Happy 16th Birthday Joelle!

Happy 16th Birthday Joelle Jayne! Joelle is a fabulous sister-in-law who has a great spirit and is always ready to laugh! Love you Jo- L- E! Happy 16th. Watch out world...she will soon be driving!

come!

The past few mornings this week, Maxwell and I have spent sitting on the porch. It has been a nice time for both of us to sit and relax and watch the world around us begin their day. Maxwell enjoys waving to the cars, and watching the power line guys ( not sure what their title officially is at the moment...hey I'm pregnant!) do their work. The funny thing is though when people walk by. He tells them to "come". I have realized that this is coming from me. You see twice a week I pick up a friends son from school and take him home until about 5, when she comes home. They have a really fun black lab that I watch too, Maxwell loves to take her for walks and at times we sit on her beautiful wrap around porch and Max and Tish (the dog) play in the yard. Tish is really well trained and listens well. She tends to get her nose a sniffin' and begins heading down the street following whichever scent has peaked her interest. So when she begins to wander, I call out, "Tish come!" Sometimes I have to say it twice, and Max has caught on. Whenver I say it now, he stands next to me, like he is in charge and repeats it. It is pretty funny, he says it with such authority. The problem now is he is saying it to people. Last night we were sitting out again, and he kept saying "come, come, come!" to a woman on a brisk walk; she did not know what to think...or if he was even talking to her. I could not help but laugh. What stories I have, being a mother.

welcome back sun!

hello...

lovin' the sun

lazin' around

cleaning...

Ah spring cleaning, nesting...whatever you want to call it; I am in the midst of it.

Since we will be moving in a few short months...I am trying to get rid of as much clutter as possible. It took me awhile to get in cleaning mode, but I am in it full swing. Two weeks ago I dropped off five bags of old clothes and stuff that has not seen the light of day since we have been married to goodwill. Last week I sold some stuff to Platos closet (a second hand clothing store) and made some dough on some of our old things we have not looked at in years. It was actually pretty funny because Justin was upset because I got rid of some shorts he had( that were seriously hideous and not to mention probably from 1996). The second hand store rejected them because they were too outdated so I took them to goodwill. He was upset when he realized they were gone, and just knows he will see some guy wearing them around town. Doubt it. They will probably burn them. They had to go.

I have to admit, I may have an illness, at least as far as my kitchen is concerned. I cannot stand even a dish in the sink let alone things on the counter. I like them tucked away in the dishwasher or drying on the drying rack after being washed. I am a little more chill when we have guests, I can usually wait until they have gone but I may have an illness. When I used to babysit when I was younger, I would clean and scrub kitchens for the kids parents, they loved it but I did too. When Justin and I started dating I cleaned my now in-laws kitchen all the time too after we ate, but then I realized it was pointless because my father-in-law would come re- arrange the dishes in the dishwasher...like I would do if someone loaded my dishwasher! I think he has a touch of this illness in the kitchen too.

Anyway, back to the cleaning I reorganized our pantry and all our cabinets in the kitchen, Maxwells room is organized, our closet is looking quite nice, and the laundry room is at its best! I have to say it feels good to have it all done, although I am sure in the future, with more children and a bigger place it may not be the case. But I am sure there will be the days when my cleaning illness tendancies will kick in and it will all start over again.

27 weeks

How blessed am I?

Mom and Maxwell...after some chocolate covered Stawberries!

I love being Mom to this sweet boy!

Happy Mothers Day!

You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.Richer than I you can never be-I had a mother who read to me. - Strickland Gillian.

Just a few thoughts. In case you did not know, I have been blessed with three Moms. Yes three.
The first is my Mother Cherie. This woman I am most partial too, she has put up with me her whole life after all! Being the only daughter I would say that I have have been extra blessed since I get her all to myself as far as girly things are concerned. This has been a nice benefit. My Mom (who is often mistaken for my sister) has always been there for me no matter what is so patient. She is gentle in response to all her children and this is an amazing quality. Something I hope I can be with my children. Her love for Christ and her desire for others to know and love him more makes me want to be more like her. She was not perfect but she did a heck of a good job parenting four chidren, especially with three boys to follow me. I am so thankful to be able to spend the time I do with her since we live only a half-hour away from each other.

The second woman is someone who has been in my life since the day I was born, my Aunt Sue. This woman means so much to me, I don't think she will ever know how much she has impacted my life. As kids we all spent a lot of time at each others homes, and when I was at my Aunts house, I was treated like one of her kids which always made me feel great. She even punished me, I will NEVER forget getting my mouth washed up with soap! But she has raised four incredible children of her own, Jeff, Vanessa, Nicole, and Josh. Vanessa, Nicole, and I have been the best of friends since, well since our first meeting as infants! What I love most about her is her encouraging words. Through the years I have recieved many letters and notes from Sue, always ending with encouraging words from Gods word. I have a letter she sent me at a really hard time in my life posted on one of our bathroom mirrors and everytime I step out of the shower I see it; and not only think of her but am encouraged by the words of our Savior.
Lastly, but certianly not least is my Mother-in-law I gained nearly four years ago. My relationship with Jane means so much to me. Besides her amazing scrapbooking, her sense of humor is like mine, so we get each other very well. She has been an amazing Mother to all of her six kids, but most amazing is having Jared at home and seeing her care for her oldest son. Everyday I know is hard, living his accident over and over; but she does it, and amazes me so.
I am so thankful to have these three women in my life! I have some other women I am so thankful for and look up to, but these three make the top of the list!

Happy Mothers Day!

(annerswanson.4/24/2006)


“Sincere friendship towards God, in all who
believe him to be properly an intelligent,
willing being, does most apparently, directly,
and strongly incline to prayer; and it no less
disposes the heart strongly to desire to have
our infinitely glorious and gracious Friend
expressing his mind to us by his word,
that we may know it.” - Johnathan Edwards

baby talk.

So two of the three babies are named. Ours being the no name...seems wrong since I am such a planner!
Daughter of Wally and Vanessa: Samantha Schoen Boss.
Son of Marc and Nicole : Miles Aaron Tantillo
us?: no idea!

This little one has been VERY active. Maxwell was active, but this baby is going all of the time...makes me wonder if this one will be a handful. Not that Maxwell has not been a handful lately. But he is a toddler, it comes with the territory right? The hardest part about the age Maxwell is at is communication. He can say some words, and a lot of times we can guess what he wants through gestures, but he gets frustrated, as do we when we are not understanding each other. It is going to be interesting to see how it all works out when this new one arrives. I admit I am a little sad to see some of our time together diminish when the baby comes, but glad to give Maxwell a sibling, and for us to have another child!

Pray that all the Mommies would stay healthy and the babies would have a safe and healthy delivery.

We are so excited to meet them all!

(photo by my Dad at Easter- Me: 22weeks, Nessa: 24 weeks, Nic:17 weeks.)

thinking about sin...

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen." - 1 Peter 5:6-11

Sometimes I realize, I am not paying any attention to myself. I am living my life unaware of the things occurring around me, the things that may be causing me to be lead into temptation, and to sin. We do get caught off guard many times, not really realizing how we got there, but this is no excuse! We need to be aware of what we are doing everyday, trying to live a life pleasing to the Lord, seeking his guidance so that we might enjoy him more, making satan more mad! He loves to try and lead us into darkness, into emptiness, but hold firm on to Chirsts' hand. He will try harder but we must resist him, and with Chirsts' help we will conquer him!
Satans lies have lured us all into many different sins. The thing is there is no such thing as little sins, sins worse than others. Sin is sin. I think sometimes we tend to think this way, "oh I would never do that" or, "how could they do that?" We should NEVER talk that way. We are all capable of anything (even though we might truly believe WE would NEVER do that), so we should never let our guard down. Satan has many ways of luring us in, in tempting us to ruin our soul. He is so good at being deceitful he tries to justify sins through different ways of manipulation.
Like 1 Peter says, "be self-controlled and alert." Be aware of what is occurring in your life. Satan is always lurking around, trying to catch us off guard, at our weak moments, and he is good, boy is he good sometimes.

" Little sins lead to big ones. Satan! Thou biddist me commit a small iniquity. I know whom thou art, thou unholy one! Nay, stand back! Little though the temptation be, I dread thee, for thy little temptation leads to something greater, and thy small sin makes way to something worse."- Charles Spurgeon.

pancake obsession

I cannot get enough pancakes. For the last three weeks Maxwell and I have had pancakes every morning for breakfast. Sometimes he will reject the pankcake, so I give him cereal, but every morning my belly gets a nice filling of pancakes, and usually by lunch I am still full so I have fruit or yogurt for lunch. Yummy spring foods. I have tried a few different brands and kinds of pankcakes and the Krustaz Wheat and Honey pancake mix takes the cake. So tasty! The best thing is you can try different combinations with pancakes, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, choclate chips, or just plain. I am not sure when this obsession will end, but I am loving it in the meantime!

leftovers from April

pj's

a great love for the game

bath time

a favorite place

Greenway Station

April showers, May flowers?

Today is May 1st right? Who would have guessed, it is raining...and it is supposed to keep up all week long. I am holding out hope that the sun will peak out here and there though!
We had a pretty chill weekend, well Justin actually was working pretty hard on his final research proposal due today, but as for Max and I we did a lot of relaxing and a few fun outings. After putting Maxwell to bed Saturday night I thought about what I had just prayed with him, that he might grow and love the Lord, that Justin and I would be good examples to him through our love for Christ, and that we might daily seek him to know him more. Sure I prayed this, but am I putting it into action?
Thinking about it more, of course I am not. Other than praying with Max at night we do not spend time talking with him about God or reading children's books (that I do have) with Bible stories, even though he may not fully understand them yet. At his age he does a lot of observing, he is developing his vocabulary and watches a lot of what Justin and I do. So, spending time ( a set aside time during the day I do it at night when he is in bed, but who says I cannot do it twice a day) each day in the word would be good for him to observe. If he wants to sit with me I can read out loud what I am reading even though he does not understand the words. This is just one idea.
Justin and I were supposed to attend a seminar at church about a month ago about this very thing, but we missed it due to being too busy...of course. Lame excuse, we need to make it to the next one, I am sure it would be very helpful to us both.
It is God's will that the family be preserved and that parents assume primary responsibility under God for getting Biblical knowledge into the heads and hearts of their children.

Proverbs 23:24,25. -"The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice; and he that begets a wise child shall have joy in him. Your father and your mother shall be glad, and she who bore you shall rejoice."

Happy Nurses Week!

So I guess this is nurses week, but officially Nurses Day is May 6. I know some pretty great nurses. But my two favorites are my sister-in-law Julia, and a nurse from my Dads office, who also goes to our church, Gwen!
I never appreciated nurses more than during my 36 hours of labor, without the nurses (and my husband) I do not think I would have coped as well as I did. They were there at the drop of a hat, and coached me through each contraction, and always knew just what to say. Makes this time around less stressful!
But back to Julia, who works at UW hospital, the same hospital we spent many days and nights at when Jared had his accident back in 2002. I am so proud of her to be working there, helping out others in need of her care and hearing the stories of her how silly she gets after long hours and little sleep...pulling pranks on the the Residents and Doctors :)
How can you not love Gwen, so sweet and her voice so re-assuring, she always makes patients feel comfortable and calms any worries. She is just great!
So, HAPPY NURSES WEEK to my two favorite nurses!