Our Niece, Adaya, is Here!

Tuesday, November 27th was a glorious day for the Wilkie's. Steven and Tara welcomed their little girl, Adaya Rose Wilkie. She was 7 lbs 9 oz. We already love her to pieces. Adaya is Hebrew for "God's Precious Jewel" and she is just that!


Steven, Tara and Adaya in their first family photo.

Pretty in pink.

What a sweet moment captured. Steven and baby Adaya bonding together.

Jake's Birthday Party

While we were home for the Thanksgiving weekend, we celebrated Jake's 6th birthday at a jumping party. Kids big and small enjoyed jumping and sliding on all of the balloons.


John rolled down the big slide.



Jake and a schoolmate friend jumping in a bounce house.


Bradley sliding down the big slide.

Thanksgiving Weekend

On Thanksgiving Day Bradley and I, along with my parents, babysat Jake and Charlie. At one point Bradley walked down the hallway and heard the pitter pat of little feet behind him. When he came back into the living room he'd captured two little munchkins...and they all three loved every minute of the fun.


After getting ready for bed, Jake and Charlie spent a little bit of time watching The Incredibles with Nana.


Jake and Charlie saying, "Cheese" for the camera.

Farmer's Day

Soon after we arrived in Coats we went to the annual Farmer's Day celebration. The entire town gets together for a parade. All you have to do is take your lawn chairs down to main street and you'll have a front row seat for the parade.


There were tons and tons of tractors in the parade. It was the most I've ever seen in one place.

One last goodbye

The last few days that we were in Fort Worth were a whirlwind. But, we were thankful that we were able to spend some time with family and friends before we left. Here we're at a restaurant with Jake and Charlie, our nephews. They decided to ham it up for the camera.


Charlie loves his Uncle Bradley. Here he is smiling for Bradley with the camera.


Kevin & Laura, Andy & Lisa, and Tyler & Evie all came out to see us before we left. It was a wonderful afternoon with some of our most treasured friends.

We've Moved!

As many of you already know, Bradley and I moved to North Carolina in September. He was offered a job with the City of Fayetteville as an Assistant Supervisor for a Community Center. It was an agonizing decision whether or not to move, but ultimately, after praying and talking about it, we decided that this is where we were meant to be. We have truly been blessed since we've been here. We miss so much of our lives in Fort Worth, but know that the Lord has wonderful things in store for us here.

Visit to China

At the end of August, Bradley and I took a vacation to China to visit his brother and sister-in-law, Steven and Tara. We were able to spend an entire week with them in their home. It was my first trip to China. We loved the people and we loved the food. This is a picture of us eating our first meal there. This restaurant was so delicious I went back 2 more times during the week that we were there! Yum....


Bradley and I spent a few days in Hong Kong before we took the train into mainland China. Hong Kong was an amazing place to visit. The city is by far the largest that I've ever been in and definitely a great place to vacation. Here we are at the "Peak". We took a short tram ride to the top. We were able to eat lunch at Bubba Gump's and take pictures of the beautiful view.



The first day that we were with Steven and Tara we surprised Tara with a Baby Shower. Some of her close friends and family members sent us gifts to take to her. Once in China, I individually wrapped all the gifts and the four of us sat in their living room and had a baby shower. It was a blast.


Here is Steven goofing off. The baby's bib says "Thank Heaven for Little Girls"



Tara and some of her gifts.

This friend of Steven and Tara's quickly became our friend too.

We LOVED the food. This table full of food cost the four of us a total of about $15US. And it was delicious!

Here are some new friends that we were able to talk to.

One day while we were there, we went to an Amusement Park. It was truly amazing. There were rides that were very different from rides in the States, but it was awesome to experience some new things. Here are circular "bikes" that we rode on a rail about 10 feet off the ground. Hmmm...


We rode some "bumper boats"...doesn't Tara look happy!


Bradley and I were amazed at this 2 story Merry Go Round!


Tara, Bradley and I at the park entrance.

On our last night, we all went to get foot massages. Tara and I were SO relaxed!!

And we also got our hair washed (which includes a 20 minute head massage).

Baxter's Pinapple

Tonight Bradley and I were throwing away a pinapple that we bought and never ended up eating. But, when Bradley went to throw it in the compost pile, Baxter thought it was a toy. His other favorite toy is an empty plastic milk jug. He's such a fun dog!

Happy Birthday Ember!

For my birthday this year, Bradley took me to Nacogdoches, which is where I went to school. It was a blast showing Bradley where I lived and took classes. We stayed at a quaint little cabin about 15 minutes from campus. It was only about 300 square feet, but it was the perfect getaway from the busy city life. In the mornings we cooked breakfast and sat in the rocking chairs on the front porch.


This is the view from the front porch. The cabin was on 46 acres of land. To the left of us was a small creek. In the evening we sat out on the porch and listened to all the critters that lived by the creek. Saturday night we went down the road to an interpretive trail that is maintained by the university. It's an amazing place in the middle of the woods that you can walk around and enjoy nature. The only problem was that 2 minutes into our walk I spotted a 6 foot long black snake crossing the path. That did it! I was done. Sorry Bradley!


On Saturday we spent the day walking on campus. This is a statue of Stephen F. Austin in the center of campus. I spent a lot of time here hanging out with friends in between classes. I just loved being on campus again. I had a wonderful time taking a trip down memory lane. Thanks for the great getaway Bradley!

Sleeping Beauty

A few weeks ago we babysat our nephews, Charlie and Jake. One minute we were watching Monsters, Inc...the next, we looked over, and Charlie was completely zonked out. Aren't they so precious?

New York City!

In June Ember went to NYC with her mom, sister and friend Pam to visit Pam's daughter Kristen and their friend Kelly. Ember and her mom were typical tourists and purchased a 48 hour pass on a Greyline Tour Bus which took them all over the city. They were able to see Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Wall Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, Central Park, Harlem, Brooklyn and so much more. They were able to eat at several fancy New York eateries as well as some authentic New York deli's, although no one was brave enough to try out a hot dog from a street vendor. This is a beautiful view of the city lights from across the harbor in Brooklyn.


We took a cruise of the harbor and up the Hudson River. The boat took us close enough to the Statue of Liberty to get this awesome shot.


Here I am at the "Top of the Rock" which is Rockefeller Center. Here you had beautiful views of the city, which some say are just as beautiful as going to the top of the Empire State Building. Central Park is behind me. 850 acres of park in the middle of blocks and blocks of cityscape.


We ate dinner at a restaurant called Serendipity. Afterwards Kristen and I shared this HUGE hot fudge sundae. Yes, we ate the WHOLE thing!!


Can I work here??


In Times Square with Kristen and Angy


Angy and Ember in Kristen's (small) NYC kitchen.

We went out to dinner and afterwards caught a Les Miserables show. It was wonderful!

Sunday Drive

About a year ago Bradley bought a 1984 Honda motorcycle. He LOVES to drive it around, and every once in a while can convince me to go along. I'm becoming more and more brave on it. Today we went to Grand Prairie to visit Tara's parents. It was about a 25 minute drive. That's the furthest we've gone on the motorcycle so far. Charlene snapped this picture of us as we arrived.

Camping Trip with Sunday School

The first weekend of June we battled the rising heat, and more importantly, severe storms, and went camping with our Sunday School Class. This is the second trip that we have taken with them. There were a total of 12 people that went just an hour West of Fort Worth to Mineral Wells State Park. The thunder and lightening threatened us all evening, but thankfully the rain held off until 10:30 pm. We had a blast, though. We played games, ate great food and just enjoyed the fellowship. We were impressed with our friends Matt and Cassie that made a lamp with a light bulb, extension cord and a bucket. Looks like a Wilkie creation!

Surprise!

Bradley's brother, Ashley, flew to Fort Worth this year to surprise Bradley for his birthday. We crammed in as much activity as we could when Ashley was here. They repaired the fence (so Baxter could run around freely), we went to a gun show, saw a movie and ate a ton of food. Ashley we miss you!