Un-freaking believable.

You truly just don't know what each day will bring. Matthew 6:34 has a whole new meaning when you are really in the thick of it. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
I apologize up front if I didn't call you and you are reading this. I am so exhausted and I cry every time I have to talk about all this.

So, we had a for sale by owner sign out in a yard, and then decided to pay a $199 fee and get our house on the FMLS with Select Realty. Well, it worked. We got slammed with showings and then low and behold... it went under contract 13 days after we listed. We staged the house ourselves, printed out our own disclosure statement, and were ready to wheel and deal!!
We were very blessed and the couple that bought it gave us exactly what we wanted for the house. Crazy!
With all of that..... we are going to be homeless on April 23, our closing date! We are planning on putting our stuff in storage and crashing at one of our parents for a couple of weeks until we find a place. Well, that was the plan anyway....
We have a realtor and even a specific property we would love, but shortly after we went under contract...

we also became job-less. Yep. Tim got laid off on Thursday.
I know... are you kidding me? No. I wish. We're a one income family and I stay at home with the kiddos... so this sucks.
We have definitely never been in this boat before. With no home, and now no job...
Here's the deal...
Tim is a very hard worker. The hardest. He has just had a stream of bad luck it seems.
From a company filing bankruptcy and him having to leave to a company that was going to make us relocate somewhere when we couldn't even sell our house at that time.... it's been a really hard road.
Basically, at this job... he was doing everything he could, but it just wasn't enough. He was gone from 6:15am until around 6:30-7:30 every day and it wasn't enough for them. If he stayed any later, he would never see the children awake. Just sad, really sad.

So, what's our plan, stan?
Well, we got one buddy. Go gotta have a plan for the storm.
Here is ours:

1.Tims new full time job is finding a job. He was already up at 6am and a networking church/ prayer team this morning. He has a few networking events this week and is getting leads through anyone and everyone. He also filed unemployment today so we have something coming in until he gets a job.
2.We are super savers. So, that's good. We have no debt, no car payments, and we are about to have no mortgage cause we are selling this sucker.
So, we have savings and hardly no bills to float us until Tim finds a job. Thank you Dave Ramsey for teaching us to have a Go to Hell fund. Basically, when life throws you a curve ball, you tell it to go to hell.
3. Our living plan is staying the same. We will live in our house until April 23, and then still crash with family.... now it may just be a little longer depending on when our job starts. Our lender and realtor are ready to rock as soon as tim is employed.

So, that sucks huh? But, how cool we sold our house super fast by owner?! Well, the timing couldn't be worse or more perfect all it the same time i guess.
So, the willis family needs prayers. we need to find tim a good job, a good company to work for, and one that allows you to have a life outside of work.

We are just really overwhelmed with all this happening within a week. We know the Lord is going to provide for us. He always has.

So, why do I air all our dirty laundry?? Well, hopefully this is one more form of networking and Tim will find a job. He has had 4 years of sales and account management experience. If not, you can just read about my problems and how we struggle. But you know what they say. When life throws you a lemon, make some freaking lemonade.

St. Patty's Fun

The cousins came over for a visit!!! Thanks for the shirts, Mimi! We made St. Patty's crafts and brownies. And, we had a little Green Shin dig that night! I made a this awesome home made white chili, and some green appetizers! Yes, green food coloring will dye a cheese ball ;) We also watched "Did you hear about the Morgans?" It was funny, a little slow, but good.
Happy St. Patty's 2010!

It's Me Lucky Day!

My mom is totally responsible for these outfits!! Isn't Mackenzie's hysterical?

I can't believe this was last year.....


Happy St. Pabby's and St. Patty's!! I am one lucky girl!

March in Pics

March Maddness is true!! Here is the first half of the month's highlights!
Our Anniversary at the W


Kids Easter Egg Hunt in Atlanta

My 4 Little Loves. Micheal. David. Jonathan. Mackenzie.

Little Bit

The Best Macaroni & Cheese on the Planet, better than Paula Deens.




12 ounces dried elbow macaroni (2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I use onion powder so its whatever you prefer. Usually about 1/2 to 1 tbs.)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-puprose flour
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups shredder american cheese
(I usually use sharp and mild cheddar but its really whatever you prefer. I also put in a little more than it calls for.)
1. Cook macaroni. drain and put noodles in a 2 quart casserole. set aside.
2. Meanwhile for cheese sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook onion(or onion powder) in hot butter until tender not brown. Stir in flour and pepper. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly. I would say about 5-10 minutes. You will have to stir constantly so it doesn't clump up. Add cheeses, stir until melted. Add sauce to noodles and mix well. This is when I add extra cheese and stir in. I also sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Bake uncovered, 350 degrees, for 25 to 30 minutes.

Comic Relief

There is so many things I've been meaning to blog about and have had no time!! Thanks for all the Anniversary wishes, we had a great weekend! My parents watched the kids and we just went to downtown Atlanta. We stayed at the W Hotel and ate dinner at Two Urban Licks. Everything was a blast, but it was a little "trendy" overload for me. Everything was pretty extreme. Super nice, but just like Ikea on steriods. We laughed a lot and caught up on things since it's hard during the week!

David-
I took him and Mackenzie bowling this week with his playgroup. Not really the greatest idea.... Mackenzie kept running down the lanes and the ball was kinda too heavy for David to lift. I felt very out of control with them there. The worker brought out the handicap ramp for them to roll the ball down... this helped, but they would drop the ball trying to put it up there. I'm pretty sure my middle toe is broken. Anyway, it was super cute watching them... they thought they were big stuff.
We did pick a good sport for David though, soccer!! He starts Soccer Tots soon and will play on Saturday mornings for 2 months... I'm very excited about this energy outlet for him!

Mackenzie-
She is starting to follow in big brother's crazy foot steps a little. She is the toilet paper princess.... She will all the sudden come flying out of the bathroom with the end of the roll and sprint off. By the time I catch her... its all empty. So, if you come potty here, I have a basket of TP by the bathroom, just break some off.
She also has started to hide. She will go into cabinets, under beds, behind doors, and wherever. She is so tiny and can fit about anywhere. She will hide and not say a word. It totally freaks me out. The other day, the only reason I found her was because she had gone poopy, and I sniffed her out.
Lastly, when she walks.... it's hysterical. She shakes her little toosh and prances around, she even holds her hand out. We have a little princess on our hands here.

Lastly, the witch, aka our neighbor!!! Okay, Im so glad I finally have eye witnessing so people can testify to my stories. Jess and Greg, Sara and Chris, and Mike and Emily all got the pleasure of meeting her...
1.She showed up during our small group one night in a full blown black wedding dress. I invited her in so that everyone could see for themselves. Sure enough, mouths hit the floor. Black wedding dress and combat boots. She also has long, white frizzy hair. I asked her what she was doing and she said she just liked the dress and was going to be in a band some day.
2.She came over and showed me a necklace she was ordering and had a package with her. It was a necklace that you can get your DNA put in if you send them blood and hair samples. She said she was going to get her and her dead bird's DNA put in a necklace vile together. OOOOOkay. So, i asked her what was in the package and she told me viles of her and her bird's blood. Then she asked me how long I thought her bird would stay good for in the freezer!!!! Oh, no!
3. She has 500 birdfeeders in the backyard and has started to have cats come and stalk out the birds. Her solution: She has lined her yard with chicken wire and has water balloons filled with coyote pee that she is going to launch at them!!! This is how she will scare the cats off... of course.
What is going on??!!!!

On that note, our house is listed on the FMLS, MLS, and realtor.com now so can everyone join me in prayer that we'd get a buyer???!

6 Years Baby!!!

Well, we have successfully been together for 10 years.... 4 years of dating and 6 years of marriage. It's almost hard to remember life not being married!! Okay, so lets talk about marriage. I wanted to start out with two kinds of married couples that annoy me:
1. People who LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE being married, how perfect it is, how perfect they are, and they love eachother, love eachother, love eachother. Okay, you know people like this. It is fake, annoying, and unrealistic. While these "feelings" may be initial, they are not real committed marriage and these people just get on my nerves.
2. People who are married and hate it. they act like someone dragged them down the aisle, forced them to say i do, and are now being held contempt. They automatically are defensive and just like fighting about everything. They are always "against" their spouse and everything is a fight, not a discussion. They act as if their spouse is an opponent. Ridiculous and an unproductive way to live.
We are fans of marriage... you just gotta take it head on and get some other good people in your life that have great marriages. And if you are either of the 2 couples I mentioned up top, Boo to you... and stop it.
Okay, so we decided do an interview style post to commemorate our 6 years of marriage. We just like being real. We are very much in love, but also work really hard on our marriage. It takes work, so we are honest about our issues and where we are.

What first attracted you to Jennifer?
Jennifer has always been up for anything, anytime. She has a lot attitude, curly hair, and i thought.... this girl is a lot of fun.

What first attracted you to Tim?
He had the best smile. He was Mr. Smooth and wasn't afraid to talk to anyone. He was really funny and extremely flirty.

What is your favorite dating memory in college?

Tim- It could be that we had an ongoing list of all the places we made out over 4 years even though there was no PDA b/c I was in uniform. Haha, i just remember the crazy dates I planned. One of my favorites was our annual Pumpkin carving/ Pumpkin seed fights. Also, at Christmas we'd always go downtown in Dahlonega.

Jen- Mine was that Tim switched his major and we had all the same classes. We actually were a really good pair at studying and both did awesome... good teamwork. I loved Mondays watching him do "drill" on the drill field. There is just something sexy about a man in uniform... haha. He has always made me feel like I'm the only girl that exists and I love that. I also love that we both saved ourselves for marriage, lame to some... but, so meaningful to me.

What is your favorite memory since you've been married?

Tim- Our honeymoon was a blast. It was just a flawless awesome trip. We went to Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Bahamas, and the Keys. Also, i loved the years we had a motorcycle and a sail boat. We just packed up and went!

Jen- I love every adventure we've been on! I loved our wedding, our honeymoon, living on Lake Lanier the first few months we were married, Athens, and now Canton. I just love that we create a life and friends wherever we land. We've developed a team like marriage and all these moves/ transitions test this.

What is your favorite memory of being a dad so far?
Taking David on his first go cart ride, taking david to the driving range, and how Mackenzie has wrapped me around her little finger with all the hugs and kisses she gives.

What is your favorite memory of being a mom so far?
I love that I stay at home. I will never regret being here to train, feed, teach, love, care, and play with them all the time. I love that only mommy can make something all better and even in the morning, I can't wait to go get them up and see them again. They are precious children.

What do you like and dislike the most about being married
Tim- I like having sex. (smirk). I really like being married because I've always felt like I having a "safe- haven" with Jennifer. I don't have to try to be somebody, she's encouraging, and it's just really easy and fun to be around her.
I do miss sometimes how simple life used to be. Married with children cause things to be a little more complicated to find time just to chill.

Jen- I love that we are best friends. We both sacrifice for eachother. He is onboard with the kids and helps me tag team when he is here. I love having a family and it's neat when you have kids because when I look at them, they are us. It's really neat having a family. I too, also like having sex.. thanks, tim i put that last.
It does get stressful sometimes and I selfishly want just time alone. It's hard to find alone time with little ones and a husband!

What do you seem to fight about the most and which one is most memorable?

Tim- I remember fighting when we lived in Athens while we were remodeling the house. One time Jen went for a walk and never came back so I had to drive and find her.

Jen- I tell Tim he is messy and have freak outs sometimes because I can't stay on top of all of it. The last big fight I remember throwing Taco Bell across the room at him. I think that was the first time Ive thrown. I also never cussed until I got married. Amazing what it brings out ;)

How has marriage made you a better person and what advice do you give to all the critics of marriage out there?
Tim- I am a much more confident person. We've always made having fun a big part of our marriage. We've also always done Dave Ramsey and never had fights about money. It's easy not to fight over money when there isn't a lot of it, haha.

Jen- I agree with all that. I also think people exhaust their spouse. I think being Christians has been what has made us last. You can't possibly expect one person to make you happy all the time..... we look to the Lord for our fulfillment, to ourselves and deal with issues, and lastly to each other. You can't expect someone to fulfill every need you have. You have to be independently dependent. And, seeking the Lord for happiness and purpose will take strain off someone else trying to give you that.... which FYI, they cant anyway.

Well, that's us!!!
My concluding thoughts: Not that anyone wants my two cents, but besides the Lord being numero uno in our marriage, we kinda coined "Team Willis". I think if you just decide you are a team, you are. We also, honestly, just have lots of fun. Laughter truly is the best medicine and we love to laugh. We try to keep our love life exciting (there are plllllllllenty of things out there), and just date eachother still. It's hard to get a sitter and yada, yada. But, your alone time with eachother is crucial, even more so the longer you are married and the more babies you add on!

Here is also Tims proposal I shared last year.... props to you again, babe.

God is Great

This is one of my favorites I've been meaning to post. Both kids are obsessed with Daddy and they literally attack him everyday when he comes home until bedtime. Sometimes he yells for help, but I pretend not to hear him. Instead, this time I grabbed the camera.
David got a haircut today...... do I ever just blog about how stinkin cute he is??? He is a little personality explosion. He is like a little person on Red Bull.





He is officially 3 1/2! God is great indeed.

Ridiculousness

These are my two best friends from college, Stephanie and Jamie.

About 2-3 times a year, we all get together and have a girls weekend. Stephanie lives in Augusta, Ga and Jamie lives in Columbia, SC.
These girls feel like my sisters because we met and were in the same bible study throughout college, they met tim when i did, we went on summer trips together, been in eachothers weddings, been through funerals, births, pregnancies, and just about everything together! We were so young when we met! I love you guys!!
Steph is pregnant with her first baby and Jamie just had her second..... so up to Columbia we went! We have so much fun together. One of the highlights this weekend was shopping for lingerie.... because really, what husband will ever get mad if you spend money on that?!!! we are so smart. =)

Anyway, I had to share this ridiculous story about my venture home. I had left my debit card in my back pocket of my jeans and left my jeans at home. I also had cut up and paid off every credit card we own last week b/c I got really pissed off at a company. So, I had my license and check book. No big deal.... I just went in to Publix, bought something, and wrote out a check for over. So, this was my same easy game plan for the ride home.
So, on the way back home I go to the Publix in Augusta and buy a candy bar and write a check. The cashier tells me i need to go up to customer service. Weird.
So, her and the Customer Service Manager (CSM) go to a back room.
the CSM comes out and this is our convo:
CSM- Mam, we are going to have to ask you a few questions
Me- Okay... shoot!
CSM- We are looking at your check, and where exactly is this Canton, Ga located?
Me- blink. blink
and then... "Seriously?"
CSM- yes, mam
Me- Well, its Northwest Ga, approx 30 miles north of Atlanta.
CSM- okay, we are going to need you to just hold on....
***** the store manager (SM) is paged and shows up******
They all 3 talk and he begins questioning me.
SM- So mam, you say you live in this 'Canton,Ga' and can you just show me your license?
I show him.
SM- Mam, why are you here in Augusta?
Me- I came to see a friend that just had a baby.
SM- When did you arrive in Augusta, Ga?
Me- Friday night
SM- And when are you going back to this Canton Ga?
Me- Tonight!!! Im trying to go there tonight!!
SM- Mam, just where exactly is Canton, Ga again... we just have never heard of it.
I start getting super annoyed and kinda go off.
Me- Okay people. Canton, Ga exists. I have been arguing with 3 people the last 20 minutes about if a place that i have lived at for almost 4 years is real. My check is good. If you want to really know, I left my debit card at home in the back of my jeans. Im here visiting a friend, and Im just trying to get some cash for gas on the way home since gas stations dont take checks. Im a wife and mother and my dad is a store manager of publix. Either cash my check or give it back so I can go somewhere else so i can go home! And, if you have a map.... Id be glad to show you that Canton is on the map.
From there we had no more issues. They apologized and sent me on my way.

Isnt that ridiculous?? My dad said they must have had a lot of check fraud there or something. I just can believe they thought I was making up a city. Ridiculous.

But, funny. Fun times.