St. Lucie Fair

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.