cookie date

So we've been here about a month, and the loneliness of living in a new place has really started to set in. I am intensely introverted, so moving and starting all new relationships is very anxiety inducing for me. Add that to the fact that Jess starts his intern year tomorrow (ie: he's going to be insanely busy and might as well move into his office at the hospital.) and we've all had a rough week. I'm struggling (as usual) to just place that anxiety into the Almighty's hands. We spent some time yesterday talking about it, and praying together, and today has been a much better day.

I know I'm going to have to be really proactive about filling Peter and I's days with positive and educational activities to help keep the lonelies at bay until we've settled in more. The challenge is doing that while working around his nap schedule and our budget!

Anyway, this afternoon I realized that though he LOVES my Kitchenaid mixer, and I let him stand on the stool and watch when I use it, I don't involve him as much as he's capable of now at 16 months. So today we made cookies! He took his role very seriously and watched and followed instructions really well! I don't think it's ever taken me that long to make a batch of cookies before, but it was fun for both of us.

We followed this basic recipe for Chewy Coconut Cookies, but I added about 3/4 cup chopped pecans, and toasted the pecans and coconut before hand. they turned out really yummy!

Every time the mixer catches his eye he starts mimicking the sound of the motor. And gets SO excited any time I use it! 

Lickin' his first cookie spoon!

Add caption

watching them bake

Lola is right in the middle of things, as usual!

Peter approves!

Gnome Garden

So I've wanted to make one of these for a while. I have a couple of friends that have older kiddos that have made INCREDIBLE gnome and fairy gardens and I love the idea of encouraging your child's imagination that way! I picked up a few tiny gnomes and garden accessories at Hobby Lobby around Easter, and have had them stashed away since then. This week I found a huge selection of tiny succulent plants at Home Depot on clearance. Perfect!

I used an old pot that was already chipped, and busted out one side by kind of chiseling it with a hammer and screw driver. It felt very Michelangelo-esque. It came off in two pieces, and I added dirt and sand to make it look tiered. I planted my lovely succulents, and voila!

Never-mind the puppy butt!

Then I added some preserved moss and the little gnomes and Here you have it. They even have names.
Oswald is the one communing with the squirrel.
And Ferguson is the gardener.

Now, I know what you're thinking!

Yes. Peter is far too young to really appreciate the wonderment of our gnome garden. And he certainly didn't name the gnomes. Jess and I did that. But Peter will grow into it, and I'm woman enough to admit that I really made the garden for ME! Peter just gave me an excuse.

I LOVE IT!!!!

Jess has been laughing at me about it all week, but here's a little secret: He named Oswald. SO, he kinda likes it too.

I guess becoming a doctor doesn't mean that you have to be all mature and grown up all the time. 

That's all for now. Have a great day!

New Blog!

Welcome!

I've been blogging for years, but decided that it was time to branch out from my original blog which had become very focused on our experience with the loss of our first child, Jude, to Stillbirth. That blog can still be found at: www.jessandjennanderson.com. And I will still be blogging there occasionally.

Here I'm going to be writing about pretty much everything else! Primarily my experiences as a mom, and the wife of a military physician.

Now let's knock out some of the explaining about this whole process:

My husband is just starting his intern year (that's their first year out of medical school) in Internal Medicine. I'll do my best to explain any jargon as I use it, but feel free to comment if you have questions about anything! We just relocated to Mississippi, from Colorado (talk about a big change!) for his Air Force residency program. Residency is the phase of a physicians training that comes after med school. It varies in length dependent on their chosen specialty. Jess' residency is 3 years long; the first one being his intern year. During this phase of his training he is a doctor, but still requires some oversight by more experienced physicians (called Attendings). After residency a doctor can go right into practice, or if they want to specialize further (as Jess does) they then must do a fellowship. Again, they are doctors, but are continuing to pursue more and more specialized training. All in all, when Jess is done he will have 14+ years of education after High School. Yup, you read that right. 26 total years of formal education, and then a life of continual learning and professional development. On top of that, since the Air Force has payed Jess' way through med school, we will owe them time in service as pay back. Suffice it to say, becoming a doctor is a bit of an investment; both of time, and finances.

So, that's alot of technical talk about my husband and what he does right?

WELCOME TO MY LIFE!

There are certainly times when being married to a brilliant, kind, dynamic man like my husband feels a bit overshadowing. Ok,... more times then I like to admit. Here's the usual scenario:

We're meeting new people; they ask what we do,... Jess usually hesitates to answer because he's very humble, but after hemming and hawing and trying to avoid the question he finally says that he's an intern physician. Any interest in me and what I do instantaneously disappears. They already know what I do. DUH. I'm the doctor's wife. The conversation then generally revolves around him and his schooling or job until he humbly changes the subject. This isn't new since he graduated either. It was the same as a medical student.

This is just one of the many challenges of being a doctor's wife. I'll share more as time goes on, but you get the gist.

So in closing, today I want to make the same promise here as I made to readers on my other blog. My goal is to never use this blog to complain, and dwell on negativity. I want to be real with you and share the challenges and struggles of life, but I will ALWAYS try to find and share encouragement to go along with it. I'll use Philippians 4:8 as my guide:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

With that being said, know that I realized how blessed that we are. Yes, there are certainly challenges unique to our situation. But I know that they are all worth it to see how God will use my husband over the course of his career. What an incredible privilege this high calling is! Not only for Dr. Anderson, but for me as well. Mine may be a supporting role, but I will strive to fulfill that role to the best of my God given abilities.

Thanks for reading! Check back for more soon!