A Mountain Getaway

Over the 4th of July weekend, the kids and I tagged along with my parents on a quick mountain vacation. We really needed to get away for a few days. We stayed in a precious mountain house, affectionately called "Granny's Old House." The owner's grandmother owned the house and raised six children in it near the town of Sparta, NC. It had beautiful mountain views and was surrounded on three sides by cow pastures. In fact, most mornings we sat on the back porch and ate our breakfast along side the cows! While we were there, we took the kids tubing on the New River, mucked around in a mountain stream at Stone Mountain, climbed to the peak of Mount Jefferson, visited Shatley Springs to drink the healing spring water and eat family style, went to the original Mast General Store in Valle Crusis, shopped at Ashe County Cheese, and of course ate at the Daniel Boone Inn! We packed a lot into a long weekend. The kids were so well behaved considering how long we spent in the car. Here are some highlights of our trip!


Our sweet family!


Stone Mountain


The summit of Mt. Jefferson


Granny's Old House

New Swing Set!

My whole family has been a huge support for me trying to get my house back in order after our recent family changes. One way that my daddy and Justin have helped is by putting together a swing set for the kids. Todd and I purchased it last year and never had a chance to put it together. Over a couple of weekends, Daddy and Justin worked hard to put this thing together and we have already enjoyed it quite a bit. We've even had a playdate and invited Abby's friend David over to play.

Here are Abby and Tyler swinging together!



Hanging out in the clubhouse:


While swinging, Abby noticed this triangle up in one of the neighbor's pine tree. She blows me away with how observant she can be!


This is how tall the pine tree really is:

Learning how to be a family of three...

Well, after I made the last post about us buying a bigger house and those precious Valentine's Day pictures, big changes started happening in our home. I won't go into a lot of detail, but just know that Todd and I are now legally separated. It was not my choice and I was completely surprised and devastated. It has been a little over a month now, and the kids and I are just now getting into a rhythm and are looking for our "new normal." Because we have two beautiful kids together, I have made it my goal to stay positive and not be negative in regard to Todd. Yes, my life is completely different. No, it is not what I wanted, signed up for, or expected. But, at the end of the day, I still have a home, a job, and two precious gifts from God in Abigail and Tyler. I have wonderfully supportive family and friends. We will make it and God will see us through!

My Funny Valentines

Here are some cute pictures of my kiddos from the Sunday before Valentine's Day. I know, I know, I'm way too matchy-matchy. But when your kids are this stinkin' cute, you just can't resist! :)







Love their expressions in this last picture!

The Last Five Months

We've been a little MIA these last five months. Okay, maybe a lot MIA. Here's a quick recap since September to get you caught up with our crazy lives!

-We've had all four of our birthdays. Abby and Todd celebrated on November 16th. She remains his greatest birthday present to date :). Abby turned four this year. It blows my mind how quickly time flies!! My birthday was December 16, and Tyler's was on December 17. Our baby turned 2!

-We've had multiple Christmas celebrations with all of our wonderful family in all the corners of the state. We've celebrated in Sanford, Sims, Elizabethtown, Aurora, and New Bern!

-Abby is taking dance now at a small local studio. It's called Happy Feet, which is perfect since she loves that movie so much! She's in a preschool age class, and I have been super impressed with the experience. I was really worried that she wouldn't be a good listener, but she does a fabulous job listening to her teacher Mrs. Kristen.

-We've had several decent snows for New Bern this year. We've missed some school, which will be sad when it's time to make it all up!

I think the biggest news of all is that we are going to put our home on the market soon. It's bittersweet for us, but we feel it is the right thing to do. Even though this is our first home, we are quickly outgrowing it! We were not planning on selling our house right now, but I think God is leading us in this decision. It all started with me browsing the internet for homes in our area. Not seriously, just to see what was out there. I found a foreclosure in our area and it was a good deal for a lot of house and not in horrible shape. That house ended up going under contract before we could do anything about it. However, that got the ball rolling. We are actively working to put our house on the market and hope to do so very soon. And now, we have another house prospect that will most likely work out. God knew what he was doing when he had me searching the internet that night!

Bear Hunt

On Labor Day, Amy and I decided to take the kids on a Bear Hunt through downtown New Bern. For those who haven't seen them, there are 27 bear statues that have been placed in spots around the downtown area, with another 23 in the Greater New Bern Area. The bears have been painted to represent either the location or the ideals of the organization that sponsored placement of each bear.

More information about each of the Bear Town Bears can be found here.

Here are the bears we found today (20 of the 27 downtown bears)



And some photos from our journey:

Vacation!

A couple of weeks ago we took a long weekend trip up to Virginia. We were gone 4 jam-packed days! We left on a Thursday afternoon and drove up to Virginia Beach, taking a quick dinner break in Elizabeth City. Waterfront Park is downtown and gave the kids the opportunity to stretch their legs.

Friday morning we woke up bright and early and drove from Jodi's house in Virginia Beach to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We spent a long, hot, but fun day there. Abby and Tyler enjoyed the Forest of Fun which is a Sesame Street themed area. Everything is very kid friendly. Here are the kids waiting to get on a ride:





Here we are riding!







And that was the last image ever taken by my camera. Following that picture, Todd proceeded to balance the camera on a fence post to get out his cell phone. The camera tipped, and then fell onto the rocks around the ride, and into the water. Luckily (I thought) I was able to fish the camera out as Tyler and I rode by. Not necessarily so lucky because the camera was a goner. So about 30 minutes into our vacation we were short a camera. I was sad, but we stayed positive and had a great day! Todd and I were able to leave Abby and Tyler with my parents on a few occasions to ride some grown-up rides. We LOVE rollercoasters!

On Saturday we went to the Virginia Aquarium near the Oceanfront. We were able to see a 3D IMAX movie about dolphins and whales. Abby normally loves watching "animal shows" as she calls them, but something about huge whales coming right at her head didn't do much for her. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the movie just fine. It is a large aquarium and there were plenty of cool things to see. One of Tyler's favorite parts was the massive stingray touch tank. He loved to watch them swim around and around and we even got to watch a feeding.

Sunday morning we ventured towards Newport News and visited the Virginia Living Museum. We would highly recommend it for families with kids. Or if you are dorky teachers like Todd and I, even adults like it! It is kinda pricey to get in, but since we are members of the NC Aquarium we were able to get in for free because it is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. There are lots of hands-on things for kids, as well as animal exhibits both indoors and out. It is like a combination of a zoo, aquarium, and museum.

When we left the Living Museum we had originally planned to drive home. But, we decided to be adventurous and drive down the Outer Banks. It took us about 2 hours, but we made it to Kitty Hawk just in time to have a fantastic seafood dinner. Dinner was good, but of course we didn't have any kind of hotel reservation. We drove towards Manteo because we knew it would be a little cheaper. We ended up at the Dare Haven Inn. Too put it mildly, it was an interesting experience. It was very dated, the mattress was horrible, and there were mismatched towels in the bathroom. Despite all of this, we had a great evening. Todd and I put the kids to bed, and then sat outside on the breezeway in some comfy chairs. It was the first time during the whole vacation we were able to sit and talk and enjoy each other! As Todd called it, here are some images of "The Hotel Time Forgot":







The next morning we got up and went to the NC Aquarium in Manteo. It is smaller than the one in Pine Knoll Shores, but it was nice to see something a little different. We were able to watch a live dive and listen to the diver answer audience questions. Abby also enjoyed looking for sharks' teeth in their sharks' tooth pile.

That afternoon we headed home. We were glad to get home and sleep in our own beds!

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!

Updated Pictures and Tyler's First Haircut

Today we took the kids to have their pictures made at Portrait Innovations. They were really good during the photo shoot, but were both very screamy while we were trying to pick out pictures. To their credit, it was an hour past lunchtime, so we won't hold it against them!



We also took took a family trip to the barber right before the new year to get Tyler's haircut. As much as I hated to see those precious curls go, he looks so good now. He looks like a little boy! You know it's time when strangers ask you how old your "little girl" is. Argghhh.

Happy Birthday, Tylerbug!

Amongst all of the Christmas activities, we celebrated two birthdays at our house in the month of December. My birthday was the 16th and then Tyler's was the 17th. He was my birthday present, 7 1/2 hours late :). The first year of life is so big developmentally and it has been awesome to watch the transition from a newborn baby to a toddler!

Tyler on December 17, 2008 at 8lbs 8oz



Some current milestones:
-Walking at 11 1/2 months
-FINALLY cut first tooth at 12 1/2 months
-Trying to talk. Says "mama" and "dada" clearly. We've heard him say some other words randomly also. I seriously think he said "cookie" the other night.
-FINALLY drinking out of a sippy cup. But the little booger still wants a bottle to help him get sleepy for night night!
-Staring to actually play with toys rather than always trying to eat them. They do still taste good to him on occasion.
-Fighting back with Abby. Not really a good thing, but a milestone nonetheless.
-Weighs 21 pounds

Tyler now, at 21lbs.



Here are some pictures from his first birthday that we celebrated with family and friends. Tyler was hilarious with the cake...that's why there are so many shots of it! Abby was very dainty with her cake when she turned one, but not Tyler. He had no trouble figuring that out. The other highlight of the party for Tyler was getting some boy toys! He had a few baby toys and there are lots of pink girlie toys around, but those just aren't as good for a little boy. Enjoy!

Christmas Festivities, continued!

Saturday, Dec. 18 was Riverside UMC's Christmas pageant. This year, both Abby AND Todd were a part of the production! Abby was an angel and Todd was Jesus. The pageant was cute as always, but Abby had a little difficulty with the whole standing still thing. As one of the angels, she was the second person to come in and had to remain in a standing-still position for the entire production. If you know 3 year olds, you know this is a very lofty aspiration! Needless to say she spent the whole time running around the choir loft. Looking back on it, I can laugh. But that night it was frustrating because I had Tyler in the pew and couldn't really do anything to stop her. After the performance there was a small Christmas party in the fellowship hall with another visit from St. Nick.

The next night we were able to participate in a live nativity. The Kings are some good family friends and they have hosted a live nativity in their yard for 19 years running. This is the first year I have even seen it, and it was precious! Tyler was too young yet, but Abby was able to be (you guessed it), an angel. This time it was very short. The kids just processed out while someone read the Christmas story, and then they processed back. Very simple, but a sweet way to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Next up, Abby and Tyler's babysitters hosted their annual Christmas party. This is a large event, complete with a large spaghetti meal, lots of treats to eat, and opening presents of course!

Christmas Festivities

This December we have been so blessed to enjoy many Christmas activities. The first weekend in December we went to a country store called ZAKS Mallardtown for their Christmas open house. They have a Santa there, complete with elves. There was a Christmas craft for the kids to make and refreshements too. The best part of all...you get to take your own Santa pictures and you don't have to pay a pricey photographer! I was even able to buy a few Christmas presents while there. This sounds great, right? Well, both of my kids have decided to be scared of Santa this year! At first I was frustrated because I was really banking on getting a good Christmas card picture. But I got such classic shots that I really couldn't be upset for long.



The next day was the Trent Woods Christmas parade. The school I work at pulls some kids from this neighborhood so we had a float in the parade. Abby and I rode in the float. It was a really nice Christmas parade! I really enjoyed being a mini celebrity for the day and spending that time with my Abby. She enjoyed it, but it was during her naptime. She spent much of the time half asleep! Todd and Tyler watched the parade at Garber UMC and were near our friends Sara and David with their cutie kids Jacob and Shannon. When we got to this point, I dropped Abby off with her Daddy so she could watch some of the parade.



Uncle Ryan the firefighter was nice enough to invite Abby and Tyler to the Township 7 Christmas party. It was a fun time for all! They served a yummy dinner followed by a visit from the Big Man himself...Santa! He even had a present for each boy or girl there. We were able to convince Abby to sit on his lap, but definately not Tyler. He clung to me! The firefighters were also given a gift in honor of their wonderful service to our community...a huge flat screen TV!



I'll post more later with our church activities and Tyler's birthday...our boy is one now!

Our Birthday Princess

On Monday, November 16 we were excited to celebrate our Abigail's 3rd birthday. This is also Todd's birthday, but in his words "I don't have a birthday anymore." He's good natured about it, thankfully! She was his 25th birthday present and I tell him all the time I will never be able to top that present! I cannot believe how the time has flown. It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. Over the last year she has really done a lot of growing and changing. Over the last year she has become a big sister, been potty trained (woohoo), and has had multiple vocabulary explosions. Her time as a two-year old was a wild ride in our family filled with a lot of crying and tantrums, but also a lot of love and laughter. We can't wait to see what this year holds for her!

I think she really enjoyed her birthday party, which we held the Saturday before her birthday. We had many friends and family there for her "Hello Kitty" themed party. She received many wonderful gifts, but by far her favorite was her "Princess Ano." This is Abby-speak for a Princess Musical Lighted Vanity. She saw this in the Christmas wish book about a week before her birthday and just had to have it. We sent Uncle Justin to the Toys 'R Us in Greenville to get it, but they didn't have it. We called Target and Walmart, no luck. Todd and I ended up driving to Jacksonville the night before the party to get it at the Toys 'R Us there. It was so worth it to see the look on her face when she opened that present. We just pray that there are no last-minute Christmas requests!

Not related, but here is an exerpt from a conversation I had with Abby this past Saturday morning:
Abby: Mommy, I'm really tired.
Mommy: Me too. I didn't get enough sleep last night.
Abby: Mommy, you really need to take care of yourself.

Where she got that one, I have NO idea!

I will post pictures soon when I have a few minutes to upload them.

Tyler updates: He is almost walking. He has taken a step or two, but I haven't seen it. Todd and my dad have seen him do it. He is now finally saying "mama" but I think it's just when he's hungry. Funny how he still associates me with food even though it's been 3 months since I've nursed him. He loves cars and likes to "drive" them around. More updates to come on him because his birthday is approaching quickly too!

Welcome to the World, Caleb!

On November 4, 2009 my good friends Kara and Christopher welcomed a sweet baby boy, Caleb Hadyn to the world. He was a teeny guy, weighing in at 6lbs 4oz. After my two chunky babies he seemed especially tiny. I went up there to visit and get my hands on that precious boy the following Sunday. Here are some pictures from my trip!