Day 129. Candles.

Oh, I love candles. LOVE THEM! I went out with my husband last night, and we walked around the mall. By the way, that is a completely different experience as an adult compared to "back in the day" when you and your buddies would walk around the mall as a pastime. A bit surreal.

Anyway, the Yankee store was running a FABULOUS sale. My husband indulged me, and I splurged on four new candles. My house is scented by one as I type. :)

Day 128. Lauren.

Well, it looks like summer vacation may very well be my demise. If weekends weren't hard enough, my 365 project is SURE to suffer with the craziness of the summer. Are you sick of hearing about it yet? Yeah, me, too. Excuses, excuses...

This is a pic of my buddy, Lauren. We LOVE her. :) I took this picture last summer at a church picnic. She is truly one of the sweetest, put together young ladies I've ever met. I won't embarrass her with details (she said she kind of stalks my blog, so I know she'll see this! :)... but I mean it when I say she's an awesome girl! She babysits our kiddos for us occasionally, and they adore her. So, in my catchup, since she was chastizing me for being so behind on blog entries, I thought I'd include her own, pretty face for everyone to admire. :)

Day 127. Tattoos.

Summer break is in full swing.  This is how one of my guys spent his evening.  Already bored???  Seriously.

Days 125 & 126. My 2nd Son's Baptism.

I recently told about our son's big decision.

We had a glorious day of celebration this weekend, as my husband was honored to baptize our second child. I thought I'd highlight a few of the keepsake gifts he received upon his special occasion.

 

 

Day 124. Twinkies.

This is just for my sweet friend, Tammy! :) We have this inevitable way of choosing the same clothing for our husbands. They've shown up to church on a handful of occasions wearing the same shirt (as if that isn't enough, we actually have another family of friends who have this in common as well!).

However, Tammy and I had managed to avoid making the mistake among the two of us... until YESTERDAY. Yes, here we are, wearing our look-alike white blouses. Aren't we cute?  We couldn't help but giggle every time we stood next to one another.

Love ya, my friend!!! At least I know I'm in good company! :)

Day 123. Family Issues.

Stylish, wouldn't you agree???

I am going to tell you today about a family secret... it's something we don't talk about very much. We prefer to "keep it in the closet," if you will. We Freeman girls have a very deeply rooted trait in common, and it's one that has been passed down since my grandmother. Are you ready for it?

We can't get rid of clothes!

I think, with every generation, a bit more healing has taken place. My mom has it the worst, among all of us. It's not that we don't go through things, because we do!... all in due time, of course. But we have this evil, quiet, little voice that continues to repeat itself, "...but what if I come back in style someday? What if you want to wear me later, and you have forgotten that you put me in the pile for Good Will?" So, instead of just throwing said item into a "give away" pile, we feel better if we pass it around to one another. Piles and piles of clothes get stuffed into garbage bags, and we "let" (like it's a privilege) all of our female family members go through it before we get rid of it. After all, if someone near and dear to us could use it (and/or return it, should we ever want it back), then why not "keep it in the family"?

I have fought this pattern of behavior for YEARS! I like to believe I've broken the cycle. I go through clothes pretty often, although I have a more difficult time getting rid of my kids' things than I do my own... but that has nothing to do with the story.

My mother, bless her ever-loving heart, came over to my house yesterday with FOUR bags full of blouses that came out of her closet. She had gone through it over the weekend, and wanted to make sure I didn't want any of it before she got rid of it completely. This particular top just made me chuckle, because I immediately identified it as one of the items I had in my own closet... when I was in HIGHSCHOOL!!!!!

I even found photographic evidence. It's a yearbook pic, so it's not in color, and not the best quality, but I think you'll be able to tell that it is indeed the same article of clothing. Oh dear. Needless to say, I do NOT plan on keeping the blouse. I love my mother, and I believe she will agree with me that there are some things better off given away!!! :)

P.S.  It's perfectly reasonable that you make jokes about the hair.  But it was 1992/93, my junior year, and believe it or not... we all had "BIG" hair back then!

Days 121 & 122. The Bennett Family

I had the pleasure of meeting with this darling family last night for a session. I put together some previews this morning, and wanted to share them as Days 121 and 122. :) These kiddos just made me smile.

This is one of my favorite shots, because their mom was standing behind me, making them smile. You just don't get more authentic than a child laughing with their mama. PRECIOUS!