All about family!

Today was all about family!  The four of us spent the entire day together, mostly at home, just enjoying each other's company and relishing in the short time we have together (Amy leaves tomorrow... sad). 
It's so good to be home and all under the same roof, together again!

Amy and I took a little sister trip to Starbucks, then TARGET... then Starbucks again! 

Someone's addicted to coffee in this family... and it isn't me. hint hint!

My mom and I went through some old family heirlooms and found this gorgeous broach that belonged to my great grandmother on my mom's side.  I know it's not very cool to wear these in America, but all my co-workers wear them on their blazers in Korea, so now I can join the trend... and how awesome that mine is a family heirloom!  I love it!

My parent's best friends Rick and Sherry came over for a delicious lunch and lots of chatting!  While we're not related by blood, these 2 are just as much family as any blood relatives out there!  They're a special, special couple who I really look up to and adore! 

 

Rick and Sherry are really invested in making a difference in Africa by teaching locals how to dig wells in order to provide fresh water to their villages!  They have the most beautiful hearts and perspective on life...  Sherry brought back a bag full of these hand made paper beads that she had bought from women living in the slums of Compala Africa.  She poured them out and told us each to pick what we'd liked to have.  I chose these 3 that I'll wear proudly!  Thanks again Sher Bear! 

It's 10:45pm now and Everybody Loves Raymond is on the TV, Mom's reading e-mails on her laptop at the kitchen table, Amy's looking frantically for her missing tablet, dad's playing TETRIS in his big comfy chair and I'm blogging at the kitchen table!  Feels so good to be home!

Tomorrow we'll say goodbye to Amy, but Hello to Aaron!   

Happy New Year! 

Hello Hoppy Family!

I'm home, I'm home!  My dad came and picked me up from the airport bright and early at 9:00am!

We spent the next couple hours lounging around and catching up at the kitchen table (our favorite meeting place!)... then headed off to Taco Bell for some lunch!  YUM!

After lunch, we stopped by COSTCO then rushed back home to catch the Auburn University game!  My mom is a die hard Auburn fan!

When I was a little girl, I had a gameboy with TETRIS and my dad would always play it when I wasn't.  Now, 20 years later he's still hooked!   There's no beating him now!  He's a TETRIS pro!

It's so nice to be home and have a home cooked meal by my beautiful momma! 

Tonight's menu was salmon!  YUM!

Around 7pm, we headed off to Long Beach airport to pick up my sister Amy! 

It's sssoooo fun to have her home! 

The two of us headed off to a party of one of Amy's old High School friends who happens to be a photographer.  He had set this backdrop up and had props for people to wear and snapped everyone's pics when they came in!  Such a fun idea! 

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" 

There's something special about a sister... especially mine! 

Love you Amy Lynn!

It's good to be back home with my fam!

A day full of girl friends!

Kelsey takes after her momma and played hostess for me this morning for breakfast!  Even Jameson went into work late so the three of us could all sit and have breakfast together!  I am so happy they found each other and love each other the way they do! :)

Kelsers in her gorgeous new kitchen! 

Breakfast was delicious! ... and for the record, this was the FIRST EVER home made coffee that I've ever loved and finished!  You sure know how to make 'em sister!

Kels and Jameson LOVE dogs and have such a heart for rescuing pupps.  This is their third and newest dog, Dezi!  She's gorgeous and such a teddy bear!  As soon as she saw that I was awake this morning she crawled on top of me in bed and licked my face for a good 30 seconds!  She so big, I couldn't push her off!  Once she had had enough licks, she cozied up next to me in bed and let me spoon her!   AAAhhhhhhh.... the best!

I had my very own guest room at Kelseys!  Jameson even hung window coverings for me on the windows in the hallway leading to my room, just to make me feel more comfortable while I stayed at their house!  Soooo sweet!  ... and who doesn't love their own little personal Christmas tree in their bedroom?! 

After having breakfast and getting some good one on one time in with Kesley, she drove me over to Sarah's house!  Kels and Sarah had a great time catching up and are really excited about how close they now live to each other - 3 1/2 miles!  I'm kinda jealous to think that my best friend and little sister may end up hanging out without me!  

While I got ready for the day in the master bathroom, I could hear Caleb and Sarah playing ping pong and laughing hysterically in the loft!  It brought me so much joy to see her so happy! 

Thank you Caleb! 

Caleb and Sarah have been working so hard to fix up their new home to make it just how they want it!  If Caleb wasn't watching 127 hours (his fav movie) or playing ping pong, he was walking around with a shovel, screw driver, or drywall blade in his hand doing something on the house!  It was fun to see him in action, switching out this medicine cabinet!

We definitely needed an update best friend pic!  Thanks Caleb

Sarah, sneaking one of my cake pops!

"Welcome to our new home!"

The C. Thatcher abode!

Sarah and I had both bought homes in the FAR west valley years ago, so we thought it'd be fun to drive out there and check out our old homes.  I loved this house and watched it be built from the ground up!  I put hours and hours of sweat and tears into making it exactly what I had always dreamed of living in.  I hope someone lives there who appreciates it like I did... and hopefully they get that grass in check!  Come on people!

Then is was off to QT for a drink, my request, of course!  QT was a staple during my Arizona days!  They have PEPSI AND COKE products!  I'm convinced this is the only place that sells both!

... then off we went to our favorite little lunch spot: Wildflower Bread Co.

After lunch we drove over to visit Sarah's sister in law, at Target, while she was on her break!

We headed back to Sarah and Calebs and The Fleming family happened to be there when we pulled up!  Emily is Caleb's older sister, and Aaron and I follow their amazing photography blog on a daily basis, so to see them in the flesh was pretty exciting for me!  Luckily they felt the same about meeting me, but were bummed that my other half wasn't here to meet them.

I've watched this little guy since his birth (on the blog of course) so I was in heaven getting to actually spend an hour or so playing and holding him!  Look at that smile!

Sarah and I headed over to the nearby Barnes and Nobles so I could catch up on some blogging and she could read some DIY mags.  Before we knew it, Hanna and Robyn (Sarah's sister in law and mother in law) came and met us for some girl time!   Who doesn't love girl time!  We talked love, jewelry, raising kids, decorating, travel, etc! 

Then the four of us drove across the street to use our gift cards at Starbucks where we just kept the girl time going and the delicious drinks coming!  :)  Salted hot chocolate - YUM! 

We made it a

Cracker Barrel, MHS, Last Chance and the Andersons!

Sarah and I got up around 8:30am and had some fun “getting ready time” together in her new gigantic master bathroom! It was so great to curl our hair, put on our make-up together and ask each other opinions on outfit choices… just like old times! We were dorm buddies back in College! It’s the little things I guess!

Sarah dropped me off for breakfast as Cracker Barrel to see Jill, Katie, and Faci one more time! Breakfast was delicious, but the company was what really made it so great!

Then it was off to Millennium High School with Katie, which is where I used to work. We hung in her classroom for a bit so I could do a little blogging and she could get some work done. I was able to see 4 old co-workers who happened to be on campus during the break!

That was just a little added bonus to the outing!

One of my favorite stores in Arizona is called LAST CHANCE and I had wanted to find time to stop by while I was here, but my schedule was so darn jam packed.  Luckily I ended up with an hour window of freedom, so Katie drove me downtown to get some shopping in!

As soon as I walked in the door, I heard someone yell my name! When I looked up, I saw that it was my friend Sam, from One Place (my old church downtown) running towards me with open arms, prepping for one of his famous bear hugs! What made it even better was that he happened to be with my friend, and his beautiful wife, Kim! It was sooooo good to see them, and we talked for a good 20 minutes in the store’s entrance! Man I miss these two!

At 4:30pm, I was met by Chris (my former father in law) who drove to pick me up at LAST CHANCE to take me to their house in Cave Creek for a big Anderson family dinner party! He was so sweet and happy to see me! We laughed and chatted the whole way home. It had been 2 years, so we had lots to catch up on!

The whole gang was there to see me, which was such a blessing. It’s not often that families are able to continue to keep a relationship with a former family member, but these 8 have never stopped pursuing a relationship with me nor made it awkward because of the situation. 

They are a special group to say the least!

Kels and Kirstin

Last time I saw Caleb, he was only a year old, but Kirts and Jay talk about me with the boys while I'm in Korea, so when I got to AZ this year he immediately called me Auntie Jillers !  Melt my heart.

Not only did Molly arrange for everyone to be there, but the house and table were decorated to a tee...

all my favorite appetizer snacks were laid out...

... and she even contacted me weeks ago to ask what I'd like for the dinner menu to be!  Talk about feeling loved!  She's definitely the hostess with the mostest!  (Is that how that phrase goes?)  Anyhow, I picked my all time favorite Molly menu items and they were just as delicious as I always remmeber them being!

The entire night was special for different reasons, but my most memorable moment was when we all gathered around the table, held hands and began to sing "Be Present," a hymn that has been sung for generations in the Anderson family.  It was such a special moment, holding hands as a family, singing the song we'd sung many many times as a prayer together, and looking around seeing all of these special people (who at one point I thought I would lose) gathering together for me!  It would be an understatement to say that I was very touched.  The tears streamed down my face as soon as first word of the song was sung, which then made everyone else cry.  Poor Caleb, he was looking around at all of us, so concerned, because we were all tearing up.  I love his sweet heart! 

Before dinner, we all lounged in the family room, catching up and playing swords with the boys!

Then after dinner we played a game... because that's how we roll in the Anderson house!  A game is ALWAYS played!  Tonight's game of choice was 5 Second rule!

Caleb wasn't really old enough to understand how to play,

so he just cuddled with Kirst and baby sister!  So sweet!

I was old enough to play, but that didn't mean I was any good at it.  I had 1 card, while Mr. Wizz under pressure, Jay, had 5!  LUCKY!

Kirst asked me to snap some current pictures of her and Jay.  I'm pretty sure this isn't what she was looking for... but this one was my fav! 

Wish I was going to be in America for my baby niece's arrival!  I couldn't stop touching Kirsts belly to let baby girl know I love her already!

After a fun night of hanging together, Kelsey, Jameson and I all hopped in the car and headed to their brand new house in the West Valley!  It's gorgeous and Kelsey has decorated it like a model home!  I'm so proud of her and Jameson and all their hard work, not only with the house, but with their schooling, careers, relationship, friendships, etc!  They are one of a kind, and I'm so happy to call them family! :)

   

Cheers to another fabulous day!