Locks of Love

Haley decided she wanted to donate her hair to locks of love. Karley also thought she did to until I told her how short it would be. So Karley said she only wanted a trim. We talked about what "Locks of Love" is and why kids would need their hair. Haley went first and loves her new hair cut. After seeing how cute Haley's hair is Karley wanted to join in the giving and got hers cut also. Now Locks of Love gets 22 inches a beautiful curly hair. We hope this makes some sweet girl very happy. I am very proud of Karley and Haley for being so kind and giving. Both girls look so cute with the new hair cuts.

Halloween 2009

The Williams kids really scored this Halloween. They collected over five gallons worth of candy. We sorted through it and put it all in a five gallon bucket. They had two bags extra that they chose to send one with dad to work and the other they are giving to a good friend of Haley's who didn't get to go. So if you are in need of a candy fix you know where you can find some.

Karley's Baptism

Karley turned 8 in August and in our church we bless our babies when they are infant and then baptise them when they turn 8. Karley was baptized on September 19. She was so happy and had a beautiful baptism by her father. The night before her baptism a dear friend of mine took pictures of her outside of the Temple here in San Antonio. We are so blessed to have a Temple so close. That photo shoot of Karley really shows her personality. Karely has such a sweet spirit and we absolutely love the joy she brings to our family. We are very proud of her for choosing the become a baptized member of our church. It is times like these when we really miss having extended family close. It feels very lonely to go through these wonderful experiences without them.

Let it rain

We are happy that after two fast Sundays dedicated to asking Heavenly Father for much needed rain, that we have gotten much rain. I love fall. It is my favorite time of year and now that the rain has come and the temperature has dropped it finally feels like fall. The kids are also loving the rain. When it rains like "Seattle" as Kinamo Sr. calls it, the kids go out and love to play in it. When it rains like "Texas", big down pours, we watch and enjoy from in the house. Here are some pictures I look when it rained like "Seattle" and the kids were having a great time playing in the rain.

<

My first Pedicure from my girls

When I got home from Washington DC this Sunday the girls told me they wanted to give me a pedicure. I said sure. They had a great time and it was really fun for me to watch them. They were very gentle. The end result is one I have kept in close toed shoes. But their kind act I wear proudly in my heart.

Ashley's first lost tooth

After many weeks of playing with a loose tooth, Ashley finally let me pull it out. This is a crazy passion of mine. I love to pull the kids teeth. They usually let me pull one or two, then decide to pull their own. I wish they would give me the privilege of pulling them all, but I will take what I can get.

"Mom I need that"

Lastnight Joey and I were shopping at Walgreens. I was talking on the phone to Kinamo and Joey was riding in the cart. All of a sudden Joey gets really excited and says "Mom go back I need that". I back up my cart to see what he "needed" and this is what he grabbed. I wonder who he gets his chocolate "need" from????

March on Washington

On September 12, 2009 my friend Bonnie Smith and I took our voices to the Captial building in Washington DC. I am in disagreement with many things that our government is doing and wanted my voice to be heard. We believe there was over a million people there with us, but the media wants to say there was only 40-60 thousand people. It was an amazing expereince. So many people there to make a respectful protest. It was a historical moment and I am proud to have been a part of it.

Being the MOM

My sister gave me a hard time about not keeping up with my blog and posting things about the kids. I told her not much happens, we are just running around busy with life. But tonight as I was talking with friends I told them a funny story about today and thought I need to share it just so Paula has something funny to read.

Joey and I have been working on Potty training for 2 months. He is mostly "mommy" trained. He does wear underwear 24 hours a day, but we have one accident every day. Most of them are #2. Well today he went #2 at the gym and then again at lunch so I was pretty confident that we were good for a day or so. While Karley was a tutoring we went to the park near her teachers house. Joey starts to get that look and I ask if he has to go #2? Yes mommy he said. Well I quickly look around this park and the only bathroom is in the pool area which is locked. So what to do??? He is to small to load up and find a store near by and I stopped carrying diapers a month ago. So I had him squat down by the Van and try to go. This didn't work out. So I thought he was going to hold it. Then he got the look again and told me he had to go. So being the resourceful mom that I am I grabbed a handful of wipes and held him so he could poop in my hand. Yes I said poop in my hand. After downloading 4 pounds of poo he felt much better. Ashley and Haley were there to witness the whole thing and were completely grossed out. Thankfully I had a Target bag and wipes so I could come to his rescue. What Mom's do for their kids!!!

First Day of School.

After a very HOT summer, we are happy to get back into the school routine. It has been a very busy summer. The kids have done many things and had a great time. But "all good things must come to an end". Here in San Antonio we have had over 60 straight days of 100+. This made it not as exciting to play outside and the house got a little boring. So thank goodness for school. We are very happy with all the teachers. I am very hopeful for a wonderful school year.

Summer Fun

In August Kinamo took Karley to Seattle. Karley had a wonderful time. She got to visit with Will's family. She also got to meet her cousin Piper. I hear they were inseparable.

While Kinamo and Karley were gone, Paula and Payton came to visit. We had a fabulous time with them. Payton is adorable and adjusted to the kids really well. We took all the kids to the Guadalupe River. This is such a great place for the kids to play. We spent several hours there and my kids wanted to go back the next week. We can't wait to see Paula, Payton and Mat at Christmas.

New Addition to our Family

No, I am not pregnant. But we do have a new member in our family. His name is Patrick. He has pink skin, looks like a human and has yellow hair. He is Ashley's new imaginary friends. She meet him in Del Rio and he shows up every once in a while. He really loves to go grocery shopping with Ashley and I. Today Ashley asked if Patrick could go to school with her. I said sure as long as he obeys the rules and keeps her safe. She jumped up and shouted "Yes". I am happy to see this friend brings her joy.
I have never had a child with an imaginary friend before, so I don't really know how I am supposed to handle this. So I just play along and enjoy him with Ashley.

Fasting

This past Sunday was Fast Sunday. I love Fast Sundays. Not that I love not eating for 24 hours, but I love the Spirit that comes from fasting. Every month there is always something worthy of fasting and praying about. This past Sunday I fasted and prayed about Karley. As you may know in Feburary Karley was diagnosed as having dyslexia. She has had a very hard time learning to read. She also has a difficult time expressing things vocally. During the past school year she has received tutoring by the reading specialist and well as one on one reading with her teacher. She continues to learn, just not as quickly as needed. Two days before school let out we were in the Library checking out books for the summer, when I met the mom of one of the girls that went to the reading specialist with Karley. This mom and I started talking and I found out her daughter is also dyslexic. She had found a wonderful lady to give specialized tutoring for her daughter. So we joined with them and Kaley and Katie have been going to this specialist 3 days a week all summer. This is where the fasting comes in. Now that school is about to start, I wanted to stop the tutoring. I couldn't imagine how I was going to get her to tutoring after school three day a week with my five kids. The tutor is 20 mins away and with traffic much worse. Also it is $400 a month. So I decided that she would just get the help the school offered. I took this to the Lord in fasting and prayer. The blessing of this is that the Lord turned my heart and showed me how Karley really needed this and how he would help me make it work out. I love the Power of the Lord and answers received in prayer.

Back in Del Rio

The kids have been begging to go to Del Rio this summer. Unfortunately the pool there had been closed most of the summer. So it opened and we had a few days with nothing to do. We packed our bags, booked a TLF and loaded the van. We had a wonderful time. We bowled at Cactus Lanes, swam at the Friendship pool, watched a movie at Cinamark 8 and played with old friends. Kinamo Jr has a great friend from the 3rd grade that he has kept up with. He spend each day with Jaime. You would never know watching them that they hadn't hung out in 3 years. It was great to spend 3 extra days that week with Kinamo. The kids asked him if he was going to stay with us or at his CP (crash pad). They loved to see where he lives all week. I am glad we went when we did because we were able to say goodbye to dear friends who moved that week. We all have wonderful memories of our years in Del Rio and I don't mind going there for a visit.