My husband is the BEST!

I just wanted to let all you ladies know.... For those of you who think you have the greatest, most wonderful husband inthe world...he actually comes in second!! Jon is absolutely the best husband BY FAR! He has been so supportive of me through these first couple weeks of school! I come home everday and the bed is made, my coffee is already set up for the next day, and things are all cleaned up. He makes sure I get to bed ontime, and sets the alarm for the morning depending on the day. I am spoiled beyond belief, and loving every second of it!! Hopee you are all well, and having a great week!! Just a couple more weeks until wedding photos will be ready!! :) If you have any...email me!!

Our Home! :)

Jon just told me that our house is feeling like a home! I agree, and it made me so happy he feels that way! This is our first home, and I love it!! Here are a few pictures. There is still a little work to do, but it is, for the most part, just right!! I am throwing in a few cute ones of Kellie (our dog)...she is just too cute to leave out! She is feeling more at home now too I think! The cat (PoliAna) is feisty as ever...and too fast for the camera! :)

Our First House Guests!

Happy Sunday!

The first week of school went great! It was a huge amount of information for one week, but I've worked so hard to get to this point, that I'm looking forward to what I'm stepping into!! (So far!!) On Wednesday, my mom and Jon's parents got to town. It was fun to welcome our first houseguests!! :) Thursday evening was the "Lighting of the Lamp" ceremony in downtown Phoenix for the incoming Nursing students. It was very special and a fun time! We all got introduced and crossed the stage (like graduation) and we recieved a pin and an "inspirational" poster. Then, we recited together (with faculty and other nurses in the audience) the Florence Nightingale pledge...to begin our journey into our lives as nurses!! I cried, of course, but it was a wonderful time!! Here are a few pictures:

New Friends!! Me and my husband! The whole fam!

Hope all's well where you are! I'll post pictures of the house in a minute...I have a few more to load onto my computer first! ~Sarah

First day of school

Well, I did it... I successfully got through my first day of Nursing School!! It was actually alot of fun! I'm not sure if it was fun because it was actually done, or because I have been looking so forward to it. Either way, I went, and I loved it, and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow! The people in my "Learning Community" (it's kinda like a break-out group) are great! There are 10 of us in each group, so I'm sure we'll know each other very well after spending the next 16 weeks together...8-9 hours a day, 5 days a week! I'm also excited for tomorrow because my mom and Jon's parents are coming out to Arizona to visit us! There is a program Thursday night for my school called the "Lighting of the Lamp" ceremony, where we say our Florence Nightingale pledge and truly begin our journey into Nursing. They are all coming to be a part of that with me. Very special!! It'll be fun to host our first guest, not only in AZ, but as a married couple! :) I'll post pictures this weekend sometime. They are all staying through Sunday, so we should get lots of good visiting in! I've gotta get going for now. I have SO many chapters to read already!! Have a great Tuesday!

The first post...

Welcome to our blog! I wanted to find a way to keep alot of people posted on what's going on...and this seems like the perfect way! Check back often and I'll update pictures, and stories about what's going on with us, the Benders!

Here's a Readers Digest version of our last month, and the very near future... We got married January 3, 2009 and had the most beautiful wedding!! We had so many great friends and family from all over the place to celebrate with us, and lots of friends and familt who were there in spirit!! I can't wait to get my pictures back, but I have to wait 5 more weeks!! I'll post the link to the photographers website as soon as I get it!! The next day, we took off to Palm Springs for a 2 day "mini-moon" at a gorgeous resort called "Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa." If you ever get a chance to go there, you should! It was awesome! We woke up Wednesday morning (the 7th) and started packing the house for our move to Arizona; got a UHaul Thursday morning; loaded and left for our new home on Friday!! Whew! We got to our new house on Saturday morning, and we loved it! We had only seen it in pictures, and we were very pleasantly surprised with what we got! For the next 4 days, we unloaded the UHaul, unpacked the boxes, and set up house! Sunday we found a great church called "Second Mile Church" and we loved it! It actually meets on my school campus for now, so it's very convenient and close to the house! That leads us to today....the day before I start Nursing School! (The reason we moved here to Gilbert, AZ!) Tomorrow I'll officially be on my way through the 16 month Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Arizona State University. I'm nervous...because I have no idea what to expect...but, really very excited to get the show on the road! :) I'll update you all on how it's going! Think happy thoughts for me!! Here are a few pics from the wedding and honeymoon. I'll post some pictures of the house later this week! Love to you all!!