The Simple Fun of A Box

After any trip to Sam's boxes seem abundant at our house. This last trip provided Emsleigh with some new fun toys. She has spent many minutes playing with her dolls, singing, reading getting stuck and being pushed around in these new boxes.

We found bigger box downstairs for a box house. Jeremiah and I had alot of fun making this little house for Ems. Yesterday I found her in it with the door closed singing to her baby.

Here is the finished box house. Notice the little mailbox and chimney Jeremiah made.

Hodge Podge

Emsleigh likes to give me a cheesy smile when I am taking her picture.

Emsleigh turned 17 months last Wednesday.

If Emsleigh wakes up early and Jeremiah is still sleeping, I put her in bed with him. Snuggle time with daddy equals more time for mommy by herself in the morning. However, snuggle time usually becomes take over the bed time. I love this picture.

Emsleigh loves coloring and hanging out with Mema.

Sweet Reminders

It could be a tea cup on the floor...

The letter "B" hiding in the wall...

Baby taking a nap in the kitchen...

A full Dr. Pepper can by our bed...

A horse taking a rest on the stool...

Or kitty riding the king's stallion...

Whatever it is, these are each sweet reminders of Emsleigh's presence in our home. I find such joy in these precious signs of her when she is tucked away in bed. After Miriam died I despised my clean empty house. So, instead of finding toys and such scattered throughout our home an annoyance, God has used it as a daily reminder of His graciousness and goodness to me.

Completion of our Trip

To finish off our trip, my friend Rebekah picked us up from the airport and stayed the night with us. This worked out perfectly since Jeremiah was at children's camp. We enjoyed our time with Rebekah, reading and singing and playing and lots of talking!

Oklahoma City Zoo

The Oklahoma City Zoo holds a special place in my heart since I worked there many years ago. So, I was super excited to go back this past week with Dara and her boys. I have not been since the day I left over 6 years ago. They have added a new children's zoo which we had lots of fun playing in...especially the water part.

As you can see the petting zoo was exciting too!

Precious Friends

Tyler, Courtney, Baby Mac, Rachel and Brooklyn are very special friends that I am so thankful for. We got to spend an evening playing with them while we were in OKC.

Brooklyn took good care of Emsleigh as they watched the dogs play.

And Emsleigh just loved Rachel, especially cheesing it up for her.

Video-Talking to Daddy

One morning Emsleigh and I were snuggling in bed before breakfast. She pointed at an empty pillow and asked "Dada?" It was a good reminder that she misses Jeremiah too. Here she is talking to him on the phone.

Cuppies and Joe

Megan and Elizabeth, friends from OBU, have opened up the most delightful place called Cuppies and Joe. They serve gourmet cupcakes and coffee. We made a stop there while we were in OKC. Mike was determined to let Emsleigh taste the goodness of the Sass-a-frass cupake!

Ems took a little while to warm-up to the idea.

But once she finally tried it, she was pointing and asking for more, more, more please.

(Thus the reason I try to keep sweets out of sight on a daily basis!)

If you are ever in OKC, Cuppies and Joe should be top on the list of places to visit. Below is Megan and Elizabeth who provide the yummy goodness and Mike, probably their most regular of their regulars.

Oklahoma City

Emsleigh and I spent the majority of the week in Oklahoma City getting to see friends from OBU. I am so thankful for the time I had with each of them.

We stayed with our dear friends the Stewards. We had such a fun time with them! Thank you Dara for a fun week. It would not have been possible without your generous spirit and hospitality!

We made a few breakfast trips to Panera (one of our past-time favorites). Emsleigh and Evan had lots of fun playing together and making each other laugh. Sipping coffee at Panera sure isn't the relaxing time it used to be :)!

Angela and Gretchen, who live in Seattle, were in Tulsa visiting family. They came over for one night and we had a slumber party in Dara's guest room. Emsleigh slept in the bathroom, Gretchen in the closet and Ang and I, well we didn't really sleep that much :)! Thanks Ang, for coming from Tulsa, even though it meant being away from your husband and family.

Leslie and Riggins came all the way from Memphis for a wedding.

Thank you Leslie for staying out late and extending your trip just to see us!

We spent time with Carrie and Mike (below) and my friends

Kara and Staci who I forgot to get pictures with.

Thank you Kara for driving from Tulsa!

Thank you Carrie and Staci for taking time off of work!

Thank you Mike for staying up after working all night at the V.A. Hospital!

I have not seen sweet Mlea in years. It was so wonderful to catch up with her and meet precious Stella! Thank you Mlea for coming over in the middle of your move!

Goodbye Grancy

We are having Grancy withdrawals! Everyone asks how Emsleigh will recover after a six week visit from Grancy. However, the truth is, Emsleigh is not the one spoiled by Grancy....I AM! My mom does a great job of helping me keep Emsleigh on routine and not interfering with our instruction of Emsleigh. My mom also does a great job of helping with laundry, cooking, cleaning and Emsleigh. So, I am definitely feeling the effect of her absence. Thank you mom, miss you!

Summer Fun

We got to have dinner with our friends the Brett and Charis a few weeks ago before they moved to Nashville. Charis was a lifesaver for me at school and I will really miss her!

We also got to have an ice cream night with the Yates. We were hoping for more nights like this during the summer, but the summer came and went with only one! Emsleigh is tickling Josiah's toes in this picture.

And here they are singing and playing the piano.

A day in the life of Emsleigh

EAT (This is her first bowl of cheerios with milk)

PLAY OUTSIDE

READ

COLOR

And of course WEAR HATS!