Beachy Keene or Beachy Keen?

A photo collage of our family this past September. I apologize to my sweet John that you're not included in this collage--you were the main photographer that day! :)

Oh, and the beachy "keene" reference? Of course, that's because mom and dad live in Keene! :) I do love me a play on words...

Enjoy!

Tricia

Family Faith and Fun

Hannah has no idea what is about to come her way--sheer driving madness! [insert evil laugh here!]

Hannah and Mommy "on top of Mountasia's mountain." Um, about 15 feet high or so. Only in TX do they call that a mountain! ha! BTW, see how tall Hannah is??!!

Grandfather Schnell, Hannah and Tricia on Lake Whitney outing

Hummingbird "imposter"

Well, goodness, I haven't posted in a while. Just thought I'd share a few pix along with what's been going on with us.

A few weeks ago, John, Hannah and I went to Mountasia, a putt-putt/go-kart place just north of us. We had such a fun time! I drove the go-kart with Hannah as my sidekick. What fun! She kept telling me I needed to slow down! ha! I think she mumbled something about "getting back at me when she turns 16!" Or something like that.

John won the 18-hole putt putt round. But just by one point. Hannah and I tied, just behind him. But for a while, Hannah was ahead of us all.

Then a week or so after that, mid-September, J, H, and I picked up Grandfather and stole away to a very low Lake Whitney. It was so low, it was kinda sad. Realized just how much we need rain this year. It's been crazy! We saw some lovely deer, even a buck, maybe half grown, according to how big his horns were.

Then toward the end of the day, we stopped off at at a different section of beach. We found a hummingbird and I took like 20 photos of it!! But alas, it was not a hummingbird, even though it hovered and "hummed" like one. It was an imposter, some moth that looks and acts like one. But still it was pretty and a nice way to end the day.

John's working like crazy with his four jobs. I pick up freelance work whenever possible, writing and editing both. But I mostly hold down the fort, help Hannah with her increasingly difficult homework. (I'm often having to ask myself if I'm smarter than a 6th grader. You don't want to know the answer to that! ha!)

I did start taking watercolor classes at Hobby Lobby and am having a blast. It's just a few dollars a week, I can't believe how cheap it is. And it gives me something to look forward to, something that my psyche has always needed, since I was very small, but just haven't been able to swing as an adult. It means so much to me to learn something I'm very interested in. That's partly why I haven't been posting too many creations lately because I'm busily learning to draw and paint better. It's a slow process, mostly because I'm such a perfectionist. But I'm having fun with it and it's actually an answer to prayer to have something that's "just for me."

Guess that's all for now.
Tricia

Dealing with anger effectively...

These excerpts from a book Getting Over Getting Mad: Positive ways to Manage Anger, are really good:

"It seems that there are chronically angry people everywhere... They act as though life comes with guarantees, and when something doesn't suit them, they sue.

"Some people like being mad. It makes them feel powerful and in control. If they stopped being angry, they might be sad, in emotional pain, afraid or full of despair, and since they don't like feeling vulnerable they carry a chip on their shoulder. The most dangerous people are the ones who don't even know they're angry yet are very hostile. They no longer recognize angry feelings; they life in a permanent state of uproar.

Uproar is a way of making one's own concerns more important than anyone else's. It's the angry person's syndrome. An angry person imagines an insult and immediately hurls insults right back. They overpower others with threats and loud voices.

When my clients who are in a permanent state of uproar speak about themselves, practically every other word they use in should. "I should do this," or "he should do that." When the messages you give yourself are filled with shoulds, you're bound to feel upset. Looking at life from a point of view of "should" will not help you--it will only make you feel angry because you'll so often be disappointed. Can't and have to are two other thought-forms that cripple us and lead to uproar.

To move out of uproar, it helps if you change what you're thinking and saying... To extricate yourself from uproar, you need friends, people whom you can really talk to, who've been there themselves and are ready to share how they have overcome destructive tendencies.... The greatest friend you can have is one who understands your pain and angry but doesn't let you become a permanent victim of it. He pulls you out of the muck, stops your incessant complaining. He tells you the truth and demands the same from you. She asks you to drop the hostility and replace it with goodwill. She brings out the best in you."

Of course, you could always eat a turquoise blue popscicle and make a Grrrrr face like the faux-angry gal above!

I think we all deal with anger but this author really hits it dead on with this page and many others in how to deal with your anger instead of letting it suck the life out of you--or others around you. This was very helpful to me.

All for now,
Tricia

"Missouri" loves company... in the form of a cousin!

My cousin drove down from Missouri last weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday and I was so excited. We hadn't seen each other since I was about 7 years old! Whew!

They were staying with her eldest daughter, recently married, and so we all had a lovely visit on Saturday evening. I'd always had a suspicion she was a terrific lady, kind nurse, loving wife and mother--and that evening just confirmed it. We had to "get to know each other all over again," since we were quite young the previous reunions. Where do the years go? I mean, you look up and wow!: another decade has passed.

John and Jeff hit it off too. They kind of reminded me of each other a little bit. Each, a solid, loving Christian, devoted fathers and husbands. I felt a tremendous blessing to be in such company as these people.

Even though life is indeed busy, I'm hoping we can keep up a few times a year via phone or email messages. We really hit it off and there was definitely a "tender-hearted girls" bond there! ha! Even Hannah and Jadon had a blast playing together. What fun! I felt bad we didn't leave until kinda late, I didn't realize how much time had passed, so we skeedaddled on out of there and headed home. All of us Williams were in a happy, chatty mood!

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Tomorrow evening Hannah's school will be presenting their Christmas program at the Arlington church. I'm looking forward to that for sure! Hannah's hummed a few of the tunes they'll be singing, so I know the audience is in for a musical treat!

Well, gotta get some rest. Love to all and more posts soon.

TW

Fun times with my Sister!

We had such a great time with my sister during her visit a couple of weeks ago. We got to do all sorts of fun things, like the Omni theater in Fort Worth, and more. We also had a "Game Night," on Wednesday night and even got mom to play Skip-Bo with us, which was a DELIGHT. I have very happy memories of Daddy, Pam and I playing games and mom playing the piano in the background when I was little.

But, if we were very lucky, mom would concede to playing one game. And we'd all dance around (well, maybe not daddy! ha!), very happy that mom was going to be a part of it all. Then mom, after thoroughly TROUNCING us, would promptly say she was finished and leave us all with mouths open of how the lady just easily won the game, hands down! Maybe that was her EVIL PLAN all along?? ha!

Anyway, so grateful for the time spent with my sis and parents. Sweet times indeed!

My Sparkle girl

Well, I've GOT to write an update on our family "doins" but it's pretty late, so I'll just post a pretty picture for now. Love everybody! Oh, and this photo was taken at Veteran's Park near the fish pond. The sun was shining through the trees and "dappled" light hit her face, making her sparkle all the more than she usually does! That's my sparkle girl! :) More updates to follow! All for now, Tricia

Fun times with my dad

Here's a fun collage I created of my dad and me, of our "date" in September.

A spontaneous date with my dad

This past weekend, I really wanted to be out in nature. Sometimes the city just feels claustrophobic to me and I like to get away.

Anyway, I invited my daddy to go on an excursion to a lake with me. We just drove and drove until we got tired of driving; then a lady we met told us about a park where you could get a nice view of Lake Whitney. It was awesome! After we walked along the rocky shoreline, we sat at a picnic table, talked, took goofy pictures of each other and generally had a fun time. I'll try to post more of the pix later, but here's a pretty shot of the lake for now.

All for now,
Tricia

Feeling all house-wifey...

For some reason, lately I've been Becky Home-ecky (hmm, never spelled that out before). I mean, I like to do *some* domestic things, but in the past two or three weeks, I've cleaned, iron and cooked more than I have in--ahem--let's just say quite some time. What is the reason for all this domestic bliss?

Not sure, exactly, but here are a few theories:

Like a lot of women, I don't know the meaning of "take it slow" and can't stand to just "do nothing;"

Due to the flu and pneumonia a couple of weeks back, I'm doing homey type chores because I can't do all the running around outside the home that I REALLY want to do;

Then there are the practical reasons, such as the fact that I was wearing the same shirt or two over and over when there are at least a few more perfectly fine but WRINKLED shirts hanging in my closet. Laziness, pure laziness. But desire for variety won over slobbishness and I now wear a healthy variety of color and style ("thank goodness," hubby John breathed silently!) ha!;

I watched my daughter eat practically the same supper, Veggie Burger Griller and vegetables and my mother's heart strings were touched; this child needs some different FOOD! Again, laziness, pure and simple;

The (hard) floors were so incredibly dirty (true confession time here), I just couldn't stand them any longer. You know you have dirty floors when you dread for the apartment maintenance manager (whose clothes ooze with grease!) to come by to fix the dripping faucet! Pretty bad! (For some reason, the carpet gets cleaned way more. Go figure.);

And last but not least: Hannah is in school! It's just so much easier to get things done around the house when you're sans child!

That being said, if we receive any visitors, say two weeks from now, or two MONTHS from now, please do NOT, I repeat, do NOT expect us to be clean, well-fed, or well-clothed. This state is, by all accounts, an anomaly, a freak of nature. This is JUST a phase.

For now, we will eat (terrific lasagna), drink, and be merry (or clean!)

Celebrating my niece's birthday...

Happy Birthday to my sweet niece, Chloe G.! Sending you love... Aunt Tricia

Overheard around the Williams household...

Snippets of conversations heard around a certain nine-year-old member of the Williams family:

After a day of swimming with some friends:

Mommy: So, Hannah, were you excited to swim with so-and-so?*

Hannah: No, I don’t have a crush on him anymore.

Mommy: Really? Because he didn’t like you back?

Hannah: Yeah, I guess so. Besides, I’ve moved on. I have a new crush. I like Chris now (Texas Rangers ball player).

Mommy: Is that so?

Hannah: Yes. (Hand to her chest) It’s the end of an era. The end of my first crush. (Gives an impish grin)

Mommy: Sounds good to me!

*Name has been changed to protect the no-longer-crushed-on boy

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A conversation at bedtime:

Hannah: Mommy, did Satan turn himself into a serpent when he talked to Eve in the Garden, or did he live in the serpent?

Mommy: Well, I believe he lived in the serpent, because God cursed the serpent later in Genesis, so it was like the serpent “had a choice” sort of. Hard to explain, I guess.

Hannah: Oh.

Mommy: Yes, you know Satan (or his angels) can live in people, too. That’s what it means when someone is demon-possessed. You hear more of that in the Bible, but it can happen today. More in terms of that Satan has control over our lives with sin, such as taking drugs, being mean to others, etc.

Hannah: (dramatically folds hands as in prayer) Oh, Mommy! I’m going to pray every day so the devils won’t live in me! Now I’m scared!

Mommy: You don’t need to be scared! A person has to pretty much be turning his back against God, and tell God to “go away” in his life for that to happen. But if he/she does, they’re fair game to Satan.

Hannah: Is that like when Jesus sent the demons from the man into the pigs, in the Bible story? The pigs went all crazy and oinked all the way over the cliff!

Mommy: (laughing) Yes! That’s exactly right!

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While driving around town:

Hannah: Mommy, there’s a car accident! I’m going to pray for the people involved! “Dear Jesus, be with the people in the wreck. Help them not to be hurt. Help them to be OK. Keep mommy and me safe on the road. And help Daddy to enjoy his peace and quiet while we’re gone.” (FYI: Daddy did! Ha!)

A makeover of sorts

We are having a wonderful visit with John's mom. Hannah is VERY happy to have her Grandma Williams here! They have a special bond and I am so glad about that.

So far, we've just run some errands, driven around a little, and yet mostly stayed at home and just spent time together. Grandma and Hannah especially like to put puzzles together. Hannah loves having companionship, so I know she is in seventh heaven to have such a special guest!

When I returned from my lovely vacation a few days ago, I returned home to a mess--a frustrating, inFuriating follicle mess! Hannah had gotten a knot in her hair about as big as a bird's nest! It was so insane, we couldn't brush, comb, or coax it out. So it had to go. So now folks, pictured above is the involuntary makeover of a nine-year-old girl. From long and luxurious to cute, sassy and Pixie Girl!

Oh, and did I mention: I was the hairdresser? Welcome to Williams' Salon! ha! Pretty good for my first time, I suppose! Actually fairly even in the back. Maybe I have a new career?... Nah.

All for now,
Tricia

p.s. These photos were taken about a week or two apart. Does she look older now?
p.s.s. Mom? This was the "surprise" I told you about that Hannah wanted to show you. So, uh, SURPRISE! ha!

This one goes out to the best mom ever

Okay, so this page took a ridiculous amount of time, I'm talking hours and hours. I started out with a completely different vision, set of photographs, papers, embellishments and so on, than when I finished. But here it is!

I wanted to convey how special my mom is to me, and that I know she has given her all to her family throughout the years.

For that and so much more, thank you, Mommie! I realize this three months before Mother's Day, but you know, mothers should be celebrated every day, right?

Love you, Mom.
Trishey

Tricia's joining of art and family blogs: Archival Bliss

Lately my creativity has taken a definite turn toward recording family histories, of creating a sort of family heritage album, in addition to my card-making, that has brought me much satisfaction and joy.

Because of this, I have combined both of my blogs to create one blog: Archival Bliss. I have enjoyed focusing on getting to know various family members, deceased and currently living, through the little bits and pieces that other family members have shared.

This online journal, a place to connect and become acquainted with others, has also become a venue of self-discovery as well. I welcome any and all to join in the fun--and perhaps experience a satisfying journey of introspection as well.

Photo: Me, age 7, enjoying the written word