Winter Wonderland

We have been very busy doing all the fun Christmas stuff we can fit in. I just love this time of year. We went to Vintage's (Nona's Old Work) Winter Wonderland to see Santa Steve. I think it makes it so much more special when Santa actually knows your name. Ansley kinda caught on while we were there. She saw Donna (Steve's Wife) and Santa walk away together and she asked me "Is Santa Donna's Husband Steve" What can I say .... I lied! She took me at my word and didn't think twice about it :) She is so literal, everything is so black and white to her!

What a great picture of these two! It was really cold while we were waiting to ride the horse drawn carriage.

Kinley finally loves her Uncle Eric. Its so cute to hear her say his name!

Silly Kinzie!!! So glad you came with us!

This was my favorite picture.... we told her to kiss the elf and she just thought that was absurd! I just love her laugh!

Art (if you want to call it that)

The fun things you can do at Grandma's House. My middle sister Mickinzie is home on Christmas break from A&M. I know I know an Aggie! But we love her anyway and are way proud of her!

This was a piece of art worked on by many. My mother, Brother Cole and Ansley. Sadly I just watched and laughed! At least they are washable markers right?!

The Polar Express......

For all the family and friends who don't know what this was ..... We got to take a ride on the Polar Express to the North Pole :) Our seats were on the upper deck of train #2 so it rocked back and forth alot (Kinley kept saying WEEE! AGAIN!). On the way to the North Pole they dimmed the lights and told the story of the Polar Express. We were served hot chocolate and sugar cookies just like in the movie. It took us all the way to the North Pole where we picked up Santa and a few elves. Santa visited with all the kids.... which was so fun. He took his time with each kid and gave them all a pretty silver bell to keep. Ansley was thrilled that she could still hear hers ring! The elves led us in a few Christmas carols and asked if any kids wanted to help. You guessed it ..... Ansley was right up there where the microphone was singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as loud as she could. It was so cute! She was just the perfect age for all this. Though I have to say I did enjoy it too! They ended it with dancing in the isles to the Hot Chocolate song from the movie.


Our girls in there matching PJs!


Our very own Cindy Loo Who :)

I love this picture!

Very serious singing!

Dancing the night away!

A few days ago Ansley said to her Nona (Shelly) that a few of the boys in her Sunday school class said that Santa wasn't real. Anlsley's reply was "I don't think Santa is real ...... I KNOW he is!"

Oh and she was so funny last night ..... After we had the amazing time on the Polar Express we went to eat with all the family and the friends that went with us. Ansley was eating at the end of the table with a little boy (hes in 1st grade) named Camden. Ansley tells the waiter I would like a Dr. Pepper (I know Gasp! I let my daughter have a coke when we go out to eat.... don't tell all the other perfect mothers out there) with two straws please. Then tells him she would like chicken strips and turns to Camden and says "Do you know what you want, you want chicken too right" So she turns to the waiter and says "He'll have the same". What can I say she will be a great wife one day :) My baby isn't a baby anymore! I have much more to blog about but don't have the time right now. So this is all for now! I hope you all are having as much fun this Christmas Season as we are.

Happy 28th Birthday to Me! to Me!

Two posts in one day...... I know crazy! But I had to blog about my wonderful birthday. It started off getting up at the crack of dawn to be at a worship team meeting by 7. So it was early but so worth it. Then from there I went to pick up Ansley from Haley's house. We got ready for the day and headed over to Connie's for Ladies Bible Study Lunch. She made me a special lunch and fabulous cheesecake. She knows me well :) The ladies were so sweet with cards and gifts but what meant the most were the kind words they said. I love them all and I'm so blessed to have such wonderful women to call my friends. We came home and Ansley took her nap. To which she said she wasn't sleepy..... 3 hrs later I had to wake her up. She just cant get over this cold thing (its 75 degrees one day and 40 the next) Gotta love Lubbock :) Then for dinner my mother in law took us to Carinos for dinner. It was so tasty!!! Eric took flowers there earlier in the day so they brought them out to me at the table. I know! I know! How sweet is he?! It was a great day!


I love Flowers!!!!!! Are they not beautiful?!


And isn't this beautiful?! I got this lovely gift from my Dad and Barbie on Sunday for my birthday. (I did ask for it and I did pick it in Pink) I love Pink! I'm so excited to use it! Cookies here I come!
Thank you all for the Birthday Wishes and making it special. I love you all!

December in Texas

Not many places have days of 75 degree weather in December :) So we take full advantage of it!
Haley, Kinley, Ansley, Abby and I went to a park called Legacy Play Village. The girls had lots of fun and we had fun watching them!

The sun was in my way of this very cute picture.

12 Days of Christmas

Ok so this is really hard to do..... I really want to win this wonderful prize over on http://cinnamonsticksboutique.blogspot.com/. You may have seen the link on my sidebar for a while now. And sadley I have not won yet. But this could be the time! And to get extra chances to win I had to tell all of you about it. Im just kidding. No hard feelings if you win. You had just better give me one of the really pretty necklaces out of it :) So not kidding about that :) Good luck to you all!

I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving!!!!!

Let's Go Red Raiders

**** Update....... Sad Sad Days. But we still love you Red Raiders.

I don't know what your doing tonight but I'm pretty sure you can guess what my family is doing!!!

Our new family Member

I have waited to post this for over a week now. Meet the new member of the Iversen Family!!!!!

Scooby Doo ....... yep that's what I said. His name is Scooby. Ansley couldn't decide between Toto or Scooby. I told her over and over that both are dog names but she persisted (and it is her cat). Last weekend Eric and Ansley went to Pets Mart to get her some more fish (sadly we do this every few months). The Humane Society was there with all there dogs and kittys. Scooby was rescued from a house with 15 other cats..... thats crazy! Can you imagine the smell. Anyway when I got home Eric tells me about this cat that is just huge and is such a lover and would be great for a family with kids. And then asks me if I wanted to go see it. I kindly said "I don't want to see a cat if I cant have it". I have been asking for a cat (or a baby) for a while now..... Ansley is just the right age to have responsibility for one (a cat, not a baby). We head on up to the store "just to look" and the nice lady says we can take him home for a week for a trial run and see how it goes. That is why I haven't blogged about him because we were not sure if it would work out or not. We have a dog (Reeses) that is very much a house dog.... I mean literally she is outside maybe 20 minutes total all day. But she could care less about the cat and the cat just keeps his distance. Scooby is truly Ansley's kitty. He sleeps in her bed and comes running anytime she calls. Its really a great match. He has not hissed scratched or anything... pretty purrrrfect. (Sorry I couldn't resist that cheesiness) Ansley is so in love with Scooby Doo.

He really is huge :)

Oh and Ansley got her hair cut!!!!!! I love it!!!!

Empowered and Encouraged

No pictures today....... well not as of yet :) Just doing laundry and Ansley is painting .....that's not a very exciting picture.
I have been getting a lot of calls and emails asking how I'm doing. Thank you all for thinking of me! I thought this was the easiest way to let you all know. I am doing a lot better. I don't use a cane anymore! Crazy thing.... I miss it. I don't feel very confident yet with out it but they say it comes with time. I can get in the car like a normal person! Yeah! I'm sending the hospital bed back today. So I get my living room back... Another Yeah!!! Its nice to get into my own bed after not sleeping in it for so long. I will say it is really physically hard to get out in the morning .....but so worth it :) I go to the Dr for my six week check up the end of next week. But I think everything is going pretty good. I still have a limp but I think it also will get better (it better ..... I didn't do all this to walk funny the rest of my life). I want to thank all of you for the prayers and just being there for me I know I'm not the best patient. In fact I don't have much Patience for anything :)
To change topics completely (read my first blog if this bothers you). I often read the blog bring the rain (so proud of myself that I figured out the link thingy). I digress.... I often read the blog bring the rain and I love this post and thought I would share it with all of you. I don't know about you but I wasn't to excited about the results of the presidential election on Tuesday night. Most of my thoughts were (are) about what kind of world are we going to leave to our children. I felt helpless and really insignificant in this big world. And since then I have really been praying for Ansley but I read that post and got so excited to realize I wasn't the only one that felt the need to pray. Don't get me wrong I pray all the time for her but I was so excited to see Angie take the time to find scriptures. It made me feel empowered because I can make a difference in Ansley's life and that is a huge deal. So read it and I hope it inspires you to find your own scriptures for your children (or use those) I feel like God has been pulling on my heart more and more to surround my life with prayer. For my country, husband, child, family, friends, and myself. I hope you too feel empowered and encouraged.

Quack Quack

I know two posts in one day...... crazy huh?! I just want to say I have the best job in the world.



Today Ansley and I had lunch then went to the local library. We read a few books and she checked out a few to read later at home. Then we went to the park by our house to feed the ducks. No lie ..... we stepped out of the car and here they came. Ansley had to sit on the picnic table and throw the bread. It was attack of the ducks. But so fun!!!! I'm trying to take advantage of the rest of this year with her. School is just around the corner and time goes so fast!








After the ducks she played on the playground for a little while. She is now asleep in her bed for her 2 hr nap. Did I mention I have the best job ever?

So the message in this post is..... if you have any stale bread I know some really hungry ducks :)

Love ya

Birthday Party and Trick or Treating

She's Five!!!! A Whole Hand!!!

These posts will probably always go together. Ansley's birthday is exactly a week from Halloween. This was the first year I actually let her wear her costume to her party. A few of the other kids wore theres too. From the pictures I have it looks like her party was in a bar :) But it wasn't ...... it was in my Dad and Barbies game room. No bars yet!

I couldn't get a picture with everyone. There was at least 40 or so people there! We have great family and friends!

On to Halloween...... Ansley was Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) so far she has been Cinderella, Ariel, and Tinkerbell. The way I see it we have just a few more princess and then she can be something fun like a lady bug or a kitty. Maybe next year I can talk her into something else. But read the post below and like I said she knows her own mind and she is pretty adamant about her costumes :) And hey I have to pick my battles..... and this one isn't a big one :) The girls got all dressed up and we went to grab a bite to eat at McDonald's. Oh and that was an adventure in it self. Abby reached across the table and spilled a huge orange drink in my lap......thank the lord it was my lap and not Ansleys. I'm pretty sure the world would have come to an end as we knew it :) So I went home and changed and trick or treating went as planned. We visited all the family and then went door to door in Nanny and Gramp's neighborhood. They got more candy then they could ever eat so of course being the good mom, I might have to help :) All in all it was a GREAT night and the girls had fun.

At McDonald's before the incident.

Trick or treating at Grandma's house. Kinley was a Red Raider Cheerleader. I tried all night and this was the best picture I got of her. Stinker! :)

Stole this one from Haley!

Oh and HOW ABOUT THEM RED RAIDERS??!!!!!!!!

I couldnt post and not say anything about that GREAT game!

My Big Girl

My baby is 5. Even as I type it it doesn't seem possible. It seems like yesterday we had her. I think back to those days after having her and all the feelings come back. Not so great ones..... she had breathing problems most of you know. She was amazing but fear over took our lives. It took 2 of us to feed her. Me holding her and Eric at my side with the oxygen for when she quit breathing. Not if but when. A happy but scary day.... We gave all the monitors back when she was 7 months old and my life has never been the same. I had to make the choice to trust God with my little girl. I prayed every night and morning that she would be breathing when I went in to get her up. Imagine the days she slept in and I slept in ...... the fear I had was crazy. Every mom out there can relate to that fear. But what a testimony I have. I grew in the Lord so much in this time. Our daughter is living and breathing (talking all the time). You would never know that she had any issues at all.

To My Ansley: I love everything about you. I love the way you already have your own mind (that's an understatement). I love how you hug my neck and tell me I'm the bestest momma ever. I love how you have to give everyone a million hugs and kisses before they leave. I love to listen to your prayers at night ... I can picture God smiling at all the hilarious things you say. You have such a huge heart. I love to listen to you sing and watch you dance! Your favorite song is Mighty to Save and every time you hear it on your radio you make me run in your room and listen to it too. You are a lover of people! You are such an encourager! I love how you love your daddy! Most of all I love your laugh! I am so blessed to get to spend my days with you. I will miss you so much next year. I know you will enjoy school so much. But its bittersweet to me. I am so proud to be your mom. I just cant believe your five!!!! I love you so much and I'm so excited because I know God has big plans for you and I'm so blessed I get to watch! I know you will have a great birthday there are so many people who love you too!