Erin Akin Carroll

For our first wedding anniversary, Todd and I visited Savannah, Georgia. I was about 8 months pregnant with Hudson at the time. We had a great trip trying different restaurants, sight seeing, and doing some occasional shopping.

We went into The Paris Market on Broughton Street and I instantly fell in love with that store. I could have stayed in there for hours just looking at all the different, beautiful things. Every time I turned a corner I found something else that was just so unique and wonderful.

This was the day I found Low Country Luxe candles, which is our Favorite Thing for today.

Low Country Luxe candles are made in Savannah and have many fragrant southern botanical scents to choose from. My personal favorite scent is “High Cotton.” It smells of citrus trees, dogwood, tea olive spiked with lemon and lime, white grapefruit, and peach.

It is such a clean, fresh scent, and it has been my favorite year-round candle ever since I first smelled it.

Today we’re giving away a High Cotton candle from Low Country Luxe, valued at $55.00!

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Day 1: Raz Imports Nativity
Day 2: Delicate Raymond pair of Vintage Monogram Necklaces
Day 3: Stella & Dot Serenity Stone Drop earrings
Day 4: Lululemon Vinyasa Scarf
Day 5: Kelly Moore Bag
Day 6: Coton Colors Story of Luke ornament set
Day 7: My Southern Accent prints

 

So it’s December 12, and I still haven’t ordered Christmas cards. I’m getting closer, but so far no Christmas cards. I can give myself a little bit of grace here since we’re only halfway to Christmas from the start of December. But I’m an “on the ball” kinda gal, and I’m far from it this year.

Let me paint you a little picture.

Once upon a time there was a family. They went to the beach over the summer and had their pictures taken. The pictures turned out beautifully! Everyone was happy, everyone was smiling.

But when looking for that one photo where everyone looks good and is looking at the camera… you know, the one photo to use for the Christmas card… there wasn’t one to be found. Not one single photo of the family of four where everyone has a slightly happy face.

Case in point.

Two miserable boys and two smiling parents. (Photo by Sarah Lyn Photography)

As a mom who is rarely in front of the camera as it is, this disappoints me a little more than it should. I’m always behind the camera. I either can’t find someone to take my picture with my kids or I look like I just rolled out of bed, even though I’ve been awake for hours, so I refuse to get in front of the camera.

It’s a treat to have a professional take our pictures.

Because Hayes was nearing 18 months old, we decided to have some fall family photos taken by a fabulous photographer who had taken our pictures before. She is so easy to work with, so much fun, and incredibly talented.

We get everyone dressed, we drive to see her. We’re walking around outside on a gorgeous farm. And as soon as Hudson sees her camera, he buries his face in my hip. Then he’s climbing on me and hiding behind me. He absolutely refuses to let her see his face.

He spent the majority of the time just flopping around and running away from her.

Sweet little Hayes the Ham, would just stare at the camera and give his biggest “cheese” face, but no, not Hudson.

We distracted Hudson by playing games and basically just pretending like we weren’t having our pictures taken.

After an hour and a half of taking fun pictures around the farm, and getting Hudson to just loosen up and enjoy the afternoon, we had a great session.

We got the pictures back and there were so many fantastic pictures in the bunch. Lots of smiles and laughs.  But not one single picture of the four of us when everyone has a happy face and is looking at the camera.

The good news is that we did have a great time that day. And we do have some great pictures.

And after talking with some friends last night (and laughing hysterically about this), I know that essentially every family goes through this. The stubborn child who refuses to make it easy to take one decent family photo.

There’s a camera. Nope, they’re not gonna smile.

For three years now we’ve either had a photographer take the picture or had our parents take the picture. And every time, we just take what we can get and hope that at least two out of four of us is smiling.

So while the Christmas cards are all rolling into the mailbox, I open them and just giggle. Because it’s highly likely that every one of those sweet Christmas card photos was actually coming on the heels of a screaming fit by a toddler!

Or maybe they’re like ours and the whole session was really just a wrestling match.

Presenting the real Carroll family! Our 2012 Christmas card photo we chose by the amazing Millie Holloman Photography

(Maybe? Just please tell me I’m not the only one!)

How about you? Was finding just one picture of your family a nearly impossible task?

And if any of you who are reading are on our Christmas card list, don’t worry. The cards will be in your mailboxes before December 25!

Featured in the Southern Living Christmas Guide for 2011! 

My friend, Wendy, is the writer of the blog A Southern Accent. Her blog was one of the very first blogs I ever read, and I just love her. She is a fantastic mommy to Walker, a talented designer, and she even came and took pictures of Hudson’s first birthday party. She is just so fun-loving and so creative and talented.

A couple of years ago, she started a print shop called My Southern Accent.

My Southern Accent offers digital prints and party print-ables that you print yourself – all delivered straight to your inbox within 24-48 hours of your order depending on your requests. If you don’t have a home printer, they can be printed from a flash drive at a local drug store or big box store, or uploaded to a photo sight online for printing. They do offer several prints in a printed version, but if you need something quick, the digital version is offered as well! The “Bless Your Heart” print was featured in the 2011 Southern Living Christmas Gift Guide and has been featured on numerous blogs.

For today’s giveaway, My Southern Accent is giving away 1) a printed version of the “Kiss My Grits” print (in navy), 2) a printed version of “Bless Your Heart” (in pink) ready for framing, and 3) a $24 credit to her shop, which covers 4 digital print versions.  That’s a $64 value!

These are such great gifts and everything in Wendy’s shop is a favorite of mine!

 

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Today’s Favorite Thing is something that Nina introduced me to last Christmas.

The Coton Colors Story of Luke ornament set has become a favorite in our home for Christmastime. I love to read the gospel of Luke every December. I remember memorizing it in elementary school, and I’ve loved it ever since as my “favorite” for the Christmas story.

These gorgeous hand-painted ornaments have beautiful illustrations and also included the verses from the book of Luke. The ornaments tell the story of the birth of Jesus. Each ornament comes in its own package and has a pretty coordinating ribbon. These are great to give as gifts or to hang as a group on your family’s tree so you can share the Story of Luke with your family.

 

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Day 1: Raz Imports Nativity
Day 2: Delicate Raymond pair of Vintage Monogram Necklaces
Day 3: Stella & Dot Serenity Stone Drop earrings
Day 4: Lululemon Vinyasa Scarf
Day 5: Kelly Moore Bag