pumpkin patchin'

last week we had the BEST time at the pumpkin patch{es}! emory LOVED checking out all the fun things to do, and had a good time playing, too. it was a super way to spend the afternoons!

when we went to visit nana and pawpaw last weekend for homecoming, nana surprised emmy with a little halloween "sussy"...this cutie new outfit! we decided to visit a nursery one afternoon while daddy was at school, and it was great! thanks nana and pawpaw for the cute shirt and skirt!

so much fun crossing the little bridge

picking a 'few' pumpkins

then, on wednesday, we went to another pumpkin patch, and we took daddy with us this time. :)

emmy eyeing the patch!

she LOVED the tractors. she looks so tiny on that huge tractor!
i spy a cowgirl!
and, her absolute fav was the slide. {shocker} she has daddy wrapped around her little finger and had him helping her up and down the slide. such JOY!
she insisted on scooting from the top step to the slide landing by herself.
i found two pumpkins....
and showed them to daddy!


emmy-sized tractor
giving daddy a kiss. mmmuh!
daddy and emmy
silly mommy. i'm not falling for your tricks to catch a posed pic! that was soooo last year. ;)
it's almost halloween!

one HUNDRED years of HOMECOMING

we had SUCH a wonderful homecoming weekend! of course, it went by all-too-quickly, but it was super fun to see so many friends and family (both of our families went to baylor!). we LOVED our time at baylor..it's just too hard to even put into words...and we hope to pass on that BU love to our little bear. on the way down to waco friday night, we were talking about how we'd been to at least 14 homecomings in a row! this was emory's 2nd homecoming and baylor's 100TH!

friday night we met up with the rolphs (and got to meet emma!), martineaus, rakes', burchetts, and lasiters. it was a krazy time of kid chasing/wrangling, but we managed to squeeze in a little catching up. :) emory was MOST interested in sid rich (where mommy and daddy took packard physics!) and loved going up and down (and up and down) the stairs.

we even found a "truck" :)

and then they lit the bonfire...emory was SO impressed. but, i love it! i so wish i could go to freshman mass meeting again!

crownovers and lasiters...sweet friends and lots of baylor memories.
saturday morning, daddy was sooo lucky to go to the zta breakfast with mommy and emory. i LOVED the newly redecorated room! the greys, pinks, black, and white are perfect! it was sweet to see so many friends from my years in zta, too. it {almost} feels like we never left. and, yes, there is a little "kid-switching" going on, and someone wants his mommy back!
then we walked through campus to the parade where i proceeded to watch not one minute of it. :) i was FAR too busy following a BUSY nineteen month old exploring campus!
we got to see aunt jenni, uncle kyle, mimi, and bop {the grandpa formerly known as pops}.
lincoln, emory, and ella....baylor class of 2030!
matching cuties :)
after we dropped off daddy at the game, we headed to nana and pawpaw's house to take a nap. emory missed the nap memo, so we played dress-up instead! LOVE this pic in her cheerleader uni!
then we took pictures on the floats (the ones we missed during the parade...ha!) i loved that this one ...celebrating 100 years. i have so many pics of me at emory's age sitting on the floats when my parents took me to homecoming.
for daddy....emory on the phi chi float
i'll never forget how beautiful campus was that day!

emory and pat neff
running from mommy ;)
emory meets the judge

emory at draper
and, we found our friends! the girls hugged and kissed...so cute!
after the game, we went to the burchett's beautiful house for a wedding shower to honor geoff and ellen. emory wore MY little dress that mimi saved all these years. mimi's baylor roommate made it for me as a baby present. sweet!

sunday morning, we went to an old waco diner--harold waite's--for breakfast. uncle brian, aunt debbie, becca, uncle randy, nana, pawpaw, and mama came, too!
and....we went back to campus to take pictures in the "sic'em bears" dress!
sweet family picture
our first family picture with judge baylor
emory found the 'wing and was SO happy!
and then she found some adoring fans ;) i LOVED watching her run towards the guys!
campus was perfect this weekend! emory loved the yellow mums.
and nana and pawpaw!
sic'em bears!

happy 100TH homecoming!

sweet summer week

we've had the best summer! i can't help but think about how little emory was last summer --just a few months old! she wasn't sitting up, eating solid food, or crawling, yet. this summer, she has been "on the go", and we've really enjoyed trying lots of activities for the first time.

last sunday, she got to bring pennies to church to put in Penny's pocket. the church used the pennies to help buy backpacks for students. emory had SO much fun taking the pennies out of the bag and putting them in Penny's pocket! bailey even helped her a little. :)

emory found out we've been holding out on an entire food group--sauces. the girl LOVES to dip! her faithful "dohg" supervised while she ate a breadstick and marinara sauce. ...and she went straight to the tub. :)

on tuesday night, we met a bunch of my elementary/high school friends and their moms for dinner. crazy to think we've known each other for more than 20 years! the group is always LOUD but so, so fun. ....and, they give the BEST showers!

emory expanded her condiment experiences to include daddy's fav, ranch dressing. mommy thought this was SUCH a great snack/activity to occupy emmy while mommy cooked dinner. ....working on those fine motor skills, exploring new textures, learning to eat from a bowl...
....and she quickly ditched the carrots in favor of scooping the ranch directly into her mouth.
....and then decided that licking the bowl was SO much more efficient.
then, while mommy cleaned up the above mess (after the ranch bowl was thrown across the kitchen), emory found the dryer. and invited herself inside. sadly, mommy has almost the exact same picture from her freshman year at collins.
daddy also returned to class this week! emory helped carry his bag. sweet little helper!

and one night, mommy and daddy even got away for a DATE! the judge daddy worked for this summer gave him some tickets, and mimi and pops were only too happy to take care of emmy. mommy and daddy had a great time in some great seats.

mommy thought these little guys in their rally caps were too cute. they "stole" these seats right after the rangers blew a good lead.

on one of daddy's nights off of class, we played in the backyard! emory has come quite a long way with the pool since the beginning of the summer. she had a great time splashing and scooping in the water.

cute little beauty :)

....taking care of her bestie by giving him a "bo" (bone). she's also great at taking them away, too!

on friday night, daddy got to go to the cowboys game with some good friends. lucky guy got great tickets for the 2nd time that week! mommy and emmy headed to mrs. marci's to hang out with the other mommies and kids. emory was kind enough to mow the grass for them.

and saturday night we got to go to addie's 2ND birthday party! it was at a GREAT park with a playground and a duck pond. emory thought the hotdog dinner was SUPER and helped herself to TWO whole hotdogs. yes, she ate more than any other child there. mommy and daddy cut her off at two even though she was begging for more.

emory thought this duck was asking for a hug. daddy decided against it. he's such a fan of birds anyhow.

sweet daddy and emmy moment :)

the birthday girl! she blew out her own candles! thanks so much for having us--we had a great time!

we had a WONDERFUL week and are so thankful for summer. looking forward to another week just like this one!

food for thought

this morning in sunday school, (i'm sure we have trendy name for ss...but i also refer to "big church")  we took a field trip across the street.  we even rode a bus and had snacks at the end.  it was VERY preschool.  ;)  

i digress.  we took this field trip to a relatively new ministry at our church.  this ministry is called 6stones and was named after a miracle that took place at our church about 4 years ago.  at that time, we were 6 million dollars in debt and were close to losing everything.  humbling, to say the least.  after many months of selfless giving and sacrifice that were only directed and blessed by the LORD himself,  the church was free from this debt.  ....and one huge stone was placed in a central courtyard for each million that had been re-paid.  6 stones.

this morning, we learned/were reminded that 6stones came about as a way to continue the miracle of giving/blessing that was started 4 years ago.  we toured the new hope center food pantry and clothing area that cares for 50+ families EVERY WEEK.  right here in our backyard.  and guess what? this ministry helps families just like OURS.  families that might have lost jobs at AA just last week.  i was floored.  

i think the clothes area spoke to me the most.  i noticed a sign on the wall listing the clothing allotment per person.  women get something like 4 pants, 4 tops, 1 dress.  babies/children get something like 4-5 outfits, 1 pair of pj's, and a small handful of other items.  they can "shop" 6 times per year.  

at this point, i was embarrassed.  i thought of ALL the clothes that emory has.  far more than 4-5 outfits and 1 pair of pj's.  i thought of our closets that really are stuffed with clothes.  i thought of our pantry that could feed us for a couple of weeks, easily.  i thought of how much we HAVE. 

and then i thought of how much we WANT.  and i thought of my ugly, bitter spirit when i think of all the things i THINK i need that, in reality, are WANTS.  i thought of the way i so often throw a little pity party for myself complete with balloons and streamers when i can't have what i WANT.   it changed my thought life, for today, at least.  i certainly was inspired to look through our house for the things that we don't need and to challenge myself to give a little past that.  

...oh, and we also learned that the 6stones ministry has begun sharing the gospel with each new family, and 106 have become believers as a result. 106  since june.

jesus, thank you for teaching me this morning a heart-check lesson through my eyes alone.  thank you for reminding me that there are others around me who have NEEDS, and thank you for providing what we NEED so that we can give.  

going private

we've found our blog (our life) linked to another's that we don't know.  so, the time has come to make our lives a little more private.  if you'd like to continue reading about our family, please email me at jack72002@hotmail.com.  

our blog will be private in the next week...

boys, birthdays, and burgers

on friday morning, we went to the children's museum with some of emory's "boys"...jd and lincoln!  we hadn't been before, and it was PERFECT for all of them.  here's how the morning went....

em shakin' it on the train table.  no, i'm SURE she isn't a climber.

chattin' it up with a cowgirl

puttin' on a show, g-rated, of course

shoppin' at the grocery

em talked lincoln into buying her favorite....turkey

choosing the best oranges/balls.  whatever.

talkin' on the phone

dialing for lincoln.  i was surprised that the two of them knew how to work this antique.  ;)

"confined" for an illegal snack.  WHO bans snacks and sippys at the CHILDREN'S museum?

**not pictured:  shoplifting at the gift shop.  all items promptly returned. guilty party will remain anonymous**

by this time, mrs. marci and mommy thought the museum needed a break, so they took everyone to lunch.  emory was so excited about this tortilla.  so excited that she felt clothes were optional.

we had a GREAT time with the lasiters!  

on friday night, mommy had a GIRLS night for auntie fabs' birthday!  we ate ourselves silly at this fun place and went to a "funny" movie.  auntie fabs hoped it wasn't her last dinner/movie before she jumped out of a plane today!

this morning, we went to gunner's birthday party!  emory "jumped"... without her feet leaving the floor...in the bounce house for the 1ST time!  mommy was proud of her for being so brave.  she's REALLY adventurous and keeps mommy on her toes.  :)

tonight, we met aunt jenni, mimi, and uncle jeff at twisted root burgers.  mommy heard about it TWICE this weekend, and thought we should check it out.  good thing we did because it's great!

daddy, the intern

this summer, jeff has been an intern for a judge in downtown dallas.  i think he's really liked putting everything into practice.  when we talk every night about what he did at work, i'm amazed at how much he's learned in such a short time.  

we got to meet him a few times for lunch!  nana, pawpaw, and brian joined us with aunt jean ann (our lovely photographer) at campisi's.  we found out that emory LOVES salad.  who knew?

this is the building where he interned.  he took the train from home to downtown....and had to walk a few blocks.  city life  ;)

miss emory enjoying some chips and salsa at chuy's on our anniversary.  she's become a "dip" girl (like her mama!).  she loves to "dip" anything into ANYTHING dip-able!

we ate lunch with daddy one day during his last week at his internship, and we got to meet the judge!  mommy had her camera with her but chickened out of asking to take a picture with him. she's not up on judge etiquette.  ;)  when we met the judge, daddy was holding emory, and the judge, who is the kindest man i've met in awhile, asked emory if he could hold her.  emory, in front of the clerks and interns, said "nah", and she turned to daddy and gave him a kiss!  after we chatted for a few minutes, the judge asked emory if he could hold her again, and he got the same reply.  haha!  ....daddy can't wait to tell that story!