Happy Birthday to Wyatt O'Neal Clark!

Our son Wyatt was born today at exactly 10:56 pm one year ago.  He weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long.  And what a year it has been!  Words cannot describe the joy he has brought us. 
Wyatt is officially a toddler now.  I didn't think that this stage would come so fast!!!

Us with the doc

 

                                                                
                                          

Here he is a couple weeks old getting his first bath

This is a picture from this am.  I couldn't really get him to smile for a picture because he is sick :(

This morning Daniel and I must have sang "Happy Birthday" three or four times to him.  He loved it!  He clapped his hands and smiled every time we finished singing.  Happy Birthday Wyatt!

The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards

Today I listened to this past Sunday's sermon (12/26) from Lakeview Christian Center (http://www.lakeviewchristiancenter.com/) on making New Year's resolutions (It was fantastic btw, highly recommend listening to all sermons(: )  In the sermon Pastor Keith Collins mentions resolutions that were made by puritan Jonathan Edwards.  Jonathan Edwards made at 70 resolutions and read them at least once a week (you can google the resolutions)!  All of his resolutions are for the glory of God. Most people's New Year resolutions are to loose weight or do better at their job, but for what purpose?  I try to avoid those types of resolutions because I always end up failing them by the end of January.  They always fail because they are for my glory, not his.  I'm not exactly sure yet what my resolution or resolutions will be, but Jonathan Edwards sure does have some great ideas!  It's too much to post all 70 so I will post a few to give you an idea...


Resolution #5  Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

Resolution #9  Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.

Resolution #17 Resolved, that I will live, so as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

Resolution # 25 Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct my forces against it.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year!  It included lots of food and family gatherings, which pretty much is a given during the holidays.  We had four parties in three days.  Wyatt was a real trooper for those three days.  Surprisingly, he never fussed at all!  I was very very grateful.  This year was extra special because it was Wyatt's first Christmas.  His favorite holiday activity was playing with all of the wrapping paper, tissue paper and bags, probably more than the gifts!  He also loved playing with the boxes too. 
My mom decided to start new Christmas traditions this year for our little growing family.  One of them is to have a scavenger hunt for the kids to find a Christmas gift around the house.  Of course this year only my three year old niece could play, but next year Wyatt and other niece Emily will be able to join as well.  Abby loved going around the house looking for the gifts!  We also had a birthday cake for Jesus and sang happy birthday to him.
 Daniel surprised me this year with a new laptop for Christmas.  I was completely shocked!  The box that it was in was really big, which threw me way off!  I thought maybe he had tricked me and put something really small in a big box.  I think he enjoyed seeing my surprising reaction on Christmas morning (:

                       Wyatt having fun in his box on Christmas morning.  Santa was good to him (:

                                    Wyatt eating his first pancake on Christmas.  He loved them!

                                                   Wyatt and Papaw Clark

                                               Wyatt and Aunt Leah

Pawpaw's birthday and Wyatt pictures

Today we went to see Daniel's pawpaw for his birthday at the nursing home.  Daniel's mawmaw stays there to get extra care and help for her daily living.  She has been battling cancer for a very long time now.  (many prayers are needed for her and pawpaw please!)  I meet up with Daniel during his lunch break at work so we could both go and visit them.  Mawmaw looked so beautiful!  She had her hair done and her makeup was perfect.  Mrs. Karen, Aunt Lynn and Aunt Lauren were there to celebrate as well.  Wyatt was by far the star of the show!  As soon as we got there, all of the nursing home residents slowely rolled their wheelcharis closer to him.  He was a celebrity to say the least!
Wyatt has been pulling up for the past month and lately he does it so much I think he prefers standing than sitting.  He can take a few steps, but isn't cruising just yet.  I am so thankful and blessed that I have seen all of Wyatt's "firsts".  I have seen him roll over for the first time, sit on his own, say his first word,etc.  I am so thankful for the best job in the world! 

                                      Wyat loves pulling up on the screen door to look outside

                                            He loves pushing the highchair around the house

           And here he is showing off his new trick:  folding the clothes!  Actually, no..not really.  A baby's play is work!

Family Christmas

This past saturday was the Bourgeois family Christmas gathering at mawmaw Bourgeois's house.  My Uncle Ron made excellent seafood gumbo!  It was perfect for the cold night.  There was also potato salad (you can't have gumbo without this), broccoli salad and plenty of dips and chips.  There was even stewed chicken that mawmaw made for the kiddies.  Wyatt loved it!  He kept opening up his mouth for more even though I knew he was done. 
My mawmaw is planning on selling/moving sometime in the near future so this Christmas was special to our family.  Even though it was sad thinking that this may be the last gathering at her house, the fellowship and good times of family will always continue.  Sometimes change can be a good thing (:

And of course I have some pictures!

                                          NiNi and Wyatt having a bonding moment

                                               BeeBee making Wyatt laugh

                                           I wonder what's so interesting?  Hmm...

                          All of the kids: Emily, Abby, Wyatt, Brennan, and Fisher
                 I'm so thankful that Wyatt will be able to grow up knowing his cousins (:

Lunch With Daniel

Here are some pictures I took from yesterday's lunch with Daniel at his office. 

                                                            Wyatt with his daddy

                                           

                                                       Wyatt loves books!

Sadie

My parents have a lab named Sadie.  She is a great dog for Wyatt to be around because she could care less if Wyatt crawls on top of her. I believe that Sadie thinks that Wyatt is her own because she is always licking on him and when he cries she is very concerned.  And Wyatt loves Sadie so much that he lights up when he sees her. He loves throwing her tennis ball and watching her run and get it to bring it back.  Another favorite trick is that he can pant just like Sadie!  My mom taught him to do that.  I'll ask Wyatt where's Sadie and he will pant like a dog. It's so cute!  Because we talk about Sadie so much, he has started to say "aaee" for Sadie.  I've heard him say it only a couple of times (most kids never do their tricks on command!).  I know that this doesn't count as a word, but it's pretty close.  Wyatt can say "mama" and "dada" pretty good.  He also knows that I am mama and Daniel is dada.  He says mama just as much as dada during the day.  Our almost toddler is growing up way too fast!

Fig Preserves

Since I am trying to be more crafty lately, I decided to try to make fig preserves with the figs we picked this summer from our humongous fig tree.  It's a really old tree (our house was built around 50 years ago)  and it produces tons of figs.  On most afternoons in June/July when it was fig season, Daniel and I (and Wyatt in his bumbo chair looking at us like we were crazy) would go out and pick the figs that were ripe.  I think I even let Wyatt taste one, which he thought it was pretty gross.  I saved all the figs we picked in the freezer (which I was a little worried about how that would affect the jelly) until I had time to make the preserves.  I finally made one batch a couple weeks ago and then I made two batches today.  It was so much easier than I thought!  All I had to add to the figs to make the preserves was water, lemon juice, pectin and sugar and that was it.  Then boil the above together.  Even the canning process wasn't as bad as I thought.  Just boil the jars and lids for ten minutes before putting in the jelly.  Then after adding the jelly, the finished jars boil again for 5 minutes so the lids will seal on the jars.  The jelly turned out very yummy too, very good (:  On to my next project:  making homemade bread!

Fall Fun!

Christmas Parade

Today we went to a Christmas Parade.  It was Wyatt's first and we all had a wonderful time!  The forecast said it would rain, but it turned out to be a nice morning.  Wyatt enjoyed seeing all the floats and he was even ok when the firetruck and ambulance came by with the loud sirens (I was sure he wouldv'e cried).  There were lots of candy, cups and beads thrown.  One float even threw out Brawny papertowels!  But the major highlight was the Krispy Kreme Doughnut float (that was Daniel's favorite because he got a box of doughnuts!).  Here are some pictures of us at the parade:

                                                   Wyatt loves to be on Daniel's shoulders

                                                             Mommy and Wyatt

                                                               Sparky the firedog!

Time with God

I try to spend some time everyday with the Lord, which consists of reading my Bible (sometimes I just read a devotional or christian book) and praying.  I find I have more peace and joy throughout the day when I do this.  I prefer this time to be in the morning before everyone gets up (usually around 5:30ish), but sometimes it's a challenge.  Today was during Wyatt's afternoon nap.  I am reading John Piper's "The Dangerous Duty of Delight."  The Chapter is called What Does It Mean For Money.  It is short read (91 pages) and an amazing book!   I highly recommend it (:  I thought I would share a little excerpt from the chapter I read today, enjoy (:
"Working to earn money for the cause of Christ is not the same as desiring to be rich.  What Paul is warning (1Timothy:6-10) against is not the desire to earn money to meet our needs and the needs of others; he is warning against the desire to have more and more money with the ego boost and material luxuries it can provide.  Let's look at the three reasons Paul gives in verses 7-10 for why we should not aspire to be rich.  First, in verse 7 he says, "We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either."  There are no U-Hauls behind hearses.  The person who spends himself to get rich in this life is a fool.  He is out of touch with reality.  We will go out just the way we came in.  Picture hundreds of people entering eternity in a plane crash in the Sea of Japan.  They stand before God utterly stripped of Visa cards, checkbooks, credit lines, image clothes, how-to-succeed books, and Hilton reservations.  Here are the politician, the executive, the playboy, and the missionary kid, all on level ground with absolutely nothing in their hands, possessing only what they brought in their hearts.  How absurd and tragic the lover of money will seem on that day."

Birthday dinner and bloody cuts

Last night four of my good friends (nursing school friends) drove in to Baton Rouge from New Orleans to meet me for dinner in celebration of three December birthdays.  My friend Hali's was on Dec. 3rd, yours truely Dec. 4th and my other friend Jennifer will be on Dec. 29th (Wyatt's birthday too!).  We went to Las Palmas and had a wonderful visit/dinner!  The three of us had to wear these festive pink birthday crowns we wore in the restaurant.  It was so good to catch up with them!  Daniel was so sweet to watch Wyatt.  He actually remembered to give him his bottle before bedtime this time (the first time he watched him he forgot to give him his bottle!).
On another note, Wyatt has had so many cuts in the past couple of weeks.  The first was when he was in his walker and bumped into me he got really frustrated and fussy, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary when this happens.  I looked down and noticed blood smeared around his mouth and chin.  I have to say I got a little panicky for a second.  But after looking in his mouth I noticed he bit down on his little tongue with his four teeth!  Poor bebe! 
The second time happened yesterday morning when we went to a Christmas party at my friends house from church and Wyatt body slammed himself face forward on the hardwood floor.  Wyatt recovered after a minute and continued to play.  A couple of minutes later I noticed he had a few dark red spots on his shirt.  I thought for a second and realized that it was blood and took out his pacifier and there was blood stains on his whole chin/mouth area!  His pacifier cut in his gums between his top two teeth when his face hit the floor.
And then this morning I noticed blood streaks all in the kitchen and he had managed to nick his tiny finger on the vent! 

                                         These are some pictures from this morning, poor bebe!

Boys will boys!  I know that this is only the beginning of countless bruises, cuts and scraps.  I wonder if Sam's Club carries bandaids in bulk?!!

First blog post!

                                                                   Isn't he a cutie?
    

     This is a blog about our little family (Lynsey (myself), Daniel (my husband), and son Wyatt). I finally decided to take the plunge and blog after months of encouragement to start one up.  I wanted to capture some of our family memories to share with other family and friends.  Hope you enjoy!