Why

A lot of you have asked me what finally made me take the step of privatizing my blog. I've really been meaning to do it for months, and known that I really should- simply because it's a scary world we live in, and so much of our family is just "out there" with this blog. I'm a little irritated with Blogger because it will only allow 100 readers, and we have more friends and family than that who would probably like to read it as a way of keeping in touch with us... but truthfully, we really can't be too careful with our personal information. Especially a blog like this- I share so much of my heart and emotions and self and stuff here that it would be ridiculously easy for a creepy person to use that for bad purposes.

We met a person of that sort recently. We call him "Creepy Charles." I will spare you the long story that really isn't all that interesting- but a man stopped by our house a couple of months ago to look at my sister's car that had basically died in our driveway... he was interested in the car but didn't want to pay as much as she wanted to sell it for. A couple months passed and the car was still sitting in the driveway, and it just sort of became more work than we wanted to deal with, so my sister decided to sell the car to CC- who didn't seem quite so creepy until he started asking questions like "are you married" to a woman quite obviously almost 20 years younger!

Somewhere in the middle of the transaction, we learned that Creepy Charles is actually a sex offender who was just released from parole- moreover, he has an extensive criminal record (mostly from the 1980s) of theft, including one count of breaking and entering.

So, all in all, we decided that beefing up the security of our home and our family was in order- not just because of the creepiness of Charles, but because he was a stark reminder of the ugliness of the world we live in... and it's more important now than ever to safeguard what you can.

I did struggle with the decision to privatize the blog- that was a big part of the reason I didn't do it for so long... I really like connecting with people I don't know in real life- coming together on issues like motherhood, and learning to trust God with our lives- that so many people encounter. I have met "friends" on this blog that I value quite as much as many people who are in my personal face-to-face life. And let's face it- I once had a dream of being a "famous blogger." Sometimes it made me feel like the struggles I have had, especially over the past year, have been more worth it because they've helped encourage others going through the same things. And now I'm a bit sad because my blog must be restricted to 100 viewers or less... but all in all, my family is more important, and I am glad to have taken this step.

So welcome to the now-private world of my blog... I hope to continue writing here simply because I love to have a record of my thoughts and of this wonderful, joyful, fun, challenging season of life!

Private

Due to some creepy things that have been happening in our neighborhood this week, I am going to be actually following through with making this blog private. If you got an email today or an invitation (or both; I'm still working on it...)- you're on my list. If not, please comment with your email address and I will add you to the list- I'm not intentionally excluding anyone! :)

The Beach is Open!

Nana and Papa moved into their beach house today on the lake, and we didn't waste any time before taking advantage of the private beach! I played around with the camera (like always :)) and thought this picture was cool with the sand in focus and the girls slightly blurry heading for the water...

I took a ton more pictures, but like always seems to happen when I actually have things to post... blogging seems to get pushed to the bottom of the list, and now I have so many pictures I'll never get through them all!

Zoo

Today I took Nora to the zoo for the morning. Carolyn has been at "zoo school" every day this week- it's a really fun day camp for kids; she's been going since the summer she was 3- but Nora's not old enough yet (I'm in no rush!)- so we took our own little tour today. Our zoo is nothing fancy (at all!)- but it's still fun to see the animals, and Nora had a great time.

She especially liked brushing the goats in the petting zoo area... I really didn't take any other pics, because we were just too busy having fun. :)

The day started with "naughty breakfast" (aka, donuts in the car on the way somewhere we are late to get to...)- Nora's face covered with icing made me laugh. Thankfully this place we like to get donuts at least doesn't dye the icing red, like they do at the grocery store!

 After awhile, our friends Madeline (the toddler) and Heather (her mom) joined us, and our littles enjoyed holding hands together. :)

 Aren't they cute?

 When it was time, we picked up our big girls- Carolyn and Rachel had a wonderful time playing together at zoo school this week! :)

The Birthday- Overdue!

This post is totally overdue... but I went out of town for a few days and was away from the picture files to post! 

In case you've not heard, we had a BIRTHDAY in our house last week! Carolyn (unbelievably!) turned FIVE years old!!

Birthday Morning turned out to be an opportunity for improvising, as Brad ended up being on "day call" for his group, and got called at 6:58am to do a c-section, right as I was getting ready to make the Birthday Muffins for the Birthday Morning Celebration and Gift Opening...

 It required a bit of quick thinking (after I got done sulking :)) but we just moved the celebration to Brad's office, and he intersected us there after the section was done... and there were just a few more voices to "Happy Birthday." :)

 The Blowy Face.

 She was SO excited about her presents this year! At some point I will have to scan in the letter and picture she wrote to the "Birthday Fairies-" after several days of being asked for everything under the sun- I told her to write her requests to the Birthday Fairies and they would see that she was taken care of. :)

 And she did get exactly what she wanted- A "Lizzie" doll (Lizzie is the human character from the famed Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue that is a great favorite around here :))

 After breakfast, we dropped Nora off to spend the morning with a friend, and Carolyn and I went to the obnoxiously brightly-colored Build A Bear store in the mall (we'll never be able to walk past it again without an argument... sigh... at least I made it 5 years before she knew what that store was!)- and "made" a bear together for her birthday.

 You may notice it is exactly the same as Carolyn's best friend Olivia's bear... I could not get her to select a different dress or bear... they're not much into individual preferences at this age! Olivia joined us after the bear making time, and I let the girls take their bears to the play area (aka germ factory) at the mall.

 And we went on the Carousel together.

 Here is a closeup of Carolyn's bear- interestingly, christened "Rapunzel." :) but more often simply called "My Build-A-Bear."

 After an afternoon that included naps for my girls and a crazed last-minute preparation frenzy for me (WHY, oh WHY did I plan a birthday party on a day crammed with so much other stuff and on which I arranged for no one to help me set up!!)- we had Carolyn's birthday party that evening at our YMCA. THAT was a great move... it was a perfect venue for a party; they had tables all set up for us, and I could leave the kiddos in the "Kid Zone" while I did the final setup, so it worked out well.

 My favorite thing was the play crowns I ordered for the occasion from an EtsyKids teammate, Katrina from The Felted Kitten. [as a side note, I have loved being part of the EtsyKids Etsy "street team" of makers and purveyors of unique and handmade children's items- it was so fun to be able to support another teammate, and if you ever have an occasion for which you would need super cute make-your-own felt crowns, The Felted Kitten is the place to go! Also, I just love her name!] The crowns came with sparkly "jewels" to glue on and each kid got to decorate her own crown, which she took home as a party favor. It was a cute project for the kids and perfect for their ages. :)

 Nora even got to do one with a little help from Auntie Laura.

 We had cupcakes with Tinkerbell toppers (chosen by Carolyn).
 Yet another "blowy face" and Brad practicing in the background.

 All the girls before gift time... and then swim time. But since the pictures of swim time include me in a bathing suit, they do not make the blog cut. :)

 And here's the birthday princess in her Rapunzel dress and personalized crown!

Happy fifth birthday, Carolyn! Enjoy being FIVE! It's a GREAT age. I wish you weren't already talking about wanting to be six! Isn't it one of the crazy things about life that just when it really is the best, you're always seeming to want to get on with it already?!

Fried

Chicken, that is. 

Thank you, Mom, for helping me recreate the famous fried chicken moment with my own Granny, circa 1984. :)

I talked my mom into reviving the old Southern deep frying skill that's been languishing in these days of increased interest in healthy eating habits. :)

 Just like my Granny, she let Carolyn and Nora help her salt, pepper, and flour the chicken pieces.

 Carolyn really liked having the freedom to play with the salt and pepper shakers.

 Nora wasn't sure about the slimy texture of the chicken.

 Sticky fingers!

 Oh, it was GOOOOD! :)

Seize the Moment

 Sometimes the best moments are the unplanned ones that you simply seize. 

Yesterday it was HOT HOT HOT at my parents' house... and a big storm came through, though the lightning and hail and yucky stuff wasn't close to us... lots of rain, though, and so we let the girls have an up-close experience with a summer rain shower.

They couldn't believe I would let them outside in that!

I love this picture because the looks on their faces say it all, and also just really express the growing tenderness of sisters!

Carolyn caught the rain drops on her tongue.

She thought this was so funny! I think I'll save these cute tongue pictures for her high school graduation. :)

The rain came down very hard for awhile!

The girls got soaked!

There was a pretty big puddle in the courtyard. It might look like they are just holding hands like sweet sisters in this picture.

But really Carolyn is trying to maintain control of the big side of the puddle.

I made sure Nora got a turn. :)

Then we did something both very fun and a little stupid... we let the girls play in the little "river" right in front of the house. :) I remember doing this as a kid and thinking it was so fun. I think maybe there were not so many cars on our street when I was growing up!

This did not last long- after a car or two passed by, we restricted their splash zone to right in front of the house.

Still good enough for fun in puddles, though!

They really had a blast!

I was glad I dressed them in bright colors because the pictures really came out cute. :)

 

Can't believe how TALL Carolyn is starting to look! That dress was an impulse buy at Wal Mart yesterday... it was a 6/6X but looked like it would fit her- and it did!

Sisters jump together!

Kicking in the puddles.

Quick! Back to the driveway whenever a car comes by! :)

It was a great little "moment" together. I'm glad I had the camera handy to capture some of these picture because I think they really express who these girls are at this moment in time. It's nice to be able to preserve their natural smiles and beauty to enjoy again and again! I just hope the warning I gave them about never going in the street unless Mommy is there to tell them it's safe sticks!