There you stand in your Dungarees

I have an eternity with Mr. Murphy.  

I like to dream about what it is going to be like.

This song evokes so many emotions for us. 

It takes you through the life of a young husband and wife and then the years pass them by and when they are old they realized that they never had the time to dream.

What are our dreams?  

What do we do to really accomplish them?

Not to be totally sappy here, but a few weeks ago Mr. Murphy took me on a date to go put-put golfing in 30 degree weather and then we went to go see Tangled.  If you haven't seen it yet, go now.  Close your computer, put on some pants (because i'm sure you're not wearing pants), grab your keys, and go.

Flynn Rider said something to Rapunzel that I will never forget.  She had a dream her whole life to see the lanterns rise in the sky and when she was right on the edge of fulfilling that dream she said this:

Rapunzel: I've been looking out of a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what I might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?

Flynn Rider: It will be.

Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?

Flynn Rider: Well,that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.

Brilliant right?

I hope we are always searching for new dreams and trying our best to see them through.

We are living our dream right this very second. 

It is everything we hoped it would be. 

How sweet it is.

Look what I did!

I have finally found freedom. 

I can not believe that I, Rachel Murphy, hold a college degree.  Is it really over?  

I keep having a small fear creep up from the pit of my stomach that GSU will contact me and say that I still have to take something like Basket Weaving, or Women's Studies.

*SHUDDER*

I am done. Completely and wonderfully done. 

As I sit here and contemplate the last five years (yes five...i'm a little slow) I am filled with so many emotions.

It feels good and I am proud. 

Especially with this hunk by my side.

I was asked to sing the Alma Mater at my graduation.  

This was a pretty big deal because my graduating class was 2,500 students and the crowd that day was expected to be 

15,000 people.

Yeah.  

That may have been the largest group I have ever sung for.

Graduation was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.  It is where the pro football team, The Falcons, play.  The only thing missing was a face microphone and I would have felt like I was Britney Spears singing at the half time show for the super bowl. Minus all the overt trashiness of course.  I wanted to break out in a Ludacris song when I was standing on the 50 yard line...maybe I did.

My favorite memory from the whole day was when they asked all of the graduate's parents to stand. I had located my family with no problem, even in the crowd of 15,000, because of my mother's glorious and glowing white hair.  

When they asked the parents to stand to be congratulated for all of the hard work they had done as well, I saw my parents high five each other from a distance. They are so cool.  

I think out of everyone there, they were the most happy and proud parents.  I am so lucky to have had them to be my rocks as I went though college.

So, what now?

I am overjoyed about being able to dig in to what being a wife is really all about.

I am going to cook meals and actually do our laundry now.  

My poor husband has had to suffer more than anyone could possibly know because of my lack of devotion to our dirty clothes.  He never even complained about it once.

I am going to have FHE every Monday.

I am going to read for fun.

I am going to keep a clean home.

I am going to read my scriptures more.

I am going to make healthier choices.

I am going to compete.

I am going to perform.

I am going to teach piano and voice.

I am going to use my degree.

I am going to be a singer.

There's No Place Like Home...

...for the Holidays.

I heard that song approximately 100 times this Christmas season.  Do you ever find that there is that one special song that seems to be on the radio every time you turn it on during Christmas?

This year "Home for the Holidays" was it.

It embodied how I felt this year.

Being in my parents home this year was especially magical.

It was my first Christmas as a married woman

AND

it was my first white Christmas.

Talk about overwhelming.

Matching footie pajamas equal real love.  

We danced around in our monkey feet all morning.

The snow was glorious. I have always wanted a white Christmas.  The fact that I got to experience my first one with my husband was something I will never forget.

John pummeled me in my stomach with a well packed snowball.  

I took it like a champ.

My sister and I posing splendidly on the stairs, just like every other Christmas...ever.

Remember when (this) happened?  Its wonderful how something can fill the hole in your heart right back up with love.  This is Pippi and she is our new love.  We still miss Honey and she will always live in our hearts.

There was sledding and snowball fights.  Well...for my hubs anyway.  I tried to sled but kept falling on my butt.

The day after Christmas Dad made us his famous breakfast.  

Yum.

Yum.

Delicious buttery, cheesy, crap now I can't fit in any of my pants yum.

All hand strung by yours truly.

NOW...for an A.D.D. string of thoughts:

May I suggest laying under the Christmas tree and looking through the limbs?  

I got a Kindle this year and I have no idea what to read.  I have never been a good reader but now that I am graduated, I am going to be allowed to read FOR FUN!!! What is that going to be like? 

What to read...what to read...

Merry Christmas to everyone...now to loose all of this Holiday weight. I don't recognize my own face.

i miss blogging.

Oh my.  It's been a while huh?

We just want to say...

There is so much to share over the next few posts.  

Life has been so good to us lately and also pretty busy.  

We are as happy as ever and pray that each of you have the loveliest of Christmases.  

We hope it is full of family, peace, and love for our Savior Jesus Christ.

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas.  

We love you.

A Bun in a Hot Place

It's finals week.

Stress and anxiety levels are at an all time high.

I may or may not have had random silly crying spells yesterday.

I am expected to graduate in exactly a week.  

If I pass my piano profficiency.   

Ick.

Then...precious freedom and a lot of unknowns.

So, tonight in between me writing a paper for Psychology and studying for Psychology and Mr. Murphy slaving away over his French final we decided WE NEEDED A BREAK!

Enough was enough, our brains had had it and it was time for some sweet sweet music making.  

It is the 2nd best kind of therapy out there.

So, we dressed ourselves and scrubbed off the study grunge and made ourselves look presentable to record a happy song.

Here is our original cover of Iron and Wine's "Such Great Heights" debuting Mr. Murphy's birthday gift.

So, why don't you take a break from what ever hot situation you are in and treat yourself to a little procrastination by yours truly and her honey bun.  

It can be good for the soul ya know?

I want to thank (this lady) for the inspiration for the Audrey Hepburn meets Carrie Bradshaw

BUN!

The light at the end of that long, sad, dark, depressing, lonely tunnel is near.

I can't wait to wear that funny square shaped hat and bask in the glory of 5 1/2 college years.

Now...back to the grindstone.

Family Tree

One of my very favorite Christmas sights are trees piled a-top cars tied with string.

I love imagining how happy that tree must be because it is going home to a place to fulfill the reason it was created.  I love thinking that it feels beautiful adorned with lights and ornaments.

Christmas trees really are a magical thing.  

The evergreen tree reminds us of life and that Christ lived for us and with Him He brought the possibility of everlasting life.  How grateful I am for His birth and for His life.  

I love this time of year to reflect on my love for my Savior.

So, today as a family we went to get our Christmas tree.

(Thank you Pia for my lovely German scarf!)

Daddy found it! 

Our family has a house up in the western mountains of North Carolina.  

My father grew up in the house, my grandmother grew up in the house, my Great Grandmother and her husband lived in the house, and my great-great grandparents Zeb and Rachel Cathey (the woman I was named after) built the home.  Needless to say, North Carolina is a special place to us.

Our family tradition is to go to NC, stay in our old family home, wake up early, and go to the Nesbitt Christmas tree farm.  We hike a mountain and search and search and then cut down our own tree.  Dad gets mad as he struggles to cut down our (normally 8 or 9 foot) tree.  Then we all blissfully drive home with our little piece of North Carolina.

This year, my father had surgery and we were not able to make the trip because of his health.  But something wonderful happened when we went to go pick out our tree.

We asked where the trees were from and the man said, "North Carolina."

Perfect.

Merry Christmas.

Rap-ra

Have you heard the latest and greatest in musical advancements?

Oh, you haven't?  

Well here is a breath of fresh air for you.

It's called RAP-RA.

Its a lovely blend of rap and opera.

You heard right...opera.  I do that stuff.

About a year ago 3 of my genius friends and I crafted this lovely ditty with the help of Garage Band, a Mac, and lots of whit and gangsta love.  

Be warned...this song is about bootys.

We "primiered" it at a costume/surprise birthday party.  The party was for moi.  I have the best friends. 
I really miss these times.
And people.

Mr. Murphy and I didn't even know each other at this point!

My dear friends and I dressed up as each other.  It was all very confusing.

I was Jamie

Jamie was Lisa

Lisa was Belen

Belen was me

Get it? Got it? Good.


Here is us pre-dress up...

(do I look like I have one leg?)

Here we are at the Booty Do premiere.

Get ready to be rocked by Booty Do...

Lisa is now in Finland serving a mission...I miss this lady.
4 more months and she is home sweet america home.

So, how did you like Booty Do?  

Apparently its pretty catchy, its my nieces first song request every time we see them! 

I hope it will be stuck in your head all day now.

Calm it down, calm it down, calm it down....

Dremes do come true

Traditions.  

We all have them.  

Especially around this time of year.

In my family we have always written letters to Santa and my parents have kept them in an old tin can.  Every year I love going back to the old can and reading all of my letters from childhood.

This year since I am now an old married lady, my mother thought I was responsible enough to have my tin can.

When I brought it home John and I decided to read through all of my old letters.  We also came across some old Santa pictures.

Every Christmas I read the letters.

And every Christmas I can't believe the things I used to ask for.

John and I had so much fun reading through these.  Of course he laughed at all of the silly things I asked for as a little girl.

  Here is one of my first Santa letters.  I didn't even know how to write so Daddy wrote it for me.  Apparently I didn't know how to speak well either...

Then we got to a set where I asked for the same thing...

3 years in a row.

The board game Dream Phone.  

Oh, how I remember it.  I wanted that game so badly.  How I longed to know who my secret crush was.  I coveted that huge hot pink telephone with the voice on the other end whispering clues to me about my crush.  

The first year I asked for it...it didn't come.

(Would you like a few translation tips for this letter? I believe "brieb" means barbie.  Prisaess= princess...

dreme= dream.  

Believe it or not I won 3rd place in my spelling bee in 3rd grade.)

The second year I asked for it...Santa let me down again. At least I learned how to spell dream.  Also apparently I had a thing for ying-yangs that year.

The third year I asked for it...nothing, again.  My little girl heart was broken.  I gave up.  I grew up. And soon the desire for a fake pink phone grew in to the desire for a real cell phone.

After John and I finished reading through the letters I placed my childhood desires carefully back in to that old tin can.  I sealed up the can and rested it in my box of old Christmas things.

Two nights ago after I got off of work, I drove to my parents house to see the Christmas decorations my mother and sister put up while John and I were in Colorado.  John decided to drive from work and meet me out there.  We spent the evening catching up and meeting the new puppy that momma got.

When the night was drawing to a close John said, "Santa Claus came to visit my office today and he left something for you.  He wants me to give it to you now"

I asked him if "Santa Claus" just wanted to wait to give me the gift on Christmas day.  

He said, "No, Santa thinks you have waited long enough for this gift."

He went out to the car and brought back an embarrassingly large brown box.  I had NO idea what it could possibly be.  I am always amazed at John's ability to give the most perfect of presents.  As I struggled with a butter knife to open this mystery gift my eyes caught a glimpse of the contents inside.  

I was speechless.

Seriously, did I marry the most thoughtful person in the world? It was so heartfelt and I sincerely felt emotional about it.  I couldn't believe that after years of  longing for this silly game as a child, it finally was mine.  It was almost as if a portion of my childhood came back to me.  I felt giddy, happy, and nostalgic as I cradled this lovely gift in my arms.

So, now I am going to have all the fun that I can with this amazing game.

Dremes do come true.

By the way, the hot pink phone whispered to me, "John Murphy has a crush on you."

My goal in life is to never grow up but to have stellar wrinkles when I am an old woman.  Let's be children for forever.

six.

Today we have been married for 6 beautiful months.

Marriage is easy and perfect.  I'm not kidding.

It is so much more than we ever hoped it would be. 

It continues to surprise us with its sweet hidden gems that we keep discovering. 

We have had countless times when we just look at each other and stop what we are doing and  squeal with excitement that we are actually married.

This Thanksgiving it is obvious that we were full of so much gratitude for our new marriage.

*sorry for the graphic nature of this kiss

We start the trek home from Colorado today.  

We had such an incredible time with all of our family and have many lovely pictures and memories to savor. 

We will be spending our six month anniversary in the car holding hands and reminiscing about our favorite parts about the trip.

Thank You Anonymous

Remember how I said I was going to spend my Thanksgiving vacay doing makeovers on my perfectly beautiful twin nieces?

It happened.

And it happened big.

Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?

Want to know the kicker? They are 8. Not 18.

Autumn and Jadalyn are life size Barbie dolls.

Yesterday on (this)post I got an interesting anonymous comment.

 

So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. 

 

Makeovers-check.

Tutorial-check.

 

Dear Anonymous,

Here is your tutorial.  I love my nieces and they were the perfect models.  Even though they are wee little ones, hopefully you can still apply the techniques to your beautiful face.  

Love,

Rachel, Autumn, and Jadalyn

Jady's finished product.

Auty's finished product.

Their make-up artist:

Sisters.  

They know when to be the hams and they know when to be serious.

We are in love.  My heart hurts to leave them in 3 days.  Maybe we will just move to Walsh.  I could have a pretty busy opera career here in Walsh, right?  Right guys? 

I'm off to bake Thanksgiving desserts with my sister (in-law).  Ahhhhhh, family is so precious.