Miss Priss arrives...

I was in Dallas this past weekend for a VERY special event...

My best friend Lauren gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby girl:  Miss Emerson Kate Ammerman!!!

The little doodle-bug was born at 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and she was 20 inches long.  Lauren had an incredibly smooth delivery and both Mom and baby are doing wonderfully! 

This is my perfect/sweet/adorable/gorgeous sister-in-law, Faith, with Miss Emerson, just an hour or two after she was born.  I just love the look on her face.

This is Lauren, loving on her sweet little girl.  You can't really tell from this picture, but that kid has a head full of hair! Just like her momma...

Here is Eric, Lauren's husband, clearly in awe of his new little angel.  There really is something about daddies and their little girls.  It's magical. 

I'm so happy to be an "aunt" to this sweet baby!  She will be loved beyond measure, and I have no doubt that the Lord has great plans for her life.  And I thought I'd post this little poem I wrote for Lauren and gave to her at her shower.  I can't wait for her to grow up so I can tell her ALL about what her Mommy was like when she was growing up. :)

EMERSON KATE

When God set out to make you, sweet girl

He knew just what he would do.

He gathered his angels and strolled through the clouds,

And planned His masterpiece - you.

"This little one must be special," He said,

"A gift from me to the world.

And just as her mommy has hoped and prayed,

I'll make her a sweet little girl."

"She'll need a piece of her Daddy's heart,

And a part of her Mommy's soul.

I'll throw in a pinch of her Grammy's strength

And that will make her whole."

And then you were shaped and formed and made,

You were certainly worth the wait.

You're everything we hoped you would be,

We love you, Emerson Kate.

Music memories...

 If you know me, you probably know that I love music.  And I don't pretend to have super-sophisticated taste, either.  I'll jam out to just about anything.  

My husband, who is in most other respects pretty darn perfect, just doesn't share my enthusiasm.  It's not that he hates music, it's just that it doesn't seem to affect him the way it affects me.

So I was thinking about WHY music matters so much to me, and I think I figured it out.  My brain makes associations very quickly, particularly with sounds, so when I hear something while doing something else, it's like my brain creates a time stamp.  And hearing the sound again, some time in the future, just transports me back to that moment in time.  It's like a time machine, operated by a jukebox. :)

So, here are a list of songs that I may or may not love, and the moment in time I associate with them.  Not that this is even slightly interesting.  I'm so weird.

Criminal by Fiona Apple:  I'm at a childhood friend's house, and she puts this tape in her boom box, and I'm wondering why she's so much cooler than me. (Probably because she doesn't write blogs like this one.)

Wonderwall by Oasis:  I'm with my fifth-grade boyfriend at some place that looks, in my mind, to be a bar (but it couldn't POSSIBLY be a bar, could it?).  We're holding hands.

There's Your Trouble by the Dixie Chicks:  It's the summer before my freshman year in high school. I'm at cheer camp, and Lauren and I are sitting on my bed, sharing the headphones of her Walkman, jamming out and thinking about boys.

I Think I'm In Love With You by Jessica Simpson:  I'm a sophomore in high school, on the bus with the rest of the varsity cheerleaders.  I'm putting glitter gel on every inch of my body.

Trouble by Coldplay:  I'm driving around in my car, brokenhearted because I've broken someone else's heart.

World Spins Madly On by The Weepies:   I'm sitting in a pew, crying for the loss of an incredible woman.

Your Love by The Outfield:  My brother is home on leave from the Navy, and I've followed him to yet another bar.  This song comes on, and we all start singing at the top of our lungs.

At Last by Etta James:  I am walking down the aisle with my brand new husband, unaware that there is anyone else on the planet, wondering how I got so lucky.

Just because...

Man, my husband is handsome.  And my puppy is cute.  (And this picture is a year old.)  That is all. :)

Playing with Photoshop Elements...

I ordered Photoshop Elements 8 on Amazon a few weeks ago, and it arrived a few days ago.  I FINALLY spent a few hours today playing with it, and I am just amazed.  

Like CRAZY amazed.

There are SO many things you can do.  There's a button for whitening teeth.  There's a button for making skies bluer.  

And then there are the layers.  Don't get me started on the layers.

So, even though I have NO clue what I'm doing, I thought I'd post a few pictures.

 Of Lilly, of course. :)

And home.

Meal-Planning Wednesday

After a difficult weekend at home for Micah's grandmother's funeral (which I'll write more about later), we're back in Houston.  I finally made it to the grocery store today, and here's what we're having in the Hargrave household this week!

Wednesday:  BLTs and lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing

Thursday:  Crock Pot Salsa Chicken with rice

Friday:  Date Night!

Saturday Lunch:  Grilled cheese sandwiches and chips

Saturday Dinner:  BBQ stuffed baked potatoes

Sunday Lunch:  Grab something after church

Sunday Dinner:  Penne a la Betsy with salad

Monday:  Creamy Marinara Chicken Pasta

Tuesday:  Frito Pie