Introducing..

Mr. Deacon Bender! :)

Last week, Jon and I flew on a whirlwind 24 hour trip to Georgia to pick up this little bundle of love! To make a real long story short, he's Lady's baby brother...for reals...same mom and dad! We flew into Nashville, then rented a car for the 3 hour drive to Ringgold, GA. We went straight to the farm to see him, and brought him to the hotel with us that night. He did GREAT on the plane! The people around us didn't even know he was there until we got off and they saw his carrier. He's a great addition to the family. Lady loves him, and they play non-stop! He's 10 weeks old now, and he's a very smart little guy! Let me know when you want to come meet him...he loves visitors!!

As for work...I LOVE IT!!! :) I leave everyday thinking..."I can't believe they pay me to do this!" I work with the nicest people, and have so much support from my preceptor, the other nurses, and even the hospital administration. It's been a great experience so far, and I've learned SO MUCH already. I feel so blessed to have a job that I can't wait to get to every morning! :)

Hope you're all enjoying the end of summer, and the great weather that we're getting a taste of! Come on Fall!! :) Have a great weekend! Lots of love from CA!!

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!! :)

So many things...

Well...I can officially tell you everything that's been going on since graduation! :) Well...I guess you already know some of it...and some of you know more of it... BUT, the weekend I passed my NCLEX, I had an inteview in Bakersfield at Memorial Hospital (side note...where I was born!). I got a call a couple days later with a full time offer as an RN in their NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). The reason I couldn't say anything right away is that I was tied into a 2 year contract for employment in Arizona, in return for some money for school loans. Turns out, they had 60 days from graduation to place me, and they never did...and 60 days ended this last Wednesday. When my time was up, I officially announced that I had accepted a position elsewhere, and I was relieved of my contract! SO...it's official! Jon and I moved to Bakersfield this past Monday (what a trip!), and I will be starting work as a NICU RN in 2 weeks! I go on Tuesday to fill out all my paperwork and all that fun stuff...and orientation starts on August 9th. Jon and I found a house...a super cute one...and we get the keys on Monday! I'll post pics as soon as I get in there and get the house all set up! I'll keep you posted on fun stuff from work! Bought all my scrubs, my infant stethescope, and I'm all ready to go! Miss our friends in AZ SOOO much, but it's also fun to be home with friends and family here. We'll be back to visit AZ, FOR SURE!! Guess that's it for now...a very brief synopsis of our last month! Hope you're all well and enjoying summer! Lots of love from...CA!!!! :)

It's been a while...

...BUT, I haven't forgetten about you all! :) It's been a crazy, very busy last 4 weeks! SO much to catch you up on...but it's gotta wait until Thursday...You'll see why when you come back to read! :) Hope you're all well and enjoying the summer! It's been hot, hot, hot here in AZ...basically 112 degrees everyday! But, thank God for a pool and AC!! Come back Thursday for the whole story...Lots of love from AZ!

So...about the NCLEX...

I PASSED!! :) I am officially licensed to practice as an RN, and I can't wait to get to work! The test was awful...I walked out of there thinking that I failed. See...you take the test on the computer. When it is 95% sure that you have either passed or failed, it stops giving you questions and the screen turns bright blue. You'll get anywhere from 75 to 265 questions, and it can really go either way! I got 78 questions (3 of which I was sure I got right!) and I was out in about an hour and 10 minutes. I wasn't sure if that made me feel good or terrible! ;) I took the test last Thursday (the 10th) around 12:30pm and found out my results at 10am the next day! I looked my name up on the state board of nursing website...and there was a license number next to my name!! :) Needless to say...I was overwhelmed, I screamed, I was happy, and we celebrated with dinner at Tahoe Joe's (a yummy steakhouse) in Bakersfield. Now...about the job...STAY TUNED!! :) Lots of love from AZ!!

Oops...

Just realized my last post was a little bit of a repeat of the one before it! :) haha...well...in case you forgot... :)

School's out for...EVER! :)

Well...maybe not forever, but certainly for a while!! :) The graduation events were great, and it was fun to see the family and friends that could make it out. Here are a few pictures of the week and the various events...

Oh, and Lady had her first few swimming lessons! She did great, and she's a PRO now! :) All you have to do it show her the ball and open the pool gate, and she's in! We started with a kiddie pool to see how she'd do, and quickly graduated to the big pool!!

More exciting news...I GOT MY NCLEX DATE! :) This morning I received my "Authorization To Test" through email and got right to scheduling a date!! I thought about making it after my trip to California next week...then I decided that I want to do it as soon as possible...so I'm taking it during my trip to CA!! It's next Thursday, the 10th at 1pm in San Diego! :) I'll drive out there on Wednesday, take the test Thursday, then head up to Bakersfield to get ready for my interview there on Friday! Busy trip...but it'll get alot accomplished! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in Bako and San Diego...it's been a while since I've seen everyone and been able to relax and enjoy their company (without school, assignments, etc!). SO...I'll let you know how it all goes...and I'll post pictures for sure! Hope you're all well and ready for summer! I heard it might get up to 110* here on Sunday!! Eek! Not sure I'm ready for that yet...thank goodness for a pool and AC!! :) Lots of love from AZ!!