superstition

In the last two school years, we have had a lot of snow days (some of them make me laugh at the wimpiness of Ohioans).  They are always a treat to the whole family!  We make the most of a day with everyone together!  We play in the snow, drink hot chocolate, and play games.  We love it!  So when the bus driver told Aimee her sure fire method for getting a snow day, she recruited the whole family. 

Sleep in your pajamas inside out, sleep with a spoon under your pillow, and put ice in the toilet.  That is the superstition.  We made the mistake of doing it when the stats were not in our favor.  It was such a let down!  Now we only let it happen when it looks like it might actually come to fruition.  Either way it adds a little excitement to the house.  We do love it though, when superstition wins!

pedodontist

I have worked for Dr. Jody for two years as a sub hygienist.  I think she is a great dentist, and I can't say that about very many.  So when I finally took my kids in as patients, I felt really good about it.  I'm not sure they felt the same way.  They learned that the Williams children are not one of those shy, quiet kids that just open their mouths and let them quickly and easily zip through their jobs.  They asked questions about everything they saw, and everything everyone did. 

At the end of the day, everyone checked out, and got their much anticipated tokens and toothbrushes.  And I think my co-workers my also realize the reason that working with them something of a day off for me, but also why there is no place other than home that I would rather be!

attention

Each day when Aimee comes home from school, I take her folder out and go through item in it.  I like to see what she is getting right and wrong, and what things she is currently learning.  When I saw this one come home I was a little confused.  It didn't really fit into a category.  In fact it was sort of a grandma-tree-mash-up, and none of the writing was from Aimee.  When I asked Aimee what it was, this is the gist of what she told me:

"I was in the hall at school, and I saw Mrs. Downer (the school psychologist) so I pretended I was sad.  She saw me and asked why I was sad, so I told her it was because my grandma died.  She told me that we should talk about it later.  She came and got me from my class after lunch and took me to her office.  She told me to draw some of my favorite memories of my grandma."
At this point I was somewhere between being annoyed that the woman didn't consult me about the situation, worried that the school thought I was a neglectful parent of my child's emotional needs, and irritated that Aimee would fake sad for attention, all while I was laughing on the inside.  Never mind that the things she drew on the leaves were a mix of things that I had told her about her Grandma Williams, and the things she had actually done with my mom.  Aimee just wanted to try the whole counselor experience out on someone who fed into her dramatic flare.  Plus she got to draw instead of do class work.  I'm pretty sure it was a win for her! 
We had to have a chat about why it was dishonest, and a number of other reasons not to do that.  That girl is something else!

seven

Why this girl has to grow up on me is tough to swallow sometimes.  I know that great things await her, and that we can make some great memories along the way, but sheesh, it is hard to watch! And yet, watching her turn into a young lady is also such a gift. 

Aimee has yet to grow out of going to Steak N' Shake for her birthday dinner (much to Chad's dismay).  Luckily we were able to go home and chase the burger and fries with some Barbie Princess cake with the family, and Uncle Mike and Aunt Saundra's family!

We didn't miss the chance to bring a treat to school.  Aimee once again chose sugar cookies.  I think she picks that because she likes making them as much as she likes eating them.  She was a good sport and let her little brothers pitch in.

And just like that another year has come and gone!  Only a year left until she is old enough to choose if she wants to be baptized!  We have to make this year one for the books!

traditions

One of my favorite things about this particular Christmas season, was having some family around!  We were able to share with them some of our favorite Christmas traditions.  Some that started with our families formation, and some that we had just started since moving to Ohio.  It was also fun to have Mike and Saundra share traditions with us as well! 

This year we went to the Breakfast with Santa event that our PTO organizes.  It was a fun family breakfast followed by meeting Santa!  I wish I had been able to get the family photo we took with him on here, it was so much fun!  Then we headed over to the Holiday Shop at the school.  The PTO brings in all sorts of dollar store items that the kids can purchase for family and friends.  I had previously thought this was just another way to earn money, but they actually do it to give the kids a chance to think of others and shop for them.  They also donate Santa bucks to kids who have very little so that they can still give their family members a small gift.  We used this opportunity to let the kids pick a small gift to give to mom and dad.  We really wanted them to be excited about the chance to give.  Chad and I took turns helping the kids pick out and pay for their items.  They loved having a secret, but it nearly killed them to keep it!

We enjoyed our Christmas candy making.  The kids got to help with some easy candy projects, and the fruits of the not so easy ones!We also loved going to our annual Santa dinner that Chad's work puts on for the kids.  It was a huge bummer that Chad had to be on call that night, but he managed to get a short break, and was able to scarf down a quick dinner with us before being paged.

For reasons beyond Chad's understanding, we also managed to squeeze in a gingerbread "craft."  I purchased some clearance gingerbread kits the year earlier to take on.  None of them turned out to be anything like the package, in fact the mostly flopped pretty hard.  Luckily, the kids didn't care and just had fun sticking candy to the gingerbread.  Pratt and May crashed before the fun had started and missed the event.  I made sure they got to glue candy later.  

My favorite new tradition of the year came on Christmas Eve.  We had a fun family dinner, and our favorite bachelor friend Brother Ritz joined us as well.  Once dinner was over, Saundra helped cast our first annual Christmas story reading.  I know that a lot of families do this, but it was easy to see why it is such a widely held tradition.  I loved the way that the kids were a part of the story, rather than just waiting it out as they listened on the couch.  I think it made it more real and meaningful in their little minds and hearts.Our cast was as follows: Mary-Aimee (she would have had it no other way), Joseph- Porter, Shepard's- Pratt and Carter, Angels- May and Kamry.

 Most of all we felt the love of our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  It was the perfect way to have our focus exactly where it belonged for that sacred holiday.

tree hunting 2014

Nothing makes a home feel like Christmas, than an evergreen tree!  I was a little bummed that we had to wait so long to go get our tree, but it was worth it to have Chad home and Mike and Saundra with us!  It was wonderful to show them our tree farm, and all of the things we love about going there to pick out our Christmas tree as a family.  The kids loved being able to show Carter and Kamry all of their favorites as well.We saw the donkey, warmed up by the fire, and helped more than one batch of fire popped popcorn disappear before we set out to hunt.

We tried the opposite side of the farm this year, and made the walk up Christmas Tree Lane together.

We definitely took our time comparing the trees and deciding which one was destined to be part of the Williams family Christmas.  However, we did manage to pick one before the other Williams family. ;) 

Chad let all of the kids help saw it down.  They felt pretty big, and had a great time.

And of course I can't forget to include the picture that makes Chad feel big too!

So much fun was had just enjoying being with our family for the most wonderful time of the year!

close call

I have seen the damage that a pair of scissors has done to many a child's hair.  So when I walked into the kitchen one day to see Aimee snipping away, I had a panic attack.  As it turns out, she was only trying to get a hair band out, not create a new hair style.  We were also lucky that the hair cut was small enough and spread out enough to not be noticeable.