Matt and Molly Anderson

Spring Break

2010-04-06T10:08:00.007-06:00

I know, I know, I say I'll try harder and it is even longer. See what you get when you complain? A procrastinator!!! Well, yes I am! Anyway, there hasn't been too much going on other than the daily busy, busy, busy. Matt actually posted the pics of Amelia's sealing, so I really have been a slacker. After we had her sealing, we had lunch and blessed her. She did have a little name change. Her new name is Sarra Amelia Anderson. It's kind of fun because she will go by her middle name just like Christian, and I have a great-great grandmother Sarah Amelia Britton, so it is a family name too. But she still goes by Amelia, which is the name her bio-family had given her. I loved it because like Christian, it kind of honors everyone. Mom and Dad had gone into the MTC on Feb. 1 so we really thought they would miss the sealing, but, the Lord knows how to work things. They had made a mistake on the court date, so the adoption ended up being sooner - like really quick, on the 2nd. We thought it would be the 17th. So when we found out if had been moved up, they got permission to come to the sealing, because the adoption was final on the 2nd. So, anyway, Mom & Dad got permission to be there and then to be in Texas a day later, so they got to come home and then go with us to the sealing, and do the blessing that afternoon, and then they headed down the road to Texas. We are so excited for this mission. We know they will do great!

After they left, we just got to hang for a couple of days. It was just that busy daily living. Than we had some fun and excitement. Matt had a little surgery. He had to have a hemorroidectomy. What a fun few days for him!!! He is still trying to recover. That poor man. Needless to say, he didn't feel like he could sit for a week to go on vacation with us. I don't blame him.

Then later that week was our beautiful McKenzies wedding! It was so fun and gorgeous. She was so beautiful. They really did a great job on the wedding. It turned out beautiful! Isn't she gorgeous?

And soon after that we were off on vacation!! And, whew was it busy. It was like that seeing 14 countries in 3 days. We had planned a little driving, but I forgot it was California, not rural Utah. Most of the days it was just like 100 miles. Should've been no big deal, a couple of hours, but it was more like triple that. Crazy of us to forget that.

Anyway, we went to San Francisco first for 2 days. - We got to do a bay cruise. This is us heading under the Golden Gate, And Mom and Les on the boat. The other pic is Klynton seeing how the harbor seal feels. And of course Miss Amelia at the pool in her cute strawberry shortcake suit. Isn't that face just precious?

After we were done in San Fran for a few, then we hit Monterey bay, and the aquarium. This is the kids in the giant clam shell, and then touching the rays. Jullian was feeling picked on because they were fast, and he couldn't get a good feel. Then we got to watch Diver Mike feed the fish down inside the big tank. It was kind of exciting because he had one of the big fish who was really hungry knock the food bucket to the bottom. Both he and the guide said that had never happened to them during one of the shows. He had to be a little more careful after that.

Then on to Pismo Beach, and Solvang (the real reason for the trip) - Mom had always wanted to see it after Dad had been there, but never got to go. He got sick. So Les and I decided we had better take her before she had such a hard time getting around that it wouldn't be enjoyable for her. This is the kids all in a shoe. Isn't that cute? They were all actually semi-agreeable. Somewhere early on the trip I had the kids say "Cheese & Potatoes", so every time the camera was out Christian would keep saying it. It was so stinking cute! And, I think that's what she's in the middle of saying. The other pic is Klynton and Christian on the statue of Hans Christian Andersen. Kind of Christian's namesake. So, I thought I'd better get a snap of them together, for posterity.

Mom even got in the hot tub at Pismo - COOL!!!! Well, hot for her - she loved it! She loved Solvang! She said that was definitely the highlight of the trip for her. Then we drove to Vegas for the last night. Stayed at the Orleans. Not too bad. Smoky though. It was kind of fun, because they were having a rockabilly weekend. So, everyone was dressed in the cuffed jeans, and they all had their hair done. Guys were slicked back, and the women actually had coiff's. They were wearing the form fitting dress, with their hair up, and the bright red lips - It was so fun to just look at the people!

Then we took the kids out to an old west town with a petting zoo the next morning. It was kind of cool. Here is my little cowboy in his new sherriff's hat. And, it wouldn't be complete without the saloon girl and the cowboy hanging out.

It will be a fun place when they get the rest up and running. It is an older place, but has been closed, and re-opened a few times. There is a train too. Called Bonnie Springs.

Amelia sealing!!

2010-02-17T22:09:00.002-07:00

Here's a picture of the day we sealed Amelia to our family. Shortly hereafter, we blessed her, and sent Rod & Judie to Texas! Big day- lots of tears.

Time to catch up

2010-01-19T11:55:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I know I'm a total slacker. I only really have time to catch up every once in a while. I am in the office today, and I had a few minutes between work and home stuff, so I thought I'd write a little bit to catch up.

Matt has been working hard in the garage to finally get things organized. He hung some cool storage up on the ceiling that you can crank down and keep stuff stored up high. He hung the bikes up, and the stroller. It is awesome, because I might actually get to park the car in there sometime before--SPRING! That might be a really exciting thing!

I have just been adjusting to 3 kids. Crazy. Things are going along, but some days my patience runs out before the hours in the day do. I have enjoyed the kids though. They do some cute things that make me laugh. And there never seems to be enough time. I don't know why but this winter has seemed interminably long. Most winters are great, but I just can't seem to get spring and summer here fast enough. I think it has something to do with kids trapped in the house.

Jullian has been doing well. The honeymoon is over, and some days are tougher than others. It is hard some days, and I can definitely see the difference in children that you have from birth versus children you have to start over with. Sometimes I assume he knows certain things, and my frustration rises when he just looks at me and asks, "What do I do now?"- Know what I mean?

Christian is well, and cute as ever. She has really gotten good riding a little scooter her cousin gave her, and she gets booking on that thing. She had a little visit to the ER the other week. Matt was getting his shoes on, and she fell somehow underneath him. He doesn't know if she hit her head on the shoe cubbies, or just the floor. She was holding her coat, and he is not sure if it was on her head, or around her shoulders, or what, but the upshot is that she cracked her noggin open. We had to go and get three "stitchies". She was such a trooper. She had quit crying before we even got to the car, and she only cried when the doctor stuck the needle in to shoot the numby stuff. She got a blanket, a stuffed animal, and some candy. She came out thinking that wasn't such a bad place. This is a pic you can kind of see the stiches.

Amelia was the same way that same week when we made her visit to the ER too. She had been barfing the night before, and cried most of the rest of it. So, when 7 am rolled around, we finally decided we needed to take her in. I thought she may have swallowed something because I found a partially eaten piece of stick. Just my luck she would've done it too. She's at that stage where everything gets put in her mouth. But, they did X-rays, and found that there was nothing there, and then the doc says, "Can I check her ears and throat?" I said sure, and he proceeded to see that she had a double ear infection. He then told me that would definitely be the cause of the barfing, and the crying. He asked if she had had any kind of a fever. I told him no, and that neither baby has gotten fevers either with ears, or teeth coming. I am always the lucky mother that way. This pic is the little O2 saturation thing. They had to put it on her toe. I thought it was so cute.

The funniest/worst part is that I took Amelia in on Tues., then Mom fell on Sat. and by Mon. I had to take her in to the ER for her broken foot - fun for her - and then on Thurs. I was back with Christian for the head. What a week or so that was. We had a great Christmas, and as soon as I get pics downloaded again I will tell you more about that. Otherwise, I know I always say it, but I will try to keep posted. Take care!

Adjusting

2009-12-04T12:42:00.002-07:00

I have been stuck in the office for the last few days, getting bills and payroll done, so I have had a few minutes here and there to see how things are going, and decided to give an update for the last few days.

Jullian is doing pretty well. He survived his first day at school, and I didn't have a call from the teacher. Things must have gone okay. He came home and did his homework, and that went great too. He is sure a cute boy.

Home life adjusting has been going pretty well too. There has been a pretty big adjustment for Christian. She has done super though. There is of course the tattles, and the "She's touching me.", but all in all, things are going swimming. We will definitely see more as time goes on. This is considered the honeymoon period, so things can change as time goes on. I hope not too much though. I would love to see Jullian have a chance at having some normalcy in his life. Well, have a great day!

A new addition

2009-12-01T22:20:00.005-07:00

I know, so if life isn't crazy enough, we've just added to the mix. We are happy to announce that we have just taken in another foster child. His name is Jullian. He is 7 years old, and what a cutie! We are really hoping that all goes well and this could turn into a permanent adoption. He is such a cute boy. The girls love him already, and he is pretty excited about being a big brother. He seems to be falling into place, and we will keep our fingers crossed.

Things have been crazy - as you might have guessed. We got decorated for the holidays just before Thanksgiving, and had most of the fam here. It was so much fun. I just love getting everyone together. We hung out and ate way too much. We picked up Jullian on Wed. right before Thanksgiving, and then went down to St. George on Sun. to take him home. We stayed the night, and then just headed straight back home on Mon. Just have been feeling like we've been on the road for a few days straight. I know this time of year, a lot of people feel the same.

The girls have been great. The dang things just keep getting bigger, and bigger. These are some pics I just took tonight. I wanted to show off Jullian, and the other two were just so cute. Christian actually said, "You take my picture mommy." I told her to smile and she actually did.

- AMAZING!!!

And Amelia,
man isn't there just something so cute about her looks? They are sure dolls.

Life...happens

2009-11-17T01:14:00.004-07:00

Life has been kinda crazy, and it just seems to get crazier. I was looking at my schedule for the next couple of weeks and I might just have to hire a new brain. If I make it through Thanksgiving weekend and the next few days, I will be better, but then I think I just need to start planning for Christmas. Crazy, crazy, crazy - does anyone else feel this way?

Well, here are a few pics of lately.

Matt and I had the chance to go to New York! We had a lot of fun saw some fabulous shows, ate some great food, saw the cool sights and just overall had a great time together. Then Matt was sweet enough to come home and take care of our beauties (mostly all by himself :)) while I went on a cruise with his sister. He did a fabulous job! I had a good time, but missed my babes (All three) terribly, and was so glad to see them.

This pic was us on the Staten Island ferry just after passing the Statue of Liberty, coming back to the harbor at Battery Park. I thought it would be a lot more scary in the city than it was, because I've just kind of been a small town girl all of my life. It wasn't too bad though. We got around easily enough. We even rode the subway! I have to tell the funniest thing though. We were in Central Park, just checking things out, and we had been walking through for a bit. We had probably been there 30 minutes. We had seen the big fields, and were just finishing seeing the Belvedere castle.(It's a local weather monitoring spot now, so you can walk clear to the top), and as we were leaving, there is a bunch of scrub oak, and local vegetation with paths running through it. I finally looked at Matt and said, " You know we can see this kind of nature right where we live, lets go back to the buildings." He looked at me and laughed and said, "You're right, it does look like the hills, just with mown grass too." So we promptly left and got surrounded by the buildings. We decided we had more than enough nature at home, we were here to see the fascinating city sights. I told Matt as we were walking out that I could see why people love it so much though. To have a big park like that in the middle of a city that big was a cool thing to see - we just didn't need to spend a lot of time there.

Things are getting closer to adoption with Amelia. We have a couple of court things to do, then the state has to meet, then we might be able to get a court date for just after the new year. Hopefully all will go smoothly, and we can all be one big, happy family, and have the adoption done. That would be a very nice thing.

Amelia is full on walking (running) now, and is so cute! This is a picture of her first real steps in multiples. We were outside and finally got her to walk across the deck. It was awesome!

Amelia got a real haircut. Her bangs were looking really straggly, and we just needed to do something. I could just picture her with this cute little haircut, so we did it the other day. Isn't she a doll?

This pic of Christian was so cute. Matt was out working on Gram's van doing something and Christian decided, "My help Daddy", so she just crawled right under, and helped out. Isn't this just adorable though?

Halloween was fun! We dressed the girls up like Bo-Peep and her sheep.

Amelia was the lamb, and Christian also had her "lamby", that she has to hang onto all of the time.

They turned out so cute in their costumes!

Mom even found herself a BEAU! Isn't he the cat's PJ's? I think they are such a match!

This is also a pic of Daddy with his babes. Aren't they all precious?

Last little comments - If Christian isn't the funniest. She has too go to bed with "Lamby", "Lopster" - a little red lobster I brought her from Boston, and her "Night Moon" book, and to top it off, her "Sheep in a Jeep" book - crazy , huh? But cuuuuuuute! The bed gets a little full. She won't let you read the books once she is in bed either. She says, "My read the books - you no." She kills me she is so cute. Amelia has just started the last few days to really say, "Yeah" and nods her head. And when I say nod, I mean it. That little head bobs so hard, you would think it was getting loose. But still the cutest.

Well, people, it's been fun but I'd better get to bed. I've got a lot to do tomorrow. Loves yas!

Longest post ever...

2009-09-18T11:14:00.015-06:00

Okay so there is not a lot of time and I can't seem to get these pictures labeled, or moved to where I want them - any clues or tips? There are pics here from the spring,(the kids playing outside with Matt), our summer (4thof July), Amelia's birthday party, Family Home Evenings, ( here and at Dave's and Lyn's). Our new puppy Scarlet, and our trips to the zoo and the state fair. Also, the new addition on the shed. Notice the one of Christian asleep on the changing table. I went upstairs one morning to get the girls up to go somewhere, and seriously found Christian up there asleep. She had crawled up there sometime in the night, and gone back to sleep. What a scary perch to sleep on! I had to take a pic for posterity. I am so sorry this was so long coming. Let me know if you have a question. I will try to be better in the future, and not wait so long. They are kind of out of order time wise but mostly together from when they were taken (except FHE at Lyn's - for some reason they are all over). Enjoy, and I will really try harder to not go so long.

Colton - this is for you! - love you!!!

I know it's about time..

2009-04-29T17:00:00.010-06:00

Well... life here has been pretty good. I'm sorry I haven't been very diligent lately. I thought I'd be better at this so that Colton could keep up and a few others I don't get to see often. We have had quite the time since my last blog. We had a little vacation, Matt and Christians birthdays, general conference, Easter, the Drive-In opening, FHE's, all kinds of stuff. There will be a few pics, and a little"splaining".

These pics are of a couple of the Indian ruins we saw. Matt and I went down to New Mexico via Torrey, and Capitol Reef. We stayed in Farmington and went to Chaco Canyon for about a minute and then the next day went up to Mesa Verde(the other pic), and stayed in Cortez CO. We stayed in a B&B that actually had ruins onsite, and that was pretty cool.( The pic with the painting on the walls is down inside the kiva at the B&B.) We had a really good time just having a couple of days to ourselves, and then we had to come home and get ready for the crazy summer months. We have a ton of stuff we are going to try to get done this summer in the yard, and it always seems like there is more stuff to do.

We got home, and that next weekend was General Conf. We also celebrated birthdays that night, and had a great dinner.

Just about everybody came down, and we had a great visit, and had
treats, and just had fun.

This is a pic of our cute little Amelia just hanging with the fam at FHE.

This is Christian with her awesome baby stroller, and Pooh and Tigger going for a ride. And telling you, "Don't touch me!! I'm riding with the guys!" - The other pics are Christians b-day. She got a new table and chairs, and a cupboard that all actually belonged to me as a kid. They have many, many hours of fond memories. She kinda likes them.

And this is a cute pic of Alexis' little Cheyenne "winkin" - Isn't that adorable?

Then of course we had EASTER!!! Sorry, I didn't actually get pics of the Easter baskets, but the dresses are the most darling anyway. Isn't this one of Amelia just precious? -

These other pics are just of the girls playing, and then of course last week we had both of the Mom's birthdays so we had dinner and birthday cake.

Christian loved helping blow out candles!

This pic was the other day and Christian had been playing with Scout, and was just torturing him by laying in front of the doggie door so he wouldn't come in. She can be so tricky.

We have been having lots of fun, and all has been going pretty well. Take care, and I'll try to post again a little sooner.

ON VACATION!!!

2009-03-29T18:18:00.004-06:00

Okay, so I have been looking at our blog to check on others, and figured I better update so that people can check on us. Things have been going very good. The girls are cuter than ever, and it has been great that spring is on its way.

This pic is christian playing with Klynton outside the other day. It was pretty warm and Matt had been cleaning out the dog house. She had a blast having him push her around the yard on the lawn buddy.

This is Amelia playing on the rug just enjoying her toys. Isn't she cute?

And this is her the other morning just hanging out with me in the kitchen. She loves to just hang and watch you. She gets uptight when she can't see you doing your thing.

We left on Sat. to go to a foster parent seminar in Richfield, and we are going to make a vacation out of it. We headed to Torrey to spend the night, and then on to Farmington, New Mexico. We are going to go to Chaco canyon, and Mesa Verde. We will be home sometime late Tues. or Wed. It is great because we are leaving the girls at home with Leslie. She is staying at our house to take care of everybody. She is the BOMB!! Thanks sis! It has been sometime since we had a little vacation all by ourselves. The Drive-In will be opening soon, and this will probably be our only chance to get away for a bit.
Leslie did call me and tell me a cute Christian story. It seems she asked Christian to go get a tissue for her nose, and Christian went into my bathroom to get it. Les was working at the dining room table, and when she looked up Christian was wiping her nose with the end of the toilet paper. She had brought the end from my bathroom all the way into the dining room. She just laughed and had Klynton go roll it back up. What a dolly! This pic is her in her "cape & princess hat". She thinks these are so fun to dress in and run around with the cape billowing out. Isn't this priceless?

Well, that is about all for now, so I will go and post after we get home. Take care.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

2009-03-17T15:23:00.002-06:00

Okay, so we have actually been rather quiet around these parts. I have been doing the dreaded bill-pay, payroll days. They are just long, and take time to get everything done. And I don't know why but this time seemed to have all of that nicky-nack stuff you have to do. I had a couple of forms I had to fill out for people, and just those odds & ends. Know what I mean?

Life has been kind of relaxed. We had some friends over for Sun. dinner. We had that nice roast, mashed potatoes, carrots in the roast, jello, green salad,etc. it was the bomb! Yum, yum!!! Our friends brought cake and ice cream, and she made these killer homemade rolls. It was awesome. We had fun visiting with them.

The girls are good. Christian is getting so cute! She does the cutest things. She is talking more, and we are finally putting her on the big bed for naps, and she is doing well! I just can't believe how grown up she is getting. It makes me sick. But, every time she does something new I just watch in amazement. She has been cuddly lately too. This is something a little different. She has never been the kind of girl who needed to be held and cuddled. It is rather fun. Little miss independent. This pic is in Cozumel, she found a hat that matched her outfit!. This is also her with the cousins, just hanging out at the cemetery.
She is all that, huh?

Amelia is just growing like a weed. What a little angel! She laughs and giggles. Her neck is so ticklish, and it is so cute. She is such a polar opposite of Christian. She is smiley, and so excited to see you. Mellow too - most of the time. She is definitely more comfortable too, because she has found her voice. She can scream, and she does, if she wants something, and you aren't paying just the right attention. She also gets quite indignant when Christian gets something she thinks she needs too. Especially something to eat that she can't quite have yet. What a doll though! - And I'm sorry, I don't have a really recent picture. I promise to get some!

Well, that's about all - My prayers are with you - especially Jim & Wendy who left today for the Ukraine to hopefully bring home their boy they are adopting. Also, my niece Heather got engaged! She has this cute boyfriend, and dang it, I just knew this was going to happen. I just can't handle change. It is a terminal disease. I hate seeing all of my nieces and nephews grow up. If they would just stay little, or let me run their lives and make all of their important decisions, I would be much happier. They might not be, but I would, and they wouldn't make half of the mistakes I did. I love them so much. Lets keep praying for each other. There are definitely those who need it. - love ya!

This week...

2009-03-04T13:24:00.003-07:00

Well, life around here has been rather nice. Last week we had a nice visit with Amelia's grandma and aunt Michelle. It was really nice. They brought cute v-day presents for both girls. Soo sweet! I need to take a pic of them in their cute new twinner outfits. - This pic is one of Amelia playing on the floor with her turtle. She is such a cutie!!!

We had a busy weekend (as usual), I had a nice breakfast meeting on Saturday with the work girls from Ephraim, and then had to get home to get some stuff ready for Sun. We went to SLC early for an aaronic priesthood ordination for nephew Lukas. Had a great dinner at D & D's. - Yummy ribs, and mashed taters, and salad etc. It was super! - We took some family photos last fall, and I just love this pic of Matt's fam. We did them so that I could get Christian's 18 mo. done, but the family pics really turned out nice.

We had to leave a little early so we could get home to have my family over for March FHE. It was great too. Mom wanted to celebrate St. Patricks along with Dr. Seuss' b-day so we had green eggs and ham (deviled eggs) along wigth lasagna, green relish tray, green salad, mom's awesome spice cookies iced in green, green drink... you get the picture. It was so much fun. I just love having family around, and this was just kind of a perfect day for me as we got to see both sides, and Grandma's and Gramps and cousins, and love all around. Way good!!!!! Even though for some reason a couple of people asked if I was mad.? What's up with that? I kind of had a headache, but I guess if I'm not my wild, crazy self, I must seem a little miffed. Oh, well... you can't win them all of the time. It was a great weekend though.

This pic was from last weekend. The party for Matt's parents was a lot of fun, and it was great to see cousins. Everyone was taking pics of everyone else, it was crazy. Fun, though.

Monday was awesome. I had to do some bills, but then I left for Cedar to go to a foster parent meeting, on Tues. and it was a lot of fun to go hang with some girls, and just laugh and have fun. Tues. was the meeting. It was awesome!!! This guy Eric was teaching some methods for parenting with reactive foster children, but he had some just plain great parenting ideas. Some quite different and not quite comfortable for me. But, as I listened, I learned, and thought these would be some good techniques to try. Any child can benefit from this stuff. I need to find the papers and put down the website. I'll try to do that soon. Anyway, take care, and I'll see you soon. - This last pic was the last night on the ship and I just love the cute smile on Christian's face.

Life Goes On!!!

2009-02-23T21:27:00.004-07:00

Hello there - Well life is crazy. We had a good time on the cruise, but just for your information, don't take a 2 year old. It was HARD! Everything is geared to older children, and we really had to keep a close eye on Christian all the time. (we lost her for a few terrifying minutes in New Orleans - just to start the trip out right)

This is Christian on a little chair she felt just right on. Notice the comfy, laid back pose.

It was fun to spend time with Matt's siblings, and have fun with Gram and Gramp. We did get to spend a little time snorkeling, and on the beach. -

Here is Christian sunning in sunny Cozumel. One of the only 2 days of sun we saw.

Here are Matt, Christian, and I in Costa Maya. Christian had a BLAST playing in the little community water sprayers.

We did some humanitarian work in Belize, and in Guatamala, and that was awesome!!! - Here are some paintings we did in the lunchroom in Belize, for the students to brighten up the atmosphere. We also painted a classroom, and worked on their computers(Dave got 2 running-they only had 1, so now they have 3).

This other pic is the children in the school in Guatemala. They sang us a song in English. The building in the back right is their one room schoolhouse. We painted the inside, and also brought shoes for almost everyone. We also brought school bags for all, and some soccer balls. They were such cute kids.

We got home and had a busy week. The kids had planned a "surprise" 50th anniversary party for them.

We ended up having it at our house - It was "crazy" in this valley, and every place I called was booked for weeks ahead. It was fun, and we had a great night visiting with old friends and all of the family that was there. It was really a great weekend.

-

This pic is Mom & Dad kissing on the ship to celebrate our dress up dinner. They came and sang, "Let Me Call You Sweetheart". It was so cute

It has been awesome to just have a week to recover and rest and only have to worry if the house is picked up enough to have a friend stop by or not. We went and watched New In Town. It was a cute show.

Amelia is just a cutie, and she was an angel while we were gone apparently. She is just growing, and growing. She is gaining weight, and is so content. What a fun little angel.

Christian was very glad to be home, and just seemed to relax. She is getting to be so "two". She is so independant, and she doesn't need any help with anything. She is one of the most determined little girls, and that is both good and bad. She is so cute, and just so much fun to watch. She does cute things every day, and she is really starting to repeat all of the words she can. She even repeated Daddy the other night when the s--- word came out when he dropped her stuff in the dark in the theater the other night. We laughed and said we are really going to have to watch our mouths even closer. I hope all is well for every one, and I'll try harder to be better at blogging more often.

Changes !!!

2009-01-22T16:37:00.005-07:00

Okay, so I have seen all of these cute blog templates and have wanted to try some new ones, but being the computer E-word that I am, had to take forever to figure it out. But hopefully this will give me a new invigoration to get back to a little blogging. It is fun every once in a while.
Life has been busy here, but Amelia is fitting in quite nicely. She is definitely getting more comfortable, because she is getting louder. She isn't quite as timid as she was a couple of weeks ago. She is a little wary of Christian, because she has had to show me Amelia's eyes. At her age, though that means she gets a poke in the eye. Big sisters, huh? Christian does think she is pretty cute, and she loves giving "Mill-me" kisses.
We had a great visit with Amelia's grandparents today. They expressed a desire for her to be with a family who can be a permanent situation. That was a relief to us in so many ways. We are really hoping this will turn to an adoption. We go to court next Tues. and hope to have a little better idea of a time frame if this happens. Keep it in your prayers.

Work has been busy, and that is a good thing as this is typically a slower time for us. The challenges we are all facing with the economy have helped us because even though people aren't taking as many big trips, hopefully we are all needing some entertainment.

Christian is doing super well. She hated the swing as a baby, but now that Amelia uses it, she thinks it is way cool. She will climb in and sit in it and swing for quite a while. She is repeating words you say, and she says scout, garbage, dad, mom, nana, papa, NO, baba, raggie, luv you, and many others very well. Hopefully sentences will be coming soon. She is sure fun though.

She thinks talking on the phone rocks. And gets a little testy if she can't play with it if you have it.

Thanks for checking up on us and I will try to get back soon. Love ya!

Livin the dream...

2009-01-15T16:18:00.002-07:00

Okay, I have had everybody after me to update, so here I am. As we were driving to SLC the other day, and both babies were crying, after we had pulled over and cleaned barf up out of the new car from Christian, Matt just sits there while the screaming ensues and says, "Well, we're living the dream now, huh?" Yes, I could strangle him sometimes if I didn't love him so dang much. So, to clear things up, here goes.

We have a new addition. We hope forever, but we are fostering a 5 mo. old little girl, Amelia. - MIss Amelia Bedelia - She is gorgeous, and smart, and looks incredibly like Christian. We hope to be able to know a little more at the end of the month about her situation. If things with her family don't work out, it will take some time, and then we may be able to adopt once things are decided.
Like I say, we will know more later.
She is so cute though.
These are the girls playing the other morning. They were laying in the living room playing on the rug.

And, yes, we did get a new car. It really isn't any different from the X-terra, and it is just the next car up. We got a Pathfinder because poor Christian was jammed up against the drivers seat, and Matt was feeling really bad for her. So, we traded the X in for something a little roomier.

So, yes, we are living the dream. More responsibility and less money. Life is actually pretty darn good. Work has been a little busier season for us, and we are actually doing some updating at the Towne in the restrooms. New sink, toilet, paint, wallpaper, and some of those fix-its that don't get done until you have a project time.

We had a great Christmas. These are some cute pics of Kalob and Christian the morning after Christmas plqaying with the cars and inchworm, and then of Christian seeing her Elmo Christmas morning. We tried to take it very easy. We didn't go overboard on gifts. We had a lot of fun visiting with the family, and just taking it easy. We have had some great family parties. Colton's mission stuff, and Christmas, and New Years, and we had FHE with my side last Sun. and we will have Matt's side this Sun. It should be fun all around.

We had a great dinner at Kent & Missy's the other week too. I went and helped Missy tile in her bathroom almost a year ago, and she asked all summer if I could help her grout, but we just couldn't seem to work out a time, so we finally said let's just do it on a Sun. The Lord will definitely have to forgive us for working that day, but sometimes you gotts do it. And, it was probably a good thing because they said this week that now their other bathroom isn't draining the way it is supposed to. They may have to do some work on it too now. Crazy life, huh?

Well, things are settling down, and everyone seems to be doing well. I will let you know how the fostering is going. It has gone very smooth with her so far. She actually slept for 6 hours last night. I was stoked. It is hard to get used to getting up in the middle of the night again. She is fun though. Take care, and we'll talk later!

Gone, baby, gone!

2008-11-18T18:21:00.007-07:00

Well, there really is no excuse for leaving you all alone for so long, is there? Life has definitely been busy.

We had of course Halloween, and that was filled with fun and candy. Had a great time with the witches at Gardner Village! I was Helga, the witch on vacation - I was a sand-witch! Ba-dum-bum! It was a lot of fun!

This other pic is my friend Chemayne, she was so dang cute, and has the funniest laugh, and I caught this pic as she was laughing at something Sherene said. Isn't she a doll?

Christian was a cute pink poodle, and we got some cute pics with Dal, Grandma, and Les at the school parade.

We also had a cute outfit for Scout that I really think fit. Can you tell what he is? - Yes sirree, the devil. And he is that some days. Isn't he darling though?

We have been trying to get a bunch of stuff done to get Colton off on his mission. He had his temple day, and we had a big party here at the house.

Then of course it was Twilight - crazy weeks - I feel like all I did for about a week was sleep and work. But it was a successful show. Yeah for the theater!

Then I had to get ready for Thanksgiving (all I had to do were pies-which I love anyway), which was nice because we ate at Rod & Judie's - very nice. Our downstairs missionaries joined us for 1 of their 4 meals planned for the day. We chuckled at how very little they ate.

Then that same weekend, we had Coltons farewell (he is going to India), and Klynton's eagle scout courtgof honor. (for pics of him and Klynton, click on Les' blog on the right of mine) - This is Christian ready for church. Check out the cute little pantaloons Gram made for her, and then went and found a matching dress. - Adorable!!!

And, amongst all that, Christmas shopping, and also, my sweet Mom has been coming over almost every day to help me organize that mountain of crap that came out of my office closet (it was kind of like that proverbial bowling ball closet) and we successfully reduced it down to 7 banker boxes, and some accordian files. I now have all my theater years, and our home stuff organized. WHEW! I'm even caught up to my current. I had it all spread out in the big room and people would come in and ask, "Holy cow, what blew up in here?" It was crazy for a while. But Christmas will be clean at least. Oh, and we decorated our homes of course. Do you all feel this way? It just goes from one thing to another. Crazy, crazy....

We also had our sweet Scooby die on thw 10th. She was 16 years, and 4 months old. She was one of the sweetest, gentle dogs I've known, and I will miss her terribly. She died in my arms at home, on her own, and I miss and love her. she is buried with Scooter in the backyard. (She's the one lying there choking Scout in the scissor hold. Scooter is above her. We miss him too.) Well, I think that's about the scoop. Hope all is well for y'all. We love you. Sorry its been so long. Merry Christmas! I'll try to get back before then.

Happy Halloween !!!

2008-10-28T20:55:00.002-06:00

Hi there! - I just love this time of year, and the fall, and Halloween is definitely one of my favorite holidays. I'm not sure that I'll get the time to post the rest of the week, so here is a little preview of Christian's costume, and a cute reason to not let drinking be a part of your Halloween fun. Happens every time! Anyway, if you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know why. - Have a good one!

I need to change this to Thankful Fridays

2008-10-24T09:10:00.006-06:00

Okay...I know that sometimes I just can't seem to get it together, but when I keep doing this on Fri. it throws me off. Anyway, this has bee kind of a crazy week. We actually get our car back sometime mid-week next week. I went to check up on it, and they were putting the new parts on, and getting ready to start painting. Yeah!!! We actually had a quiet Sun., well we did invite friends over for dinner. LeAnn, Joe, and the girls, and Cam all came over for our left over Drive-In hamburgers. I needed to get the meat cooked or it wouldn't have been a pretty sight. But, it was fun, and the girls seemed to have a good time. They played outside, and with the balloons we had. They did the funny voices, and seemed to have a grand time. I had to get my office work finished up, and we just seemed to have things to do all week. The chiropractor sent me to a massage gal, and it was great. She gets in there deep. I did feel a little battered, but I could tell my shoulder had loosened up quite well. He wants me to see her for a couple of weeks to make sure my shoulder and hips stay nice and mobile. Yeah for me though. I love massage. I could have one every day.

Well, on to the thankful stuff.

1-Work-I have been reflecting this week that I am thankful that I have good work and plenty of it; both in our business and at home. I love that feeling at the end of the day that I've accomplished something.
2-Friends-I've had a chance to spend a little time this week with them, and I love that feeling you get only after you've laughed with them.
3-Christian-she's had a little cold. Runny nose, boobie, cries when you look at her, but I still wouldn't trade it. She makes me laugh s hard sometimes. She's getting better at communicating what she wants, and that is awesome.
4-My home-I just cleaned house (really good) last week, and I love to come home to a good smelling, looking, organized home. It is kind of pretty too. Thanks to a great man.
5-My family-of course. I am constantly reminded of families who struggle to get along. I love all of my family, and am grateful for awesome relationships. Especially that of my siblings.

Okay...enough of the sap. I am excited because I am going witching tonight at Gardner Village with a bunch of friends. I'm dressing up in a pseudo-grass skirt, with a palm frond hat, and coconut boobs - I'm a sand-witch :) ba-da-bum. Anyway, here are a couple of cute christian pics. Have a great week - love you all!

I'm Ariel...I always loved her!

2008-10-14T08:50:00.002-06:00

I found this quiz on someone's blog and thought it was cute. I was the same as that person, but my descriptions were different. - way cool. - Try it out!

You Are Ariel!

Headstrong and fiesty. You have a mind of your own that's full of romantic dreams about the world around you. Exploring exotic places is your ultimate dream, and although you can be a little naive you'll realize that there is something to be gained from your family's wisdom.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Good...and Bad

2008-10-13T10:53:00.003-06:00

Isn't this the cutest pumpkin ever! We got her Halloween costume the other day. She's going to be a pink poodle! I'll get pics on soon!

Okay so I like to get the bad news first, that way your glass is still half full at the end. Here's the scoop. Last Fri. we went to see some family pics at the studio. We got to see Christians blessing dress and then Matt's family, and our individual families as well. As we were leaving, I got in the left turn lane to turn down the block and come home, and a guy was coming toward us. We thought he was going to turn left past us and go up that road to our right. he drifted toward the turn lane, and then Matt said, "He's not stopping honey." Then he said, "Brace!" - and sure enough he hit us. I was driving, and he hit on the passenger side front fender, and just sheared it off. His axle caught on the asphalt, and that probably kept him from going any further, and hitting anything else. Everyone is okay, other than some stiffness, and my shoulder is a little painful. We were all wearing seatbelts, but Matt still scraped his head on the visor because he's so tall. He broke the sunglasses clip with his head. Christian was in her car seat, and other than her neck being out a little (we saw the chiropractor that night for our necks), and screaming from the shock, we all seem to be okay. Matt says he is a little stiff too. We'll probably check out his neck too. Anyway, here is a pic of our cute little car with it's "rude bump".

But here is the other great part. Matt got my rocks done out front, other than painting the wood on top white. I just love how it looks. He did a fabulous job!!! Thanks honey! - So, now other than taking care of the fun accident stuff - life goes on! Have a great day!

Thankful Thursday - well, I did it on Thurs., it just didn't get posted until Fri....again

2008-10-10T01:32:00.004-06:00

Man...does time fly by or what? It seems like I do a blog, and the week is gone, and it is time to do another. Okay... things I'm thankful for this week.

1- A great husband - My house is a total wreck. My food storage room has been in my family room for about 4 weeks now, and Matt has been helping me a lot this last couple of days to get it all cleaned up, reorganized, and put away. (A lot has moved to the garage, and now some may actually get to live in the food storage room again, just not all over the floor.) Now, hopefully we can move to the garage and then the office all before Christmas - keep praying for me;)

2 - A beautiful home - My husband has worked so hard on things, and when things get cleaned up and put away, I am reminded of all the hard work we have done painting, decorating, and sweating to hopefully have a home all of our family and friends feel welcome and comfy in. - This is a pic of the new part just as we were finishing up most of the outside work.

3 - Beautiful weather - Hasn't it been fabulous lately? I just love warm days, cool nights, the smell of fall (particularly on those really cool nights when someone has a nice wood fire burning-and the smell of burning leaves - oh, I love that smell) today was so nice and sunny, with just the right breeze - kind of medium - just right to blow your hair a bit, but still nice and warm to turn your face to the sun and bask for a minute.

4 - Faith - I've been reflecting on my own, and realizing how grateful I am to a heavenly father who loves me. The sacrifices I am blessed by, and my responsibilities to the Lord because of them. I love the gospel, and all it represents, because I have an oppurtunity every day to serve others if I just take the opportunity. I love the Lord and the gospel.

5 - Sisters - I have great sisters. I love that we have fun and laugh together when we get together, and hopefully no one takes us too seriously. Both sides of my family have given me the greatest gifts of all - besides mothers who love me. I have a lot of them, and each one of them have unique and beautiful qualities. Wendy - great friendship, Linda - hope, Leslie - love, LeAnn - loyalty and steadfastness, Lori - laughter, Kim - true concern, Kristen - sweetness, Missy - great power (to accept and love everyone), Lyn - peacefulness, Diane - compassion. I hope that someday I can emulate these qualities all in my own life. I would be a pretty great person if I could do them all at once. That would truly be the true love of Christ-huh?

- This is a great pic at Carthage jail when we went to pick Mom up from her mission. One of the only entire family photos I have.

I'm always thankful, of course, for my sweet family. Matt, Amanda, and Christian are a great source of love too. - Have a great day!!!! (Well, week...that's as quick as I seem to be) - Love you all!!!

This was a cute pic of Christian on her first merry-go round. She got to ride all by herself at the fair.

Shout out !

2008-10-03T22:07:00.002-06:00

Okay I love these contests, so I've got to be better at entering. I would like to give a shout out to Shay cause I MIGHT win some cool stuff. (Oh, by the way Misty your winning gift really is coming) Anyway, check out Shay's blog here. She is an awesome blogger who keeps up to date very often.

Thankful Thursday

2008-10-01T23:17:00.005-06:00

I just can't believe how fast the weeks go by. Okay, so this week I have been kind of lazy. But I am thankful for a few things:

1 - Good health - I've had so much fun just being able to play with Christian. She is such a ray of sunshine in our world.
2 - Friends - We had some good friends over for dinner Mon. and had a lot of fun having stir-fry, and learning to play a new game.
3 - Veggies - I cut up a whole load, and have been enjoying stir-fry, and veggie wraps, and salad, and just plain. I have really been craving them.
4 - A hard working husband - I am finally getting the rocks put around my flower bed out front. I'l take a pic as soon as its done. I think it is looking so good!!! hee-hee I am so excited!
5 - My sweet mom - She comes most of the day sometimes and helps me so I can get my office work done. She is great.

I'll try to get back sooner. Have a great day!

I've been tagged!!!

2008-10-01T22:45:00.003-06:00

I've been tagged by my cousin Misty to do this random facts. So, here goes:

1- I lived with 3 wolves just before I met my husband. I rented a house, and part of the rent was taking care of those gals. It was AWESOME!!!
2- I am very much like Misty in that I am quite OCD about a lot of things. Especially things I seem to have very little control over.
3- I am very like Misty in that I LOVE to pick zits too. I laughed so freaking hard at her comment about that, because it was like reading something about myself.
4- My family mocks me about 1/2 hour detours. If there is somethng exciting to see, I always say "Oh, it'll only take about a half hour"...meanwhile several hours pass.
5- I can't stand ice cream if it's been open longer than 2-3 days. I can only eat it if Matt eats the top off, so I get fresh new stuff. I hate going to shops and seeing them scoop off the top and put that in my cone - YUCK!!!
6- The girls at work ask if it has to be "Molly clean" - kind of like Monica clean from Friends - I guess it is a little more of the OCDism.
7- I can pull and overhaul a motor in a car. I took 4 years of Vocational Auto shop in High School. I loved the classes because they were totally easy grades, the boys did all of the work, I got to go late to class every morning, but I actually did learn a lot about autos. I also had a taxidermy class that was one of my absolute favorites, and I DON'T hunt. EVER!!! I can go to the store and buy meat. But I did love that class. And, the animals were fine once they were dead.

Okay, now I get to tag. I tag:

Shay
Kim
Holly
Amanda
Kathy

and that's all for now, because Misty tagged me and I don't really know any other bloggers well enough. So - TAG, your turn.

Thankful Thursday - well, I did it on Thurs., it just didn't get posted until Fri.

2008-09-25T10:44:00.006-06:00

I can't believe it's been another week already. Where does the time go? Life just seems to go along, and I seem to do okay most days, and then time just seems to fly. Well... things I'm thankful for:

1-Books - I've read some pretty good ones lately, but I can tell it's time to put them down again. I seem to read like a maniac for a few weeks (to the exclusion of every thing else) and then I have to stop and live in the real world once again. But, oh how I love to leave this planet when I'm involved in a good book.

2 - Family - I know this is a repeater for me, but sometimes when you have new things happen it makes you appreciate it all the more.

3 - Peaches - I have had fresh peaches and half and half for the last few days for lunch. Okay, so the half and half isn't so god for you, but I sure love this fall treat.

4 - Friends - I haven't had the chance to do much with good friends for a few weeks, but I get to go out and do dinner tonight with Cindy. - It's time to start working on the ward Christmas program and we have to do "dinner" to make it more fun. We'll have 4 or 5 before Christmas. Ans also get a little shopping in.

5- Love - Sometimes you just lose patience with others, and it is a good reminder to tell yourself you love them. It keeps you from killing them. I have some great loves in my life, and I wouldn't trade any of them. It reminds you that the highs with them are really high.

I also wanted to put a few pics of Christian in. She is such a fun little girl.

Her little mischievous smile just wants to make you pinch her cheeks.

Christian and Daddy were swingin' at the park after a 4-wheeler ride with Lennard (Karina's husband) - We had a picnic dinner and met them there.

This is one of the fair photos. Isn't that grin just the bomb?

Happy Birthday Sis!!!! - 29 again

2008-09-19T10:04:00.006-06:00

Well - It is my big sis's birthday today, and I wanted to do a special something for her to tell her I love her. She Has been such a great sister, and we always have fun when we get to spend time together. She is a loving, sweet woman with a lot of qualities I really admire. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESLIE !!!! I LOVE YOU !!!!

This photo is from Easter. We had fun playing make-up with the malted milk balls. What a beauty!!!!!

I also want to wish my Uncle Alan a happy birthday too. He is the big 6-0. We don't get a chance to see him much but I love him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE ALAN !!! Have a great day. Hope all is well in your world.

Giveaway Winner!!!!

2008-09-18T18:46:00.002-06:00

Okay..... Here it is - I am such a slacker at the giveaway thing that the winner
will get an additional gift. And the winner is ........ Misty - my cousin. She is the only one who loved me enough to send me a shout out, and so I will be sending her the prize with full info. and everything. Thanks Misty - Love you -

Next time that just goes to show that you need to leave me comments!!!!!

Thank goodness it's Thankful Thursday

2008-09-18T16:59:00.007-06:00

Okay - I know I've been out of touch for some time now, and I'm terribly sorry, and you can believe I've heard it from some not very nice people. I know they wish to remain nameless, but they NEVER leave comments, so how did I know they missed me?! But it is nice to be missed.

So, life has been crazy. I've been having this incredible urge to just do nothing, but have had a ton of stuff to do, so it is like you barely have time to fit the important stuff in, but the stuff you love kind of gets placed by the wayside, until you get your head adjusted and realize you do better with the crazy stuff, because you love it, and sometimes that is sanity alone? Was that just weird or what?

Anyway, we have had some fun lately. We had a cruise night at the Drive-In, and took our '67 Mustang for the show. It was a lot of fun. They watched Peggy Sue Got Married. It has been forever since I've seen that.

We also had an awesome family night. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. We went to the park in Spanish and had Wendy's great pulled pork sammies, and lots of desert. Including some of that fabulous dark chocolate cake from Costco. (Isn't that the most decadent cake ever?)

Then because Matt HATES the fair, Christian and I went to the state fair all by ourselves. And, I am not kidding when I say it was fabulous. We ate our way through the fair, and sat and relaxed whenever we wanted to, and we saw horses, and cows and sheep and pigs, and we were pigs. (cause we ate everything) Christian got to pet a sheep, and we saw the horse show, and all around it was a really great day. We got there at noon and we didn't leave until 8:30. Great, great, great.

Matt and I went to a theater owner convention in SLC for two days, and even though that was fun, and we met some really great people, we just didn't have enough time to just hang out. The gateway mall was right there, and I really wanted to walk around, and do some shopping, but just didn't have any time :<. But the weekend came, and I went to St. George with my big sis - Whose birthday it is tomorrow. She is as old as dirt, and I am not telling, because that makes me old too - oh, well - she's 29. We went down for a company party for her, and they took us to the Tuacahn theater and we saw Le Mis., and fed us a good buffet dinner. Yes, it was fabulous down there. And, we did way more than enough shopping to make up for what I missed in SLC. It was really fun. This week I have had to catch up on some of the business stuff, and I bottled 50 pints of pickled beets yesterday. I know I am a domestic goddess (this week). Anyway, that is what has kept me busy lately. I guess I should tell you what I am thankful for. Things I am thankful for - 1 - Christian. She gets cuter everyday. I love to see her grasp new things, and that cute gamine face. I could just kiss, kiss, kiss her. (She had mac & cheese, and ate by herself)
2-My sister - We had so much fun just gabbing, and laughing, and listening and singing to the Mamma Mia CD way too many times.

3 - Fall - I love to smell the cool air, and smell a hint of smoke, and I usually like to can and bottle a few things.

4- Health - I saw the chiropractor today, I love that man. I felt so much better. I finally got rid of my 3 days of headaches.

5 - Life - I have been reflecting on how lucky I am to live in such a great country, have a beautiful home, have a fabulous family (in-laws, and out-laws too), and get to live close to them, have freedom of religion and all of the many other wonderful things this brings. How fortunate we are. Love you all. I will try to do better.

Things I'm thankful for this week !

2008-08-14T11:44:00.006-06:00

1 - Fresh corn on the cob! - Need I say more? I could eat myself out of house and home when this is in season. Which leads me to my next thing.

2 - Exercise - Even this happens occasionally for me. I am trying very hard to be more vigilant. I don't want Christian growing up with "fat grama" for a mom.

3 - Friends - I love just laughing with good friends (family is included too). Dinners are great, and time spent together just can't be beat.

4 - A good husband. - He told me that he can tell I'm a little "stressed" about the things around the house not getting done, so he will be trying harder :)

5 - And last, but not least, the cutest little girl(who can drive me to needing tequila shooters faster than any other creature on this green earth) that could possibly exist. I love her so much!

6 - Oh, but wait, I just have to add a last one this week, - Amanda - a daughter whom I love. She had a birthday yesterday (19 - getting so old) and I just love her more and more. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE!!!!

New site!!! - Great giveaway!!!

2008-08-14T11:25:00.004-06:00

Good Morning!!! I always seem to find the best time to blog in the mornings. I wanted to let everyone know that I have a new website for one of my favorite things. Young Living Oils. I can't tell you how much I love these products. There are several reasons I love this stuff. I love aromatherapy, and anything to do with better health, but I also feel like the time is coming that one of the best life saving things we can give our families is knowledge. Knowledge about good health, but also the knowledge of preventing, and helping take care of common ailments. I have my own personal knowledge of these products, and of healthier living, and am so excited about getting the word out. I have used these oils for several years now, and my family can attest that I have an oil for everything. They do take time and patience, (after all your body doesn't just get sick or have a problem in just a day, and sometimes it takes a little longer than just one or two treatments to fix it) because everyone responds differently. But love them, love them, love them.

My great giveaway is a bottle of pure lavender oil!!! - This oils is great for anything skin related. Itchy, dry, burned, cracked anything. It soothes and smoothes. It is also great to put a few drops in bath water, and you can even make fun foods, and drinks with it too. So, send me a note, and give me a shout out on your blog, and by Sep. 10, I'll award it to a lucky winner! Good luck!!!! Also check out my website! You can check out products or find info. too. check out all of the great things Young Living has and does. https://www.youngliving.org/oilz4life

Shout out to Holly!

2008-08-11T22:49:00.002-06:00

Okay, I'm trying to win a prize given away by my cousin, so check out her blog, and see the magazine subscription (not just magazine) she is giving away. I really need some style help.
The 80's yell at me every day. http://thesaratogafam.blogspot.com/

Okay, so it's really Thankful Friday

2008-07-31T11:48:00.001-06:00

I got the picture for this yesterday, but ended up running some errands before it finished downloading my pics, SO I will finish it today. Five things I am thankful for:
1. A husband I adore. I am so thankful he had a great trip and came home safe, and didn't get et by a bear. he really is my bestest friend.

2. A chance to have a life that provides me with oppurtunities to do fun things. We did have a great vacation with our "niece" wh graduated from high school (along with her AS degree). What a brilliant girl!

This is us in Mexico shopping for our favorite tree. It was a lot of fun taking pics of these hams.

3. The chance to be a mom to such a cute little girl. She is so fun, and I laugh all the time at how cute she is. She gives great kisses too. Could it be any better?

4. A mother who helps me do EVERYTHING. She comes through at all hours of the day and night to help me. She is the best babysitter, and one of my best friends.

This is our trip to the zoo. Gram got to cart Christian around on the little motorized cart, and just kept feeding her the good stuff.

5. And finally all of our family - We are so blessed to have our family close enough to enjoy all of the time. Both sides get together at least once a month for combined birthdays, and every other thing we can. We have a lot of fun visiting, and laughing, and teasing. It is such a blessing to have them all near.

Okay I'm a sap, I know it. I just am very fortunate to have a great support system. It does take some work, and love, and patience even, but boy is it worth it.

Finally he's back

2008-07-30T16:31:00.004-06:00

Okay, so Matt has been gone this last week, and I have just been so busy trying to keep my head even screwed on straight, it's been nuts. We went to SLC last Sun. (the 20th) for the blessing of Amanda (our older daughter) and Travis' new baby Ashton. It was fun. Great meal, and of course, no camera. I'll get her to e-mail me a couple of pics to post. Then we stayed in Provo Mon. to run a bunch of errands Mom needed done. We didn't quite have enough time, so we finished Wed. when we had to go back to get candy and films. Thurs. I had to get some stuff done for work, and then go to work, and then Fri. I had to do work chores, and then work again. Sat. I went to work early, and then had to go to the Drive-In later. Sun. thankfully was slower. We (Les went w/ to help w/ Christian) went to church, and then had Matt's fam over for FHE. Had a great meal, and just got to visit. It was great. Matt called that night and told me he was off the mtn. and they were on their way home the next am. YEAH!!! always seem to have work issues or problems while he is gone (of course). But we did okay this time. I am so grateful he got to go on this trip, and he, Zane, and my nephew Colton (who by the way is witing for his mission call-and could we be more excited?-no!!!). So, after all this rambling, it was crazy, but I'm thankful life has been a little more normal this week, and everyone has been safe, and work actually went pretty well - whew Anyway - here are a couple of pics from recent days.

Christian and Matt were playing outside, and his horsie rides were directed by the princess herself. What a beautie!!!

Matt on top of the world. - seriously - he is standing on top of the continental divide. They had a lot of fun. He said it was so windy he had to hold his hat to keep it from blowing away.

And the last is of course Christian running around the house with you guessed it - my bra. She was running and laughing at mommy chasing her telling her to give it back. Daddy laughed too. At mommy.

Christian, Christian, Christian

2008-07-16T11:51:00.003-06:00

Life has been pretty good at our house. Amanda had her baby on 2 July. He is a cutie. Ashton will be his name. We have been having party after party. It seems like there is one after another. We have had eagle scouts, missionaries, holidays, and just plain family stuff. Christian went camping with Grandma over the weekend of the 4th, and she had a blast. We met them up there on Sat. for the night, and stayed til Sun. It was a nice camp. We had the family down for the 4th. My good friend Kathy came by to visit for a few days just before the 4th, and actuaslly this first pic of Christian was outside playing with her kids, and some new toys for Scout. She has a lot of fun teasing that dog. Okay, there just seems to be more and more pics of Christian than you should be able to take, but, isn't she a dolly.

We had just gotten ready for the day, and she looked so cute in her "Boo" hair I just had to take a snap. The kids have started calling her Boo because they say she looks like Boo in Monsters Inc. She is fun.

We had to make Special K treats for Tysons eagle court, and she had a few chocolate chips that she did so well eating on her own. My friend Kathy says they have "skills" and she does. She LOVED the chips.

And isn't this the cutest picture ever? This girl is such a princess. We are so thankful to have this beautiful princess. She had so much fun playing with Daddy this day. Life has been pretty good otherwise. Work is busy, but it is fun, and there is always something going on.

This week

2008-06-25T19:01:00.005-06:00

Okay, we got back from Mexico. We took Mckenzie for a graduation trip. We are so proud of her graduating, and also getting her associates degree along with a high school diploma. YEAH!!! We needed to do something special for her. It was alot of fun taking her, and I hope she had as great a time with us, as we enjoyed having her. We did have a great time, except it rained every day except the day after we got there (arrived 9pm night before) and it was sunny for about 1 1/2 hours the morning we left. Some major rain moved in. All of the hotel staff said how wierd it was because the rainy season didn't usually start until the end of June. I said it was because Matt was with us. It seems like every time we go on vacation together, we have the not so great weather. If I go with anyone else, the weather is usually great. I had great weather with my girlfriends in Bryce, and Matt will probably have great weather on his hike to the Winds with Zane in July. Oh, well... we'll just have to keep trying.

This photo is of McKenzie's first airplane ride. She said she liked it after all.

We did have a lot of fun this weekend going to our nephew Kevins Eagle court of honor. It was great to see him get that award. We had family down for FHE on Sat. and we all went to the Manti pageant. That was so nice.

Linda got to bring Mckale, and she and Christian were hugging, and she loved petting Scooby.

This photo is Christian in her new pool. She had a blast playing with Kadee and her friends for a couple of hours.

We also had some additional fun this last week or two, right before we left for Mexico I found out that some company in Spain was using our debit card to the tune of about $500 over the course of about 5 days. Not all in a row, but within a couple of weeks. That has been fun and exciting, because we've had to close our checking account and open another. Fun for all. Anyway, hope everyone is good, and we'll talk soon.

I'mmmm Baaaaack!!!

2008-06-03T11:42:00.003-06:00

Hello there - I am so sorry I haven't posted for such a long time. Life just gets hairy - you know what I mean? We have been busy getting the Drive-In up and going for the summer months, and even though that shouldn't be an excuse, it makes life just that much crazier. With baby and house and business I start having to try finding the time to sleep. I am thinking of all of you though, and kicking myself for not keeping up.

We went on a little vacation to Phoenix to see Karina and our friends Brad & Kathy. We had a lot of fun hanging with them, and I think Matt had the most fun. He golfed EVERY DAY! Yeah for him. We went to the zoo, and swimming, and did a fair bit of shopping. I got some great new books with Karina, and then Kathy and I found the Big Dog store. You have to love them.

I came home and had the Drive-In open the following weekend. We have been trying to keep up with everything else. I have been working on the yard too. I have planted lots of flowers this year, and done some cute pots for out on our new deck (looks fab) and did some hanging pots out front. I'll try to take some pics. We also celebrated Christian's first birthday, and Easter, and her sealing/blessing all in one whack. What a day. Amanda got married May 8, and we went up to SLC for that. We've also had graduations, seminary grads, and missionary farewells. Lots of fun family get togethers. That has seemed to have something every weekend. We've had both sides of the family going too. It has been a lot of fun. Lots of good food too.

I've been trying to get things prepared too because we are going to Mexico this week, and I can't wait. Christian is going to stay with the Grandma's and I think she'll have fun too. They spoil her rotten. Well, I will try to be more diligent, and post more frequently. I need to just do it certain days. I love you all - take care

Misty's link

2008-03-22T06:05:00.003-06:00

Okay Misty - I have no idea what a Scentsy is but if you click on her website, www.scentsy.com/mistybarry you can chack them out. I may have to buy one to see how they work. I hear they have some great scents. And by the way, I have no idea how to create links and stuff so you'll have to forgive me. I can barely type.

Early morning

2008-03-22T05:32:00.003-06:00

Okay - I know I let this go for awhile, but life gets crazy. I am sitting here early in the morning. We are going to get ready to take Christian to the temple to be sealed to us today. What an awesome feeling. I am so excited, and it feels like Christmas. You know the anticipation and excitement. You just can't sleep any longer sometimes. I was looking some stuff up for a talk, and thought this might be nice too.

I don't know why, but I take a lot of pics when Christian is getting a bath. For some obscure reason, she must just pull the heart strings when she is wet or something. We were bathing her a few weeks ago, and I took this. What a little "bathing beautie."

This pic is one I just had to take. She was standing at the french doors, and her big blue eyes just popped out. She was looking out at all of the cars, and she kept looking back to see if I was coming after her. She is doing the, "I am doing this, are you looking, and are you going to come after me, and I can crawl away squealing, or am I in trouble, or am I just the cutest thing you've ever seen?" thing. She is a dolly though - huh?

The newer pics

2008-03-04T22:29:00.002-07:00

Okay, so I finally got the new pics downloaded to the computer. I haven't done it for quite a while. This pic I loved. Christian was ready for church(actually stake conference), and Gram was watching her so I could get ready. Isn't this dress just adorable? She is such a princess!!!

This was the cutest thing ever! I was putting dishes away from the dishwasher, and Christian crawled over to see what was going on. Matt came to get her and she started handing him the silverware one piece at a time, and he would put it away. Then she would hand him the next piece. I know, I know, there is a law or something about making your child work before they are even a year old, but I just had to take a pic because she was so thrilled when we clapped and cheered as she gave Daddy the silverware. Isn't she the smartest?

I'm Baaaaaaack!!!

2008-03-03T10:51:00.005-07:00

I'm terribly sorry you haven't seen or heard from me for a while. Doesn't life just get crazy? I have been taking a small business class online, and by the time I work occasionally, and take care of the house, Christian, Matt, work, etc. you sometimes start to feel a little thin spread. It is crazy too, because we're actually going on vacation this week, and so I'm trying to get all of my bookwork done, and get everything prepared. But we are excited just to be getting away for a few days. We are going to Phoenix to visit Karina, and our friends Brad & Kathy. We are excited for some sun.

This pic is from FHE last month. Tyson was playing with Christian, and she just kept trying to play with his hair. It was FASCINATING for her.

This picis a little older, Christian was playing with Scout, and she just happened to kind of pose, and I snapped right then. I just thought this was cute, because she looked like Shamu on the stage at Sea World. What a cutie though.

Family

2008-02-13T12:22:00.002-07:00

This pic was taken 2 summers ago at FHE. Kalob was riding Kent's pony at their house, and it was so cute. He was a little nervous, and this was after he had relaxed a bit. he seemed to have a lot of fun.

This picture was taken last Memorial Day at Matt's parents. Amanda and I were playing with the dogs, and Matt wanted a nap. The baby fell asleep, and I laid her on top of Matt to keep warm. it was just so precious, I had to take a pic.

This pic is fairly new. Christian was playing, and her bottle was on the table. I guess she just decided she needed a swig. She scooted over, stood up, and tipped the bottle so she could get a drink. Kind of convenient? She looked over at me, and grinned, and I thought I better get a pic before she left. She did leave just a minute later, and went to her toys.

Holidays

2008-02-12T06:02:00.000-07:00

This pic of Christian I think is so cute. On Christmas morning, Colton had to go and do some stuff, and he took Christian with him to the door. She was giving him kisses, and I caught one just before. I love the two of them together.

This pic was on New Years. We went over to Joe & LeAnn's house, and LeAn was playing with Christian on the couch. I just love to watch her with LeAnn because she just loves how LeAnn eats her neck and tickles.

This pic is with aunt Wendy at FHE. She just beams when Wendy takes her. She thinks Wendy is the cats PJ's. She just kisses Wendy lately. It is so cute.

This pic was the same night with Les. Christian is such a little flirt. She is definitely a happy baby most of the time. When she is mad she is just a very unhappy little girl. We call her the "cop caller" because you would swear she is yelling for the cops.

Older Christian pics

2008-02-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

This pic of Christian was on the 4th of July in her cute little strawberry oufit, and the pic with Klynton was taken just after she was born. I have always loved this pic. because Klynton looks so happy to have her.

Pres. Hinckley poem

2008-02-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

My sister (adopted) sent this poem to me, and it made me cry. I just loved it. What a great prophet. Wasn't the new presidency counselors a shock? How awesome though. I love them all, and can't wait for new stuff.

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his fore bearers,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, "Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome
My noble, most excellent son."

I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward - there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.

Anna M. Molgard
January 27, 2008

bio

2008-02-02T23:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I did this because Misty said I should. Please feel free to do your own, and tell me where to look. It is fun though to read what others write.

1. What is your occupation? Movie theater owner
2. What color are your socks right now? Don't have any on.
3. What are you listening to right now? Something on my playlist
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Ham fried rice Shon made, and great rice pudding Mom made.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Duh, and double duh.
6. What color would you be, if you were a color? Purple - just love the cool.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Leslie - sister
8. Do you like the person who tagged you with this blog or sent this to you? Absolutley
9. How old are you today? 37 and AWESOME!!!
10. Favorite drink? Coke or cherry coke with fresh limes in it.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Not really any - maybe gymnastics?
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Absolutely, and darn proud.
13. Pets? Yup, had 3 weiner dogs, now have 2, put one down in May (Scooter)- sucked (he was 14) - still have one (Scooby) she's 16, and a new addition (Scout) - he's 19 months - kinda sounds like kids huh??
14. Favorite food? Depends on the day. Love salad - with lots of every kind of veggie.
15. Last movie you watched? Juno - moving pic.
16. Favorite Day of the year? My birthday - I'm still waiting to wake up and have the new car with the big red bow like you wanted when you turned sixteen. I don't know, I just get a rush because it's my day.
17. What do you do to vent anger? Scream...and drive around listening to really loud rock.
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Inchworm - just playing outside with my friends.
19. What is your favorite, fall or spring? Love them all for different reasons
20. Cherry or Blueberry? Chocolate chips?!
21. Do you want your friends to respond? Duh, I wouldn’t have done this, if I didn’t.
22. Who is most likely to respond? I think... Kim
23. Who is least likely to respond? Holly - cause she's already done it
24. What are your current living arrangements? Matt & I, and Christian live in his grandfathers home - we remodeled - for 8 years (can't believe it's been that long) and love it here in clean MP.
25. When was the last time you cried? Today - Pres. Hinckley's funeral.
26. Who is the friend you’ve had the longest - that you still see? LeAnn - since we were 3.
27. Favorite smell? Cinnamon.
28. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese - x-tra.
29. Favorite Car? Ford Ranger I had when I got married.
30. Favorite cat breed? What? Not a cat person at all.
31. Number of keys on your key ring? Which ring? - Have work, Home, Car, mail, truck.
32. How many years at your current job? 8.
33. Favorite day of the week? Sunday, I can actually justify resting.
34. How many states have you lived in? 1.
35. What is your favorite hobby? Reading!

new Christian

2008-02-02T10:22:00.001-07:00

This pic was taken Christmas Eve. Matt, Christian, and Amanda. Matt has such a great mug. We had a lot of fun. We hung out and ate lots of food. Great food. Everything's great these days, can you tell? Anyway, we had fun visiting, and then we came home later that night, and brought Amanda with us for Christmas. It was so fun to have her home with us for the holiday.

This pic is christian's first graham cracker. We did a lot of scrapbooking last Gen. Conference, and we undressed her, and let her go to town in her little cart. We could wash everything. We had so much fun watching her just go crazy with the cracker. She was just so cute too. Okay, now I don't really know how this music thing works. Holly had to help me with it, and I'll give it a try. I just think this is so cool.

Okay, now I don't really know how this music thing works. Holly had to help me with it, and I'll give it a try. I just think this is so cool.

Old flashbacks

2008-02-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

We went to Mexico with Les back in '05, and believe it or not, I took this sunset pic. (one of my fav pics ever), and every time I see it, I think of a warm night sitting on the balcony.

This pic of Matt was so cute, I love how he looked like he was singing with the martian. They have these cool statues all along the malecon. We had a lot of fun posing with all of the statues in our area. He looks like one of the three tenors. What a hunk.

President Hinckley

2008-02-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

My sis in-law sent me this great tribute to Pres. Hinckley. I thought it was great. I was so sad that night when we heard the news. We were at Matt's parents for FHE, and my mom called Matt's cell and told him. It was pretty somber when he came and told us. He was such a great man. I got to be in several meetings with him in the past few years. Great memories. He is a prophet of God. Sorry I don't know how to make this automatically go to the internet. You may have to copy and paste.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvB3z2U8DEo

A new one and an old

2008-01-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

I just adore this pic of Heather and Christian. She was being so cute playing with Heydu's hat. It was also great to get a few pics of Heather too. I really miss her. She is doing well though going to UVU now. We just can't believe how the time flys by.

This pic was taken on Halloween. I had to run a Wasatch student to SLC and I stopped by Amanda's work (Marie Callendar's) for a few minutes to visit. She walked us out to the car, and I was able to snap a few shots. I did have to get a pie too. We sure miss Amanda. It was really great to see her. I had talked to her a few times on the phone, but I think it had been a month or more since I had seen her before Halloween. It was so great to get a hug, and see how she was.

These are fairly current

2008-01-25T10:42:00.002-07:00

Daddy and Christian ready for church. Everyone said I just had to take some pics of Christian in her little holiday dress. (12/30) Isn't she gorgeous? She did look awfully cute in her little dress, black tights, and new patent black shoes. What fun. Daddy is pretty handsome in his nice suit too.

Grandma and Christian were just hanging out on the couch Christmas morning. (12/25) They were playing with the new present from her cousins. Way cool!!! I got a new camera, and this is one of the first pics using the new equip. it is a pretty simple, nice camera. I love watching the grandma's with Christian. She is such a little charmer and a flirt.

Daddy grew out his beard while the temple was out for cleaning and the holidays. He had a whole month to grow, and I loved it. (01/21) I love his facial hair. he can't have it to work at the temple. It has been years since it has been this long and I needed something to remember it with. I think it will be a long time again before it comes back. We had to get a cut pic of Scout in there too. Isn't he a cute guy? I do have some hot men around.

These are fairly current

2008-01-25T10:42:00.001-07:00

Here's some older photo's

2008-01-24T10:47:00.001-07:00

This pic was taken this summer at FHE. Lindas granddaughter Mikale was able to come with Scot & Linda. It was so cute because the girls would just sit and look at each other. After about an hour we were looking at them and realized they were both wearing the same exact outfit. We had to take pictures. It was too cute. Linda was thrilled to get to hold both of them at the same time. Can't you tell?

This picture was taken at the state fair in Sep. Matt didn't want to be subject to a whole day of just wandering around, so I took Christian by myself and went. I met Diane (Our sis in-law) there, and she brought Katie (our niece) and we had a great time. They stayed for a few hours, and she got a few pics of the girls together, but of course I didn't. I took this pic later in the afternoon. She was just so cute I couldn't resist. It was the first time I had been with just her and I on an outing like this, and we had a great time.

First Picture - hope for more

2008-01-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Temple Square for a choral concert for Leslie, and the boys. Kim and Zane, Ike, and the kids met us there, and we had a lot of fun in the cold, looking at the lights, and there was great music. It was so fun to have Amanda there. We miss her. We took this with Grandma, Amanda, and Christian under the big red tree. Great night!!!

Welcome to the Anderson's !!!

2007-12-30T18:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog site. We are excited to try this. I cannot guarantee that I will be good at this. I will try. Please reply and let me know what you think. We love all who take the time to check up. Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!!!!