Our "Kids"!

God has allowed us to minister to the most special group of kids! They are some of the most faithful children that I have ever had the blessing of working with....God is so good! Just had to post a picture of the group we had this morning! Thank you Jesus!

Little Scholar!

Mike took this picture and thought it was just hilarious! I think it is too so I had to post it! Cracks me up every time I look at it!

The Parking Lot

And the road construction continues! Yep, its quite the change and very very very different. Right now, the parking lot is filled and moved and torn up and pretty much gone except for very close to the church. I wanted to post some pictures of what it currently looks like and the stuff that's being stored in it. It's exciting to see the changes and wonder what it will look like when it's finished. Taylor is LOVING all the trucks and so excited to see them when we can get outside. The weird this is the house shakes, literally shakes, during the day when they are doing something - I don't know what exactly it is that is making it shake but I'm surprised some windows haven't broken yet! I'll keep posting new pictures so everyone can see!

Little Eliza!

Sylvia and Eliza came over today to spend the afternoon. I was able to get this video of Eliza just chattering away and it's so precious! It was so much fun to have them over! Eliza is such a good little girl and her and Taylor play really well together which I am very thankful for. Sylvia and I don't get too many chances to see eachother so this was a very welcomed visit. I hope that it isn't too long before we get to hang out again!

So Smiley!

We were at Culvers eating a wonderfully nutritious meal and I got this picture of Cole in his carrier - he's such a cutie!

Basketball! My Favorite!

Taylor's favorite thing to do is play basketball! Someone donated an old children's basketball hoop to the church for the youth garage sale and Grandpa Henderson plucked it right out of the trailor for Taylor and the grandkids much to my chagrin as Mike and I were planning on getting him one for his birthday......oh well. Mike says he can have one for outside and one for inside.
Well, this one is inside right now and Taylor is loving it! I'm not sure I can describe to you in words just how much he loves it but here's a video to prove it. I'm sure all of you will see just how many balls he has to throw and yes, I'm right there with you - why do we have so many!!!

It's Changing...

Everything out in front of our house is changing! We all knew that it was going to happen but the scope of what is happening and how quickly is amazing to me! I'm so glad that Mom and Dad Henderson are in TN visiting Tim, Kim and the kids right now because I think they would be having a hard time with it. Although, coming back to this is going to be hard too. The big oak tree was cut down yesterday - we have so many pictures of that. I'm posting some pictures from my phone of what has changed so far - not sure how well you'll be able to see it but it's interesting! I'll post more when the road actually gets tarred. I think my love of privacy has just grown and I'm not sure I like how close the road is now.....oh well, adaption is good right? :)

So Cute!

We were outside enjoying another beautiful spring day and I was able to snap this picture of Taylor which I think is absolutely adorable! I'm so thankful for all that God has given us and I truly believe that our little home is such a haven and retreat - I'm so thankful! God is good to me in so many ways and to have two beautiful children and an amazing husband is humbling to me - I don't deserve His goodness and mercy!

And it's down...

We have been waiting for the road construction workers to cut down the big oak at the end of the drive way and today it happened. I'm not sure how old that tree is but it's been here for as long as Mike has lived here and probably a hundred years before that. I heard it fall and ran out really quick and got a picture before it got cut up and dragged away. I'm not sure what the changes are going to be to the road in front and how quickly they will happen but this is a really big change for us! And how strange that it would happen on the day Mom and Dad Henderson left for Tennessee! Here are some pictures!

Happy Easter!

So today turned out to be a beautiful day! We always have dinner together at Mom and Dad Henderson's which Mom does a fabulous job with that! She always goes way above and beyond! This year, we did an Easter egg hunt outside which was really fun for the kids. Amy had been saving these eggs from the past years and all together with eggs from Angie and me, each child got to search for 47 eggs!!! 47 eggs! Really? We ended up just kind of tossing them on the ground after we had hid the ones for the older kids because there wasn't any other place to hide them! The kids had SO much fun! And thankfully, Angie and Amy are really health conscious (unlike myself!) and so alot of the eggs were filled with less sugary stuff. I don't know how long this bag of candy will last but it should last the entire summer!!! I love Easter!

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Easter Egg Hunting!

The Anderson tradition is to have an Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter and true to tradition we all showed up at my mom's house around 2:30pm. Everyone brought something to eat and since the day was nice, the guys went outside and practiced softball since our church is going to be playing softball this year......then we had an Easter egg hunt! It was so much fun! It's the best thing to watch the kids get older and enjoy these things more and more. I remember being young and how much fun it was for me (yes, we have been doing this for almost 20 years - yikes, I'm getting old!!!). This is one tradition that I love! Happy Easter everyone!

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Brothers!

I don't know how but somehow I got them together in this little chair to take a picture and it worked! My phone lets me touch up photos with one of my apps so this picture is a result of that moment! I love how happy they are together and how much Taylor loves his little brother! I'm so blessed!

Going Down the Slide!

Beautiful beautiful spring days call us to be outside! And since Taylor LOVES being outside, its where we were today - forget the house work right? :) He's getting so big and all grown up and going up and down the slide is a sure sign of that. I think this video is so precious and just had to share how big he's getting!

Cole's Announcements

So after working for a couple months on Cole's announcements,

they finally went out yesterday.....finally. I think the picture is so cute

and I am really pleased with the way they turned out.

I am now thinking about doing the same format for our Christmas cards

with a little variation since they turned out so much like I expected without alot of hiccups.

Hopefully everyone will enjoy the picture as much as I did.

April Fool's Day

So Mike played an April Fool's joke on me.....called me and told me that this morning had just been awful - first his car got a flat tire and then right before he got to work, he ran out of gas. I totally bought the complete story, 100%! Thankfully, he did not let me believe it for too long which was so kind of him and then told me that I needed to do it to someone else. But I'm not that creative with lying (like he is!) so I'm thinking that I probably won't be able to pull it off. What a joker! And how gullible am I? :) I'm just a trusting, loving, caring wife right?

Just longing, dear Lord, for you,
Jesus, beloved and true;
Yearning and wondering when
You'll be coming back again,
Under all I say and do,
Just longing, dear Lord, for you.

Som glad day, all watching past,
You will come for me at last;
Then I'll see you, hear your voice,
Be with you, with you rejoice;
How the sweet hope thrills me through,
Sets me longing, dear Lord, for you.

Someone's Excited!

I'm not sure what Mike was telling him that made him smile like this but it probably had something to do with gum. Lately, the coolest thing around is a stick of gum so my purse is always being raided and Mike's dresser drawer and I'm finding green bits of gum everywhere. We have finally resorted to shutting off our bedroom to avoid any further sticky messes....not sure that will work but it's worth a try, right? I just had to post this face - what could be cuter?

So Precious!

Daddy and the Boys!

I love saying "the boys"! I can't believe that we are now four! And it is truly amazing and awesome every day! We love our life! I had to post this picture because this is something that happens almost every night now and I think it is so precious! I love how Mike is so involved and caring with the boys and how sweet he is with them because it shows in their personalities!

Cole's First Bath!

Today, Cole got his first real bath! I was so eager to see how he would react compared to how Taylor reacted and he seems to like it pretty well. I would say it's definitely not his favorite thing. His favorite thing is eating! So since he got a bottle right after this bath, he was happy. Such a little cutie! Check out the double chin or maybe the lack of chin! Love it!

Helping with the Pacifier!

I hope that there will be many many more moments like this in their relationship!

Cole's First Sunday!

Holding Cole for the First Time!

Taylor asked to hold "da baby" for the first time tonight and we had to capture it on film! It was so precious too because he was so proud of himself while he was doing it. Of course, as soon as it started it ended and he was ready to be done holding the baby. But for the the few seconds he was, it was truly sweet.

Family of Four!

We are now officially a family of four! Baby Cole arrived on Friday, February 26th at 8:25pm weighing in at 9lbs and 22.5 inches long! Without going into too many details, he came really quickly and easily! He is healthy and beautiful! But none of my new born shoes are going to fit!!! I thought that possibly his feet might be smaller than Taylor's but nope, they are bigger! Or I should say, longer. :) He has very long "piano" fingers and the debate right now is that he might be more Anderson than Henderson. I personally think he is a mixture but of course, over the next few weeks, he is going to change and change and change! So I think we should probably wait it out a while before we make the call! :) He took to a pacifier and bottle immediately which has been wonderful!

Saturday we were visited by so many friends and family which truly made the day special for us! Everyone was so very thoughtful and kind to welcome Baby Cole like that and we appreciate and love them so much! The day passed by way too quickly....

Sunday brought another beautiful day and more rest with Mom and Dad Henderson staying til we were discharged to help us get home.

The one thing that I have to say about this whole wonderful life experience is that I LOVE my hospital! I couldn't have asked for better staff, for better care, for better medical expertise! Each and every nurse that we had was kind and thoughtful and by the time we left on Sunday night we had three nurses (not including the one discharging us) coming to our room to say goodbye. Let's just say, next week when we have our first doctor's appointment, we are taking cookies and a thank you card over to them because it was the most wonderful experience!

Begin the day with God!
He is your Sun and Day!
His is the radiance of your dawn;
To Him address your day.

Sing a new song at morn!
Join the glad woods and hills;
Join the fresh winds and seas and plains,
Join the bright flowers and rills.

Sing your first song to God!
Not to your fellow men;
Not to the creatures of His hand,
But to the glorious One.

Take your first walk with God!
Let Him go forth with thee;
By stream, or sea, or mountain path,
Seek still His company.

Your first transaction be
With God Himself above;
So will your business prosper well,
All the day be love.

Horatio Bonar

It is the branch that bears the fruit,
That feels the knife,
To prune it for a larger growth,
A fuller life.

Though every budding twig be trimmed,
And every grace
Of swaying tendril, springing leaf,
May lose its place.

O you whose life of joy seems left,
With beauty shorn;
Whose aspirations lie in dust,
All bruised and torn,

Rejoice, though each desire, each dream,
Each hope of thine
Will fall and fade; it is the hand
Of Love Divine

That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch,
That you, whose life has borne some fruit,
Might now bear much.

Annie Johnson Flint

Another Hat...

And once again, the hats have become even more alluring! And Grandpa has so many of them! I'm glad he shares because Taylor loves to wear them! :)

And Another Baby Appointment...

We just got back from the doctor and things are pretty much the same. I'm having false labor contraction right now on a pretty regular timing of about 6-7 minutes apart but nothing more than that. I do have to say, I actually look forward to those contractions because they feel good to me! Weird, I know! But my blood pressure is good, Cole's heart rate is good and I couldn't ask for anything more! The doctor did ask me if I would like to schedule my delivery or just wait and we chose to just wait and see what happens. I guess this time around if I could experience what its like to have it happen on its own, I would like to be able to do that. Again, probably not the norm for most but I'm okay with just waiting! Can't wait to see what happens over the next couple of weeks!

Baby Appointment!!!

We had our second of weekly appointments today and I'm dialated 2 cm!!! I really wasn't expecting that when we in but it is very exciting because with Taylor nothing had progressed at this stage in the game. It's exciting to think about what could possibly happen very soon. Being induced with Taylor made it very scheduled and very exact which is normally what I like but to have the possibility of going early is fun for me too! Everything else looks good and what they are saying right now is that they will not stop me from going into labor but also will not start anything. So waiting right now has gotten just a little more fun! Will keep you updated!!!

Dinner At Mark & Laura's

We have been trying to get together with Mark and Laura but haven't had a chance to because of the holidays and the fact that they just had their third child! Well, it finally worked out for us to have dinner and since I had wanted to make them dinner after they had Anna, we went over there and I brought the whole meal! It was so much fun! The girls are just precious and Anna is such a cutie! We ended up getting home really late but it was totally worth it! I hope that we get to do that much more often!

Cole Update...

We had an appointment today - 4 weeks and counting! It went very well! Cole's heart rate is good, around 140 which is what it has been at for most of the pregnancy and he seems to be growing right on schedule. His activity level has dropped a little but nothing that they are too worried about since he's probably just getting too big to move around as much.....all in all it was a good appointment. We do have the option of having him at the Maple Grove hospital which would be such a blessing since it just opened on December 30th, but the pregnancy and delivery has to go very well with minimal complications since they do not have an ICU for newborns and their staff load is somewhat limited. But if everyone could pray that it works out, we would be so thankful! Another baby update in a week!

Birthday Saturday!

Yesterday my sisters, mom and I got together to celebrate our birthdays! Since our birthdays all fall within a month of eachother, we get together one Saturday in between the four dates and have a day where just us four get together and do whatever we want and eat a fabulous meal and spend the day together. My mom had cheese fondue ready when we got there for an appetizer. We then gathered around the table and created fridge calendars with all my scrapbooking supplies. Dinner was a collaberation between Jess and me - she made chicken carbonara and I made the Buca apple walnut salad. Absolutely delicious!!! Heather then brought out dessert which was pound cake with layers of vanilla ice cream and raspberry sorbet. That was incredible!!! It was such a relaxing day and one that we look forward to every year.....I really wish it wasn't over.....

Grandpa's Hat...

Taylor never used to want to wear Grandpa's hat and would always take it off but lately it has been especially alluring so every opportunity he gets, he tries to put it on. Mom and Dad brought me breakfast for my birthday so I was able to get this picture this morning! So cute!

My Precious Boy!

I am so thankful for my sweet precious boy! Mike took this picture with his IPhone last Sunday and I had to post it......so sweet!

Spring Cleaning in January...

Go figure. I can't stand my house right now! So I have resorted to cleaning....what? Yes, every cupboard, closet, room and drawer has been emptied, cleaned and organized. Amazingly, I feel so very good about it. Maybe it's because I have told myself that I am not going to allow myself to scrapbook until my house is in order. I'm trying to finish it as soon as possible. I'm thinking that everything should be done by tomorrow - it's only been a week! :) 900 sq ft in a week, pretty good. Monday - scrapbooking!!!

No Greater Love

Before I knew Your name
You knew my every breath
Before I found my way
You knew my every step
Before I knew everything that I need
You gave it all to me

No greater love than this
That You should lay down Your life
For someone such as me
I'd spend a life time wondering why
The beauty of heaven is here in my heart
And I know there can be
No greater love
Than this

I never understood
How merciful love could be
Until I felt His flame
Light every part of me
And I would give everything that I am
Cause I have been saved
Yes I have been saved

No greater love than this
That You should lay down Your life
For someone such as me
I'd spend a life time wondering why
The beauty of heaven is here in my heart
And I know there can be
No greater love

The beauty of heaven is here in my heart
And I know there can be
No greater love
For someone such as me
No greater love
Than this

They Love Grandpa!

I'm not sure who asked to be picked up first but Grandpa couldn't say no to either one! :) Payten and Taylor just love Grandpa and he just adores them! He is Taylor's best buddy and playmate! I love capturing moments like this ~ truly special!

Christmas Day & Almost Over the Flu!

Still feeling a little tender but so much better. I was actually able to spend a good part of the end of Christmas Day with Mike's family while we opened presents. Of course, when I came upstairs Mark had to act like I had the plague and pull his hoodie up over his head and cover his face except for one little hole which everyone thought was completely hilarious. He is such a character! He knows exactly how to push each situation to its fullest! Wouldn't be the same if he didn't!!! I'm so thankful though that Mike and Taylor have not gotten the flu because that would truly be horrible! God has been so good and kept them healthy! Oh, side note, the night before Christmas Eve, I was putting together ham pickle roll ups and was eating them and now that it was the last thing I ate before getting the flu, I don't think that I will be able to eat another one again. So sad. And yes, I will be ending this note with the topic of ham pickle rollups! :)

So Handsome!

I have the two most handsome guys in the whole world! I don't know what I would do without them and I love them so much!

Christmas Eve & the Flu!

Yes, I did mention the "f" word above. Unbelievable, right? That is totally what I was thinking Christmas Eve morning as I was sick in the bathroom. I actually prayed to God and said, "You know how much I've prepared for this day.....why would You let this happen?" And then immediately apologized and thanked Him that I wasn't sicker. But still! The Lord had really helped me though because I hadn't prepared half of the food that I was suppose to bring so none of it went to waste. I'm so thankful to Jesus that the medicine the doctor called in worked because the next step was to go to the emergency room for iv's which would have been so much more horrible. And Mike was home from work so he was able to be with Taylor and let me rest. I guess if there was any time that I could have the flu this was the best time. Oh my, I actually said that. As far as emotions go though, my family kept sending me photos of what they were doing throughout the day and I was crying every other hour knowing all that I was missing. But they were just trying to be sweet and include us in everything even though we couldn't be there. It doesn't feel though like we have experienced Christmas and I'm not sure when that will change. What a different day it turned out to be.

Macy's 8th Floor...

Now that we have Taylor, we go to Macy's 8th floor - last year we went with just Taylor but this year we also went with Grandma and Grandpa Henderson.

We stopped at the candy store where they make the best caramel popcorn and got that to share. Even though the story was still the same, its one of the best that Macy's has ever done so I thought it was good that they did it again.

Taylor of course got lots of treats and had a great time in the toy store with Grandpa while Grandma and I rested...:) Afterwards we went to Wendy's for dinner and got some hot chocolate from Starbucks because we also went to go look at Christmas lights in The Lakes. That's a tradition that we have had since we first got married so now I think we are just going to do that from now on - put them both together.

It was such a wonderful memory and I'm glad that Taylor has those memories to look back on!

Cole in 4D!

What a miracle each baby is! Last night, we had a 4d ultra sound done at Bella Angel Imaging in Maple Grove. Both of our parents were able to be there with us and it was a very special time! We had one done when we were pregnant with Taylor and we just had to have one done for Cole. My dreams of him possibly having a little bit of me are somewhat dashed - he, just like Taylor, seems to strongly resemble his daddy. But since their daddy is a very handsome man, I have no problem with that! :) We were able to get a 20 minute dvd and 3 pages of pictures which was very special..... Afterwards, we took everyone to Olive Garden to enjoy a great meal (one of my favorite restaurants!!!) and all too soon, it was over. My parents came back with us to our house to watch the Monday night game which was fun too and prolonged the festivities of the night! :) Its so very special to us to have these memories and these photos! Love it!

Christmas Program!

"Don't you just love this time of year?" My opening line for the Christmas program tonight! And it went so well! The bus kids came with us to the South Campus to sing a special before the program started and they did such a good job! I'm so proud of them! They looked so cute up there on the platform in their blue choir robes singing at the top of their lungs. I wish that I could have gotten a video but everyone I know was in the play or doing something for it or didn't have a camera.....so oh well....
I remembered every line and so did all the others! It turned out so very well! The Lord also helped with the sinus infection I had been battling so I didn't have to deal with a stuffy nose! My cousin Katie and her husband were in town from IN which was so special! Never in a million years did I think that they would be there!
After the program, we had a cookie fellowship and the kids really enjoyed that. Mike took everyone home on the church van and then he just went home. I took Taylor over to Heather's to meet up with Brian, Katie, Connie and Gary. Connie and Gary bought everyone Subway which was so nice and we just hung out, caught up and watched the Vikings. It was so much fun to be together! All in all, it was a very memorable night!

Merry Christmas, Grandma!

Christmas has changed over the years for us.....I remember so many years, heading to my Grandma Anderson's on Christmas Eve and all the cousins would be there and the aunts and uncles. Grandma would have her Christmas village in the bay window that overlooked the channel to the lake and her tree would be decorated with multi-colored lights with a million presents underneath that were just dying to be opened! So many memories.....

Now that we all have children of our own and my mom is now a grandma, Christmas Eve is spent at Mom and Dad's with all the brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews. It is as magical for them as it was for us and such a special time! Since we no longer see my Grandma and aunts and uncles, the Saturday before Christmas is now spent together at either my Grandma's house or my Aunt Sharon's house. This year it was at Sharon's and we all brought food and played games together. We didn't open presents because my cousins still see everyone else on Christmas Eve and Grandma had bought us similar gifts and she didn't want their presents to be ruined. This year, I put together a "heritage" album for her that has current pictures of all the kids, grandkids and great grandkids. I know she liked it and it was really fun to put together. No matter how much the traditions have changed, this time is still very special for us! I'll always think of Grandma Anderson when I see a Christmas village (I started one this year!) and remember all those Christmas Eve nights and just how memorable they were for us!

Merry Christmas, Grandma!

Christmas Practice...

Thursday night Christmas Practice has come and gone! I can hardly believe it! What a busy time of year and what a busy night! Our Christmas program is on Sunday night at our South Campus and instead of having everyone come to practice on Friday night, we had practice tonight with a spaghetti dinner before. It was really good! I ate too much because I could hardly keep any breath support during the practice from how full I was! Ginger lead the rehearsal this year and I think it went really smoothly! I'm so nervous though! I've tried to memorize every one of my lines but I'm having difficulty with the last couple paragraphs. I shouldn't say that I've tried because I think I've read it through maybe two times at home in between other practice times so the fault lies with me. I will be studying very hard this weekend though! :) Taylor was pretty good through most of the first practice but by the end, Mike decided that it was just best if he took him home and I would ride back with Mom Henderson. It worked out really well because Taylor was able to get to bed on time and I was able to stay until the very end. Prayerfully everything will go just as wonderfully on Sunday!

Johnson Family

Matt, Jess and the kids came to church looking so nice this morning that I just had to take some pictures! And these are how they turned out! Such a beautiful family!

Elf Party 2009

A new Anderson tradition! Southern Living had this idea in their Christmas book they print every year and Heather & I just fell in love with it! I'm not sure the kids were as enthusiastic about it as we were but I'm sure they'll grow into it......right? :)

We all tried to wear as much red & green as we could (Taylor looked a little weird), eat a lot of red & green things and do Christmasy stuff like decorate a gingerbread house

with Grandma Anderson (Bomstad name)/Nana (Henderson name)/Mimi (Johnson name).

We have decided that if we all want to call our mom the same "grandmother" name, we are going to have to merge them all together and call her "Grandnami"!

I don't think that's going to play out! :)

It turned out to be really fun and something that I think the kids are going to look forward to.