The Little Southern Country Home {Christmas Tour}

It’s the second of the Sister Christmas Tours today, and I’m enjoying this so much! After these two, there really is no reason in the world for me to do one ~ these two have done it so perfectly!

One thing that has been so fun as sisters is our similarities as well as our differences in décor. We all enjoy creativity and beauty, and yet we vary in style from minimalistic to shabby chic to industrial to some other un-termed decor. :) It’s been so interesting to see how the weddings of my sisters were a little glimpse into their homes. I love it! So hopefully with the varied style there is something that everyone who stops by will enjoy!

Jana is the sister right under me, the second of four girls, and she was even born on my second birthday! Growing up, we didn’t really like sharing a birthday (which often meant sharing a party, which felt like sharing presents – but as a mom, what else was there to do?). But now? We feel like we can hardly even have a birthday without each other. Now it’s become a very special thing. :)

Anthony & Jana were married in March of last year (yes, there were three sister weddings within 15 months) and you can see their wedding here. I was so excited when they decided to live in the south too! It’s not very close by, but at least it doesn’t take a whole day to drive there either. She’s transitioned very nicely into a Southern Belle, perhaps in part because her husband is one of the nicest Southern Gents I’ve ever met.

Jana is super creative and has loved doing projects and creating things with her hands as long as I can remember – and far longer than I have. I loved these pictures from their lovely rental home, and I think you will too.

Click on over here for a bit of listening pleasure [Michael Buble’ Holiday on Pandora]  to hear some of her favorite holiday music, and here’s Jana!

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gifting
It’s a Southern thing…

Those who are transplants know that celebrating Christmas in the south takes on a whole new meaning. Instead of snow, you have cotton. Instead of sleigh rides, you have
Redneck mudding. You may even have to decorate for Christmas with the AC on, like I did this year.

// living room //

shabby chic Christmas living room

shabby chic Christmas mantel
[check out that beautiful cotton by the nativity scene.
she lives in the middle of cotton fields. :) ]

vintage nativity scene

 

lovely Christmas touch and reflection in mirror

living area mantel and chair

shabby chic Christmas vignettes for living room

fresh greenery with fun stripe of color

Christmas tree

But I am determined not to let it stop me from celebrating anyway…and so I decorate. (Thank God the south has greens!) and I bake Christmas cookies, & we still sing carols and may crank up Michael Buble’ a notch or two.

 

// the master bedroom //

shabby chic master bedroom

shabby chic master bedroom with chandelier

bedroom vignette
Christmas in the south does not offer me the nostalgia that Christmas in the north did & I will always miss it, & even shed a tear or two when I hear it’s snowing.

But I would miss the whole point of Christmas if I don’t let Christ direct my perspective. Christmas is not about my location, but my focus. It’s about Christ, yes even through 80* December weather when it’s too hot to even jog. It’s about taking time to serve those around me, it may be having little girls over for a cookie bake, or visiting an elderly neighbor.

// the passageway room //

 

joy wreath and lace to hang pictures

darling shabby chic vignette

// the kitchen //

 

lovely Christmas kitchen

shabby chic kitchen

the beginning of a perfect day

Christmas cookie baking

 

These are some of the things that have helped me survive such a different landscape than what I was always used to over Christmas time! And of course, throwing myself into a good old project now & then helps me stay busy & fulfilled! Cheers!

// She is the Queen of Chalkboard Art, and is pursuing a part-time business with this //

Wonderful Counselor chalkboard art ~by Jana S.

Fruit of the Spirit Christmas tree ~ chalkboard art original by Jana S.

fresh brewed coffee chalkboard art ~ by Jana S.

 

a standard of grace - chalkboard art by Jana S.

Baby It's Cold Outside ~ chalkboard art by Jana S.

// Mr. & Mrs. //

Anthony & Jana

 

///////////////////////////

 

Thank you so much, Jana! I’m so honored you allowed us to see your lovely home!
It is such a cozy home to visit, and we’re always treated so royally.
And I want to hire her to do chalkboard art for me!  She is amazing.

When Ervina comes to visit 189

Your turn! What is YOUR favorite part of her beautiful Southern home?

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Christopher & Claudia {engagement photo session}

I’m ever so excited, because in a few days we leave for a much anticipated trip: not only is it time with my family, but it’s a family wedding!!

My youngest sister, Claudia, is getting married!

Our household is all a-bustle with preparations and getting ready to leave… but first, here are a few pictures we took back in April. We fast ran out of daylight, but here are a few that my sister and I shot together.

Meet the future Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Beiler!

 

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engagement pic

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As you’ll notice, both of them have quite a lot of personality and this was no bashful photo shoot!

I almost did a series of pictures entitled “The Many Faces of Claudia” but for her sake I refrained. :)

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The sky and tree-line framed this picture so beautifully.

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The location was in the middle of a large nursery, but I loved this ~ it reminded me of something Italian (not that I’ve ever been to Italy or anything. :))

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A celebrity shot. ha!

 

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They are a perfect fit for each other, and I really don’t know which one is the luckiest ~ I am so proud to know both of them, and so happy to welcome Chris into our family!

I may be the over-protective older sister, but when there is a good man who loves my sister so well, it makes my heart swell so big.

Both of them are first of all committed to Jesus Christ and to His glory, and when that is present in a relationship, it cannot help but thrive and be a blessing to all who they come in contact with. I love them so!

xoxo

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Anthony & Jana {one year photoshoot}

 

I had such a fun day yesterday! I packed up the three kiddos, drove 3 hours, and spent the day with my sister!

I love to see her house ~ we are both thrift store/junk store lovers, but our styles are different and unique. She has the ‘Southern Shabby & Chic’ look that is so pretty!

It was a perfect spring day, wonderfully warm for a pool day. And a pool day is great entertainment for the kiddos while sisters can talk and talk and catch up on all kinds of  things. :)

Of course, driving one way three hours means turning around and driving that same distance home, so after arriving home around 11pm last night we have been sleepy today and feeling no guilt in taking a lazy day. :)

But before we left we did a little photo shoot to celebrate one year of marriage for Jana and Anthony!

It was an absolutely perfect evening. Jana wanted pictures in a pecan grove, so we drove down a dirt road to some huge ancient trees. It was a magical setting! I’m no real photographer, but it sure was fun to act like one with my sister and brother-in-love. :)

I’m the one who hopes for just ONE nice picture; I look at my sister’s pictures and think Can you please not look so gorgeous on every single one?! Can one of you at least blink or something? Can there be at least one picture where both of you don’t look like magazine-cover models? :) But really, I’m super proud.

My friends, meet my beautiful sister and her handsome husband!

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One of my favorites – I love the laughing, not-posing-for-camera look.

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Seriously, if she wasn’t my sister I might be jealous of her beauty. Well, maybe sometimes I am anyway.

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And then a few that were sun-kissed. Or sun-drenched. Or something. :)

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It was a pleasure, you two!
I wish you a marriage that only grows deeper and sweeter with time.

xoxo

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The Wedding {in pictures}

Ahhhh, the wedding.

[in the which a sister shows a hundred pictures of wedding and details and fond memories]

Or, should I say, The Wedding!

What an incredibly lovely day. A wedding among weddings [if I may say so myself, it being my sister’s wedding].

I’ve been wanting to post pictures for almost two weeks now, but due to having some time in bed due to too-early contractions one week, and a computer at the shop due to a virus last week, I’m finally back trying to play catchup. And bear with me, this is my first sister’s wedding, so there are many pictures and details. :)

The weeks surrounding it were full of planning and a bridal shower and preparation and program making & editing and lots and lots and lots of work. :)

The week prior to it was extra busy for me ~ I had gone to Pennsylvania almost two weeks before the wedding, with Ben planning to join me after about a week. The day he planned to leave there was a tragic death in his extended family in South Georgia, and he ended up staying in the south until the day of the wedding, arriving in time to watch the girls as the bridal party took pictures. It was a crazy week for both of us because of all that,

But The Wedding! A sister’s wedding is so much fun! My first sister to be married ~ what an exciting event!

There was much preparation for months in advance.
Zoe and Olivia were asked to be flower girls, along with another two girls, and they were wildly excited, even though they weren’t sure what all being flower girls even meant. :) I made some flowers and pillows and accessory things for Jana for the wedding, and so the months before were busy with sewing and pretty-making and outfit-hunting and phone calls and all sorts of things! This was a wedding of details ~ from the planning to the carrying out of the plans, there was detail to be found everywhere by Jana.

The Preparation
It was so very fun for me to make some little things for Jana from across the distance. If we’d be living in the same area I know I would have been over a lot to help her. But since I wasn’t and couldn’t, I told her I would still help her out in any way I could. It was very little in the grand scheme of things, but made me feel like a part of it at least. :)

[lots of flowers pins in plum & charcoal & burlap & mustard]

[little dress made out of a girls’ top from Old Navy and altered]

[wristlets for the girl servers]

There was pillow making. I made 7 pillows of charcoal and plum, and these were given as gifts to the bridesmaids and a cousin. I dubbed myself ‘The Pillow Factory.’

 

And I forgot to take pictures of two burlap pillows that say ‘MR’ and ‘MRS’… [shown on the photographer’s site]

There were little shoes to embellish, just for fun…

We bought these shoes at Old Navy and Kmart, respectively. But they looked like they needed just a little extra sparkle.

Sooooo, some thread, some pretty beads, and a hot glue gun…

And several hot glue gun re-attachments as we tried out the shoes, and some changes made, we were satisfied. However, on the silver shoes so many of the little beads popped off with the first use,
that I removed them all except for the big rhinestone and added a strip of lace on either side across the toe.
Pretty does still have to be practical. :)

 

Day before the wedding…
Some of the bridesmaids and friends went with Jana to get our nails done. I took Zoe with me, and it was her first time at a salon where SHE got her nails painted. She was open-mouthed and speechless with excitement. :)


Zoe chose three little flowers on each hand. And was she ever proud of those little flowers. It was precious!

The Day of the Wedding!

A bright and crisp day, but clear and windless.
Pennsylvania had been having some very windy weather which would have made pictures challenging as well as very uncomfortable. The weather that day was an answer to prayer!

Photo credits for quite a few of the bridal party & wedding day pictures go Danae, one of Jana’s personal attendants. ” She grabbed my camera and took pictures when it was impossible for me to do so!

[bride’s preparation]

Mr. & Mrs! Jana married Anthony Swartzentruber, a wonderful godly man, and an accomplished musician! We are so excited to have him join our family! You can listen to a few of his songs here.

Sadly, I have so few pictures of the two of them together.

The Bridal Party!

Bridesmaids ~ what a fun group of beautiful ladies.



Sisters! It’s a given, we are all in each other’s bridal parties. No questions asked. :)
Jana asked me to be her matron on honor, and I was very honored.
It’s not every bride that wants a pregnant bridesmaid 3 weeks from her due date!

 
 
 

All of us sisters are now either married, engaged, or dating. :) Just so much fun!

 
 

The Six of Us! How I love being part of a big family!

The whole Barkman family. We’re expanding by leaps and bounds. :)

My dad with Olivia, and our two girls with their daddy whom they hadn’t seen in 10 days.

 

Little Girls of Mine…

Their hair was so beautiful done for the 2pm wedding… at 9am in the morning. Big mistake. Within an hour you couldn’t tell a thing had been done to it! And all day I was running around behind them trying to make them look like they did indeed belong to someone who cared. :)

  

 

Barn Reception Details!
Like I said, this was the Wedding of Details. Also, the Wedding of DIY. She created the wedding theme & decor style and made almost all the decorations herself, spending weeks on various projects! And in honor of Anthony’s love of music, there was various musical accents in the wedding and reception.
[reception tables detail]

Table
Style #1:

Jana made these twig centerpieces herself – painted the clay pots and freehanded the roman numerals, cut out the little birds out of music sheets, and gathered the twigs from a surrounding orchard after they had trimmed the trees. They were beautiful, especially in the evening candlelight reception.
These were set on pages of sheet music and surrounded by moss, on burlap squares.

 

Table Style #2:
Tall cylinder vases with rocks on the bottom, filled with water and lemons, topped with hydrangea and curly twigs, set on a blanket of sheet music and moss with plum taffeta.

 

[bridal table details]

Old doors were borrowed from friends and placed behind the bridal table. The wreaths on them were made by friends.

The tissue paper balls and coffee filter balls were made by a friend of Jana’s, and were hung on three old ladders suspended from the ceiling. We filled in with paper lanterns, glass globes and candles, and 3 chandeliers. Jana created & organized the style of decor she wanted to hang from the ladders. She also cut up sheet music and put it into hanging glass ornament balls. She asked me to collect Spanish Moss from the south and that added a mystical feel.

It took forever to hang them all. It was gorgeous. :) I do think this was my favorite part of the entire reception, this whole ladder thing. (This was her idea)

  

Daylight [before] and Candlelight [during]

 

The Dessert Bar [and behind it, in the which we put up old doors and shutters and sconces and chandeliers and all sorts of things… :)]

  
 

Reception candids…

  
  
  
  

Ahhhhh, what a beautiful day!

Jana chose one of the best photographers in her area, so if you want to see even more pictures, you can visit Char’s blog. She is fantastic ~ her work is just out-of-this-world beautiful.

To the newly-weds… I wish you a marriage even more beautiful than your perfect wedding day!

A wonderful week beginning to you all!
~clarita

Guest Post by the Sister [part II]

I’m thrilled to introduce you yet again to… …my second guest post by my sister! Enjoy!

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Modest is Hottest Part 11 [or…. New Ideas for the Practical Woman]

I, Claudia, have combined my love for photography with a fascination for unique clothing combinations, and am excited to be introducing a new and improved and most delightful post.

I am now in the official tenth month of my One Year Clothing/Shopping Fast.
YAY! If you need a brief history of this decision, you may read our previous post: Modest is Hottest Part 1.

Since last June when I made the decision to discontinue shopping trips,
revamping my style and coming up with creative ways to wear what I already have in my closet
has become my new personal favorite. So, without further ado, here’s my latest addiction.

Skirts as Dresses


OUTFIT ONE



SO FUN!!!
I can barely get over it.
I usually try not to over-style a new style, but I can barely pull myself away from this one.
It’s, like, two for the price of one… or something.

OUTFIT TWO

(
Since I wore this outfit on our last outing before the second-to-eldest sister got married,
I just had to include them. I do adore sister pictures.)

OUTFIT THREE



(Remind me why no one ever told me about this before? Like I said… SO FUN!)

OUTFIT FOUR

Where my clothes came from:

1. If your family is nice like mine, you can mix and match from different closets. Last week I raided mother’s closet and found that cool skirt labeled #1… It makes a good dress on me and a lovely skirt on mother.

2. Skirt #2 was an old project of mine last year. I sewed it all up, in and around, and actually liked it.

3. From a pile of clothes a friend was getting rid of. So kind of her.

4. The black dress is actually my official Honey Brook Girls Choir Skirt. I don’t own it, but at least I can break the unspoken rule that choir uniforms have to be ugly.

Accessories: One of my belts comes from a sister closet raid. One comes from the kind heart of a cousin. The purple cardigan will go back to its hanger in mother’s closet and my favorite cream colored cardigan was a Christmas gift from Ervina. Double YAY!

How to Rock the Skirt-turned-Dress Look:

Find the right skirt: It really helps if it’s a wide-mouthed skirt, has elastic around the waist line, or has a fold-over flap. Just saying, I don’t usually have a problem with it, but it’s a big bonus if I wear it as a dress and it actually stays up. :) Wear a belt: Otherwise you are quite prone to become acquainted with the unflattering wispy-willow tree look (see below)…


So.Not.Cool
.

Wear fun shoes:


Shoes have the power to complete an outfit.

Skirt #1 gets worn best with [puss-in-]boots from my mother

Skirt #2: Plain ol’ flips given to me in Cambodia by a dear friend

With Skirt #3 I get to wear awesomely fun black heels from sister’s wedding

Skirt #4 was worn with my flats from the Official Jana Barkman-Swartz Wedding Reception

Leggings: Basically. I just always wear leggings. Yup. Even in the sweltering heat of a Cambodian summer. Even in sub degree weather. I’ve worn them ever since my grammy handed me my first totally-uncool pair (she called them “snugglies”… or something strange like that). I think I’ll keep wearing them even when the world kicks them out of style (God Forbid).

Do something fun with your hair:

This is just the funnest thing ever. Braids as headbands, feathers in hair or flowers that add great character. Just do it. Please, it makes life (and pictures) so much better.

And that’s that. Experiment with it. Forthcoming: we will demonstrate how we love to layer dresses on dresses and leggings on leggings and…. ok. ok.

Just kidding. Maybe.

 

 

Reuniting of the Sisterhood

 

I’m sitting on my front porch once again. There is a gentle breeze blowing the hanging ferns, a few cars going past our street, but I mostly hear singing birds and happy children at the park across the street. Days with such beauty as this make me feel as though I could live outside! And indeed, we do spend most of our waking hours out of doors.

The girls have been making mudpies out of the bare patches of sandy yard, and Zoe and I have been playing frisbee [which makes us laugh until we bend over because neither of us are any good]. We’ve been reading books on my fire-red bench. I’ve been editing pictures on the computer while watching the girls play in the yard, and blowing out imaginary candles on the mudpie-birthday cakes they make them for me, while they sing “Happy Biiiiiiiiiiiiirthday, dear yoooooooouuuuuuu….”

We are trying to soak in this weather while we can, because probably around the time you northerners get a chance at beautiful spring weather, we’ll be sweating bullets outside and trying to stay in the a/c as much as possible. Our enjoyable outdoor weather is normally about a month in the spring and a month in the fall, so when it’s that time of year, we try not to lose a minute!

Husband is talking of pitching a tent in the backyard this weekend. The fun of camping without the work of camping. You know, make the kids’ entire year without the inconvenience of walking 1/2 mile to the restroom in the middle of the night, or of dragging all the household bedding 50 miles away, or even of getting all the food stuff packed and ready and wonder if I have everything I need. Pancakes made inside, and eaten on the porch? Yes, please. The fun of camping without the exhausting work of camping? Yes, please!

I keep thinking though, of how extremely blessed I am. I can’t stop thinking of the tragedies in Japan, of the seven children who died in a house fire in Pennsylvania [even if I didn’t know them], and of just so many awful things that are happening in the world. I’m not paralyzed by fear for myself; I’m overcome with, “Why me, God? Why am I so blessed when so many people of the world suffer so incredibly much?” It’s almost overwhelming to think of… I want to always be grateful for the many things God has given me, and not take them for granted ~ and yet that’s a prayer I must pray every day, because it’s so easy for me to forget!

I painted a little saying on my front porch recently: “La Dulce Vita” – which means, “The Sweet Life.” I don’t have it there because I think my life is perfect, because it’s not. I don’t have it there because I want people to think I have to together, because I don’t and don’t ever want to even give that impression. I have it there for ME ~ so I can look at it, even in my worst days, and remember how blessed I am. That my life is sweet. Remember all that God has done for me.

And speaking of blessings….

I’ve been wanting to post some pictures of the week with the females in my family. Yes, I do have a father and two brothers ;) but this was “just for girls!!” as Zoe emphatically told her Uncle James. Trying to sort through the 400+ pictures and choose just a couple [because I know my tendency to post WAY more pictures than necessary] was quite a task. I can’t say I chose just a couple in the literal sense of the word, but when you compare 20 pictures to 400 pictures, I’d say that’s “a couple.” :)

This was a very special time together for all of us. Well, perhaps I shouldn’t speak for everyone. Maybe someone felt differently about it. :) I’ll just speak for myself… With me living 12 hours away from my family and trips home only coming about twice a year, and with my sister Jana moving 12 hours away in a completely other direction and knowing seeing her will be more infrequent than it even has been, well, I really treasured this time. Let me say one thing: if someone has all your family around you, treasure it!! You are a rare percentage, and few people have that privilege! :)

These are my three lovely sisters, whom I simply adore. We look all poised and posed…

… but this is what we usually look like! We laugh so often, so much, and so hard when we’re together!

 

Also included in this vacation was my mother, and grandmother. I also live 12 hours away from my only living grandmother, so this was so very special to stay at her winter home and spend time with. And so special too that my daughters could spend time with her and learn to know Grandma Susan more personally than just the one-hour coffee-in-her-kitchen when I go back home. (home is both north [where I was born and raised] and south [where I moved after I got married], just in case anyone is confused yet! :)

My Aunt Grace and cousin Catherine, who live in yet another state, overlapped with us in Florida by a day and a half ~ if anyone knows Grace, you know she is the epitomy of her name! Just a sweetheart!

My little daughters enjoyed the rides given by Catherine in the big basket of a three-wheeled bike! :)

Sooo, what does a family of four daughters, a mother, a grandmother, and two granddaughters do for almsot an entire week together? Well, for starters, we talk late into the night… every night. And at the end of the week there are still things to talk about together and things we didn’t cover.

We spend time at the Ocean. After all, we were in a coastal city. How could we not visit the ocean? :)

But since I’m not overly fond of exhibiting ourselves in beach attire, and because we like original pictures, we took a few pictures at the ocean that are suitable for viewing. :)

 

In order of age, except the last two are switched: myself, Jana, Ervina [last], and Claudia [second to last]

Being in the presence of such beauty for a week was incredibly inspiring. And I don’t just mean physical beauty, even though I think my sisters are as lovely as anyone could ever be. :) But these girls are just so full of Jesus, and being around them challenges me in the very depths of my soul. There was a time when I felt like the oldest, you know, the one who was more in a leader-type of situation simply because of my age in the family. But now, I look up to them! They are the ones who challenge me, and press me on to Christ…

 

 

Zoe and Olivia loved the sand, the ocean, and the whole beach experience! I, for one, so enjoyed having children at the ocean who were past the sand-eating stage. Zoe literally ran for miles every day, and fell into bed completely exhausted at bedtime!

 

Apparently we hadn’t been at the beach for quite a while, because on the way Zoe asked me if she could make a snowman there. “Sure, a sandman!” my sister Jana quipped.  :) Zoe had some sort of mix-up between what you can do with sand and with snow, even though she wasn’t in snow this winter either.

But who remembered that sand castles could be so much fun?! Normally the sand creations are left to the males in the family, but since there was none around, the lot fell to me. And it really was fun. Who would have thought? Especially when Catherine found a starfish to use as our front door decoration.

Aunt Claudia is SO fun, my girls think… And I know!

 

What else do a large number of female family members do together?

We have Breakfast at Millie’s, the absolute darlingest, quaintest, most wonderful-tasting breakfast place of anywhere I’ve been. Whenever I visit Sarasota, we make sure to have at least one breakfast there!

Their apricot-stuffed French Toast is a melt-in-your-mouth, take-me-to-heaven-now experience.

However, entertaining young children who have somehow not yet acquired a taste for the finer things in life was a bit of a challenge. Thanks to our dearest friend, Dawn Falb Stoltzfus [who we happened upon in Florida and all were surprised out of our wits], who joined us on this very lovely day, she provided Thomas trains. Actually, my girls played with her son’s trains and he played with my daughters animals. The swap turned out nicely.

Outside of Millie’s. All these people came from Grandma Susan… and this is just the females of ONE family. :) It’s a bit startling to realize how many people could come to be because of me!

And another four-generation picture. These pictures are so special! I know the backdrop has much to be desired, but how very precious is this for my daughters to spend time with their great-grandmother, who is in wonderful health and takes the time to play with them? So precious!

We also went to Panera Bread, and Starbucks. Because when one lives faaaaaaaar away from those places, one can’t resist visiting, at least briefly, can they now? :)

But the most delicious meals were made at Grandma Susan’s house. Breakfast almost every morning was this delicious bowl of yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit, with secret ingredients on top. :) My friend Bethany introduced this to me a year ago and it has become a staple almost year round for me!

And besides more talking, and reading at least 3 books each (at least for those without the two energetic children ~ she didn’t get through more than 2 pages), there was time made for a photoshoot. Well, actually, there was time made for two photoshoots, but well, we reached the location the first night when it was tragically too dark, but we won’t talk about that, because the amateur-photographer-wanna-be’s among us were quite devestated. :)

But we will talk about the one where all was well! And the lightings in the marina was enchanting. And the little boats pulled up on the shore very photo-op-ish.

Oh yes, and need I mention the wind was quite, um, quite very much especially windy? But oh well! :)

^^ I absolutely adore her little vintage dress I picked up at a yard sale. And it was even before yellow was cool. :)

Olivia Caroline, but she mostly goes by “Lovies.” So much so that when Zoe tries to call her by her given name, it usually comes out “O-love-ia”. :)

This picture is worth incredibly much to me. Zoe and her great-grandmother… just brings me to tears!

Sisterhood in Florida, 152

And some pictures of the sisters ~ there are four of us. And it is perfect. I want four girls too, just so my daughters can experience how wonderful it is! I truly cannot even imagine life without sisters, and I know I’m blessed beyond words to have three of them!

Warning: look out for yelling man telling girls to get off boat.

Sisterhood in Florida, 177

 

 

Thus, new location. New boat. :)

 

sister collage

 

And thus the Happy Time of the Sisterhood was concluded. Quite sadly, because now there is no more trip to look forward to. Sometimes it’s almost sad to actually begin a trip that I look forward to for so long, because then I know it will soon end! But now I can relive the memories, and remember how blessed I am…