Our Christmas

The kids opened up their presents, then their pizza shop. They have stayed very busy making pizza for all their hungry customers.

We headed down to Gresham after John got off work on Friday. Bubs wore out just before hand and this is the position we found him in.

We headed straight for Anderson Christmas...with almost the whole crew.

I am one lucky girl.

On Saturday we were with the Petersen side. The celebration kicked off with all the "big" kids (2 & up) singing Happy Birthday and bringing out Jesus' cake(s). There was one cake per kid...which made 4.

The big boys doing a really good job of sharing...that is such a hard thing to learn.

Attempt at Christmas jammies shot. Jack & Sam were already headed home.

Meet Olive Anderson. She is Aubrey's baby and she goes with us everywhere. Aubs needs to have a girl somewhere in the mix with the lot of boys, right?

These two are hilarious. And they love each other.

We have the cutest nephews in the world. See what I mean? This is the latest edition, Levi.

We had such a happy Christmas. We are so blessed with such great families.

Caroling, Parties, And More

We've been up to quite a bit lately. This is a terrible picture, but a wonderful group of friends who we've been going caroling with through the month of December. Each week we go to a different neighborhood.

I've had a lot of fun lately making different breads. English muffins are lots of fun and make incredible breakfast sandwiches!

We watched Daddy fly a man in a big red suit into town.

Hosted the Anderson family reunion. This was about half of the crew that made the trek over to our neck of the woods.

During the singing time all three kids made their way over to Daddy's lap. I was being very helpful by taking a picture. :)

The ONLY picture of Stuart smiling on his birthday. Somebody was Mr. Cranky Pants that day. I think a tooth and growth spurt may be the culprit.

You wouldn't guess it from this picture but this kid LOVED his cake. I asked him, "Stuart, is that yummy?" to which he replied, "DAH," with a huge nod of his head. Every time he would take a bite he would start nodding his head as if to say, "Yes, this is delicious." And he finished every last bite.

Reading his birthday card.

Aubs & Bryant dancing to a song from Holiday Inn. They are really cute if I might say so myself.

And then the attempts at a 1 year birthday picture. To start with I don't have a fancy camera. To continue it probably wouldn't matter if I did because I am not a photographer. But we tried.

"You want a picture, Mom? HA."

Debonaire.

Happy in the rocking chair.

"Did you want me to smile? Not today."

"Blech...It looked good, it doesn't taste so good."

Squishy cuteness. Oh how I love him.

Stuart Graham

Is it even possible that one year ago today we said hello to our Stuart Graham? Stu boy, what a joy it was to meet you for the first time and to introduce you to your sister and brother.



It's fun thinking back to that afternoon when we all were waiting in anticipation to find out whether you would be a brother baby or a sister baby. Most everyone thought for certain you were going to be a girl but the minute your name was announced we thought, "Well, of course he's Stuart. He is exactly what our family needs."



You certainly have a spirit of independence in you and you are unafraid of danger.
You have been the quickest to walk out of the siblings and the day after you took full steps across the living room I found you standing on top of the fireplace. You love climbing...everything. I recently found you on top of the table in Aubrey & Bryant's room, looking out the window.




Another special thing about you is I would call you a collector. You find empty boxes (like the butter box I left out to burn later) and travel all around the house picking up odds and ends and placing them in your new box. Or cup. You always have some store of treasure in one hand.



Daddy & I pray that you will have a strong soul, steady and firm in your pursuit of God and the plans He has for you. We pray that the determination we have seen in you will grow into a determination to love and serve others, showing them Jesus' love for them. Our hearts are so full of joy, little man, that you are in our lives. Happy birthday. We love you.

It's Always Fun...

...to watch Daddy fly his helicopter. They thought it was cool that he was flying Santa in, and were excited to give Santa pictures they had drawn.

Bonus was Daddy waving as he was shutting down the helicopter. I love John. And I love how deeply he loves his family.


{video credit: Melanee Berman, friend}

I May Have Laughed. And Related.

I may look a little disheveled, but I sure do love these littles.

Away In A Manger

Thankful Once Again

23-30:

23: the changing seasons. I am thankful for the anticipation that comes as each new season arrives.

24: getting older. Did I just say that? :) I realize I am only approaching 30 but I've started realizing how pressured I can feel to not look like I'm approaching 30. I'm thankful that at close-to-30 I can look back and see how different I am from when I was 16...18...20. God is truly working on me and I am excited to see how much better each year will get as I yield my heart to Him.

25: laughter.

26. my nephews. Jack, Sam, Noah & Levi: I marvel at who these little boys are, all unique in their personalities and preferences. They are four more miracles in this life that I thoroughly enjoy watching. What purposes and plans does God have for each of them?

27. my nieces. Grace, Ella, & Molly: all three unique and beautiful, with bold personalities that make my heart smile. Yet three more miracles. God has an exciting future ahead for them, I'm sure.
28. My grandparents. Oh, how I miss them. But I'm so thankful that they are part of who I am.

29. My grandmother-in-laws. Both have embraced me right into the Anderson family, both have lived lives of impact for their grandchildren. Strong women who have left strong legacies.

30. John. I think this is the third installment but there are so many qualities that I am thankful for in him. Just saying his name doesn't seem sufficient. I am thankful for the way he patiently meets everyone (including me) where they are, with no expectations for them. He is a pure picture for me of how Jesus meets people; with complete acceptance of who they are but not once pretending that that's all the person can be.

My heart is full of thanks to God for His gifts to me.

Thankful Round Three

Day 18-22:

18: I'm thankful for music. Growing up our house was always filled with some sort of music; that is part of what made it home. Hopefully my kids will feel that way too someday.

19: *taken off of a friends' statement* I'm thankful for my dishwasher, washer, dryer, & crockpot. All of which have been working hard lately while I get a chance to sit down and blog. :)

20: I'm thankful for dear friends, near and far, who journey with my family and me in different seasons of our lives.

21: I'm thankful for our chickens. Thankful for the eggs that they provide and thankful that we have a little taste of country life for a few years.

22: I'm thankful for the woodstove. And the warm fire burning inside of it that my husband started for me first thing this morning.

Ready to Fly. And More Thankful.

Someone gifted us with this play flight suit today. Bryant was so excited to put it on and go fly his "big orange helicopter." Just like Daddy.


Days 15-17:

15: My home. I'm thankful that my kids have warm, dry beds to lay down in at night.

16: Food. My kids have never been hungry. I've never had to worry as a mother that I might not be able to feed my children. That's a luxury and I'm grateful for it.

17: Mochas. Drinking one quite often puts a smile on my face.

Thankful...

Days 6-14:

6: My husband. His work ethic, his perseverence, his drive to do well that which God has put before him to do.

7: My parents. The way they have embraced loving well those who live close. Did you know that it is a lot harder sometimes to love those closest to you than loving strangers? It's true. Mom & Dad love well.

8. My brothers. My friends. I admire the way you are leading your homes. It's fun seeing the way you both have embraced the "grown up" phase of life. Not all men do that, and you both do it well. Drew & Blake, you model well loving your wives and loving your boys. I'm priveleged to be your sister.

9. My sisters. By marriage they started, by choice they've grown. Annie & Stephanie, I would have chosen both of you for friends. I'm so thankful that you just happen to be related. :) I admire the way you love my brothers. And I admire the way you both live out being mommy to Noah & Levi, and Jack & Sam, respectively.

10. My in-laws. I've so enjoyed watching our relationship blossom. Thank you for raising such a remarkable man and for loving me into your family.

11. My Anderson in-laws. Such an amazing group of siblings; hard working, God-honoring, adventure-filled siblings. I'm thankful to be counted as part of this family.

12. This country. The land where we want for nothing and we need nothing. The soldiers who lay their lives down day in, day out, month in, month out, year in, year out. The families who have the empty spot at their table over the holiday celebrations because their loved one (and they) are laying their lives down to protect the freedoms that many have begun to feel entitled to.

13. Our police force. In particular the Portland police force who are graciously and carefully handling those who feel it is their right to occupy Portland, destroy its' parks, and leave trash all over to prove a point to the hard working "rich." Thank you, thank you, policemen & women who have given up vacation time, days off, time with their family to babysit.

14. Church. And church family. I'm so thankful for Sundays, church days, to listen to the Word of God being preached and explained.

Thankful...

I love the idea of doing 30 Days of Thankful...here's my first 5 days:

1. The Lord's salvation to me; His grace and mercy in not leaving me beside the road as a hopeless mess. His incredible love in continuing to work in me, even as I fall short over and over and over again.

2. My husband. His continuous pursuit of loving me, studying me, caring for me even when ugly rears her head.

3. Aubrey Grace. My first. The little lady who made me a mommy. She is my first wonder of this world.

4. Bryant Nathanael. My first son. The boy who marches to whatever beat he decides on any particular day. My second wonder of this world.

5. Stuart Graham. My third born. My independent, content, strong-willed baby boy. My third wonder of this world.

Trick-or-Treating

Heading out to go Trick-or-Treating with Papa & Nana.

Aubrey was a sister from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Seriously, she's 4. If you're lucky she'll even do the dance from the movie for you, too.
Bryant was on a mission to get candy this year. He would shuffle his way to the store fronts and yell, "Happy Hawo-ween!" He was so serious about it, in fact, that he went missing for the longest minute of my life. I went racing down Main Street to find a nice stranger in my face asking, "Is he yours?" YES! Bryant, what were you doing? "I go get mow-a tandy." (I go get more candy.) He wasn't phased. I was.

Happy Harvest. Hope you had as much fun as we did.

Reading Chair, Big Boys & Helmets

Someone likes Sissy's reading chair. This was unstaged. I promise. He climbs up with a book, sits and "reads" it...

when finished, he climbs down, takes his book...

...and exchanges it for another one. Back to the chair.

Daddy has been doing such a good job of teaching Bryant how to be "strong in spirit." To do big boy work, in a big boy way. I missed the action shots but this was just as they were coming in from their hard work stacking wood on the wood pile.

Aubs & Bryant like to sword fight. These were their helmets.