Overwhelmed and Blessed

May 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Credit: Imgur.com

I’m sitting at the airport in Burbank, Calif., on my way home to Denver after a weekend in LA for my baby shower that was way too short. Pictures to come but I had to write about how overwhelmed I feel with all the blessings and love we’ve been shown over the past few days in anticipation of little sprout.

On Thursday my office threw a three-way baby shower for myself and two other colleagues who are expecting in May and July respectively. I received so many thoughtful gifts and warm wishes. My heart was filled to the brim.

Then yesterday, Saturday, my mom threw me a gorgeous baby shower attended by family, family friends and my dearest girlfriends. I was astonished by all the generosity, appreciative of the advice and grateful for the chance to connect with the women who have helped shape the person I am today, and I mom I hope to be.

I am not ready to go home to Denver and I wish I could ditch my flight and stay just a few more days. The life change ahead is becoming more real each day and the next time I come back to LA I won’t just be me. I’ll be a mom with little sprout in tow, introducing him or her to the entire family. It seems impossible to fathom. But I am bursting from excitement and anticipation.

We are so ridiculously loved, lucky and blessed. Family and friends are truly what make life so sweet.

Filed Under: Family, Pregnancy, Reflection Tagged With: , ,

We’re 20 (Weeks)

March 13, 2013 By 5 Comments

Surprise! The Anderson clan is expanding by one – due July 31, 2013!  I am 20 weeks pregnant (halfway!) and thrilled to finally share the big news here on my blog.

Girl or boy? What a great question…that we do not know the answer to. Mike and I have decided to wait until we meet our little sprout on delivery day. For those of you who know me personally this decision probably comes as a shock given my type-a planning tendencies. But this is such a special surprise and I am completely at peace with it being unknown.

We’ve waited 20 weeks to share the news for a few reasons. First the obligatory 12 weeks came and went, luckily without incident. Then I needed to share the happy news with my colleagues and all of my clients. That process naturally took a bit of time. When we could finally shout it from the rooftops, I decided that I wanted to get a perfect bill of health update at the 20-week ultrasound before saying anything. Thankfully, that appointment was Tuesday and all looks fantastic.

Starting tomorrow I am going to post some blogs I wrote earlier in the pregnancy, before I could share my experiences and thoughts publicly. I hope you enjoy a few days of looking back on it all.

What a journey it has been thus far. My heart swells and my eyes fill with tears when I think about meeting our little one. I cannot believe how much we already love our tiny sprout and how much I think about the mother I want to be. I am extremely grateful to be surrounded by incredible role models. I hope they don’t mind LOTS of calls and texts with new mom questions.

Welcome to a brand new and very exciting Lex & Learn chapter.

 

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: ,

Happy 3rd Birthday Kona!

March 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Kona, you are our sweet, loud, mischievous and manipulating fur child. This morning while I was in the shower you apparently gave Mike your “lover boy” face as he calls it, and he granted your wish to be “tucked into bed” for some more rest time. Instead of kicking you out when I found you like this, I let you sleep for another 30 or 40 minutes while I got ready. Pathetic.

I am utterly amazed what we do for our dogs.

Kona, you give us grief but we couldn’t imagine our home without you. Happy 3rd birthday buddy!

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: ,

Grandma, You Are Missed This Christmas

December 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Grandma Lorraine. Christmas 1982

Tuesday will mark our family’s fourth Christmas without our sweet grandma Lorraine. Four holiday seasons, how can that be? I remember when the first Christmas after her passing felt impossible. “It will get easier” seemed like the stupidest and most insensitive phrase. But life keeps moving and it has gotten easier, and that fills me with guilt and relief all at the same time.

Her memory lives on all year long, but no time more than Christmas. She absolutely loved Christmas, but not for the presents or parties. She loved Christmas for the music and the lights. The eggnog and the brandy (and wine and champagne). The fruitcake and the endless sweets. The time with family, especially when it meant I traveled home from college.

She opened each present on Christmas morning like it was the first present she had ever received. Carefully, oh so carefully, she would open the paper while making sure to salvage bows, ribbon and tissue paper for the next year. Whether the gift was a wooden spoon or a fancy outfit, she would touch it over and over, exclaiming how perfect it was and how we spent too much money on her. If you tried to take her picture on Christmas morning you were always met with a “NO” exclamation and a hand that immediately went up to cover her face. Oh, and we often made her wear a Santa hat. She was a trooper.

Christmas traditions have changed a lot since she left us. Mike and I got married so holidays have been split back and forth between Los Angeles and Denver. None of us can stand fruitcake or regular Coca Cola so those treats are no longer purchased. I didn’t even buy eggnog this year and the house is brandy-less.

But if she could visit the home that Mike and I have made, one year after we closed in December 2011, she would “ooohh” and “aaahhh” over our tree, telling me how beautiful each and every ornament looks. She would love our holiday fireplace mantel and be so happy that Kona has his own stocking. She would make me buy eggnog and spike it to our liking, especially while watching Christmas choir specials on PBS. You see, she thought watching mass and choirs on PSB Christmas Eve excused her from midnight services. She preferred cozy bathrobes to holiday sweaters.

I miss her daily, but I expect Christmastime will always be the hardest. So I write this post in order to share my memories of this incredible lady with you, and to pass along the love and joy she simply radiated at Christmas. It was such a blessing.

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: , , ,

Girls Sleepover!

November 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

…with Uncle Mike too of course!

As I mentioned in my post about overnight french toast, our twin nieces had their first sleepover at our house about two weeks ago. I was a little nervous how the sleeping arrangements would go over but they took to the basement guest room like champs.

We watched Tangled (so cute!) in a makeshift fort built by Uncle Mike, made our own pizzas for dinner and played for hours upon hours with my old Barbies and beanie babies (at least 100), which my parents drove out from Los Angeles a few weeks earlier. What is it with buying a house and suddenly getting all of your old stuff? Our house isn’t that big people!

It was so neat to watch the girls “ooohhhh” and “aaaahhhh” over the same Barbie outfits and accessories that mark a special time in my childhood. I look forward to keeping them here so the girls can create memories at our house for years to come. There are certainly going to be many more sleepovers in their future!

Filed Under: Auntie Lex, Family Tagged With: , ,

Game of Thrones

July 12, 2012 By 1 Comment

                                                                         Source: google.co.uk via Sarah on Pinterest

 

Are you watching it? I had not even heard of the show until a few weeks ago when a coworker raved about it during lunch. We no longer have cable at home so Mike and I rely on purchasing seasons of series to get us by. We just finished season one but season two isn’t available for purchase on iTunes yet. What will we do until then!?

Medieval times, sword fights and be-headings of humans and horses. Definitely not what I look for in a show. But for some insane reason, I’m obsessed. And Mike is thrilled since Game of Thrones is a welcomed break from Real Housewives marathons.

The story line sucks you in and there is no sugar coating of the multiple plots. Tip for any newbies ~ do not get emotionally attached to any character. You may also want to avoid eating dinner while watching the show.

You’ve been warned. Now go get hooked!

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: , ,

Family Photos

July 9, 2012 By 1 Comment

Aunts don’t always get to be in family photos. So, when Mike’s sister asked me to join the session even though Mike was out of town I was very touched. Her best friend Lindsay is an insanely talented photographer. She has an incredible knack for capturing special and unique moments ~ no easy task when your subjects are usually young children. Lindsay is also a magician with Photoshop. Let’s just say that I was sporting a blemish or two in the photo below.

And speaking of the photo below, I am so thrilled to have a moment captured like this. I hope that on a future visit home to California I can coordinate family photos with my brother, sister in law, nephew Jackson and niece Olivia. Our five nieces and nephews will only be this young for a moment in time and it’s very special to be a part of this moment, frozen in time.

Credit: Lindsay Teague Morena, 5ive Photo

Thank you Lindsay for giving me a gift I will always cherish.

If you are in the market for photos (family, wedding, engagement, maternity) I urge you to explore Lindsay’s 5ive Photo website and blog. You will fall in love with her work!

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Marriage: Year One

May 29, 2012 By 1 Comment

Credit: Zorn Photography (http://www.zornphoto.com/)

Today, May 29, we celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. In this year we’ve celebrated so much…our vows, the purchase of our first home together, the births of another niece and nephew, Mike’s graduate school graduation–blessings have been pouring in from every angle.

Like any couple, especially one that marks nine years together tomorrow (we celebrated May 30th as our dating anniversary for many years) there are up’s and down’s. Anyone who says life is perfect 365 days a year is not being honest with themselves. We have arguments over petty things and moments where we take one another for granted. But with every year we love each other a little deeper, and create our family life the way we want it to be…the way it works for us and no one else.

As husband and wife we love being together but also love our independence. We have our passions together and separately. We cheer each other on, never ask for the other person to change, and continuously check in to make sure we’re staying on the same page, shifting course when needed. We love each other but know a healthy marriage that can stand up to tough tests needs constant attention, nurturing and honesty.

If words could express my happiness in being married to Mike, this blog post would go on and on. I have never been more comfortable in my own skin, even on days when I am not acting my best. As I said on May 29, 2011, in front of 160+ people…Mike loves me for who I am. All of it. No questions asked.

Happy anniversary babe. I cannot wait to experience what else the world has in store for us.

Filed Under: Family, Reflection Tagged With: ,

Wordless Wednesday: Proud

May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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Three Years

March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

On March 20, three years ago today, I said a final goodbye to my sweet Grandma Lorraine. I was living in San Diego and while I had spent many important days with her in the months leading up to March 20, there just wasn’t time to get up to Los Angeles.

But I still remember the day and the days that followed so vividly. I received a call around 10 a.m. from my mom. I knew in my heart it was the call. She told me to say whatever I wanted to my grandma and held the phone to her ear. I told her as much as I could choke out, all while huddled in the most private place I could find on such short notice in our office. I am confident she heard every word. Two hours later, while I mindlessly ate lunch with a few coworkers, I got the second call. The call.

I’ve written about my grandma quite a bit on Lex & Learn since then and am amazed at how much has happened since those days.

Last week I was reorganizing my jewelry and was so excited to come across one of her rings. She had no money, so I am sure it was from Target or something similar. But she loved her jewels regardless and I strung it on a plain gold chain along with a tiny ring from my childhood. I love the way they both feel against my chest. Like how her hand felt holding mine for 27 years.

Today is a tough day. There are countless memories where an empty hole isn’t fully healed. But it is that hole that reminds me to be more patient, more kind and more loving–her very best, impossible to ever fully live up to qualities.

We love and miss you grandma.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: ,
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