Well, I’m sure you’ve heard by now that the Anderson Household will be expanding by two feet in March :-)
We’re very excited to say the least. It took us a little longer to get here than we though it would. Just one of the things that has made this last year challenging; but God’s timing is perfect! This resolves the job vs. school vs. moving to Grand Junction dilemma for me/us and makes decisions about the immediate future much simpler. Our plans at this point are to 1: Have a baby in March, and 2: Potentially move to Grand Junction in June-ish. Grad School will go back on the back-burner for me, which was the original plan anyway. I probably won’t go back to work for a while after the baby either; and Praise God! He has provided us with the financial means through Jess’ Air Force scholarship so I won’t have to go back to work at all if I don’t want to!
At this point we’re just taking life one day at a time, and enjoying this incredible blessing that God has given us. I have been VERY fortunate so far to have had minimal sickness and fatigue. Wednesday (Sept 21st) is 14 weeks, and officially the beginning of my second trimester. We have had 2 ultrasounds so far, and are blessed to have what appears so far to be a perfectly healthy peach-sized baby who already has legs longer than the average adult… okay maybe a small exaggeration (but the kid already has seriously long legs! Wonder where he/she gets it!?!). Jess, my mom, and several other family members are convinced it’s a girl. I don’t have any premonitions at all, I’m just reveling in the fact that it’s going to be a baby of my very own; and hoping that, boy or girl, it has blue eyes and dimples like it’s daddy!
I haven’t felt it, and don’t have much of a bump yet (Jess and I can tell, but everyone else says they can’t), but I’m becoming increasingly aware of his/her existence. I’m looking forward to actually “looking pregnant,” starting to feel it move in a month or so, and of course finding out if it’s a boy or a girl in early Nov. What a fun Birthday gift!
Life is certainly busy, and I have as much as I can handle being a pregnant med student’s wife and a full-time nurse. It feels like two full-time jobs sometimes, but it is so worth it! I just can’t wait until I can focus on just being a wife and a mom for a while. I’ll try to update more often now, didn’t feel like blogging while Junior was still a secret; but now that I can share freely again, I plan to!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
decisions decisions,....
Hello friends!
I'm taking a quick break from auditing charts at work to update you all on what's happening with us. Let me tell ya,... chart audits were pretty hard to tear myself away from!
So first and foremost, my husband is a rockstar! He is oficially 1/4 Dr. Anderson, and passed his first year of med school with flying colors and a fantastic class standing. I'm so proud of him! He has two more weeks of relaxing (and honey-do-listing) until he leaves for Comissioned Officer Training School in Montgomery Alabama. He'll be in hot muggy Alabama getting yelled at and "roughing it officer style" for 5 weeks. Our first prayer request is just that this time would fly by for both of us as this will be the longest we've ever been apart. Jess will also be missing the first week of classes in August so prayers that he'll be able to get caught back up with minimal stress would be appreciated.
The second big prayer request is that I'm trying to decide what to do with myself the next few years. This job is certainly not getting any easier on me, and I'm really struggling to understand why God has me here and if He really wants me to stay. Some days I feel like I could handle it for another 6 months or a year, and other days I feel like I need to turn in my 2 weeks notice on the spot. I'm actively pursueing other jobs, but none give me a feeling of peace....
Soooooo,.... I'm looking into going back to school. Possibly this fall. It would be super last minute, so we have to make a decision quickly and a lot of our current plans for the next few years are dependant on the decision. I'm going into CU Denver later this week to talk to someone about program options (masters vs. doctoral programs and family practitioner vs. pediatric practitioner). We hadn't planned on me going back to school so soon, and financially it would make the next few years more tight; but it also would make sense in a lot of ways. Please lift us up when you think of it. We need wisdom to know what decisions to make and what God's timing is for our lives right now. There's a lot riding on this decision, and along with excitment about the possibilities, we have a strong desire to be following God's will.
Well, my thumbs are tired of typing on my phone, and I should get back to the stack of charts in front of me. I wish you all a happy summer and thanks for your prayers!
I'm taking a quick break from auditing charts at work to update you all on what's happening with us. Let me tell ya,... chart audits were pretty hard to tear myself away from!
So first and foremost, my husband is a rockstar! He is oficially 1/4 Dr. Anderson, and passed his first year of med school with flying colors and a fantastic class standing. I'm so proud of him! He has two more weeks of relaxing (and honey-do-listing) until he leaves for Comissioned Officer Training School in Montgomery Alabama. He'll be in hot muggy Alabama getting yelled at and "roughing it officer style" for 5 weeks. Our first prayer request is just that this time would fly by for both of us as this will be the longest we've ever been apart. Jess will also be missing the first week of classes in August so prayers that he'll be able to get caught back up with minimal stress would be appreciated.
The second big prayer request is that I'm trying to decide what to do with myself the next few years. This job is certainly not getting any easier on me, and I'm really struggling to understand why God has me here and if He really wants me to stay. Some days I feel like I could handle it for another 6 months or a year, and other days I feel like I need to turn in my 2 weeks notice on the spot. I'm actively pursueing other jobs, but none give me a feeling of peace....
Soooooo,.... I'm looking into going back to school. Possibly this fall. It would be super last minute, so we have to make a decision quickly and a lot of our current plans for the next few years are dependant on the decision. I'm going into CU Denver later this week to talk to someone about program options (masters vs. doctoral programs and family practitioner vs. pediatric practitioner). We hadn't planned on me going back to school so soon, and financially it would make the next few years more tight; but it also would make sense in a lot of ways. Please lift us up when you think of it. We need wisdom to know what decisions to make and what God's timing is for our lives right now. There's a lot riding on this decision, and along with excitment about the possibilities, we have a strong desire to be following God's will.
Well, my thumbs are tired of typing on my phone, and I should get back to the stack of charts in front of me. I wish you all a happy summer and thanks for your prayers!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Totally Random Garden Blog
So I'm going to have a garden this year. I've never actually had a garden before,... never even been super interested in gardening... but this year I am. And I have a 10' x 20' community garden plot. I had something slightly more modest in mind; maybe 5' x 10'? The garden lady finally met me today (after months of disorganization, post-poning, and re-scheduling) and showed me a 20' x 20' plot that was meant for me. This was me: "Uhhhh,... ummm,... hm. It's big. *awkward silence......* I'm not sure I can fill it." This is what I was thinking: "What, do I look like I have a dozen kids at home to feed?"
Anyway, (after making infinitely clear that I was a HUGE inconvenience to her in every way) she ended up giving me 1/2 of the plot (which is what most people have).
I have now spent most of my day planning, and shopping for everything I'll need for the most epic garden in my personal gardening history. Which will in fact be epic, even though my personal gardening history is limited to two sickly tomato plants I nursed through the summer last year.
In preparation for my garden this summer, I started tomatoes from seed about 6 weeks ago (praying that I would in fact get a plot as I was on the wait list at the time). I wanted to have a variety of tomatoes, so I started a packet each of: heirloon mix, cherries, and red lightening (which I mostly picked because they have an AWESOME name, and have cool stripey skin) tomatoes. Within 2 weeks I had 36 thriving tomato plants and a very amused husband. Come to find out that finding good homes for baby tomatoes is far easier than finding homes for say,... kittens. Although, at least 9 of my babies are now deceased thanks to my mother. She is very concerned (and justly so) that I will never trust her with my human children,... when I have them.
Anyway, all of this planting and growing and watching life emerge from dead life-less seeds, dirt, and steer poop, has continually reminded me of the awesomeness of our God. At first I would get so excited each time I saw a new seedling pop through. I was thinking: "I did that! That tiny, beautiful, living thing would not exist right now if it weren't for me!" And then I caught myself. Not me,... yeah I facilitated; but God did that. Why? Because he loves me and wants to bless me with it! I can't help but praise God. I'm so thankful that he placed us on an earth filled with life and green things. He didn't have to you know. He provided life and beauty on this earth to bless us; because we are His children and he loves us. Every time I look at my beautiful baby tomato plants (and the rest of my garden once it actually exists) I want to view them as a representation of the love of God.
I've always had these spontaneous, awesome, experiential praise sessions in nature. Every hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, or canoeing trip the beauty of God's creation moves me to praise Him because I feel so close to Him. It's like I can physically hear and feel the breathe of God in the wind on the top of a 14er. The intensity of the sun's heat when I'm climbing a rock wall feels like His gaze peering down lovingly, warming me from the outside in. Now I have the joy of that experience in the garden as well. Thank you Lord!
My challenge to all of you is to open your eyes, look around at the green and living things that are beginning to emerge this spring, and praise God for them! They exist because of His love for us!
Anyway, (after making infinitely clear that I was a HUGE inconvenience to her in every way) she ended up giving me 1/2 of the plot (which is what most people have).
I have now spent most of my day planning, and shopping for everything I'll need for the most epic garden in my personal gardening history. Which will in fact be epic, even though my personal gardening history is limited to two sickly tomato plants I nursed through the summer last year.
In preparation for my garden this summer, I started tomatoes from seed about 6 weeks ago (praying that I would in fact get a plot as I was on the wait list at the time). I wanted to have a variety of tomatoes, so I started a packet each of: heirloon mix, cherries, and red lightening (which I mostly picked because they have an AWESOME name, and have cool stripey skin) tomatoes. Within 2 weeks I had 36 thriving tomato plants and a very amused husband. Come to find out that finding good homes for baby tomatoes is far easier than finding homes for say,... kittens. Although, at least 9 of my babies are now deceased thanks to my mother. She is very concerned (and justly so) that I will never trust her with my human children,... when I have them.
Anyway, all of this planting and growing and watching life emerge from dead life-less seeds, dirt, and steer poop, has continually reminded me of the awesomeness of our God. At first I would get so excited each time I saw a new seedling pop through. I was thinking: "I did that! That tiny, beautiful, living thing would not exist right now if it weren't for me!" And then I caught myself. Not me,... yeah I facilitated; but God did that. Why? Because he loves me and wants to bless me with it! I can't help but praise God. I'm so thankful that he placed us on an earth filled with life and green things. He didn't have to you know. He provided life and beauty on this earth to bless us; because we are His children and he loves us. Every time I look at my beautiful baby tomato plants (and the rest of my garden once it actually exists) I want to view them as a representation of the love of God.
I've always had these spontaneous, awesome, experiential praise sessions in nature. Every hiking, climbing, snowshoeing, or canoeing trip the beauty of God's creation moves me to praise Him because I feel so close to Him. It's like I can physically hear and feel the breathe of God in the wind on the top of a 14er. The intensity of the sun's heat when I'm climbing a rock wall feels like His gaze peering down lovingly, warming me from the outside in. Now I have the joy of that experience in the garden as well. Thank you Lord!
My challenge to all of you is to open your eyes, look around at the green and living things that are beginning to emerge this spring, and praise God for them! They exist because of His love for us!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
conquering giants
I sincerely apologize for my blogging delinquency of late. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought to myself that I really should blog and remind cyberspace of my existence,… but have recently been at a loss for inspiration. There are a number of reasons for this that can be summed up by simply saying I’ve been heavily overwhelmed by a life that never follows the course that you expect.
So, here’s the story of the last few months: I started my new job in November, with a very open mind about what God might have in store for me there. I knew going into it that it was not a job that I had an inherent passion for, but trusted that God had me there for a reason, and that He could provide me with the passion necessary to succeed and glorify Him in the process. Welllll,…… That’s been much harder than I expected. Without going into all the gory details, I’ll just say that this job frequently leaves me emotionally wrecked. I’ve been struggling with some depression off and on, I’ve been getting severe headaches 3-4 times a week, and I’ve been feeling inadequate at home in filling my role as Jess’ helpmate.
This is NOT what I expected when I was experiencing the emotional high of God providing this job just in the nick of time for us financially. I felt as though it was so clearly God’s provision and plan that it was bound to be easy RIGHT? (Or at least easier than the precariousness of unemployment.)
Naive.
Well, I have to admit part of the problem, and a pattern in my spiritual life, is that I frequently go from a high point of complete submission and reliance on Christ (last fall) to a low point, and forget to translate everything I learned about God’s character.
I’m working now on making that translation. I learned so much about God’s faithfulness in the last year, now I need to figure out how to apply that to this new and unexpectedly difficult situation. Our pastor preached on contentment in church a few weeks ago. He was speaking primarily about financial contentment, but I was challenged more broadly than that. I feel some days that I just need to work to be content in the situation that God has placed me. Then I’ll have a rough week at work and feel as though I really can’t stay at this job, that it’s not fair to Jess and our marriage.
I wish that I could say that I’ve come up with the ultimate solution. I haven’t. But God really spoke to Jess and I this morning during some Bible study time (Yeah, we played hookie from church this morning. As Jess put it: We’re basking in the glory of God’s grace,….. at home.).
We read Hebrew 4:1-13. I challenge you to read it. It’s about entering God’s rest, or the word that I associate it with is His peace. The author talks about the Hebrews back in the Old Testament when Moses sends the scouts into the Promise Land. Most of them return with reports of giants that display a lack of faith in God’s power to conquer un-conquerable situations. Because of this fear and inability to see the situation through God’s eyes, an entire generation of Israelites never fully experienced God’s rest, or peace.
I don’t know how my job situation will turn out, but I do know that I don’t want to miss out on God’s promise of rest because I’m too busy worrying and being unhappy about my current circumstances. The only practical solution we have is prayer and trust in God’s omnipotence. So that’s our plan right now, just to experience God’s promise of peace in our lives through prayer and time together in communion with Him.
Our own Promise Land awaits, we may just need some help conquering giants before we can get there.
So, here’s the story of the last few months: I started my new job in November, with a very open mind about what God might have in store for me there. I knew going into it that it was not a job that I had an inherent passion for, but trusted that God had me there for a reason, and that He could provide me with the passion necessary to succeed and glorify Him in the process. Welllll,…… That’s been much harder than I expected. Without going into all the gory details, I’ll just say that this job frequently leaves me emotionally wrecked. I’ve been struggling with some depression off and on, I’ve been getting severe headaches 3-4 times a week, and I’ve been feeling inadequate at home in filling my role as Jess’ helpmate.
This is NOT what I expected when I was experiencing the emotional high of God providing this job just in the nick of time for us financially. I felt as though it was so clearly God’s provision and plan that it was bound to be easy RIGHT? (Or at least easier than the precariousness of unemployment.)
Naive.
Well, I have to admit part of the problem, and a pattern in my spiritual life, is that I frequently go from a high point of complete submission and reliance on Christ (last fall) to a low point, and forget to translate everything I learned about God’s character.
I’m working now on making that translation. I learned so much about God’s faithfulness in the last year, now I need to figure out how to apply that to this new and unexpectedly difficult situation. Our pastor preached on contentment in church a few weeks ago. He was speaking primarily about financial contentment, but I was challenged more broadly than that. I feel some days that I just need to work to be content in the situation that God has placed me. Then I’ll have a rough week at work and feel as though I really can’t stay at this job, that it’s not fair to Jess and our marriage.
I wish that I could say that I’ve come up with the ultimate solution. I haven’t. But God really spoke to Jess and I this morning during some Bible study time (Yeah, we played hookie from church this morning. As Jess put it: We’re basking in the glory of God’s grace,….. at home.).
We read Hebrew 4:1-13. I challenge you to read it. It’s about entering God’s rest, or the word that I associate it with is His peace. The author talks about the Hebrews back in the Old Testament when Moses sends the scouts into the Promise Land. Most of them return with reports of giants that display a lack of faith in God’s power to conquer un-conquerable situations. Because of this fear and inability to see the situation through God’s eyes, an entire generation of Israelites never fully experienced God’s rest, or peace.
I don’t know how my job situation will turn out, but I do know that I don’t want to miss out on God’s promise of rest because I’m too busy worrying and being unhappy about my current circumstances. The only practical solution we have is prayer and trust in God’s omnipotence. So that’s our plan right now, just to experience God’s promise of peace in our lives through prayer and time together in communion with Him.
Our own Promise Land awaits, we may just need some help conquering giants before we can get there.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Undies MAN!!!!
My husband is awesome. I asked Jess this morning if he had any great blog ideas and he said that I should blog about how awesome he is,.... so here it goes:
My husband is awesome.
Today is New Years Eve, and our 4th wedding anniversary. We are still snuggled up in bed (Jess is fanatically trying to finish his Harry Potter book before he has to start school again on Monday), the dog is sleeping on our feet, there is new snow on the ground, our electric blanket is toasty, and life is good.
Looking back at the last four years and everything that God has brought us through and blessed us with is pretty amazing. There have been some crazy fun times (climbing fourteeners, whitewater kayaking, friend's weddings, The lake, getting Libby as a puppy,....), and also some scary and challenging times (Amy's accident, terrible apartments, NCLEX and MCAT, unemployment, moving 5 times in 4 years....) but we don't have to look too closely at any example before we see God's hand at work.
I for one can't wait to see how He is going to work in the upcoming year. We are excited about 2011, it promises to have alot of great things in store. One huge blessing is that Jess got the Air force scholarship for med school, and he is eligible for a whopping signing bonus as well as the regular living stipend next year (on top of the fact that they pay 100% of his school tuition and expenses!). A month and a half ago we were literally running out of money and didn't know what we were going to do. Then I got a job, and now this,... God is SO faithful!
Another thing that we are excited about in 2011 is our New Years resolution (I know, I know,... who really ever follows those right?). We have decided to read the whole Bible this year. It's something that I've started before, but never stuck with it. I have dozens of excuses. This year will be different though. Jess and I and his mom, Muriel, are all doing it together on the same reading plan, so there will be accountability and encouragement along the way.
(I wish I had a video of my husband just now: charging out of bed in his boxers and a old floppy sweatshirt singing: "Undies Man!!!!" to go get me the computer charger,... what a guy, he really is awesome!)
Well, I suppose thats about it,... the Undies Man theme song was too distracting and I lost my train of thought. We did have some big plans for the day, but it's too chilly to be outside much so I think we're going to venture out to the bakery then the bookstore, and then home again to curl up on the couch for the day. Then tonight we're going to our friend's Hannah and Stephen's house for a rocking New Years Eve fiesta.
Happy New Years everyone!
My husband is awesome.
Today is New Years Eve, and our 4th wedding anniversary. We are still snuggled up in bed (Jess is fanatically trying to finish his Harry Potter book before he has to start school again on Monday), the dog is sleeping on our feet, there is new snow on the ground, our electric blanket is toasty, and life is good.
Looking back at the last four years and everything that God has brought us through and blessed us with is pretty amazing. There have been some crazy fun times (climbing fourteeners, whitewater kayaking, friend's weddings, The lake, getting Libby as a puppy,....), and also some scary and challenging times (Amy's accident, terrible apartments, NCLEX and MCAT, unemployment, moving 5 times in 4 years....) but we don't have to look too closely at any example before we see God's hand at work.
I for one can't wait to see how He is going to work in the upcoming year. We are excited about 2011, it promises to have alot of great things in store. One huge blessing is that Jess got the Air force scholarship for med school, and he is eligible for a whopping signing bonus as well as the regular living stipend next year (on top of the fact that they pay 100% of his school tuition and expenses!). A month and a half ago we were literally running out of money and didn't know what we were going to do. Then I got a job, and now this,... God is SO faithful!
Another thing that we are excited about in 2011 is our New Years resolution (I know, I know,... who really ever follows those right?). We have decided to read the whole Bible this year. It's something that I've started before, but never stuck with it. I have dozens of excuses. This year will be different though. Jess and I and his mom, Muriel, are all doing it together on the same reading plan, so there will be accountability and encouragement along the way.
(I wish I had a video of my husband just now: charging out of bed in his boxers and a old floppy sweatshirt singing: "Undies Man!!!!" to go get me the computer charger,... what a guy, he really is awesome!)
Well, I suppose thats about it,... the Undies Man theme song was too distracting and I lost my train of thought. We did have some big plans for the day, but it's too chilly to be outside much so I think we're going to venture out to the bakery then the bookstore, and then home again to curl up on the couch for the day. Then tonight we're going to our friend's Hannah and Stephen's house for a rocking New Years Eve fiesta.
Happy New Years everyone!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Christmas perspective
I plopped down in front of the computer this morning with my mug full of Ghirardelli chocolate coffee, and a slice of chocolate banana bread with peanut butter; and had full intentions of watching a short show and folding laundry…. Well, that idea was short-lived. Maybe later. IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!! And I need to blog.
First, a quick update: the new job is going fine. VERY slow… partly because of the time of year no one has really had time to train me. It’s been pretty boring and a little frustrating, BUT: I know this is where God has me. That’s all I have to say about that. Jess has one more test tomorrow and then has a couple of weeks off,… he can’t wait to spend his free time in the next few weeks rearranging the furniture and organizing closets. No, really. That’s what he’s excited to do. I know,… pretty weird, but what can I say?.. I love the guy!
(Mmmmm,… this banana bread is Goo-ood, If I do say so myself!)
Okay, here’s what I really got on here to blog about: It’s Christmas! And we feel so blessed this year to be where we are at. School is going great for Jess, I finally have a job (income!), we have an AMAZING church, INCREDIBLE friends, and (as always) our families are such blessings to us, the list goes on and on!!! So many incredible blessings that the Lord has poured out on us this year. I feel like: “MAN, we really have something to celebrate this year!”
And while these things are all wonderful, and they ARE reasons to celebrate I think that this is a warped way of looking at it. I catch myself feeling celebratory due to these specific blessings in my life. What if times were harder right now? What if I didn’t have a job? What is Jess was really struggling in school? What if we were still church hunting? What if we hadn’t made any good friends here? What if,……..?
Wouldn’t there still be just as much reason to celebrate this Christmas? Wouldn’t it be just as true that Christ humbled himself for our sakes; making himself like a child, in order to provide redemption to our scarlet souls? I often catch myself celebrating and finding joy in circumstances, rather than celebrating Jesus.
Jess and I did the advent reading in church last week, it was about joy. I want to give you all the same challenge we gave to our church (and are working on ourselves): Ask yourself what you are REALLY celebrating this season. Scrutinize your source of joy. Is it in the excitement of parties, gifts, stockings, yummy food, Christmas lights, being with family…..? While I AM excited about all of these things (and I’m sure that many of you are as well) I’m working on realizing that my TRUE source of joy this season and what I should really be celebrating is this:
Philippians 2:5-11:
...Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Now I’m off to fold laundry. Love you all!
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