Our Daughter's Sense of Style

Libby has always had an interesting sense of style. Or maybe what I have found to be interesting is that she has a sense of style. Something I don't think I cared about when I was her age. It's always fun to see what she will come up with next. This past weekend my mom gave me a box of clothes that she had saved from when I was Libby's age. Yikes...it's like an 1980's awakening around here! Libby has been sporting her mother's "interesting sense of style" (but really I can't take credit for it and will now blame it all on my loving parents) all week and I thought I would share some pictures. The plaid dress and the exercise outfit used to be mine. The Wisconsin Badgers is a Libby original but I thought it was cute as Libby added some of her own flare. Enjoy!

What we've been up to lately

What does a typical week at the Andersons look like. Thought I'd give you a visual of this last week.


One day Lindsay went along with Liam and his Kindergarten class to the rink for skating. After that they went to DQ for lunch. Libby and I got back from Moms 'n Tots that morning and thought that we should have a special lunch as well. Libby proceeded to set the table in her room while I warmed up our spaghetti leftovers. She informed me that I was Belle and she was Cinderella. The two of us "princesses" had a wonderful time together. I, yes the "football loving, please don't make me wear a dress or high heels for too long" mommy thought that the spaghetti tasted even better on a pink table cloth while sitting across from a precious little lady.



Lindsay and I had a late evening supper after Sparks and Soccer on Tuesday for Valentines Day. Earlier in the day when it was time for the kids to eat I had some fun with pancakes. The kids thought it was great.


This morning I caught this picture of Linds and Liam walking to work and the bus. My two favourite men!


While the guys were at work and school this morning Libby and I did something we do every day...the Princess Puzzle! She is wearing her current favourite dress that she got from a good friend at Moms 'n Tots. I don't think Cinderella has anything on this cutie but then again, I'm biased.

I'd like to tell you that our week was all blissfully full of patience, kindness and birds and mice singing like on Cinderella, but we did have some ugly step sister moments for which I am not proud but am excited that I am learning and that (more importantly) God is gracious and his mercies are new every morning... GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS!

Wisconsin Part V - Opa & Oma

My mother grew up in Wisconsin...hence our frequent trips there. She travelled to the bald prairie of Southern Saskatchewan in 1973 to go to Bible school at Briercrest in Caronport and met my Dad there. Her family stayed in Wisconsin and when her and my Dad married in 1975 she moved to Saskatoon and they been living there ever since. She is a dual citizen and we have always enjoyed heading down to visit our family there. My Opa and Oma are very special and we have so many great memories of visiting them. This last time was no different. These pics were taken the night before we left to travel back home to Nipawin. They took the four of us out to eat for supper at B.J. Clancy's (a traditional favourite with my family and trip to WI would not be the same without it) and then we went back to their apartment for dessert. My Opa can dish up a sweet bowl of ice cream...he is where I get my sweet tooth from. Dessert is not just his specialty. Opa is great in the kitchen. Oma loves to knit, spend time with the ladies in their building and watch all things WI...from the college team sports to the NFL! They both swim at the YMCA three times a week. They are generous, loving and full of love for their Saviour.

I found it harder to say goodbye to them this time because the older I get the more I realize that life is fragile. When I was younger I thought they would be around forever. Just before we left that night I sat down with Opa on the couch while the others where in the TV room watching a game. We don't typically have this one on one time together but he made use of it well. I can't remember his exact words but he reminded me that he is getting older and that is body is not always working like he'd want. BUT, he said, he's ready to go be with Jesus whenever the Lord calls him home. He told me that we never know when we will see someone for the last time. He said all of this with a joy and peace and I didn't feel like it was a downer. He was stating facts and I think, preparing me. I left there that evening with a lot on my mind and it made a lot more sense a couple months later when my mom called and told me that Opa had been diagnosed with bone cancer. Just like my Grandpa Skeldon, Opa's prostate cancer had turned to a much more aggressive type of cancer.



So far he is doing well but I know what it was like for Grandpa Skeldon and when it started getting bad it was very painful and it did not take very long. We continue to pray for Opa but it brings me great hope to know that he is willing to accept whatever God has for him. It is an attitude that I want to also have whether I am staring down a tough decision, a bad day with the kids, or something more life altering like cancer.



We have been blessed to be taught, whether directly or indirectly, by the example of faithful grandparents. Thank you Jesus for these gifts!

Wisconsin Part IV...TobyMac

Wow...was it August the last time I got on here? I can almost hear an audible "YES" from a few of my friends that are way more faithful bloggers than myself. I thought I would finally carry on with my posts about our trip to wisconsin. And then after that I may be rethinking my commitment (or lack thereof) to the world of blogging. I've been trying to scale down my responsiblities and although I don't get on here very much...okay, almost never, it is a source of guilt for me and something that I might just give up entirely. We'll see.

The other day we were listening to TobyMac and Liam decided he would write a letter to him because we went to his concert this summer. That's what reminded me that I should finish this series of posts.



Back in July while in Wisconsin, Linds and I got to enjoy a TobyMac concert together as a part of the Lifest weekend. Liam was a little unsure when we surprised him with the tickets but was very excited when he was told he could stay up way past his bedtime AND that Libby was going to be there! To give you a little background...a couple years ago Liam started listening to TobyMac's first solo CD. It was one that we had bought well before he was born but it struck a chord with him. He now has all his CDs and would want the new Christmas one too if he knew about it.



The concert was very loud and it got pretty late but there was some groovy and some excitement on Liam's part. During the first two songs he was trying to take it all in and then he yelled out, "hey mom, he's singing number 3!!" We had a lot of fun and the cool part was that we were able to sit in the VIP section because of a friend of my Aunt's who helps organize the festival. We ony had three VIP lanyards so my aunt and uncle sat farther back...and had better hearing the next day! :) When we were waiting for the concert to start we noticed on the corner of our section there was a little stage. Later we found out what it was for. TobyMac and two others from the band came running to our section and sang a few songs from there. About four rows ahead of us! Liam and Linds got to stand right at the base of the mini stage. Liam and Linds thought that was great.


All in all it was a great concert. So thankful that we could have an opportunity like this with Liam.

Wisconsin Part III...Logan & Play Ball!

My cousin Logan is going into his fourth year at UW Madison (Electrical Engineering) so early one morning we packed up the vehicles and drove the two hours to Madison to see his place and to spend some time on the campus. Before getting to the campus we stopped at the Capitol Building and snooped around there for a while. Even though I am petrified of heights I did eventually get up enough courage to go out on the viewing deck. I could have taken some pictures from there to post here but that would have meant letting go of my death grip on the railing. :)




From there we walked to a Irish Pub and had a delicious lunch. The rest of the afternoon was filled with checking out the new student commons area (complete with bowling alley, climbing wall and ice cream shoppe with ice cream made right there on campus with Wisconsin milk), walking around the engineering campus and visiting Logan's digs (which incidentally is right across the street from Camp Randall Stadium where the Wisconsin Badgers play).




From there we drove to Milwaukee to take in a Brewers baseball game. Now normally, I'm not one for baseball. I actually find it too slow. The guy comes up to the plate. Warms up a bit. Adjusts. Pitcher spits, looks over at the first base runner, spits, adjusts and then winds up. The pitch is in there. Now repeat. By the time they're done that, a football team (in other years, my Riders...we're still hoping for big things this season) could have marched down the field, scored a touchdown and a two point conversion! But, I must say that watching baseball live is MUCH better. We had excellent seats (thanks Logan!). We were first row in the right field, just above the opposing team's bullpen, which in this case was the Cincinnati Reds. This was great because when things were slowing down in the game we could watch the pitchers warm up. Amazing how fast they can huck those things. Liam tried most of the game to get the pitcher in the bullpen to throw him a ball. Finally, the catcher did and then a security guard gave him on later too. 5 years old, one game and two ML baseballs. Not bad considering Linds has gone to many with his family and was never able to get one. The Brewers won the game and we had a great time. One of the highlights for me...besides sitting with my family to do all of this...was watching the famed sausage race! Scratch that off my bucket list! Next up, a game at Camp Randall?

Wisconsin Part II...The Bombs Bursting in Air...

Next up in the Wisconsin festivities were fireworks and the July 4th celebration. Now, I am a dual citizen...Canadian and US...and while I cheer madly for Canada at the Olympics, appreciate the way we do healthcare and if I had to choose would probably stay in Canada, I do have to say (among many other wonderful things) that the States put us Canadians to shame at their country's birthday party. This year was no different and the firework presentations were awesome.

These pictures were taken July 4 although we did get to see fireworks the day before and enjoy time with friends from the EFree church my family attends there. For July 4th we headed back to Riverside park along Wisconsin Avenue and had great seats for the show. Something different this year...a young woman say the national anthem before the show began and there was patriot music playing during.

The kids loved the fireworks except it was pretty late for them. At one point Liam said, "this is really neat but I want to be in my bed right now!" Thankfully he was able to wake up a bit on the ride home so that he could enjoy some mini fireworks courtesy of my aunt and uncle on their drive way. No, they don't stop celebrating at the park. I think Canadians would be surprised to see so many shops selling ONLY fireworks. Sometimes I think Canadians could take some patriot lessons from the our neighbours to the south.

Wisconsin - Part One

I just sat down to do some blogging about our trip to Wisconsin and I realized there was really no way to do it all in one post. We just had too much fun and did too many things. Actually it was a great mix of fun and relaxation (thanks to the Witters and Reiss').

The first couple days we were able to spend with Logan (my cousin, home from Madison where he is studying Electrical Engineering). We went to the famous Riverside Park in Neenah. Probably not that famous but it is special to our family. My Oma used to play in the park as a child with her siblings as they lived very close. Wisconsin Avenue borders one side of the park and that's where the wonderfully old and massive houses are. People at the turn of the 20th century moved from New York to start paper mills in the Fox Valley area and my great grandmother worked for one of these families as a cook and my great grandfather as the chauffeur. I just learned on this trip that my Oma (my grandmother) worked as an upstairs maid when she was young. The house is now owned by a single doctor but he is trying to sell it. I would LOVE to go through it to see what it's like but I'm sure they don't just plop an open house sign on it every Sunday. :) Anyway, across from these houses is the park and they've got a great play structure. We had lunch one day and let the kids play for a while. Another day the guys had some fun in the backyard with the sprinkler.




Logan just hanging out with Libby and watching the fountain. He is GREAT with the kids and it was so special that he came home for that weekend.


Liam "driving" the group of us around on the moon rover. As you can tell the ride was a bit scary!