Rock the Universe Sept

Back log Sept
At the beginning of September we were invited to join our family (Williams side) and the Johnson's family (close family friends) to celebrate Kaili's birthday at Rock the Universe.  Unfortunately, we got lost on the way down there. Apparently getting the directions off of my "Maps" app on the iTouch (since our computer had crashed) was NOT a good idea.  Instead of leaving after Josh got off work and being there about the kids bed time we got in at 3am!  Oh it was not fun.  Tired, lost, and very frustrated.  We thought we were going to right way in the beginning so we didn't think about calling anyone when we first.  Then since I had stayed at the rental house a couple of years back with the Johnson's and Williams. Well, the night or my memory something was off plus the directions, as we found out later, were wrong.
So we slept in Saturday morning, my family was pretty worn out.  Thankfully Arabella was willing to hang out with Papa and Grandma Williams while the rest of us slept.  Landon kept waking up on our drive so I think he was worn out too.
We went out to Universal after a "brunch" of sorts.  We spent the day exploring and checking out The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  As BIG Harry Potter fans it was a blast.  They really did an awesome job.  The little signing skits and act put on during the day were really amazing.  They people were very talented.  We went back to the rental house for dinner and a horrible migraine set in.  Landon was also exhausted so the kids and i missed out on the music and had a very early night.  I think Landon was asleep by 6:30pm which I am pretty sure has never happened!
We had breakfast with Josh's family the next day and then headed back home.  Dispite the downfalls it was a fun weekend.

Barber shop

Back Log Sept
I am getting there with posting these blogs. Many which I had started on my Blogger app on my iTouch but never finished because I didn't get on the computer to put pictures and finishing touch on the blog post.  My sweet and lovely sister, Jamiie let me borrow her computer a couple of times on our MO trip and I brought flash with my pictures so I have been able to catch up a little.  Thanks Jamiie!)  Although I have no pictures for this one as of yet.  I can't remember if these are lost or on my camera (My brother fixed it over our Christmas break so hopefully pictures will be found)

In September we joined the Williams in Orlando for the Fall Barber Shop competition.  I love love love going, so does Josh (he use to sing in choir).  The singing is so beautiful.  Landon and Arabella enjoy it a lot too.    Landon sat through quite a bit Arabella sat though a song and then would restless.  The Barber Shop group also had a TV out in the hall so it was nice to be able to listen and let the kids move about.

All the singing was beautiful as always.  The favorite was a group who did the Jungle Book song, I want to be like you.  Dad W's group did well.  They won't be competing next year, unfortunately.  We will be looking forward for to the next year.  Hopefully Josh will be able to start singing one day with Dad.  I would love for Landon and Josh to sing with Grandpa W.  The few little boys who sing are absolutely adorable! 

One, Two,......and Three! Happy birthday Landon!

Birthday breakfast

Back log Sept

September was very hectic for the Williams family.  We did manage to have a little birthday celebration for our sweet boy.  We typically have our Bible study/small group fellowship dinner on Friday nights at our house.  Since we were busy every weekend in September we couldn't go to see the grandparents to celebrate like we have in the past.  We decided to have a birthday party for Landon as part of our Bible study.  We invited a couple of friends, per Landon's request, to our normal small group.  They have been invited before but made a special effort to come for Landon's birthday.  Landon loved having some of his friends come over to play.  The night before Landon's party which fell on his actual birthday, I stayed up quite late decorating the house so Landon could wake up to a birthday celebration.  I think all parents want to make birthdays special for the little ones but I felt like Landon really needed some extra celebrating.  He is old enough to really understand what is going on and his first two birthdays Josh wasn't able to celebrate with us on his actually birthday. Plus he was a little disappointed we couldn't visit with all his grandparents and aunts and uncles. 

I asked Landon what kind of birthday he wanted.  I figured it was going to be Pixar Cars or Thomas the Train.  Especially because the weeks leading up to his birthday we had been getting kid party supply magazines filled with those two themes.  Surprisingly he asked for a orange and green party with alligators.  My first thought was "Oh okay so it will look like we are UF Gator fans who like Miami colors.  If you didn't know, Landon always says "I like orange and green not blue.  I don't like blue. Well, unless it is Gator colors."  So the week of his birthday we went to the Dollar Store and bought orange streamers and orange balloons.  Which by the way is the hardest color to find.  It was good, for Landon, that Halloween decorations were out and because there were only orange and black decorations.... so if anyone needs black balloons or streamers see me!  So our house was decorated in Lots of orange, some green and a little bit of blue (just so it didn't look too much like we were Miami fans ;)  and we had some streamers from his first birthday left over).

The gator theme of Landon's party came with his cake.  I made, all from scratch, a green gator head on a orange frosted cake.  This was the first time I had made cake and butter cream frosting from scratch.  It wasn't very hard and boy was my tummy happy.  It was work the extra work.  I don't think Cake Boss or any of those other cake places will be looking to hire me but Landon was thrilled his gator cake.

Landon woke up to his birthday decorations and presents.  He had a birthday donuts for breakfast. We watched Little Einsteins "Mission Celebration" DVD.   Little Einsteins is currently one of his favorite shows to watch.  He enjoyed his balloons and gifts from us which included Radiator Spring Lighting and big firetruck.   

Friday evening we had everyone over to enjoy a spaghetti pot luck dinner and some gator cake.  Landon enjoyed all the wonderful gifts he received! He loved that his friend came over to play!  I think he had a pretty good birthday for a 3 year old.  :)

Birthday banner and one of his birthday presents from Daddy, Mommy and Bella.

Decorations!

Per request- Orange birthday hair.  Friends:Joshua and Nate also got orange hair.

Happy Birthday Landon Gator cake!

Party time!

Spaghetti Pot luck birthday dinner

Friends and family are the best part of birthday parties!

Birthday wishes from Aunt Jessie on the phone

Birthday boy's friends

Happy Birthday to you, Landon!

Yummy cake!

Birthday Presents! Thanks everyone!!

Arabella loved the aftermath of Landon's party- Balloons!

1, 2, and 3. Landon is 3! Mommy lettter to Landon

Back log Sept

To my Sweet lovable, goofy, little boy, Landon...who isn't staying little

3 years ago my life changed.  I held in my hands a tiny little boy who I didn't know, but had worried over his health, prayed for many years before even meeting my husband, and had felt growing inside of me.  After about 11 hours of a somewhat worrisome labor, my doctor (who I love) handed me my first child.   It felt strange, I loved this little warm body in my arms but he didn't feel like he belonged to me.  I looked him over and made sure he seemed okay and told him I loved him.
Since that day I feel like that little boy is so totally mine.  Landon, you are my joy, my laughter, my smiles, my worry, and my stress. ;)

You amaze me everyday with your wit, imagination and deep empathy. Boy, do you love to joke.  You are pretty funny too.  Landon your imagination is so great unfortunately it gets carried away and you will scare yourself sometimes.  Even though we are super cautious about what we allow you to watch (when we do watch TV shows or movies which is rare).  I don't know where you come up with this stuff.  I love your awareness of people and their feelings.  I hope that you continue to allow God to use your empathy and all your other talents and weaknesses  When we read a book, or out and about you are always aware of others and their facial expressions.  I love how you try to copy facial expressions of people or characters and if you don't recognize the expression you ask what the person is thinking.

Arabella adores you and thinks you are the coolest person on the planet.  I love that you try so hard to be a good big brother.  Both Daddy and I, as the oldest siblings know that the role of oldest is a tough one at times but you do a super job.  You are typically patient and kind to Bella.  My favorite things about having you as the big brother to my little daughter are how you love to give her kisses and hugs, how when you are sad you always want her love, and how excited you get when Arabella does something well.  You are a great teacher and cheerleader.  I can only imagine that Bella will have a great love for learning and strong confidence in herself mush to do with you and how you treat her.

Some of your favorite things to do right now are draw but not color pictures, cars and trains, dress up, playing with letters, playing with you Little People Mary and Baby Jesus, swimming, and just like any other little person play outside and play with friends.

Landon I love how you are a little sponge.  I love teaching you although you resist some structured learning. Some of the things I am proud of that you know are
-numbers 1-11
-learning 1-10 in Spanish (and since I am so late posting this- he has got it down good)
-1-10 in German (He has 1-5 down now too )
-recognizes about 90% of his letter and know about 70% of the sounds the letters make
-can write about 5-8 letters although not always the best.. I love how excited you get when you purposely or accidentally write a letter.
-know all your basic shapes
-know the difference between a monkey and an ape, or a shark and a whale/dolphin and that you will correct people if they are mistaken.
-your love for drawing and making up stories to go with your drawings.. plus I think you are a pretty awesome artist for a just 3 year old.
-and much more

I think it is great that you use "big" words for a little guy.  It makes me smile and laugh when you use words like, "Actually," of course," patient," and"useful."

Landon you are such a blessing to Daddy, Arabella, and I as well as your family and friends.  I am so thankful God has given Daddy and I the responsibility of raising and teaching you.  We love you!!!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Glasses?

  Back Log: Sept

Wanted: Husband's pair of glasses. Last seen right after dinner. Possible suspect: my husband (Josh Williams is always leaving them in random places). Found: by lovely wife Krystle Lynn Williams- in the sea turtle toy catch all in the tub. Likely suspect- an adorable almost 3 year old boy sleeping in the bedroom next to mine. :)

September 13 

Disney Movies

  In September we started trying to borrow Disney movies from the library and watching one once a week.  Both of us grew up watching Disney movies and have great memories.  

Here is our list for Sept and Oct.

Jungle Book, Dumbo, Mary Poppins, Toy Story (again, we have seen this one a lot since Landon has it), Cars (again, we have seen this one a lot since Landon has it), Winne the Pooh, A Tigger Movie, Pinocchio, Robin Hood, and Pete's Dragon. 

Landon loves them and always loves movie night.  He always makes us laugh but had to share the following...

While watching Disney Mary Poppins

Landon: "That doesn't happen to me when I laugh!"

We are looking forward to lots more movies and memories!

 

Landon's new....

Back log: Aug 18th

PUPPY!!

Landon kind of got a early birthday present this year. A birthday present is how we justified our rather hasty, non-responsible happily made decision.  Our friend needed to find a home for a puppy.  So... Callie found her new home with us.  She is a sweet dog and although she still is VERY much a puppy with all the trouble puppies get in she aims to please to the best of her ability.  I have my hands full to say the least with a puppy, baby, toddler (almost preschooler), dog, 2 cats and husband but it is a great handful to have.  I think that Callie will fit in nicely to our growing family.  Just like Chaing, who was also a unplanned addition, she will prove to be a great member and offer a lot of fun and love to the Williams family.

I had lots of pictures but these are the only one, I have right now.  Josh is still hoping to recover more pictures.  These were from my phone, so they are poor quality.

Finishing out the summer....with some big news

Back log: Aug



Big news.....
Landon can swim on his own.  He still struggles a little with getting his head up but he can do it.   He loves swimming.  He can hold his breath and swim for a long time, for an almost 3 year old.  Arabella also now likes the pool.  She also can hold her breath although is not as good of a sport as Landon was at her age.  I can't wait for next summer.  I am sure Bella will be racing to catch up to her big brother swimming along like a little fish.

Again these are only some of our pictures of us swimming.  We are still missing of the ones with Landon swimming underwater.  

Motherhood: a job? a passion? a struggle?

I have been on quite the blogging break.  Not really on purpose but life and computer issues have gotten in the way.  Hopefully I will be able to catch up and stay up to date at least for a little while (at least for the sake of recording things for the kids and scrapbooking (whenever I get to that!).  Motherhood always gets in the way of what I what to do for my self.  But I love it and although hard at times I would never trade it.  I have been working on this blog post for a little bit and wanted to share.


I have been doing a lot of thinking for the past few months.  I feel like I have seen many friends lost and hurting and it really has been hurting me.  I know we all struggle on a daily basis to get through life.  I feel like by sharing my struggles maybe, hopefully, others can be encouraged.  Then again, maybe I am just being arrogant in thinking that my experiences matters but I am going to share anyway.  I pray that it helps someone who is hurting.  If you read my blog, I am guessing you are a friend or relative.  I want you to know I pray for all my friends and relatives.  I am not always the best at making clear what I mean to say but I hope these words can provide some wisdom into someone’s life.  I hope that you know that I want to be a good listener and am always up for talking no matter the time of day. Even if it is at 2am (which I seem too often spend doing just that).  I am not promising I will say the right things or even be a good guide but I do promise you my heart is in the right place. 
Motherhood: a job? a passion? a struggle?
To me it is all of the above and a LOT more.  I absolutely LOVE being called "Mommy."  At the same time sometimes I just completely lose my temper (and my sanity).  It is the best and hardest thing I have ever done in my life!
I have always been proud to be a hard worker.  My mom and dad taught me from the time I was a young girl that you don't get anywhere in life without hard work.  I had a job the day I turned 16.  I use to volunteer at a squadron on the Air Force base my Dad worked at 10 hours a week for 2 years before I turned 16 plus volunteer at a cat shelter for 5 hours a week (I also continued to volunteer after I turned 16).  I worked a total of 40 hours per week the first summer of being 16  working two different jobs.  I never shied away from hard work.  Now don't get me wrong, I didn't just do it because I loved working.  I also loved all the praise I got from my bosses.  Working hard was very gratifying to me. 
I work REALLY hard at being the BEST mom in the world.  I was always afraid I wouldn't be a good mom.  I know now after being a mom for 3 years that it is impossible for me to be the "best" or at least what I thought was the best.  I thought I could do it all -that is until I became a mom.  Being a mom is really hard.  Yes there are benefits, for instance I have gotten to “work” at the pool swimming with my son and sister in law the first summer I had my "job" of being a mother.  What other job do you get to go to splash parks, the mall, playground, or even run to the grocery store to get your own groceries while working? Not many I can think of.  When I say being a mom is hard I don't mean in the same way being a construction worker or a bank managers job is hard.  It is hard because it is one of the few jobs you can't ever walk away from when you feel have had enough of it.  You can't tell your boss you need a 15 minute break.  You don't get raises. You don't get paid vacations.  You don't always even get a "Good job Krystle, boy was that a tough day but you made it" from my children. Most people would also say you don't get paid. You do get paid, just not in any standard currency.  You get paid in the best way, in LOVE.  Love the best thing in the world.  Love is also the reason why motherhood is so hard.  Being a mom is the "job" I have had to put the most of my heart into.

Being a wife sometimes can be hard too but Josh and I can talk about things when they go wrong and work through them (and no they are no always resolved right away, things sometimes take time but at least we can talk through them.)  You can't talk though things all the time with a 3 year old or a 7 month old.  I can't explain to Landon why I yelled and screamed at him just because he didn't listen to me.  I can't explain to Arabella why I can't stop making her gums hurt even though I know she wants my help.  I have put more of my heart into being a mom than any other job – and I still struggle with feeling like a failure.  I make so many mistakes.  Sometimes I cry myself to sleep thinking about all the "damage" I have caused my children by the mistakes I make.  Those always seem to be the nights when I also get woken up 5 times in the middle of the night because of someone needing to nurse, a diaper needs to be changed, or a scary dream needs to be chased away.  I am not even including my “job” of running a household and the overwhelming feelings I have about never completing the seemingly never-ending lists of tasks that pile up day after day in the home that about that.
I have help too, I have an amazing husband who does so many wonderful things to help make my job easier.  Just today he took both of the kids while he cleaned the church.  I KNOW it makes his job take a lot longer.  I know sometimes he has to go back the next day or in the middle of the night just to finish because he has the kids with him.  He does things like that all the time without complaint.  He also is a super cheerleader for me.  He thanks me for caring for his children every day.  I KNOW I have it great.  Regardless, Satan has a field day with my insecurities about being a good mom and a hard worker.  He takes those feelings and runs with them. 
I also know that my Lord knows my struggles and His heart aches for my pain, although some days it is REALLY hard for me to remember. He loves me so much, more than I even love my own children (which is sometimes really hard for me to believe.)  He sees me at my best and at my weakest.  He knows all my faults but he still loves me.  He knows that as long as I seek Him (which I struggle with also) that I will be the best mom I can be. 
Being a mom isn't just a job, it is a God-given mission.  I directly impact two (and maybe in the future more) lives.  As Landon and Arabella grow up their foundation of beliefs and goals in life will be based on my teachings, Josh's teachings and the love that we show them. Our love will always be a reference of understanding to them of God’s love for them.  Even as a teacher I didn't have that much power over a person's life.  Being a mom isn't just a job, it is the most important spiritual mission I will ever have in my life. 
If you are a mom who has it all together, your house is always clean, your children are always well behaved, your husband always has all of his needs met, and you always have a smile on your face, and you find time to sleep at night PLEASE PLEASE call me and tell me your secrets.  But if you are a mom and you have felt like me, remember you aren't alone. Moms out there know the job isn't easy, and so does our Lord.  Think about what He goes through seeing us search for Him, making mistakes and hurting ourselves and dealing with the consequences. Just remember He loves us at our weakest.

School days

Back Log -Aug
Landon is doing some preschool work this year. I didn't buy a curriculum because there is just so many free resources for the with lower grades. We will be learning more about letter, Landon knows the whole ABC song and can recognize about 20-24 letters.  He also knows about 15-18 sounds that the letters make.  We will be learning more about numbers- Landon can count 1-11 perfectly, 1-10 in Spanish most of the time.  We will also be learning memory verses, shapes, coins, nursery rythms, calendar, and weather.  He loves doing his calendar.  He looks forward to that the most.

Landon the Preschooler!

Arabella the Sister of the Preschooler

We had a great first day of school.  Landon really enjoyed it but was hesitant to start the first day.  Arabella cuddled, crawled, played, slept and nursed through our first day.

Our Lesson Plans