The evolution of a smile...

We were thrilled when he started giving us his first smiles...

Once he started smiling, he never seemed to stop!


The teeth only made the smile that much cuter!!

R's still smiling, and so are we!

It still amazes me how happy little R is most of the time! Unless he is tired or hungry, he is usually in a good mood! We receive several of his "million dollar smiles" each day, and you can't help but smile when he does. His whole face lights up when he smiles, and he gets that "sparkle" in his deep dark eyes...I know there will be a day when he is a grown man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and that smile may come less frequently...but for now I am going to enjoy the happy little boy that R is right now!

A few more pics of the last month...

Baby R sharing some "boy" time with Uncle Toby

One of the many reasons a little boy needs his Daddy around! Uncle Toby filled in just fine as a temporary substitute for some rowdy "boy" time, and little R LOVED it!

All the cousins together in Oklahoma on New Year's Eve

Baby R really enjoyed himself at Splash Country in Branson! The girls did too...they just didn't stay still long enough for me to get any good pics of them!

Christmas Craziness!!

A was very excited about her gift from Daddy!

A's 7th birthday cake

Our "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake! Not the most glamorous one we've made, but it was 11:00 on Christmas Eve when I found the time to decorate it!

T made this Santa out of clay up in her room one day...I was very impressed!

After years of perfectly posed little girls on our Christmas cards, this is what our "photo shoot" turned into this year! Obviously baby R was not impressed with sitting still and smiling pretty for the camera...he felt everyone should see his tricks on our Christmas cards this year!

It has been a good while since I have posted, but things have been SO busy!! We celebrated Christmas here at home and enjoyed Christmas dinner and some crazy fun bingo with my entire extended family...it was great to see everyone again! Then we celebrated A's 7th birthday two days after Christmas, and then the next day the kids, me, and MiMi & PaPa headed off for a two-night trip to Branson! We got to sleep at home for one night and then the kids and I headed off to Oklahoma to celebrate "Christmas on New Year's Eve" with R's family. It was great to see everyone there again, and it was nice to ring in the new year with R's family since we couldn't be with him! We got home on New Year's day (also Sable's 10th birthday) and I spent the next full day unpacking. Then today was busy taking down the Christmas lights and tree and putting all that stuff away! WHEW...now we are caught up!! And now that we have made it to 2009...only 2 more months until R comes home from Iraq!!! Yeah! So anyway, here are some pictures that tell the story of the last month of our lives...

Christmas Programs

T was a very sad Christmas tree...she lost her lights to "shine for Jesus"!

T is all ready for her handbell performance!

R got VERY serious when Santa appeared onstage at A's program...he wasn't sure what he thought of him!

One of the MANY penguins who saved Christmas! This is A with her two BFFs! These 3 little girls are pretty much inseparable! And yes, they are the same age as A!

We have been very busy lately with both girls rehearsing for Christmas programs at church and school! A had "How the Penguins Saved Christmas" at school, and A & T were both in "It's a Wonder-full Life" at church. They both did a great job, and it almost makes me cry each time I see one of my kids on stage! T even had a solo in the church program, and she did great singing all by herself in front of a packed sanctuary! T's handbell choir also played during service on Sunday, and again she did a great job! As you can tell, I am just a little proud of the girls! And to brag a little on baby R...he was a very good little boy at all of their programs!! What more could a mommy ask for?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY T!!!!!

T getting ready to blow out the candles on her cheesecake!

Just some of the "fruity" spread we had!

Birthday dinner at Ruby Tuesday's...T had been craving a turkey burger for a good while!

Opening presents from Daddy on her birthday!

T turned 11 years old on Nov. 19th. We had celebrations all spread out from the day before her birthday until the Saturday after Thanksgiving! The big celebration was Saturday...we had a fruit party with strawberry swirl cheesecake and chocolate covered strawberries and every other kind of fruit imaginable, even a yummy fruity punch! Everybody showed up (we had 29 people at our house, not including me and the 3 kids), and it was wonderful to celebrate T's birthday surrounded by family from all sides! Thanks to all who came to help us celebrate our "big girl" T's birthday!!

Jeremy Camp

Jeremy Camp from Shannon Willis on Vimeo.





I had the opportunity to see Jeremy Camp in concert last weekend, and it was great! Rai and I have wanted to see him for years, but we just never got the chance. My friend C and I went to the concert (3rd row...awesome!), stayed overnight (without kids!) and did some great Christmas shopping the next day! It was just the break I needed!! I came back refreshed, which was a good thing, because I got to come home to a sick baby!! Thanks MiMi & PaPa for helping out with the kids so I could have this little break! It was a great trip and I highly recommend seeing him if he ever comes to your town! If you aren't familiar with his music, check him out...he has a new CD coming out today!

Happy Halloween!

We finished off the evening with a visit to Uncle Jason and the fire trucks! Thanks Uncle Jason!!!

T kept saying baby R was "the hippie's pet monkey"...I'm not sure, but I don't think hippies had pet monkeys...

All 3 superstars posing for the picture...R was "chattering" the whole time just like a monkey.

R playing the part...

R loved looking at his monkey feet!

We had a great Halloween evening! T was a "hippie", A was Hannah Montana (the first time that she has NOT chosen to be a princess for Halloween), and baby R was one of the cutest little monkeys I have ever seen!!! Even though R is not quite old enough to enjoy the "trick or treating" part of the evening, he tolerated his costume quite well...just long enough for pictures and visits with Aunt Christie and MiMi & PaPa! Then he spent the evening with MiMi & PaPa while I took the girls trick or treating...they had a good time and came home with a full year's supply of candy! We thought baby R made quite the handsome little monkey. A friend in Georgia gave us this costume last year when R was just a tiny little thing, and it's been waiting patiently for this year when he would be big enough to wear it! It was worth the wait!!! Our "chunky monkey" gave us all the giggles every time we looked at him!

Playtime for R

R has an almost embarassingly large collection of toys...my living room usually looks like a tornado has hit because he likes to dig everything out and play with them one by one! It's amazing though that with all the toys he owns, he can spend 20 minutes climbing in and out of the kitchen cabinet and have the time of his life! He loves the tall cabinet that we use for our pantry...and I let him play away because there is nothing in there that can hurt him! Plus there is just something too cute about a little face staring up at you from inside the kitchen cabinet! : )

FALL IS HERE!!!

One of R's first attempts at picking up the "ball"

T being a great big sister and helping R...

A says "This is the one!"

The finished product of an afternoon of fun!

One more for the photo album!! Sable is usually in the picture, but as you can see, she wasn't in the mood for pictures this day!

Fall has definitely arrived here in Arkansas! We went for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch last weekend and the kids each picked out a pumpkin. We dug "Johnny" the scarecrow out and put him up with our fall decorations. He has been used for many years, but when I mentioned that we might need to go and get a replacement Johnny, A had a mini-meltdown. At first I was puzzled by her extreme attachment to him, but I got to thinking...Johnny has been with us through 4 states now...he has been the one "constant" in this fall tradition. The flowers change, the pumpkins change, the house they sit in front of changes, but 'Ol Johnny stays the same! So we added a little duck tape and Johnny will hopefully serve us well for a few more years! Baby R enjoyed roaming around the pumpkin patch, but he met his match when he tried to pick up the pumpkins! He couldn't figure out why he couldn't pick up those "balls"...he picks up the big orange (basket)ball at home all the time! The girls were very sweet helping him get through the rougher ground out there...he had to hold someone's hand in order to stay upright! It was a good afternoon, and we came home and got everything set up for our annual picture with the pumpkins. I love these simple little traditions...its fun to see the kids get excited over something as simple as picking out a pumpkin and this year sharing their "pumpkin picking" skills with little R.

For Daddy

The shirt says it all!!! This one's for you, Daddy!! Thanks Crystal for the great shirt!