Merry Christmas from the Family

Our dear friend Ellen has become our family photographer.  She knows us, our personalities, and how to get great shots within the short attention span of a 19 month old (and her father).  Check out how much Addison has grown since the last EK Photography (or as Clay would say Photographa) session, and even crazier, check us out the year before our girl was born!  Seems like a lifetime ago!  Ellen has such a great eye.  We love her and the memories she has captured for our family!

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas and Amen and Pass the Butter,
Marcy

 

 

 

ZJE&E Visit

What fun it was to have Zack, Jen, Ethan, and Eli in for a visit!  With an 18 month old , 2 1/2 year old, and 3 month old around, one thing is for sure - we didn't stay still for long.

A little parental ingenuity!

Saturday afternoon, we had a fun time at the Corn Maze.  We got lost in the hay maze, took a ride in a cow train, and saw animals at the petting zoo. 

Riding the cow train!

Our little critters!

After taking in the sun and the sights, we ended our visit with a good old fashioned hayride to the pumpkin patch.

 



What a wonderful weekend we had enjoying the beautiful fall weather and enjoying our family!

Sweet cousins

Amen and Pass the Butter,
Marcy

Happy Halloween!

One thing is for sure...Addison is a festive little girl! 

Addison LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so her costume was an easy choice...she was the sweetest Minnie!

 

Our Halloween was full of trick or treating, candy, friends and fun! By the end of the night, Addison was a tired, sticky mess.   



Maggie the Butterfly and Minnie Mouse Addison



Hadley the Witch and Minnie Addison

 

Our night was the start of many new traditions - trick or treating with friends, Hadley's Halloween party, and the CTHG office treat! 

 

Amen and Pass the Butter (and candy)!

Marcy

Honey Time

Today's post featuring guest blogger, Honey!

Addison and I enjoyed a long weekend while Marcy and Clay flew off to South Carolina. Marcy had a fun holiday planned for us:

Wednesday:

Our adventure began with a hair cut (complete with glitter and perfume). The beauty shop played pop music. Addison loves music and did a little “shoulder dance” under the hairdresser’s cape!

Thursday:

Next, we went and had Halloween pics taken (2nd annual trip for us!). Our little princess enjoyed the attention – but really isn’t in to sitting still for long.

Then we were off to the mall (AND more importantly the MALL PARK!) Addison started getting excited as we rounded the corner – she knew where we were going (did I mention how smart she is?).

Friday:

We started off Friday with Gymnastics! It was Addison’s first try. Addison was a bit concerned that I was going to leave her there (like at school). When she realized that Honey was staying, she joined right in. She sat in the circle and listened to the gym instructor intently. She enjoyed the songs and liked climbing. She especially liked walking on the balance beam and hanging from the rings. She is quite strong and can hang all by herself!

After naps … Friday continued with the theme of FUN! We were off to the pumpkin patch (where we stayed for over an hour – playing, riding in the wagon, and making new friends).

Supper found us at Chuck E Cheese!!! Most fun was watching the “show” up front (music video and Chuck E Cheese dancing). She enjoyed riding the little cars.

Saturday:

Saturday was the Lubbock Komen Walk for the Cure. Addison and I were up early Saturday morning to join in. It was such an emotional experience. Addison danced during the warm-up and found many fans for her talent. We walked the mile with such a large group of excited supporters and survivors. I walked to honor my friends D’Anne and Rita.

The morning was cold, but inspiring. Our dear friend Ashley Hamm made sure that ALL of Lubbock was PINK for the weekend.

Saturday afternoon we spent a few hours at the Science Spectrum. Addison loves to go to discover, touch, and meet new friends.

Sunday:

Addison and I were determined to finish up our “To Do” list. We got up Sunday morning and attended the Erwin’s church home. We attended the contemporary service (Addison loves the music).

Afterwards we headed home to clean up for Clay and Marcy’s homecoming. Everyone was SO EXCITED to see eachother. I headed home for a week of work without my favorite grandblessing. What keeps me going is knowing that a month will not go by without seeing our favorite little girl.

 

Amen and Pass the Butter,

Honey

 

How lucky we are! 

Amen and Pass the Butter,

Marcy

Fair Fun

We went to the South Plains Fair with the Lehnens and only one rule...if it's not fried, we aren't eating it!  Our fair delicacies included corn dogs, fried Oreos, fried Reece's peanut butter cups, fried snickers, fried pies, chicken on a stick, cheese on a stick, tater twisters, roasted corn, and fresh lemonade to wash it all down! 

 

The girls had a great time at the petting zoo...

 

...and riding the carousel!

As we were leaving, we had an impromptu dance party courtesy of DJ Sancho.  Our girls definitely have some moves!  (The dancing was just as entertaining in person as it appears on video!)

Amen and Pass the Corndog,
Marcy

Scrapbooking

Two months have gone by since my last blog post. Life has taken over and between work, summer, and our crazy schedule, I somehow have not sat down to blog about our whereabouts. So here we go, a Super Post!

My sister is a wonderful scrapbooker. She has a room set up in her house where she has her paper, letterpress, photos, and stickers set out to document life. For Addison’s first birthday, Melody gifted Addison a 4 volume scrapbook chronicling her life month by month, holiday by holiday. It’s so special to see each and every photo that she selected, cut, bordered, and placed into a larger design.

As much as I wish to be a scrapbooker, I just can’t seem to have the time, patience, or vision to do it. That’s why this blog has been so great for me. Recently, I have found myself looking back at Addison’s first year and how she has grown and developed.  It was then that I realized that this is my online scrapbook. So here I am, sitting down to scrapbook (without the themed stickers or glitter border) the highlights of our past two months.

If there was a heading on my scrapbook pages, it would say “Family”. In fact, we have seen each of our siblings and parents at least once (and sometimes more) over the last 2 months.

The week after the 4th of July, Honey was in town attending a debate camp with her students. It was such a treat to have an extended stay with Honey during the week. Clay and I enjoyed a mid-week date night and the happy-hearted Honey helping hand. Ever since Addison was born, my mom has made it her mission to change every dirty diaper when she was visiting. I have never seen anyone approach a dirty diaper with such enthusiasm. In fact, my mom approaches all things Addison with enthusiasm. How lucky we are!


Melody and Jeff came in that weekend for a just-because visit. Sometimes, those are the best - no holiday, no agenda, no schedule - a visit just to be with us and see Addison. It was fun to have them in town!

Aunt Meddy and Uncle Heffrey

 Later that month, we visited the newest member of our family. Eli was born on July 24th. He looks just like his older brother and we are all so in love. Within the last few months, Addison has really started to interact with other kids. It was so fun seeing her and Ethan play. There is nothing like cousin love!

Speaking of cousins, growing up, Melody and I were very close with our cousins. We remain close but as we have grown up, got married, and started families, we rarely get to see each other. That we decided needed to change. In August, Clay, Addison, and I flew - that’s right, we flew with a 15 month old - to Dallas to celebrate Luke’s, my cousin Chris and his wife Carolyn’s son, birthday. Addison was a great flyer. She enjoyed blowing kisses to passengers as they boarded the plane and kicking the back of the seat in front of her (much to the chagrin of the man sitting in said seat).

We landed in Dallas and were joined by my mom and dad. Saturday morning, we met my Uncle Ray and Aunt Patty for breakfast before heading to the water park to party. That night we all congregated at Melody’s house for dinner. Our kids had such a good time together and we are ready to plan our next cousin’s reunion!

Addison, Corbin, Luke and party goers!

August also included a trip for me and Clay to Ruidoso, New Mexico. Honey came up to keep Addison while we went to the mountains for me to attend a CLE conference and for us to have a little time away. We had a great time gambling and getting to go to dinner without out little one. We kept joking that it was strange not asking for a highchair when we made reservations with the hostess or not having to pick up food off of the ground before we left the table. Honey and Addison, like always, had a great time going to the pool, the Science Spectrum, and church together.

We were also happy to have Pops and Mary in Lubbock for a visit in August. Clay and his dad had a good time participating in the Young Life Sporting Clay’s event while Addison, Mary and I did a little shopping. We look forward for their next visit!

My scrapbook would also have the heading “Home.” We have so enjoyed our new home. On the weekends that we were not traveling, we spent most of our time there.

Riding in the golf cart with Dad!

We love fro yo!



The newest employee of KCBD!

Addison is growing up so fast. She is a climber and still loves to snuggle. Sometimes, I feel like you can see the wheels in her head turning as she learns about the world around her. She has many words - dada, sss (translated Snoop), please, more, dog, baby - but I think her favorite is “mama” (which I she says anytime she wants something...guess who always gives her what she wants). Even more than the words she can say are the words she understands. We can give Addison simple commands and she responds appropriately - bring me/rock/pat the baby, blow a kiss, wave, let’s go outside, talk to your Honey on the phone. She has gone from a baby and turned into a little person - a fun, interactive, sweet and loving little person!

As I look forward to the upcoming months, I am excited that fall has arrived. We welcome the change in weather, the arrival of football season, and the holidays that are around the corner.

Until the next time I sit down to “scrapbook”, Amen and Pass the Butter,

Marcy

4th of July

Our flags were waving and our spirits were high as we celebrated in Luckenbach for the 4^th of July!

Our vacation started in Llano where we spent Monday night and Tuesday morning at Uncle Ray and Aunt P’s house. Luke and Corbin were in town for the week and it was so much fun to see them interact with Addison. Some of my fondest childhood memories are times spent with my cousins and I am so happy we are making new ones with our kids!

Swimming with Luke and Corbin

Honey met is un Llano and then joined us as we continued onto Fredericksburg where we met up with Zack, Jen, Ethan, Pops, and Mary. We had a fun night under the trees at the Tonkaway Bed and Breakfast for the Luckenbach 4^th of July sponsor party. The kids had so much fun running around and playing in the "cowboy hot tub" (aka horse trough). The night ended with music on the porch of the Tonkaway cabins and a wiffle ball game under the lights.

The next morning, we walked up the street from our hotel to take in the 4^th of July parade. Growing up, I always loved a parade. I guess some things never change! Afterward, Honey, Addison, and I strolled the streets of Fredericksburg together before meeting up with the rest of our family at Luckenbach.

This was the 7^th year the Wilkins Family has hosted the Live, Free & Fly concert at Luckenbach. We love this concert! There’s no better atmosphere to celebrate our nation’s freedom than under the shade trees behind the post office! The day was filled with great music from The Drakes, the Tejas Brothers (who doesn’t love an accordion?!) and ending with The Mystiqueros!

Ethan riding in the lawn mower parade!  He was a hit!

The Erwin Family Nation

That night, we raised the population of Luckenbach from 3 to 9 when Zack, Jen, Clay, the 2 kids and I camped out. It was defiantly an adventure that I’m sure we’ll be saying for years to come, can you believe we camped with a 14 month and 3 year old!

I don’t think there is a better way we could have spent the 4^th of July - filled with laughter, good music, and surrounded by our family.

Amen and Pass the Butter,

Marcy