7th Time Around

and babyhood is still full of surprises.

Look mom!! I am standing and I did it all by myself. What? What is that you say? I am standing a full 2 months ahead of everyone else. Sweet!
You know you think I am so cute that you can't hardly stand it.
And Mom, you have no idea that in a little while, Anne Michal and Elizabeth are going to try to get me to walk between them and I am actually going to stand by myself for a few seconds and take a step or two and then do it again!
Help!!!! I got up here and now I don't know how to get down!!!!
Sorry I am so short that you can't hardly get my face in the picture.
Seriously people!! Get me out of here!

A Little Photo Editing

So my sister was teaching Elizabeth how to use some photo-editing software and this is what she comes up with. Anne Michal said it was Emma in 10 years. Personally, I didn't find that comment nearly as funny as the picture! ;-)

Emma Turns Nine!!!

I had to use exclamation points because she was soooooo excited!!! This girl is definitely full of life and often dancing around and singing songs. I am not sure how it can be possible that she is 9. I am pretty sure it was just yesterday that she was Janey Kate's age.


The birthday banner has been up since May. A few more days and we'll retire it until October.
Her dinner request was strawberries, grapes and whipped cream. We also had other fruit and sub sandwiches.

She also wanted a chocolate cake with pink icing. I looked up a strawberry icing recipe and I think it will be an official Anderson icing. I am not a big cake person but this was a great cake!

Posing in her birthday outfit. I try to make her one each year. I managed to work on this one on the sly and she was quite surprised.
She also got some clay; Jack , she, and I made some paperclips, thumbtacks, beads, and pendants this afternoon.

Some of the projects cooling.


We love you and your nine-year old self Emma Claire!

Anne Michal Turns Fourteen

I'd love to try to tell you how great this kid of ours is and how grateful I am for her and her life but I'd just flub it up so instead I think I'll just elegantly say, "BWAHHAAAHHHAAAA! She's mine!"




She likes to make my life easy and picks the same ice cream cake every year though we do mix up the flavors. The cake is made by crushing up oreos and putting them in the bottom of a cake pan. Next you pour hot fudge over them to hold them together(and to add to their yumminess) and then layer two flavors of ice cream. Last you top with whipped cream.


She spent the two weeks before her birthday vacationing with another family to help with their children so while she was gone Elizabeth and I did a bit of a redo in her room. We painted 3 of her walls(the red one stayed the same), made some pillows, some wall art, curtains and elizabeth painted her dresser drawers though I forgot to take a picture of those. She had no idea we were doing it. I tried to get her reaction on video but besides the fact my camera card surprised me by being full, she ducked out of the way when she saw the camera. She played it pretty cool but she really likes it! I am thinking about kicking her out and moving in myself!



The corner of her room with her bed.

The wall art....strips of fabric sewn on "ticker tape" style and then wrapped around a wooden frame from IKEA.
The pillows...the middle one is a shag pillow and the last one has chalk cloth on it so she can change what it says. I recently discovered they make chalk markers. They are dust free and the "chalk" stays on until you wash it off.



Her curtains. Her windows have been naked since we moved into this house so it is nice to have them dressed!Not a great picture but you can better see the fun polka design on the curtains.
Both Anne Michal and Elizabeth got new bikes this year as they had long outgrown their old ones so off they go with a bit of freedom some wheels give you.

Mississippi Weekend Part II--Beach Pictures

We were able to go play on the beach twice while we were there. We went one morning with Mark and Robin and their kids and then Robin graciously kept Janey Kate while we went back late one afternoon. The kids had so much fun! It had been a long time since the older kids had been to the beach and the younger ones either hadn't been or didn't remember going!



chasing birds






Robin's Nathan
She absolutely love it!
Look! A train!
classic Jon Anderson pose
Robin's Sam with Jack






Everyone say, "Awwww..."

And never far from our minds, Elizabeth asked if we could write Knox's name in the sand

Things to Remember

Creed telling his Aunt Melissa over and over again, "I like you!"
---and by the way, he has three children, Lizzy, Aunt Melissa, and Grandma.

Shooshing Anne Michal and Elizabeth to tell them to go to sleep to have Anne Michal say, "We have a lot of catching up to do!" (She had been gone for 2 weeks) I am so glad they both love and like each other.

A Creed Funny

We were in the van driving at naptime and Creed was in the back rubbing his eyes. I asked, "Are you sleepy?" He answers, "Yes....I mean no."

In other news, Janey Kate is now has a fake cough. Her favorite time to fake cough, of course, is while eating.