Free Range Family

Merry Christmas!!! I hope that everyone's past two days were just wonderful! Ours definitely were special, even despite receiving bad news about a potential house the day before Christmas Eve. There were still so many things to be thankful for and so many reasons to feel blessed. We did not do too much for Christmas, we stayed in town and visited Lon's family as well as mine. Christmas Eve was spent with Lon's family and Uncle Aaron! It was so great to see him! Uncle Cameron was also supposed to come down, but something came up unfortunately. Regardless, it was still a blessing seeing the kids with Uncle Aaron. Uncle Aaron is currently stationed in New York with the Army, the last time he saw Alan and Anna was at the Montana Fair in 2012. Anna literally was only a month old then! Uncle Aaron was in complete awe with how much older she was. Christmas Day started with Grandma Melanie, Grandpa Kevin, Uncle Kalvin and Aunt April. We opened our presents from them and had or...

Happy holidays from the Andersen family! I hope that your Christmas season is going well so far! The kids and I are ready excited for Christmas! I say excited, because I am totally NOT ready this year lol! With the Nutcracker finishing up just last Friday, I have only had a few days to really prepare for Christmas. I still haven't wrapped anything or sent out the Christmas cards. Who am I kidding? I haven't even written the Christmas cards yet. However, we did decorate sugar cookies the other night. And Alan had his last class of the year today, which happened to be his Christmas party. ;) There were a ton of festivities at Alan's Preschool Christmas party. Santa came for a visit and delivered his stocking gifts to all of the students. Alan was so excited to see him, he told Santa that they were best friends. He is so sweet! After visiting with Santa, we went caroling around the Y.  We went caroling at Child Watch, then to the Administration Office, and finally...

Happy Holidays!  I am so excited that I can finally say that! I love December and the holiday season! I have been waiting for this all year! We have been applying for houses like crazy too, in hopes that we will have a place by Christmas. Wouldn't that be perfect? Its honestly all that I want for Christmas this year.   Pray for us to get lucky! :) I hope that everyone is having a great Christmas season, I know that we are! We went to the Festival of Trees last night with Grandma Melanie and Grandpa Kevin. Aunt April was performing with her dance studio. She did so awesome, as usual! They even did their new dances, like their Spice Girl song choreographed by Ade! Oh my goodness, it was all so awesome! Great job April! I could go on and on about how wonderful their performance was! Seriously! She even inspired one of my own dance students who was their with family! :D Aunt April and her crew after their performance <via>   After Diversity was done with the...

This Christmas was the sixth Christmas Lon and I have spent together. Since our first Christmas in 2008, quite a lot has changed with our family. In 2008, it was just Lon and I spending our first Christmas together. We had a small tree with only a few gifts each. I was pregnant with Alan, but did not know at the time. Now in 2013, its not just the two of us. We are married, have two children now and have been through our share of hardships. But our Christmases are still similar, still very important to us. We make a point to spend them together and spend them with our loved ones. There are still only a few presents, but they don't really matter to us. Its being together, Lon and the kids and I, that matters to me. For funsies, here is a review of the past five Christmases my family has spent together. I am only leaving Lon and I's first Christmas together out, because I don't think there were any photos of us taken that year. But starting with 2009, Alan's first Chris...

Our Christmas was a blessed one this year. There are so many things to be thankful for, so many people who have supported and helped us. Thank you all! To the YMCA ladies that donated a ton of gifts to my family: bless you. To the WTE mamas who also sent our kids gifts, sometimes even from across the country: bless you too. To the friends and family who gave us presents, gave us money, helped us out with food, sent us a Christmas card, helped us find a place to stay for Christmas morning: bless you all so much. I can't even begin to put into words how endlessly grateful we are for all of you, you are just amazing people. You are who made our Christmas special this year. Not the gifts, the money or the food, but YOU. I don't know what our Christmas would have been like if we didn't have our loved ones. We are so lucky to have them! We spent our Christmas Eve with my family at my parent's house and with the in-law's at the Village Inn, as per tradition. Uncle Camer...