the anderson crew

are you the winner?

2012-01-31T07:00:00.003-05:00

first up, the winner of the awesome sponsor give-a-way is:

Christie @ Storehouse Crafts

woo hoo girl!

e-mail me so i can get you hooked up with your goods.

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i have so much to process from this weekend, and i don't have much time to write, at the moment.

so, i'll leave you with a picture of two of my nuggets...

i got the whole weekend by myself, while mr. anderson held down the fort (again).

even olive stayed behind.

oh, how i missed them though!

i promise to write about my retreat soon...it was so amazing and much needed!

sponsor give-a-way day: january

2012-01-27T05:00:00.002-05:00

COMMENTS NOW CLOSED---WINNER ANNOUNCED TOMORROW!

lucky for you all, it's sponsor give-a-way day today!

there are some fabulous items up for grabs...remember, 1 lucky person wins all the loot.

: shop : facebook :

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: shop : blog : facebook :

{use coupon code SHINE10 for 10% off of necklaces}

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: shop : blog :

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: shop : blog : facebook :

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: shop : blog : facebook :

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that's some great loot, eh?

to enter, just leave me a comment on this post!

extra entries:

(leave me a separate comment for each)

*like any of their facebook pages

*follow any of their blogs

*visit any of their shops and let me know what your favorite items are

easy peasy---enjoy.

i'm on the road to created for care and will be back sunday!

i'll post a winner on tuesday, jan. 31st.

good luck!

embrace the camera: jan. 26th

2012-01-26T07:00:00.016-05:00

before i begin, is anyone going to the created for care adoption retreat, this weekend? i'm heading there tomorrow with some great friends...i'm stoked, and really needing this weekend.

let me know if you're going to be there---i'd love to meet you!

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read all about embrace the camera here.

while in kansas this weekend, olive and i got to stay with my grandparents...

they got some good, quality time in with little miss.

so today, great grandpa is embracing the camera with olive.

i brought my camera with full intentions of using it, yet my handy i-phone is all i used.

sweet moment.

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your turn, lovelies!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera:

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button in your post.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

oh cheese. how i miss thee.

2012-01-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

i just so appreciate the sweet words of encouragement i got, regarding my post yesterday. thank you if you took the time to e-mail me, text me, or call me. it really means a lot.

i'm in a good place with my mom right now. and it feels very freeing.

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so, moving on.

it's awkward to just transition from something so deep, but here it goes.

a few weeks ago, olive broke out with this really bad face rash.

as i searched dr. google, i found out that it could have been caused by what was in my milk. either dairy, eggs, or citrus fruits could have been the culprit.

so, i took eggs and dairy out of my diet (so sad)...and lo and behold, her face started to clear up.

{seriously? how cute is my little sumo wrestler?}

ugh, i was kind of hoping dairy wasn't the issue cause i love me some cheese on my cheese...topped with butter, with a little ice cream on the side.

now i guess i'm dairy free.

and i need some help/recipes/advice.

i am hungry all.the.time. like, as hungry as a lion. or a hippo. whichever one would be the hungriest, consider that me.

i may or may not have cooked a pound of ground beef to just snack on through out the day. and it may or may not have been gone after just 2 snackings.

seriously people. i'm hungry.

so, shoot. send me some of your best non-dairy recipes. but nothing that requires 15 ingredients cause i won't even attempt those. just sayin'.

or do you know of any good websites that have a lot of dairy free recipes?

or maybe just some advice for this starving mama?

i'm all ears and waiting.

brrrrrrrrr.

2012-01-24T07:00:00.001-05:00

i'm back from my quick trip to kansas.

it never ceases to amaze me that you can wake up in one state and go to sleep in another state. another state that is 60 degrees warmer too.

brrrrr. it was cold in kansas city.

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i've debated for a long time, about whether i should write about this or not.

if you've read this blog for long, you'll know i'm pretty much an open book. but for whatever reason, this seemed so private to me.

but, it is part of my story, and this is my blog, so my feelings of "do it, do it, do it" are very strong.

so, here i go.

my mom is not doing well.

and by "not doing well" i mean she is dying.

it's so surreal for me to type that.

my 53 year old mother is dying.

it's almost harder to type that than it is to say it. almost as if typing it makes it more permanent.

the week that miss elsa came home was the same week my mom was diagnosed with this terminal disease. and then a few days after that was when i found out i was pregnant.

to say my year has been overwhelming, is an understatement.

i've never experienced the kind of mother/daughter relationship with her, that i've always longed for. i think that makes this diagnosis even harder. not only do i have to accept the reality of her leaving this earth, but i also have to accept the reality that she will never fill that mother role, that i've so desired her to fill. that's a tough place to be.

one might say this is why i have 6 kids. for as long as i can remember i have wanted to be a mom. even when i was a kid, all i wanted to do was be a mom when i grew up. that's how bad i longed for a relationship with her. i thought, if i can't get it from her, then i'll give it to my kids. not sure if that's the healthiest way of thinking, but here i am. with 6 kids.

nobody knows how much longer my mom has. maybe it's 5 years. maybe it's 5 days.

that was the reason for my trip this weekend. i felt a sudden urgency of needing to be out there. i wanted her to meet olive. i went into this weekend, praying hard that the lord would bless my time with her. that i would be able to look past all the hurt she's put me through and just love her, just as He loves her.

i can't tell you how much my time with her meant to me. it was as if i had new eyes on. i was just able to sit with her, enjoy her company. we looked through old photographs that had us laughing hysterically, then crying. it was even hard to leave her. that is something that i've never felt in her presence.

seeing her decline was and is extremely hard, but i am grateful that i got to see her.

i'm not sure i'll ever understand why the lord chose this path for our life. but i'm confident that he knows what he's doing, so, onward i go.

scrumptious olive.

2012-01-20T09:11:00.000-05:00

i realized the other day that i never got around to posting some of the other pics that miss sarah took of olive and i.

i loved them all and it was so hard to narrow them down, but i somehow managed.

i love that i have this sweet little session to remember olive when she was just about 2 weeks old. i can't even believe how much she's changed since then.

enjoy.

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speaking of olive and i...we are taking a bit of a last minute trip this weekend to kansas.

pray for us, and our flights...and of course, pray for mr. anderson as he mans the house with the troops (i have full confidence in his ability).

okay, i need to get off this computer and start packing all my winter garb...i heard it's like 30 degrees there.

barf.

embrace the camera: jan. 19th

2012-01-19T07:00:00.004-05:00

so, do you embrace the camera?

i am getting in the picture with my oldest this week.

you see, on friday, this happened:

that top tooth finally came out.

i was about to pull it out myself, while the manchild was sleeping, because it was so gnarly, all hanging there by a thread.

luckily, he lost it at school on friday, so i didn't have to deal with the drama that inevitably comes when that boy loses teeth.

i am a little sad though.

i mean, losing top teeth? that's like a passage into adulthood, right?

goodness gracious, send the boy to college, cause that's next i'm sure.

the next morning he informed us that the tooth fairy forgot to take his tooth and leave him a dollar. oooops! then he said "you can just give me a dollar and i'll give you my tooth."

sure, caedmon. that'll work.

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i took these pictures to remember his toothless smile...

side note: these pictures were taken after caedmon spent the entire afternoon sitting in our driveway with his bag packed.

he was planning on running away because i'm "the meanest mom everrrrrrrrrr". his quote exactly.

but he didn't get very far.

these pictures were taken after he decided that he liked me again.

your turn, lovelies!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

DIY: frilly cake plate

2012-01-18T07:00:00.007-05:00

y'all know my LOVE for cake plates.

i love making them. i love using them. i love looking at them. i love giving them as gifts. i just plain freaking love them. a little too much, one might say.

but i say boooo to that. one can never have enough cheap and pretty plates to display things on, mkay?

i found this totally girly and frilly ribbon at joanns the other day.

it was quite the splurge for my cheap-A, at $5.00 a yard, so i bought half a yard, knowing exactly what i wanted to use it for.

isn't it pretty?

i hot glued the ribbon around a plain white plate...

then spray painted a candlestick from the goodwill.

then used my cake plate tutorial and voila:

isn't it so pretty?

this is the worlds easiest craft. i promise.

that cupcake probably cost more than the entire craft combined. even with the fancy ribbon.

it was delish though. not gonna lie. i bought it to share with mr. anderson and i ended up eating his half too. i'm a nursing mama, what can i say?

it was my last dairy-free-for-all because i've given it up (4 days ago to be exact), due to olive having a face rash---probably caused by dairy in my milk. (but of course, no one can be sure).

when you're making your delish turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch today, put a slice of cheese on for you, and one for your homegirl, me.

*big heavy sigh*

i miss cheese.

featured sponsor--hayley morgan

2012-01-17T07:00:00.003-05:00

i so LOVE LOVE LOVE our featured sponsor post today. i can relate to so much of what hayley is saying.
enjoy her post!

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The push and pull. That everliving tension. The just enough and not too much.

That's motherhood. To me, anyway.
Recently, I enjoyed a day with my mother-in-law, my boys, and their two cousins. We went swimming in the YMCA indoor pool. Well, I should say they went swimming. My sweet mother-in-law brought her bathing suit because her grand-babies had begged her to get in last time we were here. Now, I was feeling a little guilty. Maybe I should be in the pool splashing with them rather than sitting on the deck with the baby snug in his carseat. I looked around and did a quick survey of the mothers in the pool and the mothers on the deck, it seemed to be a pretty even split. The moms of the youngest children seemed most apt to be in rather than out.

This reminded me of Sunday morning last weekend. Cooper, my charmingly unfocused and unhurried middle 3 year old, brought his daddy a bright red pair of Chuck Taylors. "Daddy, will you put these on? Mommy says she doesn't do these sneakers anymore." And, it's true. This particular pair of sneakers takes about 5 minutes to coerce on to his limp and distracted toddler feet. He wiggles while I tie and fusses if it takes too long. In other words, it's far more hassle than it is worth when it's time to head out the door. So, since he is 3 and able to get shoes on by himself--he must do that on weekdays. The Chuck Taylors are reserved for Daddy, who doesn't have to get all 3 boys out the door at once, by himself.

It feels a little bit like I am a killjoy, a lazy mom, or uninvolved. But, the truth of the matter is--I have set up mechanisms that work for our family. These tiny "rules"--or really just realities-- help our day move smoothly and enjoyably. If I know I will be expected to get in the pool each time I take them for free-swim at the Y, the fact is, we will never go to the Y. If I had to get on the red Chuck Taylors, we would never leave the house or at the very least always be late.

I think these are the sacrifices we make as mothers of very young children. They are the things that may make us "less fun", but they certainly keep us sane. Mothering little ones (and many little ones!) is exhausting, daily, and fast-paced. Having small rules or boundaries in your day can make all the difference between frazzled and more patient.

It is important to look at your day and realize what brings you stress, what makes your temperature rise, what makes your blood boil. Try to examine those moments and see how you could make it less fussy. Do you hate breakfast before school? Could you buy single serving yogurts and bananas, and have the kids serve themselves? Does the thought of walking in the parking lot with multiple kids make you crazy? Could you make it a rule that they have to sit in a cart on the way into the grocery store (we did that for a LONG time!). Do you enjoy taking them to the park, but despise packing enough for a two day expedition? Could you go in between meal times and not bring snacks?

The truth is. I don't ever carry snacks with me. You'll never find me with a stocked diaper bag. Our third baby gets a bottle and 2 diapers squished beside him in his carseat. That works for us, and allows me to get out the door with all three boys more days than not.

What little rules do you set for your family?
How do you make your days more manageable in ways that might make other moms gasp?

Hayley Morgan blogs at The Tiny Twig about living a life of more passion and less fuss. She tweets her daily adventures, along with thoughts on motherhood, creativity, faith, and life management @thetinytwig. She recently wrote an eBook called The No Brainer Wardrobe, which helps women get dressed with more confidence and less fuss.

a winner and a story.

2012-01-16T10:33:00.000-05:00

first things first. the winner of our vintage couture give-a-way is:

: joeylee :

if you're reading this and that's you, e-mail me so we can get you hooked up with your goods!

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next up, i have some really sweet friends who have been ~~harassing me~~ asking me kindly if i would share olive's birth story. i keep meaning to do it, i just haven't found the time to sit down and write it all out. so, here is the "condensed-not-too-many-TMI-details-because-my-dad-reads-this-blog" version.

i had been having off and on contractions for a few weeks...and on saturday, dec. 3rd, they were coming a bit more frequent, and a bit more intense. nothing that i was concerned for, but they were there none-the-less. but the aggravating thing was that i would think i was in labor, timing contractions and such, and then they would stop. this happened quite a few times.

so, saturday evening, i decided to mow the grass. weird, i know.

when i was pregnant with kohen, i mowed the lawn and went into labor that night.

i figured this time around, it was worth a shot.

on sunday, my contractions were doing the same thing. this time though, they were "stop-and-breathe-through-them-worthy". i figured that was a good sign.

but they were random.

i'd have 3 in an hour and then not again for 3 hours. and then 1 really hard one and then not again for 2 hours. really sporadic and random.

i wasn't entirely sure i was in labor, so about 8:00 that night i called my midwife and told her what was going on.

she thought that the baby was just dropping and shifting, causing my contractions, but she did not think i was in labor.

so, i proceeded to go to bed, and as soon as i laid down, i had 3 intense contractions that were very hard to breathe through.

i went out to the living room to tell mr. anderson and i broke down into tears.

i wasn't sure if this was labor or not...i was tired of thinking i was in labor and then it stopping...i just wanted it to be the real thing...and i kept thinking "this is my fifth baby, surely i would know."

so, i called my midwife again---asking her if i could at least come in and be checked. she told me to meet her at the birthing center in an hour. so, we packed up our bags, even though i was sure i'd probably be sent back home.

our good friend arrived to stay with our other kiddos, and we headed to the birthing center.
on our ride there (about a 45 minute drive) i only had 1 contraction. so, i continued to think that this wasn't the real thing and that we would definitely be sent home.

we arrived at the birthing center and my midwife checked me. i was dilated to a 7.

it was definitely labor.

i deliver at a birthing center, and it's as natural as it comes. i am never hooked up to anything. i am free to roam, soak in the tub, eat and drink whatever i'd like. it's nice. every hour or so, they will use the doppler to check the baby's heartbeat. and they are a stone's throw away from the hospital should any complications arise.

i delivered my first 3 babies in hospitals and with epidurals. when we were pregnant with kohen, we chose the birthing center because of financial reasons, and it turned out to be a great choice for us.

don't get me wrong though. natural birth is scary. well, birth is scary.

it's hard and it's painful and while i'm in the midst of it, all i can think about is how i want to be done with it. i don't enjoy it.

but, the outcome is so worth it.

and my recovery has been much quicker than when i had hospital/epidural births.

(and with 5 kids waiting at home, i needed a quick recovery)

so, that's why i chose natural birth. and i realize it's not for everyone, and i'm most definitely not judging or thinking that my way is best. it's just what works for me.

so, after i had soaked in the tub for about 30 minutes, i had 1 contraction where i felt like i had to push, so i got out, dried off and proceeded to the bed.

turns out, i was not quite ready to push.

so for the next 2 hours i labored, leaning on mr. anderson for every bit of support that i needed. i'm pretty sure i could have broken the bones in his hands---that's how hard i was squeezing.

i get to this point in labor where all i can think about is being done.

after every contraction i ask my midwife "how many more?" "when can i push?" "how much longer?"

of course she doesn't have those answers, but i still ask them. i am a "tell me now and how" type of person. i just wanted to know how much longer i was to expect this pain.

about 2:00 (in the morning) it was time to push.

after a few pushes and screaming cuss words that i shall never have the nerve to say again, little olive was born.

i delivered her on a beautiful, victorian, king-sized bed...with a norah jones CD playing in the background...lights dimmed...mr. anderson by my side. he got to be the one to tell me that she was a girl.

i burst into tears. i couldn't believe that the lord would give us another girl...and yet, there she was.

all 7 lbs, 14 ozs. of her.
(i'm convinced 4 of those pounds were in her cheeks).

we got to spend the next 5 hours or so, sleeping in that big bed (well, mr. anderson slept, i pretty much just laid there and stared at our beautiful new creation)

around noon, less than 12 hours after she was born, we packed up and went home to the troops, where they proceeded to squeal with delight that we had a baby girl to add to the mix.

so, that's about it---the condensed version.
and see---that mowing the lawn thing turned out to be a labor starter, again!
i'm sure my neighbors think i'm crazy. or better yet, they think mr. anderson is crazy for letting me mow the lawn.

oh little olive. we're so glad you're an anderson.

{all photos were from my instagram feed. you can find me over there as "theandersoncrew"}

sunday love, sponsor style.

2012-01-15T07:00:00.001-05:00

take a minute to visit our lovely sponsors this month, would you?

some of them are offering some great coupon codes too, so you can get your shop on.

enjoy :)

-use coupon code "andersoncrew" for 50% off the first 10 downloads-

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-use coupon code "NewYearNewBlog" for 15% off a custom blog design package-

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-use coupon code "Shine10" for 10% off necklaces-

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-use coupon code "Anderson10" for 10% off ready made items-

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proud of my girl.

2012-01-13T07:00:00.002-05:00

my sweet daughter has been growing her hair out for the last year or so. when she was in preschool last year, her friend cut her hair and gave it to locks of love, and i asked hadley if she wanted to do the same.

she said yes, so we've been growing her hair out ever since.

every time she says she wants a haircut, i have to remind her of why she's growing it out.

when we measured last night, we realized it had met the 10-inch minimum requirement!

so this afternoon, we chopped it off!

before and after:

the initial reaction was shock, followed by lots of tears:

even right before i cut it i asked her (for the millionth time) if she was really ready to cut it and she kept saying yes.

i know how sensitive she is, and i knew it would be quite the shocker for her. that is a lot of hair she chopped off.

after a while (and a bath) she finally started getting used to her haircut. she carried a mirror around with her all afternoon to keep looking at it.

i have to say, she looks pretty darn cute.

i even heard elsa tell hadley that she looked beautiful.

and elsa was right.

{her hair is not uneven---she got lucky and got the one-sided-hair-flip, courtesy of her mama}

i'm so proud of her!

today is show-and-tell day at school and she brought her hair.

she's excited.

embrace the camera: jan. 12th

2012-01-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

not a lot of words, just embracing with 2 of my sweet, little chicks today.

taken after our fun photo shoot.

are you new to embrace the camera?

check out what it's about here and then join us!

okay, so let's get down to the nitty gritty:

1. take a picture with YOURSELF included in it, and then post it on your blog.

2. link your blog post up on the linky tool below.

3. visit each other and leave lots of love. it's not easy to be in front of the camera, so bravo to all of you who embrace each week!

have fun!

valentine's day DIY

2012-01-11T08:23:00.000-05:00

i posted about these mailboxes last year around valentines day.

that particular post has been blowing up all over the intranet these last few weeks...it's the easiest DIY ever, and it's super cute, so i wanted to re-post it, to give you a jump start on valentine's day.

also, i saw these mailboxes at the target dollar section yesterday---they even had turquoise---go get them now!

supplies:

mailboxes (mine were found in the target dollar section)

candlesticks (mine were found at the goodwill, then i spray painted them black)

a letter to monogram the mailbox

gorilla glue

you make these bad boys, just like you would make a cake stand.

after the candlestick is fully done drying (if you spray painted it) then glue it to your mailbox.

let sit for 24 hours.

add your letters and voila!

you've got mail...boxes.

the week of valentine's day, i put little love notes and treats in these, for the kids.

it's the easiest DIY ever and i promise your kiddos (or significant other!) will love these.

happy crafting!

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and lastly, enjoy some instagram pics from this week.

i have become one of those people. you know, the people who only take pictures with their iPhone now.

yah, that's me.

date night, holla!

and i got some new frames---from coastal.com.

i totally feel like a librarian now.

getting our teeth cleaned.

she is obviously thrilled about it.

sisters. CHEEKS!

i could eat those scrumptious cheeks.

i love this kid.

and i got a new haircut.

yes ma'am.

and lastly, hadley had time with daddy the other night.

he gave her a pedicure.

such a good daddy he is.

sister sister.

2012-01-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

i can't say the title of my blog post without saying it tia and tamara style, "sister, sister!"
remember that show? i know you do jami and hannah.

*comments now closed*

moving on...
i've been wanting to do "sister" shots for quite some time now...but it's amazing how having a baby makes you unable to do anything but eat chocolate and care for a newborn.
and sometimes brush your teeth, but that's a rare one.

well, vintage couture contacted me to see if i'd be interested in reviewing some of their clothes---i thought, "this will be the perfect chance to get some sister shots".
and so i did.

work it girl.

gawl, my girls are cute.

olive couldn't join us cause she was busy pooping her pants.

hadley and elsa's outfits can be found here, here and here.

i loved these clothes, and more importantly, my girls did too. they are all about matching everything, including jammers so they were stoked.

so listen up, vintage couture wants to give away, to one lucky reader, an outfit of their choice.

to enter:

head over to their shop and then leave me a comment, telling me what outfit you would pick.

extra entry:

like vintage couture on facebook.

okay lovelies, i'll draw a winner later this week.

featured sponsor: casey

2012-01-09T07:00:00.001-05:00

one of our featured sponsors this month is casey, from the wiegands...she's talking about love languages today...something that is important in our family as well. enjoy her post!

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Love languages are such an amazing thing!

When Chris and I were dating he gave me the book and I thought it was so incredible- You can be pouring a love language into someone...but if that is not how they receive love, then they wind up feeling unloved. You can actually take the test here without actually reading the book.

My love language is physical touch (it's different when it comes to friends). And Chris' is quality time.

Generally you give the love language that you want to receive, so giving kisses/snuggles is easy for me....where as some of the others I have to make more of a point to give out.

Then when it comes to our babies (I know A & A's will change many times, but for now...) Aiden's is quality time and Ains is physical touch...isn't that too funny...just like us!

Ains wants to be held, snuggled, touched constantly.

Aiden does too, but more important than that he craves quality time.

He wants that one on one...sit on the carpet and play for hours time.

He wants us all to sit down as a family for each and every meal.

He wants the good stuff :).

I love knowing how to meet their little needs.

I always call it at our house "keeping everyone's tanks full"... As a wife and mama, I think it's my job to make sure everyone's tanks are full... my boys need that quality time and my little bits needs to be held.

Sometimes if Aiden starts to act out, I will stop and think "is his tank full? is what I am doing more important than that?"

These babies are my number one priority.

Even though I "work" from home...make sure that never interferes with them is a constant thing I have to check.

Sometime friends feel neglected.

Sometimes commissions have to wait.

Sometimes emails go unanswered.

Because their tanks are number one right now.

Chris too.

Making sure his tank is full even before the kiddos is also a constant thing that I have to check.

A beautiful gift that we can give to our kiddos is a healthy marriage.

Love languages, I would love to hear about yours!

*comments turned off so you can visit her blog and leave some love*

happy birthday, mr. anderson

2012-01-06T08:56:00.000-05:00

32 years ago, mr. anderson decided to grace the world with his presence.

and we are so glad he did.

the kids and i made a little birthday video...scroll down to the end of my page to turn my music down and then enjoy!

happy birthday daddy!

embrace the camera: january 5th

2012-01-05T07:00:00.002-05:00

it's the first embrace of the year!

who better to embrace with than...olive.

i know, i know, it's been olive central around here lately. i told myself i would pick another kid to embrace with this week, but then i realized that today is miss olive's 1 month birthday. i couldn't not share photos, right?

right.

so, here she is, in all her 1 month gloriousness:

favorite things at 1 month include:

lots of eating, sleeping, pooping and crying.

her particular favorite is to blow through every outfit i put on her. thank you rocket poops.

and in case you couldn't tell by the chub that is gracing her body, sister loves to eat too.

here's some fabulous outtakes from our 3 minute photo session:

alright, and now to my embrace photos:

she is a snuggler.

okay, so now it's your turn!

have you embraced the camera yet?

it's easy---just turn the camera around on yourself and get in the picture...regardless of how we look or feel...our family wants us to be a part of the pictures, promise!

1. take a photo of yourself with your child/spouse/family member/friend.

2. post it on your blog

3. link up with us on the linky tool below

easy! and don't forget to visit each other :)

happy embracing!

goals, words, resolutions, oh my.

2012-01-04T07:00:00.005-05:00

i'm not big into making goals when it comes to the new year.

i used to pick "a word" for the year, but i don't particularly like doing that anymore either.

resolutions always fail a few weeks into the year, so forget about those.

instead, i thought about how i could try to make every aspect of my life better...and for me, that was to be more intentional.

more intentional in my marriage...parenting...eating choices...my actions...words i say...ways i treat my friends...the list could go on and on.

so, the first thing i needed to do to be more intentional in my life?

delete my personal facebook page.

(i will still have our blog facebook page)

this was something i've been thinking about doing for a long time. i've spent way to many hours of my life reading about people that i hardly know and what they are cooking for dinner, where they are shopping and what they are buying at starbucks.

we are more connected to everyone in our life these days, but yet, i've never felt so disconnected.

rather than picking up the phone to call a friend, i would just check in on facebook.

that is not being intentional.

i want to hear friends voices...i want to see them in person...i want to mail a real letter or card.

and how many things in my real life did i miss because i was burying my face in my phone/iPad/computer, checking on other people and their lives?

so, after much thought...and lots of going back and forth...deleting facebook just became the right option for me.

so, this week is my last week---i'm transitioning to just my blog facebook page. i realize the importance of facebook when it comes to social networking, and i've been trying to be a better communicator when it comes to you all, the readers, thus the reason for having a blog facebook page. i can communicate right there with you.

i learned from this girl how to run just a page and not have to deal with your personal page, so i'm on it.

sidenote: please know that i respect you if you have a facebook page...i'm not judging. i will still have our facebook page for our blog, and i understand the importance of having a page for some---some people have family in other countries, etc. and it's their only communication. in fact that is one of the reasons why i hadn't deleted my account yet. my sister has been in europe, studying abroad and it was our only form of communication for the past few months. so i get it.

no judgement here. promise!

let's end on a happy note, shall we?

cute picture of hadley bean, commence.

a new year, a new adventure.

2012-01-03T07:00:00.016-05:00

i can still remember new years eve, 1999...sitting in my best friends basement, with all of our good friends...watching the ball drop, and wondering if Y2K was really going to happen.

our friends thought it was---hilariously, her parents had a closet full of canned goods and everything you would need to survive, should the world choose to blow up when the clock struck midnight.

and then the ball dropped and nothing happened.

talk about a letdown.

i'm sure they are still eating that canned food.

and now here we are...12 years later.

12 years.

so much has happened since that letdown of a night.

2001 - started following christ

2002 - met my mr. anderson

2003 - became mrs. anderson

2004 - caedmon was born, moved for the 1st time

2005 - hadley was born, moved for the 2nd time

2006 - got prego with milo

2007 - milo was born

2008 - moved from kansas to orlando

2009 - moved yet again, bought our first home, kohen was born

2010 - started the adoption process

2011 - elsa comes home from africa, olive is born

and now, 2012...our adventure continues.

mr. anderson has gotten a fabulous job...in dallas.

yup, we are moving.

(raise your hand if you live in texas!)

this decision was not thought about lightly, and in the end, we both agreed that this was where the lord was leading our family.

it's a hard thought, to pull your kids away from their friends and the life they know and love.

when we moved here in 2008, they were too little to understand the life-changing aspects of a move. now that they are older, and are in school, it's a much bigger deal.

hadley actually sobbed when we told her (break my heart - the girl is SO sensitive).

milo was just concerned whether or not we would have food to eat while we drive there (after he found out the drive would be a long one).

so, we will be staying in orlando until the end of the school year, then it's back to the midwest.

i couldn't be more stoked, as it's driving distance from my hometown!

and the town we are moving to is supposed to be very family friendly...and well, we have quite the family.

so, we will spend the next 5 months slowly packing things away...trying to sell our house...making sure to do all of the things that we "must do while living in florida."

i know the time will go fast...and i'm good with that.

our lives are about to change again...but i wonder, do our lives ever stop changing?

looking back on my last 12 years, i would say that change is inevitable...and if you let it be, it's also good.

lots of random this and thats.

2011-12-30T07:00:00.003-05:00

the winner of the sponsor day give-a-way is:

lizzie - the dancing toad blog

holla, lizzie! e-mail me to claim your loot :)

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this year, i told mr. anderson that all i wanted for christmas was to spend a day shopping with him (and only him---well, and maybe olive).

i felt really overwhelmed with trying to think of something that i wanted/needed...and i felt even more overwhelmed with trying to think of something to get mr. anderson for christmas.

i have it hard because his birthday is next week too.

so, i thought we decided on spending a day with each other, picking out some new clothes and maybe doing a little thrift store shopping.

little did i know that mr. anderson decided to really surprise me---and he got me an iPhone.

i had been wanting one (or any smart phone, really) for quite a while, but i was not expecting it at all.

so now, i'm quite obsessed with my phone...it's amazing all that you can do on it.

my #1 obsession? instagram.

a friend gave me her old iPhone a while back, and i've been using that to check my email whilst at home, but i couldn't fully use it because it wasn't my cell phone provider...so, i signed up for instagram a while ago, but wasn't using it to it's full amazing-ness.

now i am!

i'm "theandersoncrew" on there, if you'd like to follow.

---------------

moving on---olive turned 3 weeks old on monday.

sister is cute...but starting to get a voice.

i s'pose it was bound to happen sooner or later.

you need a voice to compete in this house.

the totally awesome sleep sack c/o: minimalist knitter

---------------

and last but certainly not least, i got pictures of all the littles on christmas eve.

the men:

and the ladies:

and all together:

please note, kohen's face in that picture.

classic.

{bow ties from here}

we will see y'all in 2012.

happy new year!

embrace the camera: dec. 29th

2011-12-29T08:41:00.000-05:00

i love this picture idea i found on pinterest, via this link.

the belly pic was actually taken the day i went into labor with sweet olive.

and then she is about a week old in the after picture.

bicycle shirt c/o: dandelion dream on etsy

they are making unique shirts to help support their adoption.

shop : blog

---------------

okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

sponsor give-a-way day: december!

2011-12-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

it's the last sponsor day of 2011!

one person will win all of the loot...

if you are interested in sponsoring us in 2012, check out our sponsorship page and shoot me an email :)

now, on to the goods...

blog : shop : facebook

---------------

give-a-way: large AD space

blog : facebook

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shop : facebook

---------------

give-a-way: large AD space

blog : facebook

---------------

you need some milk, sweet baby jesus?

2011-12-23T07:00:00.003-05:00

remember our advent calendar?

i am happy to say that there are only a few more days left of activities.

it's been fun---and a good way to count down, but let me say...i'm exhausted.

and there have been a few days where i've had to postpone the activity until the next day and i get all sorts of drama from a certain 7 year old.

"but mooooooooom. you said yesterday we would do this today and then you said today we would do it tonight and now you're saying tomorrowwwww?"

and to that i respond with:

"be quiet, caedmon...i really don't need to hear about what a horrible mom i am right now, mkay? i'm sleep deprived. we will decorate christmas cookies when i say we will."

hmmmmph.

and for the record here, while i'm having said conversation with said 7 year old, i am also nursing a baby, changing a 2 year olds' diaper, and stirring the noodles for dinner...all at the same time.

i'm a master at multi-tasking not a superhero, you hear?

moving on.

we did make rice krispie treats the other day.

enjoy photos from that glorious event.

---------------

another activity on the advent calendar was having the kids put on a play for mommy and daddy. they had to act out the christmas story.

they spent their entire rest time deciding who was to play who, costumes, songs, etc.

milo was baby jesus, kohen was the donkey who carried mary.

hadley, elsa and caedmon were all the other 20 characters.

at one point, the 3 bigs were singing a song, and i look over to see kohen with his shirt way up, leaning over milo.

he was trying to breastfeed baby jesus.

lovely.

happy weekend and merry christmas!

embrace the camera: dec. 22nd

2011-12-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

moments with our kids are fleeting...they grow up so fast.

it's hard for me to grasp this, on a daily basis...especially when i'm totally stressed out, annoyed with every person under 4 feet tall in this house (and sometimes a certain mr. too), sleep deprived...etc.

i am thankful i have pictures that remind me of sweeter moments.

moments when i wasn't momzilla, but just enjoying my sweet babies.

sarah bray took some photos of miss olive and i...olive is OUR LAST BABY (hear that God?) and i want to remember everything about her at this age...

here is a small sneak of the pictures...i will have a photo heavy post later, showing a bunch more--they are so sweet.

i just love this peanut.

---------------

okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera---PLEASE READ:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

florida decembers and some other stuff.

2011-12-21T07:00:00.006-05:00

we live in a place where our winters usually consist of shorts and tank tops.

we do get a few weeks of cold weather (and by cold, i mean 50's)---and we definitely pull our winter coats out for that.

but here it is, the week before christmas, and the highs this week are in the 80's.

i do miss the snow that i experienced my whole life, growing up in kansas...but it's nice to be able to spend time outside...especially when your kids have been cooped up and you think you might go bald from pulling all your flippin' hair out if you stay inside for another minute.

so, anywho...we like to spend a lot of time outdoors during this nice weather (cause come summertime, we aren't setting foot outside).

milo and his NASCAR hair-do.

even olive got in on the outdoor action. just chillin' in her daddy's lap.

sister is so good...she sleeps all.the.time.

one might ask, "how can you sleep when there is SO MUCH CHAOS going on around you?"

who knows? but she rocks it.

actually, she might have the right idea.

i'd love to sleep through some of the chaos.

we love the outside.

------------

i wanted to introduce one of our new sponsors this month:

mavuno market.

i love what they are about, and i'm sure you will too...

Mavuno Market is combating poverty and changing lives by helping lift families out of poverty, one purchase at a time.

i was thrilled to receive a fun and funky bracelet from them.

i'm normally not a bracelet kind of person, because i have the worlds smallest wrists...but this one fits perfectly!

this bracelet was handmade by the apparent project artisans:

Apparent Project artisans hand roll paper beads out of cereal boxes, magazines and other paper products. These beads are combined with glass and ceramic beads to create unique pieces of jewelry.

The Apparent Project currently has over 150 Haitians making beads and designing their own jewelry. With their earnings, they have been able to move out of their tents into small houses. They have been able to provide food for their families, and schooling for their children.

fits perfectly!

and i love an accessory, especially for a good cause.

check mavuno market out!

---------------

olive turned 2 weeks old on monday...and she is gaining weight like a champ.

7lbs, 14oz at birth...and now she is weighing 9lbs, 4oz.

my little chunk.

mama must be making cream.

and it doesn't hurt that she loves to eat...she's a girl after my own heart.

okay, and one last thing...i need some suggestions on the name of my blog, now that i have 3 little ladies.

what do you think?

3 boys and 3 little ladies?

or should i change it completely?

give me your thoughts.

success.

2011-12-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

a picture of all 6 of them...

finally.

and yes, olive is on the verge of crying, but we'll just pretend she's smiling.

and let's be honest here.

this is the only way i was able to get a picture of all of them smiling and looking.

i promised them "jump and wrestle on the bed" time.

plus a sweet treat.

milo doesn't respond unless it's got chocolate in the reward.

or joey logano.

and i couldn't get joey to come by.

don't worry.

olive is NOT under that pile of kids there.

i'm pretty sure olive is praying in that picture---lord help me....i have a lot of crazy brothers and sisters.

this is my life now.

6 kids.

6 kids!

made with love: DIY fingerless gloves

2011-12-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

this is our last week for made with love--i hope you've enjoyed all the fun and cute gifts that have been shown! thanks to all my fabulous friends who contributed :)
last but not least is miss chelsea...she is a friend in real life...super sweet, super crafty...just an all around awesome person.
enjoy her fabulous tutorial!

---------------
Hello! So happy to be here today as a guest on emily's fabulous blog!
I'm Chelsea and I blog over at skc At Home.
I have a confession to make before we begin...
This is my very first tutorial.
What?? Totally serious.
So thank you em for asking me to do this, forcing me to overcome my fear. ;)
It needed to be done.
Moving on!

I absolutely love handmade gifts and try to do as many as I can for Christmas each year.
Especially for all the women in my life - they seem to appreciate the effort the most. :)
So this is what I have for you today...

Fingerless gloves!

They're everywhere right now and the perfect accessory for the chilly winter weather

but what better gift to give than ones that have been personalized and embellished by YOU! :)

So let's begin.

Here's what you'll need:

1) some cheap gloves

I found these at Wal-Mart for $1.40

(hence the $1.40 tag still attached for your viewing pleasure).

Just make sure they have long enough arms to add your embellishments! :)

2) a needle & matching thread

3) scissors

4) embellishments of your choice

Now you have a couple of options.

You can cut off just the tips of all the fingers

- or-

the entire 4-finger section, leaving 1 big hole.

Then fold the rough edges inside the glove about 1/4" and stitch.

If you are going to do each finger individually, I would recommend using elastic thread.

Unless you want you're loved ones fingers to lose circulation and fall off.

Once all the rough edges are finished the real fun begins!

Now you can embellish any way you choose!

Use scraps of fabric to make flowers or ruffles

or use beads, ribbon, buttons - anything you have lying around!

Here are a few ideas to spark your creative juices:

Some hints:

* I would recommend stitching on embellishments

but I know SOME OF YOU have a love affair with your hot glue gun

so that is a no-sew option

* for fabric bows I used the tutorial from this series - click here

* for yarn pom poms I found a super easy tutorial - click here

* ruffles can be made by cutting a strip of fabric,

sewing a loose stitch all the way down the middle

and pulling one thread to gathering the fabric

* I would recommend elastic thread for ribbon, ruffles, anything that you're
going to wrap around the whole glove

Fun right!?
I love that the possibilities are endless
and you can really have fun making these you're own!

Thanks again, Em, for having me!
Merry Christmas everyone!
6 days & counting... :)

---------------

thanks chelsea!
here are the previous made with love projects:
DIY painted plates
DIY mason jars
DIY fabric flower pins and felt bows
DIY felt cupcakes
DIY star wars paper characters

featured sponsor december: living in yellow

2011-12-16T07:00:00.003-05:00

today i have erin from living in yellow writing...she is our featured sponsor this month.
if you don't read her blog, you should. you will laugh and laugh and then laugh some more.
and if you are interested in sponsoring our blog, check out our sponsor page then shoot me an email!

---------------
Well hello there lovelies.

My name is Erin and I am the fingers behind Living In Yellow.

I have a husband whom I have spent over 1/3 of my life with.

Miraculously, I still adore him.

Together we look like this:

I also have given birth to one child.

She came out black and had way more fur than I expected.

She also barked instead of cried, so that was weird.

Anyhow, Maggie is her name.

She is pretty cute so we decided to keep her.

I could keep going, but instead I'll allow you to click here to learn more about me.

Let me just be honest here for a second-

Guest posts are awkward.

For starters, I am taking up somebody else's blog to write a post to readers that I do not know.

And I know that when you clicked on Emily's fabulous blog, you were hoping to hear from her.

Because after all, she is fabulous.

But instead, you see it's somebody else {in this case, me}

trying to win your hearts over and hope that you will think I am at least half as cool as Emily.

So first off, my apologies that you have to hear me ramble on.

Maybe by the end of this you will think

"You know what, for a guest post..I guess it wasn't all that bad"

....And now I just set really high expectations for myself.

Speaking of high expectations, I just learned the whole first three verses to Nicki Minaj's Super Bass.

Impressed?

Me too.

Anyhow--I thought and thought about what I should write about today.

I first came up with "Well, I could do a giveaway..."

But then I quickly remembered, I have nothing to give away.

I am not crafty.

Nor do I have a husband who is down with my spendin' our money on items just to give away in

Blogging world.

So scratch that idea.

Then I thought I could share with you all my "Blogging Lessons Learned"

But why would you want to take Blogging lessons from somebody you've never met before?

That's risky business y'all.

Last but not least, I thought heck..if all else fails, share a recipe.

And then I quickly remembered how boring recipe posts are to me.

I mean sure it looks fantastic, but the chances of me actually making it are slim to none.

More so, none.

Unless it is macaroni and cheese.

In which case, I will make it.
The same day.

Obsessed is an understatement.

So here is what I came up with-

You should probably just come over here and read my own words on my own blog.

There are all sorts of fascinating topics that will hopefully tickle your fancy.

Like for instance, how I keep my bowel movements regular,

how to dominate your next family function,

and all the inside scoop all about my secret love affair.

True story.

Can't wait to see you on the other side....

Peace Out.

*comments turned off so you can leave erin some love on her blog*

embrace the camera: dec. 15th

2011-12-15T07:00:00.002-05:00

embrace the camera.

it's about documenting memories within your family.

looking back, don't you want to be a part of your families memories? regardless of what you look like, or how you're feeling. they won't care about that. they will only care that you are actually in photos. once you're gone, what will your family have to remember you by?

we are embracing with olive this week.

i want to remember these sweet moments.

those squishy cheeks, kissable lips, snuggle time, the squeaky noises she makes, late night breastfeeding (when i know i need to be sleeping, but rocking her is just too precious)...i want to remember these first, precious moments we have with her...our daughter, that we never expected to have.

{i could just eat her}

{passed out on daddy's shoulder}

---------------

okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera---PLEASE READ:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

teacher gifts and christmas traditions.

2011-12-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

okay, so i pretty much suck when it comes to teacher gifts...i always have these great, elaborate plans, but then i do things like, have a baby, and my plans go out the window.

i pre-planned my teacher gifts this year, since i knew if i didn't, they would end up getting an orange or something else lame.

i have a lot of teachers to buy for---each kiddo has 2 each, plus teacher aides. i ended up having 11 gifts i needed to get.

they needed to be easy.

i found this idea on pinterest, via this site.

it was so super easy---and super cute.

inside each cup is a starbucks gift card.

when i bought the gift cards, i just asked for the same amount of small cups with lids.

then i made some tags, and voila.

easiest gift ever.

{these containers have their favorite chocolate in them}

look, our teachers deal with A LOT.

they deserve a little somethin' somethin'.

not only are my kids a handful, they are dealing with everyone else's kids.

i get all sweaty and stressed just walking into their classrooms.

bravo to you teachers...ya'll are the best.

---------------

up next...

a few of our favorite christmas traditions.

the first one is my favorite and it involves the presents.

tradition #1:

each little person gets their own wrapping paper---none of the gifts are marked, and in order to know which gifts are theirs, they have to find a tiny piece of their wrapping paper in the bottom of their stocking.

it's a little last minute excitement, as they see the gifts, but don't know which belongs to who :)

the front gifts are from us---the 193,000 other gifts are from family.

there are a ton of gifts under there, i realize---keep in mind we have a large family.

since moving here, christmas morning has been over the top, because relatives send their gifts, and we wait till christmas morning to open them.

tradition #2:

each kiddo gets 3 gifts (from us): a WANT, a NEED and a SURPRISE.

we've done this every year since caedmon was born, and i really like the idea of it. it keeps christmas simple for us, and works for now. i imagine things might change one day when they start asking for more expensive items.

tradition #3:

christmas eve---we all open christmas jammies that have already been washed and are ready to put on. after jammies, the kids get another present which involves books. so, not only do they get the 3 gifts on christmas morning, but on christmas eve they also get something to WEAR and something to READ.

the kids know they are getting these 2 gifts and look forward to them all day.

this year, after church service that evening we added a new tradition of eating

ice cream sundaes

and drinking hot chocolate...all in our new jammers...when we were finished we watched a short christmas movie, then read our books, then off to bed!

christmas morning we usually have a big breakfast of french toast or pancakes...and we spend the day playing with our new toys and taking naps.

mr. anderson and i decided (the first year caedmon was born) that no matter where we lived, we would always stay home for christmas. i like that we made that decision, but it does make christmas a little sad, not being around family.

i enjoy making traditions with my husband and children, but i do miss friends and family.

at this point, traveling with all of the littles at christmas time, dragging gifts to and from, it just all sounds too complicated, so for now we stay home :)

i hope my kids remember the things we do for a lifetime...and that it helps them to understand the importance of establishing traditions with their own family.

do you have any family traditions?

1 week old.

2011-12-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

has a week really gone by?

it's hard to believe that little olive was in my belly, just a mere 8 days ago...and now, it feels like she's always been part of this family.

like, i just can't imagine her not being here.

i know i'm her mom, but goodness...i am in love with this peanut!

this quick and mini photo sesh was cut short by lots of grunting and then this:

a poop out explosion.

i promise you, none of my babies have ever been able to keep poop in their pants.

what's up with that?

good thing she's cute.

made with love: DIY paper star wars characters

2011-12-12T07:00:00.001-05:00

i absolutely adore my guest poster today---

miss ashley from under the sycamore.

if only we lived closer, i would be at her house everyday, drinking coffee while our 10 children (combined) ran around and acted crazy. well, now that i think about it, she probably wouldn't enjoy that everyday...or would she?

if you are a mama of boys, you will love this awesome gift today...enjoy!

---------------

Congratulations Andersons on the arrival of sweet Olive - she's awesome!

I started following Emily's blog when she was the mom of a daughter and two boys. Then she welcomed her third son. We were on common ground...both relishing the craziness of 3 boys and a daughter. Well, now she's got an even gendered house and I am a bit behind. Though I only have one daughter, I can say it is so much easier for me to create handmade gifts for her than it is for her brothers. Boys are just hard when it comes to handmade.

Little boys, however, are a bit easier to go handmade, things like hands-on felt books or stuffed toys work great. However, older boys...well if they are anything like mine, all they want is Legos or Star Wars. So this gift has my boys in mind. It doesn't involve near as much time or cuteness as previous Made With Love ideas, but it passed the approval of my boys.

Easiest gift ever. Ready for it?

What?

Paper Star Wars characters?

I was tipped off to the blog Toy A Day

(http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/) on my facebook wall. The blog features paper toys you can simply download and print...wonderful.

What to include in your gift:

Printed paper toys

Kid friendly scissors

Tape (to reinforce things for rough play)

I printed the toys on card stock. My boys were very particular that there can only be one of each character, but lots of storm troopers. I would recommend printing off several to create a good stack for your gift.

Here's the links to the Star Wars Characters

Darth Vader - http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/2009/11/day-117-darth-vader.html
C-3PO - http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/2008/12/day-85-c-3po.html
Boba Fett - http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/2008/05/day-8-boba-fett.html
Yoda - http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/2008/10/day-73-yoda.html
Storm Trooper - http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/2008/12/day-84-stormtrooper.html
R2-D2 - http://toy-a-day.blogspot.com/2008/06/day-16-r2-d2.html

I made this gift with lots of love...downloaded them to my computer with love, printed them off with love, stacked them in a pile with love, tied it all up with baker's twine with love. Lots of love, very little work. Lots of happy boys.

These would be great as a gift to send distant friends or even on a kid's table at Christmas to occupy semi-little hands. Our little characters are now hanging from branches on the Christmas tree, that was after lots of play.

Thanks for having me Emily...keep those sweet pictures of Olive coming!

---------------

thanks so much ashley! i seriously LOVED this gift :)

here are links from the previous made with love gifts:

DIY felt cupcakes

DIY mason jars

DIY fabric flower pins and felt bows

DIY painted plates

olive you.

2011-12-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

we are so in love.

olive is just too sweet for words.

i'm still having a hard time believing that the Lord has given us another daughter.

who knew we would go from 1 girl, to 3 girls in less than a year?

phew, 2011 has been eventful!

happy weekend to you :)

welcome to the world...

2011-12-06T08:22:00.000-05:00

sweet, little

Olive Hazel

entered our world yesterday.

she was born at 2:30 in the morning, weighing in at 7 lbs. 14 oz.

all is well in the anderson house---just trying to get caught up on sleep.

we'll be back soon!

thanks for praying for us and our sweet new girl!

made with love: DIY felt cupcakes

2011-12-05T07:00:00.003-05:00

my sweet IRL friend (in real life, for those of you who are not down with the internet lingo), amy, is over here today...showing you how to make the most adorable felt cupcakes EVER.

seriously, enjoy.

---------------

Ello governors'.

When Em asked if I could jump on board for her Made with Love jig, I knew

right away what I wanted to make.

See, back in October my daughter, Buggie, had a school dealio where she had

to dress as a literary character for a book parade.

And to my chagrin she choose Pinkalicious.

Truth time, I despise Pinkalicious. I think she is a little brat.

But I digress.

I needed to make her cupcakes for her outfit and in doing so, came up with a super easy and cute little cupcake. Perfect handmade pressie for little kiddies who enjoy playing tea or kitchen.

She did nail it.

Here is what you will need to make a 4 pack of felt cupcakes:

- felt in two colors {for the bases you will use about 1/4 of felt and for the icing one sheet}

- embroidery thread in two colors

-embroidery needle

-stuffing {if your house is like mine, there is always an extra stuffed animal around ready for a craft sacrifice}

- paper cupcake liner

- sequins

- hot glue gun

Ok so there is a group of pics I totally forgot to take, oops.
Take your paper cupcake liner, flip it top down and trace 4 tops.
Then cut down the side and cut the bottom off.
Then trace those two pieces 4 times.

Now to stitching all together. I used the blanket stitch. Super easy and super cute.

step 1:

About a 1/4 inch down from the edge of the long side piece, stick your needle through sideways and pull through to your knot.

step 2:

Then on the top piece stick the needle through. DO NOT pull through.

step 3:

Loop your needle under the thread between the two pieces, then pull through.

step 4:
Then pinch the two pieces together and stick the needle through both pieces. DO NOT pull through.

step 5:

Stick the needle under under the loop you just made and then pull through.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 all the way around, then tie off.

Now you will most likely have some extra on the long side to cut off. Then stitch up the seam, with a basic stitch.

Then stuff the cupcake, you want more in there then you think. So keep stuffing.

No sagging cuppies here.

Then do the blanket stitch on the bottom piece, but before closing make sure you cupcake is nice and full with stuffing.

Then for the icing.
Take the other color felt cut 2 strips long ways 1/4 of an inch wide.
Then with your glue gun start glue them down. I use two strips of felt to make a tall topping of icing.

And every cupcake needs sprinkles, so with the hot glue gun, go to town adding your sequins on top. {side note in the pic above of Buggie, you might have noticed I added cherries. To make those I just took a red pom pom ball and hot glued a piece of green ric rac to the top for the stem}

Once you are done you will have the perfect little addition for an afternoon tea party.

And to give them as a sweet little pressie for Christmas, I purchased a cupcake box.

Serious cuteness people.

With a pretty bow on top, these are ready to go out to Buggie's friend for Christmas.

So there it is.

A simply sweet handmade gift.

Thanks Em for having me!

---------------
thanks amy!
here are links to the previous made with love projects:
DIY cute mason jars
DIY fabric flower pins and felt bows
DIY painted plates

cheeeese.

2011-12-02T08:57:00.000-05:00

if you've read my blog for a while, you will know that all of my kids have gone through this crazy smile stage.

milo rocked it, for sure.

and now kohen is rocking it, even better i dare say.

he makes us laugh with his seriously awesome faces.

this next one reminds me of chris kattan from saturday night live (night at the roxbury).

what is this face?

i love how milo is cracking up in the background.

can someone say braces?

hope your weekend makes you smile crazy.

embrace the camera: dec. 1st

2011-12-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

holy freaking moley, it's december 1st.

what.the.heck?!

time flies when you are busy changing diapers, wiping butts and noses, cooking dinner, doing laundry, sweeping 100 times a day, driving kids back and forth to school...you know, all the fun things :)

i'm embracing with kohen this week, and i'm curious...do you think we look alike?

people tell me that we do, but i just don't see it.

thoughts?

{he looks a bit stoned in the first picture, i assure you, he's not}

still waiting for baby A.

come on little one---this would be a great day to be born!

---------------

okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera---PLEASE READ:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

turkeys that look like chickens. this is my life.

2011-11-30T07:00:00.003-05:00

the kids had fall break last week...

(i'm convinced fall break was thought up by someone who does not have children. "yah, let's have a week of school off, go back for 15 days and then get 3 weeks off! that would be fun!" yah, not so much when your kids are driving you crazy and you're 9 months pregnant).

anywho, i digress.

i tried to a do a couple fun things with the kids...trying to inspire a little turkey day excitement.

my first attempt was to make their lunch cute and fun.

i took some inspiration from amy, who transforms her kids' lunch into masterpieces, all the time.

here was my turkey lunch.

please note, all 5 of their lunches took me an hour to make.

i will not be doing this again anytime soon.

and to top it all off, the kids thought it was a chicken.

---------------

the second thing we did was make thanksgiving turkey place cards:

and everybody wrote on the back, what they were thankful for.

this one was hadley's:

my daughter, the holy one.

---------------

and i finally got around to finishing my advent calendar up...just in time for december!

i was inspired by this pin...

and made this:

each number card has a christmas activity on the back for us to do as a family.

i am always wanting to make the season more memorable, so i'm hoping this helps.

here is the list i created:

(i knew i might have a new baby at any point, so i tried to keep it simple)

1. drink some hot chocolate

2. make a christmas card for someone

3. read christmas books with the family

4. make festive rice krispie treats and hand them out to neighbors

5. turn christmas music up real loud and have a dance party

6. watch a christmas show together

7. write letters to santa

8. go on a walk and look at the christmas lights

9. go to daddy's work for his christmas party

10. make a christmas card to send to a soldier

11. have french toast and hot chocolate for dinner

12. read the christmas story before bedtime

13. drink some hot apple cider

14. make a christmas card for your teacher

15. color christmas pictures

16. watch a christmas show and eat ice cream

17. put on a christmas play about baby jesus (kids do the play for mommy and daddy)

18. make sugar cookies and decorate

19. put money in the salvation army bucket at the grocery store

20. make gingerbread houses

21. wrap your gifts for each other

22. take a drive and look at all the christmas lights

23. have a sleepover with the family in the living room

24. open our christmas eve presents (jammies, books)

i've learned with kids that it's not about the extravagant or material things---it's about the memorable moments.

the things i remember most from my childhood were not the material things i was given, but the moments i got to spend with my family.

my goal with this list is to make memories that become traditions...ones that our kids want to do with their families when they are older.

we have to be intentional about making the seasons special.

even if it means making turkeys that end up looking more like chickens.

helloooo 37 weeks.

2011-11-29T08:46:00.000-05:00

as my friend amy commented on this picture "that is one belly".

you betcha.

it's one large and in charge belly.

growing by the minute.

(i will be 38 weeks on thursday).

i'm basically in that "i'm so done with this" stage of pregnancy.

do you know that stage?

i don't want to complain, but at this point, life is way uncomfortable with a ginormous belly.

there have been quite a few nights this past week where i thought i was in labor, only to have it stop---which is way discouraging.

i always tend to deliver early with my babies, but just you watch. this one will be totally different, and i'll probably deliver 2 weeks late. (everything about this pregnancy has been different--including getting pregnant itself--how did that happen again?)

2 weeks late would equal a 12 pound christmas baby.

sooooooo not what i want.

BUT, i do want this babe to come when it's good and ready, and if that means i wait till i'm 42 weeks, then that's what it means.

i'm coming to terms with it.

and in the meantime, eating lots of chocolate to deal with it.

made with love: DIY cute mason jars

2011-11-28T07:00:00.007-05:00

it's time for another wonderful post for made with love---ashley A.K.A. little miss momma is here today with an adorable gift for your crafty buddies...enjoy!

----------------------

I'm Ashley and I write the blog called, Little Miss Momma. And there's nothing I love more than a heart felt, handmade gift. I first saw today's handmade gift idea in my Martha Stewart Sewing and Fabric Crafts book.There are so many fun ways to use mason jars to make gifts, and this is one of my favorites. You can even fill the mason jar with whatever craft related goodies you want--buttons, needles, scraps, tape measure, etc.

Supplies:

Mason Jars with lids that come apart.

Fabric scraps at least one inch larger in diameter than your jar lids.

Stuffing.

Scissors.

Hot glue {optional}

1. Take a larger chunk of stuffing than you think.

2.Turn the lid insert upside down and place the stuffing on the bottom side.

3. Wrap your fabric scrap around the lid insert.

4. Now, place the outside of the lid over the fabric.

Use your scissors to cut away the excess fabric. If you fabric seems a bit haphazard you can also glue down the extra pieces to the inside of the lid. Then put all the goodies inside your jar and replace the lid. And that's it! You can even add a cute handmade gift tag or some fun trimmings. I decided to spray paint one of my jars white to create a different look.

I know I would be excited to get a jar full of buttons!
Here are a bunch of other handmade gift ideas for your favorite gal pals.

-Victorian Ruffle Cuff Bracelet

- Lace Flower Bib Necklace

-Vintage Yo Yo Earrings

-Anthropologie Knock Off Bobby Pins

- Pom Pom Necklace

-Cottage Chic Checkerboard

Even more projects can be found on my DIY page here.

hey hey, you're the winner.

2011-11-27T22:31:00.000-05:00

congrats beth!

you are the winner of our sponsor give-a-way.

email me sister, and i'll get you hooooooked up with all your goods from our lovely sponsors!

come back tomorrow y'all for another made with love post!

so thankful.

2011-11-24T07:00:00.002-05:00

no embrace the camera today---

happy thanksgiving to you and your family!

sponsor give-a-way day: november

2011-11-23T07:00:00.007-05:00

-COMMENTS CLOSED-

i love sponsor day around here---it's so fun to show off some lovelies!

if you're interested in sponsoring in december, i have some room left--check out our sponsorship page for all the details.

without further ado :)

blog : shop : facebook

anderson crew readers: FREESHIP will get you free shipping on all orders through christmas!

----------

blog : shop : facebook

anderson crew readers: GIVEAWAY15 for 15% off all orders!

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shop : facebook

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shop : blog : facebook

anderson crew readers: Emily10 for 10% off all necklaces!

----------

blog : facebook

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shop : blog : facebook

anderson crew readers: ANDERSON15 for 15% off all orders PLUS a free ornament with every order! (expires 11/29)

----------

shop : blog : facebook

anderson crew readers: ANDERSON15 for 15% off your order!

----------

lovely stuff, eh?

one lucky person will win all the loot!

to enter:

leave a comment on this post (you must be a follower of my blog).

extra entries:

follow/like/visit any of the above blogs/shops/facebook pages.

you can leave an individual comment for each!

the winner will be announced on sunday night 11/27!

good luck to you :)

hadley and her 6 year old pictures.

2011-11-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

check out hadley's 5 year old pictures---to see how much she's grown :)

this is my favorite reason for taking pictures of my littles each year, around their birthday...i love to see how much they have changed.

especially when they are little---they just change so much from year to year.

last year, hadley had a bit of a baby face going on still...this year, i feel like she looks like a young girl.

growing up, i tell ya. growing up.

yes, i am well aware of the dirt that is lingering underneath her neck.

the girl has a serious tickle thing going on and it's nearly impossible to clean it.

pick your battles, people.

she has such a mixture of sass, spunk, tenderness, joy, attitude and love swirling around inside of her.

i often think, "if i could just be more like hadley..."

she is such a joy.

we love you hadley bean---you are precious.

made with love: DIY fabric flower pins and felt bows

2011-11-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

welcome to week 2 of made with love (posted a little early for ya).

last week you saw some cute painted plates...this week, you'll learn how to make a fabric flower pin, and a darling felt bow...

hi! my name is danielle and i blog at take heart.

i have got two girl gifts up my sleeve for you today. one can also be used for women of all ages and the other? for boys, even! just call me a multi-tasker, would ya?

girl gift #1: fabric flower pin

i love it a lot.
make it a pin, make it a headband, throw a few of them into a cluster and add them to a belt…the possibilities are endless. little girls can rock these and you can also make one for your grandma and aunt betty for christmas.

without further ado, here are your DIY instructions.

supplies:
scissors, hot glue gun, two different color (but coordinating fabrics), small felt circle, embellishment for the center of your pin, and pin.

step 1:
gather enough fabric to cut 7 large circles and 7 small circles.

step 2:
cut out your 14 circles. the bigger circles will be behind the smaller ones once your pin is made. the larger circle will be around the same size as your pin will be, so cut your fabric accordingly.

step 3:
fold circle in half.

step 4:
fold up one corner of the circle.

step 5:
fold up the other corner of the circle to create this folded cone shape. i believe this would be called in thirds, but i am not really sure, so i am not going to say.

step 6:
make a hundred of these. no, just kidding. you just need to make 14.

step 7:
put some glue on your felt circle and lay your seven larger cones in a circle and glue those babies down. it will seem like seven is a little too many to fit, but squeeze them on…trust me. it gives the flower a much fuller look.

step 8:
um. i guess this is the same as step 7. just a finished picture.

step 9:
glue your seven smaller fabric "cones" onto the first layer of larger "cones". i like writing the word cones in quotes. mmkay?

step 10:
glue your button or embellishment to the center of your pin.

step 11:
glue your pin onto the back of the felt circle, and voila! you're done.

girl gift #2: felt bow headband

the felt bow headband is my favorite. i have some i made as clips that i wear in my own hair. and as i am typing this i am envisioning them on little girl shoes...be still my heart. also, my next rendition will be a bow tie for my boys. i am going to swap out the small middle piece of felt for fabric and my boys are gonna be stylin'.

here's yo DIY:

supplies:
scissors, hot glue gun, felt & headband elastic.
the elastic i used was similar to these.

step 1:
cut four pieces of felt. (1) a long strip about 1 inch x 4.5 inches. (2) a smaller strip about 1 cm x 1 inch. (3 & 4) the two little pieces to go behind the bow...i just free handed those.

step 2:
make a vertical line with hot glue down the center of your long strip of felt, fold in either edge to create your bow.

step 3:
before the glue dries, pinch the middle of the bow, so the glue will dry and hold the creases you created.

step 4:
take your small strip of felt and glue it onto the center of your bow.

step 5:
glue the last two pieces onto the back of your bow.

step 6:
admire this cute thing.

step 7:
glue your headband elastic together if needed.

step 8:
glue your bow onto your headband. and you're done!

thanks so much for having me, emily!
happy creating, my friends!

i am still pregnant.

2011-11-18T15:05:00.000-05:00

hiiiiiiii.

i know, when i don't post ya'll think i've had the baby, or am in labor, or something.

no, i was just lazy last night.

so sorry.

the winner of the featured sponsor, MarigoldRoad, give-a-way is:

Ruthie Hart!

holla ruthie.

sister, email me and i'll get you hooked up with your goods!

-------------------------------

my lovely friend, sarah, posted another prego pic of me---

she does amazing work...can't wait to see them all!

--------------------

and hey, just so you know...i don't always look like that.

here's a more accurate depiction of me, at nine months pregnant:

mismatched clothing...still in my robe...eating a big bowl of ice cream, while resting said bowl on my big belly.

there ya have it.

real life.

happy weekend, friends!

embrace the camera: nov. 17th

2011-11-17T07:00:00.001-05:00

i am recovering from a few days of being a single mom.

mr. anderson returned yesterday after being gone for business---and i am so glad to have him home.

9 months prego, PLUS 5 small children equals exhausted.

(as if i wasn't exhausted to begin with)

seriously, all the single ladies...how the he-zeck do you do it?

many props and fist bumps to you.

so, i didn't get a picture with any of the littles this week.

i know, GASP.

so, i pulled an oldie out...one from when sweet baby kohen was just a few weeks old.

i picked this picture because 1) it's so dang cute and 2) i'm gonna have another nugget really soon and this picture gets me excited.

i love my little nuggets.

isn't he scrumptious?

i have a feeling this nugget in my belly is getting ready to make an entrance.

i have been early with all my babes (milo, born at 36 weeks weighing in at a whopping 7 lbs---fatty).

and i am officially 36 weeks today...i have been having contractions all this week...but they always stop.

a few have been pretty painful, which freaks me out because it reminds me of the impending pain i'm about to go through. (i give birth naturally)

mr. anderson says i shouldn't be scared but i tell him to shut his mouth.

he would be scared too if someone said "in a few days/weeks you will be hit with constant pain for 12-15 hours, and then you will proceed to push something way too big, out of your body. and it's gonna hurt. a lot."

so yes, mr. anderson. allow me to be a little bit scared.

cause you would be too, mkay?

someone just give me an epidural and i'll pretend i'm not a hippie for one day.

------------------

okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera---PLEASE READ:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

knit together by love.

2011-11-16T07:00:00.002-05:00

i have been blessed by this blogging world.

people who don't even know me or my family personally, have prayed for us, supported us, laughed with us, cried with us...sent us words of encouragement, and gifts that bring such big smiles to our faces.

but, in my few years of blogging, i have never received anything so meaningful and important as this scarf:

you may think, a scarf? what is so meaningful about a scarf?

well, it's the story behind the scarf that brought me to tears.

a dear reader sent it to me, after knitting it...and with it, she sent along a letter explaining why she knitted this for me...here's a blurb:

"One of my favorite Bible verses is Colossians 2:2 which says, "I want you to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love." I love it so much that I started a knitting ministry based off of it. Basically, when I feel God gives me the nudge that someone needs some extra love, I knit something for them, and as I knit, I pray for them. After reading about your journey and recent struggles, I felt God give me a nudge for you. Enclosed is a scarf I knit, just for you."

this gift couldn't have reached me at a more perfect time...and that makes me fully believe that what danielle is doing, is truly being led by God.

the day i received my scarf was one of the hardest days i've had in a very long time.

i am emotional these days...and tired...and frustrated...and the list goes on and on and on...

and in particular, that day, i was feeling like the worst mother in the world.

as i opened my box, pulled the scarf out, and read the letter...tears just started flowing down my face.

i was so encouraged by her gift and her words...i can't even fully express how much it meant to me.

one thing that really struck me, that she wrote:

"It was so easy for me to pick the color scheme of the scarf I made for you because you have so smartly and creatively color-coded your children! I knit a panel of each child's color and prayed individually for each child as I knit their color, as well as their relationships with you, your husband and each other."

{the littles, all wrapped up in my scarf}

the fact that she prayed for each of my kids, while knitting, made my heart burst.

it's amazing that in the moments when we feel the most lousy as mothers, someone steps in and reminds you that what you are doing is good and important. and it felt good knowing that in the days prior to receiving that scarf, i had not been praying for my kids, like i had hoped...but she had it covered.

amazing how god works, isn't it?

oh, and she even included a purple panel---she remembered that the new baby will be purple!

danielle's words:

"Your family is beautifully weaving together individuals both biologically and through adoption; you will all eventually be knit together in a grand tapestry of God's love and your own love for each other."

so danielle, thank you for such a thoughtful and special gift. and thank you for reminding me that we are part of a small story that God is playing out...and that love is the most important thing.

you are truly blessing others with your god-given gift.

featured sponsor: MarigoldRoad

2011-11-15T07:00:00.018-05:00

this months featured sponsor is mindy from MarigoldRoad...she is here today with a fun give-a-way.

her shop is super cute and is a great stop for holiday shopping!

Mindy Harris, owner of MarigoldRoad, is a Kansas native, bride to her high school sweetheart, and mother of two. She launched her blog 4 years ago, to chronicle her first pregnancy. Her current writing focus is to inspire community through candor and crafty/confectionery creations. Her Etsy shop offers handmade wool felt headbands, hoop art, and yarn wreaths, all of which incorporate vintage materials, and are crafted in the wee hours of the night. You can also shop there for mid-century vintage decor & housewares.

cute stuff, eh?

mindy is generously giving away a $35 shop credit to one lucky winner!

visit her shop, and come back here to leave me a comment, telling me your favorite item.

extra entries:

-become a follower of mindy's blog

-like MarigoldRoad's facebook page

mindy is also giving a 25% discount to all of my readers! just use the code HOLIDAY25.

thanks mindy!

made with love: DIY painted plates

2011-11-14T07:00:00.005-05:00

welcome to our first installment of made with love!

like i said on friday, my goal with this blogging series is to hopefully inspire you to hand make some of your christmas gifts this year---saving you money while putting more love into your gifts.

i did this series last year, as well.

here are the links from those projects:

and this was not a made with love project, but a great christmas gift, none-the-less:

easy silhouettes

--------------------

let's move on to our first guest, shall we?

if you don't know her, prepare your hearts to love her.

so hello there.

i'm jami nato and i am emily's best friend since high school. i would like to take this time to ask emily to take down her Facebook profile pic...which is me and her and 20 extra pounds in college. i was clearly enjoying a lot of cookie dough then and have since reformed my ways. we look gross. mainly me. so ya, awkward that i have to do that on the intranet.

--emily here...i interrupt this program to show said photo:

yes, jami, you look gross.

which is why it was my profile pic.

moving on...back to you!

-----------------
now that the little business item is taken care of, we can move on to painted plates. this is what ladies in the olden days used to do for fun...i think? well i don't know, i saw it in a movie once. so basically, that means it's true.

these are fun gifts for the friend in your life that has everything or nothing. what i'm basically saying, is anyone would love this.

what you need is:

-some plates

-some enamel gloss paint from any craft store (it's with the acrylics)

-a brush

-a stamp or stencil

-a pinch of love. just kidding. or am i?

i bought these plates from the dollar store.

yes. holler.

and here's what you do:

clean the plate with alcohol.

grab a stamp or stencil, and stamp a letter on the plate. i used an over sized foam stamp.

i like black and white together because i'm into graphic, bold things. but i mean, let your creativeness flow on the color choices here.

i guess you could hand write this on here, but let's be honest...your handwriting isn't all that great. haha. but seriously.
if you mess up, just wipe it off and start over.

if you have some imperfections, let it dry and scrape off what you don't like.

then, you're going to bake these puppies. follow the directions on the paint bottle. which is usually 300 degrees for an hour-ish. they should be scratch resistant but you probs don't want to eat off of them.

how cute would this plate be on the wall though?

no i didn't take a picture, just imagine it.

thanks for hanging with me on em's blog. i am honored to be her friend, even though she loves twilight and collects beanie babies

--emily here again.

twilight? yes.

beanie babies? no.

thanks james!

sponsor intros, made with love, and 35 weeks.

2011-11-11T07:00:00.015-05:00

we have some fabulous sponsors with us this month...take a looksie and start some holiday shopping early, or just have fun browsing their blogs!

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i am excited for a fun blogging series starting on monday

you may remember last year, i did made with love mondays...well, that's going to be starting again this monday, and running every week, until christmas.

my goal is to hopefully inspire you to hand make a few of your christmas gifts (handmade can be so much lovelier than store bought).

i have some ahhhh-mazing guest bloggers lined up for this series--come back to be inspired!

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i had fun with the lovely miss sarah bray yesterday.

she snapped some belly photos for me...

check it.

the watermelon is in full effect.

i always have fun with her during our quick photo sessions...even when i step in dog crap and get it all over myself.

it's the best.

happy weekend y'all.

embrace the camera: nov. 10th

2011-11-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

well folks, it's official.

elsa is an anderson. and a citizen of the U.S. of A.

we had our re-adoption court date yesterday morning to finalize everything.

(i wish i could say it was a joyous occasion, but we had to wait over an hour before seeing the judge---and we had 3 very squirrely children with us---and i was hungry. enough said.)

but, we finally were able to see him, and within about 3 minutes it was all official.

that smile on my face is a "yessssssssss, it's done and we can get out of here and i can get some food in my belly" smile.

but in all seriousness, it's a huge step forward for our family.

she is finally elsabeth mae anderson.

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okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera---PLEASE READ:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)

halloweenis.

2011-11-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

i specifically waited until today to post our halloween pictures. i didn't want them to get drowned out with everyone else posting their halloween pictures.

ahem.

or, maybe i was just lazy and am just now getting around to it.

i'll never tell.

either way, enjoy the little people and their costumes choices.

we, of course, had a harry potter.

and a hermione.

and a 50's sock hop girl who had some major swagger goin' on.

you knew this one was coming, right?

joey logano, in the house.

and a kurt busch, or kyle busch...one of the busch brothers.

(and yes, i made those cardboard cars---kohen wore his all the way up to halloween. then he refused to put it on. isn't that how it always goes?)

the whole crew, in their personality goodness.

milo, about to grab the weenis (hence my title--halloweenis).

i'm telling ya, the more kids you have, the better "sweet treats" day is.

it's fun to send 1 kid out to get the goods...but 5?! oh man. chocolate heaven.

delirious pondering at 2:00 AM.

2011-11-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

it's 2:00 AM and i'm currently wide awake, thanks to a certain 7 year old and his allergy problems.

he's having stuffy-nose-and-i-can't-blow-it-very-well issues...which therefore turns him into a

7-year-old-overly-tired-emotional-wreck-with-snot-in-his-nose.

have you ever dealt with one of those?

they.are.not.fun.

which is the reason why i'm wide awake.

as i'm lying there in bed, listening to him freak out in the next room over, it got me thinking about sleep.

will i ever enjoy a good and full nights sleep in my life again?

i know this is a stage in my life, but i often wonder if there will ever be a day where i will sleep soundly.

i know one day, little people won't be coming into my room because they are scared, or need a drink, or can't blow their nose.

but, i'm sure those things will be replaced by waiting up for kids to come home to curfew...and then eventually, lying there, wondering if they are at their homes, safe in their beds.

and then i'll have grandchildren to think about.

so forget about it.

...will sleep ever be my friend again?

i'd like to think so, because i loooooove to sleep.

i have no problem sleeping, it's just always interrupted sleep...i can't remember the last time i fully slept through the night.

i'm not complaining...just pondering at 2:00 AM. delirious pondering.

i had better get used to this 2 AM awake time...i have a feeling i'm going to be seeing a lot more of it in the coming few months.

unless of course i get one of those magic babies that sleeps through the night at 9 days old.

(this, by the way, has NEVER happened to me).

so, let's switch the subject from delirious pondering to cute pictures of kohen, shall we?

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here he is...in all his 2 year old scrumptious, goodness:

no photo shoot with kohen would be complete without a little moodiness:

-i love to see him smile so big, that his eyes get squinty and lost amongst his sweet face-

-and the laughing was supplied by papa (my dad)...thanks to him, our 10 minute photo shoot was a success. need help with a 2 year old and smiling? have their papa hide behind a tree and jump out...it's sure to provoke eye-squinting, belly laughter.
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it is sounding to me like the 7 year old has finally succumbed to sleep...which means, now it's my turn.

--check out kohen's 1 year old photos here--

---bow tie is from here---

we're back and hadley is 6.

2011-11-07T10:58:00.000-05:00

well, it's funny how 1 day off from blogging turns into practically a whole week off from blogging.

my break was apparently much needed.

i was feeling mentally and physically exhausted last week---and hardly had any computer time. so, blogging was last on my list.

i'm sorry to those of you who got all thrown off when i didn't post "embrace the camera"...hopefully you still snapped some photos though!

but now, i'm back!

and feel refreshed :)

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our sweet hadley girl turned 6 this weekend.

6, going on 16.

i know i say this often, but she is such a beautiful girl---inside and out.

her love for everyone around her is so inspiring.

she has such a heart for others as well---her prayers include this every night:

"dear lord, please let everyone in the whole wide world be safe."

she just cares for others.

i love that about her.

we celebrated her all last week, with her birthday week (we get a whole week in this house!)

then topped it off with a birthday party with her little girlfriends on saturday.

it was a girls only party--no boys allowed.

but somehow caedmon and milo snuck their way into the festivities (which were basically all girly things---it's amazing what the boys will do, just to be involved).

here she is with her cupcake---about to blow out the candles:

part of the festivities included decorating your own heart cupcake.

she rocked that one.

and blowing out the candles.

it only took her 93 tries to get all the candles blown out.

i'm pretty sure we zoned out a bit during it---that's how long it took.

happy birthday hadley good anderson...we love you and your sweet spirit.

don't ever change who you are---because it is exactly how God has made you.

and it's perfect.

the andersons are alive.

2011-11-04T07:00:00.002-04:00

yes, we are alive.

no, we didn't have the baby.

apparently i took a blogging break, but didn't fully realize it until 4 days had passed.

i'll be back in full swing next week y'all.

happy weekend!

happy pumpkin day.

2011-10-31T16:45:00.001-04:00

they are all so excited for pumpkins.

can't you tell?

a winner and my bump.

2011-10-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

winner of the fabulous sponsor give-a-way is:

heather hawthorne

congrats to you! e-mail me so i can get you hooked up with all your goodies :)

-------------------------------------------------

i am 33 weeks y'all.

i've decided to start taking/posting a photo every week to document these last few weeks of pregnancy that i've got.

i mean, this is it.

my last baby that i'll ever have.

(i know, i know---i said that last time---but believe me this time, this is it).

as much as i want to be done with this pregnancy, i'm trying to remember that i will probably miss the bump, when it's gone.

closing a chapter of your life is never easy.

at least we have new chapters to enjoy, to replace the old ones---they will just be enjoyed differently.

like, with a margarita in my hand.

happy weekend y'all.

embrace the camera: oct. 27th

2011-10-27T07:00:00.005-04:00

i'm embracing with my birthday boy this week.

i promise you that the minute he turned 2, he also turned into the devil.

can someone say the terrible two's? oh, i can!

i'm like, walking on eggshells around this kid cause i don't want to tick him off.

on his actual birthday, he yelled at anyone who said happy birthday to him.

not kidding.

look out for the kohen monster.

i can't believe it's the last week in october to embrace the camera...time flies!

---------------------------------------------

okay lovelies, your turn!

here's the nitty gritty on embrace the camera---PLEASE READ:

-if these guidelines aren't followed then your link will be deleted---ETC is not about promoting ourselves or our blogs so please don't use our link tool to do such a thing.-

1. take a picture of YOU with your kids, spouse, friends, etc. the point of embrace the camera is to get in front of the camera and to document a bit of yourself.

2. link up your POST, not your blog.

3. link back to our blog by a text link or using our button IN YOUR POST.

4. and lastly, have fun and visit each other!

leave each other lots of love---it's not easy to get in front of the camera---bravo to all of you who join us every week! your family will thank you for it one day :)