Life with Liza and Jonny's 25th Birthday

Eliza has changed our lives in so many ways, and it has been wonderful. Before I met Steven and when I first moved to Utah I experienced some of the biggest and most challenging experiences of my life: I went through a period of situational depression, I moved away from home for the first time (Davis was away from home, but I was only an hour away, and I had so many high school friends travel with me to make the transition easier), and I lost my little brother. On top of those things, my graduate program was very challenging and demanding for me, and so this was a hard time in my life.

Meeting Steven, getting married, and starting a family all happened so fast, but I wouldn't have done it any other way. It truly feels like a fairytale come true or the best daydream I've ever had, and I fall harder in love with my little family every day. I am always thankful in my prayers that I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a mom and wife, because it has brought me so much joy. The challenging time I went through before taught me to be even more appreciative of EVERYTHING, because everything is a gift, and can be taken at any second. It's hard to view things that way when in the midst of hardship, but it's true. I think that helped me through losing my brother. I try to think of his presence in my life as a gift from god, and how lucky am I that I am his big sister? So lucky. Plus I am very confident that I will see him again someday.

Today would have been Jonny's 25th birthday. My parents are also moving today. Of all the days they could have left their home for the last 26 years, they pick today! It's a hard transition for them, but it's time, and we will all forever miss that gorgeous home. They built that house with their kids in mind. For me they built a bench in my room by the windows, so that I could check out all of my dates before they picked me up. They also designed the staircase with my wedding day in mind... hoping to get a picture of my dad and I walking down that staircase on my special day.

I'm happy that I could fulfill that dream for them.

I will miss the place I called home for so long, and so much of Jonny is there - hence his tattoo:

Sometimes people ask me how I'm doing with Jonny being gone, and theres really no good answer, but I miss him all the time. The strange thing about time is that the more that goes by, the more "normal" his absence seems. Like people always say, "it gets easier with time", and it does... but in a way I hate that it's easier, or the idea that it is, because it means it's been X amount of time... and he's still not back, even though it's "easier". It's a strange concept to me. Sometimes with loss I think that we think if it feels harder, then the people we lost are closer, which is why it can be so hard for some people to move forward to the easier phase, where they seem so far. But I try to remember that the time we spend without those we love here on hearth is so minimal compared to the time we will spend with them in the future :)

Steven's family lost their uncle Steve recently, and I know their family has been experiencing similar things to what my family went through with Jonny. We couldn't make it to his funeral, but we certainly wish we could have. 

Eliza is awake and is kicking me as I write this post. She is seriously the most amazing little creature to me. I know she is my baby, but I am obsessed with her. I can understand why people get baby fever now! She is a very happy baby. She is about 3 and a half months now... still not sleeping through the night, but I'm hoping that when she starts eating solids that she will. I'm also hoping we can start something sooner rather than later because I'm so exhausted. I do embrace and savor the tender moments I spend with her in the middle of the night, when she needs me, and it feels so good to help her... but at the same time it will be nice to sleep for an entire night again someday :)

I LOVE being a mom. It's so amazing and life changing. She is my little bestie and she is so sweet. At this point in time she is starting to scoot, she does little rolls (but not all the way over), she is very chatty, she loves music and lights, and she puts this fat smile on her face that just melts our hearts when she is whining in her crib and then sees me or Steven. She's my favorite little person. Ever. 

Eliza's Birth Story

Eliza Ann Williams

Eliza was born on October 14, 2014 at 11:19 AM, weighing in at 8 lbs. and 12 oz. and measuring 20 in. long. She came on her due date! Who does that??

For those who want a brief overview:

My water broke the morning of the 13th and I was induced shortly after. I labored for over 24 hours, but my labor failed to progress. Eliza made her debut via c-section.

------------

For those who want all the details:

I began going to the doctor for my weekly visits starting at 36 weeks. At each of those visits the doctor  checked for any progress towards labor. At my 36, 37, and 38 week appointments my body did not give much indication that labor was in my near future. I was not dilated at all during those weeks, and the baby was not descending (dropping). The doctors assured me this was normal, and that my cervix was "ripening"/ beginning to efface, which was good. Each week that went by I was more and more anxious. I truly felt huge, and I did not understand how the forces of nature would work with my body; i.e. I was really worried that Eliza wouldn't be able to fit out of me. I expressed my concern to my doctor, and he assured me that I would be fine. I also expressed my anxiety to my parents, and they just told me the truth: "Erin... she is coming out one of two ways - If she can't come out the old fashioned way, then you will have a c-section". For whatever reason I really did not want to have a c-section; I wanted to deliver the old fashioned way, but I was excited to meet my daughter so eventually stopped thinking about it and focused on work until the big day arrived.

At my 39 week appointment I was dilated to one centimeter. PROGRESS! I was so excited, even if it was only one centimeter. The doctor told me I could make an appointment for the following Monday or Tuesday to get my membranes stripped to see if that would help speed my progress along. I made my appointment for Monday morning and went on my merry way... anxious for the weekend to pass so that we could get this process rolling.

I woke up at 7:30 on Monday morning (the 13th) to get ready for my appointment, and my underwear was a little wet (sorry... I don't know how to put that more elegantly). I had to pee really bad when I woke up (sorry again... these are the woes of pregnant women... we always have to pee, bad), so I wasn't sure if I had just peed my pants a little bit. I told Steven... and he wasn't sure what to make of it either, so I decided to bring it up to the doc at my appointment. I ate a piece of toast and some fruit and left. The doctor tested for an amniotic fluid leak at my appointment, but he also wasn't sure if my water had broken or not, so he sent me to the hospital to get an amnisure (a better test to determine if my water had broken). The nurse did her thing and I waited anxiously for about 30 minutes for the result.

The nurse came back in the room and told me, "It's a baby day!", and that my water was indeed broken. I had all kinds of thoughts swirling around my head:

- I would get to meet my daughter today!
- I'm scared of pitocin
- Am I ready to bring her home?
- etc. etc. It felt surreal.

I also kind of felt like I weaseled my way into the hospital. If your water is broken you get admitted right away, otherwise you labor at home until you are in active labor. I read several birth stories of others, and they all described their experience laboring at home: puking, falling over on the floor in agonizing pain, etc. This is what I expected that I would have to do, but instead I just waltzed on up to labor and delivery because I had a little leak.

I called Steven to let him know, and they insisted that I be wheeled into the labor and delivery room in a wheel chair. I really felt like I wanted to walk... I felt nothing, no pain, but they insisted so I sat down and was officially admitted at 10 AM.

I don't remember if I was given the pitocin before or after Steven got there, but I know I waited for about an hour before I was induced. The nurse asked me if I wanted an epidural right away. I told her I would probably want one eventually, but that I wanted to wait it out. I was curious what labor felt like incase I would ever have to labor at home in the future. I also just wanted to experience it a little bit. The doctor came in to break the rest of my water, because I only had a small leak, and I was on my way.

Over the next 4 hours the nurse came in to check on me several times. I was still dilated at a 1 (aka no progress) and the baby hadn't started to descend. She asked me several times if I wanted an epidural, and I gave in after 4 hours. I kind of felt like I sold out a little bit. At that point I could have tolerated more pain, but I just gave in.

After the epidural I felt like I was on vacation at a resort. The nurse brought me a popsicle, because I was starving (room service?)... plus I felt no pain. "This is awesome", I thought. All of my friends told me it was smooth sailing after they got their epidurals, so I thought I was good to go for the rest of labor and delivery. Wrong... I wouldn't get away that easy.

The rest of the night/ day was very much a frustrating blur. I didn't make it to 2 centimeters until 8 PM. At 10 PM, I was still dilated at 2 centimeters (it had been almost 12 hours since they induced me). The doctor decided to give me an internal monitor to get a more accurate reading of my contractions. They also decided to up my dose of pitocin, which the baby did not respond well to - it caused her heart rate to drop, so they backed off of the pitocin. At 11:15 something happened with the internal monitor, so it had to be replaced. This made me nervous because more exposure from the outside to my uterus increased risk for infection, but I knew it had to be done. Around 11:30 I made it to 3 centimeters dilated. I was finally in active labor, and the staff told me I would likely progress faster now. I also started feeling my contractions again at this point, so I pushed the epidural button to inject myself with more. At 12:50 AM I made it to 4 cm, and by 2:30 AM I made it to 5 cm. The baby however was still at a -1 station, meaning that she was not making her way down the birth canal.

Things were starting to look up, but I could really feel my contractions, especially on my left side, even after giving myself more epidural. The nurse told me to back off from giving myself the epidural. I had been on the epidural for so long that my body was beginning to develop a tolerance to it, meaning I would need more and more to keep it working. She told me I would really want it when it came time to push, so I should try to bear through contractions as much as I could until then. It seemed like I was making progress, so I agreed.

I eventually made it to 6 cm dilated, but I did not progress beyond that for 3 hours, which is considered an arrest of labor. I was also really struggling though the contractions at this point. The doctor cam in around 5 AM and gave me some options:

1. I could throw in the towel, and he could perform a C-section: The longer I waited the higher my risk would become of getting an internal infection
2. We could wait for another hour to see if I made any progress, and we could re-evaluate then
3. He gave me a 3rd option, but it sounded a lot like the second. I don't remember exactly what it was.

I told him I wanted to discuss with Steven and call my dad. I called my dad and he made me facetime him so that he could see the monitor to evaluate my contractions. They were not looking like good contractions, but he and I were both not wanting to give up on the labor yet, so I decided to wait for at least another hour. My dad was also concerned that I wasn't being given an antibiotic to prevent an infection. I told him I would ask the nurse.

At this point a new nurse came on for her shift, and she was optimistic that she had some new tricks that would help my labor to progress. She gave me a different saline solution with sugar in it, and had me lie in a variety of positions. I told her my dad was concerned that I hadn't been given an antibiotic, and she said they would give me one if I started showing signs of an infection.

By the end of the hour I was dilated to a 7!! It honestly felt like a miracle. I really thought the nurse was heaven sent, and that I was going to get this baby out of me ASAP. Wrong again. I started running a fever and I was finally given an antibiotic. I also did not progress beyond 7 cm for 3 hours again, and during that time I continued to feel contractions. I was so uncomfortable, and the baby still had not descended into my birth canal. The nurse kept telling me to try to get some rest, but there was no way. I kept staring at Eliza's heartbeat. I was so worried about her... she was being subject to these contractions for almost an entire day now. I was also starving (they don't let you eat anything but sugar, water and ice basically) and I was completely exhausted. I was getting so discouraged again and my contractions were really starting to hurt.

A new doctor came in for his on call shift, and he and the nurse told me it was time for a c-section. I was showing signs of infection, and it was getting to the point where it just wasn't safe to keep this going. I agreed. I couldn't take it anymore. The baby also had passed meconium, meaning she pooped in there, which also posed some further risk to her.

The c-section was also kind of a blur. They gave Steven some doctor clothes, put my hair in one of those awesome hair nets and started wheeling me down the hall on a gurney into the surgery room. I'd never been a surgery patient before, so this all felt very dramatic to me (even though c-sections happen all the time). The anesthesiologist came in and gave me a very large injection of epidural. They put a drape between myself and the doctors and Steven came to sit with me. I looked at him and said, "Tell me a story; distract me from this madness". He was really cute and very overwhelmed too. "What do you think our baby is going to look like"? he asked. We spend the next several minutes talking about what we thought Eliza would look like, and they stared the surgery. I won't say much about the actual surgery other than that it felt very weird. I was numb, but I could feel intense tugging and pulling at the same time. I was also completely dehydrated and starving, andI hadn't slept all night. I thought I was going to pass out and never wake up, but I forced myself to stay awake. The next thing I heard was, "It's 11:19 AM, and that might be how big this baby is!". "Where did you hide this kid"? the doctor asked me. "Is she big?" I asked. "She is a good sized baby" he said.

The doctor also muttered something about a "bandl's ring". I'm still confused about what this is, but my general understanding of it is that it is some sort of ridge that formed between the upper and lower part of my uterus due to an obstructed labor. In other words, the ridge prevented the baby from descending down the birth canal. The doctor said there were 3 things preventing my labor from progressing:

1. My pelvis was too small for Eliza to fit out of
2. Eliza was posterior
3. The bandl's ring

In other words, there was no way I would have had a vaginal delivery.

After the surgery, they gave me Eliza in a blanket. I was so overwhelmed and out of it, that it was hard to start bonding right away. I also only had her for a few minutes because I had to go to a recovery room for an hour. Steven stayed with Eliza, and she passed all of her newborn screenings with flying colors. She is certainly a healthy girl!

In the recovery room I begged for water but they would only give me ice. I had no energy, and eventually I was taken to the mother/baby part of the hospital to recover for a few days and to be reunited with Steven and Eliza.

The next few days were difficult. I continued to run a fever from the infection I got during labor, and I had to stay an extra day at the hospital until the fever subsided. At one point I broke down and cried. I felt so tired and overwhelmed and I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to be sick... I was expecting rainbows and butterflies post delivery! I was also very swollen from head to toe from all of the saline/ antibiotic constantly being injected in me.

Finally on Saturday the 18th I was allowed to go home because my fever had subsided for 24 hours. The first several days at home were tough and I continued to run a fever. My parents were concerned and wanted me to go back to the hospital, which I really did not want to do. I decided to wait it out and I scheduled an appointment with the doctor. At the appointment we decided that if the infection got worse or didn't subside in a couple of days, that it would be a good idea for me to go back to the hospital. The doctor was also a champ and talked with my concerned father over the phone.

Thankfully my infection subsided in the next couple of days, and the recovery has been going well ever since.

Labor and delivery was nothing like I ever expected. It was a lot more challenging, but as I'm sharing my experience with others I'm realizing that what happened to me is actually very common. I'm also very grateful for modern medicine. I wouldn't have had my girl so safe and healthy here without it!

Here are some pictures we had from our phones at the hospital:

Friday, October 10: Last bump pic

"There's no way this child is going to fit out of me..."

--------

Me after the epidural:

Popsicles and Ice Chips

The first time I met her :) 

Finally made it to the mother/ baby unit: so exhausted...

Eliza finally gets a bath

We finally get to go home!

baby in a car seat :)

Pregnancy at 37+ weeks

It's about 6AM now as I am starting to write this post. Between 1AM and now I've eaten a banana, 2 bowls of cereal, eggs, greek yogurt with granola and fruit. That should be enough to get me to sleep, yet I still feel like I haven't seen food in weeks. I've slept maybe about 2 hours tonight, and I've gotten to the point where I'm wide awake, still hungry, and I don't know what to do about it. So my solution is to write an update on how awesome I've been feeling lately :) This must be god's way of preparing me for the lack of sleep that will continue over the next several months.

_________

I've been trying to stay active. It's the only thing that makes me feel better. I'm the only 37+ week pregnant person at the gym, and I feel like everyone is staring at me, but I can't get enough of the amazing comments that people make so I continue to go. Strangers really are awesome when you're pregnant... they say the darndest things and they have no fear or censor! Here are a few that I've experienced thus far:

"Oh honey, is that thing going to come out soon"?

"You're baby is huge! Let me tell you what happened to my (cousin/sister/friend etc.)".... proceed to some horror story of labor/ delivery

"How far along are you? Oh.... I'm sorry!"

The down side to the gym is that it makes me extra hungry! I'm grazing all day, and I'm having a difficult time finding food that will satiate me. The other difficult thing is that my feet are really starting to swell. It's tough to be active when it hurts to walk.

I'm about 37 and a half weeks now, and supposedly this is crunch time, but i'll be honest: every day feels like a year. I'm usually not one to complain publicly, especially about something as miraculous as pregnancy, but this is seriously hard! And I just want to whine. I've been also finding comfort in learning about the pregnancy symptoms/ experiences of others, because A. it makes me feel like I'm not alone on this physically challenging journey, and B. It gives me hope that my body can endure successfully through these last few weeks. So to my pregnant sisters out there, lets commiserate.

What is sleep? I forget because it feels like I haven't slept in days. Why? Because I have to pee every 10 seconds, and because I'm starving! I've gained 40 pounds so far, and it really is primarily in my belly. I don't say that to brag ("I'm all Belly!") but really, I'm starting to look about as long horizontally as I do vertically. I may tip over. The weight gain thing has been hard for me to wrap my mind around, because I've gained almost half of my original body weight, and I've been trying to maintain a healthy diet. It's uncomfortable to carry around that much extra weight, and it has been a psychological trip, because I've always been a small person. I feel selfish saying that, but it truly has been a trial for me. I'm told that this much weight gain is "normal" though, and I really am grateful that I have such a healthy girl growing in there. The doctor made a wild guess that she is already 7 lbs when I went in for my visit today. He also made the prediction that labor isn't looming in my immediate future, and that she will likely be over 8 lbs. by the time I deliver. My dad says baby weight predictions really are a big guessing game though. No one really knows for sure, so we will see.

I also discussed with my doctor my fear that the baby will get stuck on her way out during delivery (since I've heard so many horror stories from my stranger friends lately). He made me feel better with some advice and stories of other small girls he has delivered, but he thinks I may be on track for an induction at 41 weeks because I haven't shown many physical signs that my body is gearing up for labor soon. I really hope she doesn't wait that long to come out, but I trust my doctors (and my dad/mom), and I want to do what is best for her... even if it means maintaining my lifestyle as a starving zombie for the next 3+ weeks.

I'm convinced that the purpose of pregnancy brain is to help us forget about how wild of an experience pregnancy is, so that we will be more likely to do this again, and again. Otherwise I can't understand why people do this so many times. When I'm feeling like I do now, I like to look at pictures my friends'  babies as well as pictures of my nieces and nephews.

Mercer had a drowning scare a couple of weeks ago, and even though I was far away, and even though I can't even begin to imagine the way the incident made my brother and sister-in-law feel... it really put into perspective for me how fragile and wonderful babies are, as well as how sacred of a calling parenthood is. The experience made me want to hug my little niece so tight and tell her how much I love her, and at the same time it made me feel even more protective of and grateful for my own little girl growing inside me.

Labor and delivery/ the next few weeks feel like a looming cloud hanging over my head. It feels like this will never be over, and all I want is for my girl to continue to be safe and healthy (and maybe not to wait too long to get here). I know I'm not the first one in the world to feel these things, but pregnancy has allowed me to experience the most significant challenges and blessings that come along with being a woman. I am both grateful for and exhausted from this experience.

I can't wait to meet this little thing, and I pray not only that all will continue to go well, but that I will be the best mom to her. I hope she knows how loved and special she is. She is worth every minute of this wild journey.

It's a GIRL!

Even if it doesn't seem real yet, it's happening! We are having a baby girl and she is coming in October.

So far it's been a great journey. Steven and I decided when we got married that we were looking forward to starting a family sooner rather than later. By January we changed our minds and we decided we would wait to start a family until we moved to California and were more "settled". Since we hadn't gotten pregnant yet, we figured we would move forward with that plan. Shortly after that conversation mother nature did not deliver my monthly gift, and I began to wonder, "Oh geez, what if I am pregnant this time"? I took a pregnancy test a few days later, and indeed it was positive. I was not surprised, but at the same time we did have to shift our minds a little, because we had just decided that we would wait! Another reminder that the lord always has different things planned for me than I have for myself, and his plans are always far better than the ones I could have ever arranged.

I tried to keep my news to myself until we made it passed the 1st trimester, but mothers are psychics. I swear that they have a 6th sense for these things, and my mom called me around week 9 to tell me that she had a dream that I was pregnant and that I didn't tell her. I've never been a good liar, and so I shared with her the news. "I can't believe you didn't tell me!" was all I heard for weeks :)

After that my head swarmed a bit. I've never incubated a human before... and I began hearing advice from my OB/GYN father, nurse practitioner mother, my doctor, my family and friends, and the internet. At a time like this, all of these opinions were confusing. We were also trying to figure out the best insurance plan to use between my parents (which I am still on until August) and the insurance I am eligible for through my work. We ended up switching insurance carriers and doctors around week 17, but I'm glad, because I LOVE the clinic I have been going to in American Fork, UT. If anyone in Utah County is prego, Valley OB/GYN is a wonderful place to go!

Initially we were convinced that our girl was a boy. I read the wives tales, and my symptoms were consistent with those who were pregnant with boys. The perinatologist at 12 weeks also mentioned that he may have seen a teeny tiny "thing", but that he couldn't be too sure. I went home for a week over my spring break at 13 weeks. The perks of being the daughter of an OB/GYN and nurse practitioner are that your parents are up to date on the latest and greatest. There is a blood test that can be taken as early as 10 weeks now that separates a mothers DNA from the baby's DNA. In other words, if you want to know the gender of a baby as early as 10 weeks now... you can! The test also screens for many other chromosomal abnormalities. My parents wanted me to have the test done, so I went to have my blood drawn at Dr. Klein's office. Two weeks later, we got a letter in the mail to let us know that the perinatologist did not in fact find any "thing". It was official, we were having a girl! And it's going to be extra fun because two of Steven's sisters are also pregnant this year with girls, and Mercer (my niece) will only be about a year older than our daughter.

I'm now about 21 weeks. How am I feeling? I only threw up once around week 6. Since then I have waves of nausea here and there, but I have been able to work out (at least 3 times a week) and function at work and at school relatively normally (with the exception of my wonderful hormones, which make me prone to tears far more easily than before... and considering I am a bleeding Blue personality... I can't help it... I'm emotional... I have a lot of feelings). I've been particularly emotional about my thesis lately, because all I want to do is graduate and every time I think I'm done I get a new email in my box: more revisions necessary. It's feeling painful.

How do I FEEL? I feel so blessed and so excited. I started to feel her move a couple of weeks ago, and with each kick this wave of happiness comes over me that I have never experienced before. I can't wait to meet my sweet girl. I also know that life for Steven and I will change forever. Come October we won't be able to just drop everything to go to the gym or go to a movie at our own convenience. We will probably be really tired, and at times we will have no idea what we're doing. I'm terrified of giving birth... Steven was a 10 pound baby, I've already gained 14 lbs, and she has been measuring a week big. Come October, I pray all goes well at labor and delivery. I'm a small person, and I'm just not sure a 10 pound baby would fit out of me. But despite my fears, I am very excited and so is Steven. If there is one thing that I have always known with certainty, it is that I have always wanted to be a mother. I feel so blessed that heavenly father has given me this gift, and I love her so much already.

Do we have a name? Yes and no. There are names that we like, but I'm still reading baby naming books so I may change my mind. I also want to wait until she is born to share the news of her name. It was a fun announcement when I opened text messages from my brother and Christel when they had their babies to let us know their names. I also think this would be fun to do, although I've had mixed reviews from everyone else who is dying to know her name. So I say 19 weeks will fly by, and you will find out then!

Our plans from here: Steven's business has been taking off here and I have been hired to work part time for Alpine District again next year. The baby is coming in October, and so moving to California this summer (like we had planned) doesn't seem to be in the cards for us right now. In terms of when and if we will move back... time will tell, but I do know that California has my heart. I hope to move back someday, but for now I am just grateful that I have been blessed beyond measure over the last year and a half, and that my family is a plane ride and a phone call away. What we do in the future depends on a lot of things, and I will continue to pray to be guided and open minded to what the lord has in store for our family.

Here are some pictures from the pregnancy so far:

Our 1st ultrasound (9 weeks):

12 week Ultrasound

Bumpin' at 17 weeks

20 week bump

Anatomy Scan (Today... about 21 weeks)

Honeymooning & The Holidays

This post is a delayed, but nonetheless I wanted to share some pictures from our first holiday season together. We spent Thanksgiving with Steven's family down in St. George, UT and then Christmas/ Hannukkah with my family in the bay.

Over the holidays we also had the opportunity to finally go on our honeymoon. We went on a cruise to Mexico - our boat stopped in Puerto Vallerta, Cabo, and Ensenada. We decided that we liked Cabo best, but apparently we missed out on good sightseeing in Puerto Vallerta. A lot of people we spoke to preferred Puerto Vallerta to Cabo... but I guess that's what we get for not planning any excursions ahead of time. We also decided that we aren't cruise people (we caught some cabin fever), although it was nice to have food available to us at all times without dishes or worrying about our wallets.

We spent new years at a night club on the boat, thinking that was where all the fun would be, but we also missed out on a pool party with the rest of the passengers in the middle of the boat. Maybe that was the issue with our cruise: we kept missing out on all the hot spots ;) We still had a good time, but we were excited to come home to Miley and Rue.

Now we've been back for a couple of months, and we are back in the grind. Steven left insurance, in the hopes of pursuing real estate with some help from his wonderful brother Justin. We are hoping to start a family someday soon, and getting his own insurance agency started has turned out to be a slower process than we anticipated.

I'm still working on my degree in school psychology, and I'm hoping to graduate in June. I am defending my thesis at the end of February (fingers crossed that I will pass and that it'll be over for good!).

And someday we hope to move back to California, either this year or next :) Where should we go? Northern or Southern? We can't decide!

Pictures from the holidays:

MEXICO

New Years at the wrong party

THANKSGIVING

Christmukkah

Life as a Williams month 2

I've attempted blogging before, and I wasn't so great at keeping up with it... but I wanted to try it one more time, because I don't want my future children to ask me why I never made a blog for our family someday. So here's to my next try at blogging!

This has been our life so far... over the month and a half that we've been married:

The wedding was amazing... it was the craziest and best day of my entire life. I checked the weather from my phone the entire week as it said 30% chance of rain, and I prayed that it would just drizzle if anything. Well the big day came and the morning was beautiful. I was ecstatic. I looked up and thanked Jonny for his wedding present to me. Things were never so straight forward with Jonny though; he always liked to stir the pot, and so shame on me for forgetting that little detail! We arrived at the temple in Oakland, and it was starting to look gloomy. Our sealing ceremony in the temple was amazing (the most peaceful and spiritual part of the day), but it lasted much longer than expected. By the time we came out of the temple our wedding party and guests were waiting for almost an hour... IN THE POURING RAIN! I was devastated about the weather, but also feeling blessed that I just married  the man of my dreams for time and all eternity in the place I have always wanted to get married.

Fortunately the weather cleared a little bit to snap a few pictures. Even if we didn't get some of the pictures we originally planned for, they turned out perfect!

As we drove home from the Oakland Temple, we got stuck in terrible traffic, and I realized that we wouldn't have time to take pictures at the house before the reception and ring ceremony began. My hair was also sopping wet under my veil, and my fake eyelashes were peeling off down my cheeks. Even more wonderful... the weather didn't seem to be clearing up. Would we have to move everything into the house? I was feeling sad, because I was so much dreaming about and looking forward to the ring ceremony up at our pool and the reception in our back yard. I ran inside feeling exhausted (because I couldn't sleep the night before... I was too excited) and went up to my room to try to make myself look presentable before the guests arrived to the house. I am the luckiest girl, because I had the most amazing team of bridesmaids helping me get ready again. My friend Ann Sholer ironed my dress because it was completely wrinkled, and my amazing friend Jessica McKinley (the best hair stylist) fixed my hair. I was ready to go. I looked out the window... the sun was shining. It felt like a miracle. Jonny being his typical self decided to mess with me a little bit on my wedding day, but did his part to make everything beautful by bringing out the sun when we needed it the most :)

The rest of the wedding was absolutely beautiful. We have the most wonderful friends and family. It was my favorite day, and we are so grateful to the people who were there and who were there in spirit. To see all of the pictures from the wedding, go to: http://cantrellportrait.phanfare.com/6294600

After the wedding we stayed at Cavallo Point near Sausalito for a couple of days. Our friend and photographer (who also photographed my parents wedding) came to take pictures of us the day after the wedding in our formal attire. Those pictures also turned out wonderfully and can be viewed here: http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/fnayJGh2/1/6253630#imageID=198730516

We didn't get much of a honeymoon, because we both had started new jobs, but we are going on a cruise to Mexico in December, and we are very excited to escape winter in Utah for a little bit!

In other news since the wedding we moved into our new place and are starting to feel settled. We also decided to get a couple of pets... Miley and Rue our 9 week old kittens. Rue got her name because she is little and sweet; we decided it would be fitting for her. Miley on the other hand is a little out of control. She is always on the go, and seems a little crazy. We were having trouble coming up with a name for her, and I finally said, "lets just call her Miley; she's nuts!" Steven replied, "I actually like that". and so it stuck! 

Our First Apartment

Miley and Rue 7 Weeks

In other news, Steven started a brand new job last week. He is still selling insurance and learning the ropes so that he can eventually start his own agency someday. I am working full time as a school psychologist intern for Alpine district, and trying to finish my thesis/ graduate next August. We are hoping to make it back to California either next year or the following. I miss my family and friends all the time, and wish I were better at using my phone. I can't wait to make it back for a few days over the Christmas break :) 

I am loving living as a Williams thus far (although I have yet to change my name... the day I tried the government was shut down, and the social security office closes at 3:30 every weekday... I'll get around to it sooner or later ;) I am so lucky and blessed to have found Steven, and I look forward to the memories we will continue to make as we journey through our forever together.