Daddy's Helper

These are some pictures of Makenna helping Jared with the fun job of untangling the lights.

Real Christmas Tree - 2009

Saturday we took our annual trip to the tree farm to pick out the our Christmas tree. This was Makenna's first year to participate. I think she enjoyed herself until she did a nose plant into the cool wet grass. She recovered very quickly though.

Here are the pictures from the outing!

Jesse Tree

I typically don't get to into family traditions. It really isn't my thing. It's not that I don't like family traditions. I just never made it a priority to start any new family traditions after Jared and I got married. I guess I think the best traditions are usually the ones you don't plan. More like the ones that you fall into by accident. But for some reason I am extremely excited to start the family tradition of having a Jesse Tree.

For those unfamiliar with a Jesse Tree, it is a way to celebrate the advent season. The idea comes from the scripture Isaiah 11:1

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

In a nut shell this is a daily devotional that you can do as a family each day of December leading up to Christmas. With each scripture reading, you have an ornament that is a symbol representing one of the main points in the passage. The devotionals start in Genesis and work their way through the Bible and ending with the birth of Jesus.

The reason I like this idea so much is because it pulls your family into scripture during the busy Christmas season. Here is a link to some more detailed information about Jesse Trees. The link also has a the a list of the daily devotions and ideas for the ornaments. Personally, we tweaked some a the devotions by adding a few different scriptures relating to Christ's coming and taken out a few. Let me know if you are interested in what our Jesse Tree looks like or our schedule of devotionals.

Similarity?

Here is a picture of Makenna at 1 year

And a picture of me at 1 year

What Did You Do Today

I went to my friend Mandy's house to make peanut butter balls. Now I am enjoying a plate of them and a latte! It doesn't get much better than that. Especially on a gloomy day.

10 Honest Things About Me

So Jared's cousin's wife, Dorothy, nominated me to complete a list of 10 honest things about me. Be prepared to be thoroughly entertained.....or not.

1. When I was in High School I wanted to be an architect.
2. The only pet that I have ever had was a guppy named Teddy Roosevelt Jr. Which was a science project of my dad's.
3. I would really love to live on an acreage. Preferably one with a pond or creek and a large area for a veggie garden and small orchard.
4. I like to dip fritos and pizza crust in applesauce. Nope this is not a pregnancy craving. This is an all the time thing.
5. My favorite season is summer. Bring on the heat and the sun. I love 'em both.
6. I would like to spend my "golden years" living in the deep south. Where I will hopefully pick up an authentic southern accent.
7. There are many days that I wear sweatpants and t-shirts all day. A benefit of being a stay-at-home mom. Some days I feel like I'm in college again though.
8. I have never learned how to drive a stick shift.
9. I am not a big fan of going out to eat. I prefer a home cooked meal any day.
10. I have watched and participated in the dissection of a human cadaver.

Well there you have it. 10 honest things about me.

Makenna on Facebook

As you might know, Makennna has been on facebook for awhile now. Here is some proof.

Fair weather fan?

Allison and I were discussing going to the football game this weekend. She asked about the weather.

J: It's mostly nice through Friday, don't know about Saturday.

A: If it's raining I don't want to go! I guess I'm more of a fair weather fan.

Pause.

J: You realize "fair weather fan" relates to how well a team is doing, not the temperature.

A: (laughing) Oh.

A Comparison

Pregnant with Makenna at 12 weeks....

Pregnant with Baby 2 at 12 weeks.....

For those keeping track, the above picture was taken last week. I am actually 13 weeks pregnant as of today.

Why the slacking?

If you have wondered why the Willis' have been slacking on blogging lately it is because the mama has been overly tired and out of energy over the last month and a half. Why you ask?

Well....



Yep you guessed it. We are expecting again and with God's grace we will be welcoming baby two into the world sometime around May 18th!

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves

Happy Birthday Nana and Uncle Jason

Today is my mom's birthday. (I won't tell you how old she is, but I will tell you she will be celebrating her sixth birthday ending with a zero next year.)

Today is also my brother-in-law, Jason's birthday too.

We hope you both enjoy your special day to the fullest.

Halloween

Makenna got to dress up as the great pumpkin for Halloween this year. Not that she knew what was going on, but she was cute anyway. The hat didn't make it too long, and we were amazed we even got any pictures with it on due to her extreme objection to it inside the house.

I saw the Ames Library had trick or treating all day so we went. Basically a couple buckets of candy around with no one manning them. Lame. But she enjoyed running up and down all the isles, stopping only to pull a random book off the shelf. People were always pleasantly surprised to look up from their books to see a giggling pumpkin whiz by them.

We also took her to the play place in the mall and let her run from one end of the mall to the other. Yes, the Ames mall is that small. She was the hit of the place. Lots of "Oh how cute!"

We went to church that night so we missed out on most of the trick or treaters, but Makenna and I stopped by a few neighbors houses when when we got home. Again, the baby in a pumpkin outfit killed.

We finished the night off with Makenna going to bed and Allison feeling ill from eating too much candy. Happy Halloween indeed.