I Can't Stop Blogging!

I don't know what has gotten into me tonight! I promise this is it for the night. Actually, I have been meaning to post the pics below of Em goofing off since Thanksgiving. I figure a 1 month hiatus from blogging was more than unacceptable so I felt the need to play catch-up.

Below you will find multiple posts that show Emily being her typical self...completely goofy and hilarious! I also updated the photo album.

But most importantly, the Kramer's finally had some professional photography done and let me just say that it was so worth the wait! I have to give huge props to Lauren Gill, an amazing photographer out of Franklin. She is so talented and wonderful to work with. If anyone reading this needs photos taken professionally, you really should contact her. Even if you don't know me personally, I would love to fill you in on her work. She has taken photos of at least 5 families that I personally know and they are all incredible...so enough rambling, you can see them for yourself. Lauren absolutely captured Emily's personality in these photos...so priceless!

Check them out at http://www.laurengillphotography.com/ Once on the homepage, Enter Site and then click on Clients. The code to enter is K120807

Lauren also took our family photos at the end of October so there is a separate code for that. I believe it is K102707. If you are family, you might be getting these as gifts so if you have a favorite, let me know!:) Enjoy...hope you like them!!

What Can I Say?

I just don't even have words for this one! It makes me laugh every time I see it!

Daddy's Girl...

Words just can't express how much I love that Emily is her Daddy's girl! Derek loves her so much and they are just too sweet together. On a funny note, I emailed Derek at work today to tell him this cute story. We had been at the grocery store and had just gotten home when I went to get Ems out of her car seat. About the time I picked her up, the neighbor turned on his lawnmower (yeah, I know its December) and Em's eyes shot open so huge. She started saying Daddy, Daddy. So sweet...she thought Derek was home and mowing the grass. Poor baby has no concept that today is Monday. When I told her that it was our neighbor and not Daddy and then showed her the neighbor, she looked so sad. I definitely burst her bubble! It took her a few minutes to get over it. How wonderful to have a Godly husband and father that loves us so faithfully! We truly are blessed beyond measure. Thank you Lord for my sweet Derek!

My Silly Girl!

She really cracks me up...I don't know where she gets her energy and crazy antics! Hehe! These were taken over Thanksgiving and she was too funny!

What in the World????

Okay so I don't know that I have ever blogged about cultural or social topics before, but this moment I feel compelled.

So I was just changing our sheets while my sweet hubby was outside washing my gross car and I decide to flip on the television in our bedroom for some background noise, bad habit:( I turn to my favorite HGTV, nothing. Then I check out Fox News, again nothing, so I make the bad choice of channel surfing when I come across VH1. I notice that it is a concert, don't know who is singing at this point, but see that there is a big Christmas house in the background..."awww a Christmas Concert" is what my naive mind imagines. AND then I realize who and what I'm watching, and just what a complete atrocity, sickening display, gag-me, revolting display of shredding to pieces Christmas and the WHOLE point it exists truly is. I know that I am making so little sense as I vomit out my disgust!

I actually watched the rest of this spectacle to try and actually hear the words that Kid Rock was spewing out and it was appalling to say the least. I don't normally consider myself to be very naive, but I was shocked at the lyrics to the song he sang (if you can call it singing). I have no idea what the name of the song is...the lyrics contain lines such as, "I'm your rock-n-roll Jesus," "sex, drugs, rock-n-roll," "testify"! Okay so you get the point, and yes I very purposefully listened to the words to be sure that I wasn't misconstruing what he said.

So picture it...Kid Rock all dressed in white surrounded by girls with silver "band-aids" across their butts and chests dancing on poles and back-up dancers wearing pretty much the same, drummers and guitarists wearing cross necklaces, a huge house for the backdrop with Christmas lights glowing like crazy, and of course thousands of fans screaming for Kid Rock! And all I could think was "what in the world????" Then the best...they cut to commercial and they show the name of the concert "Larry the Cable Guy's Christmas Concert"....WHAT??? Are you kidding me?

And then I just became sad as I thought back to this morning and what I experienced at our church. 40 plus Christian men, women, and children that have fled their home country of Burma because Christians, including their own families and themselves, have experienced and endured things that my mind cannot even fathom. People that have watched their loved ones, their husbands, their children be raped, murdered, and tortured for their faith in God. Our God that sent His own son to die for us, to experience torture and pain like none of us will ever know...that same Son is the only reason that "Christmas" came about in the first place.

Why do so many people use Christmas as their opportunity to make money? Maybe I am taking this to heart way too hard...maybe I am just being my usual passionate self, but I think God wants us to be angry about things like this. I think it should stir something deep inside of us that screams how wrong it is! I just know that it solidifies even more my longing to "do Christmas" very, very different this year. I want to be radical for the God that came to save me in human form and suffered dearly for my sin. I want to celebrate Jesus Christ, the one that sets us free and loves us graciously and pardons all our sins!

The good that came from this is an increase in prayer for those that don't know Him, those that openly mock Him, and those that are today laying down their lives for Him in places where worshipping Him is not a freedom. I pray that those of us, including myself, that do know Christ as King will take seriously what we celebrate at Christmas and start walking in reckless abandonment for the One that saved our souls. May our God in heaven be lifted up by the worship of His people!!

Long Time, No Blog...No Computer!

I finally had a chance this weekend to catch up on our blog with some of the happenings of the past month. Most of you may already know this but our computer totally crashed about a month ago leaving me computer-less at home. What a bummer it was! Thankfully our good buddy Austin has ninja-like computer skills and was able to bring it back from the dead. (Thanks again Austin!) We lost some pictures but thankfully my wonderful hubby had already backed most of them up on the external hard drive. Thank goodness!

Now we are up and running again. This last month has been very busy so I have posted up some of the highlights below. One thing that I didn't post was that Emily is now in a toddler bed. We converted her bed a little over a month ago and she has done really well...that is until the weekend of "falling back" an hour. She is just beginning to sleep a little longer in the morning. I keep telling myself when she runs into our room at 6am that she really still thinks it is 7am! This morning she FINALLY made it until about 6:50am. She is also getting her 2 year molars which has been made all too obvious as she has been asking us for medicine and her teething rings ("ice" as she calls them).

All in all, things are going pretty well around here. We are really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. As most people do, I absolutely LOVE this time of year. I am also excited about maybe doing things a bit different at Christmas this year. Over the past few years Derek and I have really tried to simplify the "production" of Christmas. It will be so fun to see what God will do in our family this Christmas and how He will continue to pull our minds and hearts closer to the true reason we celebrate. I just can't wait!

I am excited to be back in the world of blogging. I really look forward to posting up anything now that the computer is fixed. That old saying, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone" is so true. When the computer was undergoing surgery, I would think of the dumbest things ever and be convinced it would be a fabulous read on our blog! It is probably a good thing that I didn't put my thoughts in print!

Looking forward to catching up with everyone, so until next time, I'll leave you with the posts below...

**I also updated the web album with lots of new pics**

100% Poly-es-ter!!!!

Okay so the title of this blog means absolutely nothing to some of you, but for others, you know exactly what I'm talking about! Our first Fellowship Bible Church Women's Retreat was AMAZING!!!! I can't say anything else that would describe how awesome it was. There are countless testimonies of how the Spirit of God moved in so many women's lives. Our speaker was unbelieveable and the times of singing God's praises were just so sweet and awesome. I could truly feel the Lord's presence in our midst.
I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many God-fearing women that love the Lord with their whole hearts and hold nothing back when giving all glory to Him!
I was part of the skits with some dear friends and we had such a blast. I love you girls...it was so much fun to do that with you! Below are the pictures that I am sure may come back some day to haunt us!


Lovely hair, don't you think?

...in full costume!

...in full action!

Halloween Fun With Old (and New) Friends

Halloween was fun this year. Emily was dressed as a soccer star, not your typical girly-girl costume. But, hey, it was last minute, adorable, and free...thanks again Uncle Sean! We really had a great time with all of our friends. After taking this first photo, we headed out into the dark of night, knocked on stangers' doors, and not only accepted but asked for free candy...everything that we tell our children to NEVER, EVER do! Isn't Halloween strange? Nevertheless, we had lots of laughs watching these little ones experience Halloween all together...we were quite the herd walking around the neighborhood. There were 9 adults and 7 children ranging in ages 1 year to 4 years. The funniest part of the night for me had to be when sweet little Caleb would knock on the door, say trick-or-treat, receive his candy and then proceed to enter the person's home. It was hilarious! He did it over and over again. He is so sweet...most kids just take the candy and run but he wanted to stay and visit awhile!

I included a picture of the kiddos last year on Halloween. We want to try to do this each year, assuming that we are still living near one another. It is so fun to look at last year's pic and see how they have all grown and changed. I pray that these friends will be those that Emily has sweet, sweet memories with. We can't wait until next year!


Halloween 2007

Halloween 2006

My First Haircut!!!

Emily finally had her first haircut about a month ago. She kept waking up from her naps and in the morning with the biggest fuzzball ever on the back of her head...it was long overdue! She was really great. A friend recommended (was it you Laurie?) cutting her hair in the bathtub and it worked so well. She was completely distracted and wasn't covered in hair when I was finished. For those of you wondering why I attempted this feat myself; let's just say that when you have curly hair and have a daughter with curls, you learn to be VERY cautious with the scissors!!!:) Most hairdressers are NOT cautious enough with scissors. I wasn't willing to risk it. I hardly cut any length off but it made the ultimate fuzzball less afroish and much easier to comb through. Derek was a bit concerned with my skill level though after his scalping a few years back...I still vehemently stick to my guns that he moved during the trimming and I was not at fault. (hehehe:) Incidentally he still lets me trim his hair every now and then (i.e. when he is absolutely desperate)!!!

Before


After

Hayrides and Pumpkin Patches

Holding hands with my best buddy!

It was difficult to get a picture of everyone "having fun," but aren't they all so cute?

This was Em's first hayride. I couldn't believe how long her legs look in this picture.
A couple of days after we took this picture, Emily kept grabbing her feet and saying "Mommy, Oww!" I took her to see if just maybe she needed new shoes...in this pic she is wearing a 5 and three days later she was wearing a 7...WIDE!!!! Nice...good job Mom! No guilt feelings here:(

Thanks Uncle Sean!

Let me just begin by stating two things: #1 Em REALLY wanted to tuck the shirt in, #2 Em REALLY wanted to put this denim hat on with this outfit!

Okay, so with that out of the way...let me explain! Derek's brother was too sweet to send Emily her very first soccer uniform. He was living in Amman Jordan this Summer and on his travels, he picked this up for Emily. I think he bought the smallest one he could find but it is still too big. One day last week, I was going through Emily's clothes (nothing fits her legs anymore). As the pile of things that no longer fit grew and grew, I decided to see if this get-up would work as her Halloween costume. I mean how cute would that be with a pair of tiny cleets? Unfortunately we discovered that it was more than a bit too big. The shirt came down mid-calf length. But Emily decided that she wanted to play in it for awhile, so I let her have her wish. She ran around like crazy in her little uniform. It was so funny. That is when she found this random hat that she has never even worn and started dancing around saying "Mommy, hat, hat! Emmy, hat, hat!" I grabbed the camera and took a pic of her lovely outfit complete with healing-green-purple-stage-back-eye (see previous post). What a lovely sight she was!!! To top it off...I am fairly sure I had yet to comb her hair that morning as well!

Emily's First (and hopefully last) Black Eye

This is how it went down (literally)...Emily grabs the tray of her WOODEN high chair and pulls it over which results in the entire high chair crashing to the floor. The solid wooden tray hits the floor, pops off, and hits her square in the eye. All this while I am standing about 1 foot away. It was like it all happened in slow motion...I just couldn't get there fast enough! By the time I reached her, she was laying on the kitchen floor with the tray and chair somewhat on top of her. She cried and cried...I did too! We knew she really was hurting because she usually is pretty tough and doesn't cry when she falls...she gets up most of the time and literally brushes herself off. After lots of ice and some sweet time with Daddy holding her, she was okay. The worst was when she would scrunch up her eye and say "Ow, Owie." That pretty much made me feel like the worst mom in the world, but thankfully her eye is all healed now. It definitely looked a lot worse before it got better!

Pictures...Finally!!!!

Playing with water at the Discovery Center
Me and my best buddy Caleb!!
Eyes of Admiration:)
I love this picture of my little fireman-"woman"!

I forgot!

Because of our traveling, Emily's 18 month visit was about a month behind so I forgot to post about her appointment. She was much more aware of what the doc was doing, of course, which lead to some tears when we very first walked in the exam room. But, after she was weighed and measured, I think she actually had fun. Dr. Eastham is really terrific and let her play with the monkey on his stethescope and allowed her to use his pen which she loved. (She loves to write with pens these days!) She checked out well and weighed 25lbs 2oz and was 33 and 1/2 inches tall. We are very thankful for our healthy girl!

And...I don't know how I forgot this one, but Emily grabbed her diaper today, then went in the bathroom, picked up her potty seat, brought it to me, said something completely unintelligible and then put the seat on the toilet. Being the genius that I am, I took the hint. So...she peed in the potty for the second time. But then after getting completely soaked by the water hose at Laurie's today, I removed her pants and diaper for the stroll home and she peed in her stroller! So, I think I can hold off on the potty training for a bit longer!

Bummer...

I will be posting without pics for awhile. Unfortunately our computer is so full that I can't export any pics. I'm still going to try and figure out another way, but until we purchase another external hardrive, I think I am out of luck!

We have had a really great last couple of weeks. Emily had her first trip to Chucky Cheese's and she had a ball. I got to go to the Discovery Center for the first time with her (she went with her daddy a few weeks ago). We have had lots of visitors, which is why I haven't blogged as frequently. Emily spent some really sweet time with her Halmi and Grandpa and one of my dearest friends, Judy, spent last weekend with us. We also had some awesome overnight hang time with some of the youth girls. One of them is Ana whom Em dearly adores. Her name is actually the first name besides Momma, Daddy, and grandparent's titles that she has uttered. It is so cute...it sounds like "Ano".

Speaking of talking, she is talking up a storm. I wonder where that gene came from!!:) Haha!!! She is saying all kinds of things. It has really been so fun to see her speech developing. Even though we definitely have our moments of frustration (i.e. screaming at the top of her lungs) and drama (i.e. throwing herself onto the floor and crying), we have an immense amount of fun in our home. One of my favorite things is when we eat dinner together at night. Emily absolutely is mesmerized by anything her sweet daddy does. She laughs so hard sometimes that I think she will get sick! I just love watching them play with each other. I really feel so blessed by her little spirit. She is so independant and so sweet.

Today we played with Laurie's boys outside and just had a blast. There were tons of interruptions of course, but who cares when the time is filled with beautiful sun, bubbles, water, and sweet friendship. I love knowing that these friendships are not only mine, but Em's too. I hope she will still know these boys ten years from now, no matter where life takes us! If her affection for Owen endures, we might be seeing them for a long time!:)

On another note, two sets of friends had their babies and we are so thankful that the Lord blessed them with healthy little ones that are thriving! What an exciting time for them! We went to the hospital on Tuesday night to see Karleigh Hope and she is beautiful!! She has been desired for a long time and it is so sweet to see her finally here with her mommy and daddy! Emily was very well behaved at the hospital. I had tried to prep her about not touching the baby, but hello, she is 20 months old...what could I expect? She surprised me and actually listened and obeyed. She was very curious about Karleigh as she was when we visited little Baker at the hospital last week. I am so thrilled for our friends!

That's about all I've got for now. I am going to try to post some pics...we'll see what becomes of that attempt!

And...She Slept!

Emily slept all night last night! It seems yesterday was what I expected...a pesky and stubborn little canine tooth that won't push through. The other 3 are in, but this one was taking its sweet time to surface.

On another very, very exciting note...CONGRATULATIONS to our friends, The Baker's, on the birth of their new son, Brock Nicholas. I'm sure his two big brothers are ecstatic as well.

Today I get to prepare for another sweet friend's baby shower that we are hosting here at our home....babies are all over the place in the 'Boro! I'm super excited and with her permission will post pics. I can't give up what exactly we are doing, but I think it will be such an intimate and sweet time.

So...so long for now! I'm going to go and do all of the things I couldn't do yesterday!:)

Ahhh...Perspective!

Some mornings Emily gets to watch a little bit of PBS. In between 2 of the shows there is this short commercial type thing with a kid that is playing music on pots and pans followed by the voice of a child saying, "It's all how you look at it!" It gets on my nerves sometimes, but it does stick in your mind once you hear it a time or two.

Why did my sweet girl decide to wake up at the lovely 4am hour?...I have no idea. Why did she refuse to eat most of her breakfast and none of her lunch?...clueless again. And, why did she wake up after napping for only 45 minutes, only to leave me with the frustration of now choosing to console her and lose any chance that she will fall asleep again before tonight(even though she is pooped) or leaving her to cry herself back to sleep?...once again, I'm at a loss.

But, what I do know is that I was reminded of that silly PBS Kids thing this morning and it turned my I-am-so-exhausted-you-all-need-to-hear-about-it-blog into I am so thankful that I get to go to my child's side in the middle of the night and have her lay on my shoulder! I am so incredibly blessed that I have had almost 20 months to enjoy her!

I don't know God's plan for our family and we never know what obstacles are before us. But as I was thinking and praying for some dear friends this morning, I cried as I talked to the Lord about the road ahead for their family and the uncertainty of what is down the road for their little one. How could I complain about having to comfort my little girl in the middle of the night? It really is ALL about perspective and knowing that for the moment I will truly cherish these difficult but very sweet and tender times with Emily Paige!

I am thankful for the sweet Spirit of the Lord that gives us energy, strength, and such tender mercies for our children...I am reminded today that it is not by my strength, but His!!!

The Reason No One Should Ever Turn Their Back on a Toddler...or Wear This Shade of Lipstick!

She finds the lipstick...

She applies the lipstick...

And Mommy ruins the fun by confiscating the lipstick!


Wow, I know it must be a surprise. I disappear from the blogging world and then I mysteriously appear twice in one day! Of all the photo sorting and uploading I had going on, I forgot to post these lovely little shots of Emily and my lipstick (no I don't actually wear that color out...it was part of my redneck Halloween costume). Seriously, let this be a warning to all of you new moms, especially those of you with an affinity for bright red lipstick...BEWARE OF TINY FINGERS THAT OPEN ZIPPERS, SNAPS, OR VARIOUS OTHER DEVICES DESIGNED TO PROVIDE CLOSURE AND SAFETY OF YOUR PERSONAL BELONGINGS...THEY ARE FUTILE EFFORTS AGAINST THE MASTERMIND OF AN EXPLORING AND CURIOUS TODDLER! There, well you have been warned. Incidentally, this nasty stuff actually came out of my bathroom rug...it was EVERYHWHERE!! The hardest part was getting it off of Emily's skin. Oh, the joys yet to come my way!

We've Been So Busy!!

This past month has flown by. I honestly do not know where the days have gone. I just completed the uploads of all of the photos and videos from the last month and while sorting through them, I realized how much we had been doing. We have had so much fun with family and friends doing lots of fun things. We've celebrated birthdays, rejoiced at news of a new little cousin, held baby showers, said 'temporary' good-byes to dear friends, laughed hysterically with the FSM crew, took first plane trips across the country, visited grandparents, liberated various river animals, made some awesome memories with family, and accepted new jobs. That is definitely the short of it all!

I am so thankful for the fun that we have had over the last few weeks. It has been busy, but the memories make it so worthwhile! Our trip to Cali was awesome and filled with lots of firsts and sweet moments. I was nervous about Em's first flight, but she did so great. It was preceded by a visit w/ 2 of my brothers, my sister-in-law and their kids. We went canoeing, hiked, watched movies, ate yummy dinners, celebrated Derek's b'day, and laughed so hard...in the words of my sweet niece, "...Ham's a present!" Only a few of you will get that!! In the midst of all of this, Derek accepted a position with Nissan. So, we have lots to praise God for!! He has been so gracious to us. Even down to the smallest details, I have really felt the Lord's grace and concern for me and my family.

So, for those of you that thought I abandoned my blog....I'm back! If you want to check out all we have been doing, you can check the photo and video gallery. After this post, I really am going to try and keep up...Judy, would you hold me to that please!!:)

For now...Emily is sleeping and I am enjoying a moment to myself. Everything else is going well here at the Kramer's. We will keep you all posted on new happenings! Until then...

It's Old but so Good!

I just watched this over and over again the other night...it was stangely the only time she ever sucked her thumb. It almost makes me want to do the baby thing again!:):) (Make sure your sound is turned up!)

Where Have We Been?

I can't really use it as an excuse because we have been back for almost 2 weeks now, but I have good reasons for not posting for so long! At least they sound good in my mind:) We had a great time seeing family in Virginia. And we got to take some sweet pictures of Emily with her cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents. It was definitely worth the drive up there. Derek and his cousin Kory were troopers. Derek drove all night on the way up and back...Kory stayed awake talking to him almost the whole time. Overall the drive went well and little Ems was a trooper as well!

We had lots of fun and "firsts" while we were there and have had lots going on since we returned home. Emily went on the beach for the first time and got into a real pool and "swam" for the first time. Then when we got back, she got to see her first fireworks. Thankfully she didn't get freaked out. She just laid back on Derek's lap and watched the sky like she had done it a million times before. Unfortunately we forgot our camera on the 4th, so I can't post pics now, but hopefully I can bum pictures off of Nicole or Kolby.

Another fun time that we had was getting to see our sweet friends, the Baker's. We got to meet precious little Caroline Kesi and hear all about their new lives in Dallas. It was bittersweet since they had to go back to the Big D, but we so enjoyed every minute of their visit.

I also found out this past month that I am going to be Aunt Karen yet again!!!! I am soooo excited for my brother Brandon and his wife Lorri. It will be a joy to see what God has in store for them through the gift of this precious new life! They are actually coming in town tomorrow so we will get to enjoy more fun with them over the next week...we can't wait!

I wish that I had the time to write about everything over the past month and a half b/c it has been super busy but I think I am going to let some of the pictures that we have taken speak for themselves. Besides the pics that you see below, I uploaded a bunch more to our Photo Album. You can get there be clicking the link to the left of this post! Enjoy the pics!

Fun w/ Family in VA

Em is obviously excited by her first time in the sand!

Having tons of fun!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of us together

Reading Time!

Over the past couple of weeks, Emily will disappear for a few minutes and we don't hear her at all. This is what we find upon entering her room... Em intently "reading" by herself. It is hilarious because she sits on her little lamb rug and gets comfy. Then she pulls out a book, reads it for a minute or two and then pulls out another. Occassionally I hear her actually "talking" to herself as she flips the pages. We caught these pictures as we were spying on her because it seems inevitable that whatever cute thing she does, she immediately stops when she is being photographed or video.

I just keep hoping that this means she will be a lover of books and even more so of the Word of God. What a blessing it will be if she finds such solace and comfort in time with the Lord someday. For now, we'll keep encouraging her to read and and be intrigued by all the things books can teach us.

Catching her spending time in this way has been teaching me that it is not only okay to take time out each day, to be still and quiet and enjoy God's presence, but that He desires that I do this every day. Since Mother's Day, I have read 2 books and am on my 3rd and I am halfway through the Book of John. I say this not to boast, but to encourage anyone reading that God designed us to need this kind of time. It refreshes us and fuels us.

I am amazed at how a child of only 16 months can teach me so much...makes me understand why Christ loved children so dearly: "Then children were brought to Him that He might lay His hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people; but Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.' And He laid His hands on them and went away." (Matthew 19:13-15)