Memorial Day

as said by Muhammad....

My thanks is not enough.

My guy...s

I dragged up this picture. Must have been after a call night and Ryan returned home after church on Sunday. But, I'm about to kiss those 3-years worth of dadless Sundays away. Just 6 more weeks of residency (almost 11 years of schooling and training completed). Unbelievable. I am so proud of my biggest guy.

I'll be honest

I've been thinking. "I should blog this...." And then I think, aghhhh, but it is so whiny. And wimpy of me. And should I use this place to blog some things that are so sensitive to me or my family? Or that show me in a light that does not show me managing stress well. I mean, I know I can be lousy, but does anyone else have to know that so specifically too?

So, I will keep it pretty basic.

-Jackson got his first haircut.
-Ryan got stuck by a needle from an elderly patient that had "Hey" and "Baby" tattooed on each of her inner thighs. She was screened, she's clean, and my husband says now he is related to "Hey Baby."
-Tanner's going to reading tutoring that costs us more than some of Ryan's community college classes. I love this kid- he tries really really hard. We have some hard choices to make for him- I should say, they feel hard to me. In the whole scheme- so minor. So minor.
-Landon talks more and more. And if we understand him incorrectly, he yells at us. Okay, mostly me. Star Wars and Superhero's are still his theme.
-I've taken up reading again. I decided to start with classics that I have never read. Isn't that shameful?
-I've also taken up lots of cleaning. Especially for the last minute showings that cancel- not really, but some. I love my Sharp Steam mop (anyone want a demonstration?)
-Emma said her favorite meal that I make her is... cereal. How much wasted time do I spend in the kitchen!
-We recieved paperwork from the AF asking us to request a date that we need our stuff picked up. We have just over 90 days. We are supposed to sign in on base August 8th. I am completely at loss for what to tell them. It depends on the status of the house.
-I'm dreading Ryan being at boot camp for 5 weeks and the possibilty that I will have to close the house up by myself. And-four-little-kids. Put me in the psych ward right now.
-Lunch here with student/doctor moms- thank you for coming; impromptu BBQ with friends and neighbors, had to coerce them to come.
-We were out on a late date night. Went to the book store and we sat and I read a book almost from cover to cover to Ryan. The "9-inch plate diet". Says eat off a smaller plate and lose weight. Oh, and it also said that for every inch the plate increases your fanny does too. Or something like that. I'm committed. We ate off 9-inch plates tonight.
- I jumped rope with the Emma & Landon in the house with a long scarf as a rope. They couldn't quite get the timing right with the arm swing. Keep practicing.
-Mother's Day. I love the mom's in my life. I need to keep practicing too- to be more like them.

Kentucky Derby

It got to me this year. (Is it because it's our last while we live here?) I watched the show Jockey on Animal Planet and it added a more personal element to the sport. And then Kentucky just goes wild for Derby. It's a big deal. The race was exciting, the company and hostess even better, had a little of Derby Pie (Vicki O style) and told myself, next year, in Mountain Home, I'm hosting a Derby party, with the corn hole set up, and the race on countdown. (My neighbors are going to wonder what kind of people are they, I'm sure.) My favorite quote from the jockey of the long-shot winning $9500 hundred dollar horse was when he realized he had a chance from the back and was making his way up he told himself in surprise, "He's... gonna get (t)here!" They ran last for a good portion of the race and then hung onto the middle gate and went straight up. It really was awesome.

Tanner turns 8

tanner at 10 months

Oh my Tanner! This baby boy that we had took so much...so much.... energy! And I have seen how much I have grown up because of him. It is hard to realize how fast these past years have gone by and I hope that I have not screwed him up too much :). He has caused me to pray more, have more patience, be more protective, & love more unconditionally. I miss his baby years, those fat cheeks and round hands and yet, I have my little Jacks. Who looks just like him. I hope Jacks gets even a little more of Tanner too.

We threw a Rock Band party for him. I should preface this that since we know we are leaving in a few weeks, and the gang of boys Tanner plays with on our street is always around my yard or next door, I thought this would be easy and perfect for a last hoorah of sorts. Just plug in the Wii. Have some cake. I sent out invitations with backstage passes to access the party (see below). But then I had some of the boy gang tell me they were so excited to come to Tanner's party because we were going to make a stage in our house! Oh my! So, I rented some DJ lights, Ryan made a stage curtain and acted like a bouncer, I tried to have a red (wrapping paper) "carpet" up to the front door with stars with each of the boys' names on them (thanks Amy S.!) but the "carpet" blew away in the wind. I had inflatable guitars, over a dozen black star inflated balloons from the dollar tree, glow sticks, tried to set a band food table with candy jars, watermelon and jello jiggler cups, we had pizza delivered, blew through 80 something drinks (yes EIGHTYish), and I sent each boy home with the a Rock N' Roll t-shirt (like the one Tanner and Landon have on in the pictures), pop rocks, and whistle suckers. I didn't get enough pictures! We harassed the Gold's to come over and help us control the crowd. Extra hands were needed, so thanks to them.

Tanner told us he loved the night. We had kids break dance, the drum stick broken on the FIRST song by a sheer second-graders drumming force, and told ourselves maybe another rock band party. Maybe. When Jackson is 8 and Tanner can help then. Just maybe. ;)

Emma's full table

Emma turned 4 earlier this month. We had a "family party". The best kind of party- no planning or invitations! Even though we have not lived by family in a long, long time, we are always so grateful to "make" family where we live. This picture does not even show how many people we have come to love here in Kentucky and have stepped in as surrogates family members for us. We've spent holidays and birthdays with them. We've been taken care of by them. My little family is going to have a really big adjustment to make in the next couple months. We will miss our Kentucky family and yet our excited to live by some Grandmas and Grandpas and uncles finally.
My neighbor boy. Gage. We love him. He shows up unexpectedly enough that we expect him. (Some classic Gage lines, "I know you love me," and, "I know my new hair cut looks good, " in regards to me complimenting him on it.)

She had many presents, but had asked for a white dress over and over. A wedding dress it was.

I love The Locator

Do you watch it? "You can't find peace until you find all the pieces," is the pitch.

I just love it and cry and have even caught my husband weeping a tear.

I was mentioning to my LDS friend RuthAnn how much I loved this show. They moved here from Florida. Come to find out they call Troy Dunn (ie- The Locator) & his wife, close friends. They hung out in Florida together. Troy is an LDS bishop and successful businessman and Ruthann and her husband had lunch with him lately at PF Changs. He wrote me a note: (not that you care, but click on it to get a clear read.)

She quietly handed me the note in an envelope while I was working in nursery. When I opened and read it I got so excited. Too bad the male nursery leaders didn't appreciate the note! They had not seen the show. Take a look at how the show started and then Troys favorite reunion:

RuthAnn said he pitched his show to other TV stations. They wanted to dirty and drama the show up more. He wouldn't- and he was right. Some TV executives have had to eat crow. Check it out on WE tv. Thank you Troy Dunn! And RuthAnn! My husband says he's going to frame the note for me as an anniversary present... whatever, I still want the ring. :)

She's four.

And I realized I have just one more year home with her. I don't think I will ever be ready to send her to school...

To Build-A-Bear with Ryan and I this morning, and lunch too. We have a family party tonight with Pizza and cake. She came downstairs this morning and saw that I had really simply decorated and she smiled and laughed and thanked me too. It should be the other way around. How grateful I am that she is ours.

Easter 2009

We used the Resurrection Eggs again this year. We talked about Jesus and colored eggs and anticipated the Easter Bunny, then when he came on Saturday morning (Ryan worked in the morning on Sunday) Emma found the first basket and asked, "What's that for?" We rushed too find them all, to then rush out the door, for a 9am Saturday house showing (vacuum as you go out you know?) But, it was a nice weather weekend and we finished off Easter Sunday at dessert with some favorite neighbors.

House here and there

Our house here.

Still on the market. Just shy of 2 months. The price is right. I just wish I could pick my house up and move it 2/3 houses over. Can't help that. But, I have a "scenic view" says my yard sign. (I'm laughing, because it is a wooded lot, no mountain scape here!) Anxiety is kicking in a bit. They say it will sell. Oh, please sell!

Our house there.

So, this Air Force life is a new thing for us. We weren't sure if we were going to even keep our spot. There is only 1 internal medicine doctor on base, which will be my husband, he will also run the coumidin clinic and sit on some cardiology board or something. Things have been a bit complicated for us. Finally we heard from the doctor Ryan is replacing. He is LDS. Has 4 kids. They were heavy to leave, but had always said if the AF offered them an international spot in England as a family (that is key, those type of orders aren't all too common) they would go. Upon talking to them we realized how rare this opportunity was for them and since Mtn. Home is not the most desirable spot, the fact that we wanted it and they could go to England was really pretty military miraculous. I can say that my family, and probably them too, has really felt the Lord's care over us and knew the desires of both our hearts. We have felt really grateful. And been reminded that he does watch over us!

I had some homes for my mom to go down and look at. I gave her a rough itinerary and networked enough to know where we wanted to live. We knew we were just going to rent- the market is slow there and with just over a 3 year commitment, and truthfully, I think home ownership is seriously over-rated, renting was the perfect option. There were great opportunities because the city is practically all military and with orders and changes going out all the time, families were stuck in homes trying to sell them fast or get them rented.

My mom spent the day with my grandma, and they checked off my house list, took pictures, drove the neighborhoods and took so much weight off our shoulders! How much Ryan and I appreciated this! We decided on a 2 year old custom home from an F14 fighter pilot that got pulled to move to Italy. They will be gone for 3 years. They are leaving there front loaders, ride on lawn mower, piano, surround sound system, tools, and deep freeze. They said, "Welcome to the Air Force family!" We promise to take good care of it.

I should be cleaning.

I have 2 showings between tomorrow and the next. I'm trying to tell myself "it will sell, it will sell..."
And my house is really bad... I've been under the weather (i.e. stuck on the couch sick) but am on the mend and am going to try to salvage the rest of spring break for Tanner.
I had great plans. With an itinerary and everything. Maybe before we move....

I did accomplish this:

I added a Favicon to the top of my address bar. See the little heart up top on my address bar?

It was easy. And I know, really, really important stuff. :)
You can add one too.
go here.

Orders

We got them.

Not in hand, but by phone this morning.

But, they are still issuing them to us. It ended up being our first choice. (Yes, we changed our wish list at the last minute. We were concerned about the cost of living in California.) The Air Force enticed the doctor at the base we wanted to leave by offering him London, England- just what his family wanted the opportunity for. Ryan and I have both felt through all the prayers (please put us near family, or at least west!) and bureaucracy of the military that we would go where are Heavenly Father would have us. It is also nice to see the Air Force really did go to bat for us- wanting us to be happy while Ryan serves. Maybe the Air Force could ship our friends from here there too?

So, here we come Mountain Home, Idaho. Please be a good home for us and since my husband is possibly the only internist there, don't deploy him- Ryan says we'll worry about that later. Today is a happy day. We're moving next to Grandma.

(ps- Mountain Home Air Force base is just outside Boise by about 40 miles).

(pps- Our orders can still be changed up until the first work day. This happens if someone has a family emergency. Meaning, if someone has a traumatic event happen and they need our base for family support in the area, we will be reassigned. We hope this doesn't happen. Truth be told, we were the only ones in Ryan's group getting assignments that even wanted this place. )

St. Patty's

The trap is set. Ropes to climb with to reach the top of the box

where a pile of gold chocolate was set.

All disguised by foilage and a trap door to drop the leprechaun into the box.

They came at night and left 4-leaf clover trails all over our first floor.
4 trails lead to small bucket of treasures- just for the kids.


The leprechaun left a note in a pot of "gold" in the trap box.
"I want the real gold.
You can't fool me.
You can't catch me."

He packed a green lunch for Tanner.
Caused some mischief and messes.
All day long we were on the hunt for things left by the "fairy" as Emma called him.

My little green eating machine
Dinner was pot roast, and green mashed potatoes, brocoli and green sprinkled sugar cookies.

No pictures of the meal- just the treasures.

Western Playgroup

Too Much

Wall-E. Landon's movie of choice. He calls Emma's friend Eva (pronouced Ava) EEEVA. Just like Wall-E does. I think sometimes when I look at Jacks, I see the Captain. The resemblance is strong to me around the neck and cheeks.

Jackson is earning the name of "Little Wall-E" around here.

Heather Bailey

made this:

for my nieces.

who belong to my sister-in-law Jill. Some girls just have the luck. Aren't my nieces even cuter?


ps- then I read off my ever-so-crafty friend Melissa's blog how to make them. (She could give Heather Bailey a serious run for her money. )I won't even attempt to make one. I'd be too embarressed for Emma compared to her cousins.

say it in #numbers#

2 showings so far, 1 open house this weekend, 1 cowboy themed playgroup done, 12 extra shifts for Ryan and 2 more in cincinatti, 1 tax accountant saved us, 1 kid with a stomach bug and fever, 1 baby with double ear infections and a cold, 1 other kid got it from the baby, 3 trips to the pediatrician, 1 trip to the park, 1 set of lost keys with my favorite keychain gone, gone, gone for good I think, 3 kids all got haircuts and new shoes, 1 baby really crawling everywhere & trying to climb the stairs, 1 husband said on Saturday (no-work day) that it feels like he hasn't been home in a week, and 1 and a half weeks until we get our orders- telling us where we are moving to. (the anticipation is just about killing me and the orders come in the mail. I hope they don't get lost.)

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.)