niece’s baptism, book finished

What caps off a great Thanksgiving weekend? Getting to baptize your new niece. On Sunday (as stated in the previous post), I had the privilege of going to my brother’s church (he’s also a UM pastor), baptizing my niece Addie and preaching for him. He said that it was great to simply go to church and be husband and dad that day. I know the feeling. I hope to post the sermon sometime relatively soon.

In other news, I finally finished David Murrow’s book, Why Men Hate Going to Church. The title is a fantastic attention getter and curiosity piquer, and the content is well worth the read; an excellent dialogue partner in the area of ministry with men. When I get some thoughts together, I want to post more on that too. I’ll be interested in others’ take on the book too.

for our children

One of the joys of fatherhood is listening to new music that’s more appealing to your kids…even if they’re 14 months old. We’ve got a couple of CDs by a trio that were fellow seminarians who are great musicians. Alas, now they are serving in ministry positions in various places, but the wonderful music of Funny Bones (as the band was named) lives on, at least in our CD player. Another fantastic children’s music collection is in the For Our Children (10th anniversary edition) album, a collection of 20 songs recorded by famous artists. Check out the link–Amazon has samples of the songs.

My favorites tracks are:

Bob Dylan – This Old Man
Sting – Cushie Butterfield
Paul McCartney – Mary Had a Little Lamb (the way it was always meant to be sung)
Little Richard – Itsy Bitsy Spider
Bruce Springsteen – Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips
James Taylor – Getting to Know You

Whether or not you have kids at home, this is a truly great album. But, having a one-year-old boy and a little girl on the way, I’m now singing these old songs in the stylings of Sir Paul, Dylan, JT and the gang…and loving it.

i’m an uncle!

Just got back from Beaumont where my sister-in-law Bethany delivered she and my brother Tommy’s first child, a daughter on Tuesday, October 3. Addie Nichole Williams was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 inches long. She’s a beauty. So, Abby and I are now an aunt and uncle for the first time, and Ben is a cousin for the first time too. Great couple of days!

and williams kid #2 is a…

GIRL!!!!!!

Alright, we’ve got our matching set. We’re excited, of course, about having a daughter and giving Ben a little sister. Counting down until late December when she’ll show up.

part deux

Well, we’ve announced this to lots of folks, but I hadn’t blogged it yet…

Abby is pregnant with our second child, due (best we can tell; we’ll go to the doctor once we move to Houston) in late December. We were a little surprised (heh, heh) but completely thrilled! This one will be about 16 months after Benjamin. It will be fun–exhausting, but fun. Benjamin started full-on, on his hands and knees, crawling last Friday. He’d been army crawling for a while, but now he is serious mobile!

Say some prayers.

easter ben

My boy Ben at his Easter photo shoot…

rub-a-dub-dub…

Benjamin Dana in the tub…or sink… Is this guy cute or what?

benjamin williams, ladies’ man

Here’s a picture of my son, the littlest stud, getting kissed by his mom and aunt over Christmas. He’s a future lady-killer.