fUn iN tHe sUn!

This kid is amazing. He is so alert when he's awake. I can't wait until he's big enough to play baseball with in the summers! He's a cutie!


Kate has amazing faces. She really does. I want to keep capturing those special days!


Kind of an odd angle....but she loved the sidewalk chalk.


A great way to end the weekend...at the park with Aunt Emily and Mimi. I taught her to say "Emmy rocks" and she passed with flying colors!


They have to go back to Texas tomorrow. I will miss them a lot. I think I will visit in a month or so....can't go too long without them! Just too adorable kids. I laugh when I think how great they are....that when I finally get some of my own, I will be really insane!

 

Will...He's adorable!

He's bright eyed and bushy-tailed! Man, he's so handsome!

BLUE EYES!!!

Silly Aunt Emily taking pictures of me again!

I love to swing! I'm only 4 months old too! What a big boy!

 

Kate's 2nd Birthday Party!

Here are a few pictures from Kate's 2nd Birthday Party! I'm sure I'm a little partial, but this kid is beautiful! I'll put some up of Will in a new post. Kate had so much fun with her family and friends! We celebrated with Sesame Street Friends: Elmo, Cookie Monster, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, Zoe, and I'm sure I forget some more.

Kate loved having her family over celebrating her special day! She opened lots of fun presents, and will have lots of new things to play with in Texas.

Enjoy the pictures!







Look at those eyes!













She was patiently waiting for Elmo cake!

















I can open presents! Everyone wanted to help me too!














I think I want chocolate ice cream Aunt Emily, but mama said no. So, Mimi gave me bites of her vanilla ice cream!

Child Abuse Prevention Month

April: Child Abuse Prevention Month

This is a pair of shoes out of 51 that were hung at the Gazebo in Sapulpa today. There were 51 children killed by child abuse and neglect in the year 2004. This is only one set of shoes. What are we doing as a society to help save these children? This is a passion of mine. I'm working hard on some different task force's to prevent and educate regarding child abuse. It's a sad thing.

Go out into the world and do what you can. It takes a whole village to raise a child.

God Bless

 

Leaves, Sticks, Acorns...Oh My!

Well, I made the move to mom's house and things are going great. It's been about two weeks I think, and we have had a great time. Having said that, I don't know if I've ever seen so many leaves, sticks, and acorns in my life! We have spent the last three weekends raking leaves, trimming trees and shrubs, and raking acorns up too. It's been fun, but I'm tired nonetheless. Wally really enjoys being out and about in the backyard and gets some great exercise. It helps us wear him down so he's a little calmer at night. If you know Wally, you know that the two words Wally and calm usually don't go together. But, it's fun.

I had the chance to meet a really great guy today for a blind brunch date. I decided to try the Match.Com approach and see what can happen. After all, Ashley, my friend from summers in New York, is marrying her fiance whom she met off Match.Com too. Why not. Not much to lose. So, I met a really nice guy today. He's new to town and recently moved here from Houston. He took me to The Chalkboard, a nice restaurant in downtown Tulsa. It was nice to have a good conversation over a good meal with a new person in my life. He's a very respectful and kind gentleman. It was nice to have a good meeting! We'll see what happens. If nothing else, I've made a new friend!

Next weekend is Kate's birthday weekend, Robert's birthday weekend, and Easter weekend...all in three days! Kate will be 2 on the 29th of April. Robert will have his birthday on the 18th, and Easter is on Sunday. I'm excited about having them here. I haven't seen them for a few months. They will be here in April and I might go down sometime in May to visit them in Texas! I have to figure out if Kate and I will have our pictures taken in May or if we should wait a little while...I don't know! We will see.

Hope all is well with everyone. Things are going well here and everything seems to be moving along smoothly. Take care.

Always,
Emily

rain...rain..go away...

Hi. It's been awhile since I've written anything on here about my life. There have been a lot of life updates, changes, happenings, and events that have occurred in my life. I'm not sure where to begin, so I might start with this weekend.

Brr...it's cold outside. I'm happy it's raining, because I know our land so desperately needs it...but it's quite a depressing place....its cold and rainy...for almost 48 straight hours. Man, I just need a little bit of sunshine. It's pretty cold....well, it seems like it at least. I think it is supposed to rain for 48 more hours.... which I guess will be fine...so long as it stops by Thursday. That's the moving day for me.

Moving...you may ask, where is Emily moving to? Some of you may know..and others may not. I'm moving back in with my mom for a temporary place for a little while. It's a good thing and a hard thing all at once. I am moving back in with my mom with some short-term goals in mind. (1) Debt-Free
(2) Savings
(3) Home Buyers Account
I am moving back home to save money, get rid of all my debts (which, fortunately, I don't have a lot, but enough to hang over my head), save money, and then get out on my own. If things happen differently or whatever, I'll take it one day at a time. I think I would lke to be out on my own in about a year...my own cute little house, something comfy, affordable, and in a reasonably safe area. Then...I have a few other goals in mind.
(1) MSW program
(2) Foster Children
(3) Peace Corps
I'm not sure what of these I will really take action on..it really depends on my year and things that happen.

Which brings me to the next part of my writing...I just don't know where I want to be, what I want to do, or what to do with my life. Each time I think I have a good idea, something else pops in my mind as a neat idea....I think that's my problem...I have too many ideas of what would be neat things to do....I've thought a lot about the Peace Corps...going abroad to work on some orphanage project in Romania or teaching kids on an African desert....I just don't know. It sounds like a great experience, but I don't know how I would do being away from my family for that amount of time. I've thought about fostering children here in Tulsa...and that would be neat too. I just don't know. I've also entertained the idea of going back to get my MSW...which is has a high liklihood.

Anyhow, guess I need to just relax and live each day for what it brings and take life as it comes. With that being said, I started attending a new church here in Tulsa. I feel very spiritually fed and at home there. I'm going to First Presbyterian Church in downtown Tulsa. It's a great place and welcoming to everyone.

I must end this post...and get something to eat. Hope this finds everyone well and I will write more at another time.

Fun Weekend With Aunt Emily

Here's Kate posing for pictures with brother Will!


Little Kate wanted to wear Aunt Emily's jean jacket...isn't she adorable!


Will is a happy little baby boy!

 

Where A Kid Can Be A Kid

Katharine experienced her first time at Chuck E. Cheese on Saturday, February 18th, 2006. She is almost 22 months and she LOVED it! Kate, her mama, and her Aunt Emily took her to Chuck E. Cheese after a long, hard day at home.

Awww....Kate's hugging Chuck E. Cheese! Let's ride!

Here is the music prodigy at 22 months! She LOVES music.
Always playing, dancing, singing, and rocking out at home!

Kate has never once seen Barney in her life, well....maybe a few times. She loved the purple dinosaur too! Overall, we had a great day and enjoyed our time at Chuck E. Cheese!

 

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.