Halloween

Carleton decided to carve the scariest thin he could think of in our pumpkin this year...








...unfortunately nobody else got it...and by the time I took a picture of it it was a little wilted:(

Saturday before Halloween we went to a really fun party hosted by Ashley and Clyde Ward. We were running short on time and ideas for Halloween costumes especially since we didn't know if I'd still be pregnant or not. Carleton decided I could just wear a maternity shirt I already own and we'd make a shirt for him to go with it...





...I guess he dressed up as a pervert?

the wonderful hosts:)

Thanks, Wards for a great night!

On Halloween night we went to one of our favorite mexican restaurants with some friends. I was a little bummed thinking we'd miss all the trick or treaters in our neighborhood but luckily our neighborhood was still hoping at 8:45 and even later. We barely got the car parked when we had our first doorbell ring. We were two treats away from running out of candy!

love a fair

We love going to the North Carolina State fair every year. The NC State ice crem is always on the must buy list, no matter if it's hot or freezing. This year we ventured out and didn't get oreo....the chocolate peanut butter was still amazing though:)





Afterwards we picked out a pumpkin and went to my parents' house for a quick visit before going to the youth halloween dance. It was awesome but none of my girls went so Carleton made me leave...but not before we rocked out to the bieber dance!







PS this was about one week pre-Tinley:)

Birth and baby class

We took a condensed birth and baby class...2 hours one night, 7 hours the next day. Carleton said he would not wear the belly...


...we see who won that battle.

So much to be grateful for

I am a stickler for doing blog posts in order, call me OCD about it if you want, I know I am. Hence the reason I've been so slack on doing posts...between being overwhelmed with how much I have to catch up on, to not knowing what to take pictures of for the 30-day photo challenge, choosing what pictures to share, and waiting on receiving pictures, the blog got swept under the rug...again. Hopefully from now on I'll be better...but no promises;)

I had to go out of order this one time just so I can say how thankful I am before Thanksgiving is two months away.

A few things I'm thankful for are...

Tinley- she is such a blessing in our lives, we are so grateful for her healthy body, sweet spirit, and all around perfect self.

Husband- Carleton is such an incredible dad and husband, he does so much for us and I love him more than words can describe.

America- We are so blessed to live in a free country! I'm thankful for those who fight to defend those freedoms.

Newborn care- I had a fantastic doctor throughout my pregnancy, she was great through the delivery, stepping back letting Carleton deliver Tinley. Now we have a wonderful pediatrician, David Johnson, to care for our beautiful baby girl! Wipes, diapers, nasal aspirators, swaddle blankets etc. are also in this category of things I love and am grateful for for my newborn!

Kind people- I was at Dick's Sporting Goods Friday morning, I spent over $100 and the man next to me gave me his "spend $100 get $25 off" coupon. Last year, I went to the post office to mail a package, I didn't realize I didn't have my wallet in my purse until I got to the counter. A guy overheard me (after I'd been waiting in line for 45 minutes) he let me use his credit card to pay the $45 shipping cost, I found $40 cash in my purse and gave it to him but he wouldn't let me get his address to send him a check for the rest, he said to just pay it forward. I was shocked that he was so willing to pay almost $50 to a complete stranger just to be kind.

Family- I feel like whatever I write here will be completely insufficient for how grateful I am for the family I was raised in, married into, and for each person that has entered since.

Unconditional love- I'm so grateful for those who love me despite my faults as well as those who
I'm lucky enough to have in my life to love through anything.

Loving Heavenly Father- He knows all of our desires and struggles and never ceases to perform miracles.

Now a quick recap of how we spent our Thanksgiving:

Tinley and I put on some warm clothes to watch Carleton play Turkey bowl with some guys from church. Every year we're in town, Carleton plays and I love watching him. I look forward to it every year:) I forgot to bring my camera unfortunately

After some football we came home and Carleton attached this to the house...more on that in a later post.


Then we had Thanksgiving at my parents house that afternoon








Tinley's outfit was huge on her but it had a turkey on it and said "Thankful for mommy and daddy" so I had to put her in it. We're thankful for her too:)

Being a baby is messy, so you always have to come prepared with extra outfits...she needed hers pretty much as soon as we arrived to my parents' house.

Eating so much can make you very sleepy!


Of course there's nothing like a camera flash to wake you up...


...so you can watch more football

out with the old

and in with the new!

I got a new car the first weekend of October!

Charleston with the Connells!

For labor day we went to visit the Connells in Charleston. While there we did lots of fun things. We arrived Friday night and started Saturday morning off with a beach trip to Kiawah Island.







After playing in the water and enjoying the beach for a few hours we went back to Kristin and Ben's house to get cleaned up for pictures and a nice dinner downtown. While Kristin and I stayed at the house with Annabelle, Ben and Carleton took Ben's brother out for lunch. They brought us back a yummy variety of food...including a moose burger...I think. It was delish!

I wanted to have some maternity pictures with Carleton in them and Kristin graciously agreed to take them-thank you, Kristin:) Prepare for some picture overload!


He's so cute. I just love him to pieces:)






























Sunday after church and naps Ben stayed home while Annabelle continued to nap and the rest of us went downtown to walk around.









That evening we went to Folly beach to see Morris Light house...and take some pictures. Ben and Annabelle were there too.

























check out the pictures I took of the Connells on my photography blog here.

Monday was pretty rainy followed by some pretty hot weather. We went to Angel Oak first and took a few pictures of this crazy big old tree. It is "reportedly the oldest thing - living or man-made - east of the Rockies, Angel Oak is a live oak tree aged approximately 1,500 years".















After that we went to the Aquarium. Carleton LOVES aquariums.



What a fabulous long weekend, thank you Ben and Kristin for making it that way:)