Most Memorable Christmas

When I was in third grade what I thought was going to be the worst Christmas ever turned out to be my favorite.
I could tell something was wrong. It was Christmas Eve and I could hear my parents saying things like "maybe it was stolen" or "are you sure you put it there" and "what are we going to do if we don't find them". After a while all of us kids caught on that they had lost some presents. I was the youngest of five kids, the next oldest was in sixth grade. I thought that they lost some presents for each of us, but as the night went on I realized it was just my presents. My mom pulled me aside and let me know that they couldn't find my presents. They had hid them at my Grandma's house, who was on a mission, and the presents were no longer there.
I remember sitting on her lap and crying and she was crying too. I wasn't sure at the time if Santa was real or not and I remember telling my mom that if I told her that I still think Santa is real will he bring my presents. She informed me what I had feared, Santa wasn't real, and I wouldn't be getting any presents. Since it was Christmas Eve all the stores were closed. It was what I thought was the worst news ever.
I went to bed crying and I remember praying for presents.
When we woke up the next morning, every one was so excited to see what they were getting. I was surprised to see a small present under the tree with my name on it. I opened it up and it was several hand written "Love Coupons" from my mom.
She had made me several different coupons to use when ever I wanted. They ranged from her sewing me a new outfit to having two good listening ears any time I needed to talk and several other different kinds of coupons to redeem any time I chose. I sat on the floor and cried. I felt so selfish for how I had acted the night before. I looked up and my mom was sitting on the floor surrounded by her unopened presents crying. She gave me a big hug and reassured me that in the morning we could go shopping and buy me some Christmas presents to replace the ones that were lost.

I used up some of the coupons right away but I saved the most important one. I never used the one that was good for two listening ears. I never needed to use it. She was always there any time I needed someone to to talk to. I saved it in my top drawer and would look at it a couple times a year and would remember how loved I felt that Christmas morning. My mom is one of my best friends and is always there to talk to.

Well, in the spring my Grandma came home from her mission and did a little bit of spring cleaning. She found the presents in the same closet that my parents had put them in...maybe they never were supposed to find them!

No Comment

Not that leaving comments on my blog is mandatory, but when someone does it is always nice. I would blog even if no one read it, but it is fun to hear what people have to say about our little world. Well I posted about Paisley being born and I would randomly check to see who commented and no one ever did. I was kind of sad, then I came to find out that something was wrong with my comments portion of the blog and it wasn't letting anyone leave comments! I guess that I shouldn't be sad if I caused the problem! I figured this out last night and solved the problem...I think. One of my friends emailed me to let me know that she couldn't comment on the my blog, so I would have figured it out eventually! (Thanks Andrea) Well on a good note, Macie can hula hoop! It is pretty cute to watch her. The hula hoop is all bent out of shape too, but she can still do it. Yes, she is in just her under ware again, I try to keep her dressed but it doesn't last long!

Our Baby is Here!!!

Paisley Ireland Anderson was born on Friday Decemeber 12 at 12:21. She weighed 6 lbs 2 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. She is such a good little baby. She only cries when we give her a bath. She is sleeping really well at night (for a new born) and we couldn't ask for a better little baby.
Labor went fast and we were very glad that we got enduced when we did. I was dialated to a 4 when we got to the hospital and after I was all hooked up on PIT and had my wonderful epidural, it was only a few hours till she was born. It took till about noon to be dialated to 6 cm, but then at 12:15, they went to put a heart moniter on the baby's head because they were getting a good reading on the one that was straped to my belly and when they went to put it on they said I was ready to push! I turned to Jay, who was reading the paper, and said did you here that and he said yeah, they are putting something on her head. I said no, we are ready to have a baby, and he said okay, while still reading the paper. I said, Jay, I am dialated to a 10, we are going to have a baby right now. And he said, oh, really! And then jumped up and was ready for the action. Then about 6 minutes later she was born.



The kids were pretty funny at the hospital. Bridger of corse did great and was excited to see and hold his new little sister. Macie would look at her but not touch her or hold her. Emy wouldn't leave my lap. She didn't want to look at the baby and if you asked her where Paisley was she would say "over there", and they I would say is that your new sister and she would say "no".

Now that we are home they are all doing great and can't get enough of her. Thankfully Emy will admit to having a new baby sister and she is really sweet with her now.
Bridger and Macie want to hold her all the time, which I don't let them do a whole lot, I let them hold her several times a day, but if they had it thier way, then one of them would hold her for about 30 seconds then pass her off for 30 seconds then want her back for about 30 seconds...and on and on.


She has a patch of blond hair on her head (by her neck)...we think it might be a birth mark. I think it is pretty cute!

2 Days Till Baby

I went to the doctor yesterday and got lots of good news after a long wait in the waiting room. They didn't have my appointment saved, so I saw a different doctor than I usually do. He measured me and was concerned that the baby was too small or that I didn't have enough amniotic fluid, so off to get an ultra sound. We came back to the room to see what he thought of the ultra sound results and they only checked the fluid levels, not the size of the baby, so back for another ultra sound we went.
Well every looked fine and they think the baby will be around 6 lbs. In the ultra sound the tech also thought that the baby had a head full of hair, she was pretty sure it was hair, but she said it might be vernix (just that stuff that covers their skin in the womb). I was bald till I was almost 2, so just the thought of hair is fun.
I am dilated to a very generous 3 (the doctors words...but they sound more exciting than just dilated to a 3) and 80% effaced. That probably won't matter to much because I convinced the doctor to switch my induction date to this Friday...only 2 more days. He wasn't hard to convince. I think he felt bad that we had been there for 2 1/2 hours.

Pregnancy News

So I went to the doctor on Tuesday and found out that I am 2 cm dilated. I don't remember how far I ever dilated with Bridger, one appointment they said I was at a 3 and a few days later a different doctor said I don't know what they were talking about, you are barely a 1. And that is the last I remember with being dilated with that pregnancy.
But we are excited that things are progressing, and I have to admit that I am getting nervous to have a new baby at home. I am not afraid for delivery, just the late nights and crying and still having to deal with all the other things that 3 other kids bring into our lives. I am sure that it will all work out fine and that I will be thrilled with our new little baby.
We decided to schedule a day to get induced so I will feel good by Christmas. The date is set on Monday December 15th. Only 11 days left! I hope that I will go into labor before then, because I don't necessarily want to be induced. I like the excitement of not knowing when it will come and will we get there in time. With Bridger from the start of the first contraction till he was born was about an hour and 30 minutes. It was so fast and I was hoping to have another similar story. But we decided that if the baby doesn't come by its due date (the 19th) then we didn't want to take the chance of being at the hospital on Christmas or even Christmas Eve. This way I will feel pretty good by Christmas. If this was our first baby, then being in the hospital at that time of year wouldn't be awful, but since we have other little kids at home, I want to be here and feel good for Christmas.


Just a few Pregnancy Photos for my own enjoyment.

31 weeks 3 days


36 weeks and 2 days



This is just to show that Macie can wink...look closely.

Lotion Extreme

Sunday morning I told Bridger to get some lotion on his face because it was a little dry. He was in the bathroom for awhile so I went to check on him and this is what I found. Kids will be kids I guess. But we love them anyways.

Stuck in a Bucket

I was talking to Jay and Emy walked in the room kind of whining a little bit...I don't blame her. I would whine if a bucket was stuck on my head!

Cheap Solutions

Macie has been bugging us all day every day for 4 days now to take her to the store and buy a pink bike. We recently bought Bridger a new bike, so she had his old bike which fit her size perfectly so we didn't think it was necessary to buy another bike. But after a long day of running errands and hearing none stop about her wanting a pink bike right now, we finally convinced her to let us paint her bike that Bridger gave her pink. We took her to the hardware store and let her pick out the paint...luckily they had one shade of pink and she was thought it was the perfect color. We came home and took apart the bike and taped off the spots that we didn't want to paint and an hour later it was done. She must have approved because as I was finishing up the vinyl stickers she walked in the room and asked if it was done, then she looked at the bike and said "oh, pretty!". These are the before and after photos.
Before

After


I think this smile says it all...she got her pink bike and was very happy!!

Kids in Motion

Yesterday after church we were watching iCarly with the kids and Emory was standing on the arm of the couch falling backwards on to the cushions. It kept her entertained for quite a while. Jay got out the camera to take a picture of her all the kids had to get involved because they love to have their picture taken.


Bridger had to have a new pose for every picture, followed by "let me see"

Emy--the one who started it all

Macie--does this girl ever keep her clothes on?

Haunted Pumpkins

Last night for FHE we carved pumpkins. It is sad to admit, but I think we have only done this one other time before. The kids all had lots of fun and had to poke at the pumpkins with anything remotely sharp that they could find.
I was kind of grossed out by the guts inside the pumpkin and didn't enjoy cleaning it out, but the carving wasn't bad at all.
I was given a pumpkin carving kit with patterns and tools when I was pregnant with Bridger...needless to say it was the first time we had ever used it. It was pretty fun and exciting to see how the pumpkins looked all lit up.
When we took pictures we had to have the flash off to see the pumpkins lit up and you had to hold the camera still for about 1 or 2 seconds till the picture was done being taken. I apparently shake because my pictures all looked like they were haunted. Jay had the magic touch and was able to get some clear pictures. They turned out great...pumpkins and pictures.

Family Pictures...well the kids at least!

Well, we thought we would try our hand at taking the kids pictures and I am happy to say that I think they turned out really cute. And hey it was free! We went over to Jay's parents house and had a lot of fun finding different back grounds to use. We were happily surprised how well they cooperated. Emy did great and wanted to be in every picture. Macie was pretty funny, she couldn't quite figure out how we wanted her to smile, but hers still turned out cute too. Bridger had to try different poses for every picture. They all had fun. They were very patient because they all wanted to go in side Grandma and Grandpa's house and eat a treat and play with toys.



Macie







Bridger






Emy






The Girls...I had to post this one

I Do...Love You

1. Where did you meet?
We grew up in the same ward, but he was four years older than I was, so we didn't really "know" each other. I was in 8th grade when he graduated, so we never even were at the same school together.

2. How long did you date before you were married?
7 weeks total. Crazy I know, but when you know its right why wait.
So the story: I dated a guy for three years and then he left on his mission. He said that I could date any one I wanted while he was gone except Jay Anderson. So needless to say that was the only person I wanted to date. (Don't tell me I can't do something, I will have to prove you wrong!) So I decided that I would go to some of the ward single adult activities to hopefully work my magic on Jay. The first one I went to he was there and we went to a movie (not sure which one, because I didn't watch) I made sure that I sat by him and talked to him through the whole show. The next weekend I called before the activity to make sure he was going and he said that he had too much work to do, but I just said come on you can make time and he said okay I'll be there. So I invited him to come over to my brother's house after the activity to watch another movie (again, not sure what movie was on). Then the next day at church we sat by each other in class and then he came over for dinner at my parents house. We watched another movie (still no clue what movie I think there was a guy on a lawn mower on the cover). Then the next night he came over after I got off of work at 10pm and while we were watching TV (I think it was on) we were just talking and all of a sudden he got really quiet and started to cry. He asked if I could feel that (meaning the Spirit) and I said yes and I began to cry. He asked me what I would say if he asked me to marry him and I said that I would say yes. So we decided to pray about it and then that Saturday he proposed, and 6 long weeks later we were married.


3. How long have you been married?
8 years


4. What does he do that surprises you?
I used to be surprised at the business ventures he would try, but now I am not surprised by too much. He most recent business: a lawn mowing/snow removal business. This one is almost too good to be true. It doesn't take a ton of time, but the pay is awesome for what he does.

5. What is your favorite feature of his?
His eyes...hopefully our baby will get his gorgeous blue eyes.

6. What is your favorite quality of his?
He doesn't judge people. He is also very friendly and loves to talk. I don't mind this quality as long as I am not sitting in the car with three screaming kids while he visits for what was supposed to be five minutes and then turns into thirty.


7. Does he have a nickname for you?
No, but he often calls me the wrong name. He calls me Joy, which is his sister. I think it is kind of funny.

8. Does he have a favorite color?
Blue

9. What is his favorite food?
Does he have something he doesn't like? He isn't a picky eater at all, but I would say he probably likes pasta and meat and potatoes the best. I cook those a lot because I like them and he doesn't seem to mind.

10. What is his favorite sport?
Basketball

11. When was your first kiss?
The night before he asked me what I would say if he asked me to marry him...which was the second night we did something together.

12. Favorite thing to do as a couple?
We love to go on dates. It is nice to visit without the kids climbing on us.

13. Do you have any children?
Yes, three and #4 is on the way.


14. Does he have a hidden talent?
He can do just about anything. He is a handy man. He can also do a handstand for a very long time.

15. How old is he?
31

16. Who said I love you first?
He did, after he asked me what I would say if he asked me to marry him. Things happened fast with our relationship, so they may not have been in the normal order!


17. What's his favorite music?
I would say country, but every time I get in his car he has Z103 on the radio. I think he likes all types.

18. What do you admire most about him?
I love that he honors his priesthood and the covenants that he made in the temple. He is a wonderful daddy and the kids all adore him. He would do anything for anyone and he is a very hard worker.


19. Do you think that he will read this?
Probably, he has been busy with work lately, but eventually I think he will stumble across it.

I Love You Jay!