Stress Relief?

Me: "Can we do something about that dresser on the front porch? You might be a redneck if...."
Mike: "Sure. I'll take care of it."
Me: "Thanks, babe."

10 minutes later I go outside and find this....



Not exactly what I had in mind...



Are you signaling for help?



I greatly regret not getting a picture of the mile-high flames rising from our front yard. We were a little busy making sure the roaring fire didn't overtake our very dead grass. Was this the best idea?




Ummm....ok. He looked at me with sincerity in his eyes and said..."this is one of the greatest days of my life." Nice.

Christmas Morning 2010

We had such a fun Christmas morning! I'm thankful to live in a safe home and enjoy the freedom to celebrate Christ with my family...

Loved having my Sisters & Mother-in-love with us!!

My cup runs over...

9 Years Old

My first born baby turns 9 years old today! At exactly 7:11 PM she will officially be in her last year of single digits...it's so hard to believe!

Gracie,

You are a beautiful, smart, kind young lady and Daddy & I could not be more proud of you! We knew you were a special treasure the day we found out you were going to be the 3rd member of this little family.

As you grow, I'm praying that you will always keep your tender heart and your compassionate spirit. You are such a blessing and we love you very much! Daddy & I are the most blessed of parents to call you our daughter.

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Eph 1:16-19

We started the celebration by meeting Gracie for lunch at school on Friday to pass out cookies to her classmates & teacher for her birthday! After passing out the cookies, she wanted to go out to the visiting area and eat lunch with just her Dad & I!



Then we checked the girls out after lunch and made way to the movie theatre. The new Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawntreader was out and we thought it might be good to see it in the early afternoon before all the Friday night crowd moved in! We were SO glad we did. We only had to pay matinee prices (and we had a gift card!) and there were only 2 other people in the theatre with us! It was great!



Then we took the girls over to The Sweetest Batch Cupcakery. It was very girlie and pretty pink. The cupcakes were huge and delicious! The girls LOVED it :)



Then we got Jersey Mike's and headed home to just hang out! It was really nice. Gracie said she had a great time and that's what we wanted!

Saturday we deep cleaned the house. Amen.
That evening 3 of our favorite families came over to eat with us. The Abrahams, The Phillips & The Dickisons. And to top it off our good friend (and neighbor) David came by. We were planning to have a bonfire, but the torrential rains did away with that idea so we all settled into the house for a good night of food and fun. I'm so thankful for the friendships the Lord has blessed us with :)

We woke up this morning to SNOW! Gracie found her present on the table and enjoyed ice cream (a tradition we started when Gracie turned 3!) & her leftover cupcakery cupcake for breakfast! A pretty "great" birthday weekend according to Gracie. And that's what it's all about!

A picture of the snow this afternoon. Mike & the girls were out playing in it and at last count we have over 3 inches!!

"Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel"

Here's a video I've put together as an intro to the classic Christmas tune, "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel". Hope you like!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Outside lights...

Inside festivities! It usually involves the first christmas music of the year, hot chocolate and cookies! Lots of laughing and the tricky procedure of tree-top decorating...

Lookin' good team Williams :)

Halloween 2010

Daddy's the artist around here...and Grandma is the seamstress...





Introducing: Autumn the fierce leopard!



And: Gracie the jolly pumpkin!



At the FBC trunk or treat with friends!



Quite the crew...you can see I copped out and wore my uniform ha! And there really are no words for my husband...it's like a nightmare...just sayin'

Homemade Pumpkin Pie - Just Plain Good

Mike is quite the man in the kitchen! He set his mind to making homemade pumpkin pie this year...as in "from scratch". No canned goods allowed. So he gathered supplies & tools and got busy.

In typical Autumn fashion, she went all out and managed to wrangle quite possibly the BIGGEST pumpkin in the patch. You should have seen the look on her bus driver's face as he handed down the orange monster to her daddy :) We asked her if the other kids picked one as big and she simply replied, "Nah. They were scared to ask Mrs. Martin. I'm not scared." Well, looks like it paid off for us...there's a lot of pumpkin pie material in there!



Here's the pie makin' team ready to go...



A little hard work....a big mess...and a lot of fun!

Gotta cut that giant into bakeable pieces...is that a word?

My pride and joy...THE double oven. Full of pumpkin.

Show it who's boss...

Pumpkin mush....

Mix it together with all kinds of delicious...add homemade whipped cream and...

Voila!

We made just the one, but there's enough pumpkin pie puree to feed an army. In the freezer it goes...I feel very Ma Ingalls right now. And that's pretty much my goal in life!

Wish you could sit here and enjoy this masterpiece with us :)

This Man...

This man leaves for Montana in the wee hours of Saturday morning...

Pray for this man as he leads out in worship...

Yes, this man...

This man's about his Father's business...

I'm proud this man is going but I can't wait to kiss his face...

Yummy!

If this doesn't make you thankful you have tastebuds...I don't know what will.....

Mom...look what I can do!!

Autumn showing off her mad reading skillz....and big sister Gracie always there to lend a hand! I'm very proud of both of them!!

EthNYCity

Loving the book we got in the mail from the Wyatt's! Mike has incorporated it into our bedtime/prayer time with the girls. They are so amazed to learn about the many different peoples represented in NYC.

Praying for missionaries in Harlem. And Long Island City!

Because every person and represented people group are loved by Him.

Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples.

1 Chronicles 16:24

5 Years Old

My baby turns 5 today! She started Kindergarten on the 6th...and now Mike & I have officially graduated from parents of pre-schoolers. Honestly, where has the time gone?!?!

Autumn,

You are a beautiful, hilarious little girl. You make us laugh about one hundred times each day! You are fiesty and I'm pretty sure Sass runs through your veins. You are with deep conviction and not afraid to stand up to anyone regarding them. You're quick to forgive and fiercely protective of your sister, daddy & I. You are learning new things each and every day. You love the Lord and are very direct in your prayers. I admire that. Daddy & I could not be more proud of you. You are a special little girl and we are excited to see what plans God has in store for your life.

Dear Baby Girl. Daddy and I continually pray...

That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. Colossians 1:10

We love you very much! Happy Birthday!