Gunderson Adventures.... where all 6 of Us live life to the fullest!

2009 was a wonderful year in the Gunderson home! We trust that God will continue to watch over us and our children in the coming year. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! We look forward to sharing our lives with you in 2010! God Bless!

Andrew had his first Christmas program this weekend at church! He did great! Andrew has taken his performance very seriously and has been practicing the music for the past 3 weeks at home! I guess this is the "first born" personality and Kyle and I just smile at how into it he was! Andrew was Joseph this year as he is the only boy preschooler at church! He was delighted when asked to play this part. Andrew loved every minute singing for Jesus! We are so proud of his confidence and love for singing his heart out for Christ. Andrew got lots of high fives from people in our congregation! Many were thrilled to see little Andrew big enough to be singing with the older kids! We were too:)

The first "real" snow fall was the day that we decided to go find our Christmas tree! It was so much fun watching the boys follow daddy to help him find mommy a great Christmas tree! It was so pretty outside watching the snow falling and feeling the fresh air on our cheeks. The boys found a marvelous tree for us and mommy was pleased. In fact, Kyle and I think this might be the best looking tree we have had yet! We went home and the boys were so excited they barely took their jackets off to get the tree decorated for Santa Clause! We talked about presents, how Santa would fit down our chimney and what kind of treats we will be leaving him this year as we were decorating. The boys have wild imaginations and Kyle and I just listened and smiled:) Caleb was apart of all the fun too, just watching and listening to all of Drew and Micah's excitement! He helped mommy put up a few ornaments too.:) I think Andrew looks like such a big boy here decorating the tree and thinking ab

Micah feeds Caleb his rice cereal! Caleb is loving his "real" food these days! Thankful grandma could help me out! Hanging out with family! We had such a wonderful weekend being with uncle Jesse and aunt Sara, uncle Ben and aunt Kara and our little niece Kaylee! Plus grandma and grandpa! Uncle Ben and Caleb spending some time together. Caleb loves his uncle Ben! Micah and mommy doing crafts at the thanksgiving family night event at church! Micah made a beautiful indian hat too! We also had fun playing turkey bingo, turkey bowling, making turkey cookies and doing lots of crafts! Auntie Kara and Kaylee doing crafts with us! We had so much fun doing crafts with the kids. All the turkeys had their own artistic look. Some looked more like dead turkeys! We had a nice Thanksgiving weekend! It was so nice to ALL be together. We are beginning to make great family memories for our kids. I love having Thanksgiving at our house and I am so thankful

Caleb is growing so fast! He is almost 5 months old now and getting a little bigger everyday! He sleeps until about 8:00AM, takes a morning and an afternoon nap and then goes to bed around 7:45PM. So far he has been an easy baby. Cries when he is hungry or sleepy and smiles the rest of the time! Caleb loves watching Andrew and Micah play and laughes outloud when they come and play with him! Although adding the third child has been by far the most difficult, we are blessed by Caleb and his sweet, calm demeanor. It is so much fun watching Caleb roll around on the floor and grab toys. We are looking forward to him eating rice cereal, fruits and vegies soon! Andrew and Micah are eager to start giving him Cheerios! Caleb loves going grocery shopping, storytime at the library and playing in the nursery on Sunday mornings. I can tell Caleb enjoys his routine and is adjusting to all the crazy play at home with his older brothers. Occasionally they are a little too noisy or rough for him and t

We had a fun get-a-way to Duluth last weekend with nana and gg! We stayed at The Edge and had a blast swimming at the water park. Since Drew and Micah have been here before they warmed up quickly! Caleb had fun too going down the lazy river with mommy and putting his piggies in the water. He even got to swim with gg in the deep water! It was so nice to be together swimming, walking, playing outside in the sun, throwing rocks with nana, picnic lunches and eating out at Perkins and The Olive Garden. We were so thankful to have this special time with Kyle's parents as they have been so busy this fall. Getting away with family was wonderful!

We are having a great October with our boys and have also enjoyed some fun moments with our family and friends. Since it has been a couple of weeks since we have blogged about our fabulous 3 boys that keep us laughing and busy, we thought it was about time! Andrew turned 4 years old on October 9th! He had a total of 4 birthday parties: (1) nana and gg, (2)uncle Ben and aunt Kara, (3)Micah, Caleb, mommy and daddy, grandma and grandpa, and (4) with his friends. What a special boy to have so many people that love him! Andrew got these fast running shoes and pants for his birthday from Kyle and I. He said he is ready to start running with mommy! I think he looks so proud in this picture. Here is a picture of Andrew at his birthday party! They are playing musical freeze! So fun to watch 4 year olds groove to the music! Grandma and Grandpa took time to come up and help with the party and make Andrew's birthday so special. We appreciated their help at the party and had a wonderful long we

Micah is our second child who at times feels a little "Stuck in the Middle!" Andrew is the oldest and receives all the excitement for doing things first like riding his bike with no training wheels, starting cubbies at chuch, going to preschool and having a backpack, etc. Caleb is the new baby and gets the "baby" attention. So here's Micah who we try our best at taking him out on mommy dates or errons with daddy but find it is still hard to find your place when you're the second child. I know how this feels as I too was the second child in my family and although I was the only girl so I got special "girl" attention I remember that "stuck" feeling. So being the sensitive mommy that I am I took the responsibility to find something that only Micah and mommy could do together this year without Andrew or Caleb. After some creativity on finding people to help me with the other two boys I was set.:) On Friday mornings at 10:00 Micah and I go to

Today was the last day of summer so we decided to fill water balloons and throw them at each other in the backyard! The boys had a blast! A little surprised they could really throw at mommy too. It is hard to believe our summer has come to an end. Caleb is already 3 months old and smiling like crazy! It feels like it was just June 15th when we were going into Virginia hospital to deliver our third little boy! Oh how overwhelmed I began feeling once we came home. July was spent visiting family and showing Caleb off to family and friends in the cities on top of trying to survive having 3 little boys needing mommy in so many different ways! August calmed down a little as we didn't travel as much and stayed home. Although Kyle was gone with different youth ministry stuff (camp, MUUCE, State Fair) the boys and I really began to get into our home routine. This was so nice because I really needed this time to figure out what I was doing with 3 boys! Eventually, by mid-August it felt like

Lately our kids have been so busy playing together outside in the backyard with their new toy daddy purchased-"The Ultimate Truck." Yes, this John Deer giant green machine has joined our family in a remarkable way. I can now get the supper dishes done, have a 5 minute conversation on the phone or have a quiet discussion with my husband all because the Ultimate Truck keeps my boys entertained! I believe all mothers should have one of these for their kids. The boys are thrilled that the truck moves on its own and they can put sticks in the back. Mommy is thrilled because she can have a break and connect with the outside world a little. :)

Andrew had his first week of preschool this week! So far he is having a great time and loves his teacher Mrs. Fougner. On Tuesday he told Kyle and I that he loved his snack( ice cream sundaes) and his new teacher the best. It is hard to believe our little guy is already in preschool. Granted he is only 3 years old still so I don't have to be too bummed. However, he is already gaining his independence which is a weird feeling for a mommy. Andrew will go to school every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 12:30-3:00PM. The boys and I walk Andrew up to school after lunch, give him lots of hugs and kisses and wave goodbye. Andrew is very confident and goes right into the room and begins playing with his friends and toys. On our way home Micah says over and over "Mom, I miss Andrew." I think Micah will need to adjust with Andrew being gone as well! Kyle goes and picks Drew up at 3:00PM so I don't have to get Micah and Caleb up from naps to go get him. Here are his first

Caleb had his first check up today! He weighed in at 11 lbs. 14 oz.! He was in the 33% for his weight and 65% for height. Our little guy is doing great! He loved Dr. Stone and smiled at him the whole time while he got checked out. The shots they gave him were a bummer, but he seems to be doing well with Tylenol! Here are some shots of Caleb today when him and I were hanging out together. Oh how I love the baby stage! I think I could have a dozen of these little ones! I just wish it didn't go by so fast! Hard to believe he is almost 3 months old. I love you Caleb!! Love-Mommy

Caleb James is already 9 weeks old! He weighed in at 10 lbs. 13 oz. last week! It is amaizing how fast they grow (birth weight was 7lbs. 5oz.). Caleb is growing and doing new and silly things everyday. We are learning so much about our little guy. He loves to watch Andrew and Micah play while he sits back and swings. Caleb also loves to smile and coo at us! He is such a delight to us all. We laugh at him when he really gets talking to us because he looks like he is really telling us something important. He has really BIG smiles and loves when we kiss his cheeks! Andrew calls him his sweetheart and Micah loves to give him kisses in the morning. Mommy and daddy love to snuggle him when Andrew and Micah go to sleep. We are sad that he is growing so fast, but enjoying every new moment with him. When Caleb is content in his car seat we just let him hang out in there. Sometimes he watches us eat supper right in his car seat! We love this shot of Caleb as he looks so alert and ready to tel

We are having a great summer with our boys! We went to Family Camp with our church family at the end of July and had a nice time! Though the weather was a little on the cold side we still managed to get the boys to go tubing with us! Andrew and Micah were way brave and went twice overall! Once it rained on the boys while they were out on the lake! Ouch! While we were at camp the boys had fun running around without mom or dad and feeling the freedom! They of course loved hanging out with their friend and babysitter Paige who always makes the boys feel special. Their other "big kid" friends that were at camp were Bailey, TJ, Josh, Tyler, Catherine and Ames. Our boys are blessed to hang out with the older kids from the youth group. I guess this is one of the many perks to serving in Youth Ministry! Bluewater Covenant Bible Camp has a beautiful beach. Micah loved getting dirty in the sand! He also loved eating sandy fruit snacks while playing too! Andrew loved grabbing the snack

Hi friends and family! We hope this finds you having a great summer as well despite the crazy weather! It is hard for us to believe we are almost entering August! It feels like fall! Anyway, we thought we would send you a quick update before we leave town tomorrow for our churches annual camp weekend at Bluewater Covenant Camp. Last week the boys and I headed south to the cities for a wonderful week with grandma and grandpa, nana and gg and other family and friends. I was shocked that all three boys did awesome in the car ride! What wonderful little men I have. Meanwhile Kyle took 38 students to CHIC in Tennessee during this time and had a great experience worshipping God, learning more about Christ, and learning how to apply it to their current relationship with Him. It is always so awesome to hear how many kids see things in their lives that need refining. Way cool to be apart of the lives of teenagers! Sadly however I did not take ANY pictures last week in the cities. I think I was

Our auntie Sara and niece Callie came to visit us from Montana! We had so much fun playing with Callie on the trampoline and water slide! Andrew and Micah also had fun going to parks, Mcdonalds and having two sleepovers with their special cousin. Callie is 7 years old and was a great help with the boys and loved holding baby Caleb. She even helped give the boys a bath! Callie is a great big cousin and was always willing to share toys, push Micah on the swing and make us all laugh. We love our little Callie so much! We were so thankful that they made such a long drive to stop in and see us! Auntie Sara brought fun July 4th crafts and the boys took their pom poms to the parade today! Sara played with the kids on the trampoline, at the park and snuggled with baby Caleb lots! She was a lot of help to me around the house. Sara is such a great auntie to us.