Eli Turns Two!!!

We have a 2 year old in our midst and we are LOVING life!! He is a joy to us for countless reasons (more on that later).

Here is a recap of his 2nd birthday party. Mickey Mouse themed, of course!

Our gift to him was a water table that we wanted to set out at his party. Therefore, he opened it a few days early.

Here's the table that I decorated... The red Mickey bags were party favors filled with a lots of Mickey goodies!

We read a Mickey Birthday book and shared our Mystery Mousekatools

Played with bubbles

And had lots of outdoor fun!

Time to eat...(kids food)

Grown-ups food

Cake time!

Eli said "Hi" to each of the characters. He was so excited to see them!

Faith enjoying her piece of cake

Sweetest 2 year old ever!!

Present time!

Here is Eli (being held by Daddy) on his first Birthday Sunday at church. A monthly event that is so precious!!

Eli, Happy Birthday! We love you so very much!!

*P.S. I realize Eli's birthday was in June. I am a bit behind and Blogger was giving me fits when I tried to write this post several weeks ago.

Time for an update!

This one's for you, Kelly!

Well, obviously it's been a looooong time since I've blogged. I joined the Facebook bandwagon a few months ago and have neglected the blog ever since. I will say I've missed it....especially once I look back on the old posts and how well I recorded our daily life. This makes me sad b/c I've failed to record SO MUCH great stuff. I guess I'll just sum it up w/ this post and start over. I've already recorded WAY more info (milestones, pics, events) in Faith and Eli's baby books than my mom recorded in mine. I think there was one sentence in my baby book about what kind of child I was. I think I've turned out just fine so I know Faith and Eli will too.....but I still want to do a better job keeping up w/ them!

P.S. Blogger is acting weird and I can't get the pics to move like I wanted so they too are a bit random!

Here's a list of "random updates" from the Sanderson family....

1) In case you missed it, we moved to TN this fall. We are LOVING it. It feels like home and we are beyond thankful for the countless blessings we experience daily as a result of this move.

2) I am trying to lose weight. I know my last several blog posts (while very old) have talked about this. I have been VERY frustrated by this journey. I have yet (6+ months later) to see any visible results (no weight loss, no drop in clothing size, no inches lost). I have cried about it a lot. I don't know what the deal is but I am seeking out some "professional" help (i.e. counseling) to help dig a little deeper.

3) I have a new job!! It's bound to come out sooner or later. I have accepted a job with the CIA! (uhhhh....Currey Ingram Academy that is! www.curreyingram.org) It's a FANTASTIC opportunity for me to work at this AMAZING school. It's a private school for children w/ learning differences. (It's similar to The Shelton School in Dallas....one of my favorite jobs!) I will work 3 days a week (on Murray's day off and then on the 2 days that the kids are in preschool).

4) We are moving Faith and Eli into the same room. They get along so well and we thought they would enjoy this time together while they are little! It's been SO FUN to see them build this very special friendship!

5) The kid's room is going to be decorated in safari decor. My sister-in-law, Darla gave us some SUPER cute stuffed animal heads (lion, rhino, and zebra) that she used in my nephew's room when he was younger. I found the PERFECT coordinating quilts (one in boy colors, one in girl colors) at Target...on clearance! So excited to put it all together. My good friend, Angel, is a interior decorator and she is helping me. I LOVE these kind of projects. I made some SUPER CUTE pillowcases to go w/ the quilts. (LOVED picking out the fabrics for that!!).

6) Eli's language has EXPLODED!! I so wish I had kept a record of all this while it was happening. Not that I could've kept up but still. It is so fun to see all this language come out of him. (b/c of my profession, I realize what a BLESSING this is. I truly am thankful for it!!)

7) Eli really has a funny personality and he knows it! He says funny little things and then puts in a little pause w/ a smile and waits for you to laugh at him. Hard to explain w/ just words but it sure is cute! Man, I love this kid!!

8) Faith is my little rule follower. I love explaining something to her and hearing her accept the logic and appreciate the rule-driveness of it. She then becomes the little enforcer. "Eli, we don't write on the walls. Eli we need to put our toys away before we play outside, etc."

9) Faith also has a very tender heart. Randomly all thruout the day she'll say, "Mommy I love you." "Daddy, I love you." (in the sweetest voice EVER!!). She also quickly says, "I won't do that again" when she gets in trouble for something. My favorite thing she's done this week is ask about Nana. When we've called Murray to check on his mom (she had a stroke earlier this week), she says hi to Daddy and then quickly says, "So how's Nana doing? Are you putting her head up for her?" This is totally unprompted and is amazing for me to see her thinking of others so compassionately! Love it!

10) Murray is doing an AWESOME job leading worship at OC. We have received so much positive and encouraging feedback from friends, members and the leadership. What a blessing it has been to see him thrive in this position. (and to see him recognized for doing such a great job!)

11) My grandma turned 90 this summer. We (my entire family) threw a big reception to honor her. It was one of my favorite days. Tons of people poured into the church to shower her with cards and encouraging words. I LOVED getting to see this! She is a hero of mine in the biggest way! I love her so much!

12) I have found an accountability group that I love. We call it "being real". It's nice to have a safe place where you can do that. I think everyone should be a part of one!

13) I am joining BSF next month. I can hardly wait for it to start. The kids are old enough now to be in the kids program. I've heard AWESOME things about that and I wish it started tomorrow!

14) Faith loves: dancing (she starts a free dance class next month!!), Belle, singing, her friends, her FAVORITE friend, Mrs. Kelly, painting, helping, telling stories, playing w/ Daddy, getting treats, talking about her day, rocking in the rocking chair w/ Mommy and snuggling!

15) Eli loves: Mickey Mouse, elephants, going to the zoo, Chuck E. Cheese, Raffi, reading books, playing outside, playing hide-n-seek (where you hide a toy and have him go find it), being tickled, hopping, being onstage, playing w/ Sissy, the colors orange and pink (I think Dunkin Donuts is responsible for this!) praying for Xiolynn, and playing with his buddy, Bennett.

These are totally random updates. I know I left out a lot but I wanted to post something to get me started. I will be posting pics from Eli's 2nd birthday party very soon! What a fun day that was!!

We have LOVED having our dear friends, Travis, Kelly and Bennett living in N'ville w/ us! Faith and Eli are HUGE FANS of all things Speck!

The kids in the 4th of July t-shirts...bought at Target on July 5th for $1.25 each (75% off)

Fatih at the neighborhood pool!

Eli chowing on some watermelon in Cookeville

Faith in the creek at the Stites family farm

Holding onto Daddy

Our family pic at the Stites family farm on the 4th of July. We hope this is an annual tradition. SO MUCH FUN!!

Biggest Loser Club Season 2!

Biggest Loser Club Season 2

In January, 35 people joined our original Biggest Loser Club in an effort to begin living a healthier lifestyle, lose weight, and get fit. Tomorrow is our finale where one contestant will win $375 (there are 3 additional cash prizes being awarded as well)!!! It’s been so motivating (and fun!) reporting our workout points and weight each week. Sometimes the ONLY thing that made me workout that day was knowing that I needed to have some points to report at the end of the week! MANY of our contestants want to continue this journey together so we are beginning a “Season 2 “ on June 1st. See all the details below and contact me at iamthebiggestloser@yahoo.com if you are interested in joining us!

Here are the details...

Starting June 1st the competition will begin.
Contact me at iamthebiggestloser@yahoo.com to sign-up. Instructions will be sent to you regarding all the necessary details to join. Season 2 runs from June 1st-August 3rd.

Each club member pays $30 to join.

(This money in its entirety goes toward the pay out for the winners and bonus prizes throughout the competition). All participants MUST pay their entry fee on or before June 1st to join the club.

The weigh-ins will be held monthly.

“Weigh-Ins” will be held on June 1st, July 6th and August 3rd. You will, however, need to report your weight weekly when you send in your points. You will receive “points” for reporting your current weight each week.

(FYI--I am the only person who will see "your number" and will keep it confidential. Only percentages of weight loss will be sent out to all the participants via email to those in the Biggest Loser Club on the days of the “Weigh-Ins”.)

“Points” are earned by working out, drinking water, participating in the monthly weigh-ins, and for various “Bonus” tasks each week.

Prizes:
There will be weekly prizes for chances to earn cash or additional points to keep the competition going!! That info will be emailed out each week.

There will be a significant pay out at the end of the competition on August 3rd for the players w/ the most points (1st place, 2nd place, and for the “Biggest Loser” (highest % of overall weight loss).

Summary:

I know this sounds a bit confusing (especially if you are new). Just know that I am a very organized person and will send you an Excel spreadsheet for you to keep track of all your points/weight/prizes, etc. So really all you have to do is fill it out for the appropriate week and email it to me by the deadline. I send out weekly emails w/ the “results” from that week which shows the number of points every member has earned.

If weight loss is one of your goals, I hope you will commit to joining us! The more that join, the higher the pay out will be!

Sign-up by sending a message to iamthebiggestloser@yahoo.com and a “Welcome” email will be sent to you w/ all the next steps!

Happy Easter!

I thought it was time to update the blog....here's a couple new pics of F & E. More to come later (I hope!).

Cuteness....

I think it's time I added a lot of cuteness to my blog...

Happy 41st, Murray! We love you so much! (I love Eli's hair in this pic)

We (meaning me) were super sad when the Colts got knocked out of the playoffs. We're gonna watch the Super Bowl but it just won't be the same...

On another note, I am LOVING Facebook! I avoided it like the plague for a long time. I thought it would be so overwhelming and give me all this info I didn't really want to know but now that I have "figured" it out (for the most part), I am REALLY enjoying it! (Thanks, Candice...and Kim!) It is so organized and easy to connect with others. It's easier than blogging and I highly encourage you to join (if you've avoided it for the same reasons I did.) It really isn't overwhelming. My biggest recommendation is to turn off all your email alerts...those are just ridiculous! Anyway, add me as a friend if you decide to jump on the FB train!

For the love of Candice...

Well, I held out as long as I could. However, today, I officially signed-up for Facebook! Candice has been telling me how cool it is. I've been telling her how overwhelming it is. Candice has been telling me how easy it is to get connected. I've been telling her how busy I am and that I don't have time to get connected. Candice told me how great it would be for our Biggest Loser Club to have a special FB group so we could chat with one another and share ideas, recipes and encouragement. I told her I'd sign-up!

I am still totally overwhelmed by it, but admit I like some things about it. It's clear to me that most everyone now communicates via FB and no longer on blogs. (I haven't had a comment in forever). I guess FB did to blogs what email did to snail mail. I still prefer snail mail but the sad reality is that hardly anyone uses it anymore (except those annoying credit card companies!).

I'll still blog about our family and stuff to keep record of our adventures or lack thereof! If you're on FB, look me up. I'll try to figure out how to be your friend!

Thanks, Candice (I think)!! See you on FB!

We're off!!!

I am SUPER EXCITED to announce that our Biggest Loser Club is 34 members strong!!! We are off the couch and earning points like crazy (hopefully, we all are, club members will see the results of week 1's points Wednesday morning!).

Membership is officially closed. I can't believe we have 34 members. I was hoping for 10! I think it's cool that there are 34 members (including myself). I am going to lose a pound for every person in the club. That'll put me right at my goal weight!!

I'll be back with some things I am learning on this journey later.

I'm off to drink some water (I haven't made my water points yet....why is that so hard????)

TONIGHT!!

Well, it's here! The big kick-off for our Biggest Loser Club and the premiere of the new season! I am SO EXCITED. We are nearing 25 members! So pumped for that. I found out that the finale is May 12th so that gives us plenty of time to all make some big time transformations!

If you want to join us (read posts below for details) send an email to iamthebiggstloser@yahoo.com by 10/9pm central (the end of the Biggest Loser premiere) TODAY, January 6th.

Also, pay close attention to the Pound for Pound Challenge. General Mills will donate 1 pound of food to U.S. food banks for every pound you lose during the season. It's cool!

Points start counting tomorrow!!! Let's go!! Bob and Jillian are waiting!!

16 members and counting!!!!

Wow...our group keeps growing!! Read the 2 previous posts to find out how you can join us!

11 members and counting!!!

UPDATE:

We've got 11 members officially signed up for our Biggest Loser Club. About 15 if you count verbal commitments. I am thrilled!! It's not too late to join us! Just read the post below and send an email to iamthebiggestloser@yahoo.com to join us.

First weigh-in date is this Tuesday, January 6th (starting weight) and you can start to accrue workout and water points beginning Wednesday, January 7th.