View of Vegas from way high up

Now for the story...This picture is a good representation of my life from February until June of this year. I had a very tough pregnancy, with extreme "hyper-emesis" so I was unable to keep down much food. In the first four months I lost 11 lbs. The doctor kept assuring me that the baby was getting all it needed even though I was really struggling to stay healthy. However, at 21 weeks I went in for a routine check-up and no heartbeat could be found. The ultrasound was confirmation that the baby's heart was no longer pumping. That was a very sad day for us. Four days later I was in a St. Louis hospital where I had to go through the delivery process, even though the outcome would not be that which I had looked forward to throughout the pregnancy. Another very sad day. However, I was thankful for the loving support of friends and family. My mom flew in to be of support to me, and Garrett's parents drove down from Bloomington to stay with our boys.

So, back to the picture. This was at the Stratosphere in Vegas. We had gone up to the observation area on the top, and Garrett went outside to check out the rides up there. With as nauseaus as I felt, there was no way I was going out there and looking down, let alone watching these crazy rides people were going on. So, I sat inside with my trusty "just in case" mug that I carried around always during the pregnancy. I am thankful to not have to deal with throwing up anymore, but I am sad not to have my third baby boy who was on his way to us.

It was determined that the umbilical chord only had two blood vessels going through it rather than the three that are typical, thus the baby was not getting enough nourishment. Also, the chord was wrapped around his leg two times, so it was assumed that there was either a blood clot or constricted blood flow. Regardless to say, things didn't go quite right in his development. This experience has made us ever more greatful for the two little miracles we already have in our family. We love our little boys!

The two things that bring me the most joy: my boys and my house

Catching up for lost time

This picture is taken in Las Vegas, obviously. I accompanied Garrett on a business trip for three days of fun without the kids. My sister Merrilyn drove over from Lancaster, CA to spend one night and day with me. It was lots of fun. You may notice in the picture that I was pregnant at that time. Unfortunately, the pregnancy is no longer, but that will be a story for another blog entry. For now, I'll just post this picture and count it as one step in the right direction for getting back into the blogging habit. Until next time...

Feb. 24th musings

Here we are, two weeks since my last blog, and not much has changed... that is except Obama has truly become the front runner on the democratic side of things. Huckabee is still plugging along, hoping Texas might re-ignite the flame of his candidacy. More power to him. He doesn't have much to lose in all this, perhaps he will even get picked as V.P.. I would personally not want to be on a losing ticket with McCain, but to each his own I guess. We saw how well John Edwards did trying to run for Pres. after his spot on the losing ticket in 2004. I've pretty much resigned myself to assuming that the Democrats are going to take back over in 2008. But, that leaves the path wide open for Republicans in 2012. I want to start concentrating now on looking at the make-up of the Sentate. I want to learn more about which senators will be up for re-election. Hopefully the republicans could become the majority again sometime soon.Enough musing for now. I'm off to get ready for church... a place where Jesus Christ is in charge, so we don't have to worry about so much chaos. Of course there tends to be a bit of disorder at times since "people" are running the local church, but overall we know we can count on the ONE ultimately in charge.

I'm back on the blog

I've decided to re-enter the blog-o-sphere, because I need a place to display my political opinions. In the past I have been highly involved with the Mitt Romney for President sites (Mymanmitt, coMITTed to Romney, article6blog, fivebrothers blog, etc.) But, considering that Mitt has now withdrawn from the race, I'd imaging those sites will soon disappear. Today I was really needing some closure to deal with my grief of losing my candidate, so I turned on www.townhall.com and listened to Mitt's CPAC speech in its entirety. There were tears streamind down my face by the end, and I am not typically a cryer, I have been accused of being a whiner, but not usually prone to tears. Mitt is a class act. Any money spent to support his campaign has not been wasted, it has been worth the millions of dollars that were spent by his campaign to get his message out there.

As for where I go from here... I'm not so sure. If Obama gets the nomination, a republican vote won't make a dime of difference in my state since he is from here. However, if we are fighting against Hillary in November, Illinois could be up for grabs, unless she chooses Obama as her running mate. As for John McCain, he has a ways to go to earn my trust. He could start by apologizing to Romney for misrepresenting his views on Iraq. I think Romney settled that score once and for all in his speech today. He made it very clear that finishing the job in this war is the most important thing. His actions are consistent with his words, considering he is withdrawing from the race because he believes it is the best thing for the country at this time of war. I can't say enough how much I admire Governor Romney.
I will write more later, but for now I will let my fingers rest. If anyone finds my message here, feel free to make comments, I would enjoy having some dialogue to help me work through my "grief". As Latter-day Saints, we have had a lot of grief to deal with in a very short period of time. Luckily, we know where to turn for strength. We stand no taller than when we kneel in prayer.

Signing off from Blogger

Hello, Jeanie here. We have a family website for the Anderson extended family called GrandmaSusie.com . It now has a section on it for blogging. I have decided it is time for me to no longer worry about this blog, and just keep up with regular correspondence throught that website. You are welcome to go check it out if you want. It does require a user name and password, which you can obtain fairly easily. Just e-mail me at janderson2001@byu.net and I will send you one. Thanks for caring about me enough to read my blog every once in a while. Till next time...

Jeanie Anderson

family pics from Trent and Larae's Open House

This was such a fun day when we travelled back to Normal to celebrate with Trent and Larae at their open house. Grandma Susie and Gramps had their house and yard looking wonderful for the occasion. There were so many people who travelled near and far to congratulate Trent. It was great fun to renew so many "Normal" friendships, and some not so Normal ones. I still get a lot of mileage out of those Normal jokes. Well, no more time to write tonight, I just wanted to get these pictures on here since we just downloaded these from the camera and their were some good ones.

4th of July statement by Romney

Boston, MA - Today, Governor Mitt Romney issued the following statement celebrating the Fourth of July:

"For more than two centuries, the United States has stood for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our freedoms have not been easily won. Today, brave men and women are fighting to preserve those freedoms. As we gather with friends and family, let us resolve to keep America strong. We will always be the hope of the world and a beacon of light to liberty-loving people everywhere."

Another month, gone already?

June really did fly by, and now it is one month to the day of my last entry.
I've been learning a lot about Real Estate... go ahead, ask me anything? This Friday I am scheduled to take my final exam for the course, then within two weeks after that I hope to be ready to go face the State exam. Sometimes I wonder how I made it through so much school in the past, I even got pretty good grades. My brain sure doesn't work as well as it used to. I guess I do know how I made it through college, I majored in Recreation Management, enough said.

I will admit that I am really enjoying the intensity of learning, I just hope I can retain enough information so I can succeed in getting the liscence. I have heard from others in the office that I will most likely only use 80% or so of all I have studied. That seems to be the case with many career paths. I wish I would have realized during college how interested I would become in Real Estate so I could have studied something more applicable. But then again, if I had been a business major, the decision to become a stay at-home-mom may have been harder to make.

I am thankful to have been able to be full-time mom for the past five years. I have really enjoyed the closeness I have with my boys. But, I also have to admit that having some grown-up time now is much welcome, too. "To everything there is a season". I'd better get back to my studying. Happy 4th of July everyone!!!

Sincerely, Jeanie Anderson

Centralia update

Here is an update on our family I sent out to my sisters and my parents, so I decided to go ahead and post it on my blog too,

begin message:

I am way overdue for an Anderson report, so here goes.

I've started working 3 mornings a week at a realty company called Friedrich Real Estate. I am currently training to become a part time agent. The head agent there, Darlene Baltzell (who helped us buy our home) approached me a couple months ago about the idea of training under her supervision to become an agent, since she knows I am very interested in real estate. So, I waited for the school year to end, to fininsh out my substitute teaching commitments. They boys are going to a day care at a Christian Church two mornings a week, and my friend Vicky from church comes over and stays with them on Tuesday mornings. It is working out well so far.

I think the boys enjoy going and playing with other kids and having daily planned activities. It seems like they don't get as bored at home now because they are not here quite as much. Plus, they have been really cute and cuddly with me this week, probably because I've been away from them more than usual. I also find that I have much more patience with them, and enthusiasm about playing with them when I have a few hours to myself in the morning. (yes, I am justifying my decision to go to work)

Garrett is still plugging away working on his Masters (every Tuesday night from 5-9) he is about to finish one quarter and begin another. Only two more quarters to go and he will be finished. December is the target for completion. Yippee!

His job has become extremely stressful lately, and he has spent many extra hours in the office working on the "Comprehensive Plan" for the city that will be presented to the new Mayor and city council at the next council meeting. Though it has been a stressful process, being in charge of the Comp plan steering committee is a great resume builder for him. Overall, this job here has been a wonderful opportunity for Garrett to have a variety of responsibilities that he would not be given in a
bigger city.

Garrett and Solomon drove up to Normal this evening to spend the weekend helping his parents work on their house. Next weekend is Trent's Illinois Reception (at their house), so Susan is working hard to get the house ready and called on us for some last minute assistance. I decided to stay behind with Jerry this weekend, since we will be going up next weekend for the reception.

(the rest of the message was specifics toward my family, so I left it off.)

Bye for now!

Blue's Clues

Our life has been taken over by a guy in a green striped shirt and his little blue dog who has a bad habit of leaving his paw prints all over the place. Today we put Jerry in a "new" (hand-me-down) shirt that is intended to look like Steve's shirt. He walked around church pointing to his belly saying, "I Steve, I Steve". He was very excited about the shirt! Then, after church he wanted to watch and episode of his favorite show, (or two or three) but, he violently protested when I tried to put on one starring Joe instead of Steve. Garrett refers to Jerry as a Blue's Clues Purist! Solomon actually tolerates Jerry's addiction quite well. He doesn't mind too much that he hardly gets any say as to what will play on the TV. He likes to play along with the show too, and gets a laugh out of Jerry dancing around and repeating everything that Steve says. I know the fascination with the little blue puppy own't last forever, so I guess we'll just enjoy it while it lasts. Thanks Steve for helping me keep my sanity as a mother of little boys!

Here's a recent look at our family

Better late than never?

Here we are, another month past since my last entry where I was musing about the beautiful springtime. We finally got some more pictures on the site, so you can see our yard, and the contrast of winter to springtime. This morning I sat out on our park bench in the front yard for 20 minutes reading my bible. The sun was streaming down on me through the trees, yet the air was cool enough to make it comfortable. Every day, I am falling in love with this place more and more.

Contrast of front yard, Now and Then

Our front yard Now, as of May 2007



Our front yard Then, as of March 2007

Thankful for Trees

How did it get to be April 12th already? This month is flying by faster than March did, and I thought March was gone in an instant. Well, I wrote several entries in my personal journal the past two weeks, and here's one from today I decided to share on my blog. To go along with this message I hope to get Garrett to upload some pics of our front yard when he is at work tomorrow. Our pitiful dial-up internet just can't handle pictures.

4/12/07 "How can I not be overwhelmed with gratitute when I look out these windows at the beauty around me. These trees truly amaze me! How, just a month ago they wre bare, and now thousands of leaves are springing forth from their branches. I love it! I need to be sure to continue this feeling of contentment here in our little, somewhat dated house in the woods, because I really don't want to leave this spot of land. It truly is a unique place, I'm thankful we found it."

The entry continued to go on and talk about how much joy my little boys bring me, but I'll end this blog entry now, so as to try and keep my thoughts brief enough that I won't lose any of you to boredom. Lots of Love, Jeanie

Importance of Journals

I used to be a very regular journal keeper that wrote down everything that came to my mind, in case I might need it later. Kind of like how I deal with papers that come into my life, I'd better keep this, just in case I need it later. I do realize though that having six filing cabinets is a bit excessive- and really a pain when it comes time to move. Now, onto the point of my message today:

I have notebooks full of mostly unimportant chicken scratch. But amongst the notes about everyday life, are spiritual insights given to me by a loving God who is helping to guide my life in the right direction. Personal revelation is a very real thing, and I think it is easy to get so caught up in life, that we forget how often that life is being guided by the One who created us. I have not been keeping a daily journal for several years now... but it is time to start again. When I look back at Journals I have kept in the past, I am always amazed by the things I learn from myself. That person I was five years ago, may be different than who I am today, but that person has something to teach me. And more importantly, as a mother, my journals will be able to continue to teach my children long after I am gone from this earth.

My own mother has kept a daily log of her life, though only a few sentences each
day. I look forward to one day reading those, and continuing to grow closer to her through her journals, even after her spirit has departed from this earthly existence. To clarify, I do hope that time is still far off when I have to say goodbye to my sweet mother. But, when I do face that trial in my life, I will find peace in the knowledge that family relationships are eternal through the sealing power of God. (See Matthew 16:19)

I am publicly committing myself to begin again, and keep a personal journal - at least once per week. I won't be blogging that often, because my dial-up internet drives me crazy. But, I will try to share some insights from my journal when I feel others can benefit from reading it. Okay, it's late and I'm getting a bit wordy now, so farwell for now. Thanks for reading... that is if anyone is. Most of my friends don't check my blog anymore since I so rarely add anything to it. But, this entry is a new beginning for the month of April. Easter is a wonderful time for new beginnings! Love, Jeanie

Funny Story

A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The Grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "How do you make babies?" "It's Simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'"

(this was posted as a comment to my previous blog entry, I thought it was cute so I decided to add it to my blog, thanks Whacky Wheelers)

Not ready for his questions

Yesterday we were driving in the car and Solomon asked out of the blue, "Mommy, how did you and Daddy make me?" Then without my saying anything he launched into a string of explanations on how he thinks it might have happened, none of which made much sense at all. But, I was glad he got me off the hook on answering that for now. I just like to leave it at the simple explanation that we prayed for a baby, and so Heavenly Father sent one to us. I'm sure we'll have to go into more detail sooner than I would like to think. But, for now I'm happy to keep it simple!

By the way, sorry to have not blogged at all in this new year. I tell you, this dial-up internet situation has pretty much removed me from the technological loop. I am just way too impatient for dial-up!

Christmas 2006

Arizona Christmas

There are 28 Andersons together this year for Christmas. Garrett, Jeanie, Solomon (4) and Jeremiah (1) have joined Garrett’s family in Arizona for the holiday. This includes Grandma Susie and Gramps (Bruce); Taylor and Teresa Anderson, and their kids Danielle (9), Leah (5), Andrew (3) and Jessica (<1); Trent and his girlfriend LaRae; Julia and Brent Crenshaw, and their kids Christopher (4), Susie (4), Evan (2) and Anna (1); Grant and Alena Anderson and their kids Clayton (6), Whitney (4) and Owen (1); and straight from England (with the Air Force) Carma and Ian Sheehan, and their son Jak (<1). Carma is expecting another.

The Andersons get together every other year for Christmas. Jeanie has been coming since 2000 when we were engaged. At the time, we only had 2 grandkids. Two years later we were up to 7, including a newborn Solomon, who was the youngest at the time. Last time, in 2004 we were up to 9, and anticipating Jerry’s birth on January 11th, just after Christmas. This year we are up to 14, and Jeanie is happy to not to be either pregnant or have a newborn.

This is also the first year that we are trying this gathering in Arizona. We have traditionally gathered at Gramps and GrandmaSusie’s house in Bloomington, Illinois. Now we are staying at either Grant or Taylor’s houses in Mesa and Gilbert. It has been surprisingly chilly here the first few days. We are very happy to be here with family, but we have become unaccustomed to the fast pace of the big city. Every so often we turn to each other and bless the non-existent traffic, affordable houses(and forest) and comfortable life we live in small-town Illinois.

Solomon is really enjoying his cousins, especially Grant’s kids that we are staying with. He humors Whitney and plays Polly Pocket with her, and Clayton is probably just as much a Star Wars nut as Solomon, so of course they get along well. Grant has done a lot of work in his yard, including burying his trampoline, and sodding the back yard. I've gotten to help him some, hauling rock and sand from the front yard to the back. We look forward to spending some time laying brick this week. The house looks great, and so does the yard. We are very happy to be here sharing this Christmas with my twin brother and the rest of the family. Sincerely, Garrett