Precious Treasures

I wanted to show everyone all of the girls new dresses that MawMaw and Aunt Patty worked so hard on. They are so beautiful and we consider them to be treasures in our house that tell of the love they have for our girls. These are Easter dresses and dresses to take pictures in before we welcome our sweet baby boy into our home. The last picture of Annie is taken in a dress that belongs to her cousin Laura. MawMaw and Patty made this dress 9 years ago for Laura to wear in our wedding as the flower girl. It has always been my favorite dress. I am terrified to let her wear it anywhere but for pictures because it seems so delicate. Thank you MawMaw, Aunt Patty and PawPaw (our official mailer of all packages girly)!!! We love, love, love them and love, love, love and miss all of you.

Funny Little Story

Sunday morning Annie woke up with what turned out to be a bladder infection. Poor baby. But she said she felt fine enough to go to church for a little while until the urgent care center opened so we headed out. When I picked her up from Sunday school I could tell she wasn't feeling so well and she informed me that her clothes were wet. On the way to the urgent care center we had to stop at Wal-mart and buy a shirt, pair of pants, socks and panties just to get us there. Expensive little trip to the doctor but thank goodness it was morning and not late at night sitting in the ER. It was indeed an infection and after 1 1/2 hours of waiting in a room full of very ill children we left with a prescription in hand. Okay, that's not the funny part.

That evening, as Mark was trying to decide whether or not to brave taking Annie to church Ella voices her opinion. "Dad, I want to go to church." "Ella, Annie isn't feeling very well so we are probably going to stay home tonight." "Dad, we can take Annie to the hospital and we can go to church." Such a loving and concerned sister.

Like mother, like daughter and Valentine fun

Anyone who has seen Annie knows that she is a carbon copy of me. Unbelievable considering that at birth she really looked more like Mark's side of the family but over time she has morphed into a small version of yours truly (in looks and in behavior). So very fitting that she would have pollen allergies and a stuffy nose this time of year. She thought she was so cool to get to wear her very first Breathe Right strip last night. They are so tiny and cute on her not to mention wonderful at helping a girl breathe!!!

Valentine's day was fun for everyone. The girls each got a special gift and I got flowers. We got Mark a pair of "rockin' jeans" as the girls call them. They are actually pretty cool for a guy over 30. The girls had fun making Valentine cards for everyone and Annie had her first Valentine's party at school where everyone gave out cards and candy. My favorite quote from Annie last week....."Look, Mom. This one says, "Jesus loves you tuck candy here." So funny!! We took the kids to eat at Jason's Deli and then to the mall to ride the carousel. Annie picked the sparkly horse, of course while Ella had her heart set on the elephant.

Random thoughts and happenings

We just returned from a wonderful weekend in Young Harris, Ga at the Brasstown Valley Resort where we attended a marriage retreat with our Sunday School Class. What a blessing!! We were challenged to care for ourselves and for our mates in such a way that would meet their particular needs. Since God has created each of us differently it is sometimes hard to love someone in a way that feels unnatural to us. Our leaders spoke about learning as much as possible about your spouse in order to more effectively be there for them in every day life and in crisis situations. We had such fun being with friends, eating without cutting someones food or wiping a face, and enjoying each other's company and conversation. We vowed to get away more often even if only for a few hours.

Now to explain the mashed potatoes picture. This was taken at lunch on Saturday while on our return home from the retreat. We and some friends of ours stopped at a country buffet in Young Harris, Ga and had some good southern food. Mark, being colorblind and apparently unable to discern texture as well, put what he thought to be gravy on his mashed potatoes. Yeah, not so much. Applesauce is what actually graced the top of those potatoes. He returned to the table and said, "Is this gravy or applesauce?" The Mauldins and I could do nothing but laugh. To make matters more disgusting, he tried them to make sure it was indeed applesauce. The pinkish tint and chunky texture didn't give it away at all. He is so funny!

As you can see, Nanny came for a visit. We had a great time with her as always. We had tea and got some pictures made of the girls and shopped for sweet little boy clothes but the rest of her stay was spent in the car running from home to school, to dance, to home, to church, to home, to school again. We hope she will visit again very soon.

I will be 21 weeks pregnant tomorrow!! Over half-way to seeing our precious baby boy.

It's (officially) a Boy!!!!!

Pardon the crooked picture but the website rotated it. Just bend your head to the right and you will see his head on your right and other parts on your left. We are still trying to process the news of being parents to a boy after only being in girl land for 5+ years now but we are thrilled!! A sweet boy. The name of little boy Anderson is still up in the air but we are narrowing it down a bit this week. I've got my monogramming machine loaded and ready to go. I think that's part of the reason Mark is taking his time. He doesn't want everything the child owns to have his name or initials on it. Ha.

I am so excited to be having a baby boy but I am also so excited for Mark to have this experience. He loves the girls more than life itself but to have a son to play catch, go to ball games, enjoy a football game on TV, get dirty, talk drums, and just have good old fashioned boy fun together will be such a blessing. My children could not have a better father if I looked the world over. I see in him what I always wanted so it is kind of like filling a void in myself to see them with him. To see my daughters fall over themselves to get to the door when he comes home is a dream come true. I am truly blessed in so many ways and he is just another reminder that God answers prayer.

So my prayer for this child is that he will follow the example of his father who seeks to follow the example of his Heavenly Father.

I feel as though I should write something... anything, since it has been so long. I'm afraid blogspot will shut us down if there isn't some activity soon. Truth be known, there has been plenty of activity in our household lately which would explain why I haven't posted for 2 months.

Forgive me, I will post pictures later.

Everyone is doing fine. Christmas was a blast and a whirlwind. The girls were really into all of the festivities this year. Annie had a Christmas list 10 miles long that she wrote out on paper a half dozen times just to make sure no one forgot what she asked for. Ella wanted simply one thing, which she did not and will not ever receive...to "be Snow White". Now, we got close enough since Nana gave her a Snow White costume but if a shrivelled old lady wearing a cape carrying a shiny red apple appears at my door we have a problem.

Annie sang in the Christmas festival at church along with 300+ children which was entertaining to say the least. Night #2 was especially fun when a boy standing right behind her threw up and the boys around him stopped singing to stare at the newly made mess on the steps. Lovely. Our princess was none the wiser being ever so focused on finding where we were located instead of looking at the director.

Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday this past week. I can't believe she is 3. Again, she wanted one thing for her birthday and we failed her once more. She asked for a Madeline bracelet. I've never even seen a Madeline bracelet. Nana once again saved the day with the Madeline doll and we got her a Mad About Madeline book both of which she loved and forgot all about the bracelet. We had her party at Pump It Up, an indoor inflatable bouncy place complete with a Madeline cake. She had a blast with Annie, several of her friends and cousins.

We have redone our bedroom or maybe I should say we have done our bedroom. We painted, got a new comforter, lamps and a bookshelf. It looks so much better although we still have many pictures to hang. We painted the girls room and moved them in together into a full sized bed. It looks sweet but we are going to buy them a full sized quilt and shams to complete the look. They are enjoying it I think. The other morning I heard Annie doing "This little Piggy..." with Ella and they were both giggling. So sweet.

Annie is still doing well in school. We were doing a lesson on syllables the other day and counting how many everyone's name had. We finished our names and went to grandparents. Now I realize my grandmother has a very unusual name that is hard to pronounce if you are just reading in for the first time however, Annie, who has the memory of an elephant, has known her name since she was 2 years old. I asked her Nanny's name and she said, "Nanny". I said, "yes, but she has a real first name. Do you remember what that is?" She said, in all seriousness, "Crouton!". Nanny's name is Beauton and the beginning is pronounced like beautiful. Too, funny. Crouton and Beauton both have 2 syllables so I guess it didn't really matter in the first place.

I have felt Baby Anderson kicking for the first time this past week. Our 20 week ultrasound is on the 28th so please be in prayer for that day. We are very excited but also a little nervous since that is when they check for any abnormalities. I feel pretty well lately and have gotten some of my energy back which helps with the housework.

Nanny will be here in just 2 more days and we are looking forward to spending some good quality time with her. Pray for safe travel for her on the 20th.

I leave you with one final silly Ella story. We took her to a Chinese restaurant on her birthday and as we were sitting there eating she pipes up with, "Mom, are we in America?". I tried to quiet her as much as possible and answer her tacky question when she blurts our, "I don't like Japanese!" I do have an explanation for this. The girls love Japanese food but hate the fire display that the chef does at the beginning of the meal so they always say they don't like going when in reality they eat their food and ours too. I'm learning that Ella is very blunt and has impeccable timing. Great!!

My Favorite Jeans....

It has happened. My favorite jeans that make me look like I'm trying to be "hip", trying is the important word in this sentence, no longer fit. Not for the reason that most of you think either. It has nothing to do with the person who has recently taken up residence in my abdomen and everything to do with our recent visit to Shreveport. I lived life to the fullest having Italian cream cake from Juliannes, White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake, Heath Bar Cake (thanks, Patty - yum), Counter Culture Yogurt with strawberries and sprinkles, biscuits with copious amounts of blackburn syrup so thick it could patch a tire, Southern Maid donuts and Krispy Kreme donuts when the Southern Maid was found to be closed on a Tuesday night, white chocolate covered marshmallows, a trip to the Glenwood tea room (we all know how I eat there) and various other forms of junk you can only buy in the Port. We won't even begin to speak of the amount of tex-mex, Cane's chicken fingers, donuts, cake, and did I mention tex-mex that Mark digested over the course of the past week. Oh and I didn't even mention our trip to the Louisiana State Fair and the taffy, pecan/cinnamon rolls with a huge "dollop" of icing on top that we were sure was ice cream since it was so enormous, corn dogs, and candied apples that we ate. We were seriously concerned that our new cumulative weight totals would require that we roll the Honda Odyssey through every "weigh station" at every state line between Louisiana and Georgia. To say that we are ashamed would be an understatement.

Indeed, it was not one of our proudest weeks, but it was fun nevertheless and we all had a great visit with family. As I said we took the kids to the fair in an attempt to make up for not getting to go to Disney World. The girls had a wonderful time riding with their cousin Caleb. Annie rode her very first roller coaster and loved it. They weren't the only ones who had fun though. While not exactly a ride on Splash Mountain or the Rockin' Roller Coaster, Mark was happy with multiple trips to the Bass Pro Shops and the two headed rattlesnake that he paid $1.00 to view at the Fair. I am starting to get concerned. Yes you read that right... The Bass Pro Shops! He loved it. This coming from a guy whose idea of camping is sleeping with the windows open. He admits that he loves the idea of camping, fishing and hunting, but he just doesn't want to actually do it. I can respect that. We did find time during the week to spend together just the two of us. Mark took me to Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro. We had a great time just sitting a talking without any interruptions. It is great to be married to your best friend. The food was okay but the cheesecake was fantastic. We devoured a huge piece in a matter of minutes. I know that is hard to believe...


As usual visits are centered around food when you are a true southerner, so there you have it. I will mourn the loss of those favorite jeans and many more clothes to come but I WILL wear them again. I hope. If not it is all worth it for precious number 3.