Happy 22nd!

E.

So Elena wanted a birthday party with lights, hot yummy things, singing, and with a few friends. It was a hit!

At first it kinda seemed silly that Elena was planning her own party but it wasn't that big of a deal (plus, she knew exactly what she wanted).

Eva and I "getting ready for the party"

Aunt Gaby and the birthday girl!

Our lovely Aunt Gaby and Grandma graced us with their presence and added a "specialness" to the party

As the sun begins to set, the lights come on!

Originally a ton of people had said they were coming, but sadly some of those people didn't end coming. And afterwards we remembered a bunch more people we had forgotten to invite (isn't that how it always is?). I guess we'll know for next time...

I.Love.Lights!

The night was chilly, but we had hot soup and beverages to warm your inside, as well as extra scarves and hats handy!

Getting ready to sing to Elena

After the majority of people had their fill of cake, we all moved into the living room and sang some hymns, then had a sweet moment of prayer.It was a good night.

Happy Birthday, Elena!

Dear E,

Dear E,

How strange it is that you are gone! Yesterday we were doing family worship and remembered that it was your day to pick the songs. :(
Oh, btw, as I was causally scrolling through your blog feed, my eye caught this post from one of YOUR blog list. An irresistible grin/smirk came over my face and I was going to email it to you but decided to add it to my letter. Who would have thought that there is someone else that likes Andrew Peterson, and is excited enough to blog about it!
I felt like saying, " See, Ted walks to work." (Monster's Inc.) 

 Moving on to other great things...

I have been intending almost every night to just sit down and upload the Kindle to Amazon (and eventually sell it).

As you can see I got a little camera happy with the reflections.

I recovered those iPhone boxes. Do you like them?

Yesterday mom and I were busy bees. Well, I was wanna-be-busy-bee, I had a bunch of things I wanted to do, so I half did everything! At the same time. But I did finish my school.

I finished glossing your signs on Saturday, but the Loyd's weren't there. Oh, well.

One of Mica's delectable gluten free loaves.

I have also been listening to my new album. I am having trouble deciding my favorite.

I have been having some major water kefir problems. I'll save my theories for later, but I've cleaned the grains and am crossing up fingers for good water kefir.
  We all are so excited for your return. Come back with plenty of stories (and tea)!

Love,
Caro :)

P.S I found this neat behind the scenes

clip, when I was listening to a version of "I Dreamed a Dream".
 

The April Days...

This past April was filled with a lot of driving, loud music, and talking.
We spent Easter weekend in Austin, where we celebrated my Grandma's birthday (who proudly turned 69) and my own birthday. On Sunday we went out to lunch with some dear friends. The restaurant was one of a slew of trailer stands parked in a little nook in the busier part of Austin. The food was little bit pricey, but the environment and chips made it worth it.

Becca and Tita.
Dear Becca, she's gotten so big!

Emily and Jacob (note Emily's cheesy pose).

Sweet 16...oh, and those yummy beet cupcakes.

Eva and I had a little photo shoot on the living room floor.

Dominic and "Gendpa"

Dom was quite concerned that there wouldn't be enough chips for him.

The familia.

Behind us was a shake stand. They sold shakes that had real cake blended in.

The Ragamuffin. 

Reminds me of this pin

A delicious Thai dinner in Bryan, TX.

We spent the day with our friends the Loyd's, cleaning, organizing, and reading books from their massive library. We went over  to Mr. Loyd's brother's house, for a Thai dinner and dessert.

Lovely arrangement for my surprise party.

The girls "threw me for a loop", and pulled off a surprise party the week after my birthday. They took me to a local cupcake shop where a few of my friends were waiting. Yes, I was surprised.

We had a crawfish boil one fine Saturday, with a few families.

Us and our Cajun friend's put together a little crawfish boil at our house. Though I'm not a big fan of fishy foods, I do enjoy socially eating crawfish. I stuffed myself silly. But as each batch came out I just felt so inclined to keep eating.

Us Marques, Webb, and Johnson girls had a sister slumber party. Though that was in May. :)

The first weekend in May, the Johnson girls and us (including Nicole) had set a date a month ago, to get together for the weekend. We had a great time talking, going to a Mexican market, going for a walk, watching one of our favorite movie, and talking some more!

Elena's pavlova lemon meringue. 

Elena has had some failed attempts at making pavlova, so she decided to try again but call it something else. It...kinda worked.

Dear Eva, on the day of the crawfish boil

Nicole had completely surprised us by coming down for the day and  thus attending our crawfish boil. Amusingly enough, her hubby, and most likely all her kids, are highly allergic to shellfish. No kisses that day.

16 Things I Am Thankful For

 1. Purple rooms and comfy beds.

2. The sweet, the new, and the old, family.

3. The "greatest and bestest" of voice teachers.

4.My letter-writing friends.

5. Thrilling concerts and great chaps to join them.

6. Listening to music while washing the dishes.

7. Lonely times, when I triumph over my pity-party self.

 

8. Friends, comrades, and new acquaintances.

9. Long car rides to talk, and/or sing really loud, and/or laugh so hard that no noise comes out and you clap your hands like a seal. :)

10. Great guns and uncles.

11. Pookie and Nate Hood-Marques, and their/our family. :P

12. Good discussions with friends.

13. My loving and patient parents.

14. Chai tea, and rockin' awesome sisters.
(oops, did I say that out loud?)

 
15. Beautiful places.

16. God's grace in this sinner's new life.

Love,
       Caro :)

The Older-Baby Sister...

Yup, that's me in the middle. And I have been constantly reminded these past few weeks (actually, this past year) of how much I'm the older-baby sister. Since "Mary Poppins" has been gone, and the receptionist has been busy, I've had to do more things then I'm used to around the house.
I don't normally have to vacuum the entire house, cleaning the kitchen, babysit dogs, do school with Emmy, crack jokes, prepare food, and be co-pilot in the car, all of which I did by my self.
I can already hear Nicole, Elena, and Mica laughing out loud and saying, "Oh poor you!".

Yes, I'm the old-baby sister.

Yup, I'm glad God made my family the way He did, otherwise this would be a very different post.

With all that said, I might as well give y'all a peek of the past quiet weeks.

A recent estate sale find (but sadly unprofitable on Amazon).

They are in excellent condition!

Mia's watermelon plant has been taking advantage of the trellis.
It was trying to wrap around my bluebonnets, but I dealt with them.


Emily being...Emily. :)

My new fancy fossil watch!


A visit to the Hoods!

Their eyes are glued to the screen, can't you tell?

Notice Nate biting his blankie cause he was a bit scared at this part of the movie. :)


Almost irresistible.


Sadie.
She is one of three Boston Terriers that we are babysitting.


Beading with Emmy.

This one is really for Elena and Nicole to admire the new couch cushions!

And that's all the pictures I've got for now.
Love,
Caro :)