Fun-filled Night of Girl Talk and Pillow Fights

We decided to host a Pajama Party for Lexi's birthday. She's at an age where all the girls are quite ready for sleepovers, so we thought we'd enjoy all the fun of the sleepover and all sleep in our own beds with a Pajama party. Lexi was thrilled that she'd get to stay up way past her bedtime. I'd call it a win!

Oh! What Fun...

In mailboxes this week...

I was inspired to find my archived Christmas cards... we are definitely incomplete on this list. Wish me luck in finding the past years' cards!

• Christmas 2011
• Christmas 2010
• Christmas 2009
• Christmas 2008
• Christmas 2007
• Christmas 2006

A Bunch of Crazies - My Favorite Kind!

I adore these people.

 We have our quirks. Our stories. We might even be a little crazy. They are my family.

The Vaudrin (pronounced "vō-dren") Family, that is.

I'm Late Late Late Late Late Late Late!

I know.  It's been ages and ages since I've posted!

As of late, my time has been filled up with full-time mama duties (it's summer, after all!) plus full-time entrepreneur endeavors.  And since I have no capacity for reason, I encouraged Justus to get involved in a production of Alice in Wonderland with the Queen Theatre.

All kidding aside, it's been a wonderful experience!

He earned the solo dance for Footloose in the fifth grade program at his school.  From there, his teachers said, "You HAVE TO put him in something!"  Not long after that, I spotted a call for a dance crew from the Queen Theatre on Facebook.  When I asked Justus if he was interested, he said,

"Yes!"

We didn't waste any time, practice started the very next day!

Justus is the farthest bee to the right, dancing with Alexis.

Preschool Graduation... watch out Kindergarten, here we come!

Little Miss Lexi graduated from Cornerstone Christian Academy Preschool yesterday and we couldn't be more proud!  The teachers and students put together a wonderful little program to celebrate the occasion.  I picked up Justus from school so the whole family could be there.

 The Bears Class Praying (...and maybe sneaking a peek at mommy)

Lexi blowing kisses to her family 

Mrs. Drake-seriously, what a blessing this woman has been!  She LOVES our kiddos and teaches them with such fun and enthusiasm.  I'll never forget the day Lexi started explaining the water cycle to me, complete with the term "evaporation", which she said with such confidence!  They were always acting out Bible stories and memorizing verses and lines.  To hear Lexi read is a marvelous thing!  She picked it up with such vigor this year.  I'm blown away.  She likes to read verses during devotions at dinner and does quite well!  You really should come have dinner with us to see!  My eyes are welling up with tears as I think about Mrs. Drake and the incredible impact she's had on Lexi this year.  You can almost see the admiration written all over Lexi and Payton's little faces, can't you?  Words cannot say thank you enough and she'll always hold a special place in our hearts.

Signing

Program is over... time to goof off!

All the Bears Class handprints

The kiddos in their Christlike Behavior Crowns

Lexi, the preschool graduate, with her proud Mama and Daddy

and big brother, Justus!

Our very special friends, Martha and Payton

So proud of my best girl!

13 Years. 13 Photos. 13 Pieces of Our Story.

Thirteen photos that tell our story:

1 - Our first apartment
2 - First Colony Bible Chapel
3 - Our first home
4 - Jeremy in front of Reliant Stadium-one of his Baker Concrete Construction projects
5 - Our son, Justus
6 - Our next home
7 - Our daughter, Lexi
8 - Me in front of the Chevron tower-I worked at the very top.
9 - Apple fanatics (He converted me.  It wasn't difficult.)
10 - First Colony Church of Christ
11 - Our boxer, Bella
12 - Our current home
13 - Our favorite "go to" date spot, Japaneiro's

Over-Stimulated

Image source: a-craft a day blog

Today marks the beginning of two crazy (the-good-kind-of-crazy!) weeks in the Williams' home.  (Many things to be thankful for, which is awesome in uncertain, sometimes worry-filled days.  Philippians 4:6 has been a theme lately.  More on that another time!)

We're kicking it off by celebrating Mother's Day.  When I think about Mother's Day, it's really hard to think about me--my thoughts turn to my Justus and my Lexi and how I am completely blessed beyond what I deserve to be their mama.  They are so much fun and such a joy!  I fear that today (Mother's Day) is going to go by so quickly and there aren't enough minutes to soak up the overflowing love I have for them.  I need at least a week to savor all this!

Funny how on a day when we celebrate motherhood, my thoughts still turn towards my kiddos.  Tell me I'm not the only one!

This may have been very poor planning on my part, but our anniversary is May 15.  Tuesday.  I've been looking forward to celebrating 13 years with Jeremy for several months now.  Jeremy often tells people that "we've had a good marriage and a bad marriage, both with each other."  There is so much good to celebrate that I've been bubbling inside with anticipation for MONTHS.  So, a Tuesday night date night is in order.  And I can't wait!  But again, I know that one day could not possibly contain enough moments to count the blessings in our life together.  I probably need at least a week for that, too!

Friday, I get to get away to the lake house in Austin with some of my girlfriends.  I'm blessed with wonderful friends.  Miles, busyness and time often get in the way, but my girlfriends are treasures.  I'm glad I'll get to spend a weekend with some of them!

On Sunday, I turn 35.  Ha!  How did this happen???  Maybe you're like me and your birthday causes you to reflect on your life.  I'm not sure where I thought I would be at 35, but I am loving where I am today and where I'm going.  Everything certainly isn't perfect, but it's still wonderful.  I want to spend my birthday basking in that peace and thanking God for it.  So, I probably also need a week for that because I'm sure to forget pieces, but maybe in the course of a week, I could reflect on all that I mean to.

(So by now, May needs to be 7 weeks long.  Any objections?!?)

After that, my baby girl graduates from pre-school.  Lexi got rave reviews from her teacher.  She's doing so well all around!  I'm looking forward to sending her to kindergarten.  (And, yes, I know that's weird.)  But she is soooo ready for it.  She is blossoming and it's fun to watch her radiate the way God made her... she holds nothing back!  So, while it's kind of unbelievable to realize that we are outgrowing the preschool years, we have so much to celebrate.  We need a week for shopping and teddy bear tea parties.

We'll follow that up with a visit from my in-laws over Memorial Day weekend.  It'll be great to see them! One of my favorite parts of that is seeing my kiddos spending time with their grandparents.  That's certainly something we miss living so far away in Houston.  So, I'm looking forward to filling that up while they are here!  You guessed it, an extra week would help.

Our last celebration is the end of an era for Justus.  He is completing elementary school and moving on to middle school.  Whoa.  It's mind-blowing to even think that is possible!  He's such a good kid.  Really!  He makes good grades.  He chooses good friends.  He plays his heart out every week on the field in flag football.  He won the dancing competition for the solo in his 5th grade musical.  I've always said that I wish I could have named him something that means exuberance.  He just LOVES life!  His Uncle Ryan always quotes him, "THAT.WAS.AAAAWWWWWEEEESSSSSSSSOOOOOMMMMMEEEE!!!"  I might need a week to contain the pride I feel for that kid and to wrap my mind around the fact that he will soon be a middle schooler!

Like I said, it's going to be crazy.... the good kind of crazy.  The word that would describe it is over-stimulated.  With so much wonderful crammed into such a short amount of time, I'm going to have to be deliberate about slowing down, breathing and savoring the moment.  The moments pass by too quickly.  But it's in moments like those that memories are formed and a life legacy is made.

God, don't let me rush from one thing to the next this month.  Help me to slow down and feel it all.  Thank You for being so good to me. ~D

Dinner and a Show!

I received a poster in the mail for Disney on Ice's Dare to Dream program.  When Lexi spotted it, she promptly hung it up in my office and declared just how much she was dying to go.  So, two tickets were purchased and she was presented with them on Valentine's Day.  Lots of girlie screams later, we were on our way for a fun girls' night out!

I found out that April 11 was National Cheese Fondue Day, so I made five o'clock reservations for us at The Melting Pot.  Lexi wasn't a fan of the spices in the cheese fondue (but, trust me, it was delicious!);  she gobbled up the s'mores chocolate fondue for dessert, though!  That's my girl!

While we waited, she drew a picture of her favorite people around the fondue pot.  Daddy, Mommy, Justus, and Bella made the list.  Let me tell you, I had some killer eye lashes!

We headed over to Reliant Stadium for the show.

 On the way in, we checked out the merchandise store.  Lexi had her eye on an Ariel action figure, so we decided that she was coming with us.  We had to snap a quick pic of her excitement for Daddy before we hit the escalators... she's seriously about to bust!

 The show was great!   We saw the stories of the princess and the frog, Cinderella, and Rapunzel.  Lexi's favorite part was the finale when all of the Disney princesses, especially Ariel, came out for a final number on the ice.

We both went home giddy.  One of the best nights ever!  So thankful for my little girl.  She's such a blessing and getting to spend time with her is one of my favorite things to do.

The Birthday Post

Justus is becoming such a wonderful young man. He looks up to his Daddy so much and loves to spend time doing guy stuff with him... whether it's working in the garage, having guys' night, simply running errands, or getting up early every Sunday to help out around church.  He is Mr. Cool.  He's all about football, AirSoft, Paintball, and video games.  Justus is a fabulous big brother to Lexi-he's great about looking after her and including her.  And she looks up to him.  He chooses his friends carefully.  While he can be totally goofy~like singing karoeke at Skeeters last week, even though he was botching the high notes on purpose, his performance brought down the house~he's also very caring and compassionate.  I just love that kid!

In honor of Justus for his birthday, I decided to collect pictures from some of his birthday celebrations here.   Enjoy!

11

10

9

6

2

1

April 10, 2001

Public Service Announcement:  Please back up your hard drives, people.  I'm really bummed about how many photos I'm missing!

Wedding Dress Photo Shoot

This morning, Lexi brought me my wedding album and said, "Mommy, would you read me this story?"

Of course, I told her, "Sure!"  Before we got started she asked, "Does it have a happy ending?"

"Yes, sweetie.  It does!"

After a little walk down memory lane, we decided to have a photo shoot....

Easter Egg Hunt

The Williams Fam, at home and all ready for the Annual Easter Egg Hunt.

What a gorgeous morning for a party!

After some bouncing in the bounce house, the kids headed over to the rock climbing wall.

 Lexi was not a fan.  About five feet off of the ground was all her little heart could take.

Her friend, Payton, however, was loving it!  I think she climbed the wall three times in a row!

Justus and Ben are assessing the routes and waiting for their turn.  They planned to race up the wall.

On your mark.  Get set.  Go!

And they're off!  I think Ben won.

The descent.

My Jeremy

Lexi loves her some cotton candy!

And pony rides!

Time for the egg hunt!  Lexi, Bryce, and Macy waiting at the starting line...

And we're off!

Pretty sure he's plotting some confetti action against his daddy....

Well, that went well.

Did I mention that Lexi loves her some cotton candy?

We finished out the party with a train ride down the street.

Thanks, Carlisles!  We had a blast!