On the Move… August 31, 2008

Alright, well the Williams family is on their way to New York! After a few car repairs and many errands we finally were able to start our road trip to NY on Friday afternoon. We have already traveled through Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana! We are currently in Indiana and plan to visit a Church that Brett’s dad pastored at when Brett was just a kid… so that will be a lot of fun! His sister was born here in Portage, Indiana, and Brett has many fond memories of living here. I can’t wait to see one of his many home towns!

Ashlyn has been amazing on the road! We were of course nervous to take such a long road trip with a toddler… but she is just the best baby ever ( : ) we are so blessed!), and with the technology that is out today road trips are tons easier than back in the day!!! Here is a picture of Ashlyn watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Brett’s i-pod with her  elephant head phones! So funny!

Family Pictures August 30, 2008

Our friend, Cija Cooksey, has started her own photography company called 3 Wishes Photography, and as a going away gift she gave us family photos!!! We had such a great time… and she did a WONDERFUL job! We went to a park by Denver First Church and she took shots as we played with Ashlyn, walked around the park, and did a couple of more posed shots as well. It was so relaxed and comfortable it made the whole process really enjoyable! Sometimes photo day can be a nightmare… and since we were a week away from moving, and the MOPS Garage Sale was that weekend as well… things were insane at the Williams house!!! We were actually late to the photo shoot and we were all really frazzled… but Cija calmed us all down and made sure that we all felt comfortable and at ease with the process. Anyway… her website is www.3wishesphotography.com and I highly recommend hiring her if you are in the market for some gorgeous family photos. Anyway… here are some shots that were taken… of course, as parents, we loved every shot taken of Ashlyn!!! SO it was hard to narrow things down… but also a lot of fun! I LOVE that we now have some professional family shots that were taken in Colorado….

with the upcoming changes!

Moving to New York! August 6, 2008

For the past few months Brett and I have been prayerfully searching for where God would like for us to be serving as a family, and it has been decided that we are moving to Long Island, New York! Brett has been asked to be the lead pastor of a church in Long Island, called Valley Stream Church of the Nazarene, and we have gratefully accepted! After meeting the members of this church, the staff, and the board, and interviewing with them multiple times… we have fallen in love with this loving and missional group of people! We are very excited to have found a great fit with a church, and to see what God has in store for our future together! It is such a blessing to feel God’s strong guidance and to anticipate all that He has in store…. what an awesome God we serve!

It is going to be difficult to leave friends and family here in Colorado, and we are really sad that we will be living so far away now; but in the long run, we need to be obedient to the Lord’s calling… even if it is to a place that is far away from family. We are so blessed to have family that understands this… they are so supportive and excited for us!

We are also going to greatly miss theClay community! It has been life changing to have had the opportunity to serve hand-in-hand with followers of Chirst who share that relationship by serving each other and the community! We cannot wait to hear more about what God is doing with the new Sunday morning service at DFC, and everything that He brings forth through that community! It is amazing how we have watched God lay the groundwork for these imminent changes, and know that He is going to do big things.

So… big news that entails a lot of big changes! We are so excited to live in such an amazing area! Long Island is gorgeous, is heavily populated, and is only a 30 minute drive to Manhattan. We could tell from our two trips there that we are really going to love making this area our new home. Brett and I are built for big cities… and you can’t get much bigger than where we are headed!

I wanted to let you all know what the next step is in our family’s journey with Christ and His mission for us. Please be praying for us through this transition; it will not be easy to leave family behind, and we are on the brink of A LOT of change. Pray for Brett, Ashlyn, and myself as we walk through all of this… and please pray for the union between our family and Valley Stream, and for God’s direction for His vision for Long Island.

I will keep you all updated as we start this exciting adventure, and will pass on new contact information as soon as we have it. At this point we are planning on moving the last weekend in August… so we have a lot to do! Talk to you all soon! Thanks for your support and prayers! Plan on coming to visit us!!!

We will live about 15 minutes from the beach. Fun times!