Its Candy Making Time.

We had our annual candy making days, and finished up last night with the dipping of the peanut butter balls and the cream cheese balls. Of course Sara and Nora wanted to be right in the action. Nora was into it up to her elbows, once Sara got chocolate on her hands she was through.
Fun times had by all. It was a treat this year to have Aunt Janice join us. I hope she will come again. We also started our Family Twelve Days of Christmas. I hope that it will be fun for all.

Another Adventure

We took the girls to a "Members Only" Event at the Discovery Science Center. It was a lot of fun. They frosted cookies, made marshmallow snowmen, cut out a snowflake, saw a huge display of Gingerbread Houses. There were performers from the "Nutcracker" A show about Snow, and the reading of the Story "The Gingerbread man. Complete with a costumed character. Nora was braver than I had ever seen her before, she wanted her picture taken with the gingerbread man and Santa. Sara on the other hand.........

She's smart, just like her Mommy! (Daddy too)

I went to Nora's Awards assembly today. It has been awhile since I was at one of those! She received a "Rising Star" award. It seems to be the equivalent of student of the month. She gets a Pizza lunch with the principal with all the other children who are Rising Stars. She also had excellent attendance. And was recognized as an Accelerated Reader. That is her picture, the bright green apple, on the wall in the office. She is the first Kindergartner to have achieved this, she is the only bright green apple. Way to go. Keep working hard. It is so much fun to listen to you read. The pictures are with her teacher, the principal and the wall.

But Grandpa, I don't like Blue.......

We had Nora and Sara over Saturday morning while Holly and Sam met some friends for breakfast. So they had Breakfast with Grandpa.....which is turning into a culinary adventure for everyone involved.

Andy seems to like to put things in pancakes which traditionally belong other places. A few weeks ago he slipped in some chocolate chips. When Sara discovered this "stuff" coming out of her pancakes she said, "Grandpa, what is this yummy brown stuff in my pancake?" That success motivated Andy to put peanut M&M's in this particular batch. The reaction from Sara was quite different. Grandpa, I don't like blue.....We couldn't see the M&M's initially, but when I went to cut up her pancakes (no butter, just syrup), blue and red and yellow oozed out onto the pancake. She wouldn't eat them. Nora on the other hand loved the M&M's in her pancakes, even though they were peanut M&M's!

Sara did eat 3 large regular pancakes. That girl loves her pancakes.

Another Loss

Andy's mom, Wanda Anderson, passed on, this past Monday. She had not been well for sometime now. The last time she was in California was for Brad and Katie's Wedding in 2005.

We were so glad she and Clyde could join us in the temple for that special event. They came to Calif. for a lot of Christmases over the years, and it was fun to have them join in our festivities. Wanda made the best Sitfa ever. We tried to copy a recipe, but it was a smidgen of this, and a pinch of that, and how it felt to the touch, I wish we had practiced it. They were so good about coming for baptisms, graduations, mission farewells. The kids loved the fact that their Grandmother would keep the dishes done! They were temple workers in the Jordon River Temple for years, and served two missions, one to Florida and one in Hawaii. I think the thing I most admired about them was their devotion to one another. Clyde cared for Wanda as long as he could in their home, and she lovingly watched over him. We will miss her, but feel that she must be happier being able to move around again on her own. Her reunion with her father, mother and sisters I am sure is a joyous one.

You are on the waiting list!

Sunday dinner guests, yesterday, included my sisters, Janice and Lorraine. Nora and Sara love their aunts and we made sure that they could sit by them at dinner, instead of trying to get them to sit at a kids table. Before everyone else came, Nora and Sara were preparing a "Tea Party" in the grandma room. I got a lovely hand drawn picture as my invitation to the "Tea Party" and promptly posted it on the refrigerator. At dinner, Janice and Lorraine got their invitations also. We all were visiting and eating except Nora and Sara who wanted to get on with their "Tea Party" so I volunteered to go in with them and get started. Nora turned to me and said, "Actually Grandma, you are on the waiting list"!

It is my birthday today.

I had one of those "Milestone Birthdays" today. I haven't really been effected by the past ones as much as I was this one. A few months ago I really thought I was turning 57.....That is still a long way from 60 ..right? Well, I recently realized that I had done the math wrong...I was really old. I couldn't fool my self with that "middle age malarkey". I was not going to live to be 120! I maybe have 15-20 years left. Dad was 75 when he died, and my mom 84. My mom died this morning, ending a 19 month battle with pancreatic cancer. It has been an interesting 19 months as I have helped care for her. I have an amazing sister, Janice, whose nursing skills are extraordinary. It was my turn with mom last week, and her care was getting where my feeble skills were no longer adequate. The Lord was watching out for me in the form of an angel, disguised as a friend of my moms. Who came and did those things I was not able to do. I went home exhausted, more than willing to turn mom over to my sister Janice.

We had an amazing day on Sunday. Holly and Sam realizing that mom would not be able to make it to Mia's blessing, decided to have it at her bedside, and thanks to a supportive bishop, we were able to do this ordinance, and have an extraordinary day with mom.

After experiencing such a hard week, I didn't want Janice to be alone, so I told her I would come in on Tuesday to lend some moral support, since on Monday the Hospice people would be there some of the time. Moms condition deteriorated quickly, and I decided to stay the night. After some bad hours, mom got some relief and looked at Janice and I, and said. "I am so tired, but I am Happy." We didn't understand anything else she told us. 12 hours later she joined my dad.
What a roller coaster of emotions have been these last 20 hours.

Love you Mom, grateful you are free from this cancer that has been your cross to bear these past months.

Where is the Fairy?

Brad made this amazing Ferry Boat, complete with antique cars, for the girls, for Christmas and Birthdays. The picture does not do it justice. You can't see all the amazing detail. I hope Brad will post a good picture of it on his blog. Sawdust and Splinters (see side panel for link). He has made some beautiful toys. After unloading all the cars, Sara kept looking all over the Ferry with a very puzzled look on her face........

"Uncle Brad, where are the fairies?"

Fun with Kyle

Once in a while when Katie has a late meeting, I get to play with Kyle.

He is getting bigger, and he was having a great time kicking the ball and laughing. But the minute I got the camera out....no more smiles.

Emily in Europe

I don't have pictures of Emily's wonderful trip to Germany. I do have fun pictures of the Kinder Eggs she brought back for Nora and Sara. Emily spent a fun week at the invitation of her friend Brian, and our friends, Dee and Lee to visit them in Germany. Her adventures are only as Emily can tell them. They included a Sound of Music Tour in Austria, and a myriad of other adventures.

Kinder eggs are not sold in this country, although you can get them on line. Holly had fond memories of them from a college roommate who would bring some back every time she went home, so Holly asked Emily to bring some back for the girls.

Kinder eggs have toys in the center. It was fun to watch the girls reactions. Nora went for the toy first.......

Sara ate the chocolate first. Then opened her toy. Thanks Emily...and thanks Bybees for being such wonderful hosts.

Feed the Birds

These pictures were terrible, but the story is cute. Nora and Sara were helping Andy feed the birds. They wanted to plant some of the sunflower seeds that were in "the mix" We didn't think they would grow.....but they did. When, last week, we harvested the seeds, they didn't want to use them to feed the birds!!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 5 year old.

Happy Birthday Nora. Hope you have a very special day. Thanks for droping by to see Grandma and Grandpa. Love you lots!

Fun with Benderoos

We found some "Benderoos" They are wax covered yarn that bends, and stays bent and you can make all kind of fun stuff with them and they don't make a mess!!! This is a grandma recommended toy....unlike moon sand. Grandpa had fallen asleep and the girls had more fun putting rings on his toes and fingers But it is the tiera that is the best. It took a while to make all those curly cues! The girls were giggling the entire time.

4 generations of amazing women

On August 9th Mom felt good enough to come and enjoy our crazy family dinner, and Aunt Janice came with her. Nora and Sara entertained ther with their "dancing" . They were so excited to have a captive audience. We would keep clapping for Sara to indicate that she was done and it was Nora's turn. She would tell us "in another 3 minutes". They do have a lot of energy, and we enjoyed their show. We took the opportunity to take some 4 generation pictures with mom. It doesn't get better than this.

Not fun to play with yet!

Nora got out one of the baby toys to play with Mia. Mia decided that it was time to EAT. No one not even her loving older sister could distract her from getting fed NOW

Costco Sample Ladies

I don't know when I have laughed so hard. They worked for a long time, setting up the little stove and the sample cups, a place to throw away the trash.(when we ran out of cups, they went to the "trash" to get them.) Sara was so serious about the stirring and mixing and every thing set up for Hot Chocolate and Grated Cheese.....yum! Nora had the cash register for our purchases. Holly and I tried to get them to use a different (pretend) topping....like peppermint, that at least sounded good. Some how the hats will turn you into anything, from a super hero, to a mom, and even a Costco Sample Lady.

Kyles Blessing Day

Kyle was blessed on July 12. We had a combined family dinner at our home after. It was so much fun to have so many of my family there. He is such a cutie, and Brad gave him a beautiful blessing

To busy holding the baby for pictures

I got to take care of Kyle on Tues while Katie went to the dentist. It was so much fun to have some quiet time to get aquainted with my grandson. He does like to be held, and Grandma likes to hold babies. He has such a serious look on his face. He was awake a lot of the time. When Katie came back from the dentist, she looked miserable, she had a root canal done! ouch! So I had her eat some applesause, and chicken noodle soup, and take a nap before she went home. I am not sure how much rest she got, because "The Girls" were there by lunch time. A good time had by all (except Katie)

Mia's first bath

It takes me awhile to get things posted. But what fun I have doing this. Her "Power Cord" is now off.......so we can have even more fun.

From our 5 day sleep over

Way to many pictures to blog, so here are 2 pages from our "Adventures with Grandma and Grandpa" Book. We had a fun five days, and are still having fun as Holly recuperates. Nora and Sara are so much fun to play with. They have such imaginations, and love to pretend. Nora makes up rules to games that are hard to follow, and tells some pretty goofy jokes.

It is so much fun having them close by, I have been spoiled. As they are looking for a new home, I told Nora that the one 2 doors down was for sell, would she like to live there. She was all for living close enough to Grandma to walk to her house. But Holly and Sam didn't share her excitement!

We are loving the adventure days and glad that Holly is getting stronger each day.

Who does she look like?

In the debate as to who little Mia looks like........yes we have a name now! I would like to respectfully submit the following picture. This little one came through the trauma of birth in the 70's, but I think Mia looks like her mom!
Of course I have no bias...Ha. She is so cute. (Mia and Holly). When Mia is hungry, she arches her back and screams, and kicks grandma in the tummy, what fun for me. When Sara held the baby for the first time, she looked at her and said "I think she likes me" The girls have been so fun. When I get my pictures organized I will post our "five day adventure"

She is here

Here she is, yet to be named Baby Girl Rosener. Born at 7:45 Wednesday morning. Tipping the scales at 7lbs. 2 oz 19 inches long (Grandma wins the contest on the Rosener Blog)

Nora still wanted a brother, before we went to the hospital, and Sara decided she didn't want to be a big girl, but wanted to be a baby again. (There are fun times ahead)

Sara wanted to play with and poke the baby instead of holding her. Holly was feeding the baby when we got there and of course Sara wanted to climb in bed with her mom, and kept telling her to let grandma hold the baby!

Grandma got her turn, she is beautiful. I will be glad when they decide on a name, it seems weird still praying for Baby Girl Rosener. So glad she is here, and Holly seems to be doing fine, of course the morphine hasn't worn off yet.

He's Home

We were surprised on Fathers Day...Kyle joined us. He was released from the hospital on Sat. and Brad and Katie kept it a secret, so they could surprise us on Fathers Day.


I don't have a picture of the fathers. This is my sister Janice with the newest member of our family. You can really see the hair cut, but it is starting to grow back.

Four generations of Andersons. My grandson, my mom, my son and me.

I finally got to hold him with out tubes and wires and extra blankets. What a wonderful surprise. I am afraid, Andy and Sam had to finish cooking their fathers day dinner.

Welcome home little one!

Baby update

The really good updates are on Katie's Blog, "Pigs Fly Here", you can connect on my side bar. Andy, Wes and I went to the Temple on Sat. and stopped by to see the baby. We had only planned on 30 min. total, 10 apiece. We didn't want to overstay our welcome. Andy went in first, he had not had a chance to hold the baby, just give him a blessing when he was a few hours old, so he was in there for 1/2 hr. doing the Grandpa jostle, which after a few minutes Kyle decided he didn't like. Wes was next, and 40 minutes later I decided I had better go in and kick him out. Wes is so cute with the little ones. They look so tiny when he holds them. Anyway when I got in, his oxygen level had gone down, and they had to supplement him with some, he was looking sort of purple, but then pinked right up. But....Grandma didn't get to hold him. He looks good, the chest tube is out, and he is off the ventilator, all good things.
In 10 days Holly and Sam's little one will be born (still debating on name). It will be time for Nora and Sara's 5 day sleepover at Grandmas house. Andy says he will be working late. I have warned him, he needs to take a couple of vacation days. My sister Lorraine is coming in from Kansas to take my shifts at moms so I can help Holly after her C-section. Thanks Lorraine.
It has been quite a week for all of us.

Kyle Gordon Anderson has arrived

Kyle was born about 2am on Sat. morning. by 4am it was discovered that the esophagus did not properly attach to his stomach. So by 7 he was at Loma Linda Medical Center for further evaluation and surgery. We are so blessed that it was discovered so quickly. Since Katie was still at San Antonio Hospital, (We were also grateful that Katies Mom was able to be here to be with Katie) Brad and I went to Loma Linda Hospital. Brad was very kind about the fact that his mom doesn't drive freeways and so it took over an hour and a half to get there, when normally it is a 30 minute trip. In the NICU was the most beautiful newborn I have ever seen. Lots of hair, a good healthy color, and Anderson feet. He looks like Katie.

He had surgery today at about 10:30, it was successful, and as I am typing, he is going into recovery.

These are all pictures from yesterday before the surgery and all the tubes and things that will be sticking out of him for a while. He will be in the NICU for 2 weeks to a month. Brad was so cute with him. Talking to him, giving him a pep talk. I was so glad to be able to spend this special time with him and his beautiful son, my first grandson. All the cute clothes I bought aren't going to work with all the tubes that will be in him for awhile. So I get to shop in the morning....oh darn.

The tube in his mouth is to suck out the secretions, since he couldn't swallow them. He didn't like it and kept pulling it out. He also pulled out his IV. We love him so much already. I was so glad to get a chance to love him, hold him and talk to him yesterday.

Its Breakfast with the Andersons

We had a fun time with Ruthie and Cody, and hope they have a great cruise. We had breakfast. Andy did his pancake thing. Then they went to visit some friends. Andy is painting the laundry room - with no washer and dryer now seemed like a good time. When I was showing everyone the bright colors, Sam said it looked like toothpaste spit. Oh well. I like it.

Woe is me...

I am not sure why all this is happening this week. The washing machine died last week and Andy bought a new one on line.....He didn't check Gas Dryer, so they were going to send electric. We caught that mistake in time. But it will take 15 business days for it to get here. In the mean time no washer or dryer. Yesterday in the mail, came a recall notice about the dishwasher. Yes ours in one that could catch fire. It will take 5-10 business days for the new part to arrive, and once in does, then I can make an appointment to have a repair man come fix it! I think it would be a good time to go on a cruise for 2 weeks.....no, I want to be here when the grandbabies put in an appearance, which is any time now. This would be a good time to paint and put new flooring in the laundry room. The paint I picked out looks hideous.

Lots of Food

I am so sorry we didn't take pictures. Memorial Day morning was spent cooking. Holly, Katie and I put together freezer meals for when the babies get here. Holly had it so well organized, I couldn't even think how to begin. We fixed 4 chicken dishes, 1 meatloaf, 1 barbecue pork, 1 Mexican casserole, multiples of each!! It was a lot of fun, took us about 4 hours, and we were all tired. Thanks Andy for doing the dishes! Knowing that freezer space would be short at the Anderson's and Rosener's, we cleaned out the freezer in the house. I hate to admit that I found turkey burgers that were good in 2000! In checking the pantry for items, I threw out a lot of expired soup. Who knew soup expired. So I got both cooking and cleaning accomplished. It was a good day.

Way to Go Emily

The picture has nothing to do with the post, but it was the most recent picture I had of Emily!!
The news is Emily made the Deans list again. Way to go. There are now four letters on my refrigerator. She is looking forward to graduating a year from now!! We are proud of you.

I received a dozen roses!

Nora brought me a beautiful picture of roses that she colored. The details are wonderful. I can even imagine the fragrance. Holly said she first created it on the computer and then colored it on a page. It is cute, that she signed the back Love Nora and Sara. The "and Sara" is in yellow so you may not be able to pick it out of this picture. Thank you Nora, it is beautiful. Grandma loves roses.

The Brain is Gone

One of the things the girls like to do when I have them for the day is to go to the new Local Library. They have kid computers with age appropriate software that they can play with. We also check out a couple of books to read at grandmas house. I have had an on going love/hate relationship with the new automated check out system. (Librarians no longer check out books). At first to circumvent this, I would buy something from the friends of the Library room, and when I paid for it the Librarian would check out my books. But recently I really didn't like waiting in line with the girls so I have attempted the automated process. Well, yesterday was my crowning embarrassment. I got the thing to scan my card...good beginning. I put in my pass word...phone number, how hard can it be, and it kept rejecting it. I was sure I knew my phone number. Finally it got fed up with me, and I got the big red X on the screen, and instructed to go see the Librarian, my tries had expired. I handed her the card and told her my pass word was not working. She looked at the card and looked at me, and handed me back my card with out a single word. I had been using the Discovery Science Annual Pass Card to try and check out library books.

When are we ever going to Learn!

It was Katies Baby Shower today. Grandpa took care of the girls for just over an hour. I suggested to Nora that it would be fun to play with the moon sand, or play dough. That the Snappy Dolls really were not Grandpas favorite. So.....

Grandpa decided it would be fun to finger paint....On the glass patio table......without any paper

I thought the girls weren't coming so I planted the plants and fertilized the grass. When they got here, Holly said Grandma suggested messy games. So we did finger paints. They both had fun messing up the table. It had all sorts of colors and was very pretty.

Easter Party Part 2

Our family Easter Party was to be from 10-12, to accommodate Katie's family, and try to work with Holly and Sam's move. Well...........The move took longer than planned, but it would still work. When Katie came we found out the out of town guests weren't coming so the time pressure was off, we could start later. But we weren't able to get hold of Janice and Great Grandma, to let them know they could come later. Mom and Janice arrive on time, only to have mom fall on our front porch, a huge knot on her head, and messed up her knee. Even though she didn't black out, and we iced things, because of her age, Kaiser wanted her to come to Urgent Care and be checked out. Mom didn't want to leave until we had had our Easter Egg Hunt. But Urgent Care closed at 12:00. We told her we would wait. So I alerted those that were moving at Holly and Sam's that they had a lilttle more time. They thought they would be all done by 3:00, since the new owner walk through was at 4:30, it was all hands on deck to help them finish. Before mom left she had a special gift for the Grandchildren. We had found some crocheted chicks that my grandmother, Nora Hansen had made. There were enough for each of moms great grandchildren (and the 2 arriving) to have one. So she had made special cards, and wanted to give these to the girls before they left. They are the kind that uses a plastic Easter egg to fill out the body. Sara thought it was pretty funny to have the chicken lay the egg!!

By 4:00 we had gathered (in the meantime Katie had a baby shower to go to) and Holly and Sam had unloaded the last in the Storage Shed. Mom and Janice were back....... So we had The Hunt.

Sara stopped after 4 eggs, even though we had some practice sessions the day before. Nora on the other hand knew what the game was all about.

This was Dana's first Easter Egg Hunt Anderson style, She was surprised when you didn't necessarily get to keep what you had found...It didn't take long for her to catch on. It really is hard to explain.

Here is Brad and Katie is the Posed Picture! I wanted to make sure I got at least one picture of everyone there.

This picture says it all. Holly and Sam were exhausted. This past month of trying to get moved out of their house, put things in storage, and move in with Sam's dad, until they find a house, on top of having 2 active little girls running around helping.

We did our trade. We had lots of good stuff. The men got socks, the women, slippers, Dana, some creative memories stuff, mom a motab CD. The soon to arrive grandchildren received a large receiving blanket, gown, and toy. The girls got a new outfit each and a couple of toys. We are enjoying the Elmo book. The lacing bear may be to advanced. The clock and the Sara Lynn Fisher Price stuff was a hit. I didn't get pictures of any of that. The shirt to Emily from Sam and Holly was the biggest hit.

I about forgot. I got to play a good trick on my kids. I got some collapsable Easter Baskets this year. Since Andy hides the baskets and they have to find them. In 20 years, in the same house, it as been pretty predicitable where to find them. Especially since we have had the same baskets for the last 20 years. Having ones that collapsed opened up a whole new set of hiding places. What fun.