In One Week.

We went from being a family of three...

... To a family of four!

Ellie made her grand entrance on Monday morning and we're completely smitten with her! Big brother is very curious about Ellie and has even given her a few "gifts" in her pack-n-play. :-) 

When she was born, my doctor was giving Nat the update (he wasn't allowed in the OR for my scheduled c-section) and very matter of factly included the statement that Ellie was fat compared to Thai babies. In our opinion, 7 lbs. 3 oz. doesn't justify the term but I suppose that's what happens when the norm is a 6 lb. baby!

Christmas At Our House.

This year we had a very quiet Christmas at home. For the last three years, we've gone to my parents' house for dinner or hosted the dinner, so it was strange to be at home. We did have a very sweet day, just the three of us. Reading the Christmas story, making cinnamon rolls, and eating an American-style meal (ham AND turkey!) with some good friends rounded out our day. 

Instead of individual Christmas gifts, we opted for one family gift this year and we are immensely enjoying this brand new water cooler!

We also had a visit to the doctor Christmas night, for a very good reason:

Peanut #2 is joining our little family in May! We were just glad to finally be seen by a doctor Christmas night. The timing didn't work out in the States with my doctor since we traveled to Texas and then of course we had the big move to Thailand and getting settled into a new house, city and country. Then we were on the hunt to find a doctor, got a recommendation, and tried to connect with her. Between our schedule and hers, that took some manuerving but all is well!! Peanut #2 is an active baby already and I think will give Paul a run for his money in terms of energy and activity.  Here we go!

Makin' It Official:).

Confession time: my lack of blogging has (for once!) an excuse. For weeks now I've been wanting to blog but I've been waiting to share a little secret:).

Now I know a lot of LVBC and facebook friends read here so you already know, but I do want to make it "blogger" official too: we have a little peanut on the way!

We found out on Christmas Eve and were pretty excited - making it a pretty easy Christmas gift:). Then we got to hear the heartbeat on Valentine's Day and were pretty excited - making it a pretty easy Valentine's gift:).

It was kinda funny when the doctor first found the heartbeat because it made our baby so real (and not just some extended illness that has been making me feel nauseous all the time:D) and I said, "Oh my!" Well with me talking that made the doctor go searching after that little beat again:). What a precious sound it was to hear.... too bad we didn't think to record it until several hours later.

So, onto the answers for the frequently asked questions!

• My due date is August 24th.
• This is the 13th grandchild for my parents and the first for Nat's parents!
• We plan on finding out what we're having... when the baby arrives:).
• We do have names picked out!
• Plans for deputation have slightly changed! We'll be taking a 7-week trip (April-May) and have some meetings in churches. After that, we plan to stay "local" for the summer and get some meetings with churches that are within 3-4 hours driving distance.
• After the baby is born, we have a meeting scheduled for the last week of September and all of October. We plan on jumping into this whole newborn/travel thing with both feet even though we have no idea what we're doing! (Prayers are appreciated!!!)
• Cravings. Oh cravings. Actually it's been fairly straightforward and nothing weird like nacho cheese and ice cream (eww, that sounds gross!). My #1 craving is chicken salad from the bakery I used to work at. A close second would be Edy's fruit Popsicles. Mmmm!
• Morning sickness (which turned out to be afternoon/evening sickness for me) is really subsiding. Protein helps! My husband has been so sensitive to what might make me sick to the point that he would walk to the end of the kitchen to get the food item (and the smell!) away from me. The crazy thing is that whatever was bothering me smell-wise was something I had made and had for dinner the night before!

Hmm, can't think of anything else:). God's been good!

Graduation...

Boy, I'm so grateful for friends who got a good shot of my husband graduating! The picture I got shows Nat's head sticking up above the cross:).

My sweetie completed all the required courses (and more!) to graduate Sunday night from Lehigh Valley Baptist Bible Institute! I am so happy for my husband and all the hard work he put into his classes. We (yes we!) feel like a big load has been lifted from our shoulders and we're greatly looking forward to the future and what the Lord has in store for us.

The next step will be taken next Tuesday ~ we're heading to Botswana and South Africa! The majority of our time will be spent with our former pastor and his family and the remaining couple of weeks will be spent with two other missionary families from our church.

Once we return home from our African adventures, we look forward to seeing when the Lord will work out the timing of being sent by our church as missionaries and hitting the deputation trail. We are both very excited that we are one step closer to where the Lord has called us to minister and are very grateful for the way our church family has let us know they are completely behind us! God has been so good...

Announcing....

Just a couple of hours before we leave to start our Thailand trip and we still have some packing to do.

Ok, ok, if you know me at all, then you realize that statement is only partially true! We actually have all of our packing to do, but at least the laundry is clean (got that done this morning!). Anyway, just in case I don't post as much as I want to post in Thailand:), my husband has started a blog and I'm 99% certain that blog will be updated much more frequently than this blog:).

Here's the link: Williams Witness so be sure to check it out! In fact, he's already managed to post two times and we haven't even left yet:).

See ya on the other side!

Checking Out.

I got my work schedule for this week and it's insane:), so I'll see you Christmas Eve??? Christmas Day???

Merry Christmas!

Christmas-y Things:).

For the first time in a long time, my church is not doing a manger program (outdoors or indoors), a drama, or a cantata. Instead we're doing a Christmas concert this year!

I'm extremely excited yet slightly nervous for my husband as he is doing the dramatic reading but I know he'll do a great job! The kiddos of my church are going to sing as well as the big people and then the hand bells are going to be played by the teenagers. Overall it's going to be a great night!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nat and I saw a cute little 3 ft. tree at Home Depot and chose to go the "artificial tree" route for our first Christmas together:).

A few ornaments have since been added, such as our first first Christmas ornament. A sweet family at church had our names and 2010 engraved on a Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus ornament and now it is hanging on our cute little tree:).

When I was younger, my family and I would always sit in the living room with all the lights off except for the Christmas tree lights and enjoy them. I've added candles to that little tradition and now one of my favorite things to do is to curl up on the couch with the tree lights on, candles lit, and quietly chat with my husband!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I feel like I need a third picture to complete this post... yikes, OCD is kicking in!

Nat and I are going out to Sight and Sound to see "The Miracle of Christmas" and I am quite excited about this for several reasons: (1) I get to spend time with my husband! (2) Nat's grandma just saw it Tuesday and said it was terrific (3) S & S always does a good job (4) I haven't seen this one yet. :)

As bonus, we're going to Yoder's Restaurant for lunch since my parents talk about it constantly:). It's going to be a great day!

Mr. & Mrs.

Just returned from our wonderful honeymoon trip to Maine and figured my lovely blog readers deserved at least one picture:).

I'll post more when I can!!!

~Mrs. Anne Williams~

You're Invited!

The craziness of the day is about to begin (siblings are in town, you know!), but in case I didn't have a chance to post later, I wanted to make sure I got this up now for anyone who is interested.

My church is going to be streaming our wedding online, so if any of you had absolutely nothing to do around 2 PM (EST) on Saturday, feel free to watch the wedding from the comfort of your home:).

• Go to Lehigh Valley Baptist Church.

• On the left hand side of the page, you will see this:

Check out our LIVE video stream on Sundays at 10:30 AM and 6:30 PM EST by clicking the link to the right.

• Keep refreshing the page until the live/off air box goes from gray to red.

• From there it will ask you something like do you want to connect through low band or high band. (This is the part where I wish my techy side would be so much more up-to-date!)

It's pretty easy from there; I figured it out every week when I was in Thailand and would watch my church's service online:).

Of course if you want to come in person to the wedding, that would be terrific! The more the merrier:).

14 Hours.

We're leaving for camp at 6 AM (in approximately 14 hours) and the following items still need to be done:

• make a cheesecake for my dad (Happy Father's Day!)
• dry wet clothes
• services tonight at church
• finish cleaning out the spare bedroom-that-turned-into-a-handy-spot-for-a-ton-of-bridal-shower-gifts
• grab items to give to a few people at church
• two phone calls
• pack for camp
• Father's Day fellowship after church (this one is optional... it depends if Dad comes or not!)
• sleep (this one is also optional:D)

But I couldn't just leave you all hanging after I apparently did leave you hanging last time:). I introduce to you the bathroom towels (*insert dramatic pause here*):

And the kitchen towels:

Kohl's is my friend:).

Ok, now it's time to cut and run! See ya all next week... and if you think of it, please pray for the summer camp this week and for the Lord to do a work!

My Lack Of Blogging...

... can be summed up by one simple picture:).

(October 20, 2009 ~ Engagement)

Marking The Milestone!

I'm very sorry for your sakes that the senator post was the one you had to look at for several days! It's not (entirely) my fault though. You see, something called the phone AND internet being shut off at my house for over a week got in the way, although in hind sight it didn't really get in the way because I enjoyed the rest from instant communication. Carolyn and I were talking about it yesterday and decided that was the Lord's way of saying, "you need a break" because we really didn't miss having all that instant communication at our fingertips.

But as a result, there was no blogging done -- what can I say? inspiration hits early in the morning! -- and very little e-mailing done. I did manage to upload pictures on to Facebook, but that was about it.

For the record, the phone and internet are still down at the house. This post is coming courtesy of the office (*after hours! after hours*). But I felt as if I should wave at the bloggy friends who might still be reading my little 'ole blog with this little tidbit: you have been a captive audience for 500 posts. Yep, that's right! Five Hundred. Good grief, someone likes to talk a lot!

From my very first post (go ahead and read it! I'll still be here when you return:D) to those amusing moments (I'm easily amused; what can I say???), oh and let's not forget the Thailand section of this blog (124 posts? Maybe I should rename the blog to "From My Perspective In Thailand"!), I've said a few things along the way.

I've been very surprised at the post that has generated the most traffic and I've been known to do an embarrassing thing or two along the way, including almost dying of mortification. By now you know that family is pretty important to me and that I'm a big, and I do mean big traveller (did someone say "trip"?)

So since this is my 501 post, I would like to hear from you all! Tell me who you are and what part of the world you're reading my blog from! I would love to get more acquainted with my readers and what better way to do it than at a big milestone? :)

Oh, and for the record, I know you all are very jealous that you couldn't go to the Korean bar-b-que with us tonight... doesn't it look yummy??? :D

(My co-workers Pookie, Carolyn, and I)

Monday Ministry Highlights.

Deb from Songs From My Journey has asked me to write an article for Monday Ministry Highlights on the KJV Blog Directory blog, so that's where I've written today.

If you've ever wanted to know more about me than you already know:), then I suggest you go take a peek over at the KJV blog.

Please, no mass chaos... we must keep this orderly:).

Now have yourselves a fine Monday, you hear?

Grace And Honor.

I'm slightly behind in posting this, but I think ya'll just might benefit from it! If you haven't already seen this on Abbi's, Jackie's, Katina's, or Rachel's blogs, then you'll see it here (finally!).

Check it out!

Give Away! Give Away!

Not here gals... over there at Chryll's Corner!

Hurry up and enter... it closes out today at 11:30 AM.

:)

Excuse My Lack Of Thinking This Week.

Vacation Bible School.....

... it's not for the faint-hearted!

Reason #2 for delaying my trip to Thailand is taking place this week: Vacation Bible School 2008! So that means I'm there, not here. An 8-hour work day is followed by a 3-hour VBS nightly program, so posting might be a little sparse here (or just won't make any sense! The first night is always "rah, rah" but towards the end of the week, it starts to wear down a person.)

So excuse me while I tumble into bed and prepare for another great night with 16 seven and eight year old girls:o).

Rah, rah:o).

Quirky News.

Concerned Mother: "I would hope that somebody would look up the credit card application before a credit card is issued … people get credit card denials all the time," Christiansen said. "How can somebody who is an adult who has a job get a credit card denial, and a child who has no income and no assets get one? I would certainly hope they would have some sort of review process."

Representative's Reply: We do not knowingly solicit or grant credit to a minor," Reiss said.

Welcome to America folks.

(Read the rest of the story here. I first saw the link at Amy's Humble Musings.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In other serious, earth-shattering news :o), I will be away for the weekend with three friends of mine. We had originally decided to go to the Longaberger Basket place in Ohio (which is quite literally a basket!), but changed our minds and are now going to Boston! I think we must be a little crazy because we are going to a graduation party tonight and then we're leaving at 3 AM to hit the highway.

3 AM.

So.

It's going to be a long time before I see a bed again, but I'm sure we'll have a fabulous time together. Last time I checked, I leave in 56 days, so I'm making every effort to spend time with the people I love:o).

Don't worry... I'll be back!

For All You Bargain Lovers!

There are a few sales going on right now, and I just had to share my bargain with you! I stopped in at Yankee Candle today because of a semi-annual sale going on and walked away with two 24-ounce candles that were originally $23.99. I paid $15.90 total. Those candles will burn much better because $32.98 was saved... I'm sure of it!

So if you go to www.yankeecandle.com/coupons and register, you'll receive a $10 off of $25 coupon, which you can use while this sale is going on! I'm not sure how long this is going on though:o).

The second sale is at Bath & Body Works. I haven't personally gotten over there yet, but several friends have and said the sale has been great! Now is the time to stock up on essentials and gifts. A girl can't go wrong with candles and lotion;o).

Happy Shopping!

Exciting News... And A Little Mundane.

Sooo... I'm very excited about the fact that I bought my airline ticket for Thailand! The departure date is August 14th, and ironically enough, I enter Thailand on August 16th, one year after I left. It might seem a little early to be purchasing tickets, but with the rising cost of, well, everything, it's not gonna get any cheaper. Having bought the ticket makes this trip seem just a little more "real":o).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I leave two weeks from tomorrow for a week trip with a big destination in mind: graduation! I'm flying to Chicago where I'll be picked up by my Mid-West family; from there we'll drive up to South Dakota for graduation. And then, since we're in the area, my family and I are going to travel the extra hour (or five) to go to Mount Rushmore, since it is highly unlikely I'll ever get to that section of the country again:o).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday was a "family day" since my soon-to-be sister-in-law's bridal shower was that day. I'm excited that they are finally getting married:o).

(Myself, Phil, Tom, and Mom after the shower)

The big day is coming up on May 24th, which will be a crazy time for me. I'll just be coming back from graduation and a ton of family will be in, so posting might be sparse then. But you're used to that by now, aren't ya?!? Don't worry; I'll be a very faithful blogger in Thailand again, I'm sure!

I Should Have Been...

I Should Have Been Crucified

I was guilty with nothing to say

And they were coming to take me away

Then a voice from heaven was heard that said

Let him go take Me instead

And I should have been crucified

I should have suffered and died

I should have hung on the cross in disgrace

But Jesus, God's Son took my place

That crown of thorns, a spear in His side

And all the pain it should have been mine

Those rusty nails were meant for me

Oh but Christ took them and let me go free

And I should have been crucified

I should have suffered and died

I should have hung on the cross in disgrace

But Jesus God's Son took my place.

Yes Jesus God's Son

Oh Jesus God's Son

For Jesus God's Son took my place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This song sums up the true reason we even have Easter. I'm the one who should have been crucified, but instead Jesus took my place. And for all of eternity I will get to praise His Name!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is just a little fyi - I will be away for several days taking a break and having the song "The wheels on the bus go round and round!" go round and round through my head:o). A busload of EBA teens, homeschoolers, and chaperones are loading up the bus on Monday and heading out to the Midwest to compete in an Independent Baptist Student Convention all this week.

Good-bye sleep.

Hello caffeine:o).