He's working

A couple weeks ago now our women's ministry had a decluttering/organizing class.  We had about 15 ladies that came to get some new tips on organization and to hang out and snack and chat with each other.  I had been looking forward to it, like I do with all our meetings, but this one I was particularly excited about because I love to clean and organize.  Yes, it's true, I find it relaxing and it is a major stress reliever for me.  I was anticipating all these great new ideas and ways to implement them into my home and life.  Well, I got those things, but I also got a whole lot more! Our guest speaker shared a message with us before she got into her tips and tricks of the trade.  She shared a message that she felt the Lord wanted her to share with us, and I'm telling you, she was spot on!! I sat there thinking, "this is for me, if for nobody else, its definitely for me!"  She shared the story of the talents.  She also shared part of her personal testimony.  It was a beautifully heartbreaking story that I could 100% relate to.  She shared about always feeling as if she had nothing to give, nothing that was of value that she was gifted with.  I have felt this so many times in my life.  I have felt the sting of jealousy at others' accomplishments, the wishing that I had the gift or talent that someone else possessed, but of course had not been bestowed with.  My best friend can pretty much do anything- She is organized, a wonderful mom, so gifted in talents with music ( guitar, piano, beautiful singing voice) an amazing artist, she loves to bake and is good at it ( people pay her to make cake pops and other goodies.) Basically, she is one of those people who can "do it all" and still be such a genuinely happy, joyful person who is always pleasant to be around.

 I have many, many friends who I could say many of the same things about.  As I shared in my last blog ( before this ladies meeting!)  I don't feel that I am particularly talented in much of anything.  As I sat and listened to her speaking straight to my heart, I felt the Lord's gentle nudging.  He has not given me gifts or talents to be buried hidden away, He has given them to me for a purpose and He has equipped me with everything I need to excel in those areas.  I have to just trust. Just trust, whew! Why is that so hard?  What are we afraid of?  We put way way way too much stock in what other people think of us.  I know we've heard that our whole lives, but we really do.. It's time to stop comparing and wishing, and just be what God created you to be and to be joyful in that!  I loved what she said toward the end of her message- "When our passions and gifts intersect with kingdom purpose, we have found our true calling."  Beautiful!!! I have been praying since that night for the Lord to show me what that looks like in my life and my family's life.  I want to foster that in my children! What an amazing gift to give your child!  I love Jesus and how He always works things out and shows us His purpose!  What are your gifts and talents?  Are you letting Jesus use those to have an abundant life in Him? Or are you burying yours for safe keeping?  Let the Lord use you and I promise- you will never look back!

Where do you find inspiration?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Great Homeschool Convention.  I had been looking forward to it for months ( I was looking forward to the conference, but also, really, really, looking forward to spending time without all my kiddos- I did have Atticus with me- and spending time with my best friend and her sweet baby girl, let's be real!)  I knew I was going to go and sit in a few sessions and get to look at all kinds of curriculum ( there were almost 1800 booths!!)  But what I didn't totally expect was how challenging and how inspired these speakers and families would leave me feeling.  I am the type of person who needs to be inspired by outside sources.  I'm not naturally creative or talented at much of anything.  I have to work to be good at things.  I read A LOT! I've always been motivated/inspired by literature and storytelling.  This is my favorite!  To Kill a Mockingbird
 I find myself doing lots of research about varying topics that I have an interest in learning to do better.  I read quite a few blogs.  Here are some of my faves lately:   http://jonesdesigncompany.com/,  http://paigeknudsen.com/,  http://www.flythroughourwindow.com/ Many of them are from seasoned mothers and saints of the Lord.  I listen to music quite a bit and am usually trying to figure out the harmonies.  I think this fall after Thad graduates, I may take some voice lessons.  I am very emotional about music- I think many people are like this, which is why music is so powerful- but I tend to listen to music that reflects how I'm feeling.  Lately it has been these musicians:

I say all this to basically just say: Be inspired! Its an amazing thing to talk with other people about life and to just be real and to learn so much from being vulnerable and open about your experiences and what you've learned.  I was so incredibly inspired by these families at GHC and how they were bravely making the choice to school their children at home and hearing their struggles and victories.  I am so thankful that the Lord is still working on us and that He has made us relational people that can encourage each other in our daily lives.  What inspires you?

oh boy!! back again!

Shewy folks!! Life is always full speed ahead isnt' it?  I have neglected this 'ol blog for quite awhile now, but lately have been getting the itch to write again.  I have no real "theme" for this post except maybe a "lets chat and catch up on life!"  I looked through some of my old posts and realized that the most recent one was right before or around the time I found out I was pregnant with our #4!  Well, #4 is now almost 9 months old and his name is Atticus Lee Williams. :)

 He is a precious little man who loves his momma ;) He is very attached and its kinda really okay with me! ;) I have a feeling this may be the last of our little family (maybe?) and I have honestly felt that with each child my okayness with their attachment has progressively grown, knowing how truly, incredibly fast they grow up! I look at Jude sometimes and I just can't believe I have an almost 8 year old!! Didn't I just graduate high school?!  Man oh man!
 We have grown in size, but our home hasn't- we are all still packed in 1600 square feet and its.......interesting! But I am so thankful for what the Lord has blessed us with and I have no complaints- in fact when we do sell this house, I know that I 'll be very sentimental! I brought all my kids home here and they spent most of their early childhood here.
Thad is about 4 months from graduation- Praise Jesus!!!!! I am soooooo ready for him to be finished!!! He is such a good man who works so hard for his family and I appreciate him so much!
Thad and I are both still involved in ministry at our church (Youth pastors and I'm the Ladies president)
I haven't been helping with youth lately bc of the little man, but we have had an influx of teen girls attending lately so I think its about time for me to head back in.  We have an awesome teen youth worker, Mike, but Thad says he needs a lady helping also.  Atticus probably wont be thrilled, but hopefully mommy Martha (a wonderful dear friend of mine that loves my babies) will be willing to help me out with the little guy.
Jude and Elsie are on Spring Break this week and Im loving it!!! Woohoo!!! Jude is actually in Missouri with Thad's parents and Elsie and the two little boys are at home with me.  We have about a month left of school (if I work it out right) and then SUMMER BREAK!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am for summer break!! Elsie is finishing up 1st grade and Jude is finishing up 2nd grade.  I have been doing a basic preschool with Thatcher this year and he has done so well! He knows his shapes, some colors, and all his letters and letter sounds.  We have also started speech therapy with Thatcher this year to help him along with catching up his speech.  He is progressing so well in only a few months- Im so proud of him!  Little Atticus is growing so quickly! He is crawling all over and getting into everything.  I held off on solids with him, so that is still a work in progress for us and he isn't the best sleeper out of all the kids.  He is still up every two and a half to three hours throughout the night!  I think another benefit of having more than one child is the fact that its gets so much easier to tell yourself that "this too shall pass," because you know from experience that even if, in the moment, it seems so hard and you're so sleep deprived, that it won't last forever (which is exactly what it feels like at 3 a.m.!!).
Well, I am going to end here for now. This post took me all day- I started it at around 10:30 when I laid Atticus down for his nap and I'm just now finishing up at almost 9!! We had a good day though, lots of outside play and the kids had a friend over for the day so I had just a few opportunities to sit down and write! I hope you all had a great day and were able to get out and enjoy the weather!

Busy Season

Busy season has started!! We are busy with getting everything caught up in school in time for Christmas break, decorating, winter-proofing, celebrating birthdays, and thinking of some gift ideas ( yes, I do realize that there is less than two weeks until Christmas, but.....this is how we roll EVERY year!) We also have lots of church events to attend and other things to look forward to, I love this time of year! I hope that you are having a wonderful time getting ready for this Christmas season too and taking time to remember why we celebrate! I will be back ( hopefully tomorrow) to show some of the ways we are keeping our focus this year, and more of what we have been up to! 

( we are all honestly feeling a little bit of this though too!! ;) )

Fall Lovin'

We are loving this fall weather- its so beautiful out and has been for the past couple weeks- we are gonna have a 60 degree Thanksgiving!!  The kids have still been outside playing a lot and tracking all kinds of leaves and dirt in the house. Fun.  But I wouldn't have it any other way! I love that my kids love playing outside, do you? I have to admit though, that there are times where it is beautiful out and the kids don't want to go out and I threaten them that Im gonna kick them out and lock the door ;) No, but I do sometimes make my kids go out and get in the fresh air even if they don't feel like it.  Its good for them and great for my sanity :) Here are some of my favorite pictures of the kids on the fall.

This one of Jude is probably one of my favorites of him of all time! I love it!

Love these kiddos- hope you enjoy your week and the weather is beautiful where you are! 

Have a great weekend!

This is a picture from the first day of school- they are so happy! We are feeling that way today too because its the weekend!!!  Next week we only have two days of school and then thanksgiving break!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy your rest and your family!

living literally

I read lots of blogs.  Usually I read blog's of other stay-at-home-moms, of course, because I can relate.  I love finding new ones and reading through their archives and "getting to know them."  This one has really encouraged me this past week, as far as being deliberate with being a mother and living the term stay at home mom literally.  We often, especially as moms, and as women in general feel an overwhelming pressure to be able to "do it all."  And I am really really being proactive about shunning that pressure to be supermom.  There really is no reality in being great at everything- we can try, but something will always be lacking, something always gets the leftover energy and time.  I want to do these few things, these things that have come to define me, as well as i possibly can.  I want be the best woman of God I can be, that takes my time and energy and God's grace, but its something I have committed to doing, and its not just for my benefit, but I notice when I really take the time to spend with the Lord, my whole day is better, my patience is greater, my love given more freely.  I want to please God.  Next, I want to be the best wife I can be.  Sometimes with everything else going on, this is the relationship that takes a back burner a lot ( especially when you have small children that take a lot of your attention.)  After our covenant with the Lord, this is the most important covenant we have, the one with our spouse.  If things are going on in your marriage, that effects everyone else in the family- your kids will notice.  Work hard to protect your marriage! Make time for your marriage! Time doesn't just present itself in this day and age- you have to make it and make it work for you and your spouse- it is vital to the family!  Next, I want to be the best mom I can be.  I LOVE being a mom- does that mean Im perfect at it? Absolutely not! I have small children, so I am still learning everyday.  One thing that I have done, and I really enjoy doing is talking to other moms- gleaning advice and encouragement has helped me so much.  Asking for advice and help is somethings we should never be ashamed to do- we all fail sometimes, we all are clueless about things, or just need that extra little encouraging here or there.  Soak in the wisdom that so many people are willing to share if you only ask!  If there is one thing I hear from parents of grown children, it is that us women and mothers ( parents in general)need to shrug off that burden of having to be amazing at multitasking- especially with our kids- enjoy them, and enjoy that precious time that goes way too fast!!  No more supermom syndrome!!  Enjoy your days and see what a blessing your life is!!