Drake is 3 MONTHS!!!

Oh my! I have finally caught you all up on what is happening in Winchestertonfieldville.

Today marks Drake's 3 month birthday. I took some photos of him in his Christmas outfit today. He is so much fun.






Also, today is my niece, Brittany's 15th birthday. Oh MY...I am old. When I met Brittany, I was still in high school (18) and she was in kindergarten. I can't believe that sweet red-headed little girl is in high school. Watch out hormones!!!! Seriously though, Happy Birthday Britters! We love you!!!

5 pound weight gain...Thanksgiving!

We did the drive down to Paoli, IN for Thanksgiving this year. Went to Grandma Stella's for some of her famous turkey, dressing, rolls, etc... Her food is absolutely amazing! No words really can describe it. Another amazing meal and fun with my awesome family!

Stella's Feast & Jason's 32nd

Drake's Baptism

Drake Thomas Winchester was baptized at Locust Grove United Methodist Church on October 26th, 2008.

Mom's 60th Birthday!

We celebrated my MOm's 60th Birthday at the end of October. My sisters and I took her and my dad out to dinner at McGraw's (one of her faves). It was the first time in so long that just the 6 of us went out together. It was so much fun. Growing up we went out to eat every Sunday after church. I can't believe my parents are 60! WOW!!! They truly don't look their age. After dinner we took them home and surprised her with a celebration with the whole family. All the husbands and grandkids decorated the house. We also had shirts made with our family logo on it. A while back I believe my brother in law, Matt (maybe Steve...I can't remember)started calling us The AFC (Anderson Family Circle) and it stuck. We have a lot of inside jokes in this family and one we put on the back of our shirts. Anyways, we all had so much fun celebrating. I am truly blessed with the best parents in the world.

Will & Tori's Birthday!

As I previously posted, my nephew, Will, had his first birthday on November 8th and he shares it with his big sister Tori, who turned 14! Here are some pics for you to enjoy.

Halloween...What?

Yes, just now I am getting my Halloween photos up. I was finally able to upload them! WOO HOO! Stella poses for me all the time and Riley can't stand pictures. So if you ever wonder why I have so many of her, there is your answer.

So Far Behind

Ok...Ok! I have been neglecting my blog! My husband even noticed. With our problems with our computer and not being able to upload pics, it's been hard. A lot has gone on since my last post. Drake is rolling over and gets excited when he sees toys in front of him. He is an awesome baby. He goes to sleep around 9 or 9:30 and sleeps until 7.

Stella had a Thanksgiving feast and program at school. It was soooo cute. I do have pics but as I said before, I can't upload yet. Her class dressed up as indians. Her Pappaw Mick & her Mammaw were able to come and see her perform. She has been doing really well in gymnastics. She is fearless!

Riley has been playing basketball. Two weekends ago he scored 18 points in his game and blocked 3 shots!!!! This week he jammed his finger in practice and it was pretty swollen and bruised. I ended up taking him to the doctor because he kept complaining how bad it hurt. It ended up just jammed but the doctor told him to sit out this weekends game so it could heal. We signed up for another round of basketball starting in January! He is a sports nut. When that ends in March he will start soccer and baseball. AAAWWWW!

Jason's 32nd birthday was Thursday, November 20th ( the same day Spencer & Heidi eloped!). We took him out for seafood and the kids and I got him a GPS. He was in love. He even uses it just to go to Walmart. Crazy Man. Then Friday we went out to Bruno's for pizza with Tom, Jen, & Jacob Rickman & Luci & Jack Ross. The Rickman's were back for the IU/Purdue game. Their son, Jacob, was one of Riley's best friends in Kindergarten. They moved to Pittsburg the summer before 1st grade. It was great to see them and see the boys having fun together again. I will skip the football game highlights~ since there were none. IU needs a new coach! Saturday night we went out to eat at Pepe's with all Jason's friends for his birthday. Then all the big boys went out for drinks afterwards and me and the kiddies went home and watched a movie.

I started running a couple of days ago and my legs are killing me. I think the last time I worked out I was 18. I have been having babies ever since then. Hopefully I can finally get some of my body back.

Hopefully soon I can catch up on photos. Until then, PeACE Out...Girl scoUt!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my sister, Courtney, and her husband, Matt. They have so much to celebrate! 3 years of wedded bliss and pregnant with twins on the way! Congrats to you both on 3 years & 2 babies. I can't wait to meet the babies. I love you both!

2 months!

Oh yes, my baby is 2 months old as of Monday. I just can't believe how time flies. He is 10 lbs. 14 oz. and 22 1/4 inches long. He is doing everything he should be right now and more...smiling, laughing, cooing, holding his head up, following objects, or us with his eyes. He has also found his hands and stares at them constantly, opening and shutting them and putting them together. It's amazing to watch him every day learning something new about the world around him. The kids just adore him and he loves them too. He gets so excited when Riley gets home from school and when Stella FINALLY wakes up in the morning and gives him hugs and kisses. She even made him feel better after he got his shots. Life just doesn't get better then this. Jason & I are so lucky to have such beautiful, healthy, smart, articulate, athletic, funny, amazing kids.

Sorry I haven't updated pictures. I have a lot to show, including Halloween & my niece & nephew, Tori & Will's birthday party. Hopefully they will be up soon.

A Sad Day. If you get offended easily, Don't read this!

Yesterday, I believe marked a very sad day in America. Our counry made a very bad decision. I'm more disappointed in the state of Indiana. I thought our state held their beliefs and morals to a much higher standard. Change is what you want, well that is exactly what you are going to get. Not the kind of change you were hoping for I'm afraid. As a devout christian, I believe I know the difference between right and wrong. I don't believe just because a bunch of liberal celebrities say something is ok, then it is.

I have made my own mistakes in life. I got pregnant at the age of 18. Had my first child at 19. I don't think because I did that, that it makes it ok. My husband and I both believe that we made some wrong choices, but we owned up to them. I made a choice and now because of that choice I was going to be a mom and Jason was going to be a dad. It was time to grow UP! We had to be adults. I wouldn't trade that baby for anything. He is a gift from God. Jason worked hard to take care of me and our beautiful son. We didn't rely on taxpayers to give us free diapers and formula. I still went to college and worked hard. My husband (boyfriend at the time) didn't make all that much at the time but we made it work.

This new generation of voters, oh boy do they irritate me. They just don't want to be accountable for any of their actions. They want the government to take it all away for them. These young girls and guys want to have sex with whomever they choose, sometimes without protection and then say oops let's go get a pill to make sure I don't have to grow up just yet. Sorry kids that isn't how it works. Well, I guess now it can be that way with this new, hip, cool president you've elected.

And, whatever happened to the sanctity of marriage. First we are supposed to be ok with people choosing to be with the same sex. Now we have to watch it on TV programs and I have to explain, at a much to early age, to my children what homosexuality is and why we believe it is wrong. Now they will all be free to marry whoever they please. There is your change for ya! Maybe I can marry my dog by 2012.

Also, If my husband and I work our butts off and start making over $250,000 or whatever the exact number is he claims will get tax hikes. I don't think it's ok to give it to a bunch of people who don't pay taxes. My bad! Is that wrong of me to want to keep our hard earned money? By the way the reality of all that is his plan will really raise taxes for people who make something like $45,000 or more. Woo hoo, let's just give all our money to people who do absolutely nothing and don't pay a dime to the government.

And as far as The War on Terror. God Bless our troops. I will pray every day for you. I can only pray for the safety of our troops and us here at home. There is nothing else we can do.

So, it was change you wanted...well you're gonna get it!

Happy Birthday Jillingus!

Happy Birthday to one of my two Jills. Ms. Keys is 27 today. I have known Jill for about 21 years now and we are closer now then ever. Love you and I hope you have a wonderful day!

#10...and #11!

I was very surprised last Wednesday when I received a call from my sister, Courtney. She is my sister who just found out she is pregnant. She calls me in the middle of the day which isn't that unusual. She tells me I am on speaker phone with her and her husband, Matt. I know something is up now. So she finally tells me that THEY ARE HAVINGS TWINS!!!!!! I just couldn't believe it! This is awesome news for them. It's just amazing. God has truly blessed them! These two little miracles are mine and Jason's 10th & 11th nieces/nephews. WOW!!! I can't believe it. Right now we have 6 nephews and 3 nieces. I am hoping for twin girls to balance us out! Once again, thank you to everyone who prayed for these miracles. I am so excited for Matt & Courtney and I can't wait until June:)

The 8's

8 shows I love to watch:
- Desperate Housewives
- Brothers and Sisters
- Gossip Girl
- The Hills
- Grey's Anatomy
- Big Bang Theory
- Private Practice
- The Office

8 Things I did yesterday:
- Took Stella to Pre-K
- Laundry
- homework
- Worked on Birthday gift for my mom
- Fed, diapered, held, changed, burped, etc, etc, etc..for my baby, Drake
- Made Beef Stew
- cleaned the kitchen
- crawled my tired self into bed

8 Favorite Places to Eat
- My grandma Stella's food anywhere
- My mom & dad's house
- PF Chang's
- Red Lobster (since that is the only seafood place we have)
- Taco Bell
- Monical's
- Camille's for lunch
- BW3's

8 Things I am looking forward to:
- My mom's birthday weekend
- Meeting the new babies that are coming soon (especially my sister Courtney's!!!)
- Getting the kids dressed up for Halloween
- Our trip to Disney World in March
- A night alone with my husband (whenever that may be)
- Being completely out of debt ( a long time away)
- Owning our own business
- Meeting God someday

8 Things on my wishlist
- A whole new wardrobe
- More income for the family
- A more nice and bigger house
- new furniture
- a maid
- new tv
- for Courtney & Matt to move closer
- boob lift & stretch mark removal

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday goes out to one of my best friends, Jill Rhodes. She turned 27 on Saturday. No , I did not forget her. My computer has taken a complete crap and I couldn't post on Saturday. I still don't have my pictures to post any, but she know how much I love her. Jill & I have been friends since junior high. We now live right by each other. She is an awesome friend and I am so lucky to have her! Here's to you, Jill. Hope you had the best birthday. I know you did;)

Fall & Family

The kids and I had a really great weekend. We went with my mom and drove to Bloomfield to visit with my sister, Meghan and her family. We drove down Friday afternoon and ended up picking up my new van friday night in Bloomington and then heading back to the Dowden's house after that. Saturday morning Uncle Steve took the older kids to the IU football game. I think they had fun but were quite disappointed in IU's performance (BIG Surprise :P)!



While they were gone Grandma Stella drove up from Paoli to visit with us. She had not met her newest Great-grandson yet. I believe he is her 13th great grandchild! WOW! Now, she has at least one more on the way from my sister, Courtney!!! We enjoyed catching up with Grandma and I think she enjoyed spending time with Stella, Will, & Drake. My Stella always enjoys spending time with her and just thinks it is so special that she is named after her! Grandma nevers ceases to amaze me. She is 88 years old and still works almost every day outside in her yard. She brought us some persimmon pudding and said she has been pickin up persimmons every day form her tree. She is quite a lady! I just love her:)



I really enjoyed watching ny nephew Will play and jabber. He just loves Drake and had to be right by him all the time. I hope they are really close as they get older. We had a great visit and can't wait to do it again.

I said I'd never drive a mini-van! haha!

Yes Jason & I are the proud new owners of our 1st mini-van. I said I would never own one, that I would be the cool mom with the big surburban type vehicle. Boy, how I have changed. With 3 kids, friends, cousins, strollers, groceries, activities, etc... it is so much easier to have a van. So we got rid of the rendezvous and I am officially one of those moms! I don't mind. I actually love the van. It is a 2008 Honda Odyssey. It is so nice to drive and the kids can easily get in and out of it. I also can fit my stroller, diaper bag, groceries and a whole lot more in the trunk. Here are some pictures of my new ride.

CHAMPIONS!!!

Riley's flag football team won the championship! Well, they actually tied for it. They played the other undefeated team and they tied 12-12. So co-champions they are! Riley did awesome:) He caught a touchdown pass and intercepted the ball on defense. We can't wait until Little Gridiron starts next year! GO RAIDERS!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Happy Anniversary goes out to my dear friends Jill & Kody Keys. What an amazing day to celebrate. You two are a huge and important part of our lives. We are so fortunate to have you as friends and what a blessing it is to both have 2 boys the same age!!! The best of friends they will be!!! We love you and hope you have a wonderful 4th Anniversary!!!