Bringing you up to speed...

So, to keep it simple...this semester started out WAY busier than I expected! I mean, I knew we would be busy, but I really had no idea of the intensity. I know I promised a highlights of 2009 post...but is it ok if I stick with a few bullet point highlights? :) I'll give you a quick replay of 2009, and let you know what's up these days!

• Jon and I got married on January 3, 2009. It was the best day of my whole life! Our wedding was at The North Chapel at Liberty Station in San Diego, and our reception was at South Bay Fish and Grill...a gorgeous restaurant right on the water. What an amazing night it was!
• We moved to Gilbert, AZ on January 10, 2009. Yes...I wrote that right...We were moving in to our house exactly a week after the wedding. Talk about a busy week!
• I started Nursing School at Arizona State University, Polytechnic Campus on January 20th. It's a year-round 16 month BSN program (Bachelor of Science in Nursing). Jon still tells people that we went to Nursing School for our honeymoon! :)
• Not much other than school to report about from then through much later in the year! :)
• I turned 30 on October 1st! And, I must say...it's not so bad after all!
• We got our first break from school in December. We had 6 weeks off...that flew by faster than I ever expected! Our plan was to go to Bakersfield for a few days to see my fam, then San Diego for a few days to see Jon's fam, and then back home with a couple weeks to spare before school started back up. Well...like I said...that was the plan. What actually happened was, my mom ended up in the hospital a day and a half after I got there, and we were in the hospital until New Year's Eve!! I won't go into the details (cause there's ALOT of them), but she's home and getting better, and that's a huge step in the right direction! Jon was such a HUGE support and help during those 2 weeks. I really wouldn't have made it through without him there. We finally made it to San Diego on our 1st anniversary and stayed at the Dana Resort...where we stayed on the night of our wedding. It was a very restful and special night, and a very needed get away for the 2 of us.
• We got back home around the 7th of January, and I spent a few days putting away Christmas decorations and getting the house back to normal. Even though we had a week before school started to "relax," time flew by and before we knew it, I was back in school starting my last semester of Nursing School...

...Which leads us to right around now...We got back to school on January 19th, and hit the ground running. We're in Critical Care (ICU) right now, and the last half of the semester is a preceptorship where we are partnered with a nurse and actually work his or her schedule. I'm excited and nervous and anxious...but mostly excited! After that is the NCLEX exam (the national licensure exam for nurses) and then a J-O-B...hopefully! :) Graduation is May 13th...106 days away!! It's truly been one of the most challenging journeys of my life, but so rewarding and amazing at the same time! I hope you all had a wonderful and special Christmas and New Years! I hope 2010 is off to a good start and brings lots of great memories and special moments! Lots of love from AZ!!