December wrap up....

I can't believe I let December pass without a single post until yesterday....so here are all the thoughts I had for posting this month...just never took the time to post them...

Tree Decorating!

We normally do this the weekend after Thanksgiving...but instead took a school day to decorate this year...

A Day off from Winter...

We were invited to the Grand Opening of a new indoor water park at the Wilderness Lodge in Sevierville. They needed kids for the photo op, and well, everyone else was in school....so who got invited? Our homeschooling group! It was a fun morning for the kids, and for Mike who went down some really fun slides....

That same night....

I was crazy enough to host our Homeschool Mom's Night out, which is our annual Cookie Exchange...This was planned before the water park and was really a lot of fun. About 13 of us were there...Smaller than usual, but fun and intimate. We also exchange ornaments, and I got two black carolers, which I really love. My friend Sheila told me to name the girl Takina (is that right, Sheila?) because she (or Sarah...my memory is failing...) had a dream that she wanted to be called that name...and the boy she wanted me to name Caleb, after my Caleb because she had bought the girls ornaments last year, and wanted him to have one this year.

This....

is just a picture I love...Bekah is a Daddy's girl in very way....

Jesus celebrated Hanukkah...

Our church had a Hanukkah celebration on the 21st, the first night of Hanukkah. We learned about the celebration, and that Jesus celebrated it too. The girls and I got to take part by Hebrew Dancing. The little girls did the first dance with us, and I got to do two other dances...both of which are my favorite! It was a special night. Smallworld
made latkes and applesauce...very yummy!
My girls...

Halle and Elisa in their dancing dresses

Here we all are...very colorful and ready to dance...

Finally...

some pictures under the tree...

and getting our annual "kiss Caleb under the tree" pose

Our First Gingerbread House...

A little Christmas tour ....

I love decorating for Christmas, and this was our first one in our new home...here are a few of my favorite things...

Our tree...I love that the ornaments each have a story...one that someone made...someone gave us...our first Christmas ornaments...I love our tree! and my mom made the awesome tree skirt...which you can't really see...but it is really cute...

Our stockings...not traditional red and green, I know...another gift from my mom who is amazing at sewing. About four years ago, I wanted us all to have matching stockings, so I gave her our biggest one (we love stuffing them), and we went shopping. I decided to have the tops of the stockings be each of our favorite colors...Elisa was only one..so I took the liberty to choose hers...I was wrong! Mom also embroiders, so she put our names on them...not traditional, like I said...but very special to me...oh! and I like the greenery on the mantle...

Our nativity...again...a gift from my mom. It is called Fontanini, and I love the figures and the fact you can buy more than a village full of people and animals to go along with it. On the left side of the stable we have four "village people" who we picked out because their names are: Caleb, Rebekah, and Elisabeth...the other one's name is Gabriel. We actually bought him before we had kids, and it held a special meaning to me as I brought him out this year. Ironically, that was what we had named our baby who I miscarried earlier this year. Each person comes with a story of how they might have lived in Bethlehem....and they are beautiful....

I have this big picture in my entryway, which doesn't scream Christmas, and I knew I wanted this little tree on the table, so I wrapped it...the little tree has ornaments that are part of an advent calendar I did with the kids this year...each day of Advent had a little book that was an ornament and told a little bit of the Christmas story...we also put our Adorenament ornaments on it, which each have a different name for Jesus

And Christmas Eve...

We, and by that I mean, me, like to dress up for Christmas Eve service...I mean where else are my girls going to where their Christmas dresses..? Here are our Christmas Eve pictures....

Year End Review First Sentence Meme...

I was going, really going to catch up on December before wrapping up the year, but Smallworld posted this and it was too fun not to do right now...

As the year winds down, it's always fun to go back and scan the year in blog posts. Today I'll be playing the "First Sentence" meme. Tomorrow, I'll be doing the "Favorite Posts" post. Join me if you want! Here's how…How to Play. 1) Look back to your archives for 2008.2) Collect the first sentence you wrote every month for the whole year. (This doesn't have to be the literal first day of the month--just the first post.)3) Entertain us on your blog, link back here, and post a comment here with the link to your blog. (And if you're blogless, just remember the first sentence you spoke every month for the whole year and post it here.)

And so...here are mine....

January: Last night I was supposed to be online searching for "activities for the letter N" to get ready for my Monday fun class, when my fingers made it over to another web site that led me to the exciting news of my NKOTB.

February (not my finest month of the year) : Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…

March: .....wasn't posting.....

April: Home again, home again, jiggety jig...that is what my mom always says after coming home from vacation.

May: After seven months of wondering if we would ever sell our house....We did!

June: Tonight is the last night we will spend together at our first house. We don't move until Tuesday, but the kids are all spending the night at friends tomorrow so we can do both closings and moving on Tuesday, and they can play.

July: I found this tag on Suzanne's blog, who got it from Tina's blog...so, anyway, thought I would play along...

August: I'm thinking if I never see a can of pink paint again, it will be to soon. (ok, I just made that up...obviously I was a little too lazy to blog in August...)

September: Summer is officially over around here,well, except for all this heat....we started school four weeks ago, which I can't believe.

October: I have been so busy trying to move my blog over from homeschool blogger, that I haven't had time..or at least taken the time to write anything new....here are some of my rambles...

November: Happy election day! I just got back from voting with Mike, the first time we got to go together. And it's our anniversary..how romantic.

December: Please pray for Stellan, this precious little two month old boy who is already a miracle to his parents. (I can't believe this is my only December post....better get crackin...or posting...)

OK...so that was my stroll down memory lane....what about you? It's your turn!!

Prayers for Stellan

Please pray for Stellan, this precious little two month old boy who is already a miracle to his parents. He has a severe case of RSV and is very, very sick. After having been through this myself, my heart is heavy for this family.
This little guy has already proven the doctors that miracles can happen by being born healthy after having heart failure in the womb. You can read more about him and his family here....

Christmas Music...

Oh, how I love Christmas music. When I was little we would listen to The Osmonds Christmas (no laughing) It was all the kids favorite in my house. We changed "It Never Snows in LA" to "It Never Snows in FLA" after we moved to Florida. We would have parts for "Pinecones and Hollyberries/ It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas."

Other albums we would listen to were : Nat King Cole Christmas, Johnny Mathis, and I think Ray Coniff, though I know need to call mom on that one...

As I got older, Amy Grant's" Tennesee Christmas" became a Christmas must, as all her Christmas albums are for me. As are Michael W. Smith's and Steven Curtis Chapman's. In the late 90's my favorite was "Emmanuel", a compilation album with many Christian artists, and then "Child of the Promise," my very favorite the last seven years. It is also a compilation album that tells the story of Christ from the prophets to the birth of Christ, including Herod and the wise men.

And then this year, my friend, Sam, gave me Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb." It is another compilation cd, but it begins with Moses and the passover, and endswith the birth of Christ. Normally, I don't break out my Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving, but Sam had asked me to learn and sing a song from the cd (Labor of Love) with him at church.

And so, for a few weeks now, the kids and I have been listening to this cd, which really could be a for anytime of the year. My kids favorite is called "Matthew Begats," where he sings of Christ's lineage from Abraham....it is quite catchy, though I don't know if I will ever memorize it. One of my favorites is the song about Moses where he sings "Lord let your judgement passover us, Lord let your love hover near, don't let your sweet mercy pass over us let your blood cover over us here."

This has become my "new" favorite Christmas cd, that is really not a Christmas cd...so, what about you? Do you love or hate Christmas music? And if you love it, what is your favorite?

The Sound of Music

When I was a little girl, every year around Thanksgiving or Christmas, The Sound of Music would be on t.v. This year The Incredibles, and The Polar Express were on, and while I like both of those movies, I really wanted to sit and watch The Sound of Music with my kids...

The ridiculous thing was, the moment Julie Andrews was shown on the mountain top singing, I burst into tears...and did so with every song...

I have such fond memories of singing these songs with my mom and my sisters. Mom would get out her records that were soundtracks to musicals all the time , and we would dance and sing. This is the music I was brought up on.

It was really neat to share that with my girls. Caleb was downstairs playing the Wii with his cousin...Elisa told him, "you have to see it, it has such good songs."

We only made it to the intermission last night, so tonight as we turned it on Caleb asked, "Can we start it at the beginning?" Yeah for me! And for Mike, since he is at the Tennessee-Kentucky football game.

Homeschool Memoirs #15: A Thankful Heart

This week's Homeschool Memoirs calls for 27 things we're thankful (U.S. Thanksgiving being on the 27th this year).
So, here is my list...

1. My husband of 13 years, Mike, who makes me laugh and who loves me...
2. Caleb, who teaches me more than I teach him
3. Bekah, who always makes me giggle
4. Elisa, who always is there to cuddle or give me a hug
5. Jesus, who loves me no matter how much I mess up
6. Forgiveness....
7. My new house. What an answer to prayer that we had to wait, and wait to sell, but ended up in this house...
8. My parents, sisters, and brothers, even though we don't always see eye to eye...
9. My friends...I have an abundance of friends, in many different aspects of my life....they are my family, sisters when I feel abandoned by my "real" ones.
10. Danielle, who has been my friend for 10 years...and closest to me at heart, though we live thousands of miles apart...
11. My in-laws, who are very good to us.
12. Singing....it always makes me happy
13. Dancing...I don't know which I love better, singing or dancing, and I am so thankful I have been given the gift to do both....
14. Mike's job...we were very blessed last year when he got this job. Not only does he enjoy it more, the doors closed this summer at his old job.
15. Living in Tennessee...I can't believe it has been 7 1/2 years, but I can't imagine living any place else....
16. Staying home with my kids....I can't imagine a day without them...
17. Laughter...though mine may be very loud, I do love to laugh...at people and with them!
18. Our health...it has been a rough year for us...but we are all healthy...
19. Games...
20. Living on a cul-de-sac and watching my kids ride their bikes in the road...
21. My church, and our ministers...
22. Those two people, who come and spend every Sunday with us...and who better not leave us....
23. My job...though I may not always want to leave to get there...it is too much fun coaching gymnastics...
24. Coffee, which I never enjoyed until I started homeschooling, but now is so comforting in the morning.
25. Whipped cream...because it helps my sugar cravings...
26. My computer...oh, I do love checking my email and reading blogs...
27. My life...here I am with a husband, 3 kids...living in Tn...life is good...

The Birthday Party....

A week after my little girl turned 5, we got to have her birthday party. There were two reasons for this : 1. Her daddy had to work on her birthday, so we couldn't have it then, and 2. whew! glad it worked out that way since she had critters in her hair on her birthday, and we would have had to cancel it.

I did move it over to my church, in case people were a little weird about being in our clean, but recently bugged house. She chose a garden party, and it was one of our most successful parties to date....very fun....here are some pictures....

The birthday girl...

Elisa and her best friend, Halle

Elisa's cupcake cake....I was really excited about doing this....my friend Cyndi let me use some of her decorating "supplies" and cupcake stand....

Two sisters and their flower pots and tissue paper flowers....

Homeschool Memoirs #14

This week's Homeschool Memoirs is "to post the category that best describes each of your family members and write something about why you nominated them in that category." So here goes…

Hardest Worker

Mike has a crazy schedule. He works for Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a Nuclear Reactor Operator. Some days he works 7 a.m.-7 p.m., some days it is 7 p.m.-7 a.m....some weeks it is three days right into three nights...They call that "hell week," which is what he is finishing up this week. I don't know how he is able to switch his body's clock around so much. He works hard for our family so I get to be at home and enjoy our kids....even on hell week.

Most Imaginative

Caleb has the biggest imagination. He has many imaginary friends who not only have names, but some have football stats. He came up with a club called the "Imagines," with different levels for different ages. He thinks up new games, makes some awesome lego creations, and is always creating something out of paper, string, glue, boxes...etc....I always learn something new from him...

Best Giggler

Bekah can't keep a straight face. Even when being punished, she looks at you with a grin. She giggles through everything. And has the best laugh. We all have to laugh when she does because it is so honest. Bekah can (almost) always put a smile on my face.

Best I can get away with much because I am so cute

Oh, yes. This little girl...She is about the cutest little bit in the world. With those big eyes (we have no idea where they came from) and big dimples, she melts your heart. And tries to get away with much because of it. While I am not always fooled by such antics (!) Mike and I do have to turn around and laugh when she has done something wrong because even when she is crying...well, she is too darn cute.

Best Bunny

I can't include family awards without including Little Joe. He is Caleb's faithful friend, having been in his life since he was a month old. Little Joe goes just about everywhere with Caleb. And I have come to love him so much too.

Quietest

Ahhhh, I love the goldfish! They never yell at me...they are so polite when I feed them, they never complain. And, they never fight. What good little pets.

Three beautiful things...

OK, I wasn't going to post another blog today, because I wanted to make sure everyone saw my precious girl on her birthday...so if you missed that one go to it next :)

But, Smallworld had to go and post her three beautiful things, causing me to think, and then want to post my own....here they are...

1. My Elisa's birthday and the look on her face with each gift...she got an extra gift because one of her gifts was this sweet bunny we got at Build A Bear...but with the whole lice thing, she can't have any animals, and I didn't want to give her that from C and B and then say, "sorry, that's all you got, now she goes away for a few weeks." So, she got a little extra!

2. Caleb making a banner and taping it to one of his chairs so she would have a special "birthday seat" where she could open her presents...he is very creative and wrote "yah! you're 5! Happy Birthday!"

3.Hearing Bekah in the bathroom say,"I Love you, E" and Elisa saying it back....they are dear, dear sisters....especially since Elisa got the Pet Shop Bekah has "always wanted"...Bekah said "oh, you will share with big sister, right?"

Baby girl....

Look who I was blessed with five years ago today!!!

Elisa was our surprise baby. Not because we didn't want three, we just wanted a third a year or two later...Caleb was 3 1/2 and Bekah was 1 1/2 when she was born.

To say that first year was hectic, stressful, sleep deprived, would be an understatement. But, look what I got in return!! This little girl brightens my life, and all those she meets. She is precious.

I have actually dreaded today for awhile because she is, well 5 now...and my youngest...but this morning I heard her little feet running to my room and I couldn't wait to see her and wish her a happy birthday. I said "is that my 5 year old?" And her face lit up. She melts my heart.

The first thing she wanted to do was work on....school. It's Saturday, but she says it is her birthday and she pulled out he Explode the Code 1 book, and went to work...she is also very funny..and loves to learn....

Festivities won't be too grand today, what with the lice and all...but we will enjoy her as a family...play games, read books, watch movies...whatever she wants to do...we did pick out funfetti brownies for dessert....

I love this little girl, and I am so happy to have had these 5 years with her,even if they flew by....and I can't wait for the next 5, and the next....

Happy Birthday, Baby girl!!! (She did tell me I could still call her that...)

Ewwww....

*update*

just found first bug in Bekah's hair...now going real crazy here.....

So, a few weeks ago, my kids took part in a play for church called "Kids Under Construction." It was so sweet, and so special, and all were very touched at our church. The kids all wore overalls, or overall dresses, in my girls case, and I braided the girls hair in Laura Ingalls braids. Elisa complained from the beginning that her hair was too tight and that it itched.



And itch she did. Through the whole play. She would do her hand motions with one hand, and itch with the other. Everyone said how cute she was, but it bothered me that, after all the practices she was up there scratching...she was cute, though, scratches and all...anyway, I turned to my friend , Tamara, who was sitting next to me and I said "you probably think she has lice....she doesn't"

Guess where this is going?
The scratching continued, and I asked my mom about it. Her advice was that Elisa probably has a dry scalp....

What are we in denial here?
So, tonight Mike helped her wash her hair, making sure it was clean. But, when I brushed it out, it was still dirty...and then when it was dry, I saw it...a bug...a brown bug (lice is white, right?) Nope, not if they have been there LONG ENOUGH...

So tonight I spent 3 hours pulling what had to have been over 70 (ugh) eggs out of my precious girls hair until 12:30 a.m.....tomorrow, more laundry and the bagging up of pillows and stuffed animals....

Ewwww...my head itches....

Glimpses of Fall in Tennessee...

Yah! My computer is working downstairs again...so now I get to post pictures of what has been going on around here this fall.... September is the beginning of our Scout "year"...Here is my Bear and my Tenderfoot...

Here are the Tenderfoot girls helping to decorate our church...

We went to the Oak Ridge Playhouse to see The Velveteen Rabbit...Caleb had to bring Little Joe, of course!

Bekah learned how to ride a bike without her training wheels...

We finally have a house with trees, so lots of leaves for great pictures in the fall...and for Caleb to have to rake...

Need I say anything? Fun night...great movie...

And, of course Halloween where I had a knight, Pocahontas (historical figure, not Disney Princess, and Cinderella....you know, Disney Princess)

The kids with the awesome trick or treat bags I made that day out of tank tops...very cute...

And...Mike and I as a Catholic School couple....I found my 8th grade uniform that afternoon..and well...instant costume!! Unfortunately, it didn't fit as well as it had 20 years ago....

Homeschool Memoirs #12: Let's Play a Game!

This week at Homeschool Memoirs:

Homeschool Memoirs #12: Let’s Play A Game!Homeschoolers are very resourceful people. They use what they have and use them to their best ability. I know in our home many times people ask us how we use this or that for learning, and we are happy to explain it’s value. I think the main thing that a lot of people miss is that life is learning, and you must use everything in your home for learning otherwise you won’t fully be prepared.


I love to play games. We played games growing up, and I have very fond memories of playing cards and Yahtzee with my Grandma. While we don't play as much as I would like...we do love games in the Williams house....Here are some of our favorites...

Go fish...we play the traditional game, we play with states and their capitals, with colors, shapes, and with Dora the Explorer...

Memory...same thing....we do this with whatever kind of card we have to match...

Great States, Jr....This one is a great way to explore and learn about the country...

Battleship...Caleb and I love this game. I love strategy games, and he does too...and has smoked me a few times at it...but the girls enjoy this too...

We also have pizza games for fractions, games with making shapes into a picture....and, of course, the High School Musical games, which you know, teach, ummm memory skills when learning songs and dance moves....

Yahtzee is a favorite around here too, though we haven't moved past the Disney game...I will have to get out five dice and teach them the real way to play....

And, of course, we love Candyland, and Chutes and Ladders, Sorry, and Disney princess...

Thirteen years...

Thirteen years ago today, I married my best friend. Today we celebrated by going to vote together, and then a trip to Cades Cove with Mike's mom and her husband, who have been visiting all week, and finally our annual trip to the Melting Pot (alone) for dinner....

I am stuffed, and ate a lot of that sugar I said I gave up a year ago, and now await the election results.

But, all that aside, I have to say, I love you, my Mikie. I am so thankful to have you in my life. You make me laugh, you are a great dad and a wonderful husband, and I enjoy being with you and being married to you....

Happy Anniversary!!!

Aren't we cute?!!

Election Day....

Happy election day! I just got back from voting with Mike, the first time we got to go together. And it's our anniversary..how romantic.

Now, I am not real political, but I do believe people should exercise their right to vote...even if they don't agree with how the votes are counted. I was in line behind my friend, Alina, who became a citizen last year. This was her first time to vote. What a privilege we have in this country.

So...If you haven't already...get out and VOTE!!!

Something beautiful this morning

Not that I didn't have enough guilt that the other morning one of my three beautiful things wasn't about Caleb...
That morning we had butted heads over a missing vocabulary book and a messy room. So, that was not one of my beautiful things that day....

And then Sam has to come along and make a comment that I left Caleb out....one day you will understand Sammy... anyway....

This morning...my beautiful thing...
Sitting up at the bar eating breakfast with my little man, who asked, "Can I sit next to you today, Mommy?"

Three beautiful things...

Smallworld asked...so I will answer...
What is beautiful in my life?

-My little Bekah girl reading anything and everything now. She reads my emails as I type them, signs, books...I am so proud of her.

-My Elisa, who is four, but will be five in three short weeks. She is my baby....but today came out in a dress that I have had for two years (it's a size 3 and had yet to fit her) Not only did it fit, with a matching hat...we had a fun time outside taking pictures for her birthday invitations...that is, until she got a little cold without tights on...

-My afghan from my mom. She made this a few years ago when she and my dad were out of town for almost six months so they could take care of his aunt. She picked out colors to match my living room, but I love it on top of my comforter on a cold night to help keep me warm.

What is beautiful in your life today?

Homeschool Memoirs #10: 10 timely facts...

I am very late in doing this this week, mainly because.... I have had a cold and I haven't felt like blogging, and because all I have done lately is blow my nose and couldn't find anything interesting about myself. But, as I sit here on this rainy day and have nothing to do...well don't feel like it anyway...I have made list of some interesting things...here goes..

1. I love to dance...I dance anywhere and everywhere I can and one day hope to learn how to "Riverdance"
2. I love Sushi, and could probably eat it every day.
3. I also love gymnastics, and when I was 13, I got to do an exhibition with Peter Vidmar, who was a member of the 1984 Olympic gold medal men's gymnastics team.
4. I wanted to be a nurse all my life... Until my senior year of high school, when my mom talked me out of it saying the profession wasn't what it used to be. (she was a nurse) Instead, surprisingly enough, I studied communications, and wanted to be a sports broadcaster.
5. I really want to deliver a baby some day, and can't get enough of baby shows.
6. I am very loud...Mike makes fun of my laugh and says the neighbors at the end of the street can hear me...
7. I have a crush on Zac Efron from High School Musical. Mike knows this and makes fun of me. Bekah once put one of her baseball cards of him on my night stand...I'm thinking this has gone too far...
8. I love crafty things. In the past, I have loved scrapbooking and stamping. Right now, it is vinyl lettering, which you rub onto your walls and makes such a great way to decorate.
9. I love to sleep in...and I turn on the Disney channel before I go to be, so when my kids wake up, they have their electronic babysitter until I am ready to roll out of bed...you don't have to tell me what a great mom I am...I already know!
10. I gave up sugar a year ago after I kept seeing it grow and grow in my stomach...I am a little too obsessed with how my jeans fit...

So..there you have it...a little bit more about me...

The big night...

The kids and I have been waiting for this since last August...since we saw High School Musical 2....

Today it has arrived, High School Musical 3 in the theater!

Now, I feel like, well, crap, and I have done very little this week with school, no energy for finding out 10 interesting things to blog about me, and we skipped a field trip today, but we will head out tonight for our family date to see High School Musical...