Prayer or maybe just showing up?

PRAYER

Feas Forever!
Barbara, Anna, Kim, & Kristie

May today there be peace within you.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of FAITH.

May you use those gifts that you have received,

And pass on the LOVE that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing that you are a CHILD of God.

Let HIS presence settle into your bones, BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT.

And allow your soul the Freedom to sing, dance and to bask in the sun.

It is there for each and every one of you ; )

One of my BFFs from High School sent me this Prayer, in an email in May of 2000. My life was at a crossroads. I was single, finishing up my Master's Degree in Health Information Administration at MUSC and nothing was tying me down, except a silly one year old Golden Retriever pup, named Maggie May. I was trying to figure out which direction I was supposed to go. I was thinking of either heading back to the Tarheel State, maybe towards Research Triangle Park, or whether I would stay in Charleston, the HOLY city, where I felt like my heart had finally come home.

I said this Prayer at least twice a day (excellent timing for teeth brushing!) maybe more, I did alot of BREATHING IN and BREATHING OUT.

My boss apparently got wind that I was thinking of heading North after Graduation, so she made me a job offer, I could not refuse. That sealed it! Charleston became HOME in May of 2000. Life was GOOD!

I did alot of sailing that Summer - I LOVED it - Exhilarating! I bought a "Grown-up" house with a fenced in back yard for my Fuzzy Faced "Child." Soon, I fell in love, got married and we were blessed with an amazing child. We faced some significant losses in our lives. I learned about obedience. Obedience for me is FAITH when you can't see, hear or even feel God's presence in your life. Maybe because of my love for music, I started listening to our local Christian Radio station, HIS Radio 100.5 Even when I didn't feel it, the lyrics spoke to me and were somehow changing me from the inside out. I learned you have to show up, you move forward. I learned what Forgiveness really means and how sometimes you just have to "Do it Anyway."

FORGIVENESS by Mother Teresa

In Her Home for Children, Calcutta, India

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Mother's Day of 2011 was delightful. We were settling into our new home. My nasty Mom-Mobile received a bath with detailing inside and out, as requested. It really is the simple things! ; ) I received a Holy Cow Yoga Gift Certificate and a few other nice surprises. Life was Good!

One week later it felt like everything in my delightful life was now a BIG "?" Humbling. All the things I was so sure about the week before were now different: love, life, family, home, career, honesty, relationships, commitment, faith, future, trust, dreams, goals, etc., EVERYTHING!

So, I pulled this prayer out again today. Or maybe it found me!?!? ; ) It's a good one anytime, but especially uplifting when you feel like you're at a crossroads in life, or when you have more questions than you know how to answer. It's a reminder of our FAITH, even when we don't think we have it ourselves. It's a reminder that it's not about us - it's the JOURNEY, the winding road, even the roller coasters, growing, learning, obstacles we need to overcome, friends along the way, always there exactly when we need them the most, shining OUR Light! We are all gifted, we are all LOVED, we are ALL Children of God and we are ALL connected. You gotta get up, get out - sing & dance (or jump or whine or lean on your friends or LAUGH Out LOUD) and get some Sonshine - it is OUR Birthright! ; )



Photo by Heather Anderson



Mommy & Me - Wining & Whining - Kim, Sara & Karin



Alyssa's BFF, Piper, LEANING - 2008

I also had to include this photo of a 13 year Cicada - even with all the craziness going on in my life, I have been totally captivated by these little creatures this Summer. Maybe it's just because they showed up? Apparently, they burrow deep into the ground and stay there, only surfacing every 13 years. When I heard they would be showing up this Spring. I wanted to find one, so I could take it to my Preschool and show the little children a creature that only surfaces every 13 years. Maybe make a memory? - See a bug they would not see again until they were Teenagers, in High School. Fascinating! This year, I found two - one on my tire in the driveway, trying to camouflage himself about a month ago and one today. I almost stepped on her, when I walked out of the house. She was pretty still, sitting on the sidewalk, and the ants were curious, maybe something was wrong with her? So I jumped at this opportunity to take lots of photos ; ) When I was done, I put her on a leaf and put her up higher on one of our Indian Hawthorn bushes. When I checked on her later today she was not where I put her - hopefully, I will see her again in 13 years. I'm counting on it! ; )

Our Newest Addition

Our home, via the Pettapiece home, has been enlarged by 4 small paws. We welcome Hunter Anderson, Alyssa’s first “real” pet, to our Roller Coaster Family! : ) Thank you Sara, Chip and Tyler for sending him our way. We promise we will take good care of him. Hold on tight, Little Buddy! : )

Hunter in the carrier going from the Pettapiece home to ours. Thank you so much, Sara, Chip and Tyler (who was being camera shy : )!

The first place we found Hunter napping alone was in the sun room in Alyssa's old, comfy, pink chair. He knows which silly, Sponge Bob girl he belongs to. High Five!

Everyone in our family has been excited about his arrival except for the Queen Huntress, Izzy Bizzy. Here she is pouting on the steps. Relax old girl, he'll be "hunting" with you soon. Until then, you can sleep with me and be my sweet kitty : )

Alyssa and Hunter playing with his new toys - catnip, yummmm. We were surprised to learn from the Vet that Hunter is probably two years old, he seemed younger to us. But he sure does love to play and C-L-I-M-B. A very curious cat - imagine that!

What a wonderful new addition to our family. He looked so much like our old Mr. Scooby, we just could not let him go. It's kind of funny, Scooby passed away about this same time a year ago, right before Thanksgiving. So much for our "No replacement policy." We're hooked little buddy! : )

The BEST Halloween EVER ! ! !

Just in case you missed the exciting headlines in my life - I'm back! God and modern medicine have come together to release me from the prison of depression I have been suffering from for the past six years, just in time for my favorite holiday - Halloween! Halloween 2010 will always be a date I remember. My crazy dog, Maggie May and I before we took "our walk" together, the first time in many years. Down the dirt road, through the woods, past the marsh, by the harbor to Sunrise Park. Maggie and I have been going to Sunrise Park together since she was just a pup, since 1999. It had been too long old girl, thanks for still being by my side. I have this whole thing about dog being God spelled backwards and a bunch of other theories about the holiness of dogs. I noticed that when I let you lead, we're fine. When I try to be in charge, I pick the route, we do it on my time, my schedule and my way, you pull and fight me and it is more difficult. Why is it so hard to just "Let go, and let God (or dog spelled backwards)?"

The love of my life and then some! Thank you for not giving up on me and staying even when I asked you to leave. I will always be thankful God put us together, we are a match made in heaven!

Oh, how I love pumpkins and my sweet girl. What an incredibly amazing person you are. I love you more!

Maggie May loves Halloween too, nothing like fresh, raw pumpkin.

Even butterflies love Halloween, this one by "Butterfly Girl" herself.

Yikes, a blue-haired vampire, the worst kind! Happy Halloween from the Anderson's, Life really is good. Thank you God for everything! I could not ask for more.

Obedience is the KEY

I have learned that for me, obedience is the key. When I am not obedient to God, I sin, feel shame and lose my reborn closeness to Christ. I do not like this, it feels flat and like I'm really missing something wonderful about each moment. So what is sin for me? At this point in my life, my biggest sin is choosing to not follow a diet/exercise program.

Being overweight did not happen overnight, it started when I was nine as I crept up over the "normal" curve of one of those dratted growth charts. My weight issues in high school had to do with control or lack thereof, did I mention I was a teenager?!? In my 20's my weight issues came from beer/college. And my most recent weight gain came from a troubled marriage. I have not been "chubby" since I was nine. I have known God's Love before and looked my finest in Junior High School (I was a Cheerleader), at Lenoir-Rhyne (I was in the Dance Company and on the Homecoming Court) at East Carolina and most importantly, in 2000 when I met Drew. We used to joke with each other about each being a "Total Package."

I can tell you that now, or starting last week, the troubled marriage has been exposed and is being worked on. I don't know how long it will take us to work out our issues but I hope it is less than the year it is going to take me to lose this extra 60 pounds. I have struggled with my weight and dieting for what feels like forever and I can finally say that I am not enslaved anymore and this baggage will be shed. I can be better.

I am following Dr. Joel Furhman's Eat to Live Diet (basically Vegan), because it has worked for me twice in the past two years and came recommended to me by one of my favorite doctors and people, my brother, Dr. Brad. Chantel Hobbs is another person I will be following. It's funny, I thought I "got" her book. Giving your weight issues over to God. I even had a new theme song! I really thought I had let go of my food issues, but the scale kept climbing. I was so anxious recently because as long as the Girl Scout Cookies were in my house, my weight kept going up. I love my Daisy Girl Scouts but someone else will be the Cookie Manager next year! What Chantel says that really hit home with me is that "HE just loved ME." She also said, "I will be better" and that "God wants more for you." Her husband responded to her madness with "Do it then talk, babe." So she did, she lost more than two hundred pounds, and has written two really great books for those of us who struggle with our weight: Never Say Diet and the The One-Day Way. Now I am going back and reading them again - funny, now they make really do make sense!

I know that God won't do everything. I am going to have to do it the boring, old, tried and true hard way - diet and exercise. It's just that God has finally provided the motivation I have been lacking.

So OBEDIENCE is my key - what do I have to do to be obedient? Take care of myself, eat healthy, drink lots of water, drive safely, listen to HIS radio, read my devotional Daily Grace For Teachers book, love and pray for my kids, and be the best wife, mother, teacher, daughter and friend I can be, care for my coworkers, listen to Focus on the Family, read my Not Religion Devotions, do things I love to do each day, attend marital counseling, go to Overeater's Anonymous, find a sponsor, do the steps, surrender this whole eating thing to God, exercise each day, go to Church to get recharged, and live the best possible life I can, giving God the glory.

I also know that this weight is not going to just fall off. It's hard to lose weight at 40, especially compared to 9 or 15 or 20. Today I did 36 minutes on the treadmill that btw is in the middle of our living room floor! Poppy, I think I'm finally ready to hear about your diet - I already like Pomegranate Juice and 1 square of Dark Chocolate a day! So my toenails don't look perfect anymore and if I'm coming to your house, hide the cookies!


Here's an oldie but goodie from the last time I was the "right" size, December 2004. Because I must have a photo, right?!?! Alyssa was just a babe and we were all really happy. I can be better and I'm on my way.

Welcome to Blogger

So Drew has started his new Blog, check it OUT!

http://drew-getbusyliving.blogspot.com

The Search is Over - Survivor

Just in case you don't remember the words to this 1980's song by Survivor it goes "The search is over, you were with me all the while." That is what I am most thankful for today. This has been a LIFE CHANGING week for our TEAM. But we are happy to announce that we are BACK and life is only going to get better and better! We are excited about this! This blog will change somewhat too - more talk from me and I will be linking to Drew's new Blog, coming soon. The TRUTH is that our marriage was in trouble and we wound up at a Couples Workshop where we met Terry Real (The REAL Deal) and Mary Raymakers, a modern day Shaman. They were honest, helped us discover our full God-given potential, AND find our passion/spark again. "It was with us all the while." LIFE is GOOD and not only that but makes sense too! We do not know what our future holds, but God does and we're happy about that, He will show us the way and it is going to be quite a ride - pay attention, many good things will be coming. I want to say a very sincere Thank You to our families and friends, some of you may think this sounds like crazy talk but when you see us you will notice the change. Thank you for being "with us all the while."
Not the greatest photo we have ever taken, but the smiles are real, the sparks are back in our eyes and this was taken at the Holiday Inn in Mount Pleasant where we left to start our new life together as husband and wife on June 1, 2002. The Couples Conference was held here as well. Funny how things come back around - "You were with us all the while."

Thank you God for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine.

Ski Beech

Well, it's about time I posted this! First there was the time factor, then I had trouble moving the photos around using Blogger. They are still a little out of order but this is the best I can do for now. Here's our trip to Beech mountain and Alyssa's first BIG snow experience!

The first thing Alyssa did when she saw all the snow - make a snow angel, gotta love kids!

After we unloaded the car which was definitely the most grueling experience of our trip, Alyssa wanted to make a snowman. I thought pot head was a great name!

Alyssa's favorite part of the trip was sledding which was FREE. The best things in life . . .

Alyssa all "geared up" for skiing, she was so excited to try something new!

During her private ski lesson she lost her third tooth - the first top one. She totally grossed out her instructor - hee, hee, obviously not a parent!

Our cabin was in the top left corner of this building - it was perfect and the tooth fairy even found it. Perfect for us, but not our FRONT wheel drive Highlander. By the end of our trip we were able to get up the hill/driveway to our condo but it took five men to push us out when we were leaving, whew!

Alyssa trying it - she's UP!

She's DOWN - : (

Mr. Ski Beech - we all met our goals. Drew was able to go down the slopes twice, I got up on my skis and did not brake anything and Alyssa tried skiing - we had a successful, memorable and FUN trip. And I don't think I have ever been so glad to get to Morganton!

Why we do anything at all - LOVE this girl!!!

Aquarium Visit

On our LAST day of Christmas Break we took our girl to the Aquarium. Her treat for being so brave and getting her H1N1 Flu shot at school, without even crying.

Just like the ads say she was up close and personal with marine life, such as sea urchins, crabs, starfish and baby sting rays in the touch tank.

And really up close with the Loggerhead turtle in the Big tank.

A fun time was had by all, even with the FREEZING temperatures. Do we look cold or what?!?!?

New Year's Celebration

We celebrated in our cluttered little kitchen, the three of us and our dog - and it was perfect!

Happy New Year!

The Andersons wish you the Happiest New Year Ever! This is what we look like all cleaned up for our Church Directory Pictures.

County Park Lights

On Christmas Evening we went to see the James Island County Park Festival of Lights. We were fortunate to see a beautiful sunset along with the lights.

This year we rode the Train for the first time.

Then, of course, it's Marshmallow roasting time.

Alyssa took this one of the adults - Merry Christmas Y'all!

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning started earlier than it ever has before - 1:45 a.m. Alyssa was so excited that Santa had left his gifts and filled the stockings she could not go back to sleep. So into bed with Momma and we played the "Math" game until we finally drifted back to sleep. Momma doesn't fare well on only three hours sleep! However we really enjoyed Christmas Day, good food, good company and too many toys to play with.

Alyssa's first present - the only one she was allowed to open before Eya and Poppy came over from their hotel. The Whoopsie Doo Baby Doll - it pees and poops - ugh!

The photographer opening his ONLY present - an electric screwdriver. His/our other present was an updated TV - it is very nice, a real Man's man gift! I still can't work it very well - ha!

Alyssa opening one of her favorite Santa presents - Lulu the cat that purrs and meows. She loved it until it ran out of batteries, it really uses them up!

Santa also brought Alyssa some pretty new Roller Skates. She has been practicing around the house, one foot at the time. Hopefully she will not break her neck and we will take her skating soon!