Attack of the Flu Bug!

I guess it had to happen, one of the Williams was bound to catch a bug at some point. I went to Houston to work with my brother-in-law for a couple of days last Thursday. Who would have thought it would be Tuesday and I would still be here. John called me on Friday and told me to stay away because the flu bug had attacked him. He was achy, his head was pounding and he had a really high fever. Thankfully the doctor got him on Tamiflu quickly but it has still been a long process to get him well. His mom has been taking care of him. It is so hard to be away from someone you love when you know they are sick and could use your help. Hopefully, the flu shots Lindsey and I got will help protect us from the nasty bug!

PS - Another good lesson for me to remember, always pack more clothes, diapers, formula, etc than you ever think you could possibly use! :) Thank goodness I am at my sister's house and it is easy to do laundry!

Lessons from 2007

Out with the old...in with the new! It is so hard for me to believe that we are already in 2008. Remember when we were little and the year 2000 seemed so far away?

2007 was a year full of lessons. Some of them were happy and fun, some of them were miserable and scary. The biggest and best lesson of all has been becoming first time parents. My mom was right when she said there is no greater thing than a mother's love for her child. It is amazing how that happens, all of the sudden, boom, this little life comes in and takes over your world and you fall head over heels in love. I am so thankful that we have been blessed with a baby, but not just any baby, a baby who is really, really happy! Everyday is a learning experience and it just gets better and better.

Hard lessons stink, but they make us stronger. I learned many things this year.

1. I moved away from my family and friends. Even though you only live 100 miles from them, sometimes it seems like a world away when you just need a friendly smile or a warm hug. (Thank goodness for IM!)


2. Hearing "You know she is smiling down on you from heaven," falls flat as you are celebrating having children of your own and want to share that joy with your parents.


3. I learned that women still do get fired for having babies. Hard to believe that still happens in this day and age. I also learned that people you respect and who are supposed to be leaders can turn out to be the biggest liars of all and can hurt you more than you ever expected...if you let them.


4. I have learned, okay am still learning, to accept help from others. Having watched my mother struggle to take care of us, I learned quickly to be independent and try to make things work on my own to help take the load off of her. I pride myself in not needing to rely on anyone to support me financially. So, this not working, staying home to take care of our daughter has been difficult for my pride. I know this is the most important job I could and will ever have, but it still makes me struggle sometimes. Feeling guilty about wanting to spend any money is a new concept for me, but I will get over that ;)

I guess if you read those four things above you might think I am complaining or unhappy. What is weird is that I am happier than I have ever been. I think the struggles of the past year are just making me stronger and preparing for whatever is in store for us this coming year. Each night when I say my prayers I thank God for all of the wonderful blessings he has given me and I want all of you to know that I count you among them!

Lindsey's First Christmas

Okay, so we are only what a little over 2 weeks over due with our Christmas wrap-up. Oh what fun we had on Christmas! Honestly I have no real clue of how Lindsey enjoyed her first Christmas, but she did look like she was having bunches of fun. I can say for certain that John and I had a blast. Now with a little one, the anticipation of Santa is so much fun again.

We traveled to Rosenberg on Sunday to spend the holiday with my sister and her family. John was off on Christmas Eve for the first time since we have been married. It was so nice to have a leisurely day rather than hustling around trying to finish everything. We went to the Christmas Eve Vigil mass in East Bernard which is where my brother-in-law was born and raised. Holy Cross is a beautiful little church and every year they put on the Christmas pageant. The school children act out Mary and Joseph's journey and the pageant ends with everyone singing Happy Birtday to Jesus. It really is uplifting.


We went back to opening gifts on Christmas morning. I know it makes things hectic, but I really do enjoy it more. Lindsey woke up to the delightful surprise of finding out that Santa had left her a musical rocking lion to match her nursery gear, a musical walker type thing that can help her continue her path to brilliance ;) and last but not least, she got a fantastic tri-cycle. She is still a little small for the tri-cycle, but it is something she can grow into and will be perfect for when we build our house. I do have to say that Santa left quite a mess on the carpet with sooty footprints everywhere. I will have to ask him to wipe his feet next year. After the festivities at my sister's, we headed over to my cousin's house to spend the day with my Mom's family.


I did finish Lindsey's stocking. After a few late nights, early mornings, sewing in the truck all the way to Rosenberg and one last minute visit to my Aunt's house (thanks Aunt Veta and Cindy!) the stocking was complete on December 24. Whew!