Happy Belated Birthday, America!

Since I took a blog break, I never told about my 4th of July! So here goes......

My family and I went to my Great Aunt Shirley's house. She is the coolest great aunt ever!

She lives in a really old town, that was actually named after my relatives. When we got there on the third, she took us to a little cook out, at a park where we listened to some people talk about Independence Day, and our Founding Father's. There was also a tea sampling, quilts people had made, and a drawing. I won some muscadine cider, (Muscadines are a type of grape) it was.... Interesting. :)

After that we went swimming in a gorgeous lake. Some of my relatives own a house on it, and we called to ask if we could go swimming off of their dock. I would LOVE to live there! It is a gorgeous place, and you can see to the bottom because it is so clear. (Except for where all the algae is) We got ice cream cones and sat out there the whole day. We took tons of pictures of us jumping off of the dock- My profile picture is one of them.

On the 4th we went to church with her, went back to the lake, and that night, watched fireworks from her house. We also did some sparklers. We were all very sad to leave her, but we will definitely be going down there again!

What did you do on the 4th?

-Caroline

Mothers Day

As you can tell, I am a little late on doing my Mothers Day post! Better late than never I guess!

We had a really nice, relaxing Mothers Day. My sisters and I (& my Dad) made my Mom lunch, after getting back from church. For lunch, we had a mexican theme- Grilled chicken, corn-bean-

cilantro salad, salad with avocado and tomatos, and dessert.

We invited both of our Grandma's but only one could come. :( On the way home from shopping on Saturday, (I got an adorable blue and white striped towel with red lobsters! So fun! I could onl find a picture of sheets, but my towel looks exactly like this, except with bigger stripes.)

we went by a "pick your own" flower field, full of all different colored Irises. We got some in all different shades of purple. The lady who owns it had opened it in the 70's and now her daughters help her with it. It was so nice to still have a home business, and we enjoyed being able to pick out all our own flowers.

How was your Mothers Day?

Xx

cCr

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was amazing! I LOVE EASTER! On Thursday we went to the Maundy Thursday service. It was very meaningful, but also very sad.

Sunday morning I woke up to a nice little Easter basket with reeses cups, snickers, twix, and milky ways, as well as some INCREDIBLE shea butter lotion. I also got a new tooth brush head for my electric toothbrush. Dont ask me why I am excited, I just am! I just love getting a new toothbrush because your teeth feel so clean afterwards!! ;)

Sunday we went to our church service and after that we went to my Grandmas house to eat lunch with our cousins. Lunch was wonderful! We had scalloped potatos, pork tenderloin with roasted herbs, asparagus, green beans, blackberries, pineapple, strawberrys, grapes and for dessert we had a pecan pie, banana cream pudding, and coconut cake! Yum yum!

My cousins and I had an Easter egg hunt, because you are NEVER to old to hunt for candy, and then we went canoeing in her pond. ;) Easter Sunday is also the day I got my first guitar. My cousin, Jonathan, plays guitar and his family had an extra (NEW) guitar that they did not use, so they sold it to me! I have always wanted to take guitar lessons, so this is wonderful! Jonathan taught me a little about the guitar and taught me several chords. I am now searching for a guitar teacher.

I am sad Easter is now over, my sister and I think it is now our favorite hholiday. Christmas is wonderful to, but I think it tends to be a little bit overly stressful.

xoxo
Caroline

HE IS RISEN!!

HE IS RISEN!! HALLELUJAH!!

XOXO

Caroline

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Happy Valentines Day lovely blog readers!! I hope you have a wonderful day, and know that you are truly loved!

XOXO

CCR

Catching up

Hello everyone! I am very sorry for not posting in over a week! (GASP!) I have been really been busy with school, and to put it bluntly, I haven't had anything to write about! ;)

Catching Up:

The Super Bowl

I went to a super bowl party that my church had for my youth group. I was very pleased that the Saints won! Whoo hooo!! (In all honesty I don't really understand football, but I play along and cheer for the team who has the best colors, mascot, and symbol. Leave it to me to do something like that. Shhhhhh! Its our little secret!)

Abby's birthday!!!

Tomorrow is my sisters birthday! YAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBY!!! I got her an AMAZING present but I can't share until after she gets it. (It still hasn't arrived in the mail, so I am thinking she will have to wait until her party. Oh well!) I think tomorrow we well have my Gigi over and eat dinner. Abby's request was shrimp and okra gumbo- Yum!

Valentines Day (Or Single Awareness Day, which ever you prefer)

We still haven't exactly decided what we will do, but every Valentines Day my dad gets us a little something, like chocolate or jewelry. I am really excited! Yesterday at school, I made all of the people in my class, and my teachers, some chocolate covered pretzel sticks. They turned out looking lovely! They were dipped in milk chocolate, and then I took white chocolate, dyed it pink and did a zig zag pattern on the top of each pretzel. On the very top I added some clear sugar crystals, for a more valen-tiny effect. (HA!) I attached each of the peoples names to them. Everyone was thrilled! And plus they were easy to make, and really fun. Hey, I should start a business! ;) I wish I had taken pictures, but its a little to late. ;( But maybe I will be able to take pictures, I just remembered, I think me and my friends are going to have a Valentines Day party, and I was considering bringing some of those! If I do, I will try to remember to take pictures!

I hope you all have a lovely Valentines Day!

XOXO
CCR

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. DAY!

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. DAY!! I Hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

Here are some of my favorite quotes from his "I Have a Dream," speech. There were so many wondeful parts.

"...One day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

Thank you Lord, for Martin Luther King, and all of the other people who fought to put an end to segregation!

XOXO

-Caroline

Christmas Re-cap

Hello all! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, and I hope you will have a very merry new year!!

Christmas was great at our house. We got a Wii, and a new TV. We are very excited!! Quite an upgrade from a 10 inch TV to a 22 in!! YAY!!

I also got some clothes, gift cards, a monogrammed necklace, boots, and a few other things.

We got the Wii Fit game. Have any of you tried it? I am really liking it a lot. I don't think it is a fantastic work out, but I guess it depends on which games you play, how long you do it, and how much you get 'into' it.

We just got back from going to the mall. Bath & Body Works is having a really great sale. I got several lambs, some cute lamb slippers, and a few other things, all for under $13. They will be great presents! With out the sale I think the total would have been about $54. I saved a ton!! WHHHOOOO HOOO!!! Do you know of any great after Christmas sales??

Today we moved my Grandma into a retirement home. It was a mixture of happy and sad. Happy because I can stop worrying about her, in a big house all alone, and sad because my mom has lived in it since she was my age. You can pray that she is able to sell her old house, and make lots of friends in her new home. Her new home is nice light, and airy. She has a bedroom, two GIANT bathrooms, a kitchen, office, and living room, which is plenty for her. I helped her arrange the furniture, hang up pictures, and organize. I really hope she enjoys it there. She is now about one hour away (instead of 30 minutes) but that isn't that bad. She is about 3 minutes down the road from my Aunt though. I was glad to see my cousins again while we were moving her, because they are usually away at college.

I mentioned above that I got boots. They are actually knock off chocolate brown, UGGS. I never actually knew what I thought of them, but I really need some sort of comfy winter shoes. I must admit, they are not nearly as bad as I thought they were, and the inside is so warm and cozy. They have grown on me a lot. I started out hating them and saying I would never buy any, to actually getting a pair. (GASP!) What do you think about them? I couldn't get over the shapelessness of them for a while, but I don't mind it that much any more. I wore them today with a gray cable knit shirt, a brown undershirt, and jeans. It actually ended up looking pretty good. I have also worn them with a pink and brown argyle shirt. I really like my Uggs, but I dont really like the tan/light brown short boots. (Just a personal opinion.)

So what are you doing to bring in the New Year? 2010. I cannot believe it. WOW!
xoxo
CCR

Christmas Story Books

When I was young, my mom was big on reading us tons of books, whether it was at Christmas or not. Here is a list of some of my very favorites.

MR. CRISPY'S STORY OF THE FIRST CANDY CANES

THE YEAR OF THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE

THE INN KEEPERS DAUGHTER (one of the most sweet Christmas Stories EVER!)

CANDLE LOVE FEAST

THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF JONATHAN TOOMEY

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Caroline

P.S. the next two posts will be scheduled.

3 Days?

Tonight we are going over to our friends house for our annual Christmas party. We are having, make your own chicken burritos!! Sounds great! Lauren, made a HOMEMADE raspberry white chocolate cheese cake, and I am VERY excited about trying a slice of it! (I went to the grocery store looking for fresh raspberries and they were $5!! I could not believe it. Actually I kind of could. We got frozen)

I was just thinking about what makes me most in the Christmas mood. Here they are-

THE FIVE CHRISTMAS SENSES

1. Sight- In order for me to feel like it is Christmas, the Christmas tree needs to be up, holly berries on the mantle, and the rest of our Christmas galore

2. Smell- The Christmas tree, baking cookies and goodies, the weather. When it gets to be winter, you can really smell the difference. (at least I can! ;)

3. Hearing- Christmas Carolers, busy streets

4. Touch- Snow, icicles, rolling out cookie dough

5. Taste- Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Paprika, other spices

Those all make me really get into the Christmas mood. What makes you get into the Christmas Spirit?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With these last three days, ticking away, I hope you really realize the true meaning of Christmas.

Have a very Merry Christmas,

Lots of Love,

Caroline

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

Some times getting into the 'Christmas Spirit" is hard for me. Once Thanksgiving is over, we have gotten our tree, (might I say that our tree looks fantastic!! Gets better every year! ;) and bake Christmas food, I feel a little bit more ready!! Sooo, here are some of my very favorite Christmas treats!

Ice Cubes Candy

Sparkling Cider

Mary Poppins (or sausage Cheese balls)

Peppermint Chocolate cookies

My Grandmas Punch

My grandmas Chex mix (aka Trash. Have no clue where the name came from!)

Chex

Sugared Pecans

Mini Spinach Quiche

Cheese Straws

Hot Chocolate

Italian Wedding Cookies

I hope I have done my job in getting you into the Christmas spirit, and making you extremely hungry. (I know I made myself hungry!)

What are some of your family food traditions?

xoxo

CCR

HAPPY LATE THANKSGIVING!!!

Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving! For my family and I, we spent it at the beach-hence my lack of posting. It was our very first year NOT being with either side of the extended family. We went down to Florida, and stayed in a condo for a week. It took 15 hours to get there, but we made it! Since it is November it was not the warmest it could have been, but it was warm enough for us to swim in the ocean, and the pool. It only rained one day, and we went shopping.






We rented bikes for the week, went swimming, watched the food network, relaxed, visited a wild life preserve, picked fresh oranges/grapefruits/limes, & went shopping.

For thanksgiving dinner we had-
Turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, iced tea, & pumpkin pie.

Everything was great!

I bought several souvenirs-
- 1 pair of shell earrings
- 1 pair of sea horse earrings
- 1 pair of starfish earrings
- Postcards
- Shells (both at the beach and at a store.)

I am very excited about my earrings! They are very nautical and were only $5! INCREDIBLE!!!






Last night my youth group watched 'The Prestige.' It was a very interesting movie- and yet I liked it. We had a long discussion about it afterwards. It was kind of dark and depressing, but I cannot even believe how someone thought up the plot. It was kind of like a mystery, about two magicians batting each other, and seeing who could make the best tricks. There were some gory scenes, so I would not advise that little kids watch it. Have you seen it? If so, what did you think?



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
xoxo
Caroline

Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful MOTHERS DAY!! There are several people I know (Through blogs) who just became mothers or are just about to become mothers.

Today I will be a mothers helper until 3:00 and after that I will probably just hang out, clean and read. Yesterday we had another house showing. I guess this is our 5th or 6th. We had one 'couple' (I say the word 'couple' loosely because the past two sets of people viewing our House have been unmarried. What I want to know is why in the world they would try to buy a BIG house, if they have no children?) stay almost 2 WHOLE HOURS!!! They liked the house a lot, and they only walked through 5 times, (not enough... Is it?) my mom thinks they may have been trying to find something bad about it, so we would lower the price. They didn't find much, but what they did find was stuff that could be fixed, except for the size of the master bedroom and bathroom. (Hey if you buy our house we would be more than happy to let you expand the size. We have an old house so people back then didn't build things as extravagantly as they do now.)

So all that is confusing, and it leaves you feeling stressed. The weather over here has been really lovely. It started out as a really rainy week but after a couple days that disappeared into warm sunny weather. The grass has been so green, and leaves are on the trees. It really is marvelous.

My dad came home late Friday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. Lucy, our dog was so happy to see him. You could tell she had missed him. It was sad to have him leave, after church but I am glad he could even come back here for the weekend.

Sunday night was youth talent night. (I wish my dad could have stayed for that.) Our church youth choir sang 5 songs, (my sisters and I are in it) and several people played the piano, sang, and played the guitar. It was really nice, and I like singing a lot, although not by my self.

I have seen several people do a post about wicker purses. Let me just tell you how much I L-O-V-E this one. I found it on polyvore. I have no clue where it is from or the price but I would love to find something similar! Let me know if you see one like this!

xoxoxo

Caroline

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!

Okay, for this fun video insert your name! (In the name and last name boxes I wrote insert your name, so anytime you see one of those words, insert your name!)

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=2bZ5r1NYe5cpGI.p2I98bDEyNjU0Njg0&referred_by=15662248-jUxwHEx&p=moveon

This link will take you to where you can send this to other moms! ENJOY, and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!
http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/thankyou.html?error=thanks&nid=&id=-15662248-87OXLMx

xoxox
CAROLINE

Cinco De Mayo

I have been out of school since Friday, and I keep thinking I need to study for a test. But the truth is- I do not have a test to study for! It is nice but it feels really weird. I have been reading Nancy Drew a lot. I finished two of the books yesterday, (and this morning) and started on a new one this afternoon.

My mom and I stayed out the whole day. We went to my sisters chapel where she recieved a trophy for an art project, to Wendys, (whoot whoot) Goodwill, and another consignment store.
The last stop before picking up sista's was at Borders. ahhh.. (breath in deeply) Borders. That place is. Well weird. Not the books or anything. (well some of them) The people. You really get a cultural shock when you come through the doors.
Lets just say my mom and I saw very many different styles, and some people who were. Not very straight. All that to say, I found a book I would like to buy. It just came out recently and is a 'Martha Stewart craft book.' There were some really neat ideas, and things I would like to try. Calligraphy projects, stamping, etching on glass, crepe paper flowers, and the list goes on!

We picked up the girls and then went to Stein Mart. I like that place. They have such a variety of interesting things. Lauren, Abby, and my mom got large faux pearl earrings.

I am counting down the hours until nine-o-clock! (My jello will be ready then)

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!!
-Caroline

Easter Weekend

Today is EASTER!!! YEA!! We went to our churches early service. When we got out of the car, we past several kids drapped over their parents shoulders, or huddled on the side walk, walking to church. (it was windy.) They were so cute! Each one was in a cute easter outfit. The message was great, and was divided into small sections. The music was wondeful. We sang lots of old hymns, and some new ones.
Today is not only Easter, it is my best friends birthday! She came over for ABS (area Bible study) with her family. I made her a strawberry lemon cake, and gave her, her birthday present. They actually just left several minutes ago.

Saturday we went to a couple yardsales. Not much luck. But I did happen to find a really nice big blue vase. It is sitting on my dresser with some orchids in it. After yard work and cleaning we tried to go to the amish store. But it was closed for Easter. (the amish store is a place out in the middle of no where. We try and go several times a year. Our tradition is to go around lunch time and buy some bread and cheese. Along with several kinds of candy- Boston baked beans are a favorite!!! ;) So instead we went to Little Richards. After that my grandmas house was right down the road so we headed over there. Sadly, it was my grandfathers birthday (he died 3 years ago) so it was hard for her. On the 14th it will be her fathers birthday day. So April is not very good month. We visted her moms grave and put some new flowers on it. After that we went to my cousins and watched/helped them put up a pig pen. I believe some time soon they are getting a pig, for my cousin!!!

Several posts ago I talked about my 2nd cousin coming over. That night we invited over a friend and grooved to some crazt music. Like 'Crazy' by Gnarles Barkley. Then Natalie taught Jessica, abby and me how to contra dance. We played some Pride and Prejudice music and it was really fun.

I hope each and every one of you had a good Easter!
-Caroline

Palm Sunday

Last night my family and I went to an old historic sight. It has tons of gorgeous architecture, blooming flowers/trees, and lots of shops. We got to go inside an old printing shop, yarn shop, photography room, tin shop, and a lot of other interesting places. It felt great outside, so most of the time we walked around outside. Lauren got a neat picture of me through a large key hole. (maybe she will post a picture of it.) We were considering getting ice cream or bread and cheese at a store, but decided on going home and eating fried chicken, pasta, salad, asparagus and lime bars. Since my dad is leaving for training some time today, we wanted to have a nice meal, and a fun day.

PALM SUNDAY! Easter is almost here! I love Easter. Christ Resurrection. When I was little we went to the sunrise service several times. It was gorgeous outside. Then after that we would find some boulders to have a picnic breakfast on. I would like to go again, but I have a hard enough time as it is trying to get up at seven. ;)

this afternoon, my sisters and I are going to some friends house, to do their zip line. They have 4. two over their pond, one across their yard, and another older one. Since it is just starting to get warm, I do not think I will be dropping off in the pond today!;)

This week is my spring/easter break! I am so happy, and plan on spending my days- yardsailing, consignment store shopping, crafting, and cleaning. I CAN'T WAIT until summer! then I can do this every week! ;)

At Sunday school today we watched TV clips, anout a debate. The debate was on- Whether or not satan is real or not. The people debating were-

Chrsitians- Mark Driscoll, and Annie Lobert

Debating againist- Deepok Chopra (Opras advistor) and Bishop Carlton Pearson.

Deepok is competely againist believing in satan. He says it is just figment of our imagination and we invented him, to put all of our flaws on.

Mark Driscoll believes that satan is real.
So you can see how exciting of a debate it is! It isn't JUST about satan, it gets into bigger issues as well. Its kind of funny to watch Mark and Annies opponents, because they really do not seem to know what they are talking about, and keep on contradicting themselves. I think you can watch some of the clips on ABC face-off, does satan exsit

Pretty soon we will be leaving to go on the zip line!
HAPPY PALM SUNDAY!
-Caroline