Thankful Thursday

1. I am thankful the kids have learned to swim this summer.

2. I am thankful that the kids swim teacher each time we met prayed and showed them that God could even use swimming for His glory. Kaibryn prayed Monday before the class started and asked that "everyone would be brave and learn to swim because they might be missionaries some day and they could use swimming to tell people about Jesus." She remembered this from the first lesson this summer.

3. I am thankful that the swim teacher called this morning and said she was going to be gone this afternoon and that we could come over and swim while she was gone. Yes, we did and it was so nice.

4. I am thankful for the air-conditioner.

5. I am thankful for our new front door. It is black and it is beautiful. I'll post pictures later.

6. I am thankful that Christopher got a good report on his ears this week and is not going to need tubes.

7. I am thankful that my kids are old enough to help out around the house. It is so nice to give them a job and know that it is going to be done correctly.

8. I am thankful that my Mom took each one of the kids this week to buy some "school supplies." It made them feel special and feel like they were going to "real" school as Christopher puts it.

9. I am thankful that school books have been ordered and I am getting an idea of how to schedule schooling (Pre-K, K & 1st - yikes.)

10. I am thankful that I am a stay-at-home Mom. If I was not I would not be able to do some of the fun things with my kids that I have been able to do this summer. Although, it is the hardest thing I have ever done, it is so worth it.

Hope everyone has a thankful day. What are you thankful for?

A Big Thank You

I would like to say a big thank you to whoever (I'm sure it was a grandparent) who blessed us with not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 recorders...all different colors of course so everyone would know which one was theirs. As my husband has said before..."it makes me want to punch my ears off."

Enjoy the seranade which I have had the privilege of listening to for about 15 minutes. I'm only blessing you with a few short seconds.

Kind of annoying and funny at the same time. They have had a blast and have not been whining, complaining or arguing which all mothers know is music to our ears.

At least they are making a joyful noise, right?

She Smiles

Well, very rarely can we get a picture of Kaityn Mae when she is smiling. I got ONE this weekend and thought I would post it.

Home Sweet Home

We just got back yesterday from spending the weekend at the lake with Chris's family. His Aunt is here from Taiwan and my sister and brother-in-law drove down from Kansas City. It was a long and hot weekend. The kids really enjoyed swimming and riding on PaPa Clark's boat. They were exhausted and there cheeks got a little pink but they had no complaints. It was fun to see Christopher and Kaibryn put in to practice what they have been learning at their swim lessons.

Saturday was a long day for me. Kaityn got to get in the lake in the morning, which she loved. She has no fear of water just like her brother Cooper. She went right in and was putting her face in the water and splashing. That afternoon she and I stayed in the trailer while the others were outside. It was so hot and she gets red from the heat very quickly and I did not want to deal with a hot sunburned baby. She and I sat in the trailer and stacked those red "Dixie" cups over and over and over and over and over...I think you get the point. She enjoyed it. She is such a MaMa's girl and would not go to anyone else but me. I felt like I had a growth on my hip.

However, even though Saturday was long and not the most fun, Sunday made the trip all worth it. We went to a little church in Rubottom, Oklahoma...yes, there is really such a place. His Aunt got up and spoke about Taiwan a little bit and then sang "How Great Is Our God" a capella. She said that if anyone knew the song then just sing with her. Well, evidently no one in the church knew that song except for us. Chris and I sat in the back with Kaityn and the other three sat up front. When Larissa started singing, the only people who sang with her were our kids. It was the sweetest sound to my ears. They might have not been singing on pitch or with the same rhythm as their Aunt but to hear those sweet voices singing "How great is our God, sing with me, how great is our God and all will see how great how great is our God." Chris and I were in the back with tears flowing down our faces. After she got done singing PaPa Clark got up and had Cooper go up on stage with him. You see, Rubottom Baptist Church was the church that PaPa Clark was the interim Pastor when Cooper was born. They prayed for Cooper and ask about him all the time. When he was holding Cooper, once again the tears flowed down my cheeks. What a miracle that little guy is. Sometimes I get so busy in my daily "doings" that I forget that. What an awesome reminder to me of how blessed we are and how great our God is.

If you can please pray for our PaPa Clark (Chris's Granda). He has the shingles and it is pretty bad. It is a miracle that he was able to get up Sunday morning and preach. He is in alot of pain. After church we went over to their house for lunch before heading back home and even though he was in pain he and Kaibryn had a little dance together. Talk about love. He loves each one of our kids so much and I noticed that he went around to each one of them and told them that "PaPa Clark loves you." What an amazing, sweet, spirit filled man to put aside his pain to dance with his sweet Granddaughter who loves him so much.

We are home now and we have our little cousin over this week to play. The kids are having so much fun. I'll post more pictures of our weekend later.

Hope everyone has a great week. Take time to remember and praise our God for being a great God.

She is Amazing & Funny

Well, I'm talking about Kaityn Mae. I was cleaning the boys room today...really cleaning...and I hear her cute laugh. I thought that one of the kids was doing something to make her laugh. I walked in and she was in the kitchen holding a phone up on her shoulder and laughing. She looked like she was having a funny conversation with a best friend. She then said, "Bye" and hung up the phone. I don't know where she got that because I don't really talk on the phone.

You help me decide this...

She is almost 17 months old and for about 4 or 5 days whenever she "messes" in her diaper she comes over to me and pulls at her diaper and kind of grunts. I will say, "OK, let's go get changed" and she will walk into her room, lay down on her floor and let me change her. Is she a genius or what? Do you think she could be potty trained before the end of the summer? Just kidding. But isn't that amazing...at least it is to me.

She is such a joy. I cannot even begin to tell you all the things she is doing right now. She is climbing onto furniture which also means she is falling off of the furniture. She is very good at saying, "No." And finally, she has started saying, "please." However in her sweet little voice if you are not listening for it you will miss it or you might just think it is a noise. All you can hear is "is is is is". As soon as she gets it she gets this HUGE smile on her face.

What a bundle of energy. If she would only quit waking up at 6:30 A.M.

Among the Living

Well, it has been 24 hours since anyone has thrown up. Even better than that, Cooper and Kaityn have not gotten it. I am so thankful to everyone who has been praying for us. The Lord has definately answered our prayers.

Kaibryn is doing much better. This morning she came in and asked for a "drink with liquid in it." I told her to get a cup and get some water to which she replied, "Does that have liquid in it." So cute.

We were able to play a little outside and I think I have saturated EVERYTHING in our house with cleaner to kill that evil bug. It better not even think about striking again.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

The Bug Has Hit

Well, we have been hit with the "bug"...the stomach bug that is.

Yesterday morning Christopher woke up with it and was done with it by around 9:30. However, myself, it lasted ALL day. My sweet husband left work and came home and tried to take care of the other two. He did work from the house, kept the kids entertained, helped me and did ALL the laundry, yes ALL the laundry. This is what happens when you have been lazy for a couple of days and kept putting it off. He said (jokingly, of course), "I'm pretty sure I had no clean clothes." Our dining room table was packed full of clothes.

My mom came and got the girls late in the evening because we were not sure how I was going to be today. I knew I would not be able to take care of our sweet little one if I was still sick. Well, guess what, Kaibryn woke up early this morning with it except she was worse than all of us because all day yesterday we could not get her to eat or drink because she was worried about getting sick. I went to pick them up after Christopher's Dr. appt. (more on that later) and she wanted some ice and walked into the kitchen to get it. She looked up at me, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and down she went. It scared this MaMa to death. She woke up pretty quickly and got her to sit up. I tried to get her to keep her eyes open but kept saying, "I'm trying, it's just so hard." I called the Dr. and he said that since she has not eaten her blood sugar has dropped which is what caused her to pass out. So she is on a liquid diet for the next 24 - 48 hours and she needs drinks with sugar. Poor little thing. This is maybe the 4th or 5th time in her life she has ever been sick. What a sweety.

Chris woke up sick as well this morning. I felt so bad for him. I hate it when he is sick, especially when I'm the one that made him that way. He is the fun one. He is the best nurse. Life is a little more sad around here when he is sick.

Cooper and Kaityn have not gotten it (yet). I am praying that they don't. Cooper is on anti-biotics for his ears so maybe he won't. We will have to see. Thankfully, it is only about a 24 hour virus. Maybe by Monday all will be well.

Cooper's Cure

Well, today has been a sad day for Cooper. He was supposed to go over to his friend Brady's house to play. I waited until this morning to tell him. Well, not 30 minutes AFTER I told him he started complaining about his "neck" hurting...meaning his throat. I had to cancel his play day and boy was he upset. It was so sad. His little heart was broken.

A little while later he started crying saying his ear hurt and kept pulling on it. I decided (b/c the Dr. is out of town, of course) that I would go get some Hyland's Ear Drops. Well, they were sold out (of course). Cooper kept crying and finally said twice, "I want to go to the Dr.". My goodness, poor guy, he was in so much pain.

After spending an hour at the emergency clinic with him shaking and crying and the top of his lungs we found out he had an ear infection in both ears. He finally calmed down and slept some on the way home. When we got home I asked him if he wanted to rest and watch a movie and of course he chose "Cars." AS SOON AS I STARTED THE MOVIE he wanted a snack, was quoting the lines and was bubbly again. But there has been no more tears.

If I only had known that the movie would have worked I would have put it on this morning. He is doing better. He is in the kitchen with me right now dancing to some music and playing his guitar.

What a sweet boy.

Fun Weekend

Hi all!!! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. Kaibryn kept asking, "Mommy, is it really the fourth of July."

We had such a great weekend. A long weekend is always great for the one reason that Chris is home more. I love it when he is home. He makes everything so much fun. We started off the weekend by going to a house where my brother and sister-in-law were housesitting and went swimming. The kids (and us oldies) had such a great time. I think I gave birth to four fish. Even Kaityn Mae LOVED it. She only liked her "floatie" for a while and then she wanted to be in the water just like everyone else. By the time we left she was walking along the edge of the pool and stepped right in...don't panic, someone was always there. They all enjoyed jumping into the pool and were able to put into practice everything that they have learned at their swimming lessons.

After swimming we went to Harrah to Chris's grandparents house for more food, more family & fireworks. I think that Chris and his cousin probably had more fun than the 8 kids. They all enjoyed the fireworks, except for Cooper. He kept covering his ears saying they were too loud. Everyone was TIRED when we left so getting everyone to go to bed did not take long.

It was a great day. There were only two "boo boo's". Kaityn slipped and skinned her nose. Big Chris was in the water doing a flip and hit his head on the bottom of the pool and it hurt his neck (he's fine though). It was not until we were getting ready to leave that we looked at his head and noticed that he skinned the top of his head and it pulled some hair out of his head along his hair line. He was not too happy but I convinced him not to shave his head.

It was a fun start to a long weekend. Saturday we did yard work. Chris was outside from about 10 AM to 6 PM. His hard work has paid off. It looks really good. I'll post pictures of that later.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Sad Day

This is the result of PaPa coming for a visit.




It is a sad day at the Anderson house. PaPa left this morning. There were some tears shed. We love our "Popcorn".

Anyone who know PaPa knows that he is a hard worker and can literally do ANYTHING. He was able to put up a light in our pantry and fix our air-conditioner while he was here.

However, the most important thing he did was play with the kids. He had no other agenda, nothing else to do except to play. He read the kids books, played with them outside, bought lunch, took them to two movies and of course got them special treats.

PaPa is amazing and we love him so much. We are already looking forward to him coming to visit again soon.

Swimming Lessons

Today the kids woke up so excited. It was their first swim lesson. They did great.

Cooper is such a fish. He is not afraid of anything. The lady that was teaching said that she could not believe him. She had never had a student like him before...not able to swim but would jump in and not be scared to death.

Christopher is almost there. He can kick, float, everything except move his arms...but he is working on it.

Kaibryn is doing really well. She is a good kicker and is working on keeping her head in the water.

They had a great time and are looking forward to when we go again.