Visiting

Well we have started visiting another church. We have spent the last week at Western Hills and are really happy. Now I am definitely not saying that we have found a home yet, but we have felt the most welcome here. We still want to visit a few more to narrow our decision down but I think that we might really like this one. I will keep you all updated.


I am going to try and get my TN license started this week. I want to get my certificate this year so that I can start submitting resumes to area private and public schools. There is a private school right here in Bellevue called Nashville Christian that has a Life Program (basically special ed in a private school). I have been thinking about applying there and a few others. Matt and I still have not decided what to do as far as the kids schooling. A lot depends on where we will be living in the fall. I actually have to think about it now since Caleb will be starting pre-k next year!!! ( Crazy huh. My first born will be in school.) We are going to try and get Ian into a 2-3 day a week program too. If we decide to send the kids to private then I have to get a job at that school. So a lot depends on that.

Anyway...not a lot of updates here. I am going to try and get some pictures posted soon. I tried a little bit ago but the blogger photo sight was down and we were having some difficulties. I will try to get them up soon.

Trip to the Zoo

Well we headed to the Nashville Zoo a few Saturdays ago. Grandma and Papa Anderson joined us for the day. The boys and Riely enjoyed it. We saw the parts that we missed last time. The Meerkats were a huge hit again and Aligator Cove was a hit as well. We skipped the elephants and giraffes this time since they were by the merry-go-round and jungle gym. The boys enjoyed the petting zoo . They brushed goats and touched camels. A lot of the animals were in the shade and sometimes hard to see, but some were real close. Rileys favorite were the zebras and Meerkats. They were so close that she kept trying to touch them. Enjoy the pictures!

Comments

Ok so I am still an idiot. Aparently it didn't save my changes or something but I really got it right this time. I clicked all the circles I was supposed to and hit submit and THEN republish. What a complicated process. Probably not but it is when you have 3 kids hanging on you cause 2 of them want to "play puter too" and the third wants you to feed them...ya know how it goes!

Little Miss. Kaitlyn

Here are some shots of our beautiful neice. We had a great weekend trip to IN (Matt's parents now live in Indiana with Heather and Scott). We got to spend time with family and meet Kaitlyn. She is a very sweet baby and really loves to sleep. It was a chore to see her eyes, but when they were open there was a lot of intensity behind them. Scott and Heather are great parents. We got to see Kaitlyns' fist church service. She pretty much slept through it all but did eat somewhere in there. She slept through class too- she must not have enjoyed the sermon or class topic. :)

Study

Now that we are in our apartment, I have begun doing a study by Beth Moore entitled "The Patriarchs:Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". Let me just tell you how amazing this is. I have learned more in the last 3 days about Abram, about the Jewish culture than I have ever known. Now maybe many of you already now a great deal from your times and classes at Harding, but now that I am older (gulp) I am finding myself thirsty for this "background" knowledge. Anyway- I was finishing up my day 3 lesson and there was a quote that Beth placed in there and it spoke to me like nothing I have read in the last 3 days. It is not a quote from the Bible but rather a quote from F.B. Meyer. We just finished reading about Abram and Sarai living in Egypt during the famine in Canaan. Abram has told pharaoh that Sarai is his sister and God inflicted pharaoh and his household with serious diseases. We were asked what might Abram have done differently. Here is his alternative plan (and what spoke to me after)

"How much better would it have been for Abraham to have thrown the responsibility back on God, and to have said, "Thou hast brought me here; and Thou must now bear the weight of providing for me and mine: here I will stay till I clearly know what Thou wilt have me do." If any should read these lines who have come into positions of extreme difficulty, through following the simple path of obedience, let them now look at God through difficulties, as we see the sun shorn of splendour through a fog; but let them look at difficulties through God. Let them put God between themselves and the disasters that threaten them. Let them cast the whole responsibility on him. Has He not thus brought you into difficulties, that He may have an opportunity of strengthening your faith, by giving some unexampled proof of his power? Wait only on the Lord, trust also on Him....He will provide."


Tell me that is not amazing. As I sit here and think of that, it brings me such peace. I have struggled with letting it all go and trusting that God has a plan in us moving out here with our house not sold and not selling. I have been very vocal that this is a growing time for us and that God has something planned and I just need to have that faith. And on today, a down day- when I think things can't possibly get worse, I find that passage. I felt that God had me find that today to uplift my heart and to reaffirm that he has a plan and it will take place if I am obedient to his stretching and pruning of my faith. I pray that He is blessing you beyond measure and is revealing His will for you daily. Peace, my friends.

Worship

I get daily devotional emails from the Purpose Driven Life website and I got this one a few days ago and thought I would share it. Sometimes I have to take a step back in my day and remember that in all my actions, thoughts and word I should be praising my God. I sometimes find my self not nessarily leaving God behind at the "builing" but I tend to forget that I am able to praise and worship my God in every breath I take. That is what I should be doing. I'm working on it hope you all do to!

Worship is a state of mind.

What do you think of when you think of worship? Stained glass? Choir robes? Praise choruses? Worship band? Hands lifted or knees bent? If you’re anything like me, it’s bound to have something to do with church or doing something religious.

Jesus once said that those who worship God must worship in Spirit and in truth. Now that doesn’t say anything about church or religious activity; in fact when Jesus said this, he was answering a question about the proper place to worship. There was a difference of opinion at the time about which mountain to worship God on. One group said on this mountain and another said on that. That’s when Jesus responded that the Father was looking for true worshipers who worship him in Spirit and truth and that neither mountain meant anything compared to this. In other words, it doesn’t matter where you worship, it matters how you worship.

I think sometimes we approach worship as if we have to have all the right elements working in proper order for something to capture our emotions and truly qualify as a worship experience. We need to hear the right songs, performed in a certain way by the right musical group, enhanced by great visual graphics, and presided over by a trusted worship leader. We go to a certain church because “we like the worship there.” All of this makes worship dependent on certain elements all adding up to create a familiar experience we can identify as worship.

But is worship something that happens to me or something that I make happen? Is worship a mood or a mindset? If, as Jesus said, worship is something that we do in Spirit and truth then it would seem to be something we can do any time, any where. This is, in fact, what true worship is.

I have worshiped at ball games and movies, schools and sock hops, workout gyms and restaurants, on the golf course and at the beach, in the car and in the air, while reading a novel and reading the newspaper, at work and at play.

You are worshiping right now as you read this. The fact that you signed up for these devotionals says that it’s important to you to take a few minutes to focus on God while you go over your e-mails today. But you don’t have to stop worshiping God when you click this window closed. You can just keep on going; no one’s stopping you.

You don’t need anything but your heart and soul to truly worship God. Worship is not something you go somewhere to do, it’s what you pay attention to as you do everything else.

Oops

Sorry to those of you who have been posting comments. I didn't realize when I did a certain setting that I had to go in and approve them to be on there. What can I say- I'm still learning how to do this ;). Yes.... My hubby laughed at me. I just thought no one wanted to comment! Now they are all on and I changed the setting back. So hopefully no weird people will post random things again!

Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

"You are the best daddy in the whole world. I play basketball with daddy. he play baseball with me. He play wrestle with me and him. Daddy give me,Ian and baby Riley hugs. He love Caleb. He love Ian too. Baby Riley laugh at him. "
~Caleb

"I play basketball with daddy. I play baseball with daddy. Dear God, baseball, basketball, Amen. Love you"
~Ian

"oooohhhhh. Dadadada...(laugh)...Ahhhhhhhh."
~Riley

" I love you tons and thank God for you everyday. You make us smile and laugh. You provide for us in everyway possible. Happy Birthday!"
~The wife

More updates

Well now that I have gotten some pictures up from the last couple of months I thought I would give a little update:

Riley is crawling and starting to try to pull up. She gets on her knees and hangs on to anything with in reach to try and see over it. I don't think it will be long before she is pulling up and cruising. Her brothers will make sure of it. She thinks she can do what they do and tries really had to be "one of the boys". She crawls around after them and shrieks at them if they leave her behind. She is really interested in what I do too. She will watch me fold laundry and load the dishwasher so intently. I almost think she is taking a mental note so she can try it later.


Caleb is becoming so...big. He is so ready to start school. I hope that I can find a mothers day out program or even a pre pre-k for him to do a few days a week. It will get him around other kids and he is soaking everything up right now. He wants to know about everything- what it is, how it works, what it looks like on the inside... He is really smart for his age I think. I could just be saying it casue I am his mommy, but I really think so.


Ian is doing really good. He is talking a whole lot more and is becoming very inquisitive. He is the quiet ponderer though. He will sit and think about it more than Caleb does. He is also trying to find his own I think. It gets him into trouble some. He thins he can do what ever he wants. I know Caleb is head strong and wants things his way, but Ian just sneaks around to do it. And he does it several times to see the effect. After a few punnishings he gets the idea and drops it.


All in all we are doing good. We might try to go up and see our niece this weekend. Matts parents are coming down for Matts birthday on Friday and then taking the kids home with them till we get up there on Saturday. Then my parents are coming on Sunday to celebrate his birthday. We couldn't all meet at the same time so Matt gets several birthdays this year.

Our "New Home"

Well we have offically moved into our apartment. It is interesting to say the least. It really isn't too bad except the kids are having a hard time understanting why they can't be as loud as they want. But it is temporary and we will make the best of it.

We are in a little community called Bellevue. We have enjoyed it so far. We are still pretty close to the church we have been visiting (20 min away) and there is an awsome park here that the boys love. We have started going there early in the morning while it is semi-cool to play. In the evenings, we will sometimes go after Matt gets home from work. There is pretty much all you need here (except Target) and we are still pretty close to my parents (an hour if you take the Natchez Trace)









The boys now sleep in their bunk beds. Ian is doing well with the move from the toddler bed to the bottom bunk. Caleb thinks he is big stuff now that he is on top. We have to take the ladder out while they fall asleep and then put it in so he can get down in the morning. I have to get Ian some spiderman sheet like Caleb that way he will feel like a big kid.

Riley is still sleeping in the pack-n-play since we can't find 2 metal rods to her crib. I am sure they are someplace in my parents basement but it might take a while to find. Hopefully they made the move with us and madeit off the truck.

Where we are now, Matt is able to take the bus to work and even if he drives it is only a 15 min drive. We are really blessed to be here in a family oriented community. It reminds me a little of Maumelle, only not as green.

First attempts

There were many first attempts this last month. Riley attempted crawling (of which she is now a pro) and Mommy attempted to "fix" her hair. Now having boys you pretty much buzz their hair and then brush it after a bath and you are set to go. It is totally different with Riley. Her hair is long in the front so I have to pull it back. Actually looks cute if she will let me do it. Some days are a battle to get a clip in her hair just to do it again in a couple of hours later when she pulls it out. I am getting better at it. It would really help me out though if she would just sit still :)

A few pictures

This is the turtle that Papa found outside in the yard. We caught several more after this one. The boys LOVED having "turtle" there to watch.

We got the boys an inflateable pool and they had a blast. It took them a while to actually get in because the water was pretty cold. Papa finally got in with them and then they started playing and sitting in the water. That pool was a life saver when the temps got real high and they wanted to play outside. I think Iam going to try and get them into swimming lessons next year. They seem to love the water.

Riley had a blast in her pool too. She tipped over a few times and got a face full of water but none the less had a blast. She was too cute in her two piece. Luckily for her she was in the water while her daddy was at work or I am sure she would have had a shirt on for modesty! :) She is a big time water baby- loves baths pools or anywhere she can get in the wather