1. shorts with tights. Yay or nay? I've seen this combination a lot lately, and tried it for myself (black tights under khaki shorts), but I'm not sure about it. What's your opinion?

2. black and white. The lovely Hannah from Aspire is hosting a black and white portrait challenge...above is my entry. I know I've shared this photo before (though never in b&w), but I still love it. I adore Lilly's rather wistful expression.

3. 507. That's how many photos are currently on my memory card. Considering I normally don't have more than twenty pictures on it at a time, it's slightly overwhelming. Thankfully, I can hold over one thousand, but I don't want it to get that bad. I really need to go through all of them before I go to Paris.

4. MeMe says thank you... for all your sweet words on her birthday yesterday! She had a wonderful day :)

5. big, open fields are the best. They really are. Yesterday we took a hike in the forest, and all of a sudden it opened into a wide open field. With the warm sun coating us like a blanket, we ate a picnic lunch. I could have stayed there forever.

6. charleston. This video makes me want to go to Charleston, SC, ASAP. Oh, who am I kidding. Olivia's whole blog makes me want to go to Charleston ASAP.

7. photo uploading. Gah. This has me so frustrated. It seems that everyone can see my photos when uploaded through Blogger. And a few aren't able to when I use Flickr, Photobucket, or Imgur. The problem is, I'm running out of space on Blogger, but I don't really want to pay for more storage. So, what do I do? Your thoughts would be appreciated!

-carlotta

Are you getting tired of saying "happy birthday" yet? Just hang for one more day, because it's MeMe's 7th birthday!

I can remember her birth like it was yesterday. Our whole family (at the time being my mom, dad, Jeremiah, and me) was actually there when she was born. When we heard, "It's a girl!" and heard MeMe's first cries, I ran out to the other room where my brother was watching Mary Poppins. "The baby's here!", I exclaimed. "It's a girl!" Jeremiah barely glanced at me, his eyes fixated on the TV screen. He gave a very uninterested, "Oh.", and turned back to his movie. I still crack up over that.

Though she was officially named Mariam Elizabeth, on the drive home from the birthing center we agreed on calling her MeMe as a nickname. It really stuck ;)

MeMe was a very quiet, content baby. She rarely fussed, but always wanted to be held. Being overjoyed to finally have a little sister, I gave no objection and held her as often as I could.

When she was almost two, we moved to a St. Louis seminary so my dad could become a pastor. She was amazingly good during all the packing and traveling.

MeMe instantly bonded with the little girl two months her junior whose family lived above our apartment on the seminary campus. For the two years the family lived there, they were inseparable. They were so adorable together! 

When it came time to move again - this time to Oklahoma, MeMe was old enough to actually understand all the hustle and bustle that was moving. It was so fun to see the exciting, thrilling thought of moving to a new state through her eyes. 

That was already three years ago. Where does the time go?! Now, MeMe, you're seven! I can't wait to see how the rest of your life unfolds.

Happy birthday, MeMe! I love you. :)

-carlotta

PS I know she looks a little somber in these photos, but I love how they draw attention to her eyes. And no, she's not really that pale ;)

Thank you for all your incredibly sweet birthday wishes yesterday! Man, you sure know how to make a girl feel loved :)

My birthday celebration started on Wednesday afternoon, so we could celebrate with my dad, where we again got ice cream at the local ice cream store. 

This is what I got...the chocolate bowl. Yum.

I knew my parents had something big up their sleeves. I found out what this surprise was on Wednesday as well, because my dad wanted to see my reaction.

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you already know what the surprise was (I couldn't keep quiet!)...

My mom handed me three packages. The first one was a magazine about Paris. The second one was a French dictionary. At this point, I was still totally clueless. The last one was a maroon folder. A folder? But when I opened up the folder and glanced at the sheets inside...

...I knew. Inside were printouts of two train ticket confirmations for my mom and me. The destination? 

Paris, France.

Oh.yes. I'm going to Paris next weekend!!!!!!!!

(The above photo is extremely unflattering, but that's how excited I was ;))

I'm so unbelievably excited. I've wanted to go to Paris for as long as I can remember. And now? I finally get to go! We're leaving very early on October 1st and returning on October 4th. I'm not sure if I'll be able to blog while we're there (even though the super cute hotel we're staying in has free Wi-Fi), since we'll probably be incredibly busy. So I'll schedule some posts while we're gone...but when we come back, be prepared for photo overload! :)

On my birthday, I got up at the far too early hour of 6:30am so I could come along to the airport to drop off my dad.

(My dad arrived safely last night after a long, but uneventful flight. Thank you for your prayers!)

After taking a late morning nap - Hey! I was tired! - we ate lunch and I opened presents.

My mom made my very favorite baked macaroni and cheese with a delicious salad. Among my presents was a hat very similar to my brother's! You know, the one that I stole and my mom took a picture of me with, and I made it my profile picture? (Run on sentence much?) Yeah, that one. I love it.

After my first class - nope, I couldn't get out of going to class on my birthday :), I took a bike ride around the country side. Weaving through the maze of corn fields and farms, with the sun shining and the wind blowing on my face, it was just what I needed. I could have bicycled forever.

To end the day, I blew out a candle (since we haven't had a cake yet) while everyone sang happy birthday.

It was a good day. And, my birthday celebration will continue in Paris! Eek!

-carlotta

...is kind of a special day.

Why?

Because exactly fourteen years ago today, a little girl was born.

This baby weighed seven pounds and eight ounces and was born kicking and screaming somewhere around 6:30am (no one really remembers the exact time...ha.).

This baby was (and is) the daughter of these people...

(Gosh, aren't they so stinking cute?!)

This baby was named Carlotta Cisternas. (I'm not giving our last name for personal reasons ;))

And this baby...was me!



Yep, today is my fourteenth birthday.

That sounds so young, doesn't it? I don't feel fourteen. Sometimes I feel like a giggly five year old who can't wait to grow up. Sometimes I feel like I've lived a long time, an old person who wishes they could go back to their childhood.

Isn't that the way with everything? You're never really happy where you are in life. When you're young, you can't wait to grow up When you're in elementary school, you can't wait to be like the "big kids" in middle school. Same goes for middle school. You can't wait to get into high school. And in high school? You can't wait to get into college. But when you're older...you wish you could go back to being younger, back to the time you couldn't wait to grow up. So it goes, around and around.

I know I still have so much more to learn. Most of my life still stretches before me. Challenges, sadness, joy, happiness. I hope that someday down the road, I'll have a husband and  family of my own. I hope that I'll have a job I love, whether it be as a mother or as something else. I hope that, someday, I will be able to pursue my dream of being a photographer.

But I know, that even if things don't go according to my plan, it's going to go according to God's plan. Everything that happens in my life will happen for a reason.

Sorry, this was a little somber and deep for a birthday post...I didn't mean for it to get so long ;)

Have a wonderful day!

-carlotta

PS My dad is leaving to go back to the States today (he needs to go back to work)...would you mind saying a prayer that he arrives back home safely? Thank you!