Wordless Wednesday: Summer Fun

If I tell him to say "ice cream!" his smiles are bigger, but now he says, "Ice cream cheese!" LOL

Music Monday

This is me and little Nate's drive to school jam...

It's based on one of my mom's favorite verses: Isaiah 40:31

Happy Monday!

Be Encouraged :-D

Grateful Fridays.

TGIF! But I'm so glad I have more to thank God for than just because it's Friday.

I'm thankful for...

food on our table and clothes on our backs.

that God provides all of our basic necessities (and then some).

that this summer has given me the opportunity to grow into a better wife and mother.

that I was featured on Comment Hour :-)

that we are safe.

that everything is coming together in the planning stages of the high school summer program I'm coordinating in July.

Hope everyone has a safe and restful weekend!

Thanks Again to Comment Hour!

Last night, I was ecstatic to find out that I was one of the blogs featured during the Comment Hour Twitter Party!

Comment Hour is where 25 randomly chosen blogs are visited in an hour and everyone "attending" checks them out to stop by and comment.

This is super exciting because:

A) You get to expose your blog to new readers it wouldn't have otherwise gotten to

B) You get lots and lots of comment love

C) You make new friends!

If you are a blogger (man or woman), I HIGHLY recommend signing up...

And if you aren't a blogger, it's a great place to find new and interesting reads!

We Off That...

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
~John Powell

If there is one thing I have taken to heart from the past 3 years of my life, is that EVERYONE makes mistakes. And that makes a God that is merciful and quick to forgive a blessing beyond the words I have to speak.

The secret to moving onward and upward is that once you make a mistake(s) if you are going to succeed, you have to pick yourself up, move forward, and not look back.

You will fall into a deep depression if you drown yourself in what ifs and should'ves. I think Joyce Meyer calls that thought process "stinking thinking"...


So when the voice of anyone else (or your own voice) is trying to replay all the things you might have done wrong, or bad decisions you made in life while you are putting the past behind you and actively trying to move forward, just shut it down with a "we off that" and keep it movin'...

Tis All

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday

Well, there are a few words here, but mostly just funny kids...

My little cousin Billy is the deepest kid I know (and he's 5), exhibit A.

"Abandoned hope"? LOL

And my little boo is the best dancer I know (but you knew this already lol), exhibit B.

Survey Says...

I decided to try the Medical Aptitude Specialty Test a few months back for fun and recently found the results in my email. It asks you questions about your personality and then tells you what specialty would be the best fit for you. The highest scoring and most compatible specialties to my personality are closest to 50. This is what it came up with:

Rank Specialty Score
1 pediatrics 48
2 ophthalmology 47
3 urology 45
4 plastic surgery 44
5 physical med & rehabilitation 44
6 general internal med 44
7 family practice 44
8 anesthesiology 44
9 radiation oncology 43
10 allergy & immunology 42
11 nuclear med 42
12 neurology 42
13 neurosurgery 42
14 nephrology 42
15 general surgery 42
16 occupational med 42
17 obstetrics/gynecology 41
18 hematology 41
19 rheumatology 41
20 dermatology 41
21 endocrinology 40
22 med oncology 40
23 aerospace med 40
24 psychiatry 39
25 pathology 39
26 otolaryngology 39
27 gastroenterology 39
28 emergency med 39
29 colon & rectal surgery 39
30 infectious disease 37
31 pulmonology 37
32 orthopaedic surgery 37
33 radiology 37
34 thoracic surgery 37
35 preventive med 36
36 cardiology 34

Sooo....I am not quite sure what to make of this seeing as some of my favs so far are at the bottom (i.e. derm, oto, endo, and pulm). I don't even know what nuclear med and aerospace med are, but they beat out a bunch of my favs... :sigh:

It will be fun to go back to this after I match and see how accurate it was :-)

Music Monday

Bless me, bless me
Oh Lord, bless me indeed,
Enlarge my territory
Oh Lord, bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)
Bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)

Increase, increase
Oh Lord, bless me indeed,
Enlarge my territory
Oh Lord, bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)
Bless me indeed

Keep Your hands upon me
So that evil cannot harm me
Sunshine and rain, sickness and pain
God, I humbly come to You
Enlarge my territory
Enlarge my territory

Oh Lord, bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)
Bless me indeed

Keep Your hands upon me
So that evil cannot harm me
Sunshine and rain, sickness and pain
God, I humbly come to You
Enlarge my territory
Oh Lord, bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)

Keep Your hands upon me
So that evil cannot harm me
Sunshine and rain, sickness and pain
God, I humbly come to You
(I want you to…)

Enlarge my territory
Enlarge my territory
Enlarge my territory

Oh Lord, bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)
bless me indeed
(I pray for increase)

Happy Dad's Day!!

"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad." ~Author Unknown

I hope that everyone takes time to reflect on and thank the fathers, grandfathers, uncles, etc... in their life (or the men that God placed in their lives to be father figures...). I have been blessed with some great men in my family that have been there to love and support me from day one.

Favorite Husband Memories:

• Seeing him hold little Nate for the first time.
• How Nate loved to take pretend sleeping pictures when little Nate was asleep in his arms.
• Watching little Nate watch his father so closely.
• When he tells little Nate that he needs to love and respect his mother, and he shows him how.
• Hearing little Nate say, "My Da's here!!!" when his dad gets home from work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My favorite Daddy memories:

Just like when I became a mother I couldn't help but appreciate my mother for all that she has done, the same holds true for my dad and my appreciation for how hard he worked to provide for his family...

• Going to work with dad and sitting in the nurses station or doctors' lounge - that's where I first got interested in medicine :-)
• Going fishing with him and the boys.
• How excited and proud of me he was when I went to Michigan and all the Michigan stuff he started wearing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Favorite Grandaddy Memories:

• During the summers as little girl, I would go with him to his construction business and riding in his pick-up truck.
• Him telling me (when I started whistling in the car at age 7) that "girls are not supposed to whistle, girls sing." LOL
• Hearing little Nate call him "Grandaddy" like I do :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Uncle Billy is one of my favorite people and he has been more than just an uncle, he's more like a friend-dad :-) - along with being an awesome father to his three adorable kids...

Favorite Uncle Billy Memories:

• When I was little (like less than 7), he would be in his room hanging out with his friends, but he would still let me stay around and I even got to try his turntables.
• Working with him on his campaigns for state rep in Detroit and watching how he interacted with, and was so committed to bettering the community.
• In college, when we were on the phone once, we were about to hang up and he says, "Oh, and one more thing I have to tell you, :long pause: I have an icebox where my heart used to be..." LOL!
• The fact that he was always there for me in more ways imaginable throughout my life and especially during my pregnancy "crisis" period lol.

So What If We Want It All?...

In an editorial written for the New York Times entitled "Don't Quit This Day Job", a mother of four and full-time anesthesiologist discusses if the choice to work as a part time physician should be acceptable when we are not only in the midst of a healthcare crisis and physician shortage, but also because doctor's are supposed to be committed to the well being of their patients above all.

You can read the article for yourself, but the last few paragraphs were the most thought provoking to me:

"Students who aspire to go to medical school should think about the consequences if they decide to work part time or leave clinical medicine. It’s fair to ask them — women especially — to consider the conflicting demands that medicine and parenthood make before they accept (and deny to others) sought-after positions in medical school and residency. They must understand that medical education is a privilege, not an entitlement, and it confers a real moral obligation to serve...

You can’t have it all. I never took cupcakes to my children’s homerooms or drove carpool, but I read a lot of bedtime stories and made it to soccer games and school plays. I’ve ridden roller coasters with my son, danced at my oldest daughter’s wedding and rocked my first grandson to sleep. Along the way, I’ve worked full days and many nights, and brought a lot of very sick patients through long, difficult operations.

Patients need doctors to take care of them. Medicine shouldn’t be a part-time interest to be set aside if it becomes inconvenient; it deserves to be a life’s work."

Interesting, huh?

I know that my medical education is a privilege - this is the girl that got 15 rejections the first time around. And I, by no means, feel that a medical education is an "entitlement", but I don't think it is unreasonable for a woman to "have it all" according to what she decides that is. Yes, many mothers in the medical field choose to work part time, but I do not think that it is a reflection of their commitment, or lack there of, to the medical field and their patients. Male physicians may work on average more hours per week than females, but is that necessarily a good thing? Let's follow them home. How are their marriages? How are their relationships with their children? (Not to say that there aren't good husbands and fathers who are full time doctors, but this surgeon's kid is just curious about getting the whole story.)

Regardless of who you are and what your profession is, when you are happy, you do the best job you possibly can. I have told many people that ask me about specialties I'm interested in that I want more children eventually, I want to be "room mom", drive carpools to field trips, sit on PTA, etc. And I feel like I will be a better doctor for my patients if I am satisfied with how I am preforming as a wife and mother. Maybe it can be attained while working full time, but if not, I am so grateful to have the choice to decide what that means to me - and I think everyone should be able to make that choice guilt-free and without having their character questioned.

What do you think of Dr. Sibert's article?

Photo Credit

Grateful Fridays.

TGIF! But I'm so glad I have more to thank God for than just because it's Friday.

I'm thankful for...

Nate's continued dedication to being such a good father to our son.

that I have such a wonderful mom and she is here to celebrate another birthday today. Happy Birthday Mommy!

laughter that makes your face hurt.

being able to watch my son learn new things and grow.

my health and the good health of my friends and family.

the ability to write and help those who read it.

the sunshine.

Hope everyone has a great weekend...

Grateful Fridays.

TGIF! But I'm so glad I have more to thank God for than just because it's Friday.

I'm thankful for...


Nate's continued dedication to being such a good father to our son.

that I have such a wonderful mom and she is here to celebrate another birthday today. Happy Birthday Mommy!

laughter that makes your face hurt.

being able to watch my son learn new things and grow.

my health and the good health of my friends and family.

the ability to write and help those who read it.

the sunshine.

Have a great weekend...

Gotta Have Patience...

Pastor Ramsey is still talking about the mechanics of faith. Tonight he talked about how along with faith, we need to have patience. A lot of it resonated with me so, of course, I want to share:

"Patience is the Partner of Faith" Hebrews 4:14

• The faith process always involves a FAITH FIGHT. This means that at some point what you are believing God for is going to be challenged by your circumstances.

• Sometimes when what you are believing for doesn't seem to work out on your clock, you start to re-interpret the plan of God and say things like "Maybe this just isn't God's will..." or we may try to go around God to get to what we want; this is not faith in action...

• Our words frame the world we live in. For that reason, we need to practice "mouth management". Not everything we think or feel needs to be tweeted, on Facebook, said etc. , because what comes out of our mouth either releases the assistance of angels or demons.

• Our confession should be based only on the Word, because God doesn't do what we say, but He has to do what He says.

• I need to make sure that what I am talking about is what I want to be seeing - our words create images.

• Hebrews 12:6 "follow folks with faith AND patience". This means that I need: 1. faith 2. patience 3. faith mentors - you have to surround yourself with the right people

• Hebrews 6:12 do not become sluggish or lazy while waiting for His promises. "Pray like it depends on God but work like it depends on you."***

• When we try and give birth to what we are believing for prematurely, that's not God's will...ex: if we are believing for a marriage and that is what God has for you, you cannot try and give birth to that vision too soon. The end result will be that you have a premature relationship. Then you have to give it oxygen and everything else just to make it survive... (I thought this was a GREAT analogy)

• Your faith will stop the devil from being able to consume you in that certain situation. So you have to keep your faith!

• He closed by saying if you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven still mad at God about something He hadn't yet done for you? This is a sign that you are deceived into thinking that happiness is a location. Why can't you declare the goodness of the Lord in your situation? If you cannot rejoice in God for what He's done today, then you obviously don't have enough faith to get what you want tomorrow... "I got bills, but guess what? I can pay them!"

• When you keep your attitude satisfied, it makes you even more appreciate when what you are believing for comes to pass.

Have a great rest of the week everyone! This definitely filled me up and challenges me to put some more of my faith in action...

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday: Faster Than a Speeding Bullet...

Music Monday

This line always speaks to me: "I am the Lord I changeth not. I won't forget nor have I forgot. You see every thing works according to my plan. I am God, trust me, I got the whole world in my hand"...

Happy Monday :-)



Sometimes I feel like giving up
It seems like my best just ain't good enough
Lord if you hear me, I'm calling you
Do you see, do you care all about what I'm going through
And then he says, one more day, one more step
See I'm preparing you for myself
And when you can't hear my voice, please trust my plan
I'm the Lord, I see and yes I understand

But sometimes I feel like I'm all alone
I'm just like a stranger so far from home
I feel like I've done all that I can do
Please Lord give me strength, I'm just trying to make it through
That's when he told me one more day, one more step
See I'm preparing you for myself
And if you can't hear my voice, please trust my plan
I'm the Lord I see you and yes I understand

He knows how much we can bear
And in the time of trouble he promised he would always be there
I understand
The Lord is telling you yes I understand
I am the Lord I see you and yes I understand

I am the Lord I changeth not
I won't forget nor have I forgot
You see every thing works according to my plan
I am God, trust me, I got the whole world in my hand

One more day, one more step
I'm preparing you all for myself
And you can't hear me speaking, just trust my plan
I'm the Lord I see you and yes I understand
I'm the Lord I see and yes I understand
I am the Lord I see what you're going through
Every problem, every trial, every burden, every situation
I understand, I won't leave you
I understand, understand, understand

Weekend Re-Cap

It was another busy but very fun weekend out of town...

Saturday afternoon was Josh's open house. So Friday and Saturday morning was dedicated to making sure everything was ready for the party. Despite all the craziness before, it turned out to be an awesome day. It was so nice to see everyone come to celebrate Josh because they love and support him (and us). We are so blessed with great friends and family. I'm so excited for my brother as he embarks on this next chapter and I can't wait to see all the great ways God is going to move in his life :-D

Early Sunday morning, Carey had to leave Indiana to go back to D.C. :-( Although we were sad to see him go, this is an exciting time too, because Monday is the first day of his 8 week internship with an economics consulting firm. BOSS.

Jordan is gearing up for a busy summer too, since his football camp traveling begins next week.

Hopefully my boys can find time in their busy schedules to visit their big sister in Indy...

Grateful Fridays.

TGIF! But I'm so glad I have more to thank God for than just because it's Friday.

I'm thankful for...

summer and hot weather, but also, for air conditioning and ice cream...seriously...

that my son is happy, healthy, and safe.

Natey's 8PM bedtimes and/or 9AM wake ups this week.

friends that understand the challenges of motherhood and being married, and are there to listen when I get overwhelmed.

the time I am able to stay home with Nate this summer - despite its challenges.

Have a great weekend!

My SAHM Life Follow-Up

So about that schedule...

Because of all our traveling, it has gone out the window. And there was that random week he didn't want to take a nap until 2PM, which threw everything after that off - including bed time.

When he had a stint of staying up late and "sleeping in" (9AM), I got a beautiful taste of what it's like to drink my coffee without someone climbing all over me almost spilling my cup with "What's that, Mommy? Copee? (Coffee)" #PEACE

Working out at nap time is a great idea in theory, but when you have been up all day entertaining a toddler, the last thing you want to do is listen to Jillian Michaels talk about how you need to "show up to your workout and not 'phone it in'." In fact, you might want to take a nap too... My face: 0_O

There is also this toddler paradox I am learning about where they want to be touching you in some way (such as sitting on your lap or leaning on you), but if you try and touch them in anyway they quickly scream "No Mommy!". So touch but no touch. Got it...

Oh and my child likes to play Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, and Monkey PreSchool...Not sure if a child's iPhone usage correlates to his/her parenting skills... ¯\(°_°)/¯

We are still doing our "home schooling" program and he is doing well...

Despite the meltdowns (on both ends), he's happy. So I can still give myself an A for performance and an A for effort...

I'm always so hard on myself, but I had big dreams for the summer with my pumpkin and right now things are kind of chaotic. I think the lesson in this happy chaos is that parenting doesn't have to be right on schedule or absent of meltdowns be considered a success...

What lessons have you learned about yourself and parenting when things didn't go quite as planned?

Gotta Have Faith...

"Both faith and fear require you to believe something that you cannot see. I choose faith. " - The Purpose Driven Life

I talk about my church a lot because I get a lot of relevant and practical application from it for my life. Right now, it seems like everyone (my pastor and my TV pastors included...lol) are all talking about the mechanics of faith.

On Sunday, Pastor Ramsey talked about not getting discouraged in the storm. Here are some of the highlights:

• Faith still requires active participation from you - you are believing God for something, and you give it to Him, but then you have to take steps towards realizing your dreams and goals (because faith without works is dead).
• A sign that you have faith is that you are PREPARING for what you are believing for (ex: believing to own a house? Then start seriously saving for it); God can only give you what you have faith to believe for.
• When God created the world, He first SPOKE what he wanted. It is important to remember that our words and confession have so much power.
• Faith is more than just blind positive thinking. Faith does not ignore what it sees, but it is not AFFECTED by what it sees. For example, when God said "Let there be light", He was not denying the fact that there was darkness, but He was denying darkness the opportunity to affect what He knew would come to pass.
• We are all "pregnant with potential", and we can either trust God, or go at it alone.
• When the storm comes, it does not change what you know about God, and what His word says about you.

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Have a great faith-filled day!

xoxo

Things My Toddler Says...

This should be called "Things My Toddler Sings" His new favorite show on Netflix is the Iron Man cartoon, and it's absolutely adorable when he sings because he never uses words like "mission" in his regular speech...LOL

Music Monday

This is another favorite of mine:



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I climbed up to the highest mountain
I looked all around, couldn't find nobody
Went down into the deepest valley
Looked all around down there, couldn't find nobody
I went across the deep blue sea
Couldn't find one to compare... to your grace, your love, your mercy
Nobody greater... nobody greater than you

Searched all over... couldn't find nobody
I looked high and low... still couldn't find nobody
Nobody greater... nobody greater no... nobody greater than you

Nobody can heal... like you can
Oh most holy one you are the Great I Am
Awesome in all your ways and mighty is your hand
You are He who carried out redemption's plan
You are He who carried out redemption's plan

Searched all over... couldn't find nobody
I looked high and low... still couldn't find nobody
Nobody greater... nobody greater... nobody greater than you

Nobody greater... nobody greater... nobody greater than you...

Blogging for M-E.

It's so ironic that when I am knee-deep in things I have to do for school, I can come up with millions of things to blog about. But, now, with very few pressing time commitments, I have had more than one full week of writers block.

This summer, like most long periods of free-time I am blessed enough to get, I have been self-reflecting, A LOT.

This writer's block may be because I felt like what I have to say isn't very interesting. It didn't fit into the "Mrs. Mommy M.D." category, so I figured no one would care.

As time goes on, my blog continues to evolve - it was started as the digital baby book I never finished, then I realized that inevitably, my thoughts on marriage would surface, and when school started I talked about medical school too. Now, it feels like a scrapbook and journal all in one. But, I am starting to realize that I am unintentionally leaving the most important part of my life out of my blog - the "Me" part. Sure, the Mrs. Mommy M.D. is me too, but I'm referring to the Jasmine "no other roles, twenty-something woman" me.

At first, just my family and close friends read it, then friends I hadn't spoken to in years told me they were reading, and then my friends' parents, and then women I had never "met" in the literal sense started responding just because they identified with the struggle journey of being a wife, a mother, or both, or they too aspired to go to professional school. The support I have gotten from everyone who visits is so touching and I wish I could personally thank you all.

I have realized how therapeutic blogging has been for me. This blog is like my frequent mental detox where I can unload all the events of the day, parental concerns, wifely epiphanies, etc. The truth is, this is nothing new for me. I have kept written journals for as long as I could remember. It all started with this little pink diary I got in first grade. It had a gold "lock", and I would hide it inside my pillowcase - because that's what girls on TV did with their secret thought-filled diaries. Even then, I would talk about my experience in first grade...Reading that now (yes, I still have ALL my journals) is hilarious because of the spelling and also, because of what constituted a "crisis" in my six year old world...

From then to date, I have filled at least 4 journals. I even kept a "blog" years ago - if that's what you could even call my Xanga account (:pause: ...I know, right?) I discovered today that it is still open...Just did a little peruse through that one. HILAR.

The blessing in my blogging journey is that through my rambling, reflecting, or whatever you may call this I have had the opportunity to help someone else - even if it's just because when they read they know they are not alone. Or they can simply learn from my mistakes.

So in addition to everything else, I think I'm going to try and start talking a lot more about me. Just the Jasmine me. And I hope that it can still help someone. And I hope I don't bore my readers - but I think that it will be fine, because my first and only "about me" post and testimony page have both had the greatest amount of traffic to date (with the Royal Wedding in second LOL)...

I hope you keep reading :-)

Grateful Fridays.

TGIF! But I'm so glad I have more to thank God for than just because it's Friday.

I'm thankful for...

Waking up this morning and the sunshine on my face.

The good health of the people I love.

Good friends.

The God gives me second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. chances.

That my car was fixed, and that when it overheated on the highway last Sunday I was only one mile from a nice, labeled rest stop so Pumpkin and I were safe.

For growth, that I am not the same person I was last year, or even last week.

That I am able to be thankful for something everyday, even if it's just for another breath and chance to be better than yesterday.

Hope everyone has a safe and restful weekend.

Wordless Wednesday