ITS A BOY!

We actually got to take a sneak peak early to see if we were indeed having a boy or if we would be surprised and be having a girl (the perks of having Wil work for our OB's office) but we found out our feeling on it was right and boy number 3 is on his way! We are very excited! We were only 15 weeks along (it was before Thanksgiving) and weren't sure if we would be able to know for sure or not because he was so small but we were! I have my big ultra-sound scheduled soon so we will have more photos and video soon which we look forward to!

Our Trip To Twin Falls

We traveled to Twin Falls earlier this month to attend and enjoy my brother Andrew's sealing in the Twin Falls Temple. It was wonderful and a little crazy because of the fast pace of everything (that is just the way it is when you are trying to get everybody ready in time :) ) We enjoyed getting to be with family, and it was of course fun to get to stay in a hotel! :)

Halloween

(Click on picture to enlarge)
Better late than never...right??? Not feeling well because of "morning sickness" has added to my blogging delay and than my camera issue and well being a mother of three also plays a part! :) So I am sorry and here we go! :) P.S. Hyrum was Walle, Eliza was Little Miss Muffet and William was a pumpkin. It was very warm Halloween night, which is unusual for here, but it made it very nice for our short trick or treating! It was a fun night!

William's Latest News

Well there you have it Graham baby number 4 is on his way, and Due May 20th. Yes I say "his" because we think it will be a boy but we have been wrong before so time will tell! We are very excited. This picture was taken by my mom (Thank you Mom!). She and my Dad were able to visit us briefly and it was perfect timing. I used this opportunity to tell them in person rather than over the phone and this is the way we told them. I had Hyrum make a sign to put on William's back that said big brother. (Notice Hyrum's mispelling,"Big Borther" i love it! It just adds more character to all of this!) We can't believe our fourth child is on his way! We feel very blessed! I have not been as sick with this pregnancy. My nausea comes and goes rather than being constant. I do have trouble thinking of what to eat, and I have been extremely tired this time around but that seems to be improving a bit. So all is well and we hope it is the same with the rest of you out there!

William's first hair cut!

This along with all of my postings is, of course, late. I cut William's hair shortly after his first birthday! He has already had a second hair cut. I personally love how he looks with his hair cut! I will post some more recent pictures of him hopefully in the near future! (After my sick children are better! Hyrum was sick and home from school last week from Monday through Thursday and now Eliza is taking a turn. Hopefully it will stop with her!)

Hyrum's first day of School!

 

Hyrum was excited yet nervious on his first day of school. He was nervious because of the fact that he didn't know any one because we just moved to a different city. He has done so well though. We live too close to the school to be bussed which is just fine. We have enjoyed walking there. Some of the pictures in this collage were taken after school and on the way home. We are so happy that he loves to learn. He is a very smart boy and we are so pleased with him! Congratulations Hyrum! We love you!

William's First Birthday!

William turned one year on August 9th. We had just moved the week before and so things were very crazy and sadly enough he didn't get the fun traditional decorations. Also the frosting I made for the cake turned out too runny and I couldn't fix it because I ran out of powdered sugar and so I had to work with what I had. So the cake was quite shabby looking but the kids thought it was great so I guess that is all that matters. We actually ended up having our one serving and then we through away the whole rest of the cake! You can see in the pictures that William just went at the cake with his little fingers. He didn't like the feel of it on his fingers. We weren't prepared for him to do this and so unfortunately it wasn't captured on video or camera but the aftermath pictures are fun to have.

William is such a joy to have and he is such a happy, easy going baby, full of personality and faces! We love him!!! He always wants to be doing what brother and sister are doing. He also enjoys playing with toys on the floor and he entertains himself quite well. We feel very blessed!

Fourth of July in Durango, Colorado with the Grahams

This was a wonderful vacation full of family, fun and fireworks!! Thanks Mimi and Grampy!

Hyrum turns 6 years old!!

 

On July 12th, Hyrum turned 6 years old and requested a Walle party and so we partied!! We can't believe he is six years old! We love him so much. We feel blessed to have him in our family. He has so much personality, we love it! We love you, Hyrum!

A Beloved Sister

On July 8th, my beloved sister, Christina Farnsworth Mourant, was unexpectedly called, and obediently returned, home to our Heavenly Father. She was physically separated from her choice husband and two children, Rod, Maggie(5), and Andy(turned three 4 days after her passing). I say physically separated because her spirit is very much with them and will be until they are all reunited. She died in her home. They are assuming it had to be something to do with her heart since everything else looked just fine and her heart looked different. A witness of God's love and hand in the whole thing for me is that her husband was at home with her, even though he had gotten ready to go into work he just hadn't for no reason. And also that her children happened to go over to play at their neighbor's house and thus didn't witness her passing and the attempts to revive her. We miss her terribly but we have been miraculously blessed with comfort, peace and reassurance. I know that the Lord needed her and all her talents she individually holds as a whole, for service on the other side. She is a choice daughter of God and I feel so blessed to have her as my sister for eternity! I am grateful for the precious memories I have of her and the two of us growing up and getting married and becoming mothers to select spirit children of God together! Her desire and dream was to be a wife and mother, sealed in the temple of God and she fulfilled her dream and excelled in it! My heart aches for her and my arms look forward to embracing her again. I love you immensely, Chree!


Release the grudge and embrace the one it was against, for you don't know when your time will come, when you will have to wait a season to be able to embrace again!

Excited For School to Begin

From the heading of this post you are probably thinking I am talking about Hyrum, well guess again! Yup, I am talking about Wil! We have decided to have Wil go back to college and on last Wednesday we found out that he has been accepted and admitted to BYU-I!!!! Yes, we are so excited! We definitely won't be the traditional student with three kids and all, but we are looking forward to the adventure! Wil will most likely study Information Systems but he has yet to talk to a counselor to know if that is really what he is wanting but from the sounds of it that is his thing! He loves coming up with ways to organize companies through modern technologies and he is talented in programming and all of that so we will see what happens there! We will be moving mid-end of summer. (Even though Wil probably won't start college classes until January, we wanted to move in time for Hyrum to start the first grade at his new school!) So there you have our latest exciting news! I will keep you posted on the details! :)

Some days...

...this is how I feel! Our children are very animated and the faces they pull crack us up!

 

(Sorry this is frustratingly blurry, but I still had to put it on!)

Hyrum Loves To Read

 

 

William just adores Hyrum and gets so excited when he gets home from school! It is adorable!

 

 

Hyrum has just done so great in kindergarten this year and has really enjoyed math and reading! It has been so fun to watch him learn how to read and get excited about it. It started off with him reading store signs as we drove in the car to reading full sentences and reading them fast! The sentence part just seemed to happen over night. (Although time is flying so that could have helped the reason why I feel that way!) He is a smart boy whom we love so much!

How can we resist...

 

These CHEEKS! This is what i do all day long, when Liza isn't having a turn.

Eliza Turns 3 Years Old!

Eliza turned three on April 5th (sorry it has taken me so long to post!) and we had a fun family party after the general priesthood session of conference. I think she was looking forward to her cake, most of all, but really got into and enjoyed ripping open her many presents! She chose what she wanted on her cake, which is a tradition in our little family (unless it is too extravagant then I help them think of something else ;) ) I can't believe she is already three! Some things she is into right now are: Heffalump, Enchanted (she and Hyrum act out this movie all the time), smelling everything (in one of her pictures she is smelling her cake), and helping me "clean and shop" as she puts it! A funny story: the other day she was rubbing some heavy duty moisturizer on my hands for me and after rubbing it on my thumbs she says, "Now don't suck your thumbs, K??" Can you guess who sucks their thumbs? I wish I could remember more of the things she has said lately because they crack me up! Last night during family home evening she was having her turn leading the music and in the middle of it she goes from dramatically leading it to dancing it, with a grand finalle of closing the song with two arms just as a conducter would. She cracks us up! The song was "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet".

Tips For Earthquake Safety

I thought this was great information and because i didn't see it on Real TV I figured there were others out there who also haven't heard it! I think this should be taught in schools and everywhere! It should be well known, just like the falsehood of getting under something is so well known. So here you have it!

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"
My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of theAmerican Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teamsfrom 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am amember of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life".The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building.
TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in duringan earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brickbuildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries butless squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simplyroll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve amuch greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting outthe door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next toa sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse iskilled. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward orbackward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment offrequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building).The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into eachother until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who geton stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horriblymutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from thestairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if thestairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later whenoverloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather thanthe interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of thebuilding the greater the probability that your escape route will beblocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above fallsin an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happenedwith the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims ofthe San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They wereall killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting orlying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they hadbeen able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All thecrushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that hadcolumns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper officesand other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.Spread the word and save someone's life...
The Entire world isexperiencing natural calamities so be prepared!
"We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly"
In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University ofIstanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientifictest. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my"triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe , and it was seen in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV

Our Teddy Bear

Here is our "teddy bear", which I love to hold! William is 6 months here. (taken January, 15th)

And here he is with his wonderful sidekicks!

I took this picture after I came inside from waiting, with little Wil, for Hyrum's school bus to arrive. Eliza was napping but woke up shortly after we came in and so I had to take these pictures of the kids. I just love this little bear coat, and the little one wearing it! Can you tell William is teething??? He likes to chew on his lip and his tongue and anything else he can get in his mouth!

Marble Racing!

Here we are enjoying our Marble Racing Game the kid's got for Christmas. It was a blast...for all of us! We enjoyed the racing as well as the setting it up! Oh the possibilities! These pictures were taken back in January. Even though Wiliam is not featured in any of these photo's he was there and awake watching from his carseat that was set on the table, as close to the action he could get with out actually participating! Oh What fun times!

William's Arrival : 08-09-07

Here is a picture of me in some of the last days before his arrival.

And here they all are, our three WONDERFUL children! We are so happy to be their parents!

William's arrival went very well and everything has been peachy ever since! He is a wonderful little boy who is laid back, patient and happy! (to see weight, length and all that scroll down to bottom of blog and see earlier post)

Here is big sister who adjusted very well to it all and is his little mommy...or tries to be, at times anyway. She really treats him well and means well always! When they came to visit me that night in the hospital, for the fist time, she didn't want me to stay in bed. She didn't like that I was in the bed. It took some coaxing to get her up into the bed and when it was time for them to go she kept telling me to get out of bed and "come on!" Poor girlies didn't understand! Oh she is soooooo sweet!

Here is the happy big brother, Hyrum. He is such a great helper and William just adores him. William will watch Hyrum if he is ever around and smile or laugh away at him. Hyrum is always willing to watch William if I need him to and on many occasions have watched over him with out being asked to and the only reason why I know this is because he will give me a random, unexpected report of how Little Wil is doing!

Here are the boys of our family! Daddy was such a support to me and our little family. We are so grateful to have him as the head of our family!

Hyrum's first days of School : August 16, 2007

Here he is so excited and ready to start his new adventure! He is so CUTE!

This is our first family picture with William out of my belly. He was only a week old when school started! To say the least it was some busy, exciting, and emotional few weeks...for all of us! This picture is taken on Hyrum's first day and is on our back deck.

Hyrum's backpack he loves getting to wear!

This picture was taken on the third day of school when he rode the bus for the first time! He absolutely loves riding the bus and he has a great bus driver, who is always excited to see him. He is wearing a tag that tells everyone what bus he is suppose to ride and who his teacher is. They had all the kindergartners wear them and they suggested doing so for the first week. Well mommy and daddy needed the comfort of having him wear it for more like 2 + weeks and because of the honkin' size of the original signs mommy ended up making her own smaller signs...in hopes of bring less attention to her security blanket! :) Plus it was getting in the way of his backpack straps!

Pumpkin Carving : 2007

Here we are carving pumpkins and having fun doing so! We had the children draw a face on their pumpkins and then, to the best of our ability, we carved them out! Little Wil even had a pumpkin of his own! What fun times and memories!

Grahams winter 2007