Happy 1st Birthday Lily!

Happy 1st Birthday Lily!! You turned 1 on May 21, 2011. You are the light of our lives (along with your brother Tommy) as you wake up with a smile on your face. You are so beautiful and the have the biggest eyes that I love! You are a sweetheart who loves to give hugs and kisses. You also are a "little mother" as you love your little dolls and hold onto them so tight as you hug them and carry them around the house. You can be very independent and social but you also love to cuddle and be carried around the house. You have been walking since 9 months and you love to follow Tommy and play with him! You like to be comforted in the night still so you get up 1-2 times a night even though you should be sleeping through the night. I actually don't mind getting up with you and sometimes I even bring you back to bed with me as you like to cuddle! I am so thankful to have you and I am blessed to be your Mom! Love you Lily!! Happy Birthday!

North Dakota so far

Joe sent out an e-mail to his family updating them on our trip to ND so I thought I would share it on the blog...

Written by my hubby!

So I got done texturing the basement tonight about 9. It is light here till about 10. The lake was glass and the temp was perfect. I went back to the big garage out back and got Tommy's new fishing rod that we just got him and mine and threw some worms on. Tommy was watching his nightly little bear cartoon before bed and Lora was laying on the couch next to him. I opened the door and whispered "Tommy come here." I said, "you want to go fishing?" He whispered, "Yes." I grabbed his sweatshirt and carried him, the rods and tackle box down with a Miller lite in my pocket. Tommy whispered to me down the hill are we going to catch a fish? I said, "yep, a big fish." We sat on the end of the dock as the sun set with our rods in the water and listened to the owl and ducks. About five minutes later, we got a big pull. I said, "Tommy, we got one!" I took his rod and reeled it in and it was huge. We fought with it for a minute or two trying to drag it to shore. Tommy was running and yelling in joy and just as we almost got it up and out, the line broke. It was a huge, heavy, 24" walleye. About 10 minutes later we pulled in another one and put in the keg bucket we had and it was huge. Tommy just loves it out here. We have been farming with the neighbors as they are planting wheat and Tommy usually falls asleep in the first 10 minutes and then we ride as he naps for an hour or so. Lily and Tommy just are having blast. As I work down stairs in the basement. Tommy and Lily yell down to me, "Dad are you ok? Are you working hard?" I say yep working hard and run up the stairs where they are both at the gate waiting for a kiss from me and Lora usually has lunch and dinner ready. Supper by the lake is amazing and peaceful. I wish I could tell Dad the fishing story but I know he is watching us. It has been a blast so far. Miss my Mom and family and can't wait for visitors. I start my new job on Monday as my new F-150 Truck arrives in Bismarck. I will be training the first month or two. I am excited to start. In the meantime we found an awesome church, St. Leo's in Minot and have seen a few friends and love the friendly people in all the small towns. The kids, eat, sleep, and play so well and love the fresh ND air.
Love
Joe

Moving.....

It is such a pain.... Moving a whole house in two weeks is really hard. Tommy keeps asking where all his toys are going and he has cried a couple of times. I keep telling him that his toys are being shipped to ND and Grandma will pick up all his toys at the lake and take care of them until we arrive on the airplane... he feels a little better once I say that! We are sleeping on the floor as the beds are packed and we will be moving in to Nana's house for the week while Joe drives some of our stuff to ND. The rest of it is being shipped. I will fly up with the kids and Joe's brother Pat next week after Joe has had a few days in ND to get things settled. Pat and Joe will work on finishing the basement once we arrive!

Last night we had some professional family pictures taken as I want my kids to remember that they were born in the desert of AZ! So, we took the pics outside by all the cactus's and cool surroundings. It was beautiful and I can't wait to see the pics but poor Tommy started touching a cactus and poked his finger. Tommy is walking around this morning complaining about a hurt "ginger".... we are looking forward to getting settled at the lake.... it is starting to get hot in AZ so it is perfect timing! Hopefully, the snow has stopped falling in ND!

We are moving back to North Dakota

Joe and I are excited to be moving the family back to North Dakota in May! We love Arizona and this move is bitter sweet as we will be leaving great family and friends in AZ. We are especially sad to be moving far away from Colleen and Pat (Joe's mom and brother) but we are excited to raise our kids in the Midwest where we are both from in North Dakota!

Joe received a great job offer with a great company called Victaulic where he will be in a sales position. Joe is currently self employed in AZ and it is getting old paying for everything out of our own pockets like health benefits so we are excited for him to start his new adventure with Victaulic as they will offer our young family many benefits!

Joe's position is based in Minot, ND and we will be moving back the week of May 8th. Minot is growing and there are not many housing options available right now so we will be living in my Mom's cabin on Lake Sakakawea for the time being until we can find something in Minot. If you know of anyone wanting to rent their home out in Minot please let us know as we would be great renters! My Mom is completely finishing her basement for us and we are excited to live on the lake especially during the summer months! We will be renting out our house in AZ so if you know of anyone interested in a nice 4 bedroom/2 bathroom/3 car garage home please let us know!

We will be busy over the next few weeks packing but we are so excited to be back in ND where most of my family lives. Joe also has family in ND. We are also excited to reconnect with some great friends we both have in ND and meet new ones. This will be a new adventure and I am sure it will be an adjustment after living in a city of over 6 million people but we are excited to see where God takes us as we move back to the prairie!

Look out North Dakota... HERE COME THE WILSON'S!!

Pops, Tommy, and Jesus

“Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. For whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:3-4

I don't know where to begin or how to write about the loss of Randy (Joe's Dad, My father-in-law, Tommy and Lily's Pops) so I won't... But, I want to write about a few experiences Tommy has had since Randy passed away on Monday, March 7th as I want to remember these stories and share them with Tommy someday. Randy and Tommy had a great relationship and they had a connection that is unexplainable... the morning Randy passed away Joe and his whole family were surrounding Randy and I was home with the kids as they were sleeping. Joe came home a few hours after Randy had passed and Tommy was still sleeping but as soon as Tommy woke up I went into his room and did not tell him anything about Pops passing away as I wanted to wait for Joe so we could tell Tommy together but while I was changing his diaper Tommy said "Pops sleeping, Pops sleeping, Pops sleeping." I could not believe my ears because we had not said anything yet to Tommy about Randy passing away but Tommy already knew somehow...

About a week later Tommy woke up from his afternoon nap and I asked him if he had any good dreams and he said, "Pops playing with me... Pops playing with me and the animals"... it gave me goosebumps and a few days after that Tommy told me when he woke up from a nap that "Pops playing football with Jesus and the animals" and he kept repeating this story about Pops playing football with Jesus and there were all these animals around. Tommy has said all of this on his own without any prodding...Joe and I are so amazed as he says these things right after he wakes up from his naps so you can believe what you want but I believe that Pops is visiting Tommy in his dreams and I do believe that he is playing with Tommy and that Tommy can see Randy who is safe and loved in the presence of Jesus.

The other reason I think this is because Tommy never asks where Pops is or wonders where Pops is when we go over to Nana and Pops house. He used to always run in their house and run right to Pops... he would even run past Nana as he loved Pops so much but now he goes over there and Tommy never even asks where Pops is and he never even looks around for Pops.... Again, I believe he does not ask about Pops because he KNOWS Pops is safe in heaven. This whole experience just makes me believe even more in Heaven and Hell and the power of Jesus. Jesus is our SAVIOR and KING and I can see that more clearly through the eyes of my 2 year old!!

Catch Up from Christmas

I have not blogged for awhile as it has been so busy but we love this time of year as the weather in AZ is perfect! (This week is a little cold but it is usually in the 70's) We live in extreme heat during the summer so this is our chance to get outside and enjoy the nice weather!

We hosted Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our house with family from both sides! We had lots of fun celebrating with everyone. My husband is an amazing host and cook and he rigged the ping pong table so we could all eat around one big table... that's right... we ate Christmas dinner on our ping pong table as you can see in the picture below!

Tommy got a special visit from Santa on Christmas Eve and we sang Christmas carols, exchanged gifts, and blessed the Christmas tree. Tommy loved seeing Santa and still talks about the tennis shoes that Santa brought for him as an early Santa gift. Lily cried and did not really enjoy Santa this year but hopefully, she will like him more next year.

I love the picture below as it showcases Christmas in Arizona..... I miss having a white Christmas but I also love the sun and palm trees!

We love our kids! Tommy and Lily are the joys of our life and it is so fun to see them grow and play together! We want more kids someday but for now we are enjoying our family of four!


We were able to sneak away after Christmas for three days and two nights to Texas as my cousin Michelle got married! Joe and I had a great time and Michelle and Garrett's wedding was beautiful! I was so worried about leaving Lily as she refuses to take a bottle but she did great with Nana and Auntie JoJo and it was so nice that Joe and I were able to get away without the kids so we could celebrate Michelle's wedding without distractions! Below is a picture of all my cousins at the wedding.

We celebrated New Years with some of our close couple friends and their families! I feel so blessed as we have made some great friends in AZ. Joe and I are part of a group called TOOL (Teams of Our Lady) where we meet once a month without kids and have dinner and wine together and then we discuss God and pray together! It is a great group for Joe and I and we look forward to it every month. We also like getting together with all of them with our kids like we did in the picture below on New Years!


Like I said earlier, we are enjoying the nice weather in AZ and we try and go hiking once every couple of weeks with the kids. We like to go to Usery Park as you can hike and then let the kids play on the playground and have a picnic!


I am also thankful for the mom friends I have made in AZ. I am involved in a couple different playgroups and bible studies. Not only do we go to play dates but it is also fun to go out with friends without the kids. Below is a picture of all of us Mom's out for dinner right before Christmas! I am so thankful for all of the friendships I have made in AZ!

A Good Book

Last night I stayed up late and read a book... a whole book in one sitting! It was amazing and so relaxing just to lay down and read. I need to do that more often. Joe bathed the kids while I read and then I put Lily to sleep and continued reading while Joe put Tommy to sleep. It was so nice to relax and get lost in a good book. I couldn't put it down. My friend recommended the book Unplanned on her blog so I ordered a copy right away on Amazon and it came in the mail yesterday. I would highly recommend this book to anyone! It is a very interesting true story. I was in tears while reading the 1st chapter.

The book description:

Abby Johnson quit her job in October 2009. That simple act became a national news story because Abby was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who, after participating in her first actual abortion procedure, walked across the road to join the Coalition for Life.

Unplanned is a heart-stopping personal drama of life-and-death encounters, a courtroom battle, and spiritual transformation that speaks hope and compassion into the political controversy that surrounds this issue. Telling Abby's story from both sides of the abortion clinic property line, this book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the life versus rights debate and helping women who face crisis pregnancies.