Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Graeson's 8th Birthday

Well, I'm only a year behind on family videos.....but this is actually progress!  Here's a video of Graeson's 8th birthday.....Nerf gun wars and donuts on a string.  Tons of fun!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Maezie Singing

This video is from over a year ago (I'm behind on editing.....as usual) but it's so stinking cute, it just had to be posted!  Enjoy!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Williams Changes

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. "  Ecclesiastes 3:1

The Williams family has some changes ahead!  I (Jill) have accepted a new job at a brand new start-up hospice.  The good news:  this is a fabulous opportunity and will really utilize the experience, skills, and talents I have as a hospice leader.  This hospice will be under the umbrella of Providence Health System, which is a large health care company, and one of the few remaining non-profit systems.  This particular branch already has its own home health, nursing home, assisted living.....and now they want a hospice too.  So they need someone like me to get it started!  The bad news:  it's in Mount Angel, just northeast of Salem.  Since this new location is just under three hours away, daily commuting isn't possible.....so.....that means moving again.  (Click here to recap when we did this same thing two and a half years ago.)

This is a bittersweet decision for us.  Some of you may know, my current job has been two and a half long years of difficulties and frustrations.  I won't go into detail, and I'm sure some of my co-workers might be reading this, but we've prayed A LOT over which decisions to make, and God has opened the door to this new opportunity.  We are sad to be moving, but excited about this job opportunity.  Bryan and I feel it would be best for me to move first, get an apartment, and come home on the weekends.  Then we'll move the rest of the family next spring after school is out.  This will give us/me a chance to get the lay of the land, schools, housing, churches, etc, so we can make decisions gradually instead of in a hurry.  Of course, a temporarily separated family is not ideal, but we feel moving in a mad rush, in the middle of the school year, is even less ideal.

So we have some prayer needs!
  • Tangible needs:  full or queen bed, bunk beds, couch or futon, table and chairs, and miscellaneous kitchen items.
  • Financial needs:  pray that we will be wise stewards as we pay for an apartment as well as gas every weekend, and just the multiple unexpected costs that come with moving.
  • Moving needs:  all the various coordination--both now and in six months--and being frugal with what we actually need vs what we think we need.
  • Safety needs:  we will likely alternate weekends--Jill comes home one weekend, Bryan and kids come to visit the next weekend--and that means traveling over a mountain pass during the winter months.
  • Emotional needs:  Bryan as a single-parent at home with the kids, and Jill by herself away from the family.  We plan to Skype a lot!
  • Adjustment needs:  We just did this whole moving-job-change thing two and a half years ago, and no matter how exciting the occasion, it's still hard to uproot the family and start new again.  We love Bend, and we know we will love our new town too, but change is still hard.
I officially start December 3 but we know from experience it will be a whirlwind over the next month.  We are looking forward to a long-ago-planned vacation over Thanksgiving week, before our lives enter a chaotic six months.  I pray for those military families whose family separations are WAY WORSE than ours.  God bless you for your sacrifice.

"There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work."  1 Corinthians 12:6