The cost of a blessing

We discovered this week that sometimes blessings come at a cost...literally! As we prepared to go to Idaho to see or nephew baptized we had a reoccurring problem come up with our van. For the last two months we kept smelling this burning smell. We have taken the van in a couple of times for the problem and every time we do the smell stops and they check it out only to find nothing wrong. We were planning to leave on Friday at 3pm. At 1pm I went in to town to run and errand and as I drove down the road the smell came back. I literally said this prayer in my head "please just make the smell go away, we never get to go on vacation, just let us have a good trip and not have the van break down or smell the whole way there!" As soon as I said those words I looked up to see the battery light go on. I smiled and realized that the Lord WAS answering my prayer (not the way I preferred) but it was an answer. I drove it straight to the mechanic. I walked in and they smiled (I have been there too many times in the last few months) and said "Hey Starr, what is it this time?" I told them what had happened and as soon as they came outside they knew what the problem was because they could FINALLY smell it. They did a battery test to confirm it, but the alternator was burning inside (a diode). Well, because they love me so much (or more like they are tired of seeing me) they told me they would try to track down the part and get it fixed ASAP (we told them we were getting ready to leave). Luckily a store in SF had the right alternator and within three hours they had the van fixed. The cost? $, I am not going to tell you. A lot! It was enough! Enough for us to realize we received a huge blessing. What if we had been on the road (with all the kids)? What if? What if? What if? We made it to the baptism. We had a fantastic week with the kids and cousins! Was it worth the cost? YES! We are grateful for the reminder that the Lord looks out for us and that this time the blessing came before we left and at a time we could afford to pay for it! This experience, like so many others, once again has helped us put life in perspective!

What to make out of a curtain

Here's a sneak peak at my kids Easter outfits. I found a sheer curtain on clearance sometime last year that ended up being about 5 yards of fabric. I loved the color and decided to turn it into the girls dresses for this year. I found matching satin and well...here you have my creations! All the dress are a completely different style (it is hard to tell in the pictures, but don't worry there will be more pictures once Easter is here). Robb told me I cold make Taitt a matching vest this year but when he gets bigger no more matching. :) I have to agree but I couldn't resist this year, he looked so cute!

First Tooth

I would post a cute picture, but you can't see it! Taitt has been fussy for a few days now. On Sunday I gave him my finger to suck only to discover he has a tooth! I never mind nursing until they learn to bite!
Taitt will be 6 months only next Thursday. How come you are pregnant forever and then once they are born the time just flies by?

We make a cute Anderson boy

Lorrin's Arm

Lorrin fell out of the car last week when we went to pick Abby up from preschool. It was one of those experiences that I hope to never, NEVER, go through again. She had climbed up into the front seat and I argued with her to move back to the back. She wouldn't listen and moved all the way to the door so I couldn't grab her. Well as Abby went to open the door to get in Lorrin started to fall...head first! I reached out to grab her and ended up taking my foot off the brake...the van began to roll and I looked up to see another van in front of me, in panic mode I tried to slam on the brake but instead hit the gas...oh yes! Well luckily I was able to get my foot on the brake quickly, literally inches from the van in front of me. In all the excitement Lorrin fell out of the van. All I could hear was screaming and as I ran around to the side of the van I found her on the ground bleeding and crying. The teachers where screaming all the kindergartners where screaming, my kids where screaming and on top of it all Lorrin was SCREAMING! I picked her up, tried to assess the damage and put her in the car (with her buckle on). She screamed the whole way home...the neighborhood heard us coming. I got home to the phone ringing and a policeman telling me they got a call that I had run over my daughter. With no time to process anything, an ambulance and police car where at my home in minutes. Lorrin continued to scream! They attempted to check her out but she was pretty resistant. Finally she yelled "Will you people just let me go lay down!" They let her and told me to watch her arm.

Well it turns out she had a fracture! When I asked her if it was hard to only use one hand she said to me "Nope, see I have this other one!" The whole thing did not slow her down one bit!

I do want you to know I have learned a lot of lessons from this whole thing. Yes, they now where their seatbelts but I have learned that it is the little things in our lives that become our safety harnesses. It is the little things we know we should be doing everyday that help us when the unexpected happens. I also am reminded that God is aware of us. You see when I took Lorrin in the next week for her hard cast her fracture was gone. Yes gone! Do miracles still happen. Of course they do. Sometimes though we need experiences like this to remind us of them! I believe that I had a lot to learn...This lesson was not for Lorrin, it was for me. He healed her quickly so that my eyes could be opened.

More pictures from Emalee' Baptism Day

Emalee's baptism

Our oldest, Emalee, was baptized on January 31st. She was so excited and it was a fantastic day. We are grateful for so many friends and familky who came to help celebrate.