Prayers of a 4yr old!

Wesley loves to pray! It is so amazing b/c he knows that if he asks God for something...God hears and will reply! This is one of the best parts of being a mom...watching your children grasp the reality of our precious Lord!

One of his most recent prayers concerned me though. He prayed before eating his dinner..."Dear Jesus, PLEASE help this food taste good! AMEN!" My concern...he never asks God to help Daddy's food taste good! Mommy's is the only kind that needs GOD"S help! Thanks Wes! I think I may be developing a small complex!

When eating dinner tonight at our friend's house he whispered in my ear..."Mommy, this food is soooo good that I just can't stop eating it! That's weird huh?" WOW! I'm thankful that he enjoyed his dinner...but maybe i should improve my cooking skills!

Oh the Joy!

Pregnancy! While I LOVE the little darlings that appear at the END of a pregnancy...the process in which they arrive is NOT a pleasant one for me. My aunt on the other hand LOVED being pregnant! I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder! While it is SOOOO nice to eat your way through the holidays and not have to worry about those extra few pounds you might gain, the morning, noon, and night sickness...on top of the assault on your nose (for those who have never been pregnant- you SMELL EVERYTHING!) and the constant feeling of being bloated to the point of popping...and with this baby, I am tired ALL the time...it just doesn't make for a very fun experience!

(why the sudden outburst of complaints?) Today I had to get my labs drawn...aka...needles and nurses trying to find my VERY impossibly hard to find veins (thanks dad) and all that on top of going through loops trying to even get an appointment with the army (all of you who think socialized medicine is the answer...YOUR WRONG) made for a VERY VERY LONG and HARD day!

Anyway, enough complaining...I am VERY sorry to put you through all that...but the good news is...I AM OFFICIALLY HAVING A BABY! It's never "official" until the army confirms! So happy day! The Anderson Crew will be expanding! We are very excited! The kids can't wait and they are both praying for a brother! So we shall see!

Ice Fishing

This weekend we went Ice fishing with the King family! We did it "TRAVIS" style so we made sure we waited until it was the closes to -40 as possible:) Travis and Dave went ahead of us girls and got the stove inside the ice house going, then Bo and I came with the kids. We didn't catch but one fish the whole day but it was so much fun! The kids LOVED it! We all stayed bundled up in the little house, with no lights might I add, and took turns dipping our pole in the little ice hole that Travis and Dave carved out. A true Alaskan experience!

Christmas:)

This Christmas was very fun and laid back for the Anderson crew! We did Christmas eve at our house with my parents! What a blast! We watched White Christmas and at Travis' seafood buffet! Mom and Wes put together a manger scene.

And then Christmas day we spent at home in the morning, then at my parents for lunch with them and some friends from church! It was relaxing and VERY ENJOYABLE! I LOVE CHRISTMAS TIME!

Our visit to Mississippi

We had such a great time with family and friends. I should had blogged everyday while there but we were just so busy!~ So I will try and recap with my favorite moments and pictures! Enjoy!

Favorite Moment #1 Meet my sweet nephew, Ethan and my wonderful sister-in-law to be, Kim!

Favorite Moment #2 Spending time with the greatest grandparents in all the world!

Favorite Moment #3 Hanging out with my brothers and watching my kids fall in LOVE with them!

Favorite Moment #4 Spending time with the sweetest friend/sister in all the world, Amy! (and
meeting her new hunny:)

Favorite Moment #5 Traveling across the country with my mom and children! We had so much fun!

Favorite Moment #6 Seeing Broadway's Christmas Program and hearing my daughter shout for all to hear, "The camel burped, the sheep pooped on the floor, and I pooped on Uncle Blake!)

Favorite Moment #7 Seeing and spending time with aunts and unlces.

Favorite Moment #8 Telling people I was pregnant again!

Favorite Moment #9 Making Kimbop for my brothers!

Favorite Moments #10 Coming home to my sweet husband!

Wesley's first Hunt!

While we were in Mississippi my brother Blake and my uncle Tim took Wesley out for his VERY FIRST DEER HUNT! He had the time of his life. Uncle Tim shot a nice buck and Wes was able to watch and help clean and stuff. Travis thinks the hunt may have spoiled Wes a bit though...down south hunting is a bit more relaxed and just a LITTE bit easier than hunting up north. They drove their four-wheeler to a heated deer stand where they watched and waited above a feeding station where the deer casually walked up and breathed his last. Uncle Tim took a shot, loaded the thing up and headed back to the cabin where they gutted and cleaned it all in just a few hours timing. (I'll have Travis blog his story of caribou hunting that same week here in Alaska and allow all of you to make the comparisons:) But Wes had the time of his life! I'm so thankful for family who will allow a 4 year old to tag along! Love you guys!

Sweet Manners!

On Sunday we visited my grandparents church and Emmy Grace went to her little 2yr old class. When I went to pick her up the teacher said that one of the little boys had taken a bite out of her hand while they were playing! I began to panic but the teacher said she didn't even cry. She said that Emmy Grace looked at the boy and said "NO THANK YOU! NO THANK YOU! NO THANK YOU!" She had a pretty big bite mark on her hand...but she was so proud that she "said it the right way!"

Loving the Family!

Well, we have been in Mississippi for a week now and having so much fun! It is so good to see family and especially to meet my little nephew Ethan! He is so adorable! Brett and Kim are such sweet parents...that little boy is truly blessed! And I have finally met my sister-in-law to be and she is the greatest! She is so beautiful and truly one of the sweetest girls I have ever met! I love her already! God is so good! I'll try and post pictures later of the baby:)

Wes went on his first deer hunt with his uncles this past weekend! He was able to wittness his Uncle Tim get a HUGE buck! He was dissappointed though that he wasn't able to kill a deer too!

Right now I am at my sister's house in Jonesboro AR visiting for a couple of days! We shopped till we dropped yesterday~! Emmy Grace is here with me and Wesley is with my mom in Mississippi! It has been so relaxing just visiting people and enjoying family! I do however miss my VERY sweet husband who has been working hard while I've been gone! He shot a caribou last week and now our freezer is full of delicious meat again! YEAH! I love being married to a mountain man!

I promise to post picture of our trip as soon as possible!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving! We have eaten and now we are on our way to a movie! Fun family times! It was our first year eating Thanksgiving out...but it was so nice! No cooking, no dishes and no leftovers! NO STRESS! We shall see if this becomes a tradition! Love you guys!

Complaints!

How many times a day do you hear complaining? If you are a mother, I am sure the number doubles! But for most adults, we have this skill down! It seems everyone LOVES to complain...about anything and everything! Something is always wrong with something. It never fails! Yet, what would happen in this world if we tried to find the good in things as quickly as we felt the need to make our dislikes known! Wouldn't this world be a much better and "HAPPIER" place!

This is my soap box for the day! I am just so tired of people griping and complaining! If you don't like something, either change it, ignore it, quit it, or just plain MOVE ON! This is a VERY imperfect world, yet we as people think things should be, or turn out, PERFECT! WHY? There will always be something wrong...so CHOOSE not to dwell there! B/C as sure as there is something wrong, you can always find something RIGHT and GOOD! DWELL THERE!

And this is me complaining about complainers! :) hehe

A New Day!

A new day! A new start! The troubles of yesterday have gone...they are behind...and today is a new beginning! Whatever ales us from the day long gone is history! MOVE ON! This day...right now...has so many wonderful and promising possibilities! A new sunrise, new moments that have never been lived before, new feelings of freshness and joy! Live THIS day for what it is...don't stress about what has been done, and don't worry about tomorrow (for today has enough trouble of its own)...live this day with all your heart!

So many times I get caught up the drama of this life...worry and wondering how and why things will and do turn out like they do. And in all those moments of carrying the weight of the world upon my shoulders, i miss out on the truly important and amazing facts of TODAY! I forget to cherish every smile from my babies mouth, or I let my husbands love skip right by unnoticed! And the funny, side-splitting, belly laughs get lost in the constant "dreariness" of things that I truly have not one ounce of control over!

So today, this day, I am putting all that behind! I will love this day and all it has to bring! I will cast my burdens over to Jesus...and trust Him to make it all work together for the good of one girl who loves Him with everything that she is!

My Birthday:)

This year for my birthday, Travis out did himself once again! We had so much fun! He took me out of the snow machine, then to Chena Hot Springs, dinner, shopping, and a movie! It was so much fun! And my mom threw me a surprise birthday party! Everything was so beautiful and I felt so blessed! Thanks everyone! Love you guys!

Visiting Santa:)

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while. THings have been kindof crazy lately! But I will try and post a few things that we have been up to...first of all, our trip to visit Santa. This has been a yearly visit since we moved here...seeing as how close "the North Pole" is...how can we not go see Santa! Wes loved Santa from the start! When he was a baby...he loved Santa Claus! But Emmy Grace, ANOTHER STORY ALL TOGETEHR! I thought maybe this year would be different, she is older now, but no...as soon as she saw the "jolly" man, she started screaming with fright! She eventually calmed down in order to tell Santa that she wanted "Wonder Pets" for Christmas...Santa thought she said "Wonder Pants" and this really upset Emmy! She kept saying "no no no...Wonder PETS". Santa was a bit hard of hearing. All day long, Emmy told EVERYONE and ANYONE that would listen..."Santa Claus made me cry!" This might very well be our last and final visit! Anyway, enjoy the pictures!!!!

Wesley

How do I put into words what a joy this little guy truly is?!? I've never met a child so full of questions and ideas. He is always thinking...about how life works, what makes things work, why they work that way, what would happen if they didn't work, Who makes them work...and on and on! My days are filled with endless conversations! He is still trying to makes sense of this big, wide world he lives in! If ever mommy gives him an answer to his question that "just doesn't make sense" in his little brain...then he will most confidently say, "I can just ask daddy...he knows EVERYTHING!" When daddy has the same answer then he will ponder over the fact that mommy was actually right. (even about the location where the wildebeest live) My favorite conversations are the ones about Jesus! He truly loves Jesus...and wants to know EVERY story about Him. He is loving memorizing his Bible verses b/c he said it makes him "closer" to Jesus. He still can't figure out why in the world Jesus would want to live in his belly though! People always talk about Jesus being in your heart, and once Travis showed him where his heart was located, which in his mind was EXACTLY in his belly, so now he wonders why a person would want to live in there...with all the blood and guts and stuff:) He takes EVERYTHING VERY LITERAL!

But being a mommy is the purest joy in all the world. My prayer is that one day he will grow into a mighty man of GOD!

Our Friend Charlie!

We are dog-sitting our friend's dog Charlie! He is a chocolate lab and is the sweetest dog you could ever imagine! I'm not a BIG dog fan (as many of you know)...especially when they eat my trash, my butter dish, or socks! And especially not when they run out the front door and play "run away from Blair" for an hour and a half! But, after considering all that, this dog is really great! The kids really love him and so does Travis! He is growing on me:)

Riding Horses

Thursday, our friend Christie invited us to go horseback riding at the barn where she works. It is an inside barn so it was a perfect treat for Travis, Wes and Emmy! The kids LOVED the horses...I can't wait till Wes is old enough for lessons!

Helping Daddy!

Wes and Travis were shoveling our driveway last night. It was pretty cold...that is why Wesley's cheeks are so red! But they had fun! And Emmy Grace LOVES to jump on the computer anytime we aren't watching. Maybe she thinks she is helping too:)

Just like Grandpa!

Okay, so this goes against EVERYTHING I stand for...but this year Wes wanted a Halloween Costume. We don't celebrate Halloween. We never have and I just don't like making a big deal about it. Travis and I just don't like all that it stands for. But this year, our church is doing a costume theme night in our AWANAS and Wes wanted a "really cool" costume. So we had this VERY intense conversation and he described to me that there is only one thing he wants to dress up as, a race car driver JUST LIKE GRANDPA! So the hunt was on to find a race car driver suit in Fairbanks. We finally landed one (as close as could be) at Fred Meyers. He has worn that thing all day! He informed me he needs to wear it as much as possible b/c he needs practice wearing his race car driver suit so when he starts racing, he will know how to wear his outfit! (We all know the outfit is what makes the driver right?) So here are his pictures! He couldn't wait for Grandpa to see him all dressed up! Hope you approve Grandpa:)

More Snow!

Well, the snow is back! It had all melted yesterday...but last night it returned! It is so beautiful! Here are a few shots of us this morning before church:)

A Great Full Day!

God is so amazing! I have been feeling so dumpy lately and God, today, turned that around! HOW, you ask? By allowing me to spend an entire day "doing" for others!@ Isn't it amazing how true joy is found, not in what you can do for yourself, but what you can do for others. It has just been so much fun! Wes, Emmy Grace and I spent the day running around town being "secret" angels and delivering "happy" baskets to friends who are sick or depressed. Then we went walking at the Big Dipper with Mimi. We had dinner with some girls from church whose husbands are deployed...it is fun to just be available and watch God use you in ways you would never have thought of on your own. It was just an awesome, full and satisfying day! I truly needed to get out of my "pity-party" mode and focus on something besides ME! Thank You JEsus!

My Mommy!

I just wanted to express my thankfulness for my mom! She is the most encouraging, greatest friend in all the world! I am so blessed that God has allowed me the time here in Alaska with her! Sometimes it gets so hard in the military...people always coming and going...uprooting and moving...and it gets lonely! But I am so thankful for my mother always being there for me with a smile and encouraging word! We have so much fun together too:) Just thought I'd share:)

Hmmm...

I am having one of those days...a "HMMM" day! I can't quite explain what it means...other than I've had so many crazy things happen today that by 10:00pm all I can say is "hmmm". This past week has been weird. Maybe I can contribute it too "post potty-training" depression. Is that a thing? We were sick for a whole week, plus we managed to potty train a 2 year old. We didn't leave the house for 6 days straight! That might not seem like a big deal to most...but to me it was HUGE! Wes asked if we were EVER going ANYWHERE again!!!! I am still in that weird place! I can't shake it! We had a okay weekend...had friends over tonight and that was fun...but still...at the end of everyday...I have that "blue" feeling!!! I"m praying...I hate this place! And Trav does too b/c I tend to spend more money when I am in this "place".

Anyway...enough about that! Wes learned his VERY first Bible Verse today! He was so proud! Our church just started AWANAS and he is in Cubbies. He learns a verse a week...and he did so good! He is so smart...he has a hard time concentrating on directions...but once he gets it...HE GETS IT! That is my bragging right as mommy!

I know you guys want more pics...I promise to work on that this week.

Potty Training Completed!

Okay, so day 3 and my brilliant child has grasped the concept of the "potty" and is officially "trained"! I am the most excited parent in all the world. Granted...these past 3 days have not been fun...BUT...we now have a 2 year old daughter OUT of diapers! Thank You Jesus! I'm sure there will be many "slip ups" in the days to come...but on this glorious day...we will only dwell here on the GOOD!

SNOW!!!!!!!

IT'S SNOWING!!!!!! It's September 27 but it is snowing outside! BIG, HUGE, BEAUTIFUL, SNOWFLAKES! It is midnight and as crazy as Travis and I are...we ran upstairs, woke Wes up, let him put on his snow boots, and took him outside to make the first snowball of the year!!!!!!! Poor Kid...he has crazy people for parents! BUT IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL! You know the feeling of the first snow fall of the year...it is dark and quiet...and the most amazing white floating down from the sky! I LOVE SNOW!!!!! (and that is why God brought us to Alaska) hehe So, after waking our 4 year old up at midnight to play in the snow, we just HAD to make hot cocoa and relish in the moment! Oh how I hope he remembers this night!

Potty Training-Day 1

Okay...so today began the potty training process for Miss Emmy Grace! At the end of day one...I'm not quite sure how to rate our progress! I will say however, that this day has been the longest, hardest day of my life!!!!! We awoke with great anticipation that THIS day will be the LAST day of diaper land! So, we began the day with a VERY FUN game called "throwing all the diapers in the trash" game! Emmy LOVED this part...we sang a "made up" song written by mommy and had a blast throwing all those VERY EXPENSIVE diapers in the trash! We don't wear diapers anymore...we wear BIG GIRL PANTIES! We had lots and lots of accidents but we also made it to the potty several times as well. We are learning! Hopefully we will do better tomorrow:)

Daddy's New Toy!

Travis bought a snow machine! Yes, we finally gave in to temptation! It isn't new or glamorous but it was a great deal and it runs wonderfully! Wes is SOOOO excited...ALMOST as happy as Daddy! We are all excited for the snow to get here now...we can't wait to go out and PLAY! We are going to hook a sled up to the back and pull the kids around...don't you all just want to come and join us! I know you do! (and by the way...anyone is WELCOME to come and experience Alaska with free room and board...all you have to do is get here...the rest is on us!!!!! Please please please come visit!) Okay, so anyway...just putting that out there. We live in a wonderland and want everyone to experience the joy that we do each day! The beauty is breathtaking!

Okay, enough about that...OUR SNOW MACHINE! Wes is so excited about it that each morning since we have bought it he wakes up, and runs out in the garage to "check on it for us". Isn't that so cute! He has washed it down 3 times already...and one of those times it took him 1 and a half hours. WOW!

Bowling:)

Today we went bowling for Brittany's birthday party. We had so much fun (thanks Britt for the invite:). The kids love to bowl...Emmy sat mesmerized forever watching the ball roll down the lane. Finally we let her try and she was giggling with delight! Wes enjoys bowling so much too...he is actually not that bad. Naturally talent I know:) But anyway, here are some pictures of our day:)