TICKLE MONSTER ATTACKS

the tickle monster attacked the day we took our family photos

he had multiple victims....

Family pictures

Finally, Family pictures taken by Sherry Lane Photography

school year photos

Brody preschool

Boston 2nd grade

Jeux D'enfants - la vie en rose

the absolute best love story gone wrong. Heart wrenching and best if in French, with subtitles.

Today

So today is Sunday and like the "bad" mormon i am, i went to the gym. I am so shamed! Sadly the 2 lbs i gained was the culprit. I know its stupid, but the 70 minute total conditioning was punishment for ALL the candy and junk i ate yesterday. I cant afford to backslid.

the upside to working out today, is that its general conference, which i can watch at my house, so i dont have to cart all the monkeys to the church. It also means i can work on my Spinning class. I am gathering all my music together so i can have a couple rides prepared for my subbing. Today i went to the gym and the girl teaching the class had just taught 2 back to back spin classes because the instructor who teaches was out. all that means is they need me !!! can not wait till my paperwork goes through so i can get Spinning! Also if any one has any suggestions on music to workout to, please let me know, i want some ideas!!

Brr where is the fall?

Brr

where the heck did fall go? it went from summer (74 degrees )to winter (54 degrees)  in  flash. makes me sad, i was hoping for some nice 65 degree weather, football and jeans with flip flops....

Spinning instructor

thats right, you are looking at a brand new Spinning instructor. Hooray! I am so excited to be certified to teach this class. For those of you who havent tried it, you should!  its a great workout, addicting in the amount you accomplish in the short class time. It does hurt at first (but then what workout doesnt ?)

 Spinning challenge : give this program four classes, if you dont be come addicted, well then that is just SAD!

 Just celebrated 5 years of married life with Tay. He is wonderful. Life with him just keeps getting better. Of course we arent perfect, but its nice to always have something to work towards :) With a total of 7 years under our belt, i think it is safe to say we are in it for the long haul. Ha if not what a huge waste of time :)

He is my best friend, the one person who understands me better than i sometimes understand myself. he makes me a better person, and he makes me giggle.... the butterflies have settled in, but there is a glow now instead. Personally i would rather have the glow, sure steadiness than the rollercoaster butterflies. it just gives a sense of peace.

Love that boy!

recap

Okie doke. looks like i left off at April

On to May

Ha! I cant remember anything realy for May, June, Or July.

Lets move on to August then,

um working, boys in school. Brody in preschool and bryndnen started potty training.

September 12 Brynden is potty trained with a diaper on at nap and bed time. Yippeee

april recap the best month ever

Like promised....


The best part of April was my birthday. Taylor threw me a surprise 28th birthday party. He invited a handful of couples to come and celebrate ME.


He made me my own little cake (because we went to Ilse's 1st bday and Kyra had gotten Ilse her very own cake to destroy and i had remarked, that i never had my very own cake)


He decorated my cake plate with pictures of our family cut out and artistically arranged around the edges of the plate.


He made me my own cake (yes i said this already) in the shape of two hearts that intersect.


He blew up and hid 10 royal blue, pink and glitter black at Linda's house.


He made me spaghetti (my favorite dish) Juliann brought bread and Janette made the salad


He made a special Oreo cake dessert


He also remembered the kiddos : he brought them pizza and a movie.
turning 28, irrelevant


the second very best part of April : was watching BLUE OCTOBER. They were awesome. i brought Juliann and made her a fan I was sad cause the last two years i have been going with Linda but she wasnt able to attend. So jules sucked it up and went and had a freakin blast!!!!


we even stayed till like 1 am waiting to have them sign stuff and i got to take a picture with the lead singer, justin!!! IN HEAVEN I WAS.




the other cool thing about April was i started working for the first time in almost 5 years at Alliance Foods in earth city. They are a food broker for Save-a-Lot. its clerical work but it is a nice change. the kids and Taylor are adjusting well. its been hard juggling the work, working out, housework, snuggling, playing bathing sleeping thing. but i will adjust.....


BTW if any one has pics of the party send them my way JANETTE :) ps i miss you too

Deaths in the family

How it happens that one followed the other within two weeks is beyond me. All i know is by the end of march i was wiped emotionally. Losing my grandmother though it was a long time coming was rough. I knew she was in a better place, i knew her kids were now better off but seeing my mother break like that was hard. I cannot imagine the pain. She died from old age and all the crap that comes with that but she hadnt been well mentally for almost seven years. the last two she no longer knew any one and did not function. it was tough.

Nikki was harder because though she had been diagonosed with cancer  a year ago, she had hit her 100 day mark and was cancer free at the time of her death. it was sudden she went in to the hospital after a week of doing better, and never came out. it took only 5 hours. the toughest part for me, was Ryker. being a mother is hard and adding in the fact that death touches anyone at any time regardless of how old your "baby" is, was a hard pill to swallow. My heart broke for her husband Terry, and her family but it absolutely shattered for Ryker. He was 15 months at the time of her death. She was only 33. It just brings it all home.

It has made me more grateful. Has me counting my blessings even more fiercely than before because i want to have used all the moments i had. with my children and my husband. Work(money) is a necessary evil but all the other stuff we do, that we put off till tomorrow, well now we have to prioritze it because that tomorrow may not come. and then what???

what will my kids and friends remember? what will my spouse miss most? even if i didnt fulfill my dreams would i be proud with the product i left? i cant whine that i didnt have enough time, i only have myself to blame.

Its been too long

It has been too long. I think at least three months since i blogged last. I am not even sure that i can retell the last few months.

Let's try:

in march we had two deaths in the family. My sister in law Nikki and my maternal grandmother Felicitas. Brynden turned 2

in april i turned 28 and got a job after 4 1/2 years of being a stay at home mother. Saw BLUE OCTOBER :)

in may we learned how hard it is to have three kids and two parents that are never in the same place for very long. love spinning

in june boston finished the first grade with flying numbers. He went to texas and Brody went with him for a week. my motherinlaw came to visit, had my very first overnight date with Taylor in like 5 years. i got released from my calling. and then got a new calling. saw Eclipse with some close girl friends of mine. it was great.

in july, so far, we made a trip to and from atlanta GA to visit the Guymon family. that trip was super fun and deserves a post of its own.

how's that for a recap?
 
fabulous huh?

i will expand on all these things in the order they were listed. i know you are all waiting on the edge of your seats huh? i promise the wait wont be long

Nikki Jo Noveroske

April 19, 1976- March 14, 2010

Joli Bean Nikki Noveroske Taylor Williams, Brock Williams and Tachi Williams one year ago.....

The poem at her memorial service was worth repeating:

Do not stand at my grave and weep,



I am not there, I do not sleep.



I am a thousand winds that blow.


I am the diamond glint on snow.


I am the sunlight on ripened grain.


I am the gentle autumn rain.



When you wake in the morning hush,


I am the swift, uplifting rush


Of quiet birds in circling flight.


I am the soft starlight at night.



Do not stand at my grave and weep.


I am not there, I do not sleep.


Do not stand at my grave and cry.


I am not there, I did not die!


We recently lost my sister inlaw, Nikki. Please keep her husband and baby in your prayers.

Kicking old school April Sanchez style

Enjoy the ride back to 2000

Snow day

It is another snow day and that means all three kids at home while Taylor is trying to sleep cause it is his second day on mids.

Boston's friend invited us to go sledding at a school nearby. She had a ton of sleds that they could use, so we did. It was GREAT!

Both Brody and Boston love sledding. More than i thought they would, so that means i have to go out and get some sleds of our own......

Brynden hates sledding. He tried twice and cried both times :(

Frantic Valentine

Bostons valentines party for school, that i am in charge of is THURSDAY. I just got the info today (MONDAY) which gives me four days to plan and pick up supplies for a game, a craft and prepare his valentine cards to be given out.


Of course you think, Why april, didnt you plan ahead. well to those meanies i say, I DID! I called Bostons teacher weeks ago to figure this out and she said she would let me know when it got closer. But four days is a bit too close.


ALthough i am putting this on her, I would have procrastinated had she told me back in december :)


the good thing is the internet is a reliable tool for planning these events. Within the hour i had planned both the craft and the game. Now all that is left are the supplies and the valentines to be written out.


Still a bit frantic though

Clean

I am CLEAN, every WHIT!!

Gotta love the temple, the joy it brings, the comfort and release of tension.

I went in today, and everything was going wrong.

I forgot my recommend (and it was expired in Jan 2010 anyway)

My phone died

My car was thisclose to being out of gas

I was super lost!!!!

I finally get there, we go through the youth items and i get the urging to do some work. So i asked my greatest pal Catherine to pick her hubby up late and do some work with me. She said yes, so we did, and it was GREAT!

all that tension i was carrying around on my shoulders was lifted. I was at peace and happy.

Hungry = Skinny

I am convinced that to be skinny you must be hungry. Even if you workout, and watch calories, and control your intake, i am convinced that nothing means its working like those hunger pains......

More on my impromptu study to come....

Kablooey!!!

The title says it all. Kablooey, explosion, blown up all very graphic words. This describes my pyrex dish saturday night.

Let me fill you in on my explosion. We had invited a couple over for dinner. I was making a ham dinner with mashed potatoes and veggies. Catherine was going to bring the dinner rolls, and i had made a peach pie. sounds yummy huh??

I put the ham in the oven and set it to bake at 350, unbeknownst to me, Brynden had walked by after me, and upped the temp to BROIL. The ham cooked like this for approx half an hour. and then there was a crash that sounded like something breaking. Boston comes rushing out and asks what happened. I responded by saying i dont know, what did you guys do?? He said, nothing. All scintillating conversation right?

Okay well, i look around the kitchen, i see nothing out of place. i walk back to the computer sit down and then i start smelling the ham, it was burning.

I rush into the kitchen open the oven and i see my ham, wrapped in foil and not in its dish. The dish was in pieces, like a MILLION pieces!! All over the oven, crunching together as i opened the oven door, it was a mess.

No pictures taken, it was too much of a madhouse, trying to finish dinner, and clean the oven, throw all the glass away from a 9x9 pan. Catherine thinks that Pyrex might have had a stamp on the bottom of the pan stating, do not broil. Sadly i do not know if that is true since the pyrex dish in question went kablooey in my oven.  Luckily it was safety glass so no cuts.

BTW the dinner turned out great!

Channeling Katelyn Hunt

Ok. For those of you who do not know Katelyn Hunt, she is special.


She is the pretty blond on the right. ( i know, they are all blonde and pretty, yes even Wade. But obviously I am talking about the mom in the picture) Introducing Katelyn, Tessa, Wade Hunt, previously of the Pagedale branch in saint louis.


Ok, Well settle in for a long story cause "Ricky" says i have some esplaining to do....


I first meet the Hunts at the pagedale branch about 3 years ago. I hate Katelyn at first sight. She is gorgeous, skinny, and has awesome fashion sense. All good reasons to hate her right? Well being the jealous creature i am, i didnt really talk to her the first six months. I felt awkward and bumbly. It was just easier to not make eye contact.... Then i was pulled in to the Yw program that she headed. Once i had to actually get to know her, I couldnt do much more than love her. She was all that i mentioned above, but what you couldnt actually see till you got to know her, was her spirit. She is amazing, loving, kind, classy, just the kind of person you would love to hate, but you just cant.


Of course then she left. The program crumpled (in my opinion) and the girls lashed out. We had a few unsuccessful presidencies after she left. Not that there was anything wrong with them or the youth, but just that there wasnt any melding. I have been a part of the program for the last 3 years going on four soon...... I never had a real integral part, but i was a constant constant, if you know what i mean. I finally got called to be the YW president and i was scared to say the least. I knew what had worked (katelyn) and what hadnt(everything else) and those were big shoes to fill even if she wears a size 5.


so this last year as president, the girls and i have been making great strides in overcoming the issues we had in the program. The girls have been excelling, maturing, just stepping it up. I cant take the credit. I am sure they would be this way without me. I can say that i try to project Katelyn's image. Now i am not skinny, white, blonde or wonderful like katelyn, but i do try to encompass the girls and protect them, help them to feel safe and open up like she has done. And so far i think it has worked. I have 2 women in mind when i am the YWpresident, Katelyn Hunt and Becky Rahm (stake Yw president), both are amazing women.


anyway back to the reason of the post, the background has been filled in, now onto channeling KH. Okay recently, i have been under personal (at least it has felt that way) attack by a member in my program. Originally it started as simple issues. Not teaching, not showing up, etc. Then it went to more core issues, that conflicted with the program i was providing for my young women. The parts of the program that were clearly april williams, and in my court. Which of course offended me. When confronted and told that i wasnt doing enough, i took a deep breath, sat up straight and channeled KH. In a very nice, polite tone, i told the member i was sorry they felt that way, and yadda yada yada.  Case closed right?


Wrong, after that meeting, i have felt at odds with this member because they are part of the YW program.  Instead of making snarky, sarcastic comments that are totally me, i have been gracious and polite. Inside its been difficult to be nice to someone who clearly paints me as the issue. so i have been skirting around it, just trying to keep it professional.


then last week i was verbally attacked again. This time not as the YW president, but as a helpful person, yes it was the same member. I took it personally and instead of allowing my texan fighting nature out, i channeled KH again. Breathed in and reminded myself, that even if she is in my car and being unbelievably rude to me when i am just trying to help....I am the YW president and must conduct myself as such. In went feisty bad mouthed april, out went KH (or the KH i believe would have responded, heck for all i know KH may have slapped the girl for her impertinence but, i chose to believe KH would have responded even toned, polite even! )


Now i  might not have felt good about taking it nicely, but i did feel good that i didnt lower myself. It could have gotten a bit like Jerry Springer in my car had it not been for KH.  I got an apology a few days later. This time i did not channel Katelyn. Sadly i just ignored the apology. I am still mad, and licking my wounds, plotting my revenge, which i am sure Katelyn would not do...... I have a lot to learn from my friend, Mrs. Hunt. But knowing her forgiving nature, i know she will forgive me for being me, and for channeling her! :)


wish me luck as this problem has not gone away.

Under construction

Well I obviously fell a bit by the wayside when it came to blogging my life in the last months of 2009. I could wrap it up for you but really you didn't miss much. I am sure 2010 will be a bigger and better year than 2009. I have updated the look of the blog, posted some more relevant pictures, all for your viewing pleasure.

I hope that you all had a safe new year, and wonderful holidays. I am blessed to have you as friends and family.

love,