The big news this Christmas: we are getting a new sister-in-law! We are so excited to have Stephanie as part of our family.
Stephanie said yes on the 22nd, which, luckily, was the same night Blake asked her to marry him. :) June 16th is the big day so the countdown will start up here soon I am sure. Congratulations, Blake and Stephanie...we love you both a ton!
I hosted an Ornament Exchange for all of the ladies in this area...it was a big hit and a lot of fun! I just wanted to post some of the fun pictures of last night. The first one is a horrible picture (taken by me) but John put up Christmas lights on our house this year! They look so great and it makes the house look so welcoming.
This was the snack table at the party. I didn't want it to be potluck style because that seems to make it harder for people to come sometimes. So, some people ask me, "What do you do all day?" since I don't have a "real" job...this is it. This is what I love to do. Baking, cooking, and inviting people into our home to experience a peaceful, non-hectic, God-centered environment for a night. John and I are finding that this really is our passion as a couple: to open our doors so other people can experience a form of hospitality that will hopefully point them to our Savior.
The beverage table. I experimented a lot with different recipes for this party and I think I found a few Christmas favorites...and staples for the years to come.
Ornament Exchanges are so much fun. All that is required is to bring a new ornament, wrapped, to the party. These are the women who came last night. We laughed a lot! This very well may become an Anderson tradition at Christmas time. It's also a fun way to make memories with the women we get stationed with when the military sends our husbands (and consequently us) to different parts of the country/world.
We had Thanksgiving up in Louisville, Kentucky, with Drew this year. It was a lot of fun to be up at his house and get to see more of where he lives and works. We took our kitten, Ivy, up with us and she got acquainted with Drew's boxer puppy, Josie, throughout the weekend. That was a really funny experience, to say the least. Ivy established who was boss pretty quickly. She enjoyed using Josie's nose as her pin cushion and chew toy, and Josie smothered Ivy with love, taking whatever abuse Ivy chose to bestow on her. They became friends in about a day and both of them were completely exhausted when the weekend was over.
Drew is living in a really beautiful part of the country; we got to see Southern Seminary, the school he is attending, and we also went to Abraham Lincolns' birthplace and boyhood home while we were there. The picture to the right is the house that Mr. Lincoln remembered when he talked about living in Kentucky (I guess we're not sure if that's the exact house or just a house from the same era, in the same place).
This year was the simplest Thanksgiving I remember: just the three of us. But we had a great time together, as usual. There really is nothing that compares to spending time with our family. We live in a great era of travel: it's so much easier to see one another, even when we are spread out everywhere and John & I definitely love taking advantage of that. We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! God has blessed us greatly in this country.
A few of my friends here put together a surprise baby shower for me. It was so fun! Hilary (bottom right, in the brown) and Rachel (bottom right, green and brown), organized everything from the decorations to games to "inviting me over for coffee." When I walked into Hilary's apartment, an entire group of women that I have grown to love so dearly were there to wish me happy baby-ing. Needless to say I was very overwhelmed (in the best way).
Of course John was in on it: he supplied them with a baby picture of me and one of the girls contacted my mom to get some answers about my childhood years. It was a little embarrassing but mostly really really fun. I was so touched that anyone would go to this much work for me (and baby).
They invited John over to open presents when it was time so we had a good time doing that, too. A lot of the girls pitched in and bought us a glider/rocker for the nursery. That will come in so handy for those late nights! And we also received some really special handmade blankets, pillows, and fun little rattles, pacifiers, and bottles. This is a great big thank you to all of the girls who participated in making last Saturday so memorable...and to my mom who supplied them with the lowdown on what I was like as a baby/child. And to my husband who understood how special this would be for me and cooperated in the secret-keeping.
**Sidenote** To all of you who have asked to see pictures of my changing "figure," this is probably the closest you're going to get unless I see you in person. :) Baby is growing: he/she is very active and comfortable, and John and I are continually blown away by the thought that we get to meet this little person in just a few short months.
John was just issued his flight gear. Here are a couple of pictures of what he is "required" to wear from now on while in flight school.
So, I think I'm a pretty lucky girl getting to walk around with this guy. API (the 2nd phase of training out of 4) is going really well for John. He is excelling in his classes and by Thanksgiving he will be finished with the academic portion of his studies. The last two weeks of API will be spent in a helo dunker, land survival, the beloved "spin and puke g-machine", hypoxia chamber, and what is lovingly referred to as redneck parasailing (parasailing off the back of a chevy pickup). John is really looking forward to what's coming up. And I'm really looking forward to all of the stories he will have to share. :)
Mom and Dad Petersen came down to visit John and me this last week. We had so much fun! They helped John & I paint a couple of rooms we've been wanting to update here for a while, namely our kitchen and nursery, and Mom & I put up curtains in most of the rooms.
These are pictures of our kitchen. We decided to paint one wall in the kitchen red and it turned out so good! We kept Dad busy putting a lot of coats on for that and John made the cornice box for the curtain above the kitchen window. (John is really gifted in woodworking, for those of you who were wondering).
I feel so much better now that our kitchen is complete, and it turned out better than I imagined it would.
If any of you like the color red, I would encourage you not to be afraid to use it as a paint color in some room of the house; it sure warms up our kitchen!
I think this is John's and my new favorite room of the house, the nursery. We went with green since that is such a neutral color for baby boy or baby girl and the color turned out great! Mom & I made a canopy curtain using the valance that came with our bedding set. So cute! 
Also, we refinished an old dresser that came from my Grandpa and Grandma Farwell's house; I wish we had a before picture because the transformation is incredible! Mom & I painted it red to match the shelf that's hanging in the nursery and covered the drawer & cupboard faces with fabric we found at Walmart for $1/yard. John attached the old hardware to the drawers and it makes it look tufted, like a pillow. As you can see, we also made the front of the cupboard door into a memo board; I don't know what I will put on the memo board but I am just so excited with how it all turned out. Thanks, Grandpa, for letting me steal this "old" dresser. Grandma used to say we were turning a sow's ear into a silk purse...I think I finally understand that expression. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun getting things done around the house this week, but more than that we had fun spending time with Mom & Dad. Now we are looking even more forward to Christmas (if that is even possible) when we can see everyone again.
Our friend, Russ, took us out sailing yesterday. It was my first time and I had so much fun! The base at Pensacola has a nice marina where we can rent sailboats so we went out on the little bay and enjoyed the perfect weather. It's cooling down quite a bit, which means it feels like a nice summer day (80's, no humidity, clear skies), so it's just right to do stuff outside.
They say during the fall and winter months it starts getting cold here; last winter temperatures actually got down into the 20's. We're still waiting for it to "get cold" but we definitely can tell a difference between July/August and now.
We had our 20 week ultrasound today to make sure the baby is healthy and everything is working as it should. What a blast! John & I saw pictures of our little one...the ultrasound technician said our baby is very photogenic, although once she started the 3-D tests, he/she quit cooperating.
Here are a couple of our favorite pictures. This was about the time the baby said, "No more, I am going to sleep and turning my face away from the camera." But you can see the arms and the five little fingers on the one hand over the face and the mouth, nose and eyes in the other picture. We might be biased but we think this is the cutest baby we've ever seen. He/she is very active; the technician said the baby is doing somersaults in me (and I can feel it when he/she does!) Its' heart is beating 160 beats/min (normal) and it weighs exactly 1 pound right now. According to what I measured (whatever that means) I am a little over a week ahead of schedule. The due date is February 15th (Uncle Blake, maybe your first niece/nephew will share your birthday after all); however, the technician said that my due date will probably not be changed by the navy hospital since Feb. 24th still fits with everything else they go by. Maybe this is way too much information for all of you but it was so fun and such a miracle to see a real live video of this baby God is giving John & me. We just wanted to share!
We want to introduce you all to our new kitten, Ivy. She has a few words to say down below.
Hello, my name is Ivy, and I am the newest member of the Anderson family. I am eight weeks old and my hobbies are sleeping, kissing people's noses (with my nose), and following my friend, John, around the house. Oh, and I like laying on him, too, as you might be able to tell from the pictures.
It's really fun having her around...she's still getting used to everything but she likes being with people, which is a good thing.
We had to say farewell to the famous ZDG 450 (aka: Z-Dog) today. This has been the Jeep's name since it came into the 
family in 2002. Sad times...well, now our little Jeep is a Florida resident, officially. It's funny how you don't really think you're attached to being a resident of any certain state until you have to change that residency and it stings a little. Luckily for us, our identity is not really in a particular state, country, or even family name, but rather in Jesus Christ alone. I'll tell you, that is incredible comfort when moving around and getting acclimated to very foreign cultures, even here in the beautiful USA. It's s
o nice to remember that this is not our home, so there is no need to become comfortable in it. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ..." (Phil 3:20)
We're looking forward to the holidays and getting to be with our family and friends once again. But we also thank God daily that He has brought us here to Florida and introduced us to a family of believers who have really embraced these "Oregonians," and shown us a kind of friendship that we may not have known otherwise. We love you all (I think we might have a whopping four people who read our blog...thank you to our fans). Have a happy Thursday and rejoice in knowing we have a better Place waiting for us.
We spent the last few days up in North Carolina visiting Nate, Megan, and their new baby girl, Grace. It was nice because Mom Anderson was there, too, so we all were able to spend some time together. Here are some pictures of our time there. Nate & John kayaked out to a secluded island on the Outer Banks...and they are posing with a whale vertebrae that they found there. 
We all met up at Atlantic Beach and had fun at the ocean. Nate & John snorkeled some, and Grace is showing you what we girls did most of that day (relaxed!).
And, of course, we were there to meet this incredible little girl, and she is even better in person than what we heard over the phone and through pictures! Grace Elizabeth truly is a doll and both Uncle John and Aunt Anna are crazy about her.
Well, we've found some fun things to add to our household. The first will be a necessity in a few months; we have a crib! The picture below is the crib with our "farm" bedding.
John found a great deal on this lifejacket. While I was uploading pictures he wanted me to try it on to see how it fits...thus this picture is here on our blog.
And the final BIG exciting addition: Our new canoe!!! It's an Old Town, for those of you who know about canoes. We can't wait to go out on it...probably tomorrow after church.
Living in Milton is definitely a learning experience in every way: the food, the people, the environment. We are in a different culture, there is no way around it, but we are becoming more comfortable here and we will enjoy calling Florida "home" for the next couple of years.
John's instructor let me ride along again today. Here is a picture of John looking out at the traffic (several other aircraft) over Pensacola beach. Isn't he a natural in the cockpit?
This is a picture of beautiful Pensacola beach out the back window of the Piper. It was a really great day to be up there!
John and Piper Warrior N41882.
Passed 1st solo, and have the missing Shirt tail to prove it. It is a tradition for instructors to cut off the students shirt tail after their first solo so the Instructor can no longer tug on the back of their shirt to get their attention when correcting them during training.
The Flight line and sky view of AMS flight school at Peter Prince airport in Milton Florida.
Land, Sea, and Sky. All three are wonderous creations of God Almighty, for God created them in the beginning. If you turn to Genisis Chapter 1 verse 1-10 you can discern for yourself that God first created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless, empty, and dark, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. In day two God created the expanse between the waters and named it the Sky. (If you were unaware that there used to be water above the earth, now you know. What happened to it, you ask? If you read about time that God flooded the earth, you will find that water sprang up from the ground and the flood gates ofthe heavens opened and it rained for 40 days. I believe thats what happened to the water) On day three God gathered the waters below the sky together and caused dry ground to appear. God named the dry ground Land and the gathered waters the Sea. And God saw that it all was good. We also see that these creations are good. When we see a sunrise or sunset, or watch a lighting and thunderstorm, or lay on our backs on a sunny day when the sky is filled with big fluffy clouds and imagine what the shapes are; we are amazed and in awe of God's creation of the sky. If we go for a hike in the forest, or climb in the mountains, or take a long walk on the beach by the Sea; we are inspired and stand in awe of God's creation of the Land and Sea.
Yesterday was my 12 week appointment with the doctor to check on how everything is going and to do another ultrasound (something my doctor does as a favor to show us how much the baby has grown in the past few weeks). John came with me, for support and because I think he's pretty crazy about the little person growing inside of me, too, and he wanted to have a look at him/her. :)
It was so fun! Our baby is moving a lot, the doctor said, maybe more than usual, maybe not, I don't really know, but he/she is VERY active. At one point the baby opened its' mouth really wide and lifted its' hands above its' head. The doctor took a picture of that and now the ultrasound hanging on the fridge is a picture of what looks like a little baby smiling and waving to the camera. It's really funny and we both laugh whenever we look at the picture.
That might be really boring to some but it was pretty fun for us. :) Just wanted to share.
Front of our house
Backyard w/John's workshop
Shelves that John built in garage...yay! :)
Kitchen
View into dining room from front door
Hey, everyone,
We started a new blog. Although we had an old one, the address was just too long to type so we started this one. Plus we hadn't posted anything really so this kind of gives us a fresh start. We hope this keeps you all updated on what's going on for this Anderson family.
