Independance Baby!

Since I recapped dating, marriage, family moves all in one whirlwind of a post it's time for baby posts!

I have spent the last 2 years at home with my girls.. and of that time we have been home..... A LOT.  But still even after a really long day I will find myself looking through pictures on my phone right before I go to sleep. All 600 + something pictures and probably 590 of them are of Emma and Evie. I have wondered to myself, "why on earth am I looking at these pictures?" when I was with them all day and at moments through out the day all I wanted was a little alone time.

I guess that's what happens when you think your children are the cutest, most precious, funny and special creatures that ever walked the planet. So this post is for my Emma Grace DeCoster. I hope I can find the right pictures and words to capture how special she truly is.

Emma Grace
Born July 4, 2009 at 12:20 AM
9lbs 3 oz    21"
in Ada, Oklahoma

I remember trying so hard to not have a baby with a holiday birthday. It was 11:50 PM and they kept saying that she would be here any moment. I am so glad she was born after midnight because having a Fourth of July birthday is pretty much the coolest birthday ever. Fireworks, parties, cookouts, dad has off work, America's birthday. She has it made.

 

She came out tan, head full of dark hair, and trying to eat her hand as she had been accustomed to eating quite well(as apparent of her weight).

 

There are some moments in life that you just don't forget. Holding your child for the first time is certainly one of them.

 

So we made it home to 301 Hickory Bend, McAlester Ok (a good hour away from the hospital). We had just walked through the door.

 

The 6 months following her birth included: putting our house on the market, Roger career change, moving to a different state, living in a hotel for 2 months while in transition, and finally buying our house in Shreveport.  But the 6 months I had with her at home we wonderfully simple. I remember changing her clothes and bows repetitively through out the day, a lot of snuggle time and adjusting to being a new mom. Great memories for sure.

 

Bless her heart... her tongue was just part of her style.

 

 

 

1 Year Old!

If you have heard it once you have heard it a million time...."they grow so fast." I remember hate hearing that phrase when I was little. However, it becomes so relevant when you watch it happen before your own eyes. As much as I loved the "baby" Emma Grace watching her personality and character as she grows is so much fun. She is pretty much a sweet, funny, carefree, sneaky and loving little girl.

she is usually not afraid to try new things. especially when daddy is there.

She just loves life

 

self esteem problems? no way she thinks she is pretty cool

 

she has quite the little manipulative brain. loves all things small, tedious and problem solving

 

the girl loves the wind in her face. it might be her favorite thing.

 

speaking of daddy..she loves to help him.. no matter what it is.

 

with Emma... the messier the better.

 

but she is princess through and through

 

 

I can't wait to see what God has for Emma Grace. If you are reading this please pray with me that God calls her heart at a young age. She is a blessing and I am so thankful for her.

 

 

 

 

I feel since the main reason I am blogging is to remember everyday aspects of each season of life that I should recap the past 7 years since Roger and I got married.  So today I choose to post about how Roger and I met and of course our wedding and a brief synopsis of where God has taken us these past 7 years.

I met Roger for the first time our freshman year at OBU.  Sadly, I was a fill in TWIRP date (which is pretty low on the "cool " status for a new freshman), but hey I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to meet new people.  Out of the 3 or 4 couples on this "Twirp" date, Roger was attending with another girl. We shared the same vehicle and really all I remember about that car ride was the driver taking a clover leaf WAY to fast and thinking we were all going to die and I don't even know these people. That night was really all the memories I have of Roger the first year except for maybe a few random run- ins on campus.

Fast forward to sophomore year. My roommate Lacey and friend Nicole and I went to "Spotlight on Shawnee" the first week back to school. We randomly ran into Roger and his roommates. We all hung out that night and had a lot of fun together that first semester. Fast forward to the beginning of second semester. Roger asked me out and of course I turned him down flat( I had been trained well to turn down boys), several weeks later God started to work in his heart and my heart at the same time.  We started dating and a year after our first date we were engaged. (really short version I know).

  I love looking at any wedding pictures (especially mine). We got married June 9, 2006 at Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.  I'm sure as in any wedding there were things that didn't go as planned but it was a very personal ceremony and so special to me.

The day before we said "I do"

 

 

During the reception

 

 

                                                                  Leaving the church

 

I love remembering the first year of marriage.. although it's so new and I'm sure it seemed like we had a lot going on. I remember the simplicity of our life. Here are some pictures of what I remember.

 

 

Probably my favorite picture of us. On our honeymoon in San Antonio. Not a care in the world!

 

 

Then we came home to our first little rent house a block away from school. I remember our first week back we totally had spent most our money and we broke into rogers change jar to buy grocery's until our next shift waiting tables! That would totally stress me out now!

 

I'm always grateful I married a man who loves to cook! Some of my favorite memories were getting home after midnight and making homemade mozzarella sticks. So not on our diet these days but man did they taste good!

So fast forward almost 7 years...... we moved from Shawnee, Oklahoma to McAlester, Oklahoma. We lived there for 2 years while Roger managed a new Chili's. I worked as a service advisor for a large Chevy dealership (still makes me laugh... ask me something about how car's work...see what advice I can give you). 

Our beautifully renovated house that much blood, sweat and tears were poured into.

Those 2 years were difficult in many ways.. newly married, long work hours, away from friends and family. But they were growing years. Praise the Lord, Roger was allowed to change careers and moved to where we currently are now. We enjoy seeing him in the evenings and on the weekends. Something that will never be taken for granted after working in the restaurant business.  However, for the most part I just remember the last 6 months because the house in McAlester is where I spent my time with my sweet Firecracker baby, Emma Grace DeCoster born on July 4, 2009.

and can you guess what my next blog post will be about?

 

 

 

Blogger What?

If you had told me this morning that I would be starting a blog I would have laughed and said "No way".  Who would even read my blog? Well, I read a blog of my BFF because it makes me feel more connected to her family even though they live what feels like forever a half away from me.  I realized this afternoon how her blog was filled with so many neat things. Just everyday things that are special to her and her family. It was then that I realized it doesn't matter if anyone reads my blog.

If I have a fun place to record these precious days of my children while they are young then its worth it! A place that I can scroll back and in detail remember the sweet days of being at home with my girls. A place to see a picture of my 18 month daughter with her two middle fingers in her mouth, carefully holding random objects between her pointer finger and her nose like she has become accustomed to doing so often.  Or go back and remember how my now 3 year old daughter's tongue stuck out of her mouth the first 15 months of her life. Things that I think I could never forget.

 So for the sake of the few people that will read this I will try to channel my ADD mind into complete sentences and do my best to use correct grammar(don't judge me when I don't), however I am excited because I look forward to looking back and seeing how truly blessed I was to have this time with my husband and girls.

 I would put up pictures and make my profile more pretty... but my laptop battery is about to die and I think my blogging brain is done for the night. More to come!