PLAYING AT THE PARK

THANKS BARB!!!!!

Our friends, Barbara and Ben Kluger sent us yummy chocolate chipotle cookies and new shirts for the kids. We appreciate their friendship and all that they do! It is always fun to visit them and their 2 great kids when we go to Utah! Thank you Ben & Barb and all all of our other friends and family who has made our kids feel special and welcomed!

MORE COOKIES TO DELIVER!

We made 5 more batches of cookies on July 2nd and ended up delivering 15 plates!We had a lot of people out of town for the Forth of July weekend so we had to just skip them on the list until next time. Don't worry, if you have not received a nice plate of cookies from the Anderson kids then you well.....soon!

CHANGES

The day before Easter I had hit a brick wall. I was unhappy with my life and I was mad, hopping mad. I had a house, 2 good cars, 2 great kids and a wonderful wife so what could be wrong? After a lot of thought I decided that I needed to work on 3 things. 1. My personal and my families spirituality. 2. Our finances. 3. My weight. I have always fought my weight. It had ballooned in the late 80's to over 300 lbs and I was able to get back in shape (Hey, I wanted girls!) and get down to around 235 lbs. Well, life and marriage had gotten the best of me and by 2003 I was up to 450 lbs! I could not believe it either since they had not found a scale to weigh me on in a long time. I finally found a doctor who helped me get approved for Gastric Bypass Surgery where they make your stomach smaller. At this point I feared for my life so even though the surgery scared me to death I was willing to do it. The surgery was a success and I lost over 100 lbs! The problem was that I felt that I needed to get back to work a quickly as possible. My first aid customers need me, I needed the income also from the DJ work that I was doing. So I did not take the time to really read, study and make lifestyle changes. I just knew that now I could eat the bad foods but just less of it. I was working out but not as much as I should have been. And my back didn't hurt and I could now move without huffing and puffing so I was "satisfied" that I had lost 100 lbs and moved from a size 60 to a size 50. Flash forward to now and I had gained back over 30 lbs. since then from all of this great Texas food! I was still the same size but I was not happy with my weight. I decided then and there to get my weight under control. I made a personal commitment to cut back, cut out and work out. No diets, just using common since when eating. I started small by seeing my doctor and a nutritionist. Turns out that besides my sleep apnea and high blood pressure I also had a high insulin level and bad cholesterol. I started out small working out 3 days a week at one of Allen's city gyms doing both weight lifting and the treadmill. Recently I have also added 2 days of swimming. I have also spent a lot of time studying ways of eating healthier and exercising. So far I am down 30 lbs. and I must always now wear a belt! One of the greatest things that has helped me is the support of friends on Facebook. Sometimes just a little "you can do it" goes a long way. In work ,my best sales managers were positive and motivating and I am finding that is the type of friends and family that I want around me too. My next goal is to get below 300 lbs. and then finally below 240 lbs. I want to be healthy and strong for my family and to just stick around for a long time and I know that can do it!

PRE-4TH OF JULY BASH

We had a "Pre-4th of July" potluck party on Friday and ended up with almost 50 people there. We really try to do "small" events but it just usually gets big! We had 5 london broil steaks and 5 ribs in our freezer that we needed to get grilled so we invited our coolest friends to partake of the food and bring something to share. I had all of the meat grill before everyone got there so that people could just eat right away. Our friends Oralynn and Rosario brought sausage and chicken to grill. I re lit the grill and put the sausage and chicken on the grill and walked away to get the BBQ tongs. Well, it seems that there was a lot of grease in the pan at the bottom of the grill and the brand new grill went up in flames! It was hot and as I was trying to put it out smoke was getting in my eyes and lungs and it was getting bad. Our thanks go out to John and Carly Goods for getting me out of the way and hosing off the grill! The chicken and sausage was a bit well done but I was not! The rest of the night was great except that it was so hot! Next time we will start this event at 6 PM instead of 4 PM! A big thank you to everyone for coming out for our fun day!

ANGELS AMONG US....

With me being a "stay at home dad" money is tight. About 3 weeks ago I came home to find that my water had been turned off. Money has been really tight lately and I have been juggling bills trying to keep everything up to date. We are constantly trying to find new ways of making extra money and tightening the budget. The city of Allen does not give you a lot of leeway when it comes to paying the bill. Liz was getting paid the next day so I went down to city hall and paid the bill which was a lot of money! To add salt to the wound Liz was getting a small paycheck and so they really took a lot of money! I told the guy at the counter that we had 2 kids (which were with me) and that we were trying to keep on top of everything but with me unemployed until September money was really tight right now. A few weeks later I knew that I still had a outstanding balance so when Liz got paid again I called the city to find out how much I still owed. The lady on the phone said that we had a credit because we paid twice and to just wait for the next utility bill to show up and the pay the difference. I told her that this was not correct and even double checked my bank account as we talk. The next day she called me back and said that she had done some searching. It seems that after I had left the guy standing in the line next to me had heard my conversation with the city clerk and paid my bill! I was speechless, humbled and choked up that a complete stranger would do that for my family! I was in tears as I told the lady "thank you" and hung up the phone. Thank you so much whoever you are for your kindness, I hope that I can someday repay you or someone else in my situation.

OUR LITTLE GIRL IS GETTING BAPTIZED!

We are excited that 2 months from today our little girl will be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In our church children are baptized at 8 years old and she will turn 8 on September 4th. She will be baptized by her Dad and then she will be confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by the laying on of hands and receive the Holy Ghost. Three of her church class mates will also be baptized that day and we are looking forward to a wonderful event! We hope that all of you will be there!

2 MONTHS TO GO...

Today marks 2 months until we are sealed as a family in the Dallas LDS Temple. In our church we believe that families can be forever and since Liz and I were "sealed" for time and all eternity when we were married on September 7, 1996 in the Los Angeles LDS Temple we now need to have our children sealed to us. The Temple is a special place. We believe that it is Heavenly Father's house and that his spirit dwells there. It is beautiful inside and everyone is reverent there. You can feel the spirit there and I always leave feeling better about myself and this wonderful world that we live in. In the Temple we make "covenants" and we strive to live them in our day to day lives. Only LDS people in good standing with the church can enter and we hope that all of you that can will be there to celebrate this special day! Please know of the love that we have for those of you that cannot be in the Temple and we hope that you will still celebrate our special day!

IT'S BEEN ONE YEAR....

July 1, 2008 - the day we met our kids! What a wonderful year we have had. It is an honor to be their mother. I thank my Heavenly Father daily for the trust He has put in me to raise these incredible spirits here on earth. I ask Him to help me be what they need, to be able to raise them to be strong and courageous people. I know there is a plan for us here on earth. The basic plan is to come to earth to gain a body and learn and grow and become like our Heavenly Father (what kid doesn't want to grow up to be just like Dad!!). But I know each of us has our own path to get there. I know that we are one our path and I'm grateful to all those whose paths we cross. You teach me so much. To my kids - I love you more then words could ever express. This was the best day of my life. You have turned my world upside down and I love the view!! Thank you for what you are teaching me. I love you forever, for always and no matter what. I will never leave you. I will always love you. And if you run away I will spend all the days I have left finding you!! You are important to me. You make my days, weeks, months and year! I can't wait to seal our family forever and know that you are mine for eternity. Thank you for coming into my life. To my husband - you are the best I could ever ask for. My best friend, my eternal companion, my rock, my strength, my grounding wire! You are a wonderful father. You inspire me to be better. You bring me great joy on this journey in life. You make my days, weeks, months and years!! I love my family!!!

RANDOM....

FUN WITH LEAVES

ALLEN CELEBRATION USA

Last Saturday we went to "Allen Celebration USA". The city of Allen hold this free event ever year and they had lots of food, booths for vendors and civic information. The had a area for the kids full of bounce houses but it was too hot that day to be bouncing around! We didn't get there till after 6 PM and we were still drinking anything that was cold! Smash Mouth was the big musical act this year (last year it was Three Dog Night) and they hit the stage around 8:30 PM. They did play a lot of hits and I guess it was the first time that all 5 original members had played together in a long time. The highlight of the show was the 2 Van Halen covers and then the cover of House of pain's "Jump Around". The low point was the fact that the singer was off key most of the night. A big thank you to Neal van der Upwich for letting us sit next to him. His daughter, Sophie loved to dance and play with our kids!

WATER FUN!