40

It's been waaaay too long, but I'm back with an honest post on the eve of my 40th birthday. (ouch!) It's 11:46pm and I am still awake; for someone my age, that's entirely too late.

To my 20 year old self...from my almost 40 year old self. 

1. All that running you're doing and will continue to do...try something else like swimming or biking. Your knees will thank you.

2. Listen to me. Get out there and jump on a trampoline! Seriously, go do some back flips or something. After 4 pregnancies and deliveries, one jump and you will pee yourself.

3. Wear sunscreen... and be glad you were too broke to pay for a fake tan all those years when your friends were.

4. What's on the inside is way more important than what's on the outside. The world will tell you otherwise.

5. That cheesy sunflower tattoo you almost got but didn't...good call.

6. Learn how to say "no," sooner rather than later. You don't realize it now, but you are a people pleaser and you will say "yes" just because. Stop it.

7. You are never going to acquire a taste for beer. Never. You can stop trying.

8. You think you are blessed right now, just wait and see what God has in store for you!

9. A sleeve of crackers is not a meal. Not even when you pair it with a Diet Dr. Pepper.

10. Enjoy those flat abs. I mean, really enjoy those...and that tight butt too.

11. You are wondering, and yes, you will get stretch marks.

12. Skip some of your college classes. It turns out, you won't miss any key piece of information that will make or break your entire college career.

13. This is going to sound crazy...but you are going to be a Dallas Cowboys fan. Your future husband will convert you. Ridiculous, I know. Get yourself some team t-shirts and save them, because these will be considered "throwback" and "retro" in no time.

14. Never say never. Never. (You will wear skinny jeans, cheer for Texas Tech, and your kids will have boogers stuck to their faces in public...all things you said you would never do. Get over it.)

15. Learn to cook, play the guitar and sew. Right now. Seriously. Make it happen.You are not as busy as you think you are.

16. You think you don't have boobs now... just wait until after you nurse four babies.

17. Trust your instincts.

18. Kegels...do them. (See #2)

19. After having children, you are going to say things you never thought you would hear yourself say, like, "We don't put light sabers in our penis..." and "We don't eat poop."

20. Major on the majors and minor on the minors - Don't sweat the small stuff.

21. Go to Africa! This opportunity will not arise again for a VERY long time. Do it.

22. You won't meet the man you will marry until you are 29...so go live your life and feel free to give up dating until then. It's overrated.

23. 40 seems old to you right now, but someday you are going to be 40. It's not old; it's all about perspective.

24. See yourself the way God sees you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made...

25. Go to bed. I mean it. Get sleep. You will need it later. 1:30 am might seem just fine right now. Your eyes and body will surely hate this hour when you are forty.

On that note, good night. Forty, let's do this!

...when you're having fun!

Time flies...

Yikes! I haven't posted since September; needless to say, we've been having lots of fun. 

And here's why... 
(Feel free to read this list to the verses of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire) I did.
(Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio. 
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe...)

Leaves brightened and started falling

Halloween and winter calling

Trick or treating with friends

A sugar high that never ends

Pie Breakfast, Thanksgiving

all the snow began to stay

Mom and Dad went to Taiwan

Grammy came for Christmas Day

Kindergarten volunteering

Preschool co-oping

Baby Brother keeps us busy

Lots of sledding; lots of skiing

New Year, New goals

A new baby sister grows 

Sundance comes with fun and chaos

Movies with or without plots.

You read it! (Or sang it.) Soon to be Anderson, Party of Six! Baby sister is due Sept.1st!

Trips to Disney, San Clemente 

The California beach is sweet

Family road trip to the coast

The warmth is what we loved the most

Snow shoes, snow shovels

Ski suits and ski boots

Red cheeks, cold toes

Warm fires and runny noses

Spring came but not too soon

The trees and tulips finally bloom

She battled winter until May

and winter decided not to stay

Young Life, Wyldlife, 

Campaigners, College Life

This is our family business

To share Jesus with the rest

To where did the time fly?

The oldest told year five goodbye

Our six year old - we so love you

The best big brother to the other two

Spring Break brought a trip down south

Time with family and stuffing mouths

Tex-Mex, Barbeque and burgers

Fun with Grands, aunts, uncles, cousins.

Warm days now spent at the park

Sliding, swinging, bike rides 'til dark

We can't wait for school to end

A few more weeks and more fun begins!

The creativity (or lack thereof) ebbed and flowed there for a bit, but you get the point. Here are some brief highlights of life since September!

                                     

                                      

        

                                         

Aaaannd...I cannot get iphoto to recognize that I downloaded over 100 new photos, so there is nothing here from ski school, Christmas or other winter photos. 

Oh well...you see, the littles have grown since September.

For those who knew and loved Truman...

This week we had to say goodbye to our family's best friend, Truman. 

This was NOT easy! And I am a mess typing this. Ridiculous. But that's how much he meant to me - to us. Let me just say, I am not the only one who loved this brown dog like crazy. Since we had to put him down, we have received five letters and cards from friends in our neighborhood who loved Truman. Two families came to say goodbye the night before - so sweet. 

He was an amazing dog.

As you can see from the pictures below, he was a HUGE part of our family and he will be greatly missed. The house doesn't feel the same without him here.

Tru-Dog! You were the best! Have fun running and swimming now that those dang hips and legs are working right! We love and miss you so much! 

Summer - finally!

2 and a half weeks - that's how many weeks we have spent at home since the end of May. 

This wouldn't be a big deal if we lived somewhere like Houston (no offense, Houston peeps, let's not forget I spent most of my life sweating there), but Park City is where you want to be in the summer. It's incredible, and I never want to leave in the summer. That, and we have three small children - not the easiest travelers, but they are troopers, nonetheless!

However, our family business is Young Life, and duty called this summer. 

We actually had to go to a place called Malibu in the Princess Louisa Inlet in British Colombia. Can you believe it? Rough, I know. Rob was Program Director for a month and the kids and I helped here and there when we weren't enjoying the amazing view while searching for seashells, starfish and crabs. My poor kids. They had around 300 teenagers a week doting on them and they had dessert with every meal. They tolerated it.  We went to Bob Goff's (author of Love Does - Read it, people!) house and got to hear his stories in person. Who does that!? I didn't have to cook one single meal for an entire month. 

Ridiculous. I hear you. We had to take a boat to and from the camp, and we spent some time as tourists in Seattle on the front and back end of the trip. Absurd. 

Our oldest missed his preschool graduation, our little guy turned one while we were at camp, I missed my high school reunion, and we celebrated our 8th Anniversary - all to hang out in between snow capped mountains and the ocean. Seriously.

Suffering for Jesus...

Thankfully, Young Life kids from all over the US experienced Malibu and many came to know Jesus each week. As always, I got to see my husband use the amazing gifts God gave him as he made kids laugh and glorified the Lord doing so. He is INCREDIBLE at his job. I love that guy.

After our time at Malibu, we came home just long enough to wash clothes, celebrate our girl's third birthday, re-pack, and to head to Lubbock for Rob's high school reunion. It was so fun to reconnect with old friends, visit with some good friends and family, and have a little time together as a family before Rob got back to work.

We were back in Park City for a week before the kids and I left for Houston for some long overdue, sweet time with my family. It was hot. So hot. The kids still talk about the heat in TX - and the mosquitos. They are weak after living in the mountains. I am too.  

That same week, Rob took our Young Life kids to Crooked Creek in Colorado for the best week of their lives. Park City high school is going to look quite different now that so many more students know their Lord and Savior. It was a life-changing week for every kid.

Then we were back home washing clothes, packing and repacking to head to Colorado for some time with Rob's family. What a blessing it was for our family from Austin to meet us in the mountains of Colorado. We had some fun in Aspen, then we traveled to an awesome cabin in Leadville where everyone slept in the same room (real fun the night our little man was teething and the two of us hung out in the bathroom) and everyone caught a fish (even all the little ones). We had so much fun!

 Then, we all had to go to Buena Vista, Colorado to this little known place called Frontier Ranch. We managed. Don't worry. Family Camp at Frontier has become a tradition for our family (and Rob's family too now that they have experienced it). I can't think of a better place for kids - if they like fun. And the whole - doting, dessert with every meal, dad on stage, crazy fun all the time - thing from Malibu continued at Frontier. They tolerated it...again.

Are you kidding me? 

Yes, I am.

They loved it!

I loved it!

I am so thankful that this is our family business!

This has been one of our busiest summers (I feel like I say that every summer). At the same time, this summer has been such a blessing to our family. Don't get me wrong, I am VERY glad to be home and am ready for some kind of routine. Our oldest starts school next week - tear - and our girl starts preschool - tear. The little man will just remain cute and continue to cut teeth - tears (from him). 

Here are a summer's worth of snapshots - 

starting with Family Camp and working back to Malibu.

Leadville! The highest city in North America.

Independence Pass - on our way to Leadville.

Aspen! 

Malibu - British Columbia!