A Time For Every Season....

Not to be outdone, Zac took these of the boys while camping this past weekend. Thanks Zac, I can't wait to get them printed and onto my magnetic wall!

We had a wonderful time on our Spring camping trip this past weekend! We Williams' love traditions and camping has certainly become a tradition for our family. I did learn some valuable lessons unique to this camping season : :: Watch where you sit - even awesome photographs aren't worth multiple ant bites on your bottom! :: The van is a much better place for a 17 month old to sleep, tents are overrated! :: Little boys with mud stained faces doesn't mean your a bad parent it actually means your a great parent. I don't think the boys faces were clean the whole 3 days - despite my best efforts, I probably went through a hundred wet wipes! :: Wagons do tip over when piled high with too many children and too much junk - especially when going diagonally up a steep hill. Sorry little boys, you handled the tip so well! :: Always put on the rain fly - even a 20% chance of rain can turn into 100% - especially at 5:00 am. :: Little boys with longer hair, who are camping, are ofte...

Go here to watch the three part Life-Money-Hope seminar that Dave Ramsey gave at Life Church this past weekend. I attended a similar broadcast via telecast through our church this past Thursday, it was an awesome even that inspired us to continue along our debt freeing journey. It even made us look into possible options we could take to getting our lat remaining debt paid off - our home mortgage. Much of what Dave talks about was covered in the telecast from last Thursday. I really appreciated his simple application of the scriptures - get out of debt, give generously, and live on a budget. Three simple yet monumental challenges for Christians to overcome - yet necessary to conquer if you want to become all that God wants you to be. I personally loved the Cheetah & Gazelle video! The very beginning of the telecast Dave Ramsey speaks in a no nonsense way about the economy - where we've been and where we're going. It was an evening of hope and also a reality check! Dave cove...

Here are a few pictures to show what we did all weekend! More pictures on the picture page link.

Well this past week was a total failure - from a type A, perfectionists point of view! I hardly ever get sick, but this past Easter I came down with the flu - it lasted through Wednesday y, then on Friday I woke with a horrible migraine and sinus infection. Drew and Gabe have been taking turns getting sick, I thought Drew was finally well but Drew came home from church with a high fever. Alas - we're all getting it out of our system before our big camping trip this coming Friday - Sunday! Gabe spent the week wishing he wasn't home with sick people. He is at the awkward age where he doesn't really play well with others, but wants desperately to be included. His sweet disposition has altered a little and he is now, lets just say, turning those terrible 2's a little early. At 17 months Gabe has discovered his own opinion and normally it is the opposite of what you have just asked him to do. Gabe has mastered the art of placing himself on the time out mat (in the pantry) a...

After 6 1/2 years of struggling our way through the seemingly endless mounds of Student loans, credit cards, auto loans, medical loans, and that nice mortgage - we had finally reached the top of our mountain called consumer debt. John and I realized the day we married that our battle would be a long and uphill battle - freeing ourselves from the debt of slavery is never an easy process, but was necessary to learn faith and master obediance ! I am so thrilled that we walked together on the journey and have finally overcome the first mountain of consumer debt! We have taken many classes through Crown Financial and listened intently to their radio broadcasts, as well as taken instruction from Dave Ramsey's program - Financial Peace University. God has more to say about how to handle money than any other topic in the bible - God has used people like Dave Ramsey, Larry Burkett , and Howard Dayton to teach Christian and Non Christians how to handle money wisely. God's plan for how we...

After reading this article I decided to try an see how cheap I could get Gymboree clothes using their gymbucks offer plus their 60% off discounts. I received an additional 20% off coupon in the May 2009 "Parents Magazine" edition which sealed my decision to give it a try. If your interested you can get 2 years of Parent's Magazine free here . So, with my free magazine and Free Gymboree article I sat down at the computer to find my deals. I spent exactly 100.00 on 17 items of Gymboree clothing through their online store and received 50.00 in gymbucks . The package arrived within a week and I'm so excited to see Drew wearing pants that actually fit him - Gymboree sells all their pants in slender sizes for those children who can't seem to gain any weight like mine - don't the jeans above look so cute on Drew! I then went to Gymboree yesterday and spent my 50.00 in gymbucks . In total I spent 151.81 on 522.00 worth of clothes, I purchased 30 items and aver...

My sweet husband planned a get-a-way for us this past Thursday & Friday. It was so wonderful to relax, talk, dream, sleep in a King size bed, and get massages together. How perfectly relaxing it was! John received a blessing from some friends which was a gift certificate to a resort on Lake Texoma, it came with a nice room and a wonderful dinner overlooking the lake. We had a great time together, it was a much needed break that we both enjoyed. The best part - massages and relaxing in the Jacuzzi tub! That's for splurging dear, and thanks to my mom for watching the boys! (Note, I posted some video's of the boys on the video page... finally!)

This evening Drew and I spent a lot of time talking about Jesus. We watched a few seconds of footage from a movie so Drew could have a mild image of what our Lord when through on the cross. Drew just kept asking me over and over, "Mommy, why, why did Jesus have to die." So innocent a question, yet so complex an answer. Why did He die? There are so many reasons, yet the most powerful for me is that He willingly died so the debt of sin could be paid. That payment allowed me access to God - the perfect and Holy Creator who longs to have intimacy with all of us. God so longs to have intimacy with us that he sacrificed his own son for me... for us. What more could God possible do for mankind to reveal His love and passion for us? I can't think of anything more loving, anything more permanent , anything more necessary. Thank you Father for Your sacrifice, before the foundation of the world you created a plan to redeem sinful man. Your plan is permanent and stands before all ...

Drew and I were talking about the meaning of Easter and I asked him, "So what happened on the third day?" Drew responded, "It snowed!" Hint: Jesus Washes our sins white as....snow. John asked Drew, "How much do you love me?" Drew replied, "To the light post and back." Hint: When Drew has extra energy we make him run to the light post and back.

When Jesus and his disciples had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, `The Lord needs them.' And he will send them immediately." This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, "Tell the daughter of Zion,Look, your king is coming to you,humble, and mounted on a donkey,and on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David!Blessed is the one ...

Looking for a refreshing twist to your personal time with Jesus? Check out EXAMEN.me , a great way to grow in your relationship with the Lord. It is an online journal/Bible study tool that helps you get real before the Lord. The format is easy to follow, the premise is to interact with God . The three purposes that the EXAMEN.me tool accomplishes are (per their website) : Meditate on scripture with the goal of life obedience. Pray with focus. Journal and keep a record of God's activity in your life. Check it out, its free, easy to use, and will grow your intimacy with the Lord! If your worried about writing online and not getting a copy, I personally love the exporting tool, it will allow you to export your journals into a PDF file and then you can save right to you computer!

The past few days Gabe has been asking to go "Ni Ni" with his "Ba Ba" and "Banky." Today, a few minutes before nap time, Gabe walked into his room, turned on the sound machine and said "Ni Ni?" I gladly responded with a yes and whisked him off to bed. I love this communication thing! Today after I was done watering the plants, Gabe went over and I captured this shot. Notice there isn't any water coming out! Gabe is my little emulator! He loves to copy others, especially his big brother! Gabe is also teething, which has been giving him a runny nose and diaper rash. I hope he gets some teeth soon - he still only has the 4 front teeth in!

This week we all got back in the swing of things. John spent some time working on some jobs for clients and helping me out with the boys. He also finished the model of Jesus' tomb! Then the boys and I went to the store and found some play mobile people who will act out the roles of Jesus, the guards, and Mary. Such fun! The actual traditions taken from Noel Piper 's book Treasuring God in Our Traditions calls for a clay model, but John came up with some bigger ideas! So far Drew is fascinated with the tomb, mainly because its a great accessory when playing race cars! Didn't John do a great job? I had no idea the project would be such a hit with all the boys! Gotta love traditions and teachable moments! We started telling Drew part of the Crucifixion story, he is starting to understand a little. Today while I was telling him the story of Jesus Drew responded, "Don't worry mommy, the tomb is empty, Jesus is Alive!" Such sweet words from my 4 year old. Drew love...