New Blog?

So, some of you may have discovered that you can no longer leave a comment on my blog unless you have a Google+ account.  Sorry about that.  I thought it would be a great idea to switch my blog over to Google+ and then discovered that comments could only be left by people who had a Google+ account and THEN discovered that even though I deleted all the Google+ stuff on my blog and converted it back to "normal" that there's no way to turn off the Google+ comments.  So, I think my only solution is to start a new blog.  So I'm taking suggestions for names of said new blog.  I know you can't leave comments, but you can email me: shannon@jeffnshannon.com if you have suggestions.  Shiloh already suggested RedHotMama!

Conversations with Kids

This is how my conversation with my nephew went last night over Skype.  He's turning 7 on Cinco de Mayo.

Me: Kye, what do you want for your birthday?
Kye: Um, a Kindle Fire or a DS.
Me:  Okay, anything cheaper?
Kye: How about $50.  No, make that $60.  Yeah, $60!  $60 sounds good.
Me: Anything cheaper?
Corinne (in the background): He wants shorts....get him purple shorts.
Kye: Corinne!  Be quiet.  Yeah, Shannon, I want shorts for the summer.  Lots of shorts.
Corinne: Get him purple ones.
Kye: Corinne, I told you to be quiet.  Shannon, not purple.  I already have purple (I wasn't expecting him to say that).  Other colors though.
Me: Okay, we could do shorts.  Anything else?
Kye: Yeah, your old iPhone!

This kid doesn't ask for much.

Follow By Email

Did you know that if you put your email in the "Follow By Email" box to the right, you'll get notifications every time I update my blog?  Simple as that and you won't get a bunch of spam by giving your email.  Just wanted to let you know so that you don't miss one minute of our exciting life!

Fun with Pictures

Dominican Republic Fundraiser

Dear Friends & Family,

As many of you know, the Anderson's (including the kids) are headed to the Dominican Republic in June with our church.  In an effort to raise the $5,000 needed for the four of us to go, I have enabled my crafting skills and am selling my creations.  With Mother's Day right around the corner, any of these would be perfect gifts for mother's, friends, family, grandparents, etc. or yourself!

*My first item is a 1x8 turned into a large ruler for the wall.  You can use this to record the height of your kids as they grow. You never have to worry about moving to a new house because you can take it with you.  Use one for all of your children or use separate ones for each child.  I will also put their name on it if you like and have many different colors from which to choose.  These would also make a great gift for baby showers or grandparents.  I am selling these for $50 each.
*I have a light colored stain (seen with Siahna's name or Grand Kids) and a darker, reddish colored stain (seen with Case's name).  I apologize for the lack of professional looking pictures - the photographer in the family lives in Nebraska!

*I have not yet figured out the logistics of shipping, but if I need to ship it to you there will be an additional fee.  Otherwise, I will try my hardest to get it to you personally.

*My second item is wooden blocks that are reversible with seasons.  One side says "Summer" the other "Spring".  Summer is purple and hot pink while spring is a light pink and lime green. These would also make great gifts for Mother's Day or birthday's. 

*I am selling these for $20 for the set.

*Again, I do not have shipping prices but that would be an additional fee if I need to ship it to you.

*Wooden "Autumn" and "Winter" blocks.  Autumn colors are orange and chocolate brown.  Winter colors are navy blue and pale blue.  They are also reversible.

*$20 for the set.

*Lastly, is a capital letter of your choice painted with stripes - two colors of your choice.  Each one is sprayed with a clear finish to help protect it from the elements.  These are $35
*Colors are as follows:
Little Pond
Poetic Princess
Galley Gold
Toffee Crunch
White
Boston Fern
Oat Straw
Asparagus
Ashes

Please email me (sonflower_girl1@yahoo.com) if you are interested in any of the above.  All proceeds will go towards funding our trip and are NOT tax deductible.  If you'd just like to donate financially towards our trip, we'd appreciate that as well (this donation IS tax deductible).  Checks can be made out to Denver Community Church.  Please put our name in the memo line.  Mail to: Denver Community Church, 1101 S Washington St  Denver, CO 80210.  Please include the attached Missions Donation Form with your check.

Oh, How He Loves Us

Jeff and I saw David Crowder last week.  It was awesome.  This is just a clip of one of his songs.  If you'd like the lyrics, you can find them here.

A Portrait of Paris

Last week I went to a wine and canvas class with my friend to celebrate her birthday. I can hardly draw a stick person so I was a little apprehensive and didn't know what to expect. But, I soon learned you just follow the teacher and they give you step-by-step directions and you soon have a picture that looks like you might actually be an artist!

Josh Groban

Shortly after Case was born (almost six years ago), Jeff got free tickets to a Josh Groban concert and I fell in love. This guy has an amazing voice and he was very entertaining during the concert and probably the best concert I've ever been to. This is probably my favorite song of his.

About a month ago, I learned he was going to be at Red Rocks in July.  This place is an amazing place for concerts so we splurged and got two tickets in Row 28. I can't wait!

Dominican Republic Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

            We are excited to announce that our family of four is taking a missions trip to the Dominican Republic in June.  That’s right, we are taking the kids to a foreign country for a week along with several other families from our church.  We are super excited and feel that God has put the Dominican people on our hearts for a reason. 

            Our church has spent the last four years building relationships with friends in the DR.  These people don’t need us at all – in fact, they are probably better at building houses and telling people about Jesus than we are, but what they do want and desire is a community that pours into them and supports them.  That’s the kind of relationship our church has built and what we desire to support. 

            Our hope is that we can expose Case & Siahna to people in need and instill in them a heart for giving and caring for others.  We desire to be a family on mission and this is one way we can demonstrate that desire.  We also hope to be changed and to grow in our faith.

            We will be traveling to the city of Puerto Plata and will partner with a church called A Light on the Road Church, in the neighborhood that used to be called Aguas Negras (“Black water” – which is a slang term that basically means “sewage”).  Such a nickname does not reflect the beautiful simplicity and love that the people from our church have experienced in this community.  In fact, the community leaders have chosen a new name for themselves: Nuevo Renacer.  Which means, "New Birth".  We seek to serve alongside and learn from this sister church community as they also seek holistic redemption and restoration in their community.

           One of the areas we hope to serve in while there is a boys and girls club that focuses on creating positive outlets for youth to dream about living life abundantly inside and out of the slum community.  There is also a sewing shop and co-op that generates income for the community and elementary school that we will be able to work with and purchase many of their products to help support the work they do within their community.  Our sister church there has started an elementary school for the community and we may have the opportunity to work and interact with students in different capacities including Vacation Bible School.

            While we are very excited to be taking this trip there are also some risks that we take as well as we travel to another country with young children.  We ask for your prayers in the following areas (as well as those we can’t think of right now):

            *protection while we travel and while we are in the DR. 

            *that Case & Siahna will have soft hearts for those in need and will come home with an appreciation for     what they have and a desire to help others less fortunate.

            *that we will have open hearts and will change the way we see the world.

            We also ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially.  We need to raise about $5000 to help cover training, travel, and expenses while we are in the DR.  If you are interested in partnering in this way, please do the following:

            *Make your check out to: Denver Community Church

            *Memo Line: Jeff & Shannon Anderson 

            *Fill out the Missions Donation Form (at bottom) and return along with your check to the church.

Denver Community Church
c/o DR Trip Donation
1101 S. Washington St.
Denver, CO 80210

            

All donations are tax deductible – please make sure to return the Missions Donation Form with your check.

            Thank you so much for your prayers for our family as we take this journey together.  If you are interested in more of our story and how we felt God confirming we should go on this trip, please visit Shannon’s blog at:  http://mamashanners.blogspot.com/2013/03/two-stories-collide.html

Jeff, Shannon, Case & Siahna Anderson

Denver Community Church

Missions Donations Form

I would like to make a one-time contribution by check for a total of $___________

Please designate my gifts to the Missions Fund of Denver Community Church and allocate my donation to Jeff & Shannon Anderson              

 My Name ­­­­­­­______________________________

                                    (Please Print)

Address ________________________________

City ___________________________________

State ______________           Zip ________________

Signature _______________________________

Date _____________________

 

Chocolate & Wine

groupon  

Web definitions

Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to major markets in the United States and Canada.

I buy Groupons all the time...and some of my friends make fun of me for it.  "Where should we eat?"  "I don't know.  See where Shannon has a Groupon to."  "I bet Shannon has a Groupon for that!", etc.  You get the idea.

Why shouldn't I buy Groupons?  I should be the one making fun of my friends for not having a Groupon.  I'm the one saving money while they're paying full price.  Why not spend $20 to get $40 worth of food at one of our favorite restaurants?

Awhile back, I bought a Groupon for a chocolate and wine tasting in a little chocolate store in downtown Littleton.  $49 for 2 people to go to a chocolate and wine pairing class (normally $50 per person).

Thursday night Jeff and I used the Groupon and it was wonderful.  She taught us all about chocolate - did you know chocolate is a fruit and therefore it's good for you?  She taught us how to eat chocolate the right way so that you can taste all the flavors - put it between your thumb and pointer so that it begins to melt (chocolate melts at 94 degrees), then put it on the tip of your tongue and let it melt in your mouth.  After the chocolate starts to melt you carefully take a drink of wine and let the two mix and notice how the chocolate affects the taste of the wine.  We had 10 different kinds of chocolate and 4 wines.

Moscato d'Asti - Risatta from Italy with milk chocolate amaretto & dark chocolate lemon.

Malbec - Gouguenheim from Argentina with dark chocolate irish cream &dark chocolate black cherry.

Zinfandel - Clos du Bois from California with dark chocolate raspberry &dark chocolate chili pepper meltaway.

Tawny Port - R.L. Buller & Sons from Australia with dark chocolate orange & dark chocolate & espresso. 

Wouldn't this be fun to do at home?  Assign a different chocolate or wine to each of your friends and do your own chocolate and wine tasting at home.  I think I might! 

First Song

Tuesday night, Case "learned" this song from his music book.  He struggled through it and gave up in frustration after practicing for several minutes.  Wednesday morning he asked if he could move on to the next page and check off the song.  I told him he couldn't check it off until he "mastered" it.  He ate his breakfast, walked over to the keyboard and belted out "Twinkle, twinkle".  Maybe he has some musical ability, afterall.  (He gets that from his daddy!)

Changing Our Lifestyle

I don't know if we've watched too many "Doomsday Preppers" shows or what, but over the last year Jeff and I have slowly changed our lifestyle. Not because we're prepping for the end of the world, but because we 1) want to save money - living on one income means giving up some luxuries, 2) it feels great knowing you made something from scratch or with your own two hands, 3) we want to be more environmentally conscious.

*We have started composting - we bought the big bucket thing and have stuff in it in the hopes we're doing it right and it'll turn into dirt.
*We hope to use that compost to start a garden this spring.
*I made my own dishwasher detergent.
*I'm going to make my own laundry detergent.
*I made my own stain remover (like Shout, but much cheaper)
*I want to start canning. Anyone have a pressure cooker/canner they want to get rid of? And jars? :)
*I've been dehydrating fruit and making fruit roll-ups (that's a hit with the kids).
*I buy beans in bulk and cook them myself instead of buying canned beans.

Any other tips of things we could be doing in this new lifestyle of ours?

Piano Lessons

I think every parent subjects their child to some sort of music lesson at some point in their life, right?  We are at that point with Case.  We've decided he's old enough and interested enough to start piano lessons.  While we're waiting for summer to start actual lessons with a teacher, we got a beginner book and have been slowly going through it page by page. 

Jeff found a program on Garage Band that he showed Case.

Siahna, of course, has to participate too.

Still Alive

My Red Robin focus group was last night. Turns out, it was all legit and the "abandoned" warehouse is a corporate headquarters where they do taste testings. I got my $50 gift card, tried three new burgers, gave input on new plates and presentations, and wasn't kidnapped after all (or as Case would say, mommy-napped).

Outsmarted By A Two Year Old

My name is Shannon and I've been outsmarted (again) by my two year old!

Shortly after Christmas, Siahna started sleeping in her big girl bed consistently.  Yay! 

With the freedom of the big girl bed, she discovered she could take her pajama pants off.

With this new knowledge, she discovered she could undo her diaper.  Not a good thing. 

After many nights of a wet bed, I got smart and started putting a onesie on under her pajamas.  Problem solved.

Until last week.  If there's one good thing I can say about this situation, it's that she is a problem solver and determined.  Last week she outsmarted me and discovered she can still get to her diaper and undo it.  She can't get it off, but she can undo the tabs.

I don't know why she has this fixation with her diaper.  If I didn't know better, I'd think she was ready for potty training and would prefer underwear.  However, she's not interested in potty training.

So for now, we are putting a pull-up on under the onesie.  This is working for now - until she outsmarts us again.

Crafty Little Me

Thanks to Shiloh, I found this crafty thing to do today. I don't know about you, but our towels are always falling on the floor and are never there when you need one. So when I saw this, I knew I had to make them - and it truly only took 5-10 minutes.  Click here for directions.

Easter

The church where Case goes to preschool had an Easter fun day.  The kids got to hold bunnies, paint eggs, bounce in a jumpy castle, search for eggs, eat cotton candy, etc.  It was a fun evening.

Siahna wasn't too sure of the bunny but did eventually warm up to him and pet him a few times.

Siahna got a dress-up dress in her Easter basket and a bonnet.

My brother and family were in CO for the weekend and Case got to spend the whole weekend with his cousins.  The drive home proved that both kids were tired out from the fun times with the cousins.