Here goes....

After a year or two of coveting Elizabeth's blog and how it keeps us all feeling so connected to her - even across the pond - I have decided to take the plunge and try it myself. I have hesitated for quite a while because A) my kids are teenagers and don't have the Awwwwww factor of babies and toddlers, B) while I love living in North Augusta, we have no castles, cathedrals, quaint pubs or carnival parades to share, and C) since I don't even have a facebook, and am not really sure I know how to use the camera Len gave me 3 or 4 years ago - I have been afraid my little blog would pale by comparison! But, a lot seems to be happening around the Carter house with Ben starting high school and Amelia embarking on her senior year - so I decided if ever we were interesting enough to blog about - it's now! Elizabeth is going to have to coach me as I go because I have no idea what I'm doing, but maybe I'll get the hang of it!

I'll start with Easter. The only thing missing from this picture and all the generations of Sunday morning Easter pictures that have come before it is the big plastic wrapped Easter Basket full o' goodies from Dodd's Dime Store! Ben's favorite thing about this picture is that Amelia, for once, was wearing flats, so everyone can really see how much taller he has gotten than her.

It's prom time. Amelia and Clay had his prom weekend before last. I think she was a little nervous that her first ever prom was at someone else's high school with a bunch of people she didn't know - but she ended up having a great time. Since this was his deal and I didn't want to be a royal pain, there were limited pictures. Hers is coming up this weekend, and I can be as big a pain as I choose, so there will be MANY more photos!

Not to be outdone, Ben had his eighth grade dance the very next night.

Here is Mr. Handsome with his little girlfriend Jessalyn. Since he still depends on us to drive him to dinner and dances and parents are still chaperoning events at this stage - I have lots more pictures of his festivities!

This is Rashad - Ben's "brother from another mother" haha. They play baseball together and are the best of friends. Rashad's mother Carolyn and I often joke that they are so much alike, they basically are the same kid in a different wrapper! They consider themselves quite the dancers!

Little Sappy Side Note!

All of us mom's who chaperoned that night were very impressed by the fact that, despite all the talk of bullying these days, there was no separation or segregation with the kids at this dance. Black, white, skinny, chubby, jocks and little geeky kids, brainiacs and drop-outs-waiting-to-happen, they all got out there and danced together and had a great time. Not the slightest sign of conflict. It was really sweet to see.

Little Sappy Side Note #2 - 

The little girl in the light pink dress with the black bow is Ben's friend Hannah Bonham. She has had a tough time to say the least. Hannah has a heart condition, and at the beginning of this school year it was determined that she needed surgery. During the pre-op process, it was discovered that she had another  separate condition that effects her brain. While on the doctor's table having a procedure to determine if this condition would prohibit the heart surgery, she suffered a stroke and was left partially paralyzed on her left side. As you can tell, after a very long year she is on the mend. This past fall they were all wearing "Pray for Hannah" t-shirts and bracelets and visiting her in a rehab center, and now here she is at the dance with them. I always tear up around Hannah. I'm not sure if it's because she is still the smiliest little girl you'll ever find - or if it's how the rest of them love and look out for her. Too sweet.

By now everyone knows that Amelia won Aiken County Jr. Miss, or what they now call "Distinguished Young Woman of Aiken County". She was thrilled of course but I think she was just as impressed with all the friends that came to the event. Here's a picture with a handful of them.