Can you see the Magic?

I choose this very candid, funny photo of Emma to not only make us all giggle, but to show you what she's like when the camera is off. She is very silly. She loves to play, draw and say animal sounds. She has been growing leaps and bounds. Her hair is a little past her shoulders when it isn't curled tight to the back of her neck. She says plenty of words mixed in with her own language. That seems to sound like french. She is beginning to play well with others. (Toddlers will be toddlers) Her favorite things include a stuffed dog, Spot and other books, and her blanket.
We are very thankful for our Emma and love being parents. We get to sit back sometimes and be kids again with her. I know that she has shown me that magic of Christmas that I lost for a while. Sometimes in the hustle of the season you forget what it is truly all about. Tuesday we went to the Zilker Trail of Lights. Zilker is a park in Austin and it has a moon tower that is made into a huge Christmas tree of lights. After we walked the trail, spun under the tree and had some hot chocolate we started our walk back to the car. As I pulled her in our wagon I looked back to see the happiness in her eyes. No presents, no big show of Christmas bling, just the three of us on a cold night buzzing about our time together. Someone recently asked me what my favorite memory of Christmas was. I told them how on Christmas Eve that my family would get in the car and go look at the lights on Christmas Eve. It's the simple traditions like these that mean Christmas to me. We get to make our own now with Emma as a family.
I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year. I will add the Zilker pictures soon for everyone to see.

NC's Pearls

A while back I was given my grandmother NC's pearls. I was beside myself with joy and cherish them with all of my heart. Today Josh and I went to our friends wedding. The wedding was held at the same place Josh and I were married in 2003. It was very good to be there again and remember the day. The house is still as beautiful as ever and always holds a special place in my heart. I was very happy to have the chance to be there again and to wear the pearls again. It became a tradition in my family to share these pearls and each girl in the family was given the option to wear them at thier wedding. Beginning with Jennifer, then Lindsey, then Debbie, then me and then Tanya. All of us proud as ever to be part of our family and to wear this beautiful necklace. The story, letters and photos were put into a photo book by my Aunt D'ann and it really shows the love for them. As I now hold these pearls, I think of what it felt like to wear them on my wedding day. I can only say I felt like a light shined through me. A light that was shining through the pearls onto everyone that looked at me. When I put them on this morning I held them to my skin and felt radiant again. As to quote my grandfther's card that was with the pearls "The pearl darling, is supposed to be the symbol of beauty." I can't agree more.

Back from the North

Josh and I just returned from our second trip to South Dakota this summer. I can only wish it would have been for better reasons. Sometimes trips like these take you on a path you didn't see for yourself. We can only learn from these and try to move forward as there is no going back. Some of these lessons I have learned before and try to help others understand.
One is you should never take anyone for granted. This is a very hard lesson as it is hard to slow down and take time to cherish the people around you. Our society has us wrapped up in work and various other things that our doorway to our loved ones is half way closed. After Denise passed this lesson slapped me pretty hard in the face. I was a young adult who was too self centered to get off my butt and spend more time with my sister. I will always regret this. I vowed from that day to never leave my brothers alone even if they got annoyed with me. I do have to say as these 6 years have gone by that I have lacked some, but hope to get back on the wagon.
I hate funerals and memorials so much because they are the stop sign in a life that could have gone on. However, funerals and memorials give us that open doorway to see our loved ones and make a change. One of the other things we must learn is how to function without this person. As we grow and expand our lives we gather people along the way, so when one is missing everything feels wrong. This process of moving forward is one that I have not done yet, but have been one this road for a while. I can only hope to help Josh and provide the comfort and understanding he needs to heal.
The final thing I have learned is no matter what you never forget these people, and their memories have an odd way of popping up. The other day before Josh and I left we cleaned through some clutter in our book shelves and I came across some photos. There laid a photo of my uncle Jim. It was at Josh and my wedding. He was asleep in a chair at the bottom of the stairs, eyes closed and a peaceful look upon his face. It is one of my favorite photos of that day. I looked at it and felt very happy that I knew him. I have to think that sometimes things happen for a reason. Like finding a photo that should have been in our wedding album where I placed it, but ending up somewhere else.
As I remind Josh often, it is all about the little things in life. We were very lucky to have been able to make the trip to South Dakota in July, and that Josh's dad met Emma. We, as you know, are very proud of her and it was not a shock to us when Jim (Josh's dad) had very good things to say about her in the little amount of time they spent together. His memorial on the 15th was very nice. The song Amazing Grace was sung, a flag was presented, and some meaningful words were spoken.

So here is to James (Jim) Donald Haar.

August 1st

This past Sat. we took a trip to Waco. My dad and mom( nana and papa) went with us. We went to the Cameron Park Zoo. Emma had a good time and we got to see all the animals before it got too hot. I was very thankful for the air conditioned spots! They had a bunch of animals to see and would enjoy going back. After the zoo we went over to the Dr Pepper museum which was really cool. I just wish we would have been able to get a Dr Pepper at the end from the Soda fountain. Oh well, next time. We had lunch in Waco at George's. It was really good trip that only took half of the day!

Zoo Pictures

Emma's first trip to the Zoo.

Some things I have learned.

Emma turned 1 on June 30th and I thought that Josh and I have been doing a pretty good job with her. Here are a few things we have learned on the way.

1. If there is something in her way she will climb over it. Nothing can keep her contained.
2. When left in a just diaper to nap, she gives you great surprises when she awakes.
3. If you are taking a bath then she will want to get in with you no matter what and can remove her own diaper. See number 2.
4. There are no bathroom breaks by myself anymore. (Yes mom I can hear you laughing! Payback I know)
5. When teaching her the she should not do something by shaking your head no she will later just shake her head no when she doesn't want to do what you are suggesting.
6. It is not ok to hit Nana and Papa's tv, so she takes it out on the fake plant beside it.
7. Teaching her to say Nana has only given her the ability to let us know when we are in trouble.
8. Monkey see Monkey do. This is sometimes a good thing but not always.
9. Bananas end up in her hair and yours if not careful.
10. This is Emma's world. We just live in it.

South Dakota Trip

On Emma's real birthday Josh and I woke up at 7:22am (the time she came into this world) and left Oklahoma City and finished our drive to Wagner SD. She did very well in the car and was entertained by toys, Dada and me. We traveled up to SD with Tara, Peter and the kids. We stopped for lunch that day and Emma got to play on the play scape at McDonalds. She also had a few french fries. We arrived at Wagner at 7pm that night, and stayed at Josh's grandfathers house. Grandpa George has a very interesting and well maintained house. The outside is white, with blue shutters and red trim. The inside is a 2 bedroom, one bathroom, with finished attic, and unfinished basement. The attic is filled with beds for everyone and that is where everyone slept. On Wednesday we drove to Sioux Falls to see Josh's father, sisters, and brother and thier families. We had a great day at the park, butterfly house and eating out. Thursday was a prep day for the Suprise birthday party for George. Nancy was head chef and all of us hurried to help make all the preperations perfect. Friday was a little more of a relaxed day before the 90th birthday party. We all hung out at Granpa George's house, and that morning Emma shared a banana with him. It was very cute to see! The party began at 5pm, and was a very touching show of love for George. All of the kids and grandkids took turns telling stories and thier fond memories. To conclude the evening George gave a great speech, poem and song. I love that George sings all the time. He is very joyfull! That night we popped some firecrackers and took it easy. Saturday everyone was at Grandpa George's house for Fourth of July. Firecrackers were heard through the town and on the driveway. We were all kept busy by food, bocce ball, a family theme crossword made by Kelsey (Josh's cousin) and a new game I learned called Corn Hole. (Bean bag toss with corn filled bags). I was amazed at the amount of fire works that the family bought, and it made the best show I have ever seen. We enjoyed our time up in Wagner and wait anxiously to return.

Like I always tell Josh it's all about the little things in life that make you happy. I feel closer to the family I was finally able to meet, and feel I also learned a great deal about love this vacation. It is nice to have a door opened into people's child hood and share something special with them. I can understand why that is Josh's other Home.

Emma's Birthday Party

I am very pleased with the way Emma's birthday turned out on June 27th. I think I have been planning it since she was born! I am very happy all of my family and friends showed up to wish my little girl Happy Birthday! It was a big undertaking to have the party and then for us to leave to South Dakota. Here are a few of the photos from the party. Thank you again to all who came.It is no secret that she is very loved!

I heard it through the zip line

On May 23rd Josh and I went to Cypress Valley Ranch to go zip lining. It was for our 6th anniversary and we had a blast. We went with a big group of friends and went swimming and to eat afterward. Here are some of the photos!

1st post

So the past couple of weeks have been kinda crazy, Rockport vacation, graduating, and work never seems to slow down. Hanging in there with the help of Angie and the family. I have to start figuring out what to do next, either more school or different job.

Either way Angie is way too smart not to be in school. I told her yesterday that if she started now, she could probably beat me to a B.A. It only took me 7 years to get a 2 year degree. LOL! 

Emma is walking up a strom and getting faster. Still wobbly, but determined to get moving! She is so smart, It's not even funny. You can see her mind working all the time. We ate lunch today at Pok E Joes BBQ, and the whole time we were there she was turned around in her chair following people and watching them from the cash register to their table. Then when they got up to get a re-fill she her head would follow them the whole way over and back. She can high-five now and give raspberries on your arm or belly, and she tells everyone that comes by,"hhhhiiiiii!". The older people love it when we are in the grocery store and she talks to them. some times we have to just walk a way because they want to play with her for a long time. 

Life is good right now, no complaints! Hope everyone else is well too!

Josh Graduated

Thursday night at the Frank Erwin center we watched Josh graduate with his associates degree. We could not be more proud of him. He worked hard, and really put his heart into it. He is currently deciding what his next steps will be. No matter what he chooses we are behind him 100%.

Beach Photos

Went to the Beach

We went to the beach last weekend with my Mom and Dad, Wes, and Tanya. Heb has cabins in RockPort that are nice. We all arrived Friday afternoon and hung out. Then Sat. the guys went fishing and the girls went to Texas State Aquarium. I loved the Aquarium, it was really nice to see Emma get up close to different fish. She really seemed to enjoy it. My fave part was the dolphin exhibit. ( I can't wait to go again). Mom and dad left that night. Josh, Me, Emma, Wes, and Tanya went out to eat at The Big Fisherman. Tanya said the seafood was really good, the rest of us did not have seafoood. Our meals there were ok. Afterwards Josh took us on a journey to Port A for a 5 min break at the beach. We all left Sunday morning (Mother's Day). It was an enjoyable trip, but will have to do it again when it is a little cooler outside! Here are some of the pics from the weekend.

At our fav park

Introduction

I have decided to use this as an update for everyone in our family. As you may already know, Josh and I got married 5/24/03 at the Caswell house in Austin Tx. We have been residents of Austin for quite some time, and love the area. On Nov 11,2007 we found out that we were expecting our first child. It was a great early birthday present for Josh. On June 30th 2008 our little girl was born. Emma Hope Haar. She is a curious, funny, smart, beautiful little girl. My objective of this blog is to keep our family updated on the new things in our lives, and photos of us as we grow!