Clintonium!

2007 in Review (Illustrated Edition)

December 28th, 2007 - Comments (9)

Here it is folks: the Williams family Christmas letter for 2007, written by our special guest columnist, Lisa! (Some of you have already received the printed edition, but this one has pic-a-churs!)

Hi Everyone!

Wow, 2007 has been a very busy year for us. On May 3rd we welcomed our third baby boy into the family – Cambren Louis Northstar. He has been a real delight to us. He has such a cheerful personality, and he can light up an entire room with his big, bright, two-toothed smile! He is seven months old now, weighs around 23 pounds, and is on the verge of crawling (and getting into mischief). So far he has only mastered scooting backwards though, which really frustrates him because he wants to go toward the toy, not away from it. I know it’s just a matter of time before he gets it. He is a stout little guy.

At three years old, Logan is enjoying his older brother status. He likes to let it be known that he is a big boy (although he still needs the comfort of his thumb and a blankie once in a while). He spends a lot of time pretending that his blankie is a road for his Hot Wheels cars. He can also be very particular about things being just a certain way, even bordering on obsessive compulsive tendencies at times. Hmmmmm… I wonder where he gets that from? Certainly not Daddy, the man who sorts his shirts by color and style and hangs them all facing the same direction? Logan is currently enjoying taking roller skating lessons. They start with the wheels tightened up quite a bit to help the kids build confidence, and then they gradually loosen them. It will be fun to see him do more rolling and less stumping as the weeks go by. The words that best describe Logan right now are sensitive and thoughtful.

At five years old, Levi is becoming a very capable young lad. Within one week this summer he learned how to ride his bike without training wheels, go across the monkey bars without any help, and pump himself on a swing. It hit me at that point that he is growing up! This November he developed a passion for swimming. After taking a few lessons he has become very confident in the water. It still looks half like drowning to me, but he nonetheless succeeds in paddling his way across the deep end of the pool each week during our family swim time. I stay close by just in case, but he insists that he doesn’t need any help. We decided to try out homeschooling this year and I have to say that I am so glad we did. It has been a learning experience for both of us, but well worth it. It has been such a joy to see Levi take his first steps in reading. I am amazed at how well he is doing, and how excited he is about making progress. Now he is trying to read everything, everywhere we go. Writing was a struggle at first, until I realized that I was expecting too much too fast. He seems to be a natural in the math department though. He is such a good and willing student. I hope to instill a love for learning in him that will last for a lifetime, so I’m praying for wisdom and guidance as I go. The words that best describe Levi at this age are confident and well-rounded.

I’ve been doing some painting. A couple weeks ago I stayed up almost all night painting the living room and the dining room. After grabbing a couple hours of sleep, I came back downstairs filled with the hopeful expectation of seeing a job well done. What I saw instead was red. A hideous and overwhelming RED from floor to ceiling. Did we actually pick that color?! I felt like crying over the wasted time, money, and effort. But Clint and I did learn something valuable from the experience: they’re called accent colors for a reason — use them sparingly. Besides painting and re-painting I have mostly been wrapped up in motherhood. I feel like I have grown to enjoy it more over the years as the surrender of self has gradually taken place. I have realized that parenting is one of those things not to be taken for granted. That, unlike painting your walls, parenting is a one time deal. Once my children grow up I won’t get a second chance to enjoy this time with them. So I am trying my best to make the most of it. My personal musical pursuits have been put on hold for the most part, although I still sing at church about once or twice a month, and I have also been teaching piano lessons a little bit. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention my month long obsession with origami! I think I liked it so much because I could whip out something so neat in so little time. That’s always satisfying.

Clint is going on about six years now working as a web developer for the Federal Highway Administration. Well, actually the agency is called something like Western Federal Lands Highway Division of Blah Blah and Something Something, but he just refers to it affectionately as “Wafflehead” since that’s how the acronym sounds out. He has received several awards for various projects that he has worked on there, and he is really good at what he does, even if I don’t explain it very well. When he is not at work he loves to spend time with family and friends. His favorite game to play with the boys is Tickle Monster. The object is to capture little boys and tickle them until they laugh so hard they almost wet their pants. He has even given names to his various patented tickle moves, which he shouts out with glee in advance, like called shots. Favorites include “button eel”, “thighmaster”, “filet-O-foot”, and “catch 22″ (which consists of tickling both the neck and armpit simultaneously so as to maximize the vulnerable territory and render the victim defenseless). This game probably explains why none of our pictures are hanging straight, as they get jostled from all of the running and tackling throughout the house. Clint has also taken more of an interest in “blogging” this year – posting family news and pictures on his website at Clintonium.com. Feel free to drop by his website any time for up-to-date family stories and photos.

Well, we are gearing up to celebrate Christmas and to press on into a new year. My hope for this year is that it will be full of good memories together. As I am so clearly aware these days of the passage of time, I want this to be our motto, taken from Matthew 6:19-21 - “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Merry Christmas and God Bless,

The Williams Family