I Love You More Than Pork Chops

The view from where I sit....

2012-01-12T00:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

2012-01-08T00:14:00.003-05:00

Post-therapy ice pack

2012-01-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Years 2012!

2012-01-01T16:11:00.002-05:00

Happy New Years!!! :)

It was a pretty low-key evening for us.

Paul has been suffering from a cold for a few days,

and his kids had to go back to their mom's for the night,

and Maddie was going to a friends house....

So, it was just a simple, quiet New Years.

We started by going to church.

It was an awesome service and really fun.

They had a DJ in the lobby spinning tunes while we waited to get in.

People were dancing and conga lines formed.

How fun!

I LOVE that we go to a church that preaches the word of God

AND isn't afraid to play some Vanilla Ice in the lobby!

After the service, we headed home to chill out and watch the ball drop.

Emma and I played some connect 4,

and some Operation...

Then we watched the ball drop,

kissed Happy New Years,

toasted with some sparkling grape juice,

and went outside to let off poppers, do sparklers, and blow our horns.

It was a great evening with the people I love and

I can't wait to see what good things God is going to do in 2012!

Happy Birthday Corki....

2011-12-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

My big girl is twenty years old today.

*sigh*

How time flies!

Happy Birthday Courtney,

I love you.

lurve you, xoxov.

Christmas beauty

2011-12-25T22:49:00.003-05:00

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T18:34:00.001-05:00

Phew!

Christmas came and went way too fast,

but I have to say,

it was a WONDERFUL Christmas!

It was A LOT of work to get gifts together for

nine people, plus extended family and people who aren't here

who needed packages shipped,

but we did it!

Christmas Eve, getting ready for church.

The kids opened their new pajama pants

& played Uno (thanks Grandma!),

then we had cocoa, ate snacks and

sat around a fire in the backyard.

THEN...

Santa came!

Cookies!

2011-12-23T13:13:00.002-05:00

Christmas cookie time!

Paul's daughter Paige is in town for the holidays,

so us girls made cookies the other night.

(Maddie didn't want to help... bah humbug!)

The next day while I was at work,

Paul & the kids frosted them & made them look yummy.

Peppermint Stick Cocoa

2011-12-20T18:13:00.000-05:00

We decided to make gifts-in-a-jar for some of the people we know for Christmas.

We settled on Peppermint Cocoa.

I think it turned out great!

I can't wait to taste the jar we kept for ourselves on Christmas Eve!

I couldn't get me camera to focus on this tag for ANYTHING!

Oh well, you get the idea.

Glendale Glitters!

2011-12-11T00:38:00.001-05:00

Look at Seb in the background!

Ha!

Is Sebastian rubbing his eye or picking his nose?

Who knows.

Digging for gold

2011-12-05T00:47:00.001-05:00

We went out to the dry river bank today to get dirt

to pan for gold.

Dig Maddie Dig! :)

Deck the halls 2011

2011-11-26T22:12:00.001-05:00

We put up the Christmas tree today,

and it looks great!

We had to rearrange the living room to make it happen though.

Last year, I put it up front and then never got to enjoy it because I'm never up there.

So, even though it makes the family room look more "cozy",

it all worked out well.

And the kids loved their ornaments that my mom made them

(the Russian dolls & snowmen).

Merry Christmas!

(I know there's still junk on the table! oops!)

Craft project

2011-11-26T17:41:00.001-05:00

The lights on the last garland I made bit the dust last year,

so we needed to make a new one!

The finished product turned out really pretty!!!

Now to get the rest of the Christmas decorations up and we'll be all set!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T17:37:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, I forgot to continue taking pictures as the day progressed. :(

So, I only have a few from when the kids were making

(and I was eating)

appetizers.

Oh well! :)

The funniest thing I've seen in a long time

2011-11-19T01:05:00.001-05:00

Maddie captioned this

"Before the surgery"

LMAO she's such a dork

Happy Birthday Paul!

2011-11-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

Trick or treat!

2011-11-01T01:29:00.001-04:00

Tonight was trick-or-treat & while Paul & I sat outside to pass out candy,

Maddie & Seb went to his mom's house to pass out candy there.

Emma, Amy & Howie went trick-or-treating & had a great time.

(Emma getting her hair sprayed black)

Making faces

2011-10-27T00:05:00.001-04:00

Tonight we carved pumpkins!

It's always messy and time-consuming,

but they turned out awesome!

Pumpkin patch 2011

2011-10-26T23:58:00.000-04:00

So the pictures are kind of yucky.

It was dark and my camera was acting up.

But we had a great time going to pick out our pumpkins!

In action....

2011-10-15T14:38:00.001-04:00

Claudia got lots of great pictures of Maddie cheering at the game the other night (thank you!).

Here are some pictures of Maddie in action.

When they're out on the field, she's the tall one in the back over towards the right.

She does a really good job!

Stimulating bone growth

2011-10-13T22:16:00.002-04:00

I have to use a "Bone Growth Stimulator"

every evening for 30 minutes.

With my medical history and medications,

the doctor is afraid that this fracture

won't heal easily on it's own.

Supposedly this machine sends magnetic waves

through my foot and somehow

stimulates new bone growth.

I don't feel anything and it doesn't

make any noise, which is good.

The view from where I sit

2011-10-13T22:13:00.002-04:00

Crappy picture, I know.

But, this is the view from my desk

at my new light-duty assignment

inside of one of the labs.

Castaway

2011-10-13T22:12:00.001-04:00

I had to go get plaster casts made of my feet

because when I'm able to eventually walk again,

the foot specialist says I'm going to need special

orthotics for inside my shoes for a while.

Made me feel like a 38-year-old old lady,

but as long as it gets me better!

It's fall! Time for new uniforms!

2011-10-12T18:28:00.000-04:00

Happy 15th Birthday Sebastian!

2011-10-12T18:26:00.000-04:00

Sunday we celebrated Seb's 15th birthday.

The cake looked awesome,

and the food was even better!

We forgot to buy candles (oops!),

so he had one big one to blow out! lol

Making a wish!

Taco salad... mmmmmm.

Howard's first time as quarterback

2011-10-09T00:26:00.000-04:00

Today was Howie's first time as quarterback

and he did such a good job.

He's a small peanut compared to a lot of these big boys,

so he got pretty beat up a few times,

but he held his ground and did awesome.

Go #42!

The view from where I sit

2011-10-02T14:37:00.001-04:00

The girls decorated for fall yesterday and the house looks so cute!

Maddie hung leaves around all the windows and on the ledge in the kitchen,

as well as on shelves and around the front door.

Craft Project!

2011-10-02T12:46:00.004-04:00

What do you do when you should be doing chores and cleaning the kitchen?

A craft project! :)

We decorated the house for fall yesterday,

and so the girls and I decided to make a centerpiece with baby pumpkins.

We painted them with Mod Podge and then rolled them in epsom salts,

which gave them a pretty glittery, crystally look.

Pretty!

Corki bought a car!

2011-09-28T14:32:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy for her!

I know this was a major source of stress in her life.

Yay!!!

Bella's 3rd birthday!

2011-09-28T13:30:00.001-04:00

G to the O, let's go!

2011-09-24T00:48:00.001-04:00

Tonight was Maddie's first time to officially cheer with her team!

It was the homecoming game,

so JV was there to cheer with Varsity.

She did GREAT!

The only thing I was bummed about

was that I had to sit SO FAR away from where she was performing.

All of the seats down at her end were taken,

so when you look at the pics of all the cheerleaders,

she is way down at the end toward the right.

I'm proud of you Maddie B!!!

Rewind... My boy, the early years

2011-09-21T23:58:00.001-04:00

A few hours old.

He was a sick boy when he was born

& was in the NICU.

It's so bright!

Getting his first really good look at mama.

He'd be embarrassed for me to tell you...

but he still sleeps with this puppy pillow case! :)

These are the most precious pictures to me!

This was Christmas morning when he was almost two,

and all he wanted was a "vacuum so I can be like Mommy."

He could care less that it was pink!

He was SO PROUD.

So sweet.

She's officially on the team....

2011-09-13T22:56:00.001-04:00

Her shoes arrived today

and she gets

her cheer uniform before the homecoming game.

She says she doesn't feel good....

2011-09-13T22:54:00.001-04:00

I think I believe her. :(

And Grandpa....

2011-09-13T21:15:00.000-04:00

Courtney and Grandpa swinging

Harker Heighter, TX 1993

Throughout my first picture-scanning marathon,

I noticed that I was doing a lot of typing of the words

"and grandpa"

(Courtney and grandpa, Darren and grandpa, etc),

or some variation thereof.

I think Grandma was busy taking a lot of the pictures,

so she wasn't in many.

Even though I'm only a tenth of the way through the scanning process,

one of the blessings that I have been reminded of

is that my kids have all had the presence of a faithful,

loving, engaged Grandpa in their lives from day one.

I'm grateful for him.

Grandpa teaching Courtney to shave

Courtney and Grandpa at the fair

Courtney & Grandpa at the zoo

Grandpa keeping Courtney warm

Grandpa helping Darren & Courtney swim

Darren & Grandpa on the 4 wheeler

Courtney & Grandpa on the 4 wheeler

Darren & Grandpa playing with hair clips

playing soccer

Trying to convince Maddie not to be afraid of the bunny

Courtney and Grandpa 2010

Happy Birthday Brandon

2011-09-12T21:36:00.000-04:00

Cardinals game

2011-09-11T20:45:00.001-04:00

Go Scorps!

2011-09-08T20:13:00.000-04:00

Each member of the cheer team

has "football buddies"

that they have to surprise with some goodies on game days.

So, Maddie got hers a little something.

Can't take me anywhere....

2011-09-08T20:11:00.001-04:00

Long story.

At least it's not broken.

ugh.

Brandon goes for a ride

2011-09-08T20:09:00.000-04:00

Recently when Paul's car conked out on us,

we waited for AAA to come and rescue us.

The problem was that they didn't have any tow trucks available

that could seat more than 2 passengers.

It was 115 degrees and we'd been sitting in that heat for over an hour,

so we thought it would just be mean to leave Brandon behind. lol

So, the tow truck driver suggested he ride in Paul's car!

After asking him if that was legal and he assured us that it was

(still don't know if I believe that),

Brandon gladly climbed aboard the flatbed.

This picture doesn't do justice to how funny he looked up there!

It was hilarious and we laughed all the way home!

Seb's first game of the year....

2011-09-03T01:17:00.001-04:00

Leader of the band....

2011-08-24T23:52:00.001-04:00

Thanks again Grandma & Grandpa!

2011-08-11T19:22:00.000-04:00

Home

2011-08-09T16:02:00.002-04:00

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

2011-08-07T21:56:00.000-04:00

Happy 11th Birthday Amelia!!!

2011-08-07T21:53:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day

Emma celebrated her 11th birthday,

some before church and some after church.

Paul found an awesome new bakery and

picked up a yummy red velvet cake

& some cupcakes for her

(red velvet is her favorite).

Lots of gifts,

and lots of pink!

Her favorite thing to do....

2011-08-07T21:47:00.000-04:00

"Can I play with your hair?"

It's one of her favorite things to say...

and one of my favorite things to hear!

Courtney visits New Orleans....

2011-08-07T21:45:00.000-04:00

And THESE are the only pictures she has taken!!!

Ugggh.

(Besides those of her and a boy that I saw on FB)

These are of her and her childhood friend Kelsey.

Happy 14th Birthday Maddie!

2011-08-07T21:43:00.000-04:00

Maddie didn't want a party this year,

but guess what?

SHE GOT ONE ANYWAYS! :)

I think in the long run she'll be grateful that she did.

And I know she's grateful for the Taylor Swift guitar book!

Eyes as blue as the sea....

2011-07-30T00:47:00.000-04:00

Maddie got another haircut...super short in the back

and super cute all over!

Look how blue her eyes look with this short, dark hair!

Of course, Emma is trying her best to look like a dork throughout,

but Maddie looks gawjuss.

xoxo

Birthday gifts....

2011-07-20T23:33:00.000-04:00

Thanks Grandma Dodi!

She loves them!

Yummy...,

2011-07-20T00:14:00.000-04:00

Assume the position....

2011-07-20T00:12:00.000-04:00

What she's best known for.

My little ducks

2011-07-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

Visit to Great Grandma

2011-07-20T00:08:00.000-04:00

Coming home!

2011-07-18T22:45:00.000-04:00

Chillin'

2011-07-18T22:43:00.000-04:00

Sleeping beauty....

2011-07-17T00:06:00.000-04:00

Amy laid on the bed to have some eye drops put in her eyes,

and within a few blinks she was fast asleep. lol

She looks like sleeping beauty.

Grandma & Great Grandma

2011-07-16T19:51:00.000-04:00

Summer view of home

2011-07-16T00:19:00.000-04:00

Livin' the dream....

2011-07-15T20:07:00.000-04:00

Times are tough these days!

That's why I'm proud of my Corki

for doing whatever she needs to do to make it happen.

Keep up the hard work honey!

Pretty as a flower

2011-07-15T20:06:00.000-04:00

Baby Bella isn't such a baby anymore.

Can you believe she's almost three?

Sending Mama some love

2011-07-15T20:04:00.000-04:00

Now that's fresh

2011-07-14T16:20:00.002-04:00

Oldie

2011-07-14T15:46:00.001-04:00

I found this old video on the memory card from my phone from 2009.

The girls all had to go and get multiple shots in one day...

some for school, some they needed boosters on.

They had to get like 4 or more each.

As usual, Maddie was acting like

"I don't care, it doesn't phase me at all."

And as usual, Courtney was scared to death.

I had to turn off the camera and go hold her hand and hug her

while she got her shots because she was crying. lol

I miss having all my girls home.

And Maddie still looks like such a baby here!

Visit to the state park

2011-07-13T23:51:00.000-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to the state park today

and let them hike through the forest, and play by the waterfalls.

The girls loved it and said the park was better than any they had gone to before.

They're only complaint is that it was so hot outside.

Putt-putt

2011-07-10T21:36:00.000-04:00

Goofy butt, vol. xiiixlmx

2011-07-06T21:02:00.000-04:00

4th of July

2011-07-06T20:59:00.000-04:00

Lorain fireworks

2011-07-04T21:25:00.000-04:00

Craft project

2011-07-04T21:22:00.000-04:00

The girls embroidered pillows with their initials on them.

Great job!

They're very pretty. :)

More Hair!

2011-06-26T22:16:00.000-04:00

Emma got her hair cut too!

She keeps saying she wants to grow it out,

but as she's happy,

that's all that matters!

She's not looking very happy here,

but she assures me she likes her hair.

A master in the making....

2011-06-25T15:05:00.000-04:00

Hair!

2011-06-24T22:43:00.001-04:00

(Before)

(After!)

LOVE IT!

She's doing it!!!

2011-06-22T19:31:00.000-04:00

Maddie's been trying to successfully do a handstand for so long...

and she's doing it!!!

Go Matt Go!!! :)

Pretty

2011-06-22T19:30:00.000-04:00

Maddie says these are "the most exquisite flowers"she's ever seen. :)

Mini vacay

2011-06-21T22:11:00.002-04:00

While Allison was here, we took a few days over the weekend to take a mini vacation.

We made our way to Firesky Resort & Spa in Scottsdale,

and let me say…

it was UH-MAZING!

It was truly beautiful.

It was clean & quiet,

two of my favorite things.

The room was lovely & cozy.

View Full Album

The grounds were gorgeous!

The main pool area was surrounded by fountains & cabanas.

The lagoon area was pretty & surrounded by flowers and sitting areas.

The other pool was a sand pool.

Nice to look at,

less pleasant in practical matters.

I always think I love the beach,

until I have to deal with the sand.

Not so much.

But it was charming.

The weather was perfect the whole weekend,

and the food was just as yummy!

In the afternoon,

we headed to the spa for massages.

Ahhhhh……

Then it was back to the pool.

Letting it all hang out by the pool,

what’s better than that?!

Hi Mom!

2011-06-13T20:09:00.000-04:00

Snickers saying "Hello, I miss you!" to Emma!

Enchanted to meet you....

2011-06-13T19:59:00.000-04:00

Look what my mom made me. :)

Courtney's new addition

2011-06-13T01:26:00.001-04:00

As a mother, all I can do is sigh and wish her well.

But she's happy and she's proud of it.

This is Courtney's new tattoo.

It's my name with a heart at the end.

I love you Courtney.

Project

2011-06-08T01:23:00.000-04:00

Headboard!

When Paul moved in, we inherited his california king sized bed,

which has his parents' headboard from times gone by.

He agreed to let me cover it and make something with it,

but I agreed to "do no harm" and wouldn't staple or glue anything onto it.

So, even though it took a little more work,

mom & I covered it in foam and taped it with duck tape.

Then we (and by "we" I mean "she") sewed a slip cover for it

made from a flat sheet.

Last but not least,

I covered some buttons and we added those.

It didn't turn out too bad!

On to the next chapter

2011-06-07T12:40:00.001-04:00

8th grade graduation is a BIG deal here,

and I’m proud of Maddie & Seb for doing a good job

the whole year long.

Now they’ll be moving on to the next stage in life &

preparing for the next stage in life.

It was SO bright that day it was hard to get good pictures!

Paul is 6’ 9” and Sebastian is catching up quick!

Dinner time!

They just look like they’re up to something, don’t they?

Achievement!

2011-06-04T00:10:00.000-04:00

Maddie & Sebastian had their 8th grade

awards ceremony & dance tonight.

They both looked so nice!

Striking some poses

Work it, work it....

Getting awards....

Being excited!!!

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-29T17:23:00.002-04:00

One thing that bothers me about living here,

is that there are hardly any flags ANYWHERE.

At least on the houses.

That's because these houses have like NO wood on them anywhere

to mount a flag bracket!

It's stucco or nothing.

So, Paul found a spot up on the faschia

to mount a flag for me,

and now we can proudly fly our flag

for Memorial Day.

Getting the backyard ready for grass!

2011-05-29T17:19:00.000-04:00

The boys all worked up a sweat this weekend

getting the backyard ready to plant grass.

Paul helped too,

but hates his pictures so won't let me post them. ;)

Makes me happy....

2011-05-29T17:09:00.000-04:00

Looking down and seeing my favorite new summer dress.

Baptism day!

2011-05-22T16:56:00.002-04:00

Today was baptism day at church,

and so five of our family decided to take the plunge!

(Howie, Amy, Brandon, Emma & Sebastian)

They set up two big pools in the front of the auditorium

because there are so many people that will be getting baptized

this weekend.

Luckily, our Pastor Greg's health was good enough that he was able to

participate and do some of the baptizing himself.

And also luckily, I picked the line that led to his pool! :)

Nothing against the other pastors,

I just think he's a special man of God and I feel blessed

that he could baptize our kids.

They let you get baptized together if you're with someone

special to you, so Seb & Brandon were together,

Amy & Emma were together,

and Howie was with one of his football buddies.

It was dark in there,

so some of the pictures aren't that great,

but they're not too bad.

Waiting in line while the praise team played great music.

Paul had casually invited his childhood friend Terry

that he had seen recently,

and he came to show his support.

(And then he took us all out to lunch afterwards...

we like him already!)

Look at the smile on Seb's face.

I love it!

This video isn't the best quality,
but after the kids had their turns,
we went back to our seats to
watch all of the other people getting baptized.

Joe's Crab Shack (yummmmm!)

2011-05-20T22:57:00.000-04:00

Brandon doesn't look all that excited to be wearing a bib,

but he was a good sport.

School projects

2011-05-18T23:10:00.000-04:00

As you can see, Amelia did her project on Pandas.

I love the little pandas she made out of clay!

SO cute!

Maddie did her 8th grade project on Vietnam war tunnels.

It was very interesting.

Good job ladies!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T21:33:00.000-04:00

Orange tulips (my favorite),

2 Kitchen Spice candles from

Bath & Body Works (my favorite),

and a card.

Thanks girls!

I love you more than tulips and candles!

xoxo Mom

The Andersons play football

2011-04-28T01:58:00.000-04:00

2011-04-28T01:52:00.000-04:00

Woke up Easter morning at Paul's house to see that the Easter Bunny had come!!!

Then the kids went on an egg hunt.

There were something like 82 eggs "hidden" all over the house.

Then we had dinner and watched

"The Passion of the Christ".

It was a nice, homey day.

The many faces of Easter....

2011-04-28T01:49:00.000-04:00

Coloring eggs

2011-04-28T01:45:00.000-04:00

Friday, we walked the neighborhood and hung

door hangers on people's doors asking them to come to church for Easter.

Then we went back to Paul's house, had some pizza and the kids colored eggs.

Goofy butts

2011-04-14T03:50:00.000-04:00

Yes, if you look close,

Emma is wearing a happy meal box on her head.

Flowers are blooming everywhere!

2011-04-12T22:49:00.000-04:00

Yellow always makes me think of my Corki,

because it's her favorite color.

Bowling for a cause!

2011-04-10T20:57:00.001-04:00

This morning there was a fundraiser for Howie's football

team at the bowling alley.

I had to get up at what felt like the butt-crack of dawn,

but the kids had fun,

which is all that matters.

A promise

2011-04-10T01:54:00.002-04:00

Self portrait: she's taken Courtney's place

2011-04-07T04:11:00.000-04:00

Happy April 1st

2011-04-01T20:21:00.000-04:00

I wish this was an April fool's joke. ugh.