Sunday Snaps

I haven't taken Sunday pictures in several weeks now...I told the girls yesterday that we were going to get back to doing that. I have missed them!

Jason didn't want his picture taken, so I took a picture of his shirt...it is my favorite shirt of his. He is not afraid to wear pink *Ü*

I love my girls!

Hope you had a happy Sunday!

Catching Up

We have had so much rain lately. It's storm season around here, so Jason has spent several nights sitting up watching the weather to make sure we are safe.

Our backyard has been looking mostly like this...

Last weekend, while Jason was in the woods hunting, the girls and I made Rainbow Pinwheel Cookies. They were so much fun to make!

You can find the recipe for these cookies here.
Despite the rain, we did have a couple of beautiful days this week. One day was perfect for playing outside.

Lucy got the sidewalk chalk bucket out and got busy in the driveway!

Macy was so excited to finally be able to throw the football with her Daddy again.

Abby enjoyed us being outside, too *Ü*

The girls' school collected canned foods for our community's "Helping Hands" program. Because of the great turnout, the kids were rewarded...they got to have "Wacky Dress Day!" Macy and Lucy were so excited about this. They decided to wear all their clothes backwards, and for the most part, did not match.

Miss Lucy has a VERY wiggly tooth. I think it is just going to end up falling out...she does NOT want us to pull it! And by the way, I absolutely adore this picture of her *Ü*

Her kindergarten class has been learning all about careers this week. One of her friend's Daddy is an orthopedic surgeon...he came and spoke to their class and brought them all kinds of "doctor clothes" as Lucy calls them. She LOVES the gloves especially. When I asked her what orthopedic surgeons did, she quickly answered...

"They fix your bones. And deliver babies too."

They got to dress as what they want to be when they grow up to end "Career Week." Lucy chose to be a vet *Ü*

She wore Macy's doctor coat from Halloween, which is why "Dr. M.R. Willcutt" is on the pocket.

We are getting settled in to watch "Dolphin Tale" tonight. The girls are so excited!

I'm hoping to get back to blogging like normal...I haven't done so well the last couple of weeks!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!!

We Finally Got a Chick-Fil-A!

Yesterday was a HUGE day!!

Our town's Chick-Fil-A opened! Now if you have had a Chick-Fil-A in your town for years, this might not seem like a very big deal. But imagine if you DIDN'T have one!!

We love Chick-Fil-A. If I am ever in a town with one, I'll pass up ANYTHING to eat it. Jason and I ate it the night we got married. We were in Birmingham, AL on a Saturday night and could have had anything we wanted...but we picked Chick-Fil-A...that is how much we love it!!

*Ü* I knew it would be mass chaos on the first day...so honestly, I wasn't really planning on going by there yesterday. The girls and I had to run a quick errand after school and happened to ride by it when there was a little lull though, so we just HAD to go.

I am a chicken strip girl...with Chick-Fil-A sauce. I am also in love with their yogurt parfaits with granola...yummy!
I have a sweet friend who shares my fondness. Looks like we have both really enjoyed having our own Chick-Fil-A! So we had it yesterday, and then again tonight! We just can't get enough!!!

We heart Christan Chicken!!

A Day at Home

I have not stepped foot out of the house today. Mail didn't run, so I didn't even get out to walk to the mailbox. We stayed in our pajamas all day long, and it has been so nice. Lucy has been fighting a yucky cold for the last few days, so I think it did her some good just to be inside. The girls built a blanket fort of all blanket forts and had a blast playing in it.

My sister has been in town because of everything that happened last week, so she came over tonight to spend the evening with us. She got into the dress up fun with the girls. Macy insisted that they dress up as pirates (cute pirates).

Lucy didn't really like the idea of being a pirate, so she stuffed herself into a size 3 leotard and tutu.

Macy even had a telescope...
And a parrot on her shoulder (aka my lime green scarf)...

It has been a nice day of rest and relaxation.

And yay for a short week of school!

It's Been Awhile...

It has been two whole weeks since I last blogged! So unlike me! I have received the sweetest texts and e-mails wondering if all is well...I appreciate that so much.

The first week of January always sort of knocks my socks off it seems. Just getting back into the routine of the girls being in school, etc. after being out for over two weeks...that sort of thing. And this year, we have a thousand pound new baby (the horse!) to take care of everyday, so that has taken some getting used to.

Truth be told, though, there has been so much sadness already in this year, and I tend to avoid my blog (and the computer as a whole) when I am sad.
Out of respect for her family who is grieving so terribly right now, I will not say much, but I lost a very special Aunt...JoAnn Graham...just this past week. She was the person that I idolized...the kind of person I have always wanted to be when I grow up. She was an icon of our town. Everybody knew her, and if you knew her or even just knew of her, you loved her. She had a picture perfect life...she was absolutely beautiful, she had a husband that adored her and children who loved her, a beautiful home...just a perfectly beautiful life. She had a knack for gardening and collecting. And she shared ALL that she had with others. She has battled cancer for the past 5 1/2 years. This past Thursday, she went to be with Jesus. She loved life and even considered her struggle with cancer a beautiful part of her life. An amazing woman was she, and her legacy will live on and on and on. Her funeral service was the most beautiful I have ever attended. But it is still sad, and it still hurts. And I think that is why I have avoided blogging...because while life goes on, her life has ended. It is so hard to believe that she is gone, and still seems so very unreal.

I do want (and need) to catch up on my blogging. Honestly, I have taken very few pictures since the first of the year. The break from blogging has been kind of nice, but I really have missed it. I have to tell you the funniest thing...I walked into the bathroom to dry the girls off after their shower several nights ago...Lucy was sitting on the seat in the shower wiping a cut on her knee. I immediately asked if she had fallen in the shower, to which she so matter-of-factly answered...

"No ma'am, I was just shaving."

Excuse me? Shaving?

"Oh yes ma'am, I do it all the time."

Well, I do not really believe that she does it all the time. But apparantly this wasn't the first time it has happened. Can you say six going on sixtenn? Oh the horrors. I enjoyed them being out of school over Christmas break so much. I think ya'll know that my favorite days are days when the girls are at home with me all day (more specifically at home and in our pajamas all day!). And we had lots of those days over the holidays.
We made coffee filter snowflakes... And Macy decided to write a "newspaper" to chronicle the life of the Willcutts. She never fails to make me laugh! She even included a copyright...

Lucy is all into fancy writing, and she loves writing out Bible verses...

The girls found these batons on the dollar side of a local grocery store...

Can I say that they have played with these one dollar batons more than anything they got for Christmas? Isn't that just typical?

Lucy had safari day at school one day this week. They got to dress up in safari-type clothing and actually went on a safari at school. She was so excited about it!

Lucy is ALL into reading. I love it. She is just like Macy was, in that one minute she could not read, then the next minute, there is nothing she can't read. She reads ALL the time. Whether it be reading signs as we are riding down the road or books at home. She loves, loves, loves to read. She even gives me Phonics lessons on my Gain detergent bottles (notice the pink sharpie...the "long a" mark about the "A" and the the mark through the "I" because it is silent).

We have a holiday from school tomorrow...Lucy decided to build a fort in the living room to sleep in tonight. This child cracks me up. She even hung a flashlight from the "ceiling" so she could have a light in there. She is busy, busy, busy right now making sure it is just perfect!

So there's a brief catch-up post. I promise it won't be another two weeks until I blog again. I have missed it too much!

Happy New Year!

I told Jason this morning that it seemed like Christmas was FOREVER ago. And it was only just one week ago today. I purposefully tried to make the week between Christmas and New Year's go slow...not many plans, not many errands (except to the huge Bath & Body Works sale where Macy and I scrounged around the store for the last 2 "winter wonderland" candles that they had...ha!). And it really in truly seemed like the longest week ever. I love that. As much as I love, love, love where the girls are in school right now, I still like them being home with me. If you know me, you know I love staying up late, and I love a laidback lifestyle...when I get stressed it shows...and oddly enough, being stressed gives me lower back pain (yuck). Jason would tell you I get stressed a lot more than I should over things that should not stress me at all...and it's true...but I think stress is just a part of the season of life I am in right now. Or maybe, juuuuuuuuuuust maybe, I allow stress to get the best of me when it does.

My blog friend, Courtney, posted on her new year's blog post that instead of making a bunch of resolutions, she was making a list of things that she would like to FOCUS on more. I like that.

So one thing I am going to FOCUS on this year is not letting little things get the best of me.

Being less stressed and realizing that I am more blessed.

To my teacher friends...sorry...that sentence is probably the most grammatically incorrect sentence ever...but I think it makes perfect sense.

We had a wonderful church service today. We talked about new beginnings. About how 2012 is probably going to be a lot like 2011...there will be happy times and sad times, times where we are content and times where we will worry, new people will come into our lives and sadly, there will be people who will leave us. Things will happen that we will expect to happen, and things will happen that will take us by surprise...we may even get the wind knocked out of us for a time. But we will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and by the grace of God...we will go on.

One of the most comforting thoughts to me is that God has already been where we are going. He has already seen us so excited and full of happiness and joy that we will literally want to squeeze somebody. And He has already seen the tears that we will shed. Nothing...NOTHING takes Him by surprise.

I pray that 2012 is going to be a good year. I pray that babies will be born to people who have dealt with infertility. I pray that those who are single will find love. I pray that those who have dealt with depression will overcome it. I pray that those who are hurting will be healed. I pray that those who have dealt with or will deal with loss will find peace. I pray that those with unforgiveness in their hearts will find the courage to forgive...forgive others and forgive themselves. I pray that 2012 will be a wonderful year for my family and for each and every one of you and your families.
After our church service today, we headed to Jason's parents' to ride Prince. This was a much anticipated day, as it was the first day the girls actually got to ride him since finding out he was theirs! I have to say, I am totally smitten with this horse. We love him so much, and what is so great is that I think he loves us just as much. Especially if we bring sugar cubes with us when we visit! Macy rides like a little pro. She has put her whole heart into learning how to ride him, and it shows. Seeing how happy the girls are around their horse brings Jason and me such joy. When I was downloading these pictures, the next picture got me tickled. It's hard to tell without being able to zoom in, but Macy is raring back to stop Prince, and his nostrils are blown out as far as they can go, and it looks like he is giving the biggest gummiest smile. Lucy was very full of herself today. She kept telling me cowgirls don't smile for pictures and that the camera was distracting her. Funny how she had the biggest smile on her face riding him the ENTIRE time...EXCEPT for when I wanted to take a picture (or when she didn't know I was taking one). I love the way you can see the sunbeams shining through in this next picture... We had a few things we needed to get at Wal-Mart this evening (where I was checked out by THE sweetest girl ever), then we decided to pick up chinese food at our favorite chinese take-out place. One thing we love about this place is that there is always plenty of food for two meals...so guess what we'll be having for dinner again tomorrow night?! I did attempt to make real black-eyed peas. And much to all of our surprise, they turned out so yummy! The instructions from the sweet people at the grocery store worked perfectly! Macy loves black-eyed peas, so she was an eager taste-tester. She approved! But I had to promise her she could have oreos afterwards. Dipped in milk, of course. Poor Lucy missed out on all the black-eyed pea excitement. Sister fell sound asleep right after her bath. I have said it before, and I'll say it again...we are so truly blessed. We are ALL so truly blessed.

May we all continue to be blessed...AND MORE AWARE OF AND THANKFUL FOR OUR BLESSINGS...in the new year!