School Days and Mondays

I love Mondays.  I know that you get a bad rap but Monday, I like you.  I like the feeling that I can start fresh with a new week.  I enjoy school days at our house.  We have scripture study around 7:30 and we get a chance to spend some time with these little ladies by themselves while the other two are still asleep.  I also enjoy our daily drive to school, chatting and rocking out to the radio.  I love these girls.

Happy Saturday

We are busy doing chores today.  We've got music pumping throughout the house and everyone is happy and involved.  Turns out there is something to the old primary song, "Saturday is a special day it's the day we get ready for Sunday . . . "  Looking forward to a clean house for the Sabbath Day.

Abstract Home Photography - By Anon Child via Iphone

Kid Quotes of the Week

Adam was telling me all about an episode of sponge Bob that he happened to see at a friends house.  In the episode Sponge Bob's pants get caught up in a hook and fall down.  He relates,

 "Mom, he doesn't have a weenie, he has nofing, he's just a sqaure, he is a sponge!"

Words of wisdom . . .

Last night at dinner Audrey said,

"Dad, I'm not trying to be mean or anything but lately you have been really grumpy and have not been having a lot of patience.  Are you tired?  What time have you been going to bed?  I'm just thinking that maybe tonight you should go to bed by 10:30 and maybe take some benedryl.  Just sayin."

For my Sis

Tater Bug

Simple moments worthy of note . . . a diary of iphone pics.

I really like the photos in my iphone roll. Often times I don't remember taking them or one of the kids gets a hold of my phone and snaps away.  I feel like they reflect "real life" because I always have it on hand and they are usually a bit more unintentional then the ones I take with my legitimate camera.  Here are a few of my recent favorites. 

One of the kids took this photo of Audrey when I was not around. 

I really love everything about it. 

I have really been enjoying my older girls.  We went out on a shopping spree after Christmas with our

 J-bucks and Kohls cash.  We had the best time!

Rachel was in love with this pair of shoes (not her size).  She said, "Mom can I please have these shoes?  They were made for me!"  I told her that she will have to wait about twelve years . . .

My cute little Audrey.  She is always so happy when we spend time as a family.

On our trip to Seguin Rachel said, "Adam, can I use your Spiderman blankie?"  He replied, "No, Baxer is woosing it wight now."  I turned around to see this!

This has got to be one of Adam's best fashion moments! 

He put this little ensemble together all by himself.  Amazing!

Notice the socks and flip flops.

I love to watch Rachel when she doesn't know I am watching her.  She is always lost in thought.  I took this picture on our way to piano lessons as she was enjoying the windows down in January!  I loved the sunlight shining and her ponytail blowing in the wind.  This photo barely does the moment justice. 

Here is my "big girl." 

Drum roll please . . .

I AM DONE CHANGING DIAPERS!!!!!

This one is potty trained.

Since she has been wearing panties she just seems so much older. 

Honestly, can you get much cuter than a little girl in a pink tutu?

This was taken on the front porch in Seguin when we fled to protect Tatum from my four sick babies.  It was cold, rainy and perfect for sitting by the fire with a good book. 

 I also love this picture.  It captures Seguin in a very understated way.  

This was the one and only time I got to be an Aunt and babysit my new niece.  This makes me miss all of the times that would have been.  Still makes me sad. 

. . . so I don't forget how sweet my husband was with this one. 

Eleven Years!

"Marriage is not a ritual or an end . . .

 It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together

and nothing matters more

than your own sense of balance

and your choice of partner"

 - Amy Bloom

Merry Christmas!

For those of you who just got my Christmas card in the mail, let me just say, "I'm sorry." I guess it didn't matter after all that I ordered them back in November. We had some major problems with printing out the letter so I finally just sent them off without it. For those of you (most of you) who were perfectly satisfied with the card only, you do not have to read on. For posterity's sake, I've included it here. Enjoy!

Dear Family and Friends, 

    This has definitely been our busiest year but it has also been our happiest.  Our lives are so full of all of the usual things that occupy time and space but our home is filled with so much joy in the simple moments of every day.   It’s the funny things that my children say, the quiet that falls when everyone is actually eating (and enjoying) a meal that I have prepared, the hugs when my husband comes through the door.  It’s the gleam in the kid’s eyes when they discover something new or understand a slight comment or joke between the adults.  It’s watching my kids talking and laughing and even quarreling with each other; watching their relationships form before my eyes, relationships that they will have all of their lives.  It’s when they outsmart me and know it.  It’s the calm that comes when everyone is in their beds. It’s watching everyone dancing in the kitchen.  It’s the smile that I can’t hold back when all of the kids are singing to the radio in the car.  It’s the craziness, anticipation, and excitement before a road trip.  It’s the spirit of peace and love that fills our home when we gather to read the scriptures.  It’s the astonishment at the sheer volume of Claire’s scream.  It’s the potty humor of a five year old boy, still funny in all its impropriety.  It’s the quick wit of Audrey, the sly manipulation of Rachel in all her creativity.  It’s watching brains develop, character form, and testimony felt.    It’s the exasperated glances between James and I and the ensuing laughter when things get chaotic and exhaustion sets in.  I have been blessed to live with a man who truly finds the humor in life.  To James, there is nothing more amusing than a terrible day.  These are the things that make all of the dishes, laundry, yard work, bills, messes, sickness, snotty noses, dirty diapers, and sleepless nights, worthwhile. 

     This year will always be remembered as the year that James sold Preventive and started his own business.  James has been working to build “Green Street,” a home energy efficiency company, and we have been working hard to support him.  Things are going really well and we are so happy with our decision.  It has been great to see James break off on his own and build a business from the ground up; something that he has always wanted to do.  I’m very proud of him.  We have been married 11 years this month and I am happy to say that things just keep getting better.

     I have really enjoyed this year.  Being a Mother of four has been especially challenging with James focusing on building his business but the challenges have brought about a lot of growth and I have been blessed for the experiences I have had.  Me and the kids spent two months in Utah with family over the summer and made some really great memories.  I got to see what life would be like without James as we were away and he was traveling back and forth to Austin.  I am very happy to have him home.  We really missed him.  This year will also remain in my memory as the year that I gained both a sister-in-law and a niece!  Two things that I have been waiting to have for a very long time! 

     Audrey is nine.  She remains sweet and sensitive and one of the most empathetic children I know.  She works so hard and is so responsible.  She keeps our family on our toes.  I can always trust that she will remember things that need doing and places we need to be.  She sets her own alarm and wakes up our whole family every day!  I don’t know what I would do without her!  I can always depend on her to have a good attitude and to be helpful.  She is an amazing little dancer and just performed in “The Nutcracker” for the second time. 

     Rachel always amazes me.  She is now seven and does things like writing her spelling words upside down and backwards.  She is always thinking “outside the box.”  She is very analytical and asks us lots of deep questions.  She never takes anything at face value, always weighing it out in her own mind.  She is a great artist and also enjoys dancing and taking piano lessons.  She and Adam have become great friends this year.  It is so fun to watch them interact.  I can thank her for getting him ready for school next year as she is always teaching him and coloring with him.  I never know what to expect from her.  I love to see her wheels turning.  She makes life a lot of fun.

    Adam is my little man.  He holds a special place as the only boy in our family.  I absolutely adore him.  He graduated from speech therapy this year and is completely caught up.  When he could hardly say a word at three years old I never thought I’d see the day.  He is now more ready for school than any of my kids have been.  He has a great love of learning and enjoys challenging his mind and doing puzzles and “homework” assignments.  He jumps right in with the girls when they are studying.  He has a great sense of humor and always keeps our family laughing.  He still has his own unique way of talking and it makes me laugh every day the way he can put a sentence together.  I am so happy to have him in our family.

     Claire is our caboose and she is not to be outdone!  She is the most spirited of the whole bunch.  She is sociable and delightful like Audrey, imaginative and spunky like Rachel, and wild and crazy with a big sense of humor like Adam.  She really is all of the other three rolled into one, spoiled rotten and with her own diva flair.  She can intimidate the rest of us like no one can.  We all adore her.  It will be fun to see her personality continue to come out.  I look forward to having one on one time with her next year while all the others are in school.  I have been so busy during her baby years that she deserves it!

     As always, this time of year makes me reflect on my testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and of my Father in Heaven.  We have relied on our faith in hard times and try to remember him always even in times of peace.  I feel greatly blessed to know of the reality of God and his love for us.  The other day I was driving by myself and my favorite song came on the radio . . .

“Oh Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Saviors Birth.  Long lay the world in sin and error pining, ‘till he appeared and the soul felt its worth . . . “

     In the middle of traffic I felt the spirit in my heart as I thought about the implications of a world in sin and error “pining.”  The definition of the word pining is to long for somebody or something, especially somebody or something unattainable or to become weak and lose vitality as a result of grief or longing. The word pining really hit me as I realized that is really what we are without Christ.  Knowing Him is to know the worth of our own Soul.  I am forever indebted.

We hope this letter finds you happy and well.  We wish you a Merry Christmas and the best for the New Year ahead! 

Love, The Carter Family



Nutcracker Photo Overload!!

You will have to forgive me for the amount of photos in this post. 

 This is what happens when two of the things that I love the most come together.

  (Photography and Dance)

I get the parental lump of pride in my throat every time I watch my little girls perform.

  It brings back all of the fondest memories of my childhood. 

 I loved every part of it.

  I am so glad that the girls seem to love it as much as I did. 

We had a lot more people try out for the Nutcracker at the studio this year.  Because of this, Audrey only had one part.  She was a Soldier.  She was a little disappointed that she didn't get to be "girlie" this year but she played the part well!

Rachel was a Party Girl.  She absolutely loved the hair piece and wanted to wear it to school and church!

She was also a Party Boy.  She was not as excited to have her picture taken in this costume. 

I thought that these last two looked cute in black and white.

Before you start to ask why there are so many more pictures of Rachel than there are of Audrey it is because Audrey was a little distracted by her special visitor!

Her best friend Makayla Logsdon came all the way from Dallas to surprise Audrey.

It really meant a lot to have Chauntel and Makayla there to watch the girls.

A little backstage . . . 

And finally, the proud parents with their little beauties.