Beauty

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". It is a very true statement. Beauty can be found in the simplest form, but I think it is thought of more on a larger scale. The Grand Canyon, the Smokey Mountains, ect ect.

When I think of beauty I think of Isabelle's brown eyes, Joseph's birthmark, Alexis' funny ear, Michelle's multi-colored hair(and its all natural!), Brooke's hair.I think of a freshly fallen blanket of snow. A tiny kitten. A Minnesota sunset. The quiet when everyone is asleep. Tiny buds trying to break out in the spring. Little blades of grass fighting thru the muddy Minnesota soil. The first tulips of spring. Dennis' smile.

On the Road Again

Yeah! We are back on the road with Dennis, we love being together, even if it is a hotel room! So far Red Wing is wet, slushy and overcast! We are hopinh for some sunny weather sometime this week, from what we've been able to see it is very beautiful here. There are a lot of little shops to see, and I plan on seeing a lot of them today. We have spent the morning at Caribou Coffee, the kids are doing school and I am online. What more could a girl ask for, the nummy smells of a coffee shop, the kids sitting at little tables getting school finished up and me on my DELL. What a life!

We are all in one hotel room for now... but at least there is a little kitchenette! Tramp is all settled in, and the kids are doing great with school and looking forward to being finished for the year! I am so thankful for kids who are versatile! As long as they have a bed to sleep in and as long as we are all together they don't seem to complain.

I'm still trying to figure out if I should cancel cable and internet at the house, and garbage service... hmmm, I shall have to see I guess. It would save us quite a bit of money, and come May we will be out of state again, we will be canceling it all at that time anyway, but for now?...

I love being on the road again, even if it is only 200 miles from home! We are excited for the upcoming summer, and another 6-9 months on the road!

A New Love

Yes you read right, I have found a new love. I love to cook. I never felt this way about planning meals before. I love to go thru recipe books and find some new exotic recipe to try out! Last night we had Greek Chicken and Pasta, Monday night we had steak medallions smothered in saut'ed onions, mushrooms and garlic sauce, with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. Yum yum! Tonight we are having pulled pork sandwiches with bbq and sweet and sour sauce. Ok, some may not think this sounds exotic at all, but for us, it is! Who would have ever thought that my grocery list would ever contain things such as marinated artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes (which I could eat right out of the jar!) spinach, spinach and more spinach ( my kids LOVE spinach, fresh especially)and Havarty cheese. Hmmm, if you ever want to stop by for supper let me know and I'll make extra! Now I'd better run, I have to try to find some good side dish to go with our "summer in the winter" meal!

Anderson- table of 7

Just a few observations I have made

When we decide to go "out to eat", we have gotten to the point that waiting for 20 minutes really isn't a stretch for a family our size. At one time, we would tell them, we can squeeze into a booth, but those days are over as our children are continuing to grow!

Finding a vehicle is not easy. It has to be large enough for our family, preferably an 8 passenger, plus have enough cargo room for groceries. I know all of you are thinking that any minivan would work for us, but we have been there, done that, yes, they do have 7 seats, but honestly, I don't think they are made to be the only vehicle for a family of 7. For one thing, we have found that it does not have enough cargo space. If we are making a trip to Sam's, we found we had to leave the girls home, otherwise we would not have room for the groceries and tp. Also, we have gotten to the point that we need to look at space, as we travel thousands of miles with 5 kids and a dog and cat, on a monthy basis!! Oh, and those of you who have been to my home know that AWD or 4-wheel drive is a must for us to get up our driveway! (We have found that the GMC Safari, AWD, is the best vehicle for us.)Oh, and anyone looking for an older Dodge caravan, give me a call, I have one that I will sell to you for very cheap!

Staying in hotels can be a challenge. Most hotels will not allow more than 5 people to a room. It can be expensive, and frustrating!!

Sharing 1 bathroom... ha, you can imagine the challenges of that! Especially if we have the flu bug ( praise the Lord, we haven't had to deal with that yet this year!). Modesty takes a sideline when you have 7 people to get ready for church on a Sunday morning! Don't lock the door when taking a shower at my house, you'll hear pounding on the door within minutes, usually followed by an urgent, "MOM! I gotta' go.... BAD!!!"

The amount of laundry that I do on a daily basis is mind-blowing! Of course it doesn't help when you have 4 girls who can never decide what they want to wear.
I love my new washer and dryer, man can you pack a LOT in them!!

I dream of a larger house! 5 bedrooms would be wonderful, with a family/rec room in the basement! 2 bathrooms for the kids, and a master bed and bath for D and I... aww, what a life that would be! And my very own room just for my cardmaking and scrapbooking, and a schoolroom, that I could shut the door on and never have to look at when school is done for the day! It's fun to dream.

I look at my children, and it is all worth it. Our cozy 3 bedroom 1 bath house just allows us to be in constant contact with each other(literally!), it is very easy to know where everyone is and what they are doing at any given moment.

I love my life, and when I say "Anderson, party of 7",I will count my blessings,to soon it will be, "Anderson, party of 2".

Eleven

Alexis turned 11 today... I don't how to feel about this, my angel baby is growing up and turning into a beautiful girl, inside and out. She is my sweet girl, always so caring about others. She loves animals! Animals love her too, they seem to gravitate toward her :)

She asked to have a party of her own this year, as it is her last family party, with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. She has celebrated with her little sister since Belle turned one, a couple of years she celebrated with both Joseph and Belle, but this year she gets a party all of her own!

She helped make the cake, its a three tiered cake, chocolate on the bottom, spice in the middle, and marble on top. Then we made buttercream frosting and turned it blue! I frosted the cake but she decorated it, 4 bags of candy! Skittles(her favorite), humongo gumdrops, sour gummy worms, gummy lifesavers! UGH, cavity central. It looks adorable!

hmmmm, my babies are all growing up. but why do I still feel 16?