Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Aunt Kate sent Madison Claire some books and this adorable rain coat & rain boots.  Here she is trying them out for the first time!  So cute!

Flower girl

How adorable is this card & her sweet little reaction!  Madison Claire is SO excited to be Annie's flower girl!!

And...love bug #2

My little love bug

Rapunzel Party!!!

Happy Birthday, Madison Claire!  Madison's 3rd birthday fell on a Saturday this year, so we had a party here at our house in Memphis.  Mimi, Papa Steve, Nana, Papa Gary, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Ryan, Jacob, Aunt Meredith, Uncle Ben and Zack all made the trip from out of town. We also had some of our Memphis friends over for the party - the Proctors, Noffsingers, Bentons, and Paynes came with their kiddos.  We were so appreciative of everyone for helping Madison Claire feel special on her birthday!!  It's hard to believe she is already 3!  I still picture her like this....

One Year Old



Two Years Old

We went to Central BBQ with the McSwains on Friday night and sported the birthday gear a day early.



She is obssessed with all things princess right now, and especially the movie Tangled so we had a Rapunzel party complete with a Tangled tower birthday cake, hanging lanterns and plenty of princess costumes to go around! Even her BFF, Grayson, dressed up like Cinderella. He sure *loves* his Ma Ma. Here are some pictures from the day. I somehow don't have a single picture of any of the grandparents or Mac. The ones of me all came from my friend Mandy. I was obviously distracted!! I'll be sure to do a better job next time.

 



Small Group Picnic

Our church small group had a picnic back in late March and it was so much fun!  There are 19 or 20 kids in the group (I lose count there are so many!) and there are 7 little girls under the age of 5, so Madison Claire has a blast whenever we are all together. Thank you, God for friends! Here are a few pics from the day:

The first time she picked up a caterpillar!  Love that face!

Surprise, Kate!

We've been planning a surprise party for Kate since late December.  All of us Stockampers (past and present) wanted to do something for Kate to let her know how special she was to us.  Neera, Robert, Laura & Katie flew in from out of town and all of the San Fransisco gang came out for the party Friday night.  We almost blew the surprise by being late to the restaurant!  We had to hunch down and run across the street and sprint behind Kate at the bar while Neera, Leia & Nick kept her occupied but we made it!

She was so surprised...it was really special!  The rest of the weekend, we went shopping, did a wine tasting event and had some of the most amazing food!  It was great to be able to spend time with Kate and let her know how special she is to each of us and to the organization.  It was such a special weekend and I'm just so proud of myself for pulling it off!  I talk to Kate every day and I just knew I was going to spill the beans!

When Kate's position was eliminated in December, I wanted her to know how special she was then, so I sent a message to almost everyone in the company and asked them to flood her inbox on her last day with a message with the Subject Title "Thank you, Kate!".  I told them they could say whatever they wanted in the message but that it could be to thank her, tell a funny story, or just wish her well.  I was overwhelmed by the outcome - she had over 300 messages!  I thought I would include mine here...I'm very thankful for Kate and her friendship and while I miss her at work everyday, I'm thankful to still have her in my life every day and I know that will not change!  I LOVE YOU, KATE!!

Seriously…I can’t even begin to write this message. I was tempted to just not send anything, because there is no goodbye here and I truly believe there won’t be until one of us is in the grave. But then I realized that the purpose of this email isn’t goodbye, but rather thank you. And that in and of itself is almost more overwhelming than goodbye. So…I’ve thought about some of my favorite memories (and I’m sure I’m leaving a ton of them out…but here is a start).

I can still remember the first time I met you when I did my site visit up in New York. You met me in the lobby of the hotel to ride to the project site and all I could think the whole way there was “who is this crazy person who wakes up at 4:30am to go work out everyday”. I can also still remember talking to you in the fall of 2003 about the Recruiting position. I was in an airport somewhere when we talked and even though you were new to the role as well, your passion was infectious…even then. I remember the first time I came to DC to train with you at your condo. I took a taxi to a Potbelly’s by your place and you picked me up in your Miada and I had to ride sitting on top of my suitcase. I remember one of the other times I came to DC early on and I overslept at your place and you didn’t wake me up…you just let me sleep and I was so embarrassed! You were always so kind and made me feel comfortable in those early days.

I remember listening to you on the phone with candidates and observing you in interviews and feeling like there was no way I was ever going to be able to do it as well as you did (and I still don’t). I remember those early years passing and us having some interesting experiences together – going to the NBMBAA conference, Golden Key conference, flying to Birmingham and doing interviews in that awful Sheraton, flying to Ithaca, NY to do interviews there, submitting our proposal to NACE and then being accepted and getting amazing reviews, creating a best in class campus recruiting program, struggling with our Experienced Analyst hires, fighting the perception of being in HR, toot-tooting our own horns (and rightly so!).

Somewhere in the midst of all of that, you became more than a colleague to me. You became a friend.

I remember you being with me at the airport in Madison,WI when we found out that Ryan had cancer and standing by me throughout that time. I remember you not attending our wedding (hee hee – had to get one negative in there!). I remember you giving me advice on everything from vacation destinations, to having a difficult conversation with Ryan, to how to handle challenging work conversations and candidate situations and how to confront things head on (come to think of it, you still give me advice on these things today!).

Somewhere in the midst of all of that, you became more than a friend to me. You became a best friend.

I remember talking to you the morning we found out we had been acquired, and all of the days that have transpired since then. I remember conversations about candidates, emails, leaders. I remember listening in on the Management team call when I wasn’t supposed to (hee hee :)) and you fighting to get me promoted to Manager in Huron. I remember all of the good days and bad days (of which there have been a lot) over the past 3 years with Huron. I remember being on the phone with you when I found out I was pregnant with Madison Claire – you knew even before Ryan knew. I remember you being so generous always – gift cards, night at the Ritz, clothes, anniversary gifts, and now bikes, toys & stuffed animals for the kids. I remember you supporting us and the Lighthouse – every year, even years when we didn’t participate. I remember convincing you to move back to San Francisco – and being so proud of you (and a little freaked out) when you did it!

Somewhere in the midst of all of that, you became more than a best friend to me. You became a sister to me and an aunt to my kids.

I can’t express in words how grateful I am that one day in 2002 I stumbled upon the Stockamp & Associates booth at the Career Fair. I am grateful that I did for many reasons – great company, great people, good career, good benefits, but most of all because it was through Stockamp that God would intertwine our lives and I would meet and get to know you. You have been my greatest advocate and biggest cheerleader. I trust your opinion and value your advice more than you know. You have trained me and helped mold me into who I am today and I strive to have seriously one ounce of the passion and effectiveness in my job that you have always had in yours. I cannot think of a more loyal person and friend. I’m tempted to be totally completely freaked out about what I am going to do without you here, but then I remember, that I will still talk with you and IM with you everyday….but know that it will not be the same without you.

YOU, my friend, are irreplaceable.

I love you,

Lauren