The Williams Six

The home we are currently renting is three bedrooms. Caleb and Luke share a room. Luke is still at the age where he wakes up easily, so it is hard for them to nap together. For awhile, Caleb has been napping in our room. He only naps 1-2 times a week; the rest of the days he plays or reads in our bed. Lately, though, I have been feeling bad for displacing Caleb. So I have been letting the boys nap together. Luke does not nap that well, anyway, so it has been working out pretty good. On days where one (or both) of them is really tired, I will separate them to ensure a nap. Caleb is so cute. He has to stay in his room until 4:00. Even when he does not nap, he really enjoys the down time. (And, of course, so do I.) He loves people, but he also likes to have time alone. Anyway, I taught him how to sort of tell time. I let him know he could come out when there is a "4" on the left side of the clock. Every single day, he comes out and says, "It turned four on th...

There are so many cute, fun, hilarious, silly things my kids do that I will miss as they grow older. If I were to list them all, it would take days. Having little kids seems so much easier than teenagers (though I am not scared of the teen years), and I would be totally content to have my little crew stay little forever, if only that were possible. But, today, I will share things I will not miss: 1. All the wiping. Wiping counters, wiping floors, wiping butts, wiping noses, wiping toilets, wiping tables....does the wiping ever stop? 2. Sippy cups. Though, I love that these cups contain liquids quite well, I feel like sippy cups are my nemesis . I find them under beds, furniture, car seats....usually nice and moldy. Yet, because of their ability to contain liquids, they remain a part of our home. 3. The high chair. Bulky, hard to clean, and an eye sore....but very helpful for the time being. Hmmm....that's about all I can think of. I am sure more will come to me late...

Me: "Hey kids, when this cartoon is over, turn off the TV." Chloe: "It's a long one. It's never going to be done." Caleb struggles with being a know-it-all. He will often say, "I know everything," to which I reply, "You know a lot of things, but only God knows everything." Earlier, during this same conversation, he said (with the previously mentioned attitude), "I know a million things." I said, "There are a trillion things you don't know, but you will learn more." He said, "Well, I know you're cute." Maybe he does know everything. (ha, ha)

Tonight, I went upstairs and noticed Chloe's light on. She, however, was not in her room (my kids had gone to bed about an hour before). I went into Caleb's room, and he and Chloe were playing in his bed (Luke was sleeping). When I asked what she was thinking, she replied, "Caleb said I could come in." Oh, ok. Apparently, the four year old is in charge now.

If you've read my blog for any length of time, I am shameless in my adoration of my children. Tonight, as I worked out with Brett (even though I was exhausted and did not want to), I was thinking of all that has changed since having kids....that is not so positive. 1. I used to prefer salty treats; now I like sweets! Before kids, I could barely eat a cookie. Now I have to stop myself at 3 (or 4). (Except now that I am trying to lose weight, I do not eat them.) 2. My hair used to be straight as a board....until I got pregnant with Chloe. Now it is curly. Not like ringlets, more like waves, but definitely curly. Thank you, Jesus, for the invention of the flat iron. On the same note, my hair does not hold highlights very well. I have no clue why, but the color just does not stay as well. It's almost as if my hair does not want to be blonde, but my mind knows that I was meant to have blonde hair. 3. I actually used to like working out. 4. I used to be a thrill see...

Recently, I was praying for a friend who is having a frustrating time at mealtime with her young child. As I was praying, God reminded me of a speaker I heard a few years ago at a MOPS Convention. This man talked about creating a list of family values. Unfortunately, I cannot remember his name, but the information has stuck with me. Basically, the premise of his talk was the he worked with men/women who could effectively run Fortune 500 companies but were unable to manage their own families. Obviously, these CEO's are very gifted, yet they struggled at home. This man created a way to maintain a thriving home environment. His model is more detailed than this, but this was my takeaway (I will do my best to explain what he so eloquently taught): As a couple, you and your spouse brainstorm 5-6 very specific values you want to instill in your children. The way to figure these out is to think of the "hills you're willing to die on", so to speak....what values really...

Going back through my posts, I realized I had a few blogs I wrote but never published. One is when I was wavering between adopting or birthing our fourth child. One thing is for sure: our family is not complete. I cannot explain that other than I just know. For awhile there, I was strongly contemplating adopting, but for now, I am leaning more towards birthing the last child. In fact, I am most certain, God willing, that is what our plans are. We are trying to decide when to try to have a baby. And by "try", I mean get pregnant. I have many weaknesses, but fertility is not one of them. In case you can't tell. Our kids are fairly close, so one part of me wants to get pregnant in about 9-10 months....and be done. Forever!! But another part of me wonders if I should take a longer break. See, I have this really weird feeling (that is probably not going to happen) that I will have twins. For one, Brett has always wanted five kids, and I only want four. Things jus...