weekday traditions

as the weather gets more gorgeous by the day, a new weekday tradition has started in the murphy house. every day {pending weather cooperation!} we spread a huge blanket in the front yard and play outside for a bit before heading in for our evening routine.  

emma LOVES this. she explores our small front yard, snuggles with her folks, toddles around picking up pine cones, and tries to sneak nibbles of un-edible plantlife ;)

she's an adventurous little girl with a sense of curiosity that rivals the most inquisitive of kids.  i've pretty much gotten over her desire to play in the dirt and the leaves. hey, if playtime ends in bathtime, so be it....she's having TOO much fun to stop.  she is particularly in love with rolling around on the ground. i'm pretty sure she learned this from the dog!

we snuggle. and point at clouds. and feel the funny texture of fallen pine cones. and go off roading with daddy. when its outside fun, the possibilities are endless!

today little miss got a little treat that was actually MY way of distracting her from trying to eat leaves and acorns and sticks {again, i think she learned this from the dog!}.  we sat out front and played like usual but shared some yummy frozen yogurt bites. WAY more delicious than fallen leaves, right Emma? 

monday blues!

SOMEbody's got a case of the Mondays.....and it's not Emma.  I'm totally under the weather (again!!!!!) with some horrible GI bug that seems to be going around. Ryan was sick yesterday and I must have felt left out because now I'm feeling horrendous.  I left work early today and have been desperately trying to feel better all day.  Ryan got better quickly so i'm hoping i'll do the same!

Thankfully this is happening NOW as opposed to Friday when I was interviewing for a fellowship position in the Hematology/Oncology program here at UF.  I was given the opportunity to interview with some really bright, fun, and interesting individuals who I would love to get the chance to work with after residency.  It wasn't a particularly stressful day but it IS tough just being ON all day.  I'll find out in June....a long painful wait!

We had a fun weekend with the beanie!  Ryan got some very important work done on our master bedroom renovation and Emma and I headed out to my parents.  We played and played till we couldn't play anymore!  It's insane to me that she literally JUST started walking for the first time early last week and now its like she's been walking for months.  It's all she wants to do and she is so proud of herself.  There is no rest for the weary, let me tell you. Protecting her from herself is a full time job :)

Speaking of rest for the weary, time for me to assume my position on the couch.....gatorade is my new best friend!

keep it simple

i'm full & happy in my heart today. and everyday. and this is why...

...we'll just leave it at that for today :)

my funny valentines :)

i love my TWO valentines more than words could ever describe.  pictures are worth a thousand words :)

her big baby blues and long girlish lashes.....boys, watch out. her daddy's got his eyes on you!

her post wake up snuggles that i wish could last forever.....

her belly laughs that turn the whole room upside down.....

there's something about about ryan and his baby girl that makes me fall in love all over again every time i see them together.

in corner one, weighing in at 220lb......DADDY MURPHY!!!!!!!!! in corner two, weighing in at 25lb.....EMMA CLAIRE!!!!!!!!

oh! oh! the games begin.....daddy murphy takes one for the team!!!

a swift kick to the face! THAT'S gotta hurt!!!

....and ONE.....TWO......THREE!!!!!

emma claire....champion!!

ok now THAT was pretty dorky {gotta love it!}.  but seriously, watching the two of them together, playing and wrestling, and laughing like there's no one else in the world......swoon!  

hope everyone is having a very happy heart day!

spring preview

i know it's only february but i swear spring started to peek through today. it was one of those GORGEOUS gainesville days.  sea blue sky without a cloud in site.  it started out chilly but the sun slowly warmed things up and made me ache for the springtime.  after a week of yucky rainy cold that had me wearing my wellies in just about every day....today was a reminder of what is to come in just a few short weeks!  sunny, sparkly, make you want to be outside all day weather.  just talking about it makes me kind of giddy. i'm a nerd and i accept that ;)



even my little camelias were excited about the change and are starting to bloom and punctuate our yard with just a little touch of pink.  soon the azaleas and the tea olive will follow and i'll be in heaven.

i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. we spent the final portions of ours celebrating Mimi's birthday {Ryan's mom}.  emma was introduced to some new toys and was all joyous giggles pretty much the whole day through.  i don't know what we did to deserve such a happy girl in our lives but her attitude is contagious!! 

love is in the air

TGIF, y'all!  i hope everyone has fun weekend plans.  at present, i'm curled up on the couch with my sweetie listening to the crackle of a warm fire.....my perfect friday night :)  i have to work tomorrow which is no fun but we're making up for it right now.  

i found some awesome valentines templates on one of my favorite sites {florabella} and used one of them to make this years valentines cards.  i know plenty of people view valentines as a silly hallmark holiday but i LOVE it. what's not to love about love??? i don't think our expression of love should be solely saved for February 14th but i'm pretty giddy about the extra outpourings of emotions that fill the day. and the chocolate....who can complain about that?

here is our 2011 valentine's card. featuring the one thing we love MOST!

will walk for flowers!

armed with a visit from aunt elisa and a beautiful bouquet of valentine's flowers....emma did the unthinkable today!!

just shy of her 13 monthday, our little munchkin is WALKING! especially lured by the pretty flowers and their soft petals she toddled back and forth between elisa and i.  it was the perfect way to end the day and was so fun and special to get to share it with my best friend!!

daddy got it on video and it wasn't 10 seconds before that video was sent to emma's biggest fans.  perhaps the cutest thing of all is just how proud she is.  claps! squeals! funny faces!!  

bye bye little baby. hello big girl!!! :)

we're back!

hi blog. i've missed you so.

what a month i've just had! january was, in a word, crazy...and not necessarily in a good way.  my rotation was very stressful and really took a toll on me in a way that i can't quite describe.  my good friends thought that it was because of the subject matter....caring for sick cancer patients CAN be depressing in moments but i aspire to BE an oncologist when i grow up so that part wasn't what was so difficult.  {for me, there is so much beauty in caring for people in their final moments or in the face of terminal illness that i feel honored to be a part of and gives me purpose and peace in my own life}. there were just tons of tiny things, most of them having to do with the medical system and some of the people i was forced to work with that, as i mentioned before, on their own would have just been a quick annoyance....but taken all together, over the span of an entire month were just overwhelming. my body suffered for it, my heart suffered for it, and i was working on average 14 hours a day.  that meant that there was NO time for the people and things in which i find solace after a long hard day.....

and then emma got sick. and then ryan and i got sick.  i think you get the picture.

just like everything in life though, there was a silver lining. i made new friends, bonded together by a difficult month.  i got the chance to care, once again, for a patient whom i know well having cared for him many times before.  he is young, 31 {i'm 28!}, and has widely metastatic cancer. he is actively dying and i fear the time is coming soon.  i spent my final hours on the rotation sitting with him, praying with him, and talking about his fears of death. he thanked me for the simple things...keeping him company, not being afraid to visit {i think people are particularly afraid of young people dying}, and just always being honest about what was going on.  we talked about his wife and how grateful he was for her support and how he worried how his death would effect her.  finally, we said goodbye.  we each looked at one another and said "see you soon!". but the moment was saturated with the understanding that we probably would not.  i left his room, rounded the corner, and the tears flowed...

it sounds horrible. but i was grateful for that moment. it meant alot to me. and it reminded me, yet again, that even after a long hard month, this job couldn't be a better fit.  

now i'm in recovery mode! and i'll be honest, its going to take a little bit!  but....i'm so excited to be back.  i've spent the last couple of days just soaking up my lovies. i've made it to the gym more in the past week than i have in the past 3 months, i'm planning therapy sessions in the form of crafts and cooking and can't wait to share them with you :)

for now, here are some update pics of the bean.  she is just such a burst of joy! her personality keeps us in stitches and i LOVE listening to her new words. she loves her "deda" {our dog, deja} and says "oh wow!" when she gets excited.  she knows "ball", "milk", "uh oh"....and unfortunately for us, has learned "no" as she vigorously shakes her head! what a little love. who loves to talk. and melts my heart.