Happy Thanksgiving!

Mom told me this morning she heard on the Today Show that South Bend could expect a foot of snow today, which I could hardly believe, but so far we've gotten a few inches--our first snowfall of the year!

We felt a bit like an island out here in Indiana this year for Thanksgiving, and we missed our families and traditions so much! But I have to say I spent a good part of the day on the phone talking to my sisters, brother, and mom, so we certainly made the best of it!

Ryan played football with the elders quorum this morning, and then we ate lunch at a dining hall on Notre Dame's campus. They invited all the graduate students and really put on a nice meal--real turkey, real potatoes, a chocolate fountain, pie, etc. It still tasted a bit like you'd expect at a cafeteria, but all in all, it was really good and so nice of them to provide it for us.

Then we had a LOVELY Thanksgiving Day nap and finished making the pumpkin cheesecake for our pie night tonight. We invited a bunch of young couples from the ward over, and everyone brought a pie to share. It was fabulous! It's so fun to just chat with people we relate to...aside from the no-kids-yet thing. :)



The kids were elated about the snow on our balcony, and the parents were loving that they could just watch the kids play through the glass--none of us actually had to stand out there in the freezing temperatures. It's amazing how kids aren't even fazed by it, even when they've got a handful of snow and a wet head! (Don't call CPS - we didn't leave them out there for long!)



Since I didn't get to participate in my family's tradition of going around the table to say what we're grateful for, Ryan and I did it with just each other. He's never seen it done at the Williams house, so he's still a beginner. :) We have so much to be grateful for this year...maybe I'll have to make that a blog of it's own. Love to all, and happy thanksgiving!

Minnesota Girl

I just sent a book off to the printer! I'm excited to be in the finishing stages of this project, mostly because the end product is the best part! Now let's just pray that the book turns out like I designed it! I'll let you know when it comes to me in the mail... 10 business days in countdown!

The author, Eleanor, is the mother of Ryan's aunt's husband. I started working with her back when we were in Provo. She stuck with me even though I moved to two different states in the meantime (!), and after a bunch of phone calls, emails, and mail deliveries, we're finally finishing up. She's giving a copy to each of her children for Christmas. (Good thing none of her children read my blog--that might spoil the surprise!) Thanks, Eleanor!

Kyle's Back from Brazil!

We're enjoying having Kyle here to visit. Yesterday we went to a football game, where we sadly watched Notre Dame lose (AGAIN). But it was still a lot of fun. Whenever we score a touchdown, tons of students in the student section are lifted up in the air and pushed up and down for however many points we've scored so far. Everyone calls them push-ups, and it is THE funniest thing. BYU should institute that! We only have one home game left, and I realized yesterday I'm actually going to miss chatting with our friends at the game, doing the ND cheers, and clapping along to the fight song (I have no idea what the words are...).


Ryan and Kyle throwing the ball around before the game. (Look closely and you can see the ball in the air.)


Us in our usual seats, before the stadium filled up all the way.


And this is us at my favorite place in South Bend, and one of my favorite places in the world--the South Bend Chocolate Cafe. I can't say enough about their to-die-for hot chocolate and cozy atmosphere. And it's a win-win situation for Ryan and I because the ND Football Hall of Fame is right outside, so we always throw the football on the astro turf before we go in. This week I'm sure Ryan's appreciated having Kyle to throw the ball around with... I know I've appreciated it! (I ran inside the warm cafe and drank my hot chocolate until they joined me!)

My List

Dear friends,

I'm sorry I haven't been the best blogger lately. Every night I go to bed and I ask myself, did anything happen to me today that I can blog about? And almost invariably, the answer is "no, not really." So since nothing that has happened to me lately merits its own blog, I'll try the brain dump idea coined by my cute cousins. Enjoy!

- Ryan's brother, Kyle, is coming to visit us this weekend. I've heard SO many stories about him that I feel like I really know him, but I don't. For anyone who doesn't know, he's been on a mission in Brazil for the last two years. (We did meet several times before he left, by the way) I think I'm a little nervous about it all because I kind of dreamed that he looked like a werewolf... I'm sure it will be fun, and I'm excited to get to know him in person!

- I love Ryan's family! They are all wonderful. We were so blessed to have been able to live in their Provo house for the first year and a half of our marriage. Having them come visit helped me feel like one of the family in no time at all, and I love that.

- I miss that house most when I'm dragging our laundry down to the car.

- This morning I accidentally called Rachie at 7 AM, Utah time. She was just getting ready for the day, and I am impressed that she works on campus every single day at 8 in the morning! Campus is definitely quieter at that time, especially in the winter. Go Rachel!

- I love all kids...which reminds me that I hope I'll get to see some of my old Primary kids when we visit Provo next month. My poor mother-in-law was called to take over teaching my class, which is definitely not the easiest (nor the smallest) class in that Primary. Julia, if they're getting crazy, just ask them to stand by their seats and sing "Holding Hands around the World." (My class and I made up the cutest actions ever to that song!)

- I am immensely excited about all the personal history work I have going on right now.

- Grandparents are the greatest, aren't they? Getting married means gaining two new sets of grandparents. What a great thing.

- Sometimes Ryan sounds exactly like his dad. :)

- I love cilantro. Mary called me the other day to ask about using cilantro in more of her recipes. How did those turn out, Mar?

- My newest cooking obsession is sandwiches. I like to try to make them as close to Subway as possible.

- I don't have a calling yet, and I am so grateful to have had the last couple of months to attend Relief Society. I feel renewed every week after listening to other women comment on what they're trying to do to make life better for themselves, their families, and everyone they meet.

I love lists! I'll have to keep doing this. Thanks to anyone who made it all the way through!

Home Again

We soaked up as much sun as possible in beautiful Orlando! It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I absolutely loved talking to people about LifeBio and showing them online how easy the program is to use. (The web-based program allows people to answer questions about their life, add pictures, and generate hard bound, full color books.) I seriously felt like I could keep doing it for ages! And now it looks like I will be continuing my work with LifeBio in a sales capacity (10 hours a week), in addition to the editing and design work I've been doing. I am excited!

This is me with Beth Sanders, president and founder of LifeBio and my new friend.


On Tuesday, after going to Downtown Disney on Monday, we took off after to work to Cocoa Beach, which is about an hour from Orlando. The waves were big, and the seagulls attacked us, but it was wonderful nonetheless.


Then on Wednesday, we had checked out of our hotel, finished up the last day of the convention, dropped Beth off at the airport, and we had a couple of hours to spare. So we went to this skiing place near the airport that uses a rope system. This is him blowing me a kiss as he came around a corner. :)


And this is Ryan being his crazy self at the convention. We all got a kick out of his little obsession with these weird boxes. He kept threatening to take it on the plane with us, asking everyone if they had any spills.

All in all, it couldn't have gone better. Ryan was amazingly helpful, and we managed to do everything we wanted to do. Things couldn't have gone better at the convention, and I am even more pumped up about personal history than ever.

Much love,
Ek

Hello from Orlando!

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. I'll add pictures and more details later. Anyway, as you may already know, Ryan and I are in Florida! I was asked by a woman I've been editing for, another personal historian, to work at a convention here. It's the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. We're talking to people about my passion--writing their life story! It's going well. We work hard and long, but then Ryan and I get to play in the evenings. Last night we went to Downtown Disney; tonight, who knows where! Anyway, we love you all!

For the Girls

Boys, you can make fun of me all you want, but this one's for the girls. (Okay really, what boys read my blog? I think only my relatives...)

Anyhow, here's a picture of my new shoes! My discount at Banana is very good (50 percent off 5 items a month, 60 percent seasonally, and 30 percent off sale, for those of you who care), but even with it, I still can't afford many items! I'm thinking maybe I can buy one...maybe two...items a month. It really is nice to buy something that's classic, high quality, and will get a lot of use.

Today while I was working, a co-worker asked me what I'd buy if I could buy anything in the store. We had fun walking around (the store was essentially empty), imagining what we'd buy. She told me she had worked at JCrew over the summer and had spent every cent she made on clothes. All I can say is that that isn't going to happen to me! We've got much better things to do with our money...like buy groceries, pay the electric bill, and contribute to the second richest Catholic institution in the world, next to the Vatican. (A customer told me that today in a most serious tone. It made me laugh.)

Then after all this imagining with my co-worker, I told her that my husband and I had only brought a carload of things out to Indiana and that's all we plan to leave with. So I won't be collecting too many clothes. She was stunned. I'm pretty sure her wardrobe wouldn't fit in two blue tubs. :)

So girls, do you like the shoes? (25 bucks, baby!) Should I keep them?