Things I am thankful for: I am a little late on this post but still thankful none the less.

Ryan: Thank you for loving me all the time, not only when I am nice but mean and whiny! Thank you for helping me around the house and never complaining even though I am super messy and you love things neat! Thank you for being a Godly man who loves both God, Emma and I unconditionally! Thank you for working so I can stay at home and raise Emma! Thank you for doing laundry and keeping me organized! Thank you for being a wonderful Daddy to Emma and letting me watch you play with her!

Emma: Thank you for teaching me how to play again! Thank you for showing me how determined I am about getting my way! ( You are so like me in this) Thank you for teaching me shyness! Thank you for loving me unconditionally and thinking I am Cinderella! Thank you for sparking my imagination!

My momma: Thank you for loving me all the time and always being there to listen! Thank you for encouraging my parenting skills and helping me know I am not a bad mom! Thank you for being there always to watch Emma and love on her and being everything a Mimi should be. Thank you for sewing clothes and teaching me how to be a momma. Thank you for always being there to Rat around town with!

Daddy-O: Thank you for loving me and being the first man in my life to love me unconditionally! Thank you for showing me how a Godly father leads his family! Thank you for your emotional and financial support through many years of school! Thank you for teaching me how to ALWAYS see the good in poeple and never think the worst of others! Thank you for being a wonderful Papa to Emma and playing with her when she comes over. ( Especially showing her snakes in the woods :) )
To you both: Thank you for showing me love and grace and patience and How to love each other as a couple!

Mammaw: Thank you for being the best Mammaw in the world! Thank you for little debbie mornings, avon bubble baths and shotgun dan pizza nights!Thank you for draggin us in wagons and playing softball in the yard even after a hard days work. Thank you for watching Emma while I run and letting her have so much fun with her Baby Mammaw. Thank you for Ratting with momma and me! Thank you for four generations of stubborn women!

This is just the beginning of my thank ful list I have so much more! My cup runs over! I will keep adding to this but tonight I have to stop! Tears of joy for the good things God has blessed me with in my life!

Christmas Decorations

Here is a small sampling of the indoor decorations we have up in our house. I didn't take pictures of all the trees. Yes we love Christmas! We love to decorate for it. We have a total this year of 7 trees ( a new record)We still have a few things to add like Christmas skirts, and balls to the new aluminum tree (Thank you mammaw) but all in all we are decorated for Christmas! Holidays here

we come!

Love Story

Check out this love story about some dear friends of Ryan and me!

http://www.bnd.com/living/story/541123.html

Wonderful Weekend

We had a wonderful past weekend. We started the weekend off by Suprising Emma with tickets to Disney Live to see Winnie the Pooh. She was super suprised and loved the show. Of Course Her daddy and I are huge fans of disney too and it just added to the disney fever we have right now of wanting to take her to Disney World in February. Emma told me today that at her suprise Tiggie said, "Whoo Whoo Whoo Whoo!" She kept bouncing around saying it.

Saturday we slept in ( That means we got tosleep till 7:00) for those of you who don't have two year olds and Daddy made Purple chocolate chip pancakes! Yummy! Then we worked on finishing our christmas decorations inside the house and that afternoon finished the outside decorations.

Sunday we got up and got ready for church. I was really anxious because we were leaving Emma in the nursery for the first time and she has terrible seperation anxiety. We dropped her off and they said she only cried for 10 minutes but wouldn't let her teacher put her down. She was crying when we picked her up but because she saw someother kids get picked up and thought we weren't coming. She informed me this morning that she had told her teacher, " My name is Emma Bryce and I want my mommy! " Too funny. Everyone say a prayer for us next Sunday because it will only be worse I am sure since this time she will know where she is going. We Finished off the day with Chili's and a movie Madagascar in the newly finished Christmasy living room. Ryan is off tommorrow for veterans day so Emma and I are excited about that too.

Here are some fall pics we took the other day!

I love this time of year .....to add to the moving we have been super busy with lots of fall things like pumpkin carving. My birthday, The pumpkin patch. race for the cure, mammaw venables birthday and Razorback games! I love when the weather starts getting cool and the nights start earlier! It just gets me in the holiday mood.

We have been making sure Emma gets to do all the traditional halloween traditions for us. We have our huge inflatable pumpkin, ghost and kitty cat in the yard, mums and pumpkins and this year we even have a halloween tree!

We took Emma to Mayflower to the pumpkin Patch there. She loved it we were a little disappointed because they would not take us to the actual patch but Emma didn't know and there were tons of pumpkins to choose from. She picked three little ones and we picked three big ones and carved a Cinderella pumpkin when we got home. It was alot of fun.

We also had a Halloween birthday party for a little friend of Emmas that she was able to dress as a kitty cat for. She was absolutely adorable. She kept meowing the whole time and pretending to swish her tail. She was really proud of her costume and enjoyed it.

Also I ran in Race for the cure for the 4th year. I had my best time ever and ran 29:10. I only missed getting a medal by 1:20. Next year that medal is mine. I can just feel it!

Enjoy the pics I have been so behind in posting about.

Happy Birthday to Baby Mammaw!

My mammaws birthday is October 15th so for the past 29 years she has gotten to share the birthday month with me. Because our birthdays were so close we usually ended up celebrating together. She turned 74 yesterday and for about 5 months I have planned a suprise birthday party for her. Nothing Big just family but I wanted the day to be all about her. She takes care of Emma for me most of the time when I go work out and does countless things for me, Ryan and Emma and I wanted her to know how much she was loved and that I cared about her.

She came over last night on the premise we were celebrating our birthdays to her surprise the party was all about her. She is too sweet. She had brought a present for Emma so that Emma wouldn't feel left out while we were opening presents. ( That is an inkling of how much she loves us!)

Mammaw is now Baby Mammaw to Emma. I couldn't have asked for a more loving affectionate giving woman to be my Mammaw! She has spoiled me and continues to spoil me and my daughter to this day. I have such good memories of spending th night at her house, eating popcorn, pickles, and Shotgun Dans pizza. Then getting up to have Little Debbies for Breakfast. She would rock me, sing to me and scratch my back for hours! I love her more than she will ever know. We have a joke we always write in our cards. I would write I love you more and she always writes I love you more cause I'm bigger! I think we love her more now though because there are more of us! I hope Her special birthday made her day!

First trip alone in 2 years

Ok so Ryan and I went on our first trip without Emma last week to Ft. Lauderdale and Boca Raton Florida. We left on Saturday and came back on Tuesday. Emma split the time between Nana and Pops and Mimi and Papa. We were worried about how she would do, and largely how we would do being without her for that long since the longest she has not been around us is overnight. She did amazing though. We would call her and she wasn't even interested in talking to us.

We had a blast though. We went and saw THREE movies, ate out, slept in, went to Dave and Busters and hit a huge mall sown there. It was so relaxing and nice to be able to spend that much quality time with Ryan. We went to the movies there and got carded to go into a rated R movie. Also we got the student discount with no id's. It was awesome considering I will be 29 in a few weeks!

We are oficially in our new house now as well. Woo Hoo. We have boxes stacked everywhere but are making some headway on the chaos.

I will post some pics of the move and painting later. Lots to catch up on.

Craziness and moving!!!!

So I have totally neglected my blog recently due to some crazy activity in the past few weeks. This month Ryan and I managed to buy and close on a house, we are in the process of moving in ...basically living in two houses, and ryan starts a new job at UAMS the monday after we will move in. To top it off we went on our first trip without Emma to Florida. I have so much to catch up on, but I am currently typing this blog in the middle of what used to be Ryan's office with nothing else really in the room. I think we have managed lots of stress pretty well this month.

So for everyone here the house is in Glen Hills in the new section of Gap Creek in Sherwood. We will officially be living there as of Saturday night. Wooo Hooo. Let me just say I never want to paint again in my life. I say this as my mom is still at my house painting. She is a much better painter than me. I am a rookie in the painting department and Ryan painted his first room today. I have lots more to catch up on but it will have to wait till after this weekend. Gotta get someZZZZZs before I get to paint some more tommorrow.

The House we are waiting to close on!

I don't want to say our house till we close, but here are the pics.I don't have pics of two of the bedrooms or the baths. But you can get an idea of how it looks and how excited we are.

This is a video of Emma calling the Hogs! She learned it quick!

Go Razorbacks!

Saturday Mimi and Papa came and picked up Ryan, Emma and me. We hit the road around 12:15 stopped for lunch at a local Dairy bar and headed to watch the Hogs play. Emma did amazing the entire ride thanks to a few new movies Mimi purchased for the trip. We only stopped once to get gas. That is pretty amazing with a potty training 2 year old. Emma's favorite part of the drive was the tunnel. As soon as we got through it she wanted to turn around and go again. The longest part of the trip was waiting in the Scholarship parking line to turn towards the stadium. When we finally turned Emma saw the tailgaters and a blow up Hog and said " I see the kickball!"
Since Ryan and I play kickball that is really the only sport she has ever seen. We headed up the Hill to the stadium after a quick stop at the Hog shop and made it inside. Emma did wonderful through the whole game despite how hot it was. She cheered...watched and called the Hogs. Her favorite Razorback was the one in the cheerleading uniform. She was a doll! At one point in the game Northern Illinois called a timeout. Emma heard it and said, " Did they get a timeout?" It had a whole different meaning to her.
She made it through the whole game till the last few minutes and passed out. The crowd was really at its loudest at this point wanting the Hogs to hold off N. Ill. We did and won the game and our little cheerleader got her Jammies on and slept all the way home.







This is how tiring watching Football can be. With 1:30 left in the 4th Emma Passed out despite the noise around her!

Becky and Ralph at the game! Tiffie and Emma

Emma learned how to call the hogs! She caught on quick!

Papa teaching Emma how to use his Binoculars and Mimi and Emma cheering on the Razorbacks!

Lovin each other and those Hogs!

Our row at the game!

Our seats are in the chairbacks in the endzone....a nice view of the screen and the game from here!

The hike to the stadium Emma got a shoulder ride!

"Go Hogs go!"

My Little

Cheerleader!

This was our picture before we got all hot and sweaty climbing the hill!

Our wonderful Driver Papa!

Mimi was crocheting blankets on the way!

Mommy was along for the ride....my sole responsibility keep Emma happy!

Daddy the navigator!

Emma at the start of the trip.

Buddylicious

Emma has come up with a new name for Buddy. She recently has been calling him "Buddylicious" I think because I have said Bootylicious and she likes the way it sounds, so now Buddys new nickname "buddylicious".

Also on Monday at Gymboree I was encouraging Emma to climb over this wall they had created. After she had climbed about three times she told me to climb and I said I was too big. She promptly responded, "Come on Mama. I KNOW you can do it!" My little encourager.

Fun times!

Who knew buying a house could be so crazy. Lots has been going on here signing papers, going to the bank, calling insurance companies. I have come a long way in learning things about buying a house. Three years ago I thought you could get a house for around 35,000. That is a blonde moment for sure. Then I learned about closing costs. Who knew there was so much stuff that goes into it. I am amazed at how complicated it can get.
Busy Busy Busy.....This weekend Ryan had a shooting event with my Dad and brother and Emma and I attended a birthday party for a little friend of hers at Oogles and Googles. Then Sunday we had kickball. Let me say we lost the kickall game but I had the game of my life. I have never played as well as I did on Sunday. I made a double play, a single play, and stopped the ball 4 times. Also I slid into home and knocked the ball away from the catcher which allowed Ryan to make it home as well! I was Super proud of my Athletic Prowess!

I will try and post pictures of the house tommorrow!

Candy from Church

Last Sunday Ryan and I gave Emma her first offering to put in the offering plate. She had $1.00 in quarters. Ryan held it for her till the time came. She held the money till the usher got to us and since we sit in the balcony we always have the same ushers. After Emma put her money in the offering plate our usher gave her a piece of candy. I thought it was really nice of him to do that.

However, Later that evening Emma was talking to my dad her Papa and I told him she had given her first offering today to which she promptly responded "And the church gave me candy.!" We both started laughing. I think she will be suprised next time if she doesn't get any! :)

Move over Martha Stewart here comes Emma

Emma has discovered a love for baking! Move over Martha Stewart here comes Emma Browning. I am pretty sure she loves baking because she enjoys the rewards of baking like her momma....licking the spoons, and bowls and eating the treats afterwards. We recently have baked Blueberry muffins and a Funfetti cake today! She wants everyone to sample them after they are done too.

I like to cook, but I LOVE to bake sweets. I adore sweets and Miss Emma has gotten a bit of a sweet tooth herself lately. Today while we were making the cake she could not stop herself from dipping her finger in the cake mix and sampling it. She was tasting just the dry mix in the bowl. It was pretty adorable! She will tell you either it is "licious" for delicious or "gusting" for disgusting.

Her cake was "licious"

Exuma

Well I have uploaded a small sampling of all the photos taken on this trip. Ryan, Emma and I traveled with his mom to Exuma, Bahamas where his Dad Works and lives to meet up with a few friends from St. Louis and Chicago. We made lots of memories and had a blast catching up with friends we don't get to see that often.

Emma had fun getting spoiled by her Nana and Pops and loved on by lots of people. She was definatly the center of attention all week. She loved Pops neighbor Doug and his giant but gentle rottweiler Shadow.

Emma is an early riser and if you have had a two year old you know when they get up....You don't have a choice you get up. We are the only one with a child in our group so they quickly learned your mornings are early and loud with Emma. They were all so sweet to her though even when they were sleep deprived and she was waking them up with her water gun, and some help from Shannon. She played parachute with Andrew and Shawn till their arms wore out. They even attempted to lift me in the blanket with her.

Lots of good meals, swimming, and snorkling occurred. My new years resolution this past year was to be braver in the ocean. I have a fear of big fish, sharks and Barracuda. On most trips there I do not snorkel. I have done it before but have a huge fear of Barracuda. I do not want Emma to see me afraid and become fearful herself so I was determined to be braver.

I however was not the only chicken in our group which made me feel like I was braver than I originally had thought. I snorkeled three times. The first time I saw a barracuda right off the bat and I was out of the water pretty quick. The second time I was drawn in by the promise I could find some cool seashells. I did find some beautiful shells and saw a lion fish ( These fish are not native to the bahamas and are a danger to the reef) they are beautiful however and it was Ryan and my's first time to see them in the wild.

The second time I also snorkled even though there was a small barracuda in the water near us. I climbed on top of Ryans back till I could get out but none the less snorkled. The third time I snorkled in the open bay and the most beautiful fish were there. Lots of angetl fish and parrot fish and Thankfully NO BARRACUDA :)!
Ryan and I also fed and touched three wild stingrays...pretty cool huh?!? One of them was about 4 ft wide.

We had a blast all in all. An amazing trip with lots of memories we will never forget!

This picture is of Megan and Emma. She became interested in poeple making faces and even learned a few of her own.