14 Day Walk with Christ

For Young women's as part of personal progress they are given some activities or challenges to help progress toward completing each Value. I am not sure if they are still doing the necklaces as awards in addition to the new things, but for each value that is completed you get a ribbon of that value color to go on your YW scripture marker. The leaders are also invited to do it, so I took on the "challenge" but it has definitely been a challenge with 2 kids and many other responsibilities. Today in church the sister who is in charge of personal progress handed out one of these activities. I'm not sure which value this goes toward(many multiple ones) but she asked if I would like to do it, so I am! It is a "14 Day Walk with christ" where for each day there are different questions relating to christ or his example. we are to record these in a journal. Since my blog is like my online journal I though I would post my "answers" on here everyday during the 14 day challenge. I am also recording it in a separate file on my computer. I am not going to post the questions, I'm going to do it in more of a "random thoughts on christ" style. so here is the first day, today

Day 1

The members of the God Head are their to help us succeed on our path back to them, they being, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Each has a significant role in our Salvation. They want us to learn from mistakes that we make from trials that we will face and most importantly they want us to have faith in them for we have not seen them during our time on this Earth and want us to show the ultimate faith in their love and support for our return.

As a daughter of God I have never really thought in depth about my heavenly home and what it means to me that I come from a Royal heavenly line! As with any “earthly” royal part of a family, there is much to learn about being a part of Heavenly Father's plan for all us. It is important that we step back and look at our earthly journey's as part of a greater piece to being with our Father again. We are all unique in what we have to offer and need to use these divine qualities to help our children and others to return to their Heavenly home with the knowledge, experience, and extended faith we have gained.

Understanding my place in God's Kingdom will help me to accept the qualities and talents as inherited by my Heavenly Father and that it is my purpose to nurture those into a way of life and of course having my savior as the ultimate example of how to grow. To remember that my/our ultimate goal to to return to Heavenly Father with the best job done to offer and knowing that my best will be graciously accepted as long as it was done with a full and honest heart.

Oh the Week I've had...!!

So to start my week off... my treadmill breaks, apparently the motor went ca-poot, which almost never happens and it why it is warrantied for 25 yrs! Great..looks like I got the one-in-a-million dud. so they shipped me a new one..(you mean "I" have to put it back on??) yep! Then later that night, Delia goes to grab some food off a hot pan from the oven and burns herself..pretty bad!

Then tues morning it is evident that the kiddos are sick with a cold. it's been affecting Andrew more than Delia. so preshcool...and my hair appt is cancelled!

Then later that night my sweet visiting teacher calls to ask if she can come visit, I tell her mornings work best and she says "okay, what about 9 am?" sure I say, but quickly regret it because 1) I usually don't get up until 8:45-9 am( I know...lucky me) and the kids are sick and will most likely be up during the night(which they were) so that will kill me. I consider calling her when my alarm goes off at 8 am to push the time back to 10:30 am, but I talk myself out of it and drag my tired body out of bed. I'm ready the kids are ready, and at 9:25 am, she calls to tell me she forgot and was in a city about 30 mins away. okay, that's alright, I've been there!

Then I decide to check Delia's burn since I let her keep the guaze pad I had taped over it. As I peel it off, a large chunk of skin comes with it!! No she has an open would that I do not want to get infected and we have no more "large bandages" to cover it...oh, and Delia is having a conniption fit over it all!!

So I decide to take advantage of the morning that I have and run to target to get some things(including bandages). Of course when I walk into the store I see their springs line clothing..so I have to try some things on. while in the dressing room, Delia tells me she has to go #2...so I tell her hold it for a little longer I have 2 more shirts to try on. so as I'm rounding up everything, she then tells me..."but mom, I already went!" what??!! greeeeeaaat! By this time Andrew is really getting fussy and cries the whole way to the end of the store for the bathrooms smelling stinky the whole way. Yes! Wonderful! I grab Andrew and my wallet and keys and go into the family bathroom. I hoped it would be just a simple plop and go...nope...it was messy! So there I am, Andrew on the dirty floor screaming, me yelling at Delia, Delia crying also, washing her underwear in the toilet. What a glorious day this has turned out to be! And to make matter worse, when everything is seemingly taken care of I go to grab my keys(angrily mind you) and smack my knee so hard I almost passed out! it hurt like nothing else!

Friday...my treadmill motor came. Wow! They told me 7-10 business days! Sweet! So Christian "offers" to help me put on the new one(how they think it's as easy as picking a flower, I'll never know) needless to say..it took 2 hours of frustration, and arguing, and the sacrifice of christian's smashed finger!!!!(don't ask!) we finally get it back on!

To make matters worse, Andrew has been non-stop cranky this whole week and the 2 lbs I lost at the beginning of the week I gained back( despite my continued exercising and yard work)! Just one of those weeks I guess. Crossing my fingers that this next week brings me just a little luck!

Andrew's New Ride...

Is Andrew a beautiful baby or what??!! Goodness, I love this boy! Some friends of ours were going to throw some toys away and Christian offered to take them. While we were re-sealing our drive-way(another story to come) we were hanging out in the garage. So I decided to put Andrew in the little car and push him around....needless to say, he loved it!! I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by and not take pictures. I then let Delia push him around and every time he passed by I would wave and he would wave back! It was the cutest thing ever! I love times like these when you thoroughly enjoy your children. Although I did get pictures, I wish I would have gotten a little bit on video because it was a very special moment! This summer is going to be soooo fun with him!

Christian's New Toy..

Christian got a new toy! That's right..a riding lawn mower!! He is very excited about it! It's amazing how fast we can mow the lawn..like 10-15 mins tops! It's pretty fun to drive around as a tractor we both took Delia for a ride! It is kind of like a milestone in our life...first lawn mower, first time cutting our own grass!! Is it wrong that we actually look forward to mowing the lawn? :)

Updates...finally!!

So it has been waaaaay too long since I have posted on my blog! the longest ever! so here are a couple of updates on what has been happening with the Anderson family!

Andrew: He is now 10 months old!! Holy smokes! He has been crawling since the end of Jan. and is walking along the tables and couches, he also loves to walk with his "walker" hopefully I can figure out how to post the video clip of his new skills! he is doing much better with eating. Since Nov. (which most of you may not know) he has had a difficult time gaining weight. either he was slowing weaning himself from breastfeeding, or my milk supply when down hill, or both. I think his surgery back in sept jump started the whole rollercoaster. he completely stopped nursing in Jan. (7 months old) and went to formula for about a week. since then I can only get him to drink 1 bottle of formula in the mornings, yogert mixed with formula powder, and the heartiest baby foods I can find. I just found him water bottle with a straw and likes to drink water from that. he has since moved from the 3% to the 10% and has continued to stay there the past 2 doctor visits. He is now: 17 lbs 12 oz. (10%) 28.5 in. (50%) and head is (25%) so he is just a little guy! Hopefully he can stay on track with his growth.

He is a great sleeper, he takes 3 naps a day before bedtime(but I think he is slowly moving to just 2 naps). He has no teeth yet. He def. has been working on them since 6 months and probably won't get any until he is at least 1 yr. He is almost always happy! His smile melts my heart every time. He likes his little cars and loves the door stoppers on the door. His recent favorite thing is the TUB! he absolutely looooves it! he makes a beeline for the bathroom when he hears the tub being started, it is the cutest thing! He WILL NOT go to sleep without his soft monkey blanket!!! This summer is going to be really fun with him. He is such a joy in our lives!

Delia: She is growing up fast too! 3.5 yrs! Wow! She loves her little preschool and is doing better everyday. She can count to 20! She knows the alphabet, but we are still working on letter recognition. Leap frog letter factory has really helped. I plan on doing my own little "home preschool" with her this fall. Hopefully that will go well. She now apparently know how to chew gum!! so be it. I may regret it tough, but the child is going to do no matter what I say anyway. she has been saying the funniest things of late. I can't remember them all, but will post more when I think of them. She is always asking questions, particularly WHY. it is driving me nuts to say the least!! She is a pretty good helper when she wants to be. We continue to get her to clean her own room by herself, it continues to be a work in progress.

Gina: Aside from trying to lose this baby weight, cleaning, cooking 3 separate meals, laundry, dusting, grocery shopping, paying bills, making phone calls for various things, business finances, trip plannings, missionary dinner calender supervisor, YW teacher, ...oh and taking care of the kids and the majority of their needs, in my minuscule spare time I like to:

Make Bows (just opened up my etsy store)
Make flower hair clips
READ(really want to make more time for this...I love it and have so many books to read)
Watch movies & my fav TV shows(Fringe, Burn Notice, and Mythbusters) which is all through the DVR now.
Blog (although I have been horrible for the past 5 months)

Since Oct. I have developed a new obsession (another reason why blogging went on a hiatus)

Ju-Ju-Be Bags!!!

It is sort of what I am collecting as of late. The prints are so much fun and the use of the bags are practical. There are so many different designs once you get sucked into the world of JuJuBe it's hard to climb out! hahaha! the "obsession" has now died down, especially since Christian is not too happy about it. but it's all evened out now! I can relax and be happy with my "stash" and not have the urge to get something different/new. It's exciting to be able to have bag/wallet options and switch them every week or 2. it makes being a mom more exciting! I love it!

Christian: Still works very hard for us! He loves making replica pottery and it very happy summer is approaching! we will be doing a lot of camping/recreational trips this summer and one includes a family reunion in Tennessee! he really enjoys working in the yard and has a few projects he plans to work on. 1) he wants to build a large shed from scratch with electricity and possibly putting in a sink. 2) doing stone work on the back of the house to cover up the peeling stucco that never got fixed :( 3) putting down pavers to extend our patio. 4) planting another garden, which we plan to do together.

I will try to post some pictures later and be better about updates!! Sorry everyone!

Halloween

Halloween was a little funner this year because Delia is more aware of the Holiday now! Plus now we have Andrew! Delia was a pumpkin fairy/witch and Andrew was her pumpkin. We went to our Tri-ward "Trunk-or-Treat", which we do every year, but there is getting to be way too many peopleAside from Andrew having a bit of a melt down and Delia getting lost...it was a fun night. I spent too much time on my chili that didn't even get judged and it was THE BOMB!! so I think next year we will just do the trunk or treat. Delia kept saying, "this is so much fun, mom!" Love it!




















This is one silly Girl!!!

Oh, so that's what my shirt says!

I love this one! Delia is so beautiful and grown up!

Andrew is getting big too, but he is starting to get a little cranky here!

Some new, well deserved toys!

Black Baby! So classic and sleek, yet so hard to keep clean.

Leather interior! Yeah, it's nice, but I slide around in it like nobody's business! Getting out of my seatbelt and reaching back to tend to the kids during trips is an olympic effort! but it's sooo nice looking!

Some of the features: heated seats, instant cooling/heating system(lets you know the exact temp. you're bringing the car to.) Single CD player, 6 CD change player, cassette player(why they put that in? hmmm) and of course what you all have been waiting for....

That's right people....A DVD player! It is life changing when you travel with kids! So saved mine when I drove it home from Utah with the kiddos while Christian drove the other one with our other goodies! It's a 2005, fully loaded Honda Pilot! We were really debating on whether to get a Pilot or an Odessey. you can go back country driving in a mini van, so the obvious choice was the Pilot and we really like it. such a step up from our 1998 CRV! All I cared about was the DVD player, but all of the other features are extra goodies.

Our new table. So chic! We got it on sale and the very last one! We love it! It also comes with 2 leifs that go on the ends the table doesn't look very big in the picture, but this table cloth is the biggest they make and it barely covers it. With the leifs on it measures 120 in. long + the over hang of the table cloth. looks like I am going to have to make a special one when we have large company over. I do plan to get a clear plastic one to put on it so you can see the beautiful wood top!

The chair

The couches! I love these they have such a country villa feel to them! we got these here in Farmington a couple of weeks before the other stuff! It's nice to not have to sport our blue striped one anymore (I was so done with the blue) and the mis-matched love seat that was with it. No worries, we still have them, but they have been sperated for their own good into seperate rooms! Welcome to your new home couches, we'll be sure to make ourselves comfortable!

OUR almost FINISHED BACKYARD!!

Just before the grass.

Grass!!! Finally! It's been a long time coming, but we finally have grass and a yard for Delia to play in! We LOVE our waterfall. It's a lot bigger than I expected, but I ain't complainin'! As you can see we had/have a massive slope in that area and all the dirt needed to be retained and properly..less another freak storm hits next year and we're toast! So we figured why not put in a water feature right in that place, it would help retain the dirt as well as dress up the yard. Much time saving for these two projects!!! But it was worth it! We spent a lot of time preparing this yard...weeds and rocks, rocks and weeds...did I mention weeds and rocks? yep. No more heavy labor, needless to say the "up keep" won't be as bad, but I'll try to hold that thought until we start to mow the lawn next year...I might eat my words! Next year we are going to have a sweet Easter egg hunt! whoop! Now you all are going to have to visit us! We would LOVE to have you!

My New Skill- Homemade Salsa!

8 OF THESE +

LOTS OF PEPPERS, ONIONS, & CILANTRO =

THIS YUMMY STUFF x OH, 4 OR SO....&

PUT INTO THESE, WHICH I ACTUALLY HAD TO COOK TO DO...

and didn't particularly like canning...too much time! Sooooo....

we gave some away, ate a lot of it, and now the last batch of the season I have made

is going to be frozen! I tried roasting the tomatoes, which did give it a little bit of a smokey flavor, but I don't think it was worth double the time it took me..or maybe I was doing it wrong. either way I think my salsa is super tasty. Maybe not as par with some of you slasa kings(you know who you are) but I do like it better than most Mexican restaurants! So I think I will just stick to throwing everything in my new food processor(WHICH I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!!) why did I wait so long to get one? It goes along with all the other great inventions, washer & dryer, hand held vacuum, spray mop...you know...the neccessities that make life seem like a breeze..sometimes! This is one of the BIG projects I have been working on, oh, the last 3 months! We had an OVERLOAD of tomatoes this year! I actually had to give about 5 big bowls worth away because I am not a canner and don't use "canned" tomatoes very often. but making it with a food processor makes it much funner and faster! Homemade salsa always tastes better with garden fresh produce!!!! Wish I could share with you all. Just come for a visit and I'll whip you up some.