The Williams Family Top 10

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

Ryan is 4 years old, in preschool, and the official family clown. He loves to make everyone laugh. People always tell us how entertaining he is. (I think that's code for "naughty") We love him and our family wouldn't be complete without Ryan.

Ella is 6 and in all day kindergarten. She is the family sweetheart. She is 100% girl from head to toe. She loves makeup and nail polish and prefers skirts to anything else. She is also our feistiest kid. Don't cross this girl!

Olivia is 10, in the 5th grade and is turning into a beautiful young lady.  She is an extraordinary help to me and we are grooming her to take over as our babysitter for date nights. She loves writing, drama and hanging out with her friends.

Ethan is 6 and is leading the class in all day kindergarten. He keeps everyone in check at home as well. Nothing gets past Ethan. He is alarmingly bright and insightful, but continually seeks validation by asking "Right?" to everything. It cracks us up.

Travis and I are celebrating our 14th anniversary this month. We've been together for 18 years. Wow! That means we've been together longer than we haven't. (does that make sense?)

This year takes the cake for our most eventful one to date. It started out pretty ordinary but ended in the most extraordinary way. I can honestly say that our faith has been tested, our patience pushed to the limit, but here we are, a little worse for the wear, having learned so much from our year's journey. 

10. Our family grew by one this year...a guinea pig conveniently named, "Little Piggy."

9.  Speaking of pets, we hold the family record for shortest dog ownership. Rusty, a 130 pound 7 year old golden lab lived with us for 8 weeks before we found him a new home. He kept trying to eat our cat and dragged me around the neighborhood on walks. Our next dog will be much smaller.

8. May marked the 4 year anniversary of Ella's fight with Leukemia. She is wonderfully healthy and continues to receive clean bills of health on her check-ups.

7. Travis and Andrea mourned the cancellation of the season of "24." We're jazzed it returns in January.

6. Andrea left Travis and the kids behind for a 5 day trip to the Caribbean with her dental office. She got to scuba dive in Cozomel and eat nothing but dessert for 5 days straight.

5. With the troubled economy, Travis started doing bankruptcy law.  It's new and different, but it's not brain surgery. He would know about that since he had it in July and just completed radiation for a brain stem tumor.

4. This the first year in too many to count that no one is in diapers. Now if we could just get our boys to stop the bed-wetting!

3. Andrea ran her second marathon and shaved 30 minutes off her time. She is considering long-distance running retirement. 

2. Record-breaking (for us) 3 trips to Disneyland.  We had annual passports and got our money's worth.

1.  Three kids in school all day!

We wish you every happiness and joy this beautiful Christmas season. We are learning the power of love and contentment in our lives. Our faith in our Savior, Jesus Christ, is deeper and stronger than ever. We are living each day with gratitude for the gifts we have. The gifts of love and friendship are the ones we treasure most. 

We send our love to all of you this splendid Christmas!

The Most Wonderful (and crazy) Time of the Year

That special time of year has finally arrived.........time to completely stress myself out with ridiculous "to do lists" and endless shopping trips and spending every night at kids' concerts, events, parties. Don't get me wrong. I love December. It just seems like a whirlwind that is out of control sometimes. Every year I commit to start preparing earlier. Keep it simple. I am a very slow learner and apparently very forgetful. Oh, but I love it! So here's a little update on the past 2 weeks since that wonderful cruise I went on. 

Thanksgiving at my parents. Great day, great company, great food. Do you like the staged pic of me serving Travis pie? He always asks for a "sliver" of all 3 types: apple, pumpkin and chocolate. I helped him eat it. Those slivers are never quite small enough. And you know that if you share, the calories don't count.

Turkey carver extrordinaire:

Olivia was in charge of a kids' craft table outside before dinner. It was a great way to keep the kids out of the kitchen and occupy their energetic little bodies.

Cute Ella with Grandpa Adams (recovering beautifully from open heart surgery):

Pilgrim Ryan with his school crafts:

Ethan and Ella at their Christmas music concert......adorable! Can you see them in the middle row 2nd and 3rd from the left?

Wrestle time with dad. All four of our kids plus a cousin (Miah). They couldn't get enough of jumping on Travis. He had enormous patience. They loved it.

Happy kids. Tired dad.

It has been several weeks since radiation ended for Travis. He is doing fabulous.  His ears are still plugged, which is very annoying. (for both of us...I feel like I'm living with an old man, "Huh?") The hearing should return soon as it is a temporary side affect. His body is tired and weak so we are both getting back to regular exercise. That has been on the back burner lately for both of us.  Travis is done with all treatments. He will get a post-radiation MRI in early February to see the results. We were told that radiation continues to work for several months after the completion of treatments. Right now we are enjoying a more normal life with no doctors or treatments. We are excited about the Christmas season and can't wait to celebrate all month long.

My Caribbean Cruise...how lucky am I?

Last week my dental office went on a Caribbean cruise for 4 days. I am only working very part-time but they took me anyway. Isn't that nice? Travis and I decided it would be much more cost efficient for him to stay home and play Mr. Mom, so off I went not quite knowing what to do with myself and all MY OWN free time. Travis does such a tremendous job with the kids and the house, but I must say I was a little concerned with how prepared he was just 2 weeks after completing radiation. Thankfully, he was brilliant and everyone had a good time at home. Of course, I had the best time ever. I really needed a break. It was amazing. 

This is at the second port in Cozemel. My ship was called "Grandeur of the Sea." 

My roommate, Ally and I along with 3 others from my office went on a 2 tank dive in Cozemel, Mexico. This dive spot is among the top few diving areas in the world. The water was incredible...it was a comfortable 78-80 degrees. We went over 80 feet down and the visibility was over 90 feet. We saw vibrant fish and coral as well as lobster and crab. We swam through a couple of tunnels. Happily we saw nothing scary. Who isn't terrified at the thought of a shark encounter?

I am standing on the southernmost point of Key West on a pier. The water was the most gorgeous color and SUPER clear. Ally and I got a Pina Colada (virgin, of course) and walked around the pier and soaked up the scenery.

For almost the same price as a bus tour, we were able to rent scooters and cruise around the 2 by 4 mile island at our leisure. I felt a little dangerous, but cannot deny what a blast it was to see the whole island from a scooter. I loved every minute of it. I topped out at 26 mph. It was hilarious!

We had a great time on the ship and did a lot of eating and laughing. We went to shows every night and I even ended up singing a little Britney Spears at Karaoke Night. Talk about moving outside my comfort zone. My friend, Heather, sang  Madonna and ended up winning 3rd place in the finals on our last night. What makes it so unbelievable is that she is usually very quite and conservative at the office. Did I mention she is a dentist and mother of 4? She blew us all away. She pulled out moves I haven't seen since the 80's like the Roger Rabbit and the Running Man. She definitely tapped into a hidden talent.

I also did well in the negotiating department in Mexico on a shopping adventure. I got some lovely pieces of silver and haggled my way down to a fair price. I enjoyed that quite a lot. Oh, did I mention that I got bitten on the face by a macaw while being photographed with 3 of them on my shoulders and head? That was interesting. 

 I loved the chance to get away and recharge my "Andrea" battery. It felt great to laugh and do nothing but entertain myself for 4 straight days. But I have to admit, I got a little antsy towards the end and my instinct to get home and take care of my family really kicked in. My love and appreciation for Travis only grew while I was away. I came home Monday night to happy kids and a clean house. Travis is quite the guy, huh? It's so cliche but true, "absence makes the heart grow fonder."  I have a truly blessed life.

Utah Trip

Travis and I spent the weekend in Utah as an "end of radiation celebration trip." We went with our friends, Kathryn and Randy, and had the absolute best time. We met up with some other great friends who recently moved to Draper, Mike and Angie. We went to the BYU game on Saturday and watched San Diego get beat badly. The weather was perfect...cool and sunny. I got to wrap up in a coat, scarf and gloves- my favorite things. There was even snow on the ground and the mountains were completely covered. We slept in, ate lots of yummy food, and enjoyed every minute of freedom from the kids.

We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn in Provo. We spent both nights hanging out playing games, watching movies, and eating treats. The boys enjoyed the game, "Settlers" (thanks, Mike) while the girls preferred visiting in the other room. But is was all a fabulous time and a much needed vacation. 

Highlights:

Cheese frys and hickory sauce from Training Table, Brick Oven Pizza, Downeast Outfitter Outlet (outlets are always a must since everything's so cheap, right?), Tai Pan Trading (Kathryn and I wanted a U-Haul to take home all the stuff we fell in love with), and of course the BYU Bookstore for cool souvenirs, brunch at The Homestead (did you know you can scuba dive in the hot springs crater there? We are definitely bringing swimsuits next time), the view....Timpanogos Mountain is breathtaking! Spending time with friends.......

Hot chicks

We love our wonderful friends. We are so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives. 

My honey and me

A Fun-Filled Halloween

Olivia and her friend, Megan with balloon versions of themselves. Amazing and so cute!

Bumble Bee Maizy after face paint.

Me with Lil' Pumpkin Paisley. (4 weeks old)

A 6 year old me as a princess with my brother, 4 year old Josh (scary pirate) and 2 year old Emily as a bunny rabbit. (my mom worked the pink coat into the costume.....clever.) Those were the days when everyone wore homemade costumes. I'd like to get back to that. How about starting next Halloween?

We have been lucky enough to attend a huge Halloween party at my brother-in-law's Aunt Sandy's home the past several years.  It the party of the year and my kids never want to miss it. There is an incredible balloon guy, a face painter,  inflatable jumps and (BIG) slides as well as decked out food tables with Halloween named items and treats from Sweet Cakes. She has a complete Halloween village from Department 56 that my kids love to stare at and her home is decorated in every nook and cranny. Most everyone is dressed up and everyone has a great time.

Ryan is waiting patiently for his turn with the balloon guy. He requested a RED pumpkin. He was very specific about the color. Now this balloon guy can do amazing creations, anything the kids ask for. Ryan is a boy of simple taste, apparently. 

Our little Queen Amidala (from Star Wars) wasn't complete without her crown.

My mom, Juanita, with my niece, Maizy the Bumble Bee.

My niece, Miah (aka Sleeping Beauty) and Ryan or Jango Fett. (bounty hunter from Star Wars)

My whole Star Wars clad gang. I just love how Ethan (Jedi Obi Wan) poses. He knows how to work it out with the camera. 

I remember the excitement of Halloween evening when I was a kid. Getting my costume on and feeling that thrill of what the night would hold. (of course that being to get as much candy as possible.) My mom always made all of us kids eat a good dinner before we went trick or treating. I could hardly stand the waiting! 

Living in Utah meant that half the time we had to wear coats over our costumes. Now what would that be like? My Arizona kids will never know.

I'm still alive

Just a quick post to say that I'm still alive and kickin'. I have been feeling a lot like Michael Keaton from Multiplicity. You know, the movie where he clones himself to get more done. Wouldn't that be nice.  So I survived my Friday Girls' Night Out craft night. I think it was a success. At least everyone said they had fun. I was a crazy woman running around all night. Thank goodness for my helpers. I got a little obsessed about the advent calendar kits. I spent insane hours preparing ahead of time. Actually, I'm still recovering from sleep deprivation. I was an idiot and would stay up until 2-3 am working on those kits. That was a once in a lifetime project to mass produce. I've learned my lesson.  I hope......

So Travis is only 7 days away from the end of radiation. Yeah! Unfortunately, the radiation accumulates and he has been sicker the past several days. Incredibly, he's still managing to work and make it to bankruptcy appointments and hearings. His worst symptom lately is nausea. He actually got sick while driving into Phoenix for a bankruptcy hearing today. He was on the freeway talking on the phone to me when he said, "I think I'm going to be sick." Then I hear some horrible noises that went on for a while. I kept asking him if he was safe and okay. He just kept throwing up. Then I heard a guy ask Travis if he was okay. We got disconnected and I immediately called back. He had thrown off his blue tooth when he got sick and pulled off on the shoulder of the freeway. Thankfully, he had a barf bag handy. It was a highway patrol car that stopped to see if Travis needed help. When I called him back he said he felt much better and went on to his hearing. Oh yea, he carried the barf bag (full) all the way to Phoenix and found a garbage when he got there! Is that a story or what? 

He announced to me today, "I'm sick of being sick." Amen. So am I.  I'm ready to move on. 

Honestly, I am floored by the faith and optimism of everyone I talk to. Everyone seems to know just the thing I need to hear at the moment. It keeps me going and helps my faith remain intact. I thank God for sending angels to help me through this. Travis and I are not going through this alone. We have literally hundreds of dear friends and family carrying us through this challenge.

I've said it before but have to say again how blessed I am.