Put One Foot in Front of the Other

So, this is what we learned to do at the Williams' household today. (I hope this video works! Oh, and note the shirt. I love him!)

Happy Easter!

What a great day it has been. I love holidays, which is no surprise to anybody that knows me. I have been so excited for the Easter Bunny to come for the past 2 months. We got up this morning and got ready for church and then we got to see what the Bunny had brought Kirk. He had a nice basket with 2 elmo movies, a couple of books, and an elmo bath tub faucet cover, which sadly did not fit our tub. We took a few pre-church pictures. Notice the Dad and the Kirk with matching ties. Then, we loaded up and went to church. All our lessons were amazing. After church, we went over to my Mammaw's house, which we have done every year that I've been alive. She had her Easter Egg shaped cake and huge Sunday meal. My only Aunt and Unlce and only 2 cousins were there, too.
After the meal, Kirk got to go out for his first egg hunt. It's kind of weird because this is probably the first year that the grandkids didn't hunt eggs (the youngest of us is my cousin, Brett, and he's 16, we all act like 5 year olds though). It was pretty much the Kirk show, which was kind of embarassing. I don't want people to think they have to pay attention to my kid. Anyway, man that kid had at it with the eggs. He acted like he knew what he was doing. He was finding those eggs and putting them in the basket one after another. Then, we did the coolest thing. We took family pictures. We took individual family pictures, then put the timer on and took a big one of the whole family. I know this isn't a big deal, but I believe that is the first whole family picture the Johnsons have ever made. Crazy. Anyway. Great day. I love my family!
(front row: Brett, second row: Me, Nicole Johnson, Marlee Wilson, back row: Robbin Johnson, Ricky Johnson, Kirk, Danny, Max Wilson, Marilyn Wilson, Betty Johnson, Billy Johnson)

Prom...and an update.

It seems like yesterday that Danny and I were going to our prom....ah, those were the days. Thursday night was my sisters Jr/Sr Banquet (aka prom, they just don't dance). Here is a picture of her and her date (just friends, but they used to "go out"). So fun to be young!

Also, I thought I'd let everyone know that Kirk had surgery yesterday (Friday) to repair his hernia. He is doing so well and acts like he doesn't even know it was done. It is an answer to a prayer, we were worried about the poor chap.

A Music Lovers Lament

This is very high school of me, but I have to get it off my chest. Our main car has no radio. We have survived off of cds for a long time. However, in the recent days, I've had to borrow my mom's car. That car's radio works fine, but no cd player. At first, I was really excited about the prospect of listening to the radio, not an everyday treat for me. Then, I tuned in to some of our local radio stations. Here in the greater Tupelo/Corinth area there are very limited music choices. You have your all country stations, all rap station, and all rock station. Then you have your 2 "hits and favorites" stations. So, I expected to hear hits, as well as favorites. Boy was I wrong. These stations are great if you want to hear music to the likes of Lil Wayne, Rhiannah, Taylor Swift, and, as Kidd Kradick eloquently puts it 3 Doors Creedleback. Plus, all the stuff that I got sick of listening to a year ago. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problem with any of these, in moderation. Do you know how many times I've heard Circus by Brittney Spears in the past few days? Again, nothing wrong with that song. I actually liked it...the first 500 times I heard it. But really, is there nothing else out there? Are we as listeners limited to the top tens and thats it? I worked at a radio station for almost 5 years. I know how it works. The songs are preloaded according to their current rank on the billboard charts. Which is awesome, I want to hear what's popular and doing well. But what about those small underground bands? Just because they aren't in the top ten, doesn't mean that their music isn't any good. Why can't the radio be like a good mix tape? I recently found a "mix" cd from my high school years. Listening to it, I was kind of amazed at how eclectic it really was. One cd had (excuse my list, these were my "rebellious" years) Faith Hill, Blink 182, NSYNC, Eminem, 36 Mafia, Marilyn Manson, Kenny Chesney, a couple of songs from Alladin, Incubus, some punk group whose name I never knew, The Drop Kick Murphys, and I finished it up with a couple of church songs. Yea, I had some chart toppers on there, but I also had a few things that I'm not ever sure what was. What has happened to the music industry that we are only offered what the general public wants to hear? I'm not saying there's not good music out there, I'm just saying it's not offered in good ole Boonevegas. I once saw a video on VH1 that was somewhere in the top 5 of the countdown, and it was 6 months before I ever heard it played here. Well, excuse my rant. I'm now off to itunes to make a new mix cd to enjoy and stick it to the man, well, the radio man anyway. (sorry dad ha)

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P.S.
I changed my blog layout but I still have that green button stuff going on in the background from my old one. Anyone know how to get rid of that?

Williams Family Update

It seems like I haven't blogged forever! I guess thats because not just a whole lot has been going on with the Williams fam. But we have been up to a few things!

Kirk is ever growing and doing new things. He's taken a few steps and saying a few words. He's trying new foods and turning into a little man. We got to go to the zoo during spring break and he loved it. He especially loved the elephants and seals. Animals are really his thing. My dad has a goat that Kirk goes to see everytime we visit and he loves it! We have decided that he is a great mixture of mom and dad because his favorite toys are balls and he prefers looking a books more than watching a movie or playing with his other toys.
Danny is a hard working man. He is managing the Movie Gallery in Baldwyn and is doing an EXCELLENT job. They are having a contest and his store is ranked number 2 out of about 130 stores, and his store is one of the smallest. He works so hard and is devoted to doing a great job. He is still a Sunday School teacher and loves doing that. I have to say, his favorite thing to do is play with that little boy of his. Kirk doesn't mind him either. Danny leaves about an hour after Kirk wakes up and he usually gets home right after Kirk goes to bed so they hardly see each other. But when they do, I don't think I've ever seen a kids face light up so much. Danny is such a good dad and really takes care of things around here for us. We are really proud of him.
I am just hanging out having a great time. Its hard to believe that I get to do what I do everyday. I enjoy being a mom and wife more than anything I have ever done. Getting to see Kirk grow and become a little boy is the most rewarding job anybody could ever have. I also baby-sit 3 days a week and Kirk and I really enjoy that. It is fun to see him interact with another baby. It can be quite funny sometimes. I went with my mom yesterday and we bought a ton of flowers, so maybe my yard will look pretty this year, if I don't let everything die. That has been the most exciting thing thats happened for me this week. :-)

So thats whats shakin with the Williams clan. Maybe something really exciting and out of the norm will happen and I'll have a fun blog about it. Thanks for reading!

Earthquake Cake = Amazing

Today was my Dad's birthday, so I decided to make him a cake that I had never tried before. It is called Earthquake Cake and it is GREAT! I thought I'd share the recipe!

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1/2 cup butter/margarine

2 cups chocolate chips

2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the pecans and coconut over pan and set aside. Prepare cake according to directions and pour over coconut and pecans. In a seperate bowl, melt the butter and cream cheese. Stir in powdered sugar and mix well. Spoon ove1r cake batter. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Cook for about 50 minutes. Enjoy!!!

By the way, its called Earthquake cake because when the cream cheese starts meshing with the cake it causes cracks, like an earthquake.