Merry Christmas 2009!!

Well, 2009 has definitely been quite a year! As we continue to settle back into San Diego, although it's been a big transition, God has provided for us in many ways. We are still learning that sometimes God has different plans in mind than you do, and they're usually better! :)  We are certainly blessed with Tim finding a job in April. We're still being challenged with learning to trust Him more and see where He guides us. 

We were lucky enough to be able to take a few, short trips. (Thanks to Grandpa working for Marriott!!) We also had some dear friends (and relatives!) make their way to visit our house too, which was wonderful!

The kids are such a fun energy around the house, and we're so enjoying their ages and very different personalities! They keep us laughing with the funny things they say! 

Delaney ("sissy, sis, Digs, Diggy"): 3rd grader, soccer player, hip hop dancer, art lover, math whiz, awesome big sister, helper extraordinaire, almost 9. "Mom, watch this!"

Cole ("Co-Co, Cocaloosh, Bunda"): 1st grader, basketball and baseball player, reading whiz, boogie board master, looked up to by Elliot, play date master, missing his two front teeth, almost 7. "Can I have someone over to play?"

Elliot ("Bubba, Bubs, Buddy"): preschooler, all sports player (currently football with Cole and Dad), train and trolley fanatic, makes up for other kids being at school by talking, 3 years old. "Can we go see the trolley show?" (which consists of sitting at the trolley stop watching it come and go.)

Tim ("Dad, Daddy, Honey"): working extremely hard at Life Technologies, enjoying time with family, (with his brother's help...) organizing Malawi coffee sales at Flood, looking forward to visit to MN.

Holly ("Hols, Mom, Mama"): enjoying managing the kid activities, tutoring part-time, running Momspace (mom's ministry at Flood), room mom, enjoying the beach again.

We hope this finds you all well. Thank you for being part of our extended family. Whether we see you often or rarely, we still value your friendships. May God continue to teach us all how to better worship Him!

Much love,

The Anderson Five

Elliot's Debut!

The Marshmallow Experiment - Instant Gratification from FloodSanDiego on Vimeo.

Check out this hilarious video that Flood just showed at church....it's a copy of a study Stanford did with kids on instant gratification.

If they could delay gratification by sitting in a room alone with one marshmallow until the facilitator got back, they would be rewarded with an additional marshmallow. If they cracked, succumbed to temptation by eating the marshmallow before she returned, they would not be rewarded with an additional one.

Eclectic Halloween...

Obviously no Anderson theme this year...just everyone doing their own thing! We had a great time hanging out with neighbors and the Wildeys joined us this year, which was awesome!! Good memories.

Fall Activities

It's been an eventful and fun Fall!

Gramps and Grammy made a visit out from Minnesota, which was so fun! We hit Legoland for the first time for Tim's birthday present! The kids LOVED it!!

The kids had a super fun weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while Tim and Hol went to the wine country for Todd's birthday extravaganza! We're still trying to decide who had more fun!!

Delaney is still enjoying and doing great at soccer this year.

We were able to meet up with our college friends in Santa Barbara for a little weekend getaway! Touring Westmont campus after the fire was definitely eye opening. We were able to meet two of the new babies in our group! Such a wonderful group of friends that we're so grateful for in our lives as well as the kids'.

We made our annual trip to Bates' Nut Farm with some great neighbor friends. I think the boys were more into the pop guns they purchased with their money instead of the pumpkins! :)

Big news...Cole lost his two, front teeth. In typical, Anderson fashion (since it grosses mom out), he pulled them himself! Guess we know what he's asking for for Christmas!!

Elliot never wants to go to preschool, but comes out smiling...hmmm. He loves to know the plan, and often makes it himself!

Definitely feeling blessed by God right now!!

Fall Routine...

Wow! Summer just flew by..maybe it's the fact that the kids really only have 9 weeks off. We're back at school, getting into the groove of what it's going to look like this year. The kids all have GREAT teachers, and everyone seems happy to go to school every day, so that's fabulous.

Elliot had his first day of preschool this week, which went well. The "potty training fast track" went on when the other two started school, but he's doing well with it! He's especially into mom's "potty dance" that she does when he's successful! Better than M&M's, apparently!

Cole is feeling and stepping up to the challenge of first grade. "Mom, first grade's hard. I don't know why...I'll tell you in the middle of the year. It's just a lot harder than Kindergarten." He opted out of a Fall sport, but is looking forward to basketball in the Winter.

Delaney is really enjoying school this year! Her classroom environment is a lot of fun! She's loving being back in her soccer mode, and is already starting games this week.

Hols is still tutoring 2 of her students from the summer and is hoping to pick up some more, preferably home school students that could be tutored while Elliot is at school. Until then, she's keeping busy with home projects as well as co-leading MomSpace, the young mom's ministry at church this year.

Tim is working incredibly long hours at his new job. He's definitely proven himself, just needing to pay dues for a little while. We're hoping that will slow down at some point. He's bombarded by the kids when he gets home at night, full of ideas of what they want to do with Daddy!

We got to go to a one day retreat with Flood, which was incredibly filling and therapeutic. The high dive was definitely a hit at the pool!

We're loving this stage of life, and are continually grateful for all that we have and the blessings of these kids. Our house is full and busy, and we love it!

Livin' it up...

Ok, hard to believe it's June already!! CRAZY!! We had a great April/May...sports wrapped up, Tim's getting settled in his new job, and we got to spend some really quality time with family and friends. Doug and Judy came out from MN, which was really fun. The kids are enjoying having more time to just play and hang out, instead of the rat race of events.

We also got to have our Westmont friends, minus a couple families in the midst of babies, come down for Memorial Day Weekend. As always, it was a great, quality time with dear friends whom we treasure and appreciate as sounding boards in our lives. Delaney is glad there are new, girl additions to the group! Events are certainly more kid-focused, which is fun.

We've been enjoying this stage and appreciating the laughs our kids bring! We're excited about Summer and having more spontaneous days, filled with outings and soaking up the sun.

Disneyland!!!

In celebration of Tim getting a job (Yahooooo!!!), we went to Disneyland for an overnight! It was Elliot's first trip that he was actually aware that he was chillin' with Mickey. We had a BLAST!! We hit California Adventure for a quick evening, spent the night, and then Disneyland the following day. Taking Elliot on the Matterhorn early in the morning may have been a mistake, as almost every ride after that we were asked, "Is dis one cowe (scary)? The cars were Elliot's fav, and Delaney and Cole getting picked to be Jedi's in the show was definitely a huge highlight! After many, yummy treats, TONS of rides, and lots of laughs, 4 out of 5 us of us fell asleep in the car on the way home! (Thanks, Dad!) Good memories.

Action packed!

It's definitely been an action packed month with the older two in sports and visitors in town. Cole is enjoying and doing well in baseball! It's fun to see him doing his thing! Delaney is also enjoying softball. The constant chanting and cheers from the dugout seem to be a favorite! Elliot...along for the ride!

We had a BLAST with two, dear, Minnesota neighbor families that came out for their Spring Break! We crammed a lot into those 10 days, and have lots of memories to prove it! We certainly soaked up some time at the beach, hit Sea World en mass, and enjoyed lots of late night conversations together. It was a fabulous time of reconnecting.

Tim's grandpa, unfortunately, passed away this past week. We will miss Papa dearly.

The biggest praise of this month...TIM GOT A JOB!!! We're so excited about him starting at a biotech company at the end of April. I'm proud of his persistence, positive attitude, and especially his trust that God would provide. He's an amazing example to so many, and I admire his ability to stay positive during a stressful time. The company is excited to have him, and will be blessed, I know, by his presence and expertise. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us...we really appreciate it!

March Already?

Wow! January and February flew by! I can't believe we're into March already. Tim is still hot on the job hunt (although awaiting a call back from an interview last week...), and Holly is pursuing possible part-time opportunities as well. Amazingly, and in crazy ways, God continues to provide for us, though, and we are in awe of how He works.

Just the two of us were able to take advantage of our Christmas present from Todd and head up to San Francisco! It was an INCREDIBLE, long weekend, especially with Todd's additional surprise of putting us up in the Marriott. We felt so spoiled, and rejuvenated when we got back. It was truly a gift!

The kids are well...neck deep in sports right now! Elliot still enjoys cruising around with me. We are REALLY loving the stages the kids are at, and appreciate the continued stories and laughter this house contains! The energy level is high, but very fun! We celebrated both Delaney and Cole's birthdays with experiences this year, instead of parties. Delaney chose horseback riding, so Hols quickly obliged and went on a trail ride with her, overlooking beautiful Tijuana! And Cole chose Boomers (arcade and mini golf). Three hours and a bunch of tickets later, we went home with a lot of little, junky items! :) But at least we had fun!

It was a sad day when Tim's car (aka: Dada's dodo) was returned this week. Elliot talking to Grandma on the phone: "Dad's car was yeased (leased), and the guy took it away."

Delaney scored the game winning run at her first softball game this week! She was SO proud!!

Cole's finally in his long-awaited baseball groove. League opener is Saturday!