7 years

I can not believe it has been 7 years since Bryan and I got married- I actually had to pull out picture boxes from 2005 and 2006 (thank goodness I labeled them!!) and scan the pictures in- how did we survive before digital??
Bryan and I both feel very strongly that God brought us together- but in these 7 years satan has tried very hard to tear us apart- and almost succeeded a few times- but luckily we have made it through!! No marriage is perfect- no person is perfect and you take 2 imperfect people who are opposite in a lot of ways and raised in two completely different households put them under the same roof and have some kids and there are bound to be one or two issues. We tease each other sometimes that we should write a book- and maybe we should- because we have been through some trials- and only by the grace of God have we made it this far and we both believe that there is definitely a reason for that. We are so thankful to our friends and family that have supported us through our darkest hours and today we are grateful for the difficult times because they have helped us to grow and to appreciate each other more than I think we could before. I know that every marriage has problems but so many people act like everything is perfect all the time and so sometimes you feel like you are the only ones struggling. I believe that every marriage is faced with different kinds of problems whether it is financial, illness, death, infidelity, addiction- satan has a lot of cards he can play to try to ruin God's holy plan for marriage but there is help out there! Things will never be perfect (until we get to heaven), but you can learn to communicate better and to solve conflict more efficiently and to have a happy marriage. Today Bryan and I are very grateful to have each other and hope that we can help or inspire some other marriages to work through their issues instead of just giving up. We have been blessed more than we deserve and feel very very thankful for our children, family and friends.
God is good!!!!!!!
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005- with our wedding cake top
May 22, 2004 Our Wedding Day and the beginning of
The Wilson's Wonderland!!

Easter & Mother's Day

He has risen, He has risen indeed! I love our church and every other year they put on the Easter Pageant. It is an amazing production and it really takes you back to when Jesus walked on this Earth and some of the things He went through. The crucifixion and resurrection scenes are always very very touching.This year Bryan was Lazarus and he sang an amazing solo and was raised (is that a word?) from the dead. He has such an amazing voice- truly a gift from God and we were so proud of him! Kenzie liked to tease him when he came home with stage make-up on :)Easter Sunday we had lunch at Bryan's grandma's house after churchOn Good Friday Makenzie prayed for Jesus to come into her heart!!! She has been asking questions when she would see others get baptised and when we would take communion and had lots more questions after seeing the pageant. I could not be more proud of my sweet girl. She wanted to get baptized as soon as she could and so we met with Brother Stan and she got baptized on Mother's Day! The best Mother's Day present ever!!!So excited!Sweetest face ever!!My Makenzie Grace is my girl! In so many ways she is just like me- it is kind of scary! I became a mother when my Makenzie was born and I am so thankful for my precious little girl! She has such a sweet heart and has been a happy girl from the time she was born. She has 2 permanent teeth coming in on the bottom but has not lost any baby teeth yet! She looks like a shark with 2 rows of teeth! Don't worry her dentist said that is normal. She is so tall!! Something that I never had to worry about- my pants were always too long- hers get too short very fast. She wants to save everything and has a hard time getting rid of anything even if it doesn't fit or is broken. She wants to understand why things are the way they are and gets her feelings hurt when kids are mean to her at school for no reason. But don't worry she can be bossy too!! She is so kind to her brother (most of the time) and teaches him songs, cheers and dances and has been known to put bows in his hair or lipstick on him! She is a mini mommy and has helped me SO much during some of these days when I am so so tired- she can get Alex dressed (everything but change his diaper), take the tray off his highchair so he can climb in and even get him cereal if the milk isn't too full! She is very independent and smart and can quickly figure out how to work the system- she likes to bargain and make deals- especially about naps or bedtime. She can be a drama queen, can never get or give you enough hugs and kisses, is always humming or singing, is pretty laid back and insists on picking out her own outfits. She LOVES school, gymnastics, cheerleading, swimming, playing outside and having girlie days. She is my girl and I thank God for giving her to me because she made me a mommy and brings so much joy to my life! Here is my boy, Alexander. He is ALL boy! It is crazy how different my children are. It is such a blessing to have a daughter and a son. Boys sure do love their mommas and are very protective of them. He is very smart and is always asking what things are, "What is dat?" He is a clown and likes to be seeyee (silly) and make everyone laugh. He loves to sing and drum on whatever is around or make percussion noises with his mouth. He is always right on the beat. He is also very particular (and has been from birth) and needs time to adjust to a new situation or person. He knows what he wants and gets frustrated if he doesn't get it or if you can't understand what he is saying. He LOVES tractors, airplanes (air-means), helicopters (helicoocoos), trash trucks (we spend Monday mornings looking out the window waiting for the trash truck and then he says "Tank you twash twuck man") He can't say his r's yet and had the cutest smile with only one top tooth- he knocked the other one out when he was 9 months old- he lost a tooth way before sissy did!! He is always playing with a truck or train or guitar and loves to watch videos of Uncle Bub playing gee-tar on my phone. He calls the ipad the big phone and the iphone the little phone. He doesn't like it when anyone cries (typical boy), loves to wear flip flops and his orange cap. We have started talking about using the potty but he tells me he wants to go potty after he has already gone in his diaper. He likes to mimic everything sis says or does. He tries to be independent, "Alets do it!!" He is good at making a big mess and he is starting to like baths again but he still doesn't want me to rinse his hair and refuses to look up. He can be stubborn but can also be so sweet and I love having conversations with my little man. I thank God for this precious son that He has given me!My Mom- wow it is hard to describe how much my mom means to me. We definitely had some hard times like when I was in high school and thought I knew it all- but I have already told her more than once that she was right about somethings and that sometimes I hear her voice and her words coming out of my mouth! I am so grateful to be friends with my mom! She is so kind and generous and loving. You can not really appreciate all your parents do for you or go through until you become a parent. I am alot like my mom and sometimes people ask if we are sisters! I appreciate her support so much! She is a woman of faith and prayer and she loves her family very much! She likes working in her garden and thinks before she says something (a trait I wish I had). She is a little apprehensive about technology but hopefully she will read this someday- I love you Mom!!! You are the greatest and I thank God for giving me such an amazing mother!!!

Nursery

It is a GIRL!! Our family was right as Kenzie says! Her name is Elizabeth Kate and we are getting very excited to meet her- less than 2 months and we still have a lot to do but I am so excited to say that our green playroom has turned from this:
into a nursery!!I still have a lot of decorating to do and we are waiting on Alex's big boy furniture to get here to move the rest of the nursery furniture. Alex has been sleeping in his big boy bed and doing so great!! I am proud of my little guy and hopes he adjusts to his newborn sister as well as he did to his new bed. I will ask him who is in mommy's tummy and he says "Libita" and then I ask him if she is his baby sister and he says "NOOOOOOO!" We are using Makenzie's baby bedding and I still love all the bright colors and animal prints (of course) as much as I did when I picked it out and designed it for Makenzie!! My girl only has one week of Kindergarten left- so hard to believe- she told me this morning that she didn't want to go to 1st grade, she wants to stay with Mrs. Hudson!! We have been so blessed by the most wonderful Kindergarten teacher- Kenzie loves her so much and I am sure there will be some tears shed on the last day of school.I have been trying to teach myself how to sew/embroider the last year or so and have made a few things for Elizabeth!! Several burp clothes, an infant pillow case, a bassinet sheet and a wipes cover. It is a fun and creative new hobby and I am enjoying learning although it is frusterating when you are almost done with something and it messes up!!! Live and learn!!

decisions, decisions

Life is full of decisions

I remember when I was in elementary school, probably about Makenzie's age, and I was taking gymnastics, ballet and piano and it was getting to be too much and my mom asked me to pick between gymnastics and ballet- I picked ballet and although was obviously never the ballerina type, I started taking jazz classes and my freshman year I was on the drill team and danced all through high school and college in a modern dance company which I loved! Part of me wonders what would have happened if I had chosen gymnastics- would I have been a gymnast? I probably would have been a much better tumbler in cheerleading or would I have even been a cheerleader? I LOVED cheerleading!



I cheered on competitive squads, for the Abilene High Eagles for 3 years in high school, my one year at Harding University- Go Bisons! And when I transferred to ACU (clap clap) Wildcats!!
I got my degree in high school math wanting secretly to be a cheerleading coach too :) It is a wonderful sport- and yes it IS a sport!! Don't get me started- the days of cheerleaders being dumb girls is far behind us! I loved performing in front of a crowd, I loved doing toe-touches and practiced for hours trying to get mine inverted, I loved dancing and cheering as a team, I loved flying through the air and tumbling across the floor or field, I loved hitting a stunt that we had worked forever to get, it was a family and I made some of my best friends (Go 3 Amigas) in cheerleading.

Well, it has gotten to the point in my 6 year old daughter's life where she is going to have to choose. She has been asked to join either Beamers Superstars & Hotshots Gymnastics Team or their Cubs Exhibition Cheer Squad and they meet on the same night at the same time so there is no doing both- that was her first question. It will be her decision- just as my mother let it be my decision- but I pray that she follows her heart- what she really loves to do and not does something just because one of her friends is doing it. I know she is young, but she is very talented and such a cute little performer.

My prayer is that all of my children find something that they love to do and that they can excel at. Something that is always there for them to teach responsibility and dedication, something that they have to show up to even when they don't want to, something that they can be a part of and truly enjoy. I do not care what that thing is, I just hope that all 3 of them find it and love it as much as I loved cheerleading and dance. This is something that Bryan and I both feel very strongly about- that our children will be able to try whatever they want and find what THEY love and want to do.