New Year and New Beginnings

2009 has already started bringing BIG changes to the Anderson family! Jamie has been talking for a few years now about going back to school but we were never really sure how we could make it work because he HAS to continue to work while going to school. We knew that finding the time to work, go to school, study, sleep and still spend time with the family was going to be a real challenge. He has finally decided that he is ready and he is going for it!! He is going to Nursing School!!



Even though this has been talked about for a long time, once he decided, it all started happening really fast! Within a matter of 3 or 4 days he made his decision to quit his job and enroll in a class to become a certified nursing assistant while he is in school. By becoming a CNA it will be a lot easier for him to go to school and still work because of the flexible work hours unlike his sales position.



We are really excited but really nervous how we are going to get through the next two years! We both know that this is a good decision and a step in the right direction but it is a scary change!



Jamie will get his certification on January 15th and then hopefully he will be able to get a job VERY soon after. He has already spoken to come school's about their nursing program but has not yet decided which one he will attend. That is another decision that will have to be made in the next month or so.



I am SO extremely proud of him for deciding to do this. I can not even imagine being in school again and I know that as nervous as I am about the "unknown" it is that much worse for him!



Baby, I want you to know how much I love you and I am behind you 100%. I know that tough times are ahead while we figure out how to balance this into our daily schedule but we can do it! Thank you for always thinking of ways to better us as a family. We love you so much and we are so proud of you!

Our Family Christmas 2008

What a fun Christmas it was this year!! There is nothing better than watching your kids eyes light up when they see their toys from Santa. Caleb was so excited about Santa this year. Meme had all the kids over to make reindeer food and Caleb could not wait to spread it in the yard. I was afraid that we would never get him into bed Christmas eve but it was just the opposite! Christmas eve night we went to a candle light service at our church then we had Christmas at Nana's house and then we had to hurry home to put the cookies and milk under the tree and spread the reindeer food. As soon as we pulled in the driveway Caleb took off running in the house as he was taking his clothes off down the hallway. He got his pj's on and could not jump into the bed fast enough! Wow! I was shocked!!! He knew that Santa would not come until we were all asleep.

The next morning when Caleb woke up he was so sweet! He ran into the living room and the first thing that he saw was Ace's motorcycle. Ace was still sleeping but instead of Caleb looking at his presents he wanted to wake Ace up to tell him about his motorcycle that santa brought him. Caleb has the sweetest little heart, always taking care of everyone else first.

Ace had no idea what was going on so Caleb stepped up as the big brother and unwrapped all of his gifts for him. I don't think Caleb had a problem with that at all.

The first thing that Ace noticed were the cookies that santa did not eat, NOT the presents!!

After the excitement of santa it was time to do it all over again at Meme's house! All the kids were so much fun to watch. They could not open their gifts fast enough!
My favorite gift this year was from Chandler. She made a little dish with the letter J on it for me at her school. It touched me so much, she could have made something for a number of people and she chose me. She is such a special little girl! Jamie was excited to get a leaf blower that he has wanted for a couple of years, this I know was his favorite gift!

Caleb made all of his grandparents coffee mugs that he decorated all by himself. They all loved them and he was so proud!
Mom called and asked Jeff and Jamie if they wanted to take on the responsibility of frying a turkey this year. I have never seen two grown men so excited!!! They were worse than women...on the phone with each other all the time, researching on the internet and comparing recipes. They gave us all a good laugh....Here they are where they spent most of their time.... just watching it cook!


Guys, you did a GREAT job!!! It was wonderful! I think this is going to become an every year job for them.

We could not have asked for a better Christmas, we are so blessed! We hope all of our family and friends had a Christmas as special as ours and we wish you all a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy 4th Birthday Caleb!

Has it been FOUR years already?? It is so hard to believe....it seems like just yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital on that cold, rainy, icy day. These last four years have been the best years of my life, all because of you. We are so proud of you Caleb!

We had a little party on Saturday at the house to celebrate with family and friends. Caleb was so excited about turning four. He has told me all week that he is a man now, at one point he told me that I needed to call him"man" instead of Caleb. Oh...you makes me laugh sweet boy!

This year we had a baseball theme, he is all about baseball this year. Last year it was a "pig sooie" (Arkansas Razorback) party, so it will be interesting to see what next year will bring.

Caleb really wanted to have a party with his cousins and friends at The Monkey's Treehouse so on Monday he invited them all to meet him there to play. They had so much fun as you can tell.

We hope you had a Happy Birthday baby! We love you so much!

Cookies with Santa

Caleb and I started the week by making a gingerbread house. Last year we had so much fun making a gingerbread train so this year Caleb wanted to make a house. We had lots of fun but once again we had to wait until Ace took a nap to start. If we would have let Ace help I don't think we would have had any candy left to decorate our house with. I feel like Ace has missed out on lots of fun but he is just not a lot of help this year. Ace, I promise baby that next year you can help us with all these fun things!





The daycare where the boys attend had their Christmas sing-a-long on Friday and after the program Santa Claus stopped by the school to have cookies and milk with all the kids. They were so excited! Caleb just wanted to know where his sleigh was...

We were not sure what to expect from Caleb because of his shyness. We were afraid once he saw all the parents he would take off running or break down and cry, but he did Great from what we could tell. They placed all the kids by height and the smaller kids in front of Caleb were wearing reindeer antlers so we could not see him at all. They finally made those kids sit on their knees on the last song so we did get to see him sing at least one song. I bribed him that morning with a strawberry milkshake after school and it worked! Is that bad??

We knew EXACTLY what to expect from Ace....there was no way he was going to sit up there with his class so we decided to keep him with us. He is the youngest in his class and I was so afraid that he would disrupt the whole program. I think his teachers were happy by our decision to keep him with us. Sweet boy...you will be ready next year!



Ace had more fun playing dress up in Caleb's classroom than anything. I did not think we would ever get him out of this room.

Caleb was really excited to see and talk to Santa this year but Ace was not at all!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving spending time with family and eating some great food but now it is over and time to start thinking about Christmas. It is hard to believe that it is that time of year again and it is REALLY hard for me to believe that Caleb is going to turn four in a couple of weeks!! Where does the time go?

The weekend after Thanksgiving I was so excited to get all the Christmas stuff out and start putting it up. I knew that Caleb would really enjoy it all this year but not sure what to expect from Ace. Anyway, our Christmas decorating started off kinda rough...I felt like we were in the Christmas Vacation movie. Jamie totally pulled a Clark Griswald on me! He was up in the attic getting all the boxes down and he fell through the ceiling in the garage! Well, he did not actually "fall" thank goodness, he caught himself with only a few scratches, a HUGE hole in the ceiling and a HUGE mess on the floor. It could have been so much worse! Once I knew that he was not hurt I could not help but laugh at him, you have to admit it is kinda funny! He told me not to worry that HE was going to fix the hole and this really worried me because Jamie is NOT a handy man! I admit that I doubted his ability to fix such a huge hole and make it look "right".

He read about how to go about fixing it, talked to some nice people at Home Depot and sure enough HE DID IT!! It looks great!! Thanks babe, I am SO proud!!!

Caleb and I waited for Ace to go to bed before we started putting up the tree. I did not think that he would be much help. Caleb had so much fun and I had more fun watching him so excited. He was singing Jingle Bells and Rudolph, totally in the Christmas spirit. I let him decorate the tree by himself and he was so proud. Of course when he went to bed I had to do it all over again and luckily he did not notice the next morning. :) He went out to the garage where we keep our cleaning supplies and brought in his little bucket and broom. When I asked him what he was doing in the fireplace he said he was cleaning it out for Santa! So cute!! Last year he was still a little scared of Santa and the thought that he actually comes inside the house while we are sleeping but this year he is so excited.

I always put trees in the boys rooms and Caleb loved all of his ornaments. He had so much fun unwrapping them and decorating his very own tree. Ace enjoyed playing with all of them and taking them off faster than we could put them on. I am just waiting for him to pull the tree down, pretty sure it is going to happen!

We are all very excited about Christmas this year! Caleb is talking about Santa Claus non stop and Ace will get to experience it all for the first time. It's going to be lots of fun...we can't wait!!

Thankful for my Family

Thanksgiving has always been a special day to spend with family and eat a great meal but as I have gotten older and since I have become a parent it has taken on a whole new meaning for me. I realize now how truly blessed I am with the life that God has given me.


I am thankful for so many things in my life, but I am most thankful for my family, the ones that have made it possible for me to have this wonderful life. My parents are two of the most important people to me and I can not in my life time thank them enough for everything that they have done for me. They have always put my needs before their own. Even though they have not always agreed with some of my decisions they always supported me and loved me no matter what.

My Mom is the best woman, the best Mother, the best Grandmother and my best friend. I am not just saying this because she is my Mother, anyone that has ever met her will tell you the same thing. She is the most loving, caring, smart, talented, non-judgemental person. She is the one that I call for EVERYTHING. No matter what it is...Mom can always fix it, when Mom is there I always feel safe. I am so thankful for the relationship that I have with my Mom, she is truly my very Best Friend!


Oh and my Dad...I love that man with all my heart! There is no question that he will always be there whenever I need him. I think he thought that once I got married he would get a break from my weekly calls for advice or whatever it is I needed fixed that week, but the truth is that there will never be another man that can take the place of my Dad. Don't get me wrong..I love my husband more than life and depend on him for everything but no one can ease my mind like my Daddy. My Dad is my hero. I am thankful for having a father that I can always depend on and loving me no matter what.

My brother....He is the best brother in the world and as his big sister I am so proud of him! I am so happy that God blessed him with such a wonderful wife that is much more of a sister to me than a sister-in-law. He is such a good husband and father to his three beautiful little girls. I am thankful that I have a brother that I am close with and know that is always there if I need him.

Then there is my wonderful, loving, funny, supportive husband that is the man of my dreams! I never expected to find such a wonderful man. I fall in love with him more everyday. He always puts his needs aside for me and the boys. He can always put a smile on my face and make me feel like the most special person in the world. I know that no matter what ups and downs that we as a family face that he will make it alright, we can always depend on him for everything. Caleb and Ace are the luckiest little boys in the world to have him for a Daddy and it is obvious that even at their age they already know this. They adore their Daddy and so do I.

Last but not least, my beautiful babies...Oh just thinking about them puts a smile on my face, tear in my eye and more love in my heart than I ever thought was possible. I am so thankful that I was chosen to be their Mommy. They are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I pray every night that Jamie and I can be the type of parents that my parents were to me. I hope that God gives me the tools to guide them in the right direction, to make good decisions and to always feel the unconditional love that we have for them.

I am so thankful we are family and I love you very much!