Williams so far...

We have had an interesting first month in Williams. Even though Emma and I have been here longer, I am not counting the weeks we were here without Paul. The Monday of Paul's second week at work, we were informed of a tragedy affecting a friend of ours. I will not share what happened, but it broke our hearts. That weekend, Emma had her first experience with a body of water larger than her tub. We went to Fossil Creek (a "happy place" for Paul and me), but it was unfortunately late in the afternoon. The sun was down, and it was a bit chilly. Needless to say, Emma was more happy watching the water than playing in it. We were happy to back to Fossil Creek, and Mom came with us.

This past Thursday, there was a forest fire right outside of Williams. I don't know the official story. All I know is, we were coming home from Flagstaff, and the sign that previously said "Prescribed Burn Ahead" was changed to "Wildfire Ahead". There was a bright orange glow on Bill Williams mountain, and Paul kept saying, "Oh Shit oh shit oh shit!" While Paul went to go and see what he could do to help out the next morning, Mom, Emma and I went to Kingman to help me get my mind off of the fire, and so Emma could meet some of her cousins.

Today, I went back to work for the first time. Emma had a great day. My day SUCKED! I was half an hour late for work. Luckily I work in an office where this was not a big deal. They understood that my first day back was going to be a little hectic. They even gave me lots of hugs and encouraging words when I cried. It's hard to leave my little girl after six months. I am just thankful to be in an office where my feelings matter. When I got settled in, I realized I forgot my insulated bag to keep my milk in on my way home from work. Not a huge deal, but not a good thing either. Mom called to tell me she checked in on Emma, and Emma was having a good time. This made me feel much better. As I was leaving the office at the end of the day, I remembered I needed gas. Of course the pump I chose had air in the lines, so I had to barely squeeze the trigger or else the gas wouldn't come out. While standing around waiting for my gas to trickle in and fill my tank, I noticed one of my tires was flat. I proceeded to the air tank and attempted to fill up a tire for the first time. By the time my money ran out the second time, I realized I could hear air leaking out of my tire. Off to Discount Tire I go...

On my way to the tire store, I hit EVERY red light along the way. While praying for my tire to make it, a nice man comes up and knocks on my window to tell me he can hear the air leaking out of my tire. CRAP! I finally get to the tire place, and the guy notices a big hole in my sidewall. New tire for me. I call Paul, who is already on his way to pick up Emma for me, and I break into tears. I am tired, I miss my baby and I want to go home. Paul stays on the phone with me until he gets to Emma and I have calmed down.

Emma did well with her sitter. She is not taking a bottle very well, but she only has two bottles while she is away from me, so I'm not too worried. The whole way home (20 minutes), Emma yells at me, and I acquire a horrendous headache. Luckily, Emma and I were soon on our way to visit my sister and Larry, so I only had to sit back and relax, finally!

Friday, I go back to work, and Paul will have Emma for the day. We also have Emma's 6 month appointment, so I will have updates soon after. Emma still seems to be a long, skinny little thing. Cute as a little button! She decided last week that she was ready to sit all by herself, and it reinforces how grown up she is getting. She is pulling herself up on her hands and knees, so we think "inch worming" will be happening soon. Still no teeth, but all things in good time.

Paul and I are both enjoying our new jobs, and we are both enjoying being back around civilization. We dearly miss our friends in South Fork and hope to see them again before too long. For now, here's to hopeing our next month is nice and mellow and full of nice firsts for Emma!