Aubrey's First Christmas

Does it seem to anyone else like Christmas goes by really fast every year? I seems like we wait and wait and wait and then it's over before we can blink. We had a good Christmas this year. We missed seeing our families and participating in all of the traditions we grew up doing. But, we got to practice building our own traditions and we enjoyed that part of it. Drew came to visit through the weekend and we (as always) loved having him around. Aubrey connects with Uncle Drew so quickly...I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that he lets her gnaw on his Uno box?

Here are a few pictures of Aubrey enjoying the gifts that Grandpas and Grandmas sent to her...(and Uncles and Aunts)

I'm glad we were able to capture this look of pure wonder. With this expression comes the sound of a huge gasp and then a big breath outward. And then, "Ahhh....." This is the look we get to see from Aubrey every time she is enjoying herself.

Night Out

Last night John and I had a "date" night to go out to a Coast Guard holiday party. It was fun being with our own kind (smile) for an evening. We're usually surrounded by Navy and Marine aviators so last night was a chance to talk about the world we know.

And, Aubrey has a cold. It's the first time she has gotten sick and it makes me very sad. I haven't wished my mom lived close so badly as I do right now. We're hanging in there, though, and were even able to venture out to the playground today. I think it's what we both needed. :)

Ornament Exchange

I hosted the 2nd annual Anderson Ornament Exchange last night and it was so much fun. 15 girls joined in the party with good food, good conversation, and super cute ornaments.

I enjoyed going through our linen closet to find things that I already had to use for decorations. And, I got a chance to use our china teacups for the party!

Here are all of us with our "prizes" at the end of the night. I really do enjoy this group of women. I'm so thankful that God has provided fellowship like this.

Our 2nd Beautiful Niece

I mentioned it in my last post but I get to say it again: our 2nd niece was born on Saturday! Ella Joy joined big sister Grace to add another beautiful little girl to the Anderson family. We love you already, Ella, and we look so forward to meeting you!

Big sister. Oh, I just can't stand the cuteness.

A Tornado

I like to think that I keep a clean house. Most days, if you were to drop by, the house would look very presentable. Recently I've been having some problems, however, with a little tornado that runs through and leaves destruction in her wake. Here is the chronicle of our little tornado:

Found her

Caught her

"What did I do, Mom?"

**Sidenote: Aubrey does wear pants, however, the weather went from a nice 55-60 degree average during the day to 80 and humid in less than 24 hours. Thus, the pants came off.

**BETTER Sidenote: John & I are the proud uncle and aunt of yet another cute niece, Ella Joy, who arrived today around 10:30am. And Aubrey has another cousin to play with. We're all very excited. Congrats, Nate & Megan, and big sister Grace.

Camping

We went camping for the first time since Aubrey was born. Aubrey did really well and we had a great time.

We went with our friends Chris & Kristen and their dog, Kozar. These are just a few pictures.

Disneyland and SO MUCH MORE

We had a great time in California with the Petersen family. We spent Friday at Disneyland which continues to be my favorite place to be. But, by far the most exciting part of this trip is this...WE ARE GETTING ANOTHER SISTER!!! That's right, Drew proposed to Miss Annie Summers on Thanksgiving Day and she said yes. She is such a blessing to our family and we are so excited to call her sister!!! (the above picture is one of all of the Petersen kids).

The couple. Congratulations, Drew & Annie. We love you both.

More pictures to come later of Aubrey and her first trip to Disneyland. :)

Red Letter Day

This is just a picture of Aubrey with the adorable hat Aunt Megan and Uncle Nate got her when she was first born. :) It finally fits! But this is what marked this day as the red-letter day: I can put a clip in Aubrey's hair and it stays!!! Here is proof.
And, Aubrey's latest feat...crawling over to the bathtub while the water is running to see how many things she can throw in...and which of them float.

Finished with Primary!

John flew his last flight in the T-34 last night. He will begin helicopter training (called, "advanced") in 2-3 weeks hopefully. I just wanted to take a minute to say how proud I am of John.

In the middle of primary he took time off to meet his baby girl, he had knee surgery that knocked him out of training for 4 months, and then got started right back up and finished well. I am very proud. So, thank you for working so hard, Johnny, and congratulations on this big finish. :)

Play Dates

Aubrey had a couple of good friends hang out with her this week. Kristen came over earlier and they once again had a lot to talk about with each other. Aren't these two girls just too cute?

I'm not sure what she was trying to do here but it must have tasted good.

And, Maggie invited Aubrey to go to the playground and ride in the swings (and play in the sand). So fun. I just can't get over how adorable all of these girls are.

Does Aubrey like to swing?

Matt (Maggie's dad) got winged this last Friday so they are off to their new duty station. And, Josh (Kristen's dad) will be getting winged in 3 weeks and then off they will go. We are once again preparing to say goodbye to some very dear friends. But we have been so blessed by their friendship and are so thankful that we got to call Pensacola "home" while they were here.

Our Ladybug

This one is a little scary...she was in the middle of explaining something exciting about the box when I took the picture. Sorry. :)

Trusting God

I had the opportunity to go to a ladies brunch through OCF this last Saturday. The chaplains' wife was the speaker (she is pictured towards the middle, striped shirt). She has an amazing testimony of God's power displayed in her life. Her first husband, an E-2 pilot, was killed in a mishap 6 years after they were married and when their son was 18 months old. She spoke about how God clearly showed her His ability to make good out of her situation and how He taught her that He is a God that can be trusted.

And then, the pastor at church on Sunday talked about how many times Jesus told His disciples, "Do not be afraid..." But He explained that it was never a command. It was always with the tone, "You can trust Me." I guess I haven't really thought about that too much but God has sort of been hitting me with a 2x4 with that point stamped across it. (I'm also in a Bible study on Tuesday mornings titled, "Believing God," very similar message).

So I've been asking myself this question, "Do I trust God?" Do I actively trust God to work in my life? To work good in the lives of those I love? Or do I try to take the reins, to take over, because I think that I can do the job better?

If I can trust God for my eternal salvation, why is it so hard to trust Him with my future here on earth? Sometimes I do a really good job of trusting Him...but I often panic when the answers aren't coming quickly enough and try to "fix" my life on my own. That always makes things worse. This is a daily battle for me. Daily I have to tell God (out loud usually just so I will hear myself say it) that I trust Him with my day.

This is what I have been learning lately. :) Thought I would share.

The Latest

I went in to get Aubrey up from a nap and this is what I found. Shortly thereafter the crib was lowered.

Blake & Stephanie took off for Arizona on Saturday. The house feels a lot emptier without Stephanie here...Blake, too, but he was never really here except to visit on the occasional weekend. Here are a few pics of Aubrey and her uncle and aunt.

"Mom, I've decided I'm gonna move to Arizona to be with Aunt Stephanie."

"She is all for the idea, too...we're talking about our plans here."

A tornado ripped through this area on Thursday morning. Cars were overturned and power lines were down around the area of the mall we go to. The local junior college was hit with micro-bursts that busted windows in and caused some damage. Aubrey and I stayed safe at the Target by our house (we were out running errands when the warnings hit) and John was up at base. By Saturday we were back to blue skies and sunny weather. Just in time to say goodbye to Blake & Stephanie. We already miss you.