"C" is for CORA....That's good enough for me!

Some of you may remember Cookie Monster singing the song "C" is for Cookie.  Well when Cora was little we would sing "C" is for Cora!  Well this Christmas I finally decided that it was time to make cookies with Cora.  Please read this entire post before you judge me!

Through my career with Pampered Chef I have found that there are generally two kinds of people: Those who like to cook and those who like to bake.  I like to bake.  My mom likes to bake and her mother was a good baker as well.....my grandma's last name is even Baker!  I remember when I first got married I would bake at Christmas using the same cookie recipes that my mother used.  I would make huge cookies trays that looked just like my mothers.  And I thoroughly enjoyed doing it!  That is......until Cora was born.  After Cora was born my time was taken up by a sweet little girl and honestly had no energy to lug out a kitchen aide mixer to mix cookies.  So Christmas cookie making resulted in Pillsbury ready made cookies.  I remember one Christmas calling Grandma Baker and she asked what we were doing.  I replied making snowman cookies.  It took me a minute but she thought we were making snowman sugar cookies.  I didn't want to embarrass myself by letting her know that they were Pillsbury!

So this year I decided we were going to do things a bit differently.  Cora was 8 1/2 and it was about time that I dust off the Kitchen Aide mixer and show her exactly where cookies come from!  So she donned her Pampered Chef apron and chef hat and was ready for our day!  Her readiness to me meant that we really should be doing this more often.  So I got out what seemed like ancient Christmas cookie recipes.  These were the same recipes that were on my mother's coveted cookie plates!  And so we began.....

First lesson.....learning how to measure flour!

Next lesson.......

.....learning how to crack an egg!

Then we learned how to use a scoop to make sure all the cookies are the same size!!

Then comes the fun part!  Decorating!  There was a lot of finger licking so I cannot be held responsible for the germs!

And the best part.......taste testing!

We tried a new recipe for these sweet snowman cookies!

And this was the end result.  Perfectly placed on a Christmas platter (my mom would be proud!)



So I hope it is not too late to develop my daughters love of baking.....or cooking for that matter.  I have learned lessons from each of the beloved women in my life.  From my grandma Baker I learned that you take the cookies out of the oven a little bit before the timer goes off and leave them on the cookie sheet to finish baking to keep the cookies from getting too brown.  From my mother I learned to stock up on baking supplies through out the year so you always have them on hand.  I always remember margarine and flour in our freezer.  And from my mother in law I learned to always put a piece of bread in with the cookies to keep them from getting stale.  I even have my own baking tips aside from those.  I always use butter when baking and I like to bake with room temp eggs.

I took recipes from these 3 women and hung them on the wall in my newly decorated kitchen.  Once again trying to surround Cora with the baking and cooking traditions in our family.  So here's to Cora's new cooking adventures.....and my sanity!

The recipes are all in their own handwriting.  Grandma Baker- Oatmeal cookies , Mary Welsh (MIL) Angel food cake, Marty Holt (mom) Mustard Sauce. 



"And The Stockings Were Hung......"

For as long as I can remember Christmas, I remember our Christmas Stockings.  I wish I could remember where there was a picture of them.  But what I do know is that they were a tradition in our family and one that I gladly passed on to my family. 

These are hung here because the room our fireplace is in isn't finished yet!

Of course there is a story to how they came to be a part of my family's Christmas Tradition.  My mom happily decorated our house each Christmas in matching red and white decorations.  Every Christmas she added one new decoration.  So as the story goes (circa 1976) my parents decided that because of money being tight they would only buy for each other's stockings.  So my mom came up with the idea to added new Christmas stockings to the Christmas flair.  The stockings were made of red and white gingham quilted fabric adorned with different color trim and rick rack at the top.  The "mom and dad" stockings were a little bigger than the "Dionne and Zach" stockings.  But what made these stocking unique is that they were over 2ft long and over a 1ft wide.  They were big enough to actually put them on like boots and walk around! (Yes we did try that out as adults one late Christmas night where in a few drinks had been consumed).


At first sight one may think that the size was a bit much.....a bit over indulgent.  But what they became was the best part of our Christmas.  It is what we waited for.  The made the saying "big things come in small packages" real!  My mom was the QUEEN of filling that stocking.  Over the years there was toothbrushes, socks, lip gloss, matchbox cards and chocolate.  When we got older it was jewelry, money, videos and gift cards.  My mom is the "stocking stuffer master".  She shops all year long to find just the right and sometimes quirky thing that will end up in someones stockings.

And soon the days of going home for Christmas were over my brother Zach and I were charged with finding our own Christmas traditions.  But one tradition that we chose to keep from our childhood were our stockings.  So from my Mom's original stockings, patterns were made by my Sister in law Kimberly and by me (although Kimberly indeed made hers and I had someone make them for me :/)  But just like that I found myself scouring clearance aisles all year long looking for the right and sometimes quirky thing that will end up in Cora's stocking! Great things like band aids, hair brushes, videos and fuzzy socks. 

A picture of our stockings from last Christmas!

Zach, Kimberly, Bear and Kody's stockings.....she will be making another one for next year!

As for Steve, I am sure this was a tradition that he had to get used to.  After all the stockings are larger than the normal stocking!  And for the past few years he has done a great job.  But this year.....we have done a lot of work on our house....."and money is tight".....  So we are going to take The 20 in 20 challenge .  However because of the size of our stockings it may need to be a 30 in 30 or a 40 in 40.  So we are getting a sitter for Saturday night and we are going shopping.  And the tradition of "the just right and quirky thing" will live on!

But at the end of the Christmas season what I so hope for is that when Cora gets married her husband will welcome our stockings into their home.  And hoping that she will enjoy filling them like I do....and my mom does.  So please don't judge us when you see our stockings....just know that they are filled with love and memories!

.....By The Chimney With Care,
~Cora's Mom



Dear Cora.....

Dear Cora,

I decided to do this blog in "letter form" because I fear that this Christmas will probably be the last of its kind.  For next year you will be another year older and another year wiser.  So I am taking the time to put some thoughts down about this holiday season:

It is finally December 1st!  Some would say that you can now officially start thinking about Christmas and all that goes with it.  It is finally an acceptable time to put up the Christmas Tree.  And in a couple weeks Daddy will say that we can start listening to Christmas music (even though you have been listening to the Justin Bieber Christmas CD that we bought while he was gone).  It is pretty boring if you ask me.  You see Cora there are two types of people in this world....the ones that Welcome the Holiday Season as soon as possible and the cynical ones that think everything is commercial and no one knows "the reason for the season".


I have heard the debates for a few weeks now.  The big deal over stores opening on Thanksgiving and the craziness of Black Friday (You just discovered what Black Friday is and I think you just love to say "Black Friday" !).  Those who judge forget about the people who need to work on those days so that they have a good paycheck.  They forget about the family who needs to stand in line because they need a good sale to make their money go further.  But you can participate in all the craziness of the holiday season and still know the "reason". 


So exactly how long should this "season" last.  If you ask me 365 days!  You heard me!  There are those that were upset that there were Christmas decorations up at Halloween.  I just ignored them and you should too!  I am my mother's child.  I couldn't be more excited when I see the first signs of the holiday.  And Cora, you are my child.  I love that you will probably still be listening to that Justin Bieber Christmas CD in March!

 All I need to do is look through your eyes and I can see the "season" all year long.  When I was a child I always loved going to church in the summer time because when it came time to sing hymns it was the congregation's choice.  So we would yell out page numbers and then sing that song.  We used to LOVE so yell out Christmas hymns thinking we were so funny.  But to be honest those hymns are relevant all year long.....O Holy Night....O Come Emanuel....Silent Night.  Not one of those hymns say "On December 25th Jesus was born and on December 26th take down your tree!"


What are we to do on December 26th?  It is so hard to put everything away.  Last Sunday started advent and we called "Come Lord Jesus".  Ahhhhh to wake up every morning saying "Come Lord Jesus"!  Why are we only to say it for a month?  My prayer for you is that you say "Come Lord Jesus" all year long.  We can sit and judge others saying that Christmas is too commercialized but I hope that I have taught you the same thing that my mother taught me.  Christmas is the most magical time of the year.  A time to be treasured and remembered.  A time for Christmas trees perfectly trimmed and food that is only eaten once a year!  A time that we allowed Jesus to enter our hearts.  And a time for Peace and Good will toward men. 

This year we have been invited to a friends house to celebrate Hanukkah.  You are so excited!  I absolutely love that you are so eager to find out that Hanukkah is so much more than playing Dreidel.  Your daddy will tell you that makes you my daughter.  He is right.  You are like me.  But being like me makes you always want to find out more.  Isn't that what this season is about?  Always wanting to find out more.....Having the faith that there is enough oil in the lamp?  I well up with tears just thinking about it.  If only to live all year with the wanting...and faith.


Leaving you with one that thought that I you'll understand when you are older.......Each of us is an Innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus-Neal Maxwell.  I would only add that you make the decision every day not just on December 25th.


Until Next Year,
~Your Mommy

30 Days of Thankfulness- Days 6-24

I knew this would happen.  I set myself up for failure.  To commit myself to remember to ask my daughter what she was thankful every day while in the midst of Steve being gone, hockey practice to go to and learning multiplication tables was indeed setting myself up for failure.  But with that in mind I vowed to get caught up today.  I vowed to make Cora sit down and write an "uncoached" list of what she was thankful for in addition to what we have already put on the blog.  So here it is.....our make up list! This list is unedited by the way!

-Dad
-recess
-my teacher
-granny and grandpa
-mawmaw and pawpaw
-friends
-hockey
-health
-food
-a house
-toys
-first communion
-multiplication
-books
-cloths
-grandma baker

I personally find "health" and "multiplication" very humorous.  Not humorous in a bad way but humorous in that not many healthy 8 year olds are thankful for health and multiplication is not coming to us very quickly and plagues us every night.at homework time.  So maybe she means the multiplication of her toys at Christmas.  I don't know.....I didn't ask.  But this kid is so great.  And she makes me want to be a better person everyday.  Because if she is even remotely wanting to be like me one day I just want to know that I have been a good example.  From the looks of this list.....I think we are doing pretty good!

Happy Thanksgiving~
Cora's Thankful Mom

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 5

"I am thankful for getting to go see Beauty and the Beast today"

**side note.....I thought about having a talk with Cora about being more thoughtful about her answer but today was so great!  I have had these tickets for a couple of months.  I thought it would be the perfect distraction from Steve being gone.  Cora would go see a "production of something"  every week if she were able.  I managed to keep this one a secret up until we walked through the door!  Her only complaint was about our seats. She likes to sit in the front so that she can see the orchestra and what is going on on stage.  Afterward we always relive what our favorite part was....my favorite part was when Belle came out in her yellow dress and the Beast was all dressed up and they were in the ballroom.  Because as soon as they started dancing Cora grabbed onto my arm and I literally think I heard her breath being taken away.  I hope she always believes in fairy tales.....and I hope that she will wait for the prince that takes her breath away.  So thankful for today

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 4

"I am thankful for my momma"

**side note-we did have to have a talk about thankfulness when she told me that she was thankful for her Justin Bieber CD that I got her today as a reward.  Hopefully from here on out I won't have to "alter" her answers!!

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 3

"I am thankful for my new Muppets Tshirt that my mom got me." 

Thank her mom got for FREE at Jcpenney!  Yeah!

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 2

"I am thankful my mom bought Nestle Quik"

side note:  Cora does not like milk.  She wants to badly to like chocolate milk and she wanted to try Nestle Quik but  I said no because I didn't want to waste it.  I got it at the grocery store today with double coupons so the price wasted so bad.  I will just have to help her drink it! :)

30 Days of Thankfulness-Day 1

"I am thankful for my puppy because I love her.  I like when she shakes her toys but I don't like when she bites my feet and steals my socks."

30 Days of Thankfulness

This is a picture of our fabulous family.  Steve and I are very lucky to have such wonderful and loving parents.  We can only hope to be great parents like they are. Being thankful is something that we strive to teach Cora every day.  So I am going to help Cora this month and going to do it via this blog. 

Today we will begin 30 days of thankfulness.  Every day (hopefully) we will post what Cora is thankful for.  I am sure you will wait with baited breath each day for the reveal!  I can't wait to hear what she has to say!

So here's to 30 days of being Thankful.....and here's to hoping it lasts longer than 30 days.


~Thankful I am.....Cora's Mom

Blessing of Animals??

Every October in a Catholic Church you will see a parade of "animals" descend on the church grounds to receive their blessing.  This blessing usually coincides with St. Francis of Assisi's feast day of October 4.  St. Francis wrote "All praise to you, oh loved, for all these brother and sister creatures" and is referred to as the patron Saint of animals.

So today I took Cora and Betsy to the Blessing of the Animals....to get them BOTH blessed. Yep you heard right....I needed to get BOTH animals blessed!! 

Before you judge me, let me explain. 

Since my dog Jack passed away, Cora has been asking for a puppy.  I could not deny her.  Every little boy and girl should have one.  I had dogs my entire childhood.  But once Betsy Ross entered our home, the dynamic was a little different than I expected.

First Cora defined all of our "roles" in Betsy's life.  Cora pronounced herself as the momma, Steve was the daddy and I was to be Betsy's Nanny.  The Nanny.....really?  But technically speaking I was the one that was home with her all day.  But what is funny is now Cora refers to me as Nanny and even the Vet calls me Nanny!

However now as Betsy has settled into our house, I would challenge Cora's role as the "momma".  I would define Cora's role as Betsy's SISTER!  Because if you could hear the amount of barking and tattling that goes on in this house, you would know that this "nanny" is in charge of 2 CHILDREN!  Not convinced??  Let me plead my case:

-Cora won't play with Betsy.....Betsy barks until she does.  Betsy does something she shouldn't Cora runs to tell on her.

-Cora gets mad at me and stomps off to her room.  Betsy gets in trouble and hides under the China cupboard.

-Betsy wants all of her toys out so she can choose what to play with.....Cora gets all her toys out and they both conveniently walk away and neither one picks them up and puts them away.

-Betsy sits by the front door waiting for Cora to get home. Cora can't wait to get home from school to play with her.  They are so excited when they see each other but it is only a matter of time until Betsy is barking and Cora is fussing at her.

-After the above mentioned happens, it is only a matter of time before I put the dog outside and make cora go to her room just to have PEACE and QUIET!

-And finally.....I potty trained both of them (well "daddy" did help me with that one)

So while both my "animals" demand many things from me I wouldn't have it any other way.  On April 24th, 2003 a sweet baby girl entered our house and on September 3rd, 2011 our sweet Betsy Ross entered our house.  Both girls found their "forever homes" and I am forever grateful for God's blessings.  But today we went to the "Blessing of the animals" just for a little extra prayer. 

Father gave us a St. Francis medal today as well. I intend to put it on Betsy's leash.  So that St. Francis will intercede and help Betsy to learn to walk on the leash like a normal dog and intercessions for when Cora walks her so that she will quit fussing at her! And for me......I will gladly take any prayers for the caretaker....I mean Nanny of the "animals"!

~Cora's Mom and Betsy's Nanny

Your Hero Doesn't Wear A Cape.....A Mom's Recollection Of 9/11/01

It is Friday,September 9th, 2011 and I have gotten you ready for school and sent you off on the bus.  I am drinking my cup of coffee and watching the Today's show and seeing all of the stories being retold of 9/11 and tears are coming very quickly because I too remember that day so well.  Then it occurred to me that this may be the first anniversary of that fateful day that you will actually be able to understand what happened that day.  But more importantly I want to understand what your daddy did that day and why he and his shipmates are heros.

I married your daddy on March 18th, 2000.  He had already accepted orders to go to the USS Vella Gulf July 2000.  Once he reported to that ship they immediately started getting ready to deploy on a 6 month deployment on September 18, 2001. So we had many months to get ourselves ready for a very routine 6 month deployment.

Now fast forward to September 11, 2001.  It started as a normal day. Your daddy left for the ship and I left for work.  I was teaching kindergarten at Portlock Primary and we had just started our school year so it was a little hectic.  A friend had come to our room to tell us that the planes had crashed into the World Trade centers.  I immediately tried to call the ship to find out if they were leaving.  Your daddy finally called me to tell me that all the ships were leaving but your daddy's ship, the USS Vella Gulf along with the USS George Washington were heading to the New York Harbor.  My heart sank.  They were already scheduled to leave for a deployment in 7 days.  And I wasn't going to get to hug him goodbye.

The ship returned to Norfolk naval base and the USS Vella Gulf and her shipmates had one week to get their affairs in order.  The USS Theodore Roosevelt Battle Group were on their way to defend our country.  Although I was extremely worried and upset, I knew that that ship was ready and so was her crew. 

Daddy with his shipmates from radio on the USS Vella Gulf CG72

While on their deployment they received a flag from the World Trade Center site.  Your dad was on duty that day and got to take pictures with it. It was flown on each ship in that battlegroup.

The flag that was flown over the world trade center rumble.

And the best part of a deployment is the homecoming!  And we had a great homecoming for the battle group.  They were coming home heroes!  But the best part was that while daddy was gone we had decided to have a baby!  So a few months later we found out that I was pregnant and you were going to be coming in April!

USS Vella Gulf homecoming May 2002

Waiting for daddy to get off the ship!

After Daddy left that ship he decided to retire.  I believe that was hard for him to do.  I believe that a "hero" is someone that goes above and beyond and puts others before themselves.  Your daddy is a hero.  He puts his God and his country first and although it is hard when he leaves that is part of his job and his passion. 

Cedric Butts delivered the keynote address.  Cedric and Daddy were stationed

on their first ship together in 1985 USS Copeland.  They are still great friends.

Daddy giving his baby girl flowers at his retirement.

Steve receiving his flag at his retirement.

Navy family being piped ashore for the last time.

On September 11th then President George W. Bush said: "This is the day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace.  America has stood down enemies before, and we will so this time.  None of us will ever forget this day.  Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world."

So there you have it my sweet girl. Heros are the ones that put others before themselves.  They fight for what is right.  They get the bad guys and always watch out for their girls.  But more importantly my sweet sweet girl I want you to know what a hero is because I want you to choose a hero for your children as well.  Then tell them that Heros often wear uniforms but they RARELY wear capes!

~Cora's mom.....the one who washes the uniform!  :)

Ready or Not......Cora's Room Reveal

So of course there has to be a story to this room reveal.  But the story is short and sweet.....Cora is growing up.  Period....End of Story.

I began to realize this when Cora turned 8.  Although generally a Tween begins at age 9.  I realized that Cora's birthday list was not that of a sweet little girl....but of a dreaded Tween!!!  First thing she wanted was new bedding.  Not just any new bedding.  She wanted Little Mismatched Bedding.  And secondly she wanted bunk beds.  Goneeeeeeeeeeeeee was the sweet pink princess room.  Did I mention that she is on to purple now?  So with the move I decided that having a new room would be something to look forward to so we began the process of picking things out for Cora's new Tween Room!

First things first....Bedding.  Cora got her Little Mismatched Bedding for her birthday.  I got it at JCPenney.  It was definitely.....well....missmatched!

I ordered the bunk beds from Walmart so that they would be ready to go as soon as we moved in.  She is sleeping on the bottom and the top bunk is for all her stuffed animals and is being set up for a "Reading Nook".

Cora wanted her room purple.  And by purple I mean PURPLE!  So we compromised and did three walls SASSY VIOLET and Accent wall SIMPLY PURPLE that she wanted.  The one thing that made this even more great was that my dad came to our house for a few days and he did ALOT of painting for us!  He painted Cora's room and when he called her into her room she "squealed" with delight!  I got Valspar from Lowes for this room and my dad said that he has used alot of paint and this Valspar was just about the nicest paint he has ever used!

Once it was all painted Steve put up the curtains.  The curtains by far are my most favorite part!  I found these curtains at JCPenney.  I think they absolutely make the room.  When I showed Cora I was hoping for a squeal but I didn't get the same squeal that my dad did with the paint. :/

The rest of the furniture were pieces that she had in her room in South Carolina.  Of course we have more books and I am going to put more things in the cubes but I am not ready to unpack it all now.  And her hockey things are also going up again but not sure where we are going to put it quite yet.

And of course....no "cool room" would be complete without a disco ball.  I turned the flash off on my camera so you could get the full effect.

My friend Rachelle turned us on to these really cool dry erase stickers that you put on the wall.  I got Cora a pack of peace sign ones and put one by her door so we could write "things not to forget!"  I thought I would seal the deal with this room by adding a little note to her:

And what you see below gives me hope that we may just make it through the "Tween Years".....alive...

So there you have it. A big THANK YOU to my dad and my husband Steve for making this room happen.  And a big THANK YOU to Cora for being patient enough with me.  I know that her growing up is inevitable but I would just like to slow down and savor it a little!

~Cora's Mom

A Sign Of the Times

This is a short and sweet "Cora Funny" but truly a sign of the times. 

So we are in the car and Cora decided to draw a picture for my Grandma.  Cora and my Grandma share a love of cardinals so she wanted to draw a picture of a male and female cardinal.  So here is the conversation:

Cora: I need to see a picture of a cardinal
Me: Just draw a bird and color it red
After a quiet pause
Cora: Mom.....Do you have google on your phone?
Me (laughing): I am more of a Yahoo! girl....can we look it up on Yahoo! ?
Cora: No Mom! It has to be Google!

Seriously?  My 8 yr old has a preference on which search engine she uses?

And that my friends.....is a sign of the times.  But a great picture was drawn and a Great Grandma's day was made!

~Cora's Yahooligan Mom

This much I know...lessons from my town.....

This post came to me while Cora and I were at The Winter Drive In.  This is the same drive in that I went to when I was Cora's age.  The same drive in that I went to with friends.  The same drive in that I went to with boyfriends.  I suddenly realized that once I drove through the gate an insane amount of memories came flooding back.

The funny thing is....we came to the Drive in because I wanted to share the experience with Cora.  We added it to her not Bummer Summer album.  But I stopped there.  Did I really want to tell her of all my escapades there?  No.....instead I decided to use this blog to tell her everything that I learned from those escapes and from growing up in the Ohio Valley.

-Whatever you do your parents will ALWAYS find out.

-Get a good BFF and hang on tight....it is gonna be a fun ride.

-Go with your gut....it is always right. If you don't think you are supposed to be somewhere then LEAVE!

-When your parents tell you that a friend isn't worth your time.....they are right.  :/

-You are welcome to use the car but it has to be put back where it came from (that is where I got my "mad parallel parking skills) and make sure you stop at the gas station on the way home!

-Being friends with someone shouldn't be work.

-No matter what you do on a saturday night, Church is on Sunday Morning.

-You and your friends are always welcome in our house as long as you and they are respectful.

-I will always wait up for you and no matter where you are I will always come and get you.

-And no that no matter how much you love a place and how many roots you have you must spread your wings and fly.

I could have gone into great detail with each of these but I will save those stories for when Cora is older.  But no matter how much of a bad rap everyone gives this place it was a great place to grow up.  I have always said that I left having two things- a great work ethic and a love for a wide variety of food.  So I hope that in these next few weeks that Cora and I are spending here I can at least instill the love for the wide variety of food.  And I will also enjoy taking her to places that mean the most to me....just like I did last night!

winter drive in

~Former Steubenville Resident
And Cora's Mom

"My Room"

When I was Cora's age we lived about 4 hours away from both sets of my grandparents.  Every summer it was like a divorce.  My parents would meet my grandparents half way and my grandparents would take us for a few weeks during the summer. 

Looking back I always loved going to my Grandma and Grandpa Holt's because they lived across the street from the community swimming pool.  I always looked forward to seeing the same friends summer after summer.  We would swim from sun up to sun down but at that time in my childhood I loved spending summers at their house.

Spending time at my Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house was different.  They lived in a "one stop light" town and there was no swimming pool!  But the things that we did at my Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house I wouldn't appreciate until much later in life.....like right now!  Things like walking to the post office to get the mail, swinging on the front porch waving to everyone, playing with cousins in the yard, making homemade ice cream, smelling my Grandpa's roses and pumping the water pump!  However the best memory I have is of a little room in their house.

Upstairs in their house next to the two bedrooms were walkin attics.  The one attic space was used just for storage.  But the other one my Grandmother used as a closet.  She hung all her clothes in there, she had a sewing table and there was a twin bed in there.  The matress was on an old metal bed frame whose springs squeaked.  But what I remembered the most was laying in that bed on a summer night hearing the train on the edge of town and sweating because it was so hot! But I couldn't wait to sleep in there!

Those were the summers of my youth.  This summer is one that I want Cora to remember forever.  Three whole months of summer and we are already on our 2nd grandparent visit!  But there was something that happened at both grandparent visits that brought the memory of that special summer bedroom.

This is Cora in "her room" at her Granny and Grandpa's.  This bed was made and ready for her complete with a blanket that belonged to her daddy!

This is Cora in "her room" at her Maw Maw and Paw Paw's.  This is a small room in their house and they put a blow up mattress in there for her to sleep on.

As we are almost to the middle of our summer; it has pretty much gone according to plan.  You could say every memory has even been planned.  But I hope that when Cora is older she will have her own special memories of her years as a child and summers with grandparents.  Who knows maybe she will even blog about it.

~Bill and Ruth and Mel and Pearl's Granddaughter
     And Cora's Mom

"We' re OK"

If you have ever been to our house you know that between our kitchen, living room and dining room you can go all the way around in a full circle.  This makes for a great race track when friends are over and pretty much always results in two things: everyone who is running gets yelled at and someone ALWAYS gets hurt! 

But to take this story one step further.  When Cora is in one part of the house and has to go to another part of the house it ALWAYS sounds something like this:  tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap THUD (silence) "I'm OK!"  tap tap tap tap tap tap.  I know that Mrs. Gaudioso would be so proud of my use of onomatopoeia.  But what I just described was Cora running in the house and then falling or running into something.  And know matter how many times she is told to stop running she still continues to run, get hurt and scream "i'm ok!" 

"Cast your care on the Lord and He will sustain you" Psalm 55:22

When we moved here 6 years ago Cora was 2 and not a care in the world.  Now we are leaving here and she is 8 and has every care in the world.  This week she has really started to verbalize her sadness about leaving.  The big days is Saturday and each passing day seems to be jammed packed with doing everything "one more time".  I know that she wants to be anxious about what it is like in Virginia but at the same time she yearns for what her life has been like here.  So many people have been such a wonderful part of her life here and know that you will be missed terribly.  But like everytime we hear a "THUD" we always here an "I'm ok"

Steve and I were in the kitchen yesterday and heard "THUD......I'm ok!"  Kind of makes me think that Saturday is going to be like a "THUD"......but know that "We're ok!"

Not goodbye SC....we will just say "See you Later!"

~Cora's Mom

Today.....I looked into her soul......

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away- Eudora Welty

I am not sure when I became "addicted" to having my daughter's picture taken.  Quite honestly it was probably after we decided that she would be our only child.  I started taking as many pictures as I could in the hopes of capturing every moment of her life. I met Anna Bowick soon after and she began taking pictures of cora for us.  I truly believe that photographers look into the souls of their subjects.  Cora is a pretty sweet soul but it seems as if every time Anna takes pictures of her I see something in her that I have never seen before.

Our first photo shoot with Anna was in Summerville on Short Central.  And this by far was my most favorite shot of the day:

Can she look any sweeter?  These were for Valentine's Day right before she turned 6.

The next set of pics were done at Magnolia Plantation.  I am known for finding a great outfit and then calling Anna to make the magic.  This photo shoot wasn't planned but we took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon:

Once Cora started playing Hockey we called on Anna a few times to catch the all important "Action shots"! 

The first communion shots were AMAZING!  Anna worked her magic once again and made Cora's pictures.  Once again capturing such a sweet side of Cora.

And finally.....today's photo shoot.  The pictures I saw today left me speechless.  Anna perfectly captured where cora is in her life right now.  I saw Cora as she is right now-a spunky, sweet, loveable girl. Anna was able to capture every side of Cora today.  But these pictures are proof that cora is 100% HOT MESS.

I read a quote....."You don't take a photograph You ask quietly to borrow it."  I have confirmed today that it is worth every penny to find that right person to photograph your child.  Photograph them right now-right where they are in their lives.  Because if you don't do it right now you will miss it.  I don't want to make it sound like I am selling you something but if you do need a contact Anna is great and I know she would love to work with you.  But I urge you to do it now......use pictures to gaze into your child's soul. You will be amazed at what you find!

~Cora's Mom
Just the one that hired the photographer
http://www.photographybyannabowick.com/