The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Guess who has two thumbs and is going to start blogging more?

This Girl!

This has been some of the hardest months ever.  Thank goodness we got married when we did because I cannot even fathom trying to plan a wedding right now.  There are only 2 weeks of clinical left, but I don't really care because I passed my very very last important test, my terminal clearance, last Friday.  Basically that just means I have nothing left to do now except for pass the national registry and get a job. It makes the senioritis that much worse.  The clinical site I am at this week is one that didn't hire me, and after witnessing the hiring process there, and seeing how horribly they are treating the student they did hire, I am so grateful I didn't get that job.  I am pretty hopeful about another one I applied for, but I'll announce that when it's official.  The whole ordeal has made me so grateful to Heavenly Father for knowing so much better than I do what I need.  I had no idea things could possibly work out so wonderfully, but they are.  And...further, I got a 90% on that last clearance!!  I'm pretty proud of myself. The next two weeks I go through a mammography rotation, and then there's a week of BBQs and a Silverwood trip, then I take the test on June 22nd. I can finally see the light.  I cannot believe I am finally almost finished, what a hard two years it has been. It's weird to think that I wrote this post a couple years ago, so excited to get my first set of x-ray makers, and now I'm finally almost official.

So I'm going to have a lot more time with the absence of homework and long clinical hours. And I'll need to keep myself busy because Jamaal is still going to be in school for the rest of his life. So this week I bought a groupon for a photo album for super cheap and I'm making our wedding album. It only took me this afternoon to finish....so I need to find more projects, which I'm sure I will be able to do.  I'm going to start writing in my journal more, I'm going to try to digitize all my childhood pictures and album them as well, and I'm going to go biking more.  Jamall got me this sweet Felt for my birthday

And I'm really loving biking more now that I can go fast, and go far.  And Jamaal loves that I can keep up with him finally.  We are also loving that we live right on the centennial trail which is so amazingly beautiful, I can't believe I hadn't experienced so much of it until recently.  I love love love it. 

I'm also really excited to possibly get a good job so that I can quit my assistant job at Sacred Heart.  I really like that job, I love my coworkers, and I love that I make so much money, but I just cannot do the graveyard shifts anymore.  They are killing me.  All my coworkers are sick all the time, We are all getting fat, and I just hate the way I feel afterwords.  I also hate not sleeping at the same time as my husband.  In fact I hate that we are not awake at the same times. If everything works out, this summer is going to the be the best ever!  Here's to hopin!

Things I Hate Right Now

Things I Hate Right Now:
Birth control - love it's purpose, hate how it makes me feel.  It may be what spurred on this post.
Being awake when it's sleepy time
People with 2 faces....the symbolic kind
Not spending time with Jamaal
SCHOOL!

Things I Love Now:
Jamaal - Now and Always
Graduating in 2 months
Job opportunities
Jamaal
My family
My blessings - temporal and spiritual
My calling
Jamaal

Life Upate

So I feel horrible for not posting for so long, in my defense I have written a bit in my journal, not enough, but a little. And life has gotten so busy!  I swear I see Jamal less now that I did when we were dating! 

School is kicking my butt. I have major senioritis, and it's getting worse, and this has to be one of the most work intensive semesters yet!  They want us to cram and get everything done this semester so all we have to the last semester is take mock exams to prepare us for the registry.....and be unmotivated to go to clinical.  Less than 5 months left!  It's the only thing that keeps me going....

The good news is that the winter break was amazing!  I got married, moved into our new apartment, succesfully changed my  name to Aunt Bacon Calkins, and we took our honeymoon to San Diego/Palm Springs!  Thanks Billbo and Ellen for helping us with our trip!

Camera Stealers......I'm gonna get you back for defacing our car!

Hotel Coronado on Coronado Island. 

Beautiful beach, there was an ice skating rink set up on the beach!

San Diego Temple

Lookout view from the top of San Jacinto looking over Palm Springs. We had to take an Aerial Tram up there but it was totally worth it!  Wish we would have known you can go snowshoeing or cross-country skiing at the top!

We had to climb a mountain to find any snow!  It was wonderful weather while we were there ;)

We went to the Mormon Battalion visitors center and rode horses....

Panned for gold....

Learned how to wash clothes.... (good for newly married kids)

And learned how to make bricks!

Then we ate!

 Christmas as wonderful!  Adam got up early and made me breakfast for when I got home from work that morning. We waited to open all our wedding gifts on Christmas day, so we had a ton!  Then we went over to our old Bishop's house for dinner.  One last single's ward harah!

Adam's super awesome bedsheet Christmas tree

Other than school and work and work and work, we've tried to go on a date every week despite our busy schedules.  Thank goodness for groupons! 

Jamal won tickets to Monster Jam for his winning announcer voice!

And....I made my first quilt! Don't be alarmed that it's a baby quilt, I promise no announcements are coming soon.  It was just the only thing that could be useful with that size of a quilt. I'm pretty dang proud of it

Wedding!

So December 16th....I got married. no biggie.  Just sealed for time and all eternity to the most wonderful man alive!
First....a couple good friends Amanda and Emily threw me a bridal shower.  I got lots of great gifts, but this one from my mom and Shawsh took the cake.

Yes, that is a full length footie pajama outfit.  Rawr!

 The Day of the Wedding:

Friends and family that attended the sealing

I'm so glad so many of my family was able to come!!  (And Sarah)

I love this picture, I love my parents, We all look so Happy!

I'm Dad's favorite :)

You can go ahead and be jealous of our sweet kicks

My personal favorite. We have a thing for jumping pictures

The future father of my children.....Bouquet courtesy of Welke's House of Roses

I loved our photographer!

I honestly could not have asked for anything better! Everything went pretty smooth, the weather cooperated for the most part (No snow on the ground, but at least everyone was safe) Thanks to everyone who helped make it the best day of my life!

Announcement!

You'll get one too once we find a place to buy envelopes.....but only if I have your address!

Wedding Bells

I'm Engaged!!!!

   Jamal and I are getting married in the Spokane temple on December 16th 2011!  I know it's fast, I know it's soon, but I also know that it's right.

    His proposal was so adorable.  I got off work at 7 on Saturday morning.  We always had this little joke that some day he'd be waiting at my house for me to come home from work so I could sleep in his arms, of course that never happened.  Who wakes up before 7 on a Saturday? But secretly I always hoped he would someday.  As I drove up to my house everything was normal, but then I saw his car in my driveway. It was pretty well hidden by my neighbor's bushes.  Then I looked up over our hedges at our front door and there he was sitting on the front step.  (he had been waiting out in the cold for over 20 minutes just in case I came home early!) As I approached him he told me to take off my gloves, got down on one knee, told me how much he loved me, and pulled out the box with the ring.  It was wonderful.  Then we went inside.....he had snuck into my house (both my roommates were out of town) and made us breakfast!  What a wonderful surprise on a most wonderful morning!  I can't wait for us to start our life together!

Oh Summer, Where Art Thou.

They gave us a month off for the summer.  It's very much bitter-sweet-bitter.  I realize that it's my last summer vacation ever and should be elated, except it's only a month long, and I am sooooo not ready to go back to school this week. At least I lived it up as much as I could this month

Dad let me borrow the jet ski, which really made the vacation.  It was so worth driving the mini-van around for a month!

I got to spend time with the little brothers. They're so grown up !

The RM is a pretty fun uncle...but not the coolest

Went to some sporting events.....really I only show this because we're so dang cute!

We pigged out....in the park.

Went and saw Les Mis with these girls and Ellen....technically I guess this was before summer break, but it was a vacation anyway. 

Rode the carousel for good measure.

Drove all the way to Utah just to eat here....

I mean to see this one get baptized...

Still fun, but still not the coolest....

Got to catch up with my mission mom. I love her!

And I went to the fair and the Rodeo. 

Obviously this is not a comprehensive list of everything I did.  I'm grateful the weather was nice enough to enjoy some camping and hiking and rock climbing and swimming and fun.  Here's to starting the last year of school of my life!!  (Hopefully)