It's official

I can't believe it's finally here. It really does feel like we were just in Bakersfield, house hunting by Internet, sending earnest money to a home in our price range just where we wanted it without actually seeing it in person. Emma was a baby in diapers, I was pregnant with Landon and Ryan had just about earned the title of Doctor.

My house. It's not a floor plan I love. It needs an extra bathroom, a finishing in the basement, it needs more living space. But, part of my heart loves this house- our first home. We brought Landon home here. And then Jackson. Tanner started school here. We've had old visitors come to stay and made new friends here.

I don't want to go through residency ever again. I won't ever have 3 babies so close together either- these years in Kentucky I will refer to as my "Babyhood" years. But, in this house life really happened. There were some happy times. My heart will miss her.

I hope she finds a good new owner.


ps- we find out the end of March our orders from the Air Force. We know they will place us stateside. We know we have 20 possible options. The first of our requests being Davis, California, and the last being Anchorage, Alaska. I won't pretend. We've had some major praying going on here to put us in the "right place". Ryan will most likely be deployed for 6 months. Being near family would be a lifeline for me. It would help me just cope. Feel free to offer up prayers for "one of the Williams top 5". :)

Timeout

by Landon.

At Walmart.

Good thing I went to the Walmart that was further away so just in case someone I know didn't see me sit my kid down on the floor in the babyfood section with directions not to move until he could quit screaming.

(ps- if you were there and heard my screamer I *think* this technique might not work. Yes, he still screamed through the produce section. I realized he wanted a donut in the bakery and that fixed all the problems. I'm not a fan of walmart or screamers so today was a perfect day.)

Valentine Week

Just the logistics.

- Went to the zoo Monday... it was too nice to pass up. Then to my doctor then to the craft store again and then I thought, way too many outings in one day.
- Had playgroup at my house Wednesday. We made candy necklaces (okay, Amy S. made almost all the necklaces. Thank you for helping Amy!)
- Had my family Valentine dinner on Wednesday night.
- Thursday, lunch with all my LDS neighbors.
- Friday the kids got there mailboxes. Books and sweets, little toys and Jackson got a stuffed squealing pig. Ryan gave me some cute Brighton jewelry. I got him a chocolate fondue pot for 2. We went out to a white linen Italian spot for dinner. Vincenzo's. (One of the doctors Ryan worked for gave him a gift card 2 years ago. I did not like my meal. Way too fancy for me. But just me and Ryan was nice. Jackson cried almost the entire time we were gone.)
-Saturday we went to the Primay Activity. They had breakfast and some fun games. We brought Ryan dinner at the hospital at night.

Throughout the week we painted and prepped for our house listing this month, paid an exhorbant amount of money for Ryan's board fees, I went back to my opthomologist for the eye I damaged almost 3 years ago by running into a basket (I'm a dork). It's still bothers me and they need to puncture the surface of my eye they think. Ryan had a phone interview with a program in Mississippi. He liked the program and the hours the best so far, not even on my list of places of where I would like to live though. Jackson was up sick one night. Tanner said he couldn't give his flower sucker valentine's out at class because they had candy. Oh, and lastly. Ryan told me a 24 year old woman came in who just delivered her first baby. She had a fever and uterine infection. Her husband (25) had died 2 weeks before in a car accident. She was so sick, she coded and died in the ER. His attending told him. So sad. Puts life in perspective. How much I have enjoyed this week, thinking of ways to show my family how I love them. I think Valentine's Day is one of my new favorites.

( just to show that Landon's been de-clothing lately. He ate dinner with us like this.)

It's a good give-away-er

Ryan grew up knowing a Packard family. I grew up knowing a different Packard family. Ryan served a mission in Mexico and shared a house for a year with the kid from the Packard family I knew (David). Ryan and I met, got married, and then got this awesome cookbook and picnic blanket from the Ann Packard Ryan knew. I met her, loved her, and then found out, yes, she was related to the Packard family I knew. Small world. Seriously awesome Packard's all around. Her cookbook is still one of my favorites, the denim blanket still gets compliments, and now Ann Packard has a give-away. Sign up for a great surprise gift.

Valentine's Dinner for 6

We had our family Valentine Dinner last night.

(after the Valentine themed Playgroup at my house.)

Ryan has to work through this weekend.

Crusted Pink Salmon. Strawberries. Warmed rolls. Rice and corn. Pink sparkling punch. Hanging overhead was my homemade "hearts on fire" chandelier.

(see? really homemade. It was these dang hearts I bought at Hobby Lobby last week that caused Jacks to tumble head first out of the shopping cart onto the top of his head.)

Chocolate mousse filled cream puffs for dessert.

We took turns telling things we loved about one another. Landon insisted on loving Wii and Gameboy. As we tried to better explain the "game" we asked him again what he loved, "You Rock!" was yelled with his hands in the air. Tanner laughed and laughed.

That made me love last night the most.

Well. And him too. His first Valentine's. Another piece of my heart gone for good.

ps- I have a true kidless Valentine Dinner of my own tomorrow night with just Ryan. And my Valentine mailboxes to give out.

It's never too late,

to hit the books.

My mom started nursing school this past week.

It's finally the "right" time and she's shown courage to just go for it. She's going to have to study. She's going to have bring a sack lunch everyday. She's going to have to wear scrubs and keep her hair up and check her cell phone in at the start of class. She's going to have to memorize charts and anatomy and apply math. But, she'll do great. She's always does.

Dear Simon

I'm having some problems with American Idol. It's just too hard to watch now. The LA Times agrees with me "Tatiana just comes off as a hard-to-watch, completely-over-the-top mess... To see her on TV is to battle a strong urge to shut off the set." Or at least change the channel. Or not even watch the TiVo's I have. I just can't watch, and this is the first time I have ever felt this way about your show. I think your selection pick is a sham.

Perfect timing

In the midst of unloading the generator and trying to get it set up while I was in the Suburban with the kids, Ryan got his crucial interview phone call. This is the call for the hospital that is our first choice. This call was to see if he is a good fit as an academic doctor (a teaching doctor with clinic on the side). The call lasted over 30 minutes. Now we have to wait til the last week in March. That's when we hear our orders and the AF tells us where to go. Maybe to this place?

Okay, Okay, We get it.

(this is boring. Just making sure I get the logistics down for the record.)

We have had a severe snow storm turned ice storm. It caused a state-wide power outage that was anticipated to last 7-10 days long. With no electricity and freezing temperatures and a house without a fireplace for warmth, we were reminded of a few things.

First: We need to prepare better.

Recently, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
"Acquire and store a reserve of food and supplies that will sustain life. . . . As long as I can remember, we have been taught to prepare for the future and to obtain a year's supply of necessities. I would guess that the years of plenty have almost universally caused us to set aside this counsel. I believe the time to disregard this counsel is over. With events in the world today, it must be considered with all seriousness."

I am ashamed to admit, we don't have enough of food or water. Heat was most critical though, and we did get a generator. I'll share more later on that.

Second: We love our friends.

Ryan had to work and then was put on pager contact for emergencies the hospital was expecting. By the time I realized our house might be too cold to last the night through (and Grandma Stephens helped me think clearly. Like "camping" indoors in a tent without any heat source with little babies in freezing weather, is well, stupid.) I could not find a hotel room at a decent price. Most all were sold out. (The city buys them for emergency crews coming in.) But, the Gold family said, "There is room!" for you and another family. Just stay. And we felt so grateful. We took there heat. We ate there food. And they were so generous without any preparation or hesitation. They were Christlike. And we will always love them.

And then we have other friends that held a baby or watched my kids and called to check on us.

Third: We love our neighbors.

Some are LDS. Some aren't. My LDS neighbors called frequently to see what we needed. To tell us where the generators were arriving at. To offer to come help. To stand in line at stores for me. To pick up groceries for me. They helped set up our generator to power our central heat which was priceless. I love them too.

Fourth:We love the church.

It works. It gathers. It gives. As I was standing in raffle ticket line at Home Depot for 3 plus hours for the generators that were supposed to come in, I got calls on my cell phone. A brother in the ward wanted to see if I could use his two heaters. His family was secure, and he wanted to secure mine. And, "how can I help you Lacey?" was said more than once. So, there I stood. In Home Depot with my two baby boys, a crowd of 150 plus people waiting tensely for most likely not enough generators and my heart was full. I cried and thanked him.

The home teaching phone tree was under way. I know assessments were made for the widow and elderly members. I know service was given. All through the organization of the church.

I came back to my house to find these guys clearing my driveway from my ward. I know they make their mama's proud.

Ryan drove up into Indiana to buy a generator he found, but I can easily see how people in stress for survival necessities can turn angry. And pushy. And maybe cause a riot. I never want to be stuck in this situation again. Not for batteries. Or a power cord. Or gas. Not for water, or milk or food. We will be better prepared from now on.

Things to remember:

• Without power, and in stress, comfort foods sound the best. Like hot chocolate and Mac N Cheese. (And McDonald's Hot Chocolate is good)
• 4 wheel drive was more than useful.
• That we paid for a generator over a flat screen TV. (Even though the furniture for the TV just arrived- bummer.)
• We must have a house with a fireplace next.
• That we were blessed. We only were without true electricity for less than 3 days. Tanner missed a full week of school in the name of the storm. There are still outages and school closings.