A Time For Every Season....

This week Drew and I spent some time learning about what lives in the Arctic We read a book about Polar Bears, Sea Lions, Beluga Whales, Orcas, Walrus', and Narwhals . I really enjoyed learning about Norwals since I hadn't studied them before, I linked you to an interesting ABC news except and some footage of Norwhals that Drew enjoyed watching. Drew especially loved singing the song: Baby Beluga by Raffi. We sang the song and watched a Baby Beluga's birth at the Chicago Shedd Aquarium; the wonders of the Internet! Drew also spent some time painting, gluing and cutting. He even made me tons of paper kites! Ever since I boxed up all the toys, he has spent more time looking at books, being artistic, and using his imagination. This week he hardly touched the Lego's and Duplo's that were in his room. I've been enjoying not having to trip over his toys or battle with him to pick them up. Gabe also enjoyed the pictures in the books and laughed a lot when mommy and Dre...

"Wherever you cast your eyes, there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of glory." ~John Calvin 262. A quiet and relaxed week, shifting focus back on the important 263. Drew’s improved speech 264. Reading books with Drew, listening to all his new sounds 265. Spending an evening organizing the pantry, I love it when all is in its place 266. Free pillows from sister that match our living room perfectly 267. Visit from brother, loud gleeful squeal of excitement from Drew when he found David sleeping on the couch! 268. Gabe back to sleeping through the nights 269. A night out with my Honey 270. Sitting in a quiet corner of the restraint just chatting 271. Brotherly love, Drew sharing his toys with Gabe even though he is too little to play back 272. An accident (potty training) free day 273. Painting Dinosaurs with Drew 274. Kite Flying on a windy day “No blend of zeal, passion, self-denial, discipline, orthodoxy, and effort adds up to holine...

John and his brother David took Drew to school on Wednesday. When they arrived to the classroom, Drew's friend Cole announced to the whole hallway, "Look, Drew's got two daddies!" Everyone looked right at John, who was quick to announce, "No, this is Drew's uncle... my brother!"

Today was a great day, I picked Drew up at Preschool and his teacher said he was dry all day! Well, almost, I think distraction with play dough may have overcome his focused potty brain because as I picked him up and gave him a hug I noticed the wetness! It wasn't a lot though! Then we went home and played outside, just the two of us for over an hour. Drew loved getting swung in the air and making roads together in his sandbox. Drew even said, "mommy, your fun to play with!" Awe! Kitty and I played a little soccer which wore us both out! Later, Drew told me he had to go potty and I was nursing Gabe so I told him to go in by himself. A few minutes later, his naked body came running in the room and proudly yelled " I Did It Mommy!." Yes, he went both on the potty all by himself. We are all so proud! Kitty and I went to the pond yesterday, just the two of us. The kids were in bed and John was studying. I walked all the way around the pond throwing her toy in every ...

Easter 2005 (Drew) Easter 2008 (Gabe) Easter 2005 (Drew) Easter 2008 (Gabe)

Drew went to visit his TiTi and Tio on Friday so Mommy and Gabe were able to get in some quality bonding time and a lot of sleep! Part of our bonding time was having a mid afternoon photo shoot. The weather has been beautiful and once the Spring flowers were planted we were bored. Gabe loves to smile, especially at his mommy! Enjoy the pictures our our growing little 4 month old.

(Wearing Big Boy Underwear!) Drew stayed dry all day! He even managed to stay dry through his 3 hour nap and asked to go potty twice yesterday, normall I have to remind him. We are so excited to see progress, I was worried he would be 5 and still in diapers! He has found a fascination with his penis, John assures me it is normal. He likes to sing to it, play with in, and talk all about it. Today, Drew said, "mommy, my p**** is really big!" Oh my! My response, " why yes Drew, I think your right," spoken as I ran out of the bathroom. Where is John when you need him? We all went to Southlake this afternoon to enjoy the warm 70 degree weather! Drew loved playing in the fountain and eating. We went to Central Market after that to eat dinner. Drew loved playing in the castle and Gabe ate and slept the whole time. The boys and I went to the Plant Shed today and bought petunias for the from flower beds. This weekend I will be planting! Here comes Spring!

Oops forgot to mention Drew's big news! He is officially potty training! Yes, the diapers ran out and mommy didn't buy anymore. Drew was very content to stay in diapers, but with the bribe of a Little Einstein episode he couldn't resist. Now, when he goes on the potty he gets to watch a 20 minute episode (soon it will be staying dry all day). Drew is learning about asking to go potty and not holding it until the last minute! He can stay dry all day... assuming we stay home. He hasn't mastered holding it in public yet. Today we all went to McDonald's for a fun breakfast and while Drew was playing he forgot he wasn't wearing a diaper and, well you guessed it! Pee ran all down his leg at the McDonald's play area! Lets just say with potty training also came the awareness of what was between his legs. So, today while excited about going potty, he said to Nana "Nana I'm happy, my p**** is happy too!" The joys of raising a little boy!

Well our little man has turned 4 months old today. Gabe has turned into a very easy and relaxed baby - he sleeps when he can and is content to look around at the world when awake. Often he wakes from naps and I hear him giggling to himself. For the past week Gabe has been sleeping through the night without any 11:00 feedings. I put him to bed around 8:00 and he wakes around 8:00 the next morning! What a blessing! Here are the boys 4 month comparisons: is it the picture or does Gabe look huge next to Drew? Anyhow, Gabe is as spitty as Drew! At least Gabe doesn't have the acid part of the reflux. Gabe loves to smile and coo at us. he is content to watch his big brother play. Gabe still loves to eat but is at the fun age where distractions (like a brother or daddy) often catch his attention when eating. Tonight, Gabe was nursing, then stopped, looked me in the eyes and gave me a huge grin, then went back to eating. So sweet! Gabe loves to be sung to, but won't let me rock him to...

"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world." John Milton "Ingratitude is an eye disease every bit as much as a heart disease. It sees only flaws, scars, scarcity.” Mark Buchanan 241. My servant of a husband who did the laundry today 242. The joy of serving others with kind words 243. My husbands heart to help those in need 244. True worship of our King with hundreds of voices lifted in song praising “Hosanna, you are the God who Saves us, worthy of all our praises… Broken lives are made new…. When we see you we find strength to face the day… Come have your way among us… we welcome you here Lord Jesus!” 245. The best gift: a housecleaner for a Saturday! 246. The joy of having the entire house clean at the same time! 247. Gabe’s sweet pretentious giggles and smiles when I lay him down to sleep 248. Awesome teaching at Bible Study…. The old testament c...

I am refreshed! Last week was so stressful. John wasn't home a lot and I was super busy with work. A few nights I was up until 1:00 am working and didn't have much downtime. So, for a special 10 th anniversary (celebrating the day we met 3/12/98) John gave me money to hire a house cleaner. What tops that is John has been working odd jobs during his lunch hours for the past few months, he saved a decent amount of money and gave it to me in hopes that it would be enough to pay for a cleaner all year - every 3rd Saturday! Isn't John amazing and perfect! The cleaners came on Saturday, two of them, and for 3.5 hours cleaned every square inch of the house. John and I had fun trying to find spots they missed, we only found a few. They also cleaned out my fridge, oven and microwave, changed the sheets on all my beds - talk about above and beyond! Saturday I had a day off since I didn't have to clean my messy house so we took the kids to Watagua's 50 th anniversary par...

Yes, Drew is becoming a big boy. On Monday I started potty training with him. Through much trial and error I think we may have found a nice working plan! Each time Drew goes on the potty, he is rewarded with a little Einstein episode! On Monday he had two BM's on the toilet and 1 pee pee. Tuesday he chose to go back to diapers. Today he wore underwear again and went pee pee twice this afternoon. Drew tries so hard to go on the potty that he can't relax enough to go. It takes about 4 hours of him in underwear before he has to go bad enough that it just comes out. I think he may have crossed a hurdle today, he stayed dry from 2:00-bedtime with no accidents and the last time he asked to go! Gabe was constipated all day and was a little fussy. He was doing so well and on a great schedule, but the past two days he has really been off... so has mommy! Oh, one last little tidbit. I was so tired of tripping over toys so Drew and I boxed all the toys up! Before you think I've gone ...

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. ~Melody Beattie 225. The “Jesus Storybook Bible” which makes learning about God so simple and fun 226. Songs of joy and love about our Savior, big truths for little hearts! 227. A sweet & practical gift from my husband – office 2007! 228. Grocery shopping for a family in need, what a pleasure to server “the least of these…” 229. Husband, stable and generous, always serving, never giving up 230. Rocking sleepy newborn to slumber 231. Tiny thumb to suckle and pacify 232. Drew’s little legs peddling away to the pond with Kitty running behind 233. Obedient little boy who stops at every crossing to wait for lagging mommy 234. Gentle hugs and kisses and prayers before bed 235. Running feet to get away from fire ants 236. Silence: to bring back the peace ...

Expelled, The Movie Do you believe in Darwinism? Are you going to watch this hightly controversal movie by Ben Stein? I challenge you to watch the trailer, it was very interesting. I hadn't heard of it until today and now I am eager to watch the movie. I wonder if Francis Collins, lead scientist on the human Genome project, is in the movie? We have heard quite a bit about Francis Collins from our pastor Bob Roberts, I also heard Francis Collins speak on NPR not long ago. Wow! In light of science shifting more and more towards our DNA being created by a higher being, I am eager to watch Expelled. I am eager to teach my children all about creation and science, I 100% believe that as Christians we must seek out answers to our questions. They normally make us more in awe of our Creator! Wouldn’t Everyone Want to Be Healed? Incase you want a good read, our pastor Bob Roberts wrote the following regarding Francis Collins: Tuesday, I spoke at a conference called Faith Forward at the Cryst...

"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer 201. Sweet arms to hold crying newborn 202. Lovely meals from generous friends 203. A mid-afternoon nap 204. Getting both boys asleep at the same time 205. The process of learning this new life God has blessed us with 206. A beautiful thanksgiving that celebrated new life and the faithfulness of our Lord 207. A quiet home with soft music that captures my thoughts and focuses my mind of thankfulness 208. A song of blessing over our home 209. My husband blessing me with clean, folded, and put away laundry 210. Christmas shopping for sandbox toys for our 3 year old 211. A generous gift of blessing from my company 212. A family Christmas with loved ones 213. Friends blessing our table on Christmas 214. The mental healthiness of my father which allowed him to visit his second grandson and celebrate Christmas 215. Our ...

It snowed today - March 6 th ; isn't that crazy? I have to go out and measure, I think we have about 3 inches already. Earlier, we took Drew and out in the snow thinking the snow would melt really quick this afternoon. I put Gabe in his snow suit and out we went for pictures. John put Gabe in a box with bubble wrap as a joke.... here he is 3 1/2 hours later, snoozing away. Forget the expensive crib and central heating-- all Gabe needed was a cold garage, bubble wrap and a comfy box!

Over the last year we have worked hard to teach Drew to about obedience, his definition of obedience is obeying: "all the way, right away, and with a joyful heart." If you ask him how to obey he will say "joyful heart mommy!" He also knows that he gets in trouble when he doesn't obey, depending on the situation he gets a spanking if it is direct defiance, or has a "reflection" time in the pantry for everything else. So, that being said, here are a few funny moments from yesterday. 1. Drew was doing something naughty (I can't remember what) and I told him it he did it again he would get a spanking for disobeying mommy. To which he replied " mommy, no spanking, I like time out, can't I have time out?" I am not sure why he called it time out because we just call it going to the pantry? Last night as I was reading to Drew from his Jesus story Bible, Drew showed me just how much he is comprehending now that he is 3 years old. 2. We were re...

I just had to share with you about my Saturday. Every February is shot time in the William's household, it is when I get out all the pet records and update their files. This year I received an e-mail from our HOA stating that all cats and dogs needed a license in order to be legal, they also had to be current on their rabies vaccine. Most years I give my cats their own injections that I buy from the local feed store. I hate taking the animals to the vet because I always leave spending an insane amount of money. This year I bought the animal's their 6 way shots for 8.95 and administered them myself - see all that money on horses paid off somewhere. A vet charges around 100.00 and up for a vaccine visit! I tried to find the rabies vaccine but it is a law that only a vet can administer it. So, in an attempt to save us some money I found that the City of Fort Worth was administering licenses and rabies vaccines for 4.00 at a local Fort Worth park this past Saturday. They also offe...