the MOST wonderful time of the year!

if you know me, you probably know that i've never been a huge fan of Christmas. i'm sure when i was little i got excited about santa and everything. but after that, i never really enjoyed it.
but this year has been totally different. well, last year was good too - i was on a cruise!

bo really likes Christmas, and it's rubbed off on me. we've done every possible "christmasy" tradition with morgan that we can think of. we braved 30 degree weather to watch the christmas parade. we rode around looking at christmas lights - while morgan kept telling us to "be quiet" and "don't talk" for some reason. she is very demanding! morgan got an "elf on the shelf" that she named curtis from her mae mae. that was a really fun tradition that we plan to continue for years to come.
and i guess it helps to have a preschooler. she was very excited about santa and gifts and everything - it's the first year she's really understood about santa. unfortunately, morgan was at her dad's on christmas eve, so christmas morning was somewhat anti-climatic. but it was nice to for bo and i to open our gifts and get everything cleaned up and ready before morgan got home. we even got showered and dressed so that we looked halfway decent for the christmas video.

anyway, for christmas this year morgan got: a swingset (which bo and his dad, granddad, uncle and cousin put together for 6+ hours in the freezing cold), 2 baby dolls, a baby stroller, swing and high chair, a portable dvd player, clothes, coloring books, markers, dvds, an aquadoodle mat, some books, a necklace and bracelet, press-on earrings and lots of dora stuff.

bo and i pretty much bought each other the stuff we told the other to get. i did suprise bo with a bunn coffeemaker. he had no idea he was getting it, so that was fun. bo got me several gift cards, some cooking supplies and a weight watchers cook book.

we also got a TON of stuff from bo's parents. his mom goes all out for christmas. i got several pieces of my gail pittman pattern (which is going out of business :-( so sad), some gift cards, some pottery from peter's and mccartys, and some money$$$$ - bo's favorite gift!

my wonderful husband really made this the best christmas ever - he works really hard at everything he does and he supports me at everything i want to do - including our "biggest loser williams family edition" which will be covered in a later blog.

i hope that everyone who may read this had a wonderful christmas and that 2009 brings many blessings to your lives!

bon qui qui at king burger

everyone should watch this video...sooo funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZkdcYlOn5M

some pics of my cutie!

her indian name was "bright eyes"

i like this pic b/c it shows her pretty blue eyes :-)

morgan and all of her babies

morgan and her cousins (my brother's kids) christian and nathan

why do people get married?

i was looking at the wedding/engagement announcements on the clarionledger.com and it made me wonder - why? i would imagine most would say it's because they're in love and want to start a family.

but i was talking to a lady i work with yesterday - she is 40 something, divorced after almost 20 years of marriage and repeated infidelity on her ex-husband's part. they have been divorced for 5 years or so and she still hates him. i guess what i was thinking about is when you marry someone, you make yourself totally vulnerable to them. you open yourself up in such a way that your spouse can totally destroy you with a single sentence. the phrase "thin line between love and hate" really is true. because ultimately, you can't hate someone unless you have cared enough to really let them get to you. so why do people want to put themselves in that position? b/c no one thinks it will happen to them.

i have grown and changed ALOT in the last almost 2 years. i've thought about that a lot lately. i used to think that things were "meant to be" and let life happen to me. i thought, "well, if he wants to marry me, then it must be meant to be" (i am referring to my ex, not my current husband) and i don't know where i got that attitude but it is completely stupid to me now. whenever i find myself talking to someone new, oftentimes they ask "how did yall meet?" about me and bo. when they hear our rather unusual story, the usual reaction is "well, it must be meant to be!" except for one girl who said "that is sick!" - i still don't understand that one!
i just smile and say "yeah" or something, but i really don't agree with that at all.

and i will answer my own question (which was really meant to be rhetorical) - why did i marry bo? well, he introduced me to the church of Christ which i believe is the one, true church, without which i might never have been saved. (yes, that's what i believe - i know it sounds "cultish" but it absolutely isn't! i respect everyone's right to choose their own church but if you're curious about what we believe feel free to ask - i won't try to persuade you to change) second, he loves my daughter - it takes a lot for a man to be willing to love, provide for and raise a child that doesn't have his dna or his last name. you should see bo carrying around our camcorder at all of morgan's dance team performances - it's so cute! third, he has the same life dreams and goals that i have - to raise a family and to show our kids what marriage is supposed to look like and to spend eternity in heaven. fourth, he is very smart financially - is planning for our retirement and strives to keep us debt free. fifth, he expressed his desire to be, and is, the leader of our family. sixth, he not only respects, but embraces, my fear of flying (that was partially a joke, but it actually is true!) most importantly he loves and respects me. and he does little things daily to show me that.
i may very well be the luckiest girl in the whole world.

some pics

riding tricycle



fun at the ms state fair

nothing too exciting going on around the williams household...morgan was tinkerbell for halloween...will post pics as soon as i find my camera cord. morgan is still enjoying school - she loves her teacher and even has a boyfriend.

i am SOOOO ready for this election to be over! so tired of politics!! and just hoping and praying that john mccain wins!!

you hear that?

it's been VERY quiet at the williams home this week....too quiet. morgan has been visiting her dad all week. i miss her terribly, but i have called her every day. she usually is too busy to talk, but when she did want to talk to me she seemed to be happy. she will be home tomorrow, so i will try to get a LOT of stuff done around the house today. we've been working on stuff all week. we converted morgan's crib to a toddler bed (which she is SO excited about!) and bo started painting the kitchen.
the worst part about her being away is that her schedule gets all out of whack. so i don't plan to be putting her to bed by 8 pm sunday night - unless the excitement of the "big girl bed" will have her wanting to go to bed.

also, she is 2 years and 8 months old today! it's hard to believe that she is the same baby i brought home from the hospital in january 2006. that baby was kinda funny looking and did pretty much nothing but cry. i had such a hard time with her. i remember wanting to bring her back to the hospital and try to get a refund - seriously. i'm not kidding. i had a friend that, at the time, struggling with infertility. i remember feeling guilty that i didn't want my baby when she so desperately wanted one. i wanted to give my baby to her. but anyway, all that has changed now. i cannot imagine my life without my little sunshine! she still drives me crazy at times but THE highlight of my day is when i pick her up at school. she sees me and her face lights up. she starts running towards me saying "momma!" and gives me the best hug ever. she is the best little girl ever.

and, yesterday was 5 months of marriage for bo and i. last month, we decided to meet for lunch on each of our monthly anniversaries. with his job, he usually works through lunch, which is why we don't meet for lunch more often. so once a month, we get to eat a meal alone together. and tonight we're having our anniversary date, which will consist of driving to greenville to go to lowes, and eating at pasquales. i'm really excited!

another topic - the election - bo is more interested in it than i am, but i am 100% behind mccain/palin. this woman is a superwoman. it's all i can do everyday to raise one child and work 35 hours a week. she is managing to raise 5 kids and already has a pretty important job, and now wants an even more important job! i am amazed at how she and her husband do it all. now i think being a SAHM is an awesome thing. really just being a mom in general is awesome and difficult at the same time. but it's nice for me, as a working mom, to see a woman doing everything i do and a whole lot more. she inspires me to know that i can do it all! and i can have a big and important career one day if i choose to.

that's all for today. maybe i'll add some pics of mo's big girl bed later.

a week of firsts!!!

well, last week my baby girl finally got her first hair cut....it was getting kinda uneven in the back and looking messy. i got her a sucker so she would sit still while it was being cut, and it worked! she was SOOO good. bo videotaped it, while i took pictures, and of course we kept the all-important first curl.

our little fam, before the haircut...


during the haircut....



unfortunately, i didn't take one right after the haircut, b/c we still had to get home and eat and go to church - but the next day was another first...morgan's first day of 3k. now, she isn't 3 yet, so she will have to repeat 3k next year, but she'll learn a LOT more than she would have in her current daycare and it's only a little bit more money

here she is, ready for school...


and day 2 of 3k...


our little girl is getting bigger by the day. she's pretty much potty trained, except at night and i really couldn't be happier! i know some moms get sad b/c their babies aren't babies anymore, but that really hasn't bothered me yet. she is so much more fun now that she can talk and understand us. i'm sure i'll be a little sad one day, but for now i love the age she is -

all for now!

house update!

well, we have been working on the house for 2 months now. the carpet is gone (except for in the master - there isn't hardwood underneath, unfortunately) and every wall of the house has been painted, except for the kitchen - we're holding off for a little while before tackling that one!
bo and his dad are currently fixing the closets - they had this wire organizational thing which just didn't work for us. those are gone now and they have patched the walls and are repainting. bo is also painting the boards that will be shelves in the closets.
today, we are driving to jackson to go to miskelly's to hopefully buy a bedroom suit. we are both really excited, which is rare for bo to be excited about shopping - our master bedroom is huge ~ 20 x 15 i believe, which is nice, but is also a challenge to find the right furniture. so hopefully, we'll have a grown-up looking master bedroom soon, instead of the dorm room looking bedroom we have now.

just in case i haven't mentioned it, bo also changed out every electrical outlet and light switch in the house. they were all beige and some had been painted to match the wall colors. he wanted them all to match so we went with white. also he has bought, but not yet installed all new doorknobs for the outside doors, again, so they will all match. AND we're in the process of replacing all of the bathroom fixtures with oil rubbed bronze ones.

i am so proud of my hubby! he works so hard to make our house looks nice, and he understands that sometimes you have to spend a little bit of money in order to do so.

so anyway, just a little update. we are no where near done, but we're making progress!

i hurt for them

i have a friend (it's really not me!) who is going thru a situation similar to what i went through a year and a half ago. her husband wants a divorce. i belive he is having an affair, although he hasn't admitted it, and she says it doesn't matter either way, he wants out, and she's letting him out.
i just do not understand why anyone would cheat on their spouse. everyone hurts. the wayward spouse, the betrayed spouse, the children (there aren't any in this case), and the parents and siblings of the spouses. i would imagine that the other woman hurts too, although i find it tough to feel sorry for someone who goes into a relationship with someone who they know is married. i also don't feel too sorry for anyone who is married who starts a relationship outside of their marriage.

i only wish that there was something i could do to prevent anyone from having to suffer the pain that i, and so many others, have suffered. i do everything i can to ensure that my current marriage stays on track. whenever a friend discusses their marital issues with me i offer any advice that seems relavant.

the most important issue (in my opinion) is what God says about marriage and adultery. and the only place to find that is in His Word, the Bible. i will try to come back with scripture references at some point - but - i think we all know that "thou shalt not commit adultery" is one of the 10 commandments. but that's old testament law, which we (members of Christ's church) are not bound to. however, the new testament reaffirms this as a truth. adultery is a sin.
but what is the punishment for adultery? i used to think (and a lot of people probably agree) that adultery is a sin, it's bad, but God will forgive those who commit it, if they ask for forgiveness. this is true, but there is a catch.
somewhere in the new testament (i will find this scripture) it is said (i think by Jesus) that God hates divorce, but will allow it. If you choose to divorce your spouse, and then later remarry you are committing adultery. UNLESS, you are the innocent party, betrayed by a spouse who commits sexual immorality. the betrayed spouse is released from the marriage contract and free to remarry.

moral to the blog: DONT CHEAT!!! REMEMBER YOUR VOWS!!! communicate with your spouse, work thru problems before you feel that you marriage is so far gone that you are tempted to cheat -

anyway, this is, was and always will be a painful topic for me. so i write what i think about.
read at your own risk ;-)

still going...

well, i've gotten up in the am a few more times and walked/jogged/run and it's going well. sometimes i do it at night, sometimes the afternoon, but usually the morning.

and my baby girl is leaving tomorrow to spend a week with her dad. so hopefully i'll be able to work out every day!

all for now. gotta go snuggle with bo :-)

i didn't want to do it, but i did it anyway, and it SUCKED!!!

so, i got up and went "running" at 430 this morning. it sucked. way too dark. couldn't get my heart rate up where i like to get it.

you may ask yourself, why do you have to get up 4 hours before you have to be at work so you can run for 30 minutes? well, my husband has to be at work at 6 (he's usually earlier) so i have to be home before he leaves -
but i think i can probably swing leaving at 450 or so and still get back in plenty of time.

so yes, it sucked but i supposed i'm glad i did it. next time it won't be as early, and hopefully it will be better.

all for now.

and so it begins...

well, this weekend, i finally have started back exercising. saturday morning, i got up at 9 and ran for 30 minutes - when i say run, i really mean walk and jog with an occasional sprint -
and yesterday bo got my spin bike out of storage. so i rode it for 30 minutes last night before bed.
i have less than 3 months until my 10 year high school reunion, so i need to get my butt in gear. plus, my sister's wedding is in about a year.


as far as the house goes, work continues. we (or i should say bo and his dad) have painted all 3 bedrooms and the living room. next is the bathrooms and kitchen. and we are in the process of replacing every electrical outlet and light switch in the house. it's not hard, but is time consuming.

as for the fam, morgan is 29 months old now. she loves to swim, still loves pink, and also loves her new kitten. her name is tessa, but morgan insists on calling her "kitty cat" and occasionally "dora"

bo and i have been married 2 months. so far it's been pretty good. we just work all day and then work on the house, but we still try to spend time alone together every day.

ok, that's all for now!

who knew?

it is dark at 4:30 am?
i realized it this morning as i turned off my alarm. perhaps it will be brighter tomorrow.

running blog

well, i've decided that i have to start getting up every morning and running. for me, running means jogging and walking with an occasional sprint.
so i'm gonna post here at least once a week and tell how many times i ran and for how long.
my sister is getting married in about a year and i don't want to look like a big fat cow next to her super-skinny self!!

it's everywhere

so i was driving into town today, and i heard a song begin on the radio. within the first line of the song, i knew what it was about. i waited in the parking lot of the store so i could hear the whole thing. it brought back things i don't like to think about but there is no forgetting. i don't dwell on it anymore, but i won't ever forget.
in a way it was nice to know that someone else out there (and i'm sure many people have experienced the same thing) can put my feelings into words.

it's called "forgive" my rebecca lynn howard

I always said that'd be it
That I wouldn't stick around
If it ever came to this
Here I am so confused
How am I supposed to leave
When I can't even move
In the time that it would've took to say
"Honey I'm home, how was your day"
You dropped a bomb right where we live
And just expected me to forgive

Well that's a mighty big word
For such a small man
And I'm not sure I can
'Cause I don't even know now who I am
It's too soon for me to say forgive

I should ask but I won't
Was it love or just her touch
'Cause I don't think I want to know
So get you some things and get out
Don't call me for a day or two
So I can sort this out
Well you might as well've ripped the life
Right out of me, right here tonight
When through the fallen tears you said
Can you ever just forgive

Well that's a mighty big word
For such a small man
And I'm not sure I can
'Cause I don't even know now who I am
It's too soon for me to say forgive

Well you know what they say
Forgive and forget,
Relive and regret

Forgive, well that's a mighty big word
For such a small man
And I'm not sure I can
'Cause I don't even know now who I am
It's too soon for me to say forgive

It's too soon for me to say
Forgive

gonna try to post pics...

me and mo on easter sunday



morgan's first snow day!

new job!!!

don't know if i mentioned it, but the job i got when i moved here was for tax season, with the possibility of longer, if they needed me. well, they didn't need me, so i've been unemployed since april 16th. it's been ok, i've been working with my husband and father in law.

but now i've got a new job!!! it has GREAT benefits, bankers hours (it's at a bank) but it doesn't pay all that much. but i'm still excited!!!

hopefully this means we will be able to do the home renovations we want to do sooner than planned!

yay!

once again a mrs....

well, we will be married 2 weeks tomorrow!
i was just thinking about what advice i will give to my daughter regarding marriage (which she will promptly ignore i'm sure). i do not claim to be an expert on anything, certainly not marriage. clearly i did something wrong the first time, and i'm only 2 weeks into this one :-)

but anyway, here's my 2 cents...

don't marry someone (or be in a serious relationship for that matter) thinking you can change them. it's hard enough to change your own habits and thoughts, impossible to change someone who doesn't want to change.

be sure to agree on these 3 things: religon, kids and money - the big 3 -

love is a choice. love is an action. it is not limited to a feeling. those exciting, butterfly feelings early in a relationship will fade over time. but don't forget those butterfly feelings. remember how lucky you are to have each other and always put time into meeting each others needs.

read "the five love languages" and "his needs, her needs"

marriage isn't always pretty. it isn't always easy. sometimes you have to "give in". sometimes your spouse "gives in".

put your relationship with your spouse above your relationship with your children. this one is hard for me. the love i have for my daughter is so pure and unconditional. so consuming that, without a moments hesitation, i would die for her. the love i have for my husband is not unconditional. it is based on the respect i have for him by the way he treats me and others and the love he shows me.
yet, my relationship with him must always be my priority. the gift i will give to my children is raising them in a home where they will see what a marriage is supposed to be like. a marriage where their daddy loves their mommy as Christ loved the church. a marriage where their mommy submits to their daddy. they will see that their parents enjoy spending time together and will know where our priorites lie. they will have high standards when they choose their spouse. they will not settle for a mediocre marriage.

all this to say: morgan, although you are only 2 years old, i know the day will come when you will leave our home and become a young man's wife. over the next 20 years or so, i hope that bo and i will teach you what you are worth and what really matters in life.

we love you more than you know

momma

as the engagement draws to an end...

i thought i'd brag on my man a little bit.

2 weeks ago, i got an apartment. bo (with the help of his dad) moved all of mine and morgan's stuff in. he has put up pictures and curtains in every room. he put shelf liner (which he had to measure and cut) in all of the cabinets in the kitchen.
he has cooked supper a couple of times, including filet mignons (sp?) saturday night.

on a daily basis, he picks morgan up from school every day. he said one day a little girl saw him and said "that's morgan's daddy!" of course that made him smile. he also brings her a snack in the car every day. he says that they hold hands on the way home from school. and he also shades her eyes from the sun with his hand. one day last week they stopped at the park on their way home to feed the ducks. just the 2 of them, with no prompting from me.

last night, morgan didn't feel very good and was whiney. after supper (which i cooked, thank you very much!) i took her into the living room to snuggle. you can always tell when she doesn't feel good b/c she sits in your lap and snuggle. since i was busy, bo cleaned the kitchen, without being asked!

he really is such a wonderful man, father and husband. he has such great plans for our future. i am so lucky.