Summer Turns Into Fall

Duke and Razar hanging out last weekend!

I love fall in Laramie; the leaves change color and crunch under your feet when you walk to class, the air turns crisp and just cool enough to need a long sleeve or maybe even a light jacket, and the smell of autumn hangs lightly in the air. Sadly, some of the best parts of summer (the Downtown Farmer's Market) come to a close, but the transition to fall really is incredible. S and I took Duke and Razar to the river tonight and as the sun was setting it got cool. Oh those boys...they played for hours! We even went back to her place to watch a movie and they still went at it. Silly boys! They'll be sad to see fall go, that's for sure. No swimming in the winter!

Dear Blog,

Oh dear blog, how often I neglect you. Really, I'm a complete hypocrite...I love reading other people's blogs. My favorites are K's blog and R's blog which I frequent almost daily. Yet, here I am completely neglecting my own. Whoops! As usual many many things have happened since I last posted including the end of summer's beautiful freedom, the start of weekly time commitments, the demise of a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a chunk of the wood floor, the door frame, and the running board (all attributed to the dog of course), the start of ROTC, a trip to California, extensive quality time with my husband, and many many dirty dishes. I've actually been carrying my camera around with me so I have pictures of most of these events which sadly won't do me any good because this computer doesn't have a card reader. Sorry blog. I'm still waiting to find out where the Air Force is going to station me and where I'll be doing my senior residency this spring. All in all though, it's been a good couple of months. I'll come back and post pictures...really I will...one of these years!

Decisions decisions

Well I finally did it...I decided what I want to be when I grow up. Drum roll please...

An OB nurse!

I feel at peace with the decision and am really looking forward to taking the OB class to see what I really got myself into!

Family

Wade and I have a new addition to our little family--a four legged addition! We've been looking for a puppy for a while and couldn't decide on a breed we liked. We went through everything, took every "what kind of puppy fits your lifestyle" quiz that has existed, and sent countless hours looking up information. We were out looking at basset hounds at a meet and greet event and were totally discouraged. They just lacked the personality we were looking for. We just gave up and resigned ourselves to waiting for a while when we saw a sign for the Humane Society. We figured why the heck not and went on out to their no kill shelter. We found our guy sitting calmly in his kennel while all the other dogs were pitching a fit. After taking him out to play we knew we wanted him but were hesitant to take him just because of his energy level while he played. We left without him and decided to go home and talk it over. Good thing he's such a sweetheart--we just couldn't leave him there! Now we have a 6 month old 50 lb Rhodesian Ridgeback without a ridge. He's shockingly calm indoors, is potty trained (which we did not expect) and an all around sweetheart. Hooray for embarking on another adventure!

Almost there

The last Monday has finally come around....almost done! It's amazing how quick and slow it's passed. I must admit though, there are a few things I'm looking forward to:

1. Extended quality time with Wade. It never occurred to me that I'd miss my husband this much. We dated long distance, but it's not the same. I can't wait to just spend time with him.

2. Homemade food. Willford Hall's cafeteria doesn't even come close.

3. Weather in the 70s! Helllooo Laramie!

4. Seeing my best friend.

I will miss everyone here though! I've had a blast! It will also be hard to leave my family. It's been so nice having them close.

Blessing in Disguise

"Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast" Psalm 139: 7-10

God has really shown me the truth of this verse the past two weeks. I grudgingly came to San Antonio for this PDT but low and behold God has used it to catch my attention. In my group of 11 people, there are at least 5 girls who are strong Christians. We pray for each other, talk about the things of God, and are starting a small Bible study. In this time, He's really given me direction and peace about where I need to go. It's more than just what nursing track to go too, it's God nudging me to a deeper relationship with Him. I'm begining to think the only reason God has me here is not to experience the different aspects of nursing, but to grow in a relationship with Him. It really has been a blessing.

Not only has this been a blessing for my faith, but God has really given me peace about being a L&D nurse. I love labor, I love coaching women, and I love babies. Funny, I never thought I'd consider going into OB, but when I walk onto the OB unit I just have this amazing peace. Not only that, but I am comfortable there, I feel like I can really help and make a difference. Funny how God uses us isn't it?

Playing Catch Up

Despite my best efforts at maintaining this, here I am again playing catch up. So much has happened lately and I haven't bothered keeping up with it here. Wade and I just moved to a new apartment that would let us have a puppy! It's bittersweet for me, in a way it was hard to leave the place we first called home. It was the first place we got to be a family of our own. When we were packing I had to smile and remember unpacking a few months ago. We were so excited to live together and spent so much time arranging and rearranging everything until we felt it was just perfect. The first night we slept there, we spent the night on the floor. We ended our time there with slightly more style. Wade and I had wanted to go camping before we moved, but we just ran out of time. Instead, we pitched a tent in our empty living room and slept there. Such great memories!




We barely got moved in when I had to come to San Antonio for a nursing PDT. It's interesting here, much hotter and much more fast paced than home. I'm feeling left behind by my peers in that their enthusiasm for nursing and their passion for being here is immense. I'm still trying to figure out where I want to go, what I want to do, and eventually where I want my life to lead. It's not that I'm not excited to learn new things, it's just that I need to process everything else too. I'm still trying to decide OB/Medical-Surgical. I enjoyed the Internal Medicine floor, but I'm just not sure that's what I want. I was stressing about it earlier and God reminded me that He has sent His Holy Spirit to be a Counselor and to guide me. God's timing is truly good.

Love is Patient

God has blessed me so much with the most amazing husband. He knows me and attends to my needs, understands I when I need gentle words spoken softly in my ear and when I can listen to the truth spoken bluntly, he is gracious and accepts my faults, he works hard to provide for our small family, and plans ahead for the future that will come. My beloved treats me as if I'm one of a kind, invaluable and irreplaceable. He is strong, patient, and kind. I am blessed.

Choices

I got an email today from a Col wanting to know what nursing track I'm choosing...obstetrics or medical surgical. I'm torn. I love OB but I feel med/surg is the bread and butter of nursing. I just don't like it. So the question is do what I love or do what is career building. It reminds me of a story I heard when I was a kid about a mom who named her child "Do as you're told" "Do as you wish" and "Do as you love"--do as you love was the one who was happiest and who truly loved his life. He wasn't rich or famous and he didn't have high stature in society, but he did as he loved and was happy. Fortunately the Col was kind enough to extend my decision until July 1. Time to hit my knees and talk to the one who knows what's best.

Summer

Summer is finally here!

Wade and I just finished our fourth year of school and are now enjoying our first summer as a married couple.

After the rush of finals, graduation, and commissioning everything has finally slowed down. My best friend graduated this May and my ROTC class commissioned (well a few of them did...most of us are taking five years to get out of this place). I watched (enviously mind you) Cait graduate and then commission. The Air Force now has four new lieutenants who I'm sure will do a spectacular job! It was so exciting watching them get their butter bars and finally get to leave this place. I love school, but I'm starting to get antsy. I want it to be my turn!




After all the ceremonies celebrating the new college graduates, the summer kicked off to a great start with a trip to the Bahamas...for me. My best friend and I took off to celebrate her graduation and left poor Wade behind to play golf and mope about missing the Bahamas (oh and his lovely wife of course).

The Bahamas were an absolute blast! The trip started with an uneventful plane ride and an incredibly sketch bus ride to an even more sketch hotel. We were fortunate enough to be put in the honeymoon suite (which was deemed such because the TV pulled out from the wall). After surviving Miami and an equally crazy bus driver, we boarded our cruise ship, the Norwegian Sky. She was beautiful in a tacky cruise ship sort of way and the best part was meals were included! Fantastic really, however after the amount of desserts we ate, I'm pretty sure my waist band will never be the same.

The first day we went to Grand Bahama Island with the intent of exploring Lucayan National Park. However, when we disembarked we learned to get a taxi to the National Park was going to cost us $150! Reluctantly we got on the $5 taxi to the tourist beach with the hopes of possibly being able to find cheaper transportation there. Let me tell you...we made quite the find! Scooters! Yes, we rented a scooter in the Bahamas (where they drive on the left side of the road) and wearing our sun dresses we set off (both of us on one scooter mind you) into the horizon in search of the National Park. (Ok so maybe it wasn't all that exciting but we were both pretty excited about finding a way to get there). It was completely worth it--we explored underwater caves, saw beautiful plants and spent the rest of the day at the most breathtaking beach I've ever seen (unfortunately this is where the camera batteries died so we have no photographic evidence!)












We left with seemingly enough time only to get lost and drive in circles. Our embark time was 1630 and the scooter rental was a 15 minute taxi ride to the ship. At 1615 we were still tootling down the streets of Grand Bahama Island with no idea where we were. Fortunately the people there are spectacular and redirected us to our proper location. A frantic 80 km/hr scooter ride, a mad sprint, and a pathetically slow taxi ride later we arrived at our ship...30 minutes late. As we boarded we heard the crew say "there's the last two". Whoops! Day one summary: amazing scooter adventure, great national park, frantic scooter ride back, massive sunburned bodies (feet, backs, shins--seriously though burt shins hurt!) and grumpy crew. Mission successful!

The second day was Nassau where we played with dolphins! We got to pet, dance with and get kisses from a friendly dolphin whose name I have already forgotten. Obviously we didn't connect--it's cause he kisses way too many girls a day for my liking! It was amazing to see them up close though. My favorite is watching them breathe; they seem to gasp for a breath which doesn't seem like it will last them long enough, but they can actually hold their breath for 7 minutes!



Our last stop was at Great Stirrup Cay, the cruise line's private island. The front of it was terribly crowded and honestly would have been horrible if we hadn't found a nice beach about a mile and a half away from where we were dropped off. We spent the morning and part of the afternoon roasting on the beach and the rest of the afternoon sitting and reading in the shade. I finally convinced Cait to get into the ocean, and we spent some time floating around before we headed back to Miami.




It was all around a fantastic experience and I only touched on the highlights. The time spent on the actual ship was full of adventures too--everything from walking the track (and running...once), to making towel animals, to wonderful food and fantastic desserts, to time spent on deck while we cruised the seas, to late night entertainment and movies, and of course feeling, for the first time, the "motion of the ocean". That's not including the adventures we had on the Miami public transportation system, at the Miami MetroZoo and bumming in the airport while our flight was delayed 5 hours.












Overall rating of the trip and the summer so far: A+!

Birthday

For my twenty first birthday Wade and I went to a local pizza joint. We got good food, ordered drinks and hung out. Unfortunately they were out of all of the wine we wanted (so we didn't get any drinks). Sadly the food made us sick :-( It's funny how we seem to get sick on "big events". Honeymoon, birthdays....hopefully we can get through Wade's birthday safe! Despite the food sickness issue my whole week was great.

Ha. This is only a lot late. Must've forgotten to post it at the end. Good news though, other than a burnt strawberry cake, we made it through Wade's birthday just fine!

Blessed

God has truly blessed my little family! Wade and I live in a beautiful home and couldn't ask for anything. God really has provided. Wade got a good job almost as soon as he got to Laramie a year and a half ago. He's been fortunate enough to keep it even though he left over the summer. Because he works, I don't have to during the school year which is such a relief. I'm waiting for him to get home...I even managed to get the kitchen and living room clean. Everything else needs a little work. As of right now we're planning on running the MS Walk (hmm...running a walk, yes I see a problem with it too!) but if he doesn't get home until really late we might not go. I'll post pictures if we do!

I am confident that Spring will come again....

I love living in Wyoming, but every now and then I just want to leave. Now is one of those times. I want to go somewhere where spring means warm and warm means over 80 degrees. While I'm greatly appreciating the random 50 deg days we've been having, the snow in the middle is really unhelpful. Maybe I'll just drive west until I hit a beach--a warm, sunny, beautiful beach. Sadly, the only way I could do that would involve me waking up a few hours later and sighing wishing it was real. I guess wintery spring has its beauty though. A wise man put it into perspective today for me though; when asked how his day was going (which by the sound of things, not well) he simply replied, "well it's a lot better than those men and women who are deployed, so I guess I don't have any complaints". Thanks for the perspective Sir.

Just another week

Another week come and almost gone. It's been a good one.

Wade and I have both had limited homework which has let us spend a lot of time together. Also, we found out about our summer plans through the Air Force. I'm headed to San Antonio to go to Willford Hall for what's the equivalent of an externship. I'm so excited! It's jst going to be a great opportunity to see what life will be like in a year and a half. Wade got jump so he'll go the AFA and jump out of planes. I know he's super excited about the opportunity! Fortunately our dates work to where we both aren't gone at the same time. Pending apartment approval, we're hoping to get a puppy. Now the problem is finding a breeder that isn't 400 miles away!

Wade also got invited to Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honors society. I'm proud of him :-)

Valentine's Day

Wade and I had our first Valentine's Day as a married couple. We actually celebrated the day before by going to Loveland and hanging out. We went to PF Changs for the first time since last year. We also hit Barnes and Noble (a personal favorite) and a few stores where he surprised me with a shirt and matching sweater. It was really sweet.

Today we've just hung out. One of our good friends (also a young married couple) had their gas go out so we made them dinner. Sadly she got sick so we just sent it home with him. Wade and I got to sit and eat though which was nice. We're ending our day with homework and Olympics. Oh...and a haircut for Wade. It was the first (and not last) time I'll cut it. So much cheaper than Wal Mart (but maybe not as nice). Here it is:

A Blessing

I got the most beautiful blessing today from my new grandpa. Here it is:

My First Grand Daughter In Law
On this the 14th day of February, 2010, I give you a blessing

I am Blessed because God has Wonderfully Placed you in our Family
I am Blessed because you have a Personal Relationship with the Lord.
I am Blessed because you have such a Sweet, Sweet Spirit.
I am Blessed by you Intelligence and your Unrelenting Desire to Succeed
I am Blessed because you were able to Share your First Family Christmas with us.
I am Blessed because we were able to Share in many of your School Activities.
I am Blessed because you have given Jane and I your Unconditional Love.
I am Blessed because You Always make us feel as Being Someone Special.
I am Blessed because my Great Grand Children will be born into a Christian Home.
I am Blessed because you have not Conformed to the Ways of the World.
I am Blessed because of the Servant Nature of the Career Path you have Chosen.

Brittany, it is impossible for me to adequately express my Thanks to the Lord for Placing you in our Family. We Treasure you as being the Best Grand Daughter In Law that He could have given us. Blessings to you Now and Forever as you begin your Journey with Our Beloved Grandson.


Needless to say...I was blessed.

I used to think I knew exactly what kind of nurse I wanted to be. Now I've started to see the possibilities, I'm not so sure. Each time though I'm drawn to pediatrics....now it's just where to go from there. Psych? Oncology? Med Surg? ER?

Nursing School

I just finished what I hope was the most hellish week of nursing school. We just started clinical, so I had to go Monday night and get my assignment. Tuesday and Thursday I worked the evening shift (where I lost a pt) and had tests on Wednesday and Friday. I had a total of 25 hrs of sleep for the week and some of those nights I definitely didn't have 5 hours of sleep! In the end though, it all worked out just fine. I did well on both of my tests and learned invaluable clinical lessons. Funny how that is...even in the crazy times you can learn something....heck you can even have a little fun while doing it. Here's a few shots of the fun moments in my week!

Here's what happens when nothing happens with cardiopulmonary...you learn how everything works. Here I'm getting a pulmonary function test. (And yes...I passed!)



Here's the first time my new name went on a bubble sheet. Yes, I was excited enough to take a picture!

Another Day

Another evening very similar to the one's we normally have. Wade's doing homework, I'm done with mine (not normally the case). It's times like these that I'm grateful for everything I'm blessed with. I have a beautiful home, both Wade and I are getting a college education, and I have an amazing family (both my "family of origin"--Sherrie would be proud--and my new family.

Here's Wade and I at my parent's house celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple. Please, note the cheesy (but absolutely fantastic...wear it all the time) sweatshirts. My parents gave them to us for Christmas. :-)

So many changes

So many exciting things have happened since I've come back from break!

My husband and I got married! It was beautiful, the weather was perfect, my family was there, I carried sunflowers and walked down the isle barefoot. It was perfect. I will never forget the look on his face when he first saw me. It's the look I've always dreamed that I would get.

We spent a week in Salt Lake City for our honeymoon. We skied for two days and then puked for two days. Not exactly my dream honeymoon, but it was still fun. I keep telling Wade we're just going to have to take a second honeymoon!

Pictures from the wedding and our honeymoon are coming!