Creative Kids!

My girls LOVE being creative! T has such a passion for art, and she is quite talented...really think she will pursue this passion further in the years to come! A loves art too, but she is so critical of her own creations that it prevents her from having the confidence to create things. R usually has NO interest in art...at his Mother's Day Out, they send home a binder full of art projects a few times a year, and his is usually quite empty because he declines participating in the art projects. He had a meltdown when he was introduced to fingerpainting...he had NO interest in getting THAT stuff all over his hands! So when they all wanted be "artsy" this day, I had to get the camera out...not sure I will ever see all 3 of my kiddoes so intent on an art project at one time!!

 T's play-doh creation...not sure what it was, but it was good!

R's play-doh creation...again, not sure what it was, but he was participating so it was photo-worthy! 

All 3 of the kiddoes...look at R's focus!!

You have to hold your mouth "just right"...and for some reason, it's easier to be creative when you are shirtless!! : ) 

What a creation she is...

And A too...what a unique creation!

I just loved this one!!  What a creation he is!! 

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

 Psalm 139:13-14

Family time before Daddy said goodbye...

R had some time off from work before he left for the summer, so we spent some great family time together in one of our favorite local areas...Bricktown!!  There is so much to do down there, and our whole family loves to visit.  We spent an entire day exploring and visiting our favorite places...I probably won't take the kids down there alone, so it was probably our farewell voyage to Bricktown before we leave for Germany...sniff, sniff...

At Bass Pro

 R experiencing gummy worms for the first time...they were a hit!



Waiting on the trolley... 

On the trolley (they are free!)...little R always gets very serious when we do things where there are lots of people, but he had so much fun, and talked about the "trolley roger" for days!

Big sisters are a blessing!!

The canal...we didn't ride the boats this time, but they are a lot of fun, and you learn the history of the canal and the Bricktown area...very interesting!

Feeding the ducks 

We ate a light lunch specifically so we would have room for some Peach Wave yogurt...YUM! 

They have buffalo statues all over the downtown area...this is one of the more colorful ones!

The building under construction in the background is going to be the tallest building in the area.  They say when it is completed it will be taller than the the tallest building in this pic with the Devon building (also in this pic) sitting on top of it...pretty tall!!  We won't get to see it completed while we are here, but I can't wait to see pics!

New Life...New Family Member

I love babies!!  I think I have always loved babies!!  I especially love babies that I can hold and love on and smell and cuddle, but with NO sleep deprivation!!  We finally got to meet the newest member of our family, Ryder, over Easter weekend.  We offered to watch him for a few hours while new Mommy & Daddy got away for a while...and we were so thankful they accepted!  We held and stared at him the entire time!!  And while we loved him from the minute he was born, we are head over heels in love with this little guy now that we have met him!  We are so happy for Brandie & Rusty and the beginning of their little family, and we are so grateful to have a new nephew to love!!

 Ryder Jamison Roush

 Little R was very interested!  He isn't around babies very much, and we had to keep reminding him to be gentle, but he LOVED baby Ryder!!

 This melted my heart!!  While R is usually a very busy, rambunctious little boy, he can also be very gentle and loving...in small doses! : )

Uncle R says he's a keeper! 

 I may have taken more than my fair share of time with the little guy...but he was so sweet, and so tiny, and so cuddly!!

 A made sure that Allie got a little extra attention...her world has been turned upside down!

T giving Allie LOTS of extra lovin'...I think Allie felt special again!

Bloom Where You Are Planted!!

I've been saying this a lot lately...I have always loved the sentiment behind this, but since we found out we are moving to Germany it has become my mission statement!!  Anytime I start to panic about moving, I say it to myself...and for a while I was saying it at least daily to one of the girls as they voiced their concerns about leaving the country.  We have had several conversations about God having a plan and purpose for us going to Germany.  The Army may be sending us, but I know that God is going to use us there.  And how happy He will be when he sees our family "blooming" where he has "planted" us!  At this point in the conversation, I usually refer to my favorite verse, Jeremiah 29:11, to really drive the point home! : )
Anyway, after several of these conversations with the girls, we were entering our neighborhood one day and noticed they had changed the message on the sign, and this is what we saw!! 

Is it a sign from above??  A small confirmation that this move is part of the plan for our family, and that we are handling it in the proper way, with the proper attitude??  I'm not sure, but it sure made us smile!!

Dinnertime Prayers

Family dinner is very important to me.  Every night during the week (and most nights on the weekend) I cook dinner, and we sit down as a family and eat together.  We always say a prayer for our food before we eat, and little R has just recently wanted to be the one to say the prayer.  He squeezes his eyes soooo tight, and concentrates soooo hard...it is just too cute!  You always know what his favorite things of the day are by his prayer at dinnertime...and he very rarely says thank you for the food!

This isn't the best video quality, and please excuse the big Sonic cup....I don't usually have a huge soda at dinnertime...but Happy Hour had called our name that day! : )

Translation:

Thank you for Jesus and everything

Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Tori and Abbi

Thank you for ???? (even I can't translate this one!)

Thank you for peanuts and everything

And Thank you for Goldfish (yes, he had peanuts AND Goldfish for snack earlier that day)

Amen

Daddy Daughter Dance

 All ready to go!!

 Little R HAD to be part of the picture...he didn't understand why we would ever dream of leaving him out!!

 Daddy and his girls!

 They really do love each other!!

 "Big man in a little hat"

 Tori is rockin' the hat!!

Our homeschool group had their annual Daddy Daughter dance last weekend.  The girls were very excited to have an evening with R.  The pictures speak for themselves...they all had a blast!!

14 years...and still going strong!!

Rai and I celebrated our 14th anniversary on March 22nd.  I can't believe it's been 14 years!!  My parents came down and watched the kids for a few days so Rai and I could spend some time in Bricktown/Downtown Oklahoma City.  We stayed right downtown, parked the truck on Sunday, and didn't get back in it until we left on Tuesday!  We walked EVERYWHERE!!  It was awesome!!  We visited several restaurants, went to the OKC Memorial Museum (which I think everyone should visit if you are ever in OKC), saw 2 movies in one day, went to a Thunder basketball game...we even fit in a workout at the hotel fitness center!! It was great to get away and spend some time together in a city that we have really come to love, before we have to leave it for good!  Edmond/OKC has been good to us these last almost 2 years...it is going to be very hard to say goodbye!!

 Cattlemen's Steakhouse...R had a Porterhouse, said it was the best steak of his life!!

 I had turkey and dressing...go figure! : )

 The Chase and Devon buildings...in process is a building that will be taller than these two stacked on top of each other!  Wish I could see that completed!!

 Oklahoma City.....THUNDER!!!

 R has been to several Thunder games, but I am usually at home with the little man!  So this was my first game since we've lived here...Thunder lost, but it was LOTS of fun!

 OKC Memorial...very touching memorial to the bombing vicitms.

 This was amazing...they built this statue of Jesus with his back to the bombing site...each nook in the bricks represents someone killed in the bombing...the statue is titled...And Jesus Wept...brought tears to my eyes!

Another view of the Memorial.  If you are ever in the OKC area, I highly recommend visiting the OKC Memorial Museum...we spent at least 2 hours there...it is an amazing tribute to the story of the bombing, the people who were killed in it, and the heroes who were involved in the rescue and treatment of the victims.

Monster Jam!!

 Walking in with cousin Tyler...R loves Tyler a little bit, too!

 Big thumbs up with Daddy!!

 The big boys aren't too excited about the picture taking, but R can't wipe the smile off his face!  He is one happy little boy!

Still smiling!!

Little R LOVES monster trucks!  He doesn't like them a lot, he isn't crazy about them...he truly LOVES them!  He has a huge collection of monster trucks and when R had a chance to take him to Monster Jam last year, he was so excited!  Little R was a little overwhelmed by the noise and "hugeness" of the monster trucks in real life, but he had fun.  This year when the Monster Jam event rolled through our area again, we decided it was a must for R and R to go.  This year he was NOT overwhelmed...I think he loved every bit of it!  It was a great evening of Daddy/son time that neither of them will forget for a long time!!

Another creative creation by the Willis girls!

We have an extra room that we use for school, but the girls also have their piano, a tv and a couch in there...they have named the room "The Lounge".  One day before A's birthday party, they were in cleaning up, and decided to add some artwork for the walls....this was the result!  They included some of their favorite things...peanut butter, Braums, Wal-Mart, and I'm not sure how GEICO made it's way on there! : )

Can you tell who this is????

A Little Late...

Since A's birthday is two days after Christmas, she never gets to have a REAL birthday party.  We are usually traveling, and her friends are usually out of town for the holidays.  This year we decided to postpone her birthday celebration until Valentine's Day.  We had a Valentine's themed party, and the girls got to decorate their own red velvet cupcakes.  It worked out well...A got a day all her own to celebrate her birthday, instead of having it mixed in with all the festivities of Christmas.  R was a bit overwhelmed with all the preteen girls in the house (it was very noisy)!!  But he did enjoy decorating the cupcakes, and he was very happy to help A blow out her birthday candle!