Little Happies and Beautiful Weather

I love the word "happy" as in..."have a happy day" or "I am happy" or "I got you a little happy." As fun as little happies are to get, I think giving little happies are even more fun. You will ALWAYS get a smile in return when you give someone a happy, and that just makes me happy. Ok, have I goobed you out enough yet?? Hee hee. Well, last Friday, when Jenifer J and I went on our little excursion to Tuscaloosa, we stopped by Target. You know you CANNOT go to Tuscaloosa without going to Target...that would be just like a sin or something. Anyways...I had promised Lucy a new pair of must-have plastic high heels, so as we are looking for them on the toy aisles, I run across these miniature "Lalaloopsy" dolls. As if the regular size dolls weren't cute enough? Seriously?? A miniature?? Oh, they went in my buggy faster than you can SAY "Lalaloopsy." I made sure Lucy didn't see them and was planning on giving them to the girls that Friday night as a little "happy" since we had lost our dog that day.

I ended up not giving to them that night because Jenifer and Mackenzie came over, and they were so busy playing that they really didn't have time to think about Russo. I got this fabulous idea after the weekend was over that I could tell them there was a surprise in my closet for them...BUT they had to be really good all week long, and they would get them on Friday. I really, really do not normally bribe my children this way, but I thought it would fun and helpful (for me anyway), and let me tell you...it worked. Everytime I would hear one of them snap off at the other, I would hear them say "remember what Mama said about that surprise!" They did get their little happies Friday evening and couldn't have been any more tickled with them. These "Lalaloopsy" dolls are just precious...they absolutely ooze with cuteness...

This morning was a fun one. We left town early this morning headed to Tuscaloosa once again. Only this time, we weren't going to Hobby Lobby or Target...but we were going to pick out flower girl dresses (which, by the way, we are 105 days from the wedding)! Macy and Lucy have been so excited about this all week long (I had lots to bribe them with). All I can say is that my girls are going to look so beautiful that day...I think their Daddy will cry =)
Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. The temps were up in the 70's...amazing that we can have 30 something degree cloudy days and then beautiful sunny 75° weather all in one week. We took full advantage of this pretty weather and played outside all afternoon long once we got back into town.
Lucy played "mud supper." It's her favorite think about playing outside. She digs holes with a shovel, and the piles she makes out of the mud she digs is her "mud supper." It is so cute. And something even cuter? These Willcutt legs. Oh yea, she's got them. I (half) jokingly tease Jason sometimes telling him I married for his hair color and his legs. He has the best calf muscles you've ever seen...they literally look like big honeybuns when he tightens them. If you see him out and he is wearing shorts, just check them out inconspicuously, please...or else he'll get a little weirded out). Only thing that could possibly make his legs cuter is some pink ruffled socks!
I ♥ this picture of Abby. I am seriously going to frame it. Cracks me up..
Abby may be wild, but she is a really sweet dog. She will stay right with you if she is out of the backyard, so this afternoon, we let her out to play out front with us. She's just been so lonely, bless her heart. Abby is so funny...like a little child...it's like she tries SO hard to be sweet and behave, but then she just gets this little wild streak in her. I tried to take some more pictures of her (besides the one above where her face was nearly stuck in the fence), but everytime I would snap one, she would jump up in my face. So I finally wrangled her down while Lucy took pictures. Sorry for the goofy faces I am making!

There is just something about her that makes me just smile...perhaps because she is so HAPPY?

It was SO nice to break out the bicycles and outside toys...

Lucy played hopscotch...

And Macy worked on breaking her pogo record...

I love cold weather...I really do...but this afternoon gave me some serious spring fever! Hoping Mr. Groundhog predicts an early Spring this week!!Have a "happy" rest of the weekend =)

The Last Few Days...

Our home internet has been out for a couple of days, so I haven't been able to blog (sorry Jason and Mr. Hal). I am loving my new phone, though...I can keep up with the world even when the internet is down. I was the never-going-to-text-or-have-email-and-internet-on-my-phone girl for the longest, but now, I don't know what I would do without it!

I grew up taking Suzuki violin lessons. And now Macy is taking lessons through the Suzuki program (with the same sweet teacher I took from). For those of you that don't know, Suzuki is a method of teaching...that really works (I make it sound like one of those scam things...it is really not!!). I stopped taking lessons when I was 12 years old. I put my violin down and never picked on up again...until I was 21. My parents gave me a full-size violin for my 21st birthday. I picked that violin up and could play every piece I had ever learned. Amazing. I love playing my violin and also being able to help Macy when she is practicing. I have never pushed Macy to play the violin just because I did...she asked to play when she was 5 and still loves it!

When you start taking Suzuki violin lessons, you get a macaroni and cheese box violin. It is a real box of macaroni and cheese wrapped in brown paper with a ruler for the fingerboard. Lucy actually took lessons for a year from the age of 2 to 3...but at 3 she was "done"...so we stopped. I would love for her to play and hope she will one day, but I am not going to push it on her...she will play (or not) when she is ready. However, she did want a new macaroni and cheese violin. So Monday, we made her one...and she has played with it ever since. We chose green damask over brown paper...that's my girl =)
Not much has been going on this week...it has been sort of a quiet week. We've just been busy at home...you know...busy pretending to be a ballerina (notice the ballet shoes in the above picture of Lucy), playing our pretend violin...that sort of thing. Macy has been so sweet to go outside when she gets home from school and play with Abby...Abby is doing much better and is not as mopey...she is getting back to her wild self. Oh...I never went to the pound...I figured I should let J be in on choosing our next dog...but I have the puppy itches real bad =)I don't go to Wal-Mart very often. To be quite honest, walking through those double-wide automatic doors at the front of Wal-Mart makes my throat close up. I don't know what it is. I will save up my Wal-Mart list for weeks before caving...or talking Jason into going for me. However, I have found a Wal-Mart that I actually enjoy going to...the one in West Point, about 20 minutes from me. And it just so happens that I get my hair cut in West Point, so I am there about every 6 to 8 weeks. I always make a Wal-Mart run while I am there. I know, I know, I am missing out on all those great things you can buy at Wal-Mart because I don't go on a regular basis. But that's o.k. I would rather avoid the panic attacks. I was quite tickled to find a couple of things on my latest trip to the Wal-Mart in West Point...

My favorite find...Valentine's funfetti cake mix, because you know, I ♥ some funfetti cake mix cookies =)

Lucy wanted to take a picture of us when we got home after haircuts and our Wal-Mart run. I got 4 inches cut off my hair...and the funny thing is...you can hardly even tell. I am trying to avoid looking like Crystal Gayle (sp?). I didn't realize my hair had gotten so long and scraggly!

I found this quote that I thought was so good. It won't speak to all of you, but it spoke to me, and I know a few of you who will appreciate it (you know who you are!)...

"There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So, love the people who treat you right, and pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is part of LIFE...getting back up is LIVING."

Hope you are having a great week!

Cream Cheese Pie

This is Jason's favorite dessert...

Cream Cheese Pie

2 (8oz) blocks cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

8 oz container Cool Whip

graham cracker or shortbreak pie crust

caramel ice cream topping

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, and cool whip together. Drizzle caramel in the bottom of pie crust (just a little to cover the bottom), then pour pie mixture over. Drizzle more caramel on top. Keep refrigerated.

Sunday Smiles

Oh, I how I love to take pictures of my sweet girls (you probably didn't know that, did you?? Ha!)

Sometimes they are ill and pitch fits when I try to take pictures on Sundays.

But today, they were all smiles =)
Thank you, Mrs. Jenifer, for Lucy's new puppy...

Last week, we laughed, and we cried.

I know that we will laugh this week, and I am sure there will be some tears as well. Because losing something you love so much hurts. But we can remember the happy times with our sweet buddy and be blessed by them.

Here's to a happy week =)

Thank Goodness for Sweet Friends...

Let me start by saying how precious ya'll are...thank you so much for the sweet comments you left on my post yesterday...and for the text messages and e-mails ya'll have sent me. Thursday night was just bad. We just knew something wasn't right when we brought Russo in for the night. It was heartbreaking and heartwrenching. Friday morning, Russo passed away. It has been very hard dealing with it. Russo has been with us for a long time...Jason had Russo before he and I starting dating...so the entire time I have been with Jason, Russo has been right there with us. And let me tell you...those two were peas in a pod. Exact same personality...I think they even looked alike =) Macy and Lucy are having a difficult time with it...as well as Jason and me. But one of the saddest things is watching Russo's sister dog, Abby, deal with it. As wild and crazy as she is (and she is REALLY wild and crazy), she is grieving probably worse than the rest of us. Without going into too much detail (because Jason is going to kill me for making him cry at work)...it is just plain sad. I was so close to going to the pound today to get her a sister dog. SO close. I decided against it because I just really wasn't sure Jason would go for it so soon, but there is always next week...

My precious friend, Jenifer Jones and I had been planning all week long to go to Tuscaloosa yesterday. She will be delivering a sweet new baby girl in just a few weeks...we needed to make a little trip to Hobby Lobby to get some things for sweet Peyton. I was hesitant about going after what all had happened, but Jason insisted that we go and have a good day.

Oh, it was like medicine for my soul. We had a wonderful time. It really got my mind off of what was going on at home. Lucy adores Mackenzie, and Mackenzie just loves "Luthy." They are so precious together...Mackenzie is going to make the best big sister =)
So we made a quick trip to Target (how can you go to a town with a Target and NOT go to Target??), then spent the rest of our time in Hobby Lobby. The girls had a blast, as you can tell. The Mardi Gras section was their favorite...fortunately it was right beside the fabric cutting table (because let me tell you...I've met my match with Jenifer...she is as obsessed with fabric as I am!!). The girls were great...they were very careful not to break anything in the store...the only one that seemed to have trouble not breaking something was me...but that is another story, and we will not go there (the ginormous black vase did not actually break...but it sure was a close-call!!).

We ate our way out of town on our way home (can you say Chik-Fil-A and Taco Case and Dippin' Dots??). These 2 little girls were worn out...and full!

Jason's cousin was flying in from Texas and his brother was driving up from the coast to go deer hunting this weekend, so it was up to me to tell the girls about Russo when we picked Macy up from school. Not fun. It was hard, to say the least. We just sat and hugged and cried and talked about it. Lucy ran to her little table and drew this precious picture, which is now on Russo's grave...

For the 2nd time in one day, Jenifer and Mackenzie came to our rescue. Jenifer brought pizza over, and we had a girls' night. Pardon the pink face...but let me tell you, this is the worst picture ever of me...but it was so cute of Jenifer that I couldn't not post it. Let's just say I wasn't looking to spoofy..."head" hair (don't laugh too hard, Jenifer), greasy face, and a red gooey eye that just looked plain nasty (I've cried A LOT). And let's not even talk about the triple chin that I look I have for whatever reason.

The girls played with every.single.toy.in.the.house. They had a blast. They watched movies and laughed and giggled...did Macy and Lucy's little hearts good.
And while they were entertaining each other, Jenifer and I had the best of times chatting about everything under the sun, nearly cutting our fingers off with my rotary cutter, and creating the most adorable craft for sweet Peyton. I can't show you a picture just yet, but I can show you what we were working with...

Thank goodness for sweet friends to help you through the hard times =)

We Are Sad...

Russo

March 28, 1997 to January 21, 2011

"A dog is the most amazing example of unconditional love..."

Sleepless Night

I kid you not, I took this picture at 3 o'clock this morning. This little girl was so over-the-moon excited about the whole flower girl thing that she couldn't sleep. I hope the next 116 days aren't like this. Ha!

She was so excited about getting to mark off day # 117...

I thought Macy looked so cute in her new little hooded jacket that she wore to school today =) Love the fabric flower...I would have one myself if I could find it in my size!
I am not going to lie. When Jason and Macy left this morning, I crawled back in the bed. Miss Lucy did not go to sleep until 4 o'clock this morning. I was exhausted. I got a couple more hours of sleep, then got up and caught up on my ironing...how I love to iron! Lucy didn't wake up until after lunchtime!!

As I type...I hear her talking to her Daddy in the bedroom...she just said "but Daddy, my brain is telling me not to go to sleep." Oh.the.horrors. I may break the Benadryl out. Seriously.

A Wonderful Day!

What does a Monday out of school mean at the Willcutt girls' house? You got it...we stay in our pajamas and just play, play, play!

We made kool-aid playdough...see this post for the recipe (it is in the post below this one). Let me tell you...my girls loved it. They have always enjoyed playing with playdough, and we have even made this same kool-aid playdough before, but today they were really, really into it.

They literally played with it for 6 hours...straight! Only took a break for lunch.Here is Lucy with an orange slice...

And Macy with her playdough cakes. I seriously think she may follow in her Mama's footsteps and bake for a living...except she'll be the Cake Mama instead of the Cookie Mama =)

She even made ME out of playdough...love my Macy =)

I got this really neat gift for Christmas...it is simply a glass jar with a metal contraption that holds a flower bulb. You keep water in it, and watch it grow. We have become very fascinated with it...the shoots from the bulb literally grow right before your eyes. One night, we took measurements over a few hours time, and it grew almost a whole inch.

We woke up this morning to a surprise...the flowers had bloomed!

It may sound corny, but this flower blooming was so exciting!! And speaking of growth and blooming, we have had lots and lots of conversations about God today. Lately, Lucy's little mind has just seemed to be spinning. She asked all kinds of questions about heaven and Jesus. I am amazed at some of the things she has asked. I am also amazed at the answers Macy will give her, and at the conversations between the two of them that these questions spark. I cannot see the future, and I have no idea what God has planned for Lucy, but what I see right now is a precious little heart that loves her Jesus. I see a little girl who is going to make a big difference in the lives of others. She is the child that cries when she is sick and can't go to church. During the holidays when we all had the flu, Jason had to sneak out of the house to go to church one Sunday morning so she wouldn't get upset. When she realized where he was, she told me she felt much better and begged me to let her ride her bike down the road to church. I really think she would have done it had I said yes. Just imagining Lucy pedaling her little heart out on her bike to get to church makes a lump well up in my throat.

"I have no greater joy than this...to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

I better move on before I am a big sobbing mess...

I have a precious friend, Angela, whom I have met and gotten to know through our church. She is such a blessing and an inspiration to me. Angela has weathered some storms and moved some mountains in her lifetime...and loves the Lord with all her heart in spite of what she has been through. She called me tonight with the most wonderful news...she is getting married! And she wants Macy and Lucy to be her flower girls! I cannot tell you first of all how happy I am that she is getting married. And second of all...Macy and Lucy are going to be flower girls! A Mama's dream =) Needless, to say, the girls are beyond thrilled. Macy was a flower girl in Jason's brother's wedding, so she gets the whole flower girl thing. Lucy, on the other hand, is very inquisitive about it (imagine Lucy being inquisitive!). The first thing she asked was how she was going to dress up like a flower. So sweet. And of course, in perfect Lucy fashion, the very next question was, "Mama, how many days until Miss Angela's wedding?" Oh dear. I sat down and figured it up for her...117 days. I knew I'd never be able to keep up in my head, so we made a chart. Because she WILL ask me every.single.day from now until the wedding "how many more days?" We are on countdown...

She can't sleep she is so excited about marking off day 117 tomorrow morning...then "there will only be 116 days left, Mama!" Oh, she is too much!!

Today was a wonderful day!