2013: What a Year!!

This year has brought a lot of excitement and change! I think we have been busier this year than any other year....combined! It has flown by in a whirlwind!

2013 in a Nutshell: 

• AW Insurance became a live operation in January

• We began attending Trailhead Church and have developed several awesome relationships and are now official members. 

• We began training for a half marathon and loved it. We ran the Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon on Alex's birthday in October through St. Louis. 

• We began helping lead Trailhead Students

• We traveled to New York City with my (Abby's) parents and had an awesome time.

• We finished our basement which was quite the process (I promise I'll take pictures soon).

• We spent a week in Northern California exploring wine country and the hills of San Fransisco. 

• We hosted a murder mystery dinner party which was a very fun evening and will become an annual event!

• We welcomed our newest niece, Jansen into the world in October!

• I quit my hygiene job and got licensed to sell insurance to work with Alex!

• AW Insurance has opened a store in downtown Edwardsville! 

I'm sure that there is so much more that I have left off, but it's been a great year and I'm very excited to see what 2014 has in store for us! We are truly blessed with our family and friend's love and support! I am unbelievably grateful for all that God has blessed us with and provided for us and I look forward to continuing serving Him with Alex in the New Year!

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas Week

Christmas time is synonymous with spending time with friends, family and a whole lot of merriment. I'll recap our Christmas week, because I know you were dying to know what's been happening around here:

 I worked my last day on Monday the 23rd and then we headed east to spend Christmas Eve with Alex's family. I neglected to pack my camera, so there are no pictures, just these words and some great memories. Alex's Mom made a wonderful dinner (taco's- my favorite!) and we played games and of course, exchanged gifts. I spent the better half of the evening doting on my youngest niece and snuggling with her. We had a great evening and I love that I get to be part of such a great family.

On Christmas we woke up and enjoyed a low key morning with my parent's and aunt & uncle. We ate our sticky buns and sausage twirls and enjoyed a quite day. I managed to spend the whole day in my pajamas and loved every second of it! Alex and I got a mini foosball table for Christmas so we played with it and also mapped out our trip to Ikea. The new office will need furniture so, it seemed natural that we would make an Ikea trip. We woke up at 4am on the 26th and drove to Bolingbrook's Ikea. We got some desks, rugs, shelves, etc. etc. etc... We then drove back to Edwardsville, dropped everything off and headed back to my parent's house. Needless to say, it was a loooong day!

Yesterday, my brother and his family, sister and her family, Grandpa and my aunt and uncle and their son (from Virginia) all arrived. There are now 17 people and four dogs under one roof. It's loud, crowded and fun. We love this season and are very blessed. We have one more Christmas celebration- the 4th(?) annual Squibb/Blair/Puricelli rob your neighbor exchange! Wish us luck!

Eat, Drink & be Ugly

On saturday we hosted an Ugly Christmas Sweater party and had a lot of fun. Somehow I managed to only get a picture of Alex, Moose and myself. But we had fun eating and playing games! I walked away from our white elephant with a yummy can of Spam...don't worry I'll share. We are grateful to have a great group of friends and love celebrating this season with them.

Can you believe it's Christmas Eve already?!? 

Tis the Season

The most wonderful time of year is upon us! With the wonderment comes busyness and lots of it! We're twenty three days into December and our callender has been full. We are almost finished with our shopping, our Christmas cards are addressed, stamped and delivered. We have attended and hosted parties and our ornaments are sparkling in our tree. Christmas is quite possilby the best time of year.  I realize that I am a little late in posting any Christmas decoration pictures, but it's better late than never right?! It's hard to give a good glimpse, but here are some snippits!

Enjoy & we wish you a very merry Christmas!

Basement project!

We have a 90% complete basement!! Alex and his Mom, Dad and brother (Greg) have been working on finishing our basement since October and we are almost complete!! We have dry wall, paint, a pocket door, a closet and new floors. I am beyond excited for this project and am very impressed with how great it looks!

Alex spearheaded this project all by himdelf, with my reluctance, and he has done a wonderful job. He painted the ceiling white to brighten the space, he waterproofed every surface in the basement, twice. He hung drywall with his dad, built a closet, finished the drywall, and painted all by himself! The basement has far surpassed my expectations and I could not be more proud of him. I will upload pictures soon, but there is still a bit to be done, so this is just the build up to heighten the anticipation!

Have a happy Wednesday! 

What a whirlwind!

My blogging hiatus has not been for lack of things to write. On the contrary, it has been a very, very busy month in the Williams' household! We've decorated, celebrated, baked, shopped and studied! Yes, I did say write study. 

Effective December 23, I will no longer be an employed Dental Hygienist. I am leaving my current position to jump into the insrance world with Alex at AW Insurance. I have taken the required classroom courses and have taken and passed (wooohooo) the property and casulty insurance licensing exam! We are very excited for this change and also a tad bit nervous (praryers are always welcome).

We are opening our storefront in a historic neighborhood of Edwardsville in January. Alex has painted the office and is tirelessly laying floors (again, more on that later). We will make a mad dash to Ikea to pick up some office furniture and then all the hard work and effort will pay off and we will have an awesome little office! 

At some point this month we will celebrate Christmas with our families and continue to enjoy this season of our lives. God has richly blessed us and we could not be more thankful or gratful.