The Baby Bump

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 I really shouldn't call it the baby bump anymore as it's much bigger than a little bump... it's more like a mountain:)  This week's embrace the camera is me and little Sunshine. I'm 26 weeks and feel pretty good. She's really moving and kicking throughout the day, but especially at night or when I sit at the desk chair she becomes so active. It's crazy that at this point with the twins pregnancy I had gained the same amount of weight as this baby... nuts. I guess it's normal to gain more weight with your second pregnancy. I don't have any cravings but for sweets of any kind... you name it, I love it, oh how I miss them. I gave them up for Lent... it's been a real challenge but worth spending time in prayer. I know one thing I can't have is onions oh boy do they give me heartburn. You know what they say about heartburn .. she could have a lot of hair. It's still hard to believe I'm pregnant especially chasing after 3 little ones time is just flying by. Some days I stop and think am I really pregnant? It's such a blessing and I'm just so thankful God chose me to carry another one of his children. 

I want to enjoy every minute of this as it's such a gift. 

The twins jumped in for a quick picture ... Jonas was napping 

Thank you Lord for answering my prayers. I have always wanted to be a mom more than anything and now I get to be one to 4 children. I feel so blessed and honored that you trust me to care for your babies to further your kingdom. Even on the tough days it's all worth it, to feel the unconditional love all around me. 

Elsa's HOME!!!

I'm so overjoyed to share that finally sweet little ELSA is HOME! I will never forget the day that Emily told me they were adopting, my heart was jumping with joy for them. It's been a journey with seeing her on the child waiting list the same day as Emily.. we fell in love with her beautiful smile.. she was just perfect.  Through the ups and downs finally she is home in her momma's arms forever. What was even more special about this reunion is that Emily met Elsa for the 1st time at the airport.  The emotions were running high through everyone to encounter such a special moment.  

Her smile lights up the room and melts everyone's hearts 

Someone missed their daddy so much! 

Tears of Joy

Jeanie meets Elsa.... She is our friend that hopefully will be bringing her little boy home in a couple of weeks 

Jonas was happy too .. yes his dimples are still there:) 

Proud mama taking her baby home! 

Elsa and the Anderson Crew you are well loved .. we are celebrating with you this moment that we will remember forever! Welcome home sweet girl, we are so blessed to be able to watch you grow for the years to come. 

Pray for Webit

Her name is Webit and she is very sick. Her sponsor family had the chance to meet her in January (you can read about their meeting here) and quickly realized that she was in need of immediate medical attention. Because her family is so poor, they had to get paperwork approved that showed that Children's Hope Chest would be able to raise support for her treatment before they would even accept her as a patient. After wading through that process, the diagnosis was grim--cancer--and today, she took a turn for the worst (read Karen's post here for details).

So we now have the opportunity to intercede for this child. She needs our prayers. Please pray that the doctors will have discernment and wisdom and resources to be able to properly treat this precious girl. Pray for her comfort and peace as I'm sure she is scared and hurting. And pray for her family during this difficult time of uncertainty.

You can also help by giving a monetary donation to help cover the cost of her treatment. Remember, EVERY little bit helps and US dollars go a long way in Ethiopia. We can all skip our morning trip to Starbucks or drive thru lunch tomorrow and give even $5. If everyone of you who follow this blog give just $5, that would be over $300 raised! I've personally seen the work that Hopechest does and you can trust that your gifts will get to her.

This is a real child, with a real need, and you can be a part of making a real difference in her life when she needs it the most. Print her picture out, put it on your fridge, bathroom mirror or dashboard and commit to praying for her....and give to her fund.

It's SUPER easy to give, just follow these instructions:

Please go to the Children's HopeChest website at http://www.hopechest.org/Click on GIVEUnder "Choose a Fund", specify DESIGNATED GIFT
Enter the 9 digit account code ET2119000
In the notes area, specify MEDICAL

Please spread the word to your friends and family so that we can raise these funds immediately. And please pray for Webit Bekele in Ethiopia.

Check in on Karen's blog for further updates.

A Blessing

 On Tuesday our sweet little niece Ansley Taylor was born at 11:35am weighing in at 8 pounds 11 ounces, 20.5 inches long! She is just perfect! You forget how precious a newborn is with the sweet baby lotion smell and soft skin. It made us so excited that we are having our little Sunshine in just a few months. Brooke was overjoyed to hold her within 5 minutes being there she was ready and so proud to be her big cousin. 

Me with all my beautiful nieces .. oh how I love them! 

Brooke was a natural and was very confident in holding her. She helped her Cousin Abby to get enough courage to hold her little sister.  

I think Scott is ready to be a dad again .. he just melted holding his niece. 

Parker typical boy wanted to stay his distance but enjoyed playing non stop with his older cousins.  

Jonas was loving the extra attention from family all around and he did pretty well with us holding the baby ..

 not too jealous but we will see when Sunshine gets here. 

I just can't wait to watch her grow into a special young lady. 

 It is such a great and fun time in life to add another special child to our family. 

Thank you Lord for such a healthy beautiful blessing! 

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The Invisible Women

My friend had sent this to me and wanted to share, there is such a greater purpose for what we do that goes unnoticed.

18 Months

Yesterday our sweet little Jonas turned 18 months old. It's hard to believe he's been home with us for almost a year. It's really hard to remember life without him in our family. I just can't explain the joy he brings. For me I  love 18 months old.. I feel like it's over the toughest hump between age 13 to 16 months. He understands so much more now and his personality is really starting to blossom. 

Brooke is pushing Jonas on the swing.  She's adores him, even though Jonas follows Parker around everywhere...he looks up to him so much. If Parker has a car in hand then so does Jonas. Brooke is the nurturer as she kisses and hugs him constantly throughout the day. He knows he can count on her for some loving.

PB&J -What's a peanut butter sandwich without some jelly?

He makes us laugh all the time 

This is his serious concentration face.. his eye brows move down and becomes focused 

He's not sure about the tire swing but loves the baby swings and calls them "wheeee"  

He's watching how Parker is hitting the golf ball. 

I just can't tell you how smart he is! He studies things before trying them, you can just see the wheels turning trying to figure something out. 

 Parker was being a sweet brother and getting him the ball teaching him how to swing. 

Now Jonas' turn .... 

a natural .. maybe the next Tiger Woods .. watch out. 

Here's a few fun fact about our little J- Man 

- He doesn't understand the difference between Yes and No ..ex. you may ask him you want a piece of candy and he's says "NO" which really means yes. 

- He doesn't like the church nursery at all, they have to walk him around the whole time to keep him entertained. 

-His favorite food is pizza .. you may ask him in the morning what he wants to eat and he will chant around the house PIZZA! PIZZA!

 He also loves hot dogs, they are his second favorite.

 -He still struggles with eating as he's really never consistent on what he likes. Sometimes he will eat more than Brooke and Parker then other days not touch a thing.  

- He eats so well with a fork and spoon and always wants to use them. 

-He LOVES Elmo!! I think he says Elmo about a hundred times of day. It's the only show he will watch.. so he will hand you the remote and say " ELMO PLEASE" even when watching it he has to walk around and keeping busy.. no sitting still for this little boy. 

-He has really good manners and says Yes Mam, please, and thank you most of the time.

-He can sing part of the song twinkle twinkle little star

-Grabs his diaper and says pee pee and poop poop .. I do think he will be an early potty trainer. 

- Just discovered CHOO CHOO trains and loves seeing them. 

-Only has 6 front teeth

-Still loves his passy at night and blanket to cuddle with.

-I do think he's the most verbal 18 month year old ever, maybe I'm just biased but he talks all day and says so many words... see for yourself... 

Bicycles

 We finally did it after many years of talking about getting bikes we pulled the trigger. They have been so fun and worth the investment. The kids say "it's a beautiful day outside why don't we go for a bike ride?" just about everyday. Our smooth rider Jonas in his new bike carrier. Every time we walk into the garage to get into the car he says "bikes" he loves them. He wishes so badly he could ride his own bike as he tries to get on every one's .. 

even random kids bikes at the park.

 He's turning into such a big boy!  

There's another seat waiting for little sunshine to join him.  

The boys in back 

 The girls in front 

 I'm 6 months pregnant and I do get a few strange looks of 

"Why is that pregnant lady on a bike?" 

 Heading home after stopping to get food to cookout 

It's funny, we have found out who is competitive.

Brooke HAS to be in front as she wants to go fast and if anyone is before her she puts on this mean little determined face and pushing her heart out to pass you. She has fallen quite a few times because she goes so fast she looses control but this doesn't stop her as she hops right up and to finish the job.

 We think it's so funny as she's just so serious about it. 

We have now had to have leader time limits to give Parker a chance in the front. 

Notice Brooke has her baby doll on the back of the bike .. 

what a little mama she is

I don't know if you have ever thought about getting bikes for yourselves, if so I would highly recommend it. I know this summer is going to include a lot of bike riding .. at least until baby Sunshine is here. 

The Beach

For today's embrace the camera, a few weeks ago we joined Scott on a work trip to the beach. I was so excited to have warm weather and a  little relaxation. Jonas was staying with grandparents as I knew it would be hard with him at the beach and swimming pool as he doesn't know how to swim.. I would have been on my toes the whole time. Oh how my expectations were high .. I had visions of laying by the pool reading books while the kids swam. Little did I know the weather wasn't going to cooperate. We started our journey with a huge rain storm but Scott was hopeful. Within 30 minutes of us arriving the sun had burst through and we were so excited! We headed to the beach as quickly as we could. For about 2 hours we had nice sunny weather and we enjoyed every minute. The twins are at an age they can entertain themselves for hours in the sand and water... they were loving it! The water was freezing but it didn't stop them.  

 That night we headed out to dinner

 Quickly our trip turned, our hotel room air conditioner sounded like a freight train, we were by the ice maker that we heard all night, our toilet and sink clogged.. we had to switch rooms.   The next two days it was pretty disappointing, cooler weather had come and we had huge strong gushing winds keeping us from the beach and pool and trapped in the hotel room. Luckily we did find a place with an inside playground that the kids loved for a few hours.

After the indoor playground I got a call from Mimi that Jonas was sick and not himself, oh I wanted to go home instantly. We made the quick decision to shorten the trip and head home first thing in the morning. The icing on the cake was in the middle of the night Parker throw up all over me.... yuck with my high alert pregnancy nose I smelled it all night wanting to throw up myself.... it must have been something he ate. Fun times, the whole trip was comical! Did I really think I would be able to relax? Isn't that funny:) One lesson I never seem to learn is to have lower expectations. Even though the trip was pretty rough, my highlight was watching American Idol with the twins. They picked their favorite singers which unfortunately now have already all been kicked off. They were so cute and grown up to watch it with us.  Isn't it funny that if I would have just put up these pictures.. you would think wow they had such a great time at the beach....oh what little pictures really show behind the scenes:)

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Salvation

For sometime now I have felt a heavy heart for sharing the gospel to those around me but it seems every time I stop myself by thinking "how do you do this without someone placing judgement?" Why is it we seem to talk ourselves out of telling people about Jesus? If you were to send me to another country, it would be much easier than the people God places around me in my everyday life. It again is my flesh is in war with my spirit. That is one of the reasons why I want to share it with you through my blog... it's less threatening. I have no idea who reads this but just maybe it impacts you to live a life for Christ. 
In 2 Corinthians 5:15  Christ died for us all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 
Once we have excepted this as truth in our lives it will change our worldly point of view. Your whole purpose of living is to transform from your own desires into what Christ desires for you.  You see we are all sinful and we need someone to save us,  our cups can never be filled with our worldly possessions and we can't carry our own burdens on our own strength... that is why God sent Jesus to save us.  This last week I had someone dear to me say " I have a beautiful house, I live in a beautiful state with great weather, I have a beautiful wife, I have a wonderful family, I have a strong stable job bringing in great income, but why does my life feel so empty... what am I missing?" You're missing GOD!! I want to SCREAM from the rooftops. Mark 8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  
Our lives mean nothing without him, Christ was sent to reconcile our relationship with God. Once you truly believe this in your heart of hearts your eyes are now open to a different kind of living.  Once you lay your life down surrendering it all completely, dying within yourself, to being built anew. 2 Corinthians 5:17  If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.  Your life is now free as you lose your control to the one that loves you the most.. let him take your life to do what's best for his kingdom. Be a true sacrifice for God's plan, he has you right where he wants you. He has given everything for his good and his purpose. Once we have committed our lives we become his ambassadors to tell others of the good news. We are in the mission field as a mom, wife, co-worker, friend, neighbor, or a stranger passing by. Let's all make an impact to people around us .. our days are numbered and our time is running out to let more and more people know about Jesus. Who in your life has God placed that you can tell about Jesus?
This is one of my favorite songs.. doesn't matter how many times I hear it.. I get goosebumps every time! 

The D.D.D. 2011

That's right the annual Daddy Daughter Dance 2011.

 Brooke has been talking about this night for an entire year. 

She picked out her dress, she really like this one because it included a headband to match.
 She kept it a surprise from Daddy in her closet until the big event.
We curled her hair and yes I put some blush and mascara on her eyes .. 
don't judge me but she can dress up for daddy all she wants...it's only once a year.
  But I did think "boy do her blue eyes pop with just

 a little makeup"
Oh no, we are going to have one knockout when she's older and of course we are never going to allow her to wear makeup until she's 25:)  
Scott gave her flowers which she was blushing when he handed them to her. 

Of course our detailed little girl noticed right away they matched her dress and thought that was so cool. 

How cute is Parker running out to give her a hug goodbye. 

We were off to have a mommy and son night.. 1st stop was the toy store .. it's the one time of year I let Parker pick out an inexpensive toy.. since Brooke gets a night out and new dress... only seems fair, right? Parker was so cute that he wanted to pick out something this year that he and Jonas could play with. 

After an hour of looking down every boy isle he picked a hot wheels toy.  

There was face painting and cotton candy

What better way to wear off the sugar high then dancing the night away. 

Brooke has some of mommy's classic moves. 

#1 rule to good dancing is always start off with no shoes.. 

arms up in the air..means you're really feeling the music and you don't know what else to do with your arms.. I usually add a snap of my fingers.

We'll see if I can teach her that for next year.  

Jumping up and down means it's the fast part to the song  

Lifting up the dress and jumping is you're going crazy and 

you don't care what anyone else is thinking 

Again move the arms.. with some deep concentration 

At last don't forget to check your makeup in between songs.

This year she did slow dance with daddy and they now have "their song" 

It came on in the car with Daddy and instantly she started blushing.. so sweet and when I hear the words I started to tear up ... just precious.. listen for yourself...    

had to take it off it wouldn't stop playing ...cinderella by steven chapman   

Again another memorable year! 


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