Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Wow, I cannot believe it is that season. The wonderful season of Family, Reflection, Snow, Christ and Love. It has been such a wonderful year; a year of growth, trials of our Country, and personal triumph. We would like to wish you all the JOYS of the season. May Jesus Christ be the center of our homes and may we have peace in our lives. We love and miss all of our family and friends far way.
Lots of Love,

Ben, Telia, Aeden and Baby

Happy November!

We would like to extend to all a happy November. This year has flown by so fast that I can not believe that it is here. I am so excited for Thanksgiving. I want to even start making pies and a turkey, but I will wait.

Getting our home ready for Thanksgiving, we naturally put away all of the Halloween decorations. Within those decorations, there was a spider web and 2 spiders that were big and were place in our window. Every time my nephew, Eli, would come over, he would cautiously walk around making sure he never got anywhere remotely close to the spider. Well today, when he came over, he immediately noticed that the spider was gone. His instant relief relaxed his whole body, then said, "telia's home is safe now." My sister then explained that the spider went away because halloween was over and that maybe telia might have to have a Snowman or Turkey. Eli looked at me and said, "ya, i don't want a snowman." Poor kids. The things they deal with. So here are some pictures from Halloween. Aeden was a shark this year. We did dress him up in as Piglet for a little while, which he did not enjoy. He did enjoyed his Shark costume and was a really good shark because he now has 6 teeth, which are razor sharp and he used them to bit me. So I thought it would be good for him to be a shark and I would be a diver. We love this holiday.

NYC was wonderful!

Aeden, the boy, the legend

YEAH BABY!!! I'm on solid foods!

People keep saying that Aeden looks a lot like Tracy. I'll let you be the judge.

NYC and the TODAY show!

We are going to NYC!! Me, Sierra, Ann-Marie (Dental School friend/Photographer), and Aeden, Sierra's two boys, Eli and Wesley, and Ann-Marie's boys, Levi and Isaac. So that is 3 moms and 5 kids! Crazy, but we are going to have fun. Look for us on the Today Show this FRIDAY!! By the way, below is the t-shirt design we are going to wear. Thank you Ben for your creative mind!

Beach Fun!!

Hello to all. We have had a fun summer. Lots of fun adventures. Swimming in Lake Michigan, Camping, Running, Farmers Market, Zoo, playing with Ben, Ben PASSING the boards!! Lots of fun. And finally, my sister Sierra and her family to Ann Arbor for Law School, moving in just 1.9 miles away!! We love having them here.

Baby Sitting & Photoshop, etc.

Hello all, this is Ben...hey wait! Don't stop reading...I just want to balance the blog equation here. Four days ago I completed the National Dental Board Exam part 1 (like USMLE step 1, but for dentists). I say that because I have been sort of ANTI-social to pretty much all my friends who weren't close enough to throw rocks at since about April. I am, of course hugely relieved that it is over (unless I don't pass), but I want to apologize to everyone. Especially to my friend Jesse Horrocks who called me on my birthday (May 14th) and has still not received the return call.

Anyway...since the test I have been in sort of a daze trying to get around to everything I've been wanting to do, but haven't been. Among those includes creating logos for my dental fraternity (Xi Psi Phi, aka "Zips") and a friend who is starting up a business. While none of them are "done" I am proud of them and am ready to share them with everybody. The zipper is my favorite.

Telia and I have been baby sitting three of my cousins while my Aunt Mindy and Uncle Thad go to my other cousin's wedding in San Diego, who's dad (my uncle Kevin) is receiving a heart transplant tonight due to amyloidosis. But with so much going on, especially the babysitting part, of which Telia has done the lionshare, I think it is time for me to walk away from the computer/photoshop/logos for a while and go be decent helping husband...





This was adapted from the original below:

2 Years and Strong

Happy Anniversary Ben!! And Brooke and Joe! Yes, that is right. We have our Anniversary on the same day as Ben's Sister!! And we actually got married the same day, same temple. We even have a picture of all of us together in our wedding dresses and tuxes. It was a wonderful day.

Ben, Thank you for the wonderful 2 years. You are such a wonderfun husband and father. I love you.

I think that it would be appropriate to tell our story. Well, it all started back on May 22, 2006. That is when I first set eyes on him. On Ben Anderson.

We both attended the saturday session of Stake Conference. I was there because my mom went and said that maybe Ben would be there. I knew of him, but had never seen or met him. About a week before, his mom had come into my dad's bakery (Great Harvest! I love it!) where I worked. She and his little brother who I thought was cute, came in and grabbed my hand at asked, "Are you the one that is not married?" I hesitated and said "Yes." She then proceeded to tell me that she had a son who she thought I should meet. I said "OK," whatever. So when I saw him at the church, I knew it was him.

Anyway, long story short, We met. He asked me out. He said that he wanted to take me out and that it would be PLANED for, PAID for, and PAIRED off ( the three P's). I was flattered. So we stared Dating. A week later we were serious, I had my wedding dress by June 15, and we were married August 4, 2006!! It was a wonderful day, and continues to be a dream come true. To eternity and beyond!!

4 Month Check up

I think that I worry to much. Always before Aeden goes in to the doctor, I always worry that he is not getting enough, that he is starving to death, and has croup and is going to die from his shots. Course, none of this is ever true, just the paranoid mother, the new mother worries. So we went to the doctor to find out that everything is fine. Well better than fine.

I was curious to know his weight, thinking he wasn't getting enough, that he might still be hungry and if I should start supplementing with formula, rice cereal...etc. We put him on the scale to read 19.5 pounds!! Wow, I thought that he was getting heavier! Now he is entering into the 95% for height and weight. The nurse was very impressed and that mothers milk was cream. Relieved and ecstatic about his weight, I began to worry about the shots. Having such huge thighs, the nurse was not really concerned for Aeden. After his first one, he wined a little but then was distracted by the twirling dolphin hanging from the ceiling. The last shot seemed to hurt him the worst, but I quickly took him to the nursing room where he calmed down almost immediately. I could not believe it. The doctors appointment that I had been so worried about, so anxious, was over! It was a wonderful visit. Thank you Aeden for being such a good big healthy boy, and Liberty Pediatrics. We love them.

Sparklers and Slugglers

Sparklers and Slugglers? Can any one guess. These are the names that we can up with for the different types of fireflies. Here in Michigan, we have the slugglers. The flies have a long slow light that normally gradually fades off and last a little over a second. Beautiful and love them. However, when we were down in Indiana, visiting a friend, Taryn, we noticed that she had both types of fireflies. The sparklers and Slugglers. Some flies would have a longer light, and some would be very sort, very fast. Enjoying these little bugs, I love watching them come out as they light up the darkness wherever they go.

Aeden

Here are some pictures of Aeden. He is getting very big, which we as parents are very proud.

Aeden has been a very good boy. Here are some pictures from about a month ago. Man alive, time flies by. These pictures were taken from one of my friends. She is so talented. If you would like to see more of her work visit http://annmariephotography.blogspot.com/. Thank you Ann-Marie!!

My Garden

We planted a potted garden this year. Right now I have, 2 green peppers, 2 Red peppers, 2 zucchini, 2 tomato, 2 cucumber, rosemary, basil, thyme, chives, oregano, cilantro, 2 lavender, and a Shasta Daisy plant. It has made me feel a little more independent from the grocery store and more like a pioneer. Although, I am really glad that I can just buy meat from the store!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all of the Fathers/Future Fathers out there. Aeden and I were able to make a trip out to Colorado to visit my brother Zach and Kristy and there 5 children, Kaylee, Tia, Ethan, Owen and Jed. We had a blast, all of them wanted to see and hold Aeden. Aeden felt like he was in Heaven. We were able to have my sister Sierra and her two boys, Eli and Wes, along with my mom and my little brother, Jed. Then my Dad flew in for the weekend, so almost all of my family together again. We missed Ben and Art immensely. It was a great trip.
I wanted to write a little about my dad. He has been such a wonderful father and has always worked so hard. He has a Great Harvest in Folsom, California where he spends night and day working, while so many people just love him and his bread. Growing up, he was the nicest ever, always taking us to do fun things, hiking, hawaii, Disneyland. He has always been really buff and I have always felt super safe with him. Dad, you have been so wonderful. Thank you for your example, your love for mother, your love for the scriptures, your testimony, always serving others and your love for us children and grandchildren. I hope you had a wonderful day. I love you.

Swim Lessons

June is finally here. Warm weather, Sun shine, happy people, it's time to come out of our winter cave and start partying. And to do that, we started with a great week of SWIMMING lessons. Yes, finally, last week I started back up with teaching swim lessons. It has been wonderful to have a pool this year. My wonderful friend has an out-door, heated pool that she doesn't mind me using, with a small fee, so I have a pool to teach my students.
My new little company is called "STRONGSWIM." Any other suggestions, I will take them. I had eighteen students!, and It was a blast. Since I have 6 more sessions, I look forward to being in the water. There will be lots and teaching. No stopping until every child in Michigan can swim and enjoy the fun activities the summer has to offer.

Aeden's Blessing

May is for Mother

Mother's Day is in the month of may and I wanted to just highlight my mom. I was going through pictures the other day and realized again, that I love my mom. As you can see by the pictures she always looking to have a good time.





She was always eating ice cream (JK) and stayed beautiful and tan.







She always likes to get dressed up in her best clothes and greet people. Very friendly.
















She like to take glamour shots. Who knew. Well, to be honest, I think she did that just one time. But it have been remembered!






She was always hip and the styles always followed her. As you can say, "She is a trend setter."









She loves my father and they have been the best parents for me. I love you mom.