The Williams Six

I just got back from a date with Brett (which was much needed and wonderful). I am headed to bed in a few minutes because I've been staying up way too late this week! I just watched a wonderful webinar by Amy McCready of Positive Parenting Solutions. If you are struggling in your parenting or just want some good encouragement, I would recommend her online courses . I have not taken the courses yet, but her short webinar was amazing!!! I am so excited to learn more! If you order in the next 24 hours and use the code Scramble10, you get 10% off. Also, if you order in the next 24 hours, you get a free upgrade to a lifetime membership. Order the 12 month membership and pay for that, then they'll upgrade you for free! Yay! I am too tired to offer anything more this week, but I will come back strong next week....hopefully :).

Sometimes, when we have a far drive home (from an activity/event/trip) during naptime, I tell my kids that if they sleep on the way home, they don't have to nap at home. Caleb rarely sleeps during his "nap" (rest time) when we're home, but he will do ANYTHING to avoid a nap! I know he is too old to need a nap, but I really like the downtime to refresh in the afternoon!! Plus, Luke LOVES waking up from his nap and playing (from his crib) with Caleb. Caleb told me today, "I make Luke laugh a lot after he sleeps." Trying so hard to sleep in the car.....

Chloe (playing pretend): I'm a doctor. Caleb: No, you're a nurse. So, I guess we need to work on gender stereotyping around here :).

Because why wouldn't you put stickers on the bottom of your feet? She was a bit annoyed that they didn't match, but she had used the rest of the stickers to decorate her door and bathtub. Which will be a fun clean up.

Chloe received a leotard (unitard?) in her Easter basket and insisted on wearing it to church! In true Chloe fashion, she accessorized it quite well. (I actually am impressed at her ability to coordinate outfits). Fortunately for me, we have a small house church, so this is a perfectly acceptable outfit.

Today, as I was waking up, I was praying and asked God to renew my joy in mothering. I love being a mom, and I adore my kids (in case you haven't noticed)....but I feel like I've been in bit of a rut. It has gotten really hot here, and I don't love the hot heat (ironic, I know!). Plus, we've been busy, so I haven't been sleeping a lot. Nothing is wrong, but I have just been in a rut. So today, I just prayed for God to give me joy! At the store today, I was waiting in line to check out. A Jewish man came up to me, looked at Luke, and said "He is going to be a wealthy man! Look how cute he is; he's going to be wealthy." Then he looked at me and said, "Never lose your joy in being a mom. It's the greatest thing you'll ever do." He then looked at Chloe and said, "She is a queen. A true beauty queen." He shared about his upbringing with me, and throughout the conversation he spoke of joy many times: "Always be a j...

Chloe (Actually, she named herself Collie when she's pretending to be a dog): Pretend doggies aren't allowed on the couch. Me: No. Doggies can be on the couch. Chloe: Just pretend. Me: Ok. Collie, get off the couch. Chloe/Collie: No, I won't get off. Me: So you made up a rule just so you could break it? Chloe/Collie: Yes. You can join me now in praying for her teenage years. From kids upstairs who are supposed to be in bed: Caleb: Chloe has stickers all over her body. Me: Chloe, do you really? Chloe: Yes and they're on my face too! This girl is seriously hilarious. I never stop laughing when I am around her! Except when she peed on my hand the other day. I stopped laughing then. :)

Run, don't walk.....and buy this book . It came recommended to me, and I am only a few chapters in....but I am loving it!! I love focusing on marriage, and this book is awesome!

Can I just share two things that annoy me? (This is random, but I was thinking about it earlier) 1. When women refer to their husbands as one of their children. Could anything be more disrespectful and rude? 2. When women refer to men as boys. At least use the word "guys". Boys are under 18. Adult males are men. Ok. I'm done.

It's never too early to start chores....

Playing "Lifeguards" Chillaxin' in the cart

One of our students from Avila (in KC) came to Florida to visit!! Christa's cousin got married in Miami, so we got to spend the morning with her!!!

Luke is definitely a snuggler. He loves to cuddle and is super affectionate. I absolutely love that about him. When anyone picks him up, he immediately rests his head on their shoulder. Which wins over everyone :). He is just so adorable. Last week, Luke was a little sick. Not too bad, but he had trouble sleeping. One night, I was watching TV when he needed some extra snuggles. I loved every moment of it!! There is nothing cuter than a sleeping baby!!

While my parents are in the Keys for a few days, my little sister is staying with us. Wanting to have a little holiday fun, I told her the Easter Bunny might be confused. I said the Bunny would know there's an extra girl in the house, but he might think I had a new baby....and bring her bottles and blankets. Not wanting to get baby stuff, she wrote this letter. Ok, so maybe I do like to lie a little bit.....its worth it!! Childhood is magical!

Deciding what to do with fictitious characters such as Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy has been a bit of a journey for Brett and me. Before our children were born, we had decided not to play into them. In our reasoning, we wanted to be truthful and honest. Though these characters are fun, it involves quite a bit of dishonesty. Furthermore, we didn't want them to confuse fictitious characters with Jesus, who is very real even though we can't see Him. And then our kids were born. Born with wild, wonderful, incredible imaginations. I remembered my childhood and how magical it was to wake up on Christmas Day to a present laden living room. And the excitement of waking up on Easter morning, rolling over, and seeing a super fun, candy filled basket on my nightstand. And the joy of discovering a crisp $20 bill under my pillow the morning after losing a tooth (the "tooth fairy" remembered to go to the ATM but obviously forgot to get change! ha!). The an...

Today, as I was educating my children on appropriate body parts they can touch on other people, Chloe asked me.... "Can I touch a peeper when I am married?" Thank goodness Brett was not home. He would have died. The backstory: we tell our kids not to kiss anyone but their family until their married. Because they're so young, this is easier to say that explain on waiting for someone special, etc etc. I guess innocent, sweet Chloe translated that to her comment today. Never a dull moment.

Blogging is such a wonderful thing! I love keeping in touch with old friends...feeling like I am up to date with their families, even though we rarely get to see each other! I am so thankful for the recorded history of my children's childhoods. I have gleaned so much wisdom from others and have made new friends! The blogosphere helps me feel connected with others, even though I spend most of my time with the five and under crowd. One downfall, however, of blogging is the misconception of people's lives. Blog writers get to tell their stories the way they want. I am just as guilty of this as anyone. I do feel that the life I live behind closed doors is consistent with the life I live in public, but I do not necessarily share everything on my blog. I keep it light and upbeat here. My heart behind keeping the "voice" of this blog positive is multi-faceted: - One day when my kids read my blog, I want them to relive happy, fun memories - I am, by nature, a glass h...

A few years ago, I read a profound article. I cannot remember where I heard this (so forgive me for not giving credit where credit is due), but the point of the article was.... You are your husband's wife, not his mother. Treat him accordingly. To be honest, I would've said that I did not try to mother Brett....but I took note of the article and decided to watch my words/actions the next few days. Oh my goodness, I was not happy with what I saw in myself. Without thinking, I found myself saying things like... "Do you think you should drive that fast?" "Do you really think you should eat that ice cream?" "Is that really the best way to do that?" "Don't stay up too late." Which are all perfectly fine....if he was my child. But he is not my child. He is a grown man, and he does not need to be told what to do, how to act, what to wear, etc. Disclaimer: I am not saying be a doormat and don't voice your opinion on things that mat...

Caleb to me: "Is 'weenie teenie' a bad word?" Me: "No. Why?" Caleb: "I wish it was so I could tell you that Chloe said a bad word."

Chloe dressed herself after her nap today... She added a shirt a few minutes later...

I hesitate to write this post. First of all, it is hard to convey my true heart in the matter. Secondly, if I am off, I will look dumb. But I have three children. So I look dumb a lot. But on the chance God comes through, as He always does, I want to remember this day. As I have made very clear, I want to own a home. A few weeks ago, when I was in the midst of house hunting, I had a significant dream. God actually speaks to me a lot in dreams (maybe its the only time I stop long enough to listen??) Long dream short, at the end, I was sitting in a church called Rio Vista (shout out, Julie!). Someone said, "I have the check for you [for my house], but it isn't here yet." That is when I decided to lay down my dream for a house. I realized that God cares about my home ownership, but the time was not now. Rewind about three years. I was reading a book one night while visiting my parents. Out of the blue, I felt God tell me that He was going to pay off our house mo...

At Brett's parents house... After taking this picture, Chloe said, "Take another picture of me." She was so proud of her stick!

Last night, I looked down and saw this.... My poor ring broke! I have no idea how this happened. I am taking it to the jewelers tomorrow to get fixed. I am so nervous because I have heard horror stories of jewelers stealing diamonds, but it needs to get fixed! Pray for my ring...hahaha!

I am so mad! When we went to Brett's parents for the weekend, I forgot my camera. A lot of his extended family always comes to visit, and I love to get pictures of our kids with all of the people who adore them! I did get this one picture on my phone. These are my kids' Great Grandparents on Brett's mom's side. All four of Brett's grandparents are still married and alive!! None of my grandparents are alive, so I love having his in my life! They send me money on my birthday and give me presents for Christmas....which is so fun for me since I didn't have that growing up (my mom's mom developed Alzheimer's when I was young, my dad's parents died fairly young, and my mom's dad had a lot of great qualities but he was not the grandfatherly type). When we got married, he also had three GREAT grandparents still alive....but two have since passed away! That still leaves his great grandma! His great grandfather refused medical treatment, or else he...

What a cutie!!!

Lately, Caleb has been asking these questions: - What cartoons did Brett and I watch as kids - What toys did we play with as kids - What toys did we get for Christmas when we were kids - What things were we for Halloween when we were kids I love that he thinks about our childhoods. He is such a deep thinker, and it is so cute to hear him ponder aloud the thoughts in his head. Thanks to the wonders of hulu.com, we have introduced Caleb to "Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers", "He-man", "Inspector Gadget", and a few others. What a fun surprise to go to Costco and find boxed sets of some of our favorite childhood cartoons (and what perfect timing!!): He LOVES Duck Tales!

Caleb absolutely loves to receive his cousin, Elias', hand-me-down toys. My sister is smart and buys high quality toys rather than a large quantity of them. When we get a box in the mail from Elias, it is like Christmas times 10 for Caleb. He adores his cousin, so getting his toys is the best! A couple of months ago, the treasure box was filled with PlayMobil stuff. Lots and lots of PlayMobil! Caleb plays with it every single day. Chloe and Luke also enjoy playing with it!! Imagine my excitement when a friend told me about the PlayMobil Fun Park in West Palm Beach. This past weekend, we went to Brett's parents. Since we drive right past it, we decided to check it out. (It was really sunny outside) Oh my gosh, it is AMAZING. The cost to get in is $1 (for as long as you want to stay). There were, at least, 100 (maybe more; I am bad at estimating) different PlayMobil sets to play with. All three of my kids absolutely loved it!! Doesn't Luke look tiny next to Brett...

Tonight, we were driving back home from Brett's parents house in Central Florida. From the backseat, Caleb said, "Look at Chloe; she looks funny." I turned around and saw this: I could not stop laughing!! It looks like she has a wig on, and the faces she made were hilarious!! I often call Chloe a "joy bomb" because she brings so much laughter and joy to those around her!

Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to take Chloe on a mommy-daughter date to see Disney on Ice's "Let's Celebrate" show. The show was in Miami (a 30 minute drive). Chloe and I had a blast on the drive down. We acted out an episode of Dora and talked about girlie things. When we arrived at the venue, I got a wild hair and took advantage of the valet parking. Miami + night time + parking garage = not the best idea for a mom and daughter pair....so the valet parking was both fun and justified! (Side note: when you valet park, you don't have to wait in the super long line in the parking garage...WIN!) We arrived with plenty of time to spare, so we grabbed some cotton candy which came with a Mickey hat. We found our seats and loved the show!! Partway through, there was a Halloween scene that scared Chloe. It had skeletons and spider webs....I have no idea why it was in the show because it was so inappropriate for that age of children (which comprised mos...

My friend, Ashlie , recently shared with me how God gave her an answer for a very specific prayer she prayed about her son (who is absolutely adorable, as is her daughter). I was so encouraged, and it actually reminded me how important it is to pray for our children. We definitely need to pray for our children . The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian is an excellent resource for ideas on specific areas to cover our children in prayer. I've been praying through her book, and it has opened my eyes to start praying for things my children have not yet encountered (peer pressure, relationships, wisdom, etc). Parents play a very important role in the outcome of our children. It is our job to equip them to become productive, contributing citizens to society. And it is our job to spiritually equip them to pursue Christ. But the hard part is that they ultimately decide who and what they'll follow. Praying for them, I believe, drastically increases the odds of them c...