PHOTO BOY

Years ago I did a lot of photography for fun. I enjoyed finding fun places and things to shoot. I really enjoyed using lighting and angles. I did use color when shooting a friends engagement (remember this is when you had to have film and had to choose which one you were going to shoot) but my love was shooting in black and white. I believe that you can get very creative this way. I have posted a few pictures and I plan on adding more soon. Someday I would like to afford a digital camera like my Nikon FM and my Canon AE-1 so that I can pick up this hobby again.

KISSES

Last week our son was having a tough week at school and at home. The anger outbursts that we had not seen in full force for awhile were out of control and we were not sure what was causing them or what to do. Fast forward to last Saturday and Liz was cleaning up his room. Under his bed was a nice neat pile of 20-30 Hershey's Kisses wrappers left over from our Valentines Pizza Party. It seems that our boy has been on a super sugar high! We have since moved the bowl of kisses from the living room and working on bring him down to his sweet lovable self!

WHAT A WEEK...

Last week I was checking the local weather forecast and I was excited to see that it was going to be beautiful outside. The temperature was going to stay around the 70's-80's and it was time to get some work done outside. I had thoughts of mowing the lawn after it's winter snooze and clearing out some plants, start building our raised garden and doing some more work in the garage. Monday showed up and both Liz and I were not feeling great. I just had a sore throat so I let Liz rest while I took care of the kids etc. By 5 PM I hit the wall and I was now sick with the flu. On Tuesday I also lost my voice and my throat felt like sandpaper! With my throat and stuffy nose feeling the way that it was I also could not get any sleep. Liz had to try and keep up with the house and deliver 150 boxes of girl scout cookies. That night Kevin Gardner and Doug Fett came over and give me a blessing to get well. By Thursday morning I made an appointment to see my doctor. I dragged myself there and found out that I had strep throat which I have never had before. They gave me a shot, a prescription for antibiotics and for cough syrup with codeine! "There is no pain you are feeling"...

I am now starting to feel better and my voice is starting to come back. It is still not fun because I need to stay away from the kids and anyone else because I do not want to get anyone else sick so for now I also want to get stuff done around the house but I am under orders by Liz to just rest. So I am just resting and dreaming of all of the stuff I can get done...... next week!

DIET PEPSI

I have a love for Diet Pepsi. I always have had a love for it. I grew up on regular old Pepsi but I went diet in 1987. I try hard to limit my intake but I do enjoy my Diet Pepsi! My favorites are Diet Vanilla Pepsi and Diet Pepsi Max which has extra caffeine and ginseng. Just what I need! I also enjoy Diet Mountain Dew and Diet Code Red Mountain Dew. I know that the stuff isn't good for you but no one's perfect!

HOME DEPOT MOMMY

I found this on another blog and simply had to share with my readers. It is from a Baltimore newspaper and shows a picture drawn by an elementary school student and a letter/plea from her mother...

Dear Teacher,I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot. From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.Sincerely,Mother

SHIPMATE OF THE WEEK

On Monday "Mr. Ob" was made a shipmate of the week at school. "Miss Ana" was already a Shipmate at the beginning of the school year. This is a big deal at the kids school. The teachers pick one child from each classroom every week. This was HUGE for our son because he had a rocky start to the big world of kindergarten. Let's just say that everyone knows him at school and even though he has had tough days they still love him because he is just so darn lovable! So Liz and I went to school with the kids and we watched all of the "Shipmates" arrive at the library. They first had 2 students do the "news" which was feed via TVs to all of classrooms. Back in my day we had projectors and film strips! Then the Principal and Asst. Principal said good morning. After that they did the pledge of allegiance to both the American flag and the Texas flag! and then they introduced each child and did a group picture. We are very proud of our wonderful son and daughter. They both have made so much progress and they both have a desire to learn and be good. What else could a parent ask for!

SNOW FLURRIES

The day after the ice storm we had snow flurries! We even had enough for the kids to make snow angels at school.

ICE STORM

We had our annual ice storm a few weeks ago and we need to post some pictures of it. The picture with the yellow flower is fun because the flower is frozen. If you see the picture with the BBQ and our back door that is where I beefed it and fell on the ice! The ice storms usually only last a day or so and then goes away.

NEITHER SAINT NOR SCOUNDREL

After years of difficult research, a lifetime of a passion for history and discovery, resilience to critics and setbacks, and moments of scholarly brilliance; all these have culminated into a first published book, which is an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to my step-father Greg Whitman This book can be found on amazon.com!

http://www.amazon.com/Neither-Saint-nor-Scoundrel-Territorial/dp/1606724193/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233946999&sr=1-1

26 RANDOM THINGS

26 Random Things...

By Dave Anderson

1. I do not like anything with pumpkin in it including pie. I do like just about everything else.
2. For a guy I am always concerned by how I look and that everything matches. This is due to hearing the phrase "your a fat slob" a lot when I was a kid.
3. I love to cook but I do not like following recipes. I tend to modify a recipe or just not use one at all.
4. I love movies and good TV shows but I cannot stand "reality TV". I always tell people that I have enough reality in my life but I will sometimes get sucked into watch a few of these shows with Liz.
5.I love my wife,Liz more then anything. She is my best friend and we are there for one another. We have been through a lot and it just keeps getting better!
6. We adopted 2 children ages 5 and 7 about 6 months ago and they are the light of my life. They drive me crazy but I learn so much from them!
7. I hate people who do not use their blinkers when driving or weave in and out of traffic. This is due to 13 years of driving over 100 miles a day in traffic. liz use to say "It is so sad that their blinker doesn't work".
8. Back in my single days my friend Mike and I started up something called "Date Nite" where we paired people up to go on dates. The smallest one had 36 people and the largest had 160. We had around 10 marriages from these events plus a lot of new friends. Liz was at Date Nite 6 and while I was pairing people up I announced that "if you got married from Date Nite then you would have to hire me as your DJ". She turned to her friend Adriana and said "why would I hire him as my DJ"?
9. I had gastric bypass surgery in 2003. I was scared to death of dying but also scared of dying since my weight was up to 450 lbs. I have lost 100 lbs and now I am ready to loose another 100!.
10. I love to eat at Chipotle and Buffalo Wild Wings and I do miss In-N-Out Burger! I guess that this does not help with the losing weight thing...
11. I love to go to concerts except for the high prices, smoke and hassle of going. My first was to see Beatlemania with my Aunt Lynda I have also seen, The Rolling Stones (2), The Who (4), Paul McCartney (4), Roger Waters, Gun's n Rose's (2), David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Ringo Starr, Prince, Van Halen (3), The Beach Boys (3), Brian Wilson, ABC, Go-Go's (2), Depeche Mode (2), Gwen Stafani, The Police, Living Colour (3) and a few that I am sure that I forgot! I even saw The Oak Ridge Boys Christmas Show. My goal in life is to meet Paul McCartney someday...
12. I have a guilty joy in watching "Walker, Texas Ranger", "In the heat of the night", and "Little house on the prairie".
13.After 13 years of selling band-aids I am a "stay at home dad" but it is a lot more work then I thought! Right now I am trying to de-junk the house! Somedays it is just hard to keep up with the dishes and laundry!
14. I love to read I just don't have the time. I thought that I would now that I am home but no...
15. I Dee Jayed at the Anaheim Pond where the Ducks play. It was even better when they hooked me up to their sound system..
16. I also Dee Jayed a LOT of weddings,church and corporate events over a 20 year span. At one time I was doing 2-3 weddings a weekend. I have dealt with a LOT of bridezillas over my time and was even cussed out once. I even hired "Jed the Fish" from KROQ to MC 3 dances. I am very comfortable being the MC/DJ in front of 1000 people!
17. I have a problem doing things small. Small parties, small dinners etc. I am use to making and doing too much!
18. I am an Eagle Scout.
19. I have bad hearing and I am dyslexic but they did not find it right away so much of my early education was missed. I spell mostly by memorization (and spell check) and I can still say words back words especially when I am tired.
20. I got stuck at the top of a double ferris wheel with my Dad when I was a kid. Years later he admitted that he was as scared as I was so I do not like heights (see above) but I do love to stay on the top floors of hotels.
21. I once spent the night in jail for not paying a "fix it" ticket! I do not ever want to do that again!
22. I love music but I cannot play or sing to save my life.
23. I LOVE movies! Especially action and westerns. John Wayne is the man!
24. I am the oldest of 3. I have a younger brother and sister. When my Mom remarried a few years after my Dad passed away I added 14 step-brothers and sisters. Who would have thunk it?
25. I love listening and miss "Mark & Brian" on KLOS. I have meet them a few times and listen even got to scream to them on stage at Disney's California Adventure. Brian even did something special for me when my Dad died.
26. I believe in God, Jesus Christ, the teachings of the LDS church and our wonderful country. I did not vote for President Obama but I do support him as the President.

25 Random Things About Me

25 Random Things About Me

By Liz Anderson

1. I'm 40

2. I'm the youngest of 7

3. I was an aunt before I was 4

4. I'm a mom!!!!!!!!!!! and it's about time.

5. I married the most wonderful man in the world - drives me crazy in every way!

6. I have seen The Dead Milkmen play live - It's you and me punk rock girl!

7. I've lived in England

8. I can fold my tongue - not side to side but front to back, but not as good as my sister

9. I've seen Depeche Mode, The Who, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Prince & Gwen Stefani live!10. I own all seasons of Friends but now I can't find time to watch them

11. My parents will celebrate 57 years of marriage next month - that's a lot to live up to!!

12. I can't give blood because of #7 – see Mad Cow Disease under Travel on the Red Cross website.

13. I was married on Saturday the 7th but if I'd looked at the calendar I would have waited until the next week and got married on Friday the 13th - I got my driver license on Friday the 13th and graduated High School on Friday the 13th - Love that day!!!!!!!!!!!!

14. I was RS Pres of my singles ward - had to get married to get released!!

15. I'm an RM - England Leeds 1990-1991 & South Dakota Rapid City 1991

16. I have 26 nieces & nephews

17. I lost count of my great nieces & nephews at 30. (I just did a rough count and came up with about 35, but I’m sure I missed one and don’t ask their names!)

18. I have over 40 Elmos. There’s a few new ones that I don’t have.

19. I like The Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated.

20. I turned down a chance to see the farewell concert of Oingo Boingo – big mistake!

21. I’ve been to an Ice Dogs game.

22. I went to the first high school to open its door under the name of John F. Kennedy – and we were told that often!!

23. I turned the pages for the pianist during the entire performance of West Side Story and I don’t read music!!

24. I was at Disneyland on May 4th, 2005 – the day before the 50th anniversary started and I was on the KTLA morning news with Shelly Creel finding the 50 hidden Mickeys.

25. My children named themselves.

ONE WORD

One Word

By Dave Anderson

Where is your cell phone?.......pocket
Your hair .......... mess
Your father? ........ dead
Your favorite thing? ........... music
Your dream last night?...... weird
Your favorite drink? ........... Pepsi
Your dream/goal? ........... Disneyworld
The room you are in?...... office
Your fear? ......... heights
Where do you want to be in 6 years?..... Alive
Muffins? ............ bran
One of your wish list items?.......... iPod
Where you grew up? ........... Long Beach
The last thing you did? ....... email
What are you wearing?....... tshirt
Your TV?........... magnavox
Your pets? .......... dogs
Your computer? ...... HP
Your life? ......... busy
Your mood? ......... OK
Missing someone? ....... Dad
Your car?...... truck
Favorite store?..... bestbuy
Your summer? ..... long
Your favorite color? ......... green
When is the last time you laughed? ...... today
Last time you cried? ....... Sunday
Three people who email me? ........... Liz, Sharla, Barbara
Three of my favorite foods? ......... Mexican, Chinese, BBQ
Three places I would rather be right now? ..... Disneyland, Disneyworld, Graceland

LEAVING GREEN GUARD TO BE A STAY AT HOME DAD WITH ANDERSON, INC.

After 13 years selling first aid, safety and most recently facility supplies I am now employed as a "stay at home dad" for Anderson, Inc I miss my customers that I have gotten to know while working for Green Guard. I have had a lot of fun getting to know these people in the last 3 1/2 years. But I also do not miss the long days, driving over 100 miles a day and then restocking the van each night. Now as a "stay at home dad". I still work as hard and get up as early but I do not have to do as much driving and I do not have to dress up everyday. I enjoy getting the kids ready for school, cleaning and "dejunking" the house, picking up the kids from school, working on baths, homework and dinner. The rewards are so much better! We are very appreciative of Liz and her great job with Lifecare. It is exciting and rewarding to know that she enjoys what she does and who she works with and the company she works for. It is a blessing that she paid enough so that we can do this on her income. We are watching our money and having more fun with less!

The pictures above are of my Green Guard van and all of the stock that I keep in my garage. I had given Green Guard a 3 week notice and 2 days later my sales manager called and gave me 1 hour to pull all of my things out of the van and have everything out of the garage. This was pretty upseting not to mention that I had plans of saying goodbye to my customers. I really wanted to leave in style! Thanks to a lot of prayers I was able to contact someone at UniFirst (the company that owns Green Guard) and work everything out.

RIDING BIKES

After school the kids have fun riding their bikes in front of the house. "J" is intent on riding his bike without training wheels just like his big sister "B". So with a lot of crashes and Dad running side "J' he is starting to learn how to rid his bike on 2 wheels. It is always exciting to here "Dad, I did it, I did it"! Nothing is better!

OLLIE

On Sunday we lost our former neighbor Ollie McFadden. Ollie and Mary were like having parents and grandparents right next door. We meet then before we even moved into our first home here in Allen, TX. They gave us a business card that said "Ollie & Mary McFadden, Retired". A 15 minute "drop in" would last an hour or two! Ollie was always interesting and insightful and he taught me a lot about life, home, lawn care and Texas! I always gave him a hard time because he didn't like BBQ food but he sure did liked my chili. We miss having Ollie and Mary next door and we miss Ollie now that he has passed away but we know that he is no longer bound to his body that was in so much pain.

Ollie McFadden
McFadden, Ollie Ollie McFadden of Richardson, Texas, passed away January 18, 2009 . Ollie was born in German Valley, Hamilton County, Texas, March 6, 19 32 to Nora and Ollie R. T. McFadden. At an early age he trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and he has been a member of First Baptist Church , Richardson for many years. Ollie Married Mary Gambill McFadden on September 22, 19 56 . He grew up in Hamilton and Bosque Counties and graduated from Clifton High School and Texas A& M University , majoring in Industrial Technology. He served in the United States Air Force as a jet engine mechanic with duty stations in Fairbanks , Alaska and Tucson , Arizona . Ollie was employed as a purchasing agent and purchasing manager with Guiberson Division of Dresser Industries for over thirty years. He was preceded in death by his parents and one child, Patricia Ann. He is survived by his wife, a daughter, Martha Sides and her husband, Steve; a son, Russell McFadden and his wife, Kelly; grandchildren, Joseph, Enoch, Mary, John, James, Crystal, Robert, Sara, and Matthew Sides, Jared, Cayla, and Samuel McFadden. Ollie enjoyed travel, reading, woodworking, and photography. His travels have taken him to all fifty states as well as many foreign countries. Ollie was very active as a leader in Boys Scouts and Junior Achievements. He was the High Adventure Leader for the older Boy Scouts where they did hiking, canoeing and backpacking that included a trek to Philmont Boy Scout Camp in New Mexico . Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M. , Wednesday, January 21, 2009 , at First Baptist Church in Richardson , Texas with Dr. J. R. Chaney officiating. Interment will follow at Ridgeview Memorial Park in Allen , Texas .

DJ DAVE

I have been cleaning out the garage and finding all kinds of old stuff! A lot of things I have been throwing away but I saved this picture from a Christmas party in 1993 when I worked for Downey Savings in their Wholesale Lending Department. My boss was Russ Ciezata who was the Vice-President and he shaped the way that I believe a Manager should treat their employees. I also worked for a man named Mike Sladek a few years later who owned Vector Products before he died. He was also an exceptional employer and I miss him.

Christmas 2008

This is the house that Ty built

Well, we hear Ty wasn't there all week.

This house is about a mile or so from my niece in Keller Texas near Fort Worth. The local schools took trips to see it being built. My niece took hot chocolate to the security guards one day. You can see the house being built on February 15th on ABC.

HOW MY BRAIN WORKS

Here is how my brain works.....

A few weeks ago we were at a friends house when they told how there dog had lower intestinal blockage. It seems that if they could not get this cleared up then they were going to have to put the dog down. Lucky for the dog all things passed! Flash forward a few weeks when I saw a friend at church. She was not looking good and I asked her if she was sick. You guessed it she said that she had lower intestinal blockage and was not feeling great. The only thing running through my brain was " I hope they don't have to put you down"!

UPDATE ON MOM

Mom is back home now and resting even if she does not want too! The doctors said that she has Vascular Angina. Its where the veins going to her heart collaps and thats when she has her problems. She will be taking medication to help. We are glad that it is only this and that there is nothing wrong with her heart.

YOUR PRAYERS

Please keep my Mother, Kathy Whitman in your prayers. She is in ICU with heart related problems. Greg is taking good xare of her a we appreciate averything that he does for his wife.

HAPPINESS IS.....

Happiness is...

Having your son wake up and the first thing he says is "Happy Birthday, Dad!". A perfect birthday gift!

NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY

It has been a few weeks since we finalized the adoption of the kids on November 15th, National Adoption Day. Life has been super busy since then but I wanted to look back for just a moment on that special day.

To start off the whole day was a blur. It reminded me of my wedding day when something that you have been working on for so long finally comes to pass. It was all a blur and we were emotional overcome that we were finally here on this day and that we would soon be finished. The stress of somehow losing these 2 wonderful children would soon be over! So we just allowed the staff to guide us in the right direction. Liz and I and the kids were first on the list since they were going in alphabetical order so we had to be in Dallas at 8:30 AM. We were glad to be joined by friends and family who came to support us on this special day. The judge, lawyer and staff were awesome. Everyone was helpful and supportive. All of the staff volunteered to be there that day. The judge was nice and allowed me to call my Mother and Sister so that they could listen in. Our lawyer swore us in and then asked me a lot of questions. Once he was finished he asked Liz that if he were to asked her all of the same questions would she answer the same? She said "yes" and that was it, we were done. These kids were ours forever and ever and no matter what! So much time and effort and it was finished! Afterwards we signed some paperwork and then we had our first family portrait taken. They had food and clowns making balloon animals and lots of people. We said goodbye to all of our friends and family and took the kids to Build-A-Bear and to lunch. To top if off we went home and put up our first Christmas tree together. Next year we will plan a trip to the LDS Dallas Temple to be sealed as a family forever!

Thank you for the support of friends and family on this long and emotional journey. We would not have made it without you! We are also very thankful to everyone at CPS. We have had a lot of help during this long process. And a big thank you to all of you who came to Dallas on November 15th to support us. Mom and Dad, Diane and Joe, Kathy, Amie and kids, The Garvins, The van der Upwiches, and Nancy! It means so much to us that you made such a great effort to come down and support us.

RACING

My son loves racing! It started off with the movie "Cars" which he would watch endlessly! Then I got him into "Speed Racer" and then "Herbie". This kid loves it all! Then it happened... We let him watch NASCAR and he was hooked. He will sit and watch 150 lapses of a race and just love it! Liz and I are not big on racing but we are learning quickly! NASCAR is good because we have taught him that you can win the race but if you when the whole series then you get the "Piston Cup". The only problem with this is that he is not too good with saying "piston"! I do have a feeling that we will be going to the races next year!

CHRISTMAS CARDS

While still eating turkey and ham sandwiches left over from Thanksgiving we received our first Christmas card on December 2nd. This year the first card came from John & Carly Goode. Way to go, John and Carly! Today We love to get Christmas cards and goodies from friends and family both near and far. This year we are looking forward to explaining to the kids who all of these cards came from! So, I am off to the post office to get the first batch of Christmas cards and goodies in the mail. I know that all of you will be checking your mailbox with joy and anticipation!