One Year Update

Things I have learned this year:

1. I vastly overestimated my awesomeness at being a stay at home mother. I have made major progress in this area in the past year, but home-made bread is still not being baked in my spotless and laundry-free kitchen, maybe next year.

2. Always wash your dishes the night before and do the above mentioned laundry on the daily. It just makes the day start better.

3. When your children are driving you crazy (and you are probably boring them out of their minds) take them outside. I am a much calmer mother outside and my children love dirt and water. It's really a win-win.

4. Smile at your spouse, it's easy to forget. Sit next to each other and even hold hands, even if it turns into everyone on the couch holding hands. I would rather be snuggling with my family then have Esme trying to eat stuff out of the First Aid kit.

5. Time away from the kids is good for you and for them. Esme loves our cat Skippy, her Papa Timmy and then me. I'm okay with that. I get her love almost everyday and Skippy gets too much of her love all of the time, so the time she gets to spend with her Papa Timmy is incredibly precious and she needs that. Phoebe treasures every moment not with me, just because it's something different and let's be honest...that kid loves people. I no longer feel guilty about time apart because I don't work away from them and we have seen more of Shambra this year than the last 4 years, because his schedule is much more flexible.

6. Don't make plans a year in advance because God will surprise you with things like moving 4 hours away or a BABY. Babies look at your calendar, laugh and then spit up on it.

7. Change is hard, but good. I miss all of my family and Anderson peeps, but Phoebe and Esme have grown so close to Shambra's family this year and it is wonderful to see them experience being part of a big family with tons of little ones so close in age.

That's it for now, but I'll try to be better about updating at least a few kidisms....like how Esme always begins any story with, "once upon a time". Oh and pumpkins are her favorite.

Well...we have had everything but the plague around here. Hopefully we will all stay well now that we have been decontaminated. Our Pastor's wife, Beth, had thierry daughter Kayley Elizabeth right before Easter, so Shambra was really busy leading up to Easter Sunday. The alarm did not wake him up for Sunrise Service, so he was late and he was the one leading it. Overall we are looking forward to smooching new baby cheeks, going to the beach next month and the possibility of eating tomatoes from our own plants courtesy of Matthais Wentzky.

Settling in...

I know you have been wondering about us, well we finally have a new computer so you will be getting regular updates. If you are wondering where Johnsonville is, it's under Florence and about 45 minutes above Myrtle Beach. We have been here for almost two months and I thought we would be more settled in by now, but it must take longer than I imagined. Johnsonville is already starting to feel like home and I am getting used to the differences between the Low Country and the Upstate. I still miss Ingles and having almost any store I want 15 minutes away. Shambra just left for Walmart, CVS didn't have the medicine he needed; and he very casually said, "I'm going to run to Walmart." Walmart is 30 minutes away in Lake City. Unless it is Fred's, the Dollar General or Hemingway, we don't run anywhere. We carefully plan our trips around naps and lunch. We do get to see Shambra's family more often, I'm sure they are getting tired of seeing us, because we have seen them more in the last two months than we normally do in six months. I enjoy small town life for the most part, no traffic and we can walk to church, Shambra and Phoebe do almost every Sunday. We are close to the park and walking track. There is a small pretty library close by and I already have a library "donation". I just have to get used to my new job as a stay at home mom. It is not coming as naturally as I first thought it would, but neither did breastfeeding and I bested that. We are getting Esme' used to sleeping in the crib and Phoebe took right to her big girl bed. I need to get a schedule going for us, but that will be next week because the Edney's are visiting this weekend! Super excited about that! Other big news is that Esme' turns 1! Phoebe turned 3 last Sunday!

Phoebe-isms

At bedtime-she wants a "hug, kiss and hi-five".

When I leave for work- "be safe mommy, watch out for Swiper (Dora the Explorer) cause he is sneaky!"

At meal time- "A, B, C, D, E, F, J, thank you Lord for feeding me. Amen."

Sitting on the couch- "Mommy sit behind (beside) me on the couch, now lean back (so she can lay on me)".

To Esme'- " Esme' Claire is a stinky poo poo baby".  And sometimes she is.

In the Morning- "I want milk milk chalk (chocolate milk)." It is one of baby-isms that seems to have stuck.

I would have Esme'-isms but all she can say is ma-ma and da-da and random phrases that she never repeats twice.

I love my Phoebe and all her quirks!

The last few months

Funny things that have happened in the last few months…

Phoebe and Esme’ are now staying with my BFF Becca and her girls and the VERY first day they were there, Phoebe cut Shiloh’s hair. Shiloh is Phoebe’s Best Friend since birth, Phoebe is few months older, and she was a willing recipient of playing “Beauty Salon”. Luckily Shiloh is cuter than a Cabbage Patch Kid and her new hair cut looks wonderful. Phoebe is banned from ANY scissors until kindergarten.

Upset Phoebe = peeing on everything!

Yep, you read that right; Phoebe was very upset on morning when Shambra dropped them off at Becca's because she wanted to stay with him (I normally drop them off and he picks them up). So, once Shambra left, she walked around the kitchen and living room eating a cereal bar and peeing on the chair, the ottoman and the floor. When Becca asked her about it she just said, "I did it". Because Becca is great, she thought it was hilarious. Sometimes you have to laugh so you don't give them away ; )

Esme' has got three, almost four teeth now, the two on the bottom and her eye teeth that are coming in. She can walk if she holds on to your finger and she can stand by herself, it won't be very long at all before she is walking. The biggest controversy surrounding Esme' is...Shambra got her ears pierced! It is cute, but a bit sad because well...she's my baby. Phoebe is still holding out on the ear piercing. I have told her she cannot get them pierced until she turns three in a few months, because she keeps going back and forth on it. She was supposed to get them pierced when Esme' got hers pierced. Shambra should have let Phoebe go first.



Overall, life is good and most of the time the girls are too. Once we are moved into our new, hopefully three bedroom, home we can tackle big girl beds and getting Esme’ to sleep in a crib.

The Biggest Change yet

So far 2011 has been a really big year for our family, bigger than 2006 and even bigger than 2009. We welcomed Esme' Claire into the world in January, then this summer we learned that Becca's mother would have to go back to work (she has watched all of our girls since birth) so that led to daycare for us. You've read how well that went, so now the girls are staying with Becca. This past weekend we were invited to Johnsonville First Baptist Church, in Johnsonville SC where Shambra was voted in as the new Minister of Music and Youth. We are very excited and have been praying about this possibility for several months now. We really enjoyed meeting everyone at the church and seeing the town (that bit didn't take very long). I think our family will be a good fit with the ministry the church already has going. I know Shambra is incredibility excited and cannot wait to begin. I am excited for a new adventure, but it is bittersweet leaving Pleasant View and all of my family and our friends in the Upstate. We will only be an hour and a half from Summerville and Shambra's family so that is a big plus.

It is wonderful to see how God works things out through us. Shambra has felt the call to Ministry for at least a year now and about six months ago I went from being very happy as a working mother to feeling the need to stay at home with our girls. I think for both of us at first, it was easy to ignore or excuse away. Shambra got even more involved at church and I could not think of anyone better to keep my girls than Vicki W. But things changed and we tried harder to keep them the same until it became unbearable, so in the middle of the summer Kelly G. and I revamped Shambra's resume and cover letter and he sent out about 30 applications. Shambra applied to Johnsonville, because it is Kelly G's home church. Shambra did the phone interview and he and I did an interview with the search committee in Columbia. All along we have had a peace about this church.

We really feel that this is where God wants us, so we are going...well as soon as we find a rental home. I'm sure God has that under control too, the packing is up to us though : )

The times they are a-changin'

I wrote this post last month and did not publish it, but as I re-read it I thought it would be a good intro to a soon to be coming post.

I don't know if it is because I'm am so indoctorated to a school calaender, but Fall feels like change. Not a cozy changing of the leaves and settling in behind decorated doors, but the rythmic footfalls of the road. I think fall is a time for new adventures. Shambra must feel the same way, because we got married in the last muggy days of August and set out for the cooler tempurates of Canada five years ago, then we had our adventure and settled down to try out normallcy. Then a few Falls back I decided that maybe a baby would be a nice addtion to our family, by December I was ready. This Fall has brought new possiblities that begain with Shambra's call to Ministry about a year ago. He has sent out resumes and had phone calls and we have had an interview. Hopefully this Fall will bring new friends into our lives.