First Sleep Over!

Yea!!!...we're waiting on our first ever invitation

to sleep over at a friend's house!

Not sure if you can tell, but we are soooo excited!

Being silly...cannot wait any longer!

(insert lots of squeals & screams!)

Alice is here! We love Alice!

We are on our way!

Had a blast!

1 John 4:7

"Dear friends, let us love one another,

for love comes from God."

What color are you today?

Ok, I can admit it... I am obsessed with color. I have a thing for rainbows too, especially Charlotte's drawing of the one above...

Saw this double rainbow 2 summers ago in Italy with my mom and sister... truly amazing!

I love to wear color, decorate with color, and paint with color. (remember everything on the website is 50% off!) I love watching the wet colors bleed into the paper, never quite knowing what will come of the brush strokes.

I love noticing color in nature, in hair, in the sunsets God paints.

Our girls have twin friends who recently turned us on to this cute song and I find myself listening to it without the kids. Scary, I know. But the words are wonderful and I am sure we all have at some point felt like every color described. How about you...what color do you feel like today? Play this song for your kids... talk about it and ask them. Guaranteed to get great answers and discussions!

Have a colorful day!

xoxo,

C

Folded hands...

This morning as we headed out bright and early we noticed this cool fella...a praying mantis. They are interesting creatures, and it struck me that we should try to be more like them. It appears that they are in prayer position all day! Quite certain that is NOT what they are doing, but it was a small reminder to use the whole day and every opportunity to go to God. How much better our days would be if we truly spent more of it in prayer and thanksgiving!

I have this picture of William (age 3 from Vacation Church Camp) on the bulletin board in the studio...one of my favorites and another gentle reminder.

Philippians 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Have a blessed one!

xoxo,

C

School and Yummy Stuff!

Ok, so I never expected to be so emotional as I dropped off my newborn, I mean my 11 year old, to middle school today. Our bus either never showed or came late. Whew...lots of emotions, but know he is so ready and he is in great hands. Walker loved the day and can't wait to go back tomorrow. William darted right in to 3rd grade with a grin and reported the day was fantastic except for the amount of homework assigned the first day. Better get used to it!

Cheered me up though, to get these photos today from my sister who made the hamburger cupcakes for my nephew... Elliott's birthday. I found the photos and directions on Flickr and had e-mailed them to her knowing she would certainly take on the task...and she did. Look how cute they turned out! Then later, William and I searched Flickr and found these cool Star Wars cupcakes! Talented folks out there...

And look at sweet Elliott celebrating in his new Kindergarten class! Happy Birthday E!

You have to let me brag for a minute...my sister is amazingly talented when it comes to food. That is certainly her art. She cannot paint and she has pretty crazy handwriting (sorry sis) but she will knock your socks off with any type of food preparation. Aleene has her own catering business in Georgetown, SC and started small but is known now for throwing lovely and large southern events. He catering company is called Puttin' On The Grits and she does no advertising...word of mouth has kept her VERY busy!

Don't these examples of her work make you want to throw a party or have a wedding?

How about this shrimp cocktail served in a martini glass? Hungry yet?

Sweet tooth anyone? Edible spoons with espresso mouse or something yummy like that.

I can make decent cakes and can paint with icing...made these for my girl's 5th birthday to match their invitation. But that's about it...she definitely took my mom and grandmother's cooking talent and took off! Want to see more of Aleene's yummy stuff...click here!

Here's to creative cooking, yummy stuff...and happy kids back at school!

xoxo,

C

Thank you!

Thank you to all who made it out Sunday afternoon for William's Lemonade Stand for a Great Cause! You amazed us as you delivered LOTS of school supplies, book bags, and uniforms for A Child's Place. We actually filled the back trailer of our John Deer with all of the supplies you brought so thank you!We collected $530 for A Child's Place to purchase uniforms and supplies which are desperately needed this week as school begins.William served over 6 gallons of cold lemonade and many cookies to thirsty children and adults who stopped by. Some kids stayed and played ball in the front yard for a while...

We even had cars lined up like a drive through who filed along like a carpool line!

We had two very excited 5 year old helpers who ate and drank more than they served.

The only difficult part was controlling the number of cookies my own children ate! Needless to say they did not eat a great dinner last night!

William had a big smile as we delivered it all today to A Child's Place.

They were thrilled with the donation and it was certainly a great way to end the summer and begin the school year, knowing we helped children in need. It also is a great reminder of the many blessings we have and often take for granted. I pray that each of your children, that all of our children, have a safe and wonderful school year!

Blessings,

Caroline

Lemonade Stand for a Great Cause!

All kids love lemonade stands and mine are no exception. Last year William begged to have one as part of his birthday celebration and even came up with the idea to donate the money to a charity. This was music to my ears and because of this, we still had the small party he wanted but tried to make this the main birthday event. We even contacted Sunkist's Take a Stand Program and William wrote in about his idea and they sent us the cardboard kit to make the actual stand. William and I sat down and talked about various organizations and he ended up choosing The Harvest Center in Charlotte, a wonderful organization which ministers to and feeds the homeless in our area. We had an amazing turnout and ended up donating $1200 to The Harvest Center! Folks came from all over Charlotte. They heard about it from e-mails, our poster boards, and from friends and family. William invited a buddy to help and a few babysitters too. You can see all of the pictures from last year's stand here. This summer, William chose A Child's Place as the place to give donations. We will serve free lemonade and cookies tomorrow (Sunday) from 1-4 to everyone who brings donations of school supplies or school uniforms or money toward those needed items. As of May 2009, there were nearly 3,000 children enrolled in the CMS school system who were identified as homeless. This breaks our hearts, and we know that uniforms (new or used), new book bags & school supplies, and monetary donations will certainly help these children.

We hope that if you stumble upon this blog and live nearby, you will come by tomorrow for some cold lemonade and cookies for a great cause! We hope to see you here!

P.S. We called A Child's Place with a few questions and they called back saying that they may send a WCNC camera crew to cover the story and interview William...should be a fun event!

Saved by Grace & more

Always paint new designs while listening to music, usually contemporary Christian music.

One of my favorite songs...Saved by Grace by Jadon Lavik. Also love What If.

If you want to create your own radio station try Pandora Radio...such fun! Enjoy!

xoxo,

C

No whining, please!

Saw this great sign at one of our favorite restaurants at the beach this summer! Sometimes I want to hang this sign in my kitchen at 5:30pm. Anyone with me?

Subscribe by e-mail...easy as pie!

Lots of you have asked how to get updates from the blog with out having to remember to check. Just figured out how to add the cute little button in the upper right that says Subscribe to carolinesimas by E-mail. So click there and enter your e-mail address...easy as pie and you will only receive an e-mail when I have posted a new entry!

Thanks for following along! Lots of design news on the way...plus a give away too!

xoxo,

C

Splash & Dash!

Fun weekend! William and Daddy did the Splash & Dash! William swam 8 laps and then ran 1 mile! Daddy swam 16 laps and then ran a 5K! Awesome job guys!

The rest of us were supportive fans!

Even met the Chick-fil-A cow!

Then of course we had to go afterwards and celebrate here!

More pictures from the Splash & Dash here...

Hope that you had a great weekend!

xoxo,

C

Details, Details...

Found this amazing vintage dress at one of my favorite antique malls about a year ago. They have a section of fun vintage and retro outfits and I was in the market for a 70's Halloween costume. I did find this for that occasion, but really loved the fabric and detail of the dress above. I will not be wearing it as a dress but have grand plans to use this quilted fabric to make 2 great pillows...likely for use in my studio. Anyway, the detail amazes me....just look at this color and stitching!

I get wrapped up in the color and of intricateness of designs....the artist in me I guess. When I

see the details in things like this, it reminds me of how God takes care of all the details in our lives if we just surrender and let Him be in control. Not easy, I know. I have had great experience with this lately and I have to say, it feels great to let go and let God take control. Like your mom used to say, "try it, you may like it!" Here's a good devotion about who's in control.

It reminds me that if we just look around, we can see colors and details like this in flowers & landscapes, more flowers, in birds, even in our kid's hair color...in so many things. Our children see it and beg us to look and stop and enjoy every bit of it. We get so busy with the details of our daily lives, it's no wonder we forget to stop and enjoy the true details.

Tell us about any yummy vintage finds you've discovered, photo shots of detail, or ways you can see God in the details of your every day!

xoxo,

C

No pressure!

Recently, we stopped by Daniel Island, SC to see the lot my in-laws bought a year ago. They have not sold their home in Rhode Island yet, but hope to eventually build on Daniel Island and move there. We decided to make funny signs for each kid to hold and try to entice them to hurry up and make the jump toward retiring, building and moving. No pressure!

Wanted: Nan & Papa Joe

Wish You Were Here!

Carolina Bound?

Babysitters Wanted

They printed the picture and actually called the builder so that's progress! They even flew to see us this weekend, surprising the kids (particularly for William's birthday). When William came home from camp, he was told there was a special package that was delivered and it was in his closet. Should have seen his face when he opened the closet doors! Pure joy!

We love you Nan & Papa Joe!

9

I am in disbelief that sweet William was born 9 years ago yesterday! This fella is so happy, loving, and creative. He can put together a 300+ piece Lego kit in record time, can construct anything, can throw a shrimp net like nobody's business, can hit the lights out at the baseball field, and can hold his own in a martial arts
tournament. William is thrilled to have new Lego sets for his birthday as well as his first home pets...2 hermit crabs! Introducing Yoda Sr. and Captain Claw...

William, we love you so very much and pray God's blessings on you this day and always.

xoxo

Winners!

Today, our oldest son, Walker, won first place in his age group at a National Junior Golf Club tournament at Providence Country Club.
He loves the game and has become quite a good player. He shot a 78 today!!!

(40 on the back and 38 on the front).
This is his 3rd golf trophy...

The first one was last year when he came in 2nd in his age group for an inner club tournament.
The second trophy is a shared one with Dad...they won 1st place in the Father/Son tournament last year.
But this one was extra special...Walker called my dad (Pop) last night and asked if he would come today and be his caddy. Pop gladly agreed to the job and it was just the beginning of a magical day!

Walker has played a lot of golf this summer. There have been disappointing and frustrating days; many wonderful ones too...
The game of golf is such a great "life sport"...and a lot like life itself. Some days we hit pure shots...long and straight and stay on the fairway, ease right up onto the green and sink it. Other days, we land in the ruff and it's so difficult to get out of the mess; or we land in the bunker...the sand trap... and we can't get out. If we rely on God, trusting Him in all things, knowing full well that He has us in the palm of his hand and that He works all things together for good, we believe that He will lead us out of the ruff or the water and push us to the place He wants us to be. He never promised there would be "hole in ones!"
So proud of you Walker...for doing your best and for enjoying the game, for being a good sport, and for including your sweet grandfather in such a magical day! Bless you Dad, for being a part of it! Today you were BOTH winners!

Warning: Messy but FUN!

We've been missing the beach so we dove right in to an under the sea project... Enjoy!

WARNING: MESSY but FUN!

Materials:
straws
food coloring
cups of water
dishwashing liquid
spatulas
stencils, paper, crayons, etc.

Step #1 Buy or make stencils of sea animals and shells and such. Or if your kids are old enough, have them draw them on their own. Color the pictures leaving white space in the background.

Step #2 Fill cups with water and dishwashing liquid. Have the kids blow bubbles in each cup using the straws and add food coloring when the bubbles rise.

Step #3 Scoop the colored bubbles off the top of the cup with the spatula and place them on top of the sea life picture, having the bubbles pop and create an underwater scene.

Messy but fun!!! Enjoy!
You can also see it all here!

xoxo,

C

Back to reality!

Ok, we're back to reality here...laundry, cooking and cleaning...but ahhh, I feel like Dorothy in a way...there's no place like home. LOVED being away at the beach for a week with family but the older I get, the more I realize even if you are on an amazing trip of a life time...

there's no place like home. Great to be back in our own beds...even the kids said so!

Ok, so my shower at home doesn't have THIS VIEW! Yes, my sweet Daddy cut a hole in the outside shower so you can watch the sunset and view of the amazing marsh while you get clean! Never showered inside the entire week!

I spent spent some time last night organizing our great pictures from the week and I added my favorites to the Flikr grouping here. It's such fun to watch them as a slide show with the kids and hear their comments. As we dive back into reality here, we come back with a head and heart full of memories. My parents built the beach house just for that and we are most grateful! Will tell you the story sometime about the name of the house... BoyHood Memories.

We took the kids into Charleston on our way home (not really in our way) and showed them where we first met (at this fountain), where we had our first date; we walked the College of Charleston campus, drove through the MUSC campus where Daddy went to graduate school, then drove over the huge bridge to Mt. Pleasant for a great lunch at Boulevard Diner (best fried dill pickles ever!)

The kids were certainly not as nostalgic or excited as we were to see or hear our stories, but they did seem to enjoy what we saw and what we did on our quick Charleston adventure.

Back to reality isn't bad after all. I love my reality and I love being home. Thanks be to God for a wonderful week and for safe travel home!

xoxo,

C