girl club

I was never a guy kind of girl. I never had a lot of guy friend much less boyfriends.  In fact I was surprised when I found a guy who even thought I was cool enough to marry. I loved having my group of ladies and I was fine.  So to be totally honest I'm so scared to have a baby boy.  Some days it still doesn't even feel real.  When we found out that we were having a girl the first time I felt comfortable and confident.  I grew up in a very tight knit group of women so I feel like I just get the girl stuff and I enjoy it!  I knew it would be easy to connect with Evaleigh and our bond was immediate.  

I am nervous that it won't be the same with A.M.M.  I wonder if he'll even think I'm cool. I hope I can learn to get excited about trucks and bugs and dirt.  I am intimidated by boys and even though I am growing this tiny one in my womb, he already scares me a little.  I suppose that a part of me feels like a lot of what I've learned about being a mother to Evaleigh can just be thrown out the window.  Having a boy seems like completely new territory.  I hope he will like me and that we will be friends like my little EJ and I are.  I'm sure after he joins our family I will wonder how I ever lived without Legos and matchbox cars on my floor.  I'm excited about seeing John with a son.  Just watching his excitement when we talk about him is enough to calm my nerves.  But until he comes I am going to enjoy my last bit of time with my Evie and everything girl.

Photos by my fantastic and talented friend Katie.//http://katiebellephotography.com/

husbandless

and fatherless...

It's been just us girls for about a week now. Mr. Murphy has been gone to youth conference and then he went down to the ranch in Florida with 3 of his Young Men from church to work with his dad.

I miss playing music with him and his kisses. I am really looking forward to him coming back home in two days. Im ever more impressed with women who have to go long periods of time without their men. This teensy break has made me respect you all so much more.

Hurry home a-da, we miss you!

a baby shower brunch

On Saturday a few girls from my church, my sister, and mother got together and threw me and Miss Evaleigh a baby shower.  It was so much fun and it meant so much to me to be supported by all of these special ladies in my life, many of which have known me and my sister since we were pre-teens.  I am in awe of their generosity and creativity!

It was a lovely brunch filled with REAL life baby advice, birthing stories, and lots of laughter.

(i love that this glass jar says "Prego".  quite fitting for a baby shower don't cha think?)

The menu included:

Creamy Dreamy Grits Flying Biscuit Style

Breakfast Casserole

Susan Biscuits

Fresh Fruit

and

Waffle Skewers

She sure is!  

And we are more ready than ever...bring on that little girl so we can change her outfits 30 times a day.  Goodness knows we now have enough clothes to swing something like that!

Thank you so much to everyone who made it a perfect day.

the name.

We have officially decided on the name for our daughter.

We wanted to name her after both of our mothers.

My mother is Evelyn and John's mother is Shelley.

We combined their names and Evaleigh was the result.

Even though we didn't keep the original spellings in tact, we were able to keep the sounds of the names.

EJ's middle name is Joy after John's grandmother Joy Murphy.

We will call her EJ for short.

I love how sentimental her name is.  She will come from a long line of strong and magnificent women.  I am so proud she is joining us.

My sister and I were snuggled up in my bed together the other night and she said to me, "I can't believe this little person has a name and an identity.  She will always be apart of our lives now."

I couldn't agree more and I wouldn't have it any other way.  

I am amazed that out of love can come another life...

It's a.......

Yesterday was magical to say the least.

We found out that we  are going to be parents to a daughter.

We are completely overwhelmed with JOY.

I will never forget the moment that Shannon, the ultrasound tech, said, "Alright Mom and Dad, are you ready to know what your child is?"  Then, "It's a girl" popped up on to the screen and I began to cry.  I looked over at my sweet John and he was smiling ear to ear.

We left with the biggest grins on our faces.  My cheeks hurt like it was our wedding day all over again, I couldn't contain my joy.

We made dozens of phone calls and sent texts and spread the news of our daughter.  She is already loved by so many people. The blessings that we are receiving through her are amazing.

I went to work and taught for 4 hours and could hardly concentrate I was on a high from the whole day.

When I came home my mother and sister surprised me and John with a beautiful dinner complete with everything pink! My mother set the table with a full vase of pink gladiolas.  We sipped on Raspberry Gingerale and talked about our new little person who will be joining our family in just a short time.

My sister used the linens that came from the old Oat House on The Murphy Ranch.  My MIL Kathy gave them to me last time we were down there.  They must have been 30 to 40 years old and in beautiful condition.  They were all pressed and ironed as perfectly as can be, my guess is that Granny Joy got a hold of them one day.  I can't wait to use them for parties and in my home someday.

Our little girl is coming to join us in January! We cannot agree on how to spell her name so for now we will call her Baby EJ.  I can't wait to kiss all of her fingers and toes.

I needed this today.

Today I found something that touched my soul.

First let me say:

I am a daughter of God.  

He loves me so much.

I am beautiful.

I am talented.

I am full of worth.

I am full of potential.

I am full of purpose.

These truths were not always something that I could easily say.  I have always known that I was a daughter of God but I wasn't always so sure of His love for me.  So often I have thought to myself, "There are so many people in the world.  How can He care about me?  I'm just a number, just another face in the crowd.  I am just one little person.  I don't matter."  

I can't believe how terribly wrong I was.

I was created to feel joy.

I was created to live a happy and full life.

I was made to be a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife and someday a mother.

I am here to learn and grow.

I am here to share my knowledge that I know that we are all children of God.

I cannot wait until the day that I will look in to His face and cry tears of gratitude for the love and blessings that I have received from Him.

I had never heard this song until today but it has reminded me of what is most important.

Heart and Soul

I spent Saturday here...

with them...

i have pearls on my shirt. this makes me happy.

(i'm not so secretly jealous of her long gorgeous hair. i'm so tired of looking like a colonial soldier with my short ponytail.)

The tender mercy happened after our 3 and 1/2 hour journey to the Columbia, South Carolina temple. (i CAN'T WAIT for the Atlanta Temple to open back up soon so that we can have a temple closer) When we got to the temple I ran in to an old friend in the temple.  We had been in the Hillard North Carolina Singles Ward together and she was GETTING MARRIED that very day!  

So, she invited my sister and I to come to her marriage sealing.  Turns out she married a boy that my sister and I were in PRIMARY with! So, we got to see so many people that we knew when we were little kids!  It was great.  I saw my old bishop and his wife.  That felt good.  She was like a mama to me when I lived in Charlotte.  We also saw Nina Hemby, an old family friend.  It felt like a family reunion in there.  

I wonder if thats how heaven is going to be,  seeing people you didn't even remember how much you loved and missed, but then instantly feeling those ties of love again?

Tyra and Cameron were BEAMING.  Their sealing ceremony was so special and an incredible spirit was in that room.  They looked so happy and I was reminded of when I was sealed to my husband for time and all of eternity.  

How grateful am I for that sacred blessing.  I can feel the power of that phenomenal binding tie.

Then one of the best parts was when I got to see this girl.  She was also there for Tyra's wedding.  Jamie is my soul friend.  I was in North Carolina when she was learning about the Mormon Church.  We became close very quickly and I went to a few of her lessons with the missionaries.  She was so ready to accept the gospel and was baptized last summer. I sang at her baptism.  We were instant friends.  We stayed up late playing volleyball at church.  We went to playgrounds late at night with our friends and we pushed each other around in old grocery carts.  We shared deep feelings and many of the same struggles. I love her dearly and cant WAIT for her marriage to Jay in December in the Raleigh Temple!

It was a very special day and I can't help but to feel that we were there for several very special reasons.  I missed my John who was yet again at his Saturday interpreters course.  But when we came home he, mom, and I went to Honey Camp and he serenaded us by the fire.

Dear Weekend,

I love you, I wish you'd come around more often.  This weekend was perfect.  I really loved camping, being with my mom for her birthday, making breakfast for lunch with my sister and her husband and John today, and going to the temple on Saturday.  Hey, thanks for being so fun.  See you in 5 more days.

Love, The Murphys

Mum picked Mums by the Moonlight

My mother is a trickster.

My mother, sister, and I had planned on going camping at Fort Yargo last night for my mother's birthday.   When I was on my way my mother called and said, "I forgot the foil dinners at home could you run by and pick them up before you come to the camp ground?"  The exact same phone call was placed minutes before to my sister who was also on her way. Hmmm...tricky tricky.

As I arrived to our 10 acre farm, I feared that our woods had caught on fire! The closer I got the more I realized...tiki torches lined the path back to our creek down the hill.  It looked like a glorified episode of Survivor.  My mother had set up camp right there in our woods.  It was glorious.  We had a campout in our very own backyard.  My mother had spent the day raking and putting up tents and building bridges across our creek.  It was beautiful and it was ours.

We called it (Honey Camp)

We spent the night reading stories from our favorite childhood book.  The Adventures of Mabel by Harry Thurston Peck.  This is another one of the many wonderfully thoughtful gifts that I received from my husband on my birthday.  I had mentioned to him in passing ONCE that The Adventures of Mabel was a book I read when I was a little girl.  I was sad I didn't have a copy because my sister got the copy of the book that was read to us when we were small.  He found it online for me as a used book.  I love it.  The first night he gave it to me, I cried and we laid on the floor and I read him a story about Mabel.

 our foil dinners:

carrots

potatoes

sliced onions

cubed steaks

salt

pepper

a splash of italian dressing

fresh basil

garlic

put in tin foil (wrap twice)

oven 350 for an hour

*then you sneak it out to the campfire and trick your children in to thinking it was cooked on a campfire grill.

They said I looked like Aunt Jemima...

No camp-out is complete without plaid flannel shirts.

a kiss for you...

and a kiss for you.

We kept our vitamin waters in the cool of the creek. The water rushed by and kept them at the perfect temperature.

the mums mum picked

mmmm...hot chocolate

nature is good for the soul.

We dug little holes and put 8 candles in the ground.  The 50 was just implied.  Happy 58th mommmmeee.

We slept to the sound of the trickling creek. We peed in the woods.  We didn't brush our teeth.  We giggled by firelight.  We were surrounded by deer at 5:30am.  We loved being together as women.