Merry Christmas

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Happy 2nd Birthday Rowe!!!

Today is Rowe's 2nd birthday! More to post soon. Here is just a small pic of what is to come soon. Check out his perfect little 2 shirt from www.duesouthdesigns.net.

Rowe had 2 much fun!

Christmas Day

Rowe has been in the Zone since Santa came. He doesn't want to eat, have his diaper changed, sleep, or anything else that requires him to take a break from playing with his toys. He just sits there so quietly playing happily in the floor. It is too sweet to watch!!!! I love this kiddo!

Playing with Granddaddy at Little Mama's

Check out our little football player!

There's no crying in football!

Christmas Eve

Mom and I spent Christmas Eve making all of our favorite Christmas candies. It was a blast, yummy, and now my clothes have shrunk!
Rowe was happy as long as he had a cookie in his hands or mouth! Needless to say, he stayed up really late!!!

Santa Claus came to visit!

Just Call Me "Master Gillis"

Well, I have finally accomplished one of my major life goals. I have now earned my Master of Science Instructional Technology (MSIT) degree this month. I started this journey in June of 2005. I had planned to finish within two years, but life does not always go as planned. I completed one summer of 12 hours of classes, and the following spring, we suffered our first devastating miscarriage. The following summer, I was not up to school fulltime mentally. The following winter, we suffered our second miscarriage, and our money was going towards medical testing, my shots, and doctor visits. I didn't want to go into debt, so I took some more time off. Well, fortunately we found out we were expecting again in May of 2007 and was put on "couch" rest. That eliminated any ideas of going to school that summer, but I was NOT complaining. At this point, I was really questioning whether or not it was God's will in the first place to have even started this degree. Finally, Rowe was nearly six months old when I finally returned to school in the summer of 2008. It was tough going to school 9 hours and having a new baby. Fortunately, my mom was there to make it all possible for me. I could not have done any of this without her! I went back to school the following summer of 2009 with 12 hours of classes. This was a tough summer academically filled with projects, papers, and lots of hard work. I finished the summer, and decided to take my last class during this fall. I didn't want to wait until next summer, and I am so glad I chose this fall to finish. I loved my night class and classmates. I had a great fall semester thanks to my husband helping with Rowe on Monday nights, my parents for helping also, Kay who was my class partner, Jan that helped me get through comps and lots of prayer and studying.

When I say that I am excited to have graduated, I mean it!!! This time in my life was more than just classes, but was a journey for my whole family.

Now if I can only convince my students to call me Master Gillis! :)

Monsters Inc.

My almost two year old son loves the movie Monsters Inc. I was a little reluctant in letting him watch it. I was afraid some of the scare scenes might frighten him. Well, I was very wrong. The first time we watched it, he laughed at the funny scenes and the scare scenes. It tickled him, instead of scaring him. My little man was fearless!

The more I thought about that, the more I envied his fearlessness. Why do I let the "monsters" in my life frighten or paralyze me? We all have our own monsters in the closet. You know, the ones that you keep hidden away, and hope no one finds out about. Well, I guess you could say "it's closet cleaning time" for me. I face one really ugly monster daily. My monster's name is anxiety. Just typing the word makes me nervous. This monster rears its ugly head in the form of worry, nervousness, doubt, low self esteem, and more. I have battled with this monster for many years, and it seems that it has only gotten stronger in the last few years. I have not been as consistent with my quiet times with God, nor have I spent as much time and energy in prayers as I should. The less time I spend with God and His Word, the stronger this monster gets, and the more my family suffers. It is up to me to care enough about the people in my life and my relationship with the Lord to do something about this. If I continue living the way I always have, it is foolish to think things will get better. Today, I will fight back. I will put on the armor of God, and wage war against this enemy in my life that is not flesh or blood.

What are the monsters in your life? What is hindering you from becoming fearless? Is it depression, gossip, worry, temptation, or something else? I challenge you to give that monster a name, face it, and do something about it.

Isn't it amazing how God can use a wonderful children's movie to convict me in such a strong way. God is good.

Happy 6th Anniversary to Us a Little Late!

Lee and I celebrated our sixth anniversary on Sunday, December 6th. On Saturday night, December 5th, I reminded him! ha ha.

Notice Rowe's Big Boy Haircut!

New Pics of Our Little Bug

Rowe gets funnier and funnier everyday. His main goal in life is to entertain as much as possible. He breaks out into song and dance at the oddest times. He loves to play games and laugh really loud. His favorite show is Handy Manny and shouts "Mammy" when he hears the theme song or when he wants to watch it. He can count to five, but not when you ask him to. He can sing his ABC's in Roweneeze, just not in English. He has the tune down pat, but the words are a different story. His favorite songs are Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the ABC's. His favorite toys are balls, trucks (anything with wheels), and books. He loves it when you jump out and scare him. He thinks it is hilarious! He loves to wear his daddy's hats, and spend quality daddy time together. He always says the blessing (in Roweneeze) when he sits at the table to eat. We may only be able to understand him when he says "Amen" but we know God understands him. Here is his I've been busted doing something wrong look below!I went to check on Rowe during his nap time, and this is what I found. He was suppose to be asleep in his bed. This is my new favorite picture of Rowe because it really captures his personality. He loves to wear his daddy's hats. He loves to play ball and loves this shirt. This is the facial expression I see most of all on his precious face.

Happy Halloween 2009

I'm "WILD" about YOU! Happy Halloween!

Rowe and Brayden loved Trick or Treating at friends' homes. Rowe kept trying to go into everyone's houses. He especially loved the houses with pets.

Trunk or Treat

We took Rowe to Trunk or Treat at some friends' of ours church this week, and he loved it! Here are the pics. Enjoy!

Does my costume make my mouth look big?

The Two Cutest Lion Cubs Ever

Our boys loved seeing Mickey Mouse in real life!
College Roomies

Rowe enjoyed eating his little pumpkin and wanted nothing to do with his candy!

Does anyone have any idea where Rowe gets his big mouth from?

I love my boys and they are crazy about each other!

Rowe had a blast jumping in the Jumper House!

Happy Halloween All!

Monkey Bubbles Monograms

If you are wanting some cutesy shirts for Thanksgiving or Christmas or some great baby gifts and diaper bags. There are also some great outfits, monogrammed hand towels, personalized sippy cubs, Bama Baby diaper bags, MSU diaper bags, and so much more. The website is www.monkeybubblesmonograms.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!

Below is the Elf shirt I ordered for Rowe. I'll post a picture of him wearing it and his Turkey shirt for Thanksgiving soon.
Below is a bag I ordered for a friend with her name monogrammed really big across it. The bows are detachable. This is a great overnight bag.
I am going to order this bag as a Christmas present for an Alabama fan with her name monogrammed in the Alabama red.

The diaper bag below is super chic! It comes in other colors and is precious.

This diaper bag is great for the MSU Baby and the AL diaper bags are so cute too!

I love affordable bags, gifts, and clothes! You are going to love this site!

Teaching Rowe to Kiss

Well, I know he is a little young for kissing lessons, but something's gotta give. He is so affectionate and for some reason thinks that the harder he bites you, the more he is showing you love. He associates biting with affection and excitement. He just doesn't understand it hurts. I honestly don't think it was all the second hand Twilight watching, but who knows. If you have ever seen my little vampire, than you have seen the size of his mouth and chompers. He could eat two kiddos before anyone even noticed they were gone. We have tried everything from spanking, talking, reading "Teeth are not for Biting" and more. No, I have not bit him, although many have recommended it in order to stop the biting. I have no intentions of biting him especially since I am trying to teach him it is wrong. Instead, I am hoping and praying he will start kissing without teeth. Lee and I don't use our teeth, so I am not sure where he is getting this from. Someone told me at church the other night that biting is a sign of intelligence, but then she got mad at me when I bit her. Just kidding, I didn't bite her, but she really did tell me that. I though that was quite interesting.
Does anyone out there have the miracle cure for my little cannibal? I think we may have solved the problem last week, which is a whole other story for a whole other post. But just in case, please send me your suggestions.

P.S. If your child was a victim of Rowe's rampid biting spree, I am so very sorry! Take comfort in knowing he has had all his shots, and has no infectious diseases.

Comps are Over!!!

One of the most precious and beautiful best friends a girl could ever ask for brought the treats below to me the night before comps. She thought the Smarties would help me stay smart and retain all I studied, and the earrings would make sure I looked good taking my comps. We love you and thank you Erika (Teka)!

Below is my before picture before I took my comps. I am biting my nails and fingers in nervousness! No I don't bite my nails or fingers typically. This was a special occasion. Teeth are not for biting! I'll explain that statement soon.

The two cheesy pictures below are my after pics after taking comps. It was such a good feeling of relief! All those prayers and encouragement plus the smarties really helped me remember everything I researched and studied. Thank you all and most of all thank you Lord!

The two cheesiest pics below are of Lee after my comps! I think he was happier that it was over than me, or he was just making fun of my pictures above. I do have to say thank you to my awesome husband. He had daddy dates with Rowe every afternoon last week, so I could study in peace. Thank you Hot Lee, I love you!
Now, I must go get to work on a project that I am presenting in class on Monday night. Have a happy Saturday!