Trick or Treat!

So after being told that my blog has "gone the way of the Dodo bird", ( you know who you are! :p) I am once again reviving my little blog.

I have to admit for all I have been doing lately I'm kinda proud of myself, I looked back and last month I posted 3 times! Granted it's basically the last day of the month and I'm just now posting but Hey if I can get a once a month thing going I'll be thrilled. You'll just have to trust me that once a month is WAY more that I used to post on my old blogs.

So I have some great pictures for you guys this time. This year was the first year Emily really got to dress up and go Trick or Treat, we kinda held off until now where she would have some understanding of what was going on.

We were invited over to our friends house, since you really can't Trick or Treat in an apartment complex and we used their neighborhood as a surrogate. It was a wonderful experience, even if I was really cold and Emily ended up Trick or Treating via umbrella stroller, she seemed to enjoy holding the pumpkin bucket and letting people put stuff in it.

So here are some pics:

Here are the three kiddos that went, Peter Pan (including a Tinker Bell, look on his shoulder), Miss Ladybug and Mr. Bones.
This was the beginning of our stair photo session which produced some really great pictures, including this one of Miss Ladybug and Mr. Bones.

Once the adults starting picking up their coats and cameras little Miss Ladybug had figured out we are going outside! She started looking out the window and trying her hardest to open the door.

These are my favorite pictures from the night. I have a feeling these will be the ones I'll pull out in a few years when she's not as small. Maybe those teen years when she doesn't want Mommy and Daddy around. I'll sit and remember how cute she was. Gosh! I'm really getting ahead of myself! I'm so glad we still have one or two more years before that happens! I definitely will not rush her to grow up I still can't believe she's running around the house!

She walked to the first house with me and I got a few pictures of her Trick or Treat.

(I didn't realize this picture was being taken, so yes, I am indeed checking my cellphone, I just wanted to show how cute she looked walking house to house.)

Emily (Miss Ladybug) and Momma Halloween 2011. Poor baby she was so tired she just couldn't keep up, she was begging me to carry her. So I broke out the umbrella stroller (so glad I never go anywhere without it!) This is what our Trick or Treat really looked like...Mr. Bones in the wagon and us in our stroller.

 We had so much fun with our friends!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Emily goes to the Zoo!

Nana and Papa took Emily to the Zoo, here are some pictures!

So if any of you live in the Metro area I'm sure you realize that the Jackson Zoo is no Audubon Zoo, but it's great for small children who really just get excited to see the animals!

First were the Giraffes

 We tried to have a theme going where the pictures clearly showed Emily looking at the animals.
Orangutans

Tigers

They even had a Papa on exhibit!

Z

Zach thought this picture was pretty funny, My dad (Papa) was in a walk through bird exhibit. Here is Emily and Nana in the same exhibit looking at some ducks, which aren't even in the picture. I have to say the animals were not entirely cooperative for cure photo opportunities that day.

Water creatures
Here's a turtle

Me and Emily in the viewing bubble looking at the beaver. She really thought this was neat.

Random water foul...I honestly wasn't paying attention...

So this picture is one of my two favorites from the whole trip. You can see Emily is bending down to try and look into the exhibit. It was so cute how she would bend over to look and see the animals.

So this picture here Emily and I are trying to find the otter that is supposed to be on exhibit here. Zach found him he was sleeping against an embankment and you could only see him when he poked his head up. But I really just love this picture, it's very cute, something I'll cherish for a long time. Zach is always good at getting these artsy photos, even if they are of my backside :P

About half way around the zoo Emily was getting really sleepy...

But we carried onward, Emmie and Papa saw the Kookaburra

Then Daddy showed her some Flamingos! (Grammy's favorite)

and Monkeys!

This is just one of the various monkey exhibits we saw but this is the cutest photo. She looks like she just wants to reach out and touch one! :)

There were times when we thought she would give in and take a nap

But she managed to hold it together and we made it to the petting zoo.

I was really surprised at her when she willingly touched the pot bellied pig. She likes cats and dogs but I just wasn't sure how she would react to a pig. But I should have known, Papa has been taking her to see the cows and I'm told she loves them.

Overall we had a really great day taking Emily to the zoo! Hopefully we can go again one day soon!

Remembrance

 "Today, our nation saw evil -- the very worst of human nature -- and we responded with the best of America. With the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could. " - President George W. Bush 9/11/2010

This past Sunday was the 10th Anniversary of attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City, New York, September 11, 2001. Most commonly referred to 9/11.

Many of my friends and family took a few minutes to post recalling the exact moment they learned of the tragedy, where they were and what they were doing. I tend to be one of those people who block out bad memories, so honestly I can only recall a few certain memories of that day. I remember that I was in 10th grade I was 15 years old, only 19 days away from my 16th birthday and it was my first year at a new high school, only a little over a month into the school year. I was sitting in my art elective, with Mrs. McCabe, I remember she was so sweet and quiet she was instantly one of my favorite teachers because she saw how painfully shy I was and she was so kind to me. I remember that she really helped my come out of my shell, through my terrible art, lol. But she never let me give up on my assignments. If you know me at all then you already know that I am so easy to catch a stomach bug. Well that day 10 years ago I'm not sure if it was a stomach bug or just nerves related to the new school year but I got terribly sick in front of the whole class, I know wonderful huh?

I'm not really sure of the timeline but I went to the nurses office and they called my mom and she came to pick me up. At some point between my leaving the classroom and my mom coming to pick me up, the first tower was struck.

Of course I was completely oblivious to this life changing even that was in progress, as there was no radio or television in the nurse's office and they had left me to myself to wait for my mom. The nurse stepped into her little corner office which was connected to the little exam room. So my mom came and picked me up, mini bathroom trashcan lined with a wal-mart bag lining, if I learned one thing from my mother, never ever ride in a car when you are nauseous without a mini bathroom trashcan with a walmart bag lining, just in case!

My mother and I got into the car and we barely spoke except for her to ask me if I thought I needed to see a doctor or just rest at home. I told her I thought I would be fine resting up at home and not another word was said the entire ride home, which as my husband can attest to, that is BEYOND ABNORMAL for me a my mother. To give you some perspective, I talk to my mother for 30 minutes or more every single day and sometimes I call her up to 5 times a day and she only lives an hour and a half away from me. I remember that during our eerily silent ride in the car she had the radio on, it was our regular station which was a top 40 country type station, except there was no music. Only the DJ solemnly covering the tragedy as it unfolded. I remember them talking about how no one was sure what had happened at the time, there was speculation as to mechanical failures or possibly the pilot had a heart attach or stroke while flying. We got home my mom got me comfortable on the couch, with my mini bathroom trashcan of course! what if you didn't make it to the bathroom in time?

The news was on and I became glued to it, soon after I got home the second tower was struck, and that is when the news media became hysterical and everyone realized that it was an intentional strike. America had been brutally attacked. I remember watching paralyzed when they began to show what they thought was building debris at first, but soon realized that it was people who chose to jump from the windows instead of being burned alive in the blaze, I remember news anchors screaming and crying as this was realized.

I remember the first tower collapsing, and the huge smoke cloud and debris. I remember the terror and absolute heartbreak in the newscaster's voices as we realized the first responders were in the shadow of the towers and many had lost their lives trying to save their fellow Americans.I remember the video footage of the chaos as police, firefighters and EMT trying to regroup only to walk back into the hell that had claimed their brothers.



I remember the second tower collapse, I didn't move, I didn't cry, I just stared completely speechless and numb.

Not long after that, they broke in to announce that the pentagon had been struck and finally the crash in Pennsylvania which was suspected to be intended for the White House.



After that I don't have any clear memories. I know there was news footage for days and months on the progress of search and rescue which turned to recovery and finally rebuilding. I remember the specials on the 9/11 babies, children who will never know their fathers because they weren't even born yet. 

As I read this I realize I remember a lot more than I claim to. Truly 9/11 has been the absolute worst tragedy I have ever experienced in my life, including riding through Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, MS.

We had a beautiful memorial service at church on Sunday.

I teared up and almost cried. I'm not sure how, when where or why but I have an immense and deep rooted American pride. Every time I hear of a solider going away from his family to serve this country I tear up a little. Every time I hear of a solider coming home from war, I cry, even when they show a soldier being greeted by his dog who has clearly missed him every minute he was gone. I cried in church when the JROTC brought in the colors and I choked up during the pledge of allegience. I have a pride like nothing else when it comes to our country and our people, especially the public servants.

For a small project our friends the Howingtons and McCombs joined us in baking goodies to give to our local service men and women. It was really a great time. We visited two fire houses and a police station, delivering our cookies and expressing our deep gratitude for their service. Suprisingly I did not see any evidence that others had done the same.

The firemen were so sweet, they opened the fire truck up and let the kids climb in a look around. It was really special.

On another note is was an extra special day for us, since recently losing our favorite fireman Asst. Chief David Roberts Sr. we felt his loss even more that day. But we used it in a positive light to honor a great man.

We miss you Grandpa Dave!

College Football...yes ladies, it's back once again

So much to Zachery's delight any my annoyance, college football has returned once again. If you don't know us very well we are die hard University of Southern Mississippi Fans. With both of us being alumni the bond runs even deeper. Being a fan of USM can be quite complicated, and heartwrenching at times. Today's game has made me compare myself to a die hard New Orleans Saints fan, pre-superbowl of course. We watch our beloved black and gold kick itself in the foot more times than we can stand until we just have to change the channel.

Now don't get me wrong. As I know some of my other die hard USM cohorts are reading this. We love our Golden Eagles and eagerly await the day when we are given the recognition we deserve. Our boys work hard and give all they've got, unfortunately it seems that things don't always work out as well as planned for them. Poor Emmie, she has no idea why she will wear black and gold at least once a week every fall, but i can't wait till the day we can teach her to yell SMTTT! Even if I feel a little like finding a paper bag for my head today. :(

If you are not a native Mississippian then you probably only know of Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) and Mississippi State (or just State as we call it) as the colleges of Mississippi. In fact most people in Mississippi can comfortably root on the black and gold without feeling that they have turned on their dawgs or rebels (or are they bears now?). Being that we are not an SEC team most feel that we are not a threat. Just remember if you look in the history books there has been a time when little ole Southern Miss beat up on both our in state SEC rivals. So don't count us out so easily!

Needless to say I have been working hard to try my best to learn some football terminology. I've taken to the philosophy if you can't beat'em, JOIN'EM!

S-OU-THERN, SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI, U-S-M!

"Caught up in a Southern summer, barefoot, blue jean night"

This was Friday. She was so proud of herself, she climbed into Papaw J's chair all by herself!

So this post is sort of an update as to what's going on in our lives currently. I would love to blog more frequently unfortunately I can barely manage to keep up with work, home and relationship. Personally I think it's more important to dedicate time to my family, friends and religion. So as you can tell blogging often falls to the wayside, but i figure if I get one a month I'm doing pretty good, for me anyways.

 I started this post as a draft today which is Friday Sept 9th before Labor Day weekend, I plan to add to it all weekend and post later on. I have taken off yesterday and today from work to give myself a mini vacay. Although for some reason the other night I was wonder if this qualified as a "staycation" they are always promoting. Since we are only 3 hours from home and visiting family. It's nice to have these lazy days, work has been really busy lately, extremely rewarding and challenging but definitely hard work! LOL

I came down to Meme and Papaw J's house (my mom's parents) yesterday around lunchtime. Me and Emmie had a pretty good drive, besides me be horribly bored when Emmie napped, it was a quick simple trip. Then yesterday evening we went to see Ms. Trina and I got my hair cut, which I desperately needed, nothing drastic just back into my old haircut which I was FAR from when I got into the stylist chair. Ms. Trina did a wonderful job as always, it was nice to be in the beauty chair and just chatting with your stylist. I forget how nice that can be, Trina has known me since I was a little girl. She has cut my hair off and on for years, usually when I would visit my Meme. Then of course the years I lived with Meme and Papaw J she was my regular stylist. She even styled my hair for my wedding. She was so happy to see Emily and of course we all talked about how fast time goes, since I know have a little one of my own who is 18 months old, on Sept 8th. Time flies when your having fun right?

Daddy is going to join us on the coast tonight, and then tomorrow is Grammie day (Zach's Mom).

This past week was fun, I found Emily a halloween costume. Here are some preview pictures, we had to try it on to make sure it fit. Amazingly I found it at CrackerBarrel of all places. As Zach will tell you I love halloween, I'm excited to let her dress up. I'm sure people like to say that's very unchristian, but I think it's really harmless to let a child dress in a costume and get some candy once a year. As long as they don't take too much stock in it. But I'm pretty laid back in that manner.

Poor Zach was all worked up last Sunday.
I had a horrible migraine that night and stayed home from bible study and apparently missed an interesting discussion. Now, I must preface this story by saying I was not there and cannot speak to what really happened as this is all hearsay. Also I must say that I'm telling an abbreviated version as I feel that our discussion was private between a couple not really meant to be shared. But the main gist of the issue that had irritated Zachery was that it became apparent to him that there are still members in our church who seem to have certain views of what they see as "proper" worship practices. Now, like I said I don't know what really happened since i wasn't there, but mostly this spurred and discussion between he and I. He wanted to know what I thought of youth programs which entice youth into attendance with games and social events.

My personal opinion is that it doesn't matter how or when you reach a person, but what matters is the message they receive once you have their attention. I think it's important for youth programs to try and reach children on "their level" so to say. It just like reaching a convict while incarcerated, just because someone recieved Christ while incarcerated doesn't mean they are any less a Christian than me or the next person. I think the same thing is similar with today's youth. They are exposed to so much in this world, between the media and their friends why shouldn't we try and introduce religion through alternate matters.

Okay back to Vacation.

Saturday was in fact Grammie's day unfortunately Tropical Storm Lee came to rain on our parade.

There was a large amount of flooding on the coast. I borrowed these pictures from my friend Rachel Reel's facebook to give an example of the local flooding. Thanks Rachel!

We got a late start to the day. We decided to head out and go to lunch with Grammie. We treated her to some Olive Garden in D'iberville. All four of us stuffed ourselved until I swear we could not move anymore! It was so good though, totally worth it.
After our gorging we decided to visit Aunt Athena, Uncle Mike and cousin Jillian. It was a nice visit. The first time the cousins got to meet and the first time. Zach and I also got to see our neice for the first time. Here are some photos Grammie took with her phone, they aren't the best, but it's what we have and you can see everyone. 

Emily was a little jealous if you can't see. She did NOT like her daddy holding any other babies. Zach said, that will make the future interesting whenever we decided to give Emily a sibling. Hopefully we will be able to convince her that daddy holding another baby is not the end of the world.

We visited for an hour or two and then we headed out. The rain was getting worse and Emmie was exhausted. She needed a nap badly. In fact she passed out in the car when we were like 5 minutes away from Aunt Athena's house. Here is a picture I snapped in the car.

The rest of our vacation was really lazy. Sunday we went out and got Emmie some clothes and me some new tennis shoes but that's really it. It was nice to have a lazy weekend.