Fall Foliage Fun

On Monday afternoon, we trespassed into our neighbor’s yard to grab these shots of the kids playing in the leaves (We have our own hardwood trees, but their leaves are pretty lame).

This is one of the reasons that autumn is our favorite time of the year. I mean look at those colors!

Our kids loved playing in the leaves, and a few times James forgot that they don't always cushion your fall like pillows do. He jumped into the pile, rump first, and popped to a stop right on the hard ground beneath. It didn't phase him much, though. He would get up, shake it off and move on with his job of trying to kick every leaf in the neighborhood.

Liv on the other hand, really enjoyed the hearty, earthy flavor of the leaves.

Coldplay Sings For Chris and Teri’s Anniversary

This month marks ten years since Teri and I went our first date. So to commemorate the milestone, Teri and I made a last minute trip down to Atlanta to see Coldplay. Those guys put on an incredible show. It was two hours worth of live music that is in heavy rotation in our iPods, computers and car stereos anyway so how could we go wrong? Since we got tickets so late we were in the nose-bleeds, but it didn’t matter. Part of me felt like the folks down on the floor who paid $400 a ticket were suckers when Coldplay made the show feel so intimate anyway.

The trip as a whole was very fast. The whole round trip of driving south to Birmingham to drop the kids off with my folks, on to Atlanta with dinner and the show, then waking up the next morning to reverse the path to get kids and get home took less than 36 hours. It was definitely a whirl-wind, but it was so rejuvenating for me. It was a time of great food, great music and great hanging out. For anyone who isn’t married it is worth getting hitched for the road trips and the conversation alone! Teri and I will just talk for hours while driving, which we never get to do at home with kids and life and randomness. In my old age of 29, nothing is more fulfilling than sitting and talking to my wife. She is a great encourager and listener.

We both realize that taking time to get away with each other and taking trips with the kids are vital to our family. We are going to try and be more intentional about carving out time to get out of our routines and getting away a few times a year.

Revisiting an Old Friend

Teri and I started dating ten years ago this month (man, time has flown!). At that time, we were both in school, broke and pretty green in the sense that we had never experienced much outside of the South.
The night that I asked her to marry me I took her to a restaurant in Atlanta called Bones. Up to that point in my life it was the best, most expensive meal I had ever taken part of, but again I was a nineteen years old and my idea of fine dining was a meal at the Olive Garden. So, in the years since I have wanted to give Bones another try to see if the impression I had was mostly in my mind, or if the restaurant was really that amazing. I can now say it still is amazing.
While in Atlanta we stopped by ole Bones and gave it another go. The experience was perfect, and we left more in love with each other and with Bones as we were back on September 25, 1999 we took the next step.

Nashville Gives Chris A Chance

After months of waiting (because they only offer auditions every six months)I (Chris) auditioned for Improv Nashville on Sunday, October the 19th. Then, after two more days of waiting, they called today and asked if I would join the troupe. I'm totally excited, and hope that each of you reading this will come and see me perform soon. They have performances every Friday and Saturday night at 8 and 10. See you there.

Livie's Laugh

It's funny what throwing a sleeve of diapers can do for a child...

Autumn Ushered In With Friendly Neighbor

Our neighbor, Lira(whose house you can kind of see directly behind her), is a very sweet precious lady. A few months ago she welcomed us to the neighborhood with a basket of peaches, and today she gave us this pumpkin as a "Welcome to Fall" gift.

Coldplay Makes Baby-Lovin' Music

I don't know why, but I have a few songs out there that make me cry and fall in love with my children all over again. It seems like Coldplay has songs that make me think of my kids more than any other band or artist out there (even more so than a few of the songs that I have written for them). James was born in 2006 when I couldn't get "Fix You" out of my mind. That song is eternally linked to watching him come into the world. Liv also has a playlist full of songs, but recently the Coldplay track "Reign of Love" just sounds like my little girl. On the new cd, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, it actually shares a track with "Lovers in Japan". If you are listening to "Lovers..." wait until around minute 4 of the song and will magically appear for you.

A Few Other Songs in the Murphy Kid's Playlist:
Fighting It- Ben Folds
Sweet and Low- Augustana
Where You Are- Chris Murphy
Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)- John Lennon

James' First Blog

Hello there. This is James' first blog. He likes to talk about ABC's. He thinks they are fun. He likes to sing the song, and now he will sing for you...

Three Good Times in the PM

For some reason Liv would not settle down after Teri put her in her crib. She usually does fuss a bit, but she really was wailing in her room so Teri knew that something was wrong. Teri peeked in to see what the matter was, and she found Liv, standing in her crib for the first time, not knowing how to get back down. She is growing up fast, but hopefully she'll learn how to sit back down sooner than later.

Tonight James was unusually quiet going down (they are often opposite in the way that they settle into sleepy time), but we figured we should not look a gift horse in the mouth and accept that he may have just been tired. We soon realized, though, that James was so quiet because he had snuck out of his room and crawled into Mommy and Daddy's bed. It shocked Teri quite a bit to find a sleeping child completely under the covers when she went to change into her bed clothes.

Finally, after everyone had settled Teri and I were hanging out on the couch, watching TV and talking. After catching me at a certain angle she leaned into my ear to whisper what I thought would be a "sweet nothing". I readied myself for a nice flirtatious comment when she said, "From this angle you look Middle Eastern." Yep, it was a sweet nothing alright!

"Liv...You Ready...?"

Last night Teri spent the night with a few friends here in town when the ladies retreat they were going on was cancelled due to Hurricane Ike. I hope it was a good time for them. Because the kids were with me I got to play Mr. Mom in a way I usually don't since I am at work most mornings. As I was cleaning up breakfast I heard the funniest comment coming out of James' mouth. I am assuming that it was probably put there by Teri at some point. He looked at Liv and said, "Liv, You ready for our big day? We gonna go to WALGREENS!" Big day indeed.

The Amazing Self-Repairing Car... maybe!?

Teri and I are entering our second year here in Nashville, and we had to get the vehicles smogged and cleared for emissions purposes. We had this issue in Los Angeles where Teri's 2000 Nissan Maxima would not pass the emissions test because a check engine light was on in the dashboard. We spent $600 to fix it, but in three days the light came back on. That was three or four years ago... the light has been on ever since.
So, we go to get our vehicles checked here, and mine passed again and her's failed AGAIN. Distraught, we took it into a mechanic for a diagnostic test and estimate on how much it would cost to fix it. After the test the shop said they could have everything up and running again for somewhere between $2500 and $3500 dollars. This was not good news.
A few days later, at our wits end, through prayer we decided to start looking for a new car. We didn't want to do this because we paid the car off and it was nice not to have a payment. So this morning Teri gets in the car to go somewhere and notices that the "Check Engine" light is off for the first time in four years. She then drives down to the testing facility and passes with flying colors!
What in the world!
So now we are left with a few thoughts. First of all, thank God for allowing us to pass the test and not having to plunk down a few grand in repairs. Secondly, we now question the whole smog test thing. I mean, with all the technology that we have at our disposal these days Teri's car failed on a technicality of a single Check Engine light. Once that light went off she passed. So it had nothing to do with her emissions, her cars fate was almost decided on a single light on our dashboard. That just seems stupid.

Funny Sidenote

James started telling us jokes where he just says the word "joke" loudly, and waits for us to laugh! It gets us everytime!

Mr. and Mrs. Murphy

Teri's New Haircut

Chris and Teri Watching America's Funniest Videos

Just for the memory of it I am posting this blog that no one will get but Teri and me, but what is life without a little inside jokin'.
"Hey Pinky Tank Top, whose draws am I wearing?" says popcrackerpop

Day of Fun at the Farmer's Market

Here we all are (I'm on the other side of the camera as usual) at the Franklin Farmer's Market. It was a good time. We sampled delicious food, saw cool crafts, and listened to a really good Bluegrass band named The Howling Brothers.

Here's a quick video of us enjoying the music.

Bye Bye Hippo Rock

This was the view to greet us every morning as we left our apartment in Antioch, but this morning we put the finishing touches on cleaning up and cleaning out "'Ole 626". Now, we are official Franklin-ites even though we have been juggling double rents since the beginning of June. We had some great times in Antioch (bringing Liv home from the hospital, the random geese everywhere and always having a safe home to come to in a new town), but it will be nice not to have the drive down Old Hickory Blvd, or get funny looks from our friends when we invite them over as they remember the drive is at least 30 minutes for them(except the Ingles... you are what we'll miss most of all. Thanks for settling us into Nash-Vegas).

Livie's Cute Sense of Humor

Forgive me if these pictures are a bit fuzzy, but that's what you get with our camera in low light. Anyway, Liv was being so cute that we had to post these photos and the video of when she decided to make us laugh with newspaper.

Can He Stick the Landing?

In honor of the Olympics wrapping up a few days ago, James proves that it is never too early to practice for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. For the most part he has no fear.
Notice the concentration... ...the form...
...the distance...
...and the sheer joy of the game!
We will continue to work with him on the all important landing aspect of the routine.

Livie Eating Blueberry Muffins

Just a quick update to show how Livie is growing.

Family at the Zoo

I know I know... where are the animals? I should be uploading a nice little video soon, but until then here is the family... ...before...
...and after.

Chris and Drew in LA for "Jingles" Competition

Here is a video of Chris' recent trip to LA, where he and his good friend Drew were competing to become contestants on the reality show Jingles. There was fun times had by all.

Kids, Just As They Are

This photo really encapsulates both of the kids.

James' First Day of Pre-School

Well, what can we say other than we are so proud of our little boy. Look at the confidence he exudes while getting out of the car...

...then he totally loses face as he wanders aimlessly around the parking lot confused by the situation! Man, kids are hilarious.

Nothing To Say But...

...gorgeous.

James' Favorite Things in the World

These are his absolute favorite things in the world right now. Most nights he brings multiple cars in his bed to sleep with.
Often we'll find them around the house all lined up in a row, or deep behind a couch cushion.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Lend Me Your Coffee Beans?

The next adventure in the James Murphy series culminates in the consumption of handfuls (exaggerating only slightly) of coffee beans. I think he may have a future as a tiny barista.

He Turned Over the Dresser...Really

So, James decided that he didn't want to nap anymore, and the best way to end a nap (as everyone knows) is to destroy your dresser. Anyone selling a dresser?

House Tour "08

Come and take a quick stroll around our little place with us...

James and His Food Fun

Let's take a moment to look at a few of James' adventures in eating. Like true documentarians, we only observe while our child forms a variety of eating disorders!...
Here is James on the 29th of February. We looked away for only a minute, turned around and noticed that he had emptied all of the Parmesan cheese into his bowl. That bowl was empty before he filled it up. We stopped him around mouth-full five.
Next we find him trying his best to take down an entire box of Cheerios. Only Mommy's fast work kept him from a healthy overdose.

Last but not least is James' attempt at scarfing down a whole block of sharp cheddar cheese. While we were proud of his willingness to "go for it" we knew that his intestinal track would not forgive him for quite a while.

James' Bath Time Fun

I just couldn't resist throwing this up on the blog. I was very careful not to show off James' "bottom half" so everyone can watch without covering part of the screen or turning away. Enjoy James in all his cuteness!

Livie's Tummy Time

Best Buds...So Far

We could not be more proud of James and Liv. They seem to really like each other too. These were just so cute we had to post them.