Christmas 2008

What a blessing! We had everybody under one roof for Christmas Day. We played with the babies, played with the Wii, spent quality time together with family and ate entirely too much. It was a dream come true for Sue and me to have both Nicklas and Luke at home and we are appreciative of the efforts of Jonas & Melissa and Robert & Jennifer to make that happen. Melissa's family (Gay, Carly, John & Jason) made the trip over from Duluth to have lunch with us. We really enjoyed sharing Christmas with them. We know it was difficult for them to travel on Christmas day and we appreciate them coming to our home. Heath, McKenzie & Alexis also joined us for lunch. You gotta see McKenzie play the Wii. Paul (Sue's brother) was to be there as well but car trouble meant he had to spend the day at home alone. We really missed having him with us. He and I always catch up on the lastest in the electronics business.

We've had advice from many other grandparents about how great it is to have grandkids. "Great" doesn't describe the blessing of these little ones. I used to "put up" with other grandparents who wanted to show off pictures of their grandkids. I was polite and said things like "How cute!". Now the shoe is on the other foot. I show all my customers this site and the pictures of my grandkids and they say "How cute!". They just don't understand!

With all the babies around on Christmas it made the celebration of Christ's birth just that more meaningful. It gave us a somewhat better idea of the challenges that Jesus' parents faced with having a newborn (but under much more difficult circumstances). Indeed, it would be very difficult to even imagine giving up Nicklas or Luke for the sake of others as God did with his Son.

What a great Christmas Day, 2008!

Grandchildren!

This Christmas is especially meaningful to us as we celebrate the birth of our Lord. We've had two new additions to the family in the last 3 months and the house will be buzzing this Christmas morning like never before. Nicklas and Luke are still too young to understand all that will happen but it will be first of many Christmas celebrations to come. We are so proud of Jen & Robert AND Jonas & Melissa and the enthusiasm they show in their parenting. We are working on our "spoiling" skills and personally I think we will be World Champions. Bring 'em on!

There is no lake!

We came up for the weekend only to find the lake is virtually gone! Hartwell is now over 21ft down from full pool and continues to drop. There is still about 46ft of usuable water in the lake (around the dam) but most the lake is closed to recreation. The is a small creek running where we normally have 8-10 feet of water. The lake passed it's all-time low on October 21st, 2008. Each day sets a new record. It will take years for Lake Hartwell to recover. Click on the pictures to get a better view. The lakebed is cracked and looks stable but don't try to walk on it. It is really about 2-3 feet of soft mud. As it bakes in the sun, it will soon be hard enough to walk on.

Nicklas in action............

Nana got some great video of Nicklas as he begins to learn eye-hand cordination. This will be a critically important step for this future Rock N Roll Hall of Fame drummer!!

The lake is now only a creek.

Due to severe drought in South Carolina and North Georgia our lake house is now located on a creek. The water is gone! As of October 19th, 2008, Hartwell Lake is over 17 feet below full pool and still droping. We are left with about 2 1/2 feet of mud and a small creek. It seems the COE could do a better job of water management but I guess they have to keep letting water out of Lake Hartwell for the others downstream. We winterized the boat today and it will probably be in storage for at least a year. I just don't see the lake recovering for 18-24 months.

About time I updated!!

I am forgetful at times. Today I realized that it has been quite some time since I updated our blog. Let's see....what has happened since the last post??

1) Jennifer and Robert became parents. YEAH!
2) Sue and I became GrandParents! YEAH!
3) Sue and I celebrated our 30th anniversary. YEAH!
4) We took an anniversary trip to Niagara Falls. YEAH!
5) Jonas and Melissa are about a month away from becoming proud parents. YEAH!
6) Congress decided to bail out Wall Street! OOOHHHH!

This is our first favorite picture of Nicklas William.

You can see it has been boring around here. LOL!!

This Grandparenting is a ton of fun! We can't wait to see Luke!!

Still cooking......

Jonas and Melissa were down and we had a good visit at the lake house on July 4th. We really enjoyed spending time with them and Melissa has her "baby bump" going. We tried to get her in the water but no dice. No problem with Jonas, though. He is the first skier of the summer. Ask Melissa sometime about her fantastic boat ride across the lake. I don't think boat rides and pregnant women necessarily go together. Leanne, Heath, McKenzie & Alexis came by as well. Jonas, Heath and I worked on a fireworks display for the 4th. We had a great time blowing stuff up and it was nice to have Heath to keep us from burning the place down (he's a firefighter).

Jennifer spent last weekend with us at the lake while Robert studied for his finals. She is still very active but is getting pretty uncomfortable these days. The final month is the toughest but she is a trooper. She still has a few weeks to go and we are getting pretty excited. Robert passed his orals and has a couple of days of testing to complete his Masters. We are really proud of him. They takeoff this weekend for a trip to Waycross for Robert's high school reunion.

Sue is looking GREAT! She started working with a personal trainer recently and is is in the best shape ever. She is starting to really get into the workouts but does get those aches and pains from doing new exercises. I, however, avoid doing any excessive running, walking, lifting or training.

Ho Hummm..........

Nothing much has been happening since my last post. I'm visiting the doctor quite a bit and they are fishing for the reason I'm having chest and back pain. It has been going on for about 6 weeks now and I've had X-Rays, ultrasounds, cameras down my esophagus, gallbladder exams and other rather humiliating tests. And there are more tests to come! I'll keep you informed.

Sue is working with a personal trainer and she is doing really well. She's very motivated to getting in shape. The promise of grandchildren makes you want to be a better person, you know.

Be sure and check out Jonas and Melissa's site for the newest pictures of Luke.

Jennifer has been dealing with the pains of pregnancy in the third trimester. She's been doing well but having a tough time sleeping. She's been sleeping on the couch with her feet propped for comfort. You gotta do what you gotta do.

See ya.

It's a Boy!

Jonas called me around 9:30 this morning to announce "it's a boy". Jonas and Melissa found out this morning during a visit to the doctor and seeing the ultrasound pictures. He seemed pretty excited and this is good news for Williams clan. Hopefully, I'll have some to post later or you can visit their blog (use the link below). I'm sure Melissa will update the blog soon. Sue and Gay (Melissa's mom) drove up yesterday and were both there during the doctor visit. It meant the world for them to be included. However, I had to be without my wife for the night (which I hate, by the way). Back to work!

Learning from Amadeus.....

I've been reading the book "Waking the Dead" by John Etheredge (Jonas gave this as a gift & I highly recommend it!). He talks about guarding your heart and the spiritual warfare that goes on every day for your heart. I don't know about you but usually when I read about "spiritual warfare" I poo poo the idea and skip that chapter. I don't want to get too deep in this and you may not be interested at the moment but stop and think about it. You can get up, clean up, go to work or school, come home, watch a little TV, feed the dog or cat and go to bed - without even wondering how the Enemy might be attacking. My question is, what is the attack? Who is attacking? Why is there anyone attacking my heart? (by the way, the heart is the "real" you - not the outside part that everyone else sees).
I love to watch movies and pick out little gems of Truth. Remember the movie Amadeus? In the movie, Mozart's wife goes to a rival composer with political power. His name is Salieri and he is the villain of the story. She is asking Salieri (a musician but not that good) to look at her husband's work in hopes of getting him a job (they need the money for food). He looks through the pages she gives him and is captivated by the work of his rival. He realizes that Mozart is extremely gifted and feels that his music is the "very voice of God". He is looking at a draft and notices no corrections of any kind. The music was "finished" in his head before he simply wrote it on paper. It was perfect (just like our heart). Salieri is upset by this and leaves the room and goes to his private chamber. There, he takes down a crucifix from the wall and throws it in the fire. Listen to what he says: "From now on we are enemies, You and I. Because You choose for your instrument a boastful, lustful, smutty, infantile boy...and give me only the ability to recognize the Incarnation. Because You are unjust...unfair..unkind. I will hinder and harm Your creature here on earth as far as I am able. (He shakes his fist in the air). I will ruin Your incarnation."
Uh....I get it....this is the just like the heart of OUR enemy! He is out to ruin us and to hinder us from living the abundant life. So it makes sense to me that there is a spiritual war going on for my heart.
Look, I know that even if you've read this far you are poo pooing the idea too. I know you aren't reading the book and probably didn't even want to think about this.. But hey, just think about it every once in a while when watching a movie. In every story there is a villain, right? Dorothy has her Wicked Witch. Obi-Wan has his Darth Maul. Frodo has his Black Riders. The children enter Narnia and have their White Witch. So it makes sense there is a villain in our story who is out to "steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10). Remember to be on guard each day and protect your heart. It may be gossip you don't need to hear. It may be a "dirty" joke you shouldn't listen to. It may be a web site you shouldn't visit. It may be a TV program you shouldn't watch. The Enemy will use whatever He can to get to you.

Love you.
-Randy

Nesting......

Robert & Jen

Jennifer sent me some pictures today of her nursery. I put up a little slideshow of her pictures. It seems that Robert and Jen are setting up the nest preparing for the arrival of LT (Little Turner). They are keeping the name a secret until she gives birth and Jen is really worried she might let it slip out. We think it's great and I'm trying hard not to bug her about giving up the info or even guessing. They are both very excited about this new chapter in their lives. I can't wait to see Robert changing diapers.

Jonas & Melissa

Jonas and Melissa find out on the 18th if they are having a boy or a girl. I think Melissa is convinced it will be a girl. I'm hoping for a boy to keep the Williams name going from the Barton branch of the family tree. Sue and Gay (Melissa's mom) are driving up to go with her and they are very excited to be included. I can tell they will be fighting over time with this kid.

Heath & Leanne

Heath and Leanne continue their vigil at the bedside of baby Alexis. She has begun to gain some weight albeit very slowly. Keep them in your prayers. The daily trips are beginning to take their toll on them and makes it somewhat difficult on McKenzie. Sue kept her today (practicing the Grandma thing) and they went to the YMCA pool for a couple of hours. Later in the day she found Jennifer's Barbie toys and really didn't want to go home.

The last few weeks have been very busy. Last week was the final week of piano lessons for Sue and the year culminated with a great recital held at First Baptist. All her students had the opportunity to perform in front of a crowd of family and friends. It was especially good to see many of the brothers & sisters performing duets as well as one dad.

I am reminded daily of how blessed I am. I am so proud of how my kids have become mature young adults, found their soul mates and now begin their own families. Sue and I constantly talk about how it really hasn't been that long ago we were in their shoes. I watched the last hour of the movie American Beauty the other night. In the movie the dad had been frustrated for quite some time with almost everything in his life; his marriage, his daughter, his job and society in general. Through a strange set of occurrences he finally realizes how wonderful his life really is (just before he dies). I think this movie can mean different things to you depending on your point of view. As a dad, it really tells that I am resoundingly blessed in all the areas that the movie dad felt didn't meet his expectations. Hey, I don't cry at movies but this one really got to me.

Heath came by with a better photo of Alexis. Now that is one cutie!

Everything is still progressing nicely. She is doing well and will probably be home before we know it.

-Randy

New addition to the Family..

There are/were 4 women in my immediate circle expecting babies (Jennifer, Melissa, Mindy, & Leanne). Now we are down to three! Leanne had an early arrival of Mary Alexis around 3:44am on Memorial Day. Leanne had been assigned bed rest for the balance of her pregnancy (she was due in July) but she'd have none of that. Alexis weighed in at 3lbs 13oz and is 17in long with jet black hair. She is tiny but doing really well. She will have to be in the hospital for a while to gain a little weight so they can put her is the car seat (they don't make them that small). She has lots of wires and leads attached to her tiny body to be sure everything goes well. Heath calls her his "matchbox" baby. She will almost fit in your shirt pocket.

The nurses I met were knowledgable and obviously called to their jobs. There were a lot of sick babies in the intensive care unit when I visited. Heath shared with me that he and Leanne had a lot to be thankful for. McKenzie is ready to bring her baby sister home and have a tea party. Granny would be so proud.

-Randy

What a great weekend!

Sue and I did our regular visit to the lake house for the Memorial Day weekend. I closed the store on Monday for a long needed rest. The rest of our crew were vacationing (see Jonas and Melissa's blog) and working (Jennifer & Robert had work and concerts this weekend). We went to Foothills (Rock 'n Roll Church) for worship Sunday morning. Greg is teaching on David's blog - Psalms. That really got me thinking about doing a blog! We'll see how it goes.

The weather was perfect so on Sunday afternoon we decided on a whim to go to Simpsonville, South Carolina for the Freedom Aloft Weekend 2008. What?? It's a festival of hot air balloons. I lost count of how many were there and they all heated up at the same time took off on some kind of chase. We were too busy snapping pictures to worry about the reasons why. I bet this was more fun than a Nascar race!!! Look at the slideshow on the right at all the balloons. It was spectacular.

Later that evening we went to a concert by Natasha Beddingfield (yuck) and Huey Lewis and the News (yeah). Remember them? "Heart of Rock and Roll" & "Back in Time" (from the movie Back to the Future) were two of their biggest hits. We had front row seats that were actually spots on the concrete slab in front of the stage. We paid extra to sit on concrete. This is were the going on a whim bit us in the...well.....you know! We sat as best we could through Natasha but when Huey came out we were all standing for the entire concert. So it really didn't matter.

Monday morning we got the news from Heath about Alexis arriving early. He actually woke me up around 9am. We had been out till 1am the night before and that was tough on these old people.

Monday evening topped of the weekend with a patriotic concert by the Northwinds Symphony of Gainesville. Jennifer and Robert were playing and we were not about to miss it. After a visit with Heath and Leanne we went on to First Baptist for the concert. The evening was dedicated to the attending veterans and they were a proud group. After the concert I got to meet and speak with Mack Abbot. Mack claims to be the first American to fire a shot in World War II. He was credited (along with other Marines) for downing 3 Japanese aircraft on the initial attack at Pearl Harbor. He was all decked out in his uniform and medals and he stood proud. We are losing many of his generation and I was honored to meet him.

-Randy

Getting started.....

I thought it was about time Sue and I started our own blog to share our family experiences. We are both new to this idea of blogging but we are ready to give it a whirl.