The Sweetest Husband in the World

Today started out like any regular day. I woke up excited to talk to Nick, ate some breakfast and started to dread about going to work. Well, I finally decided to get ready for work and make my lunch. I got to work like any other day thinking about all the stuff that I had to do and all the time that was left in the day. I just got off the phone with a client and had to ask one of the guys a question. I walked to his desk and was talking to him for a couple minutes when a the receptionist came back with a bouquet of flowers. I thought to myself, thats really sweet. Some lucky gal is going to be getting those beautiful flowers. Well she walks up to me and says "would you like me to put these on your desk". For a minute I look at her like she was crazy, and I finally said "yeah, my desk would be great". When I finally came to, I realized that my wonderful husband had sent me a wonderful surprise. The guy I was talking to started teasing me because I had blushed so red I could have blended in with the roses in the flower arrangement. When I got to my desk I looked at the card and was filled with overwhelming emotions (I'm sure because of the pregnancy these emotions are magnified). I started bawling my eyes out. What had made these flowers so precious to me was that, my husband, who is thousands and thousands of miles away had taken the time and thought about me and thought to do something for me that was so sweet and thoughtful. Yes, these flowers will die in a week but the way he made me feel will go well beyond that time. I love my husband, and it's been very difficult for him and I to be apart from one another but we love each other no matter how much distance you put between us. Nick is a wonderful husband.

Where We Go...Nobody Knows!

Yesterday, I submitted something that I have been anxiously awaiting to submit. I was allowed to finally submit my top three choices for rotations. This will determine where Kuulei, Baby, and I will be living for the next two years after Grenada is all said and done. My first choice was Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, California. We wanted to be near family in Utah and Bakersfield is somewhat similar to our home town Orem. Crime is a bit more and it might have more people but the general feel is pretty similar. I have passed through a few times on my way to LA. Anyway, I am not sure if we will get it or not. I hear there are very few spots and I thought we were the class with the largest amount of available spots! Sad that a large amount is still actually quite small. Also a GPA of 3.2 is required for the pediatrics rotation. As smart as I am I definitely don't have a 3.2. Second choice was Lincoln Medical Center/Sound Shore Medical Center in New York City. We thought we could live up a little bit north of NYC and I could take the train into town to work. I am not sure how trains and stuff will work out just yet so we will just see if we get placed there and I will deal with how to get to work after that. We just wanted to kind of be out of the city in the suburbs but we will see. Third choice is St. Barnabas in New Jersey. A lot of our Grenada friends are there already so it would be cool to see them again. They could also show us the ropes and tell us which neighborhoods not to live in. I don't want to have a loaded gun on my nightstand haha. Anyway, it is really exciting. I have lived in Grenada for 2 years and I am anxious to close this chapter of life and see what there is to read in the next chapter.

My Two Favorite Letters

I don't know why, but for some reason I have always been on the hot side. Don't judge, I don't mean to say I am extremely good looking with a perfect body. What I mean to say is when others are cold I am either too hot, or perfectly comfortable. I know that men have a higher temperature than women from testosterone, higher red blood cell count, and higher metabolic needs. Maybe my thyroid is slightly over active? Who knows, but what I do know is I have always just seemed to have ice in my veins. People would ask me where I wanted to go to medical school. I would always reply, "somewhere with 4 seasons". As luck would have it I have ended up at a school where there is one season. SUMMER! A summer that constantly feels as if it is in the height of the July heat in Utah. Not only that but a stifling humidity has made things for this snowman especially difficult to bear. I have good news though! Our church finally installed some AC! Yes, that is right AC! My two favorite letters in the alphabet. Just yesterday we took the new AC for spin and church was a lot more enjoyable when I was no longer sedated by the day's heat. The Grenada branch has been growing, there seem to be baptisms each week with people who really seem to be solid and committed. We have had to put an addition on the church as well and I am happy to see it filled to near capacity. I mainly wanted to blog about this so my old Grenada friends could hear the news and see the progress we have made in such a short amount of time since they left. It has been neat to see things change so quickly.

The "Bump"

Recently, I started a new job. I've been working there for almost a week now. It's been very exhausting and all I want to do at the end of the day is sleep. I've been wondering for sometime when I would start poking out or start showing. Well, yesterday I went to a little BBQ our work had put on and then I was called by some friends to come and hang out. All I have to say is yesterday I didn't notice a belly and when I woke up today I suddenly had one! I've been keeping Nick up to date on the belly and until today he couldn't really see a difference. Today, when I showed Nick his reaction was "holy crap, it's getting big" granted I know I look pretty small still and to be frank if you didn't know who I was you would probably just think I was a little pudgy. I can definitely tell and Nick obviously can tell too and he just sees me on Skype. I came downstairs this morning and told Nick's mom I have some awful horrible news, I pointed to my belly and she laughed and said "well, what did you expect? To grow a 10lb baby without a belly?" haha I laughed and told her well I just thought it would take a lot longer, I'm a little nervous because I haven't said a single thing to my workplace. I don't really even have to actually. Sooner rather than later it's going to become apparent though. I'll just cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, I should just be grateful I haven't gained any weight really and so that means it's all just baby. haha. All 3-4 inches of him/her. Tomorrow, Nick's mother and I plan to go get a few blouses, something that will buy me more time to get use to this growing belly of mine.

A Long 3 Months!

Nick has been waiting FOREVER to be able to announce that we are going to be having a baby. I just have to say Nick is so sweet and adorable, I love seeing how excited he is about his baby. Just to give you all a little update with what has been happening and what not.

Well we got to Grenada a couple days after I found out I was pregnant, I was only four weeks and since we didn't know what to expect we carried on with our lives as usual. A week after we had been in Grenada I started throwing up! I would have been fine to stay there except I hadn't been able to stop... It had been a week and I had lost maybe a little more than 5 pounds. I was really weak and felt awful everyday. Poor Nick was just so worried about me every time he had to leave and go to school. We decided that it was time for me to go back to Utah where I could get proper healthcare and also so Nick would worry about me all the time. I move back in with my very caring mother and father-in-law. I flew the entire day and was weak and exhausted by the time I got to Utah, When I say Nick's mother and father I just wanted to cry. It was such a warm friendly face and I knew that we had made the right decision in sending me back. We went to the emergency room as soon as we got in, I had been having some pain and was afraid it wasn't a good sign. I was afraid the entire day of having a miscarriage. When I finally got behind to see the Doctor they drew some blood from me but had a really hard time finding a vein and when they stuck that needle in my arm and started wiggling it around I passed out. When I woke up again I was a little disoriented. My sweet mother-in-law was right beside me bed and she just smiled and told me what happened. A little while later they decided to take me down to get an ultrasound, at this point I was only about 6 weeks and 5 days. That was when I first saw our little peanut and heard the wonderful sound of his/her heartbeat. It was such a rewarding sound that all of my troubles seemed to melt away. Well I was discharged and we were a little annoyed because they hadn't given me an iv. well a couple weeks went by and I was still throwing up. I went to a clinic and they gave me something else for the vomiting, and it didn't work. I went to see my Doctor and FINALLY they said I needed to go to the hospital right away and get an iv. I can't tell you how much better I have felt! By the time I finally got that iv I had lost 15 pounds. I still haven't gained the weight back but I haven't thrown up in a while and I have been feeling really great! I'm just so excited and overjoyed about being blessed to have a little baby. Nick and I both know that it is a blessing and we are so grateful for the opportunity to be a father and a mother. I make 3 months tomorrow and despite all the worrying I have gone through I am SO glad we have these months under our belts.

Our Little Angel

The day has come! I have been waiting for a few weeks now to announce we are expecting a little baby in April! Kuulei finishes her first trimester tomorrow and we are very excited to see baby is growing and it's tiny heart is pumping away like mad. We added a little ticker to the blog so you can check it out to keep up with what our baby is looking like. We want to name it Ezekiel if it is a boy, and Alette if it is a girl. We will keep you posted on the happenings. We are going to be parents!

We're not in Kansas Anymore. (Well ok Utah)

Well, I guess I have to come to terms with it... we're back in Grenada. I shouldn't complain though, we had an excellent flight coming down and it took us roughly 15 or 16 hours (Jim, that ones for you). We woke up early in the morning and got and three different flights and we were able to make it down here about 10ish Grenada time(Yes! All in ONE day). Nick has had such a wonderful time in his new classes. He loves talking to patients and loves what he's learning so far, and I can't complain because he doesn't have to leave early in the morning anymore!

Anyways, just to recap a little bit of our vacation. Nick and I were able to go to the temple once a week, it was such a nice experience and helped us get the "recharge" that was very much needed. We were able to go to Park City, it was SO fun see all the different things that were there not to mention the wild life that kept popping up as we went down the Alpine Slides. We took a walk up Bridal Veil. It was so beautiful. The heat was bearing down for a good part of our vacation and it was pretty hot, never the less, we enjoyed it thoroughly. It did rain a little toward the ending of our stay. We were able to see most of Nick's family (besides Erika guys) and my a small portion of my family.

I think the thing I enjoyed most about Utah was feeling like I was alive again. I have wonderful sister-in-laws that are always so kind and inviting toward me I feel like I hand picked them out of the "worlds best sisters". haha, corny, I know. I KNOW, I have the best mother and father-in-law out there because nobody can be kinder and more genuine than Brent and Jenni.

The thing I MISSED about Grenada, (yes, it's true I actually missed something) was probably the children. My primary children are so inviting and so loving and just your interaction with them will make you want to wrap you arms around them all and hold them tight just so they know you really truly love and care for them. They always have a smile on their face when they greet you at church, I can't wait for us to finally go to church this Sunday(although, I can probably tell you I'll be wishing to go back to Utah in a few weeks, or maybe even days!)

Well, as you can see we have put a little count down widget(it probably just makes us seem a little excited to get off this Island, FOR GOOD!). Anyways, stay tuned we'll try to keep you all as updated as possible(if I'm not too lazy). We love you all and we thank our family for such a wonderful time! We'll see you in December(maybe I should post my Christmas list so you guys can start gathering everything ;) jk)