Cheers to the New Year!

As I sit here babysitting on New Years, stealing (borrowing) wi-fi, sipping my diet coke with lime, petting the two dogs next to me, listening to the baby monitor, and watching Dick Clark's New Years Rockin Eve, I remind myself how lucky I am.

I remember those times when I was in high school when we would get the group together to go to Opening Night in OKC and stay up all night long having a great time. That was fun. We would stay at a church after the event and play cards until the morning light came. Then off we were back home to Enid.

I remember last year when I babysat for a family that was so inebriated that they tipped me $40...only because they tipped me $20 before they left and $20 when they came home, barely able to walk in and hold a conversation.

Nonetheless, as the new year begins I am remembering all the wonderful blessings of 2005 and look foward to the new things to come in 2006. Wishing you all a Happy New Year, full of love, happiness, and good health.

Always,
Emily Christine

A day in the life....

8:30 a.m. ~~ Meeting at the convenience store in the middle of nowhere in Creek County. Taking one car instead of two.


8: 45 a.m. ~~ Driving to a rural home in the country with llamas, goats, chickens, horses, dogs, cats, and who knows what else.....


8:55 a.m. ~~ Obeying all traffic laws....of course. I have survived 2 years of home based work and haven't had trouble yet.... (knock on wood please)!


9:00 a.m. ~~ We are almost there. Ready to start the day and write a wonderful Family Service Plan! What fun.



By the way, my dear friend Emily (not myself, I promise) took these photos while trying out my digital camera....we had a great time.

I could write forever on the things I do, but this will suffice for now!

Merry Christmas 2005

Kate drinking her milk while making Christmas morning music.

Kate sitting in Aunt Emmy's childhood babydoll rocking chair....playing with Sophie (Grandma Susan's dog).

Aunt Emmy loves Kate.

Kate and Will had a wonderful Christmas. It was so much fun to play with all the new toys that I forgot to take many photos. I only had one of Will and it turned out blurry. Darn. I think the kids are set to go for years with all the toys they received from everyone in their lives....it amazes me how quickly things add up...and I don't even have to live with all the stuff! Needless to say, we told Kate she opened her last present until her 2nd birthday in April! I don't know if she understood the concept or not. Guess she'll eventually figure it all out.

Christmas 2005 was a great one!

Best day in a long time...

I just came home from eating dinner with a few friends. I met up with Daniel and Meredith, two friends from high school. But, the day started off well from the beginning.

See, let me explain....One of my best friends growing up was Peter Markes...a wonderful and amazing person in life, let alone an astounding musician. After our first two years of college at Oklahoma City University I lost my frequent contact with him. He and Kyle wrote their songs and created their first CD. I never got a copy of it and I found it the other day on CD Baby and ordered it....It's called Kyle and Peter "Outside the Box". Today it came in the mail to my work address! What a joy! Then....I get a phone call from a 405 number....and it's Peter. I haven't talked to him since his wedding in December of 2002. We have emailed and done the Christmas card thing, but never really had the chance to catch up on real time and real voices. It was the best hour of the day... or so I thought.

It just got better. I then had the chance to eat dinner with Daniel and Meredith and had a wonderful time. We met at Texas Roadhouse...besides the poor serving (which is totally atypical of this place) it was awesome. It was all about catching up from good old days of high school, college, and after college memories. While we were there, a guy came up and pointed to us and said "Meredith" "Emily"..... and I didn't recognize him at first..but it was a guy from Enid...named Eric. We all sat and talked for a long time and caught up briefly on all the bizarre connections that we discovered....It was amazing. It took me awhile, but I finally remembered Eric was on my Unit 4 from Constitution Team in High School...and I think Whitney was on Meredith's Unit 2 from Constitution Team. Yes, I was a nerd. It was the advanced history class specializing in Constitution and the history, practices, and implemention of judicial practice in the US. Anyhow, we won State and went to Nationals in D.C.

Bottom line..it's been a wonderful, blessed Christmas. I think it's been the best ever. I would like to establish a gathering once every few months in Tulsa with everyone we know from Enid High and a chance to get to know each other better and catch up from the old days! It's been great seeing everyone and hearing how life is going. I guess it is almost time for our 10 year reunion!

Hope everyone has a Merry Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Piano Time

Kate loved playing the piano at Aunt Linda's house tonight. She enjoyed banging the keys and dancing to her music. Little Will slept through the whole thing...such a good little boy! We try to get her to say Aunt Emmy, but she loves to say pa-pa instead. I think it's easier for her to say! Anyhow, here are a few pics from this evening. I can't wait to spend Christmas with my two little loves, Kate and Will!






Here are a few of Aunt Emmy trying to get Kate to give her a hug and a kiss! It's not an easy feat! Bless her heart...she just loves to be on the go all the time.

Good ol' Days

This is a picture of Shelley and I. We were luck of the draw roommates at Oklahoma City University our freshman year. We worked well together and had lots of fun times. Here is a short abbreviated list of a few fond memories.

1. Stealing orange cones from the parking lot on OCU campus....a little excitement for these two good girls...
2. Hiding in my closet......
3. My sleeptalking/sleepwalking stories.....
4. Cheescake and Pumpkin bread.....

Tired girl here. Will write more later. 

FiestaWare & 40 pounds

So, I thought I would try to be humorous to capture two important things in my life. Let me tell you about both of them a little at a time.

1. I always wanted to have a set of Multi-Colored Fiesta Ware for my kitchen. I never started the collection with real place settings. I have two random orange plates...yes, for OSU...and two random white bowls....yes, to observe the classic original Fiesta Ware. So...this weekend Foley's had an AMAZING sale on their Fiesta Ware...so, here comes Emily. I was able to start my new collection of dishes for amazing low price! It was more than 50% off the original price. I have a fire engine red set, sunflower yellow set, lime green set, and cobalt blue set. I love them!

2. The next part of this post is the vegetable on the plate! I didn't plan on it being too green, but I had already poured my dinner on my plate. This marks another significant part of my life. I have a dear friend getting married next summer in Omaha. I was lucky to be picked as a bridesmaid.....thus, my reasoning (along with needing to do it for awhile now) to lose 40 pounds by July 15. It sounds like a lofty goal, but I think I can do it. So, tonight's dinner consists of a plate of broccoli and a few slices of some good steak!

I thought it would be humorous to capture this online to show my friends and family. It seems silly, but it's fun...and if it helps me hold myself accountable, it will be worth it. 

Wally's First Snowfall....

This is a picture taken from the balcony of my apartment. It doesn't show much snow, but this was the start of our first snow of the winter of 2005!

I would hate to be a dog...to have potty breaks outside in the cold snow! Poor Wally.

He loved the snow. He's still licking his paws after we've been inside for 10 minutes. He liked to eat the snow, jump around in the snow, and run circles around me in the snow! What a good first snow experience for Wally and Mama!

M&M Chocolate Chunk Cookies...

Some of you know that I recently started a new job. In making friends at the new office, I have met some of their family members. One of my co-worker’s sons was in selling stuff for his band. I sympathized with the guy for two reasons (1) I was a band nerd also and (2) I never liked selling that stuff, so why not make it easier on him. It reminded me of the times I used to to go door-to-door selling magazines, wrapping paper, Christmas trees, Blue & Gold Sausage, etc…why not support someone else in their beginning endeavors of sales! Ha. So, I decided to buy some stuff. Finally, a month later, $12.50 poorer, I landed 56 pre-cut refrigerated cookie dough cookies. M&M Chocolate Chunk. Can’t beat that.

To top it all off, I baked a couple dozen to take to work tomorrow for our weekly meeting. I had finished baking the second dozen and was removing them to the cooling rack when I dropped one on the floor. What’s funny about it was that Wally (my dog) didn’t immediately run to the cookie and scarf it up. That’s his normal routine. But instead, he acted so smart and waited for it to cool down before he ate it. That brought me to pondering my life after Wally…I think that will be another blog entry. For now this enough tonight!

Happy First Sunday!

Little Will was bright eyed this morning. We celebrated his first Sunday alive with a big yawn!

 

Sleep, sleep, and more sleep

This is not flattering in any way to Aunt Emily, but I love the photo that depicts him so soundly sleeping on my chest. He's a supersweet baby, sleeping most of the time. He is a great kid. He seems to only cry when he is having his diaper changed or when he's ready to eat....again. We are lucky to have another little one in the family!

 

Star sighting...

Kate never lacked receiving attention from anyone. She was a star all weekend long!

 

Big Sister

Big Sister and Little Brother

 

Karen (a.k.a. mama)
Katharine Ella
John William

Kate has welcomed little baby Will very well. She doesn't like it when he cries and will often pout herself, whining a little with him. She loves to point to his body parts, i.e. eyes, ears, hairs, mouth, hands, toes, etc. She will be a great big sister!

 

Aunt Emily and John William

Welcome to the world, John William!
This is Will's third day in the great big world. He was welcomed by all his family members who love him so much. I don't think we have had as many people together at the same time since what seems like forever. It was a nice time to have all family sides represented to share in this special occasion. We missed Uncle Denis and Aunt Melanie and cousins Abby and Mason.

Will is a beautiful child that is loved soo soo much! Despite Aunt Emmy's greasy looking hair, this is a pretty good picture of Will with his little eyes open. I'm so lucky to now have one niece and one nephew...more love to give. I look forward to sharing the days with these children.

Welcome John William

John William arrived November 30, 2005. He was 10 pounds and 1 ounce, 22 3/4 inches long, and perfectly healthy. From this one picture I can tell he looks just like Karen. It's funny. Kate looked just like Rob and Will looks just like Karen. I can't wait to see him on Friday!

Welcome baby Will!

Football with the Boys!

Football Time!!!

Kate enjoyed taking time out of her day to play a game of football with her Uncle Taylor and her Daddy. She loved to play catch and run with the boys.

 

Cookie Monster!

This isn't a cute picture of Kate, but it speaks a thousand words! She had a chocolate chip cookie after lunch and made a royal mess! Her hair was a little scraggly and in her eyes, but she loved the cookie!

 

Aunt Emily & Katharine Ella

What a beautiful day!

I had the chance to go to Texas for the weekend to spend some time with my brother and his family. So far Kate is the only niece I have, but we are waiting anxiously for the arrival of little Will, my soon to be nephew! The whole family had all day to spend together with each other. It was wonderful. Here are a few pics from the day! Enjoy.

wally loves his mama

 

Jingle Bells...

WALLY
I am a proud parent and spoil my dog way too much. However, I couldn't resist getting him his own jingle bell collar for Christmas. He actually likes it and it's pretty humorous to see him in person. He helped me get some Christmas decorations out around the apartment and enjoyed the holiday celebration.

Yes, I know it's early, but why not. It's not like I have a huge tree or anything, it's just a few old favorites around the place! I am putting up lights after Thanksgiving. Better wait a little while longer for that!

 

Giddy Up!

Giddy Up, It's time for OSU Cowboy Basketball Season!

One of my favorite OSU memories is attending the basketball games for those fabulous years with the amazing players! I had a friend who dated a trainer, and we were able to get in early to the games to reserve our front row seats, right by the guys!

But, I think the best part was getting to hang out in the locker room before the guys came to the arena. It was fun taking pictures in the Cowboy Locker Room...dreaming of the stars! Ahh....the memories of those good ol' college days! Makes me smile.

One little monkey jumping on the bed...one fell off and broke her arm!

Little Kate fell off the bed a few weeks ago and has a pretty pink cast. Poor thing keeps walking around the house saying "Off, off, off."

Rob and Karen are still waiting for John William to arrive. So Kate walks around the house checking for the baby. Guess he's not here yet. I think he will arrive on November 24th, Thanksgiving of 2005!

Precious Kate

KATHARINE ELLA
This is a picture of my precious little Kate. I have never known such a joy as this. I've been through a lot of life situations and have experienced many types of love, but this one is the best thus far. I have enjoyed watching Katharine grow and develop into a wonderful child, full of energy, love and great hugs. I can only imagine this love growing more and more with each passing year of her life.

I look forward to sharing this incredible love for my niece with her soon-to-be little brother, Will. I can't wait to have a second one to fall in love with all over again!

I love being Aunt Emily!

Zoe

I just realized I put a picture of Wally up without Zoe nearby. This is Zoe, she's my rescue cat from Humane Society. She's a beautiful cat and the most personable cat I've ever known. Well, maybe not. She's super-sweet and loves to be around people. She's not too fond of other animals, but she has dealt well with the addition of the dog to the household. She knows her limits and can jump higher than Wally, so she's safe.

In this picture, Wally is actualy sleeping underneath the table. This is how we work in my house. I type at the dinner table with Zoe on my left and Wally asleep under my left side. It's nice if he's quiet. He's usually barking too much to get much done on the computer, so I enjoy times like these when he's asleep. It's a nice break!

As you can tell, I love my animals! They are my children for now. I spoil them as if they were kiddos!

Wally

This is Wally. He is my rescue dog from the Wal-Mart parking lot. He is about 1o months old and is very much a puppy. He's super sweet and loves his mama, but he can be quite the challenge when it comes to barking, chewing, and potty-training. It's been a challenge, but I love him. Isn't that what parents say about their kids sometimes?

Last night he was barking too much so I put him in his crate for the remainder of the night. I covered his crate with my comforter to muffle the noise....and when I got him out this morning he was soaking wet from sweating the whole night. He was so busy trying to get out of there and barking that he worked up a sweat. Poor dog. I am sure that wasn't very nice of me, but I had no idea he would sweat like that. Poor dog. He has probably had about 10 cups of water today. Needless to say, we've been outside frequently. At least it's the fall instead of the winter.

New Blog

I have decided to create my own blogspot address so that I can add pictures of my family and friends easier than my previous weblog. This is new. I have to learn how to use the Blogger system and then we will be more up to date. Bear with me as I learn about this new adventure.

Two Little Ladybugs

Aunt Emily and Katharine
"Two Little Ladybugs"

Kate & Aunt Emily

This is a picture from my cousin's wedding in October. Kate loved to dance at the reception and it was hard to get her to hold still for a picture with me. This one is a favorite of mine because it shows our smiles, or at least my smile while she's trying to figure out how to escape my hold. :)