Give Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving all! I hope your bellies are all overly full by now...I know mine is! Well, we have had a wonderful holiday week so far. As I mentioned in my last blog, Charity came and stayed with us for a few days before we all came back to the Wilkins' house for the feasting. We had a great time shopping, watching movies, and cooking up a storm. We came to Monroe yesterday, and the fun began.
Wendy(Bray's mom) had everything organized wonderfully, and so there was not a lot of pressure, but was rather a relaxed, enjoyable day. I know it's not over yet, but I am doubtful as to whether or not I can eat another bite.:) Hobbes unfortunately has a cold, and thus is not enjoying himself as much as the rest of us are...thus the reason for the pseudo-smile in the pic.
Bray and I took a walk today, as it has been beautiful if not somewhat warm down here. It was a good time for us to remember what the past year has brought- and how blessed we have been. There have been hard times in several areas lately, but we are constantly amazed at how consistent and perfect God's mercy, goodness and blessings are. We miss all our family and friends who are not with us, but as is fitting to the day- we are VERY thankful for you all! Love and prayers to you!
A pic of the table before the feasting began... and Bethany smiling for a Thanksgiving memory.:)

Home again, home again....

Hello everyone-
I hope you are all preparing yourselves for bundles of food this upcoming Thursday- I can't believe it is already Thanksgiving time! It seems like time keeps going faster and faster...they say that happens when you start getting older. I can remember when I was in elementary, and during summer break it seemed like time stopped. Things were always the same in the summer...I never really grew older, and Moscow didn't change. Oh well, enough nostalgia. Well after a wonderful 9 days in Moscow, I have returned home to my very thankful husband, and have been caught up in another whirlwind of fun and preparation for the upcoming holidays. I have dutifully been trying to get my Christmas shopping done, but every time I go out, it seems I think of more things that I need than anything else- isn't that terrible? However, slow and steady wins the race, so I am determined to get it done eventually.
This week, Bray's younger sister Charity has vacation, and so is going to come hang at our house, help me bake several pies, and then we shall all go back together on Wednesday to take part in the feasting festivities. I am looking forward to spending holiday time with family, and to just relaxing a bit before the Christmas onslaught. Well, good luck to you all, eat as much as possible, and enjoy these pics from random times and events. Love you!
Here is Hobbes in his Halloween costume-in case you couldn't tell.:) Above are our pumpkins we carved in a sort of 'artsy' picture. Below are the 3 crazy Wilkins' grandkids! Ohh, boys!:) (Jaiken is under the lionhead- it is very difficult to pose kids under 4 for pics)

Here is Hobbes with Daddy again...so glad to be home!:)

SURPRISE GRANDPA!!!

Well, as you may have guessed from the title, I am currently in Moscow, Idaho, visiting the fam, friends and old places we love. Bray and I decided a few months ago, that, since my dad hadn't been able to see Hobbes in several months, and Christmas was so far away, we would give him a special treat, and surprise him with a visit.
Although Bray had to 'bach' it due to the grindstone, he was very gracious in letting us come up for a week. In order to carry out the plan successfully, we told my oldest sister Carolyn(pictured with Hobbes and her new dog, Maggie), so that she could pick us up from the airport in Spokane. My mom knew as well, but was amazingly adept at keeping it a secret from my dad. Way to go, Mom!
We arrived Tuesday, November 8, and drove straight to Logos, keeping my mom updated on the estimated time of arrival, so she could be there for the fun. When we got there, we met my mom at the door, and went in to find my dad, only to learn he had driven off in the school truck to load some garbage and take it to the dumpster. We saw him driving back up to the gym, so we raced up there, and my mom went around the corner to meet him. She brought him back to where we were, and soon a puzzled but glad look came on his face as it registered that we were actually in Moscow. A joyous reunion followed, and then came surprising everyone else-namely siblings, friends,etc.
It has been a whirlwind time, and I have been enjoying it immensely, although I am missing my wonderful, hard-working husband terribly. As you can see from the pictures we've been playing hard. The one of my dad, little sister Kathryn and Hobbes all bundled up is right before we went to a pumpkin rugby game this morning. Pumpkin rugby is an annual tradition at NSA where, at the end of the rugby season, they have a game just for fun, and they substitute, yes, a pumpkin for the ball. It was very entertaining, and only a few people had bloody noses at the end.
We have also been doing some early Christmas shopping, played an insanely fun game of volleyball, and gone ice skating- see pic of me and Jordan below. The parents have been more than glad to keep Hobbes while I go on hiatus to see everyone, so it has all worked perfectly.



Besides that, the other news from home is that Bray made the finals for the San Francisco Merola program for the upcoming summer- pray that we get in! We should hear back whether or not it's a go before Thanksgiving. I hope you are enjoying life to the fullest, and that you are looking forward to the upcoming holidays. God bless!

FLOUR FIGHT!!!

These are self-explanatory. enjoy.

Pumpkin patch

Here is Hobbes with his pumpkin-isn't he an amazing artist? I think he takes after my dad.:)
This is a pic of a tree down the street that happened during Hurricane Katrina. Helen and I are standing in front of it to show some scale. Amazing, isn't it?
These are pictures of our little house...so you can picture us in our natural habitat.

Last but not least, this is our pumpkin patch family pic...for those of you who remember, Hobbes' in utero nickname was 'pumpkin.'

Uno, losing, and Helen

hello to all! Well as you can see, Helen came to visit this past week....and we had a blast! We cooked a ton, carved pumpkins, went shopping, and had an Uno war with Bray pretty much every night. I know some of you are probably thinking that Uno is for kids, but let me tell ya, it can be intense! We even had some times where we couldn't speak to each other for hours.:)
As you can see, Hobbes enjoyed Helen a lot, and vice-versa. Bray asked us to make cookies for his choir boys, so we decorated halloween cookies, just like old times. We made at least 70 cookies, and amongst 11 guys, they were devoured in minutes. Sheesh! Teenage boys are bottomless pits! Anyhow, we also hit the Piggly Wiggly-the ultimate Southern grocery store- and the Super walmart. Because Helen flew out of Monroe Monday, we did not go for the weekend. Although we missed seeing Bray's fam, I was able to cook my first official Sunday dinner since we've come down here. To top everything off, we carved pumpkins in the evening, and although Hobbes isn't allowed to play with knives yet, we did let him have a drawn-on face on his pumpkin. I hope you all enjoy your upcoming Halloween/reformation weekends, and we miss you all!

Birthdays and parties...

Hello everyone- hope you all are enjoying another fabulous fall week...although this last week was not quite as exciting as the previous, due to lack of company, it was nice to catch up on cleaning, practicing, general everyday chores. No big news to tell you other than Helen Scheibe is coming to visit on Wednesday, so feel free to send Moscow mementos, Bucer's coffee, you know, the norm.:) My birthday was on Thursday, so Wendy and Micah Lewis (a family friend) took me to Jackson to go shopping- what a perfect present!:) Then after a long but exhilirating day, I returned home to find my wonderful husband had gotten me flowers, a gift certificate for a day spa, and he had even baked me an angel food cake! Men are wonderful, especially husbands. The fun continued when we came to Monroe yesterday...since I normally have a fall party around my birthday, I decided to at least carry on the food tradition part of it, and so I made homemade doughnuts(not as good as my mom's yet) and caramel corn, then Bethany, Micah and I invited over several people and we played Battle of the Sexes- a fun if not sexist game. Needless to say, it's been a fun weekend and I'm ready for a leisurely Sunday nap. I hope all is well with everyone, and Helen, I'll see you Wednesday!:)

Grandma & the Deep South...

Hello to everyone! I hope you are all enjoying the beauties of fall...although it hasn't really hit the South yet, I am still in the mood for pumpkins, candy corn, and of course, my birthday. My mom was here this past week, and we had a wonderful time touring the South, going to a Muscodine winery, shopping, visiting old plantations, and some civil war sites.
As you can see from the pictures, Hobbes loved his Nothern grandma, and only spit up on her once or twice! He smiled and chatted with her quite often, and did not want her to leave.:( Here he is feeling pretty handsome in his cool corduroy California style shorts..we need to work on his ego. The picture of the house was one of the plantations we saw...if you can see 3 tiny dots in front of the door, that's us- talk about HUGE! They had an amazing amount of land, too. As you can see, my mom was thirsty, and she had to show us how to use the well. Then Bray decided Hobbes needed and old southern bath...Ahhh! But, we had a wonderful time together, and we were sad to see her go. We miss and love you all, and if you want to experience the Deep South, give us a ring.:)

New Pics & fun with Grandmas!

This is a pic of Hobbes practicing his Olympic stance…we’ve decided he has great thighs.J The pic below is the most common facial expression we see-namely that of, "huh?" Last but not least is a pajama pic (not to helen). However you will all be glad to know that my mom arrived safely and in one piece, although she did have some trouble at the Houston airport-those Texans!J My dad was not able to make this trip after all due to business, but he is planning on coming down another time. Thus, it was my mom’s first time to travel alone in quite a few years! And I can’t remember the last time my dad was left home alone. So, if anyone wants to check in and see if he’s ok, I’m sure my mom would appreciate it. (just joking) No, she made sure he was stocked up on fish sticks and pop tarts. We have a full week ahead of us, as Bray is also on fall break…we are going to shop, shop and of course shop. We are also going to go see a little history on the side, like some battlefields, old Southern homes and battleships. I shall be sure and post more pics with both grandmas when I take them. Love to you all, and congrats to the Millers,those of you who see them.

Power...or the lack thereof

Hello everyone-
Sorry it's been awhile. Once again we were hit by another hurricane, only this time it affected our area a little more. We went to Monroe for the weekend, braving the BAADD weather, made it safely, but they had no internet connection. We arrived home yesterday, only to discover our house had been out of power for the whole weekend. So, sweating profusely in the dark, we searched for our candles, and we had no cell phone systems, so we could not call the parents either. However, we are back in business now, but you will have to wait for some pics, as I have to use the library computer right now. Other than feet of water on the roads, things are going well. We have started our choir, and although it is slow going, the boys are determined and hard-working. My parents arrive on Saturday, so that should be exciting.
This morning Hobbes and I ventured out with some other moms and drove( mainly to be in air-conditioning:)) to the Natchez Indian village. There we saw cultural artifacts, a huge mud hut, a 'mound,' and most importantly- fire ants! Yes, we were all up on the mound, where they would lookout from, with all these kids age 0-10 and we discovered multiple beds of fire ants. Needless to say, we were running back to the building to get some spray. Have you ever been bit by a fire ant? They hurt like anything!!! Believe me, they are not your friend. I guess anything having to do with fire just does not go well with me. Well, I just wanted to give a small update-I shall put pics up next week, and fill you in on more details later. We are having a new couple over for dinner tomorrow, the ones that have a baby girl 2 days older than Hobbes, so I need to go make some food! Love to you all!

A pic for Helen

This is the only one on my comp right now...but it's still cute! Pics with other friends and fam are on their way...

Fun and fires...

Well, we are completely moved in to our new house...the only thing that is missing is a dining room table, buut we don't mind eating on the floor!:)
This is a pic of Hobbes looking like a baseball boy- Bray and I had a debate over whether the bill of his hat looked better down or up, and mommy won.:) However, he is still cute either way.
I finally cooked my first complete meal in months the other evening. I had it all ready and planned out, and I had turned the oven on to heat to bake the bread. I had not stuck the bread in yet, though. Now, I grew up with an electric stove, and thus my mom put all her hotpads in the drawer beneath the stove. Being a respectful and obedient daughter, I did the same, only I have a very lovely gas stove. After a few minutes of the oven preheating, I saw flames and smoke pouring out of it! This was confusing to me, as I had nothing in it, and had nooo idea where the fire could be coming from. I yelled for Bray, and he came running. I took the baby outside, and we tried to figure out where the number for the fire department was. Meanwhile Bray poured water on it- and saved the day. Although it took awhile to air the smoke out, nothing was hurt, and I was still able to cook a nice dinner. AAhh, the exciting times of a new place!
Bray and I have also been very busy this past week. One of the teachers at Chamberlain-Hunt found out I had had logic and latin, etc. She was taking the girls on a field trip to Washington D.C., and so asked 2 hours before class started if I could sub for the next 3 days. Although I never have subbed for actual academic classes before, things went well, and Bray came and sat in to make sure the boys behaved. I've only had to make 3 if them do push-ups though.:)
One other small tidbit before I sign off for a few days- I thought I was used to small town routines, but nooo. I tried to go to the 1 bank the other day, at about 4:05, but what do you know, the bank closes at 4! Not only that but it closes for lunch every day, is not even open on Thursdays, and closes at 1pm on Fridays and Saturdays! Nice job,eh? So then yesterday I went to the post office on my lunch break, as I was teaching, but nooo they close for lunch too. I just had to laugh. So then in the afternoon I went back to the bank to get some cash for the weekend, but I believe every person in the town had the same idea that I did, so I had to return empty-handed due to a time crunch. It is all quite humorous.
My parents arrive in a few weeks, and I just found out Helen is coming late October to celebrate both our birthdays! Anyone else wanting to see deep south, give me a ring. The women came over this week, along with ARcher and Jaiken, we had a nice lunch at the cafe, and showed them the campus and our house. It's fun to live near family! Well, I think that is the most up-to-date info on us Wilkinses, except maybe to add that Hobbes was 13 lbs 2 oz at his last checkup- what a chunk! Thus, the double chin in the pic! Love to you all, and God bless

Sunday stud...

I finally remembered to take a pic of our new car...to prove to the world that we really did buy a car. Isn't it beautiful? I feel so 'adult' now.:)


I did not have time to take pics of all the rooms of the house yet, so this is just part of Hobbes' room-that's the cradle my dad made for him. Here is Hobbes in his Sunday duds- he can finally keep pants up around his belly now, so he is officially a "real boy!"

We have mostly moved into our house-it is far bigger and nicer than I could ever have thought! It is 2 bedroom, 1 bath with a living room, dining area, kitchen and family room...so if anyone wants to come visit,we have the space! They even installed a new washer and dryer in my little laundry room, and I have a dishwasher, so I feel like I'm living in a luxurious mansion. God has really blessed us in this situation-Bray is still going to take voice lessons, we are researching teachers in Jackson and Houston. He has an audition for the San Francisco apprenticeship program in November, and it is a paid summer program starting at the beginning of May 2006, so please pray that goes well.
It is wonderful to be near family, and to see all the cousins at 'play.' Of course we miss all our family and friends, but we just expect people to come visit us! (hint hint) Well I shall try and find the main lounge with internet access this week- I haven't ventured around much as I have been putting things in order.:) So until then, love to you all, and happy Lord's day!

The Northern side of the fam:)

(from top down) A week ago Sunday we had Hobbes baptized by Pastor Steve...this was his outfit-oh soo cute! We were finally able to document his smile on camera-and thus show it to the world.

The proud parents of a now 'holy' child!




















I talked to my dad yesterday, and he mentioned that I did not have the ‘Northern’ grandparents up…thus I downloaded these pics to show both sides of the fam, and the country. Ohh…I miss my grandparents soo much!: (And of course all the rest of our friends and fam!)


Well, the movers are arriving tomorrow morning, so we shall officially be in Mississippi, and things shall go from very slow to incredibly busy. I am looking forward to finding out what I own, and to having our own place again. Plus, it will give me time to put my house together before my parents arrive on October 1st! My dad had a business trip to Texarcana, so he is dragging my mom away from work to see her one and only favorite grandson! Needless to say, we are looking forward to having them here. It will be fun to have both sets of grandparents together in the other side of the country. Well, I shall try to be as consistent as possible with my blogging, but things will be hectic for the next week or so, so bear with me. Pray that all goes well with our move, and we miss you all!