An afternoon with H & W in June

(this is from June 28, 2009)

Uncle Hunter and William reading Brown Bear together.

This post is going to be short. I'm playing catch-up! I wanted to get these cute memories down for William. The last weekend in June Uncle Hunter and Whitney stopped by to see us for the afternoon. They had been down celebrating Whit's birthday and both of them were just about to pop to see William. They love him so much and have so much fun playing around with him. It's as if no one else is in the room when they see William. He is getting better at their names. It's cute to hear him say " huner" and "whidmey". Can you begin to hear that?? It's a drawn out "hunnn" with a soft "er" and then a short "whid(t)" "me". He just bursts into laughs and runs to them as soon as he sees either of them. Whitney is so kind to jump right in and offer with baths or diaper duty or whatever. Uncle Hunter...he just likes playing around with William...he's not into the "cleaning business". They both get right down on his level and play with him. They both love tossing him up in the air for big hugs. I'll take it any day. I love watching Hunter smile and laugh with my child. It warms my heart to see that side of my brother. He adores his nephew. Wow. His nephew!! That is just so weird...guess I still see him only as my brother...and William's Uncle...but to call my child "a nephew" leaves me speechless...that may not make sense to anyone, but I know what I mean.

I just wanted to include these cute pictures of William with his Uncle Hunter and Whitney. Hope you enjoy the videos too!

Happy 4th of July!

We loved our 4th of July! We celebrated it here at home and loved every minute of it...just good times! Our day started off with the Seaside 4th of July parade. It was perfect! Philip parked his truck at the end of our road so we could just sit in the back end with the tailgate up for William. This was wonderful! William was in heaven watching all the excitement go by. He waved to everyone. He danced to the music. He tried to catch all the "goodies" being tossed around. He was just precious. Philip and I just sat back and enjoyed.

After the parade, we headed on down to the beach to soak up some sun. William loves loves loves the beach. He knows just when we turn into the parking area. He so proudly carries his bucket down the ramp and walks right through the sand. He will patiently wait as I put our stuff down, apply his "sunseen" as he call it, and then it's off to the water with his bucket. He is so happy just scooping up water and carrying it around somewhere to dump. He will sit and shovel sand into his bucket for a while too. He loves to have Mommy or Daddy help with both events. Sometimes he wants to get in the water and kick-kick and "siim"(swim). He's a beach baby for sure. I don't mind at all being covered in sand if it means my baby is happy and having fun. I don't mind for one minute having to get up and go just sit-sit in the sand so he can dump water on my feet. I love it when he grabs handfuls of sand and rubs it on my back---hey, it's like a mini-spa treatment! I love being at the beach with William---just perfect!

While we were out there playing around, I looked up and one of my dear friends was walking by. I called out her name and she waved, then saw William and realized it was me. It was great getting to catch up with Sadie. By this point W was ready for his nap, so Philip said for me to just head back down the way with Sadie for a while and that he would take William home for a nap. How sweet~~ I spent a few hours just hanging out with Sadie and catching up while William slept peacefully at home and Philip flopped on the couch watching the History Channel! Old friends are great! I love how you can just pick right back up where you left off~~

Later that afternoon I walked on back home and got cleaned up and got everyone ready to go to the Strayhan's for their 4th of July bash. Lee's mom Janie had everyone over to her house for a cookout and fireworks. It was great! William fell in LOVE with the playhouse under her beach house. Basically Philip and I alternated who would stay down below with William and who would stay up with the other adults! It was fun. At points we could get William go up and find Mr. Bill Slavins who introduced William to M&M's! It was just adorable how William would find him and start asking for "peece" and Mr. Bill would hand him a handful of M&M's! We enjoyed the party. Jessica and Jim were there with baby Olivia. Mr. Bill and Mrs. Laura (her parent's) were there. Abby stopped by for a little while. Lee and Cameron and one of their daughter's were there, along with some neighbors. I enjoyed getting to visit with Cameron. By the time the fireworks started, I had already given William a bath (see pictures). The fireworks were great! We could see from Sandestin to Seaside..and maybe a bit beyond. William loved the fireworks again! Last year, they actually put him to sleep!

It was a great day! I was so happy to know that all across America family and friends were gathering together to celebrate America. Everything seemed so peaceful and happy. I found myself thinking of the families of the troops who are still serving...My heart was full of compassion for the troops, both past and present. Thank you to all who served, who are serving and who will one day serve this great country!

Hope you had a great 4th of July. Take time to remember what it means to you...

Daddy's Day Off...July 3rd

Philip took off to spend the day with us...so we took him to art class...then the beach! Just what he wanted to do on his day off!! All jokes aside, he said he really loved getting to just be with us and carry on our normal day. I loved having him for the day. It was perfect! A weekday with Daddy is best! We love having him all to ourselves and away from work!!!

I just wanted to include this on the blog so William can see it one day...

I've got to print all this off for his keepsake book :)

Enjoy the pictures!!

Weekend with Gram and Grumps (6/26-6/29)

I'm so behind with my blog! It's summertime and we are super busy.....

so I'll do my best in what little time I have :)

Gram and Grumps came to visit right after our anniversary to watch William for the night for us and to just visit. It was lots of fun and jam packed! We appreciated them driving up from South Florida to come see us. It's great to spend time with family.

Let's begin with Saturday (since PJJ and I weren't there on Friday). We got home from our getaway late Saturday afternoon just as W was waking up from his nap. It was such a great feeling to walk in and have him so excited to see us! He just reached out and hugged me so tight! I just love those little arms around my neck. Needless to say he didn't want me out of his sight for the rest of the night and days to follow! We just hung out at the house while Gram and Grumps played with William. Philip and I were making pizza together...until we ran into the problem of the dough sticking to the board and not sliding off onto his new pizza stone! What a disaster! Somehow with lots of extra flour and cornstarch we managed to work together to get the thing transferred! All the while having Gram there "coaching" us along wanting to take pictures...it was fun! (I'm still hoping to get the said pictures... :)) Pizza was great and Grumps loved loved loved it!

We all enjoyed a quiet night just sharing about our adventures

(them telling us about keeping William and us telling them about our getaway).

Sunday we went over to Panama City to church to celebrate the baptism of little Jackson Lee (Ben and Shani's little boy). Gram and Grumps went with us and helped keep William happy on the drive over. It was so wonderful to see the Lee family and be there to witness such a tender moment. I will put some pictures up hopefully soon of the baptism. After church we went to Panera for a quick lunch b/c Philip was going to cook a rather nice and fulfilling dinner that evening. William loved showing Gram how he could eat the grilled cheese sandwich! He was such a big boy and so happy to chomp away on ice. He loves ice! Grumps was to get on home so William could have his nap and be ready to play some more. It's so cute watching Grumps with William. I love watching William interact with his grandparents. I can just see the love they have for him and the joy he brings to their hearts. I just love grandparents! Sweet Gram just bursts with love for William. There's no doubt about it!

Hunter and Whitney stopped by for a short visit that afternoon while Gram and Grumps ran to the outlets. It was so good seeing Hunter and watching William run to him. William loves his Uncle Hunter! Whitney is great with William and loves to get right down on his level and play play play! (I'll post the pictures and videos of them later).

Gram and Grumps were treated to a fine dining dinner Sunday night...I even pulled out my fine china and silver! I love to use it every so often. It makes the meal that much more enjoyable. Let me set the stage...fine china, silver, excellent meal...us all in t-shirts and shorts just totally relaxed :) I couldn't help but laugh a bit. William loved helping us say the bwess as he calls it. He loves to hold hands and will patiently sit there while we say the blessing and then he says his sweet "a-en". He's getting better at the "a-men" now.

I did get some cute videos of William with Gram and Grumps and I wanted to include them on here.. Hope you enjoy!

Monday we went to Great Southern for breakfast and all enjoyed the delicious smoked Gouda cheese grits! William loved coloring on the paper at the table and loved loved loved the mickey mouse pancake! Gram especially loved how it came with fruit as the eyes, nose and mouth. We played around in the amphitheater in Seaside for a little while after breakfast and let William wear himself out a good bit. He was loving having Gram and Grumps chase him all over. It was sweet. Once Philip went to work, I put William down for a nap and off the the salon I went for a quick hair cut (trim). It was great! I'm thankful it worked out that they could squeeze me in while I had Gram there to keep William. The weather got bad so we didn't get down the beach any, but they didn't seem to mind. They just wanted to be with William.

We went to Angelina's for dinner that night b/c Grumps requested it. It is very rare for him to request anything. It was yummy as usual. I love the 30-A places! They are all so great. Gram gave William his bath since it was her last night with us. She caved and let him keep his crocks on b/c she said he insisted he wear them. Cute pictures! Once I got him to sleep, she and I focused on teaching me to use the sewing machine. Well, I had known how to years back in high school, but I needed a refresher. So, she walked me through it and just as we thought we were done, we realized something wasn't working out right...with the liner! So, from 10 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. there we sat, just going over and over and over the pattern until we FINALLY figured out that the bottom snap section was the pull-through and that I had to undo that part, flip it there, then close it up. All in all, it was kinda fun being so delirious sitting up together trying to figure this out so I could finish my first little outfit for William!

Thanks to Gram and Grumps for a wonderful visit! Enjoy the pictures and the videos!!

Our 4th Anniversary!!!!

Wow! I can't believe it's been 4 years. They have flown by. They have been wonderful years full of many memories. I never ever thought I would be more in love than the day I married my best friend. Oh, how wrong I was. Life does that. Life opens new doors and takes you down roads you never saw in your future. Life is good. My love for my husband has gone beyond my wildest imagination. Much of that is because we are now parents. I love being married to Philip. He is my prince charming. He is my blessing.

My husband...no one loves him like I do

I can remember our wedding day perfectly. June 25, 2005. Eden Gardens State Park, Point Washington, Fl. 6 in the evening....well, really 6:15 b/c traffic was so terrible and folks were still arriving so the pastor (Dr. Taylor) decided to stall...I had idea of the time so it didn't matter to me. I felt on top of the world. Everything was as I imagined ever since I was a little girl playing dress-up and hanging a pillowcase on my head for a veil. My Daddy was in his dress blues ready to hand me over to the love of my life. My dress was perfect with the long train and extra long veil. No one would ever have my exact dress b/c I had the company combine two separate dresses and add a new detail so it would be just for me. I was barefoot outside in a garden. (That part was my one constant dream of my wedding day..to be barefoot outside) My family was there. My friends were there. My guy was waiting. My closest girlfriends were up there waiting to stand with me...all 10 of them and all barefoot too! My precious little brother was my ring bearer. My other brother was a groomsman. I had two young cousins that served as jr. bridesmaids and had the most adorable flower girl. Everything was perfect. The setting couldn't have been more Southern. I felt as if I had stepped into paradise. I can remember tearing up before walking down the aisle and Daddy putting his hand on my hand and saying it would be okay, that he would get me down that aisle. As soon as I started walking and could see Philip, the tears went away and I became this giddy little girl bursting with happiness. I giggled and smiled all the way down the aisle! Once Daddy handed me over I could just feel the excitement building. I held it together until I said my vows...then I cried softly. (Later in the video you can here my little brother, Holden, who was the ring bearer, say to Hunter "Hey, Why is she crying? Lauren, don't cry") Our wedding day was perfect! I could not have asked for better weather, considering it was the end of June in Florida. There was such a nice breeze. The bugs were a little bad, but I was oblivious. We had such a fantastic time together at our reception with all our friends and family. We left our reception by boat and drove off into the Bay under a stary night. Thank you to everyone who was there to celebrate with us...I find myself reflecting back to that day so often. It's one of the best days in my life.

Father and Daughter walking to the wedding

So, this year for our anniversary, the traditional gift was "fruit or flower". I bought and planted 2 tomato plants for Philip to add to his little herb garden. He's been wanting some tomato plants for a while, so it seemed perfect. He gave me a rose garden!! Well, I get to go pick out the roses I want and then he's going to plant them for me here at our house. He said he wanted to have me pick out the type I want, but then he's doing all the work :) How sweet! I've been saying for years that I want a rose garden...to which he would say "I never promised you a rose garden." and then smile. I think he knew what he was doing all along.

We also exchanged a "just for you" gift. I bought him some new old fashioned tumblers and engraved our initial "J" on them for him. I am excited about this new little toy I found. It's an Engraving tool that will work on glass, metal, wood, etc. It's the coolest and easiest thing to use. I'm looking forward to many cool projects!! Philip gave me some "pamper me" gifts that are perfect!! He picked out a wonderful smelling spa bath soap and a body duster (well, that's what I'm calling it). It has perfumed dust powder at the bottom and the softest dusting brush that you just swish all over you. It's absolutely perfect! There are days when I feel like all I smell like is Baby Magic and cookie crumbs :) :) He also gave me a book I've been wanting to read: Bringing up Boys by James Dobson. I'm already loving this book!

During the process

The finished product

We celebrated our anniversary by going to dinner together that night. We dropped William off with our friends Jenny and Patrick so he could play with his sweet little girlfriend Jillian and her baby brother Jackson. We walked down to Rosemary for dinner at the new place Paradis. It was delicious!! We even indulged at had dessert! YUM!! If you are ever in the area, you must go! I attached the link to the restaurant so you can check out the menu.

It was a perfect summer evening.

Headed to Dinner...Mr. and Mrs.

Our Family

Gram and Grumps came in town on Friday to keep William for the night while we escaped to Apalachicola for a getaway. We arrived in Apalachicola that afternoon in time for the Friday night Cocktail party at The Gibson Inn, which is where we stayed. Every time we go to Apalachicola I feel as if I have stepped into a novel and I'm the main character. It's such a quaint little place so full of life. I love the streets and shops and restaurants. The calmness of the town is catching. You can feel all the stress of life just melt away as you drive into town. You've just gotta go! So...after cocktails, we headed to our room to settle in and change for dinner. We headed down to the water to eat at Boss Oyster. I told Philip to find a place where he could have some oysters and I could just enjoy the view. This place was perfect! I loved the crab cakes. They were the best I've had (but not as good as Philip's). Philip had some Gouda baked oysters that he said were amazing as well as the Bay scallops. Dinner was great. We sat outside right by the boat docks and listened to the water gently crashing. After dinner we just walked around a little until we found The Oasis. It's the only night life there. The place was great (except the smoke smell). By the end of the night they had turned the music to all Michael Jackson. I fought the urge to sing along until I couldn't help it. I had to join in. Again, so not me, but when the mood strikes...

Headed out to Dinner Friday

Saturday morning we slept in. It was perfect! We packed up our stuff and headed on out to check out the shops. I love my husband. He went in every shop with me and just piddled the day away! We found a pizza stone, a glass ice bucket, a surprise ice tray for W and some local art. We enjoyed some local food for lunch from The Grill. I had the Bay Scallops and PJJ had an Oyster Po-boy. Yummy. After lunch we drove over to St. George Island to check out the beach. We decided to just walk a bit and ended up walking about 45 mins. The beach was beautiful and gorgeous. Yes, we live at the beach, but here, there were no houses along the dunes. It was just beach as far as you could see. Again, felt like a novel. And the shells!! There were millions and millions of perfect little shells. Philip patiently walked with me and filled his pockets with shells. I was a bit bummed b/c I didn't carry my camera w/ us on the beach, so you will just have to take my word for it. The weather was perfect! I was in heaven in the sunshine, walking in the sand and listening to the waves. We wrapped up our little getaway by stopping a local produce stand to pick up some goodies. We found some cucumbers for me, pinkeye's, peaches and green peppers. I just love produce stands!

All in all, this Anniversary was perfect in every way!

Thank you Philip for a wonderful 4th Anniversary. Thank you for loving me.

Thanks to Gram and Grumps for keeping our precious little boy and taking great care of him so we could escape and relax together.

Happy Father's Day Philip!

How much I love my husband...not only for the husband he is, but for the father he is to William. He is all I ever could possibly have dreamed of in a Father. He adores William and William adores his daddy. Philip is my best friend and I am so proud of who he is as a father. I was super excited to celebrate him on Father's Day this year. Last year I was beyond words, but now, this year, having watched him with his son my love for him has grown deeper (which I thought was impossible). I know I will fall more and more in love with him as we go through life together and I look forward to every new adventure.

Philip, here's to you.

William wanted to be "cool" like daddy and wear his shades

Philip is an amazing Daddy. He loves to spend time with William and William knows it. William loves to wait at the front door, looking out the window just watching for Daddy. He gets so excited when Philip pulls in the driveway. Philip takes time to sit and read to William any chance he gets. It doesn't matter what he might be doing. If William wants Daddy, Philip gives him his time and attention. He's a quiet man. I know that William gets some of his quiet side from his Daddy. I love when I catch a glimpse of Philip in William throughout the day. I find myself either calling or emailing PJ just to tell him what WPJ just did that reminded me of him. Philip sets such a great example for William. William is 20 months, yet learning so much from Philip. I know Philip never really thought he would know the words to kids music, much less sit and watch the entire show, but if that's what William wants, Philip piles up on the couch and they just chill with the TV. Philip loves to play in the yard with William. It's cool just watching the two of them calmly hanging out together outside. When PJJ gives W his bath and gets him ready for bed, it's totally different than my way. I love knowing that William is care free with Daddy. I love knowing that Philip makes it a game of getting William ready for bed. They always try to sneak back down the stairs to find me and show off how Daddy got William dressed...These are just a few examples of my favorites.

William surprised up by climbing up in his chair and trying to buckle the strap all by himself

I know everyone thinks they have the best "Daddy" in their husband (and that's as it should be), but in my heart I know I truly have the best. Philip is my rock. I lean on him daily. His faith in God is remarkable. His relationship with the Lord is one of assurance and respect. I admire the man I am married to and know that he loves me. God has much in store for Philip. There is no doubt in my mind that William grow up learning how to be a strong Christian man just by following the example set by Philip. I like the verse "Let your gentleness be evident to all."- Phil. 4:5. Philip has a gentle side with William. He is so patient with him. He is so gentle with his words. "A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered" Psalms 17:27. This verse describe the type father Philip is to William. I have such a peace in my heart knowing that Philip will help nuture William as he grows and will help him grow to love the Lord.

I am fascinated watching my 2 guys interact together. They are all boy and just like father and son. They are just getting into the wrestling stage. They love stacking blocks so high until they all come crashing down. Philip will always be there for William. There's no doubt in my mind. I can't wait to see what our life has in store together. I can't wait to watch Philip continue to amaze me as a father. God knew just what he was doing when he matched us together. I find myself constantly thanking Jesus for my husband and for the father he is. I do hope you can catch a glimpse of what I am trying to describe in my husband.

There are no words (William was not asleep, just pretending like Daddy...who was asleep)

Brick chicken, sweet-n-sour celery and balsalmic veggies

Now...to our Father's Day weekend. We spent the weekend up at the lake. I am hoping this might become a tradition of the Justiss Family. We've spent the past 2 Father's Day weekends up at our lakehouse. It's the best place to escape and relax. Philip can completely unwind up there. He gets to rest and just enjoy some quiet time away from the real world. This year it was just the 3 of us (last year my parents and little brother were w/us b/c Daddy had just gotten home from Iraq). It was perfect. We had no agenda. We took just the bare minimum. The only time we turned the TV on was late Saturday night to enjoy Food Network to get some ideas for what to cook on Sunday. The weather was absolutely perfect (well, the heat was overwhelming, but the water helped) We enjoyed swimming. We enjoyed morning walks. We enjoyed good food. PJJ and WPJ enjoyed napping. Philip didn't have to do any yardwork. My dad went up earlier in the week and cut the grass (Thanks Daddy!) I took lots of pictures of my 2 guys.

Philip and William so serious

I went into town while my boys took naps and got some groceries. I brought home a surprise cookie cake for them in honor of Father's Day. As you can tell from the pictures, they both loved it. We were in no hurry to leave. I love the lake and love being there with Philip. The lake brings the sweetest calmness to my heart. I am thankful for the memories made this year.

Waiting for the surprise..I love how they both have their eyes closed!

Oh, the excitement of cookie cakes

William carrying his gift to his Daddy

We did stop in Dothan on our way home to have Father's Day dinner with my family. We got there a little before sundown so Philip could check out Daddy's garden. Philip's favorite part of the garden was the pepper plants. Daddy sent us home with a huge bag of goodies from the garden (peppers, bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and okra). It was a great way to wrap up Father's day. I was thankful to see my Daddy and have a little time to hang out. We checked out the garden for a while. I helped Moma cook dinner. Poppi and Grannymart came over for dinner. It was a southern family meal: Baked Chicken, brown rice, new potatoes, butter beans, baked beans, pole beans, squash/zucchini/onions, corn, garden fresh tomatoes, deviled eggs, pear salad and sweet tea. So scrumptious.

Hope you all had a great Father's Day.

I know I did celebrating my husband and getting to see my Daddy.

I'm a happy girl! Life is good. Life is great.

Just a little catch up...

Over the month of June we have been super busy! We have enjoyed spending time with family and friends. I'm going to post a hodge-podge of pictures and videos to get caught up...then I will post about Father's Day and our Anniversary.

A few fun things we have been doing....

Mommy and Me Art Class ("If you give a pig a pancake")

Swimming with the Alexander Family (one afternoon during their vacation)

Swimming with Abbie and her little boy Beck

Beach & Pool playdates with Heather and one of the twins (John Henry)

Babysitting Jillian and Jackson (for their parents' anniversary)

Dinner with Katie and Tanner (to celebrate their engagement)

Visiting with my dear friend Kerri and her sweet baby boy Eli

Lunch and Pool Playdate with friends (Jenny, Keisha, Paige and Kerri...and the kiddos)

We have really enjoyed our summer days. It's always fun to spend time with friends...

Sorry this just skims the surface, but I'm going to let the pictures tell the stories...

I will spend more time on the next post.