Arkansas and Iowa

When Aunt Trisha came to visit so she could attend her PT school interviews, we acted as taxi and during her interview in Des Moines, we went to the Science Museum. The "ball wall" was a huge hit; I even played with it! It was fun!

The Star Trek dedication is no joke. It's about 20 mins south of us, and there really is a monument dedicated to the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk. For all you Trekkis (I've never actually typed that before), it was fun to see, but the man in charge of it all was a little obsessed. Who knew such exotic fun awaited us in Iowa??

And dinner at Huhot (ever been there??!! It was so good...too bad I had a horrible cold so I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to) in Arkansas.

More to come...we've been busy, so that's why I've been slow with updates. But ya know, life happens.

Contentment in Motherhood

I have been blessed the past few days to really feel content. I've been busy, and not everything's been accomplished, but I feel very content. I attribute to the immense joy I've felt while playing with my children. I still get frustrated and tired and there just isn't enough time for everything...but the past few days I've been trying really hard to just spend time with them. I use naps to get everything else ready so that when they're up, I can just focus on them. Granted, it's not completely focused attention because I do still HAVE to do things. But, for the most part, I've just been so grateful for who they are. We've had fun playing in our "starry cave" I made with Christmas lights in a box; coloring, playing with cars, looking at pictures, and really just talking with my kids. I love them so much and I'm so blessed to be their Mama.

It's these phases, however short or long, of appreciation and gratitude and just contentment, that help me remember why I love being a Mama/Mommy. I thank my Heavenly Father for helping me find strength and build up my reserves for when things are a bit more hectic and crazy.

What makes you feel content? This is something I reflect on often (refer back to the book "Contentment" by Marie Covey Cole. Great book), so I'm interested in others' thoughts.

Once again, I'm still amazed!

So, when I first gathered these up, I thought these two pictures made Caleb and Mackenzie look so much alike.
But after posting them, I don't feel like they do anymore. Oh well. Here are Caleb and Mackenzie both at 6 months taking a bath.

Love those faces!!

Here comes another one!

Another year has entered our realm of influence while the last one has dismissed our presence with a final breath of triumph.

At least, I like to think it was a triumphant, successful, and ever so blessed year!

We, uh, never got Christmas letters out (sorry everyone!), so, consider this your update. But despite the lack of newsletter, the year 2011 was a grand one for the Justin Anderson family.

Here's a recap of our highlights, in attempted chronological order:

1. Justin was accepted to dental school. We eventually chose the University of Iowa, putting us in Iowa City, Iowa for at least the next 4 years.

2. Justin had a birthday. :)

3. We bought a car! Hopper's the name. And thus we learned to drive stick.

4. We took an awesome family trip to New York, New York!

5. I had a surprise baby shower thrown by some great friends in MA.

6. We welcomed our sweet Mackenzie into our family. She's such a blessing and a joy!

7. Justin attended the Summer Program at UofI and found us a great place to live!

8. I had a birthday. :)

9. Justin successfully cleaned out his parent's attic and made a few last minute updates to their house.

10. We celebrated our 3rd anniversary!

11. We CRAMMED everything into a Uhaul, our car, and Justin's parent's truck and moved ourselves to Iowa City!

12. Caleb turned 2. And started talking (so he stopped screaming!). And he kept talking. A lot. It's so much fun, mostly!

13. Caleb was Nemo for Halloween, while Justin was P. Sherman.

14. We shared Thanksgiving with some friends in our complex. And then I ventured out Black Friday morning for the first time (never again!).

15. Justin not only survived, but excelled in his classes. He worked so hard and we know he was blessed in his efforts. We feel very blessed to have completed one semester of dental school!

16. We celebrated Christmas down in AR with my family, which was great.

17. Mackenzie decided it was okay to take a bottle. and formula. Thank you Grandpa for helping her decide to be independent.

18. Justin and I had our own New Year celebration complete with egg rolls and taquitos. We finished reading the Book of Mormon as part of our celebration and then watched a Monk episode.

It has been an awesome year! Thanks for sharing it with us! We are excited about this next year and are hoping to plan out our goals this week. I do love the fresh start of a New Year and the chance to improve myself all over again!

Girl Splurge!

We splurged on Black Friday. Oh, what a day! I went out with some friends to Wal-mart, which opened at 10:00p.m. on Thursday, and that was fun. I'd never done Black Friday before and seeing the parking lot, the crowd in the store...it was incredible! Crazy people!! My friend wanted some sheets...and they were all gone. And funny thing, we were checking out and the checker said the only fight she'd seen was over sheets. How odd is that? When did sheets become such a hot commodity?
(I love her dandelion hair here...it's finally starting to grow in more!)

Anyway, so I went back out around midnight to Kohls. And stood in line for an hour. And then took back everything I bought. Except for this dress. It was 60% off, so not a huge deal -- probably not worth an hour in the line at 2:00a.m. when I had to teach at 5:00a.m.--

But we just had to splurge. She's our little girl! The backdrop isn't the best, though it does give a holiday vibe.

Then me with my baby girl. I love her so much! She's growing and learning every day and it's amazing to see her personality and disposition manifest themselves increasingly more all the time.

Merry Christmas!!