Pictures and things

I thought I would try and post some updated pictures. This one was just when we were trying to get a family picture. I thought it turned out pretty cute. We've been staying pretty busy for the past couple of weeks so I'm hoping this Thanksgiving week will be a little more relaxing. We are going to Abilene on Thursday and we get to stay in a motel with an indoor pool. The kids are excited about it and I have to admit that I am too, even though I really can't swim. It's still fun to play in the water! We will actually be there for a little longer than usual and I'm hoping not to plan too much to cram in those days.  We will be taking time to see our new nephew, Nathan James for a while.  The pictures are adorable, but I'm sure they don't do him justice!  It's much better to make a visit.  Arly's family is there so we will let them have more time with him since they live farther away.  I'm excited though!  We're coming back Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday because it is always so hectic on Sundays to try and get everyone ready for church, and pack up and check out of the motel before 8:00 our time. The kids are usually hard to deal with because of the time difference and just being away from home and so we just decided to come back and have a calm day at home. Now I just have to get the laundry done and pack for 6 people. That's not stressful at all!

This is just a cute picture of Ema after her Halloween party at school.  She got her face painted and we had to take a picture before we washed it off and ran in to change into a Snow White costume.  This is when she had both of her front teeth still.

This isn't the greatest picture, but it shows that she had lost one of those front ones and that other one is just barely hanging on.  We were trying to get her to pull it before her party, then we tried to convince her to let one of the grandmas do it.  But she didn't want to.  Finally the day after this party, after church, we spent over an hour wrestling with her because we were afraid she would swallow the tooth or something.  I thought the police may have been called on us because of all the screaming, but we finally got it out.  We were all so frustrated-it was ridiculous.  Now they are out and she was messing with another tooth one day.  I told her, "Don't you dare try to get another one loose.  We need a bit of a break from the last two drama episodes."  We keep meaning to take a picture of her, but haven't gotten a good one yet.  This picture also shows Aunt Mantha's favorite gift of sugared gum that Daddy bought!

The first three pictures are this past Sunday.  He has really started smiling and talking.  He's to the point that we have another way to console him.  Not just feed him, change him, or put him to sleep.  He loves to be talked to.  Right now his tummy must be hurting because nothing is working.  He's also been very congested the past few days and there's really nothing more we can do for him.  It's frustrating.  After I re-read this it sounds really grim, like we're just trying to keep him comfortable on his last days!  I meant we can't do anything else besides the humidifier, and cleaning out his nose.  

I finally broke down and bought a sling because I wasn't getting around to making one and I was afraid the material I had wouldn't work right.  Ema wanted to wear it, but it's too big for her, so I let her try this one that a friend had made, but was too small for her and me.  It's still too big for Ema, but she enjoyed holding him with it while he slept in her arms.  She's a pretty good helper!

My kids have resorted to eating dry oatmeal and watching Cars for the second time (it's REALLY scratched up so it skips through most of the movie!) while I've been doing this-among other things like taking care of fits, accidents, diaper changing, etc., etc.  I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving!  Oh-and I will post pictures of my other 2 kids one of these days!

Happy Birthday Ema!

Today, despite the gloomy national news, we are celebrating Ema. Seven years ago today, we were in Midland Memorial having our beautiful Ema Cheri. She was finally born at 6:26 pm. She was 7 lbs, 1 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. One of the first things said in the delivery room was "He" is a "she" because they kept calling the baby "he." I can still remember the feel of her soft, warm, tiny head in my hands. I just can't believe that was seven years ago!

Ema, you are such a special girl. You are creative, silly, ornery, energetic, stubborn, caring and thoughtful. You always want to be doing something, whether it's making a project out of paper cups and sticky letters, or just going out and getting a drink with Daddy. You are so smart and have an excellent memory. You keep us on our toes with your quick thinking. When we were trying to pull your tooth the other night, I said, "Let me try to pull it and you just talk to Everet." The look on your face was priceless and you said, "how can I talk to him while you have your finger in my mouth?" You are such a sweet girl. You love to make cards for people, even if a lot of them say the same thing, you know that someone may need a card and you make a few for them. You are usually pretty helpful with Everet like holding him when I just need to do something. I can remember you even helping with Eli and Elena. The older women at church were surprised, and a little scared about you carrying Elena around, but you've always been pretty careful. My hope for you is that you will always focus your energy on doing good for others, and that you will always be as confident in your beliefs as you are today. Your stubbornness might get you into trouble at times, but hopefully it will come in handy when you are faced with bigger issues. I promise you that I will always be there for you to help and support you and most importantly, to pray for you. You are one in a million and I hope we can always show you how special you are.

I was trying to think of some funny or neat things Ema has done. There are so many so I may come back and forth adding them as I think of them. Feel free to add your memories of her in the comments. I have a bad memory, so I always appreciate when someone reminds me of something.

I remember:
-reading "The Fox Book" with her when she was about 2. One of the pictures has a huge woodchuck next to a small fox. I read "the fox pups go out and meet their neighbor, a [giant] woodchuck." We laughed together for so long. We still read it that way and laugh.

-playing Barbies with her and making up silly conversations for them.

-her screaming at the top of her lungs in the middle of the night because there was a dinosaur with "shaap teef" in her bedroom. We didn't watch Jurassic Park anymore after that.

-going for walks on the dairy with her, feeding the calves, looking at all the cows.

-fainting in the emergency room as I watched her get her first stitches.

-her wiggly worm dance she did when she was about 6 months old. She put her hands behind her head and wiggled her body from side to side. So cute!

-she has always loved to read. She is one of the best readers in her class. She even was reading a card written in cursive to me yesterday.

-she has also always loved singing and listening to music really loud. She likes to make up songs too.

I probably could go on, but I need to get some other things done. I am going to make cookies and take them to her class in a little while. I am still having trouble getting into our old pictures on the computer, but I am amazed at how much Everet looks like Ema. They actually all look quite similar. All of them are as beautiful and handsome as they can be!

We love you Ema and hope you have a wonderful birthday!!