Sprouling and Hollaring Along The Coast

This last weekend we celebrated not just our anniversary, but the anniversary of two other close friends. How do we do that? Rent a condo at the beach and just relax. It honestly was very much needed and a getaway with friends to spend time just hanging out, playing games and not doing much but just talking and laughing made for a great time.

Mine? 

Concentrate...

It's amazing to see the color gradient in the water. 

SEEEELFIE

derp.

And Baby Makes Three..

Well, now that it's out in the open and 'Facebook official', we're pregnant! Well, Hailey is. I'm just along for the ride, trying to make sure she gets what she wants with her cravings, or add a pillow to help her sore back. I'm a pregnancy assistant.

It's really crazy. I won't lie, there's days I still don't think I'm a dad, but I am. I've been told, and I believe it, but it'll snap into my head the closer we get to the due date in July.

So far, we've had a few appointments since the announcement (if you wanna watch the video, it'll be at the bottom of the post). Baby's doing good, mom's doing good (despite feeling pretty bad during the first trimester). I'm doing great, but who cares about me, it's about momma and the kiddo, right? Heartbeat has been rising more and more each time we've heard it, and the last two times we've had an ultrasound, the baby's been moving nonstop!

Seriously, if the kid moves as much out of the womb as it does in it, Hailey and I are gonna be rocking and rolling non-stop, which I'm excited for anyway. It'll keep me young and moving.

That said, I gotta write about an experience I've had today.

Today, I tried to do some research on gender reveals. Did you know that there's only about 20 ideas for a gender reveal, and every mommy blogger from here to Gymboree reposts them as 'the best ideas of *insert year here*'?

Because that's basically what it is. I want originality, or at least an idea I haven't seen before. But balloons out of a box, colored cake, silly string...blue or pink, blue or pink....it's dizzying.

The trick that makes it hard is the fact Hailey and I want to be surprised with everyone else. So outside of cutting a cake or just opening an envelope...how do we do that without knowing before?
It's a quandary, and gets hard to find a good idea that isn't the norm that everyone else does. The search will continue...we've got a month before we find out, anyway....

Now, here's that video...

Meet Winnie

It's been about a week since we've had our new family member, and she's already captured my heart. It's funny, because I didn't even want her. Hailey has been on me for about the last six months, trying to convince me that we needed a dog. I haven't wanted one since I lost my first dog DJ. It just never really felt right.

But, a week ago, after coming home from a trip to Long Beach, she had looked up at least half a dozen puppies of various breeds, and wanted to 'just go look'. I had started to take a nap, but I was woken up around 8:00pm with a phone in my face and Hailey saying "Theres puppies we can 'just go look' at right now. Well, look at how well 'just go look' went. We 'just bought' a puppy. Not just any puppy, the first puppy we looked at. There wasn't any hesitation or doubt. She was ours.

The owner was a good old country boy. I'm not talking your basic redneck. I'm talking, the guy had a definitive twang, and when we walked up, he was finishing up a pack of bud light with his friend, and smoking deer jerky from a recent hunting trip. Shorts, tank top, fishing hat, he fit the stereotypical bill for redneck. But, he was an absolute gentleman, and came off as a guy who would hug you over hit you. His dog, our puppy's mom, was super clean, well behaved, so I figured the puppy had to be the same way. We walk to his backyard, and there she was, laying by the side wall of the house, in the shade. There she was, a little half Queensland, half uhm...half...Schnauzer? Terrier? We don't really know. Anyway, Hailey held her first, and watching her, I knew that this was it. The minute I would hold her would be it. I'd melt, and say yes.

Now I've got two girls to look after. 

Well, that obviously happened, because now we're a week into owning this puppy, and she's adapted so well into our little family of two. Hailey was right. A dog would be great for us, especially me. I've been grumpy lately, because of a variety of reasons. Coming home now to a dog gets my mind off things, and I've got a little thing that loves me unconditionally and doesn't care what happened during the day, and just wants to play. It really is the best.

 Obviously we're still learning how to train her and housebreak her a little bit, but she really is quite adorable, and learns fast. On friday nights, we decided she gets to sleep up on the bed with us, but otherwise she's adapting well to her crate. In the next few weeks we go to get her second round of shots, and once she's cleared, I'm thinking a trip to the park to play is in order.

As for now, I'm going to go play some tug of war with this little one, and just enjoy some pure happiness. 

Young, Wild, and Married

I got married 5 days after I turned 20 years old. Because of that I got a lot of "Wow you are SO young" "Are you sure you're ready!?" "You already are getting tied down THIS young!?" A lot of the comments I got were pretty negative or doubtful. And I know that some may look down on young marriages, but honestly, I don't get it. I found my person that I want to spend the rest of my life with... without having to search for very long.  I didn't get my heart broken a bunch, I didn't sleep around, I didn't have a ton of failed relationships. It's not a negative thing, it's a blessing. A big blessing. Not only did it save me a lot of heartache spending many years to find the one... but it also means that I get more time with my spouse (God willing). Do I regret getting married young? Not one bit. I am so incredibly in love with my husband and best friend.

Marriage has honestly been the best thing to happen to me. While Jake and I have a lot of similarities, we are also pretty different in some aspects. It's these differences that make life interesting. Before being with him, I think I lacked every possible ounce of compassion where he had plenty of it. He was patient, I wasn't. He was kinder with his words… I wasn't. But never once did he look down on me for that, or love me less because of it. Instead, he used his compassion, patience, and kind words to help me. We grew together, and that is a beautiful thing. I have been blessed to see many wonderful marriages in my life, and I always prayed that one day… someone, somewhere, would be able to look at my marriage and think the exact same thing. And I truly believe that that will happen.

At the moment, Jake and I are simply a family of two. Our own little Williams family. One day, not anytime soon, but some day… we will expand our family. Until then, Jake and I are working to create that strong foundation for them. It is our job as husband and wife to love and live deeply. To set our family rules and beliefs into place now rather than later. To work hard and play hard. We are only four months into creating our family's foundation… and by golly I think we are doing a pretty damn good job.

So to all the "haters" who questioned, doubted, and thought we were stupid… you were wrong. I'm not in this to "prove anyone wrong" because ultimately that isn't my goal nor my intentions. My goal is to have the best marriage possible with my absolute best friend. And while doing that, sharing my revelations, recipes, DIY projects, thoughts, and anything I feel like on our blog. And maybe that one person… somewhere… someday… will stumble along our blog and be inspired by our marriage and our love.
-HW

The Past, Present, and Future Journeys

Mother's Day was yesterday. It's the first year Hailey and I are out on our own. It's interesting, but a lot of fun. This whole thing, about growing up, and learning more about yourself and your significant other is unbelievably wonderful. I love it. It's one of the greatest challenges I've had. Yet, I've really been thinking back about some things, specifically this week, about my family. Family is important. It's important to invest in their lives. Not just doing the basic work that makes your family keep going. No. Not that. Investing in their lives where you're able to pick up their mood immediately as they walk into the room. Going to surprise them with a little gift you know they'll like, just because you love them. Investing where you know what to order for them at restaurants if they aren't there, and be right the first time. I've come from a family where all of this has happened. Where we've done family trips all over the country, because we all love exploring. Where we may fight, but the fights don't last too long, and we're stronger after it, and don't make the same mistake twice. After all, it was my dad who said as I was growing up: "Measure twice, cut once".

I want to take a moment to write this out. I don't care how many people read this. I'm doing this for me, because I love writing, and I love sharing what I write, even if it's with a small audience. My family is important to me. So I want to write out my thoughts on each member.

First: My Hailey

This is the girl that stole my heart. She's smart. In year of college, she did two. She works two jobs, and has this work ethic of getting things done faster than you can ever imagine. Did I mention she's beautiful? With eyes that you can get lost in for forever, and a smile that will make anyone's bad day instantly better, I'm a lucky man to now be waking up next to her every morning. Oh, and did I say yet about how much she cares? No? Okay, let's put it this way: The first time I ever got sick, she drove 30 minutes out to the middle of nowhere where I work, brought me a 'Thank You, Jesus' (Secret Jamba Juice Menu...get on checking that out...), and cough drops, took my temperature, and asked every day when I was going to make a doctors appointment, because I was going to just ride out the cold, and she wanted me to go to get checked out, so she bugged me until I went. Because she cared. Ah, and I haven't mentioned her sense of humor. She can get me laughing to the point of tears. I haven't laughed with anyone more than her in the time we've been together. She's everything I could ever ask for in a wife and more. 

Next....

Hannah

So much could be said for this now seven year old. I was privileged to travel to China when we adopted her. She has a cleft lip (fixed now) and cleft palate (going to be fixed). You'd never think she had it though, with her spunky personality. She's seven, and at a fourth grade reading level. She is at the top of her class and at the top level for her age at the moment for gymnastics, and she's got her first meet already this coming July. She, next to Hailey is the girl who has me completely wrapped around her finger, and I'd do anything for. Hannah has adopted my love of Disney, and every Friday on my lunch break, she asks to watch an old Mickey Mouse short, and wants me to show her old photos of 'what was at Disneyland before I was born.' Her giggle is infectious, and her desire to be the best is inspirational. She loves any princess,  and adores reading and telling everyone about her latest book she read. It's really a blessing to see how far she's come, and will go.

Now for...

Emily

This girl...this girl is awesome. She's got the biggest heart of gold. There's been so many times through my life she's done things for me just because she wanted to, and I didn't realize it was something special until much later. For instance, when we were kids, she ran into the kitchen and asked my parents for a cup of water. They gave it to her, she ran back the way she came. Seconds later, she was back, and asked for a second. They asked "what'd you do with the one we gave you?" she replied: "That wasn't for me. That was Jacob's. May I have one for me now?" Things like that throughout my life she's done. We've argued like any siblings do, but at the end of the day, this beautiful girl is my sister and I'd do anything for her. She's amazingly smart and wants to get into wedding/event planning as a career, and I can't wait to see how it works for her. She's been drawing dresses and writing up what parties would look like ever since I could remember. Oh, and she has the COOLEST taste in music. My blondie found out who the Lumineers were before they became popular. Like, she was jamming to their EP months before they won grammies. It's amazing to hear what she finds, and then hear it months later as it's playing on the radio. As my closest sibling in age, she's one of my best friends. 

Now for....

The Parents

This was originally meant to be posted over the weekend as a Mother's Day write up, but since have changed it. My parents are the best. My dad has given me the chance to grow into the man I am, and I wish I could be half the man he is. My mother has given me the chance to learn compassion and love for others. Both of them have given me the chance to see the world I live in, experience flavors and styles of all over America and China. They've given me the foundation of my passion for life and exploring the world around me. My dad has given me the love of movies and music, and understanding why artists create their work. My mother has given me the love of Disney, and shown me so many wonderful stories that she grew up on, and I got to grow up on as well. They're the reason I've become who I am, and I'm beyond thankful for that. 

Which leads me to this: I'm now the man in my own family. I lead my family. It's definitely not something to take lightly. But with that said, I want to write this out: My family is never going to be stagnate. The world we live in is small enough already, and our lives are too short not to explore it. I've been blessed to be able to see over half the US and counting, and experience life in China when we adopted my sister. My family is going to experience culture, and new food, and countless memories made on trips. I would rather have a smaller house and a cheaper car, if that meant I can give my family the experiences of a lifetime. Through all of this, I'm sincerely thankful for my parents, who inspired me to see what's outside of my backyard, and explore what's around us. I'm thankful for a wife who's willing to be able to get up and go with me, and not just stay home doing nothing. I may only be twenty-one years young, but the life ahead of me and Hailey, I intend to live exploring the world around us. Which is why I'm thankful for this blog, where I can document and share the experiences we have.