The Wilson's Build Their Dream House Update

It's time for another update! Things are moving along so quickly that sometimes I could literally post an update every day, but I'm trying to save pictures so I can just do one long post every week. Last week, our builders started and finished our driveway. 

Because of the size tub we had, they have to build a shelf around it so they could place the fixtures. It was a slight hiccup in the plans, but thankfully one that was easily fixed!

The AC people had to build a special shelf so the ventilation would be hidden in Josh's "Man Cave" room. I'm very pleased with how it turned out and have already started making plans for window seat cushions to line the entire thing :)

The brick man came out and marked off all the areas where the brick is going to be. These are eventually going to be our front steps.

It rained a couple of days last week, so pouring the concrete for the driveway was delayed a day or so, but it worked out okay since they did it in stages.

Josh and I are so excited about our mudroom. I can't tell you how many "inspiration" pictures I've found on the internet. We are both excited about this space and how it's going to hopefully-fingers crossed-keep us organized.

Towards the end of the week they finished the driveway. Eli and I went by to celebrate! Now he's going to be able to ride his bike a long way.

Saturday Josh and I traveled to Miskelly, a furniture store in Jackson, MS. Since we sold all our furniture with our old house, we needed to look at everything! Our trip was very successful and we were able to purchase several items we're going to need for our main living space. We still need some more furniture, but we can get that over the next few months.

Our entertainment center for the living room

My accent chair for the living room

Loveseat for the living room

Couch for the living room

End table for the living room

 Fabric inspiration for our bedroom

 Breakfast table for the kitchen

 We loved the ridges on it.

Daddy's chair :)

Next week they are finishing up just a few details on the inside. Then hopefully by the end of the week the insulation man is going to be there and the brick guy is going to start on his job as well. I can't wait to see how it's going to look once the brick starts going up!

Happy Father's Day 2011

On Father's Day, Eli woke up ready to give Josh all the surprises he'd made for him. He was so excited the night before when we secretly went into his room and made his Daddy all kinds of surprises. He kept wanting to go out and tell Josh, "Happy Daddy's Day!", but I told him we had to wait until the next morning. Sunday morning that's the first thing Josh heard from his sweet little boy. 

This year for Father's Day we gave Josh a poem with Eli's footprints next to it. I loved the poem when I read it and it's so true. Eli is watching his Daddy every day and wants to be just like him. Eli is following in his footsteps and is watching everything Josh does. I'm so thankful that Eli has such a wonderful example :) 

Eli also painted Josh two one-of-a-kind masterpieces. He said they were pictures of airplanes. I love his imagination these days!

I scoured the web and found several cute Father's Day printables that I could use on treats that Josh likes.
I found this one from The Idea Room. She always has really cute ideas!

Then we gave Josh a bag of golf tees with this printable attached. I found this one over at Tatertots and Jello.

The last treat was a case of Diet A&W Cream Soda drinks. I had to find something A&W Josh would drink so I could use this really cute printable. I found this printable here.

Josh loved all his surprises and treats from his little boy. I know he feels like I do on Mother's Day. We are both so incredibly blessed to be parents to this sweet little boy who lights up our lives every day of the year. To celebrate Father's Day, after church and after Eli's nap, we all went out to the golf course. Josh and Eli had a blast playing together and I had lots of fun watching my two boys enjoy being together. It was a wonderful day celebrating Josh as a Daddy!

With it being a post about Father's Day I can't end it until I say "Happy Father's Day" to my dad. He is one of the best men I know. He is kind, generous, humble, selfless, silly, and so much more. He puts others needs before his own, he loves God with all of his heart and it shows in his daily life, he prays for his family daily, and he makes me laugh. I am so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful, godly father and I'm so thankful that Eli has a grandfather just like him :) Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there! 

Relay for Life 2011

This past Friday our area celebrated Relay for Life. Relay for Life is usually scheduled for the first weekend in May, but due to the rising floodwaters in our area we had to postpone it until the river dropped. Josh's work always picks really cute themes for their booth for Relay for Life and this year was no exception. If you follow the show Swamp People, then you'll recognize the following saying...

What is this world coming to? Haha!

Even though we didn't get to Relay until 6:30 it was still incredibly hot! If someone had set up a snowball stand out there, they would have made some serious money. We tried our best to stay cool and enjoy ourselves despite the heat. Relay for Life is such a wonderful event that helps the American Cancer Society and I'm so happy that we get the chance to participate every year. It seems that everyone knows someone who has had cancer or is battling cancer at the moment. Through this event we're able to raise money for the American Cancer Society to help them find a cure for cancer. What a blessed day that is going to be!!

All the booths sell something the night of the relay to help raise additional money for their team. Josh's work was no exception. They sold t-shirts (believe it or not Swamp People is HUGE in our area) and other paraphernalia. They also had a game where you could toss the rings on the alligators nose. Eli and Josh tried their hand at that game for a few minutes, but Eli preferred to just walk around with the rings rather than place them on the alligator's nose. 

They also had a photo area set up where you could put an alligator hat on and take a picture. We all had to do that one!

Eli saw Mr. Cliff, Josh's boss, after we took our pictures and had to give him a big high five. Mr. Cliff is one of the best men I've ever met. He is such an example of Christ in his daily life, and I'm so thankful that Josh is able to work for a man like him. Mr. Cliff is incredibly kind, humble, and always puts others before himself. He's been battling cancer since around the time that Eli was born and we're still continuing to pray for him. He's such a trooper! Eli and I always make sure we visit Mr. Cliff when we go visit Daddy at work. 

The first lap at our event was for the survivors and I always get so emotional watching all these men, women, and children walking around the track. I don't understand why cancer has to happen to so many people, but I do know that God is there with them every step of the way helping them overcome so many challenges they face as they battle this disease. 

Next up was the team lap. Eli and I missed that one because a certain little someone happened to remember a big bouncy slide he saw on our way in and was dying to go play on it. I did make sure to take a picture of Ms. Ouida all dressed up in her alligator hunting gear though :)

While Josh stayed with his work people for the team lap, Eli and I headed back to the bouncy slide. It was only $5 for the entire night so we couldn't pass up a deal like that, especially when all proceeds were going to such a great cause. Eli was the smallest one of the slide, but he had the best time. I really didn't think he'd be able to climb those steps all by himself, but he proved me wrong!

The bigger kids on there were incredibly sweet to Eli. He always had more than one buddy who would help him climb up the steps and then make sure he was settled before he slid. I was thankful for their help! I wouldn't have minded having to go in there with him, but I was happy that I was able to sit on the sidelines, take pictures, and watch my little boy have the time of his life.

There were a couple of times when he didn't slide quite as gracefully as the pictures above show, but even after those tumbles, he got right back up and went back for more. The only thing he stopped for was water. We stayed at the slide for a long time and then went back to find Daddy and walk one lap with him. Isn't our venue beautiful? It just doesn't get any better than the sun setting behind the Mississippi River. What a beautiful sight!

Eli and I went back to the slide two more times that night and each time he got braver and braver. As you will see in the videos below he has no fear at all-this will be a good thing or a bad thing one day, I just can't tell right now :) It was such a great night honoring the loved ones who have battled or who are battling cancer. I'm so proud to be a part of such a caring community!