3 months old!

dillon is 3 months old!! can you believe that?!?!? i really can't. he's getting so big and so expressive! i LOVE it!!! we are having a blast with him. we had a great time in louisville a couple of weeks ago and dillon continues to make us smile everyday. also, thanks for all of your support for the bug-a-roo company and ben's new company, too! here's a few pics to enjoy. thanks again for checking in on us!

dillon is sitting up in the couch! so much fun!!

dillon in his new bumbo seat. he can't quite hold his head up well yet, but he's getting there!

looking at daddy play the guitar.

here are a few pictures from our trip to louisville! we had a really great time with the tankersleys and fields.

michael, our big, 5 year old nephew. he's so much fun ;)

me, marie, and dillon. marie is ALL ABOUT dillon! she's 3 and oh so much fun, too!

aunt lili and dillon. such a good aunt!

sisters, and bff forever! i LOVE this picture!

lee (my brother in law) and luke, he's 1 year old. he wasn't exactly happy here, but lee obviously was ;)

hannah and me. she is one of my bffs. i guess that makes for a pretty great weekend.

daddy and dillon playing outside. we've had GREAT weather here, so it's been so much fun to take dillon out and about in it!

bug-a-boo blog!

good morning to all! i have been working very hard on slings and the bug-a-boo concept. i have just created a bug-a-boo blog. it's called slings-and-things.blogspot.com. please check it out often for new fabrics and products, as well as opportunities for parties and purchasing. thanks to everyone who has bought a sling so far and please continue to spread the word! we love you!

it's up and running!!

it's the moment you've all been waiting for! BWCreative is ALIVE and WELL!!!! ben has gotten his website up as of this week sometime. we are praying (and you can pray with us) that people will start calling him for work. he's realized that there are a couple of other graphic designers in jackson that make it on freelancing in jackson. that was very good news to hear ;). also, i (janie) have started a little business kinda. i'm making slings for babies! we named them bug-a-boos and there's a couple of potentials for how i am going to sell them. as of right now, they are $35 and if you're interested, you can let me know and i will hook you up. woo hoo! so, ben and i are just taking care of ourselves and being entrepreneurs. something that we thought would never happen, but is, and it's good. so, check out BWCreative and buy a bug-a-boo and let everyone you know know about the williams! haha!

on other notes, dillon is doing great. he is changing every day. he is holding his head up so well and he loves his swing...something we just got out yesterday. i think he could sit in it all day long.

he continues to roll over and is very close to rolling from his back to front. we would love to see you all sometime soon! pleae let us know how you're doing!!!

isn't he an angel!!!

dillon is rolling over!

a lot of you have seen this in person, but i wanted to share it with you anyway ;) this is how dillon and i spend probably about 25% of our day. it's with me making ridiculous noices...him laughing...then rolling over and me putting him back on his tummy, then me reading to him or singing or something like that. it's SO much fun! so, here's the best video in the world! HAHA!!! we love you!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

i've been tagged!!!

Here are the rules.
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
(4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
(5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

ok, here are the six quirky things about myself...hmmmmmm.

1. i claim that i don't like reality tv when in fact i cry everytime i watch extreme home makeover, long to watch the bachelor with my girls, LOVE so you think you can dance and have a NEW love for american idol. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!?!
2. i play the piano to relax. i bang it really hard (by playing chords that go together of course) and pretend to make up a song when it really ends up being a praise chorus or old hymn.
3. when i go to sleep i have to be touching ben AND petey. that's kinda gross...
4. i don't like to drink milk after the experation date. it wierds me out. but i just bought milk that doesn't expire for 2-3 weeks...how many hormones can they PUT in that stuff?!?!?
5. when i run or walk, i have to be on the left side even if it's a not-so-busy street like my neighborhood. it's the rule, right?
6. i like to cook dinner by myself...it's a power, i'm in control kinda thing. however, i LOVE going out to eat!!!

i tag melanie, bill, hannah, jenice, ginger, and lindsay. go get 'em tiger!

time with the grandpas

well, it has been a while since i have posted anything. we have been very busy...out of town, friends moving, ben's business, etc etc. the theme for this past couple of weeks is that everything is just fine. it's not great, it's not horrible, but it's fine. it started off with a visit from ben's dad! this was a great time. he LOVED hanging out with dillon and he even babysat for me while i went to get my hair cut. and he tore down the wallpaper in our laundry room. we will forever be in debt to pop for everything he has done for us on our house!!

he was here from tuesday-thursday and right after he left, ben got a call from his mom saying that grandma passed away on valentine's day. this was her favorite holiday of all and she died very peacefully. brenda (ben's mom) was sitting with her in the hospital telling her what a great mother and grandmother she was and she said it was time, closed her eyes, and went to be with Jesus. we will miss this fine lady. she was a lady who loved everyone that she came in contact with. she didn't judge anyone and she had a heart for the Lord. she will definitely be missed, though! so, we went to oklahoma on saturday. our dear friend, stefi, was going to keep petey. she recently accepted a job at SCAD and we thought that she was moving before we would get back on wednesday. she didn't leave until today! so, it's very sad to see her go, but it was really good that she was able to keep petey and have some more time with us before she left. we will also miss this very fine lady, but we know that we will see her soon...right, steft? :)

while we were in oklahoma, dillon got to meet his great-grandpa and his pawpaw. this was a really cool time. we all sat with ben's grandpa the day after the funeral and grandpa just would stare at dillon.

pawpaw (dave) would also just gaze at dillon. it was a wonderful time. we had a blast with all of dillon's aunts and other family, and we are glad that we got to go to oklahoma, but we do wish it was under different circumstances. please be in prayer for ben's family as we grieve the loss of grandma.


so, we said good bye to stefi this morning and are trying to get back to normalcy here at westmoreland pl. ben's job is going well. he has had business and work since we got back...something that wasn't in place until we got to cincinatti and missed our connecting flight, so we had some time in that airport for ben to work. praise God for the clients that he has gotten and we covet your prayers as we continue to try to get more clients.

i'm not really sure what else will be going on with us next except that i am going to see one of my dearest friends in the world, holly cossiboom, in march in birmingham. you never know, we might come see you, too!!! we love you all!! enjoy these great pictures of dillon! he's rolling from his stomach to his back, so his head goes crazy when he's on his stomach. i have to hold him there so he doesn't just roll over right when he gets on his stomach! :) he is such a blast and a blessing! we love all of you and hope to see you soon!!!

tornado videos

i'm sure that all of you know about the tornados that came through tennessee last week. it has been one emotional week for anyone related to union university in any way. i found two videos that are pretty amazing and show some great pictures that capture, as much as they can, what happened on tuesday. from these two videos, you can see a lot of other videos that students have uploaded.




we do serve a strong and mighty God. i also want to ask you to pray for ben's family right now. his grandma romines (mom's mom) is not doing well at all. she went into the hospital over Christmas first and was then moved to a transitional care facility. for the past two weeks, she has been so sick and has fought all that she can fight for her life. she is on full time oxygen right now and the doctors asked her if she wanted to go back on the vent and she said no. they also asked her if she wanted to be resusitated if it came to that and she said no. please please please pray for ben's mom as she watches her mother go through this and pray for ben and i as we decide what we need to do from here. also, our good friends julian and sheila williamson received some bad news last week about sheila's mom. she has inoperable and untreatable liver cancer. sheila is an only child, so she is having to make a lot of decisions right now about what to do for her family. the doctors gave her mom 2-4 months. please be in prayer for all of this. we feel as though the past month has been one of tragedy and not one of happiness. we're ready to be happy again. our hearts are heavy and we don't know how to pray or how to feel comfort. however, we do know that we serve an amazing God who is more powerful than we will ever know. thank you for your prayers.

praise God

as many of you know, jackson was hit with some terrible storms this week. union university (where i went to college and where both of my folks work) is almost destroyed. the Lord is so faithful as no one was seriously injured and no lives of students were taken. that is amazing as most of the damage was done to the dorm rooms where all of the students were. please continue to pray. i haven't gotten out to see the damage yet, but am planning on venturing out today, hopefully. here is a link to some great photos taken my matthew elia, a student from union and a christ community person. please continue to pray as this is going to be a huge project on the university and the community as they strive to get things as much back to normal as possible for these students.
on the other hand, dillon is GROWING! he has begun to roll over from his stomach to his back and he is so smiley and laughy all the time. i had him going last night and this morning as got ready for bed and got dressed this morning. please enjoy some of these. we would love to see you so please come see us soon!
oh, by the way, we are fine and safe. there was no damage to our house or cars or us, or to my parents' house or cars or them. praise the Lord! HE is so faithful!
oh, and dillon slept for 8 hours last night! YEA!!! hopefully, he will keep doing that so i can sleep for an entire night! wouldn't that be GREAT!?!?!?!

what's goin on?

precious baby!

YEA!!!

he's so big!

i love everyone!!

dillon is 7 weeks old!

can you believe dillon is 7 weeks old!?!? i CAN'T!!! we laid dillon on his tummy tonight for the first time in several days and he did awesome with holding his head up! our little boy is growing SO much! he is getting so big. we go to the doctor on feb. 8 for his shots. it's not going to be a fun day, but i know that we will get through it! we love you all! this is a much better pick-me-up than my last post. God is so faithful...even in daily tummy time. we love you all!!

dillon on tummy time.

what are you guys talking about?

we're so proud!

look at our family!!!! (dillon's saying "who is this dog and what is he doing?!?!)

PS: dillon does have other clothes besides this t-shirt!! HA!

this week in review

i do have to say that i'm kinda glad this week is over. it has been a wierd week where a lot and not a lot happened all at the same time. as i'm sitting here with dillon and petey on the couch, covered up with the best blanket in our house, i'm reminded at how quickly life can change drastically. at the beginning of this week, i found out that one of my friends's house had been broken into and the man that broke into her house beat her up and sent her to the hospital. then the next day, i found out good news, two of our friends are pregnant! (rachael greenway and jennifer hooper...they're sisters-in-law and they're due two days apart! yea!) so, that brings us to wednesday. i called my sister to tell her the good news and she had horrible news. a dear sister, amber mathenia, was killed in a tragic car accident on tuesday evening, leaving her husband and two kids, 4 and 6 months old. on that same day, i found out that one of my longest and best friends in the world received some terrible news from a doctor...that she and her husband would not be able to conceive children natrually. so, that brings us to thursday. i was talking to one of my best friends, holly cossiboom, and she told me that a 3 year old from their church had drowned that weekend in 19 degree weather. on friday, mom and i got to hang out for the evening...we went to englewood's women's conference. that was good. and on saturday, i enjoyed dillon all day, along with pancakes in bed, staying in bed until noon, going to see some old friends for dinner and hanging out with new friends after dinner. praise God that He is faithful.
on friday, as i was reading in psalm 4 and reading an email about amber that i had received, i was reminded that the Lord is so faithful to his children. although this week has been hard and i've been reminded of bad things in life, i would not trade it for the fact that my God is a sovereign God. Psalm 4.8 says "in peace i will both lie down and sleep, for You alone, o Lord, make me to dwell in safety." and again in psalm 116.15 "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones." the second verse sounds somewhat morbid you might think, however, i love that it is precious to the Lord when someone goes to be with Him forever. also, the psalm 4 reference is such hope...not just for the life to come, but for now, there's nothing for us to be fearful of. the Lord allows us to dwell in safety. we have nothing to be afraid of.
i realize that this might be a ramble, but i wanted you to first of all, pray for all of these tragedies that have happened this week, and also rejoice with those that are rejoicing right now. Praise the LORD that HE is sovereign and that we are not...that HE is faithful...that HE is our best interest at mind...and that HE loves us. i pray that all who read this will have a better week and live in the peace that passes understanding.

here's a little picture to show you how big dillon is getting...

nothing to blog

well, we have pretty much just hung out the whole month of january. dillon is asleep in my arms (even though i know that's not babywise, but i LOVE this little boy!) dillon and i got to go to sikeston, mo, to visit aunt g and uncle ricky (i'm stealing lee's name for william because i think uncle ricky is funnier ;)). we had a GREAT time. glenna and i have been bffE for ten years. i'm so thankful that we've remained friends who pick up right where we leave off even though we don't live in the same town anymore! we really wish the marshalls lived closer...like down the street. maybe someday they will ;)



the tankersleys (janie's sister and her family) have been here since dillon was born, but they are heading back to louisville today. last night, marie was having a really good time with the hamper and dillon. we are really going to miss them, but know that it won't be long until we get to see them again. other than that, ben is just working like a dog at vip and on his freelance work. thanks to everyone who is sending him work. God truly is providing for us and we are so thankful! we would love to see everyone soon! peace of Christ to you all!

edit: i just realized i used the same picture of dillon as in a previous post! i guess i really like that picture!!

ben makes one helluvan elvis!!!

well, we had one happenin' party on saturday night! thanks so much for everyone who made it awesome! also, for those of you who don't know, ben turned 30 on december 29. well, since we had a newborn and family had been in for awhile, i decided to throw him a surprise party this past weekend instead of on his birthday! he had NO idea! not even with all the cars out front! we decorated the house with record streamers and gold happy birthday garland along with (of course) the bust of elvis from tom!! it was absolutely awesome!!! we've decided that this might be ben's only surprise party...at least for 10-20 more years :). we finished off the night with pictures of "elvis" (we'll see if you can figure out who elvis really is). here's some highlights from the night!


the cupcakes that cindy, cilla, and rachel made.


ben's reaction when he saw everyone!


cilla and kathy with the king...the were scared.


stefi and sarah havin a good time.


mimi and papa givin elvis some love


one team trying to come up with 6 degrees between ben and elvis


brian and cindy with elvis...cindy did shake her pelvis.


me and my king ;)


ben had a great time with me and these pictures. everyone was scared to get their picture taken after that :)

dillon is one month old!

(tummy time on daddy's chest)
well, this past month has FLOWN by!! i can't believe that dillon is one month old! it seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. i've uploaded a few new pics to picasa and i'm going to share some on here. you can click the link on the right margin to see all of the pictures. we have enjoyed some great times with friends lately. our friend, kathy guthrie, decided last week that she hadn't had enough holiday parties, so we all got together and played catch phrase and had some junk food that was pretty great so that kathy could get that last fix of holiday cheer ;). it was a blast! then, last night we went to kirby and cilla's house for some pizza and we had a great time with them and the williamsons. one of the ladies that was there asked me if we had had some good family time since all of our family had gone back home. we have had some great family time and we're figuring out that dillon loves to stay awake between his last two feedings of the night.

(more tummy time with daddy)

(my granny, dillon, and me. i'm her namesake, and she's one of the most amazing women i know.)
we are all adjusting well to dillon's schedule and just keep praying that he continues to do well. several people have also asked about petey and how he likes dillon. he LOVES him. he's very curious, but he's also very protective. i'm looking forward to this next month with "chillin' with dillon" (thanks auntie jen). we hope you are doing well and that you'll come see us if you get a chance!!

(smiling in the morning ;))