Anson Farm

Summer 2011

2011-08-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Summer is zipping right by, and we are loving every minute. We are so blessed. This past week has been in the 80*s every day and the 60*s at night and we are just loving and laughing and playing and working and enjoying life to the fullest. Here are some pictures of our summer.

While the big boys watch "Andy and Barney" Will is my helper with Sarah
These boys love to read :)

"Look Mom has the camera!"

Such a sweet little girl.... she is growing so fast! In July she cut 2 teeth, learned to crawl and sat up for the first time!! She is now crawling ALL over and sits and pulls her self up on stuff.

A big hit this summer, the squirters. Much easier to operate than a water gun. And great for soaking Mom when she is not expecting it!

Refill

Ready to soak!!!

Blueberry picking with Uncle Seth

These brothers love each other :)

Hi Mom!

Pictures from a camp out in the back yard Memorial Day weekend.

Getting the hot dogs ready... (or was it the marshmellows?)

Oh yeah, this is the good stuff!!!

Enjoying our wonderful trampoline!

Spring time

2011-04-28T19:23:00.001-07:00

Today I was standing in the yard in short sleeves and enjoying the sun on my face. Although the calendar said it was spring a while ago, winter seems to have a hold this year. Or maybe winter always lasts longer in Nebraska. Yep, we moved and now live west of Lincoln. In February Scott and I felt it was time for a change. Scott especially was ready to be home nights, (He had been working nights as a deputy for a few months and it was really hard for our family.) off work on Sundays so we could go to church and off holidays. Basically, a chance to spend more time with family and friends.
To make a long story short, we prayed for direction and ended up in Nebraska. We are close to several dear friends and Scott is working as a welder at a factory in Seward. He now works 1st shift, and we are loving him being home every night! We also love living in the country! We have a great rental house that has a big yard and room for a garden. (YEAH!) The boys are loving it.
And these boys are such a blessing! The love their little sister and Sarah is so much fun! I love having a little girl and have had a great time picking out her clothes and dressing her up!

Scott telling the boys a story

Don't worry Marcus, the good guys win!

Our precious little girl!

Paul is a great artist, here with his cowboy, cactus and sand. Drawn all by himself.

Paul without training wheels!

These boys are such a help with their sister!

My little darling :)

Introducing......

2011-02-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

Sarah Mae Anson

Born at home -February 3, 2011

8 lbs. 3 oz.

20 3/4 inches long

We are sooooo excited!!!!

A very happy family!

Blog issues

2011-01-28T19:04:00.001-08:00

Contrary to all appearances, I have not forgotten about this blog. And I have not run out of pictures to post. And I have really tried to post 3 times in the past month. But every time I do, I have had blog issues, or Internet issues and I can't post pictures, and since I can't bear to post without pictures..... I have not posted. Until now.
I wanted to let you know we are alive, well, and looking forward to baby #5 arriving anytime. Hopefully by then I will have figured out what the picture issue is so we can post lots of great pictures of our new little one.
But, until then, I will share some of the great things happening around here.

Paul- Turned 5 the end of December and in the middle of a growth-spirt. I thought he would never out-grow 4T pants, and Marcus was going to pass him in weight and height, but it seems he is inching taller. He has loved playing in the snow. We have had snow on the ground for about 3 weeks straight, (amazing) and have done a lot of sledding and building snowmen. My treat from last year, (you can have one cup of hot chocolate after coming in from playing in the snow) has turned into a daily treat and I had to rein it back. So much for limiting sweets when you have snow this long!!

Marcus- Has a birthday Feb. 6th and has been counting down the days since the beginning of December. This is a big birthday at our house because it means you are old enough to chew gum. He CAN'T WAIT and is looking forward to going to the store with Scott and picking out his own gum. Marcus also has been enjoying the snow, although not as daring as Paul and after hitting a tree on the sled, he took a break for a while. :) He has decided that if the baby is a boy we need to name it "Roy Rogers" because we need a cowboy in the family.

Philip- Still a "little boy" he loves doing what the "big boys" are doing. And he can hold his own if they get into a scrap. We have worked on potty training all fall and winter and I think he is just about down with it. And not a moment too soon! Philip loves to sing and refuses to stop singing Christmas songs just because the season is over. I still hear Joy to the World and Go Tell it on the Mountain quite often. A bit of a slow talker at first, Philip's vocabulary has really grown this winter and one of his favorite words is "actually". "Actually MOm, that is a truck, not a car."

William - Affectionately called "Baby Will" by his brothers, there is not a lot baby like left about him. Always trying to keep up with the others, Will is constantly into things. I am challenged daily to keep him productive and out of trouble. He loves reading books, which has been great for the often times I need a moment to sit and catch my breath. His vocabulary is also growing by leaps and bounds. His 2 big words right now are "applesauce" and "chap stick".

Well, that's all for now! As soon as I can, I will get some pictures updated!

Matching boys

2010-10-06T19:32:00.001-07:00

It was a little over a year ago when I first tried taking a "matching" picture of our boys. A friend had given me matching shirts for the crew right after William was born and we have loved dressing them the same on fun days out together.

This weekend at Walmart, I noticed a bunch of boys shirts on clearance and was able to replace the shirts, which were becoming quiet small.

Due to the beautiful weather, I decided today was a good day for another photo shoot, although I guess I should have checked with Will, he was not the happiest fellow and it was hard getting him to stay in the pictures, let alone smile! Stair steps
Peek-a-boo!

Smile all together

The older 3 clowns

They seem to know they are just too cute!

Trying to cheer someone up!

There is a smile!

William- 13 months

What a big boy!
Philip- 2 yrs

Marcus-3 1/2 yrs

Paul-4 ("Almost 5, Mom")

Welcome Felicity!

2010-10-06T19:23:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we had the pleasure of visiting my Sister Rebecca and her family and help them welcome their new little baby, Felicity Anne. The first grand-daughter on the Ulmer side, I am sure she will not lack in pretty clothes or protective older boys. Our boys were quite delighted to hold a little baby again and can't wait until she is old enough to play with them! Thanks for having us down Shepards! The boys had a great time playing together.... usually something with guns or swords!

The proud big brother

Philip seems not to notice that Felicity is unhappy

Awwww :)

Paul with the magic touch, (Or was he just first in line to hold her? :)

God bless you Felicity!

Summer.... hot and busy!

2010-08-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

I guess you could all figure out we are busy.... I am so behind in blogging!:)

We have really enjoyed our new home here and being closer to family and friends from the NE Kansas area. And our big yard continues to provide us with hours of fun outdoors. Even when the temps are in the upper 90*s, since we have such great shade, it makes it much nicer to be outside. (Well for some of us! :) Paul has been learning how to ride his two-wheeler bike with training wheels and would gladly be outside at 105* just for a chance to ride!

Here is a smattering of pictures from this summer. I hope you enjoy!

The new umbrellas from Grandma Sue are a huge hit!!

The wild west

Watch out for Indians!

We celebrated Philip's 2 birthday the end of July-

And we had Bryan and Grandma Sue here to share in the fun!

Ummm, cake and ice-cream

Philip LOVES balloons- his favorite part of his birthday!

Paul with all his cut and paste animals. This was Birthday present activity that he has loved all summer long. He was sad when he got all the animals done. He could cut and color and glue all day.

Someone else had a birthday this summer:)

In June we helped my folks set up their pool for the summer. Ahhh, how refreshing!

The boys love this story, "Thunder Cake". About a child who learns not to fear thunder by listening to the storms approach and helping her grandmother bake a cake. The recipe is in the back, and one rainy day we tried it!

Paul enjoys mixing the batter!

Also in June, we had the chance to meet Esther's husband to be- Micah Nelson. The boys decided to test him out and see "If he is a good wrestler" :)

Back in May we enjoyed a great visit with Shepards and had great fun with a cookout.

Paul sharing his smore :)

Enjoying Scott's new ride!

One highlight of the year was a visit to Chicago to see Tony and Lisa and the boys. We were privileged to be with them for the boy's baptisms.

Having fun with a giant bubble wand

And of course, time inside.

Well, it is getting late, hopefully I will get some more pictures on here soon!

Boys and spring

2010-04-25T19:56:00.000-07:00

Well there has been a lot happening since my last post. To put it all short and sweet, Scott took a new job with the Geary County Sheriff's Dept. To those unfamiliar with Kansas geography, this is about 1 1/2 hours closer to my folks- right on I-70. The main town in Junction City, pop. about 22,000. So a bigger department, better pay and the best part- he is working DAYS now!!! He works 12 hour days, 8-8. He works 7 days out of 14, so long days at work, but a lot of days off too! We are really loving it. We moved the first week of March- we are renting a small, (half the size of our Ellsworth house) house in Milford, a small (200 people) town north of Junction City. Although the house is small, the yard is huge and the boys and I have loved having space to run and play. We have our house in Ellsworth on the market and would appreciate your prayers for the whole process of selling out house.
The boys are doing great. Paul is so quick, you have to really watch what you say. He is working hard on his alphabet and can write almost all his letters from memory. He still loves any thing about cowboys or guns and can't wait to do a lot of fishing this summer. (The town of Milford sits on a huge lake, the boat ramp is 2 blocks from our house.)
Marcus is our quiet boy who loves to play by himself. He really enjoys reading with Mom or Dad and learning his letters with Paul. He wears his cowboy hat all the time and loves our daily walk to the post office for mail.
Philip is full of energy and attitude. He has Paul's athletic ability and is always trying to climb things.....yes Mommy gets her exercise chasing him. :) He loves puzzles and balls and Daddy coming home.
William is 8 months old- wow does time fly! He is crawling very well and sits unassisted. He has cut his 2 lower teeth, and likes eating "real" food now. Another Mama's boy, his favorite thing is to be held by Mom during any meal when I am trying to feed myself and at least 2 other people. :)

WEll, that catches you up a little bit! Hopefully I will keep the blog up better this summer!Enjoy the pictures! I was warned there could be snakes here, but nobody said anything about Indians!

The not so lethal bow, with no arrow :)

Every Indian needs a tipee! Or a peeti :)

My warriors

Will getting fussy in the swing

A "cat" sleeping in the tree

Paul all dressed up for church

Paul loving on baby Will

Enjoying a movie together

Philip riding away into the sunset :)

Feeling a bit poetic tonight.... :)

2010-01-23T21:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight I spent the evening

taking care of little boys

I do this every day,

while tripping over toys

There is dirty clothes and dishes

Shoes to put away,

The food to fetch from the freezer,

tomorrow's another day

The pile of mending seems endless,

the time always flies

When patching knees of little pants

between the baby's cries

The bathroom found the mop today

the first time in 2 weeks,

With their enthusiasm to help

it now no longer reeks

Finally the last one nods

quiet steals across the house

I come downstairs to more chaos

want to collapse upon the couch

But instead I grab the tape

and the pile of ripped up books,

I remember the hymnals,

and the loose pages Philip took

And as I sit with my tape

And think how worn things seem,

I reflect on how they get that way

And living out my dream

You see...

I rather have a a bunch of books, all ripped and covers stained,

And know my boys love to read, and will learn with joy some day

I rather have three hymnals that are all missing a favorite page

And know that my boys love to sing and shout their Saviour's praise

I rather have a pile of jeans, not one without much wear

And know that healthy boys are ones that do the wear and tear

I rather have a lot of dishes, stacked almost to the sky

And know that food is plentiful, well-fed they can't deny

I rather have dirty clothes that seem to multiply,

Because they got them dirty helping cook our supper tonight

And

I rather be tired at the end of every day,

I rather be worn out and have no time to play

Than to trade all this work for a life of ease and fun

I am a MOM and that is my dream, I pray its a job well done!

(With great thanks to my Mom who has sacrificed for years and continues to do so daily!

And thanks to my mother-in-law, your bed-time-prayers have become my prayers-come-true!

And even more thanks to my wonderful husband- you enable me to be the woman I am- I would be lost without you! I love you!

And most of all thanks to my Lord, who sees fit to give me another day with my family and help mold these little souls for eternity!)

December in review

2010-01-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

Our December was blessed with family and fun- although I battled a head cold, the rest of the family stayed healthy, and that is a huge blessing!

We are so grateful for our family and friends- May the Lord bless you in the New Year!

Growing every day!
Belated Christmas at the Ulmers- chaps made by Nana!

Will enjoying a taste of Noah's hair :)

Book bags from Papa and Nana

The end of the month is very important! Paul turned a long awaited 4!

Cuddles with Aunt Phoebe

And Aunt Elizabeth

Enjoying the heritage chimes (Over Thanksgiving weekend)

Marcus likes these!

William never lacks a willing arm to hold him!

Cuddles with Uncle Moses

Smile! We love Grandma Sue!

Merry Christmas!

Cabin Fever

2010-01-23T20:24:00.001-08:00

What do you do when it is in the single digits outside and has been for the whole week?

What do you do when you have small boys with not-so-small amounts of energy?

What do you do when Mom is tired of crawling around pretending to be a bear?

At the Ansons, you have a jumping contest! (With Mom as the official announcer :)

See that smile? I assure you, no children or animals were harmed in the filming of these events!
"And in the blue shirt we have Flying Roy Rogers, doing a huge jump with a twist!"

"And Mr. Jimmy Roy Rogers lands a perfect high jump!"

"On your mark, get set, GO!"

"And that is a great flip for cowboy Paulie"

Thinking about catching up:)

2010-01-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

Well there is nothing like starting out the New Year already behind!!! My blog posts and pictures have been held up by some problems we are having with our desktop computer. Scott has been working on it and it is not freezing up every 3 minutes now, but still having a few issues. Hopefully I can do a big update soon with lots of great pictures! Until then, I hope these few keep you smiling! Cowboys :)
This one is for you Aunt Jeannie! Thanks for the socks!

All dressed up and ready for church!

Deer hunting 2009

2009-12-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

I feel very blessed this hunting season. I have a husband that loves to hunt with me. I have a family that allows us to stay with them. My family is eager to watch the boys so we can go out. And I am grateful for 3 great deer for the freezer! Scott got a buck and a doe this year

And i got a buck-Yeah!

More pictures later!

Our treasures

2009-11-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

WE ARE BLESSED! Getting bigger everyday!
Hey Will!

I am a big brother!

So happy!

Sharing the Word... this pictures blesses my heart!

Matching!

Matching Sep. 5th- William 1 1/2 weeks old

September

2009-09-24T13:01:00.001-07:00

Well, this month has been busy- and we are adjusting to a new normal. William is doing great- the boys love cuddling him and helping get diapers for him. Fall has arrived and we are enjoying cooler temps and Paul is very happy that Mom lets him wear long sleeve shirts everyday! Thanks to generous friends and family I have a lot of new and used clothes for the boys for winter, and I am half way through switching from the summer clothes to the winter stuff. This is a bigger job each year! Scott was able to take off work for about a week for "maternity/sick leave" so we have enjoyed extra time with him. Unfortunately, he has also had to take off some authentic sick time because this past week I came down with what appears to be Strep A and tonsillitis. But he has been a sweet heart and taken great care of me and the boys. I think we are all ready for Mom to be back on her feet though! :) Here are some pictures of the last month, enjoy!

Look who is 4 weeks old!

Playing at the the park....it is hard work climbing up the slide!

These boys love to swing high!

Marcus and a not so happy William :)

Our little cowboy and his brother

We were delighted to spend a couple of days at "Papa and Nana's" early September as we celebrated with them Elizabeth's high-school graduation. Although I did not get any pictures of the actual party, or all the wonderful friends that were there to help celebrate, I did capture a few precious shots of time with the family. Above you can see Phoebe enjoying holding her newest nephew.

Picking raspberries...yummy!

More picking....

Buddies!

We love you Uncle Silas!

Nana and Will

Reading with Micah

Elizabeth can make 4 hours of sleep after 2 busy days look a lot better than I can!

Snoozing with Auntie Esther

The Sunday morning breakfast crew

The week prior to Elizabeth's graduation we had the blessing of Charity spending the week with us. She was a HUGE help and we enjoyed her a lot. I love this picture of her cuddling Will.

Philip swinging

A favorite activity..... swinging from the tree branches....

....Even better when it takes a big jump to get there!

Umm, I think I need some help!

Trying to get a smile....

Not quite....

I'll give you a grin Mom!

My little boys :)

A friend designed a great gift for us when Will was born. A bag of toys/activities/treats and such individually wrapped and labeled. I could decide what to do today and the boys had the fun of a present to open for several days after the birth. The boys loved it! Thanks Em!

The new Sheriff in town....

...all cowboy gear a gift from the real Sheriff in town :)

Don't look grandma!

Hail! After the big hail storm last spring and another one early this month, I am beginning to think we are in a bad spot! Looks like the next project for the house is a new roof!

Four little men...:)

2009-09-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Introducing the newest Anson-

William Nicholas Anson

Born Thursday, August 27th 2009

1:00am

8 pounds 12 ounces

Joining us after a quick and wonderful home birth

Here is Will on the 31st- sorry I have taken so long to post pictures... I guess that is part of life after 4!

One week old!

These boys love their brother!

All my precious men! I love my family!

Thank you for your prayers and support. I will try to post pictures again soon!

Summer pictures

2009-07-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of this summer... we hope you enjoy them! The wonderful slip and slide
Can you tell we mowed the grass the same day? :)

My 2 cowboys- Paul loves dressing the part, even if it means a jacket when it is 90* out. :)

Sticking out your tongue is very helpful when getting the caps in right.

A fun garage sale find- a perfect boys tent!

At the funeral home in NY

The four Homan siblings

Philip loves his Nana!

Part of the NY crowd out on a walk- notice the jackets! It was so nice there!

Beach day! Rebecca and Aunt Dorie

She does more than take pictures..... she captures life-

Forever etching a smile on your heart

Capturing a sunset that takes your breath away

Catching the falling tear

Wow- I am so glad she loves taking pictures because I sure love looking at them!

Philip's first time at the ocean!

It was cold!

I sure missed Scott and the older boys!

Beautiful!

Finally the sun came out!

Phoebe trying her hand at a sand castle

What a fun birthday gift- one of the deputies gave Scott a bunch of fresh produce from his garden. I woke up on my birthday to a kitchen full of yummy veggies to put up!

More of the produce

My big helpers getting the veggies ready

Working hard!

These are big Mom!

Busy summer

2009-07-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Summer is upon us and we are busy! As I looked over all the pictures I have since last time I blogged, I realized how behind I really am! Hopefully I will get some more pictures on here soon. But for now I wanted everyone to know we are still alive and well!
We have been gardening, (yes, I have a small garden! Yeah! The boys love watering it and watching for produce to be ready.) Swimming, playing, keeping up the house and a host of other things. The past few weeks were tough on Scott and I as we both lost a grandparent. Scott's grandpa passed away the end of May, and my maternal grandmother died mid-June. What a time to be grateful for family and the support of those you love. We were so glad we were able to see Scott's grandpa just a week before his passing.
My grandma had been in poor health for a long time, so we were thankful that her suffering is over and were able to rejoice in time with family together. (Yes, I did fly to NY for the funeral. Scott stayed with the older two boys and Philip and I were able to spend time with family. IT was a very precious time.)
Of course the end of June brought Scott's birthday and we enjoyed helping him celebrate- we are so grateful for such a wonderful husband and daddy! He loves Italian food and so I made manicotti for his "meal"- or as Paul renamed it- "man-in-potty". :)
The boys are growing and changing every day. Philip is beginning to walk all over and it will not be long before crawling is a thing of the past. The older boys love trying to help him.... and he is fairly patient with their efforts!

I will try to get more pictures up soon! Until then- we pray you are enjoying your summer and filling it with time spent for the kingdom! Cousins having fun- May 09

Spring boys

2009-05-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

This spring has been a wonderful time to be outside. We have really enjoyed a lot of trips to the park, and of course working in the yard.(We have even planted a small miniature garden!) The boys keep us busy and we could not be near this happy with any other type of "busy" that there is. Their vocabularies keep growing and I get tickled all the time with the funny things they come up with to say.

Here are just a few.... :)

Paul- "Marcus, you are a curious boy"
"Mom are you going to put gorilla in that? Gorilla makes it soooo good!" (gorilla= vanilla)
"Mom....Mom......Mom....." (Mom)-"Yes Paul" "Mom..... oh, I lost my word :("
"Mom, I am so strusterated!" (Frustrated)

Marcus- "Sure sing!" = Sure thing! With a huge smile!
" Idea Mom"= Good idea Mom
"In a few weeks"= When I say not now to anything, he makes this logical assumption, in a few weeks!
"No treats mom, you peep in your underwear...." Can you tell we are potty training?:)

Our cowboys
Fun at the park

Yummy smoothies!

Yeah! We got the sandbox set up

Can you tell we got summer haircuts?

More park time.... never conventional

What a big boy!

Don't look Grandma!

Rolling down the hill

Please be in prayer for our family, particularly Scott over the next few weeks. This last week we made a quick trip to Chicago to visit his Grandpa. Grandpa had been feeling poorly, but after further testing the doctor says the cancer has spread through his body and he probably has only a few weeks left with us. Scott's Mom is taking a lot of time of work to be with him and we pray the the Lord will be merciful and he will not suffer too much. It is particularly hard for Scott to be so far from family in a time like this. Thanks for your prayers!

Picture post

2009-04-27T19:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I am so behind on posting that I decided to just do a huge picture post... and try to catch you up on our lives! We have been enjoying a great spring with lots of visits with family and that has been great! The Lord has blessed us so richly and we are enjoying loving and living and laughing through each day he gives us! In March we headed to my folks for Mom's 50th birthday... and even pulled off a small surprise party!
The boys and I enjoyed 2 trips to zoos in March. First to Wichita with GG and Esther

Smile!

And the second trip to Omaha with the Ulmers and Grandma Sue

During Grandma Sue's visit we were surprised with a late spring snow... and went sledding!

I am still not sure she believes us when we say it was in the 70*s the week before! :)

Opps this picture will not turn :(

More snow! I think we got over a foot!

Guess how much I love you!

Philip crawls very well not and pulls up on everything. Paul can't wait to help him walk!

We enjoyed a quiet day celebrating our Lord's Resurrection. He's Alive!

An old Ulmer tradition... the breakfast lamb cake, made from banana bread, topped with whipped cream and strawberries.

Special place settings

Two excited boys!

Daddy reads the new books

Trying on their new shirts from Grandma Sue

Got to be goofy!

There is always room on Mama's lap for her boys!

All dressed up and ready for church..

So cute!

Playing fort/camp. The most popular thing right now. Setting up a fort or camp to eat food (blocks) and drink coffee, (where did they get that? Scott and I don't drink coffee!:) And chew cowboy gum. (Paul folds paper to look like gum wrappers and they pretend to eat gum all day. Now I really have to check his pockets in the wash though, they can have 20 "gum" wrappers stuck in each!)

Helping make supper...

Someone likes things spicy! :0

What a funny boy!

Smile!!!!

Dinning room update :)

2009-04-14T19:11:00.001-07:00

Well... the dinning room is a lot closer to being done and I LOVE IT!!!!!! Scott and I had worked on it on and off for several weeks, and then we kind of hit slump and the poor room was neglected for a while. Esther helped me paint the ceiling and Scott put up the ceiling fan, but it would not have got done without some help.

I have learned so much from this project.

1) Remodeling is a lot more work than I thought and I believe everyone should do it at least once so they appreciate what it takes.

2) It really helps to have a wonderful sister and brother in law come help. The type that know how to do this work and make it look sooooo good! (Thanks a lot you guys!)

3) Starting one room makes you excited to finish the house!

The pictures do not do the room justice. It is so nice! We have some finishing up to do. The base board needs finishing and paint and the windows need the final coat of paint. But mostly done! Yeah!!!!

Above are the two new windows.
Although it looks like royal blue on the left, it is really a nice navy. The crown makes the room look so formal and elegant.

This picture is taken with the carpet ripped up and "quick swept", we did not even clean it yet, and look how nice it is!

The view from the living room.... remember how it used to look?!

Coming in from the kitchen. (the strange dots on the wall of on my camera, not the wall.)

yeah!!!!

Early spring

2009-03-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

February turned out to be a very mild month here in cental Kansas. We enjoyed many days in the 60's and the boys loved spending more time outside. With all the extra time outside I was reminded of the Lord's wonderful plan in creating seasons. Although I generally dislike winter- it is a great time to do things indoors. Not just extra projects like sewing or painting. But regular stuff like laundry and dishes. It is not hard to be motivated to work indoors when it is 15* outside. :) However, with beautiful weather outside, do you know how hard it is to motivate a 3 year old to do the dishes? (Not to mention his mom!:) I suddenly remembered that during the summer I find it hard to acomplish ANYTHING inside! And if not for those days that the temps reach 100* and we hide in the air conditioning, we would probaby have no clean clothes or healthy food all summer long.

So while I eagerly await the warmer months and green grass and flowers, I am blessed again with a lesson in contentment as we still spend many days indoors. Indoors working, playing and learning- "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:...

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." Ecc. 3:1+13 Marucs enjoys petting the neighbor's cat

"Some back kitty!"

"I am ready Dad!"

(Great photo credits to Scott who was not only the pitcher but the camera man as well.)

Getting ready....

REACH!

My valentine's present... :)

2009-02-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

Some women wish for flowers or chocolate... Or perhaps a nice dinner out. This year I got my valentine early. Since this fall I have started planning and looking at ideas for making this house more beautiful. We don't have the budget for huge projects, but every few months taking a room and subtracting some floral wallpaper from the home is a worthy goal. :) I was really content just planning and leaving the work to the "someday" category. Last week my spontaneous and sweet husband decided to make some plans reality. He loaded the family up and we headed to Salina and Lowes and Walmart. After shopping for an evening we headed home with the tools, equipment and paint to begin our transformation. Thank you my love for such a great gift!

The naked dining room- well, mostly :)

How old do you think that carpet is???
And why cover hardwood floors? (I guess we have some great faith that we do not pull up the carpet to find some huge reason that it was covered in the first place!)

We have great eager helpers!

What a silly boy!

There is a great smile!

Marcus loves spraying..... anything or anyone.

I love my boys!

Or just drinking the vinegar water..... what a nut

Unlike me who equates the smell of warm vinegar water and wallpaper paste with warm fuzzy childhood memories- Scott feels the only thing "warm and fuzzy' a quickly scraped wall. Which is saving us a lot of time. Because he was quick to look for easier ways to get the wallpaper off, we ended up with a borrowed wallpaper steamer. Some people like them, some don't, but it has worked great for us!

We are about half done with the wallpaper removal. We have two new windows to install, new light to hang, paint, trim and then the floor. We are excited! I will be sure to post pictures when it is all done. But for your sake... don't hold your breath, it may take a while! :)

The boys enjoy the temporary piano move and quickly made a fort.

Marcus turns 2!

2009-02-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

Well February brought Marcus' second birthday- and although it was much anticipated by parents and and older brother, Marcus was not impressed. When asked "Is today your birthday?" he would respond- "NO"- "Do you want some cake?" - "NO"....... The poor guy did not know what a birthday was! By the end of the day he had decided it was a good thing though- and after a lot of work will tell you his age upon questioning. Well, actually he tells you he is 3 and then when you say "What???" he says- "Paul's 3, you (what he calls himself) 2." So cute!
For a boy who was not that excited- we ended up with a lot of pictures. Hope you enjoy them!

Birthday meal- anything with noodles (He LOVES pasta- he must get that from Aunt Esther! :)

and green beans.

A great snack treat from Papa and Nana!

Marcus LOVES fruit- but is not a big fan of other sweets. He has great self control and will often give me the last half of his cookie/cake/candy.

I decided on simple white cake with cool whip and strawberries. He loved the strawberries!

Fun candles!

Singing happy birthday

Blow out the candles!

Uhhhh... deer in the headlights

I love birthdays!

A big present from Mom and Dad -(and Papa and Nana, thanks!)

What is it?

Smile!

Look at the animals!

Look! A farm!

The boys love playing with their birthday toys and have started to play together well. What a blessing!

Opening a package from Grandma Sue

What is in here?

A fun game!

A new book!

Reading very carefully

Thanks Grandma Sue!!!

Redeming the time

2009-01-25T19:45:00.000-08:00

"Being confident in this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Phil. 1:6

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." Gal. 6:9

Paul sat on the stairs with a small mountain of clean cloth diapers beside him. It is his job to fold them and put them away. I was folding a not so small mountain of clean clothes next to him and encouraging him along the way. But somehow, Paul kept goofing off and making his job harder by not following the simple directions I gave him. When I spoke firmly to him about finishing his work and not whining about the difficulty, he looked up at me and in a pleading voice said,

"But Mom, you need to train me."

Proverbs says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (22:6) That promise motivates me on the days when all the boys seem to do is fight. It challenges me when I want to take the easy road and just put a movie on while I make supper. It encourages me when I hear my son ask for training. For although he does not realize it, he is learning to love listening to Mom and Dad. He values our opinions and wisdom. He needs our counsel. He wants our help. Some will say- "Enjoy it! It is over too soon, he will know everything before you know it. Then there is no need for Mom and Dad"

But I have seen the fruit of good training- I have experienced it. My parents were some of my best friends all through my growing up. I never hit that age when I did not need them. Sure, I wanted to decide things myself after a while, but I wanted their input and their counsel. I knew they had experiences that would help me.

I want that with our boys. Marcus is testing us a lot right now. I pray daily that I do not miss his small attempts to connect with Mom- because I am so busy disciplining his wrong behavior. I want him too- to desire to be trained.

Training- "This is the way we peel a cucumber", "Daddy goes to work for us so we can have a good warm home and good food to eat. He takes goooood care of us.", "No, we don't shoot people, we shoot deer and bears", "No son, we don't hit, now come to Mom...."

It happens if I want it to or not. When having a bad day I blamed my crying on being tired. Now when Paul is having a bad attitude, upon questioning he says- "No I am not pouting, I am just tired."

Please pray the the Lord will strengthen Scott and I to the great task before us. May we train in love and consistency. May we not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap. We have little souls depending on us.

"Please train us"

Red, white and black
Red, white and black again

Red white and black original! :)

Busy month

2009-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

January has been a busy month for us. It seemed that we were barely done with Christmas when I was looking at the calender and realizing we were a week into the new year! The Lord has blessed us with good health and we have been able to do some traveling- and hosting friends this month.

The 9th -14th made a trip back to Illinois to visit Scott's family. My family was very sweet and let us borrow their minivan- which made traveling a whole lot nicer. We had a great time with lots of fun memories. Scott asked that I try to get some home video while there, and I was able to catch a lot of great times with their cousins. However, since I was holding the video camera, I did not take hardly any regular pictures.... So I can't show you the wild pillow fights on the blog!

Once home, we were thrilled to have Charity stay with us for a few days. The boys love having any of their aunts or uncles with them and I enjoyed having a great helper around!

I also got a special treat when my friend Ruth was in the area for a day. It was great to have another adult to talk to- (Scott gets a little board with talking about recipes and sewing:) and I hope I did not talk her ear off! Thanks for coming Ruth!

Playing piano with Aunt Charity

Take care Ruth!

A gift from Grandma Sue- Bunk beds! (Or as Marcus calls them, "bunk-heads". He always hits his head on the ceiling when we help him on top and laughs and says "bunk-heads", like that is why they gave it the name.... so funny!)

Just chilling out....

See ya later alligator!

Paul's 3rd birthday

2009-01-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

Paul was very excited about his birthday. I guess I should say he was really excited about his birthday cake. The rest of the birthday was not that big a deal to him! :) The problem was, he kept changing what kind of cake he wanted every day. Turns out he is a lot like his Mom was when she was younger. It does not matter what the cake tastes like, just what it LOOKS like. The more icing and sprinkles the better! In the end we had chocolate-chocolate chip cake- with no fun frosting, but really fun candles. Here is the birthday boy after helping make his cake- notice the brown glow about his face?
Tangerine spritzer never tasted so fancy

Paul picked his meal- Deer steaks, home made french fries and cooked carrots.

He was shocked that you get presents on your birthday too!

Mom and Dad got one big present this year- a police duplo set. He really enjoys it.

In other news- Philip got his first hair cut, and tried rice cereal in the same week!

Not so sure about that cereal- it's fun to have in my mouth, but I hate the feeling of it going down my throat.

And the big highlight for Dad and Paul- January 2cd, Scott went hunting on a friends local ground and shot a doe. Paul was able to go with him for the hunt and really enjoyed being with Dad!

Christmas pictures....

2009-01-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

December was a busy month for us- filled with great memories and good times. We really enjoyed hosting friends in mid December for a time of Christmas carols and fellowship. Then the count down to Christmas. The boys loved the Christmas decorations and Paul was super excited that we had lights on the OUTSIDE of our house. Philip is such a happy guy
A favorite activity- telling the nativity story with their own "people"

Christmas morning

We have to eat breakfast first!

The boys love fruit

Marcus with his new tool bench

Paul was very excited about his new pistol guns

New books

Paul with his new guns- ready to ride :)

Marcus is perfectly happy with the cast off gun and car.

Christmas evening we headed up to my folks for a short visit. We stayed through Friday and came home Friday night. We LOVE going to Papa and Nana's house and had a great time. It was especially wonderful because the Shepards were up as well and we were all together as a family.

Friday some of us girls decided to have some fun with the makeup that one of my sisters got for Christmas.

Something did not look right.... :)

Concentrating really hard

Plenty of choices

Yes, Tabitha trusted her face to me!

Nana loves to watch her grand babies.

Rebecca and Andrew- can you believe they have been married over 5 years?

We also enjoyed exchanging gifts- I think this was for Philip, not PapaNoah and Marcus

Micah and Paul

This was the first year Paul was not going to have the Ulmers with him for his birthday- So the birthday cousins (Paul on Dec. 30 and Justice on Jan.5) had a early celebration with Papa and Nana.

We love Papa!

We had a wonderful holiday. We love and miss you Ulmers and Shepards!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T20:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been doing some tinkering around on the blog and changed the looks a little bit. I hope everyone enjoys it! Let me know if you have problems viewing the posts.

December is flying by for us- it is so good to have Scott home every day. The boys and I love all his hugs and tickles and pinches! :)

Earlier this month we were able to spend several days at my folks house deer hunting. Paul and Marcus loved playing with all their aunts and uncles, and hold a very special place in their hearts for Nana and Papa. A big thank you to my family for watching the boys so Scott and I could go hunting. And a successful hunt it was this year, with each of us harvesting a doe. I am afraid I was bit by the jealousy bug a few times after hearing my brother's stories on harvesting their bucks- but our meat will taste better! :)

We are getting ready for Christmas- the boys are so excited. They do not realize they are getting gifts and their sweet excitement about giving to others is a humble reminder of the phrase- "It is better to give than to receive." Paul was especially concerned that we have lights hanging on our house outside- so we have a small string up. Maybe next year we can do more.

I will try to get some pictures on soon- but here a few "Paul sayings" to close for now!

"My sleeves are locked"- Button down shirt with buttons on the sleeves that Paul could not open.

Putting on his socks- "Help Mom- my foot is backwards!"

And my favorite for this time of the year-

When telling the Christmas story and what the angel said to the shepherds-

"Glory to God and Goliath!"

God bless!

November in review

2008-12-08T19:25:00.000-08:00

November was a busy and exciting month for us. The 21st Scott graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center and is now a certified Deputy Sheriff. He is out on the road now and just loves it. Every day when he gets ready for work Paul gets ready as well. Paul puts on his own belt and holster, toy gun, badge and vest. Oh yes and boots and a lunch box and he drives his toy car around the house "just like dad". We were blessed to spend a lot of time with our families through this month. One week before Graduation the boys and I stayed at my folks, and Esther came here for a week. Then a lot of Scott's family came for his graduation and stayed the weekend as we enjoyed our Thanksgiving together.

Philip is getting so big, he squeals and coos a lot and tries to scoot across the floor on his back- he is getting pretty good at it too! I will try to get some of December on here before too long! Enjoy the pictures! Paul enjoys the first snow of the year
One of the warmer days of the month- Marcus takes care of the puppy

Our adventurous tree climber

You can never have too many guns :)

Enjoying Aunt Esther

She is sooo much fun!

The Ulmer grand boys with Uncle Silas

Try #1 for a family picture.... it went downhill from there :)

Dueling brothers

The rhythm section

Playing baseball-

Thanks for bringing the Wii Tony and Lisa!

Getting the turkey ready to cook

Philip and Uncle Tony

The Anson clan- we miss you all!

Can't wait to see you!

2008-11-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

" And I pray that Grandma Sue and Great Grandpa, and Unlce Tony and Aunt Lisa, and Jeremy and Nick and Bryan get here safe. I can't wait to see them! Amen."

WE can't wait to see you all- only a little over a week! :)

Too cute!!!!

2008-11-12T12:24:00.001-08:00

Marcus is having fun with Mom's old hats... too cute or what!!!!! :)

October in review...

2008-10-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well it has been way to long since I posted last, so I thought I would take a minute and share some pictures from this month. The computer was acting funny, so the pictures are not in the right order, but I hope you enjoy! We have filled our weeks while Daddy is in school with home life and trips to see others. We we able to spend a week with Rebecca and Justice and had a great time. (Thank you for having us- we love you!) Here Philip is having a conversation with his Aunt Rebecca.
We had a lovely day at the park...

Complete with a picnic lunch!

On the home front, the boys are constantly in the kitchen with Mom- helping bake cookies...

Or bread, or washing dishes. THey are a blessing!

And look at the new addition! Our dog Elle's little puppy is so cute!

Marcus is our animal lover- awwwww

We were blessed to have Tabitha come the end of September, the boys loved having her here and I really enjoyed it too. Thank you Tabitha for all your help!

Three boys in gray :)

What a cutie!

Learning to smile and "talk"- Philip is also learning to roll over. He has completed a tummy to back several times.

Another thing we are enjoying- paint! Opps, I think I forgot to explain to Marcus we don't paint on our body. Oh well, now we know what he will look like with a facial hair!

Drawing a big rifle gun :)

Paul's vocabulary has really been growing and i love to hear his new phrases. But my favorite is a slight change in the phrase, "I will take care of you"- Paul style, "I will carry you Mom"

So sweet!

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement these past weeks. Scott is doing really well and learning a lot. Just the other weekend he showed me a bunch of "take down" tactics that he learned. It was very educational and I learned a few things- pressure points are very effective and your wrist controls your whole body. :)

With November closing in we are on the 3 week count down- please pray that we stay faithful to the end. For Scott, in his witness and studies. For me, grace and strength for the looong days. And for the boys- obedience and patience.

Thanks!

Promised pictures...

2008-09-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures I promised. These boys are soooo precious! Philip is smiling now and coos these little happy noises that I love. He is sleeping really well most nights too- that makes for a HAPPY mommy! Everyone smile!
We love Philip!
Rebecca and Justice were able to come and spend a few days with us. We loved it and had a great time! Here are the cousins all together.

Marcus thinks Philip has a dirty diaper....

Laundry..... wow does it stack up fast!

Cuddle time!

Just too tired! :)

Catching up

2008-09-07T19:41:00.001-07:00

Life is full and busy here in Ellsworth. We are enjoying a very cool September, with highs in the low 70*s (!) and chilly nights. I keep thinking "Summer can't be over yet!?" I guess having a baby will make time fly by pretty quick! Philip is growing- (at one month he already weighed over 12 pounds!) and developing more and more personality. He is patient with his brothers attempts to be gentle and you will often find him in his bouncy seat with a toy in his lap that someone brought to share with him. He is sleeping better most nights- but every now and then likes to wake up at 4 and will not go back to sleep. Not Mom's idea of a good habit.
Scott is 3 weeks into his training at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson, (About 1 hour away). He is doing well and I enjoy his daily "briefings" on what he is learning. He is ready for the 14 weeks to be done though- and we can't wait until he is certified.
Paul and Marcus are growing and learning- there are often times I feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of training these boys to do what is right. I daily pray for wisdom to touch their hearts, not just their behavior as I teach, discipline or encourage. Some days it feels like I am talking to a fence post.... seems terrible to admit, but knowing their parents I guess not so terribly surprising. :)
We appreciate your prayers- and your keeping in touch. I will post more pictures soon!

Pictures!

2008-08-19T19:47:00.000-07:00

The Ansons are alive and doing well! WE are quickly adjusting to life with 3 boys- and it is a blessing. It is also busy.... so this post will be mostly pictures and not much news- enjoy! family snapshot while Grandma Sue was here. Marcus was being rather willful- he did not want to take pictures, but we got a half smile!
Someone likes his thumb.... when he can find it!
Bad hair day. :)
We had great help from Charity for a week. Thanks Charity!!! The boys miss you!
Playing at the park
Two adoring grandmas. Thanks for coming and helping us out Mama Sue!
I am such a BIG helper!!

"And the good guy jumped high in the air....."
"Your turn!"
A fun present from Grandma Sue
These boys LOVE to sing
Someone is learning to smile for the camera!

CHEESE!!!

Cute little Philip

2008-08-04T08:48:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures of our cutie! Peacefully sleeping...
Oh, I did not like that flash!
Yes Mom, I will give you a little smile! :)

Introducing......

2008-08-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Introducing Philip Anthony Anson

Born July 31-2008

8:33am

Weighing 8 lbs

20 1/2 inches long

Born in Wichita Ks, at the Birth Inn

We are all home and doing well. The Lord is good!!! More pictures to come.

House tour

2008-07-20T19:41:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally tried to capture our first floor on camera.... it was a little harder than I thought. But it is always hard to do a "Tour" without a video. So hopefully you will be able to at least get an idea of our house. I will try to do the upstairs soon! If you walked through our front door (Picture in previous post of the front porch) You walk right into the living room.
To the right inside the door

Further in the living room- nice mirror huh? :)

From your first step in the house, immediatly to your left is the office- the room most clutered and "unpacked". It still has our dressers in it becuase it is going to take a few guys together to get them upstairs.
More office

At the west end of the living room you turn left to go into the dinning room.

A few boxes left, but pretty settled in here.

Standing in the corner of the dinning room you see the living room to the right, the stairs, and the hall to the kitchen.
The hall to the kitchen, with our handy changing table. (Muti-generational changing table- I remember changing my siblings on this table!)
Our small downstairs bathroom

Through the hall into the kitchen. The laundry room and back door is to the left right by the marker board.

See my wonderful kitchen!!!!!! The stove, fridge, dishwasher, and garbage disposal all come with the house and work wonderfully!

The back of the kitchen
The back door

The laundry area- a little smaller than I am used to- but nice new washer and dryer that came with the house! :)

We feel very blessed and thankful for this house the Lord has given us. Please come visit! :)

Pictures!

2008-06-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

Home sweet home :) The east side of the house. I love the porch!

The west edge of the property- the garage and apricot tree.

A very important addition to the landscape!

I am sorry this is so blurry, but just had to include it. Paul really loves copying Mom and Dad. What we say, what we do.... what a challenge to watch our behaviour! Anyway, when Dad comes home tired... Paul thought he better try to get a nap too!
The "real deal" :)

We have had some nasty weather, but thankfully nothing damaging.

Hail!
One of the biggest pieces we found

We just bought a pool for the summer. Tonight we had the boys try it out with the slide. It was a great hit!

Splash!

Even Marcus loved it! (And no- I am not "pulling" him through the water, even though my face looks like I am!)

I will share more pictures soon. I will try to do a "house tour" one of these days!

Ellsworth

2008-06-14T11:39:00.001-07:00

Well, I was really excited to find a minute to blog today. The boys are sleeping, and I have pictures of our new home. One of the joys of moving though... I just realized that I have NO idea where my cord is so I can transfer the pictures from the camera to the computer. :) So this will be a pictureless post, but I wanted to let everyone know that we are doing well and getting settled. Scott is loving his new job. He is doing a lot of misc. training right now- as well as filling in at the jail. The jail just hired a new jailer, so he will not have to cover for long- which will be nice as the schedule is rather tough, a lot of changing shifts. He has his squad car and I am getting used to looking outside and seeing a "police car" in the driveway. :)
The boys are adjusting really well. Paul loves to talk walks to the park- or ride his trike on the sidewalk. Marcus is not sure about being restricted to our yard, but is doing pretty well. WE are hoping to put up a fence sometime this year.
The house is still full of boxes to unpack, but we are making slow progress and it is feeling like home already. I have a huge kitchen and it has been a lot of fun to work with so much space!
Thank you all for your prayers as we adjust and please continue to bring us before the Father as you remember. God bless and picture post soon!

Smiles

2008-05-22T13:22:00.001-07:00

Paul at his first Circus- He was much more interested in the food than the acts!Sweatshirt season is almost over- so I had to get this cutie on camera before this went in the closet.

Snuggle and cuddle. :)

Changes...

2008-05-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

I know I have been terribly over due in posting, but I am afraid that life right now is not going to improve my frequency of posting! We are in an exciting time of life right now with a lot of changes, so if you don't hear from us for a while- we would appreciate a prayer and some patience. :)

Scott starts a new job June 9th with the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Department. (Ellsworth Ks.) He will be a full time road deputy- or as Paul puts it- "Daddy has a big gun and shoots the bad guys. And helps the good guys." Scott will start with some training in the county and then sometime this fall attend the Kansas law enforcement training academy. This is a 14 week course in Hutchinson Ks. The trainees are there Monday through Friday and you get to be home on the weekends. He is really excited and looking forward to starting.

Anyone who has grabbed a map to find Ellsworth county now knows that this will also involve a move :) Ellsworth is about 3 hours south west of here, a bit too long if you are asking Marcus and talking about good travelers. :) Scott and I have been house hunting and are working with a great Realtor as we have narrowed down to 2 houses. We will see how the Lord irons out the details of which house, when we move, etc. At this point it is looking like Scott may start before we are all moved down, and the boys and I will follow after we get the house situation all finished up. It will be a big change to be in town- I have not lived in town since I was 6 years old, and a little nervous on learning proper "town etiquette".

Through this business and excitement we are constantly reminded how dear this place called home has been and how special the people around here are. To all you who share north east Kansas with us, we will miss you and are so grateful for the support and friendship you have invested in our lives. And yes- we will be back for visits!Paul with some flowers for mom- and a very posed smile.

Visiting the Shepards

2008-04-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of April found us taking a trip down to the Shepards. We knew it had been a while since we had been down, but when we thought about it, it was almost a whole year ago that we had been at there house. Too long!

We had a really relaxing time, visiting and and playing with the boys. Paul and Justice are old enough to finally play together and it was a joy to watch them together. Thanks so much Rebecca and Andrew- we had a great time and will try to get down sometime this summer! :)

Andrew was the first to get the knack for the huge bubble wand.

Catch the bubbles!

Playing catch- Justice style.

"I'm ready!"

Rebecca found some great hats for the boys- they looked so cute!Too bad they did not leave them on long. :)

Thanks Aunt Rebecca!

Smile!

Family moments

2008-03-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

What a blessing to have such a great husband and 2 precious little boys! Although some days I may feel very overwhelmed, when I see God's gifts, it makes me excited to welcome another in August! :) Part son, part walrus :)

Marcus loves making this lower lip face

Reading with Dad

Must be a serious part....

Matching shirts!

Safe and warm :)

Catching up on March....

2008-03-19T19:51:00.001-07:00

March came in like a lamb and dragged a reluctant spring behind. Despite the north wind's calloused attempts to halt time in the bleakness of snow and ice, spring is pushing winter aside and painting it's beautiful colors all over. GREEN- the sign of life is appearing through the dead grass, Orange flies by on the wings of a robin, brown (did I ever think it was sooo pretty?:) mud covers most everything, a pleasant change from white snow. Soon the artist will be in full glory as flowers start to bloom and sunsets become a thing to enjoy after a long day outside. Ahhh, I am thankful for seasons! Especially warm ones! :)

Marcus really enjoys swinging!

Nice weather means outdoor projects.... "Can you fill my tire Dad?"
Our animal boy- Marcus checks on the goats.

The new addition! A 91' Chevy that is a great blessing. Now we are a two car family!!! Wow!

Happy Anniversary Sweetie!!

2008-03-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

I love you so much. This has been the best 3 years of my life! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife. I hope and pray that every year is even better than any we've had so far. I love you and miss you every day I'm at work. I can't wait to get home to see you. --SA

We'll miss you grandma

2008-03-03T18:28:00.001-08:00

The Ansons were blessed to make a trip to Chicago the first weekend of February to visit our family for Christmas. Grandma seemed fine and usual. Grandma was not in the best of health, but no one expected her to pass away any time soon. So we enjoyed our visit there and headed back to Kansas. 10 days later we found out that Grandma died sometime during the night. Grandpa found her lying on the floor in the bedroom. It came as a great shock to us all. I (this is Scott) lived with my Grandparents for 5 years after I graduated high school. My Grandma helped me through quite a few hard times. My love for her was/is strong and I will miss her very much. I have a lot of memories to think back on. I am glad Lydia was able to know her and I'm glad Paul and Marcus got to spend some time with her. They may not be able to remember her when they grow up, but we've got pictures! We are so thankful to still have Grandpa for as long as the Lord allows us. Grandpa has had a huge impact on my life just like Grandma did. We love them a lot. We'll miss you Grandma. Pictured below (L-R) is Grandma, Grandpa and my Mom at my brother's wedding in October, 2007.

Edna Kornack

May 13, 1932 - February 13, 2008

February....and pictures for Grandma

2008-02-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

February was a tough month for the Ansons. Now that is almost over I am hoping for a much easier March and the rest of the year! Besides being bitterly cold, (you know it is harsh out when the temp does not rise into the double digits all day!) we struggled through colds and a flu. We were able to take a trip back to Chicago the first weekend of the month to visit Scott's family. We really enjoyed this time, even though we had to rush back home in order to miss a blizzard. What a shock when a week and a half later we received the news that Scott's grandma had passed away. Although a little down with a cold, Great-Grandma had seemed as full of pep as ever- how precious that visit became to us. We headed back to Chicago and gained comfort in the closeness of family in a time of loss.

Hard times draw me to the Lord and I am so grateful for His strength and mercy. Without Him we would be lost. Thankfully, His mercy is new every morning and as I look into the faces of my precious little boys, I am reminded of what a gift life is- (even when we have runny noses! :)

Grandma Sue and Paul

Great Grandpa and Marcus

Finally well enough to celebrate! Marcus turned 1 on Feb. 6th

Can I eat the candle?

This blueberry muffin is pretty good!

Having fun with Uncle Silas

Paul's first snowman

A new bed! Paul loves his "Fire bed".

Guns...

2008-01-30T20:46:00.001-08:00

Ever since hunting season in the beginning of December, Paul has become infatuated with guns. He knows that Mom and Dad have guns and we take them out and shoot deer. (Yes, we both got deer this year- it was fun hunting and a blessing to have meat in the freezer.) So now everything that is able to fit in his hand has become a gun. And our efforts to train him just to shoot animals and not people seem to be bearing some fruit as he talks about shooting deer and rabbits all the time and is not so quick to shoot friends who stop by. He does shoot other things though- like his dirty diapers, or things that are lost.

"Paul, where is your shoe?"

"Mom, I shoot it. Shoe bye-bye."

Paul always wants to share his guns with Mom and Dad and Marcus, but Marcus has no interest and will drop the screwdriver/vacuum extension/toothbrush/etc. that Paul so willing offers. Maybe a few more months and he will catch on to the game! :)

All dressed up and ready to go out!

See the gun Mommy made me!?

Boys will be boys.... and when Paul is not playing guns, he finds other creative things to do.

Don't look now Grandma!!!

Where did the bullets go?

Ready Dad?

Catch!

What a big helper

Oh, we are ready to go out again.

See, I even have my back-pack!

Marcus, lets have some fun!

Oh, anyone want to play guns?

Need a bullet?

Goldilocks gets a trim

2008-01-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

Marcus' hair started getting a little on the shaggy side this winter. So the beginning of January we gave our little guy his first hair cut. He was very patient and did a great job sitting still. It was hard to believe how much we actully cut off!

Before

Dad with the clippers

Paul trying to cut his hair :)

Not too happy, but every bit as cute!

Anson visit and Paul's Birthday

2008-01-30T20:09:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we were thrilled to have Scott's Mom, and brother and his family come for a few days. We had a great visit- playing Monopoly, Uno Attack, and Medal of Honor. With plenty of talking and laughing through the 4 days. Paul loved having extra people to play with him and can't wait to see everyone again soon! Bryan takes Paul for a ride... Maybe Jeremy should help! :)
Jeremy playing with Marcus- he could get Marcus laughing so hard!

The whole clan! We miss you guys!

While the family was here, we were able to celebrate Paul's second birthday. Because strawberries are one of his favorite foods, we had strawberry shortcake for his party. But in this picture it looks like he will settle for the party blower if we don't stop taking pictures and get the food to his mouth!

Yeah! He blew out the candles!

Yummy!

A slide from Mom and Dad

Fun drums from Grandma Sue

A big hit- An inflatable indoor bounce house. Paul loves it and yes, it does take up our whole living room! Thanks Papa and Nana!

Christmas also means...

2008-01-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

A time for gifts and giving... I was way more excited about their presents than the boys were! Paul caught on very fast to the unwrapping idea

Wow Marcus!

Any repairs that need done...

It is a good thing Paul has a cousin who is so good at working on houses... But Justice, easy with the saw!

And best of all- FAMILY!

A Christmas gift from Tabitha and Esther

20 years difference between the oldest and youngest... But we are a pretty close bunch for those 20 years!

Helping the uncles feed the calves...

We love Papa and Nana!!

(And if you are Paul, maybe you are praying that the pictures are almost over?:)

Christmas time...

2008-01-02T20:14:00.000-08:00

Means...

Trying to get pictures for a Christmas letter.... Marcus not in favor of the idea, and Paul is just too funny!

This is how most of the turned out- one or both crying! :)

Ice storm

2007-12-21T07:31:00.000-08:00

December has flown by for the Ansons- do you know that feeling? It starts out on like the 4th or 5th of December and you just can't wait until Christmas and when you get to see your family and share gifts- then WHOOOSH! The month is almost over and you are left scratching your head wondering where the time went! This year we had an added excitement that seemed to make time disappear even faster. December 11th we were struck with severe ice storm and lost all power for several days. Many in the area are still without power, but thankfully we had ours restored Monday the 17th. After we lost power on the 11th, we decided that we would not stay at home- without a generator and no means to heat the house, it was getting chilly fast. After an afternoon at some friends in Sabetha, we headed up to Seward Ne. were there was electricity and heat! :) We were very blessed by the generosity of great friends, (Thanks Schreiners and Wissmanns!!!) and stayed in the area for a few days. Scott was able to purchase a generator and brought it back to Ulmers. Then the boys and I came back and we camped out there for a few days. We loved having extra time with family! Saturday Seth purchased a generator and allowed us to hook it up at our house- so good to be home! It was a crazy week, but we are healthy and safe and grateful for a warm house with electricity! Thanks for your prayers!

Our trees were just destroyed.

Poor Rowdy, (our dog) his dog house got buried, but he was ok.

The goats were smart not to come out in this...

Paul saw the bright side of things, he thought that the world had turned into one big popsicle for him to eat!

The beautiful tree that was right out our front door

Seth at work with the chain saw...

Going, going...

Here lies most of the tree-

(We have several other piles around the yard as well.)

Do you want some apple?

2007-11-29T13:04:00.001-08:00

Snack time-

Would you like some of my apple?

Take a big bite!

Be careful!

I am getting board- lets try pushing it on the floor and eat it this way!

Playing outside

2007-11-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

November was fairly mild here in Kansas- turning really cold just before Thanksgiving. The nice days were a big blessing as the boys and I tried to spend as much time outside before it got really cooooold for the winter. Here are a few pictures from various days.

"Hay rack ride"

"What does this stuff taste like?"

"I wonder if I will get away with it too?"

"Maybe I will take a little nap..."

"On second thought, please pick me up!"

One especially nice day we hiked to the wash-out. Paul LOVED it and was very sad when it was time to go home. Marcus was eager to taste all the new dirt :)

Climbing with Elle

WOW!

Paul was disapointed you can not eat this kind of apple.

Climbing a tree on the way home- all by himself!

Playing peek-a-boo with Aunt Esther

She can get such cute faces out of that little boy!

Well, some of the time.... I guess he was done with pictures for now! :)

Blessings

2007-11-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

Almost everyone I run into when I am out comments, "You sure have your hands full!" Some say it with a voice of pity, others amazement, many just stating the obvious as I carry two boys and a bag of groceries to the car.

Everyone may see my hands full..... not everyone gets to see my cup overflowing."Let me show you brother"

"You are my buddy."

We love each other sooooo much!

Chicago trip

2007-10-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in October found us on the road again- this time headed to Chicago for a very special event. Scott's only brother Tony, was getting married. We left Thursday morning- we set out on time :), picked up Elizabeth and headed to Omaha were we had reserved a rental car for the trip. This was probably one of the best ideas we have had. Besides getting a very good rental rate, we had a larger car, nicer car, and more fuel efficient. It was a real blessing. We had managed to secure Elizabeth's help on the trip by the idea that we could meet her good friend Ali (who lives about 2 hours from Chicago) and Elizabeth could spend the visit at the Klahns while we were in Chicago. It worked out great a was a huge blessing to have someone else to ride in the back seat with the boys. If I sat back there too long I started to go stir crazy! :)

Scott's grandparents had not seen Paul since he was 6 weeks old, and obviously not yet met Marcus, so it was wonderful to stay with them through the weekend. (Thank you so much!) Thursday night after we arrived we ate and headed out to go bowling with the family. Bowling is definitely an Anson talent and hobby. While I enjoy the sport, my wrist does not- so I chose to watch- a good call as there was some good bowlers competing and I would have been left in the dust! :) It was great to have some fun together before all the "wedding stuff".

Friday Scott took the boys and me "around town"- we stopped by the company were he used to work and ate lunch at the deli he bought his lunch at for years. It was a lot of fun to finally put a face to the people he has talked about. Of course everyone was so tickled to see him and meet me and the boys- that was a nice feeling.

Friday night was rehearsal and Saturday the wedding. It was a little hard on the boys as napping was really messed up- Paul was a wreck through the wedding, but we had a good time and were so honored to be included. Congratulations again to Tony and Lisa! It was wonderful to see all our "Illinois family" we miss you and love you!

We arrived home around 8pm Sunday night, tired and ready for home- but so glad we went. We can't wait to see family again at the holidays!

It must be an Anson thing... :)

I am not sure who is helping who..?

Scott's cousin Keith and girlfriend Laura

I think this was a discussion of how the Cubs were playing

There is a reason they call him the "Best Man" :) He is sooo handsome!

The whole wedding party

Lisa's son Jeremy- a very dashing ring bearer

We love you Grandma and Grandpa and Mama Sue!

I think Marcus was ready to eat the flowers

Smile!

I love this picture Nick! You look so cool!

"Can I eat your salad Daddy?"

The new Mr. and Mrs. Tony Anson

All tired out and ready for bed- Paul loves his daddy!

Sunday morning cuddles. SO SWEET!

Vacation

2007-10-23T18:14:00.001-07:00

The end of September found our family driving 4 hours to Mark Twain State Park in Mo. for a family vacation and get-together with Scott's Mom and nephews. WE drove out Thursday night the 20th and came home that Sunday. It was a really fun and relaxing time. We rented a cabin that was super nice- (the only thing I would change was a bathroom instead of walks to the "shower house", but hey- we were "camping"! :) The boys did great, and we had a wonderful visit with family. Most of the time we spent there at the camp ground. The lake was just 75 yards or so down the hill from us and we enjoyed watching the boats and wildlife. Nick and Bryan were even able to go fishing- Nick caught one fine fish! Sunday we headed into Hannibal and had fun at a family park. There was bumper boats and a radar throw, a bounce house (A great hit with Paul:) and a great game called Water Wars. Basically you sling HUGE water balloons at each other and try to soak the other person. It was great! We had such a good time we are thinking of making it an Anson tradition for a fall trip!

Outside the cabin on our porch

The roomy inside with a loft

Game time!

Nick's fish :)

Grandma loves Marcus!

Everyone SMILE!

Paul really enjoyed the bumper boats- it was a hot day and the water felt good

This was a great hit- haha

Ready-aim- splat!

Boys having fun

2007-10-10T20:51:00.001-07:00

We have been very busy this fall- we were gone 3 weekends in a row! It is really nice to be home now. No big trips on the horizon. Scott is enjoying his work very much and between work and classes he stays pretty busy. (Did I mention that he is enrolled with Kansas City Community College- he was last semester as well. He is obtaining his degree in Police Science. He does all his work online- which makes wireless internet not just a nice thing- but a necessity! :) Busy, and yet he always puts the family first- we are truly blessed with such a good husband/daddy.

There is so much to catch up on! A weekend camping at Mark Twain State Park in Mo., a trip to Chicago for Tony's wedding, (Scott' s brother) and little happenings here at home! In all the special events, I did not want to miss the precious moments here- so below are some shots of my boys having fun! Paul wants to kiss someone on the computer :)

This tractor is kind of small

"Don't look Grandma- but I am a climber!"

Brother love

Splat!

"I can almost pick him up!"

We are back!!!

2007-10-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yes- we are still alive and kicking! Scott has been working on the computer and we are so thankful that it was not the hard drive that kicked the bucket. He replaced a few things and we are up and running again. I have used this as a wake up call, however and would not let myself blog until I got all my pictures saved. That said- I am working on saving a whole bunch we just took over our weekend in Chicago. (More of that to come later!) I will have a lot to blog soon!

Trying to post... :)

2007-09-10T19:06:00.001-07:00

Silas and Paul- August 2007

(I am still working out some issues with the photo program on the laptop...

Hopefully more pictures to come!:)

Blogging silence

2007-08-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I wrote last... It seems that this summer is just zooming by- the Lord has blessed us so much- we are busy with the full life that He has given us.
My blogging may continue to be a bit sporadic here as we are having some computer issues. Our main computer has been acting strange for a while, but just last week the hard drive completely died. It is still under warranty and so we will be sending it to hopefully get fixed. (I say hopefully because I have many pictures on there that I had not burned to CD yet.... back up your work every night!)
While I have a laptop for my school and Scott has one at work, it is not the same as having your pictures all handy and ready for blogging. I don't think it will take to much to figure out how to get the pictures on here, but the TIME issue is always a factor. :)
This all to say, hopefully I will be able to post with pictures soon, and I hope everyone is having a great summer!~
Lydia

Play time

2007-08-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed. My two boys love each other and have a great time every day. Life is such a gift! Thank you Lord!

"Just watch me Marcus, and I will show you what you do with a tractor."

"That looks like fun!!!"

"Look Mom!! I am almost crawling! Soon I will be able to follow Paul all over!"

"Oh, this is hard with Paul on top!"

"No worse for the wear!"

"Marcus, can I share your blanket? I think I need a few minutes to cuddle!"

Growing and eating

2007-08-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

At six months old Marcus can really put the food away! Believe it or not, he has actully showed interest in food a lot earlier than Paul. Paul did not really take off with "real food" until he was about 8 months. (He sure likes it now! :)

Marcus loves to eat, and gets very upset if we are eating and do not give him some food as well!

His first food....

Pretty good stuff!

Of course Paul wants to help :)

Tired boys all ready for bed!

Dog days of summer....

2007-07-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

The dog days of summer are good for many things. We will share some of our favorites!When it is hot and sticky, best advise is to pant.... :)

Or find a good book to read.

Play Ball!

Share some of Daddy's breakfast yogurt

Garden!

Of course anything with cool water and family!

Watch out for that sun and have a good summer!!!

Farm boys...

2007-07-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

A small glimpse of some daily moments with my boys!

Helping Mom with dishes

Waiting- Oh so patiently for dishes to be done so we can go outside!

Here cows!

They are big Mom!

"You want some grass?"

"Umm Mom, I think there was a mistake... this looks like a BEET!"

Trying to catch a chicken... always sooo close!

News and catching up...

2007-07-28T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! This is Marcus here with an Anson update! I have been keeping Mom sooo busy, she hardly has time to get to the computer anymore. :) I am a real snuggle boy- I love to suck my fingers and hold my blanket and just be held. Mom says she loves to hold me and would all day, but she needs her hands for other things too! I guess Paul needs her hands sometimes- he is always getting dirty! July has been a big month for me. I cut 2 teeth, really started rolling well and am starting to scoot. It will not be long and I will be crawling after Paul when he wrestles with Daddy. I am not sleeping through the night yet.... I have heard Mom and Dad talk about that a lot lately- their ideas don't sound that great to me! What do you mean let me lay there and CRY????? They did mention starting me on cereal and yogurt though- and I really like that idea! I have started trying to grab at the table and really watch what everyone eats- I hope that they will drop something down to me!

Paul is my buddy. I love playing with him, unless he gives kisses- they hurt! He needs to learn to shut his mouth when he kisses. He is always blowing on my tummy or rolling over me- I think this is just swell and don't mind at all. We are always happy when Mom puts us in the stroller- that means we are going outside for a while. Paul loves to climb in and out- exploring about everything. I would rather chew on the buckle strap!

Paul eats soooo much! He loves picking cucumbers in the garden and eating them with Momma. He has tried to give me some of his food several times, but alas, Mom always stops him. Something about me needing to get bigger....

How big do I need to get? I am already over 18 pounds at just about 6 months!

Back to Paul. He is such a good climber- he is constantly pushing his limits trying to get up and over things. Tumbles do not seem to bother him. He is talking some now- a lot more than me anyway! :)

He says a lot of animal noises and knows many peoples names. He talks to "E-ye" (Elle) a lot. When she eats Mom's tomatoes off the vine he helps Mom to yell at her. :)

Paul also loves to sing, or listen to music. We both like it when Mom turns on our Bible Songs.

Daddy and Mommy are keeping very busy with 2 boys, but Daddy has a lot more time now and we really like it. The beginning of July was a big month for Daddy too- he started a new job and now works 8-5 Monday thru Friday. That means he is home to tuck us in every night!!! After a lot of praying and talking he left the jail in June, feeling that his commitment to his family came before his commitment to his career and that full time law enforcement is not for him- at least not now. A long 21 week academy away from us, strange shift hours that made family time slim and the constant on call life style of a "peace keeper"; Daddy said "Family first" and is happy at a new place! He now works at LASI- a grain elevator/seed company in Bern Ks, up by Pappa and Nanna's house. He is a manager and really enjoys the responsibilty and challange. We are loving it!!

Well, I better close soon- this writing is hard work! Mamma is thankful for such a "loving husband" and "sweet boys". She loves summer and gardening and canning and baking and is always busy in the kitchen--maybe that is why the laundry suffers! :) She tries to find a few mintues at night to study.. she likes that helping women with babies stuff- too complicated for me!

WOW! It is past my bed time! I should say good-bye. We have lots of animals and garden to take care of so we do not leave home very often, but we sure like visits- so if you are in the area, make sure you stop by! I always have a smile for folks who like to hold babies! :)

Two random pictures and a promise to post soon!

2007-07-26T09:15:00.001-07:00

I have not posted in a while and feel very behind- I will try to update you on all the changes going on at the Ansons soon! Until then- here are 2 fun pictures of Paul. One in a new outfit from friends and the other eating- yum yum!

Trip to Nebraska

2007-07-13T08:46:00.001-07:00

The Anson tradition has been to head up to Seward Ne. each year for a July 4th get together with our friends the Schreiners and Gurnseys. This year, Schreiners were going to be involved in a church get together and Gurnseys were not going to come down, so after some good hard thinking about the long drive, (almost 8 hrs) we packed up and headed for Long Pine Ne. instead. Mandi Gurnsey has been a good friend of mine since we met in 2000, and after marrying Alex and moving to extream northern Ne. I don't get to see her much any more. THe trip was a fun time to catch up and enjoy the wonderful hospitality they shared.

We had many good talks, played a few games of spatch, (the Ulmer/Anson game that is a mix of Spades and Pitch, it is a lot a fun, but can turn deadly when playing against Scott!) and enjoyed an evening at the creek.

We look forward to the next time we can get together- miss you all!

Amber- (13 mo) looks hungry :)

Paul loved playing with Anna (3 yrs.) and the favorite activity was swinging in the hammock

Opps- something went wrong here!!!

A trip to the park... (Where something is more interesting than the camera)

A big highlight (haha) of the trip has always been fireworks and Scott gets a little on the goofy side when it gets this time of year. He did a great job using self control and with the collection picked by him and Alex, we had a great show! Paul got to have his first sparkler- which he kept wanting to touch- I think it will be a few years before he is helping Daddy set things off!

Mandi with her beautiful girls watching the fire works show.

Thanks for a wonderful visit- thanks Gurnseys!

A picture's worth....

2007-06-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words- I think that is refering to those once-in-a-life-time shots, but since I have more pictures than I have time to tell about them, I hope you enjoy a little look at what is keeping us busy around here!

Swimming...

Trapping preditors, (hopefully before they eat our birds )

gardening...

chores...

wrestling the toy arch...

Enjoying the beauty God has given us all around!

(Photographers- question here. I have heard that taking pictures without the flash is better, it captures the depth better. But these last 2 pictures were seconds apart and I like the colors in the bottom one, (with flash) better. Why?)

Happy Birthday Scott!

2007-06-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday!

It is Scott's birthday today! I am so thankful for such a wonderful husband and best friend! He is also a great dad. We sure love him!All smiles.... but did he just jump out of bed?

Birthday boy!

Birthday lunch

Ahhh, what a cutie! (Don't tell me Paul doesn't look like his Daddy!:)

An earlier birthday... ( I will not say how many years ago! ; )

Picture time

2007-06-17T20:45:00.001-07:00

Remember this little boy? When Paul was 4 months old, I wanted to take him to a studio and get some baby pictures, but Scott reminded me that we had a really nice digital camera and I should do my own. With the help of Esther and Elizabeth I managed to get several nice pictures of little Paul. Now that Marcus is 4 mo., I wanted to continue the tradition and planned a "photo shoot" for a day when Esther would be here to help. However, I did not check my plans with Marcus and he was not very happy about the whole thing. We did end up with a few nice pictures, but most the time was captured with shots like this!

Poor boy! Thankfully he is 4 months for a while, so I think I may try again! Until then, here are a few favorites!

One of the problems I had, blurry pictures.... ahhhh!

Looking at Aunt Esther

Marcus and Mommy :)

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

Paul and Marcus want to wish their Daddy a very happy father's day and say they sure are grateful for all of your love and hard work!

Boy pictures

2007-05-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, if Elizabeth can do a whole post on cute boy pictures... so can I! You will have to come up with the captions for these yourself though!

Rain and puddles

2007-05-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

Playing in the rain... one early morning.

The next day....
These boots are hard to walk in!

Well, maybe the boots are not too bad

All natural, certified organic mud

Lets throw some at Mom!

The End!

Butchering..

2007-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

May is over and it was a full month. We have enjoyed a much cooler spring than last year, along with a lot of rain. On source I read said over 11 inches! The middle of may found our first batch of broilers ready to butcher. Starting early in the day, we butchered from 9-12 took a break and then finished from 4-7. With our amazing help from the Ulmers and the time saving speed of the plucker Scott built last year, we managed to do 88 birds in that time! Everything went really well and we have our next batch growing! Moses, our catch and kill man

Scott scalded and plucked

The two gutters

Tabitha "wrapped things up"... haha :)

The best job in the house- taking care of the boys!

Keeping busy....

2007-05-23T06:50:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends- I know I am long overdue in posting- I keep thinking about it, but have not made the time yet! I have a lot of pictures of the past few weeks and fun stories to share, so I will try to get on here and update soon! Until then, enjoy these pictures of the boys!"Here is a kiss Marcus"

"WHAT! You don't think he likes it?"

Fun at the park

2007-05-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday while we were down in Parsons, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have a picnic lunch at the park. After eating we let the boys run around, and I think I had as much fun as they did!

What's this Mom?

Fun!!!

Paul LOVED the slides- and was quite brave

Cousins!

Hi Dad!!

Paul would go down this one by himself! (With Dad at the bottom!)

Swinging with Mom

Thanks Andrew and Rebecca

2007-05-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we enjoyed a great visit down at the Shepards. We arrived Friday afternoon and did not have to be home until Sunday evening. We talked, played cards, went to the park, and enjoyed fellowship at their church. We always look forward to going down and are so thankful for their hospitality. Thanks guys! We had fun!Aunt Rebecca and Marcus

Reading... what a fun book!

Paul and Justice spent about 45 minutes one morning playing ball in the the "big room". Although it looks like Paul is quite the ball hog, (ok, maybe a little true) he did share and they had a great time!

Here is comes!

Gentle to the baby....

Early morning affection.... So sweet!

Spring projects

2007-04-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a work day here at Anson farms. A big thank you to Esther, Moses and Micah for all their hard work. We were able to get the garden ready, potatoes and onions planted, chickens moved to pens and other misc. work done. It was a lot of work, but sure was nice to see all that we accomplished! Here are a few shots of the day!I have a great husband! I love you !
One raised bed done, 4 to go.

Hopefully later posts with show pictures of the produce we reap!

This happy guy is enjoying being outside!

50 chicks per pen

Chicks!

"How much water do we need?"

" I think there is a hole in the hose Dad!"

Shopping

2007-04-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we headed up to Lincoln for some important spring business. For Scott is was the Husker spring game, and with friends to sit with, he was excited! He was going to take Paul with him, but the weather was a bit cool- and we were not sure how he would do sitting for hours in the stands- Oh well, he will have many games to come I am sure! :)

While Scott was at the game, I met up with my friend Mandi, (former Lincoln resident and shopping expert) and with Paul, Marcus and Esther, (we thought an extra hand would be a help!) we headed out. We first started at the "real" stores, and after a look through Old Navy and similar stores, I came away shaking my head and thinking, "Do people really buy stuff there- FULL PRICE???" Wow- I don't get out very often and the sticker shock will really grab you! Then we moved further north into town and hit the real bargins. I was mostly looking for winter coats for the boys for next year, and the Lord blessed with a great winter coat, and a fall type jacket for Paul and then a Land's End, excellent condition coat for a few years down the line.

For $2.98, who could resist?
All in all, it was a busy and fun day. I was able to pick up a lot of good stuff for the boys and even a few things for me! Thrift stores are the best!

Easter fun from Grandma Sue

2007-04-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

This week Paul enjoyed opening a box from Grandma Sue. She sent out some Easter goodies for us and Paul had the honors of digging into the box. Thank you Mama Sue! What is in here?

WOW!

My favorite! I was hoping it opened!

I sure do!

This sippy is great, you can make all sorts of noises with it!

My boys

2007-04-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

God has really blessed me with a wonderful family. I love them so much! I can't wait until it warms up some more and we can be outside as a family. I am ready to be done with winter. I want to plant my garden, play hide and seek and have picnics. Oh well, I guess we will wait- not much else we can do!I am a cutie!

And I am tired!

Mom, that is sooo funny!

A budding gardener?

Or just a mud lover :)

Maybe a bit of musical talent?

Definatly a one man show.

My favorite... Caught on candid camera

Remember this little boy??????

2007-04-02T03:14:00.000-07:00

Yummy yummy momma!!

This is my baby boy Paul Bryan Anson
I can hardly believe he was so little.
Wow, he sure is growing. My firstborn son! May the Lord bless him!!!

The zoo

2007-03-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

Monday we went to the Omaha zoo with my family. Scott had to work, (well, he worked all night and had to sleep all day) and we really missed him, but had a good time anyway. The family wanted to go before their pass was up for the year, so we loaded up and left by 8am.

When we got there we met up with another family, friends of the family and headed in. We had a great day and did not leave until about 5:30, so by the time we got back to Ulmers at 9, we were bushed! (We stopped for a few errands on the way home) Hopefully we can go again this summer with Dad!Paul loved the water in the many fountains at the "Garden of Senses" but the poor fellow got a little excited and a few minutes later while running to something else fell down and skinned his face! So here is the only "nice" picture!

Looking at something.....

One of his favorite places- the sea lions. I think because they actually DO something and don't just lay there. He also loved the gorillas and bears.

Snack time!

(We sure made good use of the double stroller- thanks again Grandma Sue!)

Too tired- must take a nap. (Too bad it is just before the lions....)

SMILE!

All worn out at Papa and Nana's house, waiting for Dad to come pick us up.

Spring....

2007-03-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

A face of wonder and awe.... A box of fluff and feed....
A little boy holding his first baby chick. Spring must be here!!

We got our first chicks Thursday and Paul thinks they are just great. It will be a while before he holds one again though- he is still a bit rough!

Today we went for a walk to get the mail.

We saw a little snake and watched it for a while until Elle got a hold of it. :)

We threw rocks into the mud puddles and laughed at the water splashing.

We found an earth worm and decided that they do NOT taste good.

We picked dandelions and talked about how pretty they are.

We stuck our hands deep into the dirt and threw it all over.

We could not wait to see Daddy when we got back to the house.

It sure is great being a little boy!

Cousins...

2007-03-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last week we enjoyed a great visit with Mom's sister Dorie and her family. Last summer Dorie and the girls came out, but I had not seen Uncle Billy and Chad for 5 years. It was wonderful to see them again! The trip had a bitter sweet shadow as Grandma Homan is going down hill. She has been in the nursing home in Sabetha for 10 years, and due to Alziemers (sp?) has not known any of us for almost that long. Last week she was not able to keep food down for a few days in a row. We are sad to see her in this condition, and hope that she is soon able to go and be with the Lord. The incredable thing was that she was really with it mentally for the time the Janes were here. She knew Dorie and Billy and Mom. Mom was able to have some conversations with her that she stuck with. We are thanking the Lord for that time together. Sisters enjoying some chocolate :)

We had a crazy time Thursday night trying out the new karaoke set from the Janes....

Sing it out!

My personal favorite!

Someone got Marcus to sleep... so sweet!

Nighty-night!

Six weeks old

2007-03-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Guess who is six weeks old today? My, time flies! Marcus is growing every day and showing his own personality. He is now 14 pounds and has a healthy double chin. :) He has just started finding his thumb and today I noticed twice when he successfully got it in his mouth and became instantly content. His eyes are still a deep blue, which is so pretty. He is starting to smile some and that just thrills my heart. Most of the time he has a very serious scowl on his face! I think it might have something to do with a big brother that is always crawling on top of him to give him kisses. Paul just loves Marcus and when he cries, he rushes over and tries to kiss him or pat him somewhere to help. Marcus is sleeping better at night, with a few exceptions each week it seems. On a good night though, he will go 3-4 hours between feedings, very nice for Mom. :) I found my thumb!
Paul is keeping me busy. Period. Life with a almost 15 month old is up and down and all over the place! Can you tell he loves to get into things? He is really enjoying the nicer weather and a chance to go outside and get DIRTY. (Boys :) The other day I just stripped him down before we went inside for lunch and a nap and when he woke up I put the muddy stuff back on for a another few hours in the dirt! Beats washing two outfits!