Bliss Family Blog

The Last Year

2010-07-23T14:43:00.007-04:00

I can't believe another year has come and gone since I have posted anything on the blog, it has just gotten so easy to put pictures on facebook that I have let the blog get away from me. I really enjoy journaling our family's fun events and hope the boys will enjoy looking back on it one day too, so I am going to try and do a better job. Here are some pics from our last year....without so much journaling.

Christmas in Shreveport- December 2009

Happy Birthday Daddy- January 2010

Happy Easter - May 2010

Happy Birthday Will - April 2010

Will's Preschool Graduation Party - June 2010

Happy Birthday Wyatt - July 2010

Cousins

2009-07-20T12:45:00.001-04:00

We had the privilege of having our nephews Daniel & Anthony stay with us for a couple of nights. Wyatt and Anthony are like 2 peas in a pod I was able to catch this shot of Anthony reading Wyatt his bedtime stories one night....so so cute. While here they went fishing & swimming and they brought along their Wii...Bill and I enjoyed that , all I will say is that I will not be taking up guitar anytime soon....I stunk at Guitar hero.

They are great boys and we love having them here!

Happy Birthday Wyatt

2009-07-04T20:27:00.000-04:00

HAPPY HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY WYATT!!!!!

What a special day we had. Roonie, Babi, Pop, Ms. Tara, Uncle Dan, Aunt Olya, Daniel & Anthony all came over for a 4th of July birthday celebration. Me & mom baked a Curious George cake for the birthday boy that was a big hit. After eating & opening gifts we splashed around in the pool. The birthday boy was exhausted!!!!!

It is hard to believe my baby is 2, I am not sure where the time has gone. He is such a fun loving addition to our family, so loving and affectionate with everyone he meets. He loves Diego, the lawn mower and Hershey, wants to watch golf on tv and loves making funny noises....he is his fathers son.

Summer Get-a-way

2009-06-23T21:22:00.000-04:00

Once Will was out of school we were up and running, I took Will & Wyatt up to Orlando for a week where we went to Vacation Bible School at our old church. We stayed with our friends Chuck & Mindy who also have 2 boys. It was a great being with old friends. The next week Bill came up and we had a little family vacation. We thought about going to Sea World one day but the boys loved being in the water park at the resort so much that we just did that every day, stayed cool in the water and saved some money. It was a low key, relaxed get-a-way.

Baby Toys & Big Boys

2009-06-20T21:06:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago I pulled some of Will & Wyatt's baby toys out of the attic because one of my friends was coming over with her 4 month old son. I got the biggest laugh when I found the boys playing with everything. It actually entertained them for half an hour. This year for Christmas instead of buying new stuff I will just rummage through the attic and wrap up what I find.

Steph & Hannah's Visit

2009-06-09T21:03:00.002-04:00

My very sweet friend Stephanie came for a visit with her daughter Hannah this June. It was so nice to have them here for a whole week! I think Steph and I were both a little nervous about how well the kids were going to get along throughout the week having so much time together. We were both pleasantly surprised at how good Will & Hannah, both very strong willed and borderline OCD, got along. Wyatt of course is so extremely laid back, not much bothers him, he was thrilled to have another playmate.

Hannah immediately became best buds with Bill, not sure if he was giving her candy when we were not around or what...she just loved him. This was great for me and Steph, it meant that we were able to go out and have a girls night while the kiddos stayed with Bill.

During their visit we went to the beach, of course it rained twice while we were there but I learned a very valuable lesson....don't take so much stuff to the beach. I think I spent more time lugging our beach bags in and out of the rain than actually enjoying the beach. From now on the sunblock goes on at home, change of clothes stay in the car & all I bring on the sand are my children, a towel & 1 toy that each child can carry. The kids had fun playing in the sand and we packed a lunch to eat there. We had a great time in spite of the rain, it was a beautiful Florida day.

It is hard for me to find the words to describe how wonderful it is to be with such a great old friend. Things are so much different with small children running around, but so nice just hanging out and talking about our lives now and our lives back then. Though we don't see each other much anymore I still feel very close to Steph and treasure her friendship. We were so glad they came to visit and hope they will come back again next year. Now Will wants to go see the snow at Hannah's house. I hope we can make it up to Tulsa to visit them sometime.

Babi's Here!!!!

2009-04-30T15:13:00.000-04:00

Babi came for a visit and boy did we have fun. She wanted to do something special for Will's birthday so we went to the Children's Museum then had lunch at Chick-fil-a....Will's favorite spot. The boys had a blast shopping in a kids sized Publix, and climbing on an old fire truck. Babi was right there with them, I think she had as much fun as they did.

One night during her visit Bill grilled some ribs that Babi had marinated, boy were they good. It was fun watching the boys chew on the bones. We love having her here and can't wait to see her again this summer.

Citizen of the Month

2009-04-16T20:54:00.000-04:00

Will received the "Citizen of the Month" award in his class the month of March. There was a special ceremony held where he was presented with a certificate and pin for his achievement. His picture was also displayed for the month in the cafeteria. My mom was in town so she got to come to. We were so proud!!!

Our Trip to Shreveport - April 2009

2009-04-07T21:17:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Birthday Will

2009-04-05T13:13:00.002-04:00

It is hard to believe my baby is 4. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him in my arms at the hospital looking at the wonderful creation God had blessed us with. This year for his birthday we were in route to Shreveport so we had several birthday "parties". The first was in his class at school. We took cupcakes & marshmallows for everyone to enjoy. After everyone finished eating Ms. Peach let Will be the class "singer" and he lead a few of his favorite songs which included "The Backwards Alphabet", "BINGO" & "Freeze". We learned several new impressive things about him that afternoon....the 1st being that he could say his ABC's backwards...or would you call it the ZYX"s? And the 2nd thing was that he could actually sing and dance. This is just something he does not do at home for Bill & I. Mrs Peach assures me that we are not the only parents that have made this discovery. And let me be clear about the discovery I speak of, it is not the singing & dancing so much as the fact that there are things she can get him to do at school willingly that he will absolutely not do at home. I was so thankful we had the video camera with us!!!!
On April 5th, his actual birthday, we were in Louisiana at my Grandmama's house. She was so excited to get to spend his birthday with him that she planned a party for him and invited all our cousins to come join in the celebration. It was great getting to see our family and it meant so much to me that they took time out of their busy schedules to spend the afternoon with us. Will had a blast.

St. Lucie Fair

2009-03-12T12:59:00.000-04:00

Funnel cakes, Cotton candy, Rides, Animals...this is what I think about when I hear the fair is in town. We made our way out the the St. Lucie Fair with Pop & Ms. Tara and had a great time. We started at the petting zoo, there were a lot of animals to feed & pet, the billy goats were our favorite.

We made our way to a really huge inflatable slide that both the boys rode with Pop and then the carousel. I was not sure how Will was going to feel about the rides but he really surprised me and was willing to try some new things. He had been talking about wanting to go ride a roller coaster so I found a "Will sized" one that consisted of a short round track with a few bumps along the way and the cars looked like an alligator. I thought for sure he would back out when he saw it but he still wanted to ride. He climbed into a seat next to a little girl that looked to be about 8 years old. When the alligator took of abruptly I could see in Will's eyes that he was not happy, but thankfully that sweet little girls motherly instincts kicked in and she put her arm around him and told him it was going to be ok, and he was but after the ride was over he didn't want to go again. I was proud of him for trying. After that we stuck with the bounce house & the trucks that go around in circles very slowly. It was a fun night.

Roonie & Mary Visit

2009-02-25T12:03:00.001-05:00

We love when Roonie comes to visit and this time was no different. Bill and I were excited that she was bringing King cake....ahh the joy of Mardi Gras....King cake with cream cheese filling, definitely one of life's greatest pleasures. It didn't last long so next time we requested she bring a large one. The boys lined up right away for rides around the house on a beach towel. This is something fun she has always done with them, they laugh so hard and Will begs her from the moment he wakes up to go for a ride. It is funny to me that they think only Roonie can do this, they have not once asked me and honestly I like it that way...she wears herself out running around my house dragging the boys on a towel. Looks like good exercise. It wasn't all hard work during this visit though...Bill picked up some shiners so they could go fishing. I think Roonie still holds the title for catching the biggest bass out of our lake.

This trip my mom's friend Mary came down too. She lives in Illinois and was very excited about being in the warm weather and we were glad to have here visiting. I love when I get to spend time with her because she has a sweet, genuine relationship with Jesus and it touches my heart to hear her "God" stories. She also has a great laugh...and we laugh a lot with her.

Me & Wyatt with Mary

Mary is also a very talented photographer. She was the photographer for our wedding and had taken lots of pictures of me growing up so I was super excited to have her get some shots of the boys. The poor poor boys, we drug them all over town during the week trying to get some cute pictures...they were troopers and I was thrilled with the results. It was a great week that went by way too fast.

Here are some of the cute pictures.....

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T21:50:00.001-05:00

This was a fun filled valentines day for us. Since it fell on Saturday this year, Will was not in school so we had the whole day together. We started out with heart shaped waffles for breakfast. Pop dropped by with singing dogs & balloons....that were a huge hit. Our friends Kate & Elina stopped in for lunch where we had heart shaped sandwiches & heart jello and finished up with decorating heart shaped cookies for dessert. It was blast.
We ended the day by going to church where we were able to praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who showed us the true meaning of love when he laid down his life for us. It was the perfect end to the day.

Even though Valentines day is a "Hallmark" holiday, I find it to be a wonderful reminder to "share the love" with those around us...as we should do every day of the year. And it's a good excuse to eat more chocolate :)

Sleeping Angels

2009-02-02T21:03:00.002-05:00

There is just something about a child sleeping peacefully. Every night before going to bed I go into the boys rooms one last time for the day to check on them and give one last kiss. It is like I can't go to sleep without seeing them one last time, and I do love watching them sleep, they are so peaceful & still, it makes my heart flutter just thinking about it. So on this particular night when I went into Will's room I noticed that he was sleeping at the head of the bed on top of his pillows and Jomondo his stuffed dog & his stuffed lamb, it was so cute. Then I go into Wyatt's room and see him sleeping sound with his bear. Night night and sleep tight my big boys, tomorrow is a big day.

Happy Birthday Billy

2009-01-23T20:44:00.002-05:00

Today was Bills....... should I dare say it.....42nd birthday. We had a very low key celebration for him but it was very special. The boys colored a very interesting "Happy Birthday" banner and I baked a yummy chocolate cake. I surprised the birthday boy by getting a babysitter so that we could go on a date. So after we celebrated with the boys we headed out for an adult dinner. It was wonderful!!!!

I am so thankful for this wonderful man that God has placed in my life to be my husband and the father of my children. Happy Birthday my love!!!!

House of Bliss

2009-01-13T13:20:00.002-05:00

Not long into the new year we truly had a house full of "Bliss". Bill's mom along with his brother Dan and family came for a visit. Though it was short we enjoyed having them here. Will & Wyatt had fun playing with their cousin Anthony, the water in the pool was COLD, but it didn't keep them from getting in and swimming. Bill took Anthony fishing where he caught not only his very 1st fish, but also his 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th (what can I say we have some hungry fish here). He was so proud, and we were very excited for him. Eventually we all ended up around the lake fishing and by the end of the day we had all caught a fish....even Mimi, I was impressed.

The Sims visit to Casa de Bliss

2009-01-01T11:53:00.001-05:00

One of the highlights of our holidays this year was the visit from the Sims family. Scott (Okee Joe), Toni (Lokster), Trinity (TT) & Gabrielle (Gabbers or Peanut) initially planned to come for 1 night but we talked them into staying the week and they brought in the new year with us...it was great!!!!! Getting them to stay longer was actually much easier than I thought...I start talking about making peach cobbler and frying a turkey...oh and maybe we can go have Mexican tomorrow.....that is all it took, we had them for a few more days.

Some of the highlights of their stay included - fishing, Scott making "Papa Sims" fried tacos, Toni & Gabbers cleaning out my closet and giving me "What not to wear" advice, TT baking lace cookies on New Years Eve, & an adult date night...the girls are wonderful babysitters!!!!

They are great guests and we hated to see them go. It was a great start to 2009.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

WE wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
WE wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year.

We ate, We laughed & We opened gifts,
it was a wonderful day. Will finally "got it"
so it was fun seeing Christmas through his eyes.
Wyatt got his very first bike and since his feet
can't reach the petals he might get it again for his
birthday in July (just kidding mom). The boys
got a kitchen & shopping cart from Santa...this was
a really big hit.

We shared a wonderful dinner with Roonie &
Pawpaw, and our friends TJ & Elisa with their
girls Katelin & Elina, we were so blessed to have
everyone here with us, it made the day even
more special.

Some of our Christmas traditions are:
1. Go to a Christmas Eve church service
2. Open 1 gift on Christmas eve...this year it was
Santa pj's for the boys
3. On Christmas morning I get up and make
monkey bread for breakfast
4. Happy birthday Jesus cake
5. The last gift we open is the most
beautifully wrapped, inside is the baby Jesus
who gets placed in the manger to remind us
why we celebrate Christmas

We hope your Christmas was very special!!!!!

Roonie & Pawpaw

2008-12-23T19:57:00.000-05:00

The holidays would not be complete without Grandparents!!!! Roonie & Pawpaw made the very long drive from Louisiana to spend Christmas with us. After being on the road for 2 days we were so excited when they finally arrived. During their visit we celebrated Pawpaw's birthday and Christmas.
Will loves having Roonie here and requests that she read him his books at night before bed. She taught him a special song to sing on Christmas Morning. Mom had mentioned they wanted to take the boys somewhere special for some "bonding time" so they ended up going to the park. From the pictures it looks like they had a lot of fun.
Pawpaw is very handy and he worked on some projects around the house for me. One afternoon he actually installed new child safety locks on my kitchen cabinets....Wyatt had figured out the old ones...I needed an upgrade and pawpaw was just the man to do it. I had no idea it was going to take several hours.... THANK YOU PAWPAW!!!!! What a relief to have that done. He even took the boys to the park & out for lunch one morning so that me and mom could go out for some "girl" time.

The week seemed to fly by and we were not ready for them to go but were thankful that they made the trip. Christmas would not have been the same without them here.

The Bliss Christmas Dance

2008-12-18T14:19:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-13T14:07:00.000-05:00

One of my girlfriends had invited us to join her and her daughters for a pancake breakfast with Santa that a local church was hosting. I didn't have high expectations, I thought there would be a small crowded room with a long buffet line moving slowly for some cold pancakes...but I was ok with that, this was going to be a fun outing for the boys. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised though.... the breakfast was a fund raiser for the church's youth group so the youth actually served the pancakes to everyone. The tables were nice and festive and there wasn't a crowd. The youth did a great job serving and making sure we had everything we needed during our breakfast. When we were finished eating Santa was sitting in the front of the room where the children could go up and see him. That did not go over too well with Will but I was determined to get a picture with Santa anyway. Instead of pictures with Santa, I ended up with pictures of myself trying to keep Will from escaping, with Santa "looming" in the background. I guess there is always next year.

The Live Nativity

2008-12-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

One of the local churches here had a live nativity for the community to come out and enjoy during the holidays. My dad came along with me and the boys for the fun. First you walked through scenes of the bible where the Christmas story was told and then you end up at a small petting zoo. The boys loved it, especially Wyatt, he was hugging every animal out there. This was a special evening really got us in the Christmas spirit.

The Christmas Card Picture

2008-12-04T12:03:00.004-05:00

I love sending out Christmas cards every year. In the past I have enjoyed making cards to send out but because of time constraints I now opt for a cute holiday photo of the boys and I try to fit in a personal handwritten note. I personally find this therapeutic...what can I say I just enjoy it. Maybe it is because I love receiving Christmas cards so much. I love hearing from friends and family and getting updated pictures.

For the past several weeks I have been trying to get the "perfect" picture of the boys for our Christmas card. It has not been an easy task, in fact it has been down right difficult and frustrating. Wyatt is touching Will or Will doesn't want to sit by Wyatt or Wyatt is looking at Will or Wyatt is crying or ...well you get the idea and these pictures speak for themselves.

So as Christmas draws closer my quest for the "perfect" picture changes to just getting a picture of both boys that will fit in the frame of the card. One afternoon while out walking Hershey I bring the camera & santa hats with the hope that today is the day... I am getting the boys positioned, ready to place the hats atop their heads, Bill has the camera ready, I jump up and down, sing, dance, act silly, do anything I can to get both boys attention and make them smile then click...I hear it, Bill says "I think we got a good one". After our walk I come inside to download the picture and this is what I see..........

Are you kidding me!!!!!!!

Florida Oceanographic Center

2008-12-02T12:31:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I took the boys and our nephew Daniel to the Florida Oceanographic Center for a few hours. We had never been and didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be a fun outing for us. There was a big Sting Ray pool where the boys got to touch the sting rays. There were game fish to feed and shells to be dug in the sand. We will definitely be going back.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T15:29:00.005-05:00

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble, that is what we did...Turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie..these are just a few of the things we enjoyed this Thanksgiving. We had the pleasure of sharing a meal with some of our neighbors, it was a wonderful evening.

I have been trying to teach Will about being "thankful" for the people and things in our life. I want him to know how blessed our lives are and that every thing we have is from God and we should never take for granted the things he has blessed us with. At night before we say our prayers I will ask him who he wants to thank God for. These are some of his responses mommy, daddy, Jomondo (his stuffed dog),Ms. Peach & Ms. Jeannie (his teachers), Roonie & Pawpaw, Pop & Ms. Tara, and Babi. Some of the more interesting "things" have been candy, Thomas the train, his closet door and the picture of the helicopter on his wall. It is very cute to see what he comes up with.

I will end this post by telling what I am thankful for....
* Jesus Christ, my savior & provider he loves me in spite of myself, shows me compassion and grace and is my purpose for this life.
* My husband Billy, my soul mate and best friend. He makes me laugh and is my biggest fan.
* My boys....they just make me smile. When I feel their little arms around my neck, it is the greatest feeling.
* My parents, they love unconditionally...me and my boys
* Our nephew Daniel who spent this Thanksgiving week with us, he was such a big help to me around the house and with the boys, we love having him in our home.
* My home, food in our pantry, beds, clean water, A/C & electricity
* Friends and neighbors that truly make Palm City our home
These are only a few of the things I am thankful for, we are so blessed. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Fall Festival

2008-11-21T11:14:00.004-05:00

The church we attend hosted a Fall Festival earlier this month. There was food, music, exotic animals & bouncy houses. Will had a blast on the bouncy obstacle course. Wyatt enjoyed the exotic animals, the poor alligator didn't know what to do with Wyatt grabbing at his head and eyes...good thing his mouth was taped. It was a beautiful day the boys enjoyed the playground equipment and we had the opportunity to visit with some of our church family. By the time we left the boys were exhausted. It was a great day.

Boo....Happy Halloween

2008-11-11T21:57:00.005-05:00

We had been working up to this day since the end of August. I will tell you the story. Last year I found the perfect costume for Will...Thomas The Tank Engine, I was so excited to take him trick or treating one problem though...the costume terrified him, I would pull Thomas out of the box and Will would run the other way, if I tried to put it on him real fast while he wasn't paying attention he would scream, I really think it scared him. He even had a Thomas tee shirt that he stopped wearing after I brought out the costume. So last year we didn't go trick or treating, I was lucky to get a picture of Wyatt dressed in his "Pea Pod" next to Will sitting beside his Thomas costume.

So come this August I started telling Will about trick or treating, dressing up and going to get candy (this part he really liked), I was trying to figure out what I could dress him up in that would seem more like his normal clothes rather than a costume so I was leaning toward something like a doctor wearing scrubs or a golfer. One day I was talking to him about the Thomas costume and he seemed to act like he would try it on so I pulled it out to see. Of course he didn't want anything to do with it. The next week my mom came for a visit and as we were talking about a costume she could could sew for him Thomas came up again and Will asked if he could wear Thomas and go get some candy....who am I to disappoint my sweet boy so I once again go and pull out Thomas with the certainty that he will again refuse to put it on but to my delight he cheerfully stepped into Thomas, put on the cap and then asked for some candy...so what did I do after jumping up and down hugging my mom and repeating over and over "I cannot believe it"...I got him some candy.

Finally the big day arrived that night we arranged to meet up Brandon & Gabby...some of his pals in our community and they were off. Pop and Ms. Tara joined us for the festivities as well. It was a quiet night, not as much activity as I have seen on past Halloweens. The kids had a great time. And when all was said and done the boys were exhausted

And to not leave Wyatt out...he was very easy, since he is still young enough to not have an opinion about his costume, I got to pick. He was a very cute lion, he even learned how to roar.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-11T21:40:00.003-05:00

Fall is in the air...Wyatt's Mom's Morning Out class met up at the pumpkin patch for some early morning fun. There was a chill in the air which was a nice change for us, in the past few years when we have gone to the pumpkin patch it has been so hot we are sweating before we can pick out a pumpkin to take home. I guess the cold weather had its downside though, the church that hosts the pumpkin patch was low on pumpkins, they were supposed to get another shipment in but the pumpkins were destroyed by a freeze in New Mexico. The few pumpkins they did have were strategically placed for optimal picture taking. It was cute watching all the 1 year olds run

around and I was able to get some cute pictures.

Costume Parade

2008-11-10T13:11:00.006-05:00

Halloween morning at Will's school they had a spirit rally where the kindergarten and pre-k classes got to "parade" in their costumes through the big kids. Bill, Wyatt and I went out to join the fun. Will walked hand in hand with his teacher Ms. Peaches and seemed to enjoy all the attention. He looked very cute waving at all the big kids. Afterwards Bill & I did a little trick or treating of our own at Dunkin Doughnuts....ahhhh coffee and doughnuts, it was a perfect morning.

Orlando

2008-10-27T14:26:00.007-04:00

So last weekend we headed up to Orlando for a few days, we had visions of basking in the sun by the pool, letting the boys swim and wearing themselves out. But unfortunately Friday the weather was not on our side, it was cloudy and raining. We right away had to figure out a plan because being inside all morning was not an option with the boys, they would be climbing the walls before lunch. We had to come up with something quick!!!!! I remembered one of my friends telling me about them spending a morning at Disney not too long ago just visiting the resorts and catching rides on the buses and monorail so I called her up to get all the details. It was settled we were going to Disney. Since Will & Wyatt are so young a morning spent riding buses and the monorail was very exciting. They had no idea they were not getting the full "Disney" experience.

We parked at Downtown Disney and caught a bus to the Contemporary Resort, where we walked around and visited the arcade then hopped on the monorail for a quick ride. After we got back to the resort we jumped back on the bus to Downtown Disney and had lunch at McDonalds. It was a new adventure for us and the best part was that we didn't have to pay for anything other than lunch at Mickey D's and of course the $2 kiddie train ride that Will took at Downtown Disney. I love finding fun inexpensive things to do as a family, Bill and I joked about how long we could do this instead of actually going into the parks. I think we can milk this for several more years for sure.

One of the other highlights of the weekend was that I was able to go have some "girl time" with one of my dear friends Mindy. She lives there in Orlando, her husband and children were going to be away so it was the perfect opportunity for us to get together and catch up. She is a dear friend and sister in Christ. It was refreshing for me as a mom to have a night away and I think Bill enjoyed his time with the boys too. I was very excited to see them the next day though, and I think I missed them more than they missed me...spoken like a true mommy. Then next 2 days the weather was sunny so we were able to get out an enjoy the pool. It was a fun filled weekend away.

Mommys Birthday

2008-10-16T12:59:00.004-04:00

Now I am officially 33. I had a wonderful birthday, the day was spent with my mom and my boys, what else could I have asked for, it was a great day. We celebrated at Bono's Barbecue...one of my favorite restaurants and then with a yummy Mint Chocolate Chip Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake...another one of my favorites. Will sang me the Happy Birthday Song over and over again.

My mom gave me one of the best gifts, an album called "Dear Daughter", it is a scrapbook that highlights some special times and people in my life. She really put a lot of time into it and I just love it. We are both very sentimental and she knew it would be special to me. I am so thankful for Annie Roonie, she is my mom but she is a very good friend as well...that is something that is truly priceless. She was here for the week, we had so much fun with her...especially Will, he was asking for Roonie to give him his bath and Roonie to read him books and for Roonie to come play with him....and so on. She and Bill would go fishing...they got up early one morning to head out before the crack of dawn and wouldn't you know it Roonie snagged what Bill was calling the "biggest bass he had ever seen" it got away of course when the line snapped. We did see it again the next week....that is another story in itself...one that Bill will have to share. We will call that post "The Big One that Got Away".

Anyway I will now end my birthday post on a positive note...I had a wonderful day thanks to my loving family and friends. Thanks to everyone who sent cards and happy birthday e-mails and to my dad & Ms. Tara for the yummy Bliss chocolate. I am blessed to have you in my life.

The Big Catch

2008-09-20T21:33:00.006-04:00

If you are a frequent visitor to the blissfamilyblog I am sure after reading last weeks "fishin with daddy" post that you have been anxiously awaiting a picture of "The Big Catch". They have been out several times this week and did reel in a few fish I did not have my camera until today though and boy was I glad I did. Earlier this afternoon Bill went down to another pond in our neighborhood just to check it out. Every time he cast he got a bite so this is where he wanted to take the boys fishin after dinner. When we got down there it was like we hit the jackpot, as soon as he had bait in the water there was a fish, then the next one was bigger and the next one was even bigger and thankfully I had brought the camera so here are some pictures of our "big catches".

Breakfast with Pop & Ms. Tara

2008-09-20T21:05:00.002-04:00

What a beautiful morning, we set the alarm clock for 7:15, got the boys up and dressed. Pop arrived at 7:30 and took both boys to breakfast. He has been doing this with Will for some time now and Will loves going ...they go have breakfast, go see Ms. Tara and then go feed the fish the best part of course is that Will gets to ride in "Pops Truck". Today was the first time Wyatt went along and I think he had a good time too. Ms. Tara met them at the restaurant and I am sure my dad was thankful to have an extra set of hands to help with the boys.

I am so glad the boys had some quality time with Pop and I was able to get a little bit more sleep...what a wonderful way to start out a Saturday.

Fishin' With Daddy

2008-09-12T21:06:00.004-04:00

Well Bill got bitten by the fishing bug!!!! Last Saturday night he made a second trip to Wal-Mart at 10:00 pm with our nephew Daniel to get the "right equipment" I'm not sure what you call it exactly...rod-n-reel...worms..lures... fishing stuff...let your imagination run wild. All I know was that during their first trip earlier that afternoon he didn't get home with the right stuff. My first thought was why not just stop by Wal-Mart tomorrow after church while we are out and about instead of making another trip tonight? Apparently the fish only bit first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon...you avid fishermen would know this already, I am just learning this. So first thing the next morning he got all his fishing gear out and walked down to the neighborhood fishing hole and got his bait in the water. When the boys and I got up we went down to see if he caught anything and unfortunately there had been no bites that morning. He and Will went back out later that afternoon, and this is when I got the picture that is posted. Will did great at casting his line and reeling it back in, no bites though. He had fun with that for about 5 minutes then as most 3 year olds he was on to explore bigger and better things around the pond. Bill made his way to different spots around the pond hoping for a bite...even just a nibble but the fish just weren't bitin'. Deep down I think he was enjoying playing with his new fishing' gear and having fun showing me the correct way to cast then pull back on the fishing pole. It didn't matter that they did not catch anything that day we were all having fun as a family being together. I hope in the next few weeks to have a picture of "the big catch" to post for everyone to see.

Will's 1st Day of School

2008-08-30T21:14:00.003-04:00

After a long and relaxing summer we say hello to another school year for Will. He is returning to the same school and teachers he had last year. We Love Mrs. Peaches and Ms. Jeannie they are so wonderful with Will and when you are with them you can tell they really love what they do and that they are doing what God called them to do. Will did so great in their class last year and we are expecting the same this year too.

To share a little history with you faithful bloggers....Last April when Will turned 3 we had some big decisions to make, he still needed speech therapy and the federal programs that had been paying for it thus far end when your child turns 3 then you go through the county school system. Since our personal insurance would not pay for speech therapy and it is very expensive we started the process with the school board to get him tested and see what he would qualify for. He qualified for a pre-k class with children 3 - 5 years old that focuses on speech, communication and social skills, all things that Will really needed help with. The only catch is that he would have to go full time. I was so nervous about sending him to school at such a young age 5 days a week 6 hours a day, I mean he is only 3, he is still practically a baby. I am a stay at home mom, this is my time with him he is supposed to be with me during the day. These are all the things that went through my mind. It had been a decision that I prayed and cried over. When Bill and I went to visit the class and meet Mrs. Peach we both had a peace and knew this was where he needed to be. When he finally started last April he made the transition so smoothly, I really think it was harder for me than for him. The teaches reported back to us that he was happy and content being there and didn't give them a bit of trouble. He was only there for 3 months before summer break and during that time we saw so much progress in him, his personality, his speech and the way he engages with us and his brother. It just confirmed that we made the right decision or should I say that God once again as always directed our steps perfectly.

I share this story as a testimony of just one of the many ways our loving heavenly father has blessed us this year. And I hope that it will be an encouragement to our blog readers of God's faithfulness. A few scriptures that come to mind as I think about this whole process with Will are Psalm 142:3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way & Psalm 143:8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. God is in control, God is faithful

and God answers the prayers of his children, not always the way we expect but always in his perfect time.

We are looking forward to another great school year!!!!

Cousins

2008-08-27T12:27:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we were so excited to be in Orlando with Bill's family. His Mom came in from Washington DC and his brother Dan & wife Olya came from overseas with their boys Daniel & Anthony. Since they live overseas we only see them once or twice a year so the few moments we are all together are precious. I am amazed at how much the boys have grown physically and how much they have matured. Daniel is taller than me, he is 13 and a very handsome young man. We are thrilled that he is attending school this year in Florida and are looking forward to spending some time with him. Anthony is very sweet and quite the charmer, he played so nicely with Will and Wyatt. The picture is of the youngest boys watch Finding Nemo one evening in bed, it was so cute watching them. It was such a nice visit, we only wish it could have been for longer.

Sci-Port Discovery Center

2008-08-19T14:36:00.006-04:00

Another one of our outings in Shreveport was to Sci-Port Discovery Center. The boys...and the adults all had a blast. They had some really cool activities. The Domino table was a big hit, it had patterns and stairs where you could place the domino's for really cool effects. The boys both enjoyed the construction truck, the inside of the truck had a video image of a construction site with all the noises and sounds like you were really there moving around. I think Bill enjoyed the batting cage the best. It was a fun outing for us. I think as the boys get older it will be one of their favorite spots to visit when we go to Shreveport.

The Big Slide

2008-08-18T16:13:00.003-04:00

While visiting my mom this summer we went to Party Central one day to let the boys get some energy out. It was a really cool place with an indoor playground,video games and rides. The best part was that it was indoors and air conditioned. We were waiting for our lunch when Will asked to go outside where there were a few more rides and a big slide. Wyatt and I were keeping cool inside and the next thing you know I see Will coming down the slide with my mom. I could not believe it. My Will is a bit apprehensive about new things so I never in a million years would have thought he would go down that slide. I was so proud of him. My mom got a few pictures of Will coming down the slide with me. It was a fun day.

Will Swimming

2008-08-12T20:08:00.001-04:00

Picking Peaches with Grandmama....and Blueberries too

2008-08-10T00:54:00.010-04:00

One of our stops while in Louisiana was at Grandmamas. We were so happy to be there for her 81st birthday, cake and family what more can you ask for on a hot July day. My sweet grandmother lives about as far out in the country as one can go, it is so peaceful there, I love being there and I love the smell in her home. She is a wonderful cook and had a ton of food prepared when we arrived, it was wonderful.

Will & Grandmama went out to pick peaches and blueberries. Will seemed to have fun, the blueberries were starting to dry up but he got a bucket full of peaches. We had to keep reminding him to get the fruit off the trees instead of the ground. This was my first fruit picking experience at Grandmamas, I didn't realize she had so many wonderful fruit trees growing in her yard. I remember going to her house as a little girl and picking cotton right off the plant, it fascinated me that there were seeds in it. You never knew what was going to be growing in the field behind her house....cotton, soy beans, this time it was corn so Will and I went and picked some corn too, it wasn't quite ready to eat but I think he had fun watching me shuck it.

After the pikin' was done we sat on her front porch in the rocking chairs while the boys played in the grass, it was a nice afternoon. Then the excitement began, Will locked himself inside one of the bedrooms. Those who know my eldest son know he is absolutely fascinated with doors, locks, drawers anything that opens and closes. So it was not a huge surprise to Bill and I when he did lock the door, the surprise element hit when we realized he could not get the door unlocked. The lock on this door is somewhat ancient, it is a little switch on the top of the knob that slides back and forth, it has probably been years since the door had been locked so getting it to slide back into the unlocked position was quite a challenge for even Will the 3 year old mechanical whiz. The first few minutes we kept telling him to push the button back to the other side when that was not working we went to see if any of the windows were unlocked and as you can guess they were not. At this point I am starting to get a little nervous...Will is calm and laughing, I am praying he will not announce that he needs to go to the potty. Next Bill removed the door knob but the door is still locked...as I said ancient door...the knob and lock mechanism are totally separate but since the knob is out I can see Will and he can see us...this of course makes him laugh even more...I on on the other hand am starting to get nervous. Our next thought is to take the door off the hinges but as you guessed it the hinges are on Will's side of the door. I am now envisioning having to buy my grandmama a new window because we are obviously going to have to break this one to get my child out. Grandmama started talking about removing the air conditioning unit out of the window when something wonderful happened, Will was able to get the door unlocked...what a wonderful sound and out he walked happy as can be. Bill reattached the door knob and we didn't have to buy a new window. What can I say.... when the Bliss family comes to visit we can promise some excitement! Sadly we had to leave the next day but I am so thankful for the time we had with grandmama. I hope we get to see her again soon.

Wyatt's 1st Haircut

2008-08-03T20:36:00.007-04:00

It was time to get rid of the dreaded "combover" that Wyatt had been sporting the last few weeks. So while in Louisiana my mom gave Wyatt his very 1st haircut. I had been thinking about his first haircut for the past couple of months...actually dreading it if the truth be known. First, let me clarify exactly what I mean when I use the word "dreading" when I talk about my feelings concerning his 1st haircut. What I really dread is going in with my baby and coming out with my little man. Once the baby hair is gone it seems the baby "look" is gone as well and that makes me kind of sad.

The First Haircut is a big milestone in a baby's life...I mean there is a whole page in his baby book entirely devoted this event with a special envelope for his first locks of hair, it had to be just perfect! I was going to take him to the local barber here in town where Will had his first haircut, Dorothy had done a great job with him moving all around and she gave us a little card with his locks attached and the date... all things you need for the babybook, it was a good experience. I was not able to get there before we left for vacation and the combover was getting to me, it was time!!! So when we got to Shreveport after some persuading from my mom we decided that she would be the one to give Wyatt his first haircut. No, she has never had any formal training in haircutting but she cuts pawpaws hair and she has given me plenty of trims and she is after all "the Roon" so we let her get out the scissors and have at it. Wyatt did great, sat there on the bathroom counter like such a big boy eating his snack. We got the whole event on video, I just kept saying "he looks like such a big boy" and so he does.

Yankee Doodle Boy....Wyatt's 1

2008-07-05T16:47:00.011-04:00

"I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee doodle, do or die

A real live nephew of my uncle Sam

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY"

......I could go on because thanks to Mrs. Rita Stoner and her "Proud To Be An American" production back at Evangel Academy in 1992 I do know all the words to "Yankee Doodle Dandy". We wore white tuxedos with red sequin bow ties & cumber buns. That is all I have to say about that.

Our Wyatt turned 1 year old on the 4th of July and boy did we celebrate. We were so blessed to have family and friends join us at our home for a barbecue. The house was filled with laughter and good smells from the kitchen. Wyatt had a great time, his favorite part was the cake. I made a special Wyatt sized cake just for him to dig into and dig into it he did. After working on it for about 15 minutes Bill asked me if we should take it away from him so we did and he wasn't real happy about it. Thankfully it did not make him sick and we got some cute pictures. I was so happy to have my Uncle Bill, Aunt Nita & Aunt Kathy in from Louisiana for the party. My Aunt Nita lovesssss babies and she just couldn't get enough of Wyatt, I think it bothered her a little when someone else wanted to get their hands on him, she will have to let me know.

I have to say a big thank you to "Babi" (Bill's mom) for all her help in the kitchen and with the kids in preparing for the party. I could not have done it without her. And a big thank you to Pop and Ms. Tara for the baked beans and chicken drumettes....they were a huge favorite with the party goers. And to daddy for cooking all the burgers and hot dogs for us and for just being the great daddy and husband that he is.

When I think back to the day Wyatt was born a flood of memories fill my mind, I can still remember looking at his little face for the first time and feeling so overwhelmed with love for this precious child that God had blessed us with. I remember telling Bill that after such a hard, painful delivery that I would not do this again (yet when I think about it now it doesn't seem so bad and now I can't imagine not having another baby). I remember being so worried about being away from Will for the days I would be in the hospital...and I don't think he even missed me. I remember the anxiety I felt on the ride home wondering how I would manage a baby and a toddler once my mom went home and Bill went back to work. How could I give them both the attention they needed? Now looking back on the last year as a whole I can say it was one of the toughest yet one of the best years of my life. Wyatt is such a bright spot in our lives, we had no idea what we were missing before he arrived, he truly completed our family. We love you Wyatt...our little "firecracker"and we look forward to watching you grow and change this next year. Happy Birthday

Our Family

2008-06-23T21:00:00.001-04:00

Roonie's Visit

2008-06-23T19:57:00.002-04:00

We were so blessed this past week to have Roonie here with us. For those reading my blog who don't know Roonie or "The Roon" or "Roo Roo" (what can I say we have nick names for our nick names) I must tell you about this wonderful lady who is my mom. Her name is Ann, and as you can see from her picture she looks younger than her age so when it came time to decide what our children would call her Grandma would not do, she just doesn't look like a grandma or a mamaw or memaw for that matter so she became Roonie.

We have a very close relationship and talk to each other just about every day. I tell her how much I miss her and she tells me how much she misses the boys then I go on to tell her how much the boys miss her and that she needs to come visit so spur of the moment last week I was able to convince her it was time for her to come back so she did. We had such a wonderful time with her. It was nice to see her playing with the boys and having them interact with her. Wyatt is very attached to me but he warmed right back up to her in no time. Will loves to play pee-pie with Roonie and wanted her to read him his books before bed time. We played in the pool and she helped me with some projects around the house. We even have some unfinished projects to tackle during her next visit.

The week seemed to come and go in a flash but we are thankful for the time she was here. We love you Roonie.

Happy Fathers Day

2008-06-17T21:28:00.004-04:00

What a wonderful day we had celebrating "Our Daddy". We started out the morning by presenting daddy with his gifts... a special picture of him with his boys, golf balls and a special card that Will made at school. Next we took daddy and Pop (my daddy) out for breakfast, I had made my dad a special photo album with pictures of he and the boys and I could tell he loved it when I saw the tears well up in his eyes as he was looking at it...he loves his boys. After breakfast we headed over to a boat dock for Will & Wyatt to see the boats, that lasted for a few minutes...it was very hot and humid. Our next stop was church where we had the privilege of worshiping our heavenly father.

The rest of our day we stayed home, took naps and Bill watched with US Open. We continued our fathers day celebration on Monday night by going out to eat barbecue. Will loves barbecue, we ask him what he had for dinner and he says "bones"....what can I say he and Wyatt are like their daddy, they love ribs.

I am so thankful for Bill and the wonderful daddy he is to our boys. I am also thankful for my daddy and the father he is to me. I am thankful to God for putting these men in my life, to receive their love and kindness that flows not only to me but to my children. And finally I am thankful to God my heavenly father who loves us so much he sent his son Jesus to the cross for the sins of the world.

We All Scream For Ice Cream

2008-06-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

This was Will's last week of school and to celebrate they had an ice cream party. Will loves ice cream...with red sprinkles of course. We went and had lunch with his class then the ice cream followed. It was fun getting to see the kids so excited and to talk with some of the other parents. We are so thakful for Ms. Peaches and Ms. Jennie, they have been wonderful teachers to Will.

Brothers

2008-06-06T09:29:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that when I found out our second child was a boy I was a little surprised, I had been praying for a girl and just knew God was going to give me a little girl of my very own. I remembered my cousin Shannon telling me about how she had prayed for girls and wouldn't you know it she has 3. I wasn't upset to be having another boy...I just wanted a daughter so bad, I wanted a pink nursery, dresses and bows and dolls. I have such a close relationship with my mom and I wanted to have that with my own daughter. While I still have these thoughts it never dimmed my feelings toward Wyatt, he is such a joy and blessing to us. God knew exactly what he was doing when he placed this precious child into our lives.

As the boys are getting older I have a new appreciation for siblings and the special relationship they have, it is all kind of new to me since I am an only child, a real learning experience you could say. It is exciting for me to see Will & Wyatt develop a relationship, to watch Wyatt's face light up when he sees his big brother first thing in the morning and how Will is starting to ask Wyatt to come follow him around the house. Don't get me wrong, Will hates for Wyatt to touch his toys, he is having to learn to share (something I really didn't learn until going away to college and having a roommate...but that is another story for another post). I have to say it warms my heart to see them interact and laugh at each other. I hope that as they get older they will be buddies and grow closer even when they are adults.

The Helicopter

2008-05-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

Just the other day we were driving by our local Publix when we spotted the helicopter parked right beside the shopping center and we like several other people decided to stop and take a peek. We are pretty sure it belongs to Wayne Huizenga who owns the Miami Dolphins, I think he owns the shopping center too. Anyway, it was nice to see the helicopter up close, it was very exciting for Will who loves airplanes and helicopters.

Mothers Day

2008-05-17T21:11:00.000-04:00

I had the best Mothers day ever thanks to my boys and their wonderful daddy. We went out for lunch then had a nice low key afternoon together at home. We didn't really do anything out of the ordinary it was just nice to be together. We made calls to the moms in our lives, it was so special telling them how much they mean to us and they enjoyed hearing Will say "Happy Mothers Day".

Will's 3

2008-04-13T20:57:00.000-04:00

On Saturday April 5th we celebrated Will's 3rd birthday. It seems like just yesterday we were walking out of the hospital to bring him home. As I think back to that wonderful day he came into our lives a flood of memories fill my mind. I remember looking at his beautiful face and feeling so thankful that God had given us such a perfect gift. And I remember my mom holding him for the first time and finally understanding how much she loves me. It was such a life changing experience. I don't know where the time has gone.

We went to Orlando for few days and celebrated his birthday there and my mom flew in to be with us for the week. On his actual birthday we went to the waterpark where our friends Chuck & Mindy joined us with their boys TJ and Tyler. My Aunt Kathy came out too and we all had a nice lunch together. It was a very low key day and since all the children were 3 and under the festivities rapped up around 1 and everyone was down for naps (including me) by 1:30. I thought that Will's favorite part of the day would be when he got his very cool, Thomas the Train big boy bicycle but when we talk about what he got for his birthday he just talks about the cupcake...just proves that he is our son. We had a wonderful time with friends and family celebrating another year with Will.

Grandmamas Visit

2008-03-29T13:49:00.000-04:00

We were so happy to have Grandmama here for a few days this week. She and Uncle Bill drove in from Louisiana for a short (way to short) visit. They arrived on Wednesday evening after the boys were already in bed so first thing Thursday morning when she heard Wyatt stirring she went to get him out of bed, and said he was just staring at her trying to figure out who had him. It did not take long for him to warm up to her though and he quickly started reaching out his arms for her. While she was here Wyatt said his 1st word "dog" in fact he said it twice, we were so excited and I am so glad she was here to share it with me.

Will was excited to see Grandmama too, they have been talking on the phone a lot the past few weeks so he knew she was coming to see him. He showed her his trains and how he rides on his tricycle now.

I always love going to Grandmama's house she is a wonderful hostess but it is so nice to have her here in my home, I can take care of the meals and she is able to spend quality time with the boys. I am really glad they are getting to know her because she is a very special lady who means the world to me. I hope we get to see her again soon.

Happy Easter

2008-03-27T14:02:00.001-04:00

Spring is in the air and our Lord is Risen. We had a wonderful Easter weekend. On Saturday I took Will up to the church where he attends school for an Easter craft and Egg hunt then we came home and baked a bunny cake. I did most of the cake and Will put the coconut and sprinkles on top. The next morning when the boys got up they were excited to see their Easter baskets waiting for them on the kitchen table. I should correct that statement, Will was excited about the basket when he realized there were some cars inside, I guess he was over the eggs at this point... What he didn't know was that those were the same cars that were in his Easter basket last year...so yes I admit it....I recycle Easter basket goodies, not the candy though. So there will be no surprises as to what will be in Wyatts basket next year. After church we met Pop and Ms. Tara up at Tesoro for brunch, the food was soooo good. The Easter bunny joined us for lunch and then Will got to participate in another egg hunt. It was a very special day.

Easter Eggs

2008-03-26T20:55:00.000-04:00

Thursday was an exciting night at the Bliss house because Pop and Ms. Tara came over to dye easter eggs with Will. While I was very excited Will was going to be having fun with eggs and dye I was even more excited to get out of the house for a date with Bill. Everyone had a blast. WE LOVE YOU POP & MS. TARA

Wyatt

2008-03-19T20:52:00.000-04:00

It is so hard for me to believe my baby is 8 months old..almost 9 months old. He has 6 teeth, is eating cheerios and just last week started pulling up to stand. I am still getting used to the idea that he is crawling..."speed crawling" , it takes him no time to get from point A to point B. Gone are the days I can put him down and expect him to be in the same spot when I return. Bill put a gate on the door to his bedroom so that he has a safe confined space to enjoy when I need to get something done without him on my hip or at my feet. My baby is slowly growing into a big boy just like Will did, it seems like Wyatt is getting there quicker. He brings us so much joy and we feel so blessed that God has allowed us to be his parents.

POP

2008-03-11T20:15:00.000-04:00

We are so blessed to have my dad "Pop" live close to us. As I was recently blogging about the grandmothers visits I wanted to make sure and mention Pop too. He has been so great about stopping in after the boys are up from their nap and ready to go outside and run around. He makes that part of the day much easier for me because I am usually trying to get dinner ready. Will has been asking to "go see Pop" and to "call Pop" a lot more frequently too, so I make sure to call and let him know he is being requested. I hope that it makes him happy to know how much his grandson enjoys being with him. I had a wonderful grandfather growing up, my "Papaw" really made an effort to spend time with me and I have such fond memories of being with him. I am very glad that my boys are getting to make special memories with their Pop. Bill and I are enjoying some date nights thanks to him too. We love you Pop.

Our New Neighbors

2008-03-09T20:16:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share some Florida wildlife with my blog readers. In our neighborhood we have some new baby Sandhill Cranes and they happened to be in our yard one day this week so I was able to get a few pics. My knowledge about the Cranes is very limited but what I do know is that they mate for life and they are very territorial. You know right away if you are getting to close because they get very loud and start spreading there wings and kicking their legs....almost as if they are doing the "chicken dance" at a wedding. I keep my distance especially when I have the boys with me. I was surprised that they let me get as close as I did to get the pictures. Will has started asking to see the baby birds when we drive into the neighborhood so I usually drive around until we find them.

February 2008

2008-03-06T13:47:00.000-05:00

February was such a big month for us and has been so busy that I am just now getting around to writing about it. The beginning of the month started with a visit from Roonie. She flew into Orlando and rented a car to drive down to us. My mom is one of the sweetest, creative people I know but bless her heart she has the worst sense of direction of anyone I know. Thank goodness for Garmin it was created for people like my mom. And thanks to Garmin she made it down safely and without any wrong turns. During her visit we took the boys to the Palm Beach Zoo one day and had a lot of fun getting to see all the animals. Will's favorite thing was feeding the goat. We packed a lunch and had a picnic there, the weather was perfect.

It was so sad to see Roonie leave but we are looking forward to her next visit in April. Since she flew out of Orlando, Wyatt and I drove her to the airport and made a stop to see my friend Mindy and her little boy Tyler. It is not often that we both only have one child with us so we really enjoyed getting to visit and watch the little boys play together. Wyatt had a lot of fun with Tyler.

Bill's mom "Babi" came for a visit a few days after my mom left. We had such a great time with her. The boys have so much fun with her and I enjoy the help she gives me. Bill and I were even able to go see a movie while she was in town. I think it was the 1st movie we had been to see since before Wyatt was born.We were so glad she was able to fit a trip in to Florida and look

forward to seeing her again.

Geaux Tigers!!!!!!

2008-02-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

Now that Wyatt is sitting up it is so much easier to get pictures of the boys together so I could not miss the opportunity to get a snap shot of my little guys wearing Tiger attire that I picked up while we were in Louisiana for the holidays. Even though we live in Florida we are still LSU fans. Geaux Tigers!!!!!

Wyatt has 2 teeth!

2008-02-01T22:02:00.000-05:00

It is really hard to see in these pictures but Wyatt has 2 teeth now. They came in right around Christmas but this has been my first chance to catch them with the camera. He loves chewing on everything.

Our Christmas Vacation

2008-01-14T14:46:00.000-05:00

Did Christmas really come and go so fast? We had a wonderful trip to Louisiana for the holidays. The boys did great with the traveling on the airplane, and in the car going from place to place. My mom "Roonie" and her husband "PawPaw" really made us feel welcome as we came and somewhat "took over" the house for 2 weeks.

We traveled to see my grandmama for a few days and have a Christmas celebration with all of my dads family. Wyatt was able to meet his extended aunts and uncles and cousins. Will spent some quality time with Pop looking at tractors and Bill got to go deer hunting. I was just happy to be with my Grandmama and watch her enjoy being with the boys. One of the highlights of being at my grandmamas is the food, she is the best cook ever and loves to feed everyone that enters her home. She worked so hard to make our gathering very special.

My Aunt Deanna made the long trip from San Antonio to Shreveport with her children Ryan and Morgen. It had been 2 years since we had last seen them. We did miss seeing Marshall (her oldest son ) and Joe (Deanna's husband Joe has been serving overseas in the Airforce for a few years now and will be coming home for good in February Yeah!!!) It was so good to be with them and see how much Ryan and Morgen have grown up.

Another highlight of our trip was going to Tyler, TX to see the Jones family. What a treat to be with our very dear friends and to watch our children playing together. Lindsey and Caleb are very sweet and did a great job sharing their toys with Will, he was in heaven because they had lots of Thomas Trains.

Bill decided to extend his vacation from work and stay with us in Shreveport for the rest of our trip, which was so wonderful to have daddy all to ourselves for another week and I did not have to fly home with the boys by myself. Will did so great on our trip, Bill taught him to count to 100 and spell his name. He LOVED playing Pee-Pie with Roonie and PawPaw. Roonie also taught him how to do the Church and Steeple rhyme with his hands. His speech has just increased so much we are very thankful to our Lord Jesus for answering our prayers.

Now it is 2008 and we are back in the swing of things here. We are very thankful for safe travels and our dear friends and family that we had the opportunity to see.

Here comes Santa!!!!

2007-12-18T23:24:00.000-05:00

Tonight we took the boys up to Tesoro (where daddy works) to see Santa. They had a special dinner for the children of Tesoro employees, it was very nice. Will has been talking about Santa or I should say when he sees a picture of Santa he says "Santa Clause". He was very excited to see Santa when we got there but when I asked him if he wanted to go sit in his lap he said no. It was at this point that I realized if I wanted a picture of the boys with Santa Bill and I were going to have to work quick. I took the baby and Bill was in charge of Will. I got Wyatt positioned before he realized a strange man was holding him and Bill kept telling Will that after he sat in Santa's lap we would eat (it is a known fact that Will can be bribed/persuaded to do almost anything if food is involved). He was still not wanting to get in Santa's lap so we settled for him standing next to daddy and Santa. Guess we will try again next year.

What's that smell?

2007-12-16T16:43:00.000-05:00

So...a few weeks ago Bill and I heard something scratching behind the wall in our bathroom, we thought it was possibly a rat or a squirrel. After not hearing it for a few days we assumed the "scratcher" found its way back outside but we were wrong. I was the first to notice the unpleasant scent and after a few days of me saying "can't you smell that" & "are you sure you don't smell that" he confirmed that I was not crazy and that there was an unpleasant...no... now it was a really bad smell coming from the bathroom wall. The most exciting part of the story is that on the other side of the bathroom wall is MY closet so you guessed it, the very very bad smell is in my closet too. I am becoming paranoid that my clothes reek of dead rodent.

Bill and my dad convinced me there was really no way to get the dead rodent out other than cutting through the dry wall and neither of them were willing to go to that extreme to give our furry friend a proper burial. They did assure me that the smell should go away in a few months when he has fully decomposed. So in the mean time if you happen to see me and catch a whiff of something not so pleasant do not worry I have not stopped bathing. Guess I should invest in some good air freshener.

If anyone has any suggestions on how to get rid of really really bad smells please feel free to leave me a comment.
-Ginger

We finally have a blog!!!

2007-12-11T21:28:00.000-05:00

Well we did it. I have committed to set up and maintain a family blog. My girlfriend Mindy assured me it did not take a lot of time...and I have really enjoyed keeping up with her family on their blog. So I hope that our friends and family will get the same enjoyment from ours. What a wonderful way to share pictures and give a small glimpse of the things happening in our lives.

As for now we are getting ready for Christmas!!!! We will be spending Christmas with Roonie and PawPaw in Shreveport. It has been over a year since we were there and since our family has grown by a "Wyatt", it will be the first time we have flown with 2 children...I have a feeling there will be some interesting stories to share. My Dad and Aunt Kathy are going to be on the same flight with us going to Shreveport so Bill and I could possibly at times get to sit without any children. Unfortunately our flights back to Florida are all different and I will be flying with both children by myself. I will be requesting a lot of prayer on January 6th!!!!

I have pretty much finished my shopping so now my focus is on packing and the big questions are....
1. What will the weather be like?
2. Do I really need all that stuff for the baby? (I mean there is a Wal-mart and Target in Shreveport)
3. Which toys will occupy Will for the longest amount of time and not consume too much space in my diaper bag?

I will figure it all out and I will inevitably over pack as I always do and quite possibly be charged more for a bag that exceeds the weight limit. What can I say, this is how I travel.

As for an update on the rest of the family.... Bill is still working hard and God has been bringing him some good contacts at Tesoro. He is such a wonderful daddy to the boys, they had some male bonding time on Sunday when I went shopping for a few hours. When I came home they were all watching football.

Will is doing good, his speech has really blossomed in the past few months. His favorite toy is the school bus his Babi (Bill's mom) got him. He loves pushing it around the house. This week his new word is "Awesome"....so as you can guess everything is "Awesome"!!!! He is going to be having some blood work done in the next few days to hopefully rule out any food allergies and digestive problems, so please keep him in your prayers.

Wyatt is 5 months old now and just growing up very fast. It is so fun see him looking at his toys and watching Will. He is our "smilee boy" as I like to call him because he just gives you the biggest smiles....they really warm my heart.

I am praying for safety as we travel and that we will savor the true meaning of Christmas.

-Ginger