The Blessings of a Dirty House

Apparently I am not as multi-talented as I though. If you were wondering, "What's been going on in the Andersons' lives over the last year?," so is everyone else. You didn't just miss an update. I haven't done one. I realized I wasn't as organized and task-oriented as I needed to be in order to keep up a blog and my daily duties. Therefore, the last entry really was a year ago.

It has been a humbling experience to have to push aside the OCD and take things one at a time. It has taken almost this whole past year to get things back in order from being on bed rest for 4 1/2 months. Everything has to be done 4 times thanks to the quickness of 3 children. Just when you think, "There. The livingroom is clean. I'll go start a load of laundry." You walk upstairs to get the hamper and come back to a room dirtier than it was before you started.

After a few months of stressing out, I realized each dirty room is a blessing. My kids had a great time making each mess, and I helped make their day a little more fun.

Don't get me wrong, I still have my non negotiable quirks--the Tupperware must have its lid on before going into the cabinet, the characters/flowers on the blankets must be facing you when you walk through each bedroom door, all the clothes on the hangers must be facing the same direction, etc.--but going to bed with only a pathway from the door to the stairs means I have one more thing to be thankful for in my prayers that night.

Since I've had this epiphany, I'm turning over a new leaf on my blog as well. Along with a different address, my posts will be slightly different. Everyone gets to see my love or frustration in daily life through Facebook posts, so I'm going to try to use this as a way to record my blessings and find good in even the hardest places. Our Savior lived His life this way--finding good in those whom society cast out and making each bad situation a learning one--hopefully, I can try as well.

So here it is. I'm grateful for my dirty house. First because I have one. Second because I have children(and let's be serious, a husband) who make it that way. And third because I have a Heavenly Father and Elder Brother who love me in spite of it.

Slippin' and Slidin'

A couple of days ago, Nate bought a Slip-N-Slide for the kids. He set it up and showed them how to do it. He was very grateful for the pool at the end, so he wouldn't slide to a stop in the grass.


Braelinn had a blast! She wouldn't go on her belly, but her knees worked just fine.

Danen was not down with sliding (what 19 month old would be?), but he liked to sit down on the tarp and get sprinkled.

They had a great time. By the end, we had tons of neighborhood kids sliding too. Too bad I can't fit in my suit yet.

Okay. It has been a while since my last update. I have been taking pictures, but I've selected to sleep instead of blog. Now that I'm adjusted to less sleep, I can get everything posted.

It is quite funny the things that happen in front of me while I'm stuck in the chair feeding Rianne. This time, Danen was trying really hard to get in Braelinn's Barbie car. Naturally, he tried the door first....

But since he didn't fit, he went through the sunroof.

Next, a picture of Rianne after a trip to Bruster's. She wasn't a fan of the heat!

On the 4th of July, we went to celebrate with Grandpa Clair at his neighborhood block party. Here's Braelinn taking a drink break from all the running around.

Here's Danen pleading with each of us to play ball with him.

Rianne slept the entire time we were out there. So here's a picture back at the house once she woke up.

This is a random picture after church. I thought her outfit was so cute.

And lastly, we had a picnic after church last week. I remembered why I don't do picnics very often. Braelinn is scared of EVERY SINGLE bug that comes around. I did manage to get one happy shot of her.

Danen enjoyed his meal so much, he wouldn't even acknowledge the camera for a picture.

And finally, Rianne was sunbathing (sleeping) through the majority of the meal.

Now that you're all caught up, I'll do my best to post more often.

Does anyone know if there's a PA?

So, it's bad enough to have a kid addicted to one passy, but this is how Danen has been walking around the last few days... And if we try to take them away, he looks crazy like this...

Does anyone know if there's a P(assies) A(nonymous)? I don't think we will ever get them away from him!!

Test Results are In

In case you haven't heard the wonderful news yet, Rianne's tests all came back normal. I spent the majority of the day, Wednesday, at the Children's Hospital at Scottish Rite getting tests run to make sure her kidneys are okay. She got an ultrasound and a test called a VCUG (they insert a catheter and dyed fluid to see if her bladder refluxes fluid into her kidneys.). She was a trooper; she didn't cry at all. Then on Thursday, the doctor let us know everything's okay. We are so grateful for everyone's prayers and concerns for Rianne. She's a perfect addition to our family.
Here's a picture from after church yesterday. Let me tell you, getting 3 kids ready is WAY different than 2. Hopefully it will get easier when Rianne doesn't want to nurse every minute she's awake. I thought I was doing good until it hit 8:30, the time we usually leave, and all the kids were ready, but I was still in my pajamas. We made it in time to take sacrament, but it was close. I pray next week is better. We'll see....

When it Rains...

Things have been kinda crazy since we came home from the hospital. Nate had his final week of school and now has a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. (I'm so glad that is finally over with.) On Memorial Day, we had to take Braelinn to the Urgent Care, and we found out she had strep throat. It was not easy keeping her away from her new baby sister. Then on Tuesday, Rianne had her 2 week checkup, and I had to take her back to the hospital to get blood drawn. Turns out her jaundice level was really elevated, so they sent someone out to our house with a light bed for her to lay on. Well, when I went to pick up the kids from my mom, Danen was running a fever of 101.2*F. So Nate met me as soon as he got off work, and took Danen to the Urgent Care (of course everything happened "after hours") while I rushed home to met the light-bed guy. Danen ended up having a virus similar to Hand, Foot, and Mouth, so he is suppose to stay away from Rianne now, and she has to stay on the lights for 24 hours a day. It has been 4 days of juggling sick kids and a husband whose got the worst case of poison ivy I've ever seen (he actually had to get a steriod shot to hopefully get rid of it). Out of all of this, I will say this light bed is way more humane than the one Braelinn had to stay under in the hospital with the little Batman goggles. Here's a few pictures I snapped of her sleeping.

She finally did get off the bed today. So I'll be getting up some cute pictures in cute clothes soon, I hope. Next week we are going to get all of the tests done to see how her kidneys are functioning. I will keep you posted.

And can I add, on an equally as important subject, did you see the New Moon trailor? Oh my goodness!! I'm so excited, I don't know if I can wait 5 months.

THE BIG UPDATE!!

Hello, Everyone. I've finally gotten a computer again, and it's just in the nick of time. Nate graduated from FLETC one week ago, and he is home for good. We've been trying to get as much done as possible this past week that has been neglected over the last 5 months due to his absence and my pregnancy. And just when I couldn't handle being pregnant anymore, we welcomed Rianne to the world last night. My plan was to get my midwife to induce me yesterday after my check-up. When she did the exam, she said I was doing fine on my own. And sure enough, two hours later, we were heading to the hospital with contractions 3 minutes apart. Don't look too closely because it is slightly obscene, but here is a picture of me in the triage room of the hospital waiting to get checked in.

This picture is obviously after the epidural. Life was much better for the rest of the night.

I'm sure no one wants to see the gross details of birth, so here's Rianne, all cleaned up, weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs. 14 oz.

She has truly been the easiest baby for the last 19 hours. She hasn't cried at all. She just sleeps. And sleeps. She's a very good blend of Braelinn and Danen. She looks like Braelinn while she's asleep, and Danen in the brief moments of being awake.

And might I add, LOOK AT ALL THE HAIR!!!!! She has more hair than Braelinn already. It's a miracle. Maybe it will stay dark and curly, and I'll have some contribution to one of my kids.

Finally, here is our first family picture. Braelinn was so excited to hold her new baby sister. Danen just wanted to honk her nose.

Thanks for all your prayers and help during this pregnancy. We are so grateful for all of y'all.