Rainy Dayz

Those of you who know me well know that I love a good rainy day. In the middle of a winter drought, the sound of rain dancing on the rooftop for hours was music to our ears and a beautiful sight to our eyes last weekend. I've come to appreciate the rainy days and the occasional thunderstorms much more since moving to the high desert. It's interesting how we take things for granted until they are lacking or suddenly in desperate need. We do it with people, things, everyday luxuries, everyday necessities in fact.  Oh to stop and smell the rain from a distance and then go dancing in it when it finally DOES fall!

Warming up with some passing

Jump ball! nice job #15 ;)

We took advantage of the few rainy days we were blessed with, actually forcing us to stop and slow down for once! An afternoon of relaxing, cooking up some fun in the kitchen, and putting in some more hours of uninterrupted family time...perfect.

now THIS is relaxing on a rainy afternoon...

...and this rarely happens ;)

the rain didn't stop the boys from riding--mud puddles and all!! :)

the start of something delish....

YUM!!

Mason in his classic sleeping position...can we say 'little man'? ;)

Even Andy's birthday contained a bit of moisture throughout the day. I could say it stemmed from his sniffles in turning a year older, but it truly did come from the grey skies overhead. ;) Not an all-day event, but enough sprinkles in the morning to make the wet spots on the pavement and enlarge the puddles just a bit more. The boys could hardly contain their birthday excitement on behalf of their daddy all day long and they managed to keep a few secrets quite well!! Mason could hardly stand it anymore though while opening presents at Andy's parents' house; he made it to the very last second before finally blurting out just what was in that large box....priceless. The three little gents yelled surprise when we returned from a dinner-date, as if we didn't know they were there, had to have all the lights off in the house in order to blow out the candles, picked out the camo cake plates we were to have dessert on, and overall made the day that much more special for their amazing dad.

Father and sons!

A little birthday celebration at mom and dad Anderson's! Austin ended up with my camera most of the time ;)
 

Happy Birthday to my very best friend and lifelong playmate!! :)

wish made and hopefully granted! ;)

I won't write in a separate V-tine post but rest assured, we celebrated with the annual heart-shaped cookie baking/decorating festivities, made Valentine boxes and cards to pass out to classmates and friends, partook in the consumption of chocolate and sweets at respective parties, and when all is said and done, will probably have that sugar-crash all weekend long thanks to the sweet goodies that inevitably invaded our home.

 1 John 4:19 "We love because He first loved us." 

Another faith step...

February already? Really? Didn't we just complete our de-Christmasing?! *sigh* Well, we were FINALLY blessed with more of that white substance that accompanies winter and as I've been telling my family and friends east of us, if only we could do a fair trade of some sort--we'll send you our warmth if you would share some of your snow. Ahhhh, to have that happy medium. 

snowy branches

we'll be in these chairs again someday soon...

Nonetheless, we're cruising through our days, moving from one activity to the next,  sustaining our sanity with a lot of coffee and the richness of His Word pumping through our veins. :) 

the purity of God's beauty...and His grace

As many of you know, we had Carson's post-op appointment a week ago and as our faith journey continues, Carson's segment has another new step to it. Carson is healing well and there were no concerns--he recovers quickly which is definitely in this little guy's favor! However, the ENT doctor shared with us that he was shocked and quite disappointed that surgery this past December brought about more removal of the cyst growth rather than an implantation of a prosthetic bone; we were relieved to hear him say that he has thought quite a bit about Carson's case since then, meaning he's invested in our son more than just "clientele" and dollar signs. Because of that growth being behind the ear drum this time around, our doctor feels it's time to move us on to someone "with more capable hands" (his words), someone more tailored to Carson's needs. Someone who specializes in Otology, specifically: Congenital disorders, including surgical reconstruction of malformations of the external ear, ear canal and middle ear. That definition sums up our Carson and God has already begun paving the way for this next step. We have been referred to an otologist at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City hospital via our ENT dr. He comes highly recommended and after some research on our own, we feel confident this is where God is leading. At this point, it looks as though our first visit with this doctor will be in June--we will see our ENT in Reno one more time this spring, then it's on to Salt Lake! Seeing as how it is now an approximate 5-hour drive to SLC (rather than the 2 1/2 to Reno) to know we could "stop by" on our way to MN this summer for that initial visit was another glimpse of God once again saying "I got this." There are still many details in the workings that require prayer, wisdom, and more of our ever-growing faith in His plan. But we can move forward confidently, road bumps and all, continuing to trust Him and know that He does in fact "got this."

Mmmmmm....:)

SNOW!!

taste-testing...through the looking glass

Carson and Mason....

a little 'snow soccer' anyone?! ;)

Mason making his snow-angel

Carson kickin' it!

Carson making his snow angel...

:)

 

Air-borne Austin!

A little visitor in our backyard--the boys were loving it!

Austin and Austin...

 

...laughing and playing :)

Austin on the free throw line!

Austin chatting with buddy Ryan--post game.

Austin and Austin--buds and goofs ;)

As I was working on this very post, praying my way through my writing and anticipating what studying James would produce today, I was given a little spring in the midst of winter. God's blessings are more often than not (and dare I say almost always) unpredictable, but always so perfectly timed. 

From a dear friend/sister ;) 

Rarely bored

I was recently reminded that it has been a while since I posted any pictures or had any random ramblings about the five of us Andersons. So today as I sat down to do just that, it took a moment to figure out what words my fingers would type as I glanced through the photos of the past week, and then some. In doing so, I got to thinking about a question I was asked during a conversation not that long ago. It deemed to enter into that arena of stay-at-home-mom vs. working-mom mentality. I was asked "Don't you ever get bored just staying at home?" My defenses shot up in my heart as I thought "how dare they!" but I think the puzzled look displayed, raised brow and all, gave a definitively clear and less-heated answer. "Uh. No." 

A little DQ with my favorites ;)

Now, before I begin my descent into the rolling file of pictures, let me clarify that I'm not about to take on that "hot topic" and dare to spit-fire out this claim or that claim, vamping up one side of the "argument" to the other. Goodness knows there are enough social media outlets, articles, sermons, blogs, etc. out there that can be easily Googled on this topic and I'm not about to add to that number. Most of you know me well enough by now anyway. ;) I'll just share why my answer to that particular question proceeded me to sum up that I am, or ever have been in the past 9 years, rarely bored.

Mason wins again...and legitimately!

              Cookie making time!       

Austin is playing basketball this year!!!

Rebound! Go #15!

looking to get open! (he's right in the middle)

team huddle after the game

Being home and available to my boys has afforded me to play with them on their days off from school on a beautiful afternoon...a little basketball anyone? 

And I mean, who can pass up fort-building and even a little side-walk-chalking on a 50 degree day in January?! Moments I'm thankful to be a part of and definitely keeping me far from hardly being "bored."

It's allowed me to bring a sick boy home from school at the drop of a hat; to go to the school in order to drop off forgotten items realized mid-morning (aka...lunches, library books). It's given me opportunities to pour into others' lives and build relationships I might have otherwise missed out on. And yes, we get to enjoy our coffee at the same time. ;) 

Elisha & KJ--love this gal!

I'm a relational person to begin with and as I continue to deepen my walk with the Lord, I'm reminded more and more that showing Christ to the world is all about relationships: discipleship, loving one another through HIS power, preaching His word to neighbors near and far, serving for His name sake, loving my husband, parenting my boys, etc. I get to do that more intently by "being home", hardly giving me opportunity to be bored. Sure, I do get to enjoy some rare solitude on some afternoons with my nose in a good book, but even better it allows me to spend more time in the Good Book. There's nothing like a soothing cup of creamy coffee while pouring over the pages of Scripture knowing you get to unpack it all with some fellow sisters-in-Christ.

Realizing that Mason will be in kindergarten in what seems like a blink of an eye, I'm so very thankful that Andy and I carried through with our commitment we made the day we found out our family was going to expand beyond the two of us. It hasn't been easy. But God's been faithful. It's a road sometimes wearily, and these days uncommonly, traveled. But so worth it. It's our faith story. And I'd say it's rarely boring.