Adding to the blog...

Okay, I have been blogging for about a year now and am just figuring out how to add elements to my page...  Sorry- hope to have the final outcome to you soon!

Christmas at the Sanborn Home

Andrew on his new bike

Annabelle on her new bike

Andrew "decorating" Christmas cookies

Annabelle loves the green sugar!

My sweet "Snuggle Puppies"

We had quite a few Christmases this year...  One with Bill's Grandparents, one with his parents, one with my extended family, one with mom and Justin and one with just the four of us- whew!!  We had so much fun though, it was the first year the kids really "got it".  Here are a few pics of our adventures!

My kids are so funny!

Andrew is the culprit this time.  I just sat down to post some new pics on the blog and I realized Andrew took 37 pictures this afternoon, or evening, or maybe it was yesterday...  Anyway, most of them were taken with his fingers over the lens, so completely dark!  But some of them were funny and actually quite "artsy".  I am just now kicking myself as I am thinking-"gee, maybe one of those pictures would have been one of those crazy photos people spend obscene amounts of money on."  Well, maybe I should hand him the camera tomorrow...

The month of October...

Okay, I know, a little out of order with Halloween post and pics coming before the rest of October...  We had a playdate with some friends from CA.  Adorable Trevor and his sweet sister Bethany!  Trevor is Ethiopian, and Andrew and Annabelle knew it the moment they laid eyes on him!  They couldn't stop hugging and kissing him.  He is Annabelle's first Ethiopian suiter!  After he left Annabelle couldn't stop talking about getting a brother from"Awassa Opia" and Andrew kept looking out the window saying "baby, ah!"  We had such fun and I loved talking with their mommy Erin- we miss them!  We also went to the beach in October- a bittersweet trip because we planned it to be the last trip to the beach with our Pappy.  Obviously, he wasn't with us, but we know our precious Pappy was smiling down us. Growing up in CA, the beach was his favorite place and we were so sad he never saw our sweet babies there.  Pappy loved to stand in the water about waist deep and let the waves hit him.  Andrew did the same thing- cool huh??!!  October was so busy, and now November is almost over!  Will post more soon!

Bethany was at the ER for stitches in her cheek, can you tell she wasn't feeling so well?

Annabelle's Future Husband

All 3 Ethiopians!

    

Andrew at the beach building sand castles

Annabelle relaxing, finally enjoying the beach and  getting dirty

Playing in the water

I think I am sweating, I HATE the beach!!!!  Sunscreen dries out my skin!!

All four of us in the water!

Happy Halloween!

Annabelle the Ballerina
Andrew as Pluto
Both sweet babies ready for the party!
Well, our 3rd Halloween was a bust!  No actual trick or treating (Annabelle was a little scared of the costumes), but we did go to two parties (on consecutive weekends).  The kids had a ton of fun showing off their costumes.  I will say having 3 Halloweens in a row where all I did was dress the kids up (year 1 cows, year 2 a goldfish and a shark) and parade them around in front of my family made me rethink our holiday traditions just a bit.  Any ideas for Halloween next year?  Dinner and  movie?  But the kids did look cute in their costumes so here are a few pics! 

Here is the excerpt:

There are so many things we are going to miss about our Pappy.  We will miss the way he rolled around on the floor with us, and played horsey.  He always knew just how high to throw us, not too high, but high enough to have a great time.  We loved it when he put his hat on crooked and scrunched up his face.  We loved going grocery shopping with him; he always let us eat the blueberries before we paid for them.  We loved walking to the park and taking a popcorn break at his house.  We loved giving him hugs and kisses especially when he said he didn’t want them.  “No kisses!!!”  He would say.  He made us laugh so hard we would go weak in the knees and fall over.  We will miss snuggling with him on the couch watching an Elmo video.  We learned so much from him in the short 2 and a half years he loved us.  Pappy was the one who taught us how to shake hands with people when we met, “How do you do?” He would say. He taught us that a chocolate chip cookie can cure any sadness or ailment.  He taught us to love our naps- “I wish I could take a nap” he would say.  He taught us we don’t need a reason to stop by and visit the people we love.  He taught us that anyone can be a grandpa, but not just anyone can be a Pappy.  We love you Pappy and we are so proud to be your living legacy. 

Everything has changed

Usually when I haven't posted in a while it is because I have been busy at work, or I have been sick, or the kids have been sick...  The list goes on!  But this feels much different, because from the last blog, everything has changed.  On Tuesday, September 9 at approx. 6:30pm my dad died.  We just finished with the visitation and the funeral.  We longed for today to come so we could finally rest.  Now, here I am almost 2 hours after taking 2 Excederin PM's and no rest to be found.  I am sure like a lot of other things in my life, rest will look different now.  Here is an excerpt from the memorial, a message about my dad from Andrew and Annabelle.