Cheryl Williams

Thank You for the cross

2010-05-30T03:30:00Z

We went to San Antonio yesterday afternoon and spent the night. We had a great time! We walked and walked (did I mention that we walked?) down the Riverwalk and over to the Alamo (or "Outletmo" as Kylie would say). We ate some good Mexican food and just enjoyed being with each other.

Kylie, Danny, Jillian & Kelsey on the Riverwalk

As we were walking around the Riverwalk there were at least 2 different areas (maybe 3) where live music was being played. As we were walking by one area, we immediately stopped and stood still. A young man was playing his guitar and singing about My Lord and Savior, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We stood there for a few moments captivated by this worship. There aren't many places you go out in public (except church) where there is a proclamation of the Good news, much less pure worship going on. My eyes immediately teared up and in that moment we all had our own worship session giving praise to the Lord. It was SO refreshing.

I am SO grateful and thankful for all that He has done in my life for without Him I am nothing.

This song sums up how I am feeling today:

For The Cross
You gave Your life for me
You wore that crown for me
And now I live for You

You gave Your all for me
You gave so I am free
And now I live for You

Thank You for the cross
Without You I am lost
It is for Your cross I live today
Living for Your love
Lost but now I'm found
It is for Your cross I live today

My Father, Creator
All glory to the King
So worthy of all honor
All glory to the King

I'm looking forward to our corporate worship session tomorrow. For me, it will just be an extension of what has gone on in my heart all week. Won't you come and join us?

Lord, Thank You for the cross!

Bring on the summer fun!

2010-05-28T12:59:00Z

It has been a very busy week for us! In fact, I am so excited that it is Friday, but also can't hardly believe that it is already here! We have been continuing to get some things done around the house and it feels wonderful to get it done! I still have several more "projects", but we are making progress.

Today is Kylie's last day of school and she is SO excited. It's always amazing to me when you look back at the end of the school year, how fast it seems to have gone by. We will celebrate this afternoon with her end of year party. She told me yesterday that her teacher had made been taking pictures of them all year long and that she made a video of all the pictures. She said that she had cried when she was watched it, she said "it was so touching". I couldn't help but laugh, that kid is SO funny. She was serious though, she has a tender heart.

We have a fun weekend planned and I am so excited. What are you doing for the holiday weekend?

I'm looking forward to a great weekend at Oasis as well. God is moving and is continuing to bring in new people. I am so thankful for what He is doing in the lives of our Oasis family.

We are looking forward to the summer. How about you? There are lots of things to do in Austin for the kids. For all the Austin, Round Rock people, what do you and your kids do for fun? I can't wait to hear your thoughts my friends!

Have a great weekend and bring on the summer fun!

Random Thoughts...

2010-05-26T21:13:00Z

The main road next to our subdivision has been under construction for quite some time. It has been very annoying. The work was supposed to have been completed by the end of February, but was not. They FINALLY striped it last night and opened it up and it is SO nice. Thank you Lord!

Kylie is on the final countdown, only 2 more days of 2nd grade! She said that she had a headache today from carrying her backpack since it was so heavy. Bless her heart! LOL!

They started framing the house next to us today and is it ever loud!!! I will be glad when they have completed the building!

Kelsey & I have been doing some "major" cleaning around the house. We have gotten a lot done, but still have more to go. It is so nice to have some of things done. When I was pregnant, a lot of stuff got put on the back burner and piled up. But, mama is back now! LOL!

The Lord has really been speaking to me about some things. I love it when He does that. Last night as I was trying to go to sleep He was doing just that. I did not get up and write it down right at that moment and I now regret that. I am so bad about that, I mean after all, this girl needs her sleep. Danny on the other hand keeps a note pad and pen by the bed and after he reads this, he will probably get on me for not getting up and writing it down. Sorry Lord! I remember most of it and it was SO good. Hopefully, I will get to share it with our women at some point in the very near future.

Danny wraps Jillian up like a little "burrito" every night. He always brags about how she doesn't get out of his wrap. (She always gets out of mine). When I went to check on her this morning, this is what I found:

Sweet Jillian got out of daddy's wrap 05/26/10 (I love those little lips)

She is so silly. Now, before I get any e-mails telling me to not put blankets in the crib, etc. She was completely bundled up when we put her in there. She is also big enough now to move them off of her face. If she cannot move it, believe it, she will let us know it with a nice loud cry on the monitor.

I'm looking forward to our service tonight at Oasis. We are on the Tabernacle and it is so enlightening and informative. Hope to see you there!

I can't wait to hear from you friends! Love & Blessings!

A little taste of summer!

2010-05-25T02:28:00Z

We had a little taste of summer this weekend and it was SO nice! Abby had her last day of school on Friday and she was home for the weekend. With the warmer temperatures, the girls were ready to swim. They went swimming Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. They all LOVE the water!

Abby, Jillian (couldn't get her to look with the sun shining), Kelsey & Kylie at the pool

It was Jillian's first time in the pool and she loved it! She was so cute in her little swimsuit. When I walked up with her, everyone in the pool stopped and were looking at her. They all said how cute she was. Abby said that Jillian was so precious and that she looked just like me. I asked Abby if that mean I was precious too; she was sweet enough to say yes. I love that girl.

Sweet Jillian in her swimsuit and hat ~ so cute!

Jillian turned 4 months old on Saturday. She is such a joy and is getting big enough where the girls can hold her a little bit more. They really enjoy talking to her and having her "talk" back to them. She is really filling out and is such a happy baby. She is so peaceful. She has really started to grab for things and has found her hands. It is so cute when she holds her hands together, it looks like she is praying.

Sweet sisters playing: Abby, Jillian & Kylie

We had a very busy weekend, Monday rolls around all too soon. Kelsey is still trying to get a few of her classes wrapped up and will be taking a final for one in the next week. Abby had a ball game again tonight and they won 16-2. They have not lost a game! Go Abby!!! This week is Kylie's last week of school, she is so excited! We are looking forward to a great summer! How about you?

Our Oasis Family

2010-05-23T04:33:00Z

I love our Oasis family, they are such a blessing to our life. It's always amazing to see who God brings to Oasis along with their stories of how God brought them there. We have a great group of people who love the Lord. I am continually blessed by watching them as they grow in their walk with the Lord and I count it such an honor to be a part.

The Lord has really been doing a work at Oasis. We had 3 salvations last Sunday and 3 more on Wednesday. Praise God!!

The Oasis ladies had a great luncheon today. It was so much fun to relax, sit and visit. It was a great time. Thank you friends!!!

The Oasis men have a breakfast next Saturday and I know that they will have a great time as well.

Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. I confess that it hasn't always been easy to follow what YOU have called us to do, but it has been worth it to see people come to you and have their lives changed. Thank you God for allowing me to be a part of something so special. I give YOU all the glory and all the praise. I bless your name Lord!

I don't know about you my dear Oasis family, but I can't wait to see what He has in store for us! I'm really looking forward to a great service tomorrow! Won't you come and join us?

Happy Anniversary!

2010-05-22T03:54:00Z

I am so thankful for a Godly heritage on both my mom and dad's sides of the family. I am also very blessed that all of my grandparents are still living. Thank you Lord for this wonderful gift of grandparents that you have given me.

Today I want to honor my Pawpaw & Memaw and wish them a Happy 60th anniversary! We were so blessed back in March when they came to visit, we had such a great time. Pawpaw officiated over our wedding vow renewal and helped us dedicate baby Jillian, it was such an honor. We look forward to having them again!!

I looked for a recent picture of my Pawpaw & Memaw together and could not find one, so I am posting a couple of my favorites of them from March.

Two of my favorite men of God: My sweet husband Danny & my sweet Pawpaw ~ I love them!

Memaw with Jillian (then 6 weeks old)

I love you Pawpaw & Memaw and am so thankful to have you in my life. I love you VERY much!

Pawpaw & Memaw brought us a wall hanging back in March that we have now hung in our home. The wall hanging says, Family ~ It's not what we have in life but who we have in our life that counts. I couldn't have said it better myself. We are blessed to have wonderful family and my prayer is that you are as blessed as we are.

Field Day

2010-05-21T16:09:00Z

Abby had her field day a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time watching her compete and believe me, she is quite the competitor. It was so much fun and we look forward to it every year. Her class won the tug of war and they were so excited! They had a blow up obstacle course that they went through, long jump, baseball throw, sack race, kickball and races. We went to eat lunch also and had a nice time. I love to hear her laugh and there was lots of that on that day! I imagine there will be quite a bit of that today also as today is her last day of school. Wow! It's so hard to believe that she will be in 4th grade next year, time goes by so quickly. We are so looking forward to spending time with her over the summer.

Abby at her field day

Abby has played baseball this year and she loves it. She is having such a great time! I haven't got to see a game yet, but from what I hear her team is really good! I can't wait to see her play! Go Abby!

Abby at her baseball game

Kylie had her field day today. They get to wear their swimsuits. She told me this morning on the way to school that she hoped that she got soaked AND wet. I love that girl, she is so funny! They had races, three legged races, tug of war, a couple of water games, little scotter races, tattoos and a big blow up slide. She had so much fun! They had the older kids out squirting all of the kids with water guns helping to keep them cool. They are getting to play board games this afternoon and she was really excited about that. She has one more week of school. Mr. Dave at church has asked her since the very beginning of school when will she be finished with the 2nd grade, she can now tell him she did it! 3rd grade will be here all too soon!

Kylie at field day

Kylie's class also won their tug of war. Then the girls took on the boys and won! Those boys were so mad. Yeah girls!!

Kylie racing at field day, I love that look of determination on her face.

I didn't get any pictures of Danny or Kelsey at either event. They are NOT morning people, so I let them be. But, last and certainly not least is sweet Jillian. She had a great time at both events. At Abby's field day, all Abby's friends wanted to talk to her and kept telling Abby how cute her sister was. Abby was so proud. At Kylie's field day, she kicked and squealed and wore herself out.

This is what sister thought of field day. I love it when she sleeps with her arms up like that.

Thanks for allowing me to share these special memories with you. We are so blessed to have these wonderful kids, all 4 of them. We are looking forward to having many more special moments and memories over the summer. Blessings to you my friends!

Happy Birthday Bro!

2010-05-19T17:46:46Z

I guess I am feeling a little sentimental today as my baby brother turns 3? (I won't tell his age because I'm older ~ LOL!) I called to wish him a happy birthday and got his voicemail.

My niece Mackenzie, Rusty, my dad & me

I don't have the time today, but will make time soon to look for a picture of us "back in the day". I did find one of us from our family reunion in 2008, it's sad that we have to go so far back to find a picture. The truth is that we don't get to see each other very often. I saw him in October for a funeral for about an hour and a half or so but before that I don't remember when I had last seen him.

It's amazing to think about growing up together. We had a lot of great times and a lot of not so great times. We were constantly getting on each other's "nerves". We used to literally "beat" on each other. A friend of mine in high school called me "dent". There was actually a sunken place in my arm (dent) where my brother used to punch me all the time. But, believe me (he may remember differently) I got my fair share of licks in. We could "beat" on each other all we wanted, but let someone else say something about the other and it was on!

I could write a book on all the different memories we had together but this is one of my favorites:
The Pinto ~ Need I say more? For those of you who knew my brother back then, you would know about the Pinto. He had home stereo speakers in the back seat and needless to say he would crank that music up SO loud. To me, it was embarrassing. One day I did not have the car for some reason and needed a ride to work. Rusty to the rescue, he kindly offered to take me. It could have been DC talk that he was listening to, but whatever it was, all I know was it was loud. We pulled up to HEB where I worked and I asked him to drop me off at the BACK of the parking lot, he KINDLY insisted on taking me up to the front door. I was SO embarrassed. I told him I was not getting out of the car (while I slumped down in the seat) until he took me to the back of the parking lot. He just turned up the music even louder and told me he was not moving until I got out of the car. I could have killed him, I mean he totally killed my pride. I got out of the car, slammed the door and told him I hated him. (sorry) He smiled and told me to have a nice day, laughed, turned the music up even louder and FINALLY drove off.

I miss my brother. He is a great guy and married a wonderful lady, they have 2 amazing and beautiful daughters. I couldn't be happier or more proud for him. I feel like at times that I took for granted growing up with him and getting to see each other every day. I do have lots of great memories that I will always cherish. Without getting TOO mushy, I just wanted to say that I love you and miss you. I hope you have a great birthday. I hope to see you and that sweet family of yours REAL soon!

Sweet Jillian

2010-05-18T16:13:00Z

Our sweet Jillian Hope was born on Friday January 22, 2010 at 3:36 pm, she weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long.

This is one of my favorite "newborn" pictures of her. Danny took it with his cell phone while they were taking her measurements, etc.

I had gone to my regular Dr. appt. that day and my blood pressure was high. They had me lay down for a little bit to see if we could get it down, but when they re-checked it, it was still high. The Dr. came back in and told me to go home and come back on Saturday and that we would do my C-section at that time. I told Danny that I would like something really good to eat since I would be having surgery the next day. We went home to get the kids to go eat and the phone rang, it was the Dr.'s office. It was around 11:30 am when they called. They told me to come back today and be at the hospital at 1:00 pm. I started packing my bag. I guess everything was happening so fast and I was confused. I walked back into the living room and looked at Danny, we both looked at each other sort of funny. I asked him if they had said come today, he laughed and said that he was just thinking the same thing. So, I called the Dr.'s office back and asked them if I was to come today, she said yes. We hung up the phone and she called me right back and asked if I had eaten. I said no and she said good, now get up here! And life hasn't been the same since! What a joy!

Jillian ready to leave the hospital.

When she was first born, everyone was saying how much she looks like me. In fact, whenever they rolled me out of surgery we went right by the nursery where everyone was looking at Jillian. My mother said to me, "She looks just like you". However, now that some time has gone by, I can see how she looks so much like Danny as well. She is such a joy to all of us and we now wonder, what was life like before Jillian? She is 16 weeks old and will be 4 months old on Saturday, the time has gone by so quickly. She sleeps all through the night (thank you Jesus!!!). She is such a pleasant and happy baby. I love to watch our girls interact with her and "baby talk" to her. She is rolling over and "cooing" a lot! As Pawpaw would say, she is a little doll and we are so blessed. Since she is 4 months old, we already have SO many cute pictures of her. I wish I could put them all on here. Instead, I've picked out a few of my recent favorite pictures to show you.

Sweet Jillian ~ 13 weeks old ~ She is already a Longhorn! (Thanks Renee!)

The loves of my life: Abby, Kelsey, Kylie, Danny & sweet Jillian ~ 14 weeks old 04/30/10

Happy Mother's Day to me! ~ Sweet Jillian ~ 14 weeks old

And last but not least, one of my favorite pictures of my sweet husband and Jillian. I am so thankful for him. He was such a BIG help to me during the pregnancy and took such good care of me. It all paid off with this sweet baby.

Danny & Jillian ~ I am SO blessed!

Thanks for letting me "brag" on this sweet baby. We actually have 4 sweet babies. We are so excited that summer is right around the corner and are looking forward to spending time with all of our girls.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you my friends! Love & Blessings ~ Cheryl

Hello Blog, I've missed you!

2010-05-16T05:25:00Z

Hello my dear blog readers.....I've missed you! I looked back and besides Danny "hijacking" the blog for the day of prayer post, the last time that I wrote was back in December. Wow! A LOT has happened since that time.

I would like to blame the fact that I haven't blogged in some time just on the fact that I have been "busy", but that has not been the case. It has come to my attention through various ways that there are those that read my blog to sort of be "nosey" if you will as to what goes on in our family, then there are some that do not like me or wish me well and only want to read it so that they can criticize. I am sorry that I let them silence me. I have a friend who has gone through a very public "fall" and has lived her life out loud on her blog. Come what may or whomever may criticize her, she has blogged away about her ups and downs. I read it everyday. I rejoice with her when she is up on the mountain and think of her and pray for her when she is walking through the valley. I wrote her an e-mail last week about how courageous I thought she was and what her blog meant to me. She reminds me so much of myself at times the way she reacts to different things, I catch myself laughing out loud at her at times, she has a great sense of humor. I thank God for her. She reminded me of a few important facts about the blog. First of all, I don't know who is reading as she does not know about hers either; which is the scary part. However, the good part is that I have in times past gotten lots of positive comments either on the blog or by e-mail thanking me for my "openness" and was told how what I wrote encouraged that particular person. My friend encouraged me to keep writing since "it could help someone out there". So, I have decided to take her up on that advice and keep on writing. To my family and friends, I hope that when I am up on mountain, that you will rejoice with me and when I am down, I hope that you will pray for me. To my critics, again, I am sorry I let you silence me. I'm sorry if I have offended you in any way, please forgive me. To those that have said, she's been through too much and God will never use her, well....I'm happy to say that I am having the time of my life. I thank God that He is not like people who will so quickly write you off. I am going back to the original reason I started the blog in the first place, to be able to share our lives with our family who we don't get to see often, to let all my girlfriends out there know that they are not alone and to hopefully, just maybe help uplift someone. I pray that whoever reads this blog, friend or foe, will be able to see Jesus in me, for without Him I am nothing. I am so thankful for what He has done in my life!

Thank you Shileen for the blessing that you are to me and for the encouragement to stand tall and be me.

Blessings friends,
Cheryl

P. S. ~ We've had some changes in our family as well. Our nephew Jon who lived with us for almost 2 years turned 18 last month and moved to Georgia. I believe that God has some great things in store for him.

I can't wait to hear from you!

National Day of Prayer

2010-05-06T07:29:00Z

On the front page of our Church website you will find our official Prayer Guide for the National day of prayer. Please take time to down this guide and join us for prayer and fasting for our country. www.oasischurchtx.com

Just a reminder for you to make plans to join us tonight 7:00 Pm at Oasis Church.

We will be in Corporate prayer for our nation.

Through the Fire and the Flood...

2009-12-17T23:21:00Z

I wrote a few days ago about some of the "personal" things that have been going on in our lives. I see it as a season of reflection, but also a sort of "fire" where all the "dross" is getting burned away. Although it is a painful process, it is also a necessary process so that we can be more like Him! For that, I thank God!

This morning we experienced the "Flood". We received a call this morning from the roofers who were working on the church building saying that they needed access to the inside of the building to check the roof out. We were not expecting anything traumatic! However, we walked into a MAJOR mess. It BREAKS my heart! I told Danny that I feel like I could of "handled" it a little better if it had been our own home. We take the ministry of the church so personal, after all we are dealing with people's souls! Christmas is typically a time of year where you have more people come into the church and it is such an important time for the body of Christ!

Please keep us in prayer over the next couple of days as the repairs are being done to the building. Also, that their insurance, etc. won't drag their feet concerning the replacement of our chairs and the Splash Kids' (brand new) projector and stereo system. (Our sweet Kelsey who does that ministry with her whole heart was pretty upset about the damage.)

It has been confirmed over and over this week to both Pastor & I that we are doing EXACTLY what God has called us to do at Oasis Church!!! This is just another tactic of the devil to thwart that plan. All I have to say is..........the devil better watch out!

Thank you for your love, prayers and support! Blessings to you my friends!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year?

2009-12-14T01:40:00Z

I have been wanting to blog for SO long, but have had so many things going on. Wow! I honestly don't know where all the time goes. I have been missing you my friends.

I love the "holiday season" ~ it is my favorite time of year. For me, it's a chance to spend time with family and to reflect on all the goodness of the Lord that we have seen come to pass over the last year. We have experienced LOTS of goodness, grace and mercy over this past year and for that, I am so very thankful!

However, we have also had some very challenging things happen over the last year and even these from just the past couple of months. From Danny losing his job unexplained, to the unexpected death of a cousin who hadn't even had a chance to really experience life yet, to the "home going" of a young man whose life was cut short by cancer, to family members that walk out of our lives for reasons that we cannot explain or understand and to the unexpected challenges that have faced us with the pregnancy..........but yet, we TRUST him! There are times over the past few months that I have had my ups and downs. I have to chose to focus on the "goodness" of each situation, if I did not...at times, I felt as if I would lose my mind. So, at this "most wonderful" time of year, I chose to do just that. Although Danny losing his job was definitely not part of "our" plan and in spite of the financial challenges, I am thankful that hat he has been at home to help me. He has pretty much taken over every area of the household duties, etc. For me, that has been a HUGE blessing, but has also been very hard on a mom to relinquish "control". He has done everything from picking up & dropping off kids, to laundry, to cooking, taking care of me and making sure I have every opportunity to rest. For that and for him, I am so blessed and thankful. (By the way, he is a FABULOUS cook!) Sometimes, I don't understand death, especially when it happens to young people. In the case of my cousin, through her death, I have already seen how her death has affected some family members to move toward making positive changes in their life. I also believe that through the life giving words of Jesus Christ spoken at her funeral, there will be those who come to or have already come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. In the case of the other young man, it is amazing to me how much "life" he lived out in his 30 short years. I feel SO very blessed to have known him. He was the kindest person you could ever meet and had the most contagious, infectious smile. He had a zest for life and had a way of making everyone around him feel special. I believe that he fulfilled his purpose that God had for him. We had the special pleasure of reading a book that one of his friends put together for him for his birthday. The words that everyone wrote explained how much of an impact that this young man had made on their lives. It was amazing!. I can't wait to get to heaven and see all those that are in heaven because of the impact that Kevin made on their life. We love his family and they are so courageous. We rejoiced with them in his "home going", but we are so sad that he is not here with us. Please keep his family in your prayers. In the face of difficult family situations, our hope and prayer is that regardless of the situation that they will only see Him in our lives. They might not understand or be able to explain why we do things in the manner which we do, but to us it's all because of the transforming love of Jesus Christ. We strive to not only live our lives in honor of him but also to be His arms extended to our children. We want to honor him in all that we do and we try to instill those same values in our children. There's a great song that we sing at church that says it like this: I want more of you, I want more of you, though it costs me EVERYTHING, to the cross my life I bring. Cause I want more of you Jesus, I want more.....so have ALL of me, so I might see more of your life in me. It is painful to walk through the "abandonment" of family members, but we know that God has a plan. My heart's cry is that all they see is more of Him in our family. This pregnancy has been quite a challenge for me physically. I am not used to having to slow down to a turtle's pace. But, it has given me PLENTY of time to reflect on Him and the things that He has for me. From an early hospital visit to the ever constant threat of complete bed rest........I am monitoring my contractions twice a day for an hour each time and am still getting my weekly (ouch!) shots. I feel as big as a house and thank God for my husband's sense of humor that helps me laugh off some of the not so fun moments. We have 7 more weeks to go and can't wait for Jillian Hope's arrival.

It truly is the "most wonderful" time of year. I thank God for this "season" that He has given me to reflect and am SO looking forward to all the great things he has in store for us in 2010! These are some of the ones that I am most thankful for.......my sweet family. I am SO BLESSED!

The Williams Family 2009 (Jon, Abby, Danny, Me & Jillian, Kylie & Kelsey)

I enjoy blogging and will try to be better about it, and also promise that it won't be so "heavy". I just needed to pour out my heart, I guess. For that my friends, thank you for letting me be me and for loving me. With much love and blessings!

Fall Is The Best of All...

2009-10-09T02:46:00Z

I LOVE Fall!!!!!! It is my favorite. Football season is in full swing, cooler temperatures are on the way and the holidays are right around the corner! I love the colors of fall, although, we don't really see much of it around here!

This is one of my favorite fall pics!

We started this month out with a bang! We had our fall revival and it was AWESOME! We had a great time Saturday night at Marshall & Vickie's house. It not only rained down literally, but also spiritually. It was a great evening! Sunday morning service was great as Danny brought the Word again! Sunday night, my Pawpaw preached and it was so great to have him with us! I can't wait for the next revival - how about you? I am SO excited about what God is doing at Oasis! We have had some WONDERFUL people come and join us! I'm looking forward to us getting in our own building when God opens the door.

I keep saying that I will be better about blogging....oops! I REALLY WILL TRY HARDER!!! We stay so busy and I guess now we are back into our "normal" school routine, so I have no excuses!

SO much has happened since the last blog..... I am now 22 weeks into the pregnancy. We found out 2 weeks ago that we are having another GIRL!!! We are SO excited and feel so very blessed!!!! When we had the sonogram, they gave us 2 3D pictures of the baby's face, it is so amazing!!!! Our little "Jillian Hope" will be here before we know it. Danny has been SUCH a big help to me as well as Kelsey & Jon ~ the Dr. told me that I need to slow it down a little. I am so blessed to have such a WONDERFUL husband who takes such good care of me!

I can't wait to hear from you my friends ~ I've missed you! Love & Blessings, Cheryl

All good things must come to an end...

2009-08-25T02:53:00Z

Here we are at the end of summer.....it has been great; but, sadly it has come to an end. Abby started school today and Kylie starts tomorrow. I always dread this time of year with sending them back to school. We have so much fun during the summer and get to spend so much time together. We spent a lot of time indoors this summer, more than we wanted and much more than we normally do for this time of year. However, due to the extreme temperatures, it was not much fun to be outside, even to go swimming. We did get to visit with some family over the summer (including both sets of my grandparents) and that is always nice!

I'm not looking forward to dropping Kylie off at school in the morning, of course, I never am. However, over the past two years we have been blessed to have wonderful teachers and I am believing that this year will be no different. As much as I will try to be brave, I'm sure that by the time I make it back to the car, there will be tears shed. It's so hard to watch your "baby" grow up. As I take Kylie to school tomorrow, it will be the last year that she goes to school as the "baby" of the family. Abby has her cousin and her aunt at her school to keep her company and watch over her, so that makes it easier on us. Tonight when we talked to Abby, she said that she really liked her teacher today. She was really looking forward to seeing all of her friends!

As we say goodbye to summer, we look forward to the fall. We are anxiously awaiting cooler temperatures and football! We love the fall. I always look forward to the colors of the fall with the leaves changing, pumpkins, etc.

So, as I close...I will post one last picture from summer of the girls at the beach. I will be thinking of all the moms tomorrow...may the peace of God rule your hearts as you leave those "babies" at school. I will be looking forward to celebrating the triumphs of the year as our children learn and grow together.

Kelsey, Abby & Kylie at the beach

I'm looking forward to hearing from you my friends, all of us "moms" have to stick together. Love & Blessings, Cheryl

Wow! A lot has happened........

2009-08-05T21:11:00Z

I can't believe that it has been 2 months since I have blogged. Let me tell you, a lot has happened in that two month time span!

The last blog I wrote about how we had gotten moved. And no, all the boxes are not unpacked. The garage is still full of boxes. We are still getting adjusted to the house. We have a lot of things that we want to do, but of course, those will all come over time. It is so nice to have our own place and what a blessing it was that we were finally able to buy a house. Our house payment is cheaper than the rent that we were paying, that is one of the biggest blessings! Hopefully, we will get those boxes unpacked very soon!

A couple of weeks after we moved........WE FOUND OUT THAT I AM PREGNANT!!!! WOW!!!! That was the biggest news ever!!! What a shock!!! (I was wondering why I was so tired!!!) Danny had been asking for about the last 2 years about another baby and I said that I thought we were done! Well, did I ever get a surprise! The kids are excited and we are looking forward to celebrating yet another February birthday when our bundle of joy is expected to arrive around February 10, 2010. I am 13 weeks today. We had another sonogram today and Danny practically begged the technician to tell us the baby's sex - but she said it was still too early. Hopefully, in about 7 or 8 weeks we will be able to share that good news! What a blessing! I have not been feeling well, but it will all be worth it. I have been living in a constant state of nausea and heartburn. I have also been VERY tired - thus, the reason for no blog for 2 months. I promise to be better! With starting the second trimester next week, hopefully, some of this feeling yucky will ease up!

Happy Father's Day to Danny! (Kelsey, Kylie, Abby & Jon on Father's Day weekend!)

In July, we went to Galveston / Houston area thanks to my cousin Linda letting us come and hang out at her place for a few days. We took the kids to the beach and they loved it. Abby & Kylie had a great time "rescuing" about 12 hermit crabs and playing out in the ocean with dad. We collected lots of sea shells. We all got sunburned, but still had a great time. While we were down there, we also went to NASA with my cousin Clay & his sweet family.

Danny & the kids playing in the ocean. Abby is on the left, she swims like a mermaid. She just kept diving in. Kylie is on the right of Danny, she only weighs around 40 pounds. Danny had to hang onto her, the waves kept knocking her over. And of course, Jon and Kelsey having a great time!

Abby & Kylie at the Kemah boardwalk.

Kylie & Abby at NASA in front of a Star Wars exhibit. (I don't think we can ever get Jon & Kelsey to pose for a picture!)

On Monday, our sweet Kelsey turned 16! I cannot believe it - where does the time go? She is growing into a beautiful young lady and we are so VERY proud of her! She loves her sisters and is so sweet to them. She does the children's church and is doing a GREAT job! We managed to pull off a surprise party for her over the weekend. She was so excited, she screamed & cried. We had it at our friends (Jay & Gail's) house. Thank you Jay & Gail! The girls had a great time swimming in their pool! It was so much fun!

Kelsey & Dad!

A friend of mine makes cakes and she did a great job on Kelsey's cake.

We have also been busy this summer with our Oasis family. It's so exciting to see what God is doing and I can't wait to see what He has in store for us next!

And that brings us to Wednesday....wow! A lot of catching up to do. I'll try to post more summer pictures over the next few weeks. It's hard to believe that it's almost over. We love the summer and getting to spend time with the kids. There has been record breaking heat almost everyday in Austin, so we are definitely looking forward to the fall and cooler temperatures. Plus, (those of you who know us will not be shocked by this next statement!) we are looking forward to FOOTBALL!!!! Praise the Lord ~ our six month drought is almost over!

I hope all of you are doing well. Thank you to all of you for your thoughts and prayers, it means so much. I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Love & Blessings, Cheryl

Home Sweet Home!

2009-06-03T03:48:00Z

We closed on our new house on Friday Morning. My dad came and along with a army of people from the church we got it all moved by Saturday evening. WHAT A BLESSING!!!!! We appreciate everyone's help so very much. We had people moving out of the rent house and others cleaning at the same time. We feel so blessed and loved by our wonderful church family. A sincere thank you to all of you that helped, you will never know how much we appreciate and love you!!!

I was off of work yesterday and the kids and I managed to get the kitchen organized & I even cooked dinner last night. It will take a little bit to get everything done, but it is all coming together nicely.

We are so thrilled to have our own place and we give ALL the glory to God! Thank you again to all of our supportive friends - we love you so much. I'll post some pictures soon!

On another note, I am so excited about what God is doing at Oasis Church. We have seen God do some powerful things in our midst and we are believing him for even greater things. I'm looking forward to a great Wednesday evening service. How about you?

Weekend Update!!!

2009-05-25T02:16:00Z

What a weekend this has been! I attended a wedding last night at the University of Texas Golf Club and it was so beautiful. The bride was beautiful as was her mother. Her mother walked her down the aisle and yes, I got choked up. The minister spoke of the bride and groom's love for the Lord and it was a beautiful ceremony. A cord of 3 is not easily broken! Congratulations to Mallorie and Aaron!

Today was a great day at Oasis Church! This morning's service was AWESOME!!!!! The presence of the Lord was in that place!!!! This evening we had our 2nd membership class and it was wonderful. It's so amazing to see the people that God has brought to us!! We are so thankful for you!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! We are so glad you are here. A special thanks to everyone that helped serve our new members!

In honor of Memorial Day, Danny put together a video that honored all those that had served in the military from Oasis. It was wonderful. I am so proud of all of those that served and want to say thank you for serving our country. We love you and thank God for you and your families for the sacrifices that you have made. Danny was in the Marine Corp and I am so proud of him!!!!

Danny

I also want to say a big thank you to everyone who has brought us boxes, I have not had to go "box hunting" and for that I am so thankful. A special thank you to Gail for coming over and helping us take pictures off the walls and filling the holes, what a blessing!!!!! Also, a BIG thank you to everyone that has offered to help us move next weekend. Only 5 more days!!! Praise the Lord!!!!

I hope you all have a great holiday tomorrow. I LOVE you my friends and can't wait to hear your thoughts! Love & Blessings, Cheryl

House Update!

2009-05-19T02:53:00Z

Today we went over to office of the home builder and spoke to the consultants. They are so nice and so helpful. They had great news that all the paperwork is on time going through the process and closing will be on time. PRAISE JESUS!!!

We were so excited when we went over to the house to find that they had begun the "clean up" process. They also put the microwave, stove and dishwasher in today. They also put in the blinds! It is so exciting to see everything come together!

Thank you to everyone that has offered to help, what a blessing! Also, to all of you who have brought us boxes, thank you, thank you!!!!
We are so excited about what the Lord has done!

We had a great service at Oasis yesterday and I'm looking forward to a GREAT week! I can't wait to hear from you my friends. Love & Blessings, Cheryl

We have an author in our midst!!!

2009-05-17T02:13:00Z

The Williams family is proud to announce that we now have a author in the family. Kylie has written her first book and we celebrated with an Author's Tea at her school on Friday as the children presented their published books. She not only wrote the book, but she also illustrated the book. Her book is titled "Our Family Vacation To Sea World". We are so proud of her. Ms. Gail & Ms. June also joined us at the Author's Tea and we all had a great time.

Last week we went to Abby's Field Day and she came home with a whole handful of ribbons. It's so hard to believe that we are at the end of another school year. Abby has one more week left and Kylie has 12 more days. All of the end of the year events only remind me of how quickly they are growing and how fast time flies. However, we are ALL ready for summer and can't wait to get into the pool!!!

On another note, I am so excited about service at Oasis tomorrow. I can't wait to see what God has in store. I have heard some fascinating stories of what God is doing in the lives of some of our Oasis family and I'm so amazed! Please continue to pray for the Watkins family, Kevin is supposed to have his next round of chemo this week. Also, please pray for Wayne & Sharon to sell their house! We are preparing to move in the next couple of weeks. Our closing is scheduling for the end of the month, please pray that all goes smoothly. We are so excited!!!

I hope that wherever you are for church tomorrow that you experience the power of God. I'm expecting great things! How about you? I can't wait to hear from you my friends. Love & Blessings, Cheryl