Today

Today was rough.

One of those day where you feel like you've been run over by a train and then dragged behind a bus.

I wouldn't have made it through the day if it weren't for....

the pep talk from an old friend who is a semester ahead of me in the nursing program,

homemade cookies delivered to my door (thanks Liz!),

a great big hug from my sweetie,

the smile from Ian as he patted the spot on the couch next to him telling me he saved "the best seat" for me to watch Cars 2 with him,

watching my daughter's far off look (I swear there were hearts in her eyes!) as she described an 'encounter' with her dream guy today,

my clinical instructor's comment on how much she loved my toe polish as I lay in a hospital bed as a 'patient' while she did a head to toe assessment on me (so thankful my toenails were painted!),

and re-reading (for the millionth time) the sweetest email I have ever received (thank you again Tiff!).

It's the little things in my day that I am finding are so important and so very needed to remind me that while nursing school is trying to take over my life- it never will.

It Begins

Tomorrow morning is my first day of Nursing School.

I have been looking forward to this day for many years.

I face it with much anticipation, nervousness, butterflies in my stomach, excitement, enthusiasm, and optimism. In other words, I'm full of emotion.

I have several friends who have gone through or are currently in the program and therein lies the reason behind all of my emotions.

I have watched them stress out and cry over grades. I have seen bags under their eyes due to lack of sleep. I have heard of their (and their family's) many fast food meals.

But I have also seen their enthusiasm for what they are learning. I have rejoiced with them as each step brought them closer to graduating with their RN. I have cheered for them at their graduation ceremony.

Tomorrow this journey begins for me.

I can't even begin to express how humble I feel to be joining the 80 other student nurses in my cohort as we learn together the art of Nursing. What a thrill! An experience of a lifetime for sure.

It all begins with one step and tomorrow I will proudly take it- in my brand new (whiter than white!) nursing shoes!

30 years old!

My favorite picture from our last New York City vacation.

Today as Ian walked down the sidewalk to my car after school, he motioned for me to roll down the window.

He leaned inside and asked, "Can I sit in the front seat today?"

"No", I replied, "you are still too little."

"I am not!", he forcefully said. "In cat years I'm like.... 30 years old!"

Gotta love how his mind works.

Clever. Very clever.

Holiday Wrap Up

Photo taken with my new iPhone! yay!

Today was the official last day of our holiday vacation. Boooo.

So that we never forget how great the Christmas of 2011 was, here's a little wrap up.....

Santa was so good to us this year- I think everyone was happy with their haul.

Ian especially loved his 'big' gift, an iPod touch. He kept saying, "I can't believe I'm old enough to have an iPod!! And, "This is the best Christmas EVER!" Made this mama's heart happy!
As I am posting this, I can't help but notice that somehow Nicole and I escaped Christmas morning photos...

We had a lovely turkey dinner which was (unexpectedly) prepared by Erik. I had been put on call at the hospital, but a few hours later I got called in. Were we ever sad!

I felt so bad leaving Erik with a turkey dinner to prepare. But we ended up having our own 'Christmas Miracle' after all! I was able to come home two hours earlier than my shift was supposed to end, just in time to eat dinner with Erik, the kids and my parents!

We spent the holidays surrounded by those we love, by many piles of wrapping paper and boxes and with literally nothing scheduled on our calendars.

Lazy mornings, a little shopping, a movie or two, dinner dates, time to read books, card games to play, and lots of time to figure out those new gifts was pretty much about all that we accomplished for 10 straight days. Ahhh.

And now the decorations are put away, the house is sparkling clean, and we all feel refreshed and ready to face the new year!

2012 will bring big changes to our family. Some I am looking forward to and some not so much. It will be an exciting year though, that's for sure.

So welcome 2012, because ready or not, here we go!

Merry Christmas!

My friend Christy inspired me to do a post on what Christmas looks like at my house.

Christy and I have had lots of conversations on why it is that we blog. Blogging is a very time consuming thing and there has to be a good reason for doing it, right?

We came to the conclusion that we blog because it is how we are choosing to record the daily happenings of our family life. My hope is that some day this will be a way that my children and their children can remember and learn where they come from.

So when she posted the Christmas pictures of her house- I thought it was such a fun way to record what it looks like in our house too!

My pictures leave a little something to be desired, but you get the idea.

Here's how we display all the Christmas cards that come our way....what's up this year people? Keep them coming!
The mirror in the entry way....I love this!
the stockings were hung.....
Oh Christmas tree....
This sleigh was Erik's dad's when he was just a little guy....
a little of this....
and a little of that.
So there you have it. A little peek into our house at Christmas time. I hope this idea inspires you to give us a peek in to your house too! Thanks Christy!

Eighteen

I'm not sure what the heck has happened, or who told her she could do it, but Nicole has turned 18 and is now a legal, voting adult.

Erik and I must have done something especially great in Heaven to be chosen to be Nicole's parents.

There is one word that pretty much sums up her whole existence. That word is awesome.

She excels in everything she does, she makes the world better place every single day, and she doesn't give herself any credit for anything good that she does. She's almost perfect.

Three weeks before her birthday, she announced that she wanted to have a dance to celebrate her big day.

By some miracle, the ward house was available on her birthday (the only day out of the whole month it was not already reserved!), so we booked it, made up 100 invitations and then Erik and I left on a cruise. :)

The night we got back, Erik disappeared for a few hours working on a little surprise we had for her birthday gift. I started working on decoration and food ideas for her party.

The day of her party, my lifesaver of a friend, Christy, and her children helped me decorate the gym and get everything ready while we waited for Nicole to come home from school.

Inside the garage, her surprise waited for her....

And this was her reaction.....
It was priceless. She cried and laughed and screamed and cried some more.

Then the party began....

In all the excitement, I neglected to take a picture of the birthday girl in all her sparkly dress-high heeled-gorgeousness, but I did manage to snap one blurry shot of the party.
It was a birthday to remember.

I'm so excited to see what her future will bring- she is just 5 months away from graduating and then she'll be off and running.

Happy Birthday Nicole! Thanks for letting us share it with you!

Sail Away

You know how you have a million things to do the day before you leave on a trip?

Today my list of to-do's is long, because tomorrow Erik and I fly way on a trip for our 20th anniversary. It's a little early to be celebrating, but I will be neck deep in nursing school on the actual day so we are running away now while I still can breathe.

Back to the million things I SHOULD be doing. I should be packing, putting fresh sheets out for the sitter, organizing meals, finishing up that last load of laundry, but instead I find myself baking a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (oh and blogging).

It's so exciting to think that tomorrow I will be on an airplane flying somewhere warm and wonderful- but today, my heart is here with my kids and all that I will be leaving behind.

December is not the ideal time to run away. So much is going on. A lot had to be arranged for this to happen. And even with all of that, we are still missing out on much. Nicole has several events at school that we would have loved to support her in- a program to raise money for Sub for Santa, a dance that we were supposed to be chaperones at. She is also taking the ACT and I won't be here to make sure she has a good breakfast and to give her that last encouraging hug before she heads out the door. And that's just Nicole. I could go on and on with everything else.

So today, I am taking time to bake fresh cookies for my little loves. I want them to know that even though I am so thrilled to be running away with their daddy, that a part of me will be missing them the whole time I'm gone. Maybe these cookies will remind them of how much I love them. And that everything I do is for them and our family.

So for now, my to-do list will be set aside. And when they walk in from school today to the smell of pumpkin spice, hopefully that will give them something warm and wonderful to think about when I can't be here to tuck them in at night.