Visiting Granny & Papa

The last weekend in June we took a long weekend trip to Sanford to visit with Granny and Papa. It ended up being an action packed weekend! Abby and Tyler especially enjoyed the wading pool they had for them! Friday morning we had a playdate with Granny's neighbor Meredith. On Friday evening, Todd and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert with Kara and Christopher at Walnut Creek. We had a great time. We hadn't been to a concert in years! Saturday morning we took a trip to SanLee Park where they have a really cute little nature center. They have birds, turtles, snakes, crayfish, and even a squirrel! The kids loved looking at the turtles especially and that is now Abby's favorite animal. Sunday was busy too. We went to church in the morning, and in the afternoon some of Todd's friends from high school came to Sanford to catch up and meet the kids. We enjoyed visiting with Carolyn, Kristen, and Chris!

Sweet Summertime!

Recently we took an evening trip to Dairy Queen for some yummy ice cream. Tyler was able to have his first ice cream cone! He made a huge mess, but he loved it!



Uncle Justin and Hannah came too! Here we are snugglin' with Uncle Jus!



He's got some big shoes to fill!

Because of Winn-Dixie

I recently had the opportunity to read the novel Because of Winn-Dixie to my students. It is a children's novel and if you haven't read it, you need to. In the book, the father blesses a meal at a party for his little girl. It really touched me, and I wanted to share!

Dear God, thank you for warm summer nights and candlelight and good food. But thank you most of all for friends. We appreciate the complicated and wonderful gifts you give us in each other. And we appreciate the task you put down before us, of loving each other the best we can, even as you love us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

My heroes!

Early in April, we had the opportunity to watch a training burn for Township 7 Fire Dept, along with several other fire departments around the New Bern area. Both of my brothers are volunteer fire fighters. I know I'm partial because I'm the big sister, but these guys really are heroes in my book! Even as volunteers, they are there 24/7 to help the citizens of Township 7, which is the James City/Brices Creek area. They are right there in burning houses, brush fires, removing victims from car wrecks, and many, many other duties. It is a dirty, hot, dangerous, and sometimes even thankless job. But they do it willingly and without a second thought. And I couldn't be more proud!

Blog Slacker

Hello out there blog friends. I am sure you are shocked to actually see a blog post by me! Yes, the Williamson family is still here, going strong. The kids are growing by leaps and bounds and are as precious as ever! Here are some highlights of the last couple of months. Hopefully I will get pictures posted soon!

-New Van! We traded Todd's faithful 1998 Nissan Sentra for a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country. Best move we've ever made, and we've enjoyed the van more than we could have imagined! He's got the Escape and he is glad he doesn't have to deal with the quirks that accompanied the Sentra. It was a good little car though. And GOOD on gas!

-Abby is playing t-ball! She is in the YMCA's Bam-Bam t-ball program designed specifically for ages 2.5-4. It is equally as cute as it is hilarious! She is doing a fantastic job and it helps mommy see she's not the only one in tantrum world.

-Easter. We celebrated this special season with several Easter egg hunts and special time with family. We attempted church with our Shallow Well family but had to leave early because Abby had a little tummy bug that day.

-Las Vegas! Todd and I took a wonderful trip to Las Vegas with no kids. It was fantastic although we missed those munchkins terribly! Todd presented some technology stuff at a middle school conference and I relaxed. In the evenings and on Saturday we enjoyed Las Vegas Blvd. (The Strip) and enjoyed a different but beautiful landscape.

Thanks for your patience with my lack of posts lately. Stay tuned!

January/February Fun

So as a mom, I LOVE bathtub pictures. Here is a sweet one of our darlings...



...and here is Abby's version of a kick-me sign.



Other than our bathtub fun...we've been up to a lot of other cool things. Here are some random albums of life in the Williamson household!

Abby v. Brownie Batter



Sleepy Baby



Tyler v. The Mirror



Baby in a Basket

Snow!

This past weekend we got a monster snow for New Bern! We measured and had a little over 5 inches at our house. It started snowing around 9:00 pm on Friday and was already sticking in a matter of minutes. Todd and I were having a "date night" and we had to rush home so that our babysitters (Justin and Hannah) could get home safely. When we went to bed, there was already an inch on the ground. It was really magical waking up on Saturday morning to a winter wonderland. Abby was so excited, but was very patient as we had breakfast and got all bundled up to go outside. We enjoyed making snow angels, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and of course, making snow cream! Yes, we southerners find a way to make anything a food! We get snow so rarely, we have to take advantage of it! Abby is the perfect age to enjoy the snow. Tyler, on the other hand, was very overwhelmed by it all. He couldn't walk in it, which really frustrated him. He would take a step, and then trip over it. He spent a lot of time walking around on the porch with a broom hitting my porch furniture (hey whatever keeps him happy). I think an inch or two would have been better for him. Regardless, both of the munchkins played hard and took fantastic naps. Todd and I were pretty lazy that afternoon watching Remember the Titans and the Carolina game (and yes, the Heels actually won one).
Luckily the snow didn't linger too long. I love the snow, but I hate watching get all dirty and yucky. It didn't mess up roads/travelling too much either which is fine by me!
Enjoy the pictures of our fun in the snow!