The zoo

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....

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...

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

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!

Catching up...

Well, it is way past time for me to do some catching up here. I guess I will claim the excuse that everyone I see comments on. "You sure have your hands full!" (And they say that when Scott is not around, guess what they would say if he was there too! :)

The past 2 weeks we were blessed to have a good friend from Ohio, Hannah Lefchik come and stay with us and help out. Thank you Hannah for all your hard work and every ready smile. We miss you! I think Paul got quiet used to having another set of hands to wait on him and he is going through withdrawal!

Scott is doing well at the jail, as a reserve deputy, he has been able to ride along with some of the deputies and that has become a highlight for him. He even got to go along on a search warrant a few weeks ago. (Granted he was back-up 2 blocks away, but it is a start!) We celebrated our 2cd anniversary this month and it seems like just yesterday we were getting ready for the wedding. Time sure flies! We thank the Lord for the time he has given us and pray for many more wonderful years to come!

I am feeling really good, Marcus is sleeping a little better at nights, so I am not so tired. With the weather so nice, I will have to be careful not to push too hard. Paul loves being outside and we are enjoying spending a lot of time in the sunshine!

I will try to update again soon! Here are some pictures:)

Hannah with the boys

Paul and Papa at the Ulmers

Scott helping with the laundry

Flowers from my love :)

Spring cleaning...

Last Saturday I was blessed to have the hard work of my sisters and Hannah in helping me do some much needed deep cleaning. We attacked the downstairs with a furry and at the end of the day I was really encouraged by all that we had accomplished. Thank you so much girls!!! Phoebe helping with some laundry.... "You are taking MY picture?"
Elizabeth, the carpet shampoo expert

You cannot imagen how much dust.....

The best job in the house!

Raisin thief

"I know Mom said these last few raisins are for Hannah's breakfast, but she left them here on the chair, so that means they are really for me. Right?" "Ohhhh, some fell out of the bag into the box. Sun Maid is the best folks!"
"Busted again!!!"It is tough when both you parents are in law enforcement! I am just glad Mom does not carry hand cuffs!"

Pictures of the week

I thought about just posting one "picture of the week", but who could choose between these two great shots!?

Life is good!

We are all doing so well here on the Anson Farms. The Lord has blessed us so much!

We have had great support from family and friends and can't wait to show off Marcus to more of you! I will try to keep the blog updated better until then! Looking around
"I have a dream...."

I love being a big boy!

Daddy with his baby

Daddy with his little man!

(Doing dishes for mom- how nice!)

My Valentine

I want to send a special thank-you to the love of my life

This valentines day may everyone know this is a grateful wife

For 2 years have swiftly past and still the time is lacking

To compare to how he waited for me- and to send sinlge life a packing

A man of God who seeks the Lord, and leads his family

We are well provided for- His hard work is the key

A better Dad you cannot find, as he learns and grows each day

Discovering with each new morn' the vital need to pray

For raising boys to love the Lord, and serve their fellow man

It takes more than preaching, it means walking them by the hand

And when it comes to his marriage, he does not let it slide

But works and prays and listens close to his helpmeet and his bride

And when he does not understand, the emotions I posses

He holds me tight and lets me cry- my soul he does caress

This week I have been humbled to see him serve us so

The house is kept by his careful touch, and reminders to "Let it go"

So, I want to say a big thank you, for all you do and say

My love- you are amazing! Happy Valentines Day!

One week old

Look who is one week old today!! Marcus is such a blessing and joy. We are so blessed to have him as part of our family. A huge thank you to all of you for your prayers, support and help through this pregnancy, birth and recovery.

I had a long labor again this time, but the Lord sustained us and we are both healthy and doing well. I am recovery MUCH faster than I did after Paul. I feel good, and besides being tired, :) am slowly adjusting to this new "normal" of two little boys. Both Scott's Mom and my Mom were able to be here for the birth and were a huge help. Scott's Mom stayed with us for the rest of the week, taking excellent care of the house and meals. Many women are blessed with Mother-in-law who are a help, not as many are blessed with a good friend. I feel privalged to say I have both! Thank you Mama Sue!! We sure love and miss you!

My family has been a great help as well, and we are glad to have them close. Playing with Paul is especially helpful as I cannot be as active with him as I usally am. He misses me carrying him all over and loves it when he can chase around his uncles and aunts! Which brings us to how Paul is adjusting.... He is doing pretty well, it does not help that he has been cutting teeth this past week, so that has caused some discomfort. He loves Marcus and is very attentive to his cry. He tries to say "Marcus", but mostly refers to him as "bababa". Just tonight while we were in the kitchen eating, Marcus started crying in the living room where he had been sleeping. Paul immediatly pointed to the living room and cried, "Bababab", and when I asked, "Do you think I should go get baby Marcus?" he answered with an enthusiastic nodding of the head! He gets frustrated that I cannot carry him around, but over all we he is doing well.

Scott has been such a huge help and is so understanding. He is great when Marcus wakes up in the middle of the night and is extra help around the house. I am so grateful!

Well, that catches us up for a while- God bless!Hi everyone!
All tuckered out.
Did you know I am a big brother?!

A baby................

Boy. Marcus Scott Anson was born on Tuesday at 3:40pm. 9lb, 9oz monster boy! Here are our two little boys!! Looks like Marcus is saying "peace brother!"

Isn't he just the sweetest thing?

"Can I give him a kiss please? Well, maybe I'll just bite his cheeks instead!" - Paul

Lydia is doing great! Marcus is doing great! Paul is happy!

Family Picture

While at Rebecca and Andrew's house, we asked them to help us get a good family picture done. We have wanted to get a family shot for quite a while, and never seem to make it happen. We knew we wanted it done before the baby, so we would have one to remember when life was "just us and Paul"! So thanks to their help we have several good pictures to chose from. Some need a little cropping or other editing, but here are our favorites.... Votes anyone??

Ok, so this is not a family shot, but a sweet one I had to include! :)
One of the first ones we took
One of the last ones... Can you tell Paul was getting tired of this?
With a little cropping on my side of the picture, I think this is my favorite!

Visit to the Shepards...

Knowing our travles would be limited for a while after the baby is born, we wanted to make sure we made it down to Rebecca and Andrew's house before it came. So with his days off falling at a good time for the Shepards, Scott loaded us up and we headed "down south" Jan. 18-20th. We arrived Thursday night and enjoyed seeing not only Rebecca, Andrew and Justice but more of Andrew's family as well. And that was just the beginning. Our dear friends the Wissmann family from Seward Neb. was scheduled to sing at a church near the Shepards Friday night, and so Thursday evening they pulled their looooong bus into an icy driveway and we had a houseful!

As it ended up, because of the icy conditions, the concert was cancled, providing a day of fun and games at Rebecca and Andrews all day Friday. We all had a great time, there was a lot of wonderful food cooked by Rebecca and always someone to play with or talk to!

Friday night the Wissmanns headed on, (they are on a 7 week "tour" right now!) and as couples we went out to eat at the best Mexican resturant I have ever been to. Paul and Justice did really well, although we found a LOT of crackers under the table after the meal!

Back at the Shepards we enjoyed playing cards (until waaaaay too late) and a good nights sleep. Saturday morning dawning with a few snowflakes falling, which should have warned us to watch the weather, but since we planned to leave by 1pm, we were not too concerned.

Well, it turned into a small blizzard and the drive home was slow- about 45 m.p.h. the whole way, but the Lord kept us safe and we made it back fine. We had a great time- we got to see all the work they have done on the addition since we were there last, (In August) and it is just beautiful!! We miss you guys! See you after the baby is born! Paul playing the drum
Foosball was the guys activity of the day

Did I say ALLLLLL day? :)
The girls prefered a calm game of Yatzee :)