Conversations with an almost 3 year old

Jena as always has given us lots of material for the blog. Her latest obsession is birthdays. Since her friend Caden's birthday in October she has been asking about her birthday. It is quite cute to hear her plan her guest list and talk about her birthday. Most recently she came in with two blocks. She said they were cakes. One is blue for her birthday and the other is pink for Piper and Quinn's birthday. Blue is her favorite color because it is Cinderella's color. Then she said, "This cake is all for me. And this cake is for Piper and Quinn. They can't have mine." I guess we still need to work on sharing.

Every morning for breakfast Jena has cereal. She is very specific when she asks for it. Cereal with milk in a bowl and a spoon, and milk in a sippy cup. This is so funny to me because it reminds me of when my friend Scott was a missiler in the Air Force. When he was in the silo the kitchen would bring down food to him because he wasn't allowed to leave. The cooks made him be very specific in his ordering. If he wanted cereal and milk, he had to say it otherwise he would get dry cereal. And he had to tell them what utensils he needed or they would bring them. So I guess Jena is ready for the Air Force because she came up with that all on her own.

Yesterday she showed she was a true Williams. I have heard tons of stories about Roger and his siblings smiling while lying through their teeth about something. Well, yesterday I was in the kitchen and I heard the chimes that sound when the door opens. I called for Jena when I heard it and she responded "I'm not opening the door." I heard the sound again and came into the living room to see her standing there, door open, her hand on the door knob. She just looked up at me and smiled "I'm not opening the door, Mama."

Doctor's visit

We had Lily's doctor's visit yesterday. Dr Neff said she looks great. The nurse was concerned about her weight because she feel off the chart, but I told her I had small kids and she did gain a whole pound. She was gaining 2 lbs and growing 1 inch every two months. This time she gained 1 lb and grew 2 inches. I guess all of her energy when in to getting taller. She is now 50% for height where she was 30% before. She is 13 lbs and 25.5 inches tall.

Snow Day Con't

We made it over to the Nelson's. We found them outside playing in their backyard when we got there. Soon, Roger and Jena joined in the fun while Lily and I warmed up inside with Rebecca.



We had quite a day complete with indoor and outdoor play. All the kids kept asking about Christmas. They were a little confused because all the stories talk about snow and Christmas, so they thought it was Christmas again. That's what happens when you live in the south.


We tried to get a picture of them all together in the snow. This was the best one. They are still a little young to get that "perfect" picture.

Here we are getting ready to leave. As you can see, it was a really good snow. They said the average was about 5 inches here in Fayetteville. It stuck really well to the trees and bushes. It was starting to melt this afternoon and they say it will be gone tomorrow.

Snow Day!

We woke up today to snow! I was surprised we actually had quite a bit and it is still snowing. Because Roger is on clinic this month (no patients staying in the hospital) he actually got the day off because they closed the clinics at Womack. He was so excited he woke Jena up early and we all went outside to playing in the snow.

Jena loved the snow! She could barely eat her breakfast because she wanted to go out and play.

Lily even got in on the act! She won't remember it, but we have pictures of her first snow!

The snow is still coming down pretty good. It is surprising how much we have. Everything is closed today, but I think we are going to go over to the Nelson's for a previously scheduled play date since the roads don't look too bad and it is above freezing.

6 Months!

It is hard to believe, but our baby girl Lily is now 6 months! It has been a great 6 months for us as a family of four. Lily's favorite activities are watching her big sister, rolling over, laughing and eating! She starts laughing at just the sight of Jena or Hershey. They are all so funny to watch. She is getting so big it is hard to believe. She is in six month and nine month clothes, depending on the brand. She started cereal a few weeks ago and fruits this week. She has her doctor's appointment on Friday, so I'll post her weight and length then.

Looking back

It is hard to believe that Roger and I have been married for 15 years, but it is true. When we got married in 1993, we were 19 and Roger was an E-3 in the Signal Corp of the Army. Now he is a Captain in the Medical Corp. Of our 15 years of marriage, Roger was active duty for 7 and reserve for 4. The Army has moved us five times. Together we have lived in three cities, two apartments and three houses. We spent one year apart when Roger was in Korea. Since we have been married we have visited 6 foreign countries and almost half of the US States. Together we weathered getting out of the Army, college, new jobs, medical school, going back in the Army and of course parenthood.

Our lives are vastly different now 15 years later. In 1993 a personal computer cost over $2000 new, so we did not own one. Now we own three. No one we knew had cell phones, now we each have one along with over 60% of the world. When we got married we had one car, a Plymouth Sundance that was 5 years old. Now we have an 8 year old Saturn and a 4 year old Honda CRV. Funny though, our insurance is about half it was then. When we got married we lived in a one bedroom duplex that was about 500 square feet and now we live in a 2000 sq foot 4 bedroom house with a two car garage.

When we got married we each had three grandparents that were living. All of Roger's grandparents are gone now and we lost my Grandpa Counsell 5 years ago. Both of our fathers were with us 15 years ago and now they are both gone. My dad didn't see me finish graduate school but Roger's dad did get to see him receive his MD.

I had a year and a half of college when we got married. Roger had not started yet. Now between the two of us we have five degrees. Roger started classes while in Korea after being encouraged to start classes by his buddy Paul. He finished his AS while he was still in the Army, with Honors of course. All told, he has taken classes from five colleges. I have taken classes from two, receiving both degrees from Augusta State.

We have two children now. Just like we planned, only not in the way we planned at all. Jena was born five years after we started trying. We thought we'd be arguing about whether or not to have a third child instead we were having our first. Over four years we saw four doctors and tried several medications. Finally after surgery, we were pregnant with Jena. Lily, on the other hand, came with no help at all. I imagine this is why they personalities are so different. Jena is quite intense while Lily is very laid back. But even though it didn't happen the way we planned, I'm not sure I would have changed any of it. I learned a lot about myself in the process and the girls are great just how they are.

I would say our life is vastly different from how we thought it would be when we got married. At that point I wanted to be a lawyer and continue working after I had children. I'm not exactly sure when I decided I would take a different career path. I guess I really loved my business classes and lost interest in the law. I decided to take a break from work after Jena was born. I'm sure my younger self would question that decision but it is one I have no regrets about.

Roger wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to do with his life at first. He told me he wanted to be a doctor during the first year of our marriage. While he had never said it out load, it didn't surprise me. Neither one of us had any idea how hard that path would be for both of us. It wasn't a straight path for Roger, but I think the turns along the way have helped him to be a better doctor. While medicine was always the plan, Army medicine was not. But in the end neither of us could imagine Roger in another program.

So, here we are 15 years later. A little older, a lot grayer. We have both grown up a lot. Life has a funny way of making that happen. We have been through a lot, both good and bad. And all of these things have made us the people we are today.