The Brothers Anderson were all in town visiting their family for the holidays this week, which gave us the chance to spend some time with them. We met at Uncle Lou's for lunch and had some fried chicken with the whole Anderson gang, and then just Trevor, Kyle, Brett, and Holly headed back to our place to visit and play some games. Emmy, our little social butterfly, had a great time meeting everyone. It was fun hanging out, and messing with Holly's brain with my game playing strategy. We are looking forward to Brett and Holly's wedding in Houston. See you guys in May!
Emmy has finally met all of her grandparents! Cory's dad and his family came into town over the weekend to visit, and we had a great time. They pulled in on Saturday night, and it just so happened to be Davis's 17th birthday. Happy Birthday! He chose Red Robin for dinner, so after some yummy birthday burgers we headed home for the cookie cake Cory baked!
I am not the enforcer of the Official Birthday Rules, but Davis did not blow out the candles with one breath. I'm pretty sure that means his wish doesn't come true. Better luck next year, Davis!
As part of the celebration, everyone took turns holding Emmy. I was very impressed with her uncles. Here is Uncle Logan. AKA Uncle Log (not the hunk of wood). AKA Uncle Buckets.
Uncle Noah resisted at first, but when you throw a baby at him, his uncle instincts kick in.
Uncle Davis was pretty sweet with Emmy, although when she got a little fussy he seemed to be more uncomfortable than she was.
On Monday we took a drive and toured Memphis. It was freezing cold, but we managed to have a good time. We stopped by campus to see where I work and take classes. Go Tigers!
After campus, we headed downtown and saw the Mississippi River, Beale Street, FedEx Forum, the University of Memphis Law School, and quite a few other sights.
Still freezing, but still having a good time. It is always a treat to see family!
Emmy opening a present from Grandma Page and Grandpa Mike
Emmy opening a present from Grandma Buzz
What a merry Christmas it was for the Gilmores here in Tennessee! Emmy loved all of her gifts. We let her open all of her things first. She was in a good mood, and we were more excited for her gifts than our own, anyway. Cory and I got some great gifts, though! I have a new book to start reading.
Cory has some hair to straighten! Thanks to everyone who sent us gifts. I hope you can forgive us that we didn't take pictures of each individual gift.
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, and calling family. A few Skype sessions were mixed in, too.
Cory had planned to make enchiladas for dinner, as a continuation of one of her childhood traditions. I was excited for them, but the time came to start prepping and we realized we didn't have ground beef. In case you didn't know, grocery stores aren't open on Christmas. So we shed a few tears and put it behind us. We ended up going to a Chinese buffet. It was pretty good.
Emmy's first Christmas with the family was a great one. I can't wait to do it again next year. We hope you and yours enjoyed the holiday season, and were able to give/receive some meaningful gifts. I have tried to get through the entire month without ever saying, "reason for the season", but we do want to share one last video with you. Traditions can be fun for a family, but the Savior should be our focus at this time of year, and always.
Christmas Eve is finally here and we are getting very excited for Santa to come! One of the greatest things about the holiday season are traditions! We kicked off our Christmas Eve traditions with cookie decorating.
We frosted a few dozen cookies, but only kept the best ones to leave out for Santa.
After getting our cookie on, we headed to dinner. Growing up, after my family moved away from California, we started going to Chinese restaurants on Christmas Eve. Cory and I, whenever we aren't with family, have decided to get Indian food. It has been a fun tradition.
While eating, we agreed that this tradition might soon die, because we are not sure how easy it will be to sell the idea of Indian food to small children.
The food was great, and the three of us were ready to hit the hay, but before that we had to open one Christmas Eve present. One of the most sacred traditions of Christmas Eve has to be opening up new pajamas the night before Christmas.
In my opinion, this is the greatest part of Christmas Eve. We all got in our jammies, and gathered around the tree while I read the story of Christ's birth in the Bible. I love the account in Luke. Reading the Nativity story is one of our favorite traditions. It helps us remember the reason we celebrate Christmas. Emmy had never heard the story before, and needless to say, she was mesmerized when she heard the good news.
She is so cute in her little jammies!
I think we all look pretty great in our pajamas. Emmy is all snug in her crib, and I think she is on Santa's nice list, so Christmas should be pretty good for her this year!
One of the many things you can do in Memphis for free on Tennessee Tuesdays is visit the Pink Palace Museum. Being blessed with so much family time this month, we decided to check it out. Cory and Emmy showed no fear in front of the T-Rex.
The museum had sort of a hodgepodge of exhibits. It was interesting enough, but it seemed like they didn't go all out on any one part, so all the sections felt like they could have more added to really make it impressive.
The mammoth fossil was pretty cool. Also, I don't know if it was real.
Now this guy was DEFINITELY real. The taxidermist really went above the call of duty on this one.
The civil war section really brought the horrors of war to life. No exhibit would be complete without a depiction of a very rudimentary amputation. This poor mannequin seems to be suffering from trench foot, or gangrene.
Cory and Emmy had a fun time looking through the general store!
This is how mail used to be delivered around these parts.
Cory wishing we lived in a log cabin.
I always wanted to join a miniature circus!
So the Pink Palace is actually a mansion built by the founder of Piggly Wiggly. He was building it, but before he could move in, he went bankrupt. The mansion was sold to the City of Memphis in 1930 and converted into a museum. True story.
With Christmas only a week away, Cory and I decided to take Emmy to the Memphis Zoo for their Zoo Lights! After normal business hours, the zoo re-opens for people to walk through and enjoy some light displays. We knew it would be cold, and that Emmy is a diva, so we broke out her snow leopard coat, complete with little ears on the hood. She was so excited to head to the zoo.
The drive to the zoo is about 20-25 minutes from our house, so we listened to Christmas music on the way, and assured each other that on a Thursday night it shouldn't be too crowded. We were sadly disappointed when we arrived and were directed to the overflow parking lot, only then to discover the lot was full, which led us to a large field where more parking was available. There was a long line of cars, and only one entrance into that field. As I got out of the car and looked back at the line of cars, I made the comment to Cory, "We aren't getting out of here for a while."
That didn't matter, though, because we were going to take our time inside the zoo! We made our way to the front entrance where tables were set up to buy tickets. Cory walked up to one of the tables and asked, "Is this where we pay to get in?" The lady sitting at the table answered, "Are you a St. Jude employee?" Nope. "Tonight is St. Jude Night. Only St. Jude employees and their families can get in."
So, we somehow picked the only night of the month that there was no general admission at zoo lights to drive to the zoo and park in a field that there was no escape from. I started to think that we would have to sit in our car for maybe an hour, just waiting for an opening to leave. While we stood in disbelief, I wandered over to the tables again and watched a man walk up and say he needed three wristbands. He was given the wristbands free of charge without showing any credentials. It was literally their company holiday party, and admission was free. A plan was hatched. Cory went to the farthest table from where we had our first encounter and said she needed three wristbands. She was given the wristbands, no questions asked. IT WAS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!!
Once we got in, I was continually paranoid that someone was going to small talk us and ask what department of St. Jude we worked in, blowing our cover. Luckily it never happened. I will say, though, that guilt started to creep in when we realized that everything inside the zoo was also free. So as not to look suspicious, we took everything. Free hot chocolate. Free cider. Free dinner buffet. Free smores.
To be fair, I have a classmate in my program that works at St. Jude and had agreed to get us wristbands if we couldn't get any at the entrance. Therefore, for the rest of this post, I will cease attempting to justify our actions.
Everything we did was made more enjoyable by the fact that we hadn't paid for it.
Obviously, all of the animals had gone to bed for the evening, but they did have some live reindeer out. For the most part they were very uninterested in socializing with the good people of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
I originally thought that the habitats would be decked out in lights. I soon realized that was not the smartest assumption. That would be a huge hassle, and most likely a liability for the animals during the day. Instead, there were displays along the walking paths.
Emmy did really well in the cold. We pushed her in the stroller, but got her in and out when we wanted photos. FYI, we did not go on the Ferris wheel.
At the panda exhibit they even had a dance party going. Cory and Emmy busted a few moves before we continued our walk.
They had lots of big trees throughout the zoo all decorated differently.
Before Emmy was born, Cory made the comment in passing, "I really want the baby to be into elephants." I thought it was just a random comment from her, but since then she has really stuck to her guns. By proxy for Emmy, Cory has come to love all things elephant. Imagine her joy at being able to snap this picture of us.
Don't tell Cory, but I think Emmy was more into the Peacocks.
On our way out we snapped a picture by the big tree at the entrance. They had fake snow falling from the rooftops. It turned out to be kind of foamy and soapy. AKA nasty.
Here Emmy and I brave the fake snow.
Overall we had a great time at the Zoo Lights, and are getting more and more excited for Christmas to come.
We also would like to thank St. Jude one last time for sponsoring our family outing.
Cory, Emmy, and I all attended the School of Public Health - Division of Health Systems Management and Policy holiday party! That is the official way of saying the first and second year students in my program, plus faculty and staff. It was a great time, mainly because it was the first time the people I go to school with have had a chance to meet Cory and Emmy. Everyone loved seeing the baby, and she was so good for everyone who held her. Successful first holiday party for Emmy Rae!
I have officially finished my first semester of graduate school. It was a great semester. I learned a lot, had some wonderful experiences, and developed great friendships. On the evening after my last final, a small get together was hosted by Mr. Bill Tuttle and Mr. Monte Massongill, who were the two instructors for my Administration of Health Care Organizations class.
Not only was it a great way to end the semester with my cohort, but they also were awarding the Case Presentation Team Award. The first week of October, each team presented the case it prepared to a panel of judges, who evaluated us and gave us scores. Two months later we finally got the results of the competition. My team won! Go Red Team!
L to R: Mr. Tuttle, Toya, Manoella, Kendra, Me, Mr. Massongill Not pictured: Allison
We were presented the coveted bedpan trophy!
Our names were engraved on the base of the trophy, basically granting us immortality.
We put a lot of work into our presentation, so it was satisfying to have some validation.
Clearly, it is a unique trophy. Mr. Tuttle explained his rationale for using a bedpan as the trophy by explaining the humility required by those who have to use them, clean them, and by those who care for those who use them. As future health care administrators, he implored us to remember the need for that humility as we strive to provide the best quality care.
The reason all our family came into town came on Sunday morning when Emmy Rae Gilmore was blessed. She wore a dress my Grandma Sherry made, that my sister, Lacey, was blessed in when she was a baby. She was a good girl all morning as everyone was getting ready.
Walking into the church building, I was getting slightly nervous. I blessed Emmy, and while I had plenty of time to prepare my mind for the occasion, I didn't know exactly what I was going to say.
Despite my nerves, I think the blessing went really well. Emmy slept through the whole thing, which was convenient, and she made it through most of Sacrament meeting before waking up. We wrapped her in the same blanket I was wrapped in as a baby.
L to R: Bishop Jon Pennington, Andy Anderson, Grandpa Mike Gilmore, Daddy, Joseph Naylor, Steven Skovran
We are grateful to those who helped me bless Emmy, especially to my dad, longtime family friend Andy Anderson, and my BFFL Joseph, who all traveled (some further than others) to be a part of the blessing.
We were glad that parts of our families could come as well. Here we are with Grandma Buzz.
Grandpa Mike and Grandma Page
Auntie Lacey and Rhiannon
We really were glad that Joseph and his wife, Abbey, made the trip out from Washington D.C. They are six months pregnant with their little boy, and we are so excited for them!
The whole gang
Thanks to everyone who came out for Emmy's blessing. It was a special day for our family. Emmy let us know afterward in private that she really appreciated the turnout.
