Merry Christmas Eve!!!!

Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with your families. We are going to my parents' house today and then up to O'Neill tomorrow for Christmas day.

I am excited to watch Lily open up her presents this year. Her and Sydney will be fun to watch walk all over the house.

Well, I don't know when I will post again. I am sure I won't post in Florida! ha ha!

God bless,

Abby

Prayers for Uncle Jim

Uncle Jim is now at his hotel waiting for more tests tomorrow in Omaha. He had surgery last week to remove prostate cancer. He is still not feeling well and he could use all of our thoughts and prayers. I am very tired of this nasty disease. I pray that Uncle Jim gets good results tomorrow and starts feeling better so he can enjoy the holiday with his family and many many more!!!!


For those of you interested, Lily's one year pictures are done and are on the website. Go to: http://www.pocketfullofposes.net/# And you will need to go to Proofing and type in "Elsbury"

Enjoy!

What have we been up to?

Not a lot has happened since I have lost blogged, but I was told by Aunt Gigi that I needed to update. :) I had fun last week putting a ponytail in Lily's hair. Then when I would pick her up from Heather's she had a mohawk. It was cute!

I finally got motivated to put Christmas decorations up and that motivated Matt to rearrange our living room. So, we spent Saturday playing around in the house. We were going to get a new TV, but our cable guy talked us out of it.


Lily wouldn't keep that hat on, but she was walking all around with it. We now have a "toddler" on our hands.

Can you see the creepy guy in the window? Daddy finally put up Christmas lights and Lily loves looking out the window now that we rearranged.

She even has a new hiding spot in the couch. ha ha!

Aww, so sweet!!!

She did not look like this yesterday at Walmart! Lily and I went down the cracker and cookie aisle and she saw the Oreos. Oh my goodness! She was pointing, babbling, and signing "more." I had to tell her no and I kept going. She threw a fit of all fits. I was the mom in Walmart that everybody was staring at and saying to themselves, "Geez lady, get control of your kid." She was arching her back, crying, and swatting. But.................

I did not cave in and get her Oreos! Woo hoo! I am sure the worst has only started. ha ha!


Other news...

The whole Widdowson family is going to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. Yay!!!! I am very excited and nervous to fly with Lily.

Happy Birthday Virgie!!!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Gigi!!!!

We hope you have a great birthday, even though it's cold. This is Virgie's last year in her 20's. Geez, how old! ha ha

Do you know who else has a birthday today????? Oasis!!!

This picture was taken 3 years ago when we picked her out. Isn't she a cutie?! She used to be our baby, now she is the big sister. ha ha! I wish we had more time to spend with her, because Lily sure loves her.

Lily dancing

Black Friday excitement at the Children's Museum

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It was so nice to have two days off from school. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their family. On Thursday, Matt, Lily, and I went to Grandpa and Grandma Widdowson's house. John, Laure, Mav, Guire, and Gigi were there to celebrate with us. We started the day out by visiting Mullen at the cemetery. This is our first holiday with out him and we definitely felt something was missing. Mullen was making the wind blow for us and I am sure he was smiling down on us. I bet his Thanksgiving in Heaven was unbelievable. Lily had fun playing with her cousins and we had a great Thanksgiving dinner. Mav, Guire, Gigi, and I tried a new game called "Farkle," which later they found out we were playing it all wrong.

Lily walked some more for them and she was fascinated by Grandma's singing turkey. Too bad the batteries went low. :)

Lily and I made her Thanksgiving shirt on Wednesday afternoon. I had just Tye Dyed shirts with 18 first graders, so I thought why not decorate another shirt.

Lily and I were enjoying the nice fall weather. We are not ready for the snow. We should have been putting up Christmas lights because it was so nice.

Oasis kisses. Lily is not fast enough yet to get away from those kisses. She is just at the right height too. ha ha! I rescued her before she was drenched.

Lily WALKED!!!!

Lily walked for Matt and I last night!!! She was eating gold fish and she walked about 6-7 steps to get them from us. Of course we had to see it again and again and again. So we clapped, ooooed, and awwwwed, then picked her up and set her a few feet back again. She is finally walking!!!!!! This is of her walking this morning! I can't believe it!

Matt is working today (Sunday) so Lily and I are lounging. Do you think she will let me get anything done at school today? Ummmm, that could be challenging.

Updates: Lily is now working on her 4th tooth. She has taken a few steps. She is on regular milk now, no formula. And, we are in the process of taking away the bottle. Lately she has discovered how she can open things and stash toys inside. She is also pushing her dolly around that Aunt Gigi gave her in the stroller.

Update for Matt and Abby: We are now Wii junkies. ha ha! We also have Lily's 1 year pictures on Tuesday (and family picture). Hopefully those go great!!!

Matt got a deer!

Matt went hunting on opening day with Maverick and Maguire, but he did not get anything. Then with Lily's birthday and work, he wasn't able to go hunting again until this morning. He shot a buck out at the cabin this morning. Lily and I went to see his deer tonight. Lily was not too thrilled with sitting next to a dead deer. I don't blame you Lily.

Lily's Birthday!!!!!!! Our Little Girl is ONE!!

We got Lily a toy box for her birthday. She was helping Daddy put it together.

NOVEMBER 16, 2008
Lily Jo Elsbury is One!!!!

Lily was dedicated to the Lord at church on her birthday morning. Pastor Gordon did a wonderful job and Lily was definitely showing off for the congregation. It was so neat to see my old church family look at us with big smiles. I truly feel like our family is loved and they would all help us in any way we needed.

Our families (minus John and Laurie) all came to our house for Lily's birthday party. I loved having everyone there. Matt and I haven't been hosts to both of our families before. It was nice. I was stressed about my potato soup, but it turned out alright. Matt made his famous chili and we had cake and ice cream.

Landon enjoyed his back rub from Grandma Nancy.

Maverick, Delanie, Caden, Sydney, Maguire, Lily

Aunt Eliza got a great idea to rake the leaves for Matt. The kids had a great time throwing leaves at her and at each other. Sydney and Lily even enjoyed sitting in the leaves. They let the big kids cover them up to their necks. It was pretty cute.

"How old are you?"

I don't have pictures of Lily opening her presents, but I am sure Aunt Gigi has plenty. :) She is a spoiled little girl and got more than enough great things. Thank you everyone!!!!

One gift was her little Bee from Grandpa and Grandma W.

Lily and Sydney are so much fun to watch. They try to babble to each other and even give each other kisses. We are working on sharing! ha ha

Since Lily loves Oasis so much, I thought a dog cake would suit her well.

Lily had not taken an afternoon nap, so she was really tired when it came to cake time. She did not want to reach into the cake herself, so I put the frosting on my finger and she loved that. She managed to get herself very messy.

All day, I thought back to one year ago at that time. Matt and I were walking the halls to the hospital all day on Friday, November 16th. Around 5:00 I finally went into labor when my water broke. At 9:22 pm our lives were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. We loved her instantly. I never thought I could love her more than I did that moment. Well, it is a year later and I love her even more!!!!

Lily Jo Elsbury
11-16-07 @ 9:22 pm
9 lbs. 1 oz.
20.5 inches

Daddy and Mommy's first picture with Lily

Mully loved Lily. We miss Mullen so much. This picture is of Mullen the day after she was born.

Here is a great picture of Uncle John and his boys admiring the different facial expressions that Lily had. Its amazing how she had all of them around her little finger. Oh, how time flies. Our family has changed a lot this last year.
We all have a precious angel in heaven watching over us now. He says hello to us in the morning with the bright sun and good night with the bright moon.

We love you Mully!

How Old Will Lily Be???

Lily now knows how to tell us how old she will be!!!!

I tried to upload another video, but it wouldn't let me.

Happy Birthday Matt (Daddy)!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Matt!!!!

Matt turned 27 today!!! Lily and I got him a Wii for his birthday. We already played it last night. I couldn't wait to give it to him. I couldn't wait for today, because he isn't here. Matt went to the Metallica concert in Omaha with Beau and Tate. I told him to wear ear plugs, but he said "No way." ha ha

Well, Lily is now feeling better and her rash is gone. I am so glad we have our Lily back. Now we are planning her 1st birthday party and dedication at church. It is so hard to believe that she is almost one. She isn't walking yet, but she has attempted a step here and there. Although I don't like snow, I am anxious to see what Lily does in the snow. She has a snow suit now and we are ready to use it.

Sick Little Lily

Well, I ended up staying home from school today to be with Lily. She woke up this morning in okay spirits, but had a rash on her forehead, neck, and chest. I took her to the doctor and she has a virus. She is on antibiotics now, but this evening was still rough. I have never seen Lily sick, and I feel completely helpless. I hope she wakes up tomorrow as the normal Lily!!!

So........Are you all going to vote tomorrow???? I am very anxious to see who our new President will be. Until then..............................Take Care.

Dancing!!!

Lily loves to dance and so do we. This song came on and Lily instantly "bounced" to the music. She waved with the beat and kicked her legs. I couldn't help to put this video. Not only because Lily is so adorable, but I also like the song. Matt, Lily, and I like to dance to music in the kitchen. It's fun to hear Lily belly laugh.

Sorry for the bouncing!

Lily hasn't been feeling well this last week. She has had a cough and runny nose. This weekend Lily had a fever and has not been herself. So, as I blog tonight, I am hoping Lily sleeps well and can go to daycare tomorrow. I did make sub plans at school just in case. With Lily almost one, I have never had to take a sick day for her. I hope it is just her teeth coming in. She is working on the two top teeth.

Happy Halloween

Drummin'

The Elsbury family was dancing in the kitchen to the ipod music, so Daddy decided to take the party downstairs to the drums. Lily had never seen Daddy play. When Lily was sitting on the floor she would dance to the "LOUD" drums. I think she is a natural at playing!

Sorry the video is hard to see. We don't have the best lighting in Matt's hunting/drum room. ha ha!

A few pictures from Matt's Elk Hunt

Elk Camp in Colorado


Left to Right: Jason Gill, Marc Starostka, Matt Middleton, Tom Middleton, Jeremiah Starostka, Dave Starostka, Matt Elsbury

Snow on Sunday night.

The bull elk that Matt Middleton shot. Jeremiah also shot a cow elk.

Sunday trip to O'Neill

We hadn't seen Grandpa and Grandma Elsbury for awhile, so we packed up and left Sunday morning for O'Neill. We went to the new house to see the progress and it looks great. It is going to be really roomy, which is great! They said the plumber was next and then the drywall. I hope the weather doesn't stop the progress too much.

Emily rescued two kittens, so now they have two kittens at home. Lily enjoyed playing with them. She is such an animal lover.

Grandma Jackie and Lily

The Pumpkin Patch

We walked through the corn maze. Lily really enjoyed and so did we.