Our Life in the Yellow Brick House

Earlier this month was the Williams family reunion. We used to get together with my Grandma Taylor's side of the family every year around Christmas time. I still remember gathering at the Crescent VFW for what seemed like an eternity while my Mom and Dad talked and talked. I think one year they even made us kids put on a Christmas pageant for them. It was pretty much torture. As time went on, life got hectic and we didn't see each other as often. For the last couple of years, though, we moved the reunion to the summer, and I've been able to go. It's totally different as an adult, and it's fun to watch the kids of the next generation playing together and having a good time.  Ethan and Elijah just celebrated their birthdays and they brought these big bouncy balls, which the kids had a GREAT time with.  We got together at the Baptist church in Tuttle and there was a big gym for the kids to play in. It was the perfect place for them to run out all of the...

Several months ago, Kyle was itching to make a big purchase. We did some casual house hunting but didn't fall in love with anything, so we thought perhaps it would be best to replace my car instead. There was nothing wrong with my Honda, but it was nearing 100,000 miles, which made Kyle a little nervous. He has always been very protective of me and wants to make sure I have a reliable car. Being the thrifty person I am, I would drive a car until the wheels fell off if it were up to me. But I'm thankful he cares. Yes, I choose to be thankful he cares, and I try to repeat that to myself anytime I'm feeling the opposite. I'm also thankful he's in the car business, which makes car shopping a breeze for me. Like the last car we purchased, he had this one all picked out and just ran it by me for final approval. I told him if we could get what we wanted for my car, I was on board. As luck would have it, my car sold in just a few weeks. We thought the timing would work ...

I am about to do my yearly blog book, so the other day, I was looking back on my posts and thinking about what would be in this year's recap of Our Life in the Yellow Brick House. I stumbled across a feature in Blogger I hardly look at anymore - my blog's stats. When I first started the blog back in 2010, I used to monitor the stats pretty regularly to see who was enjoying what posts and where people were coming to the blog from. My audience is pretty small, so over time not much changed, and I stopped using that feature all together. That's why it was interesting to check-in on it again after several years' break. I was surprised to see a pretty dramatic jump in page views during March of last year. Now what happened March of last year? Oh, that's right. How could I have ever forgotten? We got Oliver in mid-February and March was my series of blogs chronicling our struggles with dog ownership. I look back on that time now and laugh, but, at the time, those we...

Today I got to meet my newest niece! We have been eagerly awaiting her arrival for quite some time now. She was due May 20, but 10 days later when she still wasn't here, Tyrus and Lisa headed to the hospital to be induced. They checked in at midnight and when I heard from Mom at 8 a.m., it still seemed like they had a ways to go. But things progressed VERY quickly and by 9:11 a.m., we had a baby! Olivia Grace born April 30, 2015, 8lbs. 2oz. 21 1/4 in. long Little Livi is so precious! Tyrus and Lisa said she had a rough night, so I guess she was making up for that when we were there. She slept most of the time, which made for some great cuddles!

April flew by and that's probably because it's been a full month. About halfway through, I went to Austin for the CASE District IV Conference. It snuck up on me like conferences tend to do. However, this one was different because I was presenting a session for the first time. Michal and I were responsible for 45 minutes worth of content. Public speaking has never been a comfortable thing for me, so I was a little anxious going in. But I'm happy to report that it went really well! God helped calm my nerves, and the attendees were very engaged and receptive to what we had to say. So overall, I would say the trip was a success. I even got to squeeze in some fun with my coworkers while we were there.  Hello Austin!  You can stop searching. Truluck's serves the world's best carrot cake! If only I had a piece right now! The weekend after I got back, I went to Hennessey for a day trip. Morgan's first birthday was at her Gram's house, and there was no...

Somehow, March turned to April and the month is now more than half over. I'm a bit behind, so instead of a bunch of individual blogs, I thought I'd just make one big recap for you. The thing we've enjoyed most about the last two months is the spring weather we've been having. It's so nice to get outside, work on the yard and enjoy the sunshine.  Kyle was sick for about a week after we got home from our trip. It was pretty brutal, but Oliver kept him company.   In March, we went to Ponca one Sunday to celebrate Kyle's parent's wedding anniversary.  I didn't get any pictures of the adults, but we had fun sitting in the living room and watching Conner play. He is so focused and it is cool to see his little mind working away.  Being a dog owner is so much more enjoyable in spring than it is in the winter. Oliver and I love taking long walks on Saturdays.   We have the most beautiful sunsets in Oklahoma.  Mom ...