So Thankful

It's been a while and I'm hoping to get back in the groove of capturing life digitally and showing you fine folks how blessed we are.

We have been super busy with Thanksgiving, four family birthdays (my dad, my mom, my sister, and Lane), going nuts for BU football, and prepping for Christmas.  Overall, November was a great month!

As usual, I took very few photos in the last month. Here we are taking a break from some major dancing at my mom's birthday party. I haven't cut a rug like that since my 8th grade Valentine's dance. There was no holding back. You can see that Harper was really in to it.

More pics and details about life lately coming soon.

A Day in the Life

Here are some grainy cellphone pics of my hilarious child being herself. It is so fun having a toddler around.

Yes, those are my underwear around her neck.

Happy Halloween

R.I.P. Fig, Welcome Figgy

Or, Figaro. Not sure if he/she is a he or she.

I've always heard, the best way to get over a lost pet is to get a new one. So, that is what I did. Because Fig mysteriously vanished last week (99% sure it was the neighborhood hawk) and Newton turned into a crying basket case, I got him a friend. He could care less about his new friend. Typical. 

Here is the new kitten:

Yes, its hair is crunchy from Kingsley slobber. The two are best friends.

Harper already loves Figgy and routinely lets it inside, despite being told "no." And, I need to get a life instead of becoming a crazy cat lady. The first step is awareness.

1826 Blissful Days

Lane and I celebrated our 5 years of marriage with a fancy weekend in Dallas. We had a blast eating, sleeping, shopping, eating, relaxing, dancing, laughing, and eating. Thanks, Aunt Kelly, for watching Tiny Pie. She keeps bragging about her first slumber party.

I'm so thankful for this guy. God couldn't have created a more perfect companion for me. He is my stable, balanced, loyal, steadfast, makes me laugh harder than anyone, smoking hot best friend. I am blessed.

True Love

 A match made in Heaven.

Pumpkin Patch Punky

Busted

 Kingsley was on babysitting duty. He's fired.

 Kingsley made me do it. I promise.

Kingsley, tell Mom you made me do it. 

Oh, I must not really be in trouble if you are taking my picture.

To Make It Out of Sight

That's why we got two. Fig and Newton. Introducing the newest Murphys. Thanks, Aunt Linda!

Fig

Newton

They are both Manx, but it's only noticeable in Fig. She has elongated hind legs and a stub for a tail. She also has thumbs, one of which is two toes merged together. And, Newton has seven toes on his front paws. Lane gets grossed out if we talk about it too much. I kind of like the mitten look. 

Harper adores her new kitties. She makes this grunt/growl noise while doing a lot of poking. Remember this character? She's not too far off.

And, a small shout out to these two...who are both moping around, acting like life isn't worth living anymore. 

Kingsley

Rudy

Proof that Kingsley really does cry about the cats.

W F, TX

We had a fun weekend in Wichita Falls at Lane's cousin's wedding. Here are a couple pics. Getting good family pictures are hard...Harper hasn't quite gotten the concept of looking and smiling at the camera. And, somehow I magically always have a double-quadruple chin. I love it.

Last Night

Me: Hey babe, you're home early. How was your softball game?
Lane: Pretty good. The ump ended the game because we made too many runs on them.
Me: What was the score?
Lane: 21 to 1.
Me: Shoot. Poor them.Who did you play?
Lane: Caterpillar (the bulldozer company) B Team
Me: Sad
Lane: Yah, and three of the guys were wearing jorts with hammer hooks.
Me: So sad.
Lane: Yah, and Steve hit a line drive and hit the pitcher in the *groin. The guy just rolled around on the ground while the ump yelled "Don't rub it." Steve felt really bad. (This story is actually 50 million times funnier if you know Steve. Why?...because Steve is stinking hilarious and this story fits him perfect. I can just see him kind of mumbling a small apology while scooting on to first base.)
Me: Laughing so hard I can't breathe.
Lane: Have you ever seen a worm do the worm? I just saw an earthworm do the worm on TV.
Me: Wait. What?

I know what you are thinking and you are exactly right. 

*Word replacement to remain audience appropriate.

You Say Tomato

Harper's school sent home a parent involvement volunteer form so parents could sign up to help with school activities. One section of the form offered a space to note any areas of expertise that might be applicable to themed units. For example, if you are a music teacher, you might write "music" on the form. Makes sense. I signed Lane up for farming and me up for plants, gardening, and ocean animals. Mind you, the form states "areas of expertise," not "areas of some experience and/or interest." I figured Harper will be more blessed by her parents' school involvement than hurt by the fact that her mom is a little bit of a liar. I can't wait to teach a lesson on the communication patterns of manatees and the brilliant GPS of the yellowfin tuna.

On the topic, during a sorority rush party, I told a member of Tri Delt that I was on the Baylor Water Ski team. Things got awkward when she replied that she was also on the Baylor Water Ski team. Needless to say, I did not pledge Delta Delta Delta. 

Harper's New Favorite Place

The Cameron Park Zoo. Yesterday was her first visit and she loved it, I think. She was running a fever all day, but still seemed to enjoy the trip. If Harper liked something while feeling under the weather, then I assume she would have loved it if feeling up to par, right? Nonetheless, here we are.

Quick update on what Harper is doing in life. Being 14 months old. Walking, kind of. Very cautious but taking steps. Talking a lot. She has her own secret language that only a few understand. I'm not one of them, but I think Kingsley is. He always knows what she wants and does a great job making her happy.

We love this kid more than we could have imagined.

...as we onward go;

It's a proud day in the Murphy home.

Autumn in August

I love Autumn and might blog about it until the day after Thanksgiving. No apologies. I need Fall to get here now and looking at "Fallish" rooms gives me hope that one day the thermometer in my car might not read 109.

I have this picture on my fridge.

I love it. (Lane says I'm not allowed to bring chopped wood indoors because termites will infest our home and we will have to move into an apartment. I told him to prove it.)

Except, I would rather have this table.

With these chairs in Rustic Pine.

I've even been using the Crock Pot and dressing Harper in sweats to bring on the cool weather. Jk about the sweats. She doesn't have any that fit.

My Daughter, the Klepto

Our most recent obsessions, in no particular order:

The secret to my "womanly" figure. 

5 days out of 7, Lane de-thatches the yard. 

I had a hard time convincing Brock that there was no way Harper could have taken Cassie Jo's phone as her diaper bag was mysteriously ringing.

"Back to school", as sung by Billy Madison

I woke up this morning with an extra spring in my step. As an adolescent, I hated this day. As an adult, I love it. Most of Texas goes back to school. My mentoring and tutoring programs start back up at work. Lane begins teaching his 21st freshman English class (p.s. I am crazy proud of this guy. I made him and egg sandwich for breakfast to show him how proud I am). It is the eve of Harper moving up to the 1 year old class at PDO. And, it is the beginning of "Fall," minus the 109 degree weather.

More than anything, I like the feeling of routine and structure that comes with school in session. My life isn't actually that different, just kind of feels like everyone is back where they should be.

To celebrate today, I am wearing my Chi Omega pledge shirt and am cooking meaty eggplant casserole. Nothing says "Bring on the school year!" like an over sized faded tee and a Pyrex medley of ground beef and purple veggies.

To all the Baylor freshman. Good luck! I noticed an increase in my anxiety last week while driving around campus and seeing the move-in tents. Remembering getting dropped off at college gave me the "williams" in my stomach. Lane says I have a super-hero power of taking on other's stress. The  only hiccup is that the other person doesn't actually feel less stressful...I just feel more. I call it empathy. He calls it a mental health issue.

Nonetheless, happy 2011-2012 school year, people!

More Like It

This is what we hoped for when we bought the boat. Good family time with the lake to ourselves.

Minute to Win It

If you can guess what we are looking at, you win $100.

A Well-Oiled Machine

Dazed.

Pleased.

Curious.

Content.

Discontent.

Disappointed.

Annoyed.

Persistent.

In charge.

Disgusted.

Scary.

 In love.