Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

This past weekend Stacie and Greg had a joint birthday party in Mulvane. Kyle and I were so glad we could go this year since we had to miss it last year due to work. We were there to celebrate their birthdays, but the real cause for celebration was that they were announcing the sex of their baby! Kyle got really dressed up for the occasion! Kyle's parents with their new Acadia (aka the baby mobile)! We all thought Greg and Stacie found out the sex on August 12, but in reality they’ve known since June 26! I can’t imagine how hard it was for them not to tell anyone. I’m glad they didn’t, though, because it was fun for all of us to find out together. Stacie baked a cake and when she cut into it and it was blue, we all cheered. Here's a video Kyle got of the big reveal: Of course, I wouldn’t have minded getting a niece, but I’m excited that Conner will have a boy cousin so close in age. It was always fun for me to have girl cousins to grow up with, and I have suc...

I attended a funeral today, but it wasn’t what I expected. Katie was a former coworker of mine and even though she left the Foundation in 2009 to work for the OSU President’s Office, I was still in contact with her frequently. In fact, I got to see her a week ago on Tuesday, and we had a good conversation. I got to congratulate her on her pregnancy and she told me about the interesting morning she’d had without electricity. Katie was such a kind person. When I first started at the Foundation she made me feel welcome and always greeted me with a smile. We never had much of a relationship outside of work, but I always enjoyed spending time with Katie. She died this past Sunday at only 29. My heart breaks for her husband, who is also a coworker of mine, and her family and friends. I cannot imagine their grief. As we gathered together for the funeral today, I was prepared for a tearful afternoon. While there were plenty of tears, there was also a feeling of gratitude for the time we go...

This weekend was a tough one filled with highs and one deep low. For now, we'll just talk about the highs. We got to meet our nephew on Sunday! I have been waiting for this day since Christmas when Jerilyn and Ben announced they were pregnant. It didn't disappoint. Conner was so adorable and cuddly that I could have held him all day. Kyle is still a little anxious around babies so I don't know that he could say the same, but we are both looking forward to making all sorts of memories with this little one. We are so proud of Ben and Jerilyn for being such good parents already. I can imagine this would be a hard time of adjustment for them, but they are doing wonderfully! Such a good dad. Proud Uncle Kyle Conner is the first grandchild in Kyle's family and it's so fun to watch your parents become grandparents. It's almost as if they turn completely to mush right before your eyes. That's what happened with my parents when Asher was born, and I...

Some months I feel like there isn't much to share through my blog and then other times, there are just too many things! I try to do the best I can, but I can get backlogged. So, here is my effort to catch up on a few fun things we've done in the past few months that didn't make the cut... 1. Josh graduated from barber school in May so Stacy planned a surprise party for him. We all wore mustaches. It was a pretty good time!  2. Kimberly is 25! It is so rare to have a friend that has literally been in your life for as long as you can remember. We have been through everything together and still like each other! :) I am so thankful to still be able to call her my best friend! We celebrated her birthday in July at Mexico Joe's. It was so much fun to get together with friends I hadn't seen in a while, and I got to introduce them to Stacie who just happened to be in town that night! 3. Kurtis and Amanda invited us to go to the lake with them. We were excited to go...

I can't believe it's already Monday, but I'm thankful it is because I'm counting down the days until the weekend! On Friday, I woke up to a text message from Jerilyn saying her water broke and they were headed to the hospital! Just the night before she had told us she would be induced on Tuesday if she didn't go into labor before then. So I wasn't really expecting to hear any news for a couple of days. This was a good surprise! I was glued to my phone the rest of the day, getting periodic updates from Stacie on how everything was going. Then, at 6:13 p.m. Conner Shelton Payne was here! He weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21 inches long. It was a hard labor and he made quite the entrance, but he and mom are doing great. They went home from the hospital yesterday. Unfortunately this was a "working" weekend for me, so I was in Nashville while all of this was going on. Some students and I were attending a conference there and we were scheduled to be home...

I had a fabulous and LONG weekend in Kansas since I took Thursday and Friday off to spend some time with my family. Unfortunately Kyle had to work so he couldn’t tag along, but I took plenty of videos and photos to make him feel like he was right there. My parents, Stacy and I spent the weekend watching Asher and Landon explore the farm, playing games, going swimming, and trying to keep as cool as possible. This has been a hot summer for everyone in this region. Thankfully, my grandparents have irrigation sprinklers so their crops are looking a lot better than some around Hennessey. When I think about farm life it always seems so idyllic and peaceful. You are your own boss and you spend your days enjoying nature. (Can you tell I’ve never had to do hard farm labor?) But in reality it is probably extremely stressful because there are so many factors over which you have no control. Even if you have a wonderful crop, a hail storm or drought can hit and you are left helpless with little ...