Eli's Easter Party at School

The Wednesday before Easter, Eli's class at school had their Easter party. I was one of the party moms, so I tried to make some treats that were festive for the occasion. I saw these Rice Krispies bunnies and had to try. Josh thinks they look like rats, but I told him he needed to use his imagination a little better.


I got to Eli's school a little early and found that they were still playing outside. A couple of other parents and I prepared snack plates for all the kids and waited for them to come inside. Pretty soon a line of sweaty, stinky little kids made their way inside and were greeted with lots of smiles from their parents. Eli was so happy to see me and I felt the same way about him :)



After they ate, the kids got to go out on the playground to find their Easter eggs. Eli was more than ready to go find some eggs! Oh, notice the watch? He's been wanting a watch for awhile now and I found this CARS one in my desk at school. I must have confiscated it from some kid a few years ago and forgot to give it back...my bad. I figured Eli could get some use out of it. He now wears it all the time. I love it!


Here's Eli and Hannah. These two have been buddies since they were born. Diane and I joke that they're going to get married one day, but after seeing this picture I told Eli he better start growing or else Hannah won't ever be able to wear high heels.


They went out to the playground and Eli found lots of eggs. He loved running around the playground and putting them in his bucket. His teachers divided the eggs out between the kids so it was fair and then we grabbed all his treats and went home.




We made sure to stop and take a picture with his teachers before we left. We're going to miss this preschool next year. His teachers are two of the sweetest ladies I've ever met. He has done so well with them. I know he's going to do well at his big boy school next year, but we are definitely going to miss Mrs. Shannon and Mrs. Audley!

"My Leesa and My Unca Dave"

A couple of weekends ago, our family made a quick trip to Nashville, TN. Josh's grandfather, Papaw, has been in the hospital up there for a little over a month now. Just to update those of you that don't know, back in December Mamaw and Papaw let us know that he had been to the doctor and that they had found a mass near his kidneys. The doctors had determined that it was cancerous and needed to be removed. Because of his age, they knew the surgery would take quite a toll on his body. He needed to be near family that could help him and Mamaw. Their daughter, Lisa, and her husband, Dave, live in Tennessee. They found an amazing doctor up there and decided to have the surgery there so that Lisa could help with medical decisions, and they would have a place to stay other than a hotel or the hospital room.

The initial surgery went great. He made it through the surgery so well that the doctors told him they were going to write about his case in one of the upcoming medical journals. He's a medical celebrity now :) They removed the spleen, kidney, lymph nodes, the mass itself and a piece of his diaphragm.

After the first surgery, his insides didn't "wake up" like they were supposed to and he started to have some problems, so the doctors said they needed to go back in and find out if there was an obstruction and remove it. We didn't find out about this surgery until the very last minute, but we all wanted to be there, so we loaded up and drove the 8 hours to be with Papaw. It was a long drive, but it was so worth it. It was so good for us to see Papaw and Mamaw. We are so thankful that he came through the second surgery just as well as he did the first surgery. The doctors removed a small obstruction and said they were very hopeful.

We got to see Papaw after he woke up from the anesthesia and spend some time with him. Eli wasn't scared or worried at all when he saw Papaw connected to all the tubes and wires. Everyone was so great and helped Eli understand that all that stuff was helping to make Papaw better. Eli loved going to the hospital to see Papaw and he and Mamaw got to really bond. I think they walked a hundred miles around that nurses' station! Eli also learned about EXIT signs thanks to Jordan. Now every time we go somewhere he joyfully hollers out, "Mama, I see EXIT, EXIT, EXIT, EXIT!" He loves to point out all the exits and we think it's hilarious! Now we know who to turn to if we need to make a quick getaway. Eli also had fun exploring the hospital with anyone who was willing to walk with him. The elevator was probably the most fun for Eli. He LOVED pushing the buttons and going up and down. Having a kid really makes you appreciate the little things in life that we take for granted :)

Waiting in the hotel room for Daddy to get us so we can go see Papaw

Throwing money in the fountain at the hospital

After we saw Papaw we left the hospital and went to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave's house for the night. They just bought their house a few months ago and are in the process of making it their own, but it still looked great! It had a huge backyard and there was a nature trail you could walk on to go look at deers, rabbits, and other animals. Eli really bonded with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave while we were at their house. He wanted to do everything with them!

Eli and Aunt Lisa

Watching American Idol

Aunt Lisa sneaking some sugar :)

Saturday morning Eli and Uncle Dave got up bright and early to do some work around the house. First they had to roast some coffee beans. Uncle Dave loves doing this and has really perfected it. His coffee is so yummy!

After the coffee beans were ready, they had to go check something on the computer. Eli was right there with Uncle Dave the entire time.


Uncle Dave is working really hard to get grass growing in a few spots in the front yard. He and Eli walked all over the front yard spreading the grass seed.


We went to the hospital to visit Papaw and found that he was having a really great day. The surgery had worked! We took Mamaw out for lunch and by that time it was time for little man to take a nap. He slept on the way back to Aunt Lisa's and Uncle Dave's and continued sleeping in the car once we got to their house. I volunteered to stay in the car with him while he was sleeping because I was in the middle of a great book, These Is My Words. It was such a great book! Eli eventually woke up and was still in a whiny mood. We went inside and I tried to just let him cuddle with me on the couch but all he kept saying was, "Mama, I need my Aunt Leesa and my Unca Dave!" He said this over and over until Zue-Zue finally called Lisa to tell her. Once they got back, little man ran straight to Uncle Dave so they could do some more work!

They found Uncle Dave's binoculars or "nocs" as Eli calls them, and for about 30 minutes that's all they did. They ran back and forth across the living room looking out the windows. Eli had a blast!






Uncle Dave had mentioned to us that he loved the weekends because he was able to get outside and get some physical exercise after being cooped up in an office all week. Well, this is how he looked after "exercise" with Eli Saturday. Eli definitely made him work!


Later that night, we ate pizza and had a Toy Story movie marathon. Eli grabbed the laundry basket and Uncle Dave got down next to him. What a great ending to a great day!


Sunday morning we packed up our things to get back on the road. We wanted to leave early so we wouldn't get back too late. Eli didn't quite understand that we were leaving and that Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave had to go to church. He brought Uncle Dave his shoes and attempted to put them on him so they could go work.


Uncle Dave convinced him that they needed to stay inside and convinced Eli that looking out the windows with "nocs" would be better.


Zue-Zue came to see what they were looking at. Eli didn't want to share his "nocs" with anyone though, so she just had to use her eyes. He did pose for a couple of pictures though.




We made it back home safe and sound. We had a wonderful time with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dave! We are so thankful for all the prayers for Josh's grandfather. He's out of the hospital now and is at Lisa and Dave's house doing physical therapy. He's been such a trooper through all this. We can't wait to have him home again soon!

The Wilson's Build Their Dream House Update

We've been driving over a lot lately to check on the progress on our house. They're moving so quickly that I've been able to do updates at least once, sometimes twice, a week!


Tuesday the builders put down the base for the floor for the second story. It was so fun to be able to walk around up there and see all the potential space.


This is a view of my future craft room. I'm so EXCITED about this! No more painting on the floor and then having to put away all my paints so Eli doesn't make a mess. In a few short months, I'll be able to just shut the door :)


Josh and Eli are standing where Josh hopes to put one of these. He and Brian have great plans for this space.


That's a view of our backyard. There is a ditch separating our yard from the field. We'll eventually put up a privacy fence.



My favorite boys sitting on the stairs. One of my first purchases for this house will be a gate to put at the bottom of these stairs to keep a certain little boy safe :)


Wednesday the builders started putting the rafters on the house. See? I told you they were moving quickly!!


We left to go visit my parents for Easter, and while we were there we stopped by Lumber Liquidators to look at some of their wood flooring. We're about 2 weeks away from having to choose what we want for the house. This is what we're leaning towards. It's Brazilian teak. Our cabinets and furniture are both going to be dark, so we want flooring that's going to be a good contrast for those. What are your opinions?


Yesterday (Sunday) when we got back home, we stopped by the house to see what the builders did Thursday. I never got to take pictures before we left for my parents' house. They put the rafters on the garage and started on the roof for the mudroom (between our house and the garage).


Another view of the garage, mudroom, and the side of the house.


Our builder told us that we're getting near the point where things are going to kind of slow down because all the big stuff is pretty much finished. It's still going to be exciting though and I can't wait to see what happens next :)

Potty Training Update

As you can tell from all the daily reports from Eli's school, potty training is going VERY VERY WELL! We are so proud of Eli! He's waking up dry almost every morning, is always dry after naps, and is starting to just go to the potty on his own without even telling us. His teachers have told us several times that we can probably start sending him in big boy underwear, but we're not that brave yet. I'll probably attempt that this summer when we're home together all day. Right now we put big boy underwear on Eli every afternoon we get home until it's bedtime. He does so well!! I am so so proud of my BIG BOY!

The Wilson's Build Their Dream House Update

With the great weather that we've had lately, our builders have been able to get a lot accomplished on our house. We all enjoy going out to the site every day to see what they've done. It's fun to see the progress, and to see our house actually taking shape.

At the beginning of last week, this is where our house was. All the outside walls had been raised and they had started on all the interior walls. Now instead of just wide, empty spaces, we could actually walk into our house and see each room clearly.

Eli and I went out to the lot today (April 18) and we couldn't believe how much the house had changed in just one week. They have covered the outside walls with plywood, started on the beams for the second floor, and have started framing the garage. They even built our stairs for the upstairs floor!

As we go through the house now, I always talk about each room with Eli. I want him to be familiar with the house so it's not such a shocker when he makes another move. It's probably going to be a little more traumatic this time though, because he has fallen head over heels in love with our 900 sq. ft rent house. It cracks me up!

For a couple of weeks nows, I've told him where his room is and today he managed to get there on his own! I think he's really excited about his room. The only problem is that it's not next to our bedroom anymore; in fact, it's on the complete opposite side of the hosue. That's going to be an adjustment for all of us.

Eli and I climbed the stairs so we could get a bird's eye view of our house. Eli, the daredevil that he is, wanted to walk across the beams. Oh, I'm not going to have a brunette hair left soon! He is just like his Daddy :)

This is what the view looked like from upstairs. Isn't it fun to see?!

We walked around to the side of the yard and checked on the garage.

Then I walked around the perimeter of the house and took pictures.

Front of the house

Right side of the house

Back of the house

Back of the house and the garage

Left side of the house

Josh and I are so happy with the progress so far. We can't wait to see all the changes that are going to happen this week! We are so thankful and feel so blessed that we are able to enjoy this experience!