Settling in...

Hello All!
Has it really been a month since my last post? SORRY!! :) Here's a synopsis of the last month, and some fun things coming up! We are pretty settled in to our new home now. There are a few things yet to be put away, but we made great headway the week before I started work. Jon was able to take the week off, so we really kicked it into high gear and made the house a home. It's a very liveable house, and I really love it. I can't wait for you all to come visit and stay at the Casa de Bender resort! :) For those of you that still might use the US Postal service every now and then...if you want my address, just email me and I'll be happy to share! :) I'll post pics soon...just haven't gotten around to snapping any just yet. As far as work goes...I LOVE MY JOB!! I work with the nicest people, and we're getting so much support from our hospital. I have a day or 2 of class each week, and at least 2 days on the floor (in the NICU). I have the best preceptor, and have learned SO much already! I giggled the first time another nurse asked me to verify a medication, and I signed the chart "S Bender, RN." That made it feel very real! :) My preceptor is a day/night floater, so we have a few night shifts each month. That's been interesting, but really neat to see the life ofthe hospital at night too! I think we were busier during my first night shift than my day shift (Thankfully! It helped keep me awake!). There was about an hour...between 4am and 5am that I had to keep walking around and drinking cold water to keep me awake. This week, we work tonight and Saturday night, then I'm on days only for the next couple weeks. Did I mention that I LOVE MY JOB?!!!! :)

Amy and David were just here from Oregon with the 3 boys for 2 1/2 weeks. It was so fun to see them, and spend so much time with them while they were here. Those boys are so sweet, and getting so big! We had a birthday party for Isaac's 3rd and Xander's 1st birthdays! David's little sister, Sara, got married 2 weeks ago...the reason for the visit...and it was a very special day. Congrats to Mr and Mrs Taylor and Sara Miller! :)

What else...Oh! A very special happy 1st birthday to little mister Warren Jack Sunderland! :) What a cutie pie that little guy is! It's been fun to see him and his mom and dad when they come to Bakersfield to visit family.

One more little tidbit before I go...Next week I'll post pictures of the newest addition to the Bender home. We are picking up Lady's baby brother on Tuesday. And, yes, he really is her baby brother...same mom and dad!! :) We've only seen pictures of him so far, and he looks like he could be her twin, only smaller. We haven't picked out his name yet, but I'll be sure to formally introduce him next week!

I think that's all for now! I hope you all had a nice summer, and are ready for some nice, Fall weather! Good luck for those of you with kiddos starting school. Miss our AZ "family" but really enjoying being around our friends and family here too. Have a great weekend. Lots of love from CA!! :)