A Time For Every Season....

Each Christmas we get out the Adorenaments (I guess they don't sell them anymore because I certainly didn't pay 92.00 for them!)  and the two week leading up to Christmas we learn about the names for Jesus. Then we put the special ornament on the special Jesse tree. The kids had fun reciting them this year! First Gabe: Then Drew:

“Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 It is almost 2012, a new start to a fresh new year. As Anne Shirley would say, " A new (year) without any mistakes."  The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over. I must admit,  I am looking forward to a new schedule and a routine to our daily life again. I love the season of food and fun and chaos, but I can only stay there for so long. I miss routine and (forced) early morning rising with a quite morning spent with the Lord. The Christmas season is so much fun yet so exhausting. There are always things to do and I feel that all those things take away from the season instead of add to them. I must admit - I feel that this Christmas was not what I had envisioned for my family. I deeply desire traditions rooted in Christ and instead I just felt so tired that all t...

Blessings from the Williams! Last year’s letter left you with a picture of our sick children and our oldest, Drew, flying around his room on the rope swing. This year was spent healthy – thank you Lord! Our kids haven’t changed too much this year; they still manage to make giant messes, won’t sit still for pictures and make me giggle all day long. Our year was spent counting our blessings, thanking the Lord for His provisions and praying for grace as we learn to do life together. Not much has changed as I quote last year’s Christmas letter, “Life with littles is a delight; nothing goes as planned, comic relief just happens and life shoves onward as we try and measure the moments, memories, and minutes ….” John – John spent the year of 2011 continuing to use his skills as a Special Education teacher with Fort Worth ISD, in a low-income, intercity school.  He enjoys teaching his children non-traditionally through the medium of shop tools and physical workouts and dramati...

 Don't get me wrong here - I love Christmas in all its purity and wholeness.  I love the Bible and the telling of Jesus sacrifice to come to earth and save us from our sins. I love the pure baby in the manger and the virgin birth. What I despise about Christmas is how to actually keep the joy of Christmas in our home. We celebrate the coming of Christ - Advent - with daily bible readings and fun little skits. We bake cooking and play special Christmas music. But, somewhere in there the stress of extra work, making great memories, entitled children and a never ending to do list makes me dread this season.  I love Christmas morning and the sweet fellowship with friends. I love the break  from routine, having the Daddy home for two weeks and sharing warm cocoa and singing Christmas carols. But, the truth behind the pictures is that my kids, I'm sure no one elses, grow to expect presents and relaxation and fun every minute. My kids will turn a wonderful Christm...

Our sweet little Abby came down with a cold last week, it has lingered and gotten worse in the last three  days which makes me thinks is the dreaded RSV. Last night she was coughing and coughing, finally around 11 am I went in and picked up her sleepy body and took her into a steam bath. It was wonderful, for 30 minutes she lay asleep on my shoulder while the water and steam soother her lungs. Then, I had John get her car seat out and I put her to sleep upright so she could breath. That did the trick, no more coughing! I also have her humidifier with a few drops of Eucalyptus inhalant going in her room. The eucalyptus inhalant is used medicinally to break up mucus and aids as a fever  reducer and fights against bacterial and fungus. Today was Sunday, John took the boys to church and I stayed home to play nurse. Abby slept until 10 am. then we had a girls morning of hair straightening, bow changing and finger nail painting. Abby loved the pampering - so much that she let me ...

School Break is upon us, but I thought I'd post this picture of Abby on Blanket Time. I love blanket time, all three of my kids have learned this wonderful skill. I love the fact that I can put my toddler in one place and (after they are trained) not have anything destroyed or ruined when  I get back. I use this wonderful little trick during the afternoon when I am trying to work with Drew on his math or spelling. It gives me about 30 minutes of breathing time before I move us on the the next activity. One added benefit to this wonderful little lesson is that children, who aren't prone to slowing down (all 3 of mine) will have to creatively figure out how to play. Abby doesn't like to play alone - she has  two brothers why should she need that skill? I've noticed as the months have gone on that her play has become more directed at a specific purpose - like stacking blocks or lining up animals. It is quite fun to watch her play! Normally, she is following her brot...

Today we baked 3 dozen Christmas cookies from scratch, for John to take to his class and decorate. We made icing and brought out the sprinkles, cookie cutters and food coloring. The kids had a blast, I'm exhausted and looking forward to some quiet from the Christmas music and the children who were wired up on sugar all evening! We had a glorious time talking about the kids who would be blessed by our gifts. Each of my kids were given one cookie and the rest are off to bless Daddy's school. The kids were so excited to send them along to kids who probably don't have a home life where they can enjoy cooking and singing and decorating. It was a great afternoon of  serving and baking and praying for the children and staff at John school who will enjoy our laborious cookie baking afternoon. I think the kids faces tell the whole story! I just love these kids!

Photo Courtesy of the wonderful Mrs. Kelly who took the kids to the Science Museum.

So, many places I go I'm known as the coupon queen. I've saved our family a ton of money using coupons and shopping sales. I always thought cheaper is better - at least when it pertained to groceries. I loved getting great deals and shopping for my family with only a 350.00 grocery allowance each month. It was a challenge for me and I loved it. These days, I guess you could say I'm singing a different tune. After looking over our crazy medical budget last January, my son breaking out in hives from an allergic reaction to his Asthma medication, my daughter's incessant vomiting, ear infections and runny nose, I began to question why my kids were so darn sick all the time. The final push that  caused the pendulum to shift was when they talked about my daughter getting tubes for her constant ear infections. Two pediatrician blamed all their problems on the fact that  I had 3 kids, they just passed germs all around, they also said it was their premature births and their im...

Thanks to the encouragement of some ladies at last nights soup exchange, we're staying in our PJ's! I have a ton of laundry to do, one math test to administer, an entire hours to clean, and three kids to "help" me accomplish this. It is going to be a great day of PJ's, cleaning and playing around the house. Then tonight I have some salmon I'm going to grill for dinner with an avocado sauce from my Vita-mix recipe book. Yummy! Today is going to be a great day! I love cold, tea sipping, music dancing, cleaning days!

Drew is suppose to be downstairs reading, instead I see him out the window bashing a small pumpkin into the water trough filled with frozen ice. He has this look of pure glee - thrilled to be destroying something and seeing how water freezes and can take on multiple shapes. He also appears to enjoy eating the frozen ice chunks.  I should direct him  back to reading, but I too an distracted by watching all the crazy things he is coming up with. Like throwing the chipped ice in the air and trying to catch it in his teeth, or collecting the ice chips and conducting an experiment, like how long it will take to grow in the freezer. Drew thinks it will take 1-2 hours to expand. I'm thinking he will be sad that his experiment didn't work. We're distracted today!