This is So Long Overdue...

It is obvious that we went to the beach because of the video of Emily that I posted long ago, but I wanted to officially post on what an awesome time we had. For so long we have been saying that we would visit our dear friends Brett and Judy in Alabama, but it just never happened. We finally decided that we were just going to have do it. It was a short trip but full of such awesome and sweet memories. We were only gone for four days but we packed a lot in. We did everything from playing on the beach, eating yummy meals, cooking out, morning jogs (not me obviously), and playing late-night cards. Most of all, we laughed and had such a great time. The drive to and from the beach was filled with terrific conversation and laughter. I am so thankful for The Mitchell's! I am pretty sure we decided this needs to be an annual trip so Brett and Judy start saving now, because next time we are going for at least a week!

*I added lots of pics to the Photo Album from our trip* (Judy...I promise yours are coming:):)

I just love these people!

(the end of our weekend together...so sad)

Me and the Judester before dinner...the humidity was doing wonders for our hair. Judy had actually straightened hers that morning.

The guys hanging out with the Emily on the beach. She had so much fun playing with her Daddy and Uncle Brett in the sand. We made such good memories!

Excited About the Beach!

Derek and I think this is one of the best videos we have gotten so far of Emily because it really captures her personality! If anyone ever doubts the energy level of our sweet little Ems, let this serve as documented proof. This precious, energetic, and outgoing little girl really keeps us on our toes! There is no question she looks like her daddy, but I'm thinking she might be a bit of an extrovert like her mommy! (More beach pics to come...this video took forever!)

Special Memories and Fun on the Farm!

This is a bit of a continuation of the previous 2 posts. If you have read the other posts and seen the video below of Em with the Caterpillar, you already know that we spent last weekend with some friends on the Henderson's Family farm. We had such a blast and made lots of memories.

We stayed busy the entire weekend and did all sorts of things that would not normally take place in the 'Boro. We got to fish, shoot guns, play with our kids for hours outside, grill out, pet horses, stay up with restless children until after 10 pm, eat lots of yummy meals together, wake up and have coffee together, talk and catch up, make Smore's (and almost set ourselves on fire...well just me actually), eat homemade ice-cream, worship as a group on Sunday morning, and probably my favorite was worshipping the Lord all together around a warm fire at night under the stars! Those are just a few things that we enjoyed. Thank you Austin and Nicole for this awesome idea and such a wonderfully-planned weekend! We can't wait to do it again...

You have to check out the video below of Nicole with all of the kids...it is so funny! And you can click the link below to get to the photo album or you can click on the photo album link to the left of this post.
http://picasaweb.google.com/karenpkramer/HendersonFarmWFriends

This was so cute and so funny! Nicole sang this to all of the kids and before she knew it, the song was the absolute hit of the weekend! I was inside when Derek took this but he said that it was hilarious b/c all of the kids were playing doing different things. As soon as Nicole began singing, they ALL ran to the swing and piled on top of her to hear it....TOO CUTE!!! No wonder why Emily loves "Tole" so much!

Clarification...

It quickly came to my attention (thanks Rebekah and Derek:) that my last post left some...shall we say questions! The whole gang and gun shot thing...yeah I know...probably not the best thing to put in print w/o explanation! I planned on putting up more pics yesterday that would have explained it, but time got away from me. Since I'm not sure if it will happen today either, I thought a quick explanation was in order.

We spent this last weekend with some of our dear friends and all of our children on the Henderson's family farm. We had such a wonderful time and made memories that will last forever! The farm belonged to Nicole's grandparents who have passed away, but they have kept the farm in their family. Nicole was able to share pics of her family over the years on that farm and it was special to be there. What a leagacy and tradition to be able to leave your future generations!

I will post some pics of the weekend later, but in the meantime just know that the forementioned "gang" included the very scary and dangerous William's, Morrow's, and Henderson's (and obviously us) and the booming noise was them having some gun-time out in the woods. And to reassure, if you know Nicole and Austin, the gun-shooting activities were extremely safe and caution was first priority!

...will post pics soon!

Emily and the Caterpillar

On a walk back to the house with Derek, Em found this caterpillar and of course wanted to keep it. They chose to set it free! If you know the Kramer's, we encourage the releasing of all things great and small...well unless it can bite and sink poison into your body! We think it is so funny how she loves all kinds of creepy crawly things...there is no doubt that she is my daughter! (if you are curious about the booming noise in the background...the rest of the gang was back in the woods with the guns. Em had to take a pee pee break.)

Can I get a "Woot Woot" for Spring??

Can I just say that I love this time of year? (all except for the allergy craziness that comes with it:) It is beautiful here today and we enjoyed every second of it. After playing and digging outside, we went for a long walk, and then came home and took the dogs for a short walk. Em loved it! She loves, loves, loves being outside (as I'm sure most kids do) and she always has a hard time when it is time to come in. I just can't get over how pretty it is today. I hear the weekend may not be so fabulous...it figures since that is when we could actually enjoy it with Derek! Oh well, I'm sure there are more beautiful days to come. I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy the day, at least for a little bit! Here's to Spring!!!!

No Question Here!!!!!

Well, blue text to obviously announce that IT'S A BABY BOY!!! Of course, if you have ANY sight whatsoever it is very plain to see what the baby is. We didn't even have to wait for the lady to tell us...my reaction, "wow, that's a boy!" Can I just say that we are THRILLED!!!! We would be ecstatic no matter what and to know that God is growing this little guy and that he is healthy just makes me want to shout to the LORD in praise!!!!

I think the ultrasound pics below are hilarious!!!! I can't stop looking at them. Is it just me or is his "boyness" very apparent? And I love the next pic...his little profile is so handsome and precious to me. I can't wait to see his sweet face. I love the shape of his forhead and his nose.

We just feel so incredibly blessed that everything looks great and that he is growing well and strong. Now...onto names! I don't even want to imagine how hard this is going to be. Boys seem so much harder to name than girls. Any suggestions are welcome, but don't be offended if they make me laugh:) Derek and I had a hard time deciding with Emily and we kept saying that if she was a boy it would have taken much longer.

Thanks to you that are praying for us...we are so thankful and appreciative! We'll keep you updated!

Emily loves to "dance ballet" these days and it is pretty comical. This video was the shortest one of the night. It was the quickest to post, but unfortunately by this point, she was just goofing off (as usual). I actually really like her booty dance, but you can decide for yourself:)

What We've Been Up To...

These are just a few of the latest happenings in the world of Kramer. Enjoy and as always the photo gallery to the left will have bunches more.
Disciple Now Weekend was awesome...we had a great time with our youth group. This is Derek with his Freshmen guys...they are a crazy group!
Chad will be blackmailed for years to come with the photos we got of him! He was hilarious in a skit that they did.
The group having a blast while praising God and listening to Manic Bloom with our very own David Stevenson...so talented!
Sweet Kolbster and Mia...they have very similar knee injuries on opposite knees...Kolby just had surgery and Maria is probably headed that direction (stubborn girl:):)!! They had to take a break! No mosh pit for these girls...haha!
NICE booty shot Ems! Emily got some new low rise cargo pants and we were laughing hysterically at this sight of her booty...again I have no clue why it is turned sideways.

I have no idea why this picture turned this way, but Em was playing Peek-a-boo when we dropped my mom back off at her office. I thought her face was funny!

Look at the guns on my hubby...seriously though, I love this pic!
Emily and I went to lunch with my mom for her birthday and my sweet great aunts. They are Emily's great-great aunts. They were my grandma's sisters (she passed away before she got to meet Em as did my precious great-grandma). They would have loved Emily and I think it is such a blessing that Emily can at least have this connection to them. Thanks Aunt Mamie and Aunt Dodie for a fun and yummy lunch!
Mischevious little thing!

Emily's first carwash...the face cracks me up! Playing at the park

Although it looks like I'm about to rip her arms off, I promise I wasn't...she really was laughing!
Big helper...hope that lasts through the teen years!

Happy Birthday to My Mimi!

I'm jumping for joy that my Mimi was born!

Happy Birthday to my mom today! You are a wonderful mom and an amazing Mimi. We all love you so very much! I don't know what we'd do without you! Happy Happy Birthday! (Hopefully you'll get the full rendition of "Happy Birthday" this weekend from Ems.)

Random Shots

Emily and Caleb hanging out on her big girl bed. She has been in it for a couple of months and is loving the extra space for herself and her furry, cuddly friends.

How crazy is this? Her hair is above her shoulders when dry...when wet, we have a full-blown mullett...nice!!

I'm glad Emily has a cute suit that fits her (more on that below:). She loved finally getting to put on her bathing suit this morning! AND...yeah!...no swim diapers to soak up 100 lbs. of water or $100 of the monthly budget during summer months:)

What to do on a Rainy Day...

...well, you go get in the water of course! We had such a fun morning at the indoor pool with Em's friend Hannah and my sweet friend Heather. I have yet to purchase a maternity suit due to the fact that I refuse to spend $80 on a bathing suit...way too much for 1 yard of nylon and spandex! Not to mention the fact that I have only been able to find them online and why would I do that? I wouldn't be able to try it on and have the oh so glorious experience of seeing how huge my butt looks under flourescent lighting in front of a way too honest 4 way mirror! Can anyone feel my frustration? Anyone that has been preggers in the dead of summer that feels like sharing advice, I surely do welcome it. I told Heather that I may resort to wearing my 2 piece (non-maternity) and letting my belly be totally exposed. Hah!!!!

So because I had nothing to wear in the water, I watched from the sidelines. Heather was amazing as she played with the little ones, went down the slide with them, pushed them in the tire swing and on and on. I was really bummed that I couldn't get in. Hopefully I will remedy that soon. The girls had such a great time and I can't wait to go back. I really look forward to taking Emily to the pool this summer. I think she will love it. My child has absolutley no fear...which of course puts my in hyper-alert mode the whole time! I am looking forward to warmer weather, big belly and all!


Like I said, "No Fear!"

Ems and Heather

Ems and Hannah

Happy Easter...and Anniversary!

The last Easter with just the 3 of us!

Lots of "surprises" at Mimi's house.

The "spread" at Mimi's house. I had been craving fried chicken and my sweet mom made it and much more (as you can see). It was soooo good! We all thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of my mom's labor...thanks Mom!

Ems started to really get pooped and I caught this sweet picture of her with her Mimi.

I hope everyone had a truly blessed day celebrating the Resurrection! We had a wonderful day that began with an absolutely awesome service at church, followed by sweet time with family.

Emily had a big weekend with 2 egg hunts in 2 days. Some of our friends, Tanya (Tia) and Jake, invited us to their family's farm for a big Easter dinner and egg hunt on Sat. We had a great time. I wasn't sure if Emily would actually like looking for the eggs or that she would even care, but boy was I wrong...she LOVED looking for the eggs. Most every time she saw one, she opened her mouth wide and said "ahhhhhh!" Derek snapped some really cute pics of her being surprised. She did the same thing at my mom's house on Sunday. We had to have the egg hunt inside because it was so cold. That was a let-down for us, but Ems could have cared less. Needless to say, we currently have way too much candy in our house. It was a great weekend filled with lots of memories and realizations that this was our last Easter with just Emily. We enjoyed every second of it and look so forward to seeing our family grow. This time next year, we will have 2 sweet little ones...a 3 year old and a 7 month old...hard to fathom. God has been so good to us!

Onto some other very "miraculous" and fun news...I can now give a huge shout out to the Lord and tell everyone that reads this blog that if you don't believe in God's perfect provision and goodness...here is just one example! Our friends Jake and Tanya Gilmore are having a baby...I can't stand it! I am so excited!! Their due date is just about 3 weeks behind ours. Tanya and I have had so much fun talking over the last few weeks and I can't wait to walk this experience out with them. I feel like it is a gift from God for me too! Emily loves her Tia and Uncle Jake and I can't wait to see them hold their sweet baby in September! They are going to be (already are) amazing parents! Congratulations guys...we love you tons!

I have updated tons of pictures in our photo album (linked to the left). There are great pics of Easter, our Anniversary weekend, playdates with friends, Em's best bud Caleb's 2nd birthday, and some general cute pics of the last month's activites.

Tanya sent this scripture out with her email today letting everyone know their news and I have been dwelling upon it today, so I thought I would share:

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

Emily with her Tia and Uncle Jake last week. As you can tell, she loves them very much. Thanks for dinner guys...and Congratulations to an awesome couple and dear, dear friends!

The Best Husband In The World!

The front porch of the Byrn-Roberts Inn.

In front of one of the (I think) 11 fireplaces, all with original early 1900 wood and tiles...Amazing!

In our room just hanging out!

On March 15, Derek and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! It was a wonderful weekend. When I was gone to Virginia with Emily, Derek finalized our plans to stay at the Byrn-Roberts Inn here in Murfreesboro. When I came back home, Derek surprised me with the news. I was so excited! Of course, I looked forward to it all week and it was as wonderful as I could have imagined. When Derek was making the plans, he found out that our anniversary weekend was the last night that the owners were going to operate the Bed & Breakfast. We ended up being the last paying guests to ever stay in our room! We thought that was a pretty memorable occassion. We were also the last guests to ever get the tour of the house...it has a lot of history. It was a beautiful place with so many luxuries. I'm sorry that we won't be able to go again and that I can't recommend it to friends.

We had an incredible time away together and I am so thankful that we did it! It was so fun and romantic! Thank you Derek for a wonderful weekend that I will always cherish and remember!!! I love you and look forward to as many decades together as the Lord blesses us with. You are an AMAZING husband and father! As Emily would say "Thanks Babe!":)

Emily's Antics Caught on Video!

I caught Emily, finally, singing on video. Derek has been encouraging me to try and capture her being silly and singing. I finally just got out the camera this morning and asked her to sing and she honored my request. She actually sings it a little more accurately most of the time, but I thought this was so much cuter. She LOVES to watch videos of herself right now and so it was hard to get her to stay in front of the camera! Oh and to explain the Thanksgiving bib...Emily informed me that she needed to wear it so she wouldn't get dirty. I then asked her if she would share her bibs with the new baby and she abruptly told me no and that the baby could just wear a shirt! Hope that changes before August.:) Anyway hope you enjoy...

Trip to Virginia!

We had a great trip to Virginia! Emily did really well on the flight and traveling in general. She slept great in a different bed and with fewer naps than usual...I was really proud of well she adjusted to new surroundings. One thing is for certain and that is that we have definitely entered the age of 2 and all of the independence that comes with it!
Emily and I got to spend time with family and were able to spend a lot of time with her great-grandmother (Derek's g-ma) that just had surgery and is just not able to travel anymore. She was loving every minute that she was able to spend with Emily. It was so sweet seeing them together! Unfortunately we didn't have the camera yet and I didn't get any pics of them on the digital. Emily also loved seeing her cousins and of course the bittersweet story there is that we just don't get to see them much.
We had such a wonderful time and am thankful that we had the time to spend with everyone. I can't wait until we can travel again, hopefully with Derek the next time.

Kissing Halmi goodbye!

Explaining Elmo to Grandpa

Fun times with Aunt Rachel and cousins.

Loving on Elmo in the bathtub!

Tagged...Again!

Well, I have been tagged twice now and have yet to respond to either of them, so I am going to attempt both. Bear with me! Rebekah, I'm with you...this telling of my soul might make a few people never contact me again...hehe!

10 Random Things About Me:

1. There is a word in the English Language that literally makes me shudder, cringe, want to vomit, etc... I will go to any and every length possible to avoid this word. For obvious reasons, this word will remain a mystery to many of you and to those of you who already know it, if you let the cat out of the bag, just remember I am really okay with revenge and it will be oh so sweet!:)

2. Gross but true...you know the smell of fresh rain on warm cement or the smell of fresh soil? I LOVE that smell and actually crave eating dirt when I smell it. SO weird I know. I ate dirt when I was younger and the doctor said my body must need some mineral that it isn't getting otherwise. There was actually a group of Native Americans that used to eat clay for the same reason...that provides me comfort when I think I am a complete weirdo!

3. Seems strange after my admission in #2, but most everyone knows that I am a germ freak. Rebekah and I can really understand each other! Lots of people kept telling me that it would fade after our first child....ummmm....no, it didn't. If anything, now I have a whole other person to try to keep free from the cruel germs waiting to permeate her little body! Oh and Rebekah...the airport bathroom thing...just wait until Caroline is potty-trained and has to use the public restroom...gag!!!

4. I absolutely love to cook and try new things. I frequently will look in our cabinet and just make something up. I think that is the most fun, figuring out what flavors and textures go well together. I have trouble following recipes b/c I always want to do something to them, although I do still use many recipes. My love for cooking definitely has been handed down from g-grandma, to grandma, to my mom...we all love to cook and I never see them measure anything or rarely follow a recipe. I have to say it makes it a bit hard to make the favorites my grandma made...no recipes..uggghhh!

5. I clean when I get stressed out. I find that when I clean, I don't have to think about the thing that is on my mind. I also clean when I want to relax. I have trouble relaxing knowing that I have things to clean...the problem with this...there is ALWAYS something to clean. I have gotten better about letting things go.

6. My husband, the king of hypotheticals, will appreciate this one. If I was stranded on a deserted island and could only have one food for the rest of my life, I would choose sushi. One of my first meals after Ems was born was sushi. After this baby is born, I'm going to eat sushi until I go crazy...for now I'll be sticking with different types of non-fish rolls...bummer!

7. There are two children that I met in Honduras almost 8 years ago (and have not seen since) that I pray for all of the time. Whenever I am not feeling thankful, I think about when I met them. I think about what they might look like now and what they are doing. I still have a ring that the little boy gave me and a sticker that the little girl put on Derek's nose. I hope to see them in Heaven someday!

8. I love to do creative things! I love to paint and do things that I can look at later knowing my hands did that. Someday I would love to have a room just for my crafts and sewing. I would also love to take classes for painting and sewing. I also have a secret dream of writing and illustrating a children's book someday.

9. My original desire went I went to college was to become a pediatric surgeon. After weighing the pros and cons of time in college, money spent on college, the demand on my future family etc...I changed my mind. I had to do some major soul searching, but eventually decided that I still wanted to work with children and decided to teach. Truth be told, I enjoyed the actual teaching, but most of all, I just LOVED being with the kids I taught and building relationships with them.

10. I have a weird and very real fear of falling and knocking my teeth out! Whenever I trip, which is quite often, I immediately get scared and think I am going to knock out a tooth! I hated the idea of playing softball b/c of this. I got braces in college and had to have 1 tooth pulled. I was totally fine and then Derek and I got in the car and I looked at the hole in my mouth and just cried and cried...it was so awful seeing that hole between my teeth. I am in for a nightmare if I have to ever get dentures!

I'm sure that I'll think of a bajillion things later that I could have said or not said, but for now, I'll leave it at this! Now onto Tag #2 (sheesh)

I was tagged by Laurie Vinson, so here goes! Here are the rules:

1. you have to post the rules before you give your answers.

2. you must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).

3. after you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.

4. at the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details).

PAIGE:

P--perfectionist...unfortunately! But wow the Lord is REALLY showing me the weaknesses in this area of my life.

A--a lover of life and people! I get my energy from being around others. I love to spend time with people and find out who they are and what their stories are. It is awesome to see the hand of God in other's lives! And, in general, I just love life. Who doesn't have yucky days? I sure do and I struggle with lots of things, but I feel so blessed when I think of the life that God chose to give me!

I--independent...and here again, I am constantly learning from the Lord that I cannot do things apart from Him. (And I wonder where Emily gets this from...hehe!)

G--go-getter! I love to try new things and tackle new obstacles!

E--energetic! Well, no shocker there...if you have known me for at least 30 seconds!

There you have it! Now, if you are up for it, I tag the following people to do one of the tags(or both:):

Judy, Laura Watson, Nicole (if you ever read this), and Laurie...a tag back at you for the 10 Random things about yourself! I can't wait to see what you guys write!

Update!

Just a little news to share. Emily and I just returned from a trip to VA to visit family. We had a great time and we sure missed Derek. I wish that I had pictures of Emily seeing Derek at the airport last night for the first time in 10 days! She began running and (very loudly) yelling Daddy as everyone around us laughed in amusement. It was too sweet and funny!

I came home to an immaculately spotless house (thanks to my sweet husband) and we ate pizza and spent some fun time together before putting the stinker to bed.

So more on our trip later...I just wanted to let everyone know that we got to hear the baby's heartbeat this morning and it was amazing. Our doctor told us that the baby is VERY active...not sure how that makes me feel right now...thankful obviously and a little nervous:) Next month we will find out whether to begin thinking about boy or girl names. We can't wait!

A quick shout out to sweet Judy for posting some pics for me on her blog...but good news, the camera situation has been resolved and as soon as I get settled, I will post some VA pics. That is all for now...we'll be back in a few days!