Happy Birthday Hans!

I have made my last batch of spring Birthday cupcakes! Hans turned 8 this weekend, which is hard to believe! We had his school party on Friday and his friends over on Saturday. Then on Sunday we were all supposed to go to a Skating Party for the church's AWANA program, but Erin came down with strep throat. She was feeling poorly on Saturday so she stayed in our room away from the party, but later Saturday night I looked at her throat and wow! What a swollen mess! So she and I did not go skating, but the boys had fun with dad. They went to the store to buy Hans a bicycle for his birthday and then skating and then pizza! We had some fun when they got home as well.

Alan got a bit of spotlight when he learned how to ride his bike without his training wheels. Thanks Grandma Anderson for the extra encouragement!

Piano...

Collin's piano recital went very well! He made it through his piece without any errors per se and he was very relieved about that! Mom and Dad Anderson made it out to see and so I just had to snap some pictures and the video is below!

Collin's Piano Recital

Erin's Floor Routine

Our last gymnastics meet this year ended yesterday in Wamego KS. It was a good day, not as astounding as Great Bend, but the girls did well and even though the competition was a litte stiffer, they placed OK. Erin did more 4th -5th rather than 2nd and 3rd, but we expected that. What is important is: she did well, personally and improved her scores! Plus we all had fun in the process! Good job Erin ! Oh the first pick is just how hard the gymnasts work when they are in heat B! I don't know how they stand the waiting!!!

The Birthdays continue...

Our dear Alan is 6!!! Six years since I have experienced childbirth, what a blessing to have 4 beautiful, healthy children. Alan's birthday celebration last from Sunday with Mom-mom Anderson to Tuesday at school, with friends and with family. Happy Birthday Al!

With teacher Mrs. Maxwell and with his friends at his party!

Playing with magnets from Aunt Paula and Uncle Bill

The Girls Did Great!
The level 3 girls for Beacon Gymnastics were smokin' this Saturday! Several of the girls did better than ever. Our Erin was one of them! She improved her floor and vault significantly and placed 2nd on Floor and 3rd on Vault, i think 4th and 5th on Bars and Beam, still needs some work. Fourth overall, she was soo happy and I was so proud of her! Not giving up after a difficult meet in Salina! Please pray for her as she prepares for her last meet next weekend. it is liable to be a big one with harder competition, so she really needs to be diligent and focused. Anyway, we will enjoy the current success!

2nd place on the floor~~~you go girl!!

The team got 3rd overall!

Please keep Erin in mind as she prepares for her final competition in Wamego next weekend! There will be quite a few more and different teams, we are excited!

Talk about leaving you hanging...

I Will Always Be True

March 29th Salina KS: Third Day Live

About a month ago, Chris and I discovered Third Day was coming to KS! We got our tickets the day they became available, we got our sitter in advance and planned a romantic dinner at our favorite Italian restaraunt beforehand. I never imagined just how fun it could be:

• Our favorite restaraunt was right across the street from the Stiefel Theatre and we got their just in time! Within 15 minutes they were turning walk in's away.
  
• We knew our seats were in row A but we had no idea where aisle 3 was....right up front. Man, we were so close it was astounding!
  
• They allowed cameras of all kinds!

That's 3 for 3 in my book! The only downer was we purchased a meet and greet pass for after the show, but they would only let 1 of us in! I could not imagine going alone and Chris was indifferent to it...sigh!

First set: Mac is winkin' and wavin' to lots of fans. They were singing "Come on Back to Me" and when he sang "Just put your hand in mine..." he reached down and shook Chris' hand! No camera handy by I snapped a pic of him shaking another person's hand. Use your imagination! He changed guitars and threw pics every time... we caught 2! Mac singing "I wanna be a rock star!"

I took several video clips and filled a memory card in the first 4 songs! I took snap shots gallore because I could never tell how "clear" they really were! Wow, I got some good shots! They sat us down and sang, "Thief" and "Don't You Know I've always Loved You" (my fav)! Got us up, prayed and sang "King of Glory". This is the first 3rd Day song I've ever heard...and to hear Chris singing on one side and Mac on the other. It was auditory heaven! Very worshipful too, kind of like how I imagine heaven. (only less emphasis on vocals I'm sure) It was tons of fun! They ended with "I Believe" by Rich Mullins, very cool! I even got my own wink and smile from Mac towards the end of the concert!

And for the Meet and Greet, well I just had to do it! Even without Chris I mustered up the umph to go into a room with a bunch of other fans alone... Although not at all what I wanted (ie. chris and I together) it was very nice. Both Tai and Mac recognized me from the "front row" and we had a laugh about that! How often does a girl get a picture with her favorite vocalist other than her husband?

And here we are! Blue under the lights, Happy Anniversary Chris!

48 Hours and counting!


Chris and I have tickets to the Third Day concert in Salina Saturday 3/29/08!!! We/ I am so excited, I have loved everything this band has done since 2002 when Phil and Denise introduced us to them. I splurged on the best most expensive tickets we could get!!! Not sure you can get a camera in, but if i can I'll post picks. Here's a link to one of my fav you tube videos of them!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOb8ihacSM4

Erin and I were working on one of my photo challenges together. She is very creative. Anyway, I am in a photo challenge and we are working on finishing the phrase "I am..."

This is what we came up with...photo by Erin!

Gymnastics update:
Erin had another meet this weekend. She had lots of fun with her team mates and some things that she was trying to improve on, she did better. However, her scores were rather low and her ranking among her age group was disappointing for her. She had hoped to rank better this time. She has a few weeks to gain some more strength in her upper body for her bar routine. (her mother thinks she is having a growth spurt, which is not helping necessarily)

On the bright side: I got some great photographs during the meet despite some really bad lighting. I discovered my camera will let me take a still photo while filming. so when it blacks out, that is what I was doing. You have to hit the button twice to get the video to start.

My dear little girl is 10!!!

How can this be? Seems like just yesterday she was born! Already she has grown into such a lovely young girl! She has a heart for Jesus, she loves to help and encourage other. She has the gift of laughter and silliness. She is talented at crafting and creating artwork. She is a fabulous helper and friend! She shares often and loves much. Her energy level is off the charts and I'd be utterly lost without her! Happy Birthday dear Erin! Here are some pictures of the day she was born! She joined us at 4:20 on March 17th! wow, what a busy night.

My parents came to help out! Since my dad does not get to give her a birthday greeting on this earth, this year, I thought I'd share one of my favorite pictures of him with her. He loved to hold a fussy infant and calm their hiccups, tired cries or just share a smile!

Erin was helping me make her birthday cake, I think she really just wanted to lick the bowl!

Happy Birthday Erin Lynne!

Staci and Brody!

Our friends, Mike and Staci, have started phase 1 of the move to Texas! Staci and Brody went on ahead to help with tax season while Mike stayed in KS to finish out the school year. I will miss her so much!!! Thank you for continuing to check out my blog, seeing your comments just touched my heart!!!! I know how busy you must be! Here's a picture of Brody the last time we watched him!

Alan lost his first tooth!

After fiddling with it for several days, Alan finally lost his first tooth, brushing his teeth. It was hard to get a still photo of him he was so excited! Then I like a dumbo completely forgot he put it under his pillow. The older kids all know to put a note by the coffee maker so I see it before bed! He woke me up at 6:30 holding up the money-less sack with only his tooth in it. I told him to quick go back to bed because the toothfairy was on her way! He did. Whew!

Photo manip...I was playing with some photo editing software and made Erin stand out on her awards photo...

I just love her smile and outstretched arms--Way to go Erin!!!

Little Dribblers

Collin and Hans are participating in Little Dribblers, Sterling Rec's Basketball clinic. It is mostly a skills building clinic, but students Collin's age have some game time too. It's fun without being too overwhelming for either them or us!

Here's a photo manip of the coach with the 1st and 2nd graders. He looks so huge!

Gymnastics Meet

Erin attended her second gymnastics meet this year. These are such great learning experiences for us. (As much for us as for her.) Some events she improved on, others the judges were stiffer so even though she did well, her scores were not as high as before. Here are some high lights:

Beam: her hand stand (they only have to touch the feet together at this point and come down) toes could be pointed more...

Her dismount is ever so slightly off center...

Here is a pose during her floor routine, after her back walk over and then a round off...

Big smile during awards at the end and a video of her bar routine! Below is a video clip of her bar routine. I'm so proud of her for how far she has come, she still has polishing that needs done and strength to be built up. Way to go Erin!