Baby Boy Williams

We found out we were pregnant in mid July 2015. We had told our parents and a couple of close friends and that was it. Early August, I got a call that something had happened to Kip's grandfather, Bob-Bob. Kip was already at the farm where Bob-Bob was working. I had just got home from work and was relaxing because making a baby is hard work! hahaha! But seriously, I was EXHAUSTED! My mother in law called. As soon as I talked to her, I hurried to the farm. Bob-Bob had a heart attack while driving back from getting food for the cows and died instantly. It was so heartbreaking!! For the past ten years, he had treated me like his own granddaughter, and I think many people would say the same! He loved his family so much! I have so many sweet memories of him but the ones I cherish the most are the times Kip and I would go spend the evening with him and Babe, Kip's grandmother having dinner and playing dominoes! 

Bob-Bob's full name is Bobby Gene. When we first found out we were pregnant, we talked about names. We were pretty set on Tripp for a boy, we just couldn't agree on a girl name. The next day after Bob-Bob passed away, it hit me...if we have a boy I wanted to name him Bentley Gene, after Kip's grandfather. We hadn't talked about any other boy names...we were pretty set on it being Tripp. I didn't mention it to Kip...I wanted to wait until things settled down. That night, Kip said, "You know I've been thinking, if it's a boy, what do you think about the name Bentley Gene?" TEARS I TELL YOU! From that moment on....at 8 weeks pregnant, I knew that baby was a boy!

The First 20 Weeks

I really hate that I didn't blog during my pregnancy! I'm going to try my best to remember what I can about my first 20 weeks of pregnancy!

The first trimester, I was cramping, had low back pain, and sciatic nerve pain most of the 12 weeks. The pain was mostly like normal menstrual pain...like when your period is about to start. That lasted most of the first trimester. I didn't really have much morning sickness or food aversions. The only thing that bothered me was BBQ. I couldn't see it, smell it, or eat it! I craved bacon cheese fries from Struts a lot! We got to see our sweet baby for the first time at 8 weeks and again at 12 weeks. Dr. Frederick couldn't get a heartbeat at our 12 week appointment, so she ordered an ultrasound. I was a NERVOUS wreck! So scared that something had happened! All was great and it just gave me another chance to see that sweet thing!

12 weeks!

After our 12 week appointment, we made our "Facebook Official" announcement...most of our family and friends already knew, but we wanted to wait until after the 1st trimester to spread it to the Facebook world. Here is our announcement: 

The 2nd trimester, I don't remember much about it...I think I felt pretty normal! We did find out the sex of the baby at 20 weeks! We had a gender reveal party at our house with Krispy Kreme doughnuts with blue icing inside.

Sweet baby Williams is a BOY! Now...what did we name him? There is a special story about how he got his name. Blog post to come! 

Williams Party of 3!

On Thursday, July 16th, our world forever changed. Now bear with me as I tell this story. I want to remember this forever, so that is why I write lots of details that I am sure NO ONE but myself cares about! :)

I had been feeling a little weird for a couple of days. I knew my monthly visitor was scheduled to arrive any time so I chalked it up as menstrual pains, even though deep down, I knew something else was up. People say you "know" when you are pregnant, and I had that feeling. I didn't mention anything to Kip, because I was scared but excited. We hadn't really "planned" this. The curiosity got the best of me, so on my lunch break at work, I went and bought a test. I was so nervous that I dropped the test in the toilet before I ever even sat down. I thought...what the heck...I will try it anyway. And lo and behold, a PLUS sign. I convinced myself it was probably because it had gotten wet before taking the test and went on with my day. When I got home from work that evening, I decided to take the other test. A very distinct PLUS sign. I had BIG dreams to surprise Kip with the news when we did finally have kids, but as soon as he walked in the door I started crying and said "I'm pregnant!" His response: Are you sure? Maybe its a false positive. I continued to cry. I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad or scared or what. I think it was ALL the emotions mixed into one big hormonal mess. We got another test that next week and sure enough...it said Pregnant. No mistaking that! So I made my first appointment, August 10th!

2015 Update!

2015 was filled with SO MANY fun, exciting, but also sad things. In my previous post, I mentioned not having a dining room table! Well, a year after moving into our house, we FINALLY got one! WHOOP WHOOP!!

We celebrated ONE YEAR of marriage in February! We went out to eat at Red Lobster with Ryan & Britani. Ryan was Kip's roommate at the academy, and they became pretty close friends. Britani is his girlfriend (now wife). We went back to our house and had a fire in our fire pit and enjoyed our wedding cake!

Kip also got us tickets to see the Rick & Bubba show! We listen to that show on the radio every morning and have for MANY years! I can't remember if they sang the "Happy Anniversary" song or not, but for some reason I am thinking they did! 

We also got a pretty big snow (for Alabama anyway!) and we actually got to enjoy that together! In the past, Kip has had to work all these big weather events, so it was nice to enjoy this day with him! Roads were closed and so was everything else in the county for a couple of days, so we enjoyed getting to spend lots of time together!

March was a big month for us! I knew it was time to move on to something else in my career. I interviewed for a job with Regions Bank and received an offer just a few days later. I put in my 2 week notice at the job I was currently working. It was a bittersweet day. It wasn't my favorite job, but I had made some pretty good friends. It was hard to leave them, but I was excited about this next adventure! We also made our first "big" purchase (other than our home) as a married couple, a new car! Well...new to us!

I had always wanted a Tahoe and was SUPER excite about getting this car! Everyone said it was a "mom" car and was hinting at the fact that it was time for us to have a baby! 

Cake from my co-workers

My New Work Family at Regions Bank!

We started a project in April that only took us 3 months to complete....and we will never do this type of project again! We painted our kitchen & dining room. I quickly found out that I HATE PAINTING and so does Kip!

But I do love the way it turned out!!

We celebrated one of my high school friends finding the love of her life and getting married in May!

In May, hubby got him something he has ALWAYS wanted...a truck! And we got new shutters for our house! 

I hinted at a new family member joining our family in my update post....and well, in June, the family member came to live with us! His name is Tigger & he sheds a lot....but he is the SWEETEST cat EVER!!

Every year, the Gadsden Times, our local newspaper, does this thing called "Readers Choice" in June. I had never heard of it. Kip got a call one day that he had tied for 2nd place in the Readers Choice for best deputy sheriff! PROUD WIFE MOMENT!

Here is where things get a little crazy....July, we found out something that would forever change our lives. Blog post coming soon!!

13 Weeks & We Made It!

Whew...we made it through the whole 13 weeks of the academy. Time FLEW by and before we knew it, we had said our last goodbye for the week! August 2014, my hubby because a certified law enforcement officer!

I don't think either of us have ever had a bigger smile, except maybe our wedding day, than we did on that day! 

That weekend, I threw hubby a party and lots of family and friends came to celebrate with us! It was the first party we had at our home!

We didn't have a dining room table...or anything in our dining room for that matter! HaHa! We borrowed tables from the church to use!

We enjoyed having our friends and family celebrating with us, and more importantly we enjoyed being together every night and not having to say goodbye!

4 Years Later.....

Wow...it has been 4 years since I first started blogging. I used to have so much time on my hands! I love blogging & I wish I would have continued it throughout the early months and years of our marriage. Just to catch you guys up on the happenings of the Williams clan...a lot has happened in 4 years and I intend on blogging about everything significant, mainly for myself...so I can remember these times. Since my last blog post, I have changed jobs 3 times, Kip has changed jobs once. We added TWO new family members to our clan, one with 4 paws and one with 2 feet! We've gone on road trips, had financial struggles, overcame those struggles, changed churches, lost family members, had bumps in our marriage, surgeries, and so much more! I can't wait to share all these memories with you (and myself later down the road when I want to look back on all our memories!). 

I will try to start where I left off and go from there! But there are so many things I want to share about our life currently...

Until Next Time!

Don't Worry, I've Got This, & I've Got You

Saturday, on my way to my house to check on Kallie, I was listening to 107.5, a local Christian radio station.  My mind was running 90 to nothing (mostly thinking about Kip being gone and how I was going to handle the next 12 weeks) and I wasn't paying much attention to the radio...until I heard the guy talking about this verse:

Matthew 6:27 - "Can any one of you by worrying, add a single house to your life?"

I started to listen to what he was saying...because I am a WORRY WART!! What I got out of that short little message was 3 easy to remember things.

1. Don't Worry
2. I've Got This
3. I've Got You

Matthew 6:25 - 34 tells us that God WILL provide for us, protect us, and be with us always.  We DO NOT need to worry about petty little things that most of us worry about.  If we trust in HIM, he will provide and he will protect.

Worrying doesn't do us any good.  It just consumes our life and our time.  And trust me, I am preaching to myself here as well. I worry about EVERYTHING.  I worry that Kallie will run out of water during the day and get hot. SHE IS A DOG!! She can handle it! I worry about our house catching on fire, or that someone is going to break in. I worry that I will see a bug (I am terrifed!!) while Kip is gone.  I worry about my job, I worry about my family, I worry about my friends, EVERYTHING!

God tells us not to worry, because He's got this, and He's got YOU. He will not give us something we cannot handle.  And if he does, it is more than likely because he wants us to CLING to Him so He can re-assure us that HE'S GOT YOU.  He knows what we will go through, before we go through it.  He knows we will get through it, before we even know we will go through it. 

SO....next time you are worrying about something, remember - DON'T WORRY! Because God's got this. And He is also holding you through it all.  HE'S GOT YOU! I have told myself over and over the past few days - "Don't worry, because God's got this and He's got me!" Trust me, it helps so much!

Until Next Time,