Happy Birthday Emily - Part 7, 8, & 9

This is Emily's 7th birthday. This would be the beginning of a LONG line of slumber parties! In fact, I think she has had at least a few friends stay over every birthday since then. We made and decorated pillow cases, had a fashion show, and stayed up VERY late! It was a lot of fun.

This is Emily's 8th birthday. She had a fishing/camp out party. I don't exactly remember how this one came to be except for the fact that she wanted a tent for her birthday. Mr. Elton volunteered (sort of) to take the girls (and Owen & Andrew) fishing. They went to the pond that was behind the church. It is more like a marsh now than a pond. Anyway, you can see all the fish they caught. After fishing, they came back to our house cooked out on the grill (no, not the fish!), swam in the pool and camped in the tent outside. Luckily, the weather held out and it didn't rain.

This is Emily's 9th birthday. We had just gone ice skating. That was before there was a factory. Mr. Richard (Leigh & Andrew's dad) and Emily's grandma came to the rink too. This was our first experience ice skating. Although we had a great time, we learned it is very cold and sometimes wet!

Happy Birthday Emily - Part 6

This was Emily's 6th Birthday. We had a pirate party. I don't know if I was still feeling guilty over the Chuck-E-Cheese party last year or was still intimidated by the fact that my homeschooler was going to be "unsocial"; whatever it was, we had invited EVERYONE she knew. Anyway, we had decided on a pirate theme because she loved hunting for "treasure." So I had it all planned out, we would walk the plank, make eye patches and hook hands, and of course, we would hunt for treasure. I think we had about 16 kids coming. We had a huge backyard, it was going to be great. Well, another problem with being born in September is the fact that it is hurricane weather. The evening before, we had gone to my mom's for a family birthday gathering (nearly 1/2 my extended and personal family has a birthday in September). Now, my grandfather has been a fisherman and crabber on the NC coast for most of my life. He had come to his winter house for the weekend to celebrate birthdays. So, Saturday afternoon when they were calling for an evacuation of the coast, he decides he needs to GO there to properly secure his equipment, house, boat, etc. Now, my grandfather is a very intelligent man. However, for some reason he had/has zero trust and/or faith in weather men and refused to evacuate unless HE thought necessary. By this time, my grandfather was already in his early 70s and Hurricane Dennis was already there. So my uncle (who is two years older than myself - his frontal lobe is not quite as developed as it should be), his brother-in-law (who is Hispanic and at the time knew VERY little English) and Ryan volunteered to go tie everything down. So, they left the party and drove the 2 hr drive into the storm. If you didn't turn onto the driveway for my grandparent's house - you would run into the ocean. The guys parked the truck a ways down the road and walked the rest of the way. The water by the house was already chest high. They got into the house, put valuables (or what was left) in the attic, tied down tanks, etc. Then they decided they had better get back to the truck. The water had already come up to the grill. If Ryan was not a praying man, he became one that night. The truck was minutes from being washed away. It took them nearly 1 hour to get just a few miles to a friend's house more inland. Now, all this time I was at my mother's house waiting for updates. The last time we had heard from them was that the water was already chest high at the house. It was the longest night of my life. Fairly early Sunday morning, the storm was over there and moving toward us (just rain). So they went back to the house and some of the water had receded. Relieved, I went home to prepare for a pirate birthday party in the rain, with 16 kids! Ryan pulled in our driveway about 20 minutes before the party was to begin smelling of gas. I don't know why I remember that but I do. I can still smell it. Anyway, we improvised. We made patches and hooks in the living room, we walked the plank in the kitchen, we had a treasure hunt in the garage. In a moment of desperation, I filled a swimming pool with packing peanuts and put treasures in it. Overall, I think the party was a success despite the horrible rainy weather outside. There were many times after that where someone needed to go back down to the coast - it was never again Ryan. We have gone afterwards to help with the clean-up efforts, but never during. There are some things just not worth losing.

Happy Birthday Emily - Part 3, 4 & 5

This is Emily on her 3rd birthday. She had an Esmeralda party. At the time, we had never seen The Hunchback of Notre Dame, nor has since then, it become one of our favorites. However, for whatever reason, Emily was taken with the Esmeralda dress at the Disney Store. Emily and I were great window shoppers and the Disney store was one of our favorite places to go. I don't know if it was the jingle in the sash or the colors but it was all Emily would talk about. Well, Ryan and I decided we would splurge and get her the dress. Wouldn't you know that the store was out of her size. And, that was before you could jump on the Internet and order one. So the store said they could order one and it would be shipped directly to our house. I was thrilled. I had never spent so much on a dress, much less a costume dress, and it was going to be shipped to my house BEFORE her birthday, the sales lady assured me. Thirty minutes BEFORE her party was to begin, a friendly lady from the Disney store called to let me know that my order had arrived. We lived in Fletcher and the Disney Store was in Asheville - 30 minutes away. Needless to say, I was livid. We had the party, I had already bought Emily a little Esmeralda dress from Wal-Mart (just in case the Disney store fell through). When the party was over, Emily came into the house, laid on the floor and said she was sleepy. We checked her head, only to find a temperature of 102. So, a sick child, no present from her parents, no fancy Esmeralda dress. The day was a wash.

This is Emily the next day, feeling much better after a few doses of Motrin and a trip to the mall for her dress. It was not a pretty sight at the Disney store. Let's just say, we got five dollars off the price of the dress. It was years before I ever ordered anything from there again. Emily, however, was thrilled and I even let her wear her dress to school (daycare) the next day. For any of you that know me, that was QUITE a stretch! :) The crazy thing is, we are studying the Muslim culture in school and Alexa came down to lunch today wearing this dress. This is her idea of what Muslim women must wear. I guess I got my $25 worth out of this costume.

This is Emily's 4th birthday. This is the party where my love affair with birthdays began. It was by far, my most inspired party. At the time, Emily loved Blue's Clues. It had just begun to come on tv and the market was not crazy like it is now with Blue's Clues EVERYTHING. So, I improvised. My friend Tracey helped me orchestrate the games. We called it Emily's clues. Her cake had her two hands in pink icing on the top. We would play "Emily's Clues" to decide what to do. We had the clues for Duck, Duck, Goose, pin the tail on the donkey, have cake, and open presents. It was ALOT of fun. Ryan said I should sell my idea. Months later, you could buy it in blue's clues form along with a Blue cake pan for $19.99 at Kmart.

These are her friends that came to the party. Poor Taylor, (the only boy) was subject to all of Emily's parties - they were great buds. I have to say, Emily endured her turn at the Tonka party he had. The baby crunched beside Emily is Owen. Our neighbor, Hope, insisted he had to be in the picture.

This is Emily's 5th Birthday. The craze at the time was Arthur. (A couple of months after this, she got a dog which she named Arthur Read.) We just had a small gathering at my moms and we took her to Chuck-E-Cheese. We had just moved to Youngsville a few weeks before and since the school thing hadn't worked out too well, we hadn't met many people. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures at Chuck-E-Cheese. I was still under the impression that GOOD mothers bake birthday cakes and have parties at home. Ha, have I learned MY lesson! :)

Beauty

This past weekend, we went to the beach. We have been going to this same beach house for a couple of years now. We usually go a couple of times a summer, sometimes for a week, sometimes for just a weekend. However, we hadn't found the time to go yet this summer. We decided on the spur of the moment to go. The house is not right on the beach. It is behind the row of houses right on the beach and across a side street. We can see, hear, and smell the beach from the deck. Anyway, when we got there, we unloaded the car and the kids where begging to "see" the ocean. We walked across the street and up the stairs to reach the ocean. When you get to the landing the picture above is what you see. Alexa, was standing beside me and she says "Wow, the ocean." I say, "Alexa, we have been here a million times, you've seen the ocean before." Taking my hand, she says, "Yes, mommy, but I forget how big and how beautiful it is every time."

I was instantly reminded of child-like faith and making sure I try to see each new day, each new situation, each part of creation as it what created to be: beautiful.

Here are a few more fun pictures. We had a great time.

This is Alexa and Ian playing in the sand. The water was very rough on Saturday morning. They were frustrated that I would not let them go out very far - even though they were "partners" and would look out for one another. I love that they are great playmates.

This is Owen and Emily. The sun was so bright, I was having a hard time seeing what I was actually taking a picture of! We had gone and gotten boogie boards. They had just ridden in a wave.

Ryan had gotten some paddle ball rackets when we went into town. He and Owen were having some fierce paddle ball competitions. You would think they were in the Olympics. The funny thing was I just had to laugh at Ryan's concerns that Owen is "too competitive." That is SO the pot calling the kettle black!!!

This is a picture of Ian and Ryan taken minutes apart. Ian still enjoying and basking in the sun - even though we had been on the beach for two solid straight days. We have never been on the beach so long consecutively, ever. Unfortunately, this is Ryan being held hostage against his will. Unlike the rest of us, Ryan burns just walking to the mailbox. By this time in the weekend, he was ready to go back to the house! :) We had just as much fun at the house too, we played go fish, Banana grams, apples to apples, jr, and uno attack. It was a great time. I love my family and all their quirks too!

Happy Birthday Emily - Part 2

This is Emily on the day of her second birthday. She was so impressed, she dressed herself. Aren't you impressed by her fashion sense!? I love the mismatched Barney socks and of course, the one glass in the sunglasses. She was about to go lay down for a nap.

We had recently gone to the circus. This is a picture of Ryan getting ready to wake Emily up so we could give her her birthday present early because we were going to a friend's house for dinner. Poor Emily, she was such a sweet guinea pig. She just rolled over and laughed when she saw him and said "you funny daddy" and rolled back over until he whispered "there are presents" you didn't have to tell her twice.

This kitchen center is what we got her for her 2nd birthday. We were SO excited. This is the first thing we had bought (for Emily or otherwise) that was over $100. The funny thing about looking back at this picture is that I (actually Ryan at my request) just put this kitchen center up in the attic because Alexa and Ian were tired of playing with it. We still have all the parts. I guess that was a good $100 investment.

This is her talking on the phone. One of the kids in her daycare had a birthday the day after and we were going to their house to have a birthday celebration for the girls. It was a Lion King theme; that is why she has on her Lion King suit.

This is a picture of her 2nd birthday party. It was just family. My mom made her the carousel cake.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Emily. She loved Snow White. Ryan was out of town taking the CPA exam. I was terrified to stay in our house alone, especially during Halloween. I don't know why Halloween made a difference, but it did. Anyway, my dad took pity on us, took vacation time and came and stayed with us until Ryan got back. Dad and I took Emily to the Fall festival at our church. It's a good thing the wicked stepmother didn't ask the mirror who the fairest in the land was this night. :)

This is Emily's Christmas dress when she was two. I should have actually switched these two pictures because she is older in this picture than the one below. Alexa wore this dress for Christmas up until 2 years ago. My mom made it.

This is Emily's two year old picture. I must have had a thing for hats. She used to carry this little dog around. It is actually one of the first presents Ryan gave me when we were dating. I did not intend for the dog to be in the picture. However, when we got to the place to have her picture made, she freaked out when they changed the background behind her. So, we compromised and let her take her picture with the dog. After that experience, we always left the room when they were changing the backdrop or we picked one and stuck with it.

Happy Birthday Emily - Part 1

Here are a few pictures from Emily's first year. As much as I wanted to put her first few days up, they are the only ones I have done in scrapbook form; seeing that I only have 4 pages done -(in total of any years) I couldn't bear to undo the pictures so that I could scan them. Here are a few of the details:
We were having a difficult time coming up with a name for the baby. We did not find out whether she was a girl or a boy. So, we had to come up with both. I always assumed I would name a child Jordan. I don't know why - it has just always been what I would name a baby - boy or girl. Well, as it turns out, Ryan has a cousin named Jordan and his mother thought it would be too confusing to have two children in the same family with the same name. (I have seen/met the other Jordan approx. 3 times in all the time I have known Ryan's family.) Anyway, we decided against Jordan. I don't know exactly how the name Emily came to be. I have a great grand mother named Emma Lee but I didn't really know her. We had a friend who died in a car crash in college named Elizabeth and we both liked that name. So we decided we would name a girl Emily Elizabeth (no, I had never heard of the Clifford series at the time) and we would name a boy Zachary Ryan. Wouldn't you know it that the Wed. before she was born (she was born on a Friday) a hurricane hit the NC coast - guess what its name was - yep, Emily. There were 3 other baby girls named Emily in the hospital. I was so mad but by that time we had settled on Emily (that is one of the reasons all our other children have more unique names).
She weighed 9lbs and 13oz and was born at 7:00pm.

She was about 3 weeks old here. One great thing about

her being so big at birth is that she could almost hold her

head up when she was born. We weren't overly

terrified we would break her. Ryan worked on campus and

this the t-shirt the ladies sent Emily. All four kids wore

this shirt.

This is Emily's Christmas dress

she was 3 months old.

This is Ryan and Emily asleep on the couch. That was before we knew she wasn't suppose to sleep on her stomach or on/with a person. Oh well, our bad; although, it seems she survived.



This is Emily at 6 months. I loved this outfit, especially the

hat. I think I still have it somewhere...

This is Emily helping Ryan study for the CPA

exam. We were hoping it would give her a jump

start in Math. I think it backfired on us; she

hates math.

We lived in a small, one room apartment and this was her favorite place to be. She would take all of the Tupperware out and climb in. Even when we moved into a bigger house, she still played in the cabinet. Maybe that's why she has a fear of getting shut in places. Although, I never shut her in the cabinet, I promise. :)



Okay, I have to tell you, we were parents that said our child would not watch television. I think it lasted about 6 months. However, Ryan was insistent that she would NOT watch the new purple dinosaur that came on PBS. Well, one day when Emily was about 3 months old, Ryan heard (on the radio) about a 3 year old who saved his family when his house caught on fire. When asked how he knew what to do, the boy replied he did what Barney had told him to do. So, Ryan recanted and said Barney would be allowed. Emily LOVED Barney. Ryan bought her the very first Barney anything she ever owned (and she owned ALOT of Barney things). This is a picture of Emily's first birthday party. We had it at her babysitter's house. Yep, you guessed it - that's Ryan in that Barney suit!

This is her official "one year old" picture. That purple blob on her leg - yep, it's Barney!

First Day of School

As I was putting the last of the finishing touches on my "school preparedness"; I began to feel a bit of nostalgia for days gone by. Then, I had to laugh at myself over what a Goober I am. I am SO such a teacher, even when I don't try to be. My children will definitely tell you, it is not my greatest asset! :) See for yourself...

This was the day that started it all. We were so excited. It was her first day of Kindergarten. Sorry, I don't have a picture of her first day of "home school" Kindergarten. Homeschooling was a temporary fix. No need to take pictures. (Are we all laughing at me at this point!) :)

This is the first day of school in 1999. She was such a good sport. Can you see the times of our schedule drawn out on the chart?! This was first grade.

This is not the first day of school but as you can tell it is November. I couldn't find the first day of school for 2000. So, I thought you would enjoy Thanksgiving pictures instead. If you notice, that is a tepee in my kitchen. Yup, we moved the table into the garage and used the tepee for a whole week. Also, no discrimination here; we were Pilgrims AND Indians! (Emily 2nd, Owen pre-preschool)

This was the first day of school in 2001. Alexa was just making sure they were doing it right. :)
(Emily 3rd, Owen preschool, Alexa 8 months)

This is actually the first day of school in 2002. We were having

camera issues. We seem to have a lot of those. (Emily 4th, Owen Kindergarten)

This is actually a random school day in fall of 2003. I have another of this exact picture except that Ian is under the desks with a sheet of star stickers hanging out of his mouth. I know you would have all loved to see that - but I couldn't find that one! (Emily 5th, Owen 1st, Alexa pre-pre-preschool, Ian just zoomed by in his walker.)

This is the First Day of School in 2004. Ian got a "real" desk a few months later because the table just wouldn't do! :) (Emily 6th, Owen 2nd, Alexa pre-preschool, Ian pre-pre-preschool)

First Day of School 2005 (Emily 7th, Owen 3rd, Alexa preschool, Ian pre-preschool) Alexa is holding Flat Zoie; a school project for one of our friends.

First Day of School 2006 (Emily 8th, Owen 4th, Alexa Kindergarten, Ian Preschool) This was our first day in our new school room.

First Day of School 2007 (Emily 9th, Owen 5th, Alexa 1st, Ian Kindergarten)

Back to school 2008. Welcome to the 10th, 6th,

2nd and 1st grades! :)

Call me crazy

This week, we have been glued to the Olympics. Our favorite part, of course, is the gymnastics. Although, I have to say, swimming has come in a close second this year. Anyway, the other night, we were watching the girl's gymnastics (you will have to forgive me, I really don't pay attention to their names) and one of the girls from the American team was about to vault when the commentator guy said "they have been training for years for the next thirty seconds." I realized that I couldn't watch. I knew in person, at Owen's meets, most of the time, I can barely watch. When I do, I am tense as all get out and holding my breath. I realized I was doing that for each of these girls about to perform. I realized, in that moment, that I am an instant replay kind of watcher! I can close my eyes the first go-round and if it's safe, enjoy it the second time around. Later, the same girl that had done an excellent vault fell during her floor routine. I felt SO badly for her! She went from a high of being the best score on vault to the bottom, being the lowest on floor. The bottom line is that both times, she was doing the very best she could. The purpose of this post is two fold: 1. Call me crazy; but, I do not desire to ever have a child compete in the Olympics and 2. don't we all train years and years for the next 30 seconds? If we don't, we should. "Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them." Ecclesiastes 9:12

The Reaction

Okay, sorry it has taken me so long to post her reaction. She loved the room but I believe she was a bit stunned. Unfortunately, she is like her mother and is too much of a control freak to love surprises. She was a little worried about where all her "things" were. It was all a bit overwhelming (as you can tell in the video). The other kids were so excited about them being home and about her finally seeing her room. At first, I was a little unsure of whether or not she liked it. After a few days, I could tell she really did. Now, she has that relaxed "I love my new room" attitude and face. Like I said, I won't be doing any "surprise" room make-overs anytime soon!

(Sorry, after letting it download for nearly 1 hour - it told me there was a problem downloading the video. You'll just have to imagine a stunned Emily walking through the barrier of paper { I will put that picture up so you can imagine} with Ian jumping across the two beds, Owen letting her know how many furniture stores we had to go to and Alexa insanely taking her picture over and over.) Yep, that's how crazy it was! :)