I probably should re-write this as a proper English sonnet – but here’s the poem for now. First one I’ve written in years. 
- Walter
Curse the silence! Says the the Devil.
That time of stilled heart and mind
Will be my end, and all my schemes
Shall come to naught by its hand.
Men in silence do contemplate
The weighty things of this life
That go beyond the day to day -
They see eternity’s light
Curse the silence! Rising from bed
To peaceful meditation,
Moments of quiet in the night
For prayer and introspection.
I will give them Entertainment
To blur what they think and see,
Things of fun and things of pleasure
To keep them always busy.
Fill the humans’ lives with noise
And they’ll never hear God through the static.
These words are so true in my own life. It is my tendency to fill my day with idleness instead of silence, entertainment instead of joy, and stuff instead of meaningful work. And then it is during those few minutes before bed, when everyone else in the house is asleep that I discover how full of “static” my life was that day.
May we quiet our souls, and draw near to our God.
Filed under: Uncategorized on February 25th, 2010 | 6 Comments »
Yes, TheWilli ordered a new digital piano! Sticky keys are not fun to play on, and after getting our current instrument repaired every few months, we knew it was time. Yesterday we watched excitedly as the UPS truck drove up our driveway, carrying our treasure.
“It’s HERE!!”
Oh yeah! Unwrap that bad boy.
Sweet!
The old piano is set aside… (still a very good instrument! we’ll probably get it fixed, then use it only for gigs so it stays in better condition. I mean, we’ve banged on that thing for years!)
…and the new one takes its place.
We also bought a case for easier transportation. I love that thing!
Everyone gathers around to try it out. We’ll get to use it for our upcoming concert!
And there she stands today. Isn’t it beautiful? It was a huge expense, but I think it’s worth it.
-Kasie
Filed under: Family News on February 23rd, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Possible recipes…
Adding essential oils…
Testing the consistency…
Angie’s artistic touch to the scene…
Preparing the lavender scented batch…
The tubes and trays, ready to be poured into…
I don’t have an “after” picture, but our first attempt at making chapstick turned out pretty well! Many thanks to our teacher – we couldn’t have done it without you!
I just love chapstick! And now I have four new, homemade flavors to use at liberty. Oh joy!
-Kasie
Filed under: Odds and Ends on February 20th, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Just 5 years ago, and yet so far away. Lots of memories!
For Nate and I, it started out as a dream. A dream that resonates in the heart of every youth from sea to shining sea – “I want money”.
Click the image for awesome hi-res retro-ness! – Walter (BTW, I’m preparing some more “substantial” posts that will come out in the upcoming days and/or weeks)
Filed under: fun on February 16th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
…but for some reason, I like it. It’s a great candid shot.
Then again, maybe it’s because there’s a strange and creepy kid spying on us in the background.
-Kasie
Filed under: Odds and Ends on February 14th, 2010 | 8 Comments »
…by my big bro Jason, a quote from yours truly, while playing some Phase 10. Here you go, Jase!
“That’s why we don’t read directions, because you find out terrible things!”
~a “Kasieism”
If you’re totally confused, don’t worry. You’d have to live with my crazy family to truly understand, but I’ll try and explain.
First of all, one must understand that Willises do not read directions. Don’t ask me why, but we just don’t, and it runs in our family too! So when we played Phase 10 for the first time, we found it remarkably similar (if not the same!) to another card game we’ve known for years, and so applied many of its rules to Phase 10. Why bother reading the directions if you already know how to proceed?
It wasn’t until we played with our Virginia family that Jason insisted we read the proper instructions concerning skips and wilds (yes, he can be a stickler! 
), and the outcome was worse than we had before! Nobody I didn’t like these newfound rules, and that’s when I said that famous line you just read, the one Jason will never let me forget.
Still don’t get it? That’s okay. It’s a family thing…
-Kasie
Filed under: humor on February 12th, 2010 | 6 Comments »
For those of you that know me you would know that I really like to work with wood. But recently it has been way too cold to be working in the shed. So I made a temporary little work space in our attic, where I made this:
I hope that it warms up soon!
- NatetheGreat
Filed under: Odds and Ends on February 11th, 2010 | 5 Comments »
Yeah, we’re currently without water over here! I think most everyone knows that the east coast in general has had a rather severe winter, TN included. But before, whenever we had a cold night we’d leave our water in the faucets and showers dripping so it wouldn’t freeze. Last night the temperatures dropped rapidly and we didn’t perform our usual habits, and this morning – no water!
It really wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that frozen pipes never work the same after they’re unfrozen (from the expansion of the ice); they become weakened, and eventually they’ll need a replacement (if they don’t burst while they’re frozen). In New York, it was a requirement to bury the pipes at least 3 feet underground, but I suppose Tennessee wasn’t expected to get this cold. Surprise!
Anyway, Dad and Walter are working hard underneath the house with a hair dryer and electric heater trying to discover the specific place our pipes have froze. Pray that they find it and we can get our water back! It’s amazing how much I take for granted; the simple of act of washing my hands – how I miss it!
-Kasie
UPDATE: We were unable to thaw out the pipes and are still without running water. However, we’ve been filling up buckets from a neighbor’s water to flush toilets and wash the few dishes we’ve used. At least it’s not as bad as losing electricity for the whole day – we can still watch a movie and pop popcorn tonight!
UPDATE 2: Praise God, we have water! We had turned off the electric heater last night and covered the pipes with hay before bed. This morning at 4:45 I awoke to the sound of rushing water flowing into the bathtubs we’d left on during the night – what a sweet sound! I made some baked oatmeal for breakfast to celebrate (a few hours later, of course), and I can use all the dishes and make all the mess I want, ’cause there’s water to clean it up. (oh yeah!)
Time to fire up the dish washer, shower and washing machine again! Huzzah!
Filed under: Family News on February 10th, 2010 | 2 Comments »
I thought these deserved to go on the blog…
~Evan demonstrates a new way to wear necklaces
~I’m guessing Nate didn’t want his picture taken!
~Elijah, is this your poker face? (we were playing poker at the time…)
~this is me this morning, trying to dry my massive hair.
I told you it was crazy!
-Kasie
Filed under: humor on February 9th, 2010 | 3 Comments »
But he’s allowed to, since he works so hard for us all!
Love you Dad!
-Kasie
Filed under: humor on February 1st, 2010 | 4 Comments »
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