The Grahams

Mother's Day 2011

2011-07-19T10:11:00.000-06:00

I am so grateful to be a mother-espescially to these wonderful people! I love them so much! And I love that Wil desires and provides the way that I can stay home with them and be their mother in every sense of the word! Thank you, Babe! I love my family!

Father's Day 2011

2011-07-19T09:53:00.001-06:00

I am so grateful to have such a father as Wil is! He is very dedicated to leading our family in rightousness, and is so much fun! Many of you have not seen his funny-ness! He cracks us up. Many dinner hours have been filled with laughter because of Daddy. WE love you Daddy!

Lucy

2011-07-18T23:42:00.004-06:00

Lucy Graham joined our family on June 23, and we are so happy to have her in our arms! She was (and still is) very small, she only weighed 6lb 4oz (our smallest by far!) was 18 in. long with a 13 1/4 cm head circumference. The delivery went great! (I was induced, for scheduling sake- Wil was still on track/school) On her way out though she scratched her face pretty good with three of her fingernails. It was sad and it got a lot of attention by her siblings. "Poor Lucy!" They all adore her and want to help and hold her, often -they are a big help! It was fun for me when they came to the hospital after she was born to see her for the first time. They were all so interested in all of her! They also brought her and me gifts, every time they came to the hospital. They were homemade gifts, or something found in the house-I just love it! My mom came to help us and stayed for about ten days! We are so grateful she did! She was a big help and did a lot of fun park outings with the kids, and they were very sad to see her go! We love you Nana, and thank you SOOOO much! Lucy is so very sweet, and easy going, and handles the craziness of this house quite well! WE LOVE LUCY! (These pictures range from four days before she was born (me on Father's day) to Lucy being about three weeks old.)

Eliza's Birthday (I am very late posting this!)

2011-05-13T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here are pictures of Eliza's day. She was so happy that it was her day and she enjoyed it! For school I made cake balls for her class and she got to pass them out to each child. Then on the way home, on the bus, they sang to her. She requested lasagna for dinner, so that is what we ate and then we opened presents and had cake and ice cream. It was a great day and we are so happy to have Eliza in our family! It would be so different with out her. We love you, Pony! :)

5 in 1

2011-05-13T16:06:00.004-06:00

So we have been asked the question more than once, "Where is the baby going to sleep?" We live in a basement apartment because Wil is in school and it is much more affordable! We have been blessed with a large basement apartment that we have lived in during the whole time we have lived in this town. We have three bedrooms and 1 bath. Before now we had all of the children in one room with the extra room for our food storage/small guest room. Well all of the children are still in one room but we re-arranged their bedroom about a month ago in order to fit all five of them, once the baby is a few months old! We purchased a twin mattress and a bunkboard in order to make it work and the children love it! :) I am so grateful for a large room that they can all fit into! :) I am sure they will all have many memories of sharing this room for years to come! I really like the new arrangement. It feels more open. :)

My Birthday Song

2011-05-08T19:55:00.002-06:00

I love this video, but I love those singing it the best! I am so blessed!

5 Little Monkeys

2011-02-17T21:53:00.002-07:00

Brigham has been very into babies lately and has his own baby he takes to bed with him but come the end of June we will have a real baby for him to hold! Five little Grahams! And more than that Hyrum and Eliza's finger crossings paid off because on Tuesday the 15th we found out that it is a GIRL!! We are all so thrilled! Everything looks great and I am feeling great! It was a rough first 3 and a half months or so but we are past that now and enjoying the anticipation of a new little spirit joining our family, a little princess!

Our First Half of 2010

2010-10-26T23:18:00.002-06:00

Well here is a major catch-up post but oh well. This takes you from January through June. Hyrum's 3rd place was for his Valentines box he made (an Up house). Eliza's 5th Birthday Princess Party and cake. My best friends Em and Em were able to come and visit, great times! Eliza made me a chain on my birthday (one chain on my day:)) and volunteered to help make my cake. My wonderful upstairs neighbor (then, they have since moved :( Luckily we've been blessed again with our new neighbors!) had my kids help her make a piniata for Cinco De Mayo and Eliza broke it open! Hyrum's Princess and the frog hat for Professer Faciliare (sp?) For Mother's Day my mom and brother and his wife, Karen came to visit us! Good times! Thanks you three. Brigham turned one year, and Wil's parents sent him a teddy bear with balloons and it was a hit! More of Hyrum's Drawings, he has got a talent! I made homemade noodles, it was fun! New Chore Chart. Hyrum and Eliza got into Safety Patrol kids and made badges and all and when we walked to a store down main street one summer morning they kept us safe! :) We took a day trip up to West yellowstone and had a picnic in the forest and went to a train museum and also got to go into an old train car! It was so much fun! And that is the first half of our year in a nutshell, oh and I should have had a picture of Wil studying and doing homework which is what occupied so much of his time! He worked so hard and it paid off! Great job Babe, your grades show it! :) I am such a blessed daughter of God!

Scissors and 12 inches later!!!

2010-05-26T20:04:00.006-06:00

I finally took the big step and thanks to my mom, who came to visit us over Mother's day weekend , cut my hair! And I am loving it! She did a great job and I am glad she was there, with me for it all. :) (It has been three weeks but I am just getting to posting it, but what's new?) (the last three pictures were taken on my computer camera and so it is a mirror image and flip-flopped as far as my part goes)

Our January 2010

2010-03-28T00:41:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year! We finally purchased a sled, or two actually, so we could have some fun for most of the year since it seems that winter lasts most of the year here! :) So luckily our neighbors have a little hill that the kids and I sled down right on to our driveway from. All while Brigham slept in his crib, it was great! We loved it! Eliza is my big helper and here are some pictures to prove it! I love her so much and am so glad to have her as my girl! You might notice the paradise falls homemade poster in the background, well that is Hyrum's and it has been every thing UP lately around here and I love his excitement over it! Also this month was Snowfest here in our town they have a festival to celebrate and participate in snow activities and so the kids and I went to it. It was fun, full of another sleigh ride and snow bowling and treasure hunting in the snow, and some sledding of course! But it had to come to an end and well William wasn't too happy about that. We also had some good friends over and they brought a fun meal for the kids. It was octopi on the reef! They know how much Hyrum LOVES octopi and thought of him when they saw this idea in a magazine. Thank you guys!

Our December 2009

2010-03-28T00:11:00.002-06:00

December is always a fun month but for Brigham at the beginning it wasn't so fun because he had some immunizations and that is never fun! We got to go and visit a dear friend and her family while our van had it's mandatory warranty check, we had a great time! Wil had his birthday, hurray! Hyrum had his Christmas program at school which was so fun to watch. He had a lead role in leading all of his class in a dance he made up for their Hanuka song. He cracks us up! We went for a sleigh ride in the very cold winter weather I think it was in the teens and then we had complimentary hot cocoa which was very welcomed! Actually the sleigh ride was free too so a wonderful activity for a poor college family of six! :) Hyrum had a turn at driving the team until one of the horses wanted to start running and well, the driver took over thankfully! :) He was going to let Eliza have a turn but the one horse really wasn't co-operating. Then we had our traditional Mexican dinner for Christmas eve and our traditional cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, homemade this year instead of Rhodes Rolls. I made one batch peppermint white chocolate and the other regular gooey goodness! Yum! Oh and our Mexican dinner consisted of Chili con Carne(pictured)that Wil made by scratch and then Wil's salsa and quesadillas, tacos, and taquitos. I also made Cheesy potato soup another tradition on Christmas day or I might have actually ended up doing it the day after, I can't remember. It was a lovely holiday and we feel so blessed!

Our November 2009

2010-03-27T23:11:00.003-06:00

For thanksgiving Wil and I enjoyed baking and cooking all day together and because it was only our little family together for Thanksgiving we ate "thanksgiving dinner" for many days! But oh, was it yummy, and so much fun to have Daddy at home for the whole day! We also purchased our live Christmas tree at the end of the month and the children were loving it! The last picture is missing Brigham's stocking but that wasn't for long! My mom MAKES all of the grandchildrens' stockings and she sent us Brigham's shortly after this was taken.

Our October of 2009

2010-03-27T23:01:00.002-06:00

There are a lot of Brigham pictures in here but that is because he is growing so quickly, besides he is just so cute! We had a fun and unique Halloween this year, my brother and sister-in-law came and visited us! We had a fun cake walk and pizza. We then got the children dressed in their costumes which were a hit(thanks Mimi and Grampy)! Then because of the hour and the weather we decided to trick-or-treat down our hallway with all four of us adults taking a room! It was very fun for all of us and though I worried how they would take it (not going out and all) it ended up being a big success for all involved! Then we let the children watch a video while we adults played one of my favorite games Moods! It was of course a blast! Thanks Drew and Karen for the fun and memories you helped us create!

8 Wonderful Years!!

2009-10-05T09:26:00.003-06:00

Eight years ago Wil and I were sealed for eternity! I can't believe it has already been eight years! I treasure our relationship and feel so blessed to be sealed to one of Heavenly Father's choice sons! I love you hunny and am so thankful to you for what you have molded our family into because of your desire to follow the will of our Father! I love how sentimental you are and thank you for making me feel so special and important! For those of you who don't know, when Wil first kissed me (this being a first for both of us) he stood me up on a rock to do so. He then took that rock, with out me knowing, to a look out in one of the canyons in Utah and at sunrise he stood me up on this rock and proposed to me! He gave me two rocks that day, the one on my finger and the one outside of our home right now! Yep, we have moved that rock with us where ever we have gone and it is heavy! I love you babe! Here's to eternity!

Brigham's Blessing Weekend

2009-10-04T20:29:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful weekend full of family, food and fun! Our good friends Tanner and Bryan were able to come, which was a blessing because shortly there after they left on their missions! Mimi & Grampy (Wil's parents) and Nana & Papa (my parents) were both able to come and were so helpful! The kids were in heaven! We all went to see UP at the movie theater on Saturday, which we all enjoyed! Well enjoy the late pictures! :)

Brigham's 2nd & 3rd week

2009-07-23T19:27:00.003-06:00

You'll see in these photos how much William loves to hold his little brother. He will get up by me on the couch and say "hold, hold!" In these pictures he was holding Brigham and saw his water at the end of the bed and needed a drink so he "drops" Brigham and rushes to get his water and then was back again to "hold, hold"! He is so funny! I am glad he was only inches above the pillow. Brigham has an adorable dimple on his left cheek, which you can see in some of these photos.

Brigham's First Week!

2009-07-22T21:55:00.002-06:00

Brigham had a very warm welcome home by his loving brothers and sister! My mom was able to come help for a week and a half! She came the night before we were to be induced and stayed until the following Saturday and said she would stay longer if we needed her to but we were doing quite well! She served and served and never ceased serving! It was so nice to have her here. The children thought it was great and Wil and I were extra grateful since he had to press forward with school and wasn't able to give me his usual wonderful help after bringing home a baby. While she was here we made homemade corn tortillas, which was fun. Brigham had jaundice pretty bad and we had to have a billi-blanket for a few days. We had to take him to the hospital every day to get his billiruben count checked and they had to poke his heel every time. It was sad, his poor tiny heels! I was VERY grateful that the hospital is less than a block from our house. That made the multiple trips not so daunting. We tried getting him into the sunlight as much as possible before we were prescribed the billi-blanket because we could tell he was looking jaundice. There is a picture in here that looks like William has a very jealous face but I think he was either frustrated at Hyrum or something because he has been so gentle and loving to Brigham ever since he came home! But it makes for a funny picture! That is just another sample of the faces that boy pulls!

Our Hyrum (catching up #6)

2009-07-16T00:16:00.002-06:00

Hyrum finished first grade at the end of May and has lost four teeth and loves having another little sibling in our home and family! He has such a tender heart. Several times since Brigham has been born I will find him tearing up or wiping tears away and will ask him what is wrong and he will say something like, "Brigham is just so cute." Or he will come to me and tell me how glad he is we have little Brigham (As he wipes his eyes and smiles). He still loves drawing and pretending, always pretending! We just love him so much! Oh and he and Eliza enjoy sharing their testimonies in Sacrament meeting. They do a beautiful job all by themselves and we enjoy seeing them think about it and take there time while they are up there. We feel so blessed to be the parents of our four children!

Our Eliza (Catching up #5)

2009-07-07T00:26:00.004-06:00

OH we just love this "Girlees" (another nick-name)!!! Eliza is our girl all the way! She loves nails and hair and clothes and she knows what she wants in all these areas and doesn't like to budge in her fashion views! :)She is getting so big. She knows how to do her own hair into a pony tail and she enjoys being independent. She chooses all of her outfits and does pretty well too! On my birthday she did the dishes for me. She is very sweet and helpful! We are so glad she is in our family! She also enjoyed preschool this summer and there is a picture in here with her and her teacher on her first day.

Our William (Catching up #4)

2009-07-07T00:03:00.003-06:00

These are a few more pictures of William and a glimpse of his easy-going, fun and full personality! WE love him so much!

William loves animals and thus this books is one of his favorites. William has so much personality (like the others) and pulls some very funny faces. Here are just a few and i hope to get more of them posted in the future! Also take a look at his teeth. On the bottom one of his teeth either split while under in the gum or there are two teeth in one space. Can you see it?

"Reading Charles" (Catching up #3)

2009-07-06T23:48:00.002-06:00

The title of this post is a movie quote. Who can tell me what movie it is from? :) One of Hyrum's nicknames is Charles. Why, you might ask???? I would have to ask Wil and make sure I remember it correctly since Wil is the head nick-namer around here, before I post the answer to that question. Anyway Hyrum will sometimes read books to Eliza. I believe Eliza chose Snow White this time. These were taken back in April.

Fun in the park (catching up #2)

2009-07-06T23:16:00.002-06:00

Back on April 6th it was a warmer day here (you can still see some snow in the shadowy parts). So on the way home from running some errands we stopped at the park and got some energy out! The kids had fun racing and enjoying an unbirthday gift given to Hyrum on Eliza's birthday from some dear friends of ours.

Bowling Fun (Catching up #1)

2009-07-06T22:56:00.002-06:00

We finally went bowling as a family back in early May. It was very fun! The children did better than Wil and I, they are pros! (the bumpers might have helped them a little :)) We all really enjoyed spending this fun bowling experience with each other!

Brigham Tanner Graham

2009-05-17T14:44:00.002-06:00

Statistics......
May 15, 2009 11:35pm
Head: 14.5" (He's gonna be smart!)
Weight: 7 lbs., 15 oz.
Length: 20.25"

Eliza's Birthday!!!!

2009-04-14T21:34:00.004-06:00

Wow Eliza is now four years old, full of sweetness and personality! We love her so much and are so glad to have her in our family! For her birthday we had some friends come over to celebrate with us and to bid them farewell as they were moving that week! It was fun to have others over to celebrate Eliza's special day with us seeing as how family is too far away for such parties. We love you Eliza!

William's Watercolors

2009-03-19T22:22:00.002-06:00

William got to experience his first painting art project a while ago and he really enjoyed it! I love his concentration when putting on the brush cap.

Random Photo Shoot

2009-03-19T21:03:00.002-06:00

The other day Hyrum and Eliza were looking at a book together and I thought it would be a cute photo and so I stopped making dinner for the moment and played! (I love how in most all of the pictures you can find personality traits, like Eliza playing with her toes.)

Airplane ride anyone?

2009-03-19T20:30:00.000-06:00

Hyrum has been into airplanes lately and asked if he could use our little paper cups to make himself into an airplane. I love his creativity! Eliza saw how fun it was and joined in. So here are our airplanes.

Snow Festival!

2009-02-10T21:48:00.003-07:00

The kids and I went to the snow festival here a few Saturdays ago and had a lot of fun in the snow! Or at least on top of it! :) Daddy wasn't able to come and we missed having him. Hyrum and Eliza did great though and really enjoyed getting out! It was at the city park near our home and so instead of driving there and then pulling the stroller out I decided it would be easier just to walk there. It was a bit tricky tracking through the snow with the stroller but Hyrum would help me when we got stuck. William wasn't so sure about the trip at the beginning seeing as all he did was sit in the stroller and freeze but he perked up and didn't want to leave once we got to the sleigh ride part where there were several horses to look at and watch move and make noises! We didn't go on a ride although the children would have enjoyed it but I wasn't sure what I would have done with all of our stuff (stroller, etc.) if we went on it. Also the line was a little long at the time. We did end up watching them go by, while we sipped our hot chocolate. William didn't want to go when it was time to leave because he wanted to keep watching the horses go by! Hyrum and Eliza loved the sledding and snow bowling. Eliza did go sledding but I had to help her (she went down on my lap) and so there are no pictures of that! I think it was very successful seeing that no one had to go potty while we were there and that the children behaved and obeyed me very well! P.S. William has one purple mitten on and one blue one on. We were in a hurry to get there right when it started to avoid too many people and long lines (which worked by the way) and so there was no time to worry about fashion for the toddler! :)

New Year's Day

2009-02-10T20:36:00.002-07:00

Better late than never here are some photos of us enjoying breakfast at a cafe. The only lidded cups they have are styrofoam coffee cups and so no we are not giving our children coffee here! :) We had fun! Happy new years...late! :)

Hyrum enjoyed hot chocolate!

School Has Started!

2009-01-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Wil is now in his first semester and loving it! He is definitely busy and has a LOT on his plate, being a student, employee, father, and husband, but he just feels overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to attend college! Dinner time has become so cherished by us because that is our time together to visit and get to enjoy our little family together! The homework load is heavier than I thought it would be but all will work out just the way it needs to - as long as we do our part!

Marble Racing

2009-01-17T12:12:00.001-07:00

We don't play with this as much as we should but while William was napping the other day I let the children play with it. They did great!

Tacos!!!

2009-01-17T11:43:00.002-07:00

We found out not long ago that William likes to eat tacos, just like everyone else! It is so cute I just love it! William is at a fun stage in life where there are so many new things to try! (Hence so many posts of William, so many new things to show off!)

Blast-off!

2009-01-16T21:54:00.003-07:00

William loves Little Einstiens and he even pat-pats and blast-offs just like the movie tells him to!

William loves to brush his teeth!

2009-01-16T21:41:00.002-07:00

(His sad faces are becauase he can't get down from the stool with out help!)

"Playing" At The Park

2009-01-16T21:11:00.000-07:00

So the other day Eliza asked permission to go and play at the park. Because there had been no new snow for a while and because we don't get out of the house much I thought that I could ablige her and that we could go for a few minutes before we picked Hyrum up from school. Well my little vision of letting the kids swing and slide at the park was very different from reality! When we got there, (we were the only ones there for reasons we soon discovered) we first found they hadn't shoveled any paths that lead to the play ground equipment. So I was carrying William and holding on to Eliza's hand and trying not to fall while trecking through the old 8-10 inch deep snow (I did not have my snow boots on)! When we finally made it to the swings I unloaded William into a bucket seat first then went to assist Eliza. Well Eliza's snow boots were too big and bulcky for a bucket seat swing and by this time William was not happy and was wanting out! So I decided we would go back to the slide area and I would let Eliza slide down once and then we would go back to the van for warmth and also to pick-up Hyrum and the others (it was my week for carpooling) because I knew it must be getting close to that time. Well sure enough by the time I got us all back to the van we were past pick-up time and as I started the van I got the call informing me that the children were waiting for me and wondering where I was! So too bad it wasn't more fun but I guess I should put more reality into my visions before making final decisions.

William was cold and thus not happy to be at the park! I don't blame him!

ITS A BOY!

2008-12-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-12-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-12-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-10-15T11:31:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-09-22T14:59:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-09-15T13:05:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-09-15T10:09:00.000-06:00

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

2008-09-15T09:25:00.000-06:00

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

Hyrum turns 6 years old!!

2008-09-05T21:10:00.000-06:00

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

2008-09-02T21:43:00.000-06:00

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

2008-06-23T16:22:00.000-06:00

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...

2008-05-23T23:38:00.000-06:00

...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

2008-05-23T23:29:00.000-06:00

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...

2008-05-22T23:40:00.000-06:00

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

Eliza Turns 3 Years Old!

2008-05-20T21:37:00.001-06:00

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

2008-05-13T12:13:00.000-06:00

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

2008-03-12T10:35:00.000-06:00

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!

2008-03-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

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

2008-01-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

Wiliam

2007-11-02T11:57:00.001-06:00

William Tod Graham III arrived August 9, 2007 at 5:12 PM! He was 7lbs 12oz and 19.5 inches long and very healthy! He is growing so fast and wieghs over 12 lbs now and is our third bundle of joy, we are so glad to have! He has a sweet personality and likes to "tell" us how he is doing! He doesn't cry much but instead goos and gaws. We all love him to pieces!

Here we go!

2007-10-05T10:06:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our blog! Keep watching as we get it going!
We thought we'd establish our blog on the anniversary of establishing us! Six years of love and bliss with eternity to go!