tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11391857139200236622024-02-19T06:42:58.021-08:00Adventures in Williams-LandWilliams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-46534078948663202882024-01-01T19:11:00.000-08:002024-01-01T20:04:41.646-08:00Happy New Year 2024<p>Happy Williams New Year 2024! This year five Williamses are in five schools....</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcLiY1Wkj2PDJgorGri2u4LSnXg0zu-QD8PMoxdzPeFZaoWrOCvaIgVgvESl0zULhGwkmS2exIBuQD6sari1_F6qW0igeHwjkMiL3FUsIWV4hvxG_oHKQXabYuj2ADGhpz_iO8rsEWImNwY6KHoO7-dx3oVd9rLQ6zfQ78Eu0cruaMKA-2xkw-FX-Fr-f/s3238/Williams%20Family.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2440" data-original-width="3238" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJcLiY1Wkj2PDJgorGri2u4LSnXg0zu-QD8PMoxdzPeFZaoWrOCvaIgVgvESl0zULhGwkmS2exIBuQD6sari1_F6qW0igeHwjkMiL3FUsIWV4hvxG_oHKQXabYuj2ADGhpz_iO8rsEWImNwY6KHoO7-dx3oVd9rLQ6zfQ78Eu0cruaMKA-2xkw-FX-Fr-f/s320/Williams%20Family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Kaela is 22 years old and studying hard at Pacific Lutheran University. She is majoring in chemistry with a minor in biochem and a minor in computer science. She is well on her way to being a scientist! This summer she worked on campus in the chemistry lab, and for the fall semester she was a chemistry tutor. She also works in the I.T. department at the help desk. She has three more semesters until she finishes her degree! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq_W5gclVihgGlKNhpSTPm8vqE6NMGL4NE5_beXgoNsg8XHPIArWm1ts4jizNBkG_b931sdlCg9qVOxhUIdi_gCl63qRrKZzQMvymDh-pOXc667nkk62z45KLR4SgcTRN5sb7hiL0gH1LpWkFhyphenhyphennQp9NoRMY4ASuSDdsqjH66JVQAChSxb7M5zp9SfMlQ/s3490/Kaela%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3490" data-original-width="2617" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWq_W5gclVihgGlKNhpSTPm8vqE6NMGL4NE5_beXgoNsg8XHPIArWm1ts4jizNBkG_b931sdlCg9qVOxhUIdi_gCl63qRrKZzQMvymDh-pOXc667nkk62z45KLR4SgcTRN5sb7hiL0gH1LpWkFhyphenhyphennQp9NoRMY4ASuSDdsqjH66JVQAChSxb7M5zp9SfMlQ/s320/Kaela%201.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Graeson is 19 years old and graduated from high school this past June. He's now attending Oregon State University and lives in a dorm on campus where he has made many new friends. He is majoring in kinesiology and working toward a coaching degree. He enjoys attending the many sports events on campus and cheering from the student section! His campus job is an intramural referee for football, and soon he will start with basketball.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc3_mjrXfe3pVQm847tPRvDsJbv39hsen4alQDECEnaiCOM01w7obYDMRZ5ZWs2cpFlecEVHjl-XdCTRsvQju9c_P0eZB-98_uDwuR4WA7AEyQT_YjhkOzy_1DxCj0GAItcSmJGAU0CsytSRF5rtTEiHHzgxVgzx8OxnshZNjwC_sWeu9FK5KH10dGuD9/s4032/Graeson%205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEc3_mjrXfe3pVQm847tPRvDsJbv39hsen4alQDECEnaiCOM01w7obYDMRZ5ZWs2cpFlecEVHjl-XdCTRsvQju9c_P0eZB-98_uDwuR4WA7AEyQT_YjhkOzy_1DxCj0GAItcSmJGAU0CsytSRF5rtTEiHHzgxVgzx8OxnshZNjwC_sWeu9FK5KH10dGuD9/s320/Graeson%205.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Maezie is 16 years old and a junior in high school. She is involved in all things theater, with four theater classes and multiple stage productions. She enjoys being in the special dance ensemble for the high school musicals, and she had a primary role in the fall comedy play! When she's not at the theater, she's usually in the dance studio where she's taken classes for many years. And she also volunteers in the church nursery with toddlers.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxtYgs4wTi-up8uUtWJdmBH7l0UZCxj8irKDh66bLLb6Ku0fPpWu7s4X-mQUmLRG_X5NtYqJ092XGe8kuiWUv7UxXfn_TS31pTzY61SiQ9meSYwSq_KQBX350t3sPTAeAL2hdd6PKxVubj5qhGUTK9C_sBU6Ld_CbKP4UdKPyqC6waUd3XvuuVGGRDq2M/s4032/Maezie%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxtYgs4wTi-up8uUtWJdmBH7l0UZCxj8irKDh66bLLb6Ku0fPpWu7s4X-mQUmLRG_X5NtYqJ092XGe8kuiWUv7UxXfn_TS31pTzY61SiQ9meSYwSq_KQBX350t3sPTAeAL2hdd6PKxVubj5qhGUTK9C_sBU6Ld_CbKP4UdKPyqC6waUd3XvuuVGGRDq2M/s320/Maezie%202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><br /><div>Bryan is in his fifth year at North Salem High School working with career focused classes such as culinary and woodworking. He also helps with football, soccer and basketball games, and he's a driver for various field trips. This year he got to attend a conference for Career Technical Education professionals in Arizona! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-Ix9co6B_5x31Z0YoqDau-dCZzSBmFT6Eawcrz0HyUrqbUTjqMnoScaNFNod3k8tugnfoWKarQe-OO5IsT220F5a8VJ1M5XwypVOGTuoHrz4hIsbFH9XZ-fnoZeqRqKOA9AfHu3UDckccYbjOnrdzHE-CVTlNH-1DLVactM8lV30HNXFX6buMJjYRUVz/s556/Bryan%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="424" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-Ix9co6B_5x31Z0YoqDau-dCZzSBmFT6Eawcrz0HyUrqbUTjqMnoScaNFNod3k8tugnfoWKarQe-OO5IsT220F5a8VJ1M5XwypVOGTuoHrz4hIsbFH9XZ-fnoZeqRqKOA9AfHu3UDckccYbjOnrdzHE-CVTlNH-1DLVactM8lV30HNXFX6buMJjYRUVz/s320/Bryan%201.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>As for me, this year I left my job as a hospice nurse manager and entered a whole new career field in higher education at George Fox University. I work with nursing students in a hospital-like simulation lab, running clinical scenarios from the tech room behind the curtain.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6BVq4E1gCO9nhIVV3xUXHxbUYtAfvZFNWTK_AGcZrmo0EFlSllvOVFslxdRILujPlJo55eJOOWBbC6C5ZwyP9v9QUTkFbokyko-RsQnPLz_PZx3EOMv0GKaOI-v2dZXz65CQjq0iBnmXLNqQYkVM25hYW3Anc4O1fywrLzWIHsuk3H1-7DxTSpnKp9_L/s2263/Jill%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2263" data-original-width="1697" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6BVq4E1gCO9nhIVV3xUXHxbUYtAfvZFNWTK_AGcZrmo0EFlSllvOVFslxdRILujPlJo55eJOOWBbC6C5ZwyP9v9QUTkFbokyko-RsQnPLz_PZx3EOMv0GKaOI-v2dZXz65CQjq0iBnmXLNqQYkVM25hYW3Anc4O1fywrLzWIHsuk3H1-7DxTSpnKp9_L/s320/Jill%202.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Mom and Dad continue to keep the house running and the family functioning! With two college kids and one in high school, it's an ever revolving door with who's home and who's gone. We had a family vacation at the beach, playing lots of games and exploring tide pools. We enjoy our family time together whether it's two of us or five of us!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuIcsdg6IyX9JdLUaX34Z6oRVDUELEl-xvcMGGk5OvzickJU1X9yJLAsVsoZsQPD8q-GxrafMVzlpJbXrMA45ZZeu7rFjM76Nqp0uHeS3AShW9ogkNEsQtUYaghNj72gC2CRyrtjfJ3vV4xKYw0ElsWNkuLtFfnL43NNBDrLQHRg1YgdeuefYNekZIHSc/s3648/Williams%20Family%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuIcsdg6IyX9JdLUaX34Z6oRVDUELEl-xvcMGGk5OvzickJU1X9yJLAsVsoZsQPD8q-GxrafMVzlpJbXrMA45ZZeu7rFjM76Nqp0uHeS3AShW9ogkNEsQtUYaghNj72gC2CRyrtjfJ3vV4xKYw0ElsWNkuLtFfnL43NNBDrLQHRg1YgdeuefYNekZIHSc/s320/Williams%20Family%202.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div>Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-88046756037585769862023-01-09T20:10:00.000-08:002023-01-09T20:10:26.858-08:00Merry New Year!<p>We are a little late on the annual 2022 Christmas update, but here it is!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpiN9dEODCvSUrKf7r51OUOZfPbhFrbflsvI71Behf8-22i-ptXXP-Z-rbAjFjbKZz0D5SYAIj3KkSnvwXJoPOXDNrMu-gUdYFJPs4XdxXos2ovuAyjVnFU2nU08oC-tw9F1VvUMvr3PR89tUC8pyGS1n0l8nTLjlM_4SR4LfNEg-eDYlogP3iG-EKQ/s3434/family.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2589" data-original-width="3434" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTpiN9dEODCvSUrKf7r51OUOZfPbhFrbflsvI71Behf8-22i-ptXXP-Z-rbAjFjbKZz0D5SYAIj3KkSnvwXJoPOXDNrMu-gUdYFJPs4XdxXos2ovuAyjVnFU2nU08oC-tw9F1VvUMvr3PR89tUC8pyGS1n0l8nTLjlM_4SR4LfNEg-eDYlogP3iG-EKQ/s320/family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Kaela is 21 years old and in her third year at Pacific Lutheran University. She is now a chemistry major which means adding a fifth year of higher education. She takes classes such as calculus, computer science, and physics - and she loves it! She lives in upper-class housing on campus and has three roommates in an apartment-style dorm. She works on campus at the technology help desk, and she does a lot of studying!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJcp1lEz4uSbSS-gmH6FiEdVuGQMAuV0T58wvFY_VkTJO-PMnbf8S8Y9SdYk78RAmhlRC_SDEvD-fSCKshQpMDZjFgACNt4W17GFTrniVHcXDYvF01okMMfOaAy-q9X13fWyOIgrdgifekBPSLNvEiR2DEnRAmBKEBnZqmF2KjaAc4czLYn9D6g8A_Q/s3470/Kaela%20birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3470" data-original-width="2602" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJcp1lEz4uSbSS-gmH6FiEdVuGQMAuV0T58wvFY_VkTJO-PMnbf8S8Y9SdYk78RAmhlRC_SDEvD-fSCKshQpMDZjFgACNt4W17GFTrniVHcXDYvF01okMMfOaAy-q9X13fWyOIgrdgifekBPSLNvEiR2DEnRAmBKEBnZqmF2KjaAc4czLYn9D6g8A_Q/s320/Kaela%20birthday.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Graeson is 18 years old and a senior in high school. Unfortunately, 2022 has not been his favorite year due to multiple medical issues. He started the year with arm surgery to remove the plates and screws from when he broke his arm three years prior. The removal subsequently revealed an unknown infection on the hardware (and presumably on his bone too) which led to six weeks of daily IV antibiotics - fortunately mom-nurse was able to arrange for home infusions and all of our family learned the process. Then shortly after returning to summer football camp, after a whole year of intense rehab from knee surgery, Graeson again tore his recently repaired ACL as well as additional knee damage - which meant another knee surgery, this one more complicated than the first. He's now had two surgeries on his arm, plus two surgeries on his knee. Sadly, due to the extensive rehab, he was not able to return to football for his senior year. He is currently looking at colleges for this fall, and hopes to make a decision soon!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7nFBraLs_tc4gM3Dm0-094InwiXlEETNAFJ0scCEcy0U3ixxZG6he5YdRydBkjQ_twwR_A2ZAd4ongnDVYIC7NjBCLscYSzTCNq4Q-BhvBwX23a7qiIKCE03zJAwLbKmWXMGIyR-TnAhX0cK66wLAUKE7BtQyOUcMLqw-ZXoKcoh8PBeyKwzFe2sgg/s4032/Graeson%20birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie7nFBraLs_tc4gM3Dm0-094InwiXlEETNAFJ0scCEcy0U3ixxZG6he5YdRydBkjQ_twwR_A2ZAd4ongnDVYIC7NjBCLscYSzTCNq4Q-BhvBwX23a7qiIKCE03zJAwLbKmWXMGIyR-TnAhX0cK66wLAUKE7BtQyOUcMLqw-ZXoKcoh8PBeyKwzFe2sgg/s320/Graeson%20birthday.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Maezie is 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. She spends many hours at the dance studio and she is in all of the upper-level classes. She also teaches a class full of little dancers! She is involved in musical theatre at the high school, soon to be performing in the production of Mary Poppins. She now has her driving permit, and hopefully this year mom-taxi will be 100% retired!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52ALmU7bA9KxEeDF69ZNM5QFFudDSUBnIjRPktsTUq4weufFtED22dByfd5_stlWTBF1O13qi9N3u88PwcftvHgzu1W419d4VJ0KAx3rrCPeca_uB47b9REm91fackzoVu8B0Tx_yae5IzNcOGv1KM_zR7lHNd3HuOXR4Bbv-34LkNpiT-ZTj1Gwk-A/s4032/maezie%201.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52ALmU7bA9KxEeDF69ZNM5QFFudDSUBnIjRPktsTUq4weufFtED22dByfd5_stlWTBF1O13qi9N3u88PwcftvHgzu1W419d4VJ0KAx3rrCPeca_uB47b9REm91fackzoVu8B0Tx_yae5IzNcOGv1KM_zR7lHNd3HuOXR4Bbv-34LkNpiT-ZTj1Gwk-A/s320/maezie%201.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Mom and Dad spend most of our time keeping up with (and feeding) three active kids! Bryan continues his job as a teaching assistant at North Salem high school, and Jill is still a hospice nurse manager at Providence. We were sad to lose Bryan's mom (Grammy) in October. And yet, we were also happy to be able to gather together again not only as a family, but also to spend time with extended family and friends! We recently took a family vacation to Disneyland and other theme parks - it's a little different to have 80 degree weather for Christmas! We look forward to making more family memories in the upcoming year!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBB62AxFdLhmvQqURYipWwFHholyZBw8GxxYzsQU19EhC0QaMfUwG7NtK53MCPboaH_W-w1Js6f9tBM7lB9uAcEshHy5yaw0nkmNWPcWlihn8hhwsys2q4Ed3rzEMfSuES_X5l2W7qwyGM9mGQeOrIimmtfhJppvZyVk6pg3BSnhpcShzVA5PE0hK4g/s3648/Bryan%20and%20Jill.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBB62AxFdLhmvQqURYipWwFHholyZBw8GxxYzsQU19EhC0QaMfUwG7NtK53MCPboaH_W-w1Js6f9tBM7lB9uAcEshHy5yaw0nkmNWPcWlihn8hhwsys2q4Ed3rzEMfSuES_X5l2W7qwyGM9mGQeOrIimmtfhJppvZyVk6pg3BSnhpcShzVA5PE0hK4g/s320/Bryan%20and%20Jill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-51613817741884457222021-12-24T14:03:00.000-08:002021-12-24T14:03:31.787-08:00Merry Christmas From Williams-Land<p>2021 has brought us many "adventures" although not exactly the kind of adventures we would have pre-planned...</p><p>We started out the new year with five Williamses working/learning from computers at home. Bryan was the first to go back to work in-person at his high school, though initially without students. In April, Graeson and Maezie were able to go back to in-person high school two days a week, with remote learning the rest of the week. Kaela continued remote learning through the end of the school year, then returned to in-person learning at PLU in September. Jill has found it more convenient to work from home, so I've now made a permanent transition (I still go to the office in Portland occasionally). 2021 also brought us a variety of weather adventures including a severe ice storm which damaged trees throughout much of the city. Later, we experienced summer temperatures that reached 117 degrees, totally unheard of in our area. We've also had multiple random medical adventures including two knee surgeries only ten days apart. And we lost Jill's grandma/GG who was age 101. But life carries on, and our adventures continue!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDUQ1Ll1yOyu38eW1g9zsVAPbyAor5C7UmroN_i1I71GzLaGXaQf3S70OZnW-g7aH1adKUS0wf3hXrJYdwbtTKRa8liQ-Nke-W2Cr3aCoCGHfeX8ybGaPT3JhuqLOS4Lq-HphRzO5S6ZU1p8d0UrWvx5i45lDXz7fM6aibNV_98xjb2acUWWbyOt4vRw=s1463" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1463" data-original-width="1097" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDUQ1Ll1yOyu38eW1g9zsVAPbyAor5C7UmroN_i1I71GzLaGXaQf3S70OZnW-g7aH1adKUS0wf3hXrJYdwbtTKRa8liQ-Nke-W2Cr3aCoCGHfeX8ybGaPT3JhuqLOS4Lq-HphRzO5S6ZU1p8d0UrWvx5i45lDXz7fM6aibNV_98xjb2acUWWbyOt4vRw=w183-h245" width="183" /></a>Kaela is entering a new decade and is now 20 years old. She is in her second year of college, attending Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She lives in the dorm with a roommate and they became immediate friends. She also has a campus job working at the help desk inside the library. This past summer, she lived with Aunt Laurel while attending CNA classes - she is now a Certified Nursing Assistant! And next fall, she will enter the PLU nursing program.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqlAVSJok4DM1ft0ddPWTUuPvPDUoSsB2N1FUJwuHsjgqkODFzifyq0HjBBiy7w-BVAw6qfQErORwY9xbEPtJWksXRsK1m9v242wEZfJ12LHo4GXhI0AUbCSX0gWkID4ClG8OB1GNYtnY8Wyh3bhjGXZILcohB2pPep5FjWvYSgio9dPv5FR50a7T--Q=s1766" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1766" data-original-width="1341" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgqlAVSJok4DM1ft0ddPWTUuPvPDUoSsB2N1FUJwuHsjgqkODFzifyq0HjBBiy7w-BVAw6qfQErORwY9xbEPtJWksXRsK1m9v242wEZfJ12LHo4GXhI0AUbCSX0gWkID4ClG8OB1GNYtnY8Wyh3bhjGXZILcohB2pPep5FjWvYSgio9dPv5FR50a7T--Q=w179-h237" width="179" /></a></div>Graeson is 17 and in his junior year of high school. During his sophomore year, football season was delayed until spring, and he was ecstatic to have made the varsity team! Unfortunately, he twisted his knee on the field and what we thought was a minor sprain, ended up as a full ACL repair. He had knee surgery in July, followed by extensive rehab and physical therapy. He was unable to play football for the current season, but he remained part of the team by assisting at practices and filming the games from the booth. His recovery is going great, and he plans to return to football for his senior year. This school year, he was accepted into CTEC (career technical education center) in the culinary program - he attends McNary high school part-time, and CTEC high school the other half. He loves the integrated learning approach, and he plans to further his culinary skills at school and at home!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrXa5DUk1ybubSnTwc4k0T2GplSY9ci5lhClUqvxc-pTW2PvfFksw7n3IAEXi6OnltTkLvV5vkv9l1Fl5dGciou2jrQWTpGOPJf3zuhRcEw_sqtAhIdeZElub5UWNM3tNn-i7h_VcCWwI9rXJOJrJ28tctjeu2e_c9KXcWDH0hA9ievnlKDDuIm_cL5Q=s3206" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3206" data-original-width="2404" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjrXa5DUk1ybubSnTwc4k0T2GplSY9ci5lhClUqvxc-pTW2PvfFksw7n3IAEXi6OnltTkLvV5vkv9l1Fl5dGciou2jrQWTpGOPJf3zuhRcEw_sqtAhIdeZElub5UWNM3tNn-i7h_VcCWwI9rXJOJrJ28tctjeu2e_c9KXcWDH0hA9ievnlKDDuIm_cL5Q=w184-h245" width="184" /></a></div>Maezie is 14 and a freshman in high school. She continues to be very involved with dance, and this year she's at the studio more than she's at home! She's in a variety of advanced level classes, and she also helps to teach two classes for younger dancers. She was happy to be able to have a recital this year, and she performed extremely well! She also is involved in high school theater, and she has been part of the ensemble chorus and dancers - and she loves it! (Mom and dad are counting down to when she can drive herself to all of these practices....)<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv9QQ-j68TPBMtOp0Om43dOOAD4excEqOpfp5nCwmC8456m6oWXEPVgOsN-jm8exL_fb-pC-N__Nge0mKsU9nV4s8p5P4yvYnbuBX_wKWiCaOoXj_EV4WQD4J-9dt-o2Okvt-GaDRfx1WupTLhShUZBOj0LDY3JEjbhci5W1Ick2chm4SO1apsIMX5aw=s3648" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="2736" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhv9QQ-j68TPBMtOp0Om43dOOAD4excEqOpfp5nCwmC8456m6oWXEPVgOsN-jm8exL_fb-pC-N__Nge0mKsU9nV4s8p5P4yvYnbuBX_wKWiCaOoXj_EV4WQD4J-9dt-o2Okvt-GaDRfx1WupTLhShUZBOj0LDY3JEjbhci5W1Ick2chm4SO1apsIMX5aw=w179-h240" width="179" /></a></div>Bryan and Jill spent the year surviving all of our "adventures" - including Bryan's knee surgery, just ten days after Graeson. His was a meniscus tear and a quicker recovery, but they both had to take turns using the ice machine for their knees. And then there was a brief period where I was the only driver in the house. We took a family vacation to the coast this summer and had a great time together. We've also been spending some quick weekends at the coast with no kids!<div><br /></div><div>We are looking forward to new Adventures In Williams-Land in the upcoming year - we hope there's less unplanned adventures and more planned ones in 2022!<br /><p></p><p><br /></p></div>Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-56357505382537083842020-12-20T18:29:00.000-08:002020-12-20T18:29:58.139-08:00Williams Christmas 2020<p>Merry Christmas from the Williams family!</p><p>Last year at this time, we were on a family vacation to Disneyland! We took a two week trip and had a fantastic time - we celebrated Kaela's senior year and her 18th birthday, and we made amazing family memories! We were so glad our timing was during Christmas because...shortly afterward, 2020 came and we know how that changed everything.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY3fIasKSmlHzLQ6a0PcieWBv0hQWpthVVqUi0_EY-2uyV_w6EPmGmH4SX4Zi6zrlcpsOGGwITeoQw-61nkAQyayCTtsxgN5thVCE3KqpqkptsGbR1P1VVnCAv0RXdLrwYQQFUDD2ttdq/s2048/Kaela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbY3fIasKSmlHzLQ6a0PcieWBv0hQWpthVVqUi0_EY-2uyV_w6EPmGmH4SX4Zi6zrlcpsOGGwITeoQw-61nkAQyayCTtsxgN5thVCE3KqpqkptsGbR1P1VVnCAv0RXdLrwYQQFUDD2ttdq/s320/Kaela.jpg" /></a></div>Kaela's senior year was not what she had dreamed of - starting in March, so many things got stopped, rescheduled, delayed, or cancelled entirely. Our school district offered seniors could be done at the end of March, but Kaela had some college-credit classes she wanted to complete. She continued with online classes until June, and we waited with anxiety while graduation was in peril several times. We finally got to have graduation in August and a successful open house celebration as well! She graduated with many honors, awards, medals, and cords - a hard earned achievement! A few weeks later, she began attending Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and wanted to live on campus in the dorm. Again, many last minute changes were navigated but finally she arrived! She is majoring in Nursing and minoring in Spanish. Though no roommates were allowed this year, Kaela enjoyed her own dorm space and taking walks around campus. Since all her classes have been online from her dorm room, she's made the decision to move back home for the second-half of the year. She will be a PLU student from her own house!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpSWnguhDQkjK44SLGsaVtFPL7mMqYZmkjnRNBf0X91k4suQ40OXBcBrhKE2BWCToQKTmzkHKzYomKvwi_B9TSYAvd1_-b0VWkJD4LM-PnP4qp6mr_OcURgGppvquKJTYI3UYu5zLi2wZ/s2048/Graeson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpSWnguhDQkjK44SLGsaVtFPL7mMqYZmkjnRNBf0X91k4suQ40OXBcBrhKE2BWCToQKTmzkHKzYomKvwi_B9TSYAvd1_-b0VWkJD4LM-PnP4qp6mr_OcURgGppvquKJTYI3UYu5zLi2wZ/s320/Graeson.jpg" /></a></div>Graeson had a successful freshman football season playing cornerback, and mom was happy he had an injury-free year! Unfortunately in his sophomore year, football season has been postponed - so far, it's scheduled for February. In the meantime, Graeson has been doing home workouts and trying to prepare for the upcoming season. He and dad had planned to train for their third degree black belt in taekwondo, but that too has been put on hold. He has maintained connections with his friends, and for a time he was able to go to to church youth group in person; otherwise he attends a sophomore guys group via Zoom meetings. Graeson has also taken on the role of dinner chef, and does the cooking multiple nights a week. He recently turned 16 and after a year of driving practice, he finally has his license! Now his focus is applying for jobs, and saving up to buy his own car.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FJt1LdswzSGES_0eDiPDjGBrXYciouqjBpK4Yvk1sMNMOJHfyxGmd7D6GTDlKSXJGbhPU2N185b4-juSSy-vOeKprgKNusrM0R4Z8aS-NOdHvOCFnAeBpluqjL2_7AZKupox9EXFjKq8/s2048/Maezie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FJt1LdswzSGES_0eDiPDjGBrXYciouqjBpK4Yvk1sMNMOJHfyxGmd7D6GTDlKSXJGbhPU2N185b4-juSSy-vOeKprgKNusrM0R4Z8aS-NOdHvOCFnAeBpluqjL2_7AZKupox9EXFjKq8/s320/Maezie.jpg" /></a></div>Maezie enjoyed being at middle school last year without her brother there! Then at the exact middle-of-middle-school halfway through seventh grade, distance learning became the way of the world. She is now in eighth grade and attends class via "synchronous" learning two days a week from her home computer, and self-learning the other days of the week. She is doing a fantastic job with online learning, despite missing her friends in person. Maezie has continued with multiple dance classes, and she has been able to go to the studio in person for most of the summer and fall. Unfortunately last year's recital was cancelled, but parents were able to watch the final dances in costume within the classrooms. She is a teaching assistant for a class of little dancers, and she works hard at being in some of the more challenging level classes! Maezie also helps with making dinner, but her specialty is baking - tarts, cupcakes, desserts, and even macarons!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhFttMX0ssX0cN3BtmWkt-NwAYlnQY2qDAGSKKLNR13zVMwRgXxUOjbldsrN0VSH-jzY74ALjHDK3s3mhErSoCdqDjdQDMXo4v4bEMoEJbYKySy28Veg_T3hKpAoUlbiaadp0AWmbKF2N/s2048/Mom+%2526+Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1991" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhFttMX0ssX0cN3BtmWkt-NwAYlnQY2qDAGSKKLNR13zVMwRgXxUOjbldsrN0VSH-jzY74ALjHDK3s3mhErSoCdqDjdQDMXo4v4bEMoEJbYKySy28Veg_T3hKpAoUlbiaadp0AWmbKF2N/s320/Mom+%2526+Dad.jpg" /></a></div>Mom and Dad have been adjusting (and adjusting again) to the many changes thrown at us this year. Even before the pandemic, we made a major change when after 17 years as a stay-home-dad, Bryan went back to work! He had already been volunteering with a teacher friend in the woodworking class, so when a position opened he applied and was chosen! His official job is CTE Liaison (career technical education) at North Salem High School. He worked a few months directly with kids, then worked from home through distance learning last spring. Now he goes to the school and helps teachers with various projects. Jill continues to work as a hospice supervisor, now at the Portland branch for the past two years. Recently, I've shifted to a home office several days a week, and I commute to my work office less often. With four people working on computers at home, ironically Bryan is the only one who leaves the house! But we still find time to squeeze in coffee-car-dates now and then.<p></p><div>We are hopeful this next year we will be able to try again for family vacations, sports, and in-person school! And most of all, we hope to keep our connections with many of you - maybe even seeing you at some in-person occasions!</div><div><br /></div><div>Blessings,</div><div>Bryan, Jill, Kaela, Graeson, Maezie</div>Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-38037052182232695262018-12-22T21:14:00.000-08:002018-12-22T21:14:00.781-08:00Merry Williams Christmas 2018This year the Williams family has been busy as usual...<br />
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The Williams house has two teens and a tween - Kaela will be 17, Graeson is 14, and Maezie is 11. And we have officially left elementary school behind! Maezie is in 6th grade and Graeson is in 8th grade, both at the same middle school; and Kaela is a junior in high school.<br />
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Kaela spent spring break in Mexico on a church mission trip building houses - she got really good at hammering nails straight! Throughout the year she serves in children's church by teaching second graders. At her high school she is a member of National Honor Society which recognizes high grades as well as service projects. She is involved in theater, both acting as well as lights/sounds/tech. She is now driving (gasp!) and recently got her first job at a day care after school.<br />
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Graeson is growing a lot and was ecstatic when he passed up mom a few weeks ago! He is the lead percussionist in jazz band and has learned several different instruments. He was selected for leadership class at school, and takes part in various service projects - he is also a "big brother" to one of the young sixth graders. He serves in children's church with dual roles as tech support and small group leader. He is in his eighth year of taekwondo, and he also plays football and runs in track.<br />
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Maezie is doing great in middle school, even when her brother tries to embarrass her! She plays trumpet in the intermediate band, and she sings in choir. She is very active in dance - this year she is taking five different dance styles, and she loves all of them! She too serves in children's church, and she helps with the kindergarten kids. We even had one event this year where all three kids played in the same band concert!<br />
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This year we experienced some unexpected changes as well. Jill accepted a new job in Portland - still with Providence Hospice but a different team and a bigger role. Shortly after starting the new job, Graeson broke his arm during a football game which resulted in an ambulance, emergency room, and eventually surgery too. And in the middle of all of it, Jill's dad was unexpectedly diagnosed with widespread cancer, and two weeks later he died at home on September 24.<br />
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But throughout all of our crazy chaos we have spent plenty of time together - some of it is attending kid events, concerts, games, or performances. Our family vacations were in Victoria in the summer and Seaside in the fall. We also have Friday family nights doing various fun stuff like baking, playing games, or watching movies. And sometimes on family nights, we just....rest.Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-30984248023604146852017-12-15T16:54:00.001-08:002017-12-15T16:54:49.837-08:00Christmas 2017<br />
Merry Christmas! Here's what the Williams family has been up to....<br />
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We are in a very busy season of life with three kids who are active,
over-achieving, energetic, social humans--while parents are trying to keep them
fed and clothed (particularly challenging with growth-spurt adolescents)…all
while managing the family schedule and keeping the gas tank full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> We are in our second year of three schools--high school for Kaela, middle school for Graeson, and elementary school for Maezie. </span>Fall season is especially busy with football,
marching band, dance, and school schedules—but so far, we haven’t forgotten a
kid somewhere!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But amidst the craziness,
we make it a priority to spend quality time together: planned vacations, Friday
family nights, ice cream trips, or just one-on-one time in the car.<br />
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This year we went to Victoria, Canada for our family vacation—a new
experience going out-of-the-country!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
drove part of the distance, then onto the ferry to cross the water, and
straight into the harbor of Victoria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We toured the parliament building and learned about Canadian government
and their relationship within The Commonwealth. We especially enjoyed having high tea with lots of delicious treats! We also rode around the city on a double-decker bus, toured a historic castle, and explored the butterfly museum too!<br />
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Our other adventures throughout the year were closer to home. In August, we got to experience the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse. Our house was right in the path of totality so we had a neighborhood eclipse party, watched the build-up through our special glasses, and then got to take them off for the two minutes of total darkness. It was quite the thing when birds stopped singing, bugs came out, and stars started shining.....at 10 in the morning! Also this summer Bryan and Jill celebrated our 20 year anniversary by spending a week in Seattle with no kids, thanks to Grammy for babysitting!<br />
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Kaela will turn 16 on Christmas Day, so she's been spending this year behind the wheel with her driver's permit (gasp!) and gaining driving experience with parents. She's also been active in marching band, basketball pep band, theater, and high school youth group. Graeson is now 13 (two teenagers, ack!) and he is a busy boy! He is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo, and he played some new positions in football this year; he also ran on the track team this past spring. When he's not doing sports, he plays percussion in jazz band, and he's also enjoying a cooking class at school. Maezie turned 10 this year, and this meant getting her own kitten. She's very active in three dance classes--jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary--as well as school choir; she also decided to try beginning band and she is playing the trumpet.<br />
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So when we are not doing all this, we are....sleeping. We are a happy, busy, fun, and love-filled family!<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-19924117688478749532016-01-01T20:46:00.001-08:002016-01-01T20:46:31.384-08:00Happy Williams New Year!Happy New Year 2016!<br />
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So we didn't get a Christmas letter out by Christmas. So I haven't blogged in over a year. So blogging seems to be a fading trend, now that social media has taken over. But for the sake of chronicling the Williams family antics--and for my 96 year old grandma who loves a mailed paper version of Williams-Land--here's our 2015 update!<br />
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It's been two years since we started the transition of moving to Salem for my new job at Providence Benedictine Hospice (catch up on that journey <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/01/long-distance-family_9.html" target="_blank">a few blog posts down</a>). Though it was an initial adjustment, now we are fully settled into valley life--rains, heat, floods, droughts, and all! Over the years, much of our family has ended up in this area, so we enjoy having cousin time with the extended family--and we still make regular visits to Klamath Falls to visit the old folks at home.<br />
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Kaela is now 14, which is the same age I was when Bryan and I started dating (gasp!) But so far, no future husband is hanging around and she likes that just fine! She is in 8th grade and her last year of middle school--she plays the flute in advanced band and enjoys cooking in her catering class at school. She is in a special advanced math placement doing online classes in a 10th grade math level! She auditioned for a teen theater company called SKIT and she will soon perform in the play The Pink Panther Strikes Again. Kaela also loves babysitting and working in the toddler class at church.<br />
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Graeson is 11 and in 5th grade--his last year of elementary school. He loves being active and especially loves sports! Two years ago (9 years old) he became a black belt in taekwondo--since then he's continued to train and will be testing for second-degree black belt soon. He also played tackle football this Fall (no concussion this time, phew!) and his team made it to playoffs, ending in second place for their division. He is in beginning band learning drums and percussion; band is at the middle school, so he rides the bus with Kaela in the mornings. This year he also was able to have his own dog--Cosmo and Graeson are good buddies and they both wear Beaver jerseys too!<br />
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Maezie is 8 years old and in third grade at the same school as Graeson. She has lots of giggly friends and she loves school! She and Daddy walk to school together or sometimes ride bikes. She takes two dance classes--jazz and tap--and also danced in a worship performance at church. She loves clothes, shoes, and anything sparkly--and she especially loves shopping! She has even given Mommy some fashion advice from time to time. Maezie enjoys spending quality time together, especially one-on-one, so we play a lot of games, read books, work on crafts, and watch movies.<br />
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Bryan and I spend most of our time driving kids, feeding kids, watching kids' games/performances, and coordinating kids. We do limit the activities on our schedule, but this year nothing seemed to match, sync, or coordinate. But everyone successfully accomplished their activities, and mom and dad still managed to squeeze in some date nights and kid-free time too. We had some great family vacations in Birch Bay and Seaside, and some trips to Bend and Klamath Falls too.<br />
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We are looking forward to another year of Adventures in Williams-Land and we anticipate lots of fun family memories in 2016!Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-21593030542122698432014-12-24T19:22:00.001-08:002014-12-24T19:22:43.259-08:00Christmas 2014<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong><em>Merry Christmas from Salem, Oregon!</em></strong></span><br />
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This year has brought a lot of changes for the Williams family. One year ago we had just begun our journey of being a <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/01/long-distance-family_9.html" target="_blank">long-distance family</a>: I (Jill) was living in an apartment in Salem, working in Mt Angel, and traveling home to Bend on the weekends. Bryan and the kids were still in Bend, and we would alternate weekends traveling back and forth. By the grace of God, this arrangement only lasted four months, and by March we were <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/02/moving-up-moving.html" target="_blank">all living under one roof</a> in our new house in Keizer (just north of Salem). The kids started their new schools after Spring Break--it was an adjustment, particularly for Kaela in middle school--but they all made friends easily, have great teachers, and are all excelling at their appropriate levels! We've had lots of family outings to explore our new location and what it's like living in the valley instead of the high desert.<br />
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Kaela is turning 13 this Christmas Day--a teenager ACK! She is very excited and has been reminding us every day....for the last 25 days. She is in 7th grade at Claggett Creek Middle School; she is a TAG student and is in 8th grade math and other advanced placement classes. Her favorite class is Band where she plays the flute. She also takes a cooking and sewing class. She loves science and she wants to be doctor someday. She was active in theater before we left Bend, and she plans to join a new group here in Keizer after the first of the new year.<br />
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Graeson is now double digits--10!--and he is a very active boy! He is in 4th grade at Keizer Elementary and he was elected as a member of student council. He too is very advanced, especially with numbers, and his teacher has a challenge keeping him busy. In May, Graeson accomplished three years of hard work in taekwondo and he is now a black belt! He was the youngest black belt in his group--we are so proud of him! Bryan has now also decided to join taekwondo.....which means Graeson is higher rank (but not at home!) Graeson played tackle football this year, and he had an unfortunate concussion at his first game. But he healed fully and was back on the field for the second half of the season.<br />
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Maezie is 7 years old and growing fast! She is in second grade at the same school as Graeson, and also on student council. She loves school and likes that we live close enough to walk or ride bikes to school. After the big move, Maezie decided to try jazz dance classes and she LOVES dancing! She also likes to play board games, read books, do crafts, and wear dresses. This winter she decided to try basketball--and she has a pink and white basketball of course! Maezie's favorite trip this year was our annual vacation at the beach--swimming, sand castles, aquariums, shopping, and of course....the ocean!<br />
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Mom & Dad spend our time coordinating schedules, activities, school, and sports. Bryan continues his stay-home-dad career and spends his time doing house projects, family meals, and now taekwondo. Jill is still working on the details of getting the <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/10/where-does-mom-work-anyway.html" target="_blank">Mt Angel hospice going</a>, and in the meantime I've been commuting to Portland working with their hospice branch. We hope to be seeing our own patients this Spring! Together we make coffee dates a priority for kid free time, and sometimes our "dates" are a trip to Costco by ourselves! But after 17 years and 3 kids.....it doesn't take a limousine to make meaningful time together. We hope to keep in touch with all of you this next year--send us an email, write on our facebook, or give us a call!<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-21512940402653047502014-10-08T20:52:00.001-07:002014-10-08T20:52:58.835-07:00Where DOES Mom Work Anyway?Normally this blog focuses on family antics, but since mom's job is a part of the family's Adventures In Williams-Land, here's an update from the working world. One day when the kids are grown up, they'll read this blog and say "OHHHH, now I get it!"<br />
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One year ago, we made the decision to prayerfully seek where God would open a new career door. <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2013/11/williams-changes.html" target="_blank">Williams Changes</a> started happening, and our family began a six-month pre-planned process of changing jobs and moving to a new town. We re-committed ourselves to continuing my hospice career as a God-given ministry, and re-committed to Bryan continuing as a stay-home-dad. I accepted a job with Providence Hospice in the tiny town of Mt Angel with the plan to start a brand-new hospice with me in the leadership role. We made a difficult but purposeful decision to be a <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/01/long-distance-family_9.html" target="_blank">Long Distance Family</a> for the first part of the transition. Mom worked in Mt Angel during the week doing all the background work for starting a hospice, and came home to the family in Bend on the weekends. In record time, our house <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/02/soldnow-what.html" target="_blank">Sold...Now What?</a> and we quickly were <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/02/moving-up-moving.html" target="_blank">Moving Up The Moving</a>. We were happy to be back together again and start our new adventures together! Mom had a beautiful country drive to Mt Angel--we had morning mommy-cuddles, and evening family time together. Kaela even got to come to mom's work for Take Your Child To Work Day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaela doing all mom's work for the day</td></tr>
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A few months ago, our soon-to-be hospice was hit with a surprise road block when we discovered a severe wait-time for our Oregon healthcare license--the first step which would allow us to see our first patient. After months of waiting and no end in sight, it was decided to temporarily move the hospice staff to other departments--all of my staff stayed in Mt Angel and worked for home health (similar to hospice work, but also different.) I was presented with an opportunity to fill an interim need with the Portland branch of Providence Hospice--our Mt Angel hospice's big sister. So in August I started commuting to Portland every day (one hour of freeway driving both ways) working with the "access" department of hospice. The simple explanation is that this department is essentially Hospice Grand Central Station......it's where everything hospice starts and ends--and EVERYTHING in between! Little did I know for the past 12 years, everything I had learned in my hospice leadership had been preparing me for this role. As God would have it, I've had past experience with almost every aspect of this new leadership position. So I was able to catch on to the faster pace, larger magnitude, and deeper responsibilities of a huge hospice. Recently, I transitioned into a permanent position--at least for now--as our wait time in Mt Angel is likely to be a year or more. And I'm loving this new position!<br />
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So my current schedule is on an earlier shift--I start at 7am...which means leaving at 6am...which means a 5am alarm clock. (This is the one part I'm not overjoyed with.) But I get home in the late afternoon in time for kid-taxi, after-school activities, family dinner, and bedtime tuck-in. The kids think it's funny that I go to bed now at the same time they do. We are having to adjust our gas budget for the daily commute, but the actual drive is not bad...especially in the early morning when the sun is coming up over Mt Hood. And I love being part of the big hospice! I even decorated my cubicle so my co-workers will understand my priorities....<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dear coffee, I love you, that is all."</td></tr>
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Someday....when it's in God's timing....I will eventually go back to Mt Angel. But who knows--God might have a different plan in mind and if so, we'll walk through whatever that door is, whenever the door might open, and whichever direction the door swings.Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-55638686243972391952014-07-15T21:07:00.000-07:002014-07-15T21:07:52.338-07:00Where Have We Been?!So you might have noticed.....it's been five months since the last blog entry. Sorry about that! At the last posting, we were still a <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/01/long-distance-family_9.html" target="_blank">long-distance family</a> and we were <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2014/02/moving-up-moving.html" target="_blank">moving up the moving</a> back there in February. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7xzsEmPBjE9_oZ9IKmxpg_bKvzGS_bT1jwX_DVUpw8DnrLhdeTv-WmvRedOuBpB1hHKfWGceqRg8g1RjJr6NJvhm_2UvEQZEve3sdCR9IkSvc74FxAuijihxPS8F_qWmXv2e56dSIRHU/s1600/moving+truck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7xzsEmPBjE9_oZ9IKmxpg_bKvzGS_bT1jwX_DVUpw8DnrLhdeTv-WmvRedOuBpB1hHKfWGceqRg8g1RjJr6NJvhm_2UvEQZEve3sdCR9IkSvc74FxAuijihxPS8F_qWmXv2e56dSIRHU/s1600/moving+truck.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This gigantic moving truck barely fit all of our stuff inside!</td></tr>
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So the fast-forward version: we found a perfect-for-our-family house in Keizer, just outside of Salem, and we all moved--together again!--during Spring Break (March). The kids had a week of unpacking before they had to start at their new schools, then we waited until after the second week to re-introduce extracurricular activities. Kaela had a rough first week at middle school--even though the kids at her school were very nice and welcoming, she missed her girlfriends from Bend. But soon enough, she started making new friends and now she's right back on track. Graeson and Maezie made the transition quickly, and Bryan was the fixer-upper-home-dad for several weeks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrC5Pk1obec0_EuqebWZ9aFMYt3Zn6_48St8dDWWd4lC4RVQBE4jxfmwvYxwsEpOBK9zwNUokxNrQ3rL-5kqGH4X-5aCOJoo2RS7Bmt92v_rZRQ8AFiy2K6sS79skD2ETdtEcIKZK1qvjn/s1600/Williams+family+new+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrC5Pk1obec0_EuqebWZ9aFMYt3Zn6_48St8dDWWd4lC4RVQBE4jxfmwvYxwsEpOBK9zwNUokxNrQ3rL-5kqGH4X-5aCOJoo2RS7Bmt92v_rZRQ8AFiy2K6sS79skD2ETdtEcIKZK1qvjn/s1600/Williams+family+new+house.jpg" height="196" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Williams family's new home in Keizer!</td></tr>
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After we finally unpacked 1000 boxes (ok not really.....well maybe) we took some time to explore what's it's like being on the <em>other</em> side of the mountains and what its like living in the valley now! We went to the <a href="http://www.woodenshoe.com/tulip-fest/photo-contest/" target="_blank">Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival</a> and there must have been 3 million tulips! If you've followed our family blog for several years, you might remember we were actually there once a few years back....long before we ever knew we'd be moving out of our hometown! <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2011/04/weekend-in-portland.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for that flashback.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFbBo5cF40__YkMAuRymLs5XzPiDdtmnHbpLr1_KxYcS-fV_tp2nI-JIgJvq-HP0nojFBaY8B4v41a27TdakmrApnqGKGRR8l1HO8eNk4lBPiIwvsEamPkZqLYUasaG6RlUu5wBPpt-GL/s1600/Williams+family+tulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFbBo5cF40__YkMAuRymLs5XzPiDdtmnHbpLr1_KxYcS-fV_tp2nI-JIgJvq-HP0nojFBaY8B4v41a27TdakmrApnqGKGRR8l1HO8eNk4lBPiIwvsEamPkZqLYUasaG6RlUu5wBPpt-GL/s1600/Williams+family+tulips.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're definitely not in the high desert anymore!</td></tr>
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One of our hesitations for moving the family in Spring was due to Graeson finishing his taekwondo schedule for obtaining his black belt. Fortunately, the taekwondo gym (a-hem, it's technically called the "dojang") already had a partner-company near our new town, so it was an easy transition. Graeson was able to continue his taekwondo training and after only three years, he is now a BLACK BELT! All of the family came to Bend for the big event--we are all so proud of him!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUpIoUHqaeyybciJ51HP9-ee0NEoscOZuiekcLWv74U0oyCgwQZntmWI_YP6HDUNf07XoCKT9JZ6OVErBYH2s9ssjqyyNt6lUAKSHLK1Ouy1QjMnB7Dxd2kfzAmIcd4ynY48YSNXcxKdX/s1600/Graeson+black+belt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzUpIoUHqaeyybciJ51HP9-ee0NEoscOZuiekcLWv74U0oyCgwQZntmWI_YP6HDUNf07XoCKT9JZ6OVErBYH2s9ssjqyyNt6lUAKSHLK1Ouy1QjMnB7Dxd2kfzAmIcd4ynY48YSNXcxKdX/s1600/Graeson+black+belt.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After achieving black belt, his classmates now have to call him "Mr Williams".....or "sir"!</td></tr>
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Shortly after, we made a trip to Klamath Falls to celebrate two of our very good friends getting married. Bryan was a groomsman and MANY people in our lives have seriously never seen Bryan wear long pants! And long sleeves! And a tie for goodness sakes! (Personally, I thought he was so handsome he might upstage the groom!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAaJFpM6nXeYKVayL5ZwVE-a2abFK-3aqmq7GEG0ZdLYqpi0nOL06knbrxdaQQnPmUGgOedZZgunDcraaxtCE9dNse3JuVTuWs0hZ96QxtfwnzcVGyybdLqHbkBZJwLHsB87FZX2itwLD/s1600/Bryan+tuxedo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAaJFpM6nXeYKVayL5ZwVE-a2abFK-3aqmq7GEG0ZdLYqpi0nOL06knbrxdaQQnPmUGgOedZZgunDcraaxtCE9dNse3JuVTuWs0hZ96QxtfwnzcVGyybdLqHbkBZJwLHsB87FZX2itwLD/s1600/Bryan+tuxedo.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hands off ladies, this good looking man is already married!</td></tr>
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To welcome summer, we tried out another valley-experience: picking our own berries! There are tons of you-pick farms, fruit stands, and orchards everywhere around here. We took a bit of a scenic tour trying to find our first strawberry farm, but we eventually picked 30 pounds! We had strawberry shortcake, strawberry lemonade, strawberry milkshakes, strawberry jam, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and more strawberry shortcake! We paid for it the next day with sore muscles from the constant bending over--but our tummies were happy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNnRsh9kpJNhglBgq7o8pEZaKH4ydEfhDg7igqhTrEBsZFycPcJ9qGz6cJnqlkBwQjdnuhLtVHVf6LzlwOOgWwemrp9CoIAc5UQR1TZM8RdBkE47cZFg2P-uZQsMcvJ7Q86RJfVrdiCA0/s1600/strawberry+picking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZNnRsh9kpJNhglBgq7o8pEZaKH4ydEfhDg7igqhTrEBsZFycPcJ9qGz6cJnqlkBwQjdnuhLtVHVf6LzlwOOgWwemrp9CoIAc5UQR1TZM8RdBkE47cZFg2P-uZQsMcvJ7Q86RJfVrdiCA0/s1600/strawberry+picking.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">30 pounds is a lot of strawberries!</td></tr>
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In June, Kaela celebrated her half-birthday with a girls night slumber party back in Bend. She and three of her friends from Bend had a great time reconnecting, catching up, swimming in the pool, eating, watching movies, and staying up late (or, actually early). Only six more months until we have a teenager in the house!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQ5B-y8BKy3BNC5EMciN6ZG5PAhmtzjLVzI1U31Zjf9pxucz3ok0RSUI0MFgvDblUas6pwPNXr3YQ4Chaeg8a45X9MnswKbBCIv0-R0C7cDVSODHZx0hvtLpRErVULUzFFuLLT57sGwQf/s1600/Kaela's+half+birthday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQ5B-y8BKy3BNC5EMciN6ZG5PAhmtzjLVzI1U31Zjf9pxucz3ok0RSUI0MFgvDblUas6pwPNXr3YQ4Chaeg8a45X9MnswKbBCIv0-R0C7cDVSODHZx0hvtLpRErVULUzFFuLLT57sGwQf/s1600/Kaela's+half+birthday.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Christmas girl is now 12 and a HALF!</td></tr>
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Another benefit to living in the valley is that we're only an hour from the beach! This just might be the best benefit of all! We went for a day-trip for Mother's Day, and then we went for an entire week for a family vacation over the July 4th holiday. It was great to leave the house at 2:00 in the afternoon instead of bright and early to travel all day! We stayed in a timeshare condo in Depoe Bay and had a lovely relaxing time with perfect weather (usually unpredictable at the Oregon Coast), whale watching, harbor seals outside our condo, lighthouses, pool time every day, movie rentals, cheese factories, sunsets, and of course.....THE BEACH! We all agreed, we want to live there someday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFf0vUTi8YWv9BBHEDC-FLVGF5tsf_hPt9WKqqCWz-q1Km7ybgDWnk1IjpGXcJNmSncsoyvQvPnHEh3H_-LpSWdXwylPYUxvp1JuQ-xAy1OWtuPr0gUKZfFrVJhsMnT_YS7MHYnlkbi4H/s1600/kids+at+the+beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijFf0vUTi8YWv9BBHEDC-FLVGF5tsf_hPt9WKqqCWz-q1Km7ybgDWnk1IjpGXcJNmSncsoyvQvPnHEh3H_-LpSWdXwylPYUxvp1JuQ-xAy1OWtuPr0gUKZfFrVJhsMnT_YS7MHYnlkbi4H/s1600/kids+at+the+beach.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello from the Oregon Coast!</td></tr>
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Hopefully......it won't be another five months before the next blog entry. And then there's the family photos and videos that I'm behind a year and a half. I think we're too busy having family fun!Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-58022924091326256702014-02-24T20:23:00.001-08:002014-02-24T20:23:45.953-08:00Moving Up the MovingAfter selling our Bend house in record time (72 hours!) our next Adventure in Williams-Land was to decide what our next move was going to be.....literally. <br />
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Door #1--renting in Bend until the end of the school year, quickly became a non-option. After multiple online searches, voicemails, and rental magazines....God made it abundantly clear this was not the plan. Most options never even called back, and the few that did required a 9 or 12 month lease, or had no immediate openings and would put us on a waiting list for three months. But......we were not exactly sad about this! After over two months of long-distance family, we were not looking forward to another four months.<br />
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Door #2--buying a house in Salem was going to be nothing short of a miracle, due to the short timeline we were on since the Bend house sold quickly. Bryan and the kids drove over the mountain in the snow, timing their departure just exactly between three MAJOR snowstorms that hit most of Oregon and Washington. Our new realtor was a little squeamish about house-hunting in the snow, but we offered to drive our four-wheel-drive SUV ourselves. By the time we started out, there was already 12 inches of snow and it was still falling. Pretty sure we were the only house-hunters that weekend! Bryan even had to help push out the car of one of the owners as they were leaving. But.....God provided the miracle indeed, and we found a house that was practically perfect in every way. The kids were even claiming their bedrooms and deciding where furniture would go! AND this house was under-budget for our price range and essentially move-in ready. We made an offer, counter-counter-counter offered (nail biting along the way) and within another 72 hours we signed for a new house! Perfect location, perfect house, perfect price.....our God is PERFECT!<br />
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Door #3--clearly, abundantly clearly, God's plan is for us to move to our new permanent house and live TOGETHER. So Door #3 never even got opened.<br />
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So, we're moving the entire family at Spring Break, instead of waiting until the end of the school year. The kids are adjusting well to this idea, and while sad to be leaving their friends in Bend, they are on board with our new adventure in moving up the moving timeline. Moving day will be the Friday before Spring Break, so we'll have a whole week to unpack and get to know our new neighborhood before they'll have to start school. (Clarification: "we" means I go to work and leave lots of honey-do lists, ha!) And hopefully, having two months of school before Summer Break will allow them to make friends before summer....actually, mom is hoping before the end of the week.Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-5661947204820379642014-02-04T20:27:00.000-08:002014-02-04T20:27:00.317-08:00SOLD!....now what?!If you're just joining our latest episode of Adventures In Williams-Land, scroll down a bit and catch up on the various stages of the current transition we're smack in the middle of. Over the past few weeks we've been moving through the different steps involved with a job change and eventual family move 150 miles over to the valley. After surviving the holidays and re-claiming some semblance of routine in January, our next step was to begin the early process of putting our house on the market. The plan was to wait until March, with the goal to move in June; but, our realtor advised us the last thing we'd need would be pressure to HAVE to sell on a deadline, so she suggested we list the house now--while there's not a lot on the market yet--and list for top dollar "just to see what will happen". We agreed this would be a good approach, giving us the flexibility of time--so we wouldn't be in a last-minute-bind, and the flexibility of finances--so we could lower the price as time went on. Sort of a "shoot for the moon" approach. We signed the papers, cleaned like mad, stuffed things into closets, and took beautiful photographs. Our realtor said we'd know within a couple of weeks whether our "moon" was shooting too high. <br />
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In less than 72 hours we already had an offer. FOR FULL PRICE. Hello moon!<br />
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<br />So.....now what?! The good news is that's one giant item checked off the list. And now we have a clear budget on what to look for in a new house (and a nice chunk of "moon" to pay for it!) The bad news is the family has to move out by the end of March (but more good news: we have 60 days instead of the usual 30 days).<br />
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Door #1: Bryan and the kids get a rental in Bend until school is out. Pros: finish the school year, finish Graeson's taekwondo training (black belt in May!), not have to change schools in the middle of the year. Cons: need a 3 bedroom, within budget (still supporting two separate households), and month-to-month rental with no lease. This door does not seem to be open to us, since no such rental currently exists in Bend.....mostly the no lease requirement. And the biggest concern: it's already been two months of long-distance family, and not only is it emotionally difficult, driving over the mountain every weekend (in winter) is a safety risk.<br />
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Door #2: Buy a new house in Salem, we all move at Spring Break. Now that we've sold our house, we can buy a new house in Salem! We'd planned to take our time looking, but if everyone will need to move anyway, maybe moving only once instead of twice, isn't a bad idea. We've contacted a realtor and plan to start scouring the neighborhoods this weekend. Pros: if the timing falls into place, we could potentially sell/buy at the same time and all live (together) happily ever after. Cons: we're on a short deadline, and we'd have to make an offer within the next two weeks to allow for the necessary closing time requirements. We'd have to figure out a new plan for long-distance taekwondo, and kids would have to change schools......but, they'd have to do that anyway, we'd just be doing it earlier.<br />
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Door #3: Get a rental in Salem, move at Spring Break. While it is humanly possible for five people to live in my two-bedroom apartment, this is not going to make one big happy family. This will in fact make one big grumpy family. So we'd need to look for a 4-bedroom house for rent, which is "possible" but a little difficult to find. If Door #2 does not appear that it's going to open in the next couple of weeks, then we'll know it's time to entertain Door #3 and we'll readjust plans yet again.<br />
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So.....we're definitely learning flexibility! My even-keeled husband has informed me I am not to cross more than one bridge at a time (he's the rational one, that man-o-mine!) and so we're trying not to get too far ahead of ourselves.....or truly we might drown in all the "what-if's" surrounding us. So for now, we're making a list of houses to see this weekend, and we're collecting boxes. That's the only door that's in front of us for now......but stay tuned for our next episode!Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-28160030470435849272014-01-09T19:13:00.001-08:002014-01-09T19:13:44.131-08:00Long-Distance FamilyTwo months ago, we announced our upcoming family changes with me (Jill) accepting a new job out of town. <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2013/11/williams-changes.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for the link to that blog entry. During November, I was able to take some much-needed time off at home before starting the new job/new town, and we also enjoyed a long-ago-planned family vacation at the beach over Thanksgiving. Amazingly, the weather--at the coast!--averaged 68 degrees.....this doesn't happen in the middle of <em>summer</em>, not to mention the end of November! It was heavenly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IVHj_J4kLjEo2aPHB8eOkjl0-aJppjyuEqP9NjYPaqoqt9pEvI4zLrTQgOIvQRy4kAwX9qiMxsYeicZoNAvxXO9_WCXmOvBy32tqHNvZ1NBIPJT-RjyUjLmBlFb9GYWG8owzxw2aqgzJ/s1600/IMAG0552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_973035="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IVHj_J4kLjEo2aPHB8eOkjl0-aJppjyuEqP9NjYPaqoqt9pEvI4zLrTQgOIvQRy4kAwX9qiMxsYeicZoNAvxXO9_WCXmOvBy32tqHNvZ1NBIPJT-RjyUjLmBlFb9GYWG8owzxw2aqgzJ/s1600/IMAG0552.jpg" height="180" hua="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We love the beach!</td></tr>
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One month ago, I started my new job based in Mt Angel. The first three weeks of training were in Portland, which meant driving through rush-hour traffic twice a day from Salem to Portland. I used to think traffic was fun and what did everyone complain about anyway?.....until having to actually drive in it! AND THEN IT SNOWED. Traffic was especially un-fun that day. I'm now at my home base in Mt Angel where the biggest traffic issue is four cars at the four-way stop at the same time!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland goes into PANIC with an inch of snow</td></tr>
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In the work-world, I am enjoying working for Providence--especially being a faith-based company. Their mission statement refers to "revealing God's love for all" and has actual Bible verses in their core values. ( <a href="http://www2.providence.org/phs/Pages/our-mission.aspx" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see the full version.) Since this is a brand new start-up hospice, most of my time is spent doing interviews for my team, reading hospice rules and medicare regulations (snore!) and writing policies (more snore!) Our "goal" is to see our first hospice patient March 1, depending if all the behind-the-scenes work is completed.....including remodeling the soon-to-be hospice office. In catching up on past meetings about this hospice start-up, I discovered I was one of seven candidates for my position, three of us were interviewed, and....I won!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLc3lmHnAAE1VQfwGOFtneS-D8B0tgabBp8HXvgOhODcXi5wvwkqftHo8Hc_8eVLss99zgB2Bgio0pUkItXkJ1ANqEAiY8BjQ0k_qbRlUgmedTYHRaZ8_3_vLZ0sz83WugmW9RBc6OXNu/s1600/IMAG0633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_973035="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLc3lmHnAAE1VQfwGOFtneS-D8B0tgabBp8HXvgOhODcXi5wvwkqftHo8Hc_8eVLss99zgB2Bgio0pUkItXkJ1ANqEAiY8BjQ0k_qbRlUgmedTYHRaZ8_3_vLZ0sz83WugmW9RBc6OXNu/s1600/IMAG0633.jpg" height="180" hua="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hospice offices under construction</td></tr>
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In the family-world, some days are good.....other days, not so much. December is generally a non-routine month anyway, and then add in long-distance separations, phone calls, Skype, weekend visits.....and routine isn't even in the vocabulary. Before I left, I got each of the kids a fuzzy "Mommy-blanket" which I infused with plenty of cuddles and hugs for them to wrap around themselves whenever they miss me. But, this doesn't stop the tear-fest departures at the end of a weekend. The very first weekend I was to come home.....the snow hit and we made the decision it wasn't safe for me to travel over the mountain. This was especially hard on Maezie who cried a lot, and drew pictures of herself with a broken heart......this caused Mommy's heart to completely crumble! But since that first weekend, we've been able to count out the days until each visit and we've ALL adjusted much better. Recently we were able to spend 12 consecutive days together while the kids were out of school for winter break. (Although five people in my apartment was a fun challenge, but we managed!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiMI3DvoiwotpCs-2gvgqt8mAf4FNPp9mt1Y7eEYw5W_8TwTkCNxLE3dSaj6551FJBojmA-Fkd6-6RX3bE4VVYhjOicgjaRZQgAwrboq8APc0SmthyhPpHLZA3ljdxbuEVgKm4WFz4iYG/s1600/IMAG0583.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_973035="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiMI3DvoiwotpCs-2gvgqt8mAf4FNPp9mt1Y7eEYw5W_8TwTkCNxLE3dSaj6551FJBojmA-Fkd6-6RX3bE4VVYhjOicgjaRZQgAwrboq8APc0SmthyhPpHLZA3ljdxbuEVgKm4WFz4iYG/s1600/IMAG0583.jpg" height="180" hua="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maezie had a "brocine hort" (broken heart)....and so did Mommy!</td></tr>
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Our next step is to look into options for selling our Bend house and buying a Salem house.....and praying it all comes together at the right time in the right location for the right money and everything will be--well, just right. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH876TwKpnr1gw_lx85-pEK9JbK9n7gu4lSi1wrIAqWpJmIJ4dab7GbkYImwx7y8ghfOF0G-uzauOIrlt1RKg0XdwRyyBkKMvOg1ZNUY_mWAwXj23ZP327ncWuOnqOBLyVD3Rd491dNlt/s1600/IMAG0608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" closure_lm_973035="null" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH876TwKpnr1gw_lx85-pEK9JbK9n7gu4lSi1wrIAqWpJmIJ4dab7GbkYImwx7y8ghfOF0G-uzauOIrlt1RKg0XdwRyyBkKMvOg1ZNUY_mWAwXj23ZP327ncWuOnqOBLyVD3Rd491dNlt/s1600/IMAG0608.jpg" height="180" hua="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wacky Williams</td></tr>
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-46743190211947583722013-11-20T15:55:00.005-08:002013-11-20T15:55:54.617-08:00Graeson's 8th BirthdayWell, 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!<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-84414564811220436842013-11-12T20:54:00.001-08:002013-11-12T20:54:26.565-08:00Maezie SingingThis 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!<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-46844774219319947482013-11-02T18:47:00.000-07:002013-11-02T18:47:51.579-07:00Williams Changes<span style="color: magenta;">"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. " Ecclesiastes 3:1</span><br />
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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. (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2011_06_01_archive.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> to recap when we did this same thing two and a half years ago.)<br />
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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.<br />
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So we have some prayer needs!<br />
<ul>
<li>Tangible needs: full or queen bed, bunk beds, couch or futon, table and chairs, and miscellaneous kitchen items.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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.</li>
<li>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!</li>
<li>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.</li>
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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.<br />
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<span style="color: magenta;">"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</span>Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-67137123383017547292013-10-01T21:35:00.001-07:002013-10-01T21:35:54.743-07:00Raising A Boy-JockOver the past couple of years, Graeson--age 8--is becoming more involved in "boy-ness" especially athletics. He and Daddy watch the high school football games together, they practice taekwondo together, and Daddy is coaching Graeson's flag football team. Graeson has his life all planned out: he's going to play high school football for Mountain View Cougars, then he's going to play college football for Oregon State Beavers, then he's going to play NFL football for the New York Giants.<br />
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While his sisters spend time deciding what to wear and how to do their hair, Graeson is a get-up-and-go kind of guy. If his mother would allow it, he'd wear the same Beaver jersey and shorts to school every day. (And why not? That's what Dad wears everyday!) He has several different Beaver shirts--enough for several days of the week. In fact, when he draws pictures of his family or of himself doing something--he draws himself in the Beaver shirt.<br />
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<br />
Here's a snapshot of recent conversations......<br />
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<em>Sorting clothes in his closet</em><br />
Mom: You have all these nice collar shirts in the back of your closet, why don't you wear them?<br />
Graeson: I do wear them!<br />
Mom: Oh really? When was the last time?<br />
Graeson: Duh, EASTER!<br />
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<em>First day of school</em><br />
Mom: What are you planning to wear for the first day of school?<br />
Graeson: (blank look of I-don't-get-what-you're-asking)<br />
Mom: I want you to look nice on the first day of school, after that you can wear your Beaver jersey.<br />
Graeson: But.....why?!<br />
Mom: So I can get mom-points with your teacher and she'll know your mom made you dress up on the first day.<br />
Graeson: But I won't be able to play football at recess.<br />
Mom: You can still play football in a nice shirt, and besides, all your friends' moms will make them dress up too.<br />
Graeson: (suspicious look of are-you-trying-to-trick me)<br />
*After we got his stuff put away in his new class, he spotted his buddies in the hall--he literally raced out the door and they all piled on top of each other like puppies!*<br />
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<em>Another day at school</em><br />
*Girls keep walking by saying Hiiiiiii Graaaaaaaaeeeson!*<br />
Mom: You sure have a lot of girls who say hi to you.<br />
Graeson: (matter-of-fact voice) Oh yeah, lots of girls have a crush on me.<br />
Mom: Oh really?! Why do you think they like you? It must be your blue eyes and cute freckles.<br />
Graeson: (totally serious voice) Oh no, I'm sure it's because I'm really good at football. That's why the girls like me so much.<br />
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<em>Picture day at school</em><br />
Mom: I don't want you to wear your Beaver shirt for picture day, you have to wear a collar shirt.....you know, the Easter shirts.<br />
Graeson: But I like my Beaver shirt!<br />
Mom: I already look at that shirt every day, I don't need to look at it in your picture too.<br />
Graeson: (picks out a nice plaid shirt) Can I wear shorts?<br />
Mom: No, it's 40 degrees outside, you have to wear pants. What about all those jeans? You like jeans.<br />
Graeson: They're all too small. All of them.<br />
Mom: (retrieving the too-big-clothes from the box in the closet.....but those pants literally fall right off. Um, still too big.)<br />
Graeson: I'll just wear my football pants. (warm-up type exercise pants)<br />
Mom: No, you can't wear football pants with a collar shirt, it doesn't go together.<br />
Graeson: The plaid shirt is green, and I can wear the red football pants with the white stripe--that matches!<br />
Mom: Um, never mind. Wear the black football pants--I guess the picture will only show your top half anyway!<br />
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Then I asked him to practice his picture day smile.....this is what I got:<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-11494491845283128252013-09-15T22:30:00.000-07:002013-09-15T22:39:35.697-07:00I Survived.....The First Week of SchoolMy last blog post drew a wild and crazy picture of how much zig-zagging will be happening in the Williams house, just to get everyone where they need to go. I'm happy to say, God provided a fabulous car, perfect for our family, which met all of our requirements including budget! And on the first day of car shopping! Bryan calls it his "company car" as a bonus from his boss. (wink!) I, on the other hand, now have to drive myself to work, which means no more handsome chauffeur with curbside service straight to the front door. (Insert pitiful violin music....)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebp8Nt_4WBZgm4ZWrAVWoOV5p_ax_7JvAkGh_IfJnVaXBLp8c2etQzCJjWJZf3ynBNepu2ETJuP0gDFr4Q9FSajL5aEtMhMEKOkhkXg_Qg5kENf6Q7UOo8oGIHiwTVP1zCzTHV1OX3uDG/s1600/IMAG0372_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebp8Nt_4WBZgm4ZWrAVWoOV5p_ax_7JvAkGh_IfJnVaXBLp8c2etQzCJjWJZf3ynBNepu2ETJuP0gDFr4Q9FSajL5aEtMhMEKOkhkXg_Qg5kENf6Q7UOo8oGIHiwTVP1zCzTHV1OX3uDG/s400/IMAG0372_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">oops--this car came with an extra kid in the back!</td></tr>
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So now that that's off the checklist, the first week of school should be smooth sailing, right? Um, I think our sailboat has some kind of hole in the sail.....<br />
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Chaos of Conflicting Schedules day one: Bryan-Graeson go to football practice, Kaela-Maezie stay home until I get off work. Bryan had dinner in the oven, which Kaela successfully took out, but for some reason it didn't occur to her nor Maezie to EAT dinner. I ended up working late, so by the time I got home, dinner was cold, we all ate late, and went to bed late too.<br />
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Chaos of Conflicting Schedules day two: taekwondo-gymnastics-play practice ALL at the same time, followed by Mom-Graeson-Maezie then head to elementary open house, Dad picks up Kaela from play practice but they don't make it to open house. We all eat late (leftovers it is!), we all go to bed late. (Future blog: pondering whether open house is worth it and pondering not going next year....)<br />
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Chaos of Conflicting Schedules day three: Kaela goes to play practice, which means Maezie goes with Bryan-Graeson to football practice. I get off work and pick Maezie up (while football practice continues) then to the theater to pick Kaela up. But...Bryan forgot that was part of the plan and when practice was over and she was GONE, he panicked. I didn't answer my phone in another room across the house (panic increases), he finally reached Kaela on her phone to find out we were all safely at home. Oops--mom and dad will learn to communicate better which-kid-is-where.<br />
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Chaos of Conflicting Schedules day four: Kaela leaves for school at 7:20am, gets home at 7:20pm...dinner is sandwich in the car between play practice and middle school open house, homework late, shower late (um, has anyone in this house showered at all this week??), an entire hour late for bed. More pondering as to whether open house serves any purpose....<br />
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Chaos of Conflicting Schedules day five: Graeson wakes up on the WRONG side of the bed, Maezie is freaking out because we haven't been able to get her required reading minutes in, and Kaela is coming down with a head cold and cough. Mom and Dad have a weekly date at Starbucks (trust me, it's necessary for marriage survival!) and this mama is going to need a triple shot to make it through the day. Only one kid has to be at after-school activity, so Friday Family Night is movies at home with popcorn in pajamas.<br />
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WEEKEND!!!!<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-52147876745814603662013-08-29T21:45:00.001-07:002013-08-29T21:46:11.592-07:00I Love/Hate FallNormally, I love Fall! It's really my favorite time of year. (See past blog posts: <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/11/october-fun.html" target="_blank">October Fun</a> 2012, <a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2009/10/fall-is-best-time-of-year.html" target="_blank">Fall is the Best Time of Year</a> 2009) I love the crisp air, the leaves turning colors, kids back in school......and my favorite thing: pumpkin spice lattes! And even though I detest football, Bryan is a very happy boy during Fall football season, especially when the Beavers are on. <br />
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And normally one of the things that's attractive about Fall is getting back into a normal routine and a regular family schedule.<br />
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Oh but not this year.<br />
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This year we are making the leap to middle school (gasp), which means a whole different schedule. In our school district, middle school starts/ends a full hour and fifteen minutes before elementary school. This is not fun for parents of multiple ages. So we're dealing with the dilemma of do we have Kaela ride the bus (less driving for us, but a full 30 minutes earlier for her) or do we drive her (doesn't have to get up at the crack of dawn, but that makes FOUR trips to the school every day.) We only live 2.5 miles from the school, so it's not actually a big deal--but it's just the zig zag factor of driving back and forth. Four times. And the interrupted/staggered breakfast....how will that work exactly?<br />
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Then there's the after-school activities: Kaela has play practice four days a week. Graeson has taekwondo twice a week, plus football practice twice a week, and football games once a week. Maezie has gymnastics once a week. Bryan and Kaela have youth group once a week. Graeson and Maezie have swim lessons once a week. (My head is swimming, that's for sure....)<br />
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So the morning routine will look something like this: Bryan takes Kaela to school, Jill gets Graeson and Maezie out of bed and five minutes of morning cuddles, Bryan-Graeson-Maezie take Jill to work, go back home and get ready for school, Bryan takes Graeson-Maezie to school. <br />
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Trip count: 3 trips, 13 miles, 45 total minutes driving.<br />
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Then there's mid-day: Bryan picks up Jill for lunch at home, back to work an hour later. Consideration has gone into is it necessary to come home for lunch, but--it's only 1.5 miles so why not? Besides, who wants to eat lunch at work?!<br />
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Trip count: 2 trips, 6 miles, 15 total minutes driving.<br />
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And then (deep breath) there's the afternoons. Get your roller skates on. Mondays: Pick up Kaela from school, pick up Graeson-Maezie from school, football practice....but at the same time Jill needs to get off work (which I might add, is highly unpredictable)--uh oh, schedule conflict number one. So I either have to get off work an hour early (not something that can be counted on) or I have to stay two hours late until 7pm (not fond of that idea.)<br />
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Trip count: 4 trips, 15 miles, not sure how this is going to work....<br />
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Tuesdays: Maezie gymnastics, Graeson taekwondo (mercifully they are both at the same place AND the same time), Kaela play practice (a different location), back to pick up Maezie, pick up Jill from work, Jill-Maezie eat dinner, Bryan goes back to pick up Kaela then Graeson, Bryan-Kaela-Graeson eat dinner. This we can actually manage without a schedule conflict!<br />
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Trip count: 6 trips, 20 miles, 70 total minutes driving.<br />
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Wednesdays: Kaela play practice, Graeson football practice.....uh oh, again at the same time Jill is getting off work--another schedule conflict, what to do? Kaela gets done with play practice, but Bryan-Graeson are still at football practice and no one has come to pick up Jill.....Kaela is stranded, Jill is stranded, who knows where Maezie is..... Even if the magic genie got us all where we needed to be, as soon as we get home Bryan-Kaela leave for youth group. Dinner? What dinner?<br />
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Trip count: does anyone have a calculator?<br />
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Let's not EVEN go there for the remainder of the week.....I assure you it's more of the same! But just for fun, let's fast-forward to Sundays. We had (had!) a nice little plan of attending church as a family, then helping in kids ministry second service, then having a lunch-time Bible study at our house after church. Bend Parks and Rec apparently did not get this memo: all football games are scheduled on Sundays, ranging in schedules from 10:30 to 3:00. So this means either Kaela-Maezie-Mom have to stay at church, stranded, long after everyone else has left.....or some of us don't go....or none of us go.....and did I mention the football games are CLEAR ACROSS TOWN!? And this really messes up our lunch group plans too......<br />
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For 7 years now, we have been a one-car-family, and we have intentionally made sacrifices and inconveniences to maintain this commitment. We've always known this day will come when kid schedules collide with the overall family schedule.....but honestly I didn't really think that time would come until high school. But--WHAM! that time is now: we have come to the reality that it is physically impossible to continue the one-car-family plan. We've looked at the schedule forwards-backwards-inwards-outwards.....it. ain't. gonna. happen.<br />
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We'll be car shopping in a hurry. And we're praying we find a good one (translation: cheap, reliable, gas-saver) in the next 11 days before the Chaos of Conflicting Schedules begins. <br />
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Ready, set, go.....!Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-64174071156102735222013-08-06T22:49:00.000-07:002013-08-06T22:49:28.766-07:00Blog? What blog?So it's been a while since the last blog post.....personally, I blame Facebook, since I can post short updates/photos without much energy at all. But alas, here's the catch-up on the Williams family this summer.<br />
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<u>June</u><br />
The beginning of summer means the end of school, and this year was particularly end-ful as Kaela is officially leaving elementary school! She's on to middle school next year, and this brings a little sniffle to mama. Kaela's 5th grade class went on an overnight field trip to the Evergreen Air & Space Museum in McMinnville, which included a stop in Salem at the state capitol building. Mom was a chaperone, which meant sleeping overnight on the museum floor. The following week we attended an informal graduation ceremony in the gym, and the 1st graders made special hats for each of the graduating 5th graders. Later on in June, we celebrated Kaela's half-birthday which makes her 11 and a half now!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguf1p9ocy_NrfSX3oFI3KJSJWRQTrhPDzfDMVFaAItozA_FGALeIlNsdEmdtPJ2ysnB6DlW0K1G4G0cVXBUEudyXX_KCxOCFODwdtrHceJN4EHARocVc0toAAnpgwpIZdjzVhwiajTRKH5/s1600/IMAG0145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguf1p9ocy_NrfSX3oFI3KJSJWRQTrhPDzfDMVFaAItozA_FGALeIlNsdEmdtPJ2ysnB6DlW0K1G4G0cVXBUEudyXX_KCxOCFODwdtrHceJN4EHARocVc0toAAnpgwpIZdjzVhwiajTRKH5/s320/IMAG0145.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3D IMAX movie at the overnight field trip</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad, Kaela, & Mom at 5th grade graduation</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3ylLf8BqYQI1OqN6dgL0ofRzVdECdzpMvrg-s_GhrMk7rSQrmnHn5neMJE1Zcto0pzKHOqVTutvuh4Bmh434CCDKQ6kZYMwKyVoofWAjIL0fjAoioI42n5sFQOV75l6BOkiUQ9c-gvc6/s1600/IMAG0179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3ylLf8BqYQI1OqN6dgL0ofRzVdECdzpMvrg-s_GhrMk7rSQrmnHn5neMJE1Zcto0pzKHOqVTutvuh4Bmh434CCDKQ6kZYMwKyVoofWAjIL0fjAoioI42n5sFQOV75l6BOkiUQ9c-gvc6/s320/IMAG0179.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half-birthday slumber party</td></tr>
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<u>July</u><br />
4th of July is always fun, and especially in Bend where they have a big festival with tons of fun for kids. Then we got to stay up late and watch the fireworks. 5 year old Maezie HATES FIREWORKS! She has fears and anxieties with loud noises and fires, so she watched from <em>inside</em> the living room window. Graeson played summer baseball which was great for him and no cold weather for parents to sit through! Graeson also continues to excel in taekwondo, and is on the Demo Team for performances. Kaela enjoyed acting in another play, this time a summer workshop where they focused on several one-act plays. One character she played was Thisbe (from Shakespeare) where she even got to stab herself in full dramatic flare! The end of July brought us to the Sharp family reunion (Jill's side of the family) where we had tons of fun with cousins, aunts/uncles, grandparents, and our favorite GG.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_5k0nYySDQzly6uhsqtoZy9d-karwv6Z3hjl7luMj-k-leLKMeztqkCkkTZ4KrQiUhOM0vn20uLQQO2pf0dLJIsPT_wUXd-cCmXLz6LA4weNmTBhdgkpmVQUWCEkg77F7IAXvlN5_lWV/s1600/IMAG0211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_5k0nYySDQzly6uhsqtoZy9d-karwv6Z3hjl7luMj-k-leLKMeztqkCkkTZ4KrQiUhOM0vn20uLQQO2pf0dLJIsPT_wUXd-cCmXLz6LA4weNmTBhdgkpmVQUWCEkg77F7IAXvlN5_lWV/s320/IMAG0211.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maezie the flag girl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxfQdtUXkMwTVpwneZGEdsak2kgsPDAS7PF_0rCwG7f9kMdB0aso7-xkLvnZwPdD4eLs2chBBdMtt9LsD1n0V9pucKXdg_gtyHwhN-AwPUYgUNcXsheDrHTcju3cnxq_uiF2KuggbfHrO/s1600/IMAG0233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnxfQdtUXkMwTVpwneZGEdsak2kgsPDAS7PF_0rCwG7f9kMdB0aso7-xkLvnZwPdD4eLs2chBBdMtt9LsD1n0V9pucKXdg_gtyHwhN-AwPUYgUNcXsheDrHTcju3cnxq_uiF2KuggbfHrO/s320/IMAG0233.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Batter up!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTuvLlRas8DULPF3yInK-QBvNcEzsGbz2fjLv4aPMtBpOwGtT1czbnHcPgM1WWFGvfws-mTS4febDGR3JEj0AZtpU2njSSJXZXVtjwkCRlV7jYzEMWbVJs14I02kMiMOM5lvOPqHFUuhC/s1600/IMAG0242_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTuvLlRas8DULPF3yInK-QBvNcEzsGbz2fjLv4aPMtBpOwGtT1czbnHcPgM1WWFGvfws-mTS4febDGR3JEj0AZtpU2njSSJXZXVtjwkCRlV7jYzEMWbVJs14I02kMiMOM5lvOPqHFUuhC/s320/IMAG0242_1.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graeson is a High Red belt in taekwondo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl70ljMhnbs48IMKQ73FvWV58UR56PV5glekJsxIDVDWOkDEqgA66GDFmVjOnbHi1yT4SBkOFBUGM5XmkxexJWzLEDiG_0CVWkJq90_JboauvBch6RV_FUfMDktRVd-jI0wwKNmU7-i5I-/s1600/IMAG0252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl70ljMhnbs48IMKQ73FvWV58UR56PV5glekJsxIDVDWOkDEqgA66GDFmVjOnbHi1yT4SBkOFBUGM5XmkxexJWzLEDiG_0CVWkJq90_JboauvBch6RV_FUfMDktRVd-jI0wwKNmU7-i5I-/s320/IMAG0252.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaela in her most dramatic moment</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxNgHfryjsw5FPDRkCsF3VWo1CWmfgydW8NfEZY5HOgmBkVk6cN2uOzDFb2n-fDUghfdevpjL8Qd-8JK38Ic2hhYagDwim9LX_sDR9r0aXv7797uoe-Fo1o9AForSJ8aenHlsTIvmu6ax/s1600/IMAG0285_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGxNgHfryjsw5FPDRkCsF3VWo1CWmfgydW8NfEZY5HOgmBkVk6cN2uOzDFb2n-fDUghfdevpjL8Qd-8JK38Ic2hhYagDwim9LX_sDR9r0aXv7797uoe-Fo1o9AForSJ8aenHlsTIvmu6ax/s320/IMAG0285_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jill's mom (Nana), Jill's grandma (GG), and the Williams women</td></tr>
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<u>August</u><br />
August is just beginning, but already we've had some fun times! This past weekend, Graeson and Bryan went camping for Taekwondo Camp, and we girls stayed home and had our own fun. We stayed up late watching movies and eating caramel corn; the next day we went to the park and had free lunch for kids then crafts in the park. We met a friend at a big water park--swimming in the pools, floating the "lazy river", and careening down water slides. We also did some school clothes shopping (which is way more fun with no boys!) Meanwhile, Graeson was learning how to use nun-chucks, swords, and other martial arts; he also was taking late night canoe rides, and playing and playing and playing with the other boys! We girls were SURE we were having more fun than the boys......and the boys were SURE they were having more fun than the girls.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Movies and caramel corn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru0-i2jHuDMbA3B3uEbGRH_WJ4HivmOoKVvxC6Y9AYVbw6ERWJOMRSgiJCFE1xwyAY5Iol05EaUzLAmke3kbwKyLH6EKgP6xpWOnFcBTi307HScLlh4ZF2H2B6dhfQFGP9DS15iTpbrLA/s1600/IMAG0303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru0-i2jHuDMbA3B3uEbGRH_WJ4HivmOoKVvxC6Y9AYVbw6ERWJOMRSgiJCFE1xwyAY5Iol05EaUzLAmke3kbwKyLH6EKgP6xpWOnFcBTi307HScLlh4ZF2H2B6dhfQFGP9DS15iTpbrLA/s320/IMAG0303.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying on school clothes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you find Graeson?</td></tr>
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-43847740054359113212013-04-29T21:53:00.000-07:002013-04-29T21:53:34.907-07:00Maezie's Farm ProgramKindergarten is such a fun age! Here's Maezie in her spring program at school. (You'll need to pause the blog music player to the right of this post.)<br />
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Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-22708120926582347762013-01-20T20:47:00.000-08:002013-01-20T20:47:03.022-08:00The Backstage MomThis past year, Kaela decided to leave the world of gymnastics and enter the world of theater. We weren't sure how our "quiet Kaela" would do on stage, but we soon found out she transformed into a confident actress who can actually speak loudly! Her first play was "Honk!" a musical which included speaking, singing, dancing, costume changes, and a lot of coordination. Kaela's main part was Penny the Swan who helps Ugly (the ugly duckling) to realize he is indeed a swan. She also played multiple other parts throughout the production. The first time we saw her in action I almost didn't recognize her--she was totally confident, no stage fright whatsoever....and she was <u>clearly</u> in love with acting. I had a lump in my throat at how much older she looked in stage makeup and grown-up costumes--and how she just oozed confidence. <br />
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Various moms had been helping during dress rehearsals, and I was signed up for the actual performances. But the first night I was backstage, Kaela kept trying to usher me out--she wanted another mom to do her hair, and one of the older girls to do her makeup, and she kept asking when I was going to go sit in the audience. I finally asked her "Don't you need me to help you?" Guess what the answer was? "No mom, I'm fine. I know just what to do." So I focused on one of the younger actresses while still using my mother-one-eye-technique to watch her in secret and observe her being independent, and confident, and mature, and.....grown-up. <br />
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Sigh. My little girl doesn't need me. Make that a sniff, not just a sigh.<br />
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The dressing room lights went down, the stage lights went up, the music came on.....and out she went, smiling with that oozing confidence again. As the performance went on--and she finally realized I wasn't going to do anything to screw up her routine!--she would sit on my lap backstage, and whisper to me which scene was coming next, and ask me if her hair looked alright before she went on. Then the next night, she wanted <u>me</u> to do her hair and help with her costume and do her makeup. And she asked if I could work backstage for the next performance also, and all of the upcoming performances too.<br />
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Little did Kaela know, I signed up for backstage help so I could directly observe--and shield from, if necessary--what my daughter was being exposed to in this new theatrical world. Oftentimes, the green room games amongst the older teenagers would be "Truth or Dare" or "Would You Rather". There were also pre-performance "Energy Circle" activities intended to get all the actors and actresses focused for the performance. There was one teenager who repeatedly made sure everyone knew he was an atheist. As parents, we try to protect our children from unwanted influences--but at the same time we recognize that we can't be with them every minute. So I used these encounters as conversation-starters and asked Kaela what she thought of the things some of the others participated in. For the most part, she was completely naive and honestly had no idea of some of the intentions. She also simply chose not to participate in most of them, and played card games or drawing games with some of the others. <br />
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Also.....this was a co-ed dressing room--and there were a high amount of costume changes. The girls had been asked to wear camisole undershirts and white leggings under their costumes, which remained in place during all their costume changes. But I noticed two of the older teenage boys did not--and were often seen strutting in front of the mirrors in only their boxers, with no apparent reason in my opinion. So I was faced with a moral decision as a parent--I could simply accept it as "part of the world of theater" or I could not. Sure, it was harmless--they weren't trying to come on to any of the girls, and if anything they were trying to impress each other. But I saw no reason for my 10 year old to be exposed to 17 year old boys in their underwear. So I talked to the assistant director and asked if the boys could please do their full-costume changes in the bathroom, or in one of the nooks in the dark dressing room. Thankfully, the director respected my request and changes were made the very next performance. Some of the teenagers inadvertently commented backstage that they didn't see why everyone couldn't just dress in front of each other....it's just theater after all. But despite the murmuring and complaining, I felt convicted it was my job as a parent to manipulate my child's environment whenever it was possible. To my knowledge, none of the kids--not even Kaela--knew I was the one who instigated the change. For the rest of the performances, I made sure I was backstage....to quietly steer her toward card games, to ensure appropriate costume changes, and I even taught the older kids new green room games that didn't involve Truth or Dare. <br />
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Turned out.....no one liked Truth or Dare anyway.<br />
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<span class="content"><span class="content"><em><span style="color: blue;"><strong>Proverbs 4:20 & 23</strong></span></em></span></span><br />
<span class="content"><em><span style="color: blue;"><strong><span class="content">My child, pay attention to what I say; </span><span class="verse v20 selected" data-usfm="PRO.4.20"><span class="content">turn your ear to my words.</span></span></strong></span></em></span><br />
<span class="content"><span class="verse v20 selected" data-usfm="PRO.4.20"><span class="content"><em><span style="color: blue;"><strong><span class="content">Above all else, guard your heart, </span><span class="verse v23 selected" data-usfm="PRO.4.23"><span class="content">for everything you do flows from it.</span></span></strong></span></em></span></span></span>Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-63888415741950003852013-01-17T22:12:00.001-08:002013-01-17T22:12:37.042-08:00New Year, New BlogI don't know what this whole "Spring Fever" concept is about, because I always get "January Fever" every year. After all the crazy December schedules, junk-food indulging, feasting on big meals, and vacationing, I am always ready to start cleaning out closets in January. So Blog got a clean-out, start-over, makeover too! Check out the left side where we have family bios and pictures. On the right side, Blog now shows a few family videos from You Tube (sadly I'm WAY behind), and some nice music while you read. Of course you'll have to pause the music if you want to watch a video at the same time! There's also an archive of all past blogs. (Yes--when I first started, I was much more faithful at writing posts more often!) My grandma keeps a binder of all the blog entries printed out from the very beginning--this helps remind me to keep the blog updated since she loves to read them and she's not exactly a computer-kind-of-grandma. It's so full we're going to have to start a new binder makeover too! <br />
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So in the spirit of clean-up, here's a wrap up of our favorite 2012 moments:<br />
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<u>January</u><br />
Bryan's birthday<br />
Family game night (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivAud1t_qK8" target="_blank">watch the video here</a>)<br />
School trivia night<br />
Graeson taekwondo yellow belt<br />
Home Depot and Lowe's kid workshops<br />
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<u>February</u><br />
Kaela cheerleading<br />
High Desert Museum<br />
Kids cooking (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/02/kids-in-kitchen.html" target="_blank">click here for more cooking stories</a>)<br />
Bryan San Francisco youth group trip<br />
Indoor swim lessons<br />
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<u>March</u><br />
Bryan and Jill retreat in Sunriver<br />
Riding the public buses (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/03/adventures-in-bus-land.html" target="_blank">click here for that funny story</a>)<br />
Peterson Rock Garden<br />
Graeson soccer<br />
Visit from Laurel and Keira<br />
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<u>April</u><br />
Easter in Klamath Falls<br />
Maezie's preschool princess party<br />
Kaela gymnastics performance<br />
Graeson taekwondo green belt<br />
School carnival<br />
(<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/05/april-catch-up.html" target="_blank">more on April catch-up click here</a>)<br />
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<u>May</u><br />
Sunriver Nature Center<br />
Mother's Day<br />
Heart Focus camping (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepfPUS9f48" target="_blank">video from the year prior....2011</a>)<br />
Maezie's preschool graduation<br />
Hiking at Smith Rock<br />
Kaela's wax museum<br />
Graeson's Miss Rumphius<br />
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<u>June</u><br />
Maezie's early birthday party<br />
Kaela outdoor school<br />
Erin's college graduation<br />
Klamath Falls Gems baseball game<br />
Father's Day (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/06/happy-fathers-day.html" target="_blank">click here for what we love about Daddy</a>)<br />
$1 movies at the theater<br />
Kaela's half birthday<br />
Tumalo Falls<br />
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<u>July</u><br />
4th of July pet parade and festival<br />
Kaela's first play "Honk!" (<a href="http://www.stilesanddrewe.co.uk/honk/" target="_blank">for the storyline of Honk! click here</a>)<br />
Family camping at Beverly Beach<br />
Balloons Over Bend<br />
Graeson taekwondo Demo Team<br />
Floating the Deschutes River<br />
Kaela and Graeson get baptized in the river<br />
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<br />
<br />
<u>August</u><br />
Jill and friends walk Haulin Aspen half-marathon<br />
Lunch, books, and crafts in the park<br />
Compass Church Adventure Days<br />
High school camping<br />
Maezie's 5th birthday (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/09/5-year-old-logic.html" target="_blank">click here for Five Year Old Logic</a>)<br />
Munch and Movies in the park<br />
Dee Wright Observatory and Skylight cave<br />
Bend Elks baseball game<br />
Obsidian hunting<br />
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<br />
<br />
<u>September</u><br />
First day of school (three kids at same school!)<br />
Graeson flag football<br />
Mountain View High football games<br />
Drake Duck Race<br />
Bend Day of Play<br />
Jill's birthday<br />
Graeson taekwondo high green belt<br />
Kaela making a commercial (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV9aJUnjhGw" target="_blank">watch the funny video here</a>)<br />
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<br />
<br />
<u>October</u><br />
First Friday art walk<br />
Fall Festival<br />
Bryan and Jill weekend in Portland<br />
DD pumpkin ranch<br />
Graeson taekwondo tournament<br />
Trunk or Treat<br />
Financial Fasting (<a href="http://www.thefamilywhofasts.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-financial-fast.html" target="_blank">click here to jump over to our other blog</a>)<br />
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<br />
<br />
<u>November</u><br />
Graeson's 8th birthday<br />
Family weekend at Eagle Crest<br />
Thanksgiving in Bend (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2012/11/100-thankfuls.html" target="_blank">click here for 100 Thankfuls</a>.....or just scroll down)<br />
Bryan runs I Love Pie 10k race<br />
Graeson taekwondo blue belt<br />
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<br />
<br />
<u>December</u><br />
Kaela's second play "It's A Wonderful Life"<br />
Kaela's school Christmas program<br />
Graeson's taekwondo & Maezie's gymnastics holiday show<br />
Maezie's school Christmas program<br />
Kaela's 11th birthday (<a href="http://williams-land.blogspot.com/2011/12/999.html" target="_blank">click here for last year's 9.99</a>)<br />
Christmas in Bend<br />
After-Christmas in Klamath Falls at Running Y<br />
<br />
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<br />Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-4316260242072612702012-11-22T18:29:00.000-08:002012-11-22T18:29:15.902-08:00100 Thankfuls
Last year my cousin Cassie challenged me to think of 100 thankfuls. <a href="http://theresapickleinmylife.blogspot.com/2011/11/thankful.html" target="_blank">She made it to 100</a>, I only made it to 30--so I kept a running list and it took me all year to get to 100. These are in no particular order (except maybe the top 10.....yes JC made it in there!)<br />
<br />
Happy Thanksgiving!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Consolas;">1. Jesus</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">2. Bryan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">3. Kaela</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">4. Graeson</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">5. Maezie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">6. New house</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">7. New job</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">8. New church</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">9. New Bible study group</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">10. Jeremy Camp</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">11. Klove radio</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">12. Christmas music</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">13. Email</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">14. Facebook</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">15. Blogs</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">16. Cell phones</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">17. Pajama days</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">18. Evening walks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">19. Fall leaves</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">20. Weekends</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">21. Movie night</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">22. Making cookies</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">23. Pumpkin spice lattes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">24. Eggnog lattes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">25. Sleeping in</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">26. Red Lobster</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">27. Olive Garden</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">28. Starbucks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">29. Camping</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">30. Oregon coast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">31. Redbox</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">32. Thunderstorms</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">33. Warm bed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">34. Morning cuddles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">35. Reliable car</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">36. Flannel sheets</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">37. Electric blanket</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">38. Snow</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">39. Time with one kid at a time</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">40. Gift bags & tissue paper</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">41. Windshield wipers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">42. Sturdy roof</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">43. A reliable paycheck</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">44. Christmas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">45. My 92 year old Grandma</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">46. Library books</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">47. Library digital books</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">48. Saturday morning phone calls from my mom </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">49. Bryan's
cooking </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">50. My dear husband lets me sleep in on weekends</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">51. Coffee with a new
friend </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">52. Game night with the kids </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">53. Cold medicine </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">54. Christian friends </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">55.
Play dates </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">56. Tax refund </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">57. DVR </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">58. Weekend getaways </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">59. Nana babysitting for
#58 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">60. Grammy babysitting for #58 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">61. Porch swing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">62. No mosquitoes in Bend
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">63. Warm (yet cool) summer evenings </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">64. Long walks </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">65. Short hikes </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">66. Family
bike rides </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">67. Waterfalls </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">68. Free lunch in the park </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">69. $1 kid movies at the
theater </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">70. A good book </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">71. Kaela's play </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">72. Hand-me-downs </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">73.
Taekwondo-gymnastics same place AND same time </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">74. Graeson's very patient
taekwondo instructor </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">75. Back to school sales </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">76. All three kids at same school
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">77. Amazing school teachers (past and present) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">78. Temperpedic pillow </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">79.
Friday coffee dates </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">80. Old friends from high school (and one all the way from
kindergarten) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">81. Shasta diet creme soda </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">82. The internet </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">83. Slippers </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">84. Porch
swing </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">85. Early bedtimes </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">86. Mail-in ballots </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">87. Covered porch which stays dry
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">88. Red autumn trees </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">89. Dishwashers </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">90. Washing machines </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">91. Dryers </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">92.
Microwaves </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">93. Hot tub </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">9</span><span style="font-family: Consolas;">4. Crockpot </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">95. Switch-on-switch-off fireplace </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">96. Christmas cards</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">97. Computers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">98. Cameras</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">99. Pedicures</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Consolas;">100. A day off</span></div>
Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1139185713920023662.post-75090583076705358222012-11-11T21:24:00.000-08:002012-11-11T21:24:33.990-08:00October FunWe've been having a lot of fun in the Williams family.....<br />
<br />
Maezie is five years old and she started gymnastics. Her favorite thing is standing on her head!<br />
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Graeson is seven years old and he is very very excited to get to play flag football! He did a great job and can run very fast!<br />
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Kaela is ten years old and growing up every day....<br />
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Bryan (the biggest kid) was very excited to go the the OSU Beaver store.<br />
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We went to the pumpkin patch and had fun with pony rides, petting zoo, hay ride, feeding cows, and tons of fun!<br />
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We also had fun dressing up for Halloween. Kaela was a Spider Princess, Graeson was a Ninja, and Maezie was Cinderella.<br />
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<br />Williams familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17560363355799181236noreply@blogger.com0