Christmas with the Williams

Once again, we got to spend some time with far-away family.  Usually WE are the far-away family, but this year we got to share some of the joy of hosting some really fun people.

I mean, who else would cuddle a ball python and look so cute doing it, besides my spunky little sister?!?

My beautiful maternal grandmother joined us for a little while.

These are five of her eight great-grandchildren.  She even has a great-great-grandchild on another branch of the family tree!

My parents gave their grandchildren Nerf guns.  I had requested little one-shot guns for our kids and slightly larger three-shot guns for Aaron and me.  Instead, we each got six-shot powerhouses that easily put the bullets across the street.  We'll be picking up brightly colored Nerf bullets for days.

Of my parents' six children, four could gather in Arkansas this time.  I'm so grateful for my siblings who took the time, energy, and money to come together.  And I sure missed the two brothers who were absent.

My other grandmother also made space in her day to come to my parents' house.  Aaron immediately bedecked her with his Steelers cap.  All of her five great-grandchildren were under the same roof with her, but somehow we missed taking the photographic evidence.

My parents with all of their grandchildren.

My sister closest in age to me and her good-looking family.

My youngest sister and her hubby.

And the newest addition to our family, my brother is getting married in April!  We're super excited to be adding another Williams to this wild and crazy crew.

My little sisters.  Beautiful, intelligent, and talented ladies.

We challenged each other at foosball, we ate lots of good food (including our traditional stop at Stoby's), we talked a LOT, and we tried out brass mouthpieces to find the best fit.  Because isn't every family full of musicians?

Christmas Day

Quiet.  Slow.  Worshipful.  Playful.  Delicious. 

Our Christmas Day at home with just the six of us.  Learning a new hymn.  Eating our traditional gingerbread waffles.

"The Bible is not alien to the world of food.  In fact, feeding the hungry with good food is one of the primary ways that the Bible talks about the gospel of the redeeming grace of Jesus....But the Bible is even more direct when it comes to our spiritual hunger.  It tells us that Jesus is the only food that will ever satisfy the needy, groaning hunger that is in the heart of every one of us." 

~Paul David Tripp, "Come, Let Us Adore Him"

Gingerbread Waffles
Serves 4-5

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp shortening
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 1/4 cup sifted flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup hot water

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and molasses and continue beating.  Stir together dry ingredients, then add to molasses mixture.  Add hot water and beat until smooth.  Cook according to waffle iron directions and serve with sweetened whipped cream on top.

Christmas with Schalchlins

The last Sunday in Advent, our crew drove down to attend church and eat lunch with my aunt, uncle, and six of their seven children.

We just love this side of our extended family.  As more family and friends arrived, our ages and stages overlapped and provided sweet conversations and heart connections.

As the Schalchlins opened their cozy home to so many guests that Sunday afternoon, I was reminded of a quote by Kris Camealy in "Come, Lord Jesus": 

"In Advent, as we wait for our permanent dwelling place beside God, we can find our home in Jesus.  He is the only sanctuary, the only home, the only place where we can find the stability and safety we hunger for."

Christmas with Choates

The first of many visits over Christmas break began with a wet drive to pick up Aaron's precious grandmother.  

We transported her to Aaron's dad's house where we got to spend some time with the Choate side of the family.

Four generations hanging out together is normal and expected for our children on both sides of the family, 

but Aaron and I acknowledge it is a rare gift.

Happy Birthday, Benjamin!

If you've ever read Elizabeth Enright's Melendy Quartet (The Saturdays, Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb For Two), then you will have met Rush, the teenage boy who reminds me so very much of our Benjamin.

In "Then There Were Five", Enright describes Rush's room:  It was a masterly confusion of bird's nests, snakeskins, books left open facedown, sheets of music, symphony scores, war posters, disbanded chemical sets, microscope lenses, fishing tackle, old letters and postal cards, and odd stamps which had escaped from his stamp album.  A hammer and saw, some nails, a bottle of varnish and an empty Coca-Cola bottle with a straw in it were among the articles on the bureau, and on the bed were two old comic books, a model airplane, and a volume of the life of Beethoven.  

As Cuffy had predicted, shoes and articles of clothing were draped about the floor.  Rush no more had the instinct to hang up his discarded clothes than a snake has the instinct to hang up its shed skin....Among the shoes and clothes were scattered pages of lined music composition paper.  At the top of each was written "Opus III: Sonata in E Flat"; underneath in smaller letters were the words "by Rush Melendy," and at the left, still smaller the words Largo Maetoso."

Later in the book, Rush and a family friend are discussing character: 

"Remember, you ain't go no character at all yet.  It's still just growin', bendin' this way an' that way.  Nothin' but a little jellyfish still."

"Jellyfish!  Listen, I've got a strong character!  Why, listen, I --"

"Nothin' but a jellyfish," repeated Willy peacefully.  All of you.  Just a lot of little jellyfish."

"Some jellyfish sting, don't forget," said Rush.

He stared at Lorna Doone's tail and wondered about his character.  He was sure he had a strong character but when he began to think hard about it there didn't seem to be anything to take hold of.  Am I generous  wondered Rush.  I guess so.  But only when I want to be, so I guess I'm not.  Have I a good disposition?  Yes, except when I'm mad and then it's fierce.

Every time I re-read this series, Rush and Benjamin "twin" more and more.  Full of love for people, musical, smart, funny, passionate about life.  These books give me insight into the birthday boy.

On Benjamin's 17th birthday, he invited some friends and family (what a gift!) over to celebrate with brunch, then the teenagers (and my awesome husband) headed to the park for some rough and tumble fun

while the rest of us either departed or stayed at our house quietly visiting.

I loved having little ones around my house.  

I totally impressed a six year old by my ability to "make crafts" (even though her sweet mama did most of the work)!

Sarah made a mammoth birthday cake for Benjamin.  Somewhere underneath all of that cream cheese icing, there were layers of gingerbread brownie, pumpkin cheesecake, chai tea ice cream, and something else, I'm sure.

Our neighborhood Christmas party fell on Benjamin's birthday, so we brought the cake to share with our most wonderful neighbors.

Finally, we resorted to running an electric knife underneath hot water, and bit by bit, we sawed through and enjoyed the delicious monument to Benjamin's day of birth.

Tis the Season for Music

All musicians know that December is one of the busiest times of the year.

And we are loving all of musical opportunities that living in Arkansas offers!

We're also grateful for teachers and conductors who help us become better musicians while we're back on this side of the Pacific Ocean and for the family members that come support and encourage our music endeavors.

This Advent looks unlike anything we could have anticipated.  With Benjamin performing in three ensembles, me teaching orchestra at four different schools, the younger girls performing with Voices of Central Arkansas, all three of the kids at home taking piano lessons, and our college girl making beautiful music far away, our schedule is gloriously musical and very full.

This year we've found evenings aren't a good time to read through our Advent devotional together.  Because we just aren't together!  But breakfast is the perfect time to sing through a hymn and listen as Aaron reads a passage of scripture and the brief devotional.  Even when the chef puts too much orange juice in the cranberry bread and the cranberries float.

Advent has begun.  And it is anything but still and quiet at our house.  But even in the midst of the bustle, our minds are set on the line from an old hymn:  "Come, Thou long expected Jesus...let us find our rest in Thee."

So we snuggle in matching pajamas when we get the chance.  We jump into "Serving Saturdays" on our Advent calendar.  We enjoy every musical minute that comes our way.  And we prepare our hearts to rest in Jesus.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

While Sarah was home last weekend, we decorated with our little bits and pieces of Christmas that have survived our moves over the years.

In the midst of boxes and singing and lots of laughing, I turned around and found all four kids playing in the floor with the Playmobile nativity set!