a blessing.
but before i can sit down & read
journal
have a quiet time
or for goodness sakes.....do some scrapbooking with my phlethora of supplies,
i need all the laundry done,
the beds made,
kitchen clean,
& some idea of whats for dinner.
& i obviously don't get these done everyday so....that means my creative time is suffering.
sigh~~

remember in "when harry met sally" , billy crystal is telling meg ryan about a movie star on tv who is the worst combo---she was high maintainence but believed herself to be low maintainence...that's me!
so conflicted!

i would love to have a relaxing calm home, but for crying out loud that takes work>
can i get an amen!?

what i'm really tying to accomplish is a home that is a grace filled loving home
where people feel they are welcomed & accepted
a safe place for my girls
free of distractions & clutter
a peaceful retreat from their crazy busy days....
that's my goal anyway...

i am also another terrible combination....i need a place for everything & everything in its place....no clutter....however i am quite a collector. everything is nostalgic & i love to see all my treasures--all the time.
crazy , i know.
several years ago i did begin a massive declutter in our home... the attic is now in ship shape order, we save no junk mail, if you don't wear it -give it away.
my family harrasses me because i keep our email inbox tidy. read it , file it, or delete it.
yikes- now i sound militant!
as far as shopping, i now really try to picture where i might place an item before i buy it....i know many of you are thinking-well duh...but for this impulse shopper, that was a milestone.


the other day, cammy shared a great tip. she throws a cotton ball saturated with lavender essential oil in the vacuum before she runs it. i'm sure that leaves a wonderful aroma!
i'd love to hear if anyone else....confessed clean freak or not...has some wonderful tips for organization or cleaning around the house.

as far as these photos...

they have nothing to do with a cool breeze or cleanliness

except they were taken on a wonderful early fall afternoon & the brand new comfy cozy pillow had just been bleached.....yes another aroma i love!

This I know

Kitty issued a challenge several weeks ago to scrap our walk with the Lord, right where we are , today. I was glad she included me as I really felt this was something I needed to do.

I much prefer to scrap, talk about, and even journal the happy things. I don't like to acknowledge when I'm sad, hurt or struggling with an issue.

Really, who does?

I believe that it is quite simple to have a strong faith when all is good, when all is right with the world. Who can't be a happy, joyful person on days like that.

But I have learned who I really am is revealed while I'm hurting, while I'm walking through the shadow of death.

I strive to be real.

But I also want to have balance.

I don't want to be a negative person, but i want to be a realist.

I want to have a joyful spirit deep within, not just slap a smile on & pretend life is great.

I want to acknowledge & face my problems or challenges not just blissfully act as if they don't exist.

anyway~

I tried to keep this layout simple to show that's where I am these days- trying to simplify.

Simplify my life, my expectations & to have a childlike faith.

I used one of my favorite images of Caroline walking at the beach to represent how we walk through beautiful surroundings each day. This walk may not always be along the shore ( which i would prefer) but is right where the Lord placed me,today.

I used the brass key & key tag from heather's shop as a symbol of the key to my walk.

I copied my old hymnal page of jesus loves me.

I also decided to sort of "hide" my journaling in the envelope.

I wanted the focus to be the hymm & the simple elements

not the focus be the "me" in my journaling.

I have included what I wrote, maybe too much info for some.

But I also know how much we can encourage one another when we feel like someone has been right where we are, struggling with an issue, a simply walking one step at a time.

If you have had a day where you felt scared or confused,

my prayer is that you find hope today.

my journaling.....

This I know...

This past year has been very challenging for me.

I have dealt with some private medical issues that have left me fearful & anxious.

Fear is what can take over my emotions

It can leave me distracted

It can make me feel overwhelmed

Having lost Gregg to cancer 11 years ago, I am well aware that life is fragile~that we never know what tomorrow holds.Since that time, I have tried to never take the “everyday-ness” of a simple day for granted.

Many nights when I have felt afraid, when I have felt my heart start to race I have tried to quote scripture.

Maybe it’s my immaturity

Maybe it’s my simple faith

But each time, I simply sing the words in my heart“Jesus loves me –this I know”

I sing it over & over

I repeat the promises

The promise that the bible does tell me so…

the bible is full of promises that He is with me

He is in control

He knows my heart

Little ones to Him belong

They are weak but He is strong

Yes I am a child of God

I am weak but through my weakness

through my fear

His glory is revealed

Through this weakness His strength will get me through

Jesus loves me

despite my fears-

despite my anxious spirit

This I know….

What I see....

each time I leave .

Tenderness

Before any of my girls were born, I had two dogs~ a sweet yellow lab named Chelsea & a great dane mix named Bailey. My girls grew up with the dogs & loved them so much. We lost them to old age over the last two years.... a signifigant loss for us. We all miss their sweet souls but especially Caroline.

Brinkley is the perfect dog...sweet sweet doggy who we hope to train to be a therapy dog. When I worked as an RN on the pediatric oncology floor the puppy visits were definately one of the children's favorite things.

Anyway, this morning I found Caroline at the art station. She was journaling & drawing a picture of Bailey & Chelsea.

"I mise my dogs baley and calse- rillie rille mise them".

She loves Brinkley but something this morning stirred up a tender memory in her heart.

For those who aren't pet lovers, you just can't understand how one can miss an animal so much. A companion who gives unconditional love ---daily!!

Its hard to watch your children try to learn & comprehend the circle of life. My older girls have learned this through the heart breaking experience of losing their biological daddy. While its not the same, loosing the dogs for Caroline was still a loss.

Brinkley has brought much love into our home--he has been such a blessing!

Here are a few images of Caroline with Bailey & Chelsea.

Caroline's art work this morning...she gave me the ok to share!!

Cute Nicole tagged me the other day.

While i love reading these on other ladies blogs I doubt ya'll will be interested but here goes....

these are a few of my favorite things~~

sound-my husband pulling into the driveway

late night snack-don't do those- honestly!

smell- a salt water breeze

color combo-i love tone on tone-anything cream & white. i love vera bradley peacock.

time of the year-fall

author- beth moore

books-the life application bible & harry potter...great combo i know!

vegtable-home grown tomatoes in late july & my grandmothers fried okra

actress-audrey hepburn, julie andrews & meg ryan

flower-peonies but i love a huge sunflower farm

vacation-would love to go to paris but fully content in seaside

pizza-tomato, mushroom & onion

tv-listening to the braves game , food network & hgtv

fragrance-prada

music-my all time fave is james taylor, however third day is a close runner up. kenny chesney's "be as you are" cd, martina mcbride, nora jones, corrine bailey ray, michael buble

shoes- my unattractive crocs, jack rogers, or cowboy boots. but i dream of monogrammed clogs

holiday-all of them but especially valentines day ( savannah's b-day)

candy-candy corn & jelly bellies

clothing-lilly pulitzer...duh!

thanks nicole--too fun!

Goodbye summer~~

there shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart

c thaxter

summer '07~

we had days filled with laughter

some with sickness

many with joy

new friendships made

a new addition to the family

the much awaited book 7

a sacred week in seaside

seeing God's hand in each day

each one was a blessing.

a "few" of my favorite summer images.....

(hopefully i've chosen some different ones from earlier posts)

Then followed that beautiful season...

Summer....

Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light;

and the landscape

Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow