Picture Post

The Grigsby household is alive and well, but for lack of time, I'm going to keep it to pictures today.

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to in pictures:

Eli and Landon attended their first Snyder Tigers football game. We sat with a group of friends from church and had a great time.

The weather has been gorgeous and we are loving fall! This is what we got the boys for their birthday, so we've spent every sunny day outside playing.

 

We have made several trips to Abilene the last few weeks. It's just good for all of us when we get out sometimes. We've had fun meeting the Boyd Gang at Chick-fil-a and playing with them at their house.

We've mostly just been hanging out together at home enjoying the days...and since Eli and Landon have started fighting a lot more, we sometimes enjoy them a little less :)

We hope everyone has a fun Halloween weekend!

Another year...

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband. We started out on this journey together four short years ago and 5 moves, 3 jobs, and 2 children later, we are exactly where we want to be - right beside each other just doing the best we can.

In an effort to not trigger your gag reflex, I won't go into all of the reasons I adore Dustin, but I have plenty to say on the subject. I do want to mention one area in which I am most grateful and that is the way that Dustin leads our family spiritually. I realize the importance of this even more so now that we have children.

This past Sunday, Dustin was installed as a deacon at the congregation here. A deacon's role is not one of great honor - it is simply that of a servant, but I know he considers it an honor to serve. I am truly blessed with a godly husband.

Dustin, some of the greatest blessings in my life started with you. Thank you for choosing me.
All my love,
Amy

Company

Can you believe anybody likes us enough to come here from as far as Iraan...or Dallas....or San Marcos...or Alabama....or North Carolina? Me neither, but they must because we've had lots of visitors over the past week and a half.

Eva started the whole marathon two Thursdays ago. She came to Snyder a couple of days early to help with the birthday party and she stayed until Monday morning. Of course we had lots of friends and family here for the party and then Sunday afternoon, Elizabeth flew in from North Carolina! She came in October last year right after Eli and Landon were born, so this was her 2nd Annual Texas Trip (it's going to be a tradition from now on). We LOVED having her here. Here are a few pictures from her stay:

We went to the zoo on Wednesday with the Boyd gang and had a lot of fun even though it was almost 100 degrees.

 

 

Elizabeth was quite impressed with this "Texan" at the zoo, so we took a picture of him. (I apologize if this is you or someone you know)

She went to Eli and Landon's doctor appointment with us on Thursday before we had to take her to the airport. (I promise I dress my children when we go in public - we have to take their clothes off to be weighed)

Thank you so much for coming to see us. We loved having you here! And a happy late birthday to Elizabeth! Remember this last year? It's not quite as easy anymore to have them hold a sign.

Saturday morning my dad and Andrew got up at 5:00 to drive to Snyder and spend a couple of days with us. We had a great time. We ate lots of good food, watched a lot of football, played with Eli and Landon, and had several rousing games of 42 (Dustin and I won by the way).

 

 

For reasons unknown to me...Grandpa decided that Eli and Landon needed a new TV, so this was "their" birthday present from him.Talk about a gift that keeps on giving. I'm sure Eli and Landon will watch their share of Pixar movies in years to come, but for the moment, I'm pretty sure mom and dad will get the most enjoyment out of this one. Thanks Dad for this outrageous gift. You really, really shouldn't have :)

 

They did, however, enjoy eating the box.

It was a short visit, but we packed a lot of fun into it.

Thank you for coming all the way out here to see us. We loved it!

The Birthday Party

My original thoughts about Eli and Landon's first birthday party were: we'll have a small family party and keep it simple. That didn't last long. So my next thoughts were: This is a really big deal and I'm going to celebrate as big as I want to. So that's what we did.

If you know me, you might know that I really like to plan things. So, I had a lot of fun getting ready for this party.

The invitations:

I made a birthday banner (that is still hanging up by the way...I'm not quite done celebrating):

I made the boys some t-shirts (even though they ended up wearing other ones I had ordered):

I made the centerpieces:

I made cupcake toppers to go in each of the cupcakes:

And Dustin made me this cupcake stand. He spent a lot of time on this and I love it!

The party hats (that they didn't wear...what was I thinking?)

Eva came in Thursday afternoon and we baked/decorated/cleaned/cooked all day and night on Friday. I had the best time!

We had mostly family here on Saturday. Dustin's family all came up from Iraan and Midland and my family came from McKinney. We had a few special people from church drop by. We were so blessed to have so many people help us celebrate Eli and Landon's first year of life.

The sad news is, once the party started, I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was so distracted. Eva did, so I'll have to get some from her. Here's what I have though:

 Opening gifts:

This is the leather jacket Nana and Papa got for the boys.

Eating cake:

Landon

 

Eli

Hanging out with Aunt Katelyn after the party.

Grammy, Kate, Madison, Eli, and Landon Sunday morning

What a fun weekend!

Dear Eli and Landon,

These past few weeks, as your birthday has been approaching, I have done a lot of reflecting on and remembering of the last year of our lives. I think about the shock and excitement and fear we felt when we learned of your very existence. I think of the worry and hours spent in prayer when we thought you were in trouble. I think of the heartache we felt as we dealt with our reality hundreds of miles apart. I think of the excitement and happiness we felt as we prepared for your arrival. I think of the thousands of people that prayed for us and it humbles me with gratitude.

And then I think about this very night one year ago. I laid in the hospital bed waiting for the night to pass, knowing of your arrival in the morning. I think of the next morning how I sobbed and sobbed in fear of the unknown and how your dad and I prayed together that you would be okay.

And then I remember your cries as you entered the world and how I sobbed even harder because if you could cry, that meant you could breathe and I've never been so relieved. I barely got to lay eyes on you as they whisked you away to the NICU...our home for the next 26 days. I remember leaving the hospital in tears most nights because I couldn't stand to be away from you.

But most of all, I remember the joy I felt when we finally got to bring you home. We were together as a family at last and I can't remember a time I have ever been happier. There is a peace and contentment that I cannot explain that comes from the rise and fall of your chest on mine.

I almost always end up in tears when I think of the rough start we had. It is a flood of emotions that just overwhelms me. I think of you both now and the indescribable blessings you bring to our lives and it is a sobering thought to think that you might not have been. I just can't imagine life without you. I love you so deeply it hurts.

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory..." - Ephesians 3:20-21

God has certainly blessed us beyond our imagining and we give Him glory for the way he has worked in our lives.

Thank you for the immense joy you bring to us every single day. Happy birthday my sweet boys.

All my love,
Momma