1 Year!

Graduation was not the only very important event that took place on June 16th, 2013; Andrew and I also celebrated our 1 year anniversary! This past year has been amazing. I have learned so much and have loved every minute of it. We have faced trials and triumphs and I wouldn't change a single thing. I am so grateful for Andrew and his example to me. He loves me for who I am and puts up with my shortcomings. I am so blessed to have found him.

We decided to start a new tradition. On each of our anniversaries we will take a picture of us holding a picture from our last anniversary. This year's picture was a last-minute deal so it isn't as formal as we would have liked but our tradition has begun nonetheless!

We are so excited to see what year 2 brings!

Sara Moseley, RN BSN

I DID IT! I graduated from nursing school! Graduated weekend came and went and I was so blessed to have so many family members there to share this special weekend with me.

Saturday was the Nurses Pinning Ceremony. This was a special ceremony for only nursing students. We chose one member of our faculty to pin us and to continue on in this special tradition. The teacher I chose to pin me was one I had an instant connection with. I loved her classes and was very grateful she was willing to pin me!

Not sure what that face was about....

Sunday morning was commencement. It was a beautiful, sunny day and everything went so smoothly! It was perfect.

 What made graduation even more special was the fact that my mom, who had been attending Oregon State University for the last 8 years, was able to walk and receive her diplomas at my graduation ceremony. Oregon State's was the same weekend and my mom was not about to miss out on seeing me walk. We pulled some strings, talked to the right people and she was able to walk as a "guest"! She has worked so hard and has had to sacrifice so much. I couldn't be more proud of her!

This is one journey I will never forget.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I have been so horrible about keeping up with the blog. So much has been going on that I think I have a pretty good excuse :)

We have been up to quite a lot lately and instead of cramming it all into one ginormous post I will try to break it up and separate it into a few shorter posts. Knowing me, it will still probably take me another month or so to get everything caught up.

Enjoy!

It's been a while!

Life has been absolutely crazy since my last post. Between school, work, church, and family, we have been constantly on-the-go. This post will be a re-cap of our life the past few months!

WARNING: Really long post ahead!

I started (and completed) another term of school. This term was great...until the end. My clinicals were focused on home health and patients with chronic illnesses. I was paired with an awesome preceptor who was such a great teacher and support for me. I was able to gain so much experience and I learned a ton. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was a bit disappointed when it ended. The week before finals, I came down with a nasty cold. I cannot remember a time I was that sick with a cold. I missed an entire week of school, which definitely was not a good thing for my finals. I ended up doing better than I expected on my test! I started my FINAL term of school on Monday and can't wait to be done.

Andrew has been working so much. One of the things I love about him most is his work ethic. He is such a hard worker and a great employee. In February, he got promoted to "Apprentice Tech". When he received the promotion his boss told him that the goal for him was to be working towards a full-time sales position, with the hope that he will be promoted to a full-time, salary paid sales employee when the new Oregon City store opens at the end of the summer! The Apprentice Tech position is basically the same position as he was in before, but there is much more of an emphasis placed on sales, so he can be good and ready for the big promotion in a few months! I am so grateful that he is willing to work such long, hard days to provide for our family.

March has been the craziest of months. We began by taking Janice (Andrew's mom) to Seattle for a birthday trip! (Post to follow). Cirque du Soleil was in the Seattle area and Janice had never been. We decided to use some of our tax refund (thank you, Government!) to treat her to a fun weekend. The weather was beautiful and we had a blast! We played at Pike Street Market, the waterfront, the Space Needle, and with some good friends.

 Beautiful Seattle!

 Gum wall.

 Pike Place Market

Space Needle

Cirque du Soleil (Blurry)

 Goofin' around. 

 Happy Birthday, Janice!

We also spent a day in Albany with my parents celebrating my dad's birthday, my mom came to spend a weekend with us, we went on a couple more adventures, and enjoyed bits of sunshine here and there.

Over Spring Break, Andrew and I were able to do some things we haven't been able to do because we simply have not had time. We went up past Estacada into the mountains to go shooting. This was the first time I shot Andrew's new gun. The snow was so pretty and it was a perfectly peaceful day in the mountains. We brought some of our own targets (empty brownie boxes,. egg cartons, etc) and had fun shooting for a couple hours. I don't have perfect aim, but I was pretty proud of myself for how well I did!

 The snow was gorgeous!

Can you tell which one was mine and which was Andrew's? ;)

We also went to a Portland Winterhawks hockey game! It was a play-off game and both teams were pretty heated so there were plenty of good fights. Andrew's dad teaches at Milwaukie High School, which is the school that quite a few of the players go to or have gone to. He is frequently able to get tickets for free or super cheap. He called us up one day and asked if we wanted to go. Of course we said yes! We love hockey games!

The last weekend of Spring Break, we took a last-minute trip up to Spokane. Andrew's younger brother is a pilot in the United States Air Force. He was in Spokane for some training and wasn't going to be able to come to Portland for a visit so we decided we would go up there! The weather was beautiful and we had such a good time!

 Spokane Falls. 

 Spokane Temple on a beautiful Easter morning!

Andrew and I have been off and on sick with random colds and flu bugs. Neither of us cannot seem to completely be well and asymptomatic. It's been quite the month for missing days of school and work, Dayquil/Nyquil, fluids, and lots and lots of rest! I'm hoping that as the sun decides to come out and play more, we will be able to finally be healthy for longer than just a couple of days!

Now that I've caught up on some blogging, I'm off to focus on homework and job applications! Maybe it won't be three months before my next post ;)

This boy has a GUN!

WARNING: I know the topic of "guns" is very controversial so I apologize in advance if any of you disagree with owning guns or if this post offends you in any way. 

I have always struggled with coming up with awesome birthday presents for Andrew since Christmas and his birthday are so close together. He was very spoiled this year for Christmas and we were all struggling with what to get him for his birthday. Andrew has wanted a gun, a truck, and a motorcycle for years. I knew a truck was not possible at this point and I do not like the idea of a motorcycle. So Calder and I decided to put everyone's money together and get this boy his very own gun! Calder and I were out running errands the day after Christmas and decided to look into some guns that would be in our price range. We really wanted to get a good gun for a good price, but we always wanted to be sure it was a gun Andrew would like and want to use. Andrew has been wanting to get his concealed weapons permit so we wanted to find something small enough he could carry. Calder and I found a really nice Ruger (brand of gun) for a great deal. Andrew has said in the past that he wanted a 9mm but this is a 22, which works out better (in a sense) because ammunition is a lot cheaper than 9mm ammunition. Once we bought the gun and some accessories, I was so excited to give it to Andrew, but knew I had to wait 4 days until after his family birthday dinner. I am horrible at keeping secrets and often give away hints as to what is coming, but I was so proud of myself because I didn't say a word and he had no clue it was coming!

After his birthday dinner at Famous Dave's, we went back to his mom's house and told him we had a little something for him. His mom and I had bought him a toy gun, a toy truck, and a toy motorcycle to throw him off completely. I had wrapped those separately and told him that since we were having his birthday celebration he needed to have some presents to open! He first opened the toys and joked it off, still not thinking anything else was coming. Then I brought out his "real" gift. The gun was in it's original box with "Ruger" right on the front so as soon as he unwrapped it he would know what it was. Andrew was shocked! He could hardly believe that he had been given a GUN! He was in shock most of the night. Calder took a little video of the whole thing but this is just the clip of him opening the actual gun. I just love watching his expression as he reads the box :)

This boy has a GUN and he is so excited to go shooting and get his concealed weapons permit!

2013.....Here We Come!

I can hardly believe that a New Year has already begun! We have had so much excitement already and if it keeps up, I'm going to be ready for 2014 by February!

Andrew's birthday is January 10th and we always go out to dinner with his family to celebrate. His younger brother, Calder, is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed in Texas so we don't see him often. Calder was in town for Christmas and we decided to have Andrew's birthday dinner a little early so Calder could be here. We also had a little surprise up our sleeve's and Calder wanted to be here for it ;)

Andrew requested Famous Dave's Barbecue for dinner. Always delicious and free birthday dessert!

Andrew's dad got re-married Saturday, December 29th. They had a wonderful small ceremony in their home surrounded by close family and friends. It was such a beautiful day and they were so excited. Debi is such a sweet lady and we are thrilled to have her as part of our family.

That night, Andrew and I celebrated the anniversary of our engagement by driving down to the Pioneer Courthouse Square Christmas Tree, where Andrew proposed. It was pretty busy in downtown Portland and we couldn't find parking, so we weren't able to stop. It was still wonderful to drive down and reminisce. 

We spent New Year's Eve by starting with a big family breakfast and then taking Calder to the airport. One of the perks of having an active duty military member of the family is that we get gate passes to go through security and see him off at the gate. Later, we headed to Beaverton for fun and dinner with my oldest brother and his family. My parents and brother met us there and then it was off the the Portland Winterhawks Hockey game. So much fun!

Go Hawks! They won! 5-0! So much fun!

After the game, we were exhausted so we just went home, crawled into bed, and watched the ball dropped. Then we crashed :) We started the New Year by cleaning out or safe, getting paperwork ready for taxes, and cleaning out closets. Later that night we sat down and made goals together. We are so excited for a new year and can hardly wait to see what the year will bring!

Happy New Year! 2013!