Mama--we being sweet

...you take a picture of us?

Sweet and more than a wee bit cheesy!

Sometimes the goodness of God can be simply overwhelming. I just love being mommy!

As a godly mother reminded me again, treasure these moments when they're little. Despite the sleeplessness and diapers and endless laundry, enjoy the time when they like nothing better than to just sit and look into your eyes and smile or climb onto your lap for a story.

A wonderful visit.

My sis and sis-in-law had been planning a trip down to see us. I was so disappointed when it didn't work out, but it did open up the door for my mom and four sisters to make the trek down.

We had such a great time. It was my mom's first time to visit. There's something so special about getting to show your mom where "you play house"!

Most of the time we did girl things like sit around and talk, watch chick flicks, make food, enjoy the munchkins, go on long walks and talk some more, but I just had to take them all down town on game day for a feel of Alabama football.

It was quite a walk from our home to the square, so after the crowds cleared we stopped on the steps of the library to rest and just enjoy the lovely day.

William was most definitely out numbered- especially since Joshua was in Atlanta most of the time for a trial competition.

Despite what the pictures might suggest, he didn't mind the attention at all! Here he is in the cute little outfit his grandma brought for him.

Lydia and Bekka came with roller blades and spent many hours skating around the parking lot...much of the time pushing Rosalind or Kathryn on the little car.

Of course, we couldn't let the opportunity for sister pics (or aunt and niece!) to slip by.

I'm so grateful God has blessed me with such wonderful family! We miss them already.

Beethoven and the ABCs

I like rechargeable batteries, but learned my lesson the hard way: buy name brand. I couldn't figure out why our camera wasn't focusing or taking decent pictures lately and then realized that even the new freshly charged off-brand batteries weren't strong enough to charge the flash. Bummer.

Thanks to some Energizer batteries, here are a few pictures of the munchkins. William looks like he has something up his sleeve.

And here is a video of Rosalind and William in which Beethoven's glorious 9th symphony is unceremoniously interrupted for a toddler's recitation of her ABCs.

Beethoven and the ABCs from Anna Christensen on Vimeo.

..and a family picture

It's so fun to see our little family growing!

Okay, not exactly a family picture, but we finally captured a smile.

Thanks Mom!

A quick visit

Joshua's parents and brothers Timothy and Jonathon came down for a quick visit this past weekend. It was way too short, but we're so glad they made it. Joshua took Dad and Timothy to hear Justice Clarence Thomas speak and watch The Tide pull a hair breadth victory over Tennessee, but Mom and Jonathon came down just to see the munchkins. :)

These wraps are awesome! Mom brought down a matching set for Rosalind and me. While baby snuggles up close you can go on a walk, wash dishes, hang out laundry or even do the ironing! Thank you Mom. :)

Someone was awfully glad to see his Uncle Jonny again! He was almost laughing.

Timothy turned eighteen on Friday and we went out for bbq to celebrate.

Rose finally warmed up to him. :)

Even though we didn't all get to watch the game, Rosalind had to show Jonny the quad... and Big Al!

Three generations. For some reason, William didn't appreciate all the picture taking and made it extremely difficult to get a good shot. Oh well!

We had such a wonderful time and miss them already.

Hello there...

I'm hoping to get back into blogging regularly soon, but for now, just wanted to pop in and say hi. :)

No roaches

As I walked into our bedroom the other night to lay William down, I was just in time to see a hideous little roach scramble up the wall behind our bed.

"Darling, can you come here?"

"Is it a roach?" he asked. I didn't even scream, but I guess my voice was enough of a clue.

Before Joshua could come to my rescue, the roach crawled behind the curtain. When Joshua pulled it aside, shoe in hand, the nasty little critter dashed down and disappeared under the bed.

A cursory search under the bed failed to uncover it, so I proposed sleeping in the living room.

Joshua didn't like that idea, so he conducted a thorough investigation...

...until even I was convinced that THERE ARE NO ROACHES UNDER THE BED. Where he could have disappeared to is beyond me, but it's been two days and he's still in hiding. Roach traps are definitely top of my shopping list!

Little Will

It's hard to believe he's already one month old! As a complete stranger reminded me yesterday, "Enjoy every last minute... time passes all too quickly."

What if...

This spring, after a week of dreary drizzling days, I was laying on the bed, utterly exhausted and emotional from pregnancy and morning sickness and disappointment when a dear friend called. After telling me about what she had been up to, she asked, "Sometimes it feels like life just couldn't get any better, doesn't it?!"

"Um, I'm so happy for you..." I said, trying to avoid the question. I sure hoped "life could get better"!

This conversation keeps coming to mind. The days since William was born have flown by so quickly: full of answered prayers, sweet baby smiles, toddler kisses, time with my wonderful husband and the love of friends and family. Sometimes it seems that my cup of blessing simply couldn't contain another drop.

As I stood looking out the window a few weeks ago, with William and Rosalind peacefully sleeping, the sun shining brightly on my little garden and sending it's light dancing across the floor, a sudden feeling, almost of panic, seized me.

What if the fact that I'm so utterly happy now, means that postpartum depression will hit extra hard tomorrow? What if Joshua doesn't get a summer job again next year, even though he has worked so hard and done so well? Will I be able to handle his intense schedule knowing that all his hard work is not paying off like I want it to? What if William starts to get colicky and I don't get any sleep and the neighbor gets mad and...? What if, what if, what if...

And then I laughed. What if all those things happen? Will that change the fact that God is in control? Will His care for us cease? Of course not. And of course life will not always be full of supreme happiness unmixed with trials. Both are part of God's good gifts. I must learn to hold the blessings with open hands, knowing that He who gave can take away, but that either way His name should be blessed.

So spoiled

All summer long I'd been dying to plant my own little garden and watch it grow. Since we didn't come back home until the beginning of September, I didn't know how much I'd actually get to plant.

But I arrived home to four thriving garden boxes that Joshua planted while I was gone. He even caged them up to keep them from becoming kitty litter boxes. I'm so spoiled! Now if only I can keep from killing the plants...