Birthday Boy

Dear Will,
One year ago you changed my life forever. You have brought me more happiness than I ever dreamed possible. Your infectious smile lights up a room, and your blue eyes sparkle with curiosity. You have taught me how to put others needs before my own (something I'm still learning on a daily basis), and you have shown me what unconditional love looks like. I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be your mommy and I feel incredibly blessed to spend every day with you. There's nothing I love more than watching you learn something new--your joy radiates. It's hard to believe that it's been a year! It really is true that time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was holding you in the NICU and thanking God for giving us joy in the midst of heartache. I love you, Will, and I can't wait to see the man you will become. I pray that you grab hold of the Lord's love and salvation at an early age, and I pray that I can show you His love on a daily basis. I pray that you will become a man of strength, courage, gentleness and most of all, strong character. My cup runneth over...
Love,
Mommy

ps. If you want to remember Will's birth story, click HERE

Lately

It seems as though we have made it to the other side of the winter weather, at least for the next few days--you never know in Texas! Even if it only lasts a little while, I have to admit that I'm enjoying the sunshine, flip-flops and t-shirts. Hopefully spring has sprung and it will stay this way.

Since the weather has been so nice, we've been trying to be outside as much as we can--lots of walks to the park, swinging on the playground and our first visit to the Arboretum this year! We've also been busy at home--Will got another tooth (that makes 3--and I think he's about to get #4), and we've been planning Will's birthday party for next weekend! Here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to...

Lovin the ladies on Valentines Day

Playing outside

First family day at the Arboretum for 2011. Yay!

Lovin bubbles these days

Best Friends

Helping mom with laundry

Sneak Peek at Will's Birthday Party--these are the invitations! It's been craft central around here--we can't wait to celebrate with family and friends next weekend!

We're off to a friend's first birthday party and we'll probably take a trip to the park this afternoon. Hope everyone else is enjoying the sunshine like we are! Have a great weekend!

Snow Day #4

It looks like the crazy weather is behind us--finally! Yesterday was our 4th day of winter weather, only this time we had snow instead of ice. Oh, how I love snow more than ice! It was beautiful--not just a dusting, but over 6" of powder! It started snowing around midnight on Thursday, and it continued to snow until the afternoon on Friday. It was perfect for building snowmen and having snowball fights. I can't wait for Will to get a little bit older so we can actually play in the snow together. Even though he didn't really seem to notice or care about it, we still had a fun day. We spent most of the day curled up by the fire, but we did manage to take a quick walk to the park and take some pictures in the backyard. The best part was that Matt was already scheduled to be off work both Thursday & Friday, so I didn't have to worry about him driving with all the crazies. He went back to work today, but the sun is out and we have blue skies--looks like all the beautiful snow is going to melt today, but it was fun while it lasted!

The front yard

The back yard

I think we got at least 5-6"

Going on a walk to the park

Our house

Walking down Acacia--we couldn't see the sidewalk, so we had to walk in the street

We made it to the park!

Will loved watching Lucy play in the snow

February Snow Days

As you've probably heard, there is some crazy weather going on and Texas is not the exception. It all started early in the morning on Tuesday, and we've been home bound ever since. All of the schools have been closed the past two days, and I'm doubtful if they are open tomorrow. What started with freezing rain, turned into sleet, which turned into a little bit of snow. The roads were terrible yesterday, but it seems as though they are better today. The problem is that it is brutally cold outside and the temperature isn't rising above freezing, which means all the ice is still hanging around. The forecasters are saying that we won't get above freezing until Friday, which means we may have two more days at home--Hooray! I LOVE snow days! Even more now, because they mean that I get to spend more time with Will. To make it even better, Matt didn't have to go to work yesterday! CRAZY! In the 5+ years we have been married, he has never had a snow day. When I say never, I mean NEVER. He always has to go--like the postal service--rain, sleet, snow or ice. But yesterday was monumental--he stayed home!! It was wonderful. I love family days. We didn't go outside because it's just too cold/ice isn't fun to play in/I don't want Will to get another ear infection. So this is what we've been up to on our days off...

Jamming on the piano

Pulling up on anything & everything

"Singing" along

Crawling everywhere

Playing basketball

Cooking

Eating yummy homemade pizza

(Somebody likes rice and beans these days)

Snuggling (Please ignore the lack of makeup--we were in our comfy clothes all day)

And last but not least, hanging out with Lucy by the fire. :)

It has been a relaxing past two days. Depending on the roads, we may or may not make a trip to Ikea tomorrow (we're baby proofing the house). I've also made great progress on Will's baby book, so here's to hoping that I don't have work on Friday and can enjoy some more family time at home!