WVU likes to play possum this year.... play dead at home and get killed on the road. Fortunately, the season isn't over yet, with Louisville, Pitt, & USF coming up. I don't think I can handle another loss to Pitt & USF. Especially Pitt. But I should go ahead and emotionally prepare myself (gulp)...
After this year, we are really going to miss Pat White. He is the man. Next year, we will need some Devine help. That guy is just fun to watch.
A few other things going on:
- Alyssa is at the stage now where she always wants to help and do nice things for us. I just love it. Sunday morning I came home from church, and went to the dining table to find a sandwhich already made for me - with enough mayonaisse for about 5 sandwhiches. Best sandwhich I've ever had (smile).
- Cactuses are the way to go. It seems like we have the hardest time keeping plants alive and healthy. We either forget to water them, or water them too much. Our most thriving plant is a cactus.
- I'm not ready for Christmas songs to come on the radio yet. I don't know, for some reason I'm just not feeling it this year. It just feels too soon. Not to be jumping the ball, because we still have a couple of weeks.
Yeah, we know how you feel. A&M is in the same boat. There's always next year. lol :) Alyssa is such a sweetie. Jacob loves her funny faces. You know they have a glass bulb that holds water, so you don't have to worry about watering your plants. You should look into it. I usually not a huge Christmas fan, but I'm really getting excited about it. I think Jacob will have a blast and that's what it's really about anyway.
ok derek, you know my feelings on WVU. however, i have to agree that noel devine is fun to watch. he is so quick and hits the holes before they're even created!
I'm a fan of bamboo for plants. they don't need a lot of TLC either.
When it comes to christmas music I'm a bah humbug for sure. I know how you feel, we have Alabama and Georgia left to play and are likely to get killed by both of them. An upset on either would be awesome.
I love mayonaisse sandwiches! :) What a sweet girl she is! Brian has always enjoyed cactus too. I guess we should get one since we have trouble keeping plants alive as well.
An update! I don't update a lot either though so I can't complain. Sorry to have to admit that I skipped the first part (about football):) The sandwich story is cute!
I remember when Dan first wanted to make a sandwich for me. It was pbj with ham and mayo on white! He just put all his favorites on it at the same time! Best sandwich I ever had, at least you would think so by my smile, praise, and gratitude! :)
Alyssa is great!! I'm right there with you when it comes to plants. Our house & yard are barren in that area. We can't even keep the grass alive, just the monkey grass!
The thoughts of cactus bring back bad childhood memories. I think you get the point ... cause I certainly did! LuLu ... the sandwich maker. When I was younger, salad dressing or mayonnaise sandwiches were one of my favorites (minus the sand). As for the Mountaineers, that's a sore subject. The last game was disgusting. This weekend will be better. Hee hee. They don't play! I guess folks are getting to like possum served up Mountaineer style. One thing's for sure ... the possum should be tender after the beating by the Bearcats.
A mayo sand. huh? That's so sweet! We were in a store like a week or so ago and they already had Christmas songs on! I guess it makes people want to buy stuff.
when I was about 6 or 7, my cousin, Jen Brainard, and I wanted to make breakfast for her parents. We wanted to do it all by ourselves- we got up to an early start- at about 3 am!! Well, my job was reading the ingredients out, and Jen would put them into the bowl and mix it all together, to make waffles. At about 5 am, my grandmother woke up because of our noise... took one taste of the waffles, and made us try them. Somewhere, 1 tsp. of salt was translated to 1 CUP of salt.... MMMMmmmm, waffles!! :)
Thanks for the link/info re: Tampa area congregations. I will be ready. Also, thanks for the prayers on Eric's behalf; we continue to pray for Kim and her family at this unbelievably difficult time.
I was actually a student there 5 years ago and I am ashamed to admit that I didn't follow that game. That was pretty impressive. It's hard for me to follow basketball and baseball...so many games and short attention span. Who is WV playing this weekend?
Hey Derek! Thanks for your advice on mono. It has been nearly 3 months since my first symptoms. I can tell that i'm not 100%. About 4pm, i usually get super tired and need a nap.
Where are you living now, texas? Talk to you later.
It is amazing to me that it is coming up on 5 months since my last post. Seems like just a few blinks ago... we are just very thankful for the people that we have in our lives. We are very blessed.
2) Forgive me for my short-comings with pleonast. I haven't kept up with it very well here recently.
3) We very much enjoyed and had great success in our gospel meeting with David Banning. Awesome lessons full of life-application.
4) The WV Mountaineers kind of stink this year, and the offense has been painful to watch/ not good for my health. Oh well. There's still half of the season left (which could potentially be good or very bad), and hopefully things get better - for WV and the big East (also known as the big least, which I'm not going to argue this year). I'm looking forward to the Auburn tigers... hopefully we'll show them why it's dumb to fire your offensive coordinator during the middle of year (had to throw that in there).
yeah, that firing really helped. I'm not really sure why you fire a guy and then use the same gameplan the next week. I was told that Auburn handed the ball off only 9 times during their game against Arkansas last week. Go figure [scratching head].
yeah it is going to be tough to watch on both fronts. Luckily our defense and special teams have actually been scoring points which has allowed us to win a few games, but our defense is getting worn down for sure.
I think we'de both be happier if this game was when both teams were looking good. Instead of the best team winning we're stuck with the worst team will lose...kinda stinks
I'll be rooting big time for WVU against auburn. I think ya'll can beat them whether or not they fired their OC. But that was a pretty bone-headed move on their part. Our season (Alabama) is going well. I'm enjoying it while I can. With this team, you just never know...
Thank you for visiting my page! We REALLY enjoyed lunch with you three on Sunday. I hope we can do it again sometime soon. Good luck with school. GO GATORS!!!
Whad'ya mean the Mountaineers kinda' stink this year? There's no kinda' to it. They stink. Flat out. The skunk has sprayed. Whew ... holding my breath. It's been that bad. So much talent ... and so little performance. Perhaps after their last BIG win over Syracuse (Division I Cellar Dwellers), the Mountaineers are ready to take on the mighty SEC. Seriously, it would be nice to see the Mountaineers actually show up for a game and play like they are capable of. After plunking out the bucks to watch them twice on ESPN GamePlan, I'm ready to see them do something on regular old ESPN for free Thursday night. Until then, Gooooooooooo Mountaineers! BTW, I caught teelduo's comment above about you not being as strange as your daddy. We know better. The nut didn't fall far from the tree!
Name: Grace Marie Anderson
Date & Time of Birth: 5/20, 4:47 p.m.
Weight: 1 lb, 14 oz
Length: Around 14 inches
Development: 26 1/2 weeks
Little "Gracie" was brought into this world yesterday. Fortunately, she came out as well as possible, which was a huge blessing for Amber. We were allowed plenty of time with her. That gave us a great amount of peace.
To many people, Grace was far from perfect. But she was perfect to us. She was much longer than what we expected. She was always so active and busy kicking...now we know why. Her legs were very long and muscular, and her feet were big and flat...kind of like somebody else... Amber. Just kidding, they were very distinctively like mine. For only 26 weeks, she had more hair than I expected, which was dark (appeared to be black).
Some people might say in this circumstance, there must be no God, because how could God allow this to happen? As difficult as losing Grace is, we KNOW that God is with us, and He has shown that much good can come out of a difficult circumstance. Losing Grace has strengthened relationships; it has reminded us of the important things in life; it has taught us all a great deal about patience; it has shown us the great support group that we have as Christians (not only Christians, but also how GREAT of a family we have); it has taught us how important it is for us to be there for others.
We know that little Gracie is in Heaven, and that she is not suffering or hurting like she would've been here on earth. We believe that God has answered our prayers for the best to happen with her.
Amber & I want to thank ya'll from the bottom of our heart. Ya'll have been great support for us. We appreciate the prayers, cards, emails, calls, and more. We especially appreciate our "family", who made trips to Austin over the last couple of months and this week - their support was tremendous. Words cannot express our appreciation adequately.
Prayers would be appreciated for our family, that we can embrace and have peace with the life of our little Grace.
Oh Derek, we are so sorry to hear your news about little Gracie. I admire your courage and strength, I don't know that I could be so strong! Please don't hesitate to call on us if you should need anything! We love you guys and are praying for you!
Glory baby you slipped away as fast as we could say baby…baby..
You were growing, what happened dear?
You disappeared on us baby…baby..
Heaven will hold you before we do
Heaven will keep you safe until we’re home with you…
Until we’re home with you…
Miss you everyday
Miss you in every way
But we know there’s a
day when we will hold you
We will hold you
You’ll kiss our tears away
When we’re home to stay
Can’t wait for the day when we will see you
We will see you
But baby let sweet Jesus hold you
‘till mom and dad can hold you…
You’ll just have heaven before we do
You’ll just have heaven before we do
Sweet little babies, it’s hard to
understand it ‘cause we’re hurting
We are hurting
But there is healing
And we know we’re stronger people through the growing
And in knowing-
That all things work together for our good
And God works His purposes just like He said He would…
Just like He said He would…
BRIDGE:
I can’t imagine heaven’s lullabies
and what they must sound like
But I will rest in knowing, heaven is your home
And it’s all you’ll ever know…all you’ll ever know…
prayers are with you all. I am saddened for you and your wife and family with how hard I can only imagine this is for you, and at the same time so encouraged by your ability to see God and rely on Him. Prayers are with you guys!
I do not know you. I came across your blog and was deeply touched. Your family is in my prayers tonight. May God bless you and your family I am so sorry for your loss. Little Gracie was with you for 26 1/2 weeks for a reason. She is special and will always hold a special place in your heart. The pain is there and will always be. I lost 4 babies (early miscarriages). Time will ease your pain.
Hey, brother in law, check out my pleo. Do I get an A or B+? Hope all is well. Sorry my little man didn't get to go there for the week. I know he was looking forward to it.
We went to Houston this weekend and enjoyed Amber's sisters graduation party. Amber & I grew more concerned over the weekend because she had not felt any distinct movements from little Grace in a while. We decided to go to the Hospital to check her out before heading back to Austin.
It was confirmed at the Hospital that little Grace has passed from this life. We have decided that the best option for us will be to travel back to Austin to meet with our regular doctors. Grace will be born there.
We prayed that the best would happen with Grace, and we know that has happened. We enjoyed all 26 weeks and more with her. God has gained a precious little soul. We pray for strength, especially for Amber, as we face the upcoming events.
Derek, Amber, and Alyssa...Linda and I love you all. We are brokenhearted for you. Still praying. Wish we could be there to comfort you. One more reason to live faithfully, to meet Grace.
Derek, I am sorry to hear of your family's loss. You and Amber have kept an incredibly positive attitude throughout this time. I hope that you will continue to draw support from God and those around you. If there is any way we can help you guys, just let us know.
Even when the hard times come, it is a great gift to know and feel the peace that God gives to his own. We love you both so much! Let us know whatever we can do for you. PLEASE give Amber a ((((BIG HUG)))) from me. She is a very precious and special friend and encouragement to me!
Love you Derek and I love Baby Grace so much even though I won't get to meet/see her.
you couldn't have said it more perfect....
"God has gained a precious little soul"!
you and Amber are amazing in your Faith and Strength. I hope it won't be to much longer before we can all get together as a family. We live so far but yet we are so close.
xoxo
Keri
We are sorry for your loss and will continue praying for each of you, especially for Amber as she faces the times ahead of her. May you draw strength from God, from each other and from all of us in "pleo" world that are joining our hearts and prayers in a virtual circle around you!!! We love you!
Alyssa started referring to baby Grace as "Gracie". So little Grace already has a nickname, which we thought was neat. "Gracie" reminded us of the song by Ben Folds, which is why we posted it here - we love the song. Grace already has a nickname and song...she's pretty special if you ask me.
We went to see the specialist today for an ultrasound. He basically confirmed the issues that were previously noticed. He gave us a term to describe her heart conditions: Tetralogy of Fallot. We will see a heart specialist some time in the near future, before little Grace is born, to find out more confirmation of the issues and the treatment possibilities.
As for the other complications with her, we will not know the severity of them or what is causing them until she is born. Good news: She is a pound and three ounces, which is where she should be, and she loves to move around and kick daddy's hand at night.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. Little Grace has already taught us a lot of lessons: One is the vast amount of love and support that we have around us! We are blessed.
Hi Derek! This is Kristin (Johnson) Thompson, from FC. I saw the link here from Matt's blog. I will keep you and your family in our prayers during your wife pregancy and there after! That's a really sweet song and such a sweet name. She does seem so very special already!
We love you, Derek, and are praying for you through this tough time. I guess God just knows that you and your wife are going to be such phenomenal parents to little Gracie girl that He knows you can handle these challenges. We are close to you- we're always here for anything you need- only an hour and a half away.
You guys are such an encouragement! We stay up-to-date via "our girl" Audrey. Our prayers are filled with the care, love, and strength for all of you. It has been a total blessing to have been brought together as family. Our love and prayers continie.
she has already taught a lot of us a lot! that is so neat. it is also amazing how special an unborn child can already be BEFORE she enters this side of the world!!!
