10 years ago I was:
14 years old
a sophomore in high school
throwing discus, playing the cello
just making some new friends

5 years ago I was:
19 years old
starting my junior year at DePaul University
interviewing for my first PR internship
dating someone I thought I would marry
setting my husband up to go on dates with my friends

1 year ago I was:
just starting a new job in Milwaukee
wondering what God had planned for us up here
still unpacking
happily married to Frank

Yesterday I was:
still happily married to Frank
hanging out with my new supervisor
showing people pictures of our new hole
missing Frank, who was in Central Wisconsin/Mosinee for work

5 snacks I enjoy:
Chocolate
ice cream
popcorn
hot chocolate
apples


5 songs I know all the words to:
I don’t know a lot of words to songs.

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars:
Give a good chunk back to God’s church
pay off our mortgage and any mortgages people in our family have
get better pants/clothes
buy Frank an airplane
take our families on vacation

5 places I would run away to:
the spa
Estes Park, CO
Lost Lake
my parents’
the lake

5 Things I will NEVER wear:
capris
pleated pants
tapered leg pants
leg warmers
stirrup pants (well, I will never wear those AGAIN)

5 favorite TV shows:
Design on a Dime
Designed to Sell
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Seinfeld
Everybody Loves Raymond

5 bad habits:
minor road rage
interuppting
perfectionist
comparing myself to others
need to be in control

5 biggest joys:
God’s grace
my little family of me and Frank
Frank when he is getting his back scratched
a clean apartment
good friends

Our foundation. Hoorah!

Me and our foundation.

Frank and our foundataion.

Yay!

in keeping with what other celebrity couples are doing – we decided we would like to be called framily.

thank you for supporting us through this transition.

This is our hole and this is Frank standing next to it. Hi Frank.
Our hole is very special because it is our hole. Hi hole.
Frank is actually standing on the garage. Or on the spot that is the future home of our garage. Where we will park our cars.

This is another picture of the hole. As you can see, we love our hole the way that only we can love it. Shut up. You love it too.

Here is another inspiring shot of our hole. As you can see, other people put homes in their holes. Good for them.

The gravel in the foreground will be our driveway. Which Frank will shovel in the winter. He will shovel it early in the morning

We love Frank.

Well, I drove down to our lot to see what had been accomplished this week – and there in between giant piles of dirt was a gorgeous, yawning hole. YAY! It was interesting to stand there on the edge of the hole and look down into what will be the basement of our new home. The foundation will be poured next week and I think that’s pretty impressive since we just closed on the house last week.

And that makes me think about the ways that God is going to use us and this new home. Of all the rooms in the home that I think about, there is one that I think about a lot. It is a cozy corner bedroom at the top of the stairs. I imagine that when I walk up the stairs and look over to the right, I’ll see this little bedroom with a tidy bed and soft northern light filtering through the curtains. No – I don’t see a nursery, so don’t even go there, but I hope that this will be a room for friends and travelers and family to call “home” for a little bit.

I can’t wait to see who God will bring to our doorstep!

“So long sweet summer
I stumbled upon you
And gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
I fell into you
And you’ve gracefully fallen away…”

Today was the last beautiful summer day. The sun was shining brightly, the wind was full of warmth – all in all, a day that could go on forever. We sat outside at lunch and watched the early fallen leaves scatter across the ground.

The fall is a good, although a bit sad, season for me. Frank and I were married on the last day of Summer 2003, which is one of my happiest memories. My dad and I danced to Frank Sinatra’s Summerwind because my dad said that’s how it described my last summer at home – a warm, fleeting breeze.

Aside from getting married in the fall, I also started my first job out of college (well, real job) on Oct. 16th. And of course, the fall is the beginning of the school year, which I always loved. Crisp new notebooks, fresh fall clothes, new classes.

Yeah, the school year and the job and the marriage came with their fair share of challenges – but they also came packaged with growth and new experiences and friendships. Summer is sweet, but it is fleeting, just like all time. The memory of summer’s beauty lingers on, especially on warm, rich fall days like today.

So to honor my dad and our last summer dance two years ago, below are the lyrics to Summerwind by Frank Sinatra.

“The summer wind, came blowin’ in – from across the sea
It lingered there, to touch your hair- and walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song – and then we strolled that golden sand
Two sweethearts, and the summer wind

“Like painted kites, those days and nights – they went flyin’ by
The world was new, beneath a blue – umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man – one day it called to you
And I lost you, I lost you to the summer wind.”

yeah, where to begin. maybe i have some bitterness about how caitlin decided to steel my limelight at a young age. maybe i am annoyed that she is funnier, bustier, and blonder. maybe when i am still experiencing subzero milwaukee temps in july and caitlin is soaking up the sun in st. louis, i think – why did we move north?

and maybe it is all of those things that makes me say dumb things, that only get dumber, and as i realize what i am saying i try to unsay them. and so sometimes i don’t know how to back myself out of what i meant to say, so i figure, what the hey – let’s just keep going.

which is why i am posting this: yes, i am an idiot.

i think caitlin is awesome. she is funny, smart, insightful and beautiful. she is wise and she loves jesus. she is a tulip for jesus. and she is cool.

and you think – wow – what an awesome girl – maybe she was adopted. or maybe emily was adopted. they just can’t b e blood relatives. but we are. and you may be wondering why i am groveling right now – but maybe you missed the part where i said i am an idiot. however, if i elaborate on that thought, i would be forced to relive the nightmare which was my mouth running away with me earlier this evening.

i mean, i can’t explain why someone as excellent as my sister doesn’t have a boyfriend, except with the idea that when men get around my sister, they, too, become the idiot that i am. and they say things they can’t figure out how to take back. “excuse me, no need to push me down the stairs – i can throw myself down them well enough.”

so caitlin – you’re going to find an awesome guy. he’ll be mute, but he’ll be awesome because of it.

i love you and i am so happy that you are my sister. congratulations on graduating & your new job. and just being cool. rock on.

First of all – it has been a few days since our anniversary and I am just writing about it now.

Bad, Emily, bad.

And, oh yeah, as if I’m not bad enough, I never did give my husband an anniversary card, but since he instigated this whole marriage thing, maybe that’s ok? I mean, he set the precedent of giving without getting in return (ie. engagement ring). Why break the cycle??

Seriously – I love you FK. Happy 2nd Anniversary!!!

This much, always. 9/19/03

Frank and I as co-anchors of the Today Show.

… and other life lessons.

1. All malls can be improved by Crate & Barrel.
2. Crate & Barrel is happiness on earth.
3. Now that C&B is in Wisconsin, I can now officially grow my mullet and become a total cheesehead.

Guess where we went tonight?

GO PACK!