Chicago -- Ryan Style

Here is a video montage of our weekend in Chicago remembering Ryan on his 2nd Heaven Birthday. The music playing is the theme song from West Wing -- Ryan's favorite tv show.

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Celebrating Ryan

** Thank you so much for all the kind words, prayers, thoughts, emails and comments yesterday. You all made Ryan's birthday special to the kids and I! **

Here are pictures of our birthday celebrations today. We sent Daddy balloons twice. The first time it was just the kids and I. The second time my friend, Nikki, came so that she could capture some pictures for us. While we were waiting for her to get there we made a snowman for Daddy! I enjoyed lunch with friends at Qdoba -- my favorite! They also got me a bouquet of a dozen "roses" which were actually some FABULOUS chocolate covered strawberries. And the kids enjoyed cupcakes from a local bakery. We are still planning to go out to dinner with my mom to Texas Roadhouse -- I don't like steak, but it was a favorite for Ryan so I picked steak place for his birthday.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

** remember to turn off the music on the blog to be able to hear the kids **

Singing with Bob and Larry

** Remember to turn off the music on the blog.

Well, Christmas 2009 has come and gone. It was a whirlwind of parties and craziness, but a lot of fun too.

Traditions of Christmas:
ornaments ~ one for each of the kids to represent something about their year and a family ornament
watching some Christmas classics (Charlie Brown & the Grinch) together in our jammies (new this year)
making some sort of birthday cake for Jesus and singing Happy Birthday to him!

Schedule of our Christmas week ~ BUSY!:
Christmas Eve's Eve (Wednesday): made cupcakes and watched Christmas classics
Christmas Eve (Thursday): decorated cupcakes and cookies with friends, opened some presents on Skype with family in Florida, Christmas Eve Service at church
Christmas Day (Friday): Christmas breakfast -- singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, opening presents as a family, celebration with my family, celebration with my Dad's extended family
Saturday: packed up and headed to Illinois (and a winter storm), party with Ryan's extended family, checked into our hotel, party with Papa Steve (Ryan's dad)
Sunday: church (at the church Ryan and I were married in), party with Grammy (Ryan's mom), quick visit with Papa Steve, dinner with friends
Monday: packed up and headed home!

Wyatt "Reading" the Christmas Story

We have been reading the Christmas story from Luke 2 out of Lily and Wyatt's children's bible every night. Wyatt is great at memorization and this is a video of him "reading" the story. It is a long video (10 minutes), but if you have time to watch it I think you might enjoy it.

** Remember to turn off the music on the blog.

*** If you don't have a lot of time, there is a shorter video posted below.

Shepherds and Angels

A Little Christmas Jingle!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A Pirate and a Princess -- Halloween Sneak Peek

Here are a couple pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes. Wyatt is a pirate and he is very excited about it! Lily is a "princess" (although she looks a lot like a ballerina!). She may change her mind before Halloween actually arrives -- her original choice was a chicken. This was a costume that we considered for Wyatt two years ago. The Elephant and The Chicken Click on the link for a video that will make you smile. Lily and Wyatt were 1 1/2 at the time.

playing in the leaves

We spent some time outside today enjoying the sunshine and the warmer temperatures while cleaning up the yard and raking leaves. This was the first time the kids were able to jump into and run through leaf piles (we didn't really have trees at the townhouse) and they LOVED it. I enjoyed hearing their laughter and seeing their smiles (even if it did mean more raking for me)! :)

Cubbies Bible Verses

Here a video of Lily and Wyatt saying the two bible verses for Cubbies last week. It makes me smile to hear them storing God's word in their hearts at such a young age!

The Lot at the End of My Block

Here is a video of Lily and Wyatt "reading" a book with Erin! So cute!

now i know my abc's

something to laugh about...

This is a very short video of Wyatt playing this past weekend with Papa Steve. I am sure that it will make you laugh! :)

Remember to pause the music on the right hand side of the blog.

Remembering Ryan 2009

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DISNEY!

We had a terrific time on our trip to Walt Disney World. Here is a run-down of our time there...enjoy the slide show at the end! :)

Wednesday:
We left from our local airport without too much hassle. Both kids did AMAZING on the airplane. Wyatt even said "wee" when we took off. They both enjoyed the "bumps" (read: turbulence) and giggled throughout much of the trip.

We made our connecting flight in Atlanta with seconds to spare (not the most fun experience of my life, but we all survived). We then proceeded to sit in the airplane on the runway for an hour and a half...Lily and Wyatt did fantastic!

We landed in Orlando, grabbed our luggage, a bite to eat, and then the Disney Magical Express over to Disney World. We were greeted by my friend, Jenni, who I went to Clearwater Christian College with. She is actually a "Cast Member" at Disney and was able to bless us greatly during our trip! We found our cabin at Fort Wilderness and got the kids ready for bed. Jenni and I were able to run out and get a few groceries for our stay. Thanks so much for all you did, Jenni!

Thursday:
We began our day with an hour and a half transportation adventure. We took both a boat and a bus to get to our Character Breakfast with Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy at the Beach Club Resort. The food was delicious and worth all the effort it took to get there. Watching Lily and Wyatt interact with the different characters was priceless!

We then boarded another bus and headed over to explore Downtown Disney. The kids had fun going into all different shops and seeing Mickey and friends throughout it all. We all enjoyed our ice cream from Ghiradelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop. It was then back to Fort Wilderness from some rest time before returning to Downtown Disney for dinner at Earl of Sandwich.

Friday:
We met up with Jenni and her daughter, Lily, at Animal Kingdom. The first thing we did was go on the Kilimanjaro Safari. It was so neat to see the different animals up close! There was a baby giraffe only a few feet from our truck and a rhino actually crossed the road right in front of us. Jenni kept telling me that she couldn't believe how many animals were out...more than usual. We also enjoyed Finding Nemo -- The Musical while in Animal Kingdom.

After lunch, we all loaded in Jenni's car and drove over to Magic Kingdom. We were handed some FastPasses to the Winnie the Pooh ride which the kids loved! Lily was then able to meet her favorites: the princesses. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle were all just waiting for her! :)

We did a little more wandering and then headed back to Fort Wilderness for some rest and some time to cool off (it was in the 90's every day that we were at Disney). No one slept, but we did cool off! We (my mom and I) also decided it would be in our best interest to rent a golf cart to help us get around. (That was the main draw back to staying at the cabins, you have to get on an "internal" bus just to get to either the boats or the other buses to get anywhere.)

We took our newly acquired golf cart back to the marina and took a boat back to Magic Kingdom for dinner and more fun. We all enjoyed "It's A Small World"; it was fun to watch the kids faces and they looked at all the different scenes! The kids and I then went on the Magic Carpet Ride from Aladdin (similar to Dumbo). Wyatt surprised me by giggling and laughing through the whole ride! They then enjoyed some Mickey Ear ice cream before we headed back to our cabin for the night.

Saturday:
We had a much more relaxed day on Saturday. We slept in (7:30 instead of 6:30) and then explored Fort Wilderness on our golf cart while we waited for my friend, Laurie, and her kids, Zane and Sophia to come for the day. Laurie and I went to Trinity Christian College together! We enjoyed playing at the park and swimming together in the pool (where Wyatt once again surprised me with his laughter!). It was so good to see Laurie and meet her kids (I haven't seen Laurie since my wedding!).

Lily and Wyatt laid down for a nap, my dad took a hike, and my mom and I rested after Laurie and her kids left. After resting, we again went back to Downtown Disney for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express. I thought the food was delicious! We did a little more shopping before heading back to our cabin one last time. :(

Sunday:
We packed up and got ready to start another LONG day of travel. It was a little stressful again in the airport, but we managed to make our flight. We got back home just before bedtime!

Overall, the trip was great! My parents were fantastic...I could not have made this trip without them! Lily and Wyatt amazed me with their flexibility and their enjoyment of all things! We were able to create memories that will last forever...and yes, I do hope to go back to Disney some day!

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A Magical Moment...Preview :)

Here is a brief glimpse of our trip...stay tuned for pictures...

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lily Grace and Wyatt Ryan!

Happy Birthday, Lily and Wyatt!

It is so hard for Mommy to believe that you have been in this world for 3 years! You make me smile each and every day. You are best friends and you watch out for one another. You love to laugh and play together. You both love to be outside and read books. You both miss your Daddy. You know that you must love and obey Jesus to get to heaven someday.

Lily Grace:
You favorite colors are pink and purple.
You love to eat most fruits and vegetables and will try almost anything that mommy puts on your plate.
You are a "girly-girl" who loves pretty dresses and new shoes.
You are a great mommy to your babies, but you love to play cars with Wyatt.
You enjoy coloring, stickers, markers, and painting.
You are independent, but you also love to cuddle.
You almost always have a smile on your face.
You are so excited to meet the Princesses!
I love you my little princess!

Wyatt Ryan:
Your favorite colors are blue, green and orange.
You love Lightning McQueen and Mater.
You love to play with cars, trucks, and trains.
You are timid and shy...Mommy's Little Boy!
You are very protective of "your" Lily.
You do not like new things, but almost always enjoy them once you try.
You are a more picky eater, but you enjoy PB & J and most kinds of fruit.
You are very loving and will always say "I Love You" to Mommy and Lily.
You HATE being in water, including the bath tub.
I love you my little man!

*Remember to turn the music off on the blog.

Weekend Fun

What fun weekend!

Friday started with birthday party for my nephew, Noah. This was interrupted by a phone call from my friend, Val. She was calling to tell me that she is ENGAGED! YIPPEE! Congrats to Val and Dave, I am so excited to see how God is going to work in your lives together.

Val was really excited! (Who isn't when they get engaged?)

Dave did a great job picking out the ring!

The happy couple!

On Saturday and Sunday, we enjoyed a visit from Ryan's mom and Grandma! The kids were spoiled rotten, but we all had a good time together.

Lily, Grammy, and Wyatt

Grandma-Great, Lily, and Grammy

Here are 3 videos of Lily and Wyatt "exercising" with Grandma-Great. I couldn't pick which one was my favorite, so I put all three of them up. Lily thought that it was fun to get up and run circles around Mommy... (don't forget to turn the music off on the blog).

Today we are on to the joys of potty training. We are 3 hours in and they have both had 2 accidents and 1 successful attempt. This just might be a task that is put on hold for another week or two...

Children, Obey Your Parents

I am trying to teach Lily and Wyatt specific bible verses along with the different bible stories. The video series that our small group is studying suggested teaching Eph. 6:1 as the first verse that children learn, so we have been working on that this week. I think that they are so cute when they say it and I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy!

"Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Ephesians 6:1

(Remember to turn off the sound on the right hand side of the blog.)

**Wyatt was asking me if the camera is "dying" at the end because I had said something about the battery dying...just in case you wondered why he started asking if something was dying.**

A Sweet Letter