Completely Inspired

I found out on Saturday while catching up with the Kare 11 website that my former facilitator while I completed my master's program, Amy Taylor, died at the age of 34 from cancer. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked and in a state of denial.
It wasn't because I had a remarkable relationship with her or because I knew her extremely well. Rather, it was because after hearing her story I was in awe that I was able to be in her presence for two years of her short life.

If you had the key/magic potion to solve any world problem,
which problem would you solve/fix?

My potion would suck out fear, loneliness, hopelessness, insecurities, apathy, and greed in people. Then it would replace those characteristics with faith, love, hope, confidence, conviction, and compassion. Just imagine what the world would be like! Maybe that’s what it’s like to be an angel in heaven.

- Amy Taylor

After reading more online about Amy and watching the Kare 11 Extra on her I am left in tears and inspired by this amazing woman. I'm thankful I was able to be in her life for a short period of time and hope her message of leaving a legacy and truly living life can be one that I adhere to no matter how short or long I live.

Overwhelmed....

and completely thankful.
This was the view of the "the bus" aka Maxine on the ride home from up north. It was completely packed with thoughtful gifts for all three of us.
We were definitely overwhelmed with the scene and, as stated before, thankful. We have such loving parents who are thoughtful not just at Christmas, but the whole year through. Our moms - Carol and Kathy - have loved becoming grandmas and have been so supportive. In the ten months that Anthony has been home we have purchased one box of diapers and two containers of wipes. That's it. They continue to buy and give and enjoy helping out.
Once again all of that giving leaves me feeling overwhelmed. To tell them to stop would be pointless so I have accepted that this is what happens. However, I'm plagued not with guilt, but rather with how to truly say thank you for the magnitude of their actions. I know they give out of love and without expectation while I continue to accept with a heart full of gratitude. However, it's still overwhelming.
Without a doubt, we are blessed. Not because of the gifts that we traveled home with, but rather the relationships we have with others. We have an amazing network of family and friends who love and support and give throughout the entire year. Even if we traveled home with nothing extra I would still feel the same.
My goal throughout the upcoming year and throughout my life is to give to others what individuals have given me. Hopefully I can be as gracious in my giving, as thoughtful with my words, and as caring with my actions. Hopefully the love I receive from others can be given to those around me leaving them feeling well cared for and truly blessed.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was a bit of a rough one. We kept Anthony up until 10:30 the night before to celebrate with the Johnson side. Needless to say, Mark and I have learned that keeping him on somewhat of a schedule is always a good thing. There was lots of crying even though he was excited that "Anta" had visited him and brought his stocking to Grand Rapids! (Santa is so amazing, huh?!)
After checking out the stocking and seeing what Santa brought we drove over to Chisholm to celebrate with Mark's side of the family. After visiting Great-Grandma Jean we ventured over to Jocie's house. Anthony was excited to see Jocie and kept saying her name in the car. Even though he was extremely tired he was in love with the toy room. He spent most of his time in there playing and when he wasn't in there Jocie was trying to figure out a way to get him back in there. Super cute!
After leaving Chisholm and taking a much needed nap we celebrated with Mark's parents - Marv and Carol - at their house in GR. Anthony would bring every gift to Grandma to help him open it. His new book Me and My Dad is super cute and one he loves! Plus it's super appropriate since he's such a daddy's boy! (We've probably read it more than five times today. Then we had to email dad at work and then call him at work and then look for him in the house and then...)
Finally! He got Fillmore from Cars! (As well as a remote controlled Mater from Grandpa!) We have learned that you really could never have too many cars. That is something he has consistently loved from the get go.

Christmas Eve

Isn't Anthony just the cutest Santa's Little Helper ever? Honestly, I couldn't resist the outfit. It probably is completely over-the-top for this two year old, but then again it was his first Christmas with us.
A really got into opening up gifts. I wasn't sure if he would like it or not because at his second birthday party he could care less about presents. Now he LOVES presents! The only downfall would be clothing items --- all pajamas, pants, shirts and even the Carhart jacket from Grandpa Willie got thrown over his shoulder. He just wasn't interested in anything that wasn't a toy. Good thing he can get away with that!

Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Willie posing with A. Their hopes were to be in their house for Christmas, but unfortunately that didn't happen. Things are moving along with the unexpected "remodeling" job, but it's at a slower pace than they would like. Hopefully they will be able to move in within the next couple of months and our next celebration can be held there.
The Tuttles - our host for this year's Christmas celebration. Be sure to check out Team Tuttle's blog for more photos!
I just love this photo. Anthony has become quite a daddy's boy, which is so cute to see. They have such a close relationship; it's fun to watch them whenever they are together.

Aren't We Lucky?

It's easy for me to become a bit crabby and start to hate the long months of winter. The snow, the bitter cold, the constant shoveling and scrapping of ice off of the car, needing to get so bundled up just to go outside, etc, etc, etc. And it's only December!
However, when I stop being crabby about this season long enough to take time to LOOK I see such an amazing landscape. I'm feeling extremely lucky to live in a state that has four seasons of such vast difference and beauty surrounding me throughout the year.

The Best Gift

Our first Christmas together as a family has come and gone. We had a fabulous time celebrating up north and have lots of pictures and stories to share. More to come -- hopefully tomorrow.
Mark and I would both have to agree, though, the best gift would be Anthony's presence in our lives. Just look at that smile and wild hair. There's nothing about him that we don't just love.
We are certainly blessed!

Hard Workin' Boy

Santa came early to the Hanson house! Mark found a good deal on Craig's List for this workbench and picked it up last week. It was suppose to be from Santa; however, it would be kind of hard to haul it up north without Anthony seeing it so he could get it on Christmas morning. Plus we would need to get it back home after the holidays and I have a feeling we'll need all the space the minivan provides. Therefore, we decided that Santa would come this weekend. It definitely has been a hit; A has enjoyed pounding in the nails, sawing things in half and playing peek a boo with mom too!

Ugly Sweaters Get Together

In spite of the snow and cold yesterday the girls were still able to get together to celebrate the holidays. I must say the "festive" - okay, hideous sweaters - was a lot of fun. Tracy's homemade Christmas bulb earrings really added to the overall look! We had a great time starting off at Tracy's house, eating at Applebee's - yes, we actually went out in public looking like this - and then revealing who we had for Secret Santa at Jenn's.
I'm so thankful to have a group of girls who are awesome to work with as well as hang out with and have fun. I am certainly blessed by their presence in my life!

Mr. Fireman Snowman

On Sunday we braved the pelting sleet and went outside to play for 30 minutes or so. It was the perfect condition to build the first snowman of the year! I'm looking forward to more snow, warmer temperature and more opportunities to build a whole snowman family. Oh the fun we will have this winter!

Baking Weekend

This weekend Mom and Manda came down to make some Christmas goodies. As you can see from the above picture our baking list kept growing. We ended up baking from 8:30 in the morning until around 7:00 Saturday night and ended up with 18 different treats. We all had a blast and agreed this will need to be annual get together.

Auntie Manda definitely is the creative force behind all of the cute cookies. She did take time to help Anthony decorate a few sugar cookies. (I have to agree with Manda that A's cookies could put people in some sort of sugar overload shock!)

Look at the concentration! MORE M&Ms!

Mom making a Tonja-favorite, DATE BALLS! They look kind of interesting, but taste oh so good!

We will definitely do this again next year - it was so much fun to hang out together and get so much done in one day. In the future we would like to keep some tried and true recipes as well as add to our list. (Next year we would like to do popcorn balls, caramels and hard candy.) Anybody out there have a creative, yummy holiday recipe you wouldn't mind sharing with The Hat Trick?

Manda's Shots

While we were home over Thanksgiving my sister, Manda, took some shots of us for our Christmas card. Of course I'm a bit biased, but I love the work she does and so appreciate her ability to make a photo shoot fun and capture such beautiful photos too. There are no stuffy poses; she prefers taking her pictures outdoors, which always makes a beautiful backdrop.

Shameless plug: If you live in Northern Minnesota or if you ever make a trip up there I highly recommend setting up a time to meet with her and giving her the opportunity to capture your beautiful family too.

Visiting Santa

Tonight we took Anthony to visit Santa at the North Pole - um, Saint Cloud Mall. He was very quiet and serious; not once did he speak or look at Santa. He wasn't super smiley either, but at least he wasn't crying and screaming. He loved the book Santa gave him and needed to read it all the way out of the mall as well as on the car ride home.
This is going to be a fun first Christmas celebrating as a family!

Prune Juice --- Works!

Finally my ulcerative colitis comes in ultra handy! (Does that capture your interest???)
Typically Anthony doesn't have a problem with going to the bathroom. (Yes, this post is about poo. If you prefer to NOT read about this type of stuff I suggest you stop reading NOW!)
He's pretty regular and never has had a problem with going to the bathroom. All of that changed late last week/weekend. He didn't go to the bathroom at all on Sunday and then nothing again on Monday at daycare. Shortly after getting home he tried going, but ended up crying in pain. So since Monday night he's been on a prune juice regimen to help him out. He has been going, but still not in a regular fashion.
Tonight, though, I think he got himself completely cleaned out. He went to his usual pooping spot. After a bit I went to get him to change his diaper, but was literally hit with an usual smell. (Erin - Think backed up BMs that explode out of the body! I know that's a favorite of your job.) When I picked him up the smell was overwhelming. I turned him around and found my surprise - poo that covered the butt of his pants, shirt and worked its way up to his shoulder blades.
Needless to say, my dealings with "UC" came in handy. I got him to the bathtub, stripped off his clothes and got him cleaned up with no problems. I can't say I've seen worse, but I have seen my share... Mark? Well he spent his time gagging and probably thanking God that I was home and cleaning up the little man.
I'm hoping this means the pipes are completely cleaned out and in working order once again so the dangerous prune juice can be put away.

Preparing for Santa!

Anthony checking out the Christmas tree.

He loved all of the lights, but especially the ornaments.
His favorite is Mark's ESPN ornament that plays the little jingle.

My two favorite boys decked out in their Santa hats!

Putting some finishing touches on the tree.

Johnson Thanksgiving

Gobble, gobble goes the turkey.

We couldn't get Anthony to say Happy Thanksgiving. However, he would say gobble, gobble!
A had lots of fun playing with everyone as well as helping out in the kitchen. The best was helping Uncle Erik chop up food.

Hanging out with Grandma Kathy. (Can you tell he's more than ready for bed?)

Eating pickles, a favorite, and spending time with Grandpa Willie.

Nedward and Mark relaxing and watching some Saturday football.

Of course it wouldn't be a Johnson get together if Manda wasn't doing something crazy to liven things up. Auntie Helga was a somewhat scary hit for Anthony!

On Saturday we celebrated the Johnson Thanksgiving at Manda and Damon's house. It was a great day of chatting, preparing for dinner, eating way too much once again and then playing Catch Phrase, spoons and Balderdash, which was a hoot!

Nissan Quest

We did it! After months of researching and looking we finally entered the minivan club. I honestly never thought I would be so excited to get rid of my Grand Prix. I guess this officially makes Mark and I middle aged or at least no longer worried about car appearances. (I laugh at the days I wanted a two door car. That would be a nightmare now!)
The Nissan Quest ended up being the right fit for us. It drives so smooth, has all of the room we need and surprisingly I felt comfortable being in it - driving and dealing with blind spots. Plus we got a great deal!
The BEST part, though, is that Zoey has her own little space in the back. Her kennel fits right in there and she can no longer chase after every car that goes by. As we were driving home on Sunday Mark and I noticed something so wonderful - silence. Both Anthony and Zoey were sleeping. Zoey NEVER sleeps when she can chase every car that passes by us and act like a whining maniac. That alone is reason enough for joining the club!

Hanson Thanksgiving

Carol and her sisters Debbie and Barb.

Anthony hanging out with Grandma Carol.

Debbie and her granddaughter Olivia (10 months).

On Thanksgiving we traveled to Andover to have a get together at Barb and John's new, beautiful home with almost everyone on the Pluth side of the family. (We missed you Grandma and Jami!) The chatting was nice; however, the best part for me was the wonderfully delicious homemade meal. You definitely know it's a holiday when you attempt to try more than one dessert. My favorite was the chocolate eclair that Barb made. (Thanks for the recipe, Barb!) If you get a chance try it! I'm sure whoever you serve it to will love it as much as I did.