a shout out to my man

So, I haven't blogged in a while...which is why this moment is perfect. It gives me the excuse to stop reading my pharmacology book and take a moment to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet husband. (who cares if I'm a month late?)

First of all, I just want to tell him (who knows when he'll read this...if he ever will) - how much I love him and am grateful that I am the lucky girl that got to marry him. I'm usually not this gushy. In fact, I'm usually quite mean...but these past few days I have felt overwhelmingly grateful for him. Maybe it's the fact that I'm surrounded by people who are sick and dying; maybe it's the fact that Stephen is convinced he's going to die young and leave me with ten strapping children; I don't know why, but I see everyday that I get to spend with him as a gift.

I LOVE going to sleep with him right by me and waking up and cuddling in the morning. I LOVE how every Wednesday morning when I have to be up at 4:30 for clinicals, he leaves me a note on a paper towel with a bowl, spoon, and cereal on the table. I LOVE the lines he gets on the edges of his mouth when he smiles or laughs. I LOVE when he lets me win at Skip-bo. I LOVE how strongly he feels about morality and the strength of marriage. I LOVE how upset he gets when people treat cheating on their spouses lightly. I LOVE how determined he is to not spoil our kids with material items, but to teach them the value of hard work and that this life isn't about worldly possessions. I LOVE how he got a pull up bar for his birthday and made a rule that every time you enter the kitchen, you have to do several pull-ups. I LOVE how hard he has worked in school. I LOVE that I'm going to be married to a sweet, humble doctor. I LOVE that I'm getting teary eyed as I write this because of how much I love him. The list could go on and on, but for the sake of time, I'll stop there.

Anyway, happy birthday Mr. Anderson! I looove you!

Stephen with his new best friend. I think this picture is really hot...

Stephen with all the cake and cake-pops on his birthday. Those cake pops are AMAZING. If you wanna feel cool the next time you entertain a party, just let me know.

More of the cake pops.

At Texas Roadhouse with my parents.

Can he EVER do a normal face? No.

Stephen in the saddle while the crew at Texas Roadhouse sang to him.

deck the halls

And now for the finale of Christmas pics & updates.

First, I would just like to say how thankful I am for a wonderful family that I was able to spend the holiday break with. And more importantly, how thankful I am for the birth and life of Jesus. I just love Christmas so much. I got literally giddy about it clear back in October.

Ok, funny story. Stephen would NOT tolerate ANY Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I thought, "I must have married a legitimate scrooge". Boy was I wrong. The day after Thanksgiving came and that boy can give any Christmas-spirited woman a run for her money. He dragged me to all the stores to buy our decorations. He dragged me to go buy a real Christmas tree. He went WITHOUT me that same day to Target to buy more decorations. And then, if that wasn't enough, he went to Wally's World at 11:00 pm that same night because he wanted to buy some garland. I could not believe it. He LOVES Christmas and I love it because then he does all the decorating and couldn't be happier about it.

At the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert, featuring....DAVID ARCHIE!

My favorite souvenir from Jerusalem
A sleigh Stephen found while at Target, complete with Cinnamon scented acorns (ok, I know they are pine cones, but I always got them confused and Stephen thought that was pretty weirdo)
A wonderful addition to any home - Snow man and his accompanying trees - $35. The joy it brought our home - priceless.

This was Stephen's little creation. We actually still have it up because I think it is so cute!

and drum roll please....the TREE! The real Christmas tree - never mind that it was completely dead by the time Christmas rolled around. Someone forgot to water it consistently. I won't state any names at this time.

Stephen made me open a gift and look surprised. I think I look pretty convincing.

Nice. I know.

Stephen's face actually got stuck like this - doctors are unsure what to do. I'll keep you updated on his status.

Me looking normal.

Stephen insisted we take a picture of me "drowning" in the wrapping paper.

homework, shmomurk

It's Saturday night.

My husband left me to go party with his friends. Can you believe it? He may have invited me to come along, there is no way to be sure, but that's beside the point.

And I am...doing homework. Not exciting homework, (I know...I know...can there be exciting homework?), but rather boring homework.

I mean, not all homework is terrible.

Doing IV's? Actually pretty cool.

But this, this isn't IV's. It's nursing RESEARCH homework.

Like so, "give an example of an independent vs. a dependent variable"

I have one question in response.

Who cares?

This picture has nothing to do with homework. That's why I look so happy.