The Williams Six

I walked into this conversation a few days ago: Caleb: Chloe, it's not about you. Chloe: Yes, it is. Caleb: No. It's about Jesus, not you. Chloe: No. It's about Chloe. Caleb: NO! IT'S ABOUT JESUS, NOT YOU! Chloe: Um, no. It's about Chloe. We may have to work on that, but one thing I know for sure is my girl loves to pray. Brett was laying on the couch sick last week. She woke up and came downstairs. Once she found out he's sick, she prayed for Jesus to heal him. Without Brett asking. Dear Jesus, thank you for placing these little people with big faith in my home!

My older, charming brother celebrates his 33rd birthday today!! Yay! Happy Birthday, Matt! You are the best! I am so thankful you are in my life. Even though you spent the better part of my childhood torturing me, I am happy to be your little sister! Thanks for being so awesome!! Love you lots! Happy birthday!!!

About once every three months, I start to cry when I think about my kids moving out one day. It will be here before I know it, and that makes me so sad. I just love the craziness that a house full of kids brings, and even on the hardest days, I would not trade it for anything. True confession: I was actually thinking about how I will react the first time one of my children spends a holiday elsewhere. (In case you're wondering, I concluded I will hold it together well on the phone and even say I am happy if they're happy....but, when I hang up the phone, I will bawl my little eyes out.) I love being mom. I love being a mom of little kids, who are so innocent, so sweet, and uninhibited. I know the day will come too soon when they grow up. And I will miss.... - Chloe sitting on my lap every morning while eating her breakfast - Caleb asking each morning for "a bagel, milk, and Smile of a Child" (on TV) - then declaring "you're the best mom ever" when he...

We spent Thanksgiving in the Florida Keys with my family (my parents, sisters, and nephew). It was so refreshing, relaxing, and fun. The Keys may be one of my most favorite spots. It has the feel of a small fishing community but with plenty to do. We stayed at a beautiful resort that had fun, heated pools. The kids had a blast! We went to Robbie's Marina to feed tarpon. The pelicans swooped in for a treat when they could. My little sister LOVED feeding the fish!! This is the second most photographed thing in the Keys (located at The Rain Barrel): Caleb loves pirates and requested this picture: We also went to Theater by the Sea, and Chloe is still talking about the dolphin show we saw! We ate delicious food. The best place was called Morado Bay. It was an outdoor restaurant on the beach. With beautiful weather, this place was a blast! We actually ate Thanksgiving dinner there...non-traditional at all (I had crab cakes!) but delicious !! They put glow sticks in the drinks. I am exp...

My princess, Chloe, picked her shirt out to match me on this day. Melt. My. Heart.

I spent way too much time designing my Christmas card this year (there are so many cute designs that I could not decide which to use), but I am happy with the result. I had a great gift certificate for awesome cards from Shutterfly , so I wanted to take advantage of the cuteness!! My sweet sister helped me tremendously (thanks, May May!!). I love receiving Christmas cards from friends and family! In a world of emails and texting, I love this time of year when our mailbox is full of precious Christmas cards. I know I am spoiling this a bit for those who will receive it, but it is for a good reason! Peppermint Peace Christmas 5x7 folded card Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards . View the entire collection of cards.

I actually wrote this before I left town last week, but I forgot to post it! So, this week, you are getting two for one on Family First Friday! Woo hoo ! Brett and I have been married close to six years. While that is not very long, I can honestly say I have enjoyed every moment of my life with him (and look forward to many more years). I am also proud to say that in a society where marriages fail far too often, I have many friends who are in healthy, satisfying, joy-filled marriages. As I have mentioned, I read a lot of books about marriage. So I cannot remember where I heard this from, but there are two interesting things that have stuck with me: 1. Couples who refuse to have divorce as an option (or back-up plan) tend to stay true to their commitment. 2. Couples tend to have the same amount of conflict in a given day, but it is the reaction to the conflict that is vastly different. My first encouragement to you today is to NEVER EVER EVER entertain divorce. Refuse to see it as a via...

I am not sure about you, but there have been many times I have been quite embarrassed at the actions of my children.... Chloe often likes to give a very loud play-by-play in the restroom.... Caleb once asked why our cashier had so many red bumps on her face (acne).... An infant's fart is strangely loud.... There are many other moments: walking out of a store crying because of the tantrum your child just had for all to see....or looking at the very messy floor after leaving a restaurant...or telling your child for the 49th time not to kick the seat in front of them on the airplane...or realizing you have no change of clothes for the child who wet them.... Face it: there is very little dignity in parenting (but, fortunately, lots of blog fodder!!). It used to frustrate me when my kids were not acting the way I thought they should or needed to in a certain situation. Then a friend said something that completely changed my perspective: "Our children come into the world with no kno...

My heart is full. I anticipated moving to be really difficult. Though I miss my friends in Kansas SO MUCH, I am so thankful at the faithfulness of God in making the transition much smoother than I anticipated. He has given me great friends very quickly! I can navigate the city fairly well. Twice, recently, I have been given compliments on my children that more than blessed me. I pour my heart and soul into them, so when someone is kind about them, it makes my day!! There are so many days I blow it as a mom. And there are days when my kids are less than stellar. Yet, I am so thankful that the good days far outweigh the bad (and thankful for children who are so forgiving and sweet. I am also thankful to a merciful God who says, "Love covers a multitude of sin.") The last few months we had in KC were hard. Not to be overly spiritual, but I really felt the enemy blasting us. We actually were told that the greatest spiritual warfare comes when you're about to make a ...

Brett left last Thursday to go to Peru for a missions trip. He is ministering at a conference there! I have not talked to him, but he emailed me a few stories. I can't wait to hear more about the amazing power of God in Lima!! I do not prefer to stay home when Brett is gone, so I took the kids on an overnight trip to Ft. Meyers to visit my friend, Erin. She is a wonderful hostess, and we had such a fun time! Erin has an incredible testimony of her and her future husband, Matt. They actually were just boyfriend and girlfriend when I left....and are now engaged!!! I am so excited for them. Just thinking about their love and the faithfulness of God made me smile even hours after I had left. Here we are having a picnic with Erin, Matt, his kids, my kids, and me (not everyone is pictured): Even though it was a short trip, I had so much fun!! My hot water went out on Thursday and is not getting repaired until tomorrow, so I was thankful to have a warm bath to bathe my kids!! I have brav...

Happy Halloween about two weeks late!! This is our first warm-weather Halloween, and it was quite confusing to my kids. We went trick or treating and did not freeze! Caleb and Chloe leisurely strolled from house to house....and only took one piece of candy per house (when did it become customary to grab handfuls?). They had a really fun time! Luke dressed, in theory, as a shark. But he HATED the costume, so on the actual day, he wore a basketball outfit. Much more his style! Chloe went as "Minnie Princess Mouse". Everything in her life includes princess! Caleb went as a pirate and has been wearing this costume every day since! Proof Luke was not a fan of the shark: This was a wee bit better: Early in the day, in our festive orange: Trick or treating with our close friends: Our family: Chloe and her BFF, Isabel (also known as Princess Peach and Princess Peach. Yes, they share the same nickname...one they gave themselves! Sometimes Chloe introduces herself as Princess Peach.) ...

Ever since I received a digital camera in 2005, I have been using Shutterfly for all of my photo needs. Not only do they offer competitive pricing, but I love that I have lifelong storage of my photographs (a nice back-up plan in case my computer crashes). Some sites only store photos for a short time, so I am so thankful for a site that does not delete my photos. I have been really surprised at the number of times I have gone to past albums to print a picture from 3 to 5 years ago. The main reason I started using Shutterfly is because of its high quality. I am always pleased with their products, from prints to calendars to photo books. I have honestly never been disappointed, which is why I am so excited to see their line of Christmas (and other holiday) cards this year! If you know me, I love Christmas cards so much! I love receiving other people's, and I enjoy capturing photos for my family's. There are so many options to choose from. My personal favorite are stationary card...

My brother, Matt, enjoyed my last post about my random idiosyncrasies (and it delighted my soul that he reads my blog...Hi, Matt!), so I thought I'd entertain the blogosphere with round 2 of weird things about me. - When I read a book, I always look to see who the author dedicated the book to. - When a bride enters her wedding ceremony, I love to look at the groom's face. That is the best moment of the entire wedding, in my opinion. - I clean quite often, but I rarely dust. I hate to dust. - I like to chew ice. Side note: this is one of my mom's biggest pet peeves. - I think exclamation points were invented just for me!! I love them and overuse them!! Side note: my high school English teacher told us to rarely, if ever, use exclamation points!! She was one of my favorite teachers, but I don't follow that advice. - When I am pregnant and get sick in a public restroom, I always am worried people will think I struggle with anorexia (since I am not showing at that tim...

Happy Friday, blog friends! I am really enjoying dedicating each Friday to marriage and parenting. These are my passions in life, and there is so much to be said on each topic. I prayerfully consider what God wants me to focus on each week. I have been so encouraged by those who give feedback about Family First Friday's! Thank you so much! I am so excited to see so many of my friends and family investing into their families. Way to go!! As I was thinking about what I wanted to write this week, I thought back to when I first became a mom. To make a long story short, when Caleb was first born, I struggled immensely with "mommy guilt". I compared myself to other moms and found myself always falling short. I felt like I did nothing right, and I was going to ruin my child with my incompetence. I don't know what it is about pregnancy that makes everyone want to give you advice on children, but through all of my acquired information (from people and from reading d...