Our Growing Faith (& Eli)

Eli Turns Two!!!

2009-08-14T00:49:00.009-04:00

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!

2009-08-01T10:17:00.007-04:00

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!

2009-05-11T11:38:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-04-06T13:20:00.002-04:00

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....

2009-01-30T16:27:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-16T01:07:00.003-05:00

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!!!

2009-01-09T11:24:00.002-05:00

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!!

2009-01-06T18:04:00.003-05:00

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!!!!

2009-01-05T12:18:00.001-05:00

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

11 members and counting!!!

2009-01-04T21:35:00.002-05:00

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.

Biggest Loser Club....join today!

2008-12-31T16:36:00.014-05:00

Well, most of you know that I am a HUGE fan of NBC's show The Biggest Loser. It is such an inspirational show and I just love to see people making a real change in their lives for the better.
(Is it just me, or does anyone else often snack mightily during this show? Now that's embarassing!)

About a year ago, I confessed my own weight loss struggle/goals on this blog. I am even more embarrassed that I fell off the "wagon" and now weigh even more than I did then. So, with the inspiration of my fave TV show as well as friends like Jerri, my sisters Kim & Shellie (and others). I decided it was time to weave some interests together in order to really make a change in my life and help others do the same.

I set a goal for myself. It's called 33 by 33. Simply explained...I want to lose 33 lbs. before I turn 33 (on June 20th). I will be posting about my progress (hopefully weekly) and share tips, struggles, etc. along the way.

I also am starting my first weight loss competition. I kept thinking how I would LOVE to be on Biggest Loser but knew I'd never have the chance (and couldn't leave my family for that long) so why not create a Biggest Loser competition among my friends who are in the same boat as me? So I am going for it! Here are the details...

Starting January 6th (first day of The Biggest Loser's new season) the competition will begin.

I have set up this email address iamthebiggestloser@yahoo.com for anyone interested in participating. Just send me an email by 10pm/9pm central on January 6th to join.

Each club member pays $25 to join. (This money in it's entirety goes toward the pay out for the winners).

The weigh-ins will be held monthly. Let's face it, no one has time to workout for 4 hrs. a day so our weekly weigh ins won't be as significant as those on the show. (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. I will not post the results on the blog, only via email to those in the Biggest Loser Club.)

Points will be awarded after each weigh-in.

75 pts. for the Biggest Loser of the month,

60 pts. for 2nd place,

45 pts. for 3rd place,

30 pts. for 4th place,

20 pts. for everyone else.

Weekly points will be added for each workout you complete. 1 point for every minute you workout with a 20 minute minimum. (You can only count consecutive minutes and must workout at least 20 minutes to get credit.).

A bonus of 8 points for every day you drink 8 or more glasses of water. (no more than 8 pts. per day can be earned so don't pull a Neil and try to drink 2 gallons in a day).

Summary: Each week you will email me your total number of workout minutes, and # of days you drank 8 glasses of water. Our weeks will run Wednesday to Tuesday so we can follow the BL schedule. On the weigh-in weeks, you will also turn in your weight (but those occur just once a month. I will send out a weigh-in reminder.)

The final weigh-in will occur on the finale of the Biggest Loser Season 7 (currently scheduled for May 12th, 2009). The winner will be the person who has earned the highest total of points and will receive 70% of the total pay out, 2nd place will receive 30%. EVERYONE will receive motivation and a reason to finally start reaching their weight loss goals. As a bonus, we'll be used to this new lifestyle of eating healthy, getting fit and replenishing our bodies with water so that we all will be guaranteed to have great results by the season finale this spring!

If weight loss is one of your goals, I hope you will commit to joining us! I've already got 4 BL club members signed-up! The more that join, the higher the pay out will be!

To answer Biggest Loser's theme song question, "What have you done today to make you feel proud?" You can say.... I joined Jaime's Biggest Loser Club!!!

Celebrating Faith!

2008-12-23T12:15:00.009-05:00

I am not sure how we went from loving this.....To loving this...... (in what feels like only 3 days). But nonetheless, we are officially parents of a BEAUTIFUL 3 year old!!!

With Faith's birthday so close to Christmas we try to make sure her big day isn't overshowered. I am pretty sure this year we accomplished that!!! I think we will scale back on the parties next year b/c I don't think she realized when her real birthday was! We sure had fun celebrating this precious little redhead!!

Her first party started in Memphis with Grandad, Granlyn, Aunt Melody, Uncle Brad, Bennett, Briggs, Uncle Michael, Aunt Darla, Stone, Sterling, Daddy, Mommy and Eli. She wanted a RED CAT birthday cake this year. Not sure why, but she kept insisiting that's what she wanted! So here it is....

Thank you everyone for making this so special for her and for all the wonderful gifts!!

Then, Nana came for a visit and the celebration continued. Nana gave Faith her first Barbie doll (who was a vet so there was also a pony, dog and cat to play with). She also received some dance classes!

Nana, as always, you give the perfect gifts! Thanks so much!

Next, Mommy made cupcakes for her friends at Mother's Day Out....

Her "friend party" was held at Build-a-Bear Workshop. She invited two friends to make bears and the girls had a blast! It was so fun to watch them at each station. Chickfila and cupcakes immediately followed the bear making.....Kissing the bear's heart before stuffing it inside.

Even Eli got into the shopping mode. He liked this little hat!

Here are the girls and their Bears. From L to R: Emily & Hannah Bear, Faith & Boo Bear, Charity & Ila Bear! So cute how they picked the same bear. I love all the names they chose!

Emily, Thanks for the Strawberry Shortcake set!
Charity, Thanks for the My Little Ponies!

Cupcake Time....

Finally, on the BIG DAY (December 20th) we had her 3 year pics taken and headed off to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch! Our new neighbors, the Williamsons, came over for our last round of cupcakes!!

Still not too sure about characters in costumes, even if it is Chuck E!!
Riding one of her favorite rides with Daddy!

Her final birthday cupcake...(thanks Ryan, Sarah, Sydney, Jack and Evy for the last minute drop-in).

Happy Birthday precious girl! We love you so much!

18 months!

2008-12-14T00:46:00.007-05:00

It is hard to believe that Eli is now 18 months old!! This boy has stolen our hearts and has recently filled our home with MUCH LAUGHTER..... click on this super short video for a sampling!

It is hard for me to put into words what this little boy means to me (his mommy) and the rest of our family. I haven't been great at keeping track of all the specific accomplishments that he has made. But here are a few things I would love to share about our Bubby...

1) He LOVES to get dirty! He can be outside playing less than 5 minutes and will be covered with dirt. He takes his granola bar and crumbles it all up so that he can get crumbs and the chocolate pieces EVERYWHERE!!

2) He LOVES to climb. I think he got this from my mom (his NayNay as she was a big climber too). He will climb on everything. He can Houdini himself out of any booster seat we've tried to put him in and climb on top of the table in record time.

3) He LOVES to move. Strapping him down in any form frustrates him. Therefore, car rides aren't very pleasant for our family. He also gives us an additional workout whenever it's time to tie his shoes! Whew!! I'm sweating just thinking about it!

4) He LOVES his sister. Watching this friendship unfold has been such a blessing to me. Faith and Eli both attend MDO 2 days a week. Both their teachers comment on how sweet their friendship is and how they find each other when their classes have play time together. I LOVE that!

5) His language is exploding and it is so fun (especially for me) to watch him grow in this area. He knows the signs for: more, all done, drink (my fave), sorry, please, thank you

He can say the following words: shirt (his new fave), whoa, sis (for Faith), Daddy, Mama, nana (banana), Nana, dis, yea!, and tons of others, I just can't think of them now.

6) He loves animals (especially dogs). He can make the sounds for: cow, sheep, cat, tiger, lion (so cute), and elephant (our absolute fave!)

There's tons more to say about this precious boy but hopefully this little taste of Eli has put a smile on your face!

Eli, we love you so so so so so so so much!!!!

And the winner is......

2008-12-11T13:19:00.004-05:00

CANDICE!!! Although her guess was incorrect, she was the name selected in our random drawing! I noticed as I was writing the names on the paper that every contestants name started with a "C" and Christmas starts with "C" too so maybe it's a good thing that no one else participated b/c odds are we couldn't have kept up the "C" names for too long!!)

I really liked all the guesses.
Candice: Randy Travis' "Meet Me Under the Mistletoe" (one of my faves on his cd...my fave Cmas album)
Crisiti: "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (I debated on this one and almost picked it!)
Cynthia: Amy Grant's "Tender Tennessee Christmas" (I hadn't thought of this one but now I wish I had. I love this song and it's particularly appropriate for us this year!!)

But here is the one I choose (it makes me smile and dance (ever so slightly) every time Murray calls.....

Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You!" It's such a fun song!!!

Congrats, Candice!! Let me know what kind of Cmas fabric (theme and colors) you want me to use and the measurements of your table (or place you want to put it....bar, coffee table, etc.) You can leave it in the comments of email me.

Thanks for playing "C" friends! May your days be merry and bright!!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Cheer!!!

2008-12-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

Well, I received from Christmas cheer from Kristen and Jennie when they told me about www.thecutestblogontheblock.com . How do you like the new look???? I will admit, I was up WAY too late updating it. It was fun playing around with different formats, colors, etc. Hope it brings you all some Christmas cheer too!!

Now.....onto my attempt to bring my massive blog following (ha ha!) some Christmas cheer, CLEARLY a Christmas themed table runner is not on the "must have" list of very many folks this year...even when it's free!!! Nonetheless, my offer still stands and as of right now (9:20 a.m. central time) I will have to have a drawing for the 2 guesses I've received (both GREAT guesses but neither one is correct). I will close voting at 9:00 am central time tomorrow to allow me time to buy fabric, make the table runner and mail it by this Friday. So for the remaining 3 readers, if you want to play, guess away!

P.S. A quick shout out to my buddy, Chris. A very dear friend from my teen years who I haven't seen in YEARS!!!! I got to see him this summer with our great friends (and mentors) the Martins. Thanks for commenting on the last post!! It was crazy (crazy like a fox) to see you again! Glad to hear things are going well for you!

A few of my "new favorite" Christmas things....

2008-12-08T00:13:00.008-05:00

Well, the Christmas season is in full swing. Here are a few of my new faves I've recently discovered. (Note: I'm doing my first ever blogger give-away so be sure to read this post in its entirety!!)

1) Chick-fil-a's New Holiday Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake. It is seriously SOOOO good! Words can't describe its deliciousness, so stop by the amazing Chick-fil-a BEFORE January 3rd and try one!!

2. The YMCA. Our family joined last Monday and we are LOVING IT!! I sorta (ok--definitely) fell off of my workout wagon and have gained even more pounds when I was so determined to be disciplined and finally get in shape. Now that we are settled, Murray and I were feeling the MAJOR need to get back on the wagon and give it another try. I cannot describe how cool our local Y is. It used to be a country club and it has all this super cool stuff in it! Subway, Cardio media room (where you watch movies while you workout), plus all the fitness classes are included in the membership....it's just great! I found an awesome new friend and accountability partner who braved a spin class with me on Friday (we're both still sore). We are meeting in the morning for another workout (my 4th one so far. Thanks, Cynthia!). Already, it's helped me not eat as much, I said "no" to a second warm krispy kreme donut the other day b/c I didn't want to cancel out my workout (hopefully the first donut didn't cancel it out!)....a few days ago and I would've maybe even had 3 donuts!!! (I realize my #1 new fave is a yummy shake!! When you split one four ways, hopefully, it's not too bad either!) Sweets in moderation, right????

3. Ringtones! I've never used a ringtone before and since we just got new cell phones, I figured it was time! I selected holiday songs. One song for my mainstream callers and one special holiday song for when Murray calls. George Strait's "Jingle Bell Rock" is my mainstream ringtone. This sounds so silly, but I seriously LOVE when my cell phone rings now! If you know my number, give me a call sometime!!!

4) Real Simple decorating.... This month's issue of Real Simple had 35 super simple decorating ideas. Since I fall in the "decoratively challenged" category of women this article was of particular interest to me. I found these ADORABLE (and super simple and cheap!!) candy cups. Faith and I made 6 of them in less than 10 minutes. If you don't read RS here's how you make them... Select a few different glasses (I used ones I already had and bought the green ones at Joann's for less than a dollar ea.), fill each glass 3/4 full with sugar (another thing I already had), fill the glasses the rest of the way with mini marshmallows (I bought a giant bag at Walmart for a dollar). Select different colored candy sticks and place in cup (Cracker Barrel sells theirs for 10 sticks/$1). So for less than $5 you get a super cute decoration....my new favorite holiday decor this year!!

5) Holiday table runners! Our dining room table was in desperate need of a table runner. But our budget is pretty tight right now so I decided to make one with some fabric I already had (and a little bit of new fabric from Joann's). I really enjoyed making it and I really like how it turned out. I enjoyed making it so much that I wanted to make another one. So, here's my blogger giveaway....

I will make a holiday table runner for the first person who can guess the special holiday ringtone (song and artist) I selected for Murray when he calls. (Kim--you can't guess b/c I already told you!). I'll let you pick the theme of your table runner (Santas, snowmen, candy canes, etc.) and get it in the mail to you by the end of this week. (one guess per person)

Merry Christmas!!

It's Christmas Time!!!!

2008-12-01T00:22:00.005-05:00

Well, now that Thanksgiving is over, we are ready to celebrate the Christmas season. I am one of those people who don't like to "think Cmas" till after Turkey day.

I am so excited for this year's season since the kids are older and Faith is able to understand a lot of it. We've had a lot of fun conversations about Christmas and all that makes it so special.

I don't think she'll get near Santa again this year since she saw him from afar at the Peabody hotel in Memphis and kept asking and asking where he went (she does that when she is really afraid of something). I asked if she wanted to go say hi thinking that maybe since we explained to her how he gives kids really special presents, maybe she'd change her mind.....she VERY QUICKLY said, NO!!!!

This is Faith in Cmas 2006 she was just 12 mos. old. We had to skip Santa pics last year. She wouldn't even get near him. I think she looks ALOT like Eli in this picture!

I wish I knew how to change the background of this blog to make it look like a cute scrapbooking page...so if you want to give me a little Christmas cheer (and it's super easy to explain, please tell me how to do this in the comments!! Is there anyway to do that without paying money?)

Well here's a few Christmas questions to answer (I love knowing new things about my friends...especially their faves) so indulge me, please :)

What's your favorite Christmas....

C'mas Movie of all time:
C'mas comedy movie:
Newer C'mas movie:
C'mas Song:
C'mas CD:
C'mas gift you've ever received (childhood and/0r recent):
C'mas gift you've given someone:
My favorite thing about C'mas is ________.

We're Home!!!!

2008-11-18T21:15:00.006-05:00

We moved in on Friday and are getting settled! The kids are doing great and are loving their new home! Here's a few pics!

View from the front...

Our beautiful backyard! Murray is going to attempt to build a slide into the ground (we have a sloping backyard).

My FAVORITE part of our new home is the master bathroom (minus the purple paint color)!!! The previous homes we've owned were built in the 70's so the master baths were VERY small and didn't have a bathtub at all. We feel like we could organize a fooball game in this bathroom! We don't know what to do with all the space!
Another selling point for me was the open floor plan, especially the open foyer. I also love all the windows too!

Faith and Eli's favorite room is their new playroom...

If you are in the area (and know us), please give us a call! We'd love to have you over for dinner or host you overnight if you need a place to stay. We are so thankful for the blessing of this house and would love to share it with others.

Biggest Loser!

2008-11-11T23:43:00.004-05:00

OK--I am really only watching one show right now. It's not a super popular show but I LOVE it! It is so inspiring (with a little drama mixed in). Tonight, there was MAJOR drama and I admit I totally got wrapped up in it. But the ending....O, the WONDERFUL ending of tonight's show!!! I just couldn't help blogging about it!!! When there's a good vs. evil match-up and evil outweighs good but good somehow comes back and beats evil....I can't help but jump off the couch and shout YEEEESSSSSS!!! In your face.....Vicki!!!! (Does anyone think I am taking this a bit too far??? Sorry, I can't help it! Vicki is really mean and this just isn't the type of show for really mean people!!)

Any other Biggest Loser fans out there???? (My sister, Kim and I already celebrated the Black team's victory over the phone!!) Way to go Amy C.!!!!

The Game....

2008-11-04T13:56:00.003-05:00

Here are pics and a quick recap of our first Monday Night Football experience.... We joined our Titans friends and headed downtown to tailgate before the game. From L to R: Melissa, John, Murray, Jaime, Cathy & Jeremy (new friends!).
The Lowrys switched seats with us for the first half of the game. They had AWESOME seats in the endzone, 12 or so rows up from the field!!!

And then we headed up to "our seats" for the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Quite a different view, but still lots of fun! We headed back down to our "Lowry" seats during the fourth quarter, just as the game started heading south for the Colts.

It was a great night...very cold, but lots of fun! Thanks again, Lowrys and Beledsoes for the tickets!!!!

P.S. Titans fans are much nicer when their team is behind. When they ran off with the game, they got to be a bit cruel!!!

I have to give a shout out to our cousins, Eileen, Eric, Stuart and Julie (& Uncle Terry and Aunt Peggy)! They are Titans season ticket holders and are BIG TIME fans! You seriously don't want to cross Eileen during a game, and Eric (we've heard) wouldn't speak to us while we were wearing Colts gear. Good thing we weren't sitting near them on this night!!

I'm sad to report that Murray has supposedly jumped ship! He's pledging his new found devotion to the undefeated Titans! Already....I can't believe it! He's a Tennessee native so I guess those roots were just too strong to break. I am holding my own and still rooting for the Colts, but I do like the Titans and am cheering them on (until their last regular season game against the Colts!)

Halloween PICTURES!!!

2008-11-04T13:37:00.006-05:00

Yea!! We have pictures!!!! I am at Murray's office where our home computer is so I am able to upload pictures!! Here are the most adorable Mickey and Minnie you've ever seen....

Under Contract

2008-11-02T19:04:00.003-05:00

Praise God, we have a new home!! We are currently under contract and are set to close on our wonderful home on November 14th! We are so excited!!

We even have our first guests scheduled. Ben, Katherine, Nelson, and Grant McClure are visiting the weekend before Thanksgiving. The jury's still out on whether we will be settled enough to actually host them, but at least we will show them our new home and get lots of time together. We can't wait to see Faith and Nelson's reunion (they weren't too sure of each other when they came to Indiana for a visit last October). We are especially excited to meet baby Grant! He's growing up way too fast!!

The kids are doing well for the most part. Faith is VERY excited about HER new house. When we drive by it and show her our new house ("Look, Faith, there's our new house!"), she quickly corrects us by saying, "No, it's MY new house!) So far these are the things she wants in her new room.... Eli, Daddy, Mommy, a bed with a slide, a cow, a pig, a horse and a Cowboy! (We are currently watching the Cowboys game).

We continue to ask for prayers for our home in Indiana to sell quickly and for the transition and settling to be super smooth!!

Let us know if you'd like to come visit!

Monday Night Football

2008-10-27T16:38:00.002-04:00

We just got tickets to the "big game"!! Colts vs. Titans. We are pumped!

We'll be easy to spot if you happen to watch the game tonight. We'll be some of the very few in the crowd wearing Colts shirts!!

Go Colts!!!

The search is on....

2008-10-22T09:51:00.003-04:00

For the 2 of you still checking in on us... we have arrived in Nashville! We took a little family vacation to Chattanooga for 3 nights (Faith calls it Chatanoowa). We visited the TN Aquarium, Children's Discovery Museum, Chattanooga Zoo (which was a lot like the Abilene zoo...small but sweet) and took in an 3-D IMAX movie about whales and dolphins. It was the perfect family vacation for us.... 2 hour drive, lots of family friendly activities and GREAT restaurants (Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria & Cheeburger, Cheeburger were our faves.)

Once we got back to Nashville, we cranked up the house hunting search. It feels like we've looked at 100s of houses...I am definitely ready to find our perfect home!!! Needless to say, moving is not going to be on our radar for a very long time (We'd be happy to find a forever home.) Therefore, we are being quite picky...but now is the time to be picky, right???? I think we are close to finding it. We've got most things (location, size, price, # bedrooms, etc.) nailed down. I feel good about our options. It's just making that final decision that is a little scary! We're looking at 2 new ones today and have 2 finalists to consider too. We'll keep you posted!!

Please pray for our decision/search and leave a comment! It's lonely down here (we aren't able to socialize much since we are in house hunting mode!)

Thanks!!

Cousins

2008-10-12T00:11:00.005-04:00

Here are some pics taken a few nights before we left for Nashville. My precious Grandma (one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE people on the planet!!) is standing here with all of her great grandchildren, minus one. Her newest great granddaughter, Reese, was born the day before so she is still in the hospital when we took this pic....)

L to R: Back row...Andrew, Justin, Brielle, Grandma, Eli, Sierra. Front row...Alex, Faith, Ty, Sydney, Haleigh and Anthony.Watching the kids play brought back memories of me playing in Grandma's yard with my sisters and cousins. There was nothing better than going to Grandma's house when I was kid. I think the same is true today! Faith and I got to meet Baby Reese the day after she was born.

It was so fun to see Faith's interest in her new baby cousin. She was too young (18 months) to really care/understand about her baby brother's arrival. Makes me look forward to having another baby....(WAY down the road!!! like years!!!)

Our votes are in...

2008-10-11T23:49:00.003-04:00

Well, as we prepare to head to Nashville (in less than 48 hours)...our "to do" list is starting to get shorter and shorter. Yesterday, we were able to cross another item off our lists...

To Do:

--vote for the President of the United States

It sounds so silly to say this, but it still feels so "cool" (for lack of a better word) that I am able to cast a vote for our future president. My opinion is being counted. Wow!!

This isn't the best picture of us, but we still wanted to mark the occasion with a photo. We all got "I Voted" stickers!

Please pray for us as we are eager to cross off these items from our "To Do" list...

1) Sell house in Indiana.

2) Buy house in Nashville.

Faith's 1st Haircut..

2008-10-10T02:42:00.004-04:00

OK--call me naive, but I envisioned Faith's first haircut to be this totally sweet, memorable event that we all would cherish very fondly!! Well, it certainly was memorable!! Things didn't quite go like I thought they would.

Waiting for her turn with her magazine in her lap...
After MUCH coaxing, she gets her hair washed. Meanwhile, she's got a death grip on my finger and shirt!
After much more coaxing, she sits on my lap while Miss Lindsey cuts her hair. (She refused the super cool "big girl" booster seat so my lap was plan B)...
Not too happy about this!!!
Getting a french braid made things a little better...
Sparkles and a french braid....
The tootsie roll pop may things even better!!

That wasn't so bad after all!! Now every time we pass by the hair salon, she exclaims with MUCH excitement...."That's where I got my haircut!!"

Faith's new friend..

2008-10-06T16:48:00.003-04:00

We spent most of last week in Nashville. We did a little house hunting and attended the Zoe Worship Conference. It was a great weekend. Faith left Nashville with a new friend. We stayed at the Lowrys home and immediately Faith was drawn to Ms. Rhonda and Mickey Mouse. Ms. Rhonda graciously gave Faith all rights to Mickey and he joined her for every nap and bedtime. This made our bedtime interesting since we all 3 (4 counting Mickey) slept in the same bed! (Eli had his own pack-n-play.)

Thanks, Lowrys for a WONDERFUL visit! We look forward to seeing you (and Mickey) soon!!

Even though her eyes are closed in the above picture, I couldn't resist it...her smile is huge!!

Faith and Eli are going to be Minnie & Mickey Mouse for Halloween this year! She is so excited!!

The (Only) Man

2008-09-27T10:49:00.003-04:00

I made a bad choice.

Murray and I went on a date last night. It was WONDERFUL to get away for awhile! He chose the restaurant, I chose the movie. 50% of our date was really great!! Can you guess whose pick was the good one???? I didn't think there were a lot of great movies to pick from...., "The Women" looked like it had some potential. It had a lot of really great actresses in it. (Meg Ryan, Debra Messing, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smitt, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen...Eva Mendes, but I don't really like her). I knew it was solidly going to fall in the "chick flick" category of movies but surely some other men would be with their wives/girlfriends so Murray wouldn't have to suffer alone.

Uhhhhh...he's where my choice started to go south....not a single other man in the theatre. Oops! Ok....at least there will be some funny on screen actor that will bring some lightheartedness to the flick. (Chick flicks are full of great guys, right???...Tom Hanks, Billy Crystal ....). Uhhhh...wrong again! There is not a single scene in this movie that has one single man in it!! Not one! Even the scenes where the leading ladies are walking the busy streets of NY...only women are behind them! It was really ridiculous! There were male "characters" in the movie but you never once saw or heard them. They were only on the phone, or their footsteps were heard as they ran out the door and then started their car! One of the characters even gives birth without her husband b/c he hasn't made it to the hospital yet. I mean, come on!!!

I wouldn't even wait for the rental. It was that bad. The main message (I think) from the movie was to love who you are, in the deepest parts of who you were created to be. Yet, there was way too much plastic surgery on the actresses themselves (Meg looked so much better with her natural face) and scenes in the movie to really make it sound like their "message"was believable. It really came across as, have plastic surgery until you can feel good about who you are. Keep having surgery until you look as young as the women that your husband is flirting with (or more) and then, grieve over the loss of a friendship more than the loss of your cheating husband, b/c men are suppose to betray their wives, but women should never betray a friend.

Yick!! What a waste of 2 hours and $20!!!

Sorry, Murray!!! You get to pick the movies from now on!!!

Faith's 1st day of Preschool

2008-09-22T08:27:00.003-04:00

Our little girl is growing up so fast! Here are a few pics from her first day of school this year. She LOVES Sonshine Preschool! She was so excited to have a new Dora lunchbox this year. She also couldn't wait to see "Marce" (She used to call her "Miss Marcy" but apparently they've gotten to be much tighter over the year!!)

Faith's news

2008-09-18T22:23:00.004-04:00

In case you missed Faith's opening line, we are moving to Nashville, TN!! She's already got the accent down!! Murray is going to be the new worship minister at the Otter Creek Church. We are SO EXCITED!! (and stressed beyond words as we look at our "to do" lists!). We will be moving mid October so needless to say, we've got a lot to do! It is a bittersweet time for us as we start our goodbyes. We've been richly blessed by our wonderful family and friends here! We are thankful that Nashville is not too far away!

P.S. I couldn't resist Faith's "show and tell" with her Bible verses. I just LOVE to hear her speak God's word!!

Look Who's Walking....

2008-09-09T17:42:00.007-04:00

Eli's 1st steps were witnessed by Mommy on August 7th. Since then, we've gotten almost no action from him...especially when the video camera comes out! Finally, during our visit to Mrs. Candice's house, we caught the little booger taking numerous steps! Isn't he the cutest little fella?? He melts our hearts!

Candice and crew....we loved the spaghetti and all the playtime that followed! Here are a few more pics from that day...

BFFs..Faith and Carrigan!

Faith, Eli, Isabelle, Anna Kathryn, Carrigan (Amelia was sleeping)

Pure cuteness!

Hamburger Helper!!!

2008-09-02T15:10:00.003-04:00

Anyone got a quick last minute dinner idea for us tonight? I have a pound of ground beef I would like to use. Would like something quick, easy with basic ingredients (both kids are taking naps and a trip to the store won't be possible!).

Suggestions MOST appreciated!!

Tykes on Bikes

2008-08-25T09:47:00.004-04:00

Riding bikes is one of our favorite pasttimes around here!
Memphis was our first (and last) stop during our trip last week. Granddad pulled out Aunt Melody's tricycle from when she was a little girl.
Faith loved sitting up really tall!

Eli wanted to give it a try too!

We're back!

2008-08-21T21:37:00.003-04:00

We just got back from another trip to Texas. I went on an AMAZING Scrapbooking/Craft Retreat with my SIL and some other dear friends from PRCC. It was the PERFECT vacation for me. Murray took the kids to visit his family during my 4 day, 3 night retreat. We drove there and back again...not sure we will be doing that again anytime soon. Eli had a really hard time this trip. Needless to say, this was our favorite, albeit rare, scene during our 2000 mile journey..
More later, I'm too tired to say much else right now!!!

Tagged by Sara

2008-08-10T01:55:00.004-04:00

I don't get tagged that often (is that saying something about me??) so I'm gonna accept this tag from Sara M. and tell you 7 random things about myself....

1) I LOVE being pregnant. (I'm not currently pregnant btw). I feel this weird almost jealous feeling whenever I see a pregnant woman. I love wearing maternity clothes, feeling the baby move inside, etc. I may look into being a surrogate!! I really enjoy it!

2) I cannot sleep without sticking one of my feet out of the blankets. I start to feel claustrophobic if I don't.

3) Speaking of claustrophobia, wearing fake nails makes me feel claustrophobic. I've been a nail biter for as long as I can remember. (horrible habit I'm still trying to break!!) I've always wanted to have long pretty nails. I thought, getting "my nails done" would be a perfect solution, wrong!! It freaked me out and I couldn't wait to get them off!

4) Unlike Sara, I LOVE fans (the kind that blow air and keep you cool). I can't sleep without them. Even in the wintertime, I have fans going!

5) I don't like very many fruits, but I love almost all veggies!

6) I write things on my "to-do" list just so I can cross them off. It finalizes the accomplishment and is a little reward to myself!

7) I LOVE to organize but HATE to clean. I am embarrassed to admit that I can count on one hand (actually just using a few fingers) how many times I've dusted my house since we've moved here over a year ago!

Here are my 7 friends that I tag... Ramona H., Amanda T., Mindy B., Jerri H., Monica H., Laura S., Candice S.

Facebook

2008-08-04T01:26:00.002-04:00

I have a couple dear friends who have asked me to join Facebook. I know it's one of the "latest" ways to stay connected. Murray got an account a few weeks ago. I get on his every now and then to read the "What I'm doing right now" comments from his 120+ friends. I just logged on to set up my own account and it pulled up Murray's home page. I was overwhelmed at all the info that was posted. It lists who signed on to who's page, so and so became friends with so and so and on and on and on. I couldn't take it all in!!

I like for most things in my life to be very organized! I am not that tech savvy. These two reasons are making it hard for me to take the plunge into the world of Facebook. The only slight draw is my friends' request and how "cool" and "fun" everyone says it is.

Thoughts???? Shoot straight with me. How hard is it to figure out this thing called Facebook?

So Proud!!

2008-07-27T20:56:00.003-04:00

Last week the city of Indianapolis organized a city wide week of community service (called Faith, Hope & Love). All churches (no matter the denomination) are invited to participate. There are lots of different places to serve. I chose to visit a retirement home to appreciate the staff (by baking cookies, muffins) and visit the residents. As best I could, I tried to prepare Faith before we left the house to tell her what we were about to do. I explained that some of the people we were going to see needed a visit from a friend and would love for a little child to talk with them. I went over some "possible dialog" for her to say and some questions they may ask her. I did this because Faith usually gets SUPER clingy in new, unfamiliar situations....gripping my leg and saying repeatedly, "I want to hold you!" I used to work in a nursing home and I know how much the elderly LOVE to see young children (but sadly, most young children become terrified in their environment). I was really hoping Faith could bless the people we would see and not clam up. Even though I prepared her a bit, I was just sure that she would cling to me as soon as it was time to greet our first new friend.

Take a look at what happened as soon as we met Ms. W...

I was GLOWING!! I wanted everyone to know that this precious little girl working a puzzle with Ms. W. was my daughter! She needed no coaching at all!! She hopped up in the chair and immediately began trying to put pieces together!

This picture cracks me up for 2 reasons...1) her t-shirt says, "Tobacco kills people" No need to beat around the bush with that t! 2) in true older lady fashion, Ms. W. had no reservations about letting Faith know she was not working the puzzle right! She put her hand over Faith's and said (in a not mean but not nice tone), "That piece doesn't go there!" Faith didn't mind a bit and just moved on. Wow! She really made me so proud today!!

We are going to print off these pictures (well maybe just the first one) and go visit Ms. W. again. She really was sweet and we enjoyed meeting her so much!

Faithy, I am always proud to be your mother, but I was especially proud of the way you moved past your fears and reached out bless our new friends today! I love you dearly!!

Simply Irresistible.....

2008-07-21T10:43:00.002-04:00

Murray said it was time to update the blog....what better way than with some adorable pics of the kids. I think that little boys in overalls are too cute! I can't get enough of this little guy...

Princess Giselle--Faith loves her Princess Giselle crown and wears it almost everywhere. She gets many compliments in the stores when we run errands together!
Faith thinks that ALL toys are hers, especially if it's specifically Eli's. She suddenly loves to share when it involves one of his toys. Otherwise, it's "mines" (We are working on the sharing thing and also taking off the plural of mine!)

Move over Martha Stewart...

2008-07-08T10:49:00.005-04:00

I guess it's living in Indiana, but all the farming has gotten to me and I took my first SMALL step at making something from (mostly) scratch. I bought 3 herbs at our local farmer's market and planted them when we got home. Later, I decided to make some flatbread pizzas (one I created without a recipe). I went out to my little herb garden and plucked off a couple basil leaves and gathered a bunch of cilantro. It was SO YUMMY! I felt like a total kitchen diva! Which is hilarious b/c the "recipes" weren't that hard. My grandma would laugh b/c she used to kill the chickens on her farm and then cook a meal TOTALLY from scratch with it. It just felt cool to be using fresh ingredients, especially ones I planted myself.
From left to right: Cilantro, Basil, Common Mint

The flat bread pizzas. BBQ chicken with cilantro, onions, peppers. Chicken Ricotta with basil, peppers, and onions.

We are making some changes to our backyard and I am hoping to try planting vegetables soon. I think that would be really cool! I'll keep you posted!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We're off to the library soon so that Faith can claim her 2nd Prize from the Summer Reading Program and I can check out the FINAL book in the Mitford series. I've really enjoyed meeting Father Tim and all the townspeople of Mitford. I will miss them! The good news for me is that my mother-in -law is just starting the 1st book so I can relive the series a little bit through our discussions!

Summer Reading Program

2008-06-28T16:47:00.005-04:00

Our library has a summer reading program that Faith L-O-V-E-S!! For every 2 books she reads, she gets to color a monkey's footprint. After coloring 16 footprints (reading 32 books), she gets to take her reading log to the library to receive a prize. There are 4 prizes in all. This has been so much fun for both of us. Before this program, Faith wouldn't let me read to her. She liked to take the book and "read" it herself. I explained the "rules" of the program to her and told her that it didn't count if she didn't let me read her the whole story. Now, she will let me read and read and read and read to her. It is SO MUCH FUN!!

I am leaving a list of some of Faith's favorite books for some of you who like to take your kids to the library. I would love to hear what books your kids are enjoying/have enjoyed when they were toddlers. Sometimes we just randomly grab a book but I love going to the library in search of specific books. Especially ones that have been tested by other toddlers we know and love!

Faith's current favorites....

1) What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell, Ingrid Godon
2) Boo Hoo Boo-Boo by Marilyn Singer (she's really into Boo Hoo/Boo Boos)
3) Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See? by Bill Martin Jr. (loves this whole series)
4) Whose Shoes? by Anna Grossnickle Hines
5) Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London (loves this series too)
6) Let's Be Animals by Ann Turner
7) Whose Baby Am I? by John Butler
8) Baby Bear Discovers the World by Marion Dane Bauer
9) What Makes a Rainbow? by Betty Schwartz
10) The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Let us know what you think we should check out next....

Eli's Birthday Party

2008-06-21T23:13:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday, we celebrated Eli's first birthday with family and friends. We held the party at a local spray park. Unfortunately, after we arrived we realized that lightning had struck the spray ground and all the water features were not working! Bummer! The main reason we chose this park was for the spray ground but someone ran home and got a sprinkler so we made do....not as cool as the real water features but the kids all ended up having a blast!

Mommy made my snorkle cake. it was a big hit with all my friends! They all wanted a piece with "the hair".I tuckered out pretty quick. After my nap, it was time for cake!! My great grandma is the best! I love it when she holds me. She turned 89 this week!!!

Faithy couldn't (and didn't) wait till it was officially cake time.
I LOVED my cake!!

I also love Cheetos!

Time for play! These Tidy Cat buckets were VERY CLEAN!! I loved to splash the water!

In lieu of gifts, Eli collected art supplies for The Julian Center's summer art program. The Julian Center is a very special shelter that helps victims of domestic violence. They were THRILLED with all the supplies we brought.

Eli's year in reviewl!!

2008-06-13T12:04:00.007-04:00

We can hardly believe that a year has passed since this precious little smiler entered our world! We love you so much, Eli Burkhalter Sanderson! You have brought us so much joy! Here's a very quick recap of Eli's first year!!

(side note, I'm a little embarrassed to notice the rice krispie treat in my hand!! I had gestational diabetes with Eli's pregnancy and was placed on a strict diet...a very cruel thing to do to a pregnant woman!! I CRAVED rice krispie treats like crazy. I tried to figure out how to make them sugar free and never could. My dear friend, Katherine, brought me a large batch of the 'real' thing the first night we came home from the hospital. I guess I was too enthralled with them to even set it down for the picture!)

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

Daddy, Mommy & Faithy

Our little preschooler

2008-05-28T23:19:00.006-04:00

Our precious preschooler had her first program last week. It was the SWEETEST thing ever!! Faith joined our church's preschool in January. She went 2 mornings a week and L-O-V-E-D it!! When she would wake up on a school morning, I would tell her, "You get to go to school today, Faith." She would immediately say, "Bye Mom. School Daddy!!!" (Murray drove her since he works at our church). She LOVES her teachers and we are so thankful that this was such a wonderful experience for her!! Here's the recap of her program....

First up, each child got to do "show and tell". Faith brought her Elmo phone. She said her name, what she brought and answered some questions about it. So cute!!

Next up, it was time for the 2 year old class to perform their song. There are only 3 of them. She and her friends Alexa and Tucker sang, The Itsy Bitsy Spider. (Tucker is a little afraid of girls).
After the 3 year olds and 4 year olds did their numbers, the whole school (12 kids total) sang a couple songs. Faith is on the far left.
Here's some of Faith's artwork...
And her cheering section...
NayNay brought Faithy some flowers....

Her WONDERFUL teachers; Ms. Marcy, Ms. Tiffy, Ms. SharonHer teachers gave her a basket full of gifts. It was so nice and Faith loved getting to open all her treats!

Here are 2 super cute (and super quick) videos of Faith's performances.....

She is on the far left and is a tad bit shy on this first number...

She warmed up a bit for the second song...

First Haircut!

2008-05-16T19:46:00.004-04:00

It was finally time to take Eli to get his haircut! We tried to put it off till his 1 year b-day but his hair kept getting in his eyes. So here are pics from one of his big "firsts"....

Before pic (notice the kid in the background, he thought we were nuts with our camera, video and all the other crazy attention we were putting on this event)

First comes the spray bottle!
All ready for the cut to begin...
This is fun!....
I want to move around a bit....
All done!
Mommy and Daddy say I look like SUCH A BIG BOY now!!

Thank you Ms. Elizabeth! I love my new haircut!!

Quilting

2008-05-07T16:07:00.008-04:00

Quilting is one of my FAVORITE hobbies. Here are some pictures of my most recent quilts!

This is the one I made for Faith's room. It's a farm theme. I made some curtains to coordinate with this quilt. They are red gingham with cow print on the trim. The cow print fabric in this picture will be on the back and will also be the binding. It will hopefully be finished soon!!! I'll post pics of her room once everything is complete!

My sister, Kim, and I made this queen-size (my largest quilt) for my mom. Mom and I picked out the fabrics when I was 5 days away from having Faith (she's almost 2 1/2 now). Kim and I finished the piecing just before Christmas and sent if off to be quilted shortly after that. Mom FINALLY got her finished quilt about 3 weeks ago!!

This quilt is very special to me for several reasons. Most importantly, it is a memory quilt made in honor of my dear friend, Jill, who passed away during my sophomore year in college. She was an amazing athlete and played all sports well! Softball was her passion. Her mom gave me these t-shirts that go all the way back to Jill's little league days. It was so fun to put this together and give it to her mom on her 60th birthday! Jill's picture is in the center of the quilt. All the sports she played are represented with the emphasis on softball. The border I used is a softball print fabric. I've never made a t-shirt quilt before. I took a 3 hour class and completed it shortly after the class. It was very easy and fun to make.

This is another special quilt. I made it for my cousin's baby, Evan. He was born 8 weeks early and had a lot of significant medical complications that arose shortly after his birth. He went home to be with Jesus last week on May 1st. When I made this quilt, I knew he wouldn't live long but I wanted to give something special to my cousin, Katy, to help her remember her precious baby boy. I hand embroidered his name. (I had an embroidery machine but sold my half to my friend (she was the co-owner) when we moved from Virginia.) I really enjoy hand embroidery and think it's my new favorite hobby! It gave me extra time to pray for baby Evan and endeared me to him all the more!

This quilt is for our dear friends Ben & Katherine's new baby boy, Grant. I enjoyed making Evan's quilt so much that I wanted to make another one. Katherine made an adorable nursing cover for me when I had Eli so I had to make something by hand for her. This is one of my favorites! I LOVE the fabrics!! I embroidered Grant's name on our road trip to Texas last month. I just mailed it to Grant last week. I hope he likes it!!!

I just got an email from Katherine with this picture attached. Looks like Grant is happy with his new quilt!!

Thanks for letting me show off some of my work. It's so fun to quilt and even more fun to share my work with others!

Birthday Girl, Big Girl Shoes & PJs

2008-04-30T12:16:00.005-04:00

Faith got a special treat last week. She got to be the birthday girl at school. She goes to our church's preschool 2 days a week. It's for 2-5 yr. olds. Since she already had her birthday before she started (in January), Mrs. Sharon asked if they could celebrate her big day last week. She was more than happy to say, "YES!!". Especially if cupcakes are involved!Faith loves cupcakes so much! One time we were at our friend's house and she was fixing a drink of water for Faith. She asked her, "What kind of cup do you want, Faith?" Faith eagerly replied, "A CUPCAKE!".

Here's our BIG GIRL with her new tennis shoes on. And here's her big girl pjs that Nana bought her! She looks so grown up all the time!!!

She is in the midst of potty training and that is yet another thing that is making her look so big!! We love her so so so so so so so much!!!

Pictures

2008-04-19T23:29:00.003-04:00

I got tired of looking at the same post from forever ago and thought I'd post some fairly recent pics for you.

We've been to TX and back (with a stop in TN)--driving both ways! The trip was wonderful as the kids did MUCH better than we had expected!! (thanks to the magic of portable DVD players). Pics and other updates to follow soon (hopefully). I am tired and usually run to my book at the end of the day to unwind! (I'm LOVING the Mitford series btw, thanks for suggesting it! I just finished book 4!)

Here are Faith and Eli where we can get them to smile the most.....

I LOVE this pic of Faith. She is at the stage where she doesn't pose or smile for pictures much and to capture her GIANT smile just makes this picture priceless imo!!
Can he be any cuter or tubby-er! I LOVE this little fella!
Eli LOVES Faith and Faith LOVES Eli! It truly makes my heart swell when I see them together. You can't teach/make kids act this way. I am LOVING watching them love each other. It's one of my favorite gifts of motherhood!

The Gospels

2008-03-25T04:19:00.002-04:00

Quick Poll....

Which of the 4 Gospels is your favorite?

I am embarrassed to say that I don't recall reading any of them entirely through. We are about to embark on a road trip and I thought I would read them all and see which is my favorite. I'll let you know which one I like the best when we get back (is it ok to have a favorite?....seems kinda weird since they are all inspired by God). I'd love to also know why you chose the one you did.

Easter Bunny!

2008-03-14T23:33:00.002-04:00

I made a mad dash shopping trip to the mall with the kids on Wednesday. The Easter Bunny was there and Faith was SO ENTHRALLED by him. She wanted to see him. We didn't have time to actually get in line so we got as close as we could and waved, hello & goodbye (this happened a few times). On our final "hello & goodbye" visit, Faith was really not happy about our departure from the Easter Bunny and kept asking over and over and over and over again to see the EB. When I said no, she started to whine and I say, "I want EB, I want EB." I told her no again and said (with much enthusiam, "Let's tell Daddy about the EB and ask him if we can come back and get our picture with the EB on Friday." "Yea!!!" was her reply and she told several people at church that night about seeing the EB and going back for "picture with EB". So cute!

This morning (Friday, Murray's day off) I told her after her nap, we'd go see EB and get a picture with him! All morning long, "EB, EB, EB." Finally it was time to get ready to see EB. We put on her pretty dress, fixed her hair and loaded the family in the van. All the way to the mall, "EB, EB, EB..." We get to the mall and all the way to the line "EB, EB, EB" There was one little baby in line ahead of us and 2 minutes later it's our turn. Here is the picture we got of our little ones with the EB.....

"Where's Faith?," you ask? After stepping across the "line" to go see the EB, she wanted NOTHING to do with him!!!! I mean NOTHING!!! But Eli was ALL SMILES and enjoyed the experience and Faith LOVED looking at EB's picture with Eli and giggled and talked about it a lot after we left.

btw--this picture is a picture of our "mall" picture taken with our new camera!!! We bought it after our wonderful EB experience! I know the pic looks blurry but it's b/c it's not an actual picture.

Question....

2008-03-14T11:31:00.002-04:00

How do you do laundry? (Have I asked this before??) I can't get a routine down with laundry and it's driving me nuts. I've tried the following:

1) Having a "laundry day" where I do all the laundry in one day.

I like the idea of this but the reality is that I get beat down at the end of the day and I loose the energy to put laundry away so it sits around in piles in baskets or on the couch all week. I usually end up leaving the last couple loads in the W/D so it never really gets done.

2) Doing a couple loads a day (or every other). I usually get all the steps completed (wash, dry, fold, put away) but the organized person in me hates not having everything clean. And I feel like I'm always doing laundry.

I am the type of person who likes to have order and routine with my tasks. Any ideas that have worked for you?????

Idol Chatter

2008-03-05T12:11:00.002-05:00

So who are your faves this year?????

Sweet tooth...

2008-02-21T15:18:00.002-05:00

Since I can't indulge in sweets as much as I want to or used to, I can at least talk about them! For fun, I'd like to know the following....

What's your favorite:

1) candy bar

2) type of Girl Scout cookie

3) kind of Blizzard

4) all time favorite dessert

Week 3

2008-02-19T22:32:00.002-05:00

One more pound down!! I've TOTALLY slacked this last week (and most of week 2). Our anniversary celebrations allowed for some indulgences (but not as much as I expected to give in to). So I was happy that I actually lost weight this week! Tomorrow, I am back on the treadmill first thing!!

I am happy to welcome 3 new friends to Spark People! SP, DM, & ND...I was SO HAPPY to get the email from SP informing me that I had a new friend join my page! It is so motivating when you know you aren't in this alone! I look forward to keeping up with all of you during your journey and having you keep up with me! I have a total of 7 friends on my spark page and it is so fun!! Check out www.sparkpeople.com if you want to join us. My user name is skinnyjme

The main lesson I am learning about myself with this is that I HAVE to workout FIRST thing in the morning. Otherwise, no matter how good my intentions are, it just doesn't happen. My eating habits are so much better too (when I workout in the morning)! I am more likely to watch my calories so that I don't "ruin" all my efforts on the treadmill.

Biggest Loser had a great episode this week. All the contestants went home for the week. It was a good reminder to still stick with my plan no matter what my circumstances are (anniversary, etc.... I can still have a great time, but I don't have to go nuts just b/c I am celebrating something.)

Also, I really liked my friend, ND's goals she put on her spark page....
#1) plan my meals.
#2) exercise.
#3) stick with #1&#2

That about sums up my plan and the bottom line of what actually works! It's simple but not always easy!

Anniversary with Alec

2008-02-17T21:07:00.004-05:00

So Murray and I spent the night at an adorable Bed & Breakfast this weekend in a TINY town called New Palestine. We drove to another TINY town about 15 min. away to have dinner at "the nicest restaurant east of Indy all the way to Columbus, OH." It's located in the basement of an old Public Library in Greenfield, IN. I cannot stress how tiny this town is. I mean, no one has ever heard of it. Nothing big is around...anywhere.

We are enjoying our dinner when our waitress stops by and calmly says, "Don't freak out, but I wanted to tell you that Alec Baldwin is sitting two tables behind you". We do the casual look see and can't believe that she's right. It was such a bizarre sight. (Major fish out of water experience). He's sitting 10 feet from us having dinner with 5 college students. We asked our waitress if she knew why he was in Greenfield, IN (this town wouldn't hardly show up on most IN maps!). She wasn't sure but guessed that it was b/c he was writing a book about the mistaken identity case involving 2 college students from Taylor Univerity (which is located about an hour away from where we were). He's spoken in some churches about that event. I am not sure what his connection with that story is but I want to try and figure that out.

Anyway, we aren't big celebrity freaks (well....I'm not, Murray tends to get pretty excited about meeting someone famous...). But we both couldn't get over how odd it was to see Alec sitting so close just having dinner like he lived here. He was the first celebrity I've met that actually looked like he does on TV (the other ones looked so much smaller than they do on screen). He was pretty robust, barrell-chested and tall.

We didn't bother him. He sat with his back to everyone so it was obvious he was trying to lay low. He must be either really funny or very intimidating b/c the people at his table were laughing loudly every 5 minutes!

4 years!

2008-02-15T11:03:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I got to celebrate the BEST day of my life! 4 years ago, just before midnight, I walked down the aisle to the most HANDSOME man in the world!! Since then, my life has continued to be filled with countless blessings! (two of my favorites are named Faith & Eli)! I am so thankful for my husband, Murray and the way that he loves me.

When I met Murray, my faith in God was renewed. Meaning, it went to a new level. I saw in such a remarkable way, how well God knows me and cares for me b/c Murray truly exceeded my hearts desires! He was not only what my heart was hoping for, but also what my heart NEEDED! He has made me a better person (even though I don't make that the easiest job most of the time!).

I love you, Murray! Looking forward to 50+ years with you!!!

Week 2

2008-02-11T14:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been 2 weeks since my "new day" began. Sadly, I have no weight loss to report this week. Gladly, I have no weight gain to report either! I totally slacked with my workouts last week. I only completed 1! I wasn't as disciplined with my eating either. I DID log my calories and workout every day last week which is one of my goals on Sparkpeople! I told Murray that I can't imagine how many calories I used to consume each day if I am STRUGGLING to get by with my allotted 1200-1550 each day. I usually end the day around 2000 (that was last week's average).

My goal this week is to get back to my workouts, especially the strength training ones! I've already gotten one in today!!! I am also going to do better at staying within my range of calories! Late night snacking is getting the best of me! I am going to go to bed earlier (as long as Eli cooperates). I've been staying up TOO LATE (I'm such a night owl)) and that's when the late night snack binges come into play!

I'm happy to report that I've had 2 new friends join sparkpeople with me. It's been fun to chat with them, give them spark goodies, and share the struggles and victories with them! I'm not sure if they want me to mention their names so I won't but I'll still give them a shout out by using their initials!! Way to go CS, KG! Another shout out to my 2 friends that joined me during week 1....KF, JH--keep up the good work! EL--I still can't find you on sparkpeople!

My username is skinnyjme if you want to join sparkpeople look me up! We'd love more friends!!! ( www.sparkpeople.com )

I'll be back next week with another update! Thanks for all the encouraging emails and comments. They really do help a lot!

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

2008-02-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

Needless to say, we are ready for the rain to stop!!! Here's a view of our backyard....

Week one!

2008-02-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I am 2 pounds lighter!! Yep! I am happy to report a 2 lb. weight loss this week. I forgot to take my measurements last week so all I can compare is my weight. Overall, I am VERY PROUD of my progress. I set 2 main goals and stuck with them 100%!!! Here are the "tools" that I am using...

1) sparkpeople.com You've GOT to check out this website!!! It's the coolest thing for helping you set up your goals, nutrition plan (it even makes your grocery list for you), fitness routine (figures how many calories you need to burn per week to reach your goal), allows you to track your daily nutrition & fitness activity...not to mention all these special teams you can join for extra encouragment and support...some not even related to weight loss (fave tv show, etc). Anyway, there's a silly reward system that I am embarrassed to say motivates me to try to earn "spark points". My sister and friend, Jerri have joined. If you want to join us, go to the website and sign-up. It's FREE!!! I seriously have never had anything help motivate me more than this site. My 2 main goals are to track my food intake and fitness activity daily. Knowing that I have to write down everything I eat has saved me from eating WAY more than I should! BTW--my user name is skinnyjme if you want to look me up!

2) the treadmill! I LOVE having one in our house now. Going to the gym was such a chore (packing up the kids, etc). I love hopping on the treadmill and being done with my workout in aprox. 30 min!

3) Biggest Loser Cardio Max and Power Sculpt DVDs. Another home exercise that I've REALLY ENJOYED!! The trainers are great and the workouts are set-up to increase as your cardio/strength increases. I love seeing REAL people working out!! Make no mistake...the workouts are hard...even at level 1...Murray and I got our tails kicked!!

4) Dove Dark Chocolate Hearts...I REALLY enjoy having something sweet a couple times a day. (It used to be after every meal and for several snacks). I eat 1 or 2 of these a day and they don't take up many calories (about 40 each). It helps give me that sweet "fix" without spending too many calories.

5) Support....I have to give my sister, Kim, the prize for this one! She's right there with me and we talk every day about what we did well, didn't do well, etc. We've swapped a few recipes. But somehow just knowing she's sticking with it, helps me to do the same. I really appreciate all the emails and comments you guys sent me last week. They are super encouraging too!!

I did have 2 setbacks this week. A snack binge at 11:00 Thursday night and Superbowl Sunday dinner. I did WAY better on Superbowl snacking than I thought I would but I still consumed more calories than I should've! The best news for me to report is that I immediately got back on track after both setbacks. I would've just scrapped the whole week and then said "next Monday I'll start over" but I didn't do that this time!! I restarted the next morning!

My two biggest challenges are drinking enough water and NOT snacking after dinner.

Well, that's it for this week's weight update! Thanks again for helping keep me accountable!

Prayer of Faith

2008-02-02T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hands together, head bowed, eyes looking around.....

God,

Mommy, E-I (Eli), Daddy, Sydney, Al-kicks (Alex), Tiffy, PJ at work, lots of jibberish, E-sa (Lisa), Benny, Jack, Mark, Wow (Will), lots more jibberish. (Mommy helps remind her about the food)---food, JE-sus, BIG SMILE....AMEN!

It THRILLS our hearts to hear this precious prayer every day (the names vary). Faith started praying totally on her own. We love to hear the prayers in her heart! What a special gift that is to parents!!

New Day....

2008-01-28T12:17:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I'm about to do this but I feel like I need to so here goes.....

I am overweight. (I can already hear some of you saying, "You are not." "You just had a baby.") But the truth is I am. I feel it when I put on my clothes. I see it when I look in the mirror. I confirm it when I eat. (lack of self control: eating portions that are at least double what my body needs and having NO CONTROL over my consumption of sweets). I don't think I am honoring God with my eating habits. So therefore, I finally realized it's time for a "new day".

I currently weigh 165 pounds. Isn't that crazy?!?! I remember reaching 150 in college and thought that was INSANELY high. My goal weight is between 135-140. I am not focused on that number as much as how I look and feel. I want to be fit and feel good in my skin again. I've definitely slacked off WAY TOO LONG!! So there it is....the big ugly number and I am owning it today and working to lower it by the choices I make each day.

So here is my plan. (I am sharing it on this blog so that I will actually follow through. I can't count the number of Mondays I've started over. It's definitely time to just do it!)

1) keep a daily journal of the food I've consumed each day and set a goal to consume no more than 1400 calories/day.
2) complete at least one 30 minute workout 5-6 days a week.
3) allow myself a "free day" with an extra 500 calories allowed that day.
4) give a weekly update on this blog with my successes and setbacks.

I am typing this after just hopping off of our newly purchased treadmill (Thanks, Wax family!). I just jogged for 2.5 miles, burning 368 calories. I feel GREAT!!

So here I go! I am off with the Biggest Loser theme song ringing in my head..."What have you done today to make you feel proud????"

Anyone care to join me??? You can post your successes and setbacks with me each week if you want! I'd love some company!

Good book...

2008-01-25T22:19:00.000-05:00

First of all, thank you so much for Murray's birthday wishes! They meant a lot to me as well as to him!

Secondly, I am on the hunt for a GREAT book to read. I am burnt out on reading magazines and parenting "how to" books. I am looking for a GREAT novel that's easy to pick-up AND put-down (I've got two little ones that demand a lot of attention). Great story, good characters, clean, etc. My favorite author is Francine Rivers but I've read all her books (I think).

We are taking Faith to the library tomorrow so I know this is late notice but if you have any suggestions please leave them fast!!

Thanks!

Happy 40th, Murray!!

2008-01-24T11:25:00.000-05:00

My sweet, sweet and incredibly handsome hubbie is 40 years old today!!

My life is so much richer because of you, Murray! I thank God for you daily...hourly...even by the minute! Looking forward to celebrating you today!!

Faithy and Eli are THRILLED beyond words to have you for a Daddy! They love you SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!!

We love you!!!!

Eat your dinner!

2008-01-18T00:46:00.001-05:00

Any suggestions on how to get a strong-willed, carb loving 2 year old to eat a well balanced dinner??

We are all ears!

Favorite Things...

2008-01-15T00:10:00.000-05:00

Unlike Oprah, I won't be able to give these things away but here are a few of my favorite things from this past year!! (In no particular order...just the order blogger posted the pics)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this show!! It is SO INSPIRING! I didn't catch onto it until season 3 (to be honest, I was quit turned off by the "previews" not really understanding what the show was about, besides overweight people with their shirts off). I happened upon a Biggest Loser marathon one Saturday and watched the ENTIRE THING!! I was sort of embarrassed but it really changed me. I know that sounds cheesy and weird but it did! So check it out some Tuesday night on NBC! (I got the Cardio and Sculpting workout DVDs for Christmas...can't wait to try them out!! I've been sick for 7 days but I've watched them and can't wait to join the "team" and trainers!)

One of my favorite features of our new home are these bad boys!! We had to purchase our own since the W/D didn't convey. These guys make doing laundry almost enjoyable. If only someone would invent an automatic clothes folder and put awayer!

Of course, OUR FAVORITE NEW "thing" from this year is this little guy! Eli Burkhalter, born June 12th. We LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this little guy!

This smile!!!! We've never seen a child smile so much and he has captured our hearts!!

This other little guy in red is the direct result of countless prayers (four years worth). His name is Cade and we loved him WAY before we ever met him. He is the first tangible answer to years of prayer that I've experienced and I will NEVER forget the phone call from his parents announcing his arrival and the day I walked into the hospital looking at him for the first time!

Blogging! I really like catching up with friends and learning about their lives, interests, etc. My favorite new blog is this one.... http://www.namefreak.blogspot.com/ Check it out. It's super fun! My friend, Kelli has an obsession with baby names and this blog is one of her outlets! It's super fun....did I say that already???

The Go Fish Guys! Anyone with kids MUST check them out. I HIGHLY recommend their DVD, "Showtime" AND their cd "Superstar" Their C'mas album was great and we've heard great things about their cd, "Splash". You really will like them, I promise! http://www.gofishguys.com/

Meal planning! This surprised me as I used to view this as a burden of sorts but I think God's helped change me and now I really enjoy it. Each week I select a cookbook from my cabinet (or checkout one from the library) and I choose about 5 dinners I want to make (I allow 2 days for leftovers since most recipes make 6 servings and we only have 2 "real" eaters.) It makes me feel like I am providing for my family and it gives my grocery store runs a specific purpose (not to mention the money I save buying things I KNOW I'll use instead of things I THINK I might use. I plan to dedicate one day a week on this blog sharing a trusted recipe (and allowing readers to post a recipe for our family to try).

Having a 2 year old! Yes, I really mean that. Discipline has been a challenge but we are finding that if we are consistent and fair to Faith (i.e...playing with her, giving her a loose structure to her day, making nap time at the same time each day, letting her be active, etc.) her behavior changes DRAMATICALLY! It's funny how so much of how she acts is based on how we act/treat her (if we let things slide too much, let household tasks become too important, etc.). I've been really convicted to give her more structure and FOCUSED time. It's made a world of difference.

My favorite part of having a two year old is watching her language skills EXPLODE! I know it's the speech pathologist in me but I just can't help wanting to do a toe touch every time she says a new word or learns a new concept. It is SO MUCH FUN!!

There are tons of other favorite things but that's all I can think of right now (it's after midnight).
So what are some of your favorite things from this past year????

2 Years of Wonderful!

2007-12-27T13:16:00.001-05:00

Faith Kinder Sanderson, born on December 20th, 2005

Her first birthday came so quickly!!

18 months old and such a pretty girl!!

Faith turned 2 years old last week. It is so hard to believe that she's been with us for that long and yet it feels as if we've always known life with her! (To be honest, we do have pretty fond memories of life before Faith when we go out to eat at restaurants....we NEVER imagined what a gift that was to dine together without any distractions!!)

Here are a few things we LOVE LOVE LOVE about our precious 2 year old, Faithy....

Her smile....it lights up a room as well as our hearts! Her giggle is even more infectious!!
She LOVES her Daddy! My favorite part of the day is when Murray comes home from work. It used to be just so I could see him and hug him but now it's also because Faith drops whatever she's doing and RUNS to Murray yelling "Daddy, Daddy". I can't describe the joy it creates in our home but we all LOVE seeing Daddy!
She LOVES her brother, Eli! EVERY morning she starts the day saying "Shhhh "I" sleeping" (she calls Eli, "I") she immediately does the sign for sleeping and then says "shhh" again. When Eli wakes up she RUNS to him and says, "Morning "I", "I morning". It's so cute. She showers him with hugs and kisses all day long and doesn't mind (too much) when he pulls her hair. She LOVES to share with him which we've discovered isn't always a good thing as we've had to quickly remove chicken nuggets and playdoh from Eli's mouth.
She has started to care for her baby dolls. She wants to diaper them, feed them, clothe them and read to them. She seriously teaches them as she reads. She'll say, "Baby, camel see. Baby, camel." She'll pick up her baby so the baby has a better view of the camel if she's not convinced the baby has understood her.
She loves to read and do puzzles. Her favorite book to read is her Rhyme Time Bible. She flips through her Bible for 20 minutes or so and "reads". It's SO cute. She even gets more passionate as her lesson goes on (we're still trying to catch this on video). Her other favorite book to read is the church's pictorial directory. She LOVES to look at pictures and name the people she knows. She'll sit and flip through the directory for what seems like ages in toddler time.

She LOVES her cousins. We are blessed to live near many of them and she talks about her cousins and asks for them nearly every day.
She LOVES her cousins in Texas too. Being the only girl, she's had to learn how to hang with all the boys (she has two older cousins Bennett & Briggs). It was SO FUN to see her play with them. She really gets along with all of them and loves to play chase!

*she is quick to apologize and does the sign for "sorry" when she's apologizing. The cutest part of her apology is that she ALWAYS apologizes to Aunt Kimmie. If Faith has screamed at me, I'll say, "Faith, we don't talk to Mommy that way." She'll immediately say, "Sorry, Kimmie". I'll say, Aunt Kimmie isn't here. You need to tell Mommy you're sorry." Her response is, "Sorry Kimmie. Kimmie sorry." We are happy to see a tenderness in her heart! We smile at her "Sorry Kimmie" all the time!

*she RUNS everywhere she goes. I hardly ever see her walking. She is super fast too! We're getting prepared to sit through a lot of track meets in the years to come.

*she loves to label things by who they belong to...."I's paci", "Faith's diaper", "Daddy's shoes" All day long she goes through and labels things she sees!

*she LOVES to dance. Her favorite song to dance to is "Superstar" by the Go Fish Guys (check them out at gofishguys.com if you've never heard of them. They have "great music for kids that won't drive their parents bonkers." We all LOVE their music and DVD). She calls the song "Na Na Na" and does her hand in a dancing motion like the guys do on their video.

*she loves to sing. Her favorite songs are "If you're happy and you know it", "Head shoulders knees and toes", "Patty cake Patty cake". "Jesus loves me". Her friend, Annika recently taught her "The wheels on the bus" and she likes that one too.

*she loves all her grandparents...."MaCa" (her great grandma she named her MaCa), "NayNay" (my mom), "Nana" (Murray's mom), "Grandman & Mimi" (my dad & stepmom) and "Granddad & Granlyn" (Murray's dad & stepmom). Lots of grandparents and she enjoys them all! We feel blessed to have so many grandparents loving our children!

*she's always been a great sleeper! She takes naps well and goes to bed without any fuss (most of the time). It's been a blessing for all of us!

*she loves sweets. She'll ask for a sucker. I'll say no. Then, she'll ask for a cookie. I'll say no. Then, she'll ask for candy. I'll smile big and still say no. Then, she'll ask for a treat. I try to convince her that yogurt or graham crackers could be her treat! She sometimes will fall for it.

*there are, of course, many many more things we LOVE about Faith but those are treasured up in our hearts and I'm certain we couldn't find the right words to describe those things so we'll leave them bursting in our hearts.

Faith Kinder Sanderson you are dearly loved!

6 More Months of Wonderful!!

2007-12-17T22:23:00.000-05:00

A year and a half ago, we presented "6 months of wonderful" when our precious daughter, Faith, turned 6 months old. How is it possible that now our little boy has given us "6 more months of wonderful"??? He was just born the other day....wasn't he????

We can hardly believe that Eli has been with us for 6 MONTHS. He has been a delight to us in SO MANY ways! He is the most smiley child we've ever seen. A friend at church recently told us that he has an "infectious smile". We totally agree. No matter what mood I'm in, a smile from Eli melts my heart and brings a smile to my face as well. He smiles at EVERYTHING!!

Eli Burkhalter Sanderson, born June 12th, 2007 at 3:59 p.m.

Thank you God for giving us 6 months of wonderful-ness in the form of Eli!! We LOVE LOVE LOVE you, baby boy!!

Mommy & Daddy (and Faithy)

Cute kids

2007-12-02T21:13:00.000-05:00

The weather has turned colder. I LOVE this picture of Faithy in her fleece pjs, tennis shoes and hat. She still LOVES going outside....even if it's only to get the mail.
Faith loves being in the pack-n-play with Eli. Here she is eating a graham cracker in front of him.
Eli decides he'd like to have a bite!
Faith figures out how to save her cracker without much incident. (How sweet of her to decide to hold her brother's hand!!)

Look-alike meter....Eli

2007-11-25T18:02:00.000-05:00

I saw this on Amanda, Jennie and Kelli's blogs. Thought it looked fun. Not sure how accurate I think it is. Most say equally like both (or close to it). I'd be interested to see some of my friends' meters who have kids that definitely favor one parent over the other (CNS, BT, Holly O., Laura S., Ramona, Chelsea, Becky B.). I'll be checking your blogs to see if you tried this!!

Look-alike meter--Faith

2007-11-25T17:53:00.000-05:00

Where's Faith???

2007-11-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

Where's Faithy????? (Doesn't this picture remind you of when you where a kid??)
She's inside her indoor fort with her Daddy reading her favorite books!
A picture I just couldn't resist!!!!
While Faithy plays in her little fort, Eli practices rolling around.

Nana's visit!!!!

2007-11-15T11:24:00.000-05:00

We had a great visit with Nana last week. It was so nice to get to spend a whole week with her. We got to go to a lot of really cool places and enjoyed spending a lot of time at home with Nana too! Mommy got a lot of items checked off her "to do" list while Nana took care of us. Here are a few highlights.....Going to the Indianapolis Zoo. We saw a swimming polar bear, lions, giraffes, kangaroos, elephants, dolphins, a tiger and so many other cool animals!!!
Faith and Daddy with the penguins
Eli really enjoyed his "Nana time"
Faithy loved looking at pictures on Nana's camera. She also liked all the stories Nana read to her.
Thanks, Nana for a great visit! We love you!!

A day with Aunt Kimmie

2007-11-09T15:05:00.001-05:00

We had a real treat yesterday! We got to spend the afternoon with Aunt Kimmie! Eli LOVES spending time with Aunt Kimmie!

We had lunch at Red Lobster. Aunt Kimmie talked Eli into touching the lobster.

Faith, on the other hand, preferred to keep her distance.

Faith can now say "Kimmie". It's SOOOOO CUTE!

Thanks for the fun day, Aunt Kimmie!

Trick or Treat

2007-11-01T12:30:00.001-04:00

Here are the highlights of our little bugs' Halloween....
The cutest little bugs on the block!!!!
Precious little bee

Faith had this dazed look on her face during this set of pictures. We couldn't get her to smile and it wasn't b/c of the candy. She hardly touched her sucker....but she LOVED to hold it.

Nana arrived yesterday, just in time for trick or treating!
NayNay came out for our neighborhood Halloween parade last weekend.

My nieces came out for the parade too. They are both cheerleaders (Haleigh is a Barbie one and Brielle is a gothic one. Brielle lost her "real" costume top so I had to make this one on the fly).
Grandman and Mimi also stopped by for the parade.

Faithy loved the pom poms.

Hope you all enjoyed taking your little ones around or passing out candy to the neighborhood kids. I think it's so fun to see all the costumes.

Clowing around again....

2007-10-31T00:10:00.000-04:00

We are back home, and Eli is ready to "clown around" again...Isn't he the cutest baby you've ever seen?????

Hey everyone, good news! Praise God, Eli is home!Thank God, the tide turned quickly this morning as test results came in, and the pediatric infectious disease specialist got a good look at Eli's records and Eli himself. Except for one test that we don't yet have results for, Eli's bloodwork showed no signs of concern. Bottom line, the infectious disease doc felt that he could send us home with a powerful oral antibiotic that would fight the infection in Eli's foot, which at this time appears to be staph (not MRSA, but some type of staph). He saw no advantage to keeping us in the hospital for observation, and the IV antibiotics did not contribute very well to Eli's rest and/or recovery. (or ours! He had 5 things hooked up to him...)

When the docs examined Eli, they were confounded by the number of health issues he has faced in his 4.5 months; they place their greatest confidence in kids who exude health & energy by outward signs in addition to test results which show no real reason for concern. Thus, even with his history, they really don't feel he has a problem with his immune system or any problem with his blood / bloodstream. Praise God!

We have two follow-up appointments and we will of course be watching Eli closely. For now, he and Faith are resting comfortably here at home with us. God is good, and He is the Great Physician and Healer. We have Him to thank most of all. We also thank you for lifting us up to the Father. We owe a debt of gratitude to the incredible hospital staff (nurses & docs) and the infectious disease guy who "spoke with authority" and let us come home today instead of Thursday.

Thanks for your concern & your prayers. We still need your prayers that Eli will heal from this staph infection, and that he will experience many months / years of good health. As we move forward, we'll keep you posted about Eli's progress, and hopefully it will be a long, long time before he experiences another infection.

We were, of course, SO EXCITED to have Eli home. I'm not sure we could top Faith's excitement though, she L-O-V-E-S her baby brother!!

A BIG Thank You to all for your phone calls, emails, comments, visits, meals, etc. We feel TOTALLY BLESSED to have such wonderful friends and family!!

We have some other REALLY GOOD NEWS to share......

We are also SO EXCITED to report that our sweet buddy, Bennett, has gone home with his Mommy and Daddy. After 70 days in the NICU, precious Bennett, was released to the wonderful care of his parents. We are THRILLED beyond words and appreciate you all praying for him!!!

Prayers for Baby Eli

2007-10-30T00:24:00.000-04:00

Prayers for Baby Eli

Please pray for our infant son, Eli. We don’t want to alarm you, and we’re trying not to be alarmed, so here are the facts.

He was admitted to the “Peyton Manning Hospital for Children at St. Vincent’s” in Indianapolis today for a skin infection in addition to ear infection. The docs are giving him a strong combination of antibiotics intravenously, and they’ve told us Eli will be there at least 48 hours after the first dose, which wasn’t given until late tonight. So we’re thinking he’ll come home on Thursday, but there’s no guarantee.

Here are our specific prayer requests:
Pray that God will heal Eli of this skin infection, and his ear infections.
Pray that that today’s extensive blood tests will reveal that Eli has no other underlying issues with his blood or immune system.
Ask God to keep Faith safe & healthy during this trying time for our little family. (What a blessing to be near Jaime’s family at times like these…and my mom was already headed here for a visit and arrives Wednesday…)
Thank God for the great medical care we have in this country!
For more background, go to our blog www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com

BACKGROUND

Eli had a mild case of pneumonia in August, then a stomach virus earlier this month, followed by a significant ear infection that has lasted 2 weeks. This ear infection wasn’t phased at all by the low grade antibiotic, Amoxicillin. As an aside, I think doctors will soon be giving out Amoxicillin to trick or treaters, as it seems to compare only to candy in its impact on bacteria. After our 2nd trip to the ER this month for a fever spike a week ago, the docs upgraded him to Omnicef, the antibiotic a level up from Amoxicillin.

At this point, with Eli having pneumonia, stomach virus and ear infection all by 3 months of age, our pediatrician set an appointment for us to see an Infectious Disease specialist in mid-November. This caused us alarm, but hey, whatever it takes…

Then just before his bath last Saturday night, we found a quarter-sized red bump on his left ankle…I immediately thought it was a spider bite, but on further investigation, our docs now believe it is a skin infection caused by bacteria of some type, a type that is not eradicated by Omnicef.

Ok, we’re talking about a 4 ½ month old here…what a medical history he has! So our pediatrician advised us this morning that the best course was to admit him to the hospital, and then we would better be able to get an MRI and bloodwork completed, and get evaluation from pediatric specialists and an infectious disease specialist.

The MRI took 60 to 70 minutes, our boy is strong and he kept waking up from the mild sedation and moving around before they could finish the test. It took them awhile, but they finally got what they needed. (They had to administer the maximum amount of sedation, which weren’t crazy about…but you do what you have to do.) Thankfully, the MRI revealed that the infection is not in his bone, and appears to be only in the skin and the underlying tissue.

After the MRI, they took significant amounts of blood from him (don’t get me started on the pain of this process) and we’ll hopefully get those results tomorrow.

All of the docs who examine him just say how adorable he is, and how strong he is. He is very healthy if you’re just looking at him…he’s “chunky” in the words of the supervising pediatrician, and he has great color, a great appetite, smiles a lot, and sings quite loudly in notes just under those which shatter glass. He has lots of wet & dirty diapers (that’s my boy!) and he has a sparkle in his beautiful blue eyes. Because of how he looks and acts, they really don’t feel there’s anything wrong with his immune system, they just think we’ve been really unlucky, and that he’ll improve with this round of treatment and be just fine.

We thank you in advance for your prayers, and we look forward to updating you as soon as possible. Lord willing, the next email you get from us will be on Wednesday or Thursday, saying that we’re headed home and they didn’t find anything more serious.

Tired

2007-10-26T09:02:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. To be honest, I am SOOOOO tired and haven't had much free time to get anything new posted. Eli has gotten sick again so please pray for our sweet little one. He is on the mend but it's taken a lot of sleepless nights (and another trip to the ER) to get us there!

We had a BLAST with the McClures the week before last and will post pictures of our time with them soon. (I only have about 215 to choose from).

Hope all of you are enjoying your fall. It's my FAVORITE season!!!! We will miss our annual drive up the Shenandoah Valley to take in all the fall foliage. Thankfully, Indiana also has a beautiful array of color for us to enjoy!

God bless!!

Nelson is Coming!!

2007-10-12T00:16:00.000-04:00

My buddy Nelson is coming to visit me TOMORROW!! I can hardly stand it! In fact, as soon as I wake up, I get to go to the airport and pick him up. We are going to have SO MUCH FUN!

Can you tell we really like each other????

His Mommy and Daddy are coming too. My Mommy and Daddy are super excited to see them. Here they are with Eli when he was a teeney tiny baby. Mrs. Katherine is going to have a baby in the spring. I can't wait to tell Nelson all about being a big sibling. It's so much fun!

Stay tuned for new pics of me and Nelson and our adventures together!

P.S. My brother will be 4 months old tomorrow. Isn't he getting so big???? I love you, Eli!!

Going South

2007-10-09T01:15:00.001-04:00

Well, we had big plans and headed south this past weekend. We arrived in Nashville, TN to attend the Zoe worship conference Thursday morning. Not long after our arrival our plans for a wonderful time of praise, renewal, fellowship with old friends (and a special trip to visit my college roomie who is newly pregnant with baby #4) "went south" as a nasty stomach virus infected most of our family. Eli was the first to get it, then Faith took her turn and finally it came to me. Fortunately, it didn't stick around long with the kids but man did it ever have a hold on me. We made 2 trips to the ER this past weekend.

We are back home recovering well and are mostly over this nasty bug. YUCK!! I always forget how much I HATE to be sick until I get REALLY sick.

Murray was the BIGGEST CHAMPION of our family as he cared for all three of us in a cramped hotel room (it was actually a really nice room but Faith likes to have a bit more space to run around in). It was definitely not a fun experience but I couldn't have asked for better care. He didn't complain at all.

Thank you God for good medical care and for healing our bodies! And thank you, especially for a wonderful husband!!!

Faith & Eli

2007-09-30T21:36:00.000-04:00

UPDATE... We posted the answer below. A little over half of you were right!!

Can you tell which baby is Eli and which one is Faith? Apparently, neither child is very fond of this sweet little outfit!!!

Baby #1 This one is Eli!!!

Baby #2 This one is Faith!!!

See any resemblance????

2007-09-20T00:49:00.001-04:00

Faith at 3 months

Eli at 3 months

Minus a big red curl (on Faith) and a "few" extra pounds (on Eli) these two babes sure do look a lot alike (to us anyway). What do you think????

Are you ready for some football????

2007-09-06T21:31:00.000-04:00

Well, our new hometown was "bleeding" blue and white today! We saw Colts jerseys everywhere!! We couldn't help joining the crowd!! We were SO EXCITED that the Colts won the Super Bowl and now we are excited for the new season to begin! I grew up going to watch the Colts play with my dad and sisters back when they were really horrible. It's been fun to see them change and become the best team in the league. Faith with my cousin, Tiffany and her daughter, Alex
Eli with all of his Colts gifts from his Indy baby shower (minus the shirt that Faith is wearing)
Faithy giving Eli smooches
Eli, just thrilled to be near his big sister!
Quite possibly the cutest little Colts fans (along with Alex and her big sister, Sydney)

New Sheriff in Town!!!

2007-08-30T23:30:00.000-04:00

Here's a pic of our sweet "New Sheriff" and New Smiler!!! He is bringing us so much joy!!
And our "Big Girl"...she's already trying to fill my shoes!

The Wedding

2007-08-28T23:04:00.000-04:00

We had a great time in Virginia at the beginning of the month. It was so fun to see all the Burkhalters as well as our immediate family. Eli enjoyed being introduced and Faithy enjoyed being the center of attention (her red hair and curls steals the show every time).

Nana and her brother, Terry, father of the groom
Faithy checking in on Eli and Stone
Uncle Michael and Eli
Faithy cooling off....it was ALL KINDS OF HOT in VA that weekend
The handsome-est boys at the wedding: Stone, Eli and Sterling

Meeting cousin, Bennett
Nana and the grandkids!Eli and Aunt Mel
Aunt Darla snuggles
Superheros, Dash and "Black Spiderman" (not just "Spiderman") to the rescue

Please keep praying for our friends, Travis & Kelly and their precious son, Bennett. He's making some progress but is still in need of LOTS of prayers.

Visit www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com for more updates.

Pray for Bennett

2007-08-22T09:05:00.001-04:00

Our good friends Travis and Kelly had their first child this Monday. He is a precious and sweet baby who is critically ill and in desperate need of prayers. Please Please Please say a prayer for baby Bennett and his parents and family right now and throughtout the day.

You can check out this blogsite that has been set up to keep updates on his condition and specific prayer requests known www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com

Check out the prayer pager number and page Travis and Kelly to let them know you are praying for them. Even if you don't know them, please pray for them!

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". James 5:16

All By Myself

2007-08-16T23:14:00.000-04:00

Faithy put her shoes on all by herself yesterday. I know they're on the wrong feet but I just couldn't help sharing this milestone with everyone!
So proud!
And Eli turned 2 months this week! Our little ones are growing up so fast!! How does that happen. Childhood seemed to last FOREVER when I was a kid.

Birthday Parties & a "Big Girl"....

2007-08-14T23:14:00.000-04:00

Whew...we have been so busy!! Lots of birthday parties, weddings, unpacking, etc. Here's a partial recap....more pics to come later.My mom turned 60 last month. We hosted our first family gathering at our new house. It was so much fun honoring such a special woman!! My sister, Kim and I bought her 60 roses and had special messages attached to each rose from all her family and friends.
My sister, Kim, turned 30 last week. It was fun showering her with some special gifts, yummy birthday cake....and an especially delicious dinner at BD's mongolian BBQ.
Our nephew, Sterling, turned 5 last week. We got to celebrate with him during our family trip to Virginia. So fun!
Here's our big girl!! She is growing leaps and bounds and we LOVE LOVE LOVE being her parents. She makes us so proud! Her pony tails make her look especially grown up.

Faith has officially moved to a big girl bed. The transition was so easy. She has taken to it quite well. No fussing, escaping or falling. We know that's a blessing!

Can this be our baby girl sleeping in such a big bed?????
She's taken to her big sister role quite well. She kisses Eli ALL THE TIME, gives him his paci and runs to me when he starts crying and "tells" me to go help him. Here she is "holding" him.
Her love for books has continued to develop. She now will turn pages and "read aloud" what's on each page. She's very independent and won't let Murray and I read to her much. She'll sit for 1-2 pages and then runs off but if she is in charge she'll sit and "read" for about 15 minutes.
And here's a couple pics of our precious Eli! He has brought us so much joy!!

He is growing SO FAST! He has started to smile but I haven't been able to catch one on camera yet.

We'll be back soon (I promise) with pics from our trip to Charlottsville, VA for Murray's cousin's wedding. It was so much fun and so great to be around his family again.

Our boys...

2007-08-01T00:21:00.000-04:00

Faithy and I sure are glad to have these sweet guys in our lives!!! They bring us such joy! We love you Daddy and Eli!

We made it!!!

2007-07-13T22:23:00.000-04:00

Needless to say, we're a bit overwhelmed with all the unpacking. Just wanted to let you know that we entered the "Crossroads of America" and are Hoosiers now!! Here's a couple pics to keep you updated. We'll post more as soon as we get another chance.....can't promise that it'll be soon, but check back, we may just surprise you!!!Our last day on Pennsboro Court. It was so hard to drive away from this WONDERFUL house. A home we will ALWAYS remember as it has held all of our firsts and countless other treasured memories!
Faithy and Mommy playing with our straws at Cracker Barrel, our favorite pit stop.
Crossing the state line!!!
Eli LOVES to hold onto the shirt collar while being held.

Blessing...

2007-06-28T10:01:00.000-04:00

We received an incredible gift from one of our dear family friends, Morton J. He was in town visiting his son and his family and stopped by to see baby Eli. He offered a prayer of blessing over Eli and we were able to capture it on video. It was an incredible moment (too precious and treasured to adequately put into words). Morton is an INCREDIBLE man of faith and prays prayers that could move mountains. We will always treasure that moment and look forward to replaying Eli's blessing over and over as he grows into the man that God created him to be. Here are a couple still shots from the blessing....

The second we put Eli in Morton's arms he must've felt the Spirit moving b/c he immediately lifted his hand in praise!!

Thank you, Morton!! This meant SO MUCH to us!!!

It's a Boy!

2007-06-16T09:51:00.000-04:00

Baby Eli has arrived!
Proud Mama!!!

Proud Papa!!!

Jaime gave birth to Eli Burkhalter Sanderson on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 3:59 pm. He weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz at birth, and was 19.5 inches long. He is totally healthy and handsome, with a ruddy complexion and dark brown hair. And I have a whole new level of love, admiration and respect for my beautiful wife than I already had! (and that's after she delivered our 9 lb 12 oz baby girl 1.5 years ago.)

My wife is a certified superhero. After delivering our 8 lb 1 oz baby on Tuesday, she was delivered from a "very large rock", in the words of our urologist, aka kidney stone, on Wednesday. He showed it to us on x-ray film, and to see it would make you double over in sympathy pain.

She endured both of the most painful situations that humans will ever endure in a span of 4 days. (Sunday through Wednesday of last week) She became known this week at Reston Hospital...it seemed whenever we went anywhere that people were like, "oh, that's the woman who had a huge kidney stone and just gave birth!" Every woman we encountered who had had both a baby and a stone said that the stone was far worse. Jaime agrees wholeheartedly.

An induction was planned for Monday, June 18th, but the stone hit Jaime like a rock (well, it was a rock) last Sunday afternoon, June 10th. We spent Sunday & Monday in the hospital, where they could give her safe but strong medication for the pain, and so they could monitor her, the baby and conduct exams, x-rays, ultrasounds, etc. After our urologist discovered such a large kidney stone, he recommended that he perform a lithotripsy to blast the stone & then insert a stint so that her body could return to healthier function asap. (trying to spare you the details) Understandably, blasting is not a good thing when you have a baby inside of you, so they moved up her induction to Tuesday morning, June 12.

(A huge thank you to Bailey & Brylee and their parents Sam & Emille for keeping little Faith all week & showing her such a great time! And what did you guys feed her? Both Jaime & I feel like she gained weight and is bigger than 4 days ago...I don't suppose that's because we've been holding our little 8 lb miracle too much.)

Thankfully, the epidural blocked the kidney pain completely along with some of her labor pains. Jaime got to experience and enjoy childbirth without passing out from the pain of the stone combined with the pain of delivery. God brought her through all the suffering to a place of joy and celebration with the birth our healthy baby boy. He really is, in the words of the pediatrician, just perfect. I was the one who got to tell Jaime "it's a boy" and it's a moment I'll never forget. We were both so elated!

We are quickly adjusting to life with a newborn and an 18 month old (there's no way to do it slowly)...to say there's never a dull moment is a gross understatement. We are having so much fun though, and are catching naps whenever we can. Faith loves her little brother, but we're having to coach her on what a "gentle touch" is...so far she just enjoys coming up and tagging him on the shoulder like she's playing a game of "you're it". It's so hilarious.

We love Faithy's smile in this picture!

Our new family of four!!!

My Dallas family comes in this week, so that will be tons of fun.

Thanks everyone for the prayers, and the well wishes, the meals, the grocery runs. Say a prayer of praise & thanksgiving to God for bringing Jaime through such a painful and gut-wrenching week, and for our new little gift from Heaven.

Getting Ready....

2007-06-07T20:25:00.000-04:00

Well, I am oficially feeling ready for the arrival of baby #2. There has been so much going on with the move and other family matters that I was afraid this baby would come and I would be TOTALLY unprepared. After our good friends had their baby nearly a month early, Murray has been asking me to get our hospital bag packed "just in case". I kept putting it off and couldn't get in gear to start packing up boxes for our move to Indiana either (a job I'd much rather do pre baby vs. post baby).

Finally, the nesting bug bit me and I got in to Mommy mode and started packing, shopping, and preparing like a mad woman!! I am happy to report that:

1) our hospital bags are packed.

2) the new baby's clothes are washed and ready for his/her arrival home.

3) about 3/4 of our house is packed up (thanks....Ramona and Emille!)

4) Faith has someone to watch her when we go to the hospital the morning of the induction.

We are REALLY getting excited now that it's less than a week and a half away! Most of Murray's family will be here for the "Big Day" which makes it even more fun!!

FYI--I returned home from a shopping trip to Walmart to buy some things for the baby. I was showing the purchases to Murray and when he saw this....

he asked me, "Who are the size 1 diapers for? Isn't Faith wearing a size 4 now?" It took him a minute then he remembered that we have ANOTHER baby coming soon!! It was cute!! Needless to say, he's got a lot on his "to do" list too!! We are hoping to get it all checked off so that after the baby arrives....all we will need to focus on is our new family of 4!!!

P.S. We've chosen "new" names for the baby and have decided to keep them a secret until the baby arrives!!

Future Seamstress....

2007-06-03T22:15:00.001-04:00

This week I enjoyed a fun girls night out at my friend Amanda's. Our friend Ramona joined us and we had a wild night filled with lots of.....sewing!!!! Amanda graciously walked Ramona and I through the steps of how to make a simple A-line dress. It was so much fun!! (and easier than I expected...although I couldn't have interpreted the pattern directions without Amanda's help.)

Here are a couple pics of the finished products (the picture quality isn't that great as Faith rarely stands still for a picture these days and nearly all of them turned out really blurry!!)

Gillian (on the left) looked SO CUTE in her dress this morning too! She especially loves doing the buttons all by herself. Great job, Ramona!!

Faith is starting to "discover" her dresses. When I put this on her this morning, she started swaying back and forth and smiled as it moved along with her! So cute!!

What a deal!!

2007-05-29T10:43:00.000-04:00

My older sister, Michelle, is QUEEN of finding a great deal. She knows where all the best rummage sales are, knows how much to pay for items and can even help price the "treasures" you are wanting to let go of (but not give away) at your own rummage sale. It truly is an talent. I have been learning from her these last few months. She bought Faith at least 10 pieces of name-brand, practically new clothes for only $8 total!!! Before this, I thought $8 for a pair of jeans at Target was a bargain! She has inspired me and thus I have to share my biggest "find" from a neighborhood rummage sale I participated in a few weeks ago.....

I bought this playhouse for $20. It retails brand new for $150. There were a few crayon marks on it but Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser took those off and now you can't even tell it was used!

Needless to say, Faithy LOVES her "new house"

The doorbell has 6 different rings and is her favorite part of the house.

The Switch....

2007-05-21T22:36:00.000-04:00

Well, I knew it was bound to happen. I just thought it would happen MUCH LATER!! Faithy has made the switch from being Mommy's girl to Daddy's girl!! And she doesn't even try to hide it!

This past week we went house hunting in Indianapolis and had a pretty rough flight on the way there (Faith refused to nap and it was WAY PAST time for her to sleep). She finally fell asleep in Murray's arms as the wheels 0f the plane touched down in Indy. On the way back to Virginia, I captured this sweet picture of Faithy in her Daddy's arms 2 minutes after takeoff.

She all but knocks me over when Murray walks in the door after work. She cuddles with Daddy, holds his hand during our family prayers and runs to him when he chases her. It really is so very sweet!....but is it so hard to throw some love Mommy's way too?????

I love your Daddy too, Faithy and totally understand why you are eager to shower him with affection!!! He is so fun to love!! And so are you!!!

Cousin Time!!!!

2007-05-15T23:35:00.000-04:00

We made a trip to Dallas a few weeks ago and Faith soaked up SO MUCH COUSIN TIME!! Here are a few highlights....Sharing french fries with Stone during his lunchtime at Jackson Elementary.
Walking through the line of kindergarteners as they waited for recess to begin. I was such a big girl that day!!

Bathtime with Stone and Sterling. They crack me up and they LOVED my funny hairdo!!
Pajama time!! These guys called me "Baby Jack Jack" when I was in Mommy's tummy. I was so excited to fit into my Incredible pj's so I can REALLY be Baby Jack Jack. Sterling is Dash!

I LOVED getting to hear Bennett and Briggs' band, Slyde of Hand, practice. I'm their #1 fan!!

5, 6...pick up sticks

2007-05-09T10:19:00.000-04:00

During our walks around the cove, Faith is always on the lookout for little sticks. She stops every few feet to pick one up to add to her collection. It's so cute to see her walking along with a big stash of them in her hand. Occasionally, she'll stop. Drop them on the sidewalk. Pick them all back up and start walking again. When we get back to our driveway she knows to bring them to the stick pile that Daddy has made. So cute!!!
There's gotta be some more sticks around here somewhere!!
Hmmm...I think I see some more sticks in Ms. B's yard.
Got them all, time to go find some more.
On her way to the stick pile.

New Names....

2007-05-05T23:05:00.000-04:00

Snagged this from my friend, Kelli's blog.... Be sure and leave your "new names" in the comments or on your blog.

1. YOUR REAL NAME

Jaime
Faith
Murray

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (First 3 letters of real name plus “-izzle”)

Jai-izzle
Fai-izzle
Mur-izzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color and favorite animal)

Green Puppy
Red Doggie
Blue Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (Your middle name and the street you live on)

Melissa Pennsboro
Kinder Pennsboro
Lloyd Pennsboro

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (The first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)

Sanja (this is awfully close to Sanjaya!!)
Sanfa
Sanmu

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME (Your 2nd favorite color and favorite drink)

Pink Slush
Green Danimal
Maroon Mocha Frappuccino

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your mom’s maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name, and last letter of your mom’s middle name)

Analcky
Ankoola (if we have a boy) Ankooea (if we have a girl)
Unlume

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (Parents’ middle names)

Kay Michael
Melissa Lloyd
B. Mae

9. YOUR GOTH NAME (”Black” and the name of one of your pets)

Black Frodo
Black Sam
Black Wimpie

Chip on her shoulder....

2007-05-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

It seems like these days our sweet Faithy has been sitting around with a "chip" on her shoulder... (look closely at the pic below...sorry, I couldn't resist!!)

Isn't she the cutest thing????

Weekend update!!!

2007-04-29T21:10:00.000-04:00

Well, things have been a bit crazy around our house....seems like each member of our family has an update to share....

Murray & Jaime: Over the last few months, we've been earnestly trying to test and approve what God’s will is for our lives. After much prayer and consideration, we feel that God is calling us to a new church home where we can be closer to family. In July, Murray will begin working with the North Central Church of Christ in Indianapolis as their Worship & Administration Minister. When God made us aware of this opportunity, we felt the time could be right to make a transition, especially as our family grows from 3 to 4. We've made it a top priority to have Jaime stay at home with our kids, and the cost of living in this area is not cooperating with that priority, even though the elders have been generous with us in every way. Additionally, Jaime’s family lives in the Indianapolis area, and will be a great source of support for us. We are so sad to leave such a beautiful area filled with friends (who have become our family) we treasure dearly!! It is a bittersweet occasion for us!! Please pray for us as we make this transition!!

Faith: Walking ALL THE TIME!! Talking ALL THE TIME!! Most of her words sound like a foreign language to us but her "English" words consist of the following: Mommy, Daddy, Murray (this is the cutest!!), Me (meow), Me (moo for when she sees a cow), Cookie, Doggie, and Birdie. It's been SO FUN to hear these sweet words for the first time!! She has developed (along with most little toddlers her age) a STRONG preference for doing things her way AND for choosing what she wants to do. She's not too found of being told no. She is also interacting SO MUCH MORE!! It's really fun to play with her instead of just beside her. She also LOVES kids. We love watching her play with others and she blows kisses ALL THE TIME!! She LOVES being outside. On our walks, she is always stopping to pick up twigs. She'll carry them with her until we get home. She is a delight!!

Baby Sanderson: Growing like a weed (with an extra heap of fertilizer added). Due to the gestational diabetes (I was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago), this baby is growing like a champ and is currently measuring 2 1/2 weeks ahead of schedule!! Because of this, (and b/c big sister weighed nearly 10 lbs.) our doctor is inducing my labor 2 weeks early. Lincoln or Elizabeth will make his/her debut on June 18th (Jaime's Grandma's birthday) if all goes as planned. We get to see this sweet little baby every other week on sonogram to make sure its doing well and handling the diabetes ok. The baby is VERY active and has the sweetest little face!!

We continue to feel blessed beyond measure and are overwhelmed by God's goodness and graciousness towards us!!