New experiences

As I'm becoming more comfortable in the ER, I'm starting to enjoy my time there more and more.  I've had experiences at work these last few months that most people don't get in a lifetime.  Here's just a few of the interesting/amazing/sad/beautiful things I've done recently.

~ I was asked by an overzealous young man (in all seriousness) for my phone number at the exact moment that I was giving him a shot of a powerful antibiotic to treat his raging gonorrhea infection.  "Um...No thanks, I'm married."

~ After a large group of us had worked for almost an hour to save a mans life, the ER doctor finally "called it".  We sadly stopped all of our efforts, put down our syringes full of medicine, retrieved a blanket to place over the man and quickly prepared the room for the family to come in.  All of us had our backs to the patient and were walking out of the room when we heard a large GASP of air.  It was the breath we had been trying to bring back for the last hour.  We all ran back to resume our efforts.  I placed my fingers on the man's warm wrist that had been cold moments before, his illusive pulse was faint but present.

~ As the ambulance crew rushed around the corner to deliver a young women strapped to the gurney, high on Meth, holding a large bloody bandage on her head, they almost trampled the small 8-year-old walking along side them.  The girl, who had called 911 when her drug addict mother fell and hit her head, stayed silently by her side during the stabilization process.  Finally when things started to calm down, the little girl came over to me and politely asked if I knew of a quiet place she could go to study her spelling words.

~ I was privileged to be present as an unconscious man's wife, 3 sons, 3 daughters-in-law, 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren each expressed in turn how much they loved him and would miss him.  They asked me if he could hear them, and I assured them he could, realizing my words were coming from the desire to comfort a grieving family and not from any scientific knowledge.  But as if to prove me wrong, the moment the last of the family members had spoken, the man took one last long breath, the color slowly drained from his face, and I watched as his heart rate on the EKG become slower, slower, and slower until finally he quietly slipped into the next life literally surrounded by everyone he loved.

Books

My life is all about books these days.

It seems I always have my nose in a book.

So much to learn.

My constant companions.

My kids love them too.

Books for courage and strength.

I'm even reading books about books.

Happy Reading to all!



Pull your shoulders back, Say a prayer and Dive right in

 Big changes toward a better life often come with a price.  I have always dreamed of raising my family on this farm and have known full well the work that would be involved.  The sacrifice is worth it but the growing pains that come with change, even change for the better, are uncomfortable.  The most important thing though, is that despite the work and the discomfort of growth... we have never been happier.  Our lives are peaceful and we are headed in a glorious direction. 

I started my new job last week and it has been full of growing pains.  I am coming from a job where I was knowledgeable and confident to this new job where I am overwhelmed and clueless.  Being a nurse has so many great advantages and one of them is the opportunity to make a complete change within the same profession.  Since I graduated from nursing school I have been working in the NICU, a unit that  I loved and learned so much in.  But when we decided to move, I really was ready for a change of pace, and ER nursing has always been something I've dreamed of.  So when the opportunity to work as an ER nurse here in Washington came to me, I was so excited... I still am, but my first few days of work have been challenging.  The best way to learn your way around the ER is just to jump right in and go for it... "fake it till you make it", I keep telling myself.  Unfortunately, that approach comes with a lot of embarrassment and failure, and my days are full of plenty of both.  I'm slow (I have to look up everything), I'm uncomfortable (patients who talk back??), I'm nervous (ANYTHING can happen, and usually does).  It's tough, really tough.  But.. the only way I can conceive of to do it, is just pull my shoulders back, say a prayer and dive right in.  So that's what I'll do.

Home life gives me a much needed break from the challenging days in the ER.  Our girls are growing up before our eyes and are as sweet as ever.  We celebrated Evalyn's first birthday a little late.  It was a great day!  The whole family was there... we had a BBQ and watched college football.  I can't believe my baby is 1!  (She isn't usually naked, I just decided to spare her birthday dress from pink frosting stains.)

 Earlier that day we went to a parade in Othello, it was the opening parade for the Adams county fair.  The girls were loving it until Lucy got stung by a bee on her finger.  That was 2 weeks ago now and she still talks about it at least once a day.  Poor girl was really in pain.  Luckily mama kissed it better, put a Tinkerbell band aid on it and provided a healthy dose of children's Benadryl that helped her sleep most of the afternoon.  :)

One of the true blessings about living in Washington is being close to my amazing Sister-in-law Brittany.  We have always had so much in common and have been dear friends for many years (even before she met my brother).  She has been there for me in my highest triumphs and deepest loss.  She is beautiful, kind, patient and good.  She is the kind of person who commands respect because of her integrity, yet is the most accepting, least judgmental person I know.

It means so much to have someone like this around for my girls to look up to. 

Despite the challenges and growing pains, we are doing well and having plenty of beautiful days.  Today was one of them and reminded me that all the sacrifice will be worth it.  Brittany and her kids came over to play and stayed most of the day.  We played dress-up, watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, traced ourselves in sidewalk chalk and rode around in a little red wagon.  When things get tough, it's important to remember that the mundane moments are what really matter, and sometimes a little (or a lot) of discomfort comes on the path to creating a more beautiful life.



Washington

Serendipity

Saturday September 10, 2011 was an exciting, emotional day. We pulled our Ford Expedition out of the driveway with heavy hearts, and waving to a handful of neighbors as we inched away from the house to which we brought both of our babies home from the hospital. I reached the freeway on ramp at exactly 11:00. One year from the exact moment my baby Evalyn was born. I was pondering my new life, my beautiful family, and all the adventures that lie ahead when I looked up at the car in front of me. Adhered to the rear windshield, in large green vinyl letters, was a proclamation that read... "My heart belongs to Tamara".

We have had a very enjoyable last few weeks in Utah. We have spent time with friends and family and said goodbye to a life here that we have loved. It's getting very close to the day when we will pull our big moving truck out of town and my feelings are a little bittersweet. I moved to Utah about 12 years ago after I graduated from high school, and except for a brief stint in Colorado, have been here ever since. It's definitely been a home away from home. That's just it though... as long as I've lived here and the wonderful friends I've made, it's just never really felt like home. In a few days I'll finally be taking my family HOME to live in a place I truly belong.

More on the move later. We've been having some really great times lately and I've documented only a small fraction of them. Here is just a taste of the fun we've been having...

My adorable and amazing cousin Hauni (seriously, if you know this girl, you know what I mean... INCREDIBLE gal... you might even say she's SUPER)


threw the most amazing birthday party for her son Max and we had the privilege of attending. It was a SUPERHERO party and all the guests were to dress up as superheros for a day of training.

Of course, Lucy doesn't have any superhero costumes lying around so we had to get a little creative. A pair of Minnie Mouse ears from an old Halloween costume, panties worn on the OUTSIDE, and a homemade foam belt buckle rounded out the ensemble. She loved the result and I must say she's a stinkin' cute SUPER MINNIE MOUSE (this phase is to be projected in a deep booming voice for effect).

As you can see she took her job very seriously.

Fighting crime with a big pink bow.


Ahhh, what fun. Thanks again Hauni and Max!

Now off to the neighborhood pool party. We have loved living next to all the wonderful people on our street these last several years. It will be hard to say goodbye to our dear friends whom we've shared many late evening strolls, street hockey games and bike races. A BBQ and pool party made saying goodbye a little easier.






I love that last picture of Evalyn watching the basketball game.

Well I suppose I'm signing off from Utah. We have loved our time here but look forward to our new life with much anticipation and excitement. We will be transforming our entire existence, from a city dwelling clan to a farm family in the country. A change for the better if I do say so myself.

My Heaven

As many of you know we are getting ready to move to Washington state in a new and exciting adventure for our family. I grew up in rural eastern Washington and have always thought of it as the best place in the world. We started thinking about moving several years ago and have recently realized that the time is right. This was further confirmed in July when I got an offer for a job and an offer on our house (for sale since March) in the same week! So we decided to start packing.

I am looking forward to this move with excitement and preparation for lots of stress to come. Even good change is stressful. This is something we feel very strongly is the best thing for our family. I mean really, if you have the opportunity to raise your kids on a farm... I say you go for it! I love this area and for a simple girl like me, returning home is pure heaven. My kids will grow up surrounded by apple orchards and alfalfa fields, alongside grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. What more could you want?

I traveled to Washington (the last time before the move) this past week to celebrate my Grandmother's 80th birthday. I wish I would have taken more pictures but we were having too much fun. I traveled with my cousin Hauni and her 2 kids. The trip was blessedly uneventful. Here's Eva and Emma at Carl's Jr in Boise, a perfect place to stop and get our wiggles out. Max and Lucy enjoyed the playplace.



We enjoyed a beautiful few days playing outside, walking to our little town's only store for candy (and Diet Coke), and playing with Grandma and Grandpa. Eva loved making a mess of Grandma's kitchen.



We spend a beautiful evening in my Aunt and Uncle's backyard celebrating my Grandma Casper's 80th birthday. (My kids call her "GG", you know, short for "great-grandma")



So tired after all the festivities.




I think all of us have our own idea of what heaven looks like. Maybe some of you picture streets of gold in the clouds with flitting angels. In my Mundane world however, heaven is a summer evening in the Columbia Basin area of Washington, laughing and talking with dear family members, watching my kids run and laugh, and realizing that in this place and with these people is where I want to be always.

Our Blog: Resurrected

I think the reason I've been a terrible blogger is that I feel like I must have a perfect post complete with witty dialogue, pictures of perfectly groomed and smiling children, and preferably some kind of craft tutorial to go with it. This became so overwhelming that I just gave up altogether. My life is never exciting or perfect enough to blog about. I started rethinking this recently for a couple of reasons.

Number one we will be moving soon and starting a whole new life for ourselves. I will miss dearly all the friends and family I love here in Utah. I'd like to give them an opportunity to see our family grow from far away, however mundane it may seem. Secondly, I have several friends and family members who have recently been going through some difficult times. This has first of all made my prayers longer as the list of people I know who need the Lord's help has grown, and secondly has made me oh so grateful for the beautifully mundane life that I have.

To get up every day, feed my snotty nosed and bed-headed children breakfast, change poopy diapers, and go to a job that is difficult and stressful... this is what life truly is all about. How devastated would I be if any of these things were to change? There is so much comfort and joy in the daily and thankless tasks we perform. They can be heaven on earth. So I'd like to resurrect my little family blog with the monotony and imperfections of our life.

Here it goes... A perfectly uneventful trip to the park. We stopped at McDonald's on our way there and got a happy meal with chicken nuggets and a large Diet Coke (for mama). As expected Evalyn ate 3 chicken nuggets and 95% of the fries.


For those of you who haven't seen Eva (we say Eva with a short E sound, like Emma but with v's, short for Evalyn) lately, she is just the most amazing little girl. She is a bright shining light in our house. The only time she is upset is when she's hungry. Yes, she inherited my appetite and propensity for grouchiness when hungry. The eating pictures are classic.


Lucy has no time for trivial things like eating. There is to much of the world to explore. We set up shop at the park and she immediately headed for the playground. Just a little pause for a pic.


After lunch Lucy got ahold of the camera and snapped a few pictures of her own. There were a few good ones in the mix. They actually had a more artistic eye than many of mine... go figure.




I was unfortunately unable to photo document the most exciting part of the outing. I'll spare you the details but it involved an interruption in potty training, use of the sink, soap and blow drier in the park bathroom, and many Clorox wipes on the playground equipment. 6 months ago I would have moaned, maybe cursed and cut the trip short, but today I just kept thinking the true misery would be if this life of mine that involved cleaning up poop in a public place were to suddenly disappear.

I'm glad we stayed too because otherwise the world would have missed Lucy's reenactment of a scene from "Tangled".



I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our mundane life. And remember, if your life is too perfect, too organized, or too dramatic for your liking... please stop by our little blog and get a glimpse of our monotony.

First Haircut

Lucy needed a haircut

but I was hesitant

because her hair took so long to grow in.

Finally I decided it was time.

Her personality is so adorable

she needed a do to match.

So we went to a talented stylist

with lots of experience with kids.

She was so fast

and it turned out great.

Lucy loves her new haricut

She loves to look at it in the mirror

and exclaims... "Cute!"

I agree.