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! :)

Lately and things to come

Life is getting pretty exciting around here. 1 more week of work and then we are off for Christmas break and hopefully waiting for the arrival of our precious Emmie. Sawyer is getting very excited about Christmas and he is starting to understand what it is all about. His teacher said that when she asked him what Christmas meant the other day he said, "It is Jesus's birthday and all the way to 25!" (meaning the 25th of December, we have a countdown candle and he is very ready to get to the last day) He continues to entertain us and amaze us daily.

Sawyer is continuously talking about how big he is getting, especially now that he has a new big boy car seat. He wants to grow big like daddy so bad, and the sad thing is that he probably will be before we know it. Life is moving way too fast! He told me the other day that after Christmas he would be big enough to drive the car, ha ha!

Last week Chris went on a business trip and Sawyer and I stayed at my mom and dad's house, or according to Sawyer, "we took a trip to Nanny's house." He loved spending a few days there and sleeping with his mommy at night, but it was good to get back home and in our routine. My dad had his knee replacement surgery last week and is doing well. We are praying for a full and speedy recovery! Between my dad's knee, my mom's back problems, and me being 9 months pregnant we are quite a helpless family right now! My poor sister is going to have to take care of us all, ha ha! :)

I will end the update with a little bit of sad news. We recently had to say goodbye to our sweet dog, Barbie. She was diagnosed with cancer this summer and finally got to the point where we had to put her down. It was a VERY SAD day! Last winter we said goodbye to Rocky and less than a year later we lost Barbie. It is lonely not having a dog around here, but we are relieved to know that they are both pain free now. Sawyer asks all the time for another dog so I am sure we will give in and get him one after we get into our new routine of being a family of 4. Let's face it, we are just a dog loving family. So here she is, our sweet precious Barbie Darbie Wilks that we miss dearly...

Long time no blog!

I know I know...I haven't blogged in forever! Most of you know, but I started a new job in August and it has just taken awhile to get into the new routine. Let me say this...I am LOVING our new routine! Life is fabulous right now. I love my new job working in the office at the Branson Junior High School. It is the perfect fit for my working mom lifestyle. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Emmie Layne sometime in late December/early January. Sawyer is growing up so much and he is going to be the best big brother! He is very verbal right now and (to put it mildly) he cracks us up every day with the things that come out of his mouth. He is the funniest kid and I could not love him any more! He is learning so much at school and we are so proud of his sucess and accomplishments. He is working on writing his name right now and he almost has it. To put it simply, he is incredible and he blesses our hearts each and every day. Emmie is growing and moving like crazy. We are just so ready to hold her in our arms. We were incredibly blessed with a baby shower this weekend and now we have tons of pink to wash and prepare for her arrival. I love it!! Be prepared, she WILL be a girly girl and I am pretty sure she is going to melt her daddy's heart (whether he knows it or not). :)

Well that is my short update...I will try to do a better job of keeping up with things now!

HOT summer fun

This past weekend we decided to take Sawyer to Silver Dollar City for a little family fun time. It was sooooo HOT!!! The heat sure didn't slow him down though! He wanted to ride every ride in the park. I think his favorite was Fire in the Hole. We were quite impressed. He has definitely become more brave over these past couple of months. Last year at this time you wouldn't have gotten him on anything but the toddler rides, not even the train, but things have changed. He was even sad that he couldn't ride the big coasters with dad. As for this pregnant momma, I just did a lot of sitting, waiting, sweating, and taking pictures. All in all it was a super fun day for our little brave boy.