Andersons

Hello?

2012-01-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

I appreciate those who have commented this week.

P&P

2012-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Preslee and Phoenix have an interesting relationship. One is completely fascinated by the other and one is slightly inconvenienced by the other.

This run-in ended in Preslee pushing Phoenix off the chair. Silly girls!

Pretty Baby

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

Baby Hair

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

You may think this is a post about Preslee's hair but no. Something strange (although not uncommon) occurred, after Preslee was born, to my hair. I lost a ton of it which is quite alright since I had a lot of extra. Not to gross you about but it was like handfuls at a time. It has since felt the need to regenerate in one of the most obvious spots on my head.

I do still exist even though photographic evidence is sparse.

In fact it is even taking recruits. It sticks up straight from my head and is now taking the existing baby hairs with it.

This makes Kevan laugh every time he notices.

Teeth!

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-05:00

Here are her two little teeth!

7 Months- Tons of pictures

2012-01-24T16:25:00.002-05:00

Maybe one day I will be on time with posting this. Preslee turned 7 months on the 6th of January. She has grown so much since Christmas! I forgot to mention that she cut her bottom two teeth two days before Christmas. Apparently all she wanted for Christmas was her two front teeth hehe. I mentioned in the last post about how she crawls with her belly on the ground. She keeps getting into the cat's food and water. I have to build walls so she can't leave the living room. Today we tried to take pictures of her. Tried being the key word. She had other ideas. We got pictures taken of her the day she turned 7 months old and she didn't smile. Today she must have been in a similar mood. No smiles but they are still pretty pictures and although I know I am extremely partial I think she could be a model :)

Outtakes:

"Hold what still?"

She crawls too fast!

How many times can the cat or outside distract her? I assure you it was more than four :)

Now on to the real pictures:

Model shots:

The reason she is wearing this is because right after Kevan and I went to our first appointment we went out shopping to get something for baby. We of course didn't know that she was a girl so we bought a little blue hoodie and a little pink hoodie both had little ears. This jacket makes me smile!

January

2012-01-17T22:58:00.001-05:00

So far our themes for the month would be:
Kevan- Starting and Finishing
Brooke- Reducing
Preslee- Gaining

Kevan- Started school last week. Only one more term and he'll have his associates in Criminal Justice. He's looking at bachelor's degree programs for when he's finished. He's working really hard to finish the master bathroom. We keep running into set backs but he's on the last TWO things and he'll be done. :) I'm really looking forward to having to fully working bathrooms again.

Brooke- I have been working very hard on reducing the stuff in the study. We decided to get rid of our ridiculously huge desk taking up the whole room and downsize to a smaller one. With less room comes less storage. So far I have thrown away 4 brown paper grocery bags full of recycling. I still need to find spaces for quite a few things but I can see the floor again and the majority of the office things are put in place. I am sort of dreading finding spots for all of my craft things that need a home. All of this will be quite useful if we buy a new house in the coming year. We are looking to get some more space in a home not too far from where we currently live. I'm pretty darn excited about it!

Preslee- Oh my little imp! She gets into everything! I don't where she keeps finding pennies but I keep having to fish them out of her mouth! She is gaining weight and height of course but also new skills everyday. She loves to eat anything we give her. She started on Cheerios this week. Between those, puffs, and yogurt drops she has gotten really good at feeding herself. She is trying really hard to crawl. She is pretty quick at army crawling with her belly on the ground and sometimes she gets up on her knees and rocks. It's so hard watching her get frustrated trying to figure things out! Last night she got sick a threw up in her bed but my perpetually happy baby laughed and smiled right after and didn't show any signs of being sick today. She tests the full range of her voice daily. She squeals when she sees the cat which is pretty much all day.

I'll post pictures soon!

Photo Dump: Part 2- Crazy Baby

2011-12-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Note: I forgot I was posting these photo dumps. This was from when she was about 4.5 months old.

When I put her down she was swaddled and her head was on the other side of the crib.

Our December

2011-12-29T14:51:00.001-05:00

Our niece Eden came to stay with us for much of December and we had so much fun!!! She is a delight to have around and we went out and did tons of fun things. Here are some of the things we did together:

Story Time at the library

Playing at Marbles

Cousin Sisters

Playing at the park

Preslee's first slide!

St. Nicholas Day loot

Playing at Marbles

I'm sad this one is blurry but she was playing vet here.

We also went to The Natural Science museum for story and animal time. We had so much fun while she was here!

Our Model, Preslee

2011-12-02T09:59:00.001-05:00

We took family photos yesterday. Jasmine came and did them for us at one of the local parks. We thought we got there too late in the day and we didn't have a ton of sunlight but the location was amazing! We had some awesome landscapes to pose in. I just wanted to post one picture that shows so much of what Preslee is.

First of all isn't she a DOLL!?! Those cheeks have made many a person swoon.
Second she is distracted. We were at the front of the park and you can see the cars drive by the front and she was very interested. When she nurses she the first few minutes she stops every little bit to look around especially if she can hear her daddy's voice.
Third look at that pinch on the back of my arm. I have SCRATCHES on the back of my arm from her little nails. The only thing that isn't representative of her in this picture is that she is constantly smiling and laughing. It was pretty cold outside yesterday and she was not so happy being outside.

Right now we're trying to wean her off of swaddling. She can get her arms out and then she can't sleep.

I can't wait for next week because the doctor is going to give us the go ahead to give her real solids. She eats 3-4 ounces every night of rice cereal and she is super interested in everything we eat. Yesterday I made some apple sauce for her to freeze and we gave her a bit. She gave awesome faces.

Photo Dump: Part 1- Fair

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

In October Kevan, Preslee, Jasmine, and our good friends Megan, and her girls Courtney and Azley and I went to the Fair. We had tons of fun and ate a bunch of food. Here are the pictures:

Before

After- we all helped with that

I may have been a little messy eating the funnel cake. Sorry Preslee!

5 Months

2011-11-19T20:48:00.000-05:00

I promise I will try to update more. This whole once a month thing is kinda boring I know! Preslee is now 5 months and she has exploded into a ball of activity. She can make it across the room in 30 seconds. She rolls and rolls and gets up on her toes and scoots herself. She has learned to swing her legs to the side and find leverage to turn her body (did that make sense?). She loves toys! She is really good with grabbing and putting things in her mouth. She has got some serious skill with her paci. She can take it out and look at it and put it back in.

She has gone through a growth spurt last weekend and she took an extra nap in addition to extra long naps a few days ago. She slept a total of FIVE hours during the day and was awake less than she slept during her naps. She is working super hard to perfect sitting up right now and she eats a ton of rice cereal every night. Tonight I was typing an email and she had scooted across the floor and was at the edge of where the carpet ends and the wood floor begins and she had shredded some of the carpet and was putting it in her mouth.

Her voice is starting to shift to more distinctive sounds. Last night Kevan came home to tuck her in and as we were praying I was holding her and she looked up at Kevan and laughed like she was glad he was there. It was so cute.

Here are her pictures. Note to self: Don't do this again without Kevan home. Since she loves putting things in her mouth and she is quick, getting her to leave the sign on her tummy alone was hard.

Outtake:

4 months.

2011-10-25T16:21:00.001-04:00

Preslee turned 4 months old a couple weeks ago. I'm a little behind. At her four month appointment she was:

weight: 14 lbs. 5 oz. (a little over 50th percerntile)

height: 24.5 in ( a little over 50th percentile)

head circumference: 40.5 cm (25th percentile)

As of yesterday she can roll over- she was really putting that off but now she does it every few minutes.
She can pull herself from reclined to sitting up.
She is so strong and she holds on really well when you hold her on your hip
She is a pro player- she loves to play with toys. She loves to chew on them and throw them.
She can put her paci right back into her mouth.
She is a talker! She spends the whole day squawking and talking and whining. She doesn't usually do that in public but Sunday in church was a whole different story. We were singing the closing song in sacrament meeting and I couldn't hear the organ she was so loud. Then in Sunday School (which yes I got released from the Primary Presidency-yes I'm still upset about it) I do believe that the teacher had to pause because she was talking so loud. Thankfully she fell asleep for the last hour :)
She giggles! She used to laugh but now she giggles and loves to be tickled. She is just so fun!
She loves to stand. She prefers it so you better let her stand and look around or she will give you a piece of her mind.
She loves to touch faces and pull hair.
She loves TV. I'm bad and let her because she screams and turns around anyway.

I forgot to post her three month pictures. We can see some contrast. I can't wait to see all 12 months contrasting but I can wait because she doesn't have to grow up :)

She is so expressive. This is what she thought of us taking pictures of her instead of putting her down for a nap.

Motherhood to Me

2011-10-16T13:37:00.003-04:00

My sister's blog hosts group writing projects where she gives us a theme and we write about it. I encourage you to enter- there is an incentive :) but it ends today (10/16) so get writing!

Anyway of course with the birth of Preslee I have established and am constantly readjusting who I want to be as a mom and my role in her life. I want to be a "window to His love," for Preslee. I want to be His hands. I recently read an article that I have spoken to many of you about. It is by C. Jane who is the sister to Nie Nie. She talks about how she was with her son all day and she had not given him the richest part of herself and he had experienced some regression. During the day I make sure that I set aside some time that I'm not just appeasing her but I'm playing with her and letting her sleep in my arms. I'm not spoiling her as I have heard it said I'm nurturing her. C. Jane goes on to say that she had some insight into why children are to be baptized at 8 years old. She says (and I have expanded some with some pondering on the subject) that as children grow they start as physically, emotionally, and spiritually a part of you. Preslee depends on me physically for food, safety, comfort, etc. As she grows she will become more and more herself and less dependent on me but it is my responsibility to teach her how to walk in the Light of Christ and to make good decisions.

I think motherhood is a group effort. I love talking to my friends about their kids. It gives me such joy knowing in a few months or years my baby will be hitting milestones and bring even more joy to our family.

I think motherhood is also a couples effort between Heavenly Father and me. I have a strong testimony that being Preslee's mommy is my calling in life similar to callings we serve in for church. As her mommy I get special revelations on how to raise her and how lucky am I? I think all mommies and daddies get these revelations and it is our responsibility to follow them. Others may suggest insights but she is mine and although they are appreciated they often are against what I have been instructed through the Holy Ghost to do with her.

And here some pictures of my cutie playing after church today. Isn't she the cutest?

Thanks Tates for letting us borrow this walker! She loves it!

Look at that happy girl!

Sorry!

2011-10-14T23:44:00.000-04:00

I want to apologize for my blogging absence. Our lives are very full right now. As if they weren't full enough we decided to tear apart our master bathroom and redo it. Now for many of you that have been along for the ride for a while may be asking themselves: "Didn't you redo your bathroom before you moved in?" The answer to that question is yes! We felt the project was still incomplete and decided to jazz it up some. We are nearly finished with the hardest part (tiling the floor) so hopefully the project with swiftly come to a close. It may also seem a bit ambitious seeing as PB finds it hard to play by herself right now but she is ever patient with us and we have gratefully had some help.

Those of your that follow me on twitter know that I have become quite lactose intolerant. Typically even a little bit has a pretty strong affect on me. No pizza, ice cream, cheese, and I could go on. Dairy was probably 50% of my diet. At 14 weeks I started getting a sensitivity to milk and started to only drink skim milk but other foods didn't affect me. After I had PB my sensitivity got a lot worse. Right now taking lactose pills don't help and I drink lactose free milk and I'm sad. JK!

PB is growing up so quickly! I have a ton of pictures and updates to post about her. I need to clear up some space on my computer to put the new pictures and videos. She is a giggle queen! We are so lucky to be her parents. I just love her to pieces!

Prayers

2011-08-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

I hesitate to share this with others as we have not told many people but I ask now for your prayers for our family. This is my uncle who I was close with growing up:

http://www.localnews8.com/news/28431406/detail.html

http://www.journalnet.com/news/local/article_113f3f72-b683-11e0-a4da-001cc4c03286.html

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rexburgstandardjournal/obituary.aspx?n=john-castleton-bryner&pid=152549970&fhid=7095

Sleepy Time!

2011-08-25T08:30:00.001-04:00

Preslee got three vaccinations last time she went to the doctor and she was so tired! She slept for many hours on end for the next few days! Here's a picture of her during that time:

Preslee's Blessing

2011-08-24T09:00:00.003-04:00

On the 7th of August our families joined us for Preslee's blessing in church. She was surrounded by 12 amazing Priesthood holders and was blessed by her daddy. The church was very full!

40 people in all! We felt such support and love

From left to right Preslee's: Cousin Chris, Great Uncle Jeff, Great Uncle Paul, Great Grandpa, Papa, Daddy and Pressy, Grandpa, Uncle, Greg, Uncle Jeff, Uncle Brian, and Uncle Michael. (Not pictured her Uncle Ryan who was taking care of cousin Rachel)

With Nana and Papa!

I have more pictures coming! She got some amazing pictures done again by her incredible Aunt Boo. She wore the dress my sisters and I were blessed in and the shoes my mom and her sister plus all the girls since have been blessed in.

and a Happy 200th post to us!!

All the Cool Babies Are Doing It

2011-08-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

Apparently Preslee is a baby trend setter. She has found a new way to hold her paci. She did this all on her own!

Family Tradition

2011-08-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

My sweet angel has interesting taste in music. She has started to become quite vocal which is good because I can't get enough of her little monologues. While we were at the beach our family was caught up in a rousing version of this song:

Each time we paused she would squeal with delight! Oh how funny she is!

2 months old

2011-08-22T09:00:00.004-04:00

Well it happened: PB turned 2 months! It was over two weeks ago but here are her stats and cutie patootie pictures!

Weight: 11 lbs on the dot (50th percentile- 2 lbs. 4 oz gain)

Length: 22 inches (30th percentile- 1/2 inch gain)

Head circumference: 37.7 cm (20th percentile- 1.7 cm gain)

These aren't the best pictures but they're the best from the bunch! She lost patience with us.

She is growing up so fast! She has started to want to sit up most of the time so she can see the world around her as her eyesight is getting better. She likes to rest on her forearms and look all around (as seen in the picture below).

Lovin' the Summer!

2011-08-20T13:00:00.000-04:00

I am sincerely sorry for my blogging absence. Once I got behind I was a little overwhelmed with recounting everything and uploading my pictures has been a headache apparently because blogger doesn't mesh well with my awesome camera.

Summer has really kept us busy! We have had visits from tons of Preslee's aunts, uncles, and cousins. We spent a week at the beach the first week in August and have enjoyed having our families in town. We have taken tons of pictures so here we go!

Harry Potter 7B in 3D. Preslee's first movie. She didn't so must like it. Too loud!

First time with toes in the water. Again she didn't so much like it. Too cold!

Yes, I have the cutest baby ever. I know!

She got sun burnt that day :( It went away quickly and she didn't seem like she was too uncomfortable. Needless to say she won't be return to the sand until next summer! We went on a tour on a boat to see dolphins. We had some fun and only got a little seasick!

You can kinda see a dolphin fin on the far right. They were so hard to take pictures of!

We had a lot of fun at the beach and we topped it off with some family pictures in front of some beautiful landscapes.

Dont my parents look way too young to have four grandkids!?

We sadly had to leave the beach after our 8 days there. I can't thank my parents enough for the great trip we had!

After we got back from the beach we deposited our sandy things at the house to be attended to another day and spent the rest of the weekend at Kevan's parent's house with his siblings who were in town. We had fun catching up and playing so many rounds of nerts our heads hurt!

I have updates scheduled throughout next week so stay tuned for more posts!

Serenaded

2011-07-19T12:31:00.000-04:00

Our friend Kim came over with her sweet boys a couple weeks ago. Her older son serenaded our lucky girl!

First (real) Bath!

2011-07-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

After her umbilical cord fell off last Monday we could give her a real bath in the tub! I probably should have fed her first but she was a trooper and only screamed at the end ;) She got me back by pooping all over me after she got out, though!

1 Month!

2011-07-12T13:07:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday Preslee turned 1 month old. I met this milestone in her life with mixed emotions. I love seeing her grow but I want her to stay little forever! Today we went to the doctor and her stats are:

Weight- 8 lbs. 12 oz. (15 ounce gain- 25th percentile)

Length- 21.5 inches (.75 inche gain- 65th percentile)

Head circumference: 36 cm. (1 cm growth -25th percentile)

So she is tall and skinny! The doctor said she looks great and is very healthy. Here are the 1 month pictures we took:

HOO

-RAY

Her umbilical cord fell off, after four weeks, last Monday. Monday she also took her first road trip! We went to Charlotte to visit the Kiggins to celebrate the Fourth of July. We had a great time and were very excited to stay with them for a few days. Since they are so close to South Carolina they know how to do fireworks at home there. We watched their neighbors put on an amazing show! Preslee did great on the drive to and back.

Stay tuned for more baby news throughout the week!

How about some pictures?

2011-06-23T19:53:00.000-04:00

I know when my sister has a baby I can't get enough pictures so these are especially for our family far from us!

Daddy's first Father's day. Taking a nap after church.

Why yes I am wearing neon green zebra print :)

One last picture before Nana goes to Mexico.

My first (and last for a couple weeks) time at church for Father's day.

Preslee is a great baby. She sleeps fantastic at night and during the day. She is still working on nursing but she is so sweet she makes up for it! Music is very calming for her and she is easy to soothe. We stare at her all day and feel very lucky to be her parents :)

Scars

2011-06-21T12:05:00.000-04:00

It's been just over two weeks since my sweet angel came into the world. I still spend most of the hours of the day staring at her. I laugh at her funny coos and squeaks. Today she blew a raspberry and spit milk all over her face and just before that I could swear she gave me a half smile.

Today my sister sent me an article and I could barely get through the first paragraph. The concept of a c-section was completely foreign to me. Going through our birth class both of us half listened when they talked about c-sections and thought "yeah, but that's not going to happen to us." When the doctor told us the news it seemed to come out of nowhere. I had little mental preparation. I'm still upset and I cry when I think and talk about it. This article addresses these emotional scars. One of my favorite lines from this article she quotes Henry Rollins:

“Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength, move on.”

We're doing well and getting through each day enjoying our time with Preslee and I promise we're happy!

This Sunday's Gratefuls

2011-06-12T08:45:00.001-04:00

My sister did a list of things she was grateful for on her blog. It was 20 things ever day for a week. I can make no long term commitments at the moment so how about a little list today :)

Preslee Brynn of course! I could list things I love about her probably for hours. I'll leave you with a few: her button nose, her sweet smell, her downy skin, her grunts and coos, the way she snaps like a shark at her paci or while nursing, her hair, her sweet cry, how easy she is to console, how she turns and gets quiet when she hears her daddy, how no one else can calm her like me and I absolutely love that she is mine.
Only having to wake up for ONE feeding in the night last night.
How total strangers are so kind and say "She's perfect!" or "She's precious!" Those are our most common compliments and we appreciate the alliteration with her name.
Calls, visits, and messages and the generosity from our friends and family.
Cara Kiggins taking amazing pictures of the baby yesterday. It's so nice to have such talent in our family!
Being home from the hospital.
Pain medication- I would be a goner without it
My body's ability to heal
My mom. Her example and willingness to stay with me and take the baby so I can rest.
The fact that families are forever. I can keep her forever.
My baby daddy. Again I could go on forever about all the ways Preslee and I have been blessed by him. He is so attentive to my needs and requests. I love that he is her daddy.
The priesthood.
Awesome pediatricians.
Cute clothes and hair bows.
Teri Tate helping to make our home coming awesome and helping throughout the week.

PB first doctor's visit. Kev's family notice how she has her arms. She almost always has her hands in fists bent up near her shoulders. She doesn't leave the house without a bow on.

I'll wrap this because I have a cat and a baby that need to eat. Love you all!

Not Quite as Expected- Especially a Blessing

2011-06-08T13:09:00.000-04:00

Just as an FYI about how our week has gone and how our little angel got here.

I was at 5 cms here. I'm cool like that!

On Monday (well I think more like Sunday night) I went into labor. We were pretty sure and had an appointment at 11:20 AM so we went in and she said she thought I was too. I had doctor's orders to walk around the mall to dilate more. After a few hours we went in and sure enough they told us we needed to head to the birthing center but the baby's hand was on her head and she needed to move it before delivery.

After a few hours, being admitted, settling in, a nurse change, breaking my water, and getting an epidural something still wasn't right with how she was coming down the birthing canal. After doing an ultrasound they determined that she was coming down nose first (not hand on her hand) and would be seriously hurt if she was delivered that way.

Everything from this point on happened very quickly. They stopped my contractions and I was in surgery within an hour. We were very scared and I got a blessing from my sweet husband and his father as quickly as possible before I got wheeled away. Surgery was scary and maybe we'll talk about it later but we'll skip a little. Just know that it was not an easy but a very frightening time.

Preslee Brynn

7 lbs 8 oz. 20 3/4 inches

born at 9:54 PM on 6/6/11.

(Doesn't she have a rockin' birthday?)

She is beautiful. She has light hair-I would say blonde. She has golden eye brows and eye lashes. She has beautiful lips and I think she looks way more like her daddy. She has lost about half a pound so far this week and hopefully our family will be able to go home tomorrow.

About to take my first bath.

First time getting to hold her in Recovery (I'm not feeling good I'm not upset with her :) )

Due

2011-06-03T13:45:00.000-04:00

Yes, today is my due date. Trying to stay positive, though! We got good news from the doctor and we have a date of next Friday for induction just in case. We'll keep everyone posted.

Hair Bows

2011-06-03T13:35:00.001-04:00

I've gotten lots of ribbons and things to make the baby some hair bows. I have gone out a bought a bunch and I saved all the ribbon from the shower. I spent some time last weekend finishing up some bows and trying out some tutorials I have pinned on my pinterest account. Here are a few that I made:

(I'm doing a tutorial on them next Wednesday on Wayward Girls)

I can't wait for her to wear these. Here is a picture of me as a baby:

As you can see I had lots of hair. I was born with a head full of hair but it's up in the air whether our baby will also have lots of hair because of this:


Bald baby Kevan!

But don't worry it won't be long until this baby has plenty and she will really need these bows!

Isn't he the cutest?!


My sister Jaime (L) and Me (R)

How to pass the time

2011-05-29T08:47:00.001-04:00

You may ask, What does a woman who is nearly 9 months pregnant do with her free time? Well no worries because I am only 5 days from my due date and I have the inside scoop!

First of all we treat ourselves.

This is only one of the many ways that I've treated myself in the last week. I didn't have a good doctor's appointment -basically he said I wasn't as effaced and dilated as the last doctor did three weeks before :(-so I went out after school and got myself a tasty treat.

Today I bought myself new nail polish and stuff so that Kevan could help me beautify my feet.

Second we listen to Scotty McCreery

I mean who wouldn't

Third we try any way we can to encourage our babies to come and meet us

I may have jumped on the bed a few times and we take walks
I wore my lucky patronus socks

Fourth we make lesson plans for our preschool class.

You should see the lady bugs they're going to be making next week to go along with The Grouchy Ladybug. Everything is cut out and ready to go for the whole week.

Fifth we do random things to help pass the time.

We went over to our friends' house last night and I promised them Tripoly. I didn't have time to finish the board before we left to go over but I did today so I could have it ready for next time. I am going to do a tutorial with game rules for my post on Wednesday on Wayward Girls Crafts.

Sixth we do some finishing touches on the nursery.

Also we sit with out pseudo-baby and rock in the new glider :) Yes, she really enjoys sitting there being rocked.

These are going to go above her dresser.

Lastly we pack for the hospital-even though someone was trying to prevent it (please ignore my messy bedroom):

Not So Patient

2011-05-22T22:01:00.000-04:00

We've been trying to hurry and get the last few things for the baby purchased and arranged in her room this week. We went Friday night and bought a ton of stuff including a glider. There are two someones in this home that happen to already enjoy rocking, both of which are currently in that chair. Good thing we have wireless :) I have found Phoenix in the chair by herself and she likes to sit on my lap as I rock and think about the baby.

We thought we were going to meet her last night and she would actually have the birthday we were joking about. A while ago I looked up that the least common birthday in the US (at least according to some websites) is May 22nd (today). Since that day is only 12 days before my due date we thought it was funny that she had the possibility of having the least common birthday. Yesterday I had been feeling some pretty intense but not all that painful contractions when I started timing them. They were three minutes apart! After 45 minutes of timing them Kevan had me leave the restaurant and call the doctor and ask about them since they were not as painful as most people say they should be. She said of course to wait. We took a walk when we got home and they stopped. All in all it was a false alarm!

Kevan started school this week and despite quite a few frustrations with registering and getting books he finished his first assignments.

That's it for now I hope you all have a great week!

News for this week!

2011-05-03T17:31:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this trying time. My eye is A-OK and I've been wearing my glasses for what seems like forever now! Friday is my last day wearing them full time and I am counting down the days!! I haven't worn my glasses this many days in a row since I got contacts TEN years ago.

[Back story] A few months ago Kevan and I were on our way to the grocery store when we saw a crime in progress in our neighborhood. Kevan luckily had his duty weapon with him while I was on the phone with dispatch. For the full story ask us; I don't want to go into it because it's still an open case. There is a special Respect for the Law Banquet next week and people at the department nominated me to win an award and I won! I feel so honored!

And a big guess what-> I'm due one month from today! I got up so excited this morning. We've been working hard on the nursery and I can't wait till it's done and I can share pictures of it!

My Eye

2011-04-26T18:04:00.000-04:00

For those of you that don't already know the background:

Here is a brief synopsis of what has happened in the last week that almost caused me my eyesight-

Wednesday- my eye started getting hazy so I wore my glasses.
Thursday- Wore my glasses and my sight got a little better.
Friday- Wore my contacts again because I thought it had gotten better.
Saturday- 4 AM woke up to excruciating pain and no sight in my left eye. 9 AM went to doctor and he told me that I had a bacterial infection/lesion in across my entire pupil. He gave me anesthetic and eye drops to take every half hour. I spent the rest of the day mostly sleeping in a very dark room because I was light sensitive. I got a blessing from Kevan and his dad which made me feel better.
Sunday and Monday- the pain had gone but I still had pretty blurry vision.

This is the update for those who already knew-

Today (Tuesday) I went to the doctor and he said if he hadn't known he wouldn't be able to detect a problem. I still have to take my drops a few times a day. My eye sight is not 100% but it will get all better and the possible scar tissue that could have permanently affected my vision is not there. So I won't have to take steroids (yes, no roid rage for those in on that joke) to clear that up. No contacts for the next 10 days but I'm just so grateful to be getting better. Thanks for all the prayers on my behalf!

And a VERY merry UNbirthday to KEVAN today!

On this his half birthday he went in to sign up for classes for his associates! Hooray!

Don't forget tomorrow (Wednesday) is my day to post on Wayward Girls. I'm going to be talking about some Cricut basics.

Goodbye, Satellite!

2011-04-26T17:37:00.000-04:00

So we really did it this time. We've thought of getting rid of cable for two years and we actually went ahead with it this week. We got Netflix that can stream through our Wii and a digital antenna. We've already really enjoyed Netflix and the antenna gets a ton of channels. We even get a country music channel and a channel called "The Cool TV." Just to get an idea of what this station shows we were flipping through today and the video for Doves Cry by Prince (I would put the link to the video on here but it's a little risque!) was on. We're excited to be spending a lot less on TV monthly. Even with buying the $40 antenna this month plus the cost of Netflix is still cheaper than paying for our satellite bill :) You know how I love to save money!

Pelican's

2011-04-20T18:40:00.002-04:00

Whenever someone comes into town we enjoy sharing our favorite hang out with them: Pelican's. Everyone (at least I sure hope everyone) in Garner frequents this awesome shaved ice place. Fridays during the summer they show movies. They even have 100 flavors. They opened at the beginning of this month and I think we've been there 4 or 5 times. Love it!

Today is my Day!

2011-04-06T10:18:00.000-04:00

Just as a heads up: Wednesdays are my posting day on the Wayward Girls' Craft Blog. Last night I was up late editing my post that premiers today. For the giveaway today it is a customized scrapbooking layout kit made by ME! The kit includes:

-Instructions
-Three sheets of patterned and one solid card stock pieces of 12 x 12 paper
-8 eyelets
-Foam squares
-Embellishment stickers

-Words cut out by my Cricut of your choosing

There are tons of ways to enter and there are giveaways all week that you can enter in for. Thanks!

Wayward Girls' Crafts Launch!

2011-04-04T21:42:00.000-04:00

If you haven't already please go over and visit the new craft blog:

Wayward Girls' Craft Blog!

We're doing giveaways all week so please enjoy and enter for the giveaways!

Cute Baby Quote

2011-03-31T17:30:00.001-04:00

I was reading a few things on a baby website that I like to go on and look at how big the baby is and I saw this quote from one of the fellow readers:

"When I first saw my son, it felt like I had known him my entire life. I recognized him, like I had seen him before in a dream."

It brought tears to my eyes.

Last night we went to the temple and the baby was so excited. It is heaven on earth and my little angel remembered.

My Projects as of Late

2011-03-29T19:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been busy with a few projects:

My sisters and I are starting an awesome new craft blog. We're really excited about it and I can't wait to share it with you all!
An Easter Egg hunt at church for the Primary (children's organization).
Organizing the junk room into a nursery
Organizing the study to hold all of the former junk room residents
Cooking more often. I planned out 4 weeks worth of meals and bought all the groceries I could and made lists for the other weeks for the perishables.
Oh and as always (at least for the past 7 months) growing this:

30 Weeks pregnant

Jafar, Jafar, He's Our Man

2011-03-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

I have the worst acne of my entire life right now. That even includes when I was a uber-hormonal teenager. In the mornings when I am try to cover my blemishes I sing in my head:

Zits, Zits, go away. Come again NEVER!

To the tune of "Rain Rain Go Away" and in true Genie fashion:

Baby Registry

2011-03-06T14:26:00.000-05:00

We really need to register for this baby but I wanted to ask a little advice from you out in blog land. So I have a couple questions:

What is one thing you bought or received that you never used?

Do you have a stroller recommendation?

What would consider essential on a baby registry?

Thanks!

Stockin' up on stuff for Baby!

2011-03-04T18:48:00.001-05:00

So today I'm officially in my third trimester! Of course I have moments when I have felt I have been pregnant forever and now I'm feeling like I am running out of time. I've heard of the pregnancy time-warp where things start to slow down but not for me yet!

Kevan and I went to a consignment sale this past week. Okay so we went twice. The first time I found a few great deals ( I got to go a day before the sale opened to the public because I am pregnant) and then we went back on the 75% off day.

All together we got:

30 onsies (varying sizes, all colored, mostly Carter's)

a flannel crib sheet

a car seat head rest

2 pack n' play sheets

3 pairs of socks

7 dresses (half with bloomers)

3 sleepers (one is a beautiful white and knitted) 

5 pairs of shoes

8 outfits/jumpers

a jacket

a cute "I  Daddy" bath towel 

 and a Snugli

and we paid about $50 which comes up to $.82 an item! :) I'm going to another one on St. Patrick's day! What do you think I should look for?

Can you think of a quick question?

2011-02-17T16:00:00.003-05:00

At our house we're big Josh Groban fans. I wasn't before we got married but Kevan rubbed off on me. Our nephew Connor used to think that it was actually Kevan singing on the CDs. Wouldn't it be nice if secretly my husband was a famous recording artist? Anyways I got Joshy's new CD, Illuminations, for Christmas this year and there is one song that has begun to have a running joke attached to it.

Before I explain the joke let me explain another that goes back many years in my family. My mom enjoys listening to the talk radio host Dr. Laura. When you phone Dr. Laura the number is 1-800-DR-LAURA. She repeats the phone number many times during the program, usually after each caller. If you look at the last three letters it basically says "You are a" so we would fill in the blank each time and laugh and laugh. (On a side note it took me the longest time to get the game- I guess I was over thinking it)

Now flip back to the present. On the CD is a song entitled "Love Only Knows." In the song the line there is a line,"Would it be alright [very long pause] if we just lose ourselves tonight," which has a couple of variations. We've started to, as the name of the post suggests, think of quick questions during the long pause that start with "if I" end with the word "tonight." Our fall back question is :

"Would it be alright...if I just pinched your hiney tonight?"

I know we're really mature.

News

2011-02-15T13:03:00.001-05:00

We are so excited in the Anderson home because Kevan applied for and got the position at his department to be on the Special Response Team which can be assimilated to a SWAT team at other departments. This is a great opportunity for Kevan to advance his career and we are very grateful they picked him for this position.

To My Valentine

2011-02-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

To Kevan:

January 2007

I am so blessed to have you in my life! I'm so excited that I am sealed to you forever! Thank you for dealing with me, especially now that I am so (occasionally) moody. Thank you for working so hard for our family. Thank you for talking me into having our sweet angel (jk everyone!).

I love you forever.

"Yup, it's true, you get to be together forever!"

Bump- 23 weeks

2011-02-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

I know you all are itching for a picture of my belly!

Here I am at 23 weeks.

She is still very squirmy and growing big and squishing my insides! I love feeling her hiccups and nudges to remind me she's there.

Big Day

2011-02-03T13:00:00.002-05:00

Today is a big day. Today is four months from baby girl's due date AND a birthday. I have 19 nieces and nephews and I love them all very much but you can't beat a first love. I was devastated when my whole family met my brand new nephew and I had to wait four months. He was my first and one nephew for almost two years. When I moved out to Utah I would ask my sister to babysit on my Friday nights instead of going out. Hayden's birthday is today. He is turning 5. I can't believe my little boy is big enough to go to kindergarten in a few short months. I told my sister I would cry myself to sleep.

This is him a couple years ago but he's still that cute :)

Accomplished

2011-01-21T14:50:00.000-05:00

For all my LDS family and friends out there here I just had to brag about something I did for my new calling at church as the 2nd Counselor in the Primary (children's organization) . I posted it here on my family's blog.

Cue the freaky musice

2011-01-20T13:00:00.001-05:00

When we were looking at our house there was a light in one of the bedrooms that had a red glass ball for the screw, to hold the glass on. I noted how it looked like a clown nose. After we bought the home we found some "treasures" in the attic. They consisted of old nasty throw pillows, some window sheers, an ash tray, and this crowning jewel:

I guess we found the clown for that nose. I feel for the child that had to sleep under that! We didn't know what to do with it so it just stayed upstairs. This week we asked ourselves "Why do we still have this?" and in the trash it went! Good bye creepiest of creepers!

Watch Out

2011-01-19T13:00:00.001-05:00

There are many stories from when I was little of mischievous acts that I would do not conspicuously. My kindergarten teacher friended me recently on Facebook after speaking with my mom in some of their teaching circles. She wrote me a message about how she was excited about our news of our little girl. I sent her a message back about how my mom was excited to have a crazy granddaughter just as insane as I was. She wrote me another message saying watch out for hair pulling because when we would sit on the carpet I would always pull the hair of the person in front of me. :)

Told you I was a pretty crazy kid just look at that right hand!

Western Caribbean Cruise!

2011-01-18T16:23:00.000-05:00

This is highlights of the things we did while on our 8 day 7 night cruise to the Western Caribbean. I have posts throughout the week on other things going on in our lives so check keep checking back. I know I've been super slack with posts in the past 4+ months but I'm trying to make up for it!

Our first day on the ship. We set sail out of Miami and our boat had to do a full turn-around in port which was very interesting. We happened to be standing feet from the blow horn when it was announcing our departure and we about lost our hearing. We enjoyed a show before bed that night.

Leaving port


Good bye Miami!

On our second day I got a book from the library and read while sitting out in the sun. We enjoyed our first (non-alcoholic) Pina Coladas. That evening was our first elegant night. We got ready and met the captain who is Italian. Kevan was excited to speak to him in Italian. We went to the show that night and they had tiny costumes and cheesy dances but we had fun.

Our third day was our first in port. We arrived in Puerta Maya, Cozumel, Mexico. The first thing we did was walk to downtown. Cozumel was very dirty and poor. We shopped a little and broke the rules (of Carnival) and rented a scooter. We went to some disappointing Mayan “ruins” which were just some old adobes poor people were living in. We got the baby a beautiful handmade dress. We went back to the port ate lunch and drank our first (non-alcoholic) margaritas. We returned the scooter and went back to the boat. We went to a comedy show and went to bed.

Our fourth day was a crazy adventure. In a couple of our ports you can’t get up to port in the huge cruise ship so they have “tenders” which drive up to the side of the boat and you go down this gang plank on the lowest deck of the ship. It’s crazy! We got an excursion for the day so we didn’t get to go to the main land of Belize but we went to a private island and left for the reef from there. We went snorkeling which was amazing. We have tons of pictures on our underwater camera. We were so tired because the water was really choppy and hard to swim in and we were the water for an hour. After we got back to the ship we showered, ate dinner, and went to a weird magic/dance show. Before bed we dressed in period costumes and got our picture taken. On board they take your picture all over. They print them out and put them in a gallery so you can buy them. Usually we went and just threw ours away.

Our fifth day we woke up with upset tummies from a choppy night. We didn’t know why they boat was still moving because we were supposed to be as Isla Roatan, Honduras. The captain came over the loud speaker and announced that we couldn’t make it into the channel because of the weather. We then left for our next port. This was the worst of days! Everyone one the ship was sick! The safety message for Roatan was “Do not touch or play with monkeys or stray animals.” We were disappointed we didn’t get the chance to break another rule.

Our sixth day was the best of all! We got to Grand Cayman Island early because we didn’t make it to Roatan. We again had to use the tenders to get to the port and it was all so beautiful. The city was clean and brightly painted. The water is so blue. We saw the missionaries when we first got there. We did some shopping and walked a while down to 7 Mile beach. About lunch time we were ready to go and found a beautiful place called Royal Palms which was on the beach and had showers and bathrooms and a beautiful pool. We sat under palm trees as we ate lunch and the breeze kept us cool pool side. We rode in a taxi van with like 30 other tourists. I was sitting on a hump so close to the dash I had to hold me knees. The driver was hilarious. We did some more shopping before saying good bye to paradise. This was the second cruise elegant night. We got our pictures taken after dinner and went to a comedy show.

Our seventh day on board we relaxed on our favorite deck, the serenity deck. It was adults only and very quiet and comfortable. We got our bathing suits on and tried to lie out but the weather was really windy. We participated in gender wars and then ate dinner. For the third night in a row we were graced with some great dancing by the waiters and waitresses. It was hilarious. We ended the night by watching a show of our fellow guests impersonating stars. We quickly packed when we got back so they could take our bags before midnight.

On our last morning on board we ate breakfast, finished packing and sat on the Lido Deck (pronounced Lido Deek by our assistant cruise director who was from New Zealand) until they called our number to debark. We were so sad to leave! We had to wait at the Miami airport for 10 hours before our flight. We were happy to be back on non-moving ground again but sad that our vacation was over!

If you would like to see all of our pictures you can view them here. Sorry this was so long we had such a great time and we wanted to share. Like I said I have updates about us scheduled throughout the week so keep checking back. Thanks!

The New Us

2011-01-17T11:41:00.001-05:00

We got back late last night from our cruise (look for a blog post to follow of course) and I feel like I have two days to get things in order! I go back to work on Wednesday after a long break+track out. There isn't a ton to do because Kevan is always tirelessly determined to leave our house SPOTLESS before we leave on trips but it's more than just my home.

As many authors of the blogs I have read have felt a rejuvenation at the beginning of the new year I have been inspired as well. In January we always talk about resolutions and how they are never kept but I was thinking about instead changing mindsets. I want to become closer to the person that I desire to be and our whole family for that matter. Just thinking about the changes that are happening in our lives this year is very exciting and kinda scary at the same time. Before our sweet angel makes her grand debut I want myself and our family to be the best people we can be. After talking this over with Kevan we have decided that we are going to start posting things around our house to remind us of what are family is to be.

These next two days are for us to get together what we want our family foundations to be (okay and the 8 days of laundry from being in the Caribbean) and I'm so excited! Here is one thing we will be working on:

Andersons read their scriptures

This all goes along with our new (well not really that new since we've had it for 6 months) family motto:

Andersons

Organized

Prepared

Established

D&C 88:119

Yay for 2011!

We're having a...

2010-12-27T19:01:00.000-05:00

We went to the doctor today* and got to see our little baby. We got tons of pictures and found out that we are having a...

sweet and wiggly

GIRL!!!

She has all of her body parts and she looks healthy. About 3/4 of the way through the ultrasound she flipped over because she was finished with us looking at her. We were so excited to share this day with our family members that could come.

Here are pictures of her profile and feet!

*They opened late because of the snow which canceled our appointment. We both couldn't sleep because we were so disappointed about it. About 10:30 this morning they called and rescheduled for later today. The waiting room was quite full. One husband got up and started to yell at the receptionist about how he needed to leave- for a really long time. It seemed like the wife was trying to appease her husband and still express how pressed they were for time. They pulled in a lot of drama on our happy day but it was soon forgotten when we got to see that little profile!

This whole time I thought I was a comic.

2010-12-08T17:27:00.000-05:00

I have a little boy in my class that speaks some English but mostly Spanish. He is very quiet and says few words throughout the day. He was jibber-jabbering today and I was commenting on how talkative he was being. I said something like "yabababa" impersonating him. He looked at me and said (with tons of attitude in his thick accent):

"Not Funny."

It was hilarious!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T09:30:00.002-05:00

This Thanksgiving this is what we're thankful for:

Please watch the whole thing and it will make sense :)

So this is who we're thankful for:

Guess what...

2010-11-14T13:22:00.003-05:00

I finally got a job! It took forever because the county took four months to process my application but the week they finished with it I got an interview and subsequently the job :) I am a teaching assistant in a local elementary school in a pre-kindergarten special education classroom and I love it! We have a morning three year-old group and an afternoon four year-old group. All together there are 14 children and they are so sweet! I started this past Monday. The lead teacher and I have already made tons of plans for ways that we can help the children with some of their challenges and I'm excited to help them learn and grow. I'm so happy to use all the things that I've learned in college and through my life experiences.

This is the first time in my life I've ever worked full-time so it will take some getting used to!

Commercial

2010-10-25T23:58:00.000-04:00

I love this commercial! It's so cheesy but I think it's hilarious!

Not again... cont.

2010-10-22T23:25:00.003-04:00

Please first read the following post to see how the began on the previous day.

So the little stinker would not come out to play with Phoenix anymore so we were stuck here listening to it scratch and scratch behind the cabinets. Kevan came home to bring me some food and we could all hear it in the kitchen and all the sudden in our bedroom!

So at this point we closed off our bedroom and found the little stinker (who from now on shall be called Willis) hanging on to the underside of the vent cover. The vent under our kitchen is still waiting for new floors and has no cover. We think he exited from behind the kitchen cabinets and explored under there within a matter of a few seconds. We got it to come out of the vent and the race was on.

So we start chasing Willis under our bed in all the corners and crevices it could find. We soon realized though, that this was not a squirrel or any kind of mouse. Kevan had brought the trap into our room. After about ten minutes the thing, who is literally faster than my eyes can follow, zoomed under me, I screamed, and it ran into the trap. It wasn't heavy enough to trigger the door so Kevan and I kick it closed. Phew. Except Willis can fit through the holes.

In total we spent an hour chasing this dumb thing around our room. Kevan gets the idea to grab a blanket and try and throw it on Willis. His first attempt he thought he had it but when he looked it was an adapter plug! After quite a few attempts Kevan finally grabbed Willis with the blanket and we put him into a Rubbermaid container. He is currently riding downtown in the back of a police car to his new home. (Okay so not really downtown but really far from here)

Here is a picture of Willis. He is a chipmunk. This is him with the blanket in the Rubbermaid.

Not Again...

2010-10-22T00:07:00.003-04:00

Do you remember this?

I hate to say this since we have spent A LOT of money on our exterior which included getting a permanent way to keep pests out. Somehow (okay so it's really not that big of a mystery the roofers ruined the keep pests out mechanism at the main entry point for the pests) we have another house guest. It entered the same way the other one did under the kitchen sink only, unlike last time, it has stayed in there and we are a little more prepared.

I called Kevan who is at work midway through him eating dinner and said "we have another one." It had become quite loud and I could tell it was getting very close to entering my recently sanitized kitchen. I didn't want to even step foot in there so I sat watching the Mentalist and waited for Officer Anderson. He came with a cage, gloves, and bait from work. He set everything up and although the noises had been loud they ceased. He left after a bit to guard the rest of the town and I was on my own.

About an hour later I'm laying on the couch with Phoenix asleep on my lap. I heard a rustle at the end of the couch and I look and see a squirrel in my living room!! So of course I do what any person would do and I screamed bloody murder. The cat frantically jumps up and looks at me and I point to the kitchen and say, "GO GET IT!" That's when the fun began. Did she catch it? Not yet. Did they look like Tom and Jerry as they raced around the kitchen? YES! It was hilarious. I'm so proud of her, especially after her fail last time. She gets a gold star. I just have one more thing to add at this late hour.

Dear baby squirrel, You got a small big of sympathy from me because you are small but if you are not so much alive in the morning, you were in MY kitchen.

-B

Happy Saturday!

2010-09-18T19:54:00.001-04:00

This is one of our favorite commercials :) Happy Saturday!

Lake Trip

2010-09-17T10:16:00.000-04:00

We had an awesome trip to the lake this past weekend. Our friends let us join them on their weekend at their beautiful lake house. When we first got there we took a night ride on the boat and stayed up late talking and eating root beer floats. In the morning we had a great breakfast and went out in the boat again. It started to get a little rainy but we still had fun for the rest of the afternoon. It trip packed with a lot of fun!

Thanks Trueloves and Hansens!

Ada

2010-09-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

We were so lucky to meet our newest niece Adalyn in the hospital the day she was born. She is beautiful. She has long fingers and toes and dark brown hair. We are so excited to have such a tiny snuggler as our newest addition!

Cara's blog

We love you Ada!

More Summer Please

2010-09-15T09:33:00.003-04:00

I just don't think I've had enough!

I love fall but I could hold off on enjoying it for now :)
What do you think?

Cousin Love

2010-09-02T11:19:00.006-04:00

Last night as I was falling asleep I was thinking about a particular event that gave me pause. Before I talk about it I need to give a little background. I have a cousin that is almost exactly 13 months younger than me. Our mothers are very close and my family visited their family frequently throughout growing up. We had tons adventures. Andrew (who I mentioned in this previous post) and I could always find something fun to do. We made onion grass and mud pies in my grandparents backyard, made complicated forts our of blankets, threw up on each other-that's what happens when us cousins get together we get sick, and really it was me who puked on him-, and pretty much any more trouble we could get into.

One time we were sitting in his room and the family cat came in and started having babies in the corner of the room. We freaked out and found a more suitable place for the kittens' birth. I could go on and on about the good times we had.

For some reason last night I was thinking about a time that was not so good. It was winter and I was about so see a movie with my best friend Allie. I got a phone call from I don't even remember who but they told me that Andrew and his brother Taylor had been in a car accident*. They had gotten a bad ice/snow storm in southern Utah where they lived and their road had become a big hazard with multiple cars getting stuck on it. Andrew and Taylor were out helping a car get out of a rut and another car came along in the same path. Taylor put his hands out to stop the impact and ended up with broken wrists and Andrew was thrown into a brick mailbox. He had a broken pelvis (I think) and some head injuries that caused brain swelling and temporary hearing loss in his left ear along with many other bumps and bruises. I remember getting the news and thinking that he would die.

I dropped to the ground and when I got up there were big wet spots on the sidewalk from crying. I'm sure I seriously freaked my friend out. That was one of the most earnest bouts of prayer in the next few weeks that I have ever prayed. Everything turned out fine and they are both serving missions currently, one in Ohio and the other here in Charlotte. I'm not sure why I thought of that last night maybe I was just thinking about the blessings we've received.

Here are some pics that I have to show all the cousin love!

Andrew and me with our faces painted. Summer 1992. Ages 4 and 3.
All the cousins(from left to right) Me, Haley, Jordan, Andrew, Jaime, Jacob, Jasmine Cami, Alexa, and Taylor)
Me and Andrew 2003. 14 and 15. He let me do that to him :)
Asleep in my sister's apartment. I actually lived in those same apartments four years later.
Jaime and me with the back of Taylor playing in a waterfall. I mean we had adventures!
Fall 2008

Summer 2010! It was an accident!

*These are the details I remember which may not be 100% correct

My cuties!

2010-08-25T10:58:00.002-04:00

So this is a big year for gaining nieces and nephews. My sister posted this beautiful pictures of my niece who is now almost three months old. Isn't she the cutest?!?!

We have two more due in the next month and we can't wait to kiss those cheeks!

Dear Self,

2010-08-24T11:37:00.004-04:00

Brad Paisley sings a song entitled "Letter to Me" where he writes a letter to himself at a younger age and says don't worry things will get better. Today I am writing a letter to my future self. I wrote a letter to myself about two months before Kevan and I got married to remind myself to enjoy what I so wished for everyday which was just to be with him since we were 2000 miles apart.

My friend Kelley recently wrote a blog post about how many people had expressed to her that any day now she will start to hate her husband's guts and marriage will be terrible. I am still in a stage (do they ever end, though?) that I feel pushed. Pushed to get on to that next stage. When you graduate high school it begins. You get pushed to graduate from college. You get pushed to get engaged and then to get married. No matter what, you haven't been married enough to know anything. Once you're married within a few days you're pushed to have kids. Then more kids!

Those that are in the stage ahead of you+ decide that you need pushing just like they did. As Kelley wrote in her blog entry: "Is it because you are unhappy and misery loves company?" Not only do the other-stagers feel they need to push but they also need to put you down. This letter is to remind me.

Dear self,
Never ever ever speak a sentence that begins with "You wouldn't understand because you haven't..." or "You'll understand one day when you...", etc. Don't forget how condescending it feels when someone says that to you. Don't forget about the Curse of Knowledge*. Don't forget that everyone has the right to enjoy the stage they are in. Don't forget that they will need someone to understand and you can be that person. Don't forget that even if you're being pushed it's none of their business! Love your current position and help others as well! Be good!

Love, Me

* The Curse of Knowledge is from a book entitled "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die," by Dan and Chip Heath. I read it for a class. This is an explaination:
"Lots of research in economics and psychology shows that when we know something, it becomes hard for us to imagine not knowing it. As a result, we become lousy communicators. Think of a lawyer who can’t give you a straight, comprehensible answer to a legal question. His vast knowledge and experience renders him unable to fathom how little you know. So when he talks to you, he talks in abstractions that you can’t follow. And we’re all like the lawyer in our own domain of expertise." Basically, you forget how it is to not know.

What are you doing?

2010-08-05T12:13:00.002-04:00

So when I was in my dreadful gender (=white men hating) class on the last day we could bring in examples of gender in society. I'm not sure how this video applied to what we where talking about but I thought it was hilarious. They are the Harvard sailing teams making fun on each other.Frequently in our house we say the line that Chris says when on the phone: "Hows it going? Who are you with? Where are you? Are you doing something cool?..."

Here is the rebuttal to their video from the girls team

And here is the last one with both of them:

The once velvet very strawberry with dark chocolate CAKE

2010-07-25T21:00:00.000-04:00

So today is my mother-in-law's birthday. I set out to make her a cake last night. I had a red velvet cake and a heart shaped pan: perfect, right? So I put in the oil, water, and two eggs and as I put in the last egg I noticed that it did not plop in like it should have. I looked down as the last bit of the yoke is oozing out and I notice a smell I have never smelled (well other than the time we hid an Easter egg in my dad's car that was not found). It was ROTTEN! In that moment I realized that I have to go to the store. When I get back I decided to take the trash bag and just dump the mix out in the bag.

Did you know that red velvet cake has A LOT of food coloring? Now here it could have gone very wrong but I only ended up with stained hands and a trash bag that looked like it just cleaned up a murder scene.

When I was at the store I went to get more red velvet cake and the store had none! How could that happen? Well it's okay because my mother-in-law loves strawberries so I got strawberry cake and put some preserves in it that I had (that I made with her at her house). I made home-made dark chocolate frosting so it is chocolate covered strawberries! Let's see if it tastes good tonight!

Time

2010-07-13T13:01:00.003-04:00

Having no real requirements on my time has been enjoyable this past month. I have gotten a ton of stuff done and I am really liking the down time. I have organized all of my scrapbooking materials, decorated some around the house, read non-school books, I've stayed on top of the house work, and I have been able to really focus on all of my school work and get it done. Tomorrow I take my last two tests and I will officially be done with my degree. Hooray! I will celebrate tomorrow but today I need to study!

I applied for a job last Friday. If you all don't mind including us in your prayers I would really appreciate it! It's a position as a teaching assistant in a classroom for children with autism. Crossing my fingers!

You guys rock!

Financially secure

2010-07-06T09:43:00.003-04:00

There's a song* that comes on G105 that I think has hilarious lyrics. It is completely serious and during the second verse the singer/rapper says:

Baby you the whole package
Plus you pay your taxes

What an advantage. It's never good to be obsessed with someone who is involved in tax evasion. Note to the composer: package and taxes don't rhyme.

*Nothin' on You by B.O.B.

Grad Trip

2010-06-21T23:00:00.004-04:00

When we got back from our trip to Utah at the end of April (sorry all of these posts are out of order) our heads were spinning. The trip was jammed packed with stuff to do. I love spending time with my niece and nephew and my sisters and brother-in-law. I am so glad we got to spend time together. Here are some of the pictures we took while we were there:

Busch Gardens

2010-06-20T15:00:00.001-04:00

Our trip to Busch Garden's last weekend we tons of fun. On Saturday we got to the park early and had a packed tiring day! Kevan and I split off with T, Sean, La, and Victoria for most of the day to run off to all of the big roller coasters. A double run on one of the first ones sent a few of us (cough cough Kev and Teri) a little sick. We rode as many rides as we could, saw an Irish dancing show, and avoided the rain. Also at the beginning of the day we rode some rides where we all got very wet. Some of our feet were still not dry at the end of the night. Some how during the day we accumulated a lot of dirt on our clothing.

Kev and I left a little early to get home so he could get some sleep before waking up early in the morning. We changed into clean dry clothes before going home, thank goodness! I even got to read a little bit for enjoyment that weekend. I'm really gonna like this no school thing!

Our camping trip to church

2010-06-19T12:00:00.003-04:00

So we went camping a couple weekends ago. It was not quite as relaxing as planned but we still had tons of fun.

On Sunday morning we cleaned up and went to the near by ward building. We got there soon after the ward started. After the sacrament prayer I leaned over to Kevan and said "Does this ward have missionaries?" Right then the preisthood holders stood up to pass the sacrament and I blerted out (a little louder than I meant to in a silent room) "THAT'S MY COUSIN!" My cousin Andrew was sent to the neighboring mission from ours and was passing the sacrament! We were sitting near the back and as he got up to us we leaned forward to catch his eye and he got a huge grin on his face and shook his head. I texted my mom, my three sisters, and his mom quickly (yes I sinned and texted in sacrament meeting) and waited for him after the meeting. We talked for about half an hour and for my family here is what went on:

He looks so grownup in his nice new pinstripped suit. He was wearing his glasses and looked so mature! His hair looked really dark brown (about my color) and his hair cut looked sharp. We sat behind him so I noticed :) The ward he is serving in actually reminds me a lot of West Virginia. It small and they track the membership on a board outside the chapel. The building in gorgeous. There are tons of quarries there so the chapel has a big stone wall. His companion is a shorty who is close to going home. He told us a little about tracting and how run into some pretty crazy stuff. He mentioned that he hasn't been getting any letters. Oops! I'm so guilty of forgetting to write.

Here is the picture we took:

Please excuse my appearance! That's what you get when you are camping and stinky and go to church and then get your picture taken by a phone. Lesson learned: listen to the promptings you have. To all of my family: Don't forget to write Elder Bryner (the elder and the younger!).

It felt really weird saying "Love you!" to a missionary as we walked out of the building.

I'm back!

2010-06-18T20:02:00.005-04:00

I guess I did finally take that blogging break I claimed I was going to take. Since I have posted:

I said good-bye to SunTrust
I walked at graduation and had a great time in Utah
I finished my internship and the class to go along with it
I finished my 10-page paper for my English class. It's so hard to finish a research paper without a deadline.
We got my mom an awesome pink iPod nano for mother's day
We went on a weekend trip to Bear Den campground. (post to follow)
We went to Busch Gardens (post to follow)
We revamped (really just replaced and repainted) our kitchen window.(post to follow)

As of this moment I have three tests and four lessons left of my degree. I have some new spare time in my hands which I am loving! I promise I'll post again soon!

It was a long night.

2010-05-11T08:53:00.004-04:00

R.I.P.
Goldberg*
(world's greatest dog)

It's all good but from about 1:58 to 3:00 is what I was looking for:

*For those of you that don't know: Goldberg is the dog that Kevan's family has had for about 10 years. They got him when he was a puppy and he has been a loyal companion since then. Last night he was hit by a car and died about an hour later at the hospital.

Thought I would share:

2010-05-04T09:20:00.003-04:00

I don't have time to post anything about my trip or graduation or how things are going. I'm busy but things are good and I can see an end to this all. I just wanted to share a Mormon Message that I saw today. This is Stephanie Nielson. Her blog is here.

CCL

2010-04-17T10:14:00.002-04:00

This is me. I adore my little furball. Kevan thinks it's too obsessive at times but I just want to make it perfectly clear that although he tries to put up a cat-hatin' front he looooves our kittycat.

She has lots of nicknames: Feeny (short for Phoenix similar to the beloved Boy Meets World teacher), then there's Feeny weeny bo beeny beeny head. She has earned the nickname baby girl and princess. She is also frequently called Bina short for bambina, as well as you dagum cat!

I could tell you tons of stories about my cat hence I have earned the title crazy cat lady. Once we went on a trip and we were going to leave her outside but that stinker ran back in when we didn't notice and while we were gone she ate tortillas and stale Italian candy from the counter tops (we won't discuss what happened to our bed as a result of no where to "relieve" herself). She likes to snuggle and sleeps at the foot of our bed almost every night in her pink frilly leopard print bed. She has a pink collar with a bell. I think she smells so good except her fishy breath and her puke! She like to burrow behind my clothes and sleep in the closet. She has caused us a lot of frustration but she is ours and we love her.

We got a birthday card this week for our sweetie turning TEN years old! Just now as I am sitting here (not) doing homework she is sleeping on my legs. As she jumped up next to me she sat down and I patted the spot next to me. I giggled because as she twitched it looked like she shook her head no.

I'll just go by CCL for short :)

2010-03-07T15:00:00.002-05:00

So in Primary this year the kids are learning: "He Sent His Son." I of course already knew the song from when I was in primary but it means more now. My favorite part of the song is:

"How could the Father tell tell the world of sacrifice, of death?
He sent His Son to die for us and rise with living breath."

I feel the Holy Ghost every time that I sing that with the kids on Sundays. I'm so grateful for the church.

Laundry Room Renovation

2010-02-28T15:44:00.007-05:00

Two Wednesdays ago Kev and I were both off so we wanted to do a project. We took on our disastrous laundry room in hopes that maybe it will have a trickle down affect and we'll clean our house more! This project only took us 8 days which is absolutely amazing because:

Kev worked 4 of those days- 12 hour shifts
I worked 6 of those days (definitely not 12 hour shifts but still), went to school, and took four tests.
Everything went wrong per the usual
It always takes us so long to finish a project!
We were in the middle of fixing out ceiling (yes, it's fixed no more hole!)

It's hard to get a good picture of the room because it's in the back hall of the house so I had to step outside to get a view of the whole thing. Here are the pictures for you viewing pleasure:

BEFORE:
The room:
The doors from our spare bathroom renovation. They sat outside a while, hence the peeling paint:
AFTER:
Isn't it beautiful??
The sides:
I didn't get a before of this so I thought I would take a picture of the inside to show how ugly (this picture does the ugliness no justice) the color was before:

Sometimes when I go into the kitchen I go around the corner and open the doors just to see the room. I love organization :)

A smile for Monday

2010-02-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

Even though these commercials have been on as long as Kevan and I can remember we still laugh every time we see them. Our favorite is the "bokmeow bokmeow."

A smile for today

2010-02-21T13:43:00.001-05:00

So today Kevan told me that he was thinking about something and added that it was dangerous that he was thinking. It made me think of this:

bills

2010-02-20T20:24:00.003-05:00

The other day in class I was talking to someone about how I was graduating and then she said "yeah but then the bills start." HA if only I didn't have bills!

Deal Alert! Michael's

2010-02-16T11:08:00.007-05:00

Just wanted to mention the great deal I got at Michael's yesterday. I had a 20% off my entire purchase including sale items and a 50% off any item coupon plus I knew Valentine's stuff would be half off so I made a beeline after I left my internship. It turned out a lot of the flowers were 40% off so I got some of those as well. Here are my spoils:

I got:
11 rolls of ribbon
2 Valentine's signs
2 bouquets of flowers
4 gerber daisies
1 pack of 25 Valentine's bags and
28 sponge brushes
originally it totaled: $67 and I paid $28 :)

I do love a good coupon and especially a good deal to go along with it. Have a great week!

***I forgot to add that I got two red glasses vases included in that total. It changes my total original total to $73 so I really saved 68%. ***

Snow in NC

2010-02-01T09:36:00.003-05:00

We had fun yesterday with the Jones in the snow! Here are the super good pics we took:

Things here are still super dangerous. Not even a mile away from where we live a bus full of people lost traction flipped around, hit a tree, and I think Kev said it flipped over. BE CAREFUL!

Go check it out.

2010-02-01T09:14:00.002-05:00

I'm a blogging nerd. I follow tons of blogs especially crafty ones. One new one I'm following is Tattertots and Jello. She is doing a giveaway this week of super cute jewelry from Lisa Leonard.
Go check it out.

what I'm listening to:

2010-01-23T23:01:00.005-05:00

This is what I'm listening to but my playlist won't cooperate so I'll just list them with links to their videos:

The Truth- Jason Aldeen

Stop and Stare- One Repubic

All the Right Moves- One Republic

Need You Now- Lady Antebellum

The whole Pride and Prejudice soundtrack

Red Light- David Nail (added 1/25)

some things we aren't listening to are anything by Britney or Taylor Swift those are two banished artists from the Anderson home.

ps I guess I lied about not being able to blog. It's a way I can get away from school work.

It hasn't been my month

2010-01-20T21:56:00.003-05:00

If anyone has a favor they can call in at BYU I would greatly appreciate if I could use it.

I feel like the red-headed step child of BYU that no one wants to graduate. All my internship hours for nothing. Basically after doing tons of work to try to get my internship approved and get the class at BYU via online, AND doing 40 hours at my internship already, they told me they were "full" this semester and I could not be added into a half full class. This is so totally my internship coordinator's fault. Once I figured out on my own (her fault #1) that I would actually need to be reapplying to BYU she offered me no help at all (number two). Then they told me that the internship hours that I had already completed could not count for next semester.

First of all I want to say I don't care what anyone says I'm walking across that stage on April 23rd. My classes won't be done but I'll be not only close enough to be done but mentally I'll already be finished. They can send along that diploma when ever is good for them.

My education has been so hard. I have wasted money, time, tears, stress for something that just seems even still, so unattainable.

The stress from all of this has made me physically ill. I just want to be done. I keep thinking I'll make goals, and clean my house, and be happier when all of this is done.

I've had so many "no"s and I'm feeling so discouraged.

Please BYU how about a "Yes!" or "I can help you with that!" or "You can do it!"

No Good Deed Ever Goes Unpunished!

2010-01-08T10:04:00.007-05:00

As most of you know Brooke is starting her 4 months of stressful crunch time to finish school so that she can graduate in April. Basically Monday through Friday she is going to be busy from 8am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 9-5. Then somewhere in there she has to find time to do her homework, prepare her lessons for Church on Sunday and still remain somewhat sane. Well my friends that is where I come in. I can't change her busy schedule but I figured I could at least do my part to help her feel some little peace at home by taking care of the household chores. Yesterday it was cleaning.

I started the day by taking Brooke to work and then I went and did the grocery shopping. I came home and started to put the groceries away. I figured while I put the groceries away I would treat myself to the pistachios that I just bought for myself (you get to treat yourself to things like that when you are the one doing to grocery shopping). I tried to open the bag, that apparently was sealed for the millennium, and tore the bag open sending the entire bag of pistachios all over the kitchen floor and counters. This should have been my first clue that Murphy had it in for me that day.

It was about 4:30 and I have to pick Brooke up at 7 so I obviously had to start my cleaning adventures in the kitchen. I finally got the kitchen all cleaned up (and yes in case you were wondering I cleaned up the pistachios by eating them...I wasn't about to let them go to waste!). I then decided to clean the rest of the house. I cleaned the front room, our bathroom, I vacuumed the floors and even vacuumed the couches. I put a candle on the plate warmer to make the house smell good for her...I was on a roll. I got the whole house done about a quarter to 6 so I still had some time. I thought then to myself, "Kevan, this was good but if you REALLY want to earn husband of the year award you should surprise her by putting all the Christmas decorations away." I couldn't argue with such profound words of wisdom so I was off to my next task. I went up to the attic and got down all of the Christmas bins.

As a quick side note: A while back our roof leaked causing some water damage to our ceiling around the chimney. We had taken a plastic tarp and the lids off the the Christmas bins and put them around the chimney in the attic to catch the water so it wouldn't ruin the ceiling any more than it already had.

Well the roof is fixed now and I just haven't gotten around to getting the lids. So again I said to myself, "Kevan, if you are going to do this you might as well do it 100%. Why don't you go get the lids so that once the Christmas decorations are down you can put them completely away?" I am so grateful to have such a wise mentor in my life who helps me see the logic in a decision...or so I thought. I made my way into the pink insulated abyss over to the chimney and got all the lids. I threw them all over onto the part of the attic that has been finished. As I walked back I was careful to walk just on the ceiling joists. I finally made my way over to the finished part and got ready to stand on the floor and then.........

Needless to say what I thought was attic floor was actually the living room ceiling. My left leg went all the way through the ceiling and was dangling down below. I caught myself on one of the joists so luckily I didn't fall all the way through. I hit my knee on something and now have a nice little bruise, I scraped my arm all up, and there is nothing like a little fiberglass insulation dust in your lungs.

It was now 6:45 and I had to leave in 10 minutes to go get Brooke. So after I finished yelling about the situation as loudly as I could, I recomposed myself and got busy cleaning....AGAIN!! I got all the insulation cleaned up and I put a white trash bag over the hole to keep some of the heat in the house and to keep more insulation from falling into the house. I was about 10 minutes late picking Brooke up from work but I told her it was because I had a surprise waiting for her at the house (Silly girl thought the surprise was that I cleaned up all the Christmas decorations...now that is funny!). Boy was she speechless when she finally saw my real surprise for her!

On a happy note though, if I hadn't fallen through the ceiling I would have never found such a cool treasure that was hiding in the insulation:

That is the last time I listen to my stupid subconscience

I'll be back!

2010-01-04T19:16:00.001-05:00

Dear blog followers,
I am a little busy for the next four months so please forgive the long lapses between posts. Blogging is one thing that gets bumped when I'm taking 19 hours worth of classes, and working 24 hours a week at my job and 10 at my internship.

Loves to all of you!

We are going to be the best parents EVER!!

2009-12-23T11:47:00.002-05:00

So the other day Brooke and I decided to take a trip down to Charlotte to see my sister and her family. We left Sunday afternoon and got back late on Wednesday night. We debated for a long time about what to do about our precious little daughter Phoenix (that is our very annoying but also ridiculously cute cat in case you didn't know). Brooke was very concerned about leaving her outside the entire time we were gone because it was supposed to be quite cold that we even contemplated not going. As to not spoil what was going to be a very fun visit, we devised a little house for her to stay in. We took a cardboard box, filled it with warm blankets, and sprayed it with a little cat nip ;-) for a little added bonus. We then went and paid our neighbors son to make sure the cat had food and water each day. We gave the cat loves, put her outside, loaded the car up, and we were off for a fun filled trip.

Brooke was such a caring "mother" as she worried about her little baby in the cold (she even prayed for her warmth and safety).

After 3 hours in the car we pulled into the driveway expecting our precious family member to come running to us yelling about her woes over the past days. Instead, there was no Phoenix. As I called for her I could hear the faint ringing of the bell on her collar. Was it coming from outside...NO...it was coming from INSIDE my house. Somehow the little pill had run back inside the house and was then inside the house for 3 days straight. No water, no food, and most importantly no bathroom.

We came inside and found that the cat had resorted back to her survival instincts to make it through such rough conditions. She had licked every drop of water out of each sink and shower in the house. In the kitchen we found that she had acquired some morsels of nutrition with my Almond Nougat Italian candy bar (that was an imported gift from an Italian family) and corn tortillas. And last but absolutely not least, she made a bathroom out of the down comforter on our bed and a bag that was on the couch!!!!

It was a little difficult to be mad at her since we were the ones who left her inside but I managed to do it just fine!

I got some news...

2009-12-10T21:59:00.003-05:00

So I got a call today from the school I interviewed at and

I GOT THE INTERNSHIP!!

Everything IS going my way!

Everything is falling in place.

2009-12-09T21:42:00.006-05:00

I bore my testimony on Sunday about the power of prayer because so many things have just been going right lately!

A few weeks ago we were audited and the government said we owe $1800 from our 2007 taxes. That's a pretty big deal! We freaked for a while and procrastinated calling our financial advisor. After talking with him he said we just forgot to file our 1099 for some money we took out of a Roth IRA to put a down payment on our house. We also owed for a nominal amount my W-2 that never showed up and we were prepared to pay the $60 for that. Kevan called the IRS and they said they would take care of the 1099 situation and they said that the $60 was under their "threshold" to have to pay so we got off without paying a penny. Thank goodness!
I was planning on taking classes this next semester at which ever university would take me! I need to take two classes in class and I was looking at State and Central. I was half way done with applying to be a non-degree student at Central when Kevan asked me when I could register for classes at State (I had already been accepted there and it is MUCH closer). Usually registration is not until one week before classes start but when I looked it had started Nov.7th! Then I found two OPEN classes that would fulfill the requirements and after talking to a couple different advisers I got the two classes I need. We had enough money to pay the tuition and so everything is set for next semester. I cannot express how different that was from last semester and how grateful I am to have those classes.
I need an internship to graduate and I got to interview at the school this past Monday. Wish me luck!

We prayed so hard for those things and seeing them fall in our laps was such a faith building experience. This past year our testimonies have both grown through the Lord answering our prayers. The answers come usually as we don't expect but in a much better way that helps us to learn and grow.

We decorated our house yesterday and I love seeing it glow in the evenings with the festive lights. I am so close to being done with Christmas shopping after preparing for a long time of what to give each person. The one thing I'm having trouble with is letting myself feel festive, I guess. The classes that I take online are all self taught and I go at my own pace. I want to get them done ASAP so when I have free time I feel like it should be spent on this English class that's really tedious that I'm working on instead of baking or decorating. I'm going to set a time when I will take a vacation from school just like I would have it I was going to school right now. Anyways I can't wait to give people the gifts that I have in store for them! I love giving!

Cara took our 2009 family pictures and they are gorgeous. I'm having a tough time deciding which picture to choose for our Christmas card. She is an awesome photographer. To look at them go here.

Everything is falling in place.

2009-12-09T21:42:00.001-05:00

guess what.

2009-11-16T21:50:00.002-05:00

Dear car,

I OWN YOU,

B (and K)

P.S. WE'RE DEBT FREEEEE! (other than our mortgage)

What we've been up to lately:

2009-11-09T09:06:00.005-05:00

We've been really busy lately (obviously hence the lack of posts) so here is what we've been up to:

Early October baby Isabella was born and we've enjoyed kissing those sweet cheeks! There are pictures but I need to get them from others!
I've been working on school like crazy trying to get it done ASAP. I applied for Graduation last week!
We had our birthdays! One year older. Here is a picture of some of our awesome presents!

A couple days later I got the rest of my presents in the mail including a new phone. It's called a Razzle and the bottom swivels.

Kevan is really enjoying working for Garner PD. Here some pictures from his swearing in ceremony on October 16th. Thanks to all who came!

I'm sure we'll be even more busy for the next couple months with the holidays but I'm getting so excited so bring it on! I can't wait to see my family!

Homeward Bound

2009-10-11T13:00:00.002-04:00

I'm about 4 days late but the anniversary of the War on Terrorism was on the 7th. It has been 8 years of huge sacrifices by the men and women serving for us. We can never thank them enough for their sacrifices.

Music 101

2009-10-10T21:38:00.005-04:00

I just finished my last essay for my introduction to music class. I thought the class would include: "What is a coda?" or "How many beats is a half note?" but alas some where in the course description I missed where it was going to be HISTORY of music. Frankly I wouldn't have taken the class. Through this class though I discovered something about myself. The last essay question was name 4 songs you liked and 4 songs you disliked. Here is how I began my essay which surprised me but seemed to type itself:

I would have to say that I have more traditional taste in music which I was not aware of before taking this course. In high school I played the violin in multiple orchestras in school and extracurricular. During this time I played hundreds of songs and learned to love many of them. One of the large reasons I liked the songs I did, during this course is because I know how it feels to play it. I know how it feels to wait during the rests as another instrument builds up for your arrival in the piece and I know how tense the forte sections and sometimes even the piano sections are to play. I have expressed myself through these pieces. They are more than just music to me they are my old friends which I have truly missed. I waited through the early sections to see if my friends were waiting for me in the upcoming chapters and I was so happy to see they were.

I never knew I missed music this much!

Kevan's New Job

2009-09-25T11:01:00.006-04:00

For those of you have not previously heard through Facebook, phone calls, or the grape vine:

Kevan got the job at Garner PD

He put his application in at the beginning of July and we have been praying constantly for this. He found out officially yesterday after many test, an intensive background investigation (thank you all that put in many kind words!) and a weird diabetes scare (silly doctors, what do they know?!) Kevan talked to Chief Moss and he will be starting on October 12th. For so long things seemed to be happening so slowly but now they seem to be lightening fast! We are going today to get his uniforms! Kevan is very sad to leave NC State and will miss all of the great people that he has met there. This change will be very hard for him.

He would be typing this up but on his last day of shift (last night 6 PM-6AM) he had to stay four and half hours late! I'm dying to hear the story it's something about a DWI and the hospital. I guess we'll all hear soon enough!

Anyways we are very grateful to all of you and to our Heavenly Father who guides us and answers our prayers.