The High

Kevin, Little Miss and I went to the High Museum of Art Atlanta today because we are that cultured and artsy and my sister generously added me to her membership. :)

We were most interested in viewing China's Terracotta Army. (Well...not the whole army...a small representation of the 7,000 warriors believed to be buried around Emperor Qin's tomb.) I would love to show you pictures of our excursion, but 'the man who is obviously sooooo over his job AND the terracotta warriors' made it clear (several times) that pictures were not allowed. (boooo.)

Anyway, you will have to trust me when I say that they were really cool and BIG and worth seeing. We hope to see the 'real deal' in China some day...maybe with our Chinese daughter...2 dreams in one there.

A few 'did you knows':

Did you know...

- the Emperor had all the clay warriors, chariots, musicians, animals and rivers built to inhabit his 'afterlife?'
I'm thinkin' he is pretty bummed out at this point...CONFIDENT things did not work out as he had hoped. :(

- the terracotta army is 'larger than life'? Each person is approximately 6 to 6 1/2 feet tall, considerably larger than the average Chinese person at that time.

- the clay used to sculpt the army was a 'purple clay' that is found only in China and has not been reproducible until 1980?

- the name Qin (pronounced Chin) was first the name of the Emperor then his dynasty and is believed to be the root to the country being called China? I know. Very interesting stuff!

- the Emperor was also involved with the building of the Great Wall?

- that he was appointed leader at the age of 13?

- that the statues were originally painted with bright colors? They were! Time and dirt have faded their original colors.

Okay, that is all for now. I hope all that I just said is true...we were cheap and did not purchase the audio tour...we just did our best to read all the signage and such...

So...the previous is true...as best I can remember it. :)

Does this sound like a bad idea to anyone else?

I do not consider myself much of a scientist...but I do consider myself savvy on cause and effect...

"Lights up in water!" ?!?!?

Takin' a Ride on the Crazy Train

This picture captures the theme of our day perfectly.

Welcome to the Crazy Train!

So...today is April 15. And guess who is still doing their taxes...yep, us. I. Know. (hold the comments...we have already said it all to ourselves in our heads...and maybe out loud...no, we have used an ounce of wisdom and NOT said them out loud.) So, Kevin's head is about to explode because...well...we don't make a ton of money folks and yet with his calculations...Uncle Sam wants us to pay him over $2,000...NO, SIR...We were hoping it was going to be the other way around!! So Kev continues to try to do them over...and over...and over...he is calling in 'free' reinforcements first...then, if necessary he will pay the professionals to try to scrounge up a tax RETURN for us.

So, there is seat #1 on the crazy train.

Seat #2. I am caffeinated. This is not a good thing. I have a love/hate relationship with caffeine. You see, over the past 4 years or so I have either been pregnant or nursing, so caffeine has been in the "do not touch" category...but, ironically, the season of parenting is one that usually requires and benefits greatly from caffeine. So what is a girl to do when morning comes too early and energy is no where to be found...she drinks coffee...and shakes inside her skin for the remainder of the day. Coffee...can't live with it, can't live without it.

Seat #3: In order for precious children to play train...ALL. I repeat, ALL toys must be dumped out of the "train bins" onto her bedroom floor.

Seat #4: "Train bins" all transferred from upstairs bedroom to downstairs living room.

Seat #5: Burnt grilled cheese sandwiches.

Seat #6: Burnt fingers from burnt grilled cheese sandwiches.

Seat #7: Spilt coffee creamer...a.k.a . "Pure Golden Yummi-ness"... all over kitchen floor and kitchen cabinet...WHILE the grilled cheese burns. (Thanks goes out to Sammy the Dog for his help in cleaning up that mess.)

Seat #8: Helping dear friend who is still healing from getting her tonsils out by watching her precious son. ( I love you both...you did not make the day crazy...you simply had the privilege of joining us on our Crazy Train. Lucky you.)

Seat #9: The phone won't stop ringing!!

Seat #10: Looking for LAST year's taxes in the "room from the evil place". (Seriously, picture me climbing over boxes and bed...balancing on one foot to reach the diaper box holding the world's randomness AND last years taxes...thank you, Jesus!!!)

Seat #11: Well...you get the idea...Calling this one "SEATS TAKEN" - said with Forrest Gump's inflection...

Wanna join the Crazy Train?!?!?

ALL ABOARD!

WOO WOO!

Worshipper

Twice today, Eli made my heart melt.

With worship music playing...he tilted his head back and stretched his arms straight out and worshipped.

He isn't even 2 yet. Little blue-eyed, toe-head...worshipping. Awesome.

Easter 2009

Easter is a whirl of activity at the Williams house. My family has established a bit of a tradition of coming to our house for the weekend since Kevin has so many responsibilities at church. We love having them here and my do we feel like a big family in this little house...

Friday was a beautifully dark and rainy day...it was just perfect to keep me focussed on all our Savior endured on that day to bring us back into relationship with the Father...to heal us...to offer forgiveness...He died for our trangressions.

Saturday was the big Easter Egg hunt at church. We had a helicopter come and drop 2,500 eggs on our property! It was an exciting event! Afterward we came home and the Easter bunny had visited while we were gone! (We ask him to come on Saturday so that we can focus on the REAL meaning of Easter on Sunday...He does not seem to mind...He said it frees up his schedule a little bit for Sunday morning.)

Chloe was excited about her Leapster Game, bubbles, crayons and candy...and candy...and candy...
Eli only cared about the dinosaur monster truck...oh and candy.

We had our own little egg hunt in the side yard and just had a great time!

Oh...and Chloe chose to wear a ballerina costume and tutu over her t-shirt and jeans to the church event...super cute...sooooo 4. Adorable pictures to come. (whoa...that is the second picture promise...what have I gotten myself into??)

Sunday HE IS ALIVE AND HE LIVES IN ME!!!
What an annointed morning we had at church this morning!!! The Lord was there and glorified!! Worship was powerful and our pastor painted an awesome picture along with his message...so great! We serve a victorious King! He is risen!! He has conquered death!!

We had a fantastic weekend. We are exhausted. We need sleep.

Whew.

We have had a fun-filled, busy, busy week!

Our dear friends Shawn, Elisha and their 4 kids decided to vacation on beautiful Lake Lanier in our lovely city...isn't that sweet of them...to bring vacation to us? :) What a great week.

Hours on the shores of Lake Lanier.
Fishing. Skipping and splashing rocks
Gold mining in Dahlonega. (SNOW!!!!)
Letterboxing and hiking. (www.letterboxing.org) Fun and free!
Lounging...okay...not much lounging...we did have 6 kids in tow...

I so enjoyed spending the week with them. It feels good to be with friends from way back when we were young and carefree...and to be together with our growing families and see that we are still fun!! )At least we think so.) :)

Hoping to post a few pics soon.

B12

Soooo...blood work back...guess what...

Thyroid. Normal.
B1. Normal.
B12...LOW!!! (Why all caps??? Because something finally came back 'not normal'...which means we may be onto something here folks!!)

The tricky part is that it is somewhat 'normal' for people to have low B12 levels...(does that negate the previous excitement about 'not normal'?) Anyway, the Dr. (neurologist) is recommending that Kevin come in for some B12 shots.

I have some research to do.

Anybody out there know anything about these or have any insight??? Would love your input.