The Circus!

This weekend we were fortunate enough to be able to have a special day with our first born and leave Blake cared for by family. Layla had a wonderful day and loved all the special attention focused on her. Tyler and I made a commitment to try hard and do this with both kids as they are growing up. As much as Layla loves Blake, she also adores having daddy and I all to herself. She had a blast at the circus and her favorite thing was definitely the elephants. We took her to lunch after and she even told the manager of the restaurant that she saw baby elephants. So sweet.

New Year's 2011

This year for New Year's we decided to have some friends over who also had kids and were limited on options for New Year's with small children! We actually had a blast eating pizza, appetizers and enjoying the kids run wild. The night of course ended earlier then years past, but at least we can say we did something rather then sitting on the couch. We feel very blessed to have so many great friends who have small kids like us.

Biltmore trip

The week after Christmas we were lucky enough to have daddy home for a week from work. Since we haven't been able to do anything alone for the night since Blake was born, we decided to take advantage of his week off and take an overnight trip to Asheville, NC. We are so fortunate enough to have Tyler's aunt and uncle in town, who happen to love our kids. Since they are our only family we have in the area we have grown very close to them. Silvia offered to take the kids for the night and so Tyler and I were off. We had a great time visiting the Biltmore Estate and enjoying a fabulous dinner.

White Christmas!

This year in Charlotte was our second Christmas here, if you can believe that! Hard for us to even believe. It was extra special for us this year because we experienced our first "White Christmas". It was pretty amazing. For a city that says they don't see snow very often, it's pretty funny to see the effects when it does snow. The town literally shuts down....church was canceled, roads closed, and pretty much everyone stayed indoors. The snow stayed on the ground for about 3 days after, so it was perfect timing for us to stay inside and have the kids play with their new Christmas toys. Even though we missed our family like crazy, it was nice to start our own little memories and traditions.

A year...

Wow, what a difference a year makes! I am overwhelmed when I think about all the changes that have happened this past year. It's really hard to believe that just a little over a year ago we moved across the U.S to a state we had never visited, with no friends, pregnant and to top it off it was winter!
Now looking back we know for a fact that God put us here for a reason. We truly followed what we believed the Holy Spirit was telling us, in that this was the place we needed to be. We didn't know why at the time, but we learn and experience more every day verifying this.
This year we went from 0 friends to a big circle of warm, welcoming friends. We found a church we fell in love with. We both joined lifegroups through our church, which has brought us both closer to the Lord. We welcomed a new life into this world when we had sweet Blake Joseph Watts in May. Our sweet little Layla turned two this year and is now this little person full of personality and spunk. We went  through the devastation and shock of learning Marissa had skin cancer and then rejoiced in seeing all the support and love we received from friends and family. We were blessed beyond belief to have the number one hospital for skin cancer in the U.S, just 2 hours from us.....again, another reason God moved us here. This year we beat cancer. This year we have learned to put our trust and faith in God and his plans for our family more then we ever have before in our life. This year Tyler received a promotion almost at exactly a year since he started his job here. This year we learned that distance does not make a bit of difference to the people and family who truly love us. This year we made two trips home to California and had family visit us numerous times. This year we were overwhelmed with love and blessing when Marissa's mom dropped everything in an instant to come stay for a month when she was diagnosed with cancer. This year (we) Tyler and Marissa grew closer together more then ever and learned to trust each other more then ever. This year Marissa went from being a third grade teacher to a full time stay at home mom. This year was full of love, learning, trust, disappointment, fear, hope, desire and change. What a difference a year makes. To be brutally honest, a year ago I didn't know that this was the place for us. It was a cold, long winter. We never gave up though on our willingness and faithfulness to trust God's plan and now look where we are. To say the South is different from California is an understatement, it truly is a different world. We have grasped the "southern" way with open arms. We definitely don't have the accents down, but we are loving learning all the traditions and ways of the South. What a difference a year makes......

California!!!!

It has been far too long since I've updated this! Time flies when you are having fun...and we sure have been! We went to California for most of November and had a great time visiting family and friends. Tyler stayed the first week and I stayed two more weeks with the kids. For a lot of people it was the first time meeting Blake...who by the way is now crawling! I know, so crazy. Here's a few pics from our trip!

Halloween!!!!

This past Sunday was Layla's first time "experiencing" Halloween! Our little cowboy, Blake, enjoyed jumping in his jumper all night rather than participate in collecting candy. Layla became a little pro after seeing all the goodies she started getting going house to house. We hosted a Halloween Chili potluck in our driveway and had our friends in the neighborhood over. They all have kids around Layla and Blake's age, so it was a toddler parade walking down the street. We had a great time. I have to admit though, I did get a little weepy the first time I saw Lu go up to a house and trick or treat. My little baby is growing up! =(