Merry Christmas 2013!

We had a good Christmas. We kept Christ in Christmas. And at the forefront of our Christmas. Our faith was stretched a little bit more this Christmas. We laughed. I cried. We were blessed in ways completely unexpected this Christmas.

our handsome gents, ready for the Christmas Eve service at church!

me with my hottie hubs! :)

LOVE my little gents!!!

the boys sang "Away in A Manger" for a special--with their dad and pappy

congregation singing along at the end ;) Our boys did so great!!!

the traditional Christmas Eve present...

...matching PJ's!!!

Christmas morning 2014!

mini-man Mason...all smiles ;)

The boys bought gifts for each other--priceless!!

daddy's yearly fishing lures from his sons!

Bow and arrow!!!!

MN package from Grandma

love it!!! And I shall wear it with pride :) Thanks mama!!

 Stocking time!

Christmas with the rest of the Anderson family!

Mason and Pap! (or should I say, Santa Pap?!)

cousins--Daniel, Carson, Jovi, Mason

the Polar Express train is a big hit at Nan and Pap's!!

the Anderson ladies!

 And another day of Anderson Christmasing!!

KJ and sis-in-law Jen

Austin and Nanny

present time!!

I think Carson liked his!!

enjoying what's left of the snow!

As we forge ahead into another new year, I pray that our faith will continue to be stretched and deepened, thankful that it's another year closer to Jesus' return, and hopeful that many more will come to a saving and living faith of their own, daily dying to self and following Jesus.
           Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Anderson fam!!

God's plans prevailed

" 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord..." (Jeremiah 29:11) But those plans don't necessarily always align with ours. His plans always supersede our own, even if we don't understand the reasoning. But that's the thing with wanting His desires and His will and His plans above our own. We don't need to know the reasoning. We just need to keep trusting Him. And such continues our faith journey.

checked in and waiting to go to pre-op!

This was the case as we sent Carson into surgery Monday morning. We were hopeful and almost giddy about the fact that Carson would be receiving a prosthetic bone to give him some hearing and we could put surgeries on the "back burner" for at least a few years. He was quite excited himself. So many family members and friends all praying, hoping, excited for our little man, and anxious to see some results in a matter of weeks.

a little snuggle with mom

a little laugh with dad in pre-op

our brave little man ready to go!!

 Surgery itself went very well in the sense that Carson was in good spirits beforehand and apparently even laughing with the anesthesiologist as they made their way back to the OR (he was by far our favorite anesthesiologist so far...a major praise!). I can't say as though I know many 7 year-old boys who would be smiling as they head into surgery. From there, the waiting began...the praying was nonstop, the verses were read over and over again, the encouraging texts came through, and the seconds ticked by at a snail's pace. 2 hours later, they called for Mrs. Anderson and I was at my son's side, once again helping him work through that nasty anesthesia. It never gets easier but God gave me the strength needed to keep it together for the sake of my son and He provided Carson with some very caring and fantastic nurses to give him the proper care. 
 The outcome of his surgery was not what we planned but was very evident God's perfect plan for our Carson. Rather than implanting that bone, the doctor removed more of the cholesteatoma that had grown back, this time behind his ear drum. He was unable to see it earlier this month because of it's position, but again, a huge praise that he found it and was able to remove it before it had grown any larger, wrapping around the nerve or ear drum itself. We knew this was a possibility, that this cholesteatoma could grow back, but we had our hopes set high since we went into this day thinking our boy would come out with the chance to hear in a matter of weeks. God's plan prevailed. And it's perfect. It wasn't easy to think that way as we sat by Carson's bedside helping him work through the sickness and nausea and flowing tears of simply wanting to go home. All I could think was that we would be here once again in a year, going through this all over again. 

And it was especially not easy as we were finally cleared to leave and in pulling away from the hospital doors, our boy asked in his soft, sweet, concerned yet hopeful voice, "did the doctor put the bone in my ear?" Floodgates opened. He continued working through the sickness as we drove home, Andy & I watched our little man sleep the drugs off as best he could, and we let the tears flow off and on as were both exhausted in every facet...physically, (amazing how tired you can be even though the day produced a lot of waiting) emotionally, mentally, etc.

We have much to be thankful for in the fact that Carson had amazing doctors and nurses caring for him, we were able to recover in the pediatric ward to which Carson could be distracted with quietness and a movie, from the smallest of details to the biggest of prayers that were being said for us throughout the day. God's blessings were, and continue to be, outpouring. Carson's faith story is all his own, written by the Creator Himself. And His plans are PERFECT!

Counting down....

You ever had one of those days when the old familiar saying of "when it rains, it pours" feels actually on the mild side? It's more like a downpour. And yet, in the midst of it, God puts little reminders in perfect places to remind you just how insignificant those continuous raindrops are and that really, it'll be short-lived. It's all about Him. It's all about remaining Kingdom-minded, no matter how wet we may get. But then again, doesn't a little rain cause things to grow???

As those little reminders were given to me throughout a particular day earlier this week, some of them came in song form...and there is no more appropriate time of year than now to remember that our King came to earth to save us. He was the Messiah in baby form. I was weepy in and out of song as the downpour slowly turned to a steady rain and then lifted to a sprinkle. (A good old-fashioned laugh with the mama, that belly-aching kind, does wonders in drying things up as well.)

ready for school! party day!!

it's Santa! ;)

  









 

Mason's ready to bake some cookies!

Part of reason for those little sprinkles would be the upcoming surgery for our Carson--it's that mama nervousness kicking in and if I dwell on it too much, it tends to go into overdrive. I've been learning, however, that no matter how old you get, when dealing with your children, those mama heartstrings can always be easily tugged. That being said, Monday morning will find us once again sending Carson into surgery to have a prosthetic ear bone put in place, hopefully giving our little man some hearing in that left ear! Prayers please!! ;) We're nervous, but hopeful. A little anxious, but thankful. We know God's got this.

The 4 gentlemen in my life always help me get back to proper perspective; they're electrifying smiles and sheer joy wipe away the leftover rain drops and soon giggles are erupting as we continue on in our Christmasing. ;)

such handsome Santas ;)

The cookie baking marathon has been in full swing....cookie plates ready to be put together and hand delivered!!

Jesus is the BEST GIFT we could ever receive

The boys each did a little shopping for each other and with not so much as a little nudge here and there, I'd say they did pretty well! I guess we'll see on Christmas morning. :) 

Mason doing some wrapping

Austin got all fancy using ribbon ;)

Carson's turn!

those thoughtful presents

The sun has been brightly shining and those temps are up and dare I say, that even though it's been a white-out here the past few weeks, I'm not sure that we'll have a "white Christmas." The boys took advantage of the snow...and by boys, I mean ALL my boys. ;)

sledding....sorta...

Carson taking a break

now THIS is sledding ;) Here goes Mason!

Austin's hanging on tight....

....wipeout!!

Carson's go-around...

...and he's all smiles!

So much fun!!!!

warming up with hot cocoa

a candy-cane always makes it a little bit better

As we continue counting down to Christmas morning, the traditions have continued and one of our favorites is the Anderson cookie plates!! We love being able to share with others and pass along a little of God's goodness.It was priceless to hear their exclamations of "this is so much fun" after nearly every home we visited.

Cookie plate constructing! ;)

Carson helping Mason

ready to go! lots of plates loaded up with goodies!

Let the countdown continue....