Old Pictures and Where "I Am From..." Is Beautiful

In Our Matching Seersucker Outfits!

"I Just Love These Shoes!"
 (I Have A Picture Almost EXACTLY Like This One From My College Graduation)

Fourth of July at the Beach!

So... my Mamma is on summer break from her job at the high school! Along with the many other fun things that we have been up to, going through every picture that she has ever taken of Eric, Elyssa, and I from birth until now and organizing them all into photo boxes labeled by year is one of them!

Matching...Once Again!

I LOVE This Baby Bikini...The Top Is Two Teeny Strawberries!

My Baby Sissy!!!! I Adored Her.

If it sounds tedious, it is! "What year did you get your braces off again? Did we go to Vegas in 2003 or 2004? No, my hair was short in 9th grade! Did you wear your white tux to Junior prom or Senior prom?" You get the idea. That conversation has been constant around here lately, trying to figure out which box to put which picture!

Always Had A Bow In My Hair!

The Beach...So Grateful That We Had (And Still Have) This Place To Grow Up!

Me With My Mamma's Cheerleading Squad!

However, we have also been having SO MUCH FUN! "Aw, look how cute I was! You really put us in those outfits?! How old was I here? Look at my adorable pink diapers!" Again, you get the idea. Taking a trip down memory lane is simply priceless! And so are these pictures if you ask me!

My Cousin Becky LOVED To Dress Me Up!

Annual First Day Of School Photo!
Now I  Teach This Age Children...Crazy!

Annual Beach House Photo!
We Also Get One With ALL Of The Cousins...Cute,  But NOT Comfortable To Sit!

Finding all of these pictures reminded me of a poem that I wrote my senior year at The University of Arizona. It is called an "I Am From..." poem. It was actually an exercise that we did in one of my education classes on how to get to know our students. Naturally, my love for writing came out in this exercise and I got a little bit carried away! I think that I had more fun than any of my other education friends!

Yes, Those ARE Playboy Bunny Ears.
Mamma Claims They Are The Only Ones They Sold!

Reading To My Sissy At Our Beach!

Love 'da Baby!

I wanted to share a little bit more about who I am with you through my poem and maybe inspire you to write one of your own...enjoy!

Playing Dress Up In Mamma's Closet!

'

Pretty Much How I Still Feel About The Snow...

I've Always Been More Of A Beach Girl!

My First Haircut!

"I Am From..."

I am from Crate and Barrel couches,

Pottery Barn picture frames,

and William Sonoma hand soap.

I am from fire pits and hot tubs,

ladder ball and horseshoes,

and trampolines bounced on by neighborhood kids.

I am from night games at the park,

summer meals at the pool,

the Murphee walk,

and seeing my babies playing outside or Ollie under his tree.

I am from summers at the beach with Grandma Grace and Playing the violin with Papa T,

from clubhouse crafts, the job jar, The House of Flavors and the river walk.

I am from Chica Chica Boom Boom, Miss Mary Mack, and K-K-K-Katie,

from pie tag , the pancake breakfast, dinosaur hill, and the Thompson family choir on Sunday mornings.

I am from playing dress up in Grandma Joyce's closet,

riding the tractor with Grandpa Emeott,

and Kokomos with the cousins.

I am from "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder",

"Be a woman of your word",

"Treat others how you would like to be treated",

and "Everyone is strange but me and thee..."

I am from beach bar tomato soup and church on Christmas Eve,

Cornish hen and the thankfulness jar on Thanksgiving,

homemade cake and harmonization on birthdays,

and dessert every night.

I am from photo albums and scrapbooks,

from home videos and baby books full of these memories that have made me into the person that I am today.

Emily Elizabeth Emeott

I have this poem printed on pink paper (of course) and framed in my room because I love where "I Am From"...It is beautiful to me! 

Nicknames and Babies are a Beautiful Thing

Summer Days At The Pool

If you follow me on Facebook, you most likely recognize the faces pictured above as I am sure that I have well over seven thousand pictures of them posted on there! It was actually hard choosing which ones I wanted to post on here because there are so many! They are so genetically blessed it's incredible and their wardrobe is to die for so it is only natural that I adore photographing them! These are just a few of my favorites…you can expect to see lots of them on here!

One Of Many "Photo Shoots"...

These are “my babies”! Okay, well they are not actually my children. However, with the amount of love that I have for them, time that I love to spend with them, and people who have asked me if they are my children over the last ten years it sure does feel like it!

Years Ago!...

I started nannying for this beautiful family when Henry (now ten) was only about 9 months old! (Do not be alarmed that you do not see many pictures of Henry. He was often times in school, sports camps or simply did not want to be a part of our girly "photo shoots". However, I still love him with all of my heart.) About three years later, sweet Caroline (now six) came into our lives! And a mere thirteen months later, Ellery Ava (now five) graced us with her presence! Needless to say, their sweet parents were VERY busy and I felt honored to help care for these babies! I would watch them for “date nights”, summer days, and, one of my favorite memories, while their parents were out of town! As you can imagine, I grew attached to them VERY quickly!

One Of Our Sleepover Weekends...

Another "Photo Shoot"...

I changed a million and a half diapers, witnessed many of their “firsts”, snuggled them to sleep, kissed them when they cried, painted their nails, played dress up with them, went shopping with them, went swimming with them, read to them, and most of all, simply loved on them! It was the life! They have taught me almost everything that I know about one of my greatest passions in life…children and caring for them!

Dress Ups At Emme's House!

Pool Time...Our Favorite!

Ice Skating At Southlands!

Dance Recital!

Make up!

One Of My Favorite Pictures....Been The Background Of My Computer For Years!

Before I knew it, I was the one sitting on their couch crying with their Mamma while they were the ones loving on me to make me feel better! Funny how that happens! It was the night before I left for Arizona to begin my college career. Among all of the things that I was going to miss about my life in Denver, they were one of the things that I would miss most! I was desperately afraid that they would “forget” me. With a framed picture of them and a promise to stay in each others lives, their Mamma, who has become a dear friend of mine, laughed and said “how could they ever?!”

Winter Wardrobe!

One Of Our Many Trips To Juicy!

Don't Worry...No Matter How Many Times They Asked Me to Buy ...We Always Just Looked :)

They didn’t understand the concept of college. They looked at me with sad eyes and asked “Why do you have tears Emme?!” (SIDE NOTE: this is where my nickname “Emme” comes from. I think that it is one of the most beautiful nicknames ever because they gave it to me! When Caroline and Ellery were little and first began to speak they couldn’t say Emily. And so they called me Emme. Since they were such a huge part of my life, my friends and family would hear them call me that and eventually it just caught on! I love it, because I love them!) I told them that I was crying because I loved them. I’m sure that this confused them even more!

Hair Appointments!

Summer Nights!

Typical Ellery Ava!

I’m still not sure if they understand the concept of college yet, but I kept in touch with them while I was there, had pictures of them everywhere, saw them every time that I was home from school on breaks and now they know that college is over! They still keep asking me when I have to go back to Arizona. They can hardly believe it each time that I tell them that I am here to stay! Just like how I can hardly believe that they are so grown up now. I am reminded of this through the little things like when I go to Ellery’s pre-school graduation (and by the way I am told by her that “Mommy and Emme are walking me to school on the first day of kindergarten” I cant wait!), Henry and Caroline’s swim meets, and simply being able to have “adult-like” conversations with them!

Pre-School Graduation!

Prom!

Ice Skating at Southglenn!

Piano With My Brother Eric...Their "boyfriend"!

I feel blessed to have them in my life! I am thankful for the role that their parents have played in my life and allowed me to play in their childrens' lives. They have really grown to be a part of our family and vise versa. I cannot wait for all of the memories that are still to come!

Not only are these children (both literally and figuratively speaking) BEAUTIFUL…but all children and what they can teach us through our relationships with them is beautiful!

Beauty!

Pricelss...