Our Day of Thanks

We got to spend Thanksgiving in Denver with Brett's family. It was wonderful to be with them. Here is our trip in photos. Ryan was SO good on the airplane. He always exceeds my expectations! He is such a good boy!
We played with Papa Butch.

Bathed with cousins. Please pardon the PG-13ness of the picutres!

Tried to go watch Daddy playing tennis with Uncle Justin, but it was too cold!!

The weather in Denver is crazy! 60 on Wednesday, 35 on Thurday, 50 half of Friday and snow Friday night. It is always an adventure!

We took family photos!

Matched with Daddy!

Ate great food! Kristen(sister-in-law) and I cooked it all! It was great fun! We did get to sneak away from cooking and run a 4 mile "Turkey Trot" race together. It was really fun - and cold!

Overall, it was a great trip! We were so grateful to be there!

I am MOST thankful for...

(I am out of town, so no pictures and this will be the final "thankful for" for now)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

This is what brings me the most peace and happiness in my life. Knowing that we have a Father in Heaven who loves us and that we have a Savior who knows us and what we are going through is the greatest blessing. I am more grateful than words can express that I can be forever with my sweet husband, beautiful baby boy, parents and siblings and all family. I hope to live in such a way that I can show my gratitude for my many blessing.

I hope you ALL have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Today I am Thankful For

My New Favorite Cereal

It is healthy, delicious and only $2.99!

We just emptied one box yesterday, so today, I had to go get more. I couldn't decide on chocolate or strawberry, so I got both!

Ryan loves them, too. He found the box in the bag and ran off with it.

I caved and even let him have some of the chocolate ones.
You should head over to Trader Joes and get a box - or two or three.

Today I am Thankful for...

Primary Songs!

I sing Ryan primary songs a lot because I don't know many other songs to sing to him. As I was singing some songs to him today before bedtime, it I realized that these songs include very important principles that I want him to teach him.

For example:

"Pray, He is there. Speak, He is listening. You are His child. His love now surrounds you."

-A Child's Prayer

"Love one another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought."

-I am Trying to Be Like Jesus

Simple and True.

Everytime I look into his cute face, it reminds me that I have a BIG job to do. I am grateful for those sweet songs that remind me what is most important.

Today I am Thankful for...

BED! I am going there, now! Good night!

Today I am Thankful for...

TWo ThinGS

First, my sweet husband was such a huge help today! He took Ryan to the cell phone store ( we finally have one that works! Yay! Ok, I guess I am thankful for 3 things) and to the park so I could go running. THEN, it was my day to cook for our dinner group and as usual, I did not plan my time very well and all of the sudden I had 40 minutes to put everyting together. Brett stepped right in and flipped chickens and baked fries and it all worked out... even if it was 15 minutes late and the girls still had to cook it a bit :). I just couldn't do it without him - everyday, not just today!

What a lucky girl I am.

*if you want to see the recipie, check out my "what's for dinner" blog

2 My little brother Tyler "elfed" us. I had seen this before, but it is so much funnier when it is you... I mean me... you know what I mean! So, thanks for the laugh little, bro! You are the greatest non-twin brother I have!

If you want to see us in action, click here: THE ANDERSEN ELVES

Today I am Thankful that...

My BoY is BACK!

Two days ago, Ryan looked like this:

After the 6th trip to the doctor since Halloween, we finally got some anti-biotics that seem to be working this time and he looked like this today:
I am so THANKFUL he is feeling better! I missed his big smile!

Today I am Thankful For

* in order for me to post pictures, I have to turn on our other lap-top, switch the internet and just take a lot more time than I want to spend, so my parents will be represented by this close, but not quite, picture.

WONDERFUL PARENTS!

I just feel so grateful to have been blessed with such a great mom and dad. Not only did they do a great job raising me ( in my opinion) but they continue to give endless support and love. For example, last Friday, my mom drove all the way to our apartment to hold Ryan so I could go to the store. My dad stopped by on Saturday to bring us and Ryan some smoothies. Today, they both helped out a lot with sick... but on the mend... Ryan.

I just couldn't ask for more.

Today I am Thankful For

Mint M&Ms

My little Ry Ry has been sick for over 2 weeks now. Today, just like all other days this last week he didn't want to sleep, just wanted to be held and was quite grumpy. It is kinda getting to me. So, I ditched my " no sweets Monday - Friday afternoon rule" (it is working quite well, btw) and bought a big bag of my favorite M&Ms.

They really helped.

They should be prescribed by doctors to parents of sick kids.

I am Grateful for...

wonderully, creative friends who inspire me! I was just looking at blogs and my friend, Jill had this great idea to post about something we are thankful for each day. I am going to do it! I told Brett that sometimes I feel like I am running on a mental treadmill everyday - I have lots of ideas, but I never get anywhere with them. So, it is fun to see people who actually follow through on their ideas - because it makes me want to do the same! Thanks, friends!

Knock Your Socks Off!

If you looked at my shoes - you would be sad.

Very Sad.

My shoe collection is the rainy day of shoes. It is like the "let's go watch the grass grow" of shoes. No, it is like the 10 inning baseball game when no one scores of shoes.

BORING.

A brown pair, a black pair a few other scuffed pairs are what I call my own.

I just don't really buy shoes. My feet have been neglected.

As a result, the rest of me is suffering. That boredom has crept up into my outfits. Instead of a stylish, beautiful wife, my husband gets stuck with a flip-flop wearing, pony-tail loving, jeans clad wife.

But, what if I had these shoes that I found on the Shabby Apple Clothing Website:

Then, I would put on this(the Go-Go Dress):

Carry this(Baby's Breath):

And wear these(Horizon):

Man, I would knock his socks off! And mine, too.

You can spice up your life, too, by checking out this wonderful clothing line: Shabby Apple (www.shabbyapple.com).

Ryan's First Halloween: Sick or Treat

The costume: a cute Dalmatian made by mom ( my mom, that is... I don't have that talent)! Don't you just love it!
The activity: we had a ward party the week before Halloween that was a blast. On Halloween night we took Ry to my parents so we could how him off to the neighbors and get some candy for mom and dad! We did let him try a piece of candy for the first time... boy did that go over well!
The reaction: Ryan had a blast! We had a little trouble getting him to want to keep his hat on ( as you can see from the first picture), but once he started getting candy, he forgot all about the hat! He also loved seeing all of the other kids and their costumes as they came to the door.

The sadness: The day after Halloween, Ry was so tired! He slept almost all day. We just thought he was worn out, but it turns out he got an ear infection, impetigo, and strep throat all at once! Poor kid! The last few days have been spent like this: