Come find me

One day, before Kevin and I had Brooke, I came home to find a paper on the counter that said, " Come find me." I looked everywhere, under the bed, in closets, and even went to look outside to see if in fact, Kevin's car was outside. It was. It wasn't until I found all of the food from the fridge, in one of the highest kitchen cabinets, that I found him in the fridge. ( Kids do not try this at home ) I couldn't believe that Kevin actually fit in the fridge! Kevin thinks that he is a professional at hide and seek. Now that we have Brooke, one of her favorite games is Hide and Seek. All the giggling and excitement is so cute as we take turns hiding with her, while the other one counts and carries Will along, to find her. kevin has been working a little extra trying to meet new sales goals. We have only had fifteen min. to half an hour lately, at night, to play. His work is paying off, however. His sales team is hitting their goals.

Hide and Seek has been the choice of play lately. I thought for a min. last week that Kevin had decided to watch the news or water his garden, when he was supposed to be finding Brooke and myself, but I still kept hearing doors open and he actually started saying, " Okay, I really can't find you. " At that point, Brooke and I started calling out animal noises softer and getting louder and louder until he could find us. Kevin still thinks he is better at hide and seek, than I am. I totally have the advantage though.... He can't fit in the spaces with Brooke, that I can! We will be having a re-match later.

Emily's 28th Birthday Bash

Every once in awhile, but not often at all, life suddenly surprises you with a gift of friendship. This friendship could not be replaced by anything, or anyone. It is as if God, himself is watching you, knowing exactly what kind of a friend you need, to help in your journey, of becoming the you, that you always wanted to be.

My cherished friend Holly Duenas is the queen planner of birthdays, baby showers, girls nights, any celebration of any sort. You name it, she is the master mind behind it all. If the word fun was even whispered, Holly was there.
Last year, Holly had a get together for my birthday set up at La Madeline. It was fun. I got lots of advise about my upcoming delivery of Will. It was also great that Holly too was pregnant.

This year Holly, with some help from Amanda Drysdale , hosted a birthday party for me in her home. This may not seem like a hard task, for an almost weekly party planner. But for a mother of four, ( one still a nursing baby ) and having her house on the market to sell, I was well aware, extremely impressed and grateful for the thought and time that went into creating such a fun party for solely, mua.

Holly even encouraged me to invite my friends, that she did not know, when I asked how she felt about it. It was so amazing to have all of my friends in one room. Holly had everyone sing Happy Birthday to me, around the cupcakes that she made. I felt like a kid, it was awesome! She had " The Emily Quiz " that everyone took. Joy Roberts got the most questions right. Seven out of nine. We ate yummy food that everyone brought to share. We had delicious homemade punch. That is right, no alcohol involved. My margarita friends survived just great. I got a few text messages that they had lots of fun ;) I really appreciated it...

Holly has a great sense of humor. Here is the multiple choice " The Emily quiz" :

What was her first job?

A. bear stuffer at build a bear

B. nursing home attendant

C. perfume model

D. Hostess at Chili's

Where is the favorite place she has lived or traveled to?

A. The alley behind Big Lots

B. France

C. Disney World

D. New York

What was the first car she drove?

A. Toyota Camry

B. Barbie Jeep

C. VW Bug

D. Truck

When did she first kiss a boy?

A. Kindergarten B. Age 14
C. Age 8
D. She's never kissed a boy

What color was her prom dress?
A. Pale Yellow
B. Red and white polka dot with pink ribbons and yellow bows
C. She doesn't remember, she was drunk
D. Burgundy

What is her favorite snack food?
A. Fresh fruit
B. Rare steak
C.Chips

D. Anything chocolate

What is her favorite color
A. silver
B. Red
C. Pink
D. She prefers white: the absence of color

What did she want to be when she grew up?
A. Mother
B. Model
C. Author
D. Vet
E. All of the above

What is her most embarrassing moment?
A. When someone caught her picking her nose and eating her boogers last Sunday at church.
B. When she was on the winner stand at a gymnastics meet taking first place and a little girl ran up to her and told her there was a string hanging from her crotch. And there was. A tampon string.
C. When she fell down the escalators at the mall because her high heel slid on one of the steps D. During a model shoot a few years back, a nursing pad fell out of her bra and onto the floor.

It was so much fun!!!!!!!!!!! I am blessed to have so many wonderful women in my life. I left feeling loved, and appreciated. I am already thinking up ideas for Holly's August birthday in my head.....

Here are the answers: B, C, A, B, A, D, C, E, B

Mother's Day 2011

For Mother's Day on Saturday we went to Chucky Cheese. I really wanted to go there, because as a Mother, it is most satisfying to see your children smile. Kevin won 1,500 tickets! He figured out how to win a game and played it the whole time. It was exciting for Brooke to choose any prize she wanted. Will rode some of the little rides for the first time, and he had a huge smile on his face.

Later that night Kevin and I went to Gold Class Cinema and saw the movie "Limitless." It was our first luxury movie experience. I was very impressed with the reclining chairs, and great food. I can't wait to go back in a few days for my birthday. The movie was awesome too. Kevin gets stopped all the time, so people can tell him that he looks like Bradly Cooper. I personally think Kevin is better looking. ;)

On Sunday Brooke had a surprise for Grandma Pack and myself. She gave us matching scarfs and flowers to wear all day. She had some for herself too. We all went to the same church. It is always nice to have help with Will. Brooke also sang, " Mother I love you, " on stage with 200 of the primary kids in my ward. It is so sweet to see her on stage looking all over for your face down below. It made me so happy to see her so excited to sing a song to me.

After church I made dinner for my Mom, and we had a nice meal at our house together. It was a great Mother's Day!

My Mother

May is an incredibly busy month, so I have lots to write about. I must write a tribute to one of the most influential persons in my life.

My Mother

My Mother is the most beautiful woman I have ever met. I think that my Mother is so beautiful in fact, that many of her other amazing qualities have been over-looked in her life, by acquaintances. Even some that may know her, more than the average person, may only see the incredibly fit, young looking mother, that seems to be a Wonder Woman, when it comes to looking perfect all the time. But, there is so much more to my Mother. One of the things that my Mom taught me through example, is that if you want something in your life, you just have to go get it. My Mom is one of the hardest working people I know. She has great work ethic. Although, she struggles to get to many places on time. You would rarely catch my Mom late for work.

A most memorable tradition with my Mom comes once a year, with the Nordstroms Half Yearly Sale. My Mother is so giving, with even the things that give her joy. She would use gift cards friends had given her, money that she worked hard for, and of course the normal amount of money that my Dad had set aside for our school clothes. We woke up early every year to be the first at Nordstroms, when The Half Yearly Sale was here. About a month before the new school year would start again.

My Mother has un-wavering faith in prayer. There are countless text messages sent," Please pray for ___________, they need extra prayers." If there was a record kept of all the prayers said, I know for sure, that my Mothers would be one of the longest. A sweet memory is finding her on her knees, by bedside because she received a phone call from a sibling in need.

My Mother has a great sense of humor. This is one of Kevin's favorite qualities, that he mentions frequently about my Mother.

She forgives easily. I can be in an argument with my Mom, and very shortly after, we can be enjoying time together, like nothing happened.

Things I enjoyed doing with my Mom as a a child are going to her cycling classes, and watching how inspiring she is to so many people. She really knows how to help people work their body, to it's limit. On vacations when there wasn't a gym, my Mom and I would run on the road together. We have even had a scary person stop and get out the car, to see if we needed a ride. Don't worry, we can run fast.

My Mom has been there by my side, my whole life. She is a best friend. She listens if I need to talk. She is always fun to be around. She is a wonderful Grandmother. She loves teaching her Grandchildren, by reading them books and helping them discover the world.

My Mother's testimony of the Atonement of Christ, is probably the best thing she could have ever given her children. The traditions of reading the Christmas story, watching the Easter story video Of Christ, every Easter, and the times she encouraged our family to find families during Christmas who were in need, instead of getting as many presents for ourselves; These things have made me the person that I am.

My beautiful Mother, is beautiful on the inside and out. I love her dearly.

Never judge a man, by the car he drives. ITS OUR SIX YEAR WEDDDING ANNIVERSARY

Seven years ago I worked at Sage Telecom as a Sales Quality Analyst. The office that I worked in, was only three blocks away from the townhouse that Kevin was living in at the time. Everyday Kevin and I would drive the down the same road going opposite directions, as he was headed to McKinney, and I into Allen. The first Honda, Element to appear in Allen, Tx was an orange one, and it was always parked in this Target parking lot. The second Honda, Element to appear in Allen, I drove past it, going opposite direction, almost everyday. I remember the very first time I saw the grey Element start showing up, in Allen. I was on my way to lunch with friends, and I actually made a comment, with the biggest bite back, that you could ever imagine. I said, " Whoever bought that car, has to be the dumbest person ever." I thought this new body style of car was very ugly. The joke is on me, because I ended up marrying him, and I ended up making great memories in that car.

I actually had my first phone call with Kevin on Oct.23rd 2004, when I called into his office to get an interview for a job. The interview was exceptionally long. I just couldn't figure out why Kevin could not explain to me what his job was, what he did? Who was his boss? You see one of my favorite things to do when I work for a company, is to decide how quickly I can get a promotion. I love to understand how everything works in a company. It gives me more incite on how I can get to the top. It was the strangest interview that I think that, both of us have ever had. I guess I got my promotion very quickly, when I ended up marrying, the owner about six months later.

There were two very crucial things about my dying to spend every moment that I could with Kevin. First, was that when I went to his apartment for the first time, he had very little, to no, furniture. Kevin had an art table and cartoons posted around the room, a Foosball table, a futon, and bed. You would think normally that would scare a girl. It was at that moment, that I knew that I had found someone golden. It was very easy to see that Kevin did not place a high value on material things. Kevin's passion for having fun, his friends and family became apparent almost immediately. The second crucial item left me feeling comfortable enough to sit on Kevin's counter and hangout all night. Call it dangerous, naive, or whatever you want, but I call it fate. It was the book, A purpose Driven Life. He had it sitting on his table all the time. I found out later, it was a gift from his Mom, and he actually never even read the whole book. Even if he never read the book, I learned quickly that Kevin did know what he wanted his purpose in life to be, and he was a hard enough working person to have it. A friend of Kevin's from college, hung out with Kevin only three days after the interview that Kevin and I had. She told me, that he mentioned more than once, this girl that was going to work at his office, that he was going to marry.

A few months after that Christmas, I was really not enjoying working at Nordstroms. Kevin just asked me, "Emily, what is it that you really want to do with your life?" My answer was, that there was no job that could be more important to me, as raising children at home. It was at that point that, although we both felt like we were already married. ( We spent every moment together). We knew we should get married, and that is just what we did. Kevin used to want to have six children, when he was younger. Three weeks after our Disney World Honey Moon, I became pregnant with Brooke.

Everyday, I cherish the fact that I get to spend my life with my best best friend. I know it is a blessing, and a privlidge to be with someone as dedicated to love, fun, and family as my husband.

I should bet, that I will, not win the bet ......

Something silly that Kevin and I do almost on a weekly basis is make bets with each other. Bets about everything. Who can get to the car the fastest, or if we can beat a certain time in the grocery store, who did the voice in a cartoon, what other movie was this actor in, etc.
I never win any of these bets, except the ones about whether or not I can find a lost item in my diaper bag or car, that Kevin could not find. Occasionally, I will win ones about certain actors and their age, or movie they played in. Other than that , Kevin wins every single bet that we make. So I end up making desserts like pudding, or giving a foot massage, very often. I am not sure why I keep making the bets, because I am usually the instigator. I guess, my competitive side is a little too much for my own good.
We love this restaurant Hoffbraugh House. We have named it one of our top places to eat. They make these fresh potato chips that are to die for. Kevin and I have made it a tradition to go there at least once a year, and pig out on these chips. Kevin has challenged me many times to see if I could make them. When I lost a bet, I ended up making them last night. Well actually Kevin ended up taking over, while I put the kids to bed, but I got everything prepared. I had lost a bet,and this was the request. This is a picture of the chips we made last night, and also some pics of us actually at Hoffbraugh House for the Kevintines year, before I was pregnant with Will. Ask Kevin, he keeps purposely tricking me about what year it is....

Mother knows Best. Wills finally asleep. zzzzzzzz

I strongly believe in a mothers intuition. I also have learned in the past ten months, that every child is different, and each one needs specific treatment, and guidance. A mother who seeks through prayer, can find what the specific needs for her child are. Five months ago, when Will was waking very literally, every half an hour, many people suggested I let him cry himself to sleep. Even though I felt it was wrong I tried it. I let him cry for ten min. without going to him, and when I picked him up after that ten min. had passed, he continued to cry for four hours straight. I then made my final choice, to not let him cry, until I felt very impressed that it was time. I am glad I followed my gut feeling because since that time, Will has had three ear infections, and has gotten six teeth in. I feel so thankful, although I was tired, that I could be there for Will in his time of pain. I believe that experience created extra bonding between Will and me. I am thankful that Kevin is so supportive in my choices I make as a Mother, for his answer, is always that I am the Mother and he supports whatever I decide. Even if that meant countless sleepy days. He only slept on the couch maybe once a week.
This week I felt a strong impression that it was time to let Will cry. It took two nights of forty- five min. and once two hours of on and off crying, until he would finally lay down to sleep. Our third night last-night , he awoke once for five min. I AM SO PROUD OF MY LITTLE WILL.
I also know prayers of family and Friends helped Will, to learn to soothe himself to sleep.