Wrapping up 2009!

Well, I am a few days behind, but this will be my last post in regards to 2009!! I am about to have this made into a book and can't wait to see the finished product. This has been a great tool to keep everyone informed of our activities and a way for me to record our children's milestones. I only wish that I had started doing it sooner:)

This has been quite a year, full of ups and downs and many lessons have been learned. We were blessed with our beautiful son Turner, who has enriched our lives and is Maddie's little best friend. We celebrated my cousin's wedding, who is also about to have her first baby in a few weeks! Both my sister and cousin were engaged this year which is a blessing that will be continued into 2010 as we participate in their weddings. Kevin's cousin was accepted into OT school in FL, which is an answer to prayers. Several of our good friends had babies this year, which was very exciting and means little playmates for Turner. I have been able to cut my hours at work so that I can spend more time with the kids-that might be the biggest blessing of all!! My dad was declared cancer free and it only took a major surgery and a few months to get that way (really, it could have been a lot more involved). Again, another huge blessing for our family!

On the downside, I did lose both my grandmothers this year, about 3 months apart. Dad was diagnosed with cancer, same day as his mother's funeral. We found out Maddie was not only allergic to peanuts, but also cats and dogs. After 6 years, we had to find our Karsey a new home (this still makes me cry writing it). Tough things that our family had to deal with and overcome. But we did, we trust that Jesus is going to take care of us, and it has simply been an amazing year that just happened to throw us a few curve balls!

This post is just a summary-there is no way I can rewrite all the things that happened in the Wilke's world in 2009! But, I am glad that I have been able to share through this blog, and look forward to a fabulous 2010. Lots going on this next year, and I will be sure to record all of it!!! Thank you Kevin for being such a wonderful husband and father to our kids. Thanks Mimi, Boo Boo, Nonna, and Da for all that you do for us. We are so blessed to have you as parents and you are great examples to us! Megs-we love the Nanny and are so excited about your upcoming wedding, but sure are going to miss your almost daily visits:) Thanks for all the help you give us and for loving our kids as much as we do. To the rest of our family and friends- we love you all, you are such a blessing in our lives, and we look forward to sharing 2010 with you!!!

Christmas in Savannah!

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas again, with Kevin's family. It worked out perfect because Kevin's dad got off the boat, Grace was down, and Kevin and the kids were able to go a few days early to really visit. I joined them New Year's day since I had to work late New Year's eve. It was a great weekend. We did things a little differently this year. Instead of making the rounds to everyone's house, everyone came to Da's and Nonna's house on Friday. It made for a much less hectic weekend, but we were still able to see mostly everyone and enjoy the holiday's.

Maddie received a scooter from Nonna and Da and Turner got a motorized car. They were both hits and the kids are really going to have fun once it warms up outside. From the rest of the family, my children received a whole new wardrobe each and money. I was amazed at the clothes they got. I am hoping it stays cold for a while so they can get plenty of wear out of them! We had plenty of good food and appreciate Nonna for all her hard work in the kitchen!

Maddie and Turner enjoyed being able to play with their cousins. Maddie loves them all but she and Brayden are like two peas in a pod. He spent most of the weekend with us, so they had plenty of time to play:) Maddie and Brayden are the same age difference as she and Turner, so I hope that they play just as well together as they get older. We played a lot of Wii, (I got really sore) ate a lot, and just spent time as a family. It was another great Christmas celebration and we always enjoy our time in Savannah. We love you all!!

My First Cricut Creation!!

As most of you know, I received a new Cricut Expression for my Birthday and have been very anxious to try it out. My sweet family left ahead of me to go to Savannah so I have had some time to begin learning how to use it. I do think it might be a little more complicated than I had thought. But I am very excited about having it and have all kinds of plans in my head on what I am going to make. Turner's first birthday is coming up and I fully intend on making his party invitations myself. This does mean I need to start working on them today, or yesterday, maybe even last week:) But I am determined to do them myself and the theme is Cowboy and horses-I ordered some stuff today!

Back to the Cricut-Megs was over last night and together I decorated my first picture frame. It is pretty darn cute. The frame was a $1 from Michaels, I had the scrapbooking paper, and the Cricut supplies I used probably only cost $400. Pretty Cheap frame, huh? So, if from now on the only gifts you receive from us are homemade ones-hope you like them, they were made with love:) I posted a pic of the finished product.

Bendaroo Fun!

Maddie and I often do "projects" together. She is my very artsy, crafty child and loves to color, paint, play with play-do etc. So one of her gifts from us for Christmas were Bendaroos. The day after Christmas, Maddie, Megs, and I spend over an hour making different animals with it. I must say-we all got quite involved in the project and all had a lot of fun. I took some pictures of the animals we made and thought I would share!

Merry Christmas!!

What a wonderful, tiring, joyous day we had!! Turner started it off by waking up at 4:30. Daddy fixed him a bottle and I fed him in bed hoping he would go back to sleep. No luck!! So, by 5:15 I was waking Maddie up to see what Santa had brought them. She was so excited and wasn't disappointed!! She immediately hopped on her big girl bike and was ready to ride. I don't think Turner knew what to think, but he enjoyed playing with his new toys. They checked everything out and saw that Santa had eaten the cookies, and what was left Turner managed to grab and enjoy:) They opened gifts and Mimi, Boo Boo, and Megs stopped by to check out all the excitement.

Around 9 we loaded up and headed their way. Maddie received a new basketball goal and loves it! We might have a little athlete on our hands. Turner got a helicopter that makes noise and was happy with that too! We opened more gifts and had a good breakfast waiting on us. Thanks Mimi for all your hard work-I know it is exhausting, but it is so appreciated and everything was wonderful!! After visiting for a while, we headed home so the kids could spend the rest of the day playing. Boo Boo stopped by for some play time with Maddie, which she loved. She got the game Hi Ho Cherri-O and loves for us to play it with her.

Our family had a great day and look forward to celebrating with the Wilkes family next week! Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Christmas Eve

Everyone was so excited at the Wilke's house this year. We spent the day as a family, watching Annie (Maddie's new favorite movie), baking cookies for Santa, and getting ready to go to Mimi and Boo Boo's for the night. We celebrated with Dad's side of the family and had a great time. Matt and Meg's are both engaged, Emily is getting ready to have her first baby, and this was Turner's first Christmas. Lots going on in the "Young" world. While it was our first Christmas without Mom, we still enjoyed being together as a family and celebrating the birth of Jesus!! We played a silly game, enjoyed good food, played Dirty Santa with the adults, and enjoyed watching the kids open their gifts. Turner enjoyed him some lasagna and is eating less and less baby food. It was a fun night and easy to put the kids to bed once we got home. Maddie helped us set out the milk and cookies for Santa to eat and after quickly setting everything up, we called it a night!

Mommy Turned 30!

Unbelievable-30 is NOT old, but I just don't feel like I should be out of my twenties. But...I am and I have enjoyed my birthday with my family. The day before Nonna came down to spend the day with the kids and Kevin. When I got home from work I had a "Happy Birthday" sign colored by Maddie and a cake. We met my parents, sister and David at Chili's for a birthday celebration. We had a good time. I received a new coat, book, camera, and Cricut Jukebox, all of which I am very excited about!! My birthday morning started out with pancakes made by Kevin with candles in them. I also received my Cricut which I bought after Thanksgiving and have been anxiously waiting for. My parents kept the kids for a few hours so we could get toys out of boxes and prepare for Christmas morning. I am so blessed to have 2 precious children, a wonderful husband and family, and could not ask for anything more on my birthday! I love you all!!

Megs is getting married!!

What an exciting weekend for our family. Saturday night David asked Megs to marry him and she said yes! Everyone is thrilled to have David join the family and the planning will soon begin! They showed up at our house last night to share the news. They are planning on April of 2011. So...that only gives Mimi 16 months to get this thing done:) She will probably start working on it tomorrow. We went to lunch after church today to celebrate. This was a very good surprise that has started our Christmas week on a great note! Congratulations Megs and Davids-we love you both!!!

A Surprise Visit to Dance Class!

Maddie had her last dance class before Christmas Monday night. I was excited for 2 reasons-we thought we were going to be able to watch her dance, and Santa was going to pay the class a visit. So, Megs came over to watch Turner and Kevin and I went to watch our girl strut her stuff. Well...I don't know why, but we weren't able to watch her dance. I guess everyone will see her in action in June at her recital. But, Santa did come and surprise the girls!

When we realized we weren't going to be able to watch, I sent Kevin on home so Megs could get on with her night. At the end of class, Santa arrived and all the parents walked in to their class with him. Right before that a mom asked me if Maddie was scared of Santa. I said "No, Maddie loves Santa. She talks about him all the time, blah, blah, blah." WRONG!! We walk into the class and one child out of 20 starts crying hysterically-MINE! I don't know why it scared her, but she was upset. I finally calmed her down and after watching the girls sit in his lap, she decided that she would too. She told him that she wanted a big girl bike and I got their picture, but she sure made a liar out of me!! You never know what you are going to get from Maddie, oh how we love that child!!