Justiss Family Reunion

What a great weekend! We spent the first half of Memorial Day weekend with Papa and Mimi for the Simmons (Justiss) Family Reunion over in Lake City, Florida. It was a double treat b/c it was also Papa's birthday! We had a super time as always. It's always wonderful to get to spend time with family. Our weekend started on Friday afternoon as we made the 4.5 hr. drive over. It was an enjoyable and relaxing ride and William was content watching his movies and playing with his books/toys. We met Papa and Mimi at the hotel and then found a sports bar/grill for a quick bite to eat. William loved all the big screens all over the restaurant, so he didn't eat much...but that's okay ...he had snacked most of the drive. We returned back to the room to let William settle in the room (play). We sat up for a while visiting with Papa and Mimi while William ran/climbed/crawled all over the place. It was too cute watching him try to stay awake :) Friday evening ended with Philip hanging out in the extremely large bathroom with the office chair and his book while I rocked and sang William to sleep. Seeing as we were in a hotel room, William wouldn't settle down while his daddy was in the same room, so I sent PJ to the bathroom. It took a little over an hour to get him to sleep and it finally took me laying him down awake and going to join PJ while we waited for him to fall asleep. I was exhausted, so I made mini-bed with several towels on the floor and was just about asleep when we realized WPJ was finally out. <> Around 445 that morning he woke up and could see us, so he was wide awake. I got him and put him our bed to try to go back to sleep, but after an hour of him trying to convince both of us to sing "Head, Shoulders" with the motions, I finally gave up and went over to the couch to watch movies with him. He immediately fell back asleep on my chest, so Philip brought me a pillow and blanket and we crashed there for a few more hours. I tell you I have the best husband.

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast with Papa and Mimi before heading over to the reunion. We met Philip's uncle Jamie and his aunt Linda and husband Dickey at the hotel. William walked right up to them and said "hi" and reached to give one of them a hug, then quickly turned and ran down the hall laughing. Too cute! The reunion was so nice. Lots of family and lots of room for William to run. The family that hosted the lunch has a large yard and beautiful pool....key word POOL! That's all William wanted to do! It was extremely hard to keep him away! Hindsight would have been to bring my swimsuit and his to just get in, but I didn't think of that :) Papa and Mimi helped take turns with William. He loved to walk around with them just a jabbering away like he was carrying on a conversation. It really was so sweet! We got his mind on the riding toys out in the yard (Finally) and enjoyed meeting family members on Papa's side.

The food was great and plenty! William loved the hotdog and peas and actually ate a brownie!! He got soooooooo tickled about the "shoo fly"! Every so often a fly would come land on the table and Mimi made a game of "shoo fly" See the video for the reaction! It was hilarious!!! After lunch and pictures were taken, a sprinkler was brought out for William and the other little ones. William was not so sure of it. He would giggle, run at it, then get squirted in the eye and then turn and run off saying "no, no". Thanks Mimi for helping play in the sprinkler. I also took turns trying to run in the sprinkler with him (which was actually nice b/c of the summer heat). The reunion was great! I loved meeting Papa's brothers and sisters and mother along with cousins/aunts/uncles. We truly had a great time.

After the reunion, we went back to the room for William to take a nap. I got him down somewhat quickly this time b/c he was completely wiped out from all the excitement earlier in the day. Papa and Philip went to pick up some spinach dip (per my request) and we just hung out in P & M's room while W napped. Philip did sneak off to take a nap himself too. Mimi and I kept Papa up (on his birthday mind you). It was storming outside, so it was nice to just relax a while inside the AC on a comfy bed and great company.

Saturday night we went to dinner downtown at a cute little place called Tucker's in the old Hotel Blanche. It was so unique and delicious food. The funny thing was in this old hotel restaurant, they had a "one man band/dj" for entertainment. William loved it! The guy brought him over a maraca to play with and W went to town dancing and shaking his new toy. After dinner I got up with William and went to dance with him. It was precious. He was smiling soooo big and had his little arm around my neck. I loved it! We were the hit! When the man turned on the disco light, William started giggling and wiggling to get down. I put him down and he started chasing the lights, laughing the whole time! We danced some more, then headed on back. William told everyone bye and blew kisses. Such a gentleman!! We did stop to get Papa a birthday cupcake to celebrate. We sang to him and had William help blow out the candle. It was a great night! William went on down to sleep and we sat up while playing cards together. They all wanted to play poker so they had to teach me....and guess who won?? Me!! (we were just playing with match sticks so it was hilarious)

Sunday William slept in which allowed me to sleep in too! My sweet husband quietly got up to head down for breakfast with Papa and Mimi while I slept in. I tell you again...I LOVE MY HUSBAND!! He's so good to me!

It was time to say bye to Papa and Mimi and head on home. We loved our weekend together and all the memories made! Thanks for a great weekend!

Our little Auburn Tiger

William loves his daddy's office. It's got all kinds of cool things to play with! He did this all by himself! WAR EAGLE!!!! He's our little Auburn Tiger! He's just too cute!

Pinecones and Peanut Butter Fun

Last Sunday afternoon we spent some time outside playing with William in our yard. It was so relaxing and he loves being outdoors. He's really fascinated with pine cones right now, so I decided we would make pine cone birdfeeders for our yard. All you need is peanut butter, birdseed and pine cones! Oh what messy fun!! Once he figured out that I was spreading the peanut butter on the pine cone, he wanted to help. He has his own knife and was a big helper! He really did a great job!! Then....the birdseed! He loved loved loved sprinkling the seeds all over the pine cone! He would sprinkle some, then pick up the cone as if to figure out why it was sticking. He found another cone without peanut butter and tried to cover it with seeds. When the seeds wouldn't stick he looked at me and said "OH NO" with his little hands turned out. It was just too funny! Philip helped us a little then went to do yard work out back while William was content. I had some string and was hanging up the cones while William played with his lawn mower. Once he saw what I was doing, he wanted to do the same thing, so I cut a piece of string for him and he (all by himself) figured out how to shove the string inside the cone enough to make it "hang" and he toted his cone on a string all over the yard and tossed it a few times at the tree. I just can't get over how his mind works! We also filled a cute little cedar house for the birds

(but the squirrels took it over).

After all the pine cones were hung and Philip was finished with yard work, I took William in the back yard to swing. Philip hung 2 cones back there for us and our lab, Drake was so excited! He really thought they were treats for him. He still is trying to climb the tree to get to the peanut butter!! Don't worry...he got a treat as we went inside! William loves swinging. It's so relaxing watching him swing. We couldn't stay out too long b/c it was getting soooo hot and both of my boys were getting red in the face and overheated (well PJ was overheated). I loved our family time together. William still points to the cones hanging up when we go outside. It's just wonderful!

On another note, while William took his nap and Philip relaxed with some history channel...he sent me to get a pedicure! Oh so wonderful and relaxing! As I sat there enjoying my pedicure, it hit me that I had not gotten a pedicure since 2 days before WPJ was born!! Crazy!!

I just hadn't thought about it (much) :)

Have a great weekend everyone! Hope it's sunny!

Angels Among Us

Monday evening as I was putting William to bed I had the most incredible experience. As I've mentioned before, bedtime routine with William is: bath, pj's, brush teeth, read books, sing songs, pray then bed with music playing. He's got this down pat...with only a little crying when I have to leave the room. Well, Monday night as I sat in his room rocking him on my chest singing lullaby songs and praise/hymn songs and him trying to sing along with me, I had the most calm feeling (more than usual) I've ever felt. As we finished our last song I told him it was time to pray. We put our hands folded together and lean our foreheads together so we can whisper. I say the words and he repeats me ("Desus, bwess my famy, Desus, tankyou for evyting, Desus, keeeep me saaaf, I love you Desus, Amen) That's a sample prayer, but you get the sweet sweet picture. His little voice praying is just amazing. About half way through the prayer he leans back and looks up over my shoulders and starts smiling. He pulls one hand away and begins to point and wave a little. He then whispers "hey" and smiles really big. My heart just about jumped out of my chest with joy! I knew he was seeing Angels!! We were surrounded at that very moment with guardian angels and William could see them! I smiled at him and asked him what did he see? Did he God's Angels? He said "yesss" and smiled again. I told him to tell Jesus thank you for the angels to watch over him tonight and he said without a blink "tankyou Desus" (his J is a D). I've heard that children can see angels and I now know that for certain. They are with us. We each have a guardian angel. Oh, how much I cherish this moment in my heart. My child was not afraid, but happy! I could hear the words "Do not be afraid-for see, I bring you good news of great joy for all people"--(Luke 2:10) echoing in my soul. I could feel the Lord's presence in his room. I know God is Good! I told William to finish his prayers and tell the angels night-night (which he did and waved). It truly left me speechless. I know the Lord will send a multitude of angels to watch over us. I pray every night that he protects my child through the night and that he sends his angels to be with us. What a blessing to experience! What an absolute blessing! Psalms 91 states that he will command his angels to guard us. What a comfort! May God bless you today and always!

Psalms 91:11-12 "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."

Painting, painting and more painting!

Can you tell how much William loves to paint?? Just about everyday, he pushes his chair over to the counter, then goes to the closet door where I keep the paint and start repeating "paint, pweese, paint, pweese" then he comes and gets my hand and says "hanns, moma,hanns, pweese, paint". How can I resist?? How do I look into those precious eyes and try to tell him no? What could make me tell my child no? Laundry? Dishes? Bills? Housework? This Blog? Is there anything? NOTHING!!! So far, nothing can make the words "Not right now" come out of my mouth...It melts my heart every time he asks to paint. When I heard his little voice say "mooooma" "pweese" I just melt. I know what joy it brings him and how much he loves playing in the paint. I don't care how big a mess it makes. I don't care how much time it takes. It's totally washable and cleans up in a wipe and it's so worth any mess. William wins over when he comes and grabs my hand and leads me to the doorknob saying "pweese" the whole way. As soon as I open the door to gather the supplies, he claps and hugs me and says "tankyou". He then turns and runs to his chair and bounces up and down. Can anyone tell me why I wouldn't drop everything for this little boy? Can you tell me how I could ever look at him and say "just a minute, I'm busy"? He loves to mix the colors and rub the paint all over the paper. He loves to swish the paintbrush across the paper...then on himself. He gets such joy from squishing paint between his fingers. He is getting much better at painting his hand print. He quickly lets me know when he wants a new "canvas" for a fresh start.

I know I have years of artwork to collect, but right now, I can't part with ANY of his little painting! They are all too precious. They each hold a special memory of his excitement. I have a wall of them displayed in his playroom and have the others collected together...maybe I'll make a book with them...He is so innocent and precious. He loves to paint! Sometimes, it's more painting ALL OVER himself instead of the paper, but who cares? I don't! I will gladly spend the time with him painting...followed by bath time just to see his smile and delight! Oh, how my heart swells with joy! I love these moments with him! I love how excited he gets about his time painting with me. Yes, by the end he's covered in paint, the counter is covered in paint and my hands are a hodgepodge of colors...but I wouldn't trade anything for it. It's one of the best parts of my day! And...b/c of all the paint all over his body, he gets a "watercolor" bath :) It is really fun to watch the colors just wash off him and change the color of the water...and leave a ring around the tub. Call me crazy, but I Love It! I take it as an opportunity to teach. I find myself missing teaching Kindergarten some days, but then I just focus that thought on teaching William. He loves it and that's what matters! Oh, and we are working on learning color words....I will say the color word for whatever color he's painting with and he tries to repeat me..."bwuu" being my favorite. I'm not really thinking he's going to learn to recognize colors by word/sight right now, but I just continue to build his vocabulary about his surroundings. Remember, I'm the one who is constantly talking to him about everything we see at the grocery store and singing with him about whatever. I wrap up my thoughts by simply stating again HOW MUCH I LOVE MY BABY! William, may you always have such a happy spirit and love for life.

"This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it"

Psalms 118: 24

One of William's first "actions" was knowing when something was "hot". He would say "hot" and pull his hand back away from the object (coffee, candle, hot food, lights, grills, oven, etc) I love this video and his creative mind..He somehow decides that this little orange "marker" looks like a candle. He smells it like you would a candle, then tells me it's hot! I just love his mind! He amazes me everyday!

"Be of good cheer." John 16:33

Mother's Day weekend with my family

This Mother's Day weekend was wonderful! My family came down to spend the weekend with us and it was fantastic! Both of my brothers were able to come too and that was super special! Hunter (I call him my big-little brother) came down on his new truck so we could see it. Holden (my little brother...sometimes still call him my baby brother) rode with him...b/c he said it was for "Big Boys" only. Hunter will be 22 this month and Holden will be 9 two days after that. Once Moma and Daddy made it down we enjoyed a delicious lunch together. Philip made the best turkey-pesto sandwiches. He can whip anything up and make it taste delicious! We all headed on out to the beach shortly after William woke up. William loves his Maggie and Granddaddy! He gets so excited seeing them and runs right to them. He loves "oh Ho" (Holden) and "hunnr" (Hunter) too. He wants to be right up under them doing whatever they both are doing. They both are exceptional uncles to him. They both love to spend time playing with him...sometimes they try to get to him first for the first hug :) Holden loves to play outside with him and will patiently sit and watch anything on t.v. that William is watching. He loves throwing the ball back and forth too. He is so gentle with William. Hunter likes making him laugh and run around chasing him. He really loves to swing him high in the air and then tickle him! It simply melts my heart watching my brothers with William.

Now..back to the beach. Once we all got down to the beach (before I could get settled) William was already off and running in the water with Maggie. She patiently paraded through the waves with him and sat in the shallow water when he wanted to sit. He had a blast! They were laughing and giggling the whole time. I sent Philip on down the beach a bit away from the crowd so he could fish. It wasn't long before Holden realized what Philip was doing and he went to join him. Philip let him catch the sand fleas for him (which Holden LOVED). I loved watching my daddy playing around in the water with Holden and Hunter. They all three were diving into waves and body surfing. They were so relaxed and having the time of their lives. I joined my mom and William for a while. We all took turns playing with William in the water and chasing him in the sand (so that was nice...I did get some breaks).

Saturday night dinner was scrumptious! Philip grilled a pork-tenderloin and made his famous andioulle stuffing and I made grilled corn succotash with sweet potato fries. I pulled out my fine china for our meal. I love using it for special occasions. We all ate WAY to much and sat around the table just chatting away. Needless to say, there was a huge pile of dishes that night. I didn't care.

THEY COULD WAIT. I was enjoying my family.

I woke Sunday to find that my wonderful husband had done all the dishes (except my precious fine china which has to be hand washed). What a great way to start the morning! He is so kind to surprise me with little helpful things like this randomly! We all made it to church for Mother's Day and to my amazement William went willingly and happily into the nursery! He usually screams and gets so upset that I have a hard time concentrating on the sermon b/c my mind is focused thinking about him. Thankfully, I could concentrate on the sermon. FANTASTIC! Dr. Taylor hit it out of the ballpark on Sunday! His sermon was so moving and inspirational. James 5:16b "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." It was focused on prayer life and what effective prayer was/how to achieve it and implement this power of prayer in our lives. Prayer has been on my heart a lot lately. God is working in me on this right now. I am so thankful that this topic is the focus of the next few weeks at church.

After church, Daddy treated us to lunch in Seaside at one of my favorite places: Great Southern Cafe. I love the food here! It's always so perfect! We sat outside and enjoyed the cool breeze and delicious food. Oh, the waitress brought Holden extra shrimp b/c he ate all of his plate and went out of his way to tell her how much he loved their shrimp. She came back with another portion for him b/c she thought he was so cute and sweet. How sweet is that?? She was so genuine and charming...just like the name "Great Southern". We finished up and walked over to the amphitheater for Holden and William to play a bit...but it was TOO hot, so we headed on home. Once home, William went down for a nap, Philip called the couch and sent me out to the beach with my Moma (and daddy and brothers) Ahhhhh...sitting in the sun, magazine in hand, moma at my side....so peaceful! We both reclined in our chairs reading until we fell asleep. I woke up and decided to go play in the water with Daddy and Holden. Hunter has already left to go home. I had such a great time crashing in the waves with them...feeling like a little kid again. I love Holden and miss watching him grow up. He's almost up to my chin now...and he's only 8...almost 9. Oh, how time flies. Once Moma woke up I got out of the water and we went off for a walk. We walked a good long ways just talking and losing all track of time and distance. It was so nice. We needed that undivided attention together, not to mention that warm sunshine :) Once we realized how far we were, we turned around and headed back. Philip and William came back down shortly after that. We played a little bit more before heading on in for the evening. Philip gave William his bath and even fed him his dinner so I could just chill.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that they brought down some flowers from their yard for me to plant here as well as some fresh produce...yummy! I love transplanting plants from back home

(let's hope my flowers make it)

After my parents left. William and Philip gave me their gifts for Mother's Day. William had painted a card(the envelope) and Philip painted WPJ's hand print inside the card for me...so sweet! I love hand prints and painting from my child. I'm framing the envelope!! Philip is getting my car detailed for me for Mother's Day....DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITED I AM??? I love having a spotless car. I love cleanliness. I've neglected my poor trailblazer for the past year (yep, you heard me right...I was 8 months pregnant the last time it was cleaned). OH, how I love my husband for this gift! I am so looking forward to Friday! It's going to be spotless and so fresh!!! Don't get me wrong, it's not a health hazard and I don't keep trash in my car. It's just dirty from sand and time....you know, small crushed goldfish in the seats, crumbs from cookies, random tiny pebbles that get picked up in my shoes and then find all the little nooks in the floorboards...dust on the dashboards, fingerprints on the windows, that kind of dirt. I hope I've not caused you to think I'm a messy person :) He also gave me a bright, beautiful bouquet of flowers. They are so cheerful and full of color and make me smile every morning when I see them. I love flowers. I love roses. What can I say...I'm a romantic...

My Mother's Day concluded with a long drawn out bedtime routine with William. I read several extra books, sang tons of lullaby songs, rocked a while longer, said extra prayers....and went back to cuddle twice (just because). My husband just smiled at me and said "go ahead, he's your baby and it's Mother's Day". I love this guy! He knows how much I cherish bedtime routines and that quiet time with William. While I was doing that, he was downstairs cooking dinner: Chicken Picatta! Yummy! So divine!! I scored the BEST CHEF for a husband! I know I'm always going on and on about his cooking, but I'm not over speaking...he's just THAT good! Dinner was perfect! Candlelight, in the dining room, just the 2 of us.

Thank you Philip for a wonderful Mother's day. Thank you Moma and Daddy for coming down to spend the weekend with us. Thank you for all the memories made together this weekend. Thank you Hunter and Holden for all your time this weekend too! I love having my family down together. It will be a special memory in my heart always!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mothers I know! I am blessed to have the most wonderful and amazing mother in my life. She is such a best friend to me and I love her dearly. She amazes me with her day-to-day strength and I admire her relationship with the Lord. She is full of love for her children and her husband. She is passionate about life. She gives her time and her love to help others always. I've learned so much in life from my mother. I've watched her be a strong Christian woman and I try to model her devotion to family and to the Lord in my own life. I am amazed at watching her as a grandmother...it's like having my own grandmother back. My mom's mom passed away 15 years ago and she was such a strong lady herself. She was such a humble and loving lady full of life and filled with the Holy Spirit. I know that my mom learned everything from her. My grandmother helped lead me to Christ. I had such a special relationship with her and miss her dearly everyday. I know my Mom misses her terribly and hurts not having her here, but I can see the strong side in Moma and know that Grandmama is still with us. My moma is my hero. She faces each day with courage and determination to make a difference. She is always there when I need her. She'll listen to me ramble on and on about whatever. She'll answer any question I have about being a mom or wife. She prays with and for me constantly. She cries with me when I need to cry. She laughs with me. She's always doing special things for me to make me smile. She encourages me in everything. She supports me in my life. She's always willing to help me however she can. She loves my child with her whole heart. I could go on and on about the woman I admire. I could write a novel about my relationship with my mother. The words are endless when it comes to trying to thank her for all she has done and will do for me. She's taught me how to be the best mother I can be. She is a true example of Christ's love. I continue to learn from her. She is my mother and I love her completely. I love it when she comes down or I go up just to visit and it hurts when she has to leave. I'm such a sap and just love having my Moma with me. I'm the type that still wants my Moma when I'm sick or hurt (but my husband does a fantastic job, so I try not to cave to my wanting her) Here's to my mother. May God continue to bless her and enrich her life daily. I hope you all are so blessed to have someone in your life like my mom. She's the best!