Thankful...

I am thankful for (in no particular order):

My Family, School, Forgiveness

My Husband, Good Friends, Babies

Our Home, Will's job, Cars

Healthy Kids, Solar Panels, Computers

Food, Food, Food, Piano lessons, Movie nights

Sleep, Beautiful weather of every sort, The scriptures

Jesus Christ, Chocolate, Modern amenities

Hard work, Making mistakes, Primary

and so, so, so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Baby...

Having children makes me realize how short a year really is. In the weeks leading up to Adell's first birthday I spent some time flipping through pictures from exactly a year before.

Looking at myself all huge and pregnant, watching videos of my belly moving with alien-like independence and seeing pictures of my kids when I just had 3 to keep track of is crazy. That middle picture up there--that is the last picture I took of Lorien, Wyatt and Clare before I went to the hospital to have another baby.

My pregnancy with Adell was a pretty big surprise. We talked about having a fourth child and had decided it would be a good idea--some day. We started making a list of things that should happen before baby #4 could join our family. The list got longer and longer. I don't know if we ever would have checked every thing off. At long last, it took a serious laps in planning on my part and whoops--I was pregnant.

I found out just before we drove down to southern California to go to Disneyland for Clare's 3rd birthday. I had a brilliant plan for breaking the news to Will. I printed "Hey Babe I'm Pregnant" on a sheet of paper. I knew there were rides where your picture was automatically taken for keepsakes. My plan was to flash the paper at the picture point, buy a keepsake and surprise the heck out of my unsuspecting husband.

Brilliant, right?

I wish it would have worked out that way--but it didn't. Clare woke up puking the night before we were suppose to go to Disneyland and I ended up spilling the "I'm pregnant" beans with a heap of hormonal tears in my Aunt Colleen's guest bedroom.

Brilliant, right?

Meh--brilliant "I'm pregnant" reveals are way over rated.

The picture above is from a Disneyland trip a year after Clare's birthday trip. The note says: "I love you Will!"

Well one uneventful pregnancy later, we officially welcomed Adell Becci into our family.

She is a little dear and I will be forever grateful for the serious laps in planning on my part that kicked off this addition to our family.

Happy, happy birthday Adell.

His Two Front Teeth...

Wyatt lost his two front teeth last week (the Tooth Fairy still has not come for the second tooth--lazy fairy...). Adell's two front teeth appeared a couple of weeks ago.

They make a lovely pair.

Running The Birthday Gauntlet...

It is birthday season in the Anderson house.

Lorien and Wyatt on the 8th of November and Adell coming up on the 25th. Last year I decided we would alternate between "friend parties" and "family parties" every year. Last year I was as big as a house (pregnant and praying every day the baby would NOT be born on November 8th) and had no energy for birthday parties.

This year we had a friends-of-the-family party, a family party, a friend party for both kids and a celebration at school for each kid.

I never want to see a lit birthday candle again.

The parties were a hit and both Lorien and Wyatt had a great time. We stayed in within our planned budget--so Will had a great time too.

(At the friends-of-the-family party, the friends-of-the-family brought the cake and the presents...we just showed up. These same friends also bought solar panels from Will's company. Yhea, they are pretty awesome friends.)

Happy birthday my darlings. Please stop growing up. I cannot handle it.

Heaven Help Me Keep My Sanity...

I think my baby girl wakes up every morning with a stretch and a yawn thinking: "How can I drive Momma bonkers today?"

Between unraveling every roll of toilet paper in the house, dropping toys in the toilet and putting every thing she can get her hands on in her mouth--she keeps me pretty busy.

Good think she is super cute.