Sawyer, our little entertainer :)

Emmie is a cutie at 5 months old :)

Lovin Life

Emmie is growing, Sawyer is funny and life is busy! I love every second of every minute of every day (except for the moments when pure exhaustion set in, ha!) Sawyer and Emmie are amazing creations of God and I feel so blessed to be their mommy. Every day I am blown away by them. I could literally sit and stare at them all day long! Sawyer is getting skinnier with every inch taller he grows. Emmie is starting to fill out and develop some cute chubby cheeks and thighs. Sawyer finished Soccer and is almost finished with T-Ball. I was surprised to find out that he enjoys T-Ball much much more than soccer. In the last couple of games he has shown a lot of improvement (mostly in the area of paying attention and not dancing in the outfield, ha!) He continues to make us laugh and smile with the things that he says. I think my next post will be a listing of some of these funny things because I just don't want to forget them.
Emmie is rolling all over the place and her smile lights up the room! She just got over her first illness, but survived it like a trooper! I am predicting that she is going to be a fun loving, easy going, happy, independant child! (quite unlike her brother) She is not much of a snuggler, but all you have to do is look at her and she looks back at you with the biggest cutest gummy grin! We fed her rice cereal the other day and she absolutely loved it! It only took her a couple of bites to know what to do with it and then she took the spoon from me and started licking it!
Sawyer has loved swimming this summer and is getting a lot braver with playing and jumping in the water by himself. Emmie got in the lake for the first time this weekend and she smiled and laughed the whole time. They both love Papa's new pontoon and I predict a lot of fun times ahead on that boat.
One of our favorite things to do this summer is take Sawyer to Silver Dollar City. He LOVES everything about it and it is a real treat for him. He will ride any ride that he is tall enough to ride and I love watching his face full of excitement when we get on each one.
Let's be honest, I just love my kids. I love everything about them. Even when my patience starts to run thin I just take a deep breath and try to remember that I will miss each and every moment of their childhood one day, even the frustrating times.

On another note, I am absolutely thrilled with my new job. I don't even like to use the term "job" because it doesn't feel like that to me. It is a true blessing from the Lord and I can't wait to see the amazing things that come from this new journey I am on.

Until next time...enjoy summer! :)

Emmie's First Easter

Sawyer is 4!

April is such a fun month in our household. This past weekend we celebrated Easter, Layne's birthday and Sawyer's birthday! I can't believe he is already 4 years old. This weekend will hold a pirate birthday party unlike any other and I am sure I will have tons of pictures to post afterwards. Sawyer got more excited than ever about his birthday this year. He has been waiting for it for months. He just couldn't wait to turn 4 year olds (as he would say)! On the morning of his birthday I went in his room at our usual 6:30am and woke him up by saying, "Sawyer, wake up wake up, it's your birthday!" Our normal routine is for him to moan and groan and say, "but mommy, I too tired." However on this morning he immediately started kicking his feet with excitement and opened his eyes and squealed! He stretched out big and said, "look mommy, I am changing into 4!" I love that little boy so much! He celebrated his big day by taking Transformer cupcakes to school to share with his friends, meeting family at the Panda House (his favorite place to eat) for dinner, of course opening fun presents and ending the day by playing his new Mario Kart game with daddy. He didn't want the day to end! The next day when I woke him up he said, "Mommy, am I still 4?" Ha ha, apparently 4 is a big deal! He has now decided that since he is 4 he can do everything by himself. Just this week he has started dressing himself, brushing his own teeth, etc. It has been entertaining to watch his new found independence take root. :)

11 Weeks Old!!

11 weeks old

Emmie is so fun and loveable right now. We are still dealing with the occasional fussy fits in the evenings, but who doesn't deal with that!?!? She is starting to "talk" a lot and can now reach the toys on her bouncy seat, which makes her so excited and proud. She gives us big ol gummy grins all the time and it melts our heart. Precious, just precious.

What a good helper!!

Sawyer adores his little sister and wants to see her and "pet" her all the time. :) He just started soccer practice this week and can't stop talking about it. T-Ball starts in a few weeks as well. I think we are about to enter into the days when we have to work around his social calendar! He is hilarious and keeps us entertained every moment of every day. Our life would be so boring without him!

Spring has sprung (well maybe more like summer) and it is so fun to get to play outside and enjoy the weather. The next few weeks are going to be full of Easter and birthdays and tons of fun. I love Spring!!

In Awe of HIM

Nobody told me how crazy my life was going to be these last couple of months!! Don't get me wrong, it is GOOD craziness, but crazy all the same.

First of all, EMMIE LAYNE WILKS was born on January 6 at 6:36am, weighing 7 lbs. 12.5 oz and 21 inches long. I went into the hospital about 2:00am with consistent, but not very strong contractions. My water broke around 5:00am and the pain came quickly after! Everything after that happened so fast. My contractions were about 20 seconds apart for about an hour and before we knew it Emmie was here, no time for an epidural or pain medicine! At the time I was screaming from panic and pain, but afterwards I was so thankful for the quick and drug-free delivery (I had been praying that I could go drug free, but didn't think it would actually happen). Praise God for answered prayers! Emmie is beautiful and as Sawyer says, "she is so coot (cute)."

I am not going to lie, this has been the most trying 2 months of my life. Just ask Chris, I have had several meltdowns and there have been many moments where I thought, "what have I gotten myself into?!" Emmie has struggled since she was born (to put it mildly) and we just haven't been able to get her in a routine or in a state of satisfaction until recently when we found out why she has been so uncomfortable...she is lactose intolerant! After switching to Soy formula and putting her on medicine for Reflux we finally have a happy baby on our hands. Another answered prayer, thank you Lord!! My poor baby has felt so bad for 2 months, but now things are looking up and I am so happy! She is still a little colicky in the evenings, but things are so so so so much better!

Now for the 3rd part of the craziness in my life...my job. As you know, I started a new job working for the Branson Junior High School back in August. I am not keeping it a secret that I took about a $10,000 pay cut to go work for the school. It was a crazy move, but Chris and I both knew it was what God wanted me to do. So we did it, we took the leap of faith. Let me tell you, there is NO reason in the world that we should have made it financially after taking that job. I can't explain how we paid our bills except for that the Lord took care of us. Now here is the coolest part...the day I went into labor with Emmie I was called into my boss's office. He informed me that he was offered a new position as Headmaster of the new School of the Ozarks Christian High School on the campus of College of the Ozarks. I was so excited for him, but sad for myself because I loved working for him. He then proceeded to tell me that he needed to hire an assistant and he wanted me!! What!?!?! I was not expecting a job offer. In fact, I was perfectly content with my job and had plans of staying there for a long time. Ha ha, the Lord is funny that way. I told him I would have to pray about it, but didn't really think I would pursue the job offer. That evening I had Emmie and the whirlwind began. After praying about it for a week I decided to apply for the job, still not expecting to take it. A couple weeks later I went in for the interview, which turned into an hour and a half conversation about the school and the job. I walked out of the interview 100% confident that I was going to be working for School of the Ozarks. The Lord completely blew me away with His plan for me and how it unfolded. By 5:00pm that day I received a phone call and was offered the job. Here is the most amazing part, not only did they offer me an incredible job, but the salary was $5,000 more than what I was making BEFORE going to the Junior High. We honestly had no idea how we were going to pay Emmie's babysitter when I went back to work and then I got this offer. WOW!!! INCREDIBLE!!! PRAISE GOD!!!! HE had a plan for me all along. I just had to take that leap of faith. I have never felt more blessed and humbled and loved by my Father in Heaven as I have these last couple of months. Yes, starting a new job with a 6 week old fussy baby was hard, but I couldn't love it any more. This is the most incredible place to work and I love everything about my job. Ahhhhhhh, thank you Jesus.

I am now at the point where I can sit back and reflect on all that has happened over the past year and I am blown away. With tears streaming down my face let me tell you what the Lord has done for me in the last 12 months:

1. We got pregnant (after being told that was not possible) on our own, no fertility drugs!

2. I took a leap of faith and started a new job at Branson Schools after 9 years at the Kanakuk Institute.

3. We paid our bills each month and never had to use our credit card, even though the numbers showed it wasn't possible.

4. We found out that the little baby inside of me was a GIRL!

5. We had our baby girl and it was a fast, drug-free delivery with no complications (unlike the first time around).

6. Sawyer adjusted to the new baby perfectly...no issues at all!

7. I took a new job at the School of the Ozarks and finances were taken care of!

8. We figured out why Emmie was so fussy all the time and now she is a happy baby.

Life is good, amazing, crazy, exhausting and fun! Now my only job is to pray each morning for God to show me what He wants me to do next, one step at a time. Obedience to Him is my only goal in this life. Thank you, Lord, for showing me your way. Through all the struggles and sleep deprivation, I am going to take time each day to thank Him for all He has done. I never want to forget or take for granted how this has all unfolded. I can't wait to continue the story and see what else He has in store for me and my family! :)