What I am THANKFUL for...

I love this time of year and I have been reflecting back on all the things I am so thankful for. My heart has been so full lately. I know Spencer and I are right where we need to be. It's always scary to think about the future, but it is so comforting knowing I will always have Spencer by my side! So, here is a list of what I am thankful for. My dad always asks at the Thanksgiving table so here goes:
~My husband! I am always told what a great man I have and I couldn't agree more!
~My marriage! I love everything about my marriage. Everything we have gone through has strengthened us. I KNOW I married my soulmate!
~The Gospel! I have always had a strong testimony, but since I started working, I worked Sat. nights and it was so challenging to make it to church. My schedule has now changed and I love sitting through church! I love listening to the lessons and feeling the spirit! You definitely don't know what you miss until it's gone! I am also thankful for the power of prayer, fasting, and priesthood! I have turned to all three in every challenge of my life and I ALWAYS come out a stronger person!
~My parents! My parents taught me about hard work and to NEVER give up. I wouldn't be an RN without their continous encouragement! It is so amazing to have parents believe that you can do ANYTHING! I love having a mom that I can call 24-7! I love that in my saddest times, she's the one I break down to and she's right there crying with me! I love having a Dad that is always asking how I can MAKE it better? If I have a problem, it's like Well Jess, what you gonna do about it? Talk about teaching your little girl to be tough and KNOW she can do anything! He told me a quote "Work like it depends on you and Pray like it depends on the Lord." What excellent advice!
~My sisters and my bro! We have always been so close. They can make me laugh hard and cry harder! They have always been my rock. They know when I'm upset and can always get the tears out of me! What a great feeling to be blessed with such great siblings who have been with me through it ALL!
~My Job! All I can say is WOW! I absolutely love my job! These last couple weeks I have not felt the greatest and everyone was always after me to take off work. I never could because I just didn't want to. Last night on my way to work, my heart was so full with the love I have for my job! The Lord knew exactly where I was needed and what I needed! It definitely has been a blessing and I think about it EVERY TIME I clock out and head home. Nursing is so rewarding and I love being apart of my patients' lives! I had the cutest patient who came up to me a week ago and said he wanted to read me a quote. It said "If you know WHY to live, you can bear all of HOW to live." Wow, how did he know I needed that?! Amazing!
~My home! I love having my own home with Spencer! I love that our home represents us! I love walking into our door every morning when I get off work! I am so thankful the Lord has blessed us with our home.
~My Grandpa! He is the most spiritual man I have ever known! My grandpa always has my best interest at heart and is ALWAYS there for me to talk to! He has been praying, fasting, and going to the temple for me since he found out about my aneurysm and has revealed amazing things to me. What a man of God!
~My nieces and nephews! I told Spencer I could take anyone of them and make them my own! I love them all that much! They have been over a lot and they make me want kids soooo bad! I love playing with them. I even told both my sisters that I want to have their kids for a weekend. Yes, I love them that much!
~My dogs! I have the two best house dogs in the whole world! They are so well behaved and I love it! They are so willing to sleep with me all day and be good even after they had just woke up from a nights sleep! I love that they have taught me and Spencer (mainly Spencer :) patience! I also just bought Spencer a hunting dog! I love that I can do that for him! I love that getting a Brittany Spaniel for him brings back a flood of fond memories of hunting with my dad and bro! I so look forward to watching Spencer hunt with our little boys! What a great hobby to look forward to!
~Good health! Yes, I have come to bumps in the road, but I am thankful for the knowledge of healthy living and that I have applied it to my life.
~my family and friends! Spencer and I have a great support system and we know we couldn't be more blessed!
~ Trials! I am who I am and where I am all because of TRIALS! What don't kill ya, definitely makes ya stronger!
~AND FAITH! Definitely a comforting feeling...ALWAYS!
~My blog friends! I mean who else would sit here and read what JESS is Thankful for?!
So here is my list in a shortened version, yes, shortened! Don't worry fam, I will keep it very short at the dinner table on Thursday:)!!!

A Blog Slacker

Yes, I have turned into one of those...a blog slacker! I really have been so busy, running like a chicken with my head cut off~it's crazy! Here's a rundown of my schedule~sleep anywhere from 9-11am to 5-7pm, workout, eat dinner, if I am lucky-watch a show with my hubby, take the dogs on a walk, and then off to work from 11pm to 8am. I absolutely love my job, so I am definitely not complaining. Nursing is amazing and I can't believe how much I love it, love what I do, love my pt's, and love my coworkers~well most of them, haha! Another reason I haven't blogged is I am waiting to download pics of my house, but my dear husband is a camera hog and takes it to work with him every day. He makes cool things and so of course he needs to capture them on film...I get that. Okay, so this whole post was to talk about what's been going on, so here goes...My birthday was awesome! Spencer invited a lot of my family out to our house for cake and ice cream. Only a couple of them had seen our house, so it was fun to show them all! Side note: I love my new house! I love cleaning it! I love decorating it! Spencer spoiled me for my bday! I got a lot of fun things, not to mention CLOTHES and A BODYBUGG! I can't get enough of this thing! It is so much fun! Yes, I am an addict! I tell so many people about it and they all want one...hmm, maybe I should go into selling these things! Anyway, my mom did so much for Spencer and I while I was in fun ol' nursing school, so I really wanted to get her one and Spencer agreed. We went to Idaho this past Sunday and we gave it to her! She loved it! I don't know who was more excited! It is so fun to have someone to talk about it with and compare! Anyway, I had to go to Idaho because awhile back ago, I noticed this weird looking thing on my arm. Spencer says that was back when I was in school, but honestly I have the worst memory lately and do not remember! I kind of blew it off and then one night at work I thought I would show my fellow nurse and right away she said to get that thing checked. I then showed a few Dr's I worked with and they said the same thing~Get that thing checked. So, I told my mom about it and my mom got me in to see her Dr. in Idaho. There was no messing around with my mom. When I told her I wasn't going to make it to Idaho, I got a text in all CAPS saying if I didn't, she would be down to bring me up. Spencer and I thought we just won't mess with mom and go, haha! Moms know best, right?! Well the Dr definitely did not like the color. It was black, a little smaller than the edge of an eraser, with a line growing out the side. The Dr. cut it out. It was as deep as full skin thickness~ouch and it was not cancerous, thank goodness! Life is good :)

Derek's 'lil boy is here!

Congrats DK and Holly! He is so cute and I can't wait to meet him. I don't know all the details except he was born today and weighs 8.5lbs! You know how guys are, they don't give you all the fun details! Yea, another nephew!

Work, inappropriate comments, fair, and my party...I think that sums it up!

Where do I begin? I have not written for awhile because I have been so busy! This last week was no exception! I have been promoted as charge nurse and love it! I really enjoy conversing with the Drs. I even had one suggest that I go on and become one~we'll see. I have so many fun stories from work. It is a great place to be and I have made so many friends! I love the people I work with~I definitely am where I'm suppose to be~crazy how that works! I also love my patients~I have had quite a few pts wanting to talk to me about life and them wanting to end it. It makes me so sad, but I love talking to them and making them feel better. It has helped me have such an appreciation for my life and the decisions we have made. I even have funny pt's that think they can be inappropriate. I have had one tell me to leave my husband for him, and he would make the loudest noises as I would walk by and he would be checking out my hind end. Gross, I know. I feel like I am always telling my pt's that is inappropriate! I have also had one grab my waist, another tell me his fantasies about me and thinking I must have been a cheerleader with my personality, um no! Then last night a pt asked me out to dinner the day he leaves and the whole nursing station heard it. Awkward and once again I had to say No and that he is being inappropriate! My husband gets a kick out of my stories! I also almost had a nervous breakdown last night~ I felt so sick and almost called in sick. I had already worked about 50 hours this week, but I just couldn't call in sick. The nurse before me had totally messed up everything! My tech was so happy to see me when I walked in because that nurse was driving him crazy! She had messed up on meds, didn't sign out the narcotics, wrote down wrong orders on three different pt's med sheets, AAAH! And to top it off, pt's were mad at her and all wanted to talk to me about it. Who was I for hoping for an easy night? Oh well, I now have a couple days off (hoping I don't get called in like usual:) and they are well needed! I miss my husband so much, one good thing is when we're together we can't get enough of each other! I rather enjoy that part! I also got to go to the Utah State Fair and see my fam show horses and my mom came out to see our new house! I had so much fun and enjoyed showing it to her! My mom is one of my biggest inspirations and it feels so good to hear her say how proud she is~definitely makes it worth it! My birthday is in two weeks and I am having a party at my house!!! Yes, that's what I said~I need a life too, haha! Everyone's invited!

Life is good!

I have been at my job for almost two weeks now and love it! It was one of the smartest things I ever did becoming a nurse~ maybe my family thinks so too! My sisters and mom call me all the time on medical questions (don't worry, I love it, so keep the questions coming). I worked days for a few times and now I am at graves. I actually love graves! The pay is so much higher and I am kept constantly busy during my shift! I am training to be the charge nurse. It is kinda scary and exciting knowing I will be the one that calls the shots at night. Spencer was so sweet and bought me "black out" curtains, so that I can sleep during the day! It has worked wonders and I have been sleeping so good! Not to mention, my poor dogs won't sleep at night when I am gone, so they sleep so good with me! Spencer is doing great at his job and loves it! He is such a hard worker and has treated me like a princess with my change in schedule. I asked him to please get home by 4pm on Friday since it was my night off. He walked into my "dark" room at 3:30pm while I was still laying down~best feeling ever! AND if you know Spencer, that just does not happen~being on time that is, lol! It is crazy to think where we were for the past two years and where we are now~a major 180 degree turn. The Lord definitely has a plan for us and I am glad we stuck it out when things got hard!

The cutest second graders I know!

How cute are my nieces? I cannot believe they are in the 2nd grade! Time sure flies! I love this picture. It is so cute! Elle and Emma truly are best friends & act so grown up (haha, my sisters are going to have to watch out). I can just tell these girls are going to be heartbreakers :)!

After 1 month of agony...

I am employed! What a journey this has been. When I first started nursing school, we were told that getting a job was EASY and that there would be sign on bonuses, etc. etc. etc! Well with this economy, luck was definitely not on our side. It has been really hard for us nursing grads to find jobs. All the hospitals won't hire anyone unless they have atleast ONE year of experience. Did I say hospitals? I meant everyone! When people would ask about the current situation, I would tell them that AND everyone would say Well, how can you get experience if no one will hire you?! EXACTLY! My testimony definitely has grown even more within this last month. Trials definitely make a person stronger. Anyway, I prayed one morning and decided to look on the internet for jobs and out of the blue I came across one and it just had an email to contact. I emailed my resume and cover letter and the lady wrote back to tell me she received it. That was back in June, I think. After I passed my NCLEX, I had a feeling to email them again, but to tell them I passed the NCLEX and was now registered. They emailed me back and said they would send it to Corporate. Then the Nurse Manager called me for an interview and when I went in, I got the job! So exciting! I am now an RN for Highland Ridge Hospital. It is a psych facility. I love when I tell people that because for some reason they picture it a 100 times worse than it is. It isn't. Infact, it will be an awesome job. My patients will consist of substance abusers, rehabers, and people with depression, eating disorders, etc. We even get celebrities since there are only 4 of these hospitals in the U.S. Pretty cool! I am starting out on graveyard, so it'll be easier to learn. The nurse manager said she wants to train me to become the Charge nurse, way cool! This has definitely been a blessing in disguise! I absolutely loved my psych class and clinicals, but it wasn't my first choice of work. The Lord knew what was best for me at this time though. I know I will definitely learn and grow in this field. It is amazing and the starting pay is over $5.00 more than anywhere else! I am very thankful for this opportunity! I am so ready for what lies next in our lives! It is such an amazing time for us AND Spencer couldn't be more thrilled. Infact, I think he said my new job definitely makes the last two years worth it! Should I be worried he said it with a smirk on his face, lol?!