Welcome!...With a lot of updates

Welcome to our little family's blog! Big things have been happening over here. I blogged on my old blog (netterspaghetter.blogspot.com) in January and ever since then life has been crazy. So here is a huge update! On a cold Wednesday evening in mid-January, Shelby and I went to Panda Express to get some dinner. Panda Express is one of our favorite places to eat so this was a usual ocurrance. Shelby decided that we should go eat in the canyon. My first thought was ok, we'll sit in the warm car and eat so it won't be too cold. Well, we got down to the canyon and Shelby parked and reparked his car multiple times so that we could get a good view of the canyon...well when he finished parking we weren't really facing any view, except for the canyon wall which I thought was weird, but Shelby is known to do some crazy things occasionally so I just went along with it. :) He then proceeded to decide that we should get out of the car and eat...so we did in the freezing cold of an Idaho January. At this point I was on the verge of getting a little grumpy because I was freezing-those of you who know me well know that I get cold when I eat, no matter what, so eating surrounded by snow and ice in addition to already having the tendency to get cold isn't the best combination for me. But, once again, I decided to not complain and just go along with it-I figured there must be a reason why Shelby was making us do this. After eating, we walked back to the car to get our fortune cookies. We walked up the canyon a little ways to eat our fortune cookies. We ate our cookies and then Shelby read his fortune to me first. It said, "A great proposal is in your near future." I just laughed and thought, "What a coincidence!" (We'd been talking about marriage for the last few months,went ring shopping, he asked my dad, etc...so I was expecting a proposal any day now.) I then proceeded to read my fortune. It said, "Keep man on side close forever, yes?" (This fortune has another story that goes along with it but that is for another time.) I looked to Shelby to ask him what the heck was going on and he was down on one knee. I freaked out because I wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious. So I proceeded to ask Shelby three times...Are you kidding?, Is this serious? When I realized that it was serious and there was a real ring in the box-the exact one I wanted-I started crying and said yes once I gained my composure. The week after that, we started Spring semester and it got crazy from there. Since it was my last semester of Nursing school, I had three five week rotations-Precepting, which is similar to an internship, OB-mothers and babys, and Advanced Medical/Surgical (Critical Care, etc...) Nursing school is stressful and as my stress in school went up, it exacerbated the stress of all the other big things going on in our lives. I am so grateful that we went through the stress of Nursing school during our courtship and engagement. I can truly say that Shelby and I have seen each other at our worst. We learned to pull through and communicate better than we ever had before. There was a light at the end of the tunnel and I graduated from Nursing school on May 17. The Sunday before my last nursing exam and graduation, I wasn't feeling well and my temperature sky rocketed in the 100s. I went to urgent care and they told me that I had Strep Throat. They put me on antibiotics and sent me home. I walked into my last nursing exam all drugged up and groggy...I thought that I would for sure fail it and knew that I would need a lot of help to pass it. I took the test and it took forever because of my low energy level and fatigue...I was the last student in the testing room but I continued to take my time because I knew I needed to get a good grade. My teacher graded the exam in front of me and I ended up getting a really good grade-so high that I was able to pull off an A in the rotation! Total miracle right there. But sadly, I was so sick that I went home and slept. I couldn't even get excited that I was done with Nursing school. The week after graduation I left Shelby for a week so that I could go to an NCLEX prep class close to my parent's house. While at my parent's my sore throat was getting worse. One morning I woke up with a rash all over my upper body and face. I went straight to the doctor where they ran some blood tests and told me that I had Mono. All I could think was, I'm getting married in less than three weeks, I have to take my nursing boards within the next month, and I'm sick! I don't know if I can do this! The only treatment for Mono is to rest so I did my best to rest and relax once my NCLEX prep class was over for the week. Shelby came to my parent's for Memorial Day weekend and then we headed home to pack up my apartment and move my things into his Grandma's basement since we couldn't move into our apartment until we got back from our honeymoon. I went back to my parent's house a few days before our wedding and tried to study for the NCLEX in my free time, but let's face it, I was getting married in a few short days so basically I didn't do any studying! Our wedding day was beautiful and I felt so much peace and love. I am so grateful for Shelby and our relationship. He is my best friend and I'm so glad that we have eternity to spend together. I'm also grateful for all of the work both our families put in to our receptions and for all of our friends and family that came to both of our receptions. Two weeks after our wedding I drove to Boise and stayed at my parent's house for a night then went to a testing center early in the morning to take my NCLEX. I was terrified. I did my best to study, but I felt like I could have done more. The NCLEX has a total of 265 questions. It is computer adapted and if you are passing, the computer could shut off at 75 questions...basically you have to keep answering questions until either the computer decides that you're a safe nurse or you reach 265 questions. So, when the computer didn't shut off at 75 questions I figured that I was in for the long haul. I stopped paying attention to what number I was on and just kept pushing ahead figuring that I was going to be there for at least two more hours. Much to my surprise, the computer shut off somewhere between questions 85 and 90. I decided that I either failed miserably or passed. A few long days later I got the quick results which told me that I passed. I had to have Shelby look at my results because I was too scared to look. At the beginning of July I started working as an RN on the Surgical floor at the local hospital. I have learned a lot already and I'm grateful that I was able to get a job before I even graduated from school. That was definitely a tender mercy and I know that I am working in the right place right now although I have no idea why I'm supposed to be working there. The rest of the summer has been crazy busy with both Shelby and I working. School starts today though and I am excited to get on a somewhat normal schedule...except for my work schedule which is a little crazy and random... Here are some pictures from our summer. I lost my camera cord so we only have the ones on the phone right now. Sorry they are jumbled-my computer is being weird when it comes to uploading pictures-oh well! On our honeymoon we found a gelato place in the Gateway Mall in SLC. We both had gelato on our missions and love it so we had to grab some since we don't have that luxury in Twin Falls. Don't mind our hair in this pic we'd just spent the whole day at Lagoon. Proof that I passed the NCLEX! We were so happy to see those four letters on the screen. Shelby's mission president came home in July and since we were already just two hours from Rexburg that weekend we decided to go to their homecoming talks. It was fun to see some of the people that Shelby served with and made me miss my mission. I am really, really hoping that we'll be able to go to my mission reunion in October...hopefully our school and work schedules work out so we can make the drive to Utah! We love Chick-Fil-A! We heard about Cow Appreciation Day, swallowed our pride, and dressed up like cows in order to get FREE meals at Chick-Fil-A. It was well worth it and we will definitely make it a tradition as long as there is a Chick-Fil-A where we are living. :) My parents so graciously loaned me one of their cars when I started Nursing school since I did not have the means to buy my own. So, last weekend we returned their car since we were able to purchase our first car as a couple. We love this car and hope that it runs well for at least the next six years while we are poor college students! I can't figure out how to rotate this picture but here's a little art work that was created while we were enjoying one of many weekly Twin Falls City Band concerts. We went to the Drive In this summer-my first and maybe my last-hopefully they can save the drive in! Last but not least, I just have to brag about how great my husband is. He always has dinner ready when I get home from work. I can always trust that I'll leave the recipe and he'll make it. Due to my longs shifts I sometimes don't get home until way past the normal dinner time so I'm especially grateful that he is so willing to help out around the house.