Wedding Week!

By the next post, I will be Mrs. Kelly Murray. I can't believe it! This wedding has been in the making for the past year, and it's finally here! Tuesday we leave for Mexico, we'll get hitched on the 13th, then we'll honeymoon, then I'll be a married woman!

Can't wait to become a Murray!!!

One month!!

What a great time of the year! In exactly one month, I marry my very best friend! I can't wait! We're going to have such a great time in Mexico and on our honeymoon! I will definitely post pictures!

You know, I've done lots of reflection during the past few weeks and although I always knew that God had my plan all figured out, now I can really see now that this was what he had planned for US since before we were born. I am so blessed, simple as that. Think of all the adventures that lie ahead!!! Bring 'em on! :)

While we prepare, please pray for us to have safe travels, an awesome wedding, but mostly for a long and happy marriage!

Love you guys!

Herbie's 4th Birthday

My pretty kitty cat turned 4 on May 1 and although he didn't get to have a party because of bad behavior (he pees in our duffel bags when they're left open), he still got a lot of extra lovin' on his big day. Here's a picture of the fluffy guy.

Dakota Days

This is Dakota, Trudy's best friend. She's a beautiful Catahoula Leopard Dog, and she belongs to our friends, Mo and Adam... fellow Skiatookians. Trudy and Dakota are about the same age, so they puppy around all over the place. (Yes, in our house, "puppy" is very much a verb.) They're so much fun! Adam will bring Dakota over before work on nice days and leave her in Trudy's outside pen. They puppy all day, and by the time we get home, Crazy Dog Bitey Pants Trudy turns into Nice Puppy Cuddly Trudy and we get a glimpse into the world of what it's like to own a grown-up bassett hound (so I hear).

It is so nice to have friends that live so close... makes puppy day care so much less expensive!! :) Now all we need is a little sunshine to dry out that puppy pen so Dakota can come puppy some more over at Trudy's place. Man, we miss the sun... :)

Puppy Uppy-dates

Since I last posted, Trudy has grown quite a bit! This pic was taken a month ago.

She loves the sand pile ... especially when the sand slides down in the spots where she's stepped... she eats it. Gross.

She's conquered going UP stairs... now coming down, that's a different ballgame. She either cries or falls asleep at the top.

She's gotten stuck in a pair of panties. (Who hasn't?)

She loves the snow (proven in the Blizzard of April 2009 storm).

...and she made a new friend next door.

It's been a big month!! :)

Now I ain't sayin she's a gold digger...

... get down girl, go 'head get down...

That's $240 if you can't tell. Maybe she needs a tummy tuck or face lift from all the skin sagging...

Herbie Cat

I write about Trudy a lot. Here's a tribute to my #1 boy cat ever. His name is Herbie Cat. He's orange and fluffy. I love him and I think Carl does too, but is too manly to admit he loves a cat. He's cool most of the time, except at 5:30am when he knocks on the bedroom door to come in. Darn Herbie Cat.

Meeeee-yowwww.

Dead Dog

Carl and I have been working 'round the clock to get Trudy geared up for March Madness. She has her OSU bandana she adorns for every gameday. She is the BEST and LOUDEST cheerleader in the Murray household (which is a pretty impressive feat, next to her dad). She gets really excited when we win games (okay, so maybe she's always really excited, but still).


The last step in the training process is now complete. She is officially an OSU dog, according to Grober standards. She is ready.


Here's her new trick.

We're so proud. :) Go Pokes!!

My Favorite Food

Those of you that know me are not surprised of course. I just wanted to let you sushi fans out there in on a little secret my good friend Megan and I discovered in OKC this past weekend. We wanted to go to Sushi Neko, but the wait for 2 people (2 people!!) was 2 hours so we decided to take the recommendation of one of her coworkers and go to a place called Tokyo that is 2 miles north of Neko in Nichols Hills. A-MAZING! We took this picture for my friend Binh who used to be really good at cleaning up the sushi pile we couldn't eat. This is what was left AFTER Meg and I were full. Pitiful, I know.

Meg, I hope it was good for lunch Saturday!! :)

Here's a review that was posted on austinsushi.com:

"I know that it seems weird that there would be a killer sushi bar in Oklahoma City, but there is. If you happen to be passing through the area, look up Tokyo Sushi bar. It's in somewhat scary, sprawling building in a part of town that has seen better days. But trust me, I have had some of my best sushi experiences here. My good friend who is from Japan even gives the place a big thumbs up. I've done quite a bit of travelling and this place is definitely in the top ten and I still haven't found a place in Austin to surpass it. If you are looking for hip surroundings and high-brow atmosphere, this isn't the place for you. But if you're just looking for awesome sushi, you should check it out."

Leaving his mark...

in the mortar...

Herbie must have been jealous that Carl and I wrote "Murray 09" in the mortar of the fireplace before it dried. I really never took him to be a nostalgic cat, but I guess it goes to show how much you need to make sure you pay attention to all your kids (pets) especially when you get a new baby (puppy) that requires a lot of attention.

But really, how cute is that?!

Kelly and Thomas' Wedding

My future niece and nephews are absolutely adorable. Since Adam is still months old, he cheered Kellen and Mac on since they were both in Kelly's wedding this past weekend. I must say that although the beautiful bride was of course the star of the show, Kellen and Mackenzie were pretty darn cute too! I look forward so much to watching the kids come down the aisle... here's why.

Kellen is quite the wanderer. He has to be comfortable in his environment to be able to stand still, otherwise there are just so many things to discover. Since he was the ring bearer, Lori wanted to give him lots of time to explore the church so he'd be able to get down to business when it came to aisle-walking time. The moment of truth came... Mac and him started their treck down the aisle. They did great! When he got to the end, right as the doors were opening up to reveal Kelly and Mike, Kellen yells as loud as he can, "I DID IT, MOM!!!" Everyone burst into giggles. It was perfect. I just hope he wears his pirate hat in my wedding... I'd love that so much. :)

After Mac did such a great job walking down the aisle, she came to sit with Pat, Deanna, and Adam right in front of me. Pat and Tim (brothers of the bride) both had reading parts in the wedding. When it came time for Pat to read, he walked up to the pulpit and started his scripture. Mac was sitting on the edge of her seat, watching him. Right when he paused in between scriptures, Mac looked over at all the bridesmaids sitting in the pew next to us and pointed at her dad and whispered, "That's my dad!!" I love being able to witness moments like that... she was so proud, it was adorable.

These things make me excited for little ones of my own someday. :) Kids are so precious.

It's done!!

Carl got his birthday wish... the fireplace was finished yesterday! Yea!!! It looks so good!!! :) But you should SEE the dust flying around our house!

Now hopefully there'll still be some cooler weather so we can crank 'er up...

Good Choices

Yesterday Carl and I hung out with Kellen, my unofficial nephew. We're days away from Kelly Murray's wedding, and Lori, Kellen's mom needed to run a few errands before the big day. Kellen loves coming out to our house because Carl always leaves lots of gizmos laying around that he can stash in his pockets... like a pirate hunting for doubloons. He also likes it out here because he can play on the swing Carl put up for him.

When Carl picked him up, he told me that before Lori left, he yelled out Carl's window, "Bye mom! I'll make good choices today, and I won't squeeze the puppy too hard."

How cute is that? He's so smart. I'm going to love being an official aunt. And I must confirm, there was only very gentle puppy squeezing yesterday afternoon...

Quite the thoughtful life lesson... "I'll make good choices today"... shouldn't we all take his advice??

He needs to feeeeel the fiiiiiiire....

(I love Dierks Bentley.)



WE HAVE A FIREPLACE!! Our living room is now complete! Carl would disagree however because his 2 elks are not in there yet, nor is the Oklahoma Double Chop rock that will frame the fireplace... but still! We have one now! Our living room looks so amazing... it finally has the focal point it always needed. And despite the warm weather, we couldn't help but start 'er up last night... and probably tonight too... :)

Trudy is a little less interested... she just likes chewing on the carpet that was ripped up from this corner... (insert predictable joke here)

Feed Dogs

Many of you may not know that I am in a gang. Yes, a gang. But instead of the gang being identified by a color or a bandana, the gang is identified by a nicely hemmed piece of fabric.

Confused yet? :)

All the women on my mom's side of the family have been taught to sew by their mothers/grandmothers. Ever since I was a little girl, Mammaw (mom's mom) would let me play with her sewing machine. I'd make little no-use shaped pillows with crazy stitches. Although this seems like a simple art project (or busy work for a 10 year old), these projects sparked my interest in learning more about sewing. For Christmas 2007 I got a Singer sewing machine from my mom so I can carry on the tradition. We decided we needed a gang name. Inspired by the metal piece of a sewing machine that pulls the fabric through the machine, we named ourselves, "The Feed Dogs."

My first Feed Dog project did not go as planned. It was a "SEW EASY" pattern for a shirt with a cute mandarin collar. It did not turn out like the picture, nor did it fit at all. To be honest, I never finished it. :) This frustrated me since I am quite crafty and seem to think I can do just about anything that can be sold at a Michaels or Obby Obby (Hobby Lobby). Not the case. Sewing is tough! I put the sewing machine away until Halloween, when I pulled out all the stops to make Carl antlers. Since then, I made aprons for Em and Mom for Christmas, and my latest project... bandanas for Trudy and Herbie. They are now officially ready for tailgate season!!! (although I am sure that Trudy's bandana will need to triple in size before then...) Stay tuned for more Feed Dog masterpieces...

The Newest Murray

Meet Trudy! (Short for Gertrude, thanks Papa Murray) She's our baby basset hound puppy and she is the coolest dog ever! (Good Christmas present, huh? Thanks Carl!) I always wanted a Westie puppy... I have always loved our westies dearly and have very fond memories of them, but when I met a basset puppy I absolutely fell in love. How could you not? Those floppy ears, those droopy eyes, those baseball mitt paws, the clumsiness, the appearance they are s/p gastric bypass and have all kinds of loose skin hanging places... they're awesome! Here are some pictures of our little lady.

These are Trudy's newest buddies, Harry and Heidi Coburn. They had a New Years Eve dog party while we hung out with their mom and dad and the Strattons. It was quite a rumpus!

Here she is in one of my favorite pics. I love it how when her ears can catch the wind it seems she can take off and fly at any moment!








Trudy and Dad are really good at naps. It is definitely one of their favorite things to do together. Problem is, Carl sleeps so soundly he doesn't wake up when Trudy is tromping all over his chest to signify she needs to go outside... you can probably guess what happens next...






Here we are playing outside on the first day we got her. We bonded instantaneously and now she follows us around everywhere we go just like a shadow.


I have already learned so much having her. I'll compile a list of what I've learned so far for those that are thinking about getting a basset, or puppy in general. I'm sure this list will lengthen soon.


1. Puppies can get a bacterial infection called giardia if they are taken away from their moms too soon.
2. Antibiotics flavored with angus beef are equivalent to puppy treats or table scraps in Trudy's book.
3. Puppies eat underwear.
4. Puppies pee a lot.
5. One day she'll learn to use her tinkle bell that Mabel introduced her to.
6. Bassets are needy, but they're the most loving and cuddly puppies ever.
7. Trudy's presence means Carl and I watch less TV, which is such a good thing.
8. Life is more rewarding and full with a puppy in it.

Nieces, Nephews, and Cousin Babies... oh my!

Christmas was absolutely wonderful this year. Carl and I both got off work on Christmas Eve so we loaded up the Acura like a sleigh full of toys and drove to Muskogee for my side of the family's Christmas Extravaganza. We went to my Aunt Julie and Uncle Steve's house and had a ball watching Liza Jane's rendition of "Part of Your World" from the Little Mermaid. One of my favorite moments of the night was when LJ and Noah started hugging on the red couch when we were taking pictures of them in their PJs. So adorable! It is rare for all of us to be in the same room at the same time. Amy and Christi's babies are beautiful... really makes me excited for that day when our little Murrays can join in the Little Mermaid performances and running around like squirrels. The next night everyone came over to mom and dad's house and the kids had a ball playing on their 2008 version of the Roller Racer. So much fun!

This Christmas my immediate family decided that we weren't going to spend money and we were going to do homemade presents this year. Of course the rules were broken for numerous reasons, but the homemade gifts were so special. Emily personalized stationery for us all, Carl made my sister deer and elk jerky that I am pretty sure was a big hit, Dad framed pictures of Zac Robinson for Carl and Jeff, and mom put together a photo book of memories from our old house at 3004 Cromwell. Quite the tearjerker if you ask me! I'll post some of those photos... they're too classic not to!

For the Murray family Christmas, we got Mackenzie and Kellen presents, but then the rest of us did a "dirty santa" and "good santa" gift exchange. I have to say that Carl was quite disappointed when his brother Pat one-upped him on the naked elk picture gift (don't ask...). Let me just say though, he's already planning for next year...

Here's Kellen with his toolbelt full of gizmos and Mac with her digital camera.

Christmas was amazing this year. Carl and I are so fortunate that we can do both family Christmases every year since both families live so close. It is such a wonderful time to get everyone together and celebrate the birth of Christ... we're already looking forward to next year!