sunflare

My mother in law gave us a wonderful old chair before she passed away. It's been in her family for quite some time. I hope to one day have it reupholstered in a yummy creamy white, but for now it sits in storage all alone.
Just down the street is a small field, complete with a dilapidated barn & the obligatory 'no trespassing' sign.
I have wanted to go there at sunset with one of the girls, the great old chair & try to capture the sunflare. Maybe have them wear some of their old tattered jeans & cowboy boots. The other night Madison was dancing, Emily wasn't in the mood, Savannah had a headache, but little bit was up for the challenge. I had just received her fun farm chicks style dress from A Bushel & A peck. Sure, she needs some old brown ropers but for now these little black boots will have to work.
So after a small bribe, we ran out with only a few minutes before the sun was behind the trees. As soon as she hopped out of the suburban, she reached down to touch, what i hope is not a poisonous , mushroom & there it was....my sunflare!
I have no idea what i'm doing. I wish I had some funky actions to play with for these images, but for today, they make me happy!
Now if i can only get the teenagers to head out with me next time!

ps--thank you sweet debbie :)

That's my girl

I don't think my girls are perfect.

I try to be realistic about their strengths.

I try to minimize their weaknesses.

I try to acknowledge temperaments & birth orders when I correct them or evaluate how or why they do what they do.

I want to encourage them when I see them make great choices, when they do something kind for someone, when they try their best even if success doesn't follow.

I've tried to encourage them to be who they are, to find the "thing" they love & pour their heart into it. I don't want to live vicariously through them, as if my own teen experience wasn't fulfilling enough for me, as if i need their success to make me feel like a great mom or make me appear successful in the eyes of my own peers.

I want them to be individuals & be proud of the young ladies they are becoming.

I don't want them to feel competition amongst themselves. Its so hard for girls these days & I'm certain it must be hard for three of them, so close in age, to grow up & feel the society induced pressure to be just like the one before them.

While my desire for them is to have strong character, rooted and grounded in our faith , I don't want to make them be anything different than who God has created them to be.

I don't have a favorite even though you see more pictures of the baby :) But some days I do enjoy the company of one maybe more so than the other.....we are a house full of 5 women after all ( just keeping it real) & there are hormones and emotions to keep balanced!

But there are those days when I feel just an extra sense of pride for one of my girls. Saturday was one of those days. Savannah has always been very organized & responsible. She has great leadership skills . I have told her that she has always proven herself trustworthy & because of that , she has earned the priveldge of certain freedoms.

She had spent weeks trying to orchestrate all the details for her large group of friends & their homecoming plans. She didn't exclude anyone from her group, which made me proud because she herself had been excluded from another group. She took it like a champ & rounded up several of her favorite friends ~a great group of kids! She helped organize the picture location, the parents that would drive them downtown to the chosen ( reasonably priced) restaurant , & the home that they would all enjoy the after-party.

We shopped for her dress a few weeks ago. I had sort of dreaded shopping because I knew we needed to keep it in the budget & she tends to have expensive taste. Plus, how often do 15 year old girls & their moms agree on wardrobe choices. Went to Dillards & I found this gorgeous ivory dress, she loved it, I loved it , & it was in our budget. ( Can you believe that, I picked out the dress......I won't rub it in)

She spent Saturday afternoon doing all those wonderful things girls do before going out on a special night....she was cheerful & laid back.

Her two best friends were going to homecoming at a different school but dropped by on the way for some pictures. Savannah has a great sense of humor & helped them relax as they seemed a bit nervous about their own big night.

Savannah's date was her best guy friend. Her friends say they get along like Will & Grace ( except Zack isn't a gay guy!). So there would be no awkward feelings, no drama, just great fun.

When we arrived at the chosen picture place there were at least 10 couples & all their parents. Definitely a challenge to do large group photos. After taking what seemed like a million of the posed pics I could tell Savannah was getting frustrated ( too many cooks in the kitchen!). I whispered to her just walk off with her girlfriends & be silly~they love those shots the best.

She had a fabulous time. Most all the couples were all just great friends so we didn't have the worries of all the things that go along with boyfriend/girlfriend issues~whew.

I am always proud to be her mama, but I was extra proud of that sweet child of mine this past Saturday night!

things that made yesterday a great day

~temps dropped to 53 in Atlanta
~ i filled my gas tank after only having to wait 30 minutes in line
~its candy corn season
~the mailman comes to my door .....its always a good thing when the mailman comes to my door.
& he hands me my autographed collectors edition of Matthew's new Halloween book
(thank you Matthew & thank you Linda!)

~ the meany boy didn't bother Caroline on the bus

~ordered this precious dress from one of my new favorite blog friends ~found this yummy velvet pumpkin & should be arriving any day now from them
~my 15 year old daughter tells me that one of her bff's asked if she & I wore the same size jeans. we don't ....but if we did, she would "need to borrow your moms jeans that she wore to the football game last week...they were so cool"
only the mom of a teenager can truly appreciate this historical day in my life.
~the biggest thrill of all..... today I go to Gap to buy jeans ( different pair than the said cool teen worthypair) . I never buy jeans. I seldom wore jeans over the last few years because I didn't like the way they fit me ....& my friends, I left there with these


in a size 6---6 my friends!! Same time last year I was in a 14!
Now please don't tell me Gap jeans run generous, or that because they are stretch jeans that I really am a size larger.....I want to live in the thrill of a size 6! For some of you , that size is ginormous but for this mom who has struggled with the ole '3 babies in 3 years' ( yes that was quite a while ago) and then just life and the lure of french fries, buying in the single digits is one glorious event!

So , with all this good news, surely a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks is the best form of celebration!
Well, that & sporting my new cool jeans at the ballgame tonight--wink :)

(ps--i know pride comes before the fall and all the other cliches but so does enjoying the moment & todays moment was a good one--enjoy your moments today too)