Sandy Elementary Poem

I just saw this post from someone on Facebook, and I thought it'd be nice to share. Enjoy!

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

So Excited!!

Can I just say I am so grateful for my family?! Well, I sure am!
For a little while I was really sad, because I thought that Erik and I were going to be spending Christmas alone. What is more sad than being alone on Christmas? Well, of course we'd have each other, but I'm still so young! I'm used to being around my family!
We had originally planned to go down to Idaho, but then my family was planning on going away for Christmas...so that wasn't going to happen! Then, Erik's family is planning on going down to Utah....and we couldn't do much about it, because we both had to work the day after Christmas! So sad. :(
Well anyhow, to cut to the chase--we are now able to go down to Idaho after all! We both were able to maneuver our schedule in that we will have a few days off, and also my fam isn't leaving til the day after to go wherever they were planning on going!
All is well in Zion!!
I am so stoked, and I plan on cherishing this year--especially not knowing whether or not we will be around family next Christmas. Erik is still job searching, but we are starting to reach farther out as we are having no luck locally. Cross your fingers for us!!
Love you all!

"Thankful fors"...

You know how everyone is doing those "I'm thankful fors" on facebook and blogs every day this month?? Well, I think it's really cool. Really, I do. I wish I had enough discipline to do the same, but I'm seriously not good enough at committing myself to write every. single. day. As you can see here, I haven't posted in Oh...almost a month now?! Yeah, enough said. So, kudos to all of you that can do that. I guess I just need to get my priorities straight.

Anyways, while on this topic, I thought I'd at least post one right now. And if I get to it, maybe another sometime this month. Maybe. ;)

So today, I would like to announce that I'm grateful for Rexburg. Yes, Rexburg. You see, even though I love being up here in Washington and all, we don't have many friends our own age. It's sad, really. I think I took it for granted exactly how many people I had surrounding me on all sides in Rexburg, and how many people I could call/text/email at the push of a button and say, "Hey! Wanna hang out?" I wish I still had that right about now. It gets kinda lonely day-in and day-out hanging out at home, going to work, hanging out at home, going to work...etc.

So here's to all my friends in Rexburg and everywhere else: WE MISS YOU!!! And I'm thankful for YOU today. :)

WICKED!

So…As you may all know if you’ve seen any of my posts on Facebook from yesterday, Erik and I got to go see WICKED in Seattle last night! For those of you who have no clue what Wicked even is, it's basically about how the Wizard of Oz came to be--the events leading up to the story we all know and love. And let me tell you, it is GOOD! So for those of you who've ever considered going to see it, and are on the fence, or even if you've already seen it... think no more--JUST DO IT! I promise you, it's worth it. :)

That being said, let me give you the low-down on all the pictures we took now!!

This is us getting ready to head out the door to Seattle. We figured we'd leave a few hours early and see if the "blow your own glass" place in Renton (Uptown Glassworks) would let us blow some glass! You see, we purchased a Groupon a while ago to go blow our own glass, and upon calling they said their weekends were booked up until November 20th...CRA-ZY!! So we scheduled to go in on Nov. 20th, because I didn't want to go all the way there on a weekday when I'd have to be back for work before 2. Renton is about an hour away... 

So anyhow, we had been trying to call them last week and all weekend.... but NO ANSWER!! Like ever. It would ring and ring...and ring... and we'd get the answering machine, saying that with the recent Groupon they have been UBER busy and they are currently on the "other line" or helping customers. Then they went on to tell you to leave a message and they will call you back ASAP! How about NOT! Why? Well, because their answering machine was FULL! ...And we'd seriously called like 200 times between the both of us. I highly doubted they were even answering their phones...

Well to get back on subject, we went in to see if they'd take us, and guess what? There were like TWO customers in the whole joint! AND there was no one answering phones... it'd just ring.. and ring. (I even called while standing there waiting to be helped, and you know what happened? The phone rang, and no one even attempted to pick it up. Wow. Just wow...) Well, what ended up happening, they said they were booked and that they no longer made appointments by phone, so to go to the website and schedule on there... Well, HELLO! How about saying that on your answering machine!! GEEZ!! Okay, now that I have that off my chest... moving on...

So then we continued on to Seattle and were trying to figure out where to eat and what to do for the next 3 hours before going to the theater... So first we decided on the Old Spaghetti Factory: One, because I'd been wanting to go there sometime, and two, because they had free parking for customers--and there's seriously like nowhere to park in Seattle where you don't have to pay. So we drove to the place and it said they didn't open for dinner til 4:30, so we still had an hour and a half and nothing to do. So we parked in their parking lot and pulled out our books to read while we waited. However... after about 45 minutes, some dude that worked there came out and got in his car to leave, backed out-and on his way out of the parking lot-parked right in front of our car (giving us a little wiggle room) and pulled his E-brake. Uhh.... Okay? So we decided that we didn't want to wait to see if he was calling a tow truck, and hit the road! Upon looking for somewhere to park again, we spotted the Red Robin! We'd also wanted to go there, but didn't know there was one nearby. So alas, we decidedly paid to park and went on in to eat.

Here is some cutie I spotted across the table from me looking at a menu. Who knew Red Robin had such cute customers?! 

And here is me! I seriously couldn't make up my mind, as usual... haha. Everything looked so good! And I'm also sorta picky sometimes, so I was nervous to try something unknown... Especially because I haven't always had good experiences with gormet burgers before. They're usually all soggy and gross... I finally made up my mind to try something new though, read on...

While waiting for our food, we posed for a few pictures. Here's me pretending to read one of my favorite books in the series UGLIES. So good. Seriously. Look them up!! Like now. ;)

Here's that cute boy again... =)

Oh look! And here's my food! The Prime Chophouse! 

According to the website: Distinguished and delicious, this juicy burger is layered with horseradishsautéed mushrooms, gourmet steak sauce, Provolone cheese and piled high with crispy onion straws. Served on an onion bun with creamy Country Dijon Sauce. 

Holy moly, it was GOOD! Go get one! (Especially with the sweet potato fries!!)

And here was Erik's! It's called the Whiskey River BBQ. He said it was good, so I guess you'll just have to take his word! 

And according to the website for this baby: Don’t be afraid to get a little saucy. Basted with our signature bourboninfused Whiskey River BBQ Sauce and lassoed together with Cheddar cheese, crispy onion straws, lettuce, fresh tomatoes & mayo.

P.S. He got his with no tomato or mayo. ;) Just for the picture's sake.

And now here we are at the theater! Pictures to follow.. (You already heard what I thought of the play, up top!)

Until next time! <3 p="p">

Job Stuff!

So I've been working pretty steadily to try and find a job.  Lately I've been working on getting a spot with the Department of Homeland Security in the Customs and Border Protection side of things.  I took a test a while back and have been sending in documents here and there as they request them.  Little by little I've been  inching along in the process.  It's not a quick one, but these kind of things usually take a while.  I feel like I'm on the downward slope though.  Which I think is a good thing.  Getting closer to finding out if I would be a good fit in their team or not.  I'm hoping I will be, but I just need to be patient and wait for their judgement.  I'll just have to keep you posted as I find things out!

CUTEST Niece EveR...

OMG. I don't usually say that very often, but this picture deserves it. My sister-in-law posted this this morning and I about died, it is so cute! And here we have it.... my adorable niece, Cocoa:

This one, below, was posted yesterday, and is ALSO adorable. SUCH a cute smile, don't ya think?! And she is only 2-years-old... I didn't know 2-year-olds even knew how to smile so pretty!

And here we have (drum roll please!!!) Porter with his new baby boy for the first time!! This just melts my heart! <3 p="p">

I am just such a proud aunt right now... so sue me! Haha :P 

(But not really though, please don't sue me, k? ) :)

New Baby Bayker!

I think it's time that I welcome the newest little one to the family! My brother, Porter, and his wife, Celeste, just recently welcomed the first boy into the family on either side of the family! 

 And here he is only moments after birth! Welcome to the world, Bayker Crush Kye Nelson :) 

7 lbs. 8 oz. 

Born on September 15, 2012.

 Celeste's words: "Already behaving like dad...with the man grab." Hahaha

 Mommy and baby!

 Sooo cute!

 And we can't forget my niece Zion! Proud big sister of 2 little ones now. :)

 My niece Cocoa holding little Bayker with mommy closely watching over. 

I can't wait to meet him!

 And how could I not include pictures of my favorite 2-year-old. Such a spunky little girl... wearing panties over her pants in this picture! In public, no less! Haha!

 Here she is with a little gift of her own! 

"Being a big sister? No big deal! I handle all the goodies coming our way!"

 "Oh, take care of the fruit basket? Already got it covered mommy!!"

And lastly, here is the proud daddy with little one, Cocoa! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him with Bayker yet. Porter  just met him yesterday after being thousands of miles away at work during the birth! His job wouldn't budge... you leave, don't come back! So sad. :( 

But here you have it! Our newest member of the family. I love you guys and can't wait to come back and visit!! Give all the kiddos kisses from me! :) <3 p="p">

New Job!

I started my new job yesterday!! Like I said before, I was pretty nervous going in. Turns out, though, that I didn't really have a reason to be nervous at all! Yeah, there's a TON of stuff to remember and learn how to do, BUT compared to any other job I've ever had this one is the most LEGIT. For real. 

Here it is!! 

Oh look! And this is my boss! Haha... totally found this on Google. :P

It's All About the Money, Baby

So, some may say that I'm the best blogger in the world.... yet, most will probably tell you... well, let's just not go there. Howeverrr, if you listen to what I have to say, I'll just tell you that I was oh-so-focused on school, and graduating, annd finding a job, etc, etc... that I just couldn't find even the teeniest, tiiiniest second to publish a word or two!! Hahaha. Yeah. Let's go with that. ;)

Anyways, HEY GUYS! Guess what. I'm graduated! :) Yeah, just finally got my bachelor's after 4 1/2 hard years of book pounding. No big deal. Haha. Oh! AND we've been married a whole YEAR now!!! WOOHOO!!! Well, technically it's been 1 year, and 3 weeks, but who's counting?

Erik is graduated too, just in case you were wondering! We both graduated at the same time, and were able to walk together. How romantic, right? lol. He got his degree in Sociology with the hopes of going into law enforcement, and I got my degree in Health Science and plan on going into Ultrasonography.

So now what are we up to, you may ask?! Well, right now we are both up in Washington (Haha, dur! Why would we be separated?!) while Erik is looking for a job! We are staying at Erik's mommy and daddy's crib until we figure out where we're going too. Who really wants to sign an apartment contract and pay rent, only to have to move all of a sudden (at any given time) and scramble to sell your contract? NOT ME!! So they've given us a pretty solid deal for now: As long as we're both working (while Erik searches for a "real job"), and putting the money we make towards our student loans, we are allowed to stay here.

It's kind of rough right now to try to break into law enforcement. He's been searching for a job for about a year now, and still hasn't been lucky-in-employment yet. That's okay though, it'll happen at the right time--probably during the fourth watch for those of you who know what I mean. Meanwhile, we've both been job searching for positions to gain experience in our fields, positions to not gain experience in our fields, etc. Haha. So, for the last 2 1/2 weeks we both got the opportunity to work at the Puyallup Fair! Sounds fun, right? How about not! Can you say "overworked"? Okay, so maybe I'm a wimp, but I don't think I've ever stood on my feet for periods this long ever in my life...ever!! I have quite the collection of blisters to prove it too. Ouch! We both worked a LOT. Erik more than me, even. I had 3 jobs, airbrush face painting, funnel cake making, and working at Earthquake Burger (delicious, by the way!). And Erik had 2- Earthquake Burger and funnel caking too. I am SO thankful to be able to say now, though, that the fair is OVERRR!!! YEEHAW! Haha, okay, now that I have that out of my system...

This isn't me (obviously), but this is the booth I worked in!

And here is a strawberry supreme funnel cake!

They seriously were as big as my face...

And very delicious too...

Plus the fries were huge too.

So, back to the whole job searching ordeal... while we both were able to work the fair, we still had to keep looking as those positions were VERY temporary. And guess what? SUCCESS! At least for me. I recently landed a very sweet deal! You are "looking at" the newest clinic assistant at the Apple Physical Therapy Clinic in Puyallup! One of the clinics, anyway. :) And let me just say, I've been told it's quite an accomplishment. First off, I had to apply on their website by going through a very tedious application process. Then they will only call you for a phone interview if they are semi-a-lot interested in you. Well, I got the phone interview! (Which was about a half hour long, and very nerve-wracking.) At the end of my phone interview I was invited to come in for a face-to-face interview. If I wasn't nervous for the phone interview, let me tell you... I was nervous now!!

So, I make time during my last Fair work-week and go in for my final interview. While interviewing, I'm told that they only invite you in for this stage in interviewing if they are VERY interested in you. So, if they don't choose you for this position, then they may offer you a different position with their company. I felt pretty good to hear that! Anyways, I was still nervous though, as I wasn't the only person they were interviewing "in-person." A lot of "what-ifs" kept running through my mind, wondering when I would find out, and all that jazz... Fast forward a couple days later, and WA-LAH! I received a phone call with my job offer!

I start tomorrow, and will be working Monday thru Fridays from 2:00-7:00 p.m.. I am VERY nervous, as I am required to dress business casual and whatnot. I've never had a REAL job before! Oh, and while you may be thinking--this isn't ultrasonography, it WILL give me a lot of good work experience for my resume. Wish me luck!! :)