Tonight I worked the corner ....

That's right, tonight I worked the corner, and so did Ryan and a bunch of our friends and family.... NO not that (get your mind out of the gutter)
We waived signs for YES on 8
I was not thrilled at putting myself on a street corner displaying my beliefs, I mean I fully support Prop. 8 and I was happy that others were out there doing that and going door to door, but I wasn't really sure it was "my place" to take an actual stand-
But it is - it is all of our responsibilities to take a stand, for or against, McCain or Obama or Nader... it is our place. If you sit back and do nothing, you have no voice, no voice to complain when it doesn't go your way. I firmly believe that. If you believe it - truly believe - then you have to take a stand, its your right and your duty.

It was hard at first to see people giving us the "not so nice" waive or to hear the profanity that people felt they needed to share- but for every negative, we were given twenty positives. People were so nice and honked and waived. When it was time to go my arms were tired, but my spirit was strong. Pass or fail - I will know I took a stand.

“The issue before us with Proposition 8 is “marriage” – an ancient, yet modern, human institution which pre-exists both Church and government. Marriage, history shows us, is intrinsic to stable, flourishing and hospitable societies. Although cultural differences have occurred, what has never changed is that marriage is the ideal relationship between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation and the continuation of the human race.

-A Statement of the Catholic Bishops of California in Support of Proposition 8: A Constitutional Amendment to Restore the Definition of Marriage.

For me Prop. 8 is not about hate- I do not hate those who do not share my beliefs. I simply feel that MARRIAGE is between a man and a women. It is simple - If God had put two Adams and two Eves in Separate gardens - we wouldn't be having this discussion because we wouldn't be here- I believe God's plan - I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman and that it is the foundation of a family- and I believe it needs to be protected.

Ari the lion.mpg

We had our ward Halloween party last night and Ari's lion costume was finished just in time. Grandma Sharon and I worked very hard on this costume and it really paid off (I can really only take credit for the ribbons) Ari was not thrilled about wearing it and it did not help that he was running a slight fever, and that the Halloween costume was better suited for a Wisconsin Halloween instead of a 90 degree California Halloween. Any way it was adorable and Ari was adorable in it- sorry this was the best video I could get of him in it. He did a good job of keeping the outfit on although he wouldn't really crack a smile the whole night.
On another note- the Williams' women rule !!! There was a cooking contest for Chili and Salads at the party and out of four awards - Sharon and I cleaned house winning 3 of the 4 awards ( If I had entered a chili I am sure it would have been a total sweep) We couldn't help but feel proud and then a little embarrassed .... it was a two ward party and there were ALOT of entries we felt bad for a moment and then laughed..... we deserved it - it good eating at the Williams and now we have the awards to prove it
p.s. Isn't Ari adorable

Ari is a climbing fool

So my older sister left a comment on our last post about Ari being an early walker and mentioned that her son Tyler was an early walker and climber- well here you go Jill, Ari is following in his cousins footsteps. Ari climbs on anything he can find- he has the heart of a dare devil (thank goodness we are insured) I have a feeling this kid will be a regular at the emergency room and know the staff there by name. So far we haven't had any accidents- but the fearless fall alot - or so I have been warned.
Truly Ari is so much fun right now - he is constantly amazing me with how much he learns and how much he grows as an individual daily, he has such a unique and fun personality.
*** The cardboard box that Ari is standing on was not in the family room on the floor, before we got the video camera out Ari masterfully batted away at it on the kitchen table til it fell on the floor and then carried it into the family room so he could climb onto it.....

Ari first steps

This video is from back in September - Ari was "walking" by many peoples standards but my family doesn't consider it walking til they take 13 consecutive steps - ... judge for yourself-

ari walking

Here is video of Ari walking - he has been walking for about a month now and hardly ever crawls now. He is pretty much on the go from the moment he wakes up til the moment he falls asleep....

See I told you I was figuring out this video thing

Okay I posted about Ari's swim class earlier but that was before I schooled myself on Youtube and how our video camera worked... and I know I could have gone and edited that earlier post and added the video BUT who goes back and looks at old posts.... SO to make sure everyone watches the video that basically took me the better part of the day to figure out how to get on this blog- I made a new post.
Ari was such a champ in swim class- and we had such a good time together hanging out in the pool. The object of this little activity is to teach the babies not to go into the pool until they here you say "3" and then to immediately turn themselves around and hold onto the side of the pool. (The theory behind that is that it will become so routine to them that if they were to fall in to the pool on accident they would remember to turn around and hold the side) Ari was the littlest baby in the class but I think he did AMAZING

Our little guy

So I think maybe I am getting the hang of this whole posting video thing- I wouldn't say I was an expert but hopefully the three hours I have spent reading our video camera's owners manual and messing around on the internet have paid off. Now go pop some pop corn, grab a blanket, and watch some really awesome video on our blog.
This one is Ari, playing in the cupboard. This particular day he is actually playing in the cupboard that we have set up for him to play in (nothing dangerous, breakable, choking hazard, etc...) However MOST of the time Ari is messing around in cupboards that are NOT his and when you ask him if he is in his cupboard, he looks up at you and just laughs.... oh yes I have my hands full with this one.

10 Months old and growing ......

Ari turned 10 months old last week - he is growing up way too fast.






Here he is with his best friend, Lion -





Lastest stats on Ari
- he is walking around everywhere
- he still is not too sure about solid food
- his favorite tv shows are Charlie and Lola and Yo Gabba Gabba (that one is Ryan's fault)
- he loves to make crazy noises with his mouth
- he gets sweeter and smarter by the second