new things in 2011

jillian has graduated sunbeams and entered the CTR classes.

she received her ring and has to wear it every sunday.

she even gave the first talk of the year in primary and didn't cry.

(a huge deal for the one who still cry's as she enters the

primary room)

hears to choosing the right and 10:00 church!

(in the 5 yrs we've lived here church has been held at two times: 8:00am ((lame)) and 2:40pm ((lamer))).

jillian also starting going to a co-op

Joy School with a few kids from the ward.

we swap weeks teaching and we are LOVING it!

look at the pure excitement on the first day of school:

Camille didn't deal too well watching Jill go to school without her.

After a few weeks I caved; Camille got her way.

Camille also started Joy School and is doing very well.

2011 has brought with it a new love of make-up for Camille.

These are just two of the many times I have found a mess of make-up on the floor

and a very decorated camillian face.

At-least she does a pretty well job matching what she wearing.

I started teaching Zumba at the YMCA in Jan.

Since then I have had two other opportunities to

teach at other gyms but had to turn them down because I

am still picking up hours at the hospital.

I'm hoping to get a couple exercise-related certifications

in 2011.

Jeff has been working from home and each month is

more successful than the last.

Hopefully 2011 will bring continued success on the 

self-employment front. 

Speaking of me and Jeff,

our Valentine's Celebration was great.

On Saturday night I took him to a nice

Japanese restaurant (he loves sushi).

After, I finished the BEST teryaki chicken of my life

we heading to the local skating rink.

we had a blast once the DJ starting playing some

old-school top 40's that jeff and i knew.

Gotta' love it.

2011...it's going to be good.

in other news

we had a low-key 4th of july this year.

jeff was working in Prescott so me and girls

joined the Taylors for a nice sunday BBQ and some

fun with the wii.

on the drive home we stopped in the parking lot to

watch a few fireworks.

low-key. 

in other news:

the girls have started dance lessons together.

i love watching them and they really do enjoy it.

and, since jeff has been reaping the rewards of

hard work in his new business, i put my two weeks in at

mercy gilbert hospital.

i continue my employment with the other hospital i've been with

for over 5 years now as supplemental income if needed.

i'm listed as 'registry' so i have no guaranteed hours.

pretty much on-call, but only if i want to work.

sweet gig huh?

SAHM here i come.

live and let die

 i've been picking up more hours at my old hospital. the one i worked at as a new nurse. the one i learned how to start iv's in any vein including the neck, knuckle, and toe. the one that i saw my first "code" aka dead person we are trying to bring back to life. the one that i saw my first dead baby. she was three months old, the prettiest little hispanic baby you've ever seen. full head of thick dark hair. long black eyelashes. beautiful. dead. we couldn't save her. the mother couldn't bring herself to hold the baby let alone even go into the room. i stayed with the lifeless baby in my arms...i just couldn't leave the tiny body alone in the big dark room. i held her until it was time for her to go the morgue. many experiences i've had at this hospital are imprinted into my mind and spirit never to leave me.

the other day i was at this hospital on my lunch break. (i like to step off the floor and get away for 30 mins to take a deep breath and re-group when i can.) in the cafeteria there is a juke-box. i love juke-boxes. it reminds of the pizza hut in fallon. good memories. anyway, i found and played the song live and let die. great song.

i have quite the commute from work to home. 40 minutes on a good day. my stereo in the car is out. these two factors leave me plenty of time to ponder.

this hospital i've been at lately has an incredibly high level of acuity as i'm sure you've already presumed. it's not uncommon to participate in more than two codes per shift and have three other patients that are close to coding. this particular day that i played the song i had really sick patients.

i guess my point to all this rambling is this: are you prepared to live? are you prepared to die? more, are you prepared to see your loved ones die? are you helping your loved ones live? what extent would you want me to work on saving your life if it came down to it? i have a friend that has told me multiple times to save him at all costs. really, you want to live on a ventilator that breathes for you for the rest of your life?

for the record: if i'm brain dead let me go. if i'm on a vent longer than one month without improvment let me go. if my legs were severed off and i'll never Zumba again save me.

some advice: don't take life for granted. it can be gone in an instant. i see it daily when i'm at work. an instant.

more advice: live and let die. if your grandpa is dying and he is 90 and lived a good life, let him go and don't make a scene. if it's your spouse and he's young and healthy, then you can make a scene while i'm  working on saving his life.

remember: death is a part of this life. live great until it comes then go gracefully.

p.s. excuse the randomness. written after 11 hours of helping heal sicko's at the hospital.
p.s. at some point, hopefully soon, i will post of all our happenings at the end of 2009 and all the fun we've had as of late.

...

just a quick up-date:
i've continued working full-time and i don't have a home computer,thus the lack of posts. both of these problems will be amended with in a month from now so as dad always said "hold your horses" on pictures.
a lot has been happening around here. it hit 100 degrees today, boo hoo. camille thinks she's not a baby anymore and i'm finding her on top of the table lickadee split. jill rides her bike like she's in a nascar race with just as many crashes. jeff is in Denver right now at a work conference that includes a golf tournament (imagine that). our chicks are big and hopefully will produce something soon. i'm sick of dealing their patio pooping without any eggs to ease my paings (sp). thier patio poop will be done soon enough either way, we're cooping them. i've enjoyed my time in the er but it's taken a toll on my family and home so i'll be cutting my hours at the end of the month. i continue to shirk my cooking responsibilities to anyone i can including panda express. i LOVE my backyard right now. that's all.

month in review

a month ago i started working here:

i received a blessing by a catholic priest who annointed my hands during orientation. then i began my work full-time
as a "healing-hand" in the er.

since my time back at work i've seen some more pretty sweet stuff but man i'm missing this sweet thing:

she's not too happy when i leave for work.


my days off now are filled with catch-up clean-up.
this number hates when she gets the sports bra stuck around her neck during laundry day.

but it's still fun to play in clean clothes.

the garden is flourishing and we've even enjoyed a couple strawberries.

the warm weather has been so nice.

camille is loves to climb...little monkey.

she hates baby food.
she loves daddy's food.

jeff built the coolest coop for our newest addition...

four little chicks.

i am a nurse.

well, it's back to the grind. it is currently 1:04 am on sunday morning and i am sitting at a computer at the hospital awaiting orders from the doctor for a couple of my patients. it's been a pleasant night despite the bad omen and my nervousness of coming back to work after a nearly 10 month leave.
the emergency room can get pretty rowdy sometimes.
as i was driving to work i noted the full moon as if it was pointing the way back to the hospital, all the while laughing because full moon nights are when all the crazies come out.
i was never really superstitious until i started working in the er. no joke... full moons and when a storm is rolling in summon the weirdos and the difficult patients to come out and visit.
oh the stories i can tell.
but, tonight.
not bad at all.
if the other nurses read this now they would hate me.
that's another thing about the er. if things are going well, you can't talk about it or else it will change. change fast and change bad it does.
i'm not going to worry about it now though because lucky me gets to go home early tonight. when they called and needed help i said okay if i can do an eight hour instead of a twelve. (four hours might not sound like a lot but if you've been up all day, and then worked through the night...getting off at 3 am is much better than getting off at 7 am). i just wasn't quite ready to commit to the whole shift my first night back (especially on a full moon).
anyway, if by me mentioning it and the power of the moon brings chaos to the er i will be gone in 1.5 hours. (unless they ask me to stay. i can't say no very easily).
so, tonight.
a good night in the er.
saved one life for sure by the immediate action of me and few other talented hands.
good for us.
better for him.
hopefully, treated other lives for the improvement of their health.
i am a wife first, mother above else, sister, daughter, and friend always.
but tonight...
tonight, i am a nurse.

PARRRRRRTTTTTAAAA!!!!!!

jeff and i partied hard yesterday. first, we stopped by the Old Country Buffet for Grandma Pete's 87th birthday. it was fun to see some of my uncles and other family. grandma did great (for those that don't know she has Alzheimer's). she kept quizzing everyone, "do you know know how i really am?" then she'd have to whisper to grandpa to get the answer. i think aunt wilma has a crush on jeff. more than once she said "can you imagine if your son looks like your husband? oh my". jeff did look pretty H-O-T yesterday. here's jeff and jill and my second cousin Abby. she couldn't get enough of jill. (i told you that jeff looked good.) as formal as Old Country Buffet is ;) we actually got all dolled up for my works Christmas Party. i put on an extra coat of mascara, curled my hair and jeff put gel in his (not a daily occurrence). we dropped jill off with sarah and put our dancing shoes on. the food was yummy!! i got prime rib and jeff got some special chicken. we one a couple prizes and danced until the music stinked and my feet hurt. jeff called the DJ "the offended DJ". If no one was one the dance floor after the first measure of a song he'd make some stupid comment ("well, that one's a bust", or "come on, this is a great beat") and the start a whole new song. it was pretty funny.
my batteries died so we didn't even get a pic of jeff and i. my nurse friend snapped one, so if i ever get it i'll post it.
i had to make sure the ice sculpture was real. yup, tastes like...cold water.

we fly out tomorrow to party it up in Utah for Christmas. can't wait!!!

last weekend

last week jeff was working at the Pinal County fair. jill and i got to go on friday and enjoy the animals!! i loved these sweet little goats. what's their names again? i also watched the showing of pigs. i'm not sure how i'd feel if i raised a beautiful animal and then turned around and sold it for bacon. don't get me wrong. i eat all the meat i can, however i can only imagine that these animals become part of the family. anyway, i loved to see all the kids run around wearing green (4H) and taking care of their animals. eventally i want to be a cow/farm girl. i know that jill would love to run around the compound with all the goats, sheep, pigs, cows and riding the horses.

on another topic. i LOVE conference weekend. firstly, it reminds me of being younger and going on vacation to utah. secondly, i love listening to all the talks. finally, i love Pres. Hinckley!!! i feel like those older people who always talk about Pres Kimball. i know i'll always talk about Pres. Hinckley.
These were some of my favorite thoughts/talks from this weekend. . . Elder Holland: "no misfortune is so bad that whining will make it better". "speak with a new tongue. the tongue of angels". Pres. Faust: "We must forgive, even if the other has not repented". "hate retards spiritual growth". Elder Oaks: "festering in destructive". "3 parties: me, spouse, the Lord". Elder Eyring: "SOMEDAY" "do not be complacent by what we have already done". "please, let me serve this day". Elder Dahlquist: "who's on the Lords side who?" "1) never forget who you are 2) learn to control your thoughts".

today

four months today and almost sitting up!! okay so she still needs our help but she really wants to do it herself.
before
after. i'm pretty sure this move is on purpose and not accidental anymore. everyday it seems like she gets more coordinated and more animated. i love watching her progression. i've worked a couple 8 hour shifts and Jeff has gotten to spend more time with Jill. she loves her dad!! i think that it has helped them bond and now she really lights up when he comes in the room. we love having this sweet heart in our lives. what a great four months!

Big bow for a big day

As we get ready for Christmas I can't help but reflect on how our life has changed in the past year. At this time last year Jeff and I were working night shift, half in a home half in an apartment, both working Sundays, and Jeff was spending more time with criminals than with family. Now we're established in our home and ward, have a normal sleep schedule, jeff isn't commuting 2 hours to deal with bad people, and we have a special addition. The Lord has blessed us more than mentioned here and we recognize His hand in our life.
Jillian is a healthy 2 months old!! (okay really not 'till tomorrow the 20th, but i had a moment to post). She is such a sweetheart. Jill loves to sleep with mom after her morning snack. She also loves when Jeff gets home and plays with her. Three days ago, Jill started to "coo". We love talking to her and letting her respond. We're so excited to see what new things she'll do this month!!
Jill loves being held by momma and momma loves to hold her.
I originally thought today was her 2 month birthday, thus the big bow. I was later informed that i was a day early by my friend i visit teach (her twin girls are exactly 1 month older).
kinda silly but really really cute.

6 weeks and more great nights

Jillian is smiling more and more each day. She giggles a lot while she sleeps. I have only got two or three giggles while she awake though. It seems that right when she turned 6 wks (last Friday) she decided to be more aware and more interactive. I love it!!

Jill has been playing with her tounge lately. It's so fun to watch Jill discover things. This pix was while Gma Nettie was making her smile.

Jill just chillin', literally. We've had a few nights below freezing. Last week we turned on the heater to 75. Speaking of nights. . . Jill continues to sleep great. Only once this week and a half has she slept shorter than 5 hours at night. She still has her night-time fussy fit (more like crying unconsolably) that is usually calmed by a bath. She is crying less and less though. Especially since we've learn what her crying means. (Thanks Oprah!)

Jill is the happiest after she eats. This is in between her post-feeding drunkeness and fully awake. She is so stinking cute. This picture just makes me laugh.

This Jeff's sweet tent. This is while at the Queen Creek Swap Meet. The tent graps your eye and is really great for events like these.