Parent Profile: Jan Anderson
by Melissa Blair
Jan Anderson, Married to Kurt Anderson. Kids: Tucker Anderson 12, Rose 10, Buck 8. Occupation: Homemaker. Childhood Home: Blossom, TX
Parent gear you can’t live without:
My first-aid kit; I love being prepared at ballgames.
What is your favorite time spent as a family?
I love cooking breakfast and seeing everyone come down ready for school. Not everyone in the family is a morning person but that is part of what makes conversations funny at the table. It is also less rushed than dinner sometimes with all the after school activities.
Proudest parent moment to date:
Everything else is secondary to my kids accepting Christ and wanting to be baptized.
Best parenting advice I’ve ever received
I asked someone a few years ago how to raise kids and live without regret. She told me the best way she knew how was to try to walk with Christ daily and trust Him with the circumstances. Her answer had nothing to do with the things that often can cause stress.
When I was a new parent I was terrified of:
Germs….Ha!
What’s your favorite family tradition?
My mother directing the grandchildren in a Christmas pageant every year. The older ones say, “not again” and the younger ones are so excited to do the pageant with their older cousins. It is always so cute and makes my mom so nervous!
What am I currently reading?
A friend gave me a book for my 40th birthday and I’m still reading it while waiting in car lines and waiting at ball practices. She thought I would get it read before her but so far it has taken me almost 5 months. It is called Own Your Life. It is written from a Biblical perspective on maintaining a peaceful environment in the midst of so many outside pressures on our time.
Advice I would offer to new parents…..
I would just be honest about the mistakes I have made. I wish I had not worried so much when they were younger. There was something about having my third one that made me let go of so many things I was trying to control.
What is your favorite time spent as a family?
I love our vacations when the five of us just get away from everything and I don’t have to cook…Ha. I have to say Disney World and visiting my husband’s extended family in Oregon two years ago top my favorite list.
I hope I teach my kids how to…..
live truthfully and lovingly before the Lord.
A product I swear by…
Is it weird to say taco seasoning?…. I cook a lot of Mexican food. I buy multiple packets at a time. I guess I should also add peanut butter as a constant product in our house. My dad has me brainwashed that peanut butter grows strong, healthy kids.
