Journey for a church

I've been having a hard time with "the church" lately. While I am completely submissive to the truth that I, too, am part of the church, and am thusly play a part in the imperfection of the church, I am seeking like heck for a place to call home. Just before leaving Texas, and by "just" I mean a few months, I found a place where I could seek God in my most raw form, a place that welcomed me with such wide, open arms, and with so much love that to this day I call Joshua's Crossing "my" church. However, I know with certainty that we are called to be a part of a community, and that being in a community of Believers actually requires actual physical fellowship with others. Which means I need a new church home.
My initial search in Fort Dodge was comical at best. I found myself at one point envisioning if it would be possible to jump over the back of the pew I was in and sprint for the door without causing too much of a ruckus (for the record I stayed throughout the service instead of attempting such an escape). After moving to Webster City I settled on a place about 20 minutes Northwest of town. It is an evangelical church with which I had a few fundamentals issues, but was willing to try out for the good teaching and fellowship. The fall Sunday school session began what turned out to be a slippery slope of frustration for me. The series was focused on how to "share Jesus with people in the workplace." It became apparent that the sole reason for relationship was to be so that you could share the gospel at some point. The most telling quote I think I can share with you from this series is "she looked very secular." I ask you....what the hell does "secular" look like. Judgement seeps from this statement and I started feeling like I was being asked to judge others and expect them to change. There was no loving others for the pure, raw reason that Jesus loves us and we are thusly called to love. Save for the few months that Chris went to Joshua's Crossing with me before he was shooed off to Arizona he does not attend church with me. The breaking point for me came when we were at Ella's Christmas pageant and Chris was approached by a member who said to him "It's good to see you here." As if finally he had made the "right" decision.
I have since been attending a church in the Northwest part of Ames that seems to seep love and acceptance. I am currently weighing the effort/reward factor of the 40 minute drive...less for the travel time and more for the obstacle it may place concerning our involvement in fellowship and non-Sunday activities.
I've learned a lot in my quest over the past year and a half, frustrating as it may be. Most importantly....God calls us to love. Unconditionally and unquestionably. That we are all worthy of love because God so chose to breathe the breath of life into our souls. By suggesting to someone that "God can change you" we are assuming something needs to be changed. And who am I to assume this soul that God created needs changing. Jesus never asked anyone to change, nor did he pass judgement. So I strive to do the same. I fall short more often that I succeed - but my quest is that I might see people through Christ's eyes, and love them solely because they are.

Tanyn Elise Anderson

Welcome!
She was born at yesterday at 10:09 a.m. 7 lbs 13 oz and 20 inches long.

Mia's Milestones!!!!!!

I have new pictures but wanted to share a few things and don't really have the time for the picture editing/posting thing right now. Mia has hit some huge milestones recently. She is proficiently sitting, even sitting and looking around! It's opened up a whole new world of freedom for her in terms of playing wiht toys and watching the world around her.
She is also starting to roll with a little more vigor. She had rolled over both way a few months back but then stopped completely, stubbornly wailing until mom or dad chose a new position for her...lately though she's picked it up a bit more and will occasionally belly play if I lay her down on her back. She's also started flipping herself at bedtime and sleeping on her belly some....it's so cute! The first few times made mom a little nervous, but I'm getting used to it. If only she'd graduate to all night sleeping!
Also in the gross motor realm she is now able to support herself if she is properly placed holding onto a chair, the couch, etc. And we're working on pushing a little cart deal. She is much more partial to standing and "walking" than she is sitting, which makes mom's back a bit sore - if self-movement doesn't come soon I'll be hurtin'!!!
And finally...little missy has a tooth! It's a sharp jagged little thing that makes for an awful sensation when she chews on your finger, but it's there nonetheless. Looks like she'lll be munching nuggets and fries like her big sister soon!
Ella's good too, it's been freaking cold lately so we've put in a good few days of inside play...which is fine considering we're still trying out all the new Christmas toys. DeEtte came to visit for a few days last week which was great fun - she got to join us for our trip to the nursing home and see how great it is for the girls.
On a personal note I picked up a few "mom and baby" workout videos at Target recently and have been trying to get some exercise in with the girls. This has resulted in moderate success, but mostly in doing abs with the girls piled on my legs and pushups with Ella riding on my back. Holy hard! Lori Ulferts has got nothing on my girls!!!
Hope you're having great January's....Baby Anderson should be making her debut soon!!!! WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy crap that's a lot of pictures!

Pretty Much the Entire Month of December

I'd be remiss if I didn't open this post with an apology regarding the lack of recent updates. Apparantly I've been overtaken by the holidays...as it is now January 1, 2008 I get to start anew, however, and am back on board! :)

Lots has happened since my last spotting here - we celebrated Christmas and New Years and Mia hit a few milestones - most noticably sitting up! She still seems to be on track with Ella concerning hair growth, however, and we look to be raising a second fuzz head.

We traveled to both Wisconsin and Nebraska for Christmas, and though we spent a decent amount of time in the car it was time well spent and we are glad to have done it.
We had our family Christmas in Webster City on Wednesday before the "real" Christmas - The girls each got two toys - blocks and the "Busy Ball Choo Choo" for Mia and a toddler sized magnetic building set and a Doodle Pro for Ella. Ella loved it all and Mia was content to gnaw at whatever we put within arms reach of her! :) We packed up the car the next morning and headed out to Racine to spend a few days with the Hansens. We had a great time, and were able to spend a few relaxing days with friends and relatives. Granny and Grandpa, along with Scott and Heather lavished the girls with gifts...Ella donned a new outfit immediately upon opening it and properly littered the floor with wrapping paper, packaging and like items. It was a huge success! A suprise gift allowed Chris and I to leave the girls behind for an evening with Uncle Scott and Aunt Heather and see a movie and enjoy adult conversation over dinner.
We packed everything up Sunday morning and braved the windy roads, traversing the entire state of Iowa to spend Christmas eve and day with the Anderson and Gifford clans. Gran and Lucky were at my parents house to welcome our arrival to Lincoln Sunday evening. We were sad to not have been able to spend more time with our Venhaus family but look forward to an upcoming celebration sometime soon. Christmas eve day was a visit from E and lots of play time with Bergen. We went to early church and opened gifts that afternoon/evening. Again our family was increadibly generous and we are beyond words with gratitude.
Given the gift opening extravaganza on the 24th we were able to sleep in (a little) on Christmas day before brunch with Giff, Betsy and Berg. Christmas dinner was in Fremont at my Nana and Papa's with the entire Nebraska residing Gifford clan. The little kids were such fun to watch and provided constant entertainment for the adults. Well...the little kids and Frosty, who is inevitably at the center of the chaos! :) Thanks to Nana and Papa for having us, we love every second we get to spend with you and count ourselves blessed that you are in our lives.

With the Christmas holiday behind us we pressed on to New Years which we spent in Storm Lake, IA at the indoor water park. SO MUCH FUN! It was a great time spent with friends from in town and the girls were like little fish. Ella has taken to jumping in without an adult to catch her - although she sometimes forgets to wait for one to enter the water so as to retrieve her! We talked about making sure to tell a grownup when she panned on submerging herself in water deeper than she is tall....it went in one ear and out the other...Constant Viligance! Mia was a fab little swimmer herself - and has taken to the dunk pretty well. The slides were a favorite of Ella's as always. My favorite part was that I was able to go to bed well before the midnight bells rang as I always aspire to do and Chris was able to party with the adults until well after the new year began.

We're home now and are hoping to find some rest sometime - not likely! Wew are anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby girl Anderson (due Jan. 23) and have a trip planned to Nebraska's capital city over the weeked of the 26th to meet our new little niece and cousin and celebrate Giff's birthday.

If the slideshow of pictures isn't yet posted, my apologies....tough to say when I'll get enough time to post the obscene amounts of photos I've neglected displaying in the past month...

God's Blessings to all of you and hope that you enjoyed your Christmas and New Year's.

Not So Quiet on the Hansen Front

Ah the Holiday season! We're doing great, even if I hardly have a moment to sit down and update all my internet friends on how we're doing.

First a final report on my "day off" - So much fun, so great to see good friends. We had a great time - walked the entire Mall of America, sitting down often to watch the people busily going about their errands. I drank LOTS of coffee, relaxed for an entire 12+ hours and had a great meal with Nic and Leah - so sorry Abe wussed out....we missed you!!!I still haven't recieved the adaptor I need in order to download the film of the Christmas program, but for now here's a picture of our little sheep singing "GLORIA!" Gloria is now the song mom sings every night at bedtime. Which is great for me because the entire song, as we sing it, is: Gloria, gloria, these are the words that the angels sang, Choirs of Heavenly voices rang. Gloria, Gloria, Glory to the newborn king.
That's it! Takes me all of 20 seconds and I'm done. Love it.

This week has been a non-stopper for me and the girls. Chris took off Tuesday morning for Dallas. He was a little delayed by the ice, but arrived safely before the day was done. The girls and I spent the morning with Addie and Laney decorating green cardstock Christmas trees and delivering them to the residents of Southfield Wellness Community here in town. The girls were so responsive to the ladies and gentlemen - what a great lesson for our toddlers. Addie capped the visit by spontaneously running smiling to a man who was lounging watching tv, wrapping him in her arms in what was the biggest hug a two-year old can muster. It was unbelievably touching. We hope they all enjoy their Christmas this year.

We took a few hour break at home during which Ella had her first snow tromping of the season!
Yes...the face plants are intentional! Addie came back for the afternoon, only to be joined by the entire Bargfrede family, and eventually her own so the girls could bake and decoarte Christmas cupcakes (which got left at my house and which I am unable to resist). I was reminded once again how blessed we have been with great friends in our cozy town. On Wednesday the girls hung out at the Tesdahl's for a few hours before we hauled all the kiddos to indoor playground, after which we played outside with Laney for a good 45 mintues in the snow. The girls mostly jumped on the snow and ice covered trampoline. It was definitely a sight! Wednesday evening was spent mostly with Addie and Matthew - and my girls actually made it to bed decently early!

Today I donned my crazy hat and took both girls to the mall for pictures with santa. We took the ghetto stroller which is so named because I ran into with our new car, putting a gash in the wall of our garage and crushing the stroller. The stroller still works but the frame is a little bent, and only three of the wheels touch the ground at any one time. Oops. Ella rode on her little side car bike, and got many grins from passersby. Click here to see what the bike looks like...Ella loves it! The girls were great at the mall, I finished my Christmas shopping completely, and we even got a decent picture with Santa!

Mia had her first meal this week, this is my attempt at a picture of it. She was super into the bite part, willing as all getout to accept the spoon and food. Her problems came in when the spoon came out and she spit out everything on it. She got right back on the horse though, and opened her little mouth wide as she could for the next bite! Soon enough she'll be eating nuggets and fries like Big Missy.

I'm also including a random picture of the adorable smiling Mia, mostly because I just can't resist. For more photos of my tiny angel you can check out her 3 month photo shoot by clicking here. The Login is HANSEN (all caps) and the password is MIA (all caps). Our photographer is Jennifer Callison with Sweet Pea Photography in Ames. I love her! If you need someone in this area, I offer my recommendations.

Ugh! My incessant apologies for not keeping you updated better lately. I also have no pictures to share.

Chris is currently trying to get out of the house for another meeting. He's headed to Dallas for the rest of the week and is likely going to be stuck in Des Moines overnight waiting for a flight to go out. Oh winter travels. How crazy.

Sinc eI've been on here last I spent the most blissful day at the Mall of America with Leah and Ella has performed in her first Christmas program. It was precious. I aim to post hte video of the program but have much learning to do before I get there.

We did the Nursing home thing with the girls again this morning...again no pictuers. I'm hoping Heidi and Meredith will be compliant enough to share their's with me.

The biggest news I have is that yesterday was Mia's 4 month well check. She's awesome. But some combination of a cold, shots and just maybe growing up resulted in an all-night sleeping session! Heaven.