President Gordon B. Hinckley

I appreciate that many of our friends have posted about our beloved Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley who passed away Jan.27, 2008; it shows that he meant so much to so many. I wanted to share my thoughts and to express my gratitude for him as well.

Chris and I had the opportunity to watch his funeral services on Saturday and were reminded of all of the wonderful things he contributed to our church in the 13 years that he served. His faith in the Lord was so strong and evident in the way that he served. I loved his sense of humor and could really feel the love that he had for the Savior and the youth of the church. I remember the talk he gave to the youth in 2000.

"Tonight I am going to let your teachers give you the A’s that I hope you earn. I want to talk about some B’s. You get the A’s; I will give you the B’s.
1. Be grateful.
2. Be smart.
3. Be clean.
4. Be true.
5. Be humble.
6. Be prayerful. "

These simple pieces of counsel have had a profound affect on the quality of our spirits. (Check out the talk here)

I am Grateful for President Hinckley and have a tremendous amount of respect for the burden he bore and how he so faithfully represented our Savior Jesus Christ.

We will miss him, but look forward to the new prophet and will fully sustain him in his calling.

The Mischief Begins

Grant had his 6 month appointment this past Friday afternoon. He's grown to a very healthy 29 inches and 20 lbs. 8 oz. He's getting to be a big boy. While at the appointment, the pediatrician asked us if we've baby-proofed our house yet. We said no, because we figured we'd hit it hard when he started crawling. But we're starting to find that maybe she was right - preemption is the best defense. You can see Grant's adventures below. Oh, I should probably say that sitting up is nothing too new for Grant (he's been sitting at least somewhat since October or November) but we never really posted anything about it. He's sitting quite well these days.

Grant loves to "help" KaraLee in the kitchen.

It's funny to watch him watching the water - he'll try to grab it like a toy and he gets confused when it slips through his fingers.

Diapers were probably Grant's favorite Christmas present. :)

It's funny to watch him eat - he can sure put away the baby food.

I have to include this video from tonight. I was just trying to distract Grant by tossing a diaper around and apparently a flying diaper is about the funniest thing around. He's got a great sense of humor!

Christmas in Seattle

We enjoyed a nice Christmas/New Years vacation in Seattle this Winter. The weather was great (mid-40's == great in my book) and the company was better. We enjoyed doing the tourist thing again (which we do during most of our visits to Seattle) and having Grant meet 2 of his uncles (Bryan & Stephen). It was also nice to see Cory & Tessa Ross and their baby boy, MacCade, and also Richard & Michelle Kenyon and their little girl, Makenna. We hadn't seen either of their families since their kids were born.

Grandma & Grandpa Anderson were greatly thrilled to have Grant visit and to see his progress. He's sitting up like a little champ these days and seems to be getting bigger every day. It was nice to visit Jack-in-the-Box a few times and go down to the wharf in Seattle to patronize Ivar's and the Pike Place Market (home of the flying fish for out-of-towners).

KaraLee and I also celebrated our 3-year anniversary on December 21st. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful wife and family. I love you KaraLee!!

You can see our documentation of the trip below.

The great Snoqualmie Falls. Always a favorite spot for us in Seattle.

Bryan the chef with KaraLee. Bryan's always had a thing for baking - good for his lady friends. :)

My mom got more high-fives over the past few weeks than she probably got all year!

I had to include this picture because I love Grant's shirt. It says, "I do all my own stunts." Thanks to Julie Nye for the shirt!

The Christmas crew. The only "kid" missing is Jeffrey, who is serving a mission for our church in Brazil. We talked to him later on Christmas day and he's doing very well.

Bryan and Grant really bonded over the trip - you can see the joy in their faces.

It's hard to see, but Stephen gave Bryan a can of clams. Yeah. That's what Christmas is like at the Anderson house.

Lunch at Ivar's on the wharf. If you ever visit us in Seattle, lunch at Ivar's is a must.

Grant is helping Grandpa Anderson take a nap during a football game. He's very helpful.

KaraLee's always been quite the rock-climber. It was tough to get this picture because she was so high up in the air. :)

Grant looked pretty cute in his new hat and mittens. He really likes going outside.

Visit to California

My younger sister Kristen and her husband Evan had their first baby, Connor, in the beginning of October. I was excited to meet her little cutie pie, so I flew out for his baby blessing on Nov. 2. It was a lot of fun to visit and sleep in their living room. On a side note, Grant slept next to me in an "Infant Travel Bed". A spare dresser drawer would have also done the job. :)

Kristen holding Grant while I got to hold baby Connor!

My mom bought the boys matching Future Missionary shirts. We thought it would be fun to get a photo of the little companions in action.

Grant and Connor at the end of a long day.

"Am I the senior companion? But I've got drool on my shirt!"

Grant and Connor listening intently. Grant interrupts, "when can we eat?"