All things bright and beautiful...

With celebrating Thanksgiving this week, I am so grateful for the beautiful world I live in.  I am thankful for my family and a comfortable home.  Most importantly I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that He lived and He lives again.  Without this knowledge, there is no hope.  What a wonderful gift it is to have HOPE!

Up until this week, the month of November continued the pattern of busy-ness.  On top of the usual school, work, and music lessons, we've added Stake and Ward Choir rehearsals.  I was asked to be one of the pianists for the Stake "Sing Noel" program on Dec. 11th and 12th.  The music is a challenge for me and I've been practicing whenever I find a moment.  My fingers just don't want to move like I'd like them to, but it will come.  Three more weeks and then this will be history.  Rachel has joined in singing with the choir.  Alyson and Matthew are singing with the Children's choir as part of this same program; this is going toward their goals to achieve their "Faith in God" awards. 

Rachel started in a program through school called "Destination Imagination".  This is an extra-curricular program allowing kids to compete with groups across the region in team building, decision making and creativity challenges.  I am hoping this will allow Rachel a way to share her talents and build her confidence. 

Soccer ended at the beginning of the month.  Both Alyson and Matthew had a blast playing, even though both teams struggled to win many games.  They both plan to play again next Spring. 

We enjoyed having a quiet break this week while the kids were out of school.  I was in the office Monday and Tuesday and then worked at home on Wednesday and took the rest of the week off.  It was a much needed break.  We hung out at home, decorated for Christmas, played with friends and decorated gingerbread houses. 

I had a lot of help with Thanksgiving dinner.  Rachel made a delectable pecan pie.  Her pumpkin pie was pretty good, but pecan is the all-time favorite for Dave.  We need to practice a little more to perfect the crust but she did really well for her first try.  I made turkey, potatoes, sweet potato souffle, and the traditional green bean casserole.  We ate, ate, and ate some more.  It's taken me a couple days to not feel so full and bloated anymore.

As is my tradition on "Black Friday", I stayed home in bed and dreamed of all those crazy people fighting over the newest toy on the market. The bad part of this is my friends who did join the crowds Friday morning are far ahead of me in being ready for Christmas!

I realized yesterday as I was preparing for the kids to decorate gingerbread houses that I just don't have the passion for baking at Christmas time that my Mom does.  I just couldn't see past one batch of gingerbread.  Despite this, my kids had a great time "glueing" the houses together and piling candy on as much as they could. The kids had more fun eating the candy than decorating.   By the end of the day I was ready to crash in bed and watch Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel.

For those who haven't heard, Dave has returned to the workforce.  He was offered a job with AutoZone about three weeks ago.  This gave him a good chance to get in and work his way back into full-time employment now the kids are all in school.  He is getting 25-30 hours each week and has been able to negotiate Sundays off.  He seems to be enjoying having something to fill his days and hopes of extra money to put towards his hobbies. One benefit he has over others is that he is working because he wants to and that helps him tolerate a lot!  It's been an adjustment for me, I am hoping we can settle back into a more routine schedule soon.

I feel like I am rambling so I'll close.  Have a wonderful week!

Happy Halloween!

We celebrated Halloween early this year.  My kids had a blast carving pumpkins at Trent and Aly's house on Friday night.  They have become very talented at cleaning out pumpkins and carving intricate designs in them.  They had been looking forward to the event all week.  Trent has done this every year since we've been here.  I didn't have my camera that night so I'll have to get some pictures from someone else to post.   Last night was our annual Trunk 'or Treat in our church parking lot.  Today, the kids are all sugared-up and most trick-or-treaters haven't even hit the streets yet.  Dave and the two youngest will join some friends from the church for visiting and roasting marshmallows tonight instead of trick 'or treating.  Rachel and I will be going to Stake Choir practice.  Sound like fun?!

Since I last wrote, Matthew was baptized and we celebrated Alyson's birthday, Rachel's birthday, and our 13th wedding anniversay.  Grandmas and Grandpas came down for Matthews special day.  It was also fun to have Cheri and her kids come up to play for a couple hours after the service.

Alyson had her first, and likely last, birthday slumber party.  It took us a few days to recover from the loss of sleep.  She had fun, but after celebrating Rachel's birthday the following week, she said she would much rather just spend birthdays with her family.

Rachel's 12th birthday was spent as a Mommy-daughter(s) night out instead of a party with friends.  Along with Alyson, I enjoyed this celebration much more than the slumber party with 8 hyper 9 and 10-year old girls.  We ate dinner as a family at Rachel's favorite restaurant - Red Lobster.  The boys then went their way to soccer practice, and the girls and I hung out at the mall - we tried on makeup, got Rachel's ears pierced (actually only one that night - we had to go back a week later to finish since one earing wouldn't go all the way through on the first try), enjoyed a foot massage and pedicure, and window shopping.

Unfortunately, my work stresses and deadlines prohibited any anniversary celebrations.  We didn't have any formal plans this year but I would've much rather spent the evening alone with Dave than at my office trying to finish an assignment - even more frustrated that this wasn't supposed to have been something I was to do myself but the other party involved thinks she can go home at 5pm every night regardless of meeting the deadline or not.  In some ways I wish I could be more like her; but I also need to support my family.  Things at work have been changing and it has been a difficult month.  Our CIO has begun letting people go who are not meeting expectations; I have been encouraged to apply for a newly opened director position in our department.  This could be a very good thing for my family if I were actually offered the position; a challenge for me, something new and different - not necessarily less stress though.  I'll let you know if anything comes of this.

Dave is doing well - he's enjoyed several trips to the gun range and is finally licensed to "pack heat" (or for the rest of the world - carry a concealed gun).  He is definitely exercising his 2nd ammendment rights!  He spends spare moments reloading ammunition and planning for his next gun purchase.  When he's not doing this he's looking for some paying jobs to help cover the costs of his hobbies.

I could ramble on but I won't. I hope you all have a great week!  Happy Halloween!

A little about our week...

Looking back on the week, I cannot think of anything so exciting I needed to write about it.   Rachel is building muscles tugging her tuba between home and school.  She had her very first lesson last Wednesday.  She is still very excited and has spent her spare time studying up on great tuba players around the world.  Alyson and Matthew played soccer games yesterday.  Matthew scored a point........for the other team!  He was playing goalie and went to punt the ball.  The ball went up and over his head landing in the net scoring a point for the opponent.  He was bummed and I don't think he will try punting the ball for a while.

This is Matthew's week.  We started a day early since our weekdays are very busy.  Matthew got to open his birthday present from Mom and Dad today along with cake and ice cream.
 

David teasing Matthew with his present - don't you love the wrapping paper?  Grocery bags come in really handy when all you have on hand is Christmas paper!

He can't wait to start tearing!

Do you think he's happy?

Lego Prince of Persia Set - "Wholy Cow!  This is the best present ever!"

Rachel and Alyson pitch in to help build the castles



It's fun to see Matthew so excited for his birthday.  This is the big "8".  He has been talking about turning 8 for months now.  He is excited most about his chance to be baptized this coming Saturday.  We are expecting grandparents and other family to come share in this event.  I cannot believe it's this time already - this is my baby!  I can still remember the day he was born.



Matthew at 3 months old - isn't he so cute?



Back into the swing of things

I was reading Mary Anderson's blog earlier this week and I can totally understand what she is feeling - eating and sleeping soccer! School is back into full swing and so is fall soccer season for us. This is Matthew and Alyson's first season to play. They are excited! We have soccer practice Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and games on Saturday. Then this week, we'll add tuba lessons on top of that. I didn't realize how much this would affect my life, but the kids seem to enjoy having this to look forward to. Dave went to Amarillo and Hereford at the end of the week with a friend from our ward. I had to navigate our busy schedule all by myself and then add the stresses of an unsuccessful email migration and computer virus attack at work on to that. Whew, I am still alive and breathing today!

Dave and his friend went up to the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Barbeque and a trip to Hereford for shooting practice. Dave said the food was wonderful and he got to meet some really interesting people. I think the highlight, though, was shooting "sweet innocent animals" (those are my words, not Dave's, meaning prairie dogs and coyotes) on a farm outside of Hereford. They slept out under the stars on Friday night and came home Saturday evening. As Dave puts it, he enjoyed remembering the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 by exercising his 2nd amendment rights - "the rights to bear arms".

We had rain this week and a couple tornados. When I left work on Tuesday, I could tell I was just ahead of very black clouds moving my direction. I was listening to the radio on the way home and as I pulled into the driveway, the weatherman said there was a tornado on the ground just east of Mockingbird Lane and Stemmons Freeway. This was less than 2 blocks from my office. Kind of scary to think I could have been in the middle of that had I stayed at work a few minutes longer. Unfortunately one business lost their roof and an 18-wheeler gained a new one. Other than that, the damage was minimal.

Here are some pictures from the week:

Looking out our back windows. Water running over the road.

More water - we got 7.9 inches of rain in this storm.

Alyson being called out to the field - I think the expression on her faces says "Really, me?!"

Alyson waiting for the ball to head her way.

Matthew practicing dribbling the ball.

Matthew going in for a kick.

Rachel - doing what she does best - talking on the phone. I believe this call was to Aunt Kaylene to wish her a "Happy Birthday".

It's a Beautiful Day!

My spirits are really high today. I cannot give any reason except for I feel like I am getting balance back into my life AND the sweltering heat of summer has seemed to gone, even if only temporarily.

A couple weeks ago Dave encouraged me to try doing my workouts in the evening since getting up in the morning and trying to cram them in along with everything else was causing stress in my life. Once I've had a bad morning at home, my day just seems to spiral down at work too. I resisted for some time and then thought I would give it a try. I started a little over a week ago and I am amazed at the outcome so far. I was worried that working out too late at night would cause me to have trouble sleeping. So far, that doesn't seem to be the case. I am finding it makes my mornings so much easier because after my workouts I am able to get lunches made, review and sign kids papers, gather my own stuff for work together, and even read my scriptures before showering and going to sleep. Then in the morning, all I have to do is get dressed and fix breakfast. The key is to get kids in bed by 8:30 so I am not up until midnight. The other key is to not allow my work deadlines and stresses to interrupt my personal time at night - this has been a large part of my problem even when I wasn't trying to exercise.

It's been a really nice Sunday morning. It's 10:20 a.m. and I've been able to accomplish so much already this morning that I will not feel bad about a nap this afternoon. The kids have been playing semi-nicely with their new "Gluep" and they are all ready for church. By the way, "Gluep" is a slimy playdough made from water, Elmer's Glue, and Borax for anyone interested. It's kind of weird looking and I am amazed that it doesn't stick to everything. But...it keeps them busy for a long time.

The kids are doing great. Matthew started soccer practice last week and Alyson was scheduled but cancelled due to rain. Both kids are excited to be playing this fall. They had fun last night as they practiced with each other in the backyard. Rachel is excited to be able to bring her tuba home from school at the end of this coming week. She is thrilled with the idea of playing in the band. I hope this excitement continues as practices will be required and she may have to work at the music harder than anything she's done thus far in life. She is also thrilled to be called on to babysit for several neighbors and friends from the ward - even more exited with the money it brings in.

Week of New Beginnings

The first week of school was "AWESOMENESS" as quoted by Rachel. All three kids really like their teachers and found they have friends in all of their classes. Rachel is more than excited to start band. She doesn't want to wait another two weeks to get her hands on her Tuba. She is becoming quite the young lady. I am proud that she is making good choices in friends, music, and clothing.

I took last Monday off work so I could see the kids off to school. I spent the morning doing laundry and cleaning while Dave mowed the lawn and cleaned up the yard. We enjoyed soup, salad, and breadsticks at the new Olive Garden close to our home. It was an enjoyable day. I hated having to go back to work and face the responsibilities there. It was a really hectic work week - we are preparing to change our email system from GroupWise to Outlook over Labor Day weekend. We are a bit behind the curve in being ready due to some late funding and unexpected issues. Sound like fun?

Matthew has been completely wiped out after school each afternoon. Monday night he crashed on the couch about 6:30 p.m. and slept the rest of the night. He's been fighting going to bed early and waking up in the morning has not been easy. As is typical of a seven year old boy, has found ways to entertain himself - usually at the expense of his sisters' sanity.

Alyson spent the week trying to come up with ways to convince Mom and Dad to let her have a slumber party with her new friend. This friend's mother works at the elementary school. Dave agreed to let her stay after school with this friend on Friday and come home around dinner. Next week we'll think about having an extended play date but no slumber party. She keeps trying to change my mind... her birthday is coming next month... maybe then.

Dave and I had the privilege to attend and participate in the retirement ceremony for his friend Trent. Trent retired from the Air Force Reserves after 20 years of service. I had never been to a military retirement before. It was fun to see his family and many friends come enjoy the day with him. Of course there was plenty of food and drinks for anyone interested.

Rachel is counting down the days until her 12th birthday - 40 DAYS!

Summer has come and gone!

School starts in one week!  Where did the summer go?  Well...

We had a lot of activities going on this summer.  Dave and the kids were quite the travelers.  I was able to join them on just a couple activities.  Here's a quick rundown:

• The Meteor Crater
• Petrified Forest
• North Rim of the Grand Canyon
• Glen Canyon Dam
• Four Corners
• Anderson Family Reunion - Salt Lake City, Utah
• Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney's House - Hereford, Texas
• Woodbadge Training - Sid Richardson Camp
• U.S.S. Texas - Houston, Texas
• Uncle Dave and Aunt Cheri's House - Cedar Park, Texas

I enjoyed traveling and seeing the country.  The kids definitely got to see a lot.  They had a blast!

My favorite part of the summer was time we spent visiting family and friends in the Salt Lake Valley.  I am so blessed to have family I love and look forward to spending time with.  Whether we were playing capture the flag in the park, watching fireworks, hiking to the waterfalls, playing cards, or midnight runs to Chili's, it doesn't matter - we love our time together.  The true meaning of life is defined by our relationships with each other and the Lord.  When we are able to get together, I am reminded that it's just being together that matters most.

I don't want to bore you with long updates, but I thought I would share some pictures from our adventures:

This free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Hot, Hot, Hot

Highlights from this week:

• We went from low 70's to high 90's within a matter of days
  
• Alyson got 98% on her "Invention Convention" project - She could've received a 100% IF she was willing to market her project for more than it cost to make it.  She couldn't understand the logic in that!  I guess we have some more teaching to do.  This picture shows work in progress - you fill the cup at the top with water and then place pots below the bar.  As you turn the red knob, water flows through holes in the pipes to water multiple plants at one time.  Creative!
  
  
  
  

• Rachel got the award for being the person with the most school spirit at Field Day on Friday.  She begged me to take her to Wal-Mart (mistake #1), to buy ribbon for which she was hoping I would help finance (mistake #2), and then convinced me that I could make bows for her and her friends much better than she could (mistake #3) at 10:00 p.m. the night before the big field day at school.  The bows had the school colors and she tied them in with colorful shoe laces and the school's t-shirt.  Thank goodness for Karen Stratton and her Young Women activities on bow making many years ago!
  
• Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney decided to come visit for the long weekend.  The kids are enjoying the visit, kite flying, and movies.  Pokey is enjoying time with his new friend Charlie (Grandma's puppy).
  
• Dave bought yet another "toy" - he is now reloading all of his own ammunition.  He is trying to capitalize on the fact he will be able to save a lot of money in the future by making his own bullets.  My personal opinion is you can save A LOT of money in the future by not even owning the guns.  Oh well, we all need hobbies and he is sure enjoying this one at the moment.
  
  
  
  
  
   
• Matthew threw an awesome pass in his football game yesterday afternoon.  This was a natural, beautiful spiral!  I don't know where this comes from :)

• I bought my first watermelon of the season - and we ate it in one sitting ( yikes! ) - Like I said, WE instead of ME.
  
• The big pool at the Heritage community club house opened.  The kids have been looking forward to this ever since we moved into the neighborhood.  It felt soooo... good to cool off in the pool last night after a very hot day in the sun.  Even I think I'll spend a lot of time there this summer.

What's going on in the Ankeney home today?

My kids are enjoying going through old photo albums.  I don't know what inspired them to pull them out, but they are having fun laughing at big hair, dark makeup, and funny clothes.  None of them can imagine that either Mom or Dad had other boyfriends or girlfriends in their lives.  Rachel found a mistake in one of my books that I've never caught.  Did you know I went to the Junior/Senior Prom with John Johnson in 1996?  Wow, I don't know where that came from.  In 1996, I was an "old maid" living in Salt Lake City waiting for my knight in shining armour who wouldn't show up until 1997.  The year on the photo should have been 1989.  Weird!

I was much better at pulling together pictures when I was younger.  Poor Matthew's pictures are all stuffed in a box in the bottom of my closet.  I have had dreams of scanning them and making digital scrapbooks, but my time is spent elsewhere at the moment.  Maybe in a few years when my kids are grown and don't care to spend as much time with Mom and Dad, I may still get this done.

We're busy with the usual, mundane stuff.  One exciting thing...I paid off my car last week.  That's a great feeling.  Now, I am just hoping both cars hold out a couple more years so I can relish no car payment!

Grandma Ankeney was here to spend time with the kids while Dave went with his Dad and brother Scott on a quick trip to Montana.  We all enjoyed having Grandma here and wished she could've stayed longer.  She left Tuesday afternoon.  I especially like having the help when Dave is not around.

Matthew started flag football last week.  He has played three games so far.  I missed yesterday's game because I was involved in a primary activity.  Dave was thrilled to call me and let me know Matthew made an awesome play resulting in a touchdown.  Dave is the assistance coach for Matthew's team.  So far, they are having fun.

There are only 3 more weeks of school for the kids.  I don't know if that's really hit them yet.  I've noticed less and less homework coming home, which has been nice for me.  The weather is warming up and Matthew and Alyson are enjoying more time outside.  (Rachel would rather sit in her room and text friends for all afternoon)  We picked up our resident cards from the Home Owner's Association clubhouse yesterday.  These cards entitle us access to all of the pools and facilities.  Matthew, Alyson, and I spent a little time at the spray park last night.  They had fun spraying each other with water guns and standing under the buckets as they dump water on them.  This park has always been a popular place for kids in the area and I am glad we now have access.

Just a few thoughts from us.  Have a wonderful week!

Is it just me or is time speeding up.  I feel like my weeks are just flying by and before I know it, my kids will be gone and it will be just me and Dave sitting on the couch, looking at each other, and wondering what happened.  I've heard a lot of people say this over the years.  But, it is becoming a reality for me the older I get.

I would say we are finally settled in our new home.  Matthew and Alyson still have some decorating to do in their bedrooms and they are patiently waiting for time when both Mom and Dad can help. (Dad for attaching shelves and picture frames to walls and Mom to make sure they're in the right place - or at least presentable!)  The rest of the house is pretty much done.  It feels good to be in a permanent place again.

Dave and I have enjoyed long walks with Pokey since the weather turned nice. We mapped out a trail that is about a 2.5 mile walk; it's great exercise for us and I enjoy the conversation.  Matthew and Alyson will play on the "hills" at the pond while we walk.  There are several large piles of dirt the kids in the neighborhood have claimed.  On most good weather evenings, the hills are swarming with loads of kids riding their bikes and playing in the dirt.  I don't know what was planned for those hills but it looks like the developers are going to leave them as is..a good outlet for the kids.   

Earlier this year, I received a Blackberry through work and so I don't need a separate cell phone.  My old one is still under contract and it doesn't make sense to cancel the service.  Rachel has claimed it as hers and has become quite the master of texting.  She went WAY OVER the limit last month and is now having to do a lot of free babysitting to pay me back for overage fees.  (I finally broke down and am now paying for unlimited messaging).  I still see that an 11-year old does NOT need her own cell phone, so it is supposed to be shared among all three kids - some people are just better at sharing than others, but Rachel is not one of them.

The kids all got straight A's on their report cards last week.  Rachel tried out to be one of four kids to play the tuba in the band next year - we are waiting for the results.  She is excited.  I am still amazed that she is choosing tuba!  I am told there are some really great women tuba players.  Maybe we can add to that crowd.

We are good and stay busy with the normal routines of life.  Most days it's just the same old stuff.

Home, Sweet Home!

We finally have a home of our own again!  We closed on Monday, Mar. 15.  We are excited and welcome anyone who wants to come for a visit. 

I took the week off to help with the move.  The kids were out of school for Spring Break - Alyson and Matthew tried to help and somedays were more help than others.  Rachel, on the other hand, has developed the pre-teen attitude and felt spending her week off moving was the most boring thing EVER!

I am thoroughly exhausted today and welcomed a day of rest.  We made a lot of progress unpacking boxes and cleaning out the apartment and storage unit.  Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney were a great help earlier in the week - especially the pickup truck and strong arms!  I enjoyed visiting with them too as we moved and cleaned.

Here are some pictures:

The front of the house - 10 days before closing.  (It was too dark to see the final product tonight)

The view from the entry

Entering the kitchen

View of kitchen and family room from back door

Master bedroom

Master bathroom

The kids rooms are too messy and I didn't want to embarrass anyone.  We still have a ways to go.  But this is exciting and I wanted to share.

Back to school and work tomorrow!

We are getting really excited!

Just a few shots of our soon to be home...

Looking into the Kitchen and Entry

Living Room

Kitchen

Master Bathroom

Things are going really well for us.  We recovered quickly from our snow storm and have enjoyed warm weather this weekend.  I just wish the weather man could decide if it was winter or spring!?!  I am ready for summer.

We are scheduled to close on our home Monday, Mar. 15.  Baring any further delays, we will be moving in over Spring Break.  I have the whole week off from work and will be glad to get this phase of our life started.  The apartment seems smaller every day.

Overheard in our car (Matthew, after hearing a radio commercial for Sleep Experts):
"My Daddy is a Sleep Expert....he can sleep anywhere!"

Snow!!!

The official snow total for Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 11 was 12 1/2 inches - an all-time record.  Rachel had a blast sledding with her friends from church; Matthew and Alyson did well trying to make the biggest snowball ever.  It's pretty big.  Alyson added the finishing touches to make the snowball more personable.  Dave gets the gold medal for service as he volunteered to clean walks at the apartment complex; I don't think the management own a snow shovel.  We don't either but sometimes a garden shovel works better - especially with very heavy, wet snow. It was beautiful and we enjoyed the change of pace, but as many of you know, snow doesn't last long in Texas.  We all return to school and work tomorrow.  I'm sure Dave will enjoy the peace and quiet when we all leave in the morning.

Just plugging along...

We continue to plug along with school, work, and play.  The weather has been a roller coaster but doesn't seem to be affecting progress on our new home.  We have walls up, cabinets in, and we are ready for paint.  The contractors painted the outside last week and did the finishing touches on wall texture, base boards, and shelves.  It's really fun to see.  I am getting really antsy!  Five months in our inky-dinky apartment is long enough.

The last time I wrote about a flood in our storage unit.  Once we got into the unit and started to go through wet boxes we found that we had some really good cardboard boxes - wet on the outside and dry on the inside.  We decided not to do any cleanup now and we'll wait until we move out in March.  I was pleased that there was not a whole ton of damage and lost items.

Rachel is back in braces.  We took her in to the orthodontist to replace her "broken" retainers.  (I don't exactly categorize dog-chewed retainers as "broken", but that's a battle I am not going to fight).  During the visit we were informed that it was time to begin "Phase 2" of the treatment.  Lucky us!  I was really stressed about it at first because I had budgeted for only one child in braces this year and Alyson was recommended by her dentist to see the orthodontist.  Great news came when the orthodontist said Alyson will not need them - her teeth should straighten pretty well as the remainder of her teeth come in.  What a blessing!

Aly found a new friend at school who lives really close to our new home.  She has invited her over for "play dates" after school and they have had a lot of fun together.  She is excited for moving closer to more of her friends - and especially not having to share a bedroom anymore.  Our little miss neat-freak is not enjoying close quarters with her not-so-neat, clutter-maker brother.  I guess it's a good thing Alyson didn't have to share a room with Rachel!

Matthew is recovering from the flu and an ear infection.  He missed three days of school at the end of January and has been on antibiotic.  He had been super ornery for about week before we finally took him to the doctor.  I am glad to have him back to normal now - he's quite the bear when he is not feeling well.  I wonder who he's related to?!?

Dave is staying busy.  He has developed quite the workout routine and enjoys time at the gym with his friends.  He signed up for a membership when the gym offered him an awesome deal to "returning" customers.  I am sure trying to keep up our growing kids adds to keep him active.  His calling in the ward bishopric is also time consuming and takes his energy many days.

Other than that we are doing great.  Hopefully next time I write I will have a permanent home and pictures to post.

It's just one of those days!

Here's a picture showing progress on our house for anyone interested:

It's fun to see progress!

On another note...

While in church today, I got a voicemail from our storage unit.  A frozen pipe broke in the unit next to ours and unloaded a ton of water everywhere.  75% of our unit is completely soaked!  It is really hard to determine how much of a loss we will end up taking.  A fireman manning the situation offered to move us to another unit but the thought of moving everything (in freezing temperatures) knowing a lot of it is ruined and will need to be thrown away is discouraging.  My biggest heartburn is framed pictures and photo albums.  Everything else is material.  The regular office staff were not available today because it is Sunday; Dave will have some people to talk to tomorrow. And we are moving out next month.....argh!

Good bye to 2009!

I really enjoyed Christmas break this year. I took off work Dec. 24 through Jan.3. We had a blast! The week before Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney came to spend a couple days. They brought with them a Wii. The kids had fun playing games and doing fitness challenges.  It's been hard getting an opportunity to use the Wii with 5 people fighting over time.

We were invited to a progressive dinner with some friends from our ward and their family Christmas Eve.  The weather did not cooperate well as Mother Nature felt it was time for the metroplex to have a white Christmas (some say it has been 80 years since the last white Christmas in the Dallas/Fort Worth area).  Snow and icy roads made for a challenging evening but we had fun meeting new people and sharing the Christmas spirit.  The kids were excited to go to bed that night and see what gifts showed up Christmas morning.

Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney left Christmas day and we headed to San Antonio to meet my parents, Kaylene, Scott and Jessie.  We stayed close to the River Walk and enjoyed dinner and lights Christmas Evening and a trip to the Alamo Saturday.  We shopped at the outlet malls in San Marcos, spent Grandpa Anderson's money at Central Market and enjoyed visiting and playing card games with Cheri's family in Cedar Park.  It was sad to see everyone head their separate ways on Monday morning, but it was truly an enjoyable weekend.

We returned home to a nice, relaxing week.  I was able to avoid work for the most part.  It was nice to be home with everyone and just "hang out".  Dave and I also got to go out on a date to see "Blind Side".  I highly recommend this movie for anyone who is looking for a heartwarming story.

We are now  back to the normal routine of school, work, and church duties.  I am thankful for job security and a family who supports me.  We are looking forward to exciting events in 2010.  First and foremost is the completion of our new home - scheduled now for the end of February/first of March, weather permitting.  We have plans for the Anderson Family Reunion in July and trips in the motor home with Grandma and Grandpa Ankeney.

We'll keep you all posted.