The Williams Six

It is not completely done yet, but here is our new house...... Coming in from the outside (a few different people have commented on how our door opens out, which I had not noticed....I guess most doors open into the house?) Immediately to the left when you walk in the door is the formal living room (with our informal furniture because it fits better) Another view of the room: Continuing into the house is the family room: The dining room is through the formal living room (and attached to the kitchen): Walking through the family room, you walk into the kitchen: The kitchen is a little cluttered because we're having a housewarming party tonight with our church friends....so I have more stuff on the counters than usual. My view when doing the dishes....not bad, huh? The pool outside (Brett is trimming palm trees in the background): (excuse the messy table) The hallway to the kids rooms (which I do not have pictures of yet because they were resting while I took the pictures): Our bedroo...

To say we love having a pool is an understatement! We have swam every day since we moved into our house. We have been so busy that we have been gone during the days a lot, so we've been "night swimming"....swimming after dinner! A few months ago, all of my kids were afraid of water, but now, they're all swimming like pro's! Miss Thing, who did not want her picture taken...LOL...

Chloe is notorious for her sleeping ways. When I check on her before bed, I get a good laugh most nights! A few nights ago, she had snuck into my room, put on leggings and a shirt, and slept with heels next to her. I don't think I got a picture, but it was darling! This I did get a picture of! This Moses basket is designed for infants, but that did not stop my princess from sleeping in it!

Caleb learned to swim without his floaties today!!!!!!! I could tell he was ready to be done with them, but as a cautious kid, he was in no hurry to try! I assured him he could do it, so he gave it a whirl. Sure enough, he can swim all over the pool without them! He said, "I feel so free, and I like it!" We swam twice today (once before dinner, once after dinner) so he could enjoy his new found freedom. Caleb is an all or nothing sort of kid. He does not half-do anything. He walked late(ish), but when he started walking, he could walk across the room. He never took a few steps and stopped. He just got up one day and walked across the room! He is like that with anything....he waits until he is good and ready, but then can do whatever it is flawlessly when he actually does it. I really like that he is confident enough to live life at his own pace. I am so excited for him. Around March, he would not even go in a pool unless I was holding him, and now he is swimming o...

We just got internet on Friday, but I've had family in town since....so I am just now able to update. I have to leave in a few minutes to pick up Brett from the airport (he's been gone 9 days; I am a little antsy for his flight to land!!). I absolutely love my house! I've been working my butt off for three weeks, but we are mostly settled. I will post pictures as soon as I work up the energy to take some :). I actually really enjoy settling into a new home, so while it is tiring, I actually have fun doing it! I don't have much time to post, but I have some stories to share. Most will have to wait until I have a little more time! I'll start with this.... In Kansas, my neighbors were so amazing! We hung out with them a lot and enjoyed when our kids played together, and I've really missed that neighborhood feel (at our rental house, I had one really great neighbor, but I only met two other neighbors, both of which who were not too keen on kids). In looking...

Tomorrow the movers come for all of our furniture. We've moved most everything else to our new house, so once the movers get the big stuff, we will be out of our rental for good. (Can I get an amen?!) Even though I am only moving about 25 miles north, I am feeling a bit sentimental. I truly am so happy to be moving into a house that better fits our family (and that is ours !), and I do not think I will miss our rental house (though it has been a fine home this past year). As we are moving into this next chapter of our lives, I am reflecting back on the past year...our first year living in Florida. In some ways, it has been a difficult year. Brett has battled health issues. I have not slept well and have nightmares regularly (something I've never had). We experienced our first ambulance experience with a child (which, truthfully, is a blessing we made it 5 years without one). Our landlords have, at times, been unkind, which hasn't been a huge deal but it is a feel...

It is no small secret I am excited about my new house!! I am so thankful God has provided us with such a beautiful, wonderful home. As we've been settling in (slowly but surely), I am discovering how this is truly a perfect house for our family. Things I love about the house (in no particular order): - The pool, of course. Sitting on the patio--even in the heat--is glorious. I can't wait to have tons of parties out there! - My kitchen is designed really well. I haven't moved everything in, but it feels bigger than any kitchen I've had. - I finally have a laundry room!! (My current laundry is in the garage, and the washer smells like vomit. It has been a test of my joy! LOL) - The closet in my kids' playroom has a lot of shelves in it. I didn't see that until we moved in, and I am excited there will be some organization in there! - My rental house has a glass front door, and you can see in the living room where we hang out. I have not liked that at all. ...

We are making progress on our house!! After church, Brett took our kids home, and I went to our house to work all afternoon. I vacuumed all of the carpets to prepare for cleaning. The previous owners had a cat. While the house is very clean and doesn't smell at all, we are having the carpets cleaned, just to be on the safe side (we have close friends whose child is allergic to cats). I lined all of the kitchen cabinets then unpacked a few kitchen boxes. Most of our kitchen stuff is still in our rental because we have to eat/drink until we move. I unpacked a few other random boxes, but until our carpets are cleaned, I can't do much. The previous owners left toys (from when their girls were kids....30 years ago) for our kids. The toys are ones Brett and I had as kids, so it is really fun to watch our kids enjoy them! But in just a few hours of being at the house, they completely destroyed the house. It was nice to get that stuff picked up so the movers will have an eas...

This is not a riveting post. Just a moving update. I love my new house. Brett and I spent Thursday and Friday painting. I think I said, "Thank you so much, Jesus, for this house" probably 100 times. The last four days have been a lot of work (and we still have a lot of stuff to do), but I am so thankful for my home. We are done painting. There are two rooms that we are contracting out because they're too difficult for us to do. Those are not done yet, but the rest of the rooms are! I absolutely love the way it all turned out. Once we're settled in, I will take pictures. I took a few, but without furniture, its not that interesting. Brett's parents took our kids for the week, which was a huge help. We got SO much done without them. But, wow, I am tired! Each time we go to the house, we take two carloads of boxes. Since our lease isn't up on our house until the end of the month, we're moving over slowly. We are hiring movers for the furniture,...

God often speaks in themes in my life. Lately, the theme that keeps coming up in my times with Jesus, my daily life, and in a variety of other ways is generosity . The Bible is not silent on this matter. God has called us to be extravagantly generous. Luke 6:37 (The Message)- "Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." All that we have--our life, our breath, our family, our home, our food, everything--is given by God. Yes, you work to earn money. Yet God is still the supplier of that. So it is only natural (though it does not come naturally) for us to give away all that has been given to us. My parents are extremely generous people, and my husband is an extremely generous man. The three of them would give their last dollar away. You would think it comes naturally to me, but it doesn't. God has done a lot of work in me to g...

One year ago, we moved to Florida. Today, God blessed us with an incredible home. I am beyond thankful for this home, and I am so excited for the life we'll have there! After closing in the late morning, Brett and I bought supplies to paint. Today, we taped the entire house to prepare. Brett also took down all of the window treatments. In most rooms, the treatments were unique (but didn't match our stuff), and I did not know where to buy them....so we took them down. All of that took quite awhile. We are going to spend the next few days painting. Brett's parents took our kids for the week, which is an incredible blessing!! We can work much faster with them gone. They're having a blast, of course, and we are going to do as much as we can while they're gone! Next week, our pool fence will be installed, and the movers will come to move our furniture. We are moving our boxes ourselves (taking loads each time we go to the house). Then, we will move in!! YAY!!...

by Sark