Monday, August 31, 2009

Fabulous at 50!






Brandie, Ray, and Emma would like for everyone to help Mom celebrate her 50th birthday today! We had a surprise party for her on Saturday and everyone had a wonderful time. She doesn't look a day over 21, which makes people wonder how she could have a 32 year old son! So, on this day we would like to honor you mom, the most supportive, loving, caring, wonderful role model we could have ever asked for!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Nap Time


Now that Emma is 6 weeks old she is starting to sleep better. Emma slept 100% in her pack and play sleeper last night! She does prefer to have body contact and the sensation of being held. We believe she feels more secure and comforted by body contact, but she is getting used to sleeping in her pack and play so we are getting a bit better quality of sleep now.


Emma loves lounging in the recliners. Ray will be buying her one of her own once she gets a bit bigger. We will place in between the two of ours so that she can watch t.v. with us. We will also be looking for her a mini t.v. tray so that when we want to eat and watch a movie we can do it together as a family.

Emma with the Burnhams


August 15th my brother and his family came to visit Emma for the very 1st time. Emma is being held by her cousin Kaleb and that is her Uncle Shannon making sure his "mini me" has a real secure hold for pictures.


Emma is being feed by my brother Shannon and sitting on the couch with him is his son Blake and his brother Dustin.


Emma is being fed by Heather, she is Shannon's wife.


The Burnham boys and Emma. Emma is staring up at Blake, and Kaleb is trying hard not to laugh.


Emma loved being held by her Uncle Shannon and enjoyed all the attention from her cousins. We hope to make a trip to their house when she is older so she can explore the woods with the Burnham boys!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

1 Month Old






Where does the time go? I have had friends and family tell me to really embrace this time and try to make as many mental snap shots as possible because before I know it, I will be looking back wondering how she got so big so fast.

Over the past couple of days as I hold my daughter, I feel the slight difference in her weight. I notice that her cheeks are getting fuller and that she stays focused on objects longer. Emma is now really enjoying her baths and has established her own routine.

Today marks Emma being 1 month old and I feel like time is flying by as it did in my pregnancy. With each day that passes it is one day closer that I will have to part with her to go back to work and just thinking about it makes me want to cry. I know also that with each day there will be something new for me to discover with my daughter or a new perspective that I will develop by seeing the world through my daughter's eyes.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

8 is Great

I love the number 8!! I was born on the 8th, my favorite number is 8, my favorite birthday was my 8th birthday, the year 2008 was declared my year "by me of course" and I started dating Ray on the 8th day of the 8th month.

Today marks 8 years of a blissfully happy marriage for us and this anniversary more than any other means so much more because we are a family now that Emma is in our lives. Ray and I would have been married on the 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year to mark our dating anniversary and just have one day to celebrate, but our family pointed out the 8th was a Wednesday and if we wanted to have people in attendance we might want to have it on a Saturday. So now every year we are lucky to get to celebrate both August 8 for how long we have been together and August 11 for when we were married.

We will be marking this anniversary with pictures of Emma and us. Ray had planned a very special day for us to spend together as a family. The morning started with us taking our princess to get her newborn pictures taken. We should get those back on Thursday, and we will be sure to share our favorites with all of you. After that, we went to Jack in the Box for our lunch. This is a tradition we have, since we stopped there on the way to our hotel the night of our wedding to eat since we didn't have much time to do so at our wedding reception. The next few hours we did some necessary errands, such as get our wills notarized and stored in our safe deposit box. We also got customized Texas A&M license plates for our vehicles! I received some roses from Ray on the 8th for our dating anniversary:

And today I received this beautiful arrangement!

The remainder of our day was supposed to be a picnic on campus at A&M, but Emma was running a slight temperature, so we decided to stay home and have the picnic in our living room. We had finger sandwiches, rice krispie treats, fresh strawberries, and homemade brownies. It was a great way to finish off a wonderful day spent celebrating our love and family!

Monday, August 10, 2009

4 Weeks Old

This adventure of parenthood has been all that we have expected and so much more. In each moment that we get to hold, love, nurture, and comfort Emma, we feel blessed to be her parents. We look forward to all the detours, turns, and roller coaster activity there is yet to come as we guide our daughter through her path in life.

Today some very good friends came by to meet Emma and helped us celebrate Emma being 4 weeks old. Laura and BJ have been good friends to Ray and I for over two years and now they are extending that friendship to our daughter.

The 2 newest members of the babysitters club! BJ and Laura have been gracious and volunteered to watch Emma whenever Ray and I need a little adult time. We would love to see a movie!! : )

It's been decided that BJ will go with Ray to the wrestling events while the ladies go to brunch at Madden's for some special girl time.

A Little Note of Thanks


Ray, Emma, and I would like to thank Mildred and her Mom for some really cute burp cloths. This gift is another wonderful example of how thoughtful and giving Mildred has been towards us throughout our pregnancy and now with Emma being here she continues to think of us.

These are all very beautiful and unique to our little girl. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!



P. S. I hope to get lessons so I can make these one day!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

16 Years of Love, Laughter, and Growing Together


Today marks 16 years that Ray and I have been together. If you look at the number of years that we have been together, that is more than half of my life span and exactly half of Rays life. I look forward to many more years together.


Ray and I met when my family moved back to Texas once again from Louisiana. Being 12 years old at this time I did not want to move, I was tired of moving even if it was to a town that I had lived in 3 other times during my childhood. Now that I look back and reflect, it had to take this last and final move back to Texas for me to meet that man God designed just for me. I find it fascinating that Ray and I lived in the same town off and on for the majority of my childhood and I never once crossed his path. We always lived on the opposite sides of town until that day in June when the Housleys moved two doors down on the same side of the street the Pheris family lived on.


Once word spread that new people just moved in down the street the curiosity spread like wildfire, but what really drew people to the house is that in this neighborhood boys ran rampant and girls were scare. Well, with my family, five new girls just moved in and boys would drop by to see or talk to my brother, but really they were there to check out the Housley girls and this is how I meet Ray.


The first time I meet Ray I can honestly say that I had no idea I would be in this wonderful place in my life now. If someone would have told me that day that I would be with this one person for the rest of my life I would have laughed... but here I am 16 years later with the man that I adore in so many ways, holding the greatest example of the love and dedication that we have for each other, I am holding our daughter Emma!

So, to my husband, I love you, I adore you, and I look forward to many more years of love, laughter, and growing together in all areas of our lives.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Emma's First Visit to Baytown

I always say that you can find something positive in any situation, be it personal growth or some insight that will help you later in life. This past weekend brought the Pheris family some sad news with the passing of Ray's Uncle Bill Chesser. Ray was a part of the service that honored his uncle on Wednesday, so we all went into Baytown. Due to Emma being only 3 weeks old her doctors do not want her around many people at one time, but while in Baytown she did get to meet two of her aunts, 1 of her uncles, and a cousin.

Emma being held by her Great Aunt Trish, she is Sharon's older sister.

Emma being held by Aunt Lulu and standing next to them is her cousin Zoii, Lulu is my sister and Zoii is Lulu's daughter.

Poppa holding Emma at his house for the 1st time. Poppa has been working hard getting her room ready for when we come to visit.

Daddy holding Emma in the house he grew up in as a kid, I think him being able to share his childhood home with his daughter is something extra special that the two of them will bond over during the years to come.
Emma being held by Uncle Eric, he is Ray's only brother and sibling.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Sleeping Beauty

Emma taking a nap in her swing, dressed all in pink, and no this was not planned.


Emma taking a much needed break from all the attention. This cute outfit only lasted with one wear. She is already to long for it now.


Emma with arms wide open, embracing her nap, she is so unaware that Mommy needs to make the bed.


Ready for summer, but just to tired to enjoy splashing in the pool just yet!


Need I say more.....

3 Weeks Old

One of Emma's favorite things is her swing, she loves to relax and listen to the music and watch the light as she swings. Memaw did a great job with purchasing this for Emma.

Emma is getting used to being the center of attention as the adults around her act like the out of control paparazzi that the super stars talk about. Now, whenever a bright light flashes she can sleep through it and it no longer bothers her.

Emma being held by her Godmother Cesily on her last day of visiting. We were blessed that Cesily could come and stay with us for a couple of days. Cesily was a tremendous help to us during her stay and she was able to get in some quality bonding time with Emma. I'm sure the next visit is just around the corner!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Daddy Feeding Emma

Rays very 1st time feeding Emma! This is the day that we came home from the hospital. June 16th, I was sick all that day so we had to supplement some formula for the very first time, but it gave Daddy a great bonding experience with his little girl.


This is Ray feeding Emma yesterday after he had gotten stung by a wasp outside trying to deal with the sprinklers. Ray feeds Emma as much as possible to get that extra special bonding time with her. Now that Ray is back at work, more than ever this is such a precious time for the two of them to spend together. All the literature says that some of the best bonding time between father and child is a feedings and bath time, so we promote this as much as possible and Ray loves it!!


Emma with her Godmother

Cesily came into town to spend some quality time with Emma. As you can see in this picture Reggie was demanding his share of the attention from Cesily.


Cesily holding Emma after she has been feed and now content to just sleep in her arms. Emma is enjoying her time with her Godmother and looks forward to many more visits!