Catholic Family

As I sat in Mass this morning, watching all the different people we have come to love enter the church and wave at Braxton and me, I had a deep ache in my heart. I am going to miss our parrish so much! Being Catholic has changed my life in so many wonderful ways. I was raised in the Church of Christ and my family has had a hard time accepting the fact that I have a new church home,.. well they still haven't accepted it actually and probably never will. The first time I went to mass was a pentecost Sunday. What first caught my attention was watching all the people taking their seats. They came in, bowed to the altar, and got on their knees. I had never experienced a church with such a strong connection to God before. Right away they were focusing on the real purpose of being there,.. to worship Him. They weren't gossiping about what so-and-so did last week or who was sitting in who's pew,.. they were there to experience holiness. I loved it! Where else should the word "Adoration" be spoken but when refering to spending time in God's presence? Catholicism isn't for everyone and that's ok. But it is DEFINATELY for me. During a time in my life when everything seemed to be spinning out of control, I found the church and it has captured my heart ever since. I LOVE going to mass. I LOVE serving in His mass. I'm going to miss Most Blessed Sacrament so much and I can only pray God brings us to a wonderful parrish in Utah for Brax to grow up in. To everyone from church who reads this,.. thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love and friendship.. you will always be a part of our family.

It's about time I write something!

I'm sorry I haven't written a post in quite a while. We found out last week that we are moving to Utah and have been running 90 mph ever since. Trying to sell our house in this market at this time of year is brutal! We try to keep everything looking like a page from Better Homes and Gardens but with a 6 month old,.. it's almost impossible! We'll be in Utah by January and I couldn't be more excited!!! I've been praying to raise Braxton in the mountains like his daddy but was starting to think the dream wasn't coming true. But dreams do come true and pretty soon my beautiful mountains will be there to greet me as I have my morning coffee. I can't wait. I'm also a little scared too. Even though we have great friends and awesome family to take care of us, the fact is we will be homeless for a while. It scares me because of Braxton. This is his first year and I have so many pictures but no walls, and I don't want all this change to be so stressful on him. I'll do whatever it takes to make him comfortable. Everything will be great and I'm gonna be a mountain girl!!! Watch out Utah! This Texas southern bell is going to teach everyone to say "Y'ALL"!!!!!!

The Race

As I watched our little guy sleeping on the baby monitor last night, I started thinking about how fast he is changing and growing up. It seems it wasn't so very long ago that I felt his foot push against my stomach and felt the vibration from his hiccups. I was thinking about the great race of life. You're in the hospital, pushing that last push, and BANG! The baby enters the world and he's off! He's running his own race. Of course his track will run along side mine for a while, but one day it will branch off in his own direction and, if God allows, will long outstretch my track by many years. But if life is a race, what is the finish line? Death? That's a bit depressing. Eternal Life/Damnation? That's what Paul had in mind. What if eternal life isn't real? What if the whole concept of heaven is a hoax? Something we tell ourselves and family to feel better. Like where our puppies go when we're little. Can you believe in God and not heaven? Can you believe in Hell without heaven? Maybe the finish line, in this particular race, isn't the goal. Maybe it's the joys we experience along the way. The spouse we travel down the track with, the children we start on the tracks of their own, the beauty we see along the way. Maybe the point isn't what is in it for our eternal souls, but how we inspire the souls we meet along the journey. For now, I whole heartily believe in heaven and hell; if for no other reason than the way it helps me be a better person. But I truly believe the point is to be that awesome person without a reward in view. One day I hope I'm that person.

Beautiful Days!

The weather outside is incredible!!! The temperature feels great, the plants have gotten a drink and I finally got some much needed sleep! I felt a little guilty this morning when I eventually woke up and heard Braxton yelling for me over the monitor but I feel so rested and he has already forgiven me. :) Kody is singing this Saturday at a wedding so my nightly piano time has been paused so he can practice and prepare. Oh the things we do for our soulmates! :) He's an amazing singer and it's been so nice to have the sound of his voice filling the house again. Brax has figured out how much fun it is to spit food at my face. :( The aggrivating part is how hard it is not to laugh! I have to turn my head and smile so he doesn't think he should keep doing it. I guess I should really get used to that. He has also started this new slapping and pinching phase. Ouch! As new parents, we watch our sleeping newborns and dream of the day when they start noticing the world around them and interacting with us; well I'm here to tell you ENJOY THE SLEEPING PHASE!!!! Once they start being more alert, so must you! Everytime I start wishing Brax would outgrow something, I hear the song "It won't be like this for long" and realize one day I'll miss the moments that are in my life right now. So enjoy everything, yes, even those stinky diapers because one day they'll be waving as they drive to college and you'll miss these days,.. all of them.

True Love

I wanted to write a post dedicated to the wonderful man I have married. Kody and I met through my mom January of '07 and after a long distance start of friendship, through emails, started dating mid April. We were engaged in May and married June of '08, and he has been my best friend and the best husband anyone could ever want. He is an incredible daddy to Braxton and my life is more complete than I could have imagined. Every day I get to wake up and see him lying next to me is a gift from God and I enjoy that gift more than he knows. He is my soul mate and a perfect fit in my life. His family has taken me in and accepted me not just as a daughter in law, but an Anderson as if I always have been a part of the family. I love my husband and look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.

p.s. I finished the book,.... AWESOME.

Reading

This summer I've been reading a lot of books. I forget how much I love to read when I'm in school since I usually have so much homework. I'm currently reading a Nicholas Sparks' book called "The Lucky One" and it's pretty good so far (I'm halfway through it). I love how unassuming books are! Movies have commercials and trailers that just beg you to watch them and brag about the big names they have starring in them; books are like secrets that are waiting to be unlocked. Sure they might have a picture on the cover and a short blurb if you are curious, but you still are completely surprised when you actually read the book and enter into the world the author has created. Even more incredible is the way books have no limits to the possibilities they can create! Movies are getting close to having this quality but they'll never be as free to create as books are. Just some thoughts I was having last night,... YAY BOOKS! ;)

If I thought Breast feeding sucked,.. now I'm feeding with a spoon!!!

It's amazing how rice cereal manages to get EVERYWHERE! On the bib, on his face, on his hands, down his shirt, down my shirt?!?! The first week of feeding him was so frustrating! He would pay attention to everything except what I was trying to get him to do. I had to really watch myself and remind myself that he didn't know what he was supposed to do; it's all new to him. A couple of weeks have gone by and not only is he eating better, he's eating 3 tablespoons of cereal each feeding!!! He has to eat 4 before he can start on jars of fruit. I'm so proud of his progress and also fascinated by the realization of what we learn as humans. We are the most advanced species and yet we have such humble beginnings! So many animals are born with the capability of eating and walking but not us! We have to depend upon our parents (or guardians) to nurture us and teach us these vital lessons to help us survive. Just a little thought for a Sunday evening. :)

Helpless

Can there be a more helpless feeling than when your child is sick? Braxton has been so congested the last three days that it is hard for him to breathe. The first night I was up almost the entire night putting saline drops down him and using the bulb syringe (which he absolutely hates!) and trying to help him sleep. He is finally starting to get better but now the hubby is not feeling well. OH BOY! I love Kody dearly but, like all men, he's the biggest baby when he gets sick! I'll take care of him as well as I can and hopefully have him back to feeling his oats soon. The only one who CAN'T get sick is me! Moms don't get sick days... who made that rule?!?! I need to meet with someone and get that changed!

My Little Man

The Joy of my life is only 5 months old and a little over 2 feet tall. Kody and I weren't trying to have a baby quite so soon, but a month after the wedding I got pregnant. Once I got over the initial shock,... I was so incredibly happy!!! I was so sure it was a girl. I told EVERYONE it was a girl,.. well that was the beginning of me incorrectly thinking I had this motherhood thing all figured out! I started to get used to the idea of having another male in the house (toilet seats!) and now I am so excited about all the fun things he and I can share. Recently I read Treasure Island and all I could think about was reading the pirate voices with him when he's older!
Kody and I have been so blessed with such a good natured baby. He is so smart and alert,.. we are in BIG trouble!!! Being a mom has changed so much of my perceptions of the world; traffic, the lack of baby changers in restaurants, how yucky poop really is,.. and I know it's only going to get better and better! Here's to all the fellow mommies out there! God give you some much needed strength and patience!