A Time For Every Season....

What a relaxed Christmas Season we had this year, I avoided Pinterest like  the plague! The season was a quiet affair, much like it probably was when baby Jesus was born. John and I had a great time one evening  making our 6 batches of Almond Roca with his stirring contraption and soft Christmas music in the background. All our neighbors loved our kids special deliveries and the Fedex man just glowed from ear to ear when we gave him not one but two bags so he could share with his wife. We love our fedex man - even the dog has stopped barking at him!  Then the following evening we made two batches of Aunt Ethel's sugar cookies for the kids in John's class to decorate. John has a following now at school that make seasonal requests for "his" sugar cookies! Our kids received 4 gifts from us this year: Something they wanted, something to wear, something to read and something they need. I had heard of this over the last few years as a way of slowing down gift giving and...

Christmas 2012               Blessings from the Williams! Life around our house is quite busy, the kids are growing too fast, we’ve entered the phase where all my kids think about is eating and I can’t keep enough Applesauce and Yogurt in the house. This past year has been full of laughter, work, family and joy. In just a few months its hard to believe John and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary – how did the time go by so fast? John – He continues to teach Grades 6 – 8 Special Education for Fort Worth ISD. He actually just had one of his 10 students test out of his class – I told John is because of his excellent and fun teaching methods! He had a full year keeping up with our three rambunctious kids, supporting mommy as “substitute” teacher and even managed another trip to Vietnam this past summer. John enjoyed serving and teaching at the Special Education conference in Hanoi and then spe...

Gabe turned 5 big ones last week! He was a mere 3 weeks early for his birth - now he is turning 5! My mind can not comprehend.... Gabe is out of the awkwardly hard two and three phase and  is in that blissful stage where he says exactly what is on his mind, there doesn't seems to be a filter. Which is why he informed me the other day that, “I would love to live at Mrs Kelly's house when you die." Seriously, I can't believe he said that, though I think Drew said a very similar thing to me when he was around 5. Lesson - Mrs Kelly is cool and they finally realize how cool of a sitter she is when they are 5, they then realize how boring mom is too. Note to self - learn how to fish and take kids to Crispy Cream more.... Out favorite Gabe phrase is "Noooo problem!" He is so obedient most of the time, always wanting to please and be the center of our joy. Gabe is a lover of life and that just blesses this momma's heart - he makes me smile incessantly...

Christmas Shopping not done (not even a list made), cards not mailed or written, calendars not made - spending time today with sweet friends .... priceless! The advent lesson tonight was very priceless too - the story was of Moses and the ten commandments. Drew asked what adultery was and I said it was when two married people go to bed with someone they were not married to. He ask so seriously with hand motions and all "but what if the beds are really far apart... like this far. Is that still Adultery?" John deferred the question to me!

We'll I've discovered what the kids did while I was in the PNW - so far I've watched them make "tools" out of LEGO's which was very cute, then Gabe said that he wanted to take it on the show "Cool Tools." Then yesterday at breakfast Drew informed me that we can safely drink rattle snake blood - what? He replied, yes, I learned it on that "prep-per" show daddy likes. So the kids watched Cools Tools and Doomsday Preppars - really??? Good thing I'm not traveling again for quite a while!

Psalm 95:1-6 "O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker."  2012 was a blessed year; we thank the Lord for another year together with our children and extended family. We had many visitors and lots of fun!    1. Drew was thankful for his school, church and family, he especially enjoyed visits from Papa Tractor and his Papa from Seattle. He enjoyed time with his Sister the beginning of the year while Gabe was at Preschool. Then in the Fall he started ACA and was not home quite so much. That was a hard transition f...

More Lego creations! Gabe finished his little kick's soccer class this Fall Abby - tired after a play date at Grandma Johnnies Brothers: on the Fort Worth train touring the Trinity River Abby learning how to defend herself.... or showing me her new shoes that a friend gave us? Our milk company went out of business this past September, so I found a new farm in Bridgeport. The kids know more than enough about where our milk comes from, we happened upon milking time one evening and stayed an hour watching the process. The kids now want farms and cows and cute little goats! They need to hurry up, Bridgeport is a long way to drive! Fun run time - Drew ran like a crazy man, he now gets out energy by running a mile and a half everyday (2x around the block). That kid is crazy fast and has endurance - I'm sure God has great things planned for all that energy! Fun at Homestead Farms in October with cousins and Nana! Aren't the "kids" so...