Thoughts

Aubrey is very much into brides these days. Goodness. It might have something to do with Aunt Shana's wedding coming up, but the girl loves all things wedding and brides. So, today I got out my wedding album and let her look through it on her own. I heard lots of, "Oh, look at your bale! (veil)" and, "Oh, your flowers!" It made me feel good and it was a little wierd. I still feel many times like I'm just playing dress up still but I had a big reality slap in my face today as my going on 4 year old was looking at my wedding pictures. How and when did that happen?!

We also rummaged through the DVD's and found the wedding video. And I cried. I was flooded with happy memories...memories of anticipation and so much LIFE to look forward to. So many lofty dreams and goals. One of the phrases of our wedding was, "Come grow old with me, the best is yet to be." Okay, Johnny, so I realize we are not quite 29 years old but you and I have both said to each other that we now have a house, a dog, and three kids, and that officially makes us grown ups. And it officially makes me feel old(er) at times. :) Watching the video today made me remember quite a few things:

-I miss my grandma. I'm pretty sure I always will but that one hit me kind of out of the blue today.
-I am thankful for the "hanging in there," that we both experienced from our parents and grandparents. We have a strong legacy of sticking by your mate that I am thankful for.
-We are living out many of our loftiest dreams. How many couples can say that? Less than six years in God has blessed us abundantly more than we deserve. You fly helicopters. Seriously. That's pretty cool. We have three of the cutest, funniest, and greatest kids on the planet. We are living the crazy adventure together.
-I believe that the best is yet to be for you and I. And that makes me excited.

-One last thing: I was kissing this incredibly cute thing today and I was struck with gratitude for how you provide for us, John. Thank you for working so hard so that I can spend much of my day loving on this guy and his brother and sister.

So Many Blessings

Today was our first full day as just our family of 5 at home. We had fun going on an adventure to a restaurant about 30 minutes away and having brunch. So far life seems pretty normal. We don't feel like we've been turned upside down and we are really enjoying the quiet of being at home.

Stuart is such a sweet baby. He has more awake time every day so I am enjoying getting to hold him when he just wants to look around and look at people. He may have rolled his eyes today at his brothers' antics. I'm kidding of course but it's fun to see his little head try to track where his brother and sister are.


And by the way, someone has definitely embraced her baby brother. You will no longer see a face when you say, "Isn't it cool that you have two brothers now?" (although "the face" was pretty classic.) Instead you will get an excited response and for that I am grateful. Aubrey, can I just tell you that having two brothers is pretty cool? I always loved it and I know you will, too.

Grammy & Papa spent Christmas with us and boy did we have fun! We went to the Christmas Eve service at church, opened presents and just spent time together. I'm amazed that John was able to get this picture of all 3 kids looking at the camera.

Bryant loved all of his presents. He loved them just seeing them in the wrapping paper. And then he went nuts once we were able to convince him to open the present.

Aubrey loved everything she received this year. I am thankful for kids who are grateful for anything and everything. It didn't matter at all what they were opening, they were excited.

Have I ever mentioned that this kid loves tools? Yeah, he does.

I don't think they come any more kissable than this. I love him.


**A very important sidenote** We get to meet another sweet baby boy in about 4 months or so. Baby Samuel James will join big brother Jack in May and we are so excited!! Congrats, Blake & Stephanie!!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, from our home to yours.

Days at Home

We've had a few surprises since bringing Stuart home. I was sure that Bryant was going to have an extremely hard time welcoming his baby brother home. And I was sure Aubrey was going to ogle over baby. But it has been opposite reactions.

Bryant has been all about holding, kissing, and generally loving on Stuart. It has seemed that he is thrilled to have this little baby in the house. Last night I may have caught a glimpse of his struggle when he was just a little off in wanting to just be around me. He didn't want to be held or snuggled with, but he wanted to be close to me. Besides that, though, Bryant has responded so well to his brother.

Aubrey is deeply disappointed that Stuart was not a girl. She periodically will look at him and say, "But I really wanted a sister." So she has struggled and John & I are working through that one. But she is quick to want to hold Stuart (as long as he is wearing clothes. She does not like the belly button area), and she will tell him over and over, "I love you, Stuart," and kiss his face. And when we are out she tells people, "I have a baby Stuart," and she is proud of her baby brother.

Stuart? Well, he seems to be adjusting to life in this crazy house quite well. And we are crazy about him. He looks different from his siblings. And he is incredibly cute. (this from a very un-biased source in Stuart's mommy).

Baby Stuart

We are already so nuts about this kid. He has medium brown hair for now (that's new for us!) and dark blue eyes. He is not shy about letting us know when he needs something or when he is just plain unhappy.

Bryant felt like such a big boy today holding his baby brother. We asked him, "Where's Stuart?" and he pointed right at the baby. And when he is holding Stu, you better back off! :) It's his time with his buddy and he will not share.

Sissy loves Stuart, too, and as soon as she got to hold him she said, "It's okay, Stuart, I'm your big sister!" Bryant is leaning in for a kiss in this picture.

Wow, we are blessed.

Brother Baby

Stuart Graham Anderson arrived today (December 18th) at 1:28pm. He was 8 lb. 3 oz. and 21 1/4" long.



Stuart, your name means "guardian." Daddy chose your name for the strength it implies, as well as for a very dear friend of ours. He is the man that married Daddy & I and he is a man whose life has been characterized by integrity, honor, and strength. All of those things we pray for you, little man. We pray that your life will be marked by integrity, honor, and strength in your devotion to God.

Graham is after your Great Grandma Farwell. Her maiden name was Graham and her daddy, your Great-Great Grandfather, Roy T. Graham, was a hero of the faith and also as an American soldier. We have his life story written down and it will be given to you at some point in your future. Great Grandma Farwell was a woman who trusted and feared the Lord, even in the little things. She was a great influence in my life and in Daddy's as well.



We are so thrilled to get to hold you in our arms. Dear Jesus, thank you for our 2nd "big boy." Happy birthday, Stu. We love you.

Prayer Request

Please keep one of my friends and her family in your prayers. She delivered her baby today at 8 months pregnant and her sweet girl is now in Jesus' arms. My friend and her husband have two other children that are Aubrey and Bryant's ages. As you think of them please pray for comfort and peace as they mourn the loss of their precious baby.

Blessings Great...and Small...all at the Same Time

It's been beautiful here at the coast lately. Very cold but sunny. Yesterday Bryant went out to help Daddy clean up the yard, clean the chicken coop, and throw the ball with Dutch. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?





Sissy came out after awhile to join in the fun. Or create her own, however it happened to go down.

Lately

Today while driving with the kids Aubrey said to me, "Mommy, today I prayed that God would give me a sister baby!" That melts my heart and I pray that no matter what gender the baby is she will be excited to have a little baby to help hold.

Bryant is becoming more and more expressive, using all sorts of facial gestures to communicate what he wants. Today after one of his grunts I asked him if he wanted some milk. He looked at me, furrowed his brow, and said, "No..." while shaking his head and looking around. If he wants to get your attention on something he hits your arm, thinking he is patting it, and points furiously to whatever it is that caught his eye.

Aubrey & Bryant packed up some decorative suitcases today and they were carting them all through the "airport" (house) in order to catch their airplane. I would hear Bryant ask a question that sounded very much like, "Doo?" and Aubrey would say, "No, I think it's this direction. Hurry, Bubs, they're saying, 'all aboard!'" And off they would go. Buddies for life, these two.

Tomorrow will mark the first day of the month that baby Who will join our ranks. I'm really looking forward to holding you, sweet baby, and looking at your face (which I have a feeling looks a bit like your sister & brother). Many nights I sit in your room, rock in the chair we will spend a lot of time in together and dream about who you may be. You are my sweet mystery and I am excited to get to know you later this month.

I love being mommy to these kids. Thank you, Lord, for these treasures.

The Christmas Tree

We had a fun Thanksgiving with most of the Petersen side of the family (we missed you, Drew, Annie & Noah!). I love the family gathering aspect of Thanksgiving and then I love taking down all the fall decorations and getting the house ready for Christmas. This Christmas, especially, since we recently found out we will be meeting our little boy or girl on or around the 18th of December.

So today, to finish off the Christmas decorating, we went to pick out our tree. Bryant and Daddy, on the hunt to find the perfect tree.

Aubrey and Mommy, lagging behind a bit but still having fun.

The tree is found! Man, I love these three.

Bryant got to hang an ornament before bed with Daddy's help.

Aubrey hung lots of ornaments and then finished off the night with putting the star on the tree.

We hope and pray that you can take the time to really enjoy this Christmas season.

The Angels Rejoice

I'm not usually one for writing two posts in a day but something happened tonight that I want to document.

Aubrey & I were driving to Awana tonight and we were reviewing her verses for the week. We were talking about how Jesus is God's Son and Aubrey said, "But, Mommy, Jesus is living in my heart!" I told her that Jesus doesn't just live there; that we have to ask Him and we have to ask Him to be our Savior, and then He will live in our hearts. I said, "Would you like to do that?" She said, "Well, yes!"

I talked to her about what it means when we ask Jesus into our hearts and asked again if she wanted to do that. She said, "Yes, I really want Jesus to live in my heart and clean my heart...so that I can wear skirts." (okay, so this is a 3 1/2 year old's perspective on life. She has had her privelege of wearing skirts and dresses taken away because of disobedience to Daddy & Mommy and this is very important to her. She prays often that Jesus would clean our hearts so we can wear skirts.)

I said, "Well, if you want to do that, you can pray and ask Jesus and He will come and live in your heart." And she did. She said a simple prayer of just that, that Jesus would come and live in her heart and clean her heart. I know she is young and there is still much for her to understand but we are rejoicing with the angels tonight that our sweet Aubrey chose to give Jesus her heart.

Aubrey, we pray this is the beginning of a faithful, constantly growing walk with your Lord and Savior. We do rejoice. We love you.

Samplings From The Bazaar

It was another fun experience at the bazaar this year. I so enjoy seeing all the people coming through and I am so impressed at the creativity of all the vendors! If you weren't able to come (for those who are local) you missed out. :)

My cousin and I have stock left so I thought I would put it up here for anyone who is interested in some cute Christmas presents or everyday presents for the little ones in their life!


Okay, so I am really thinking we should bring back the charm of the old-fashioned. These muffs are the perfect start. Aubrey loves hers. It is high quality faux-fur with a nice, fuzzy warm lining for the winter days coming (they're here already at the coast!) or for a fun dress up item. $10.


What looks here like a pile of fabric are actually my cousin Sarah's finely crafted nursing covers. If you know someone, or are someone, who will be having a baby soon, consider this very practical gift. $20.

These are the cutest little travel blanket/pillow sets. Aubrey loves hers. The blanket is like a large lap blanket for her and we take it in the car on trips, on the plane, and it stays on her bed for reading books in her room. $15 for a personal, fun gift for a little one.


My cousin also made these super cute crayon rolls. Perfect for storing in your purse for those times when the kids can't sit still. Very cute prints. $10.

I have lots of aprons left as well. I am working on taking pictures of all of them and I will put them up on my Thumbprints & Sprinkles blog.

If you are interested in anything, don't hesitate to let me know on here or email me with your information. I have a paypal account set up so that makes it very easy to pay and if you order soon I can get it to you by Christmas time! :)

I promise this blog will not become a sales ad. I just wanted to put this cute stuff up here in case you are still trying to figure out Christmas presents for the special kids in your life.

Our Boy

Some fun things going on in Bryant's world:

He officially sings. He'll raise his chin high in the air and go, "Doooooo!" while shaking his head for dramatic effect.

He is so proud of himself when he says something that makes sense to someone else. We all cheer and celebrate when he manages to actually say an intelligible word.

When I ask him where Mommy's baby is, he no longer points to himself. He pats my belly.

We love him.

Bryant found Sissy's swim goggles today and decided to try them on. And then inspect the vacuum cleaner.

The boy and his dog.

Happy Fall

We just got home from a vacation to North Carolina and Florida. Whew! We had a great time and are happy to be home.

Our first stop: North Carolina to visit Nate, Megan, Grace, Ella & Molly. The kids played hard there! A highlight was going to the State Fair but the kids stayed very busy playing no matter where we were.


Grace, Ella and Aubrey formed a quick bond. Aubrey was in heaven playing with her girl cousins. So many girly things to do! Lots of make believe.

All the Anderson cousins to date. Yep, you counted right. 4 girls, 1 boy. On the Anderson side we might need another boy to balance things out a bit. :)

After our trip to NC, the kids and I boarded a plane for Orlando where we met up with my brothers, their wives, kids, Mom & Dad Petersen, and Papa Will and Grandma Carol, Annie's parents. This was our official celebration of Blake's return home from Iraq.

Aubrey and I stood in line to meet the princesses. The people who worked at Disneyworld said they rotate the princesses in and out and there is no way to know who is in the room at a certain time. When we got there, it was all the princesses that Aubrey cares about. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle.

Sleeping Beauty immediately said, "Your dress is beautiful! I bet it twirls wonderfully!" Umm...how did she know that Aubrey is a big-time twirler?

Cinderella complimented Aubrey's silver shoes, explaining that she was wearing silver shoes, too, because the Fairy Godmother had to make her another pair once she lost her glass slipper. She even lifted up her beautiful gown to show Aubrey her fancy shoes. She was Aubrey's favorite.

Belle talked to Aubrey about her yellow dress back home. Aubrey felt that she had made three new friends in these princesses.

Then we stumbled upon meeting Mickey and Minnie and Aubrey was completely enamored with Minnie's dress, shoes, and how she posed for pictures. Take note of Aubrey wanting to be like Minnie.

I will be downloading more photos soon of the three boys but this is one of the only ones I have of Bryant on my camera. He loved any ride he could go on. Dumbo, the Carousel, Peter Pan...I am pretty sure that in a couple of years he will be wanting to go on the biggest and fastest rides at any theme park.

It was so fun to spend time with Drew, Annie & Noah. We had fun at the pool a couple of days and I particulary liked watching this kid pick up and throw any balls he could find as many times as he could.


Aubrey will also tell you that Cinderella's "naughty stepsisters" learned how to be kind from Cinderella because they stopped her when she was walking in this dress to tell her how beautiful her dress was. She kind of likes the wicked stepsisters now. :)

She also loved the rides at Disneyworld and Papa was a sport in taking her on this particular roller coaster over and over and over.

To finish off our trip we trick-or-treated in downtown Gresham with the grandparents and Aunt Shana & Uncle Dan. Aubrey as a very happy Bumble Bee. Bryant was a not-so-happy monster.

Jack stopped by before trick-or-treating to show off his shark costume. I don't normally like sharks but I'm pretty crazy about this one.

Can you tell that Bryant is done? Done with traveling, done with pictures, done with everything. He did not change his expression the entire evening.