There is a special magic that creeps into a home when a newborn is present. It's magical and holds a perfect  calmness that comes over everything and everyone. Time slows down and what is truly important becomes clearer than ever. Children draw close, husband and wife celebrate what their love has created and joy is all around. The hustle and bustle of life is almost in slow motion as our little family has spent hours in bed cuddled together, holding baby, and watching movies. We are so blessed. Oh how we are blessed. 2 AM has never had such a beautiful feeling as when I am cuddled feeding my new baby girl in her peaceful nursery, with her lights dim, just the two of us share this time. A time when everyone is asleep and the house is silent. I would not trade this time for anything. I better go cuddle that little peanut I love so dearly....

Meet Collette Anne Williams

As you can see this little girl is being welcomed with opened arms. These are pictures that give a glimpse  of the last 24 hrs since she has been born. I am in love with this little girl and her full head of hair. Little Collette was born weighing 7lbs 3oz. She is our tallest yet at 22 inches. We love and adore every little bit of her. I can not even believe how blessed I feel right now with this new little girl in our family. These pictures are completely out of order and I am a little out of it with being on pain killers, we will be going home tomorrow so we are sure to have more pictures soon. As for these......

Here is Elizabeth and Reed Meeting their little sister Collette. They both had their arms straight out and were so anxious to get a hold of their sibling

last picture pregnant with Collette...

Everything went really smooth and she is doing great. She looks just like Elizabeth did and I just adore her. I will write more later when I'm not so out of it.....

Summer 2011 continued.....

We are just trying to soak up any last minute rays before baby sister comes and we are tucked inside our air conditioned home. My kids love water. Reed thinks he is invincible and Elizabeth tries some new mermaid move every time we are in the pool. They both love goggles and jumping off diving boards. 

Summer 2011

So this summer has been eventful. We moved from Tucson and were living with family for a few months and just last month we moved again into a cute house with room enough for our almost 3 kids. Living with family was great but I knew we needed our own space before this little girl gets here! The summer has treated us great so far. We have been swimming a lot and little miss can just about swim solo. Her favorite is to jump off diving boards and swim to the side. For some reason though she does a belly flop 9 out of 10 times. We have just about 4 weeks until we welcome our new baby girl into the family! We are so excited to meet her. Reed has grown into really liking little babies so I'm excited to see how he does with a little sister. We are just about settled in but I have a few more finishing touches I would like to add to baby girls room as well as pictures that need to be put in frames. Some highlights of this summer include Reed turning two.... him and I share a birthday month and we had fun celebrating with family and making him a choo choo train cake.....

 this little guy is such a character and such a joy to have in our home (when he's in a good mood). He loves animals and making animal noises. He is a late bloomer when it comes to talking but he will call for momma, dadda, poppy (grandpa), doggy, book, drink, snack, cookie, duck, and plane are the words he says most..... He loves wrestling his dad, cousins, uncles, or grandpas and loves the water and swimming.

 little miss Elizabeth had a dance recital over the summer and did great! She is such a doll and turning into my little buddy. She is so helpful and really is a sweet heart. She is so excited to have a sister and tries to help us get ready for her to come in any way she can!

Like I said I have a few things to add to the nursery but here is a picture of her crib and bedding..... I made the bed skirt and the bumper was from Elizabeth as a baby. 

                                       

 Elizabeths room is just about done as well. I want to dark purple tutu to add about her bed but other then that its good. I made her duvet cover..... it is straight but the bed was made crooked this morning :) She is in love with purple so with the move now was the time to change it!

Hopefully I can write more frequently before the baby comes and get in a better habit of posting!

oh my where does the time go.....

Wow, I'm behind on blogging. It makes me sad because this is really the way I keep a journal/ save pictures. My sweet kids have been making so many memories and I wish I would have kept track more but hey what can you do? So here is what has been going on over here.... sorry not the most exciting post

Reed..... My Reedy boy. He is just awesome. This little guy makes me laugh everyday. He doesn't talk a whole lot yet, I'm sure a big part of that is that he is very attached to his binky. He also had a lot of ear infections as a baby so his hearing could be affected by that but the dr. said we will wait until he is 2 to determine something like that. He does talk though..... words like momma, dada, hot dog, ball, choo choo, train, car, please, binky, quack quack, and dog just to name a few. He is all boy. He is just a little guy though, he is only in the 8% for his weight! He loves all his boy cousins that he gets to see more often now and is constantly trying to wrestle them. He has a good arm and plays catch with my dad (poppy) a lot. He got a haircut about two weeks ago and Porter buzzed it all away. Poor Reed hated it. He was creaming,"GO!" THE ENTIRE TIME (AS IN GO AWAY). He is a good sleeper and takes a good 2-3 hour nap daily. He LOVES hot dogs, orange juice and eggs to just name a few of his favorite foods. He has started to show a real interest in babies, that is a relief considering we will have new one here in 3 months. My little guy also loves swimming, Porter took him just this last weekend and we would pass him back and forth under water like a torpedo, he loved it! Last but not least he is a sweetheart.... if we are every pretend crying or sad or saying goodnight he will give us a kiss on both cheeks, like he is from Europe or something. So cute, he will never just kiss one cheek but always has to be both. How I love this little guy.

Rapunzel...... I mean Elizabeth. She is in love with Rapunzel. She watches it at least once everyday, she just got the dress at the Disney store and today has been carrying around a metal pan from her kitchen set. She is so darn sweet and has become a very good helper. She helps Reed be happy and picks up toys when asked. She is so smart and remembers everything I tell her or say. She is all girl and loves to have her hair curled and put make up on. She tells me at least ten times a day," I love you so much mom" and I am loving having a three year old little girl. She is going to be great as my helper when new baby is born. She loves to color and can sit and talk to your for hours. She loves swimming, her dance class and anything princess. Her new favorite color is dark purple.

And as for #3.... she is moving right along. This pregnancy has been flying by! I am 25 weeks now and we just had a 3D ultrasound,  I saw a lot of Elizabeth in her. We have two names that we like right now but we will most likely decide for sure when we see her. Porter is doing good and working hard. We have loved the move so far and are so happy to be back around family, it has been the best thing we could have done. We have a few more things that we need to have fall into place before the baby comes that will make us a little, or lot more settled but we are trying to be patient and faithful.

I got a new computer for mothers day and as pathetic as it sounds I don't even know how to get my pictures onto my computer so pictures will have to happen next post ( and I thought a MAC would be easier for me to use). Go figure.

aaah ....... sigh of relief

my ultra sound last week showed everything to be good, baby girl is good, my placenta is healed and I was taken off bed rest and told to resume all my normal activities I do during pregnancies. This came as such relief, and joy. Being down was driving my crazy.... not just crazy like I needed to get up but honestly crazy. I am such a worry wart, its awful, and sitting all day with nothing to do left me to sit and think about any and everything that could go wrong in life. It was ugly. Just this week I am beginning to feel like myself again. It kinda makes one depressed to be in a situation like such. My kids were thankfully being watched by loving family and friends but I missed them so much when I wasn't taking care of them. This whole experience taught me so much. It was so hard to see Reed just wanting me to stand and hold him but all I could do was have him cuddle as I was down. It was hard not being able to serve my family and prepair meals for them as well. I usually hate this scenario but all I wanted to do was cook dinner and hold Reed on my hip while trying to do so. I am so thankful my trial was so short for I know many who have had much harder situations that lasted for much longer. Of course there are still trials our family is facing at this time but I am so thankful to have the ability to stand and take part in them, and to be told our little girl is healthy and well. This time in my life really has been a roller coaster. We have a lot of things that are demanding our faith right and and it gets pretty hard sometimes but I can feel my strength and testimony growing inch by inch and I am so thankful for that.

I woke up Monday with mild spotting. 15 weeks pregnant and spotting is like ice cream with pepperonies. Just not good. I basically stalked my way into the dr that day when they took forever to call me back. I called. Called some more. Went with a friend who randomly happened to have an appointment with the same dr just to have them call me back as I was in the waiting room with her. The dr saw me that day although he may have thought I was borderline crazy. When it comes to my family there isn't anything I wont to do make sure they are safe and sound. This my my first appointment with him mind you so his first impression of me may not be the best but hey I would rather be the crazy concerned mom rather then the whatever mom. Right? Right. So I tell him Im spotting and I lay back to have an ultra sound. Joy,relief and tears all came as I saw this little one wiggle and squirm inside. The dr explained that my placenta has a tear and it is bleeding. Baby is good but we need to have the placenta heal. He showed me a blood clot near my cervix. He said this is not normal but it is common. I was told bed rest was the only thing that could do the trick. More bleeding could have a bad result but that these usually heal on their own with rest. As all these concerns took over I thought to myself.....,"I could use some good news right about now." so I asked if he could see what I was having. That little one just then positioned perfectly and we saw what the gender was. I left feeling glad that my baby was safe but worried about the upcoming weeks and how I was going to manage bed rest with a three and one year old. I called porter on my way home....."Porter, I just went to the dr. the placenta has a tear, I was told bed rest but your little girl looks perfect and healthy."
If you read my previous posts you know I have already felt like I have been sick or out of sorts for weeks now. We just moved two weeks ago and I was already feeling a little overwhelmed with the changes. As of now I'm on bed rest until the end of the month and then we will see from there. I'm at a time in my life where I am striving to find out what my tasks are in is life. I am trying to exercise faith in hopes that it will grow stronger. I feel like I am currently being given many opportunities to learn of the faith I am capable of possessing but it is a hard hard thing to do. I know without a doubt if I can hold onto faith that I will come out a stronger, happier, more confident and hopeful person but getting there has it's challenges. I feel like for weeks, even months now I have been given the chance to build stronger faith and with that opportunity comes opposition. Just as I believe in a Father in heaven I also know of Satan who is present as well. I know he is there striving to take away from this faith building experience and he does that by instilling fear into my being, he presents doubt in front of me. It is my choice to choose faith or fear. I can feel the battle taking place and sometimes it is hard to not think of all that is wrong, or could go wrong. But I'm striving to be positive. To replace doubt with hope. The fear with faith. I'm learning the greater meaning of trusting in the Lord, trusting in His plan. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes the entire world seems to be showing us all is lost or a bad outcome lerks ahead but if He whispered to me all will be well then the ball is now in my court to stand by Him, have faith in HIm and trust in HIm. I have so many things that have me wondering what is coming but I just need to remind myself that whatever does come its part of HIs plan. He is there through it all and most importantly HE wants me to be happy, to have joy sometimes it just takes us leaning a little bit more on HIm to find it.
Thank you to wonderful friends and family. For the help this week, the flowers, and the long talks. You have no idea the love I have for you.

Ready to run.....

Right now I am surrounded by moving boxes, packing tape and sheets of bubble wrap. We're outta here shortly. I have to say I am feeling a roller coaster of emotions. These past two months have been a little dark for me. The self I feel confident about crawled into hiding and became distant from everything that has any importance to me. I felt so awful I didn't want my husband to touch me, I didn't want to nurture and spend time with my children and I didn't want to became closer to Christ by doing the day to day things that keep me going and give me true happiness. Like I said it has been a little dark. Rays of sunshine would pass by like a meal from a friend, a sweet moment with my children or a feeling of love from my Father in Heaven but ultimately I have been tucked away in this pocket of gloom. I've been facing anxiety attacks and just getting through the day to get through it not to enjoy it. It has been hard. Morning sickness limited me to the couch and left me just wanting to feel good for a brief moment so I could be happy. The fear of our move and the stresses that will come from this all took over. The unknowing in what the plan is for me and my family has been overwhelming and I have felt fearful instead of having faith.
Lately the morning sickness has now made improvement and is only there about half a day. I have found more joy feeling good at least half a day and enjoying this time with my family. Oh my sweet children and dear husband. I started packing today.... Loading and wrapping dish wear, I started to feel sad and fearful. Then it hit me, with the gloom that has been around me these past months what better time for change then now. A new place to refind joy in motherhood. A new city to go on dates with my love. A place to start fresh. All gloom can be left behind. This is a chance to start something new and make it a positive change, a change for the better. I'm excited to start a new routine and find how joy can be the captain of my new routine. I'm excited to be enlightened by old friends and familiar faces I have grown up with. I'm giddy to see what my home town will bring our family after being gone for 6 years. I am ready. Ready to say good bye to this chapter. Ready to welcome a new chapter. Ready to have stronger faith and a better me.

not what I had planned.....

It's hard when you are at times in your life when nothing really seems predictable. Nothing seems certain, things don't seem as together as maybe you had wished or hoped. Maybe it's a time of change or a time you thought life was going to take you one way but it is going completely 180. We kinda feel like we are in that situation these days. My morning sickness has me feeling plain awful and the TV is on pretty much all day as my aid in raising my kids for the next couple weeks. The house is a mess. I miss getting up and ready and going on an outing with my sweet babies. On top of that our house just went up for sale and we have the feeling it's just time to go home.... to Mesa. Weather it sells or not we're still going, and do I have energy to pack up the house, heck no. The kids both have some crazy cough that has each of them up all hours of the night and I'm not even going to talk about our laundry mess. We have a lot of " what ifs" about this move and mr. husbands work and where we will be when new baby comes. I don't feel like I have control over anything on my plate. I don't feel like life is as pretty put together as I like it to usually be but guess what....... it will pass. I will get feeling better, we will move, figure things out and welcome a new addition into our arms because we are going through this little hiccup of morning sickness. My kids will get better and sleep better before I know it. The house will sell, or it wont, either way my family will be together and it will all work out. Doesn't it always? I am learning to just be content when things are not just as I would like them to be. There is still something to be learned, joy to be had and blessings to acknowledge. For example this time as a couch potato I have been able to just sit and watch my kids interact and play and it has been a beautiful thing. I have had more cuddle time and more time to listen to conference talks then in weeks past and I have learned to find joy in this change of pace. Not that any of these things are dramatic life happenings, they are still change and they can still be scary, but most of all they can be a time to grow if that is how I look at the situation. I just wanted to write and remind myself that change happens, uncertainties occur but we are in good hands, His hands and as long as that is never forgotten we will have joy.

Third time's a charm.......

Well we are now on our way to welcoming another baby into our little family. ( it's not staying little for long it seems). We are happy to announce We are pregnant! BABY #3 is due in August and we could not be any more excited. Little Elizabeth will be about 3 1/2 and Reed will just be 2! It should be fun :) There is not a moment that goes by that I am not thankful for these two children I have been blessed with and I am thrilled to welcome our new baby later this year. I'm sure my excitement will be multiplied once I'm over this awful morning (all day) sickness. It's tough. But I've been through it twice before and know how worth it it is so that helps. My sweet children have been so great while I have been taking it easy on the couch. Reed and Elizabeth come up all day long and just lay and cuddle with me. Elizabeth has been helping Reed get down from chairs, open fruit snacks and she even picked up the living room without even being asked. I can't even describe how helpful my dear mr. husband is. He has been letting me take the naps I need and he has been so helpful and patient. I'm on medication but it doesn't seem to change how I feel at all. Every night before Elizabeth crawls into bed (after we have said a family prayer) we have taught her to kneel by her bed and say a little personal prayer. Last night I heard her pray that we could be safe and that mommy could feel better. It just melted my heart. She really is a sweet little girl and I am so thankful for her and her little brother to help keep me company while we hibernate for these next couple weeks while daddy goes to work.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam....

I'm off to bed, trying to get to sleep early but I quickly wanted to log today so I could remember it for years to come.....
In church today Elizabeth graduated from nursery class to now being a sunbeam. She is just barely three with the new year starting so she is one of then youngest in the class but I'm so excited for her. I dropped her off and sat her in the front row with all the other sunbeam three year olds and she gave me a kiss goodbye. She has been very excited to become a sunbeam and I have been excited for her too. As I watched from the back the tears came and kept coming, I could not help but think how big she is getting but even more that she is going to learn so much about the Savior and His love for her in primary over the years. I'm excited for her to grow and learn so much and this is the start of it all. I cried out of gratitude that I have found this church that it is just what I need in this life and also will be a guide and strength for my dear children. Elizabeth, I am proud of you and thankful you are my sweet daughter. I was proud to hear that you were a good listener and didn't even cry like some of the sunbeams did with all the changes. Keep being the sweet, silly, amazing little girl you are. Mommy loves you.

To my daughter on her birthday

My sweet Elizabeth..... you have just turned three. What a special day. Not only is it special because we celebrate you being born but also this is the day I became a mother and your dad a father. It is a day we hold dear to our hearts and it is all because you came into our family. You are growing by leaps and bounds. You are fully potty trained when you are awake and love to talk all day long. Lately your favorite things to say have been," I have to tell you something mom..... I love you." Or you talk on and on about the candy you hope to have in your stocking Christmas morning. You are sweet as sweet can be. Every night before you go to bed I lay by you at your request. Sometimes for 5 minutes sometimes for an hour. We talk as mom and daughters do. I tell you stories off the top of my head and I love this time with you. Most nights this time leads us to talk about Jesus and His love for you. I love it because the world is still and you can feel the sweet peace that comes. I love you, oh how I love you my daughter. I wish I could bottle up all three years of you and keep them in my pocket to bring me happiness and joy because that is what you bring to our home. You are still so innocent and this song playing my Taylor Swift (never grow up) puts into words a small fraction of the emotions I feel as your mother. I know this year will bring more little girl giggles filling the rooms of our home, special times with our new 3 yr old and many memories made by a little girl who has the world in her hands. You are amazing Elizabeth and I'm so blessed you are mine.

Elizabeth's Party was tea party themed and we had the tables set up like this on both sides of the yard.....

 I made personalized table settings for each child attending and made them each a party hat with their name.

I made my first birthday banner for my sweet daughter

 I made the kids ham and cheese sandwiches, used a cookie cutter to make them snow flakes and then    sprayed them a fun edible color

  Here is the coconut cake I made her with fondant flowers on top.

                           we had face painting and a cotton candy machine

                                 So I have so much more to write but I just want to focus on her today so I will be updating often. I miss my blogging friends and promise to stop by and visit you all more often!

and of course we cant forget about little brother who was thrilled to have cotton candy for the day!

ELIZABETH…. You are at a time in your life where your watch every princess you love and try to emulate their kindness and beauty. I’ve met a lot of girls in my life. Some were as sweet as could be while others thought they were showing me they were better then me by being rude or bratty. Sweet Elizabeth I hope you never think rudeness is beauty.


I pray you go through out your life with your heart on your sleeve because such a beautiful heart you have. I hope you are an open book for all to read because you have so much to offer this big wide world. I hope you share everything that is dear to you with your friends and let them grow from your beauty. I hope you treat everyone like a sister or brother and give all that you have to others because that’s how you will find happiness. Go out of your way to make others feel happy or special or important. As your grandma Gina would say, “pretty is as pretty does.“ Sweet Elizabeth while I sit here as your momma hoping that you never grow up, at the same time I cant wait to see you grow and bloom into your full potential. I know great things wait for you, just please remember I am always here, and always on your side. XOXO my sweet baby girl

                                  Halloween 2010.... halloween post will come later this week

Let's just pretend....

Oh my Elizabeth. Her little imagination is in full bloom.One minute she is a princess with the evil stepmother after her and the next thing I know her and her best friend Bryson, who isnt even over, are playing in her room. She is amazing. I could eat her and her excitement about life up all day long.
      Last Tuesday I had someone stop by in my ward unannounced. To be honest I love these types of visits because I want to come across as someone who would welcome anyone at my door. I obviously would love if it occurred when I was ready for the day with my kids dressed and with the house in order but whatever, its life so that doesn't happen.....ever.
    When I answered the door last Tuesday at 11am I was in pjs, my son in a diaper, my daughter naked with a mess stuck to her  bum cheeks, a dirty diaper in hand ( I realized later it wasn't even wrapped well so you could see all the inners) and my house a DISASTER! But I opened the door, and we chatted for a while.
     After she left I felt a little embarrassed about the way we must have appeared. I thought what I could have done differently that day to have things together a bit more when she stopped by. I thought about that morning how I sat with my children at the breakfast table all of us in our jammies. How we sat and read books, how we played in the backyard, watched butterflies, and I listened to Elizabeth play pretend. How I chased my rowdy son and tickled him until I heard that belly laugh of his that melts my heart and then it occurred to me that there was not one thing I would have changed in that day. It was a messy day, it was a lounging day, it was a perfect day. My children will not remember if I had make up on every day or not but I am sure they will remember the time their momma spent with them....

She is her mothers daughter.....

 Recently I have been going over the idea of putting Elizabeth in preschool. She will be three in December and is smart beyond her years. She also is starting to get bored around the house and trying to test me to see what she can get away with (more than usual). My thinking was that she would get some education, but more importantly she would be happy having some time with me not always saying no to the new adventures she thinks she is old enough to take part in... ( painting her fingernails by herself, putting in her own dvds, cooking with real food in her play kitchen....). I was at a loss and was thinking as soon as she starts preschool she is now not in the home and with mommy full time. So I just sat on it for a few days and then tonight mr. husband and I read a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry titled "Mothers Teaching Children in the Home". And voila here was my answer. This talk spoke about how we as mothers are our childrens greatest teachers and how teaching and learning in the home is most powerful. I sometimes forget that I am the most powerful influence on my children at this age. I was reminded by reading this that I only have this small window of time to have my sweet babies all to myself and under my little momma bird wing before they are off in school, sports, with friends. This is my chance to instill in them simple but essential things, like how special they are and not to doubt it no matter what, wrong from right, how hard work pays off, to be kind and loving, how to choose the right, manners, and so many small but important things. I have come to conclusion that I need to take this time for all it is worth and cherish it and use it to the best of my mommy ability. And that I need to remember that my example teaches her more than anything. I have found that this is not her time to start school but my time to put forth the extra effort to teach her while I still have her in our home full time. I will say it is rewarding when I see her caring for a baby doll the exact way she saw me caring for Reed. Or knowing all her knowledge in knowing letters, numbers, shapes has come from her parents hard work or more importantly seeing her grasp Gospel truths and concepts.Here is to another yr at home:)

to read this talk I was talking about in its fullness click HERE

as of late......

I have not been much of a blogger unfortunately. I miss it. But more importantly I know years from now reading this I will most likely wish I had written down more. So I'm hopefully back to writing more frequently. Sometimes I feel like I'm going through a bit of a transition phase of life. That is kind of how I have been feeling these past few weeks. Sometimes when in those transitions periods of life when I am going from one big event to the next I tend to just go through the day to day things without really focusing on them. Having a list of things to do and accomplishing them just because it's part of the day. Or days where I try to cram as much into a day like cleaning, crafts, an outing with the kids, lunch with the hubby, homemade dinner, yadda yadda yadda, and those are the days that FLY BY so quickly I don't even remember much of what occurred that day.  After listening to a general authority in our church council us to "slow down" and "simplify" our lives I have been trying to keep that in the front of my mind. But it's hard. I am one who trys to do a ton in a day. I think I need to always be picking up toys when let's face it I could just sit and join in the fun and pick them up at the end of the day. Or that I need to be doing 10 things at once while the kids are calmly distracted with their fishy crackers. And after listening to the talk last week I have decided to do things a little differently. I do not need to fit everything into one day. I can have a freezer dinner some nights and spend that extra time with my kids and that's okay, more than okay its wonderful. I can include them in folding the laundry even if it takes all day as long as they are involved. I think sometimes I worry too much about my duties as homemaker more than my duties as a mother and I obviously know what is more important. Another quote I heard that I loved was that "love is spelled T.I.M.E." and how true it is. Several times I have referred back to my writing on my blog to remind me of the things I have learned and the person I am striving to be. I guess this is one of these posts..... and speaking of slowing down, a little update on my children...

Reed: 15 months!

This boy is CRAZY. He is always trying to get into trouble or pester his sister. The only words he says is "momma" and "eeet"(light). He loves fruit and can be found usually walking throughout the house in just a diaper, eating a whole peach, plum, or pear. He is SO entertaining. He laughs at everything and will make the cutest faces all the time. If he falls off the couch he laughs, if he runs into something , he laughs, and there is nothing this boy is afraid of either. He is all boy and we love it!

Elizabeth: will be 3 in two months! She is my gem that girl. She can make or break my day, but usually makes it:) She is talking so much and loves to tell me everything that comes to her mind. She loves baby dolls, barbies and princesses right now and the color pink. She is pretty much potty trained except for when she sleeps and we are so proud of her. She tells me these days things like " I'm so excited" or " momma don't be mad" if I get after her. She is still my little cuddle bug and I pray she always is.

so I'm thinking about doing my hair chocolate brown? yes or no? not that anyone comments much these days but I thought I woulds throw it out there?