It's about time

Howdy folks! Been a while since I've blogged, aye? We had a rough little patch there a while back and things haven't seemed to slow down. I kept thinking they would and that's when I would update the blog, but it looks like my life has a new speed and I'd better get used to it and learn to function or else. (yeah, good luck to me) It started back in September--I had a 7 week old baby and was trucking along pretty good and then got called as Young Woman president which absolutely floored me. I could compose a nice long blog about how much I have learned, how I love my dear counselors and the sweet girls in our program, how terrified I am to be working with teenagers, etc. But the crazy-life list isn't done--we're still in September when I get the awful news that my Dad has passed away. I can't even type that without getting sick to my stomach. It was...I don't know how to describe how it was (or is), my cursor has been blinking at me forever, I can't seem to find words. It sort of shook my world, it was most unexpected. I don't guess I'm ready to blog much about it, I haven't even been able to finish my journal entry yet. Those feelings are still very tender and I need to be able to function today so I'm not sure I'll take them out right now. I have discovered that deep grief is a little crippling for me and it's sort of scary, I never know when it's going to hit. On a more positive side, I have to say that I have never received so much love and compassion from my friends and family. I think the key word there is 'received' because the love has always been there, it's just that in a situation like this I am so much more aware of it and more welcoming of it. So, to all my sweet family and friends: thank you for always loving me and supporting me, in the past and especially at this time. Now to continue on (yes, there is more) in early November we got some more sad news that Jesse's grandpa (his dad's dad) had died. We felt relief for PaPa that he was finally free of pain and at peace, but also felt such sorrow for his sweet wife and those left behind. We went down to Carlsbad for the service and enjoyed visiting with that side of the family. Goo-oood people and as it turns out, the bunch of us sound really good when we sing together. I was grateful to be a part of the family singing in PaPa's service--it was really beautiful.

So, that's the past few months in a nut-shell. We're working on a Christmas/New Year letter that might actually get done and out to you all before Valentine's Day :) I'll put a few pics up to give some more little updates on our life of late. And before I go, I just have to say that although we've had some tough times lately, we are feeling more blessed than ever. I am so so so so grateful for my Heavenly Father and His Son who I know love me and it is through Their love and power that I am able to get through tough times. And not just 'get through'--I can get through peacefully, even joyfully and that's just what we're doing. So there.

Collin and I had eye exams--he was quite a trooper. I might be getting some glasses pretty soon here. We'll see. Ha! Get it? We'll SEE.

Little Noah-boy has begun rice cereal, he is 5 1/2 months already. Why is it going so fast!?

Thanksgiving kids table, boys: 9 girls: 1

Had Thanksgiving at Su's this year. My mom and her hubby came down because Samia, Su, and Lisa were all having babies in Nov/Dec (all 3 babies have arrived and are healthy, by the way)

My Morning Laugh

I told Collin he needed to put his shoes on in order to play outside and was pleased to hear him helping Lucas get his shoes on as well. Usually Collin throws his shoes on and runs outside leaving Lucas holding his shoes crying and begging me to put them on for him, so I thought this was pretty cute. Even cuter was what I saw and heard.

Lucas: "uh oh"

Collin: "it's OK"

Lucas: "kaaaay"..."uh oh"

Collin: "it's OK"

Lucas: "kaaaay"..."uh oh"

And so on...

Then I saw Lucas sort of penguin walking and looking at his feet. Good old Collin had put Lucas' shoes on the wrong feet. Don't know why it tickled me so much, I guess kids do that kind of stuff all the time but their interaction just had me laughing.

Collin Starts School and Lucas Starts Getting Into Mischief

Just A Few Pictures

Howdy everyone. I'm just putting some pics up--I've been meaning to catch up on the news but you know how that goes. One of these days. For now here's a few shots of our growing little guy. More to come on preschool, family visits, and blessing day.


I set Noah down to change his diaper--I turned around for a few seconds to do something and this is what I find. I hove how sleepy newborns are.


Noah at 3 weeks


Sleeping Noah. Can't get this pic to turn, sorry, you'll have to turn your heads.


6 week old Noah on his blessing day. I'll post more blessing pics soon.

Trying Something New

For a while now I've been doing my scrap booking on the computer. It's a million times faster and I really like it--what's even better is I just figured out how to post my pages as images on my blog. I'm going to give it a whirl and see how it goes. The page I'm including in this post is of my birthday (yesterday). Apparently, face book has some sort of feature that reminds people of your birthday (either that, or a ton of people just have excellent memories and are extremely thoughtful) and I got a bunch of sweet birthday wishes. So, thanks to everyone who called/wrote/sent cards, I had a delicious day and feel loved by and grateful for all my dear family and friends.

Something Happens

I can't quite describe what it is, but it has happened all three times with the birth of our boys. I'm sure most of you moms out there know the feeling of not being sure you have enough room in your heart to love another kid and then BAM! The sweet thing is born and put in your arms and sure enough, your heart expands (or something like that) and you couldn't love a creature any more if you tried. Well, I guess it's along those same heart-expanding lines what happens with the way I feel for my Jesse. There's something about that magical time we get to share together in anticipation of the little one, welcoming the little one, and then the sweet first night, first days, and weeks with the new little one--all these experiences that I get to share with Jesse make me love him more than I though possible. Maybe it's seeing him be a father again, maybe it's all the loving service he provides me, maybe it's sharing the experience of bringing a heavenly being into this world, all I know is--something happens and I love that boy like crazy! So here's a post and some pics of my sweet Jesse. Excuse me for a moment while I brag on my man. :)

Sitting in the delivery room as we were waiting for Noah to come

There have been A LOT of wrestling matches of late

My 'Farm Boy' and little Noah. The first few days while I was recovering Jesse wouldn't let me lift a finger, he told to order him around like my own Farm Boy (from Princess Bride, you know, 'Farm boy, fetch me that pail.')

He's making a funny face because he's doing the animal noises while reading to the boys. Collin and Lucas just loved having their Papi home for two whole weeks. He gave them baths, read to them, wrestled with them, cooked for them, and even took a swimming suit bath with them in our big tub.

N.E.W.

Noah Ellis Williams was born on 7/12 at 12:07 in the afternoon. He came in as our biggest boy (even at 6 days early) weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz. and measuring 21.5 inches. I kept telling Jesse that this guy was going to be our biggest, I could really feel the difference in my comfort level--my ribs might not ever be the same.

We barely decided on his name the night before we went in for induction. Collin had been adamant about 'it' being Noah and as that was our first choice way back when, we went with it. The middle name is after my Grandpa who is one of my dearest friends and most favorite people ever, Howard Ellis Lunt. I hope little Noah grows up to be as hard working, sharp witted, generous, loving, honest, and wonderful as was my Pa.

The name Noah means peaceful/restful and we feel now that our little guy has been named appropriately. Jesse and I were talking over our experience and were amazed at how calm and peaceful the delivery was. It was incredible. Noah was by far the quietest and calmest of our three boys and has brought into our home an almost tangible feeling of sweet peace. We are all just bubbling over with love and excitement to have him with us.

I feel like I could go on and on, I really want to document all the details of labor, delivery, first visit from Collin and Lucas, our first night, the visits and gifts, my angel mother-in-law's help, and the list goes on, but I think I'll save all that for a journal entry and just say here that our experience was beyond wonderful and we feel so incredibly blessed and grateful. Now here are some pictures:

Before we left for the hospital--this is one of only two pics we took showing my pregnant belly.

Jesse's mom came to be our maid/servant/babysitter/cook/nursery maid for three and a half glorious days, we loved having her here and had a hard time watching her drive away. My mom will come next week and we feel so spoiled to have TWO moms caring for us and our little family.

A Post and a Pic So You Know We're Still Alive

Howdy folks, sorry about the long time with no news. I seem to have a big lapse this time of year with our anniversary trip and all the birthdays--at least I guess that's my excuse. Anyway, we are all still alive and kickin', including baby #3 (no name yet) and he's not due for another month, so stay tuned for that news, too. We've been really busy 'round these parts and so that makes for lots to report, but little time in which to do it. But for now, here's a few pics from our little train ride last month. We promised Collin a ride on the train if he stayed in Primary all by himself, and that was all it took (that and a few jellybeans in his pocket). He originally made the transition to Primary from Nursery smoothly because I was the chorister in Primary and he could see me sitting right up in front of the room. It wasn't an ideal change for him--I mean, trading snacks, bubbles, and play dough for being in the same room with your mom while she sings like an idiot, not the best, but he did alright. But about a month and a half ago I was released and called as YW Secretary and that was not cool with Collin, but we're over that now and on to other issues.

This is the fam on the New Mexico Rail Runner, they just finished doing the track from Albuquerque to Santa Fe about a year ago (maybe less). We packed a lunch and rode to Santa Fe, played in a park and then rode home, no biggie--unless you're 3 years old and a train FREAK! Collin loved it and of course Jesse and I loved it because Collin was enjoying himself so much. It was $8 and a Saturday morning well spent.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

This past Christmas one of my gifts from Jesse was that he enrolled us both in Ballroom dance class--pretty much one of the best gifts I've ever received. So every Wednesday from Jan 21st to Mar 11th Jesse and I have had a 'Merry Christmas'. It worked out well with babysitting because Sunni took a cake decorating class on Thursday nights so we just swapped kids once a week. In our class we rotated partners so Jesse and I didn't get to dance together all the time, but I enjoyed watching him from across the room as he danced with his different partners. When it was our turn to dance together we acted like we were meeting for the first time...so much fun. I came to enjoy a lot of the fellas that I danced with (mostly the cute old men who reminded me of my grandpa). I'm actually going to miss some of them. I definitely won't miss Mr. Count Out Loud In My Ear or Mr. Bad Breath, that guy almost made me gag--I seriously would have vomited if I were still in my 1st trimester/puke-y stage. Anyway, enough of that--it was a TON of fun and now we are no longer just beginners in Cha-Cha, Fox Trot, and Tripple-Step.

These Pics Deserve a Post All Their Own

I was going to include these with the November post but I decided they needed their own space. I love shirt-less little boys like I love a baby in a diaper. There is nothing much cuter than a pot-belly over the lip of some jeans (I'm strictly talking about toddlers here, not anything older than 5, and definetly not refering to any adult pot-bellies). Whenever Lucas gets his shirt taken off because of a spill or something, Collin has to go "belly" (that's what he calls it) like his bro.

It sort of freaks me out how big Collin looks in this bottom pic., he does NOT look like a 3 year old. Yikes!

Ultrasound Results are In!

Just a quick post to let everyone know (most of you know already) that we are having ANOTHER BOY! He looked totally normal in the ultrasound--hands and feet and lip and nose...all that good stuff. We feel so very blessed that things look good and we're getting excited to meet this little guy. It's funny how it is when you find out you're pregnant (at least for me). At first I get to wondering whether it's a boy or a girl and I actually can't figure out in my mind if I'd rather it be one or the other. But when the moment comes and we find out it is a boy, I get the feeling of, "oh yeah, of course...it's you, isn't it?" Don't know how to explain it any other way.

Ahhhhh, three boys, I am so excited (but not for the grocery bill). Some of you may have heard this already about going from two kids to three, but I just heard it this week and thought it was funny. I was talking to a guy about his two kids and when he found out we were expecting our third, he said, "oh yeah, going from 'man-to-man' to 'zone', that ought to be fun." It made me laugh.

Now For November

Hey would ya look at that, I'm catching up! Here's a bunch of pics from the month of November:

When we visited Jesse in Artesia the little travel trailer got crowded fast so we spent a lot of time at the park. Thank heavens for mild New Mexico winters.

And speaking of the little trailer, Lucas got his first shiner from falling out the screen door onto the metal step. His upper left cheek made the first contact. Uggg, I still hate to remember that poor little guy falling, it makes me sick. I am grateful, though that it didn't break the skin or damage his eye--it could have been way worse. Pictures below are of his eye: the day of the fall and about a week later.

And Halloween, Too

Was NOT motivated at all to make any costumes so we borrowed a cute little tiger costume for Lucas from Cliff and Lisa (the same one Collin wore two years ago) and threw together a pirate costume at the last minute for Collin. We went to the ward Trunk-or-Treat at the church and had a dandy time. I like Trunk-or-Treat a lot better than going from stranger's house to stranger's house asking for candy. And the kids get their bags full in record time, which doesn't matter now to the boys but it will in just a few years. Here they are in their costumes, Collin only kept his eye patch on for the pictures because of the candy we promised him. Whatever works, no?

Some October Stuff

We joined Sunni's pre-school group at the mud-I mean Pumpkin Patch in Corrales. It seemed like a nice enough day, it had been raining a few days earlier but things had dried up at our house pretty well so we thought we were safe. Apparently the sun doesn't shine in the corn maze too well and it takes a little longer to dry things out. By the end of the maze we all had mud hi-heels, it reminded me of running through my Grandpa Donaldson's freshly irrigated fields with my siblings and how we were all about 4 inches taller from all the mud that had collected on the bottom of our shoes--'course if you keep on running the mud flings off your shoe to the back of the person in front of you and your shoes start collecting again. Anyway, about this corn maze, it was my first time in one and it was kind of freaky-claustrophobic-panicky feeling for a while but I calmed down once I figured out where we were on the map and how to get us the heck out of there. We stopped every now and then to wipe our shoes on an obliging corn stalk and made it out in good time. At the end there was a little petting zoo and some fresh apples. I was glad that my boys didn't want to pet the animals because there was nothing but mud puddles to wash hands in before eating the apples--and I'm tellin' ya, those animals had been wallowing in their muddy/poopy pens for quite a while. (I'm really not that big of a freak about dirt and germs, it just crossed my mind, that's all). We were all brought back to the start of the maze on a hay ride--Collin's favorite part by far because it was pulled by a tractor. All and in all, a fun day with plenty of 'laugh about later' material.

Get a load of our shoes!

Toys, anyone?

Collin loves to get Lucas after Lucas wakes up from his morning nap. He doesn't actually 'get' him, he just likes to be the one that opens the door and goes in the room first. It has become a regular thing that I don't mind because while the two play back and forth I have a few extra minutes to finish up whatever I am doing before I go get him and then start lunch. In the past the routine was: Collin opens the door, Lucas squeals when he sees Collin, Collin tosses in the stuffed animal that Lucas threw out of the crib before his nap, Lucas tosses it out to Collin, the two laugh and I smile to myself to hear them playing together, I go in a few minutes later and get Lucas, change diaper, go on with life, etc. Sometimes there will be a few more toys in the crib that Collin thinks Lucas needs, but there aren't many toys in the nursery so it's never a big deal. That was then, this is now:




















This all happened in about 5 minutes. Collin was stealthily quiet and went back and forth from his room to Lucas' and collected just about every toy bin and unloaded them on Lucas. When I came in the room Lucas was contentedly playing on the mountain of toys kindly brought to him by his brother. So...no more 'few minutes to myself while Collin entertains his brother'.

NM State Fair

This was from back in September, too. Jesse's folks came up for a visit and we made plans to go to the New Mexico State Fair. It was kind of a pain to get us all out the door and drive into Albuquerque but once we were there we felt very glad to have made the sacrifice. (Which made us grateful for Jesse's mom because we probably wouldn't have gone to the trouble if it weren't that she wanted to go so badly.) It was pleasant weather and the crowds weren't bad at all. We saw all kinds of animals (the boys really loved the alpacas and horses), blew gigantic bubbles, ate deeeee-licous fair food, and rode a ton of kiddie rides. Jesse ran into a few State Police buddies that were working the fair and they gave him a bunch of their complimentary ride tickets.

Watching the horses go by. It is almost comical how huge Collin looks, I swear he's only three years old. Can't believe I can stand to hold him!


Jesse and Collin getting belted in for a ride. This bee-ride made awful groaning/squeaking noises as it went up and down. We were glad it held together long enough to get them safely back on the ground.

Collin rode every ride we introduced him to about two times, but the train had to be ridden three times. He didn't smile much but sure did go on and on about how fun they were after he got off.

And sweet little Lucas only got to ride in the stroller. He was content to sit and watch his brother on the rides most of the time. What a pleasant child!

Driving home, Jesse and I talked about the strange change that happens in your life once you become a parent. It was amazing to us how this whole fair experience was so fun and gratifying when all we did was look at animals we had seen dozens of times before and watched Collin ride these dinky little rides that went around and around. It's all so strange. Suddenly our enjoyment comes from giving happiness and enjoyment to another. We love to bless and make our kids happy, makes me think about Heavenly Father and how much He must love to bless us and see us enjoy those blessings.