Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We did, besides the fact that I never want to stress over cooking Thanksgiving dinner again! It was our first time making pretty much everything by ourselves and trying to time it all just right. All I know is that by the time I sat down and actually got a bite of food in my mouth it was a little cold. All in all it was a great Thanksgiving shared with our friends Jordan, Nickey and their two boys.

Here are a few pictures of Kade and Kamryn hanging out on the couch Thanksgiving night.

Kamryn's 5 Months

I know, I know, I am a day late in posting this and the pictures I took of Kamryn look horrible. She wasn't in a good mood and I didn't want to wait. I was sooooo tired because I switched my work days and I am finally getting back on my normal schedule.

Anyhow Kamryn is 5 months old, it's so crazy to believe! She is holding her bottle as I am typing this post, who knows how long it will last but hey it's a start! She is so funny and loves it when you sing to her. She loves to put anything and everything into her mouth My hair ends up being a common one. She is getting better at grasping things and is liking tummy time a little bit better now. She would rather be on her back though. She loves her swing, jumperoo and all the fun toys she has figured out how to grab. We have to start watching what we have in front of us while holding her because she is reaching for things. She sits well with a little help with balancing. Lately I have been using the boppy to help keep her up. That round butt of hers doesn't help! She is so fun to have in our house. Kade loves being the big brother and making sure she is okay.


I couldn't keep her still sitting int he rocking chair, and then I would try and take a picture and it was blurry. She really wanted to chew on that monkey! There are still no teeth. There is one that keeps trying to poke through, but it just goes back in to hiding.

November NASCAR race

My parents drove down from Utah on Friday to spend a week with us and to go to the NASCAR race. We all have small colds and I didn't want to torture anyone with the task of watching Kamryn plus I knew I was going to worry about her the entire time. So Kade got to take my place and went to the NASCAR race with Grandma Keren, Grandpa Tim, and his Daddy. He was excited for the park and ride because they have a school bus that takes you to the race. He had fun, and even took a nap with all that noise!
I was a little jealous sitting at home waiting for the race to start. I am glad Kade got to go though!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Ronald McDonald House

Last night as Kade, Kamryn and I were heading home from Ryan's softball game we went through the drive through at McDonalds since I hadn't fed Kade dinner and it was nearly 7:30. When I completed the order I was asked, "Would you like to donate a dollar to the Ronald McDonald house?" Of course! I said, "Sure" and thought nothing of it. When I reached the window to pay she handed me a pad and let me write a name for it to be posted. I love opportunities to either write Kooper's name or acknowledge him in some way. So I dedicated my dollar to Kooper. After I wrote it I rolled up my window and tears filled my eyes. I thought about my sweet little angel and then I thought of the blogs I have read of Mother's staying in the Ronald McDonald houses. They have gone through tough times and because of those who donate they don't have to worry about a place to stay so they can be there for their children in need. So if you ever get the chance to donate to it, it is such a great charity.

Another thing you can do is save the tops of your pop cans. We do this in our house and there is someone at Ryan's work that donates them to The Ronald McDonald House Charity.

Carter July 4, 1997 - November 9, 2009

September 1997

Carter was the first Male we added to our family full of females. You think my Dad would have been so happy! He wasn't. My older sister Bree brought home this dog that was given to her by a friend of a friend. Well that friend of a friend got him in front of Walmart. He was so energetic. I remember her bringing him home and boy did I think she was in trouble. If I remember right my dad was not very happy. Bree was known for not asking or doing the opposite of what she was told so it probably wasn't too much of a surprise to him. He was an "outdoor" dog for quite a while. Many nights Bree would sneak him in through her window and let him sleep in her bed...eventually he became an indoor dog. I think he actually thought he was human. He thought he should have people food, should sit on the couch and he actually wasn't too fond of other dogs. After not much time he stole my Dad's heart and became HIS dog.

A fond memory from his "puppy years" was the time I was down in my room scrapbooking. Carter came running down the stairs and just stood in my room. Before I knew it he was squatting down and took a nice big poop on top of my scrapbook page. Luckily it was a scrapbook page that had a page protector on it!

Carter loved to give kisses and loved the warmth. He loved to lay by the hot hot fireplace and in the summertime loved to lay in the warm sun. If there were ever any light shining through a window or sliding glass door. He was in front of it soaking up the sun.

Carter became a big part of our family. After moving to Phoenix, when I would come visit, every once in a while we would be outside my neice Tasia would introduce the dog to her friends by saying, "This is my uncle Carter and his sister Kami." He was like a brother to me, the brother I never had.

Another funny thing about Carter was his love for my Mom's couches. If you even gave him the hint to jump up and lay by you he would do it in a heartbeat, fully knowing if Mom or Dad saw he was in trouble! When my parents would leave the house they would set up a fort so he couldn't get up on the couch especially the cloth ones because his hair would stick to it. Well sure enough they would get home and there would almost always be a nice warm spot on the couch and some hair...and sometimes a few pillows knocked off to make room for him.

He also loved to eat just about anything and he could catch anything in his mouth you threw at him, Cheerios, any kind of cereal, he even liked popcorn too. Every morning he got to drink the milk out of the cereal bowls. And sometimes we would come home to trash strewn across the upstairs. You could never leave something tempting in the garbage can. I remember a couple times a flavored bread or cookies got left up on the counter. Well you can only imagine what we came home to.

He was well known throughout the neighborhood. He sat on the lawn like a lion statue and waited for birds to land on the grass. He guarded the grass with his life. Making sure no birds stepped foot on it.

As a puppy, I along with my sisters did some funny things to him, painted his nails, dressed him up in clothes, and his ears were so long that I would pull them up on top of his head and tie a scrunchy around them.

When I moved to Phoenix I missed having a dog. Ryan was gone to work alot and I needed someone to keep me company. That's when we decided to get CJ. CJ stands for Carter Junior.

Carter was such a great dog. He was the Williams family dog. We are going to miss him soo much. We weren't sure of his birth date but we knew it was in July, so we said his birthday was on July 4th. As the years went by and as I visited back home over time I watched his brown spots get more white.

I knew that eventually this day would come, especially since we found out that he had cancer in his throat. The only thing that makes me feel better about Carter not being here with us anymore is that he isn't in any more pain. And also that he is up in heaven with Kooper. Kooper now has a dog. I told Kade that Carter was going up to heaven to live with Kooper and his response was, "Awesome!" I don't think he fully understands and I am sure when we go visit my parents next he will be looking for Carter.

I am sad that I can't find one of my favorite pictures of Carter. It is of My Dad asleep with Carter and CJ.

We will miss you Carterboy! Keep my little monkey company and give him lots of kisses!

Remembering Kooper this Holiday Season

I was going to wait until closer to Thanksgiving to announce my special plans for remembering Kooper this holiday season, but when I went to Walmart yesterday to pick up some diapers as I walked in I saw the trees! I saw trees full of tags that have things that people need this holiday season. So I decided to announce this now for all you early birds that donate and like to pick a child to donate to.

So in memory of Kooper this holiday season I want YOU to find something, toys or clothes, whatever you would like, even if you handmake it. Give something to a little boy in need(preferably a 1 - 2 year old little boy). But I want to know. So take a picture of it and if you'd like write why you picked what you did, you can mail or e-mail it to me.

I am excited to do this myself. To help out a little boy in need and to also get the chance to feel like I am buying Kooper a present. I plan to take all the pictures and post them on the blog to show the effect that one little boy can have on many.

To anyone else out there who wants to do this for their family member who has passed on especially those Angel Babies out there. I think it would be great to see the effect our children can have on others.

I couldn't think of a title for this post, so there isn't one. I know that everybody grieves in their own way. I am not one to judge the way somebody wants to grieve, really it isn't my place. I wouldn't want someone else to judge the way I grieve because we all do it in our own way. But this is my blog, and I really would like to get some words off my chest.

I follow a blog of a Mother grieving the loss of her twin boys. She announced on her blog that she will not be celebrating the holidays this year. These would be the first holidays without her boys. I understand that this might be hard. Actually I understand that it is VERY hard. I know, I have been through it. I know it is hard, but honestly how can you not give thanks for the things you do have? How can you not give thanks for your healthy body, a wonderful husband, a job, a place to live, food on the table, and even getting the chance to carry your sweet babies, even though it was for a short time? Even though they aren't here now and I KNOW it's heartbreaking, but knowing that they are safe in our Father's hands? I know people who would give anything to have the chance to just be able to carry a baby, and know what it feels like to feel them kicking and moving around. I don't know her religious belief. I do believe she has some sort of belief in God because she calls her babies Angels.

Which brings me to the next subject, how can you NOT Celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ? He died for us so that we can live with our Heavenly Father again. He made the ultimate sacrifice and is an example to all. He is who we strive to be like.

To me all this sounds crazy. Some may disagree and that is where I say again, this is my opinion and this is my blog.... Others commented on her blog that they understood why she didn't want to celebrate these holidays. I wanted to post that I couldn't understand. I don't get why she wouldn't celebrate these holidays. It's tough, but life it tough and you just have to make the best of it. Maybe you cry the whole day wishing your babies were with you, but that is when you don't care what others might think of your crying the whole day, You have the freedom to cry whenever you want, no one will judge.

For me these Holidays bring excuses to talk about Kooper and to display certain things. For example at Christmas time we have a special tree for Kooper that I display the letters we bought for his room to hang on the wall, and special things that were bought just for him.

This year I have something special planned to celebrate Kooper as a part of our family and also help out a little boy too. I can't wait to tell you all, but that is for another post.

I don't mean to judge the way someone grieves, but I just couldn't help writing my feelings towards it. You never know maybe she reads my blog and will change her mind.

So to those out there missing a family member who has passed on, think about the real reason for celebrating the holidays and also consider asking yourself as I do as the holidays came around last year, "What would Kooper want me to do?"