Anderson's Gender Reveal Party!!!

New Blog

Our blog has moved over to wordpress. I keep getting errors in blogger and I hope to resolve it soon but it has been unsuccessful.. I will keep this one because it has so many morsels of funny I can't give it up.
 To those who would love to take a peak. We are over at www.andersonandsons@wordpress.com

We have had another full and exciting year with our 4 boys! We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wow, 2015 seems a little unreal sometimes :)

New House and New Beginnings

We are finally getting settled into the new house. We still have got a long way to go before we are comfortable but we are fixin to get there. Yes, I used the word fixin and that means here in Texas about to or getting ready to how ever you want to put it!

Last July my Father passed away from a heart attack. We were currently at that time looking into buying a house for cash outright. My take on it was if you are going to live in the white trash ghetto(maybe that is a little harsh but we have seen some crazy shizzle around these parts) sticks of Texas you might as well do the best you can. Houses around here go for pretty cheap especially because of the foreclosures. Let me tell you they are not the ritz and well I had to except that long ago. When we first moved here we thought we were getting a steal on the house. Well we soon realized the big scam we had fell into and quickly started to search for a way out.  So with the money my Dad had left me the money in savings and the money that my Mom let us borrow we got this house for cash. $28,500 to be exact. The house is small but was completely remolded inside and it was certainly a step up from the house we were originally living in and fixing up. It also sits on 3 acres and is out of the flood zone, glory, glory hallelujah !   The decision came to stay here to ensure that I could continue to stay home full time with the boys. I never realized how hard it would be giving up my income.  My husband calls me his sugar Mama, one thing I was good at was making money. Well that sugar went dry moving out here and it has been a huge struggle on one income. So we decided to plant our roots here, dig our feet in and get a little more dirty!
 
 Did I mention we live in the ghetto? Yes, just last week our new neighbors dog pooped on the kids slide. For real what dog does that? Of course our neighbor got told that we would shoot his dog if we seen it again on our property. Zach and I make friends very quickly around these parts ha,ha.The other neighbor across the way accused us of stealing their goat and their rooster...People please, I got better things to do, well let's hope I do ha,ha.  I'm hoping to have more ridiculousness to share in the future but for now here are some pics of the new place!

                                 The new garden beds in progress

   We have sand soil instead of clay so Mom has had to adapt to the new soil the kids enjoy playing in the sand though!

 And here she is 1200 sft of pure awesomeness or ghettoness depending on the day, haha

                                    Keynan helping Dad with garden beds.

Owning 3 acres is great but it is a lot to maintain. Luckily we have strong boys who help  us with the chores around the house and yard!

                            Thayne looking like Mr. cool on the riding mower

                                 The garden plot before the beds were put in.

We are alive!!!!!!!!!

    Hello out there!!!!! So much for blogging more this last year! We did accomplish most of our to do's except the blogging!!! I have been meaning to post because there is so much excitement I can hardley wait to tell anyone out there that might be looking in!!!!!!

Well in 2012 we did run a 5k, we got a new computer(regretfully it is not a new mac), We got a car for me!!!! I planted a mild size garden. The schedule is still a work in progress as I realize I am an undiscplined mess and a huge procrastinator!!!!

We also discovered some of our lab values are low and we were diagnosed with low thyroid levels.(Hypothyroid) I mention this because both Zach and I caught this in search of his chronic pain issues. I wish I could blame all the up's and downs of the last year on that  but it is mostly allowing negative emotions and other peolple's toxic behaviors and treatment and  negative opnions and gossip to dictate our destiny. I can say I am feeling like a new person with some self worth after removing myself away from these certian people. Zach also has removed himself long before I have and I am just following suit. Enough about that stuff though we are bound for contentment and investing more time with each other and our boys!!!

I am not sure when I will get back on here to catch back up but here is a list of all that is keeping us busy these days!!!

The boys started Soccer in the fall of 2012 and they will continue in the Spring of 2013. They no longer want to pursue baseball soccer has become their mojo! Keynan is also playing soccer even though he is not interested maybe because Mommy is the coach?

We finally got to start them in basketball(one of Mom's favorite sports) We have a winner here too!!! They both love it and are doing farely well for just starting!

All the boys just started a homeschool co-op which is just what they needed. The twins go to a chemistry/ Physics class and Keynan is doing a Where does it come from class. This last week the twins made ballon powered  vehicles and Keynan made bread and learned about raw milk.

Zach got a drum set for Christmas and he has wanted one since he was 12!!!!! He is teaching the boys how to drum and they love it too. He still is of course playing bass guitar, guitar, banjo and singing and writing his own music on the side! He is currently helping me with a lot of my unfinished songs. We also completed are studio setup and we are gearing up to build a recording studio sound proofed and all. A life long dream for both of us.

Zach left the big fancy manger positon at his job about a year ago. He is now working at a small engine shop learning how to fix all sorts of stuff. He now can fix our chain saw and mowers and he is learning 4 stroke engines as I type. He is also their main delivery guy. This helps because we have still yet to find out what is causing so much arthritis pain. So having a break from the manual labor helps. Zach is currently debating to take a few more semesters at Sam Houston University to finish his BFA in Art. This would open him up to so many more jobs but we refuse to go in debt over it so we are waiting to hear back from a current graphic job that does require the paper trail.

Randa is busy preparing meals, doing laundrey, cleaning, homeschooling, Yelling at the kids when they don't listen, threatning to take away all sports if shoes and pants are left on the living room and bedroom floor...I am amazed how much a mess they all can make!!!!!!!!  Trying to catch them outside to wheel them in to read is like pullig teeth..not so bad lately they have dicovered a mild passion to read. They like History and science and math and music and they are discovering they must read to know more about these subjects... So even though I would love to say my kids are picking up the Chronicles Of Narnia and reading aloud, it is a pipe dream in itself!!!!

Randa has also done a few photo shoots in the last few months. I still have projects that are half way through.. I hope to catch up on this month. I hope to catch up before the few Wedding Gigs I have coming up. It is exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time.. I wish there was a Mommy/Randa clone!!!!  I also have a few cleaning jobs I do once a week. I trade one of the ladies for Piano lessons..  My life long dream of piano lessons is coming true in my 30's and it sure has helped having a teacher because I am a self taught mostly on my guitar!!!!

I also have been studying more and more of God's word and I am teaching a class on Proverbs 31 at the church Zach and I started attending about a year ago. It is teaching me alot and I will hopefully have a few posts on that!!!!! No promises though I am wondering how in the world to keep up with all of this!!!!!!

Anyhow we are surely alive and still kicking!!!!! We are enjoying so much of our life that sometimes we feel we don't need sleep!! I guess we just feel really blessed and grateful to have one another... We have not kept in touch with everyone so much! So here is a big shout out to all of you who peak in from time to time!!!!!

Love always,

Randa

Happy New Year!

Wow, is it really already the 17th of January? Already?  Well I was thinking I better get my New Years post in before it was to late. I have a lot of aspirations this year which I do every year. This year is a little different though. I've realized I need to improve on a lot of things. My focus is my health which includes exercise, sleep, and healthy eating habits. I want to make fitness and eating right a life style. It is going to take a lot of failures to get it right but I'm willing to work hard for it!  My other big focus of course are my boys. I will be working with them extensively in this next year on school. They are getting to the age where they are ready to soak up all the good stuff.

We recently decided to give Kung Fu a try. We have yet to make it to the first session due to sickness. We hope to start the beginning of Feb. The boys also want to play baseball starting the end of Feb. All I know is I better have a car by then! We are thinking of putting them into some sort of music lesson once a week. I feel this will give me a break on some of the teaching but Zach and I can work with them each week while they practice.

I have had to except putting some of my goals on hold. I would really love to sing again in a choir or take a night class in art, or play my guitar or run a photography business but the reality is I can barely keep up with the laundry half the time. I have to except that those personal goals of mine must wait. It is awesome though because I love schooling my boys and I know deep down that, this is my calling right now.


I loved the idea my friend had of building a dream board each new year.  Since My computer still will not run any Adobe software I thought I'd post my dream board from 2009.  Even though some of the endeavors have changed or increased they are mostly the same. 

My major goals the next few months! Get a new computer! Run a 5k! Get a car! Plant my garden! Keep a good routine with the boys! Oh and I didn't mention I will be learning how to milk a cow very soon!

Happy 2012!

Thanks Holli for inspiring me once again! I think my family and I will make dream boards for this year soon. I will have to bust out the magazines to do it. This one was made in photo shop!

Christmas Is Here 2011!

This was so awesome and is still set up to play with!

Zach the night before getting all the last touches finished.

The Harajuku Perfume I snuck in my stocking! I got it for pennies at CVS!

A New Wii because our old one sucks and buying two new remotes would of cost the same, so I did the evil deed and agreed! I really wanted to play super Mario brothers all day and that is what we did in the evening. I can say I like Nintendo because of the non-violent games. I'm not to hip on the games in my home but I've had to compromise a little. I figured Mario  didn't rot my brain to bad so I think the kids will be okay.. Key word there, "I think".

Harujuka Girls I am your biggest fan! Anyone that knows me knows I'm a huge Gwenabee!!!

A new Book!

A new Double barrel .12g Shot gun! My hubby got me a few weeks before Christmas! I'm a terrible aim with a .22 so he said with this I would have a hard time missing!

I was seriously surprised when I opened this. I really thought that my Harajuku perfume that I bought for myself was the only thing I would be opening. My Mom and Zach schemed this one and I can say I love it so much! It was a bonus having over 500 books already downloaded to upload to it! Gotta love those coupon blogs!

Christmas Day was amazing this year! The first year Zach and I decided to stay home with each other and the kids! Let me say that again we decided to stay home with the kids and start our own family traditions! The first year in 12 years where we didn't have to arrive somewhere else. We all got to relax and play with our new toys. We plan on doing this next year and every year after that.

 The kids were over due for new bikes! They had no idea and they were pretty excited running out in the morning yelling Bikes, bikes,bikes!  I would of loved to hid them in the forest but we had a wet(or should I say muddy) Christmas so we decided to just leave them under the tree.

 Next year we want to make Christmas more about giving our time to the less fortunate. I figure the kids will be old enough to do soup kitchens. Maybe we can create our own food drive?? I just feel the need to show them a giving heart and not in the form of material stuff.  I hated giving in to the corporatism of the Holiday this year. It is really against a lot of our standards these days.  Zach and I discussed giving gifts to the kids through out the year when they least expect it. I tend to not purchase anyhting all year and then I get clothes and a few toys for Christmas. Even though I feel that we spoiled them, I mostly got them stuff they needed, only a few random toys. I don't think we over did it but I want my boys to know the true meaning of Christmas and not to expect gifts during this time of year. We kind of feel that we've shot ourselves in the foot by the last few years doing the whole gift thing. WE defiantly had a few lessons taught on Christmas  this year when Ayden was opening up gifts that were mostly cloths. He got mad and said, "this sucks Mom all we are getting is cloths". Well we reminded him that Mom needs cloths for them and Grandpa(and all my side of the family) send clothes because they know you need them. Of course there was more of a lecture then that but you get the drift.

The Parenting from here on out is sure going to get tough. We want to instill all we can within our boys. Sometimes its hard to know how to approach things. That's why I will admit I have every self help book out there(well maybe not all of them,he,he) I want to be my best and teach my best. Sometimes I  don't know what my best is until I really start to delve into my standards. Zach and I hope to continue to ask questions and seek the best possible answers, to know our standards and live by them. Which we do but a few standards have changed over the years.. Some have stayed the same with different reasoning behind them.

These pics are from our i-phone(which I have to note was cancelled and is now only an i-pod). I really want to practice what we preach and having an i-phone when you are poor is just silly! I have a bunch more pictures of course that I hope to post but I'm not making any promises.. I'm so behind on the blog and well a lot of other aspects of my life. I hope to catch up if only the time would freeze for a good few months!

I hope everyone who is reading this had a great Christmas! I'm grateful to know that my Savior was born and I am grateful for Mary's example. What a miracle Christ's birth is. I'm glad to know and share a personal relationship with Jesus and I'm glad that he shares every bright light in my life and every dark corner!

Getting ready for Christmas.

And the wrestle match begins!

       The Holidays seemed to come so fast this year. At least for all the traditions I would of liked to have started, I guess those will have to wait until next year.  We had stockings this year(last year we didn't) because I got them at Target on clearance after last Christmas. We need to work on getting more ornaments. A few broke while the kids and the dog would run by the tree. Oh well I  that's why I look for the clearance stuff after Christmas! Oh we also got the red star on top of the tree this year. I think I got it for 68 cents because I had a 20% off at Target!