♥ Marissa's Sweet Joys ♥: Two Week Re-cap (photos!)

I've been MIA from blogging recently because we've been having a very difficult time with our oldest. And as many blended families can relate, the transition is never seamless when a biological parent moves away (especially when they only see their son once every 6 months). We been working through a "grieving process," and he is now experiencing a lot of anger. From the moment he wakes up he is furious and some days it has continued until he goes to bed. He's a had a few happy times in the past 4 weeks, but for the most part, he has been very angry and has had extremely defiant behavior. . His Psychiatrist warned me of this phase, and said it could last a few days to a few years. His teacher and school guidance counselor are very proactive and have been a tremendous support during this challenging time. On Friday, he woke up as "happy Braylon" and the trend has continued through the weekend!!! So we accomplished a lot and enjoyed a handful of family events since dad was off Friday and Saturday. Today was another sweet day. I volunteered for my first time in the nursery at church. It was so much fun!!! I am on a monthly rotation in the "crawler" room :) After Church, I raced home to get Peyton dressed for a day with her Mimi and Grandma. They went to lunch and then attended a Play at the local Theatre. Peyton had a wonderful time! The rest of my afternoon was spent hanging out with the boys (daddy was at work), laundry time, and cooking baby food.

Below are the pictures from the past few weeks! Including: 2 birthday parties (we love our friends so much!), evening cookout with my parents, MOMS Club Holiday Party, gymnastics, Gator Fred's, Holiday Winterfest, Busch Gardens and all the in betweens!

Birthday party craft!

Only got a few shots before my camera died. Sooo much fun!

Little crafters :)

At Mimi's to roast marsh mellows and make s'mores. Unfortunately, I was getting sicker by the minute.

Roasting!

I believe he ate about 10...lucky duck!

Pax is such a big boy eating food! And B. enjoys helping.

Arts and crafts

Very focused

I love this shot. Braylon working hard and Pey and Ky building legos in the background.

MOMS Club Christmas Party!

65 people attended! Yay!

Me assisting Santa

Pey waiting patiently in line.

I was the candycane holder and our Santa did an AWESOME job!!!

"I want toys." Thaaaanks for making easy ;)

Kyan got up! So proud of him!

Pey and her little pal watching. It's so sweet watching their eyes light up when Santa arrives!

Almost all of us! Braylon was boycotting Santa in the back.

Our sweet family!

Bray with one of his best pals!

All the donations our MOMS Club Chapter collected for our local homeless shelter! wow!

Birthday party fun!

The death of a bounce house.

Decorating gingerbread houses!

Braylon's school project! This is the main character from a Fictional book of his choice. Meet Fly Guy! On the back is a summary of personality traits and physical traits. His school requires 1 project per month and we are very proud of Bray!