My Life Journey
Monday, August 7, 2017
Our sweet baby Avery Mikell!
I wanted to try and blog our birth story before I forgot all of the little details! Our sweet baby girl was due to come on August 2, 2016. Zach and I had also been able to go do a temple session on our little babes due date. It was such a special night and something that I had really wanted to do before we had her. The day ended up coming and going and we had to wait a little bit longer to meet our love. Our doctor throughout our pregnancy has been Dr. Alexander Larson. He has been wonderful but when I was 38 weeks pregnant he told us that he would be leaving out of town on our due date for a week! Both Zach and I were a little anxious about this knowing that we had that chance of going into labor while he was gone and having a random doctor deliver us. At our 39 week apt. we were able to meet Dr. Reynearson who is Dr. Larson's partner and he was willing to step in and deliver us if we went into labor while Dr. Larson was gone. The week of our due date I felt like we were finally ready to meet our baby. I was able to work full time up to 40.5 weeks pregnant. I decided I would take Monday off and if we still hadn't gone into labor then we would be getting induced that Tuesday at 41 weeks. Friday after work we packed our bags and also loaded up the hospital bags "just in case," and went up to Evanston. I had been feeling great and had the expectation the we would be getting induced. On Saturday we hung out with my family and helped my brother plant some flowers and trees in his backyard. That evening we went to the rodeo grounds and watched Makell, Kyson, and Kolby race their motorcycles. When it was over Zach and I were holding hands walking back to the car and I made the comment to him, "I have given up on the idea that my water will break on it's own. I think this little babe is going to have to be forced out." We got home at about 11 pm and showered and went to bed by midnight. I woke up at 1 am and had to go to the bathroom. At 1:35 am I woke up from my sleep feeling a warm gush of fluid....I sat there for a minute and realized what had just happened. I turned to Zach and said, "honey I think my water just broke." His response...."no way" and he stayed in bed. I hoped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Yep my water had definitely broke! I was smiling and got so excited. I hurried and hopped in the shower to wash my hair and when I got out Zach was still in bed haha. I said, "Babe my water is broke we probably need to go to the hospital." He said, "Are you sure? Isn't there supposed to be a huge puddle of water or something?" haha it made me laugh and I said there had been. (The poor guy was in a little bit of shock) I called the hospital and let them know my water had broke. At this time I didn't feel crazy contractions so I wanted to make sure I wasn't jumping the gun to go in right away. The nurse said, "Yes we suggest you come in asap." I went upstairs to borrow the blow dryer from my Mom's room and she woke up. I told her to not freak out, but that my water had broke so we were getting ready to go to the hospital. When I went back down stairs my sweet husband hugged me and gave me an amazing priesthood blessing. I felt so comfortable and at peace, and knew everything was going to be ok. I am so grateful for such an amazing man in my life. We hurried and loaded up and headed to Mckay Dee (we got there at about 3:00 am). When we got there they checked us in and put me on the monitors. I was having regular contractions every 2-4 minutes! They started my IV and gave me penicillin and started Pitocin. I was strep B positive so I had to receive antibiotics prior to having the baby. When the nurse checked me I was only dilated to a 1, but she said my cervix was paper thin. Once the Pitocin was started my contractions got a lot more intense! I started having them about every 2 minutes. There is no way to really describe how they feel. At 8 am the nurse came in to go over some papers with me and said, "you look like you're in a lot of pain." As I was just trying to breathe and not move through the current contraction...she said that I was having really big contractions and that it might be time to get my epidural. The anesthesiologist would be heading in for a c-section at 9am so I would need to get it before that or after he got done with the c section. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it another hour and a half so I said to do it. We had Dr. Houden for the epidural and he was amazing. He came in and Zach sat in front of me and put my feet on his lap and held my hands. I could honestly hardly feel the epidural going in because of the pain of the contractions. After a few minutes the pain lessened and I felt like a million bucks. I was finally able to lay down and rest a little bit. I was amazed that I could still move my legs and lift myself up after the epidural! We felt so grateful to have had Dr. Houden. Dr. Seale was the OB/GYN on for Sunday. He came in and explained that Dr. Reynearson had a family function come up and that he could be the one to care for us. When Zach's family found out we would be having Dr. Seale deliver us they were so happy! They said that he had been the doctor to deliver the twins and that he was amazing. Yet again we felt like we had been watched over and that we were being blessed. Not long after my epidural I started shaking and wasn't able to stop. I had spiked a fever to 102 and they needed to contact Dr. Seale. He ordered r a couple different IV antibiotics and oral Tylenol as well as IV Tylenol. I had been in labor for so long that I had developed chorioamnionitis. With my fever being so high and from shaking so much I was exhausted and felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open. I remember thinking, "I am so tired...how am I possibly going to be able to push to have our baby." They checked me just after 5pm and said that I was dilated to a 10! They wanted to wait about an hour to let me rest and to let the contractions help lower the baby. The nurse came in around 6 and we got ready to push. She told me that with first time moms usually you will be pushing for 1-2 hours. With my Mom on my left side and Zach on my right we got ready to push through my first contraction. I pushed three times with that contraction and the nurse calmly said, "Ok stop, the baby is ready." Zach immediately said, "Wait. What?" We laughed and she said She was going to go get Dr. Seale. I had Zach get his sister Keeley because I really wanted to be able to have some video and pictures of when the baby first arrived. Keeley came in and stayed up by my head. When Dr. Seale came in he said, "Well I wasn't expecting this to be so quick haha." We got ready and pushed through two contractions and he said she has a bunch of dark hair! On the third contraction the most amazing experience of my life happened and our little baby was born! She did amazing and we were all in awe. Zach cut the cord and she was immediately put to my chest. She stopped crying when they put her to my chest and I couldn't help but think that this is what heaven felt like! I felt so blessed that she came into the world so healthy and without any problems! I felt like we had been guided and helped every step of the way, including how quick she came after we started pushing. With how sick I had become at the end of the labor I don't know if I would have had the stamina to push for 1 or 2 hours. I had to stay and be monitored for a while so Zach went with our sweet baby girl. He helped them with her first bath and picked out her pink bow. He said that she loved the bath and that she stayed so calm while they ran the warm water over her. Because of the infection I had developed they needed to also treat our baby for possible infection. She would need to have IV antibiotics and be monitored for a couple days as well. My parents and Zach stayed with our baby while the nurses cared for her and attempted to get an IV in her. She was dehydrated and they ended up poking her 9 times before finally getting an IV in place to the right side of her head. I was so grateful that Zach was able to be with her through all of that and to hold her hand and kiss her head! When they brought her back to the room we attempted to nurse her. She was so tired and lethargic and couldn't nurse. It completely broke my heart to see her try but couldn't because she was so wore out! Zach then said he wanted to give her a blessing. We didn't have a name for her yet so we decided that he would just bless her as "Baby Morris." He then gave me another blessing too. I know there is power in the priesthood and I am so grateful to have him in our lives! Zach and I had been undecided on a name throughout the whole pregnancy. Our top names were Gracie, Mikaylee, Sage, and Avery. Early that next morning when I was holding her Zach and I just kept going back to Avery. So right then and there we decided she would be Avery Mikell Morris. Because of the IV antibiotics and extra monitoring our baby needed she would be staying in the TLC unit. This is a step down unit from the NICU. The nurses would keep her for 2 hours and then brought her to us for 1 hour so that she could nurse. We did this from Sunday until Tuesday when we finally got to go home! We didn't get released from the hospital until 9pm Tuesday night. We were both exhausted and had been kept up with an exception of a few hours for the last few days because of all the antibiotics I was receiving and having little Miss Avery brought in to eat every 2 hours. We stopped by Mtn Green for a few minutes and then headed to Evanston. We didn't get home and into bed until around 12:30. We had fed and changed Avery and put her in her little bed. It wasn't 60 seconds and she was crying haha. We ended up being awake with her until 3:30 that morning when she finally settled in. She wouldn't sleep in her bed so we held her in our arms for a few hours. This ended up happening until Friday. We struggled with nursing, getting her full, not sleeping, etc. Zach at one point turned to me and said, "Well this isn't what I was expecting." haha we both just looked at each other and laughed. I'm so grateful that we were able to spend time in Evanston those first 10 days after having Avery. My Mom was my Angel here on earth to help with Avery and helping us with nursing. I will always remember when we had Avery, because we would be sitting on the couch watching the 2016 Sumer Olympics and trying to get her to nurse.....for hours and hours haha. I'm grateful we had the Olympics to give us some entertainment during the struggle. It was a good 5 weeks before our little one started to get the hang of nursing. Once we were able to get her full and content she started sleeping well and would typically go to bed around 10 and wake up to eat at 2:30 and 6:30. We truly feel blessed beyond words for this sweet spirit in our home. I look at her everyday in awe of how such a miracle was made in my body, and that such a perfect baby was born. It amazes me that those movements and kicks I felt everyday in my belly was this little Angel. She has been so pleasant and easy going. She loves everyone and is the snuggliest little babe.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
My Mom
My sweet Mom has been through a lot this year. She has had a small brown spot on her face under her eye for a few years that she thought was a "sun spot." She has been to the doctor and they would laser it trying to lighten it and it just wasn't changing. She had made an appointment with her dermatologist in hopes that she
could help her to lighten it somehow. When she arrived at her appointment to her surprise the doctor told her that she wasn't sure that it was a sunspot and was actually concerned it could be skin cancer. She took a biopsy of it that day and told her that they would contact her with the results. After a few stressful days we got the news that it was Melanoma. The doctor talked with my mom extensively about Melanoma and the steps that would be ahead of her. She told her that melanoma was the worst type of skin cancer that you can get and that this was the "type of skin cancer that killed people." From here my Mom was sent to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. I went with her to her first appointment where the doctor talked about doing a larger excision of the melanoma. He discussed the different stages of Melanoma and that by taking a larger biopsy they can test the depth of the cancer. Depending on the depth deciphers the treatment. That day they removed a large amount of tissue from her face and sent it for testing. We heard back a couple days later that they needed to go in again and remove a little more tissue in order to make sure that there were no residual cancer cells. She wasn't excited to have to go through that procedure again, but we did get the good news that the stage of her Melanoma was in the safe zone to not need testing on her lymph nodes. That was the biggest relief of all! Once it is in the lymph nodes it can spread like wildfire and that thought scared me to death. My Dad was able to take my Mom in for the second surgery. At the end of it all she was left with a huge hole in her face that extended from under her eyelid down to her lip level. The doctor loosely stitched the hole together and they placed a heavy bandage on her face. The next day a Doctor had added her into the end of his day to do the reconstruction on her face. She didn't go into surgery until around 7 pm that evening and didn't get home until around midnight. The doctor is one of a few in the world who can perform the procedure that he did. He was able to save my Mom's face and not use a skin graft. He went down into her neck to harvest an artery to put in her cheek so that she would be able to get blood supply and color, he also rewired nerves and muscles so that she could still blink and smile. I can't believe that blessing that it was to have her put into his hands without us having done any research or time to even grasp what was going on. Although the last 7 months have been so difficult my Mom is truly looking better and better every single time I see her. With makeup you can't even see the scar and she is as beautiful as ever. We had a scare this last month....My Mom had noticed a lymph node in her neck that had grown over the last couple months. At her follow up with her dermatologist she showed her the lump in which the Doctor became very concerned and set her up another appointment at Huntsman. This following week was one in which I was so scared, worried, anxious, and trying to not panic. As badly as I wanted to hold it together and not let every scary thought come into my mind I failed. We finally were able to get our appointment and get everything checked out. All of the nurses, PA's, doctors and staff were completely amazing. Having examining my Mom and running tests we were able to find out that it was a completely normal lymph node with no cancer. Words can't express my gratitude for this! I know that Heavenly Father is in charge and that it is because of him that my Mom is healthy and still on earth with us. I feel so blessed that the doctors have been able to be guided and catch the Melanoma early enough. My love for my Mom cannot be put into words! She is truly my best friend, my example, strength, and all I hope to be in a Mother someday. I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father and for the strength and love he is able to give us every single day!
could help her to lighten it somehow. When she arrived at her appointment to her surprise the doctor told her that she wasn't sure that it was a sunspot and was actually concerned it could be skin cancer. She took a biopsy of it that day and told her that they would contact her with the results. After a few stressful days we got the news that it was Melanoma. The doctor talked with my mom extensively about Melanoma and the steps that would be ahead of her. She told her that melanoma was the worst type of skin cancer that you can get and that this was the "type of skin cancer that killed people." From here my Mom was sent to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. I went with her to her first appointment where the doctor talked about doing a larger excision of the melanoma. He discussed the different stages of Melanoma and that by taking a larger biopsy they can test the depth of the cancer. Depending on the depth deciphers the treatment. That day they removed a large amount of tissue from her face and sent it for testing. We heard back a couple days later that they needed to go in again and remove a little more tissue in order to make sure that there were no residual cancer cells. She wasn't excited to have to go through that procedure again, but we did get the good news that the stage of her Melanoma was in the safe zone to not need testing on her lymph nodes. That was the biggest relief of all! Once it is in the lymph nodes it can spread like wildfire and that thought scared me to death. My Dad was able to take my Mom in for the second surgery. At the end of it all she was left with a huge hole in her face that extended from under her eyelid down to her lip level. The doctor loosely stitched the hole together and they placed a heavy bandage on her face. The next day a Doctor had added her into the end of his day to do the reconstruction on her face. She didn't go into surgery until around 7 pm that evening and didn't get home until around midnight. The doctor is one of a few in the world who can perform the procedure that he did. He was able to save my Mom's face and not use a skin graft. He went down into her neck to harvest an artery to put in her cheek so that she would be able to get blood supply and color, he also rewired nerves and muscles so that she could still blink and smile. I can't believe that blessing that it was to have her put into his hands without us having done any research or time to even grasp what was going on. Although the last 7 months have been so difficult my Mom is truly looking better and better every single time I see her. With makeup you can't even see the scar and she is as beautiful as ever. We had a scare this last month....My Mom had noticed a lymph node in her neck that had grown over the last couple months. At her follow up with her dermatologist she showed her the lump in which the Doctor became very concerned and set her up another appointment at Huntsman. This following week was one in which I was so scared, worried, anxious, and trying to not panic. As badly as I wanted to hold it together and not let every scary thought come into my mind I failed. We finally were able to get our appointment and get everything checked out. All of the nurses, PA's, doctors and staff were completely amazing. Having examining my Mom and running tests we were able to find out that it was a completely normal lymph node with no cancer. Words can't express my gratitude for this! I know that Heavenly Father is in charge and that it is because of him that my Mom is healthy and still on earth with us. I feel so blessed that the doctors have been able to be guided and catch the Melanoma early enough. My love for my Mom cannot be put into words! She is truly my best friend, my example, strength, and all I hope to be in a Mother someday. I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father and for the strength and love he is able to give us every single day!
Fall is in the air!
We went up to Huntsville a couple weekends ago to scout for deer for Zach's upcoming deer
hunt. The weather has been beautiful and the leaves have been changing. We parked at the bottom of the mountain and hiked clear to the very top of Ben Lomond. Let me tell you....we were both dying! The entire hike is straight up hill with no flats. It was
the perfect workout! It was about a two and a half mile hike one way. Once we got to the top we parked ourselves on the ridge and Zach was able to glass and find several awesome deer. We had such a peaceful night and ended up hiking out in the dark with our head lamps. The next week my hubby packed in with his Dad and killed an awesome buck. Love this guy!
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
BIRTHDAY AND WEEKEND FUN!
MY BDAY WAS ON A WEDNESDAY SO ZACH AND I BOTH HAD TO WORK! I HAD A PRETTY SHORT DAY WITH MY VISITS SO I WAS ABLE TO MEET UP WITH MY MOM,
DENISE, SARA AND MASON FOR LUNCH! WE WENT TO ROOSTERS IN OGDEN AND HAD FUN GETTING TO HAVE A LITTLE GIRLS TIME. MY SWEET MOMMA GAVE ME LUGGAGE! I ALWAYS HAVE TO BORROW HERS WHEN I GO ON TRIPS SO I CAN'T WAIT TO USE IT! PLUS IT IS POKA DOTS AND HOT PINK, I LOVE IT!
THAT EVENING AFTER ZACH GOT OFF OF WORK I WAS STILL FULL FROM LUNCH SO WE DECIDED TO GO GET ONE OF MY FAVORITES....JAMBA JUICE! WE CAME HOME AFTER AND I OPENED ZACH'S GIFT. MY HUSBAND WRITES THE BEST CARDS AND THEY ALWAYS MEAN THE WORLD TO ME. WHILE I WAS READING IT OUT LOUD WE BOTH STARTED TO CRY. WE ARE JUST SO GRATEFUL TO BE EACH OTHERS BEST FRIEND AND HELPMATE! ZACH AND HIS PARENTS WENT IN ON A NEW FISHING VEST FOR ME THAT CAME FULLY LOADED! HE PUT IN TACKLE BOXES, FLY'S, HOOKS, AND ALL I COULD NEED.
NOW ALL WE NEED TO DO IS PLAN A FISHING TRIP! WE WENT TO SNUGGLE IN BED AND WATCH SWEET HOME ALABAMA...AND OF COURSE ANOTHER ONE OF MY FAVORITES, A REALLY LONG BACK TICKLE! THANKS FOR MAKING ME FEEL SO LOVED BABE.
THURSDAY WE WENT OUT TO DINNER WITH ZACH'S FAMILY TO KOBE! I LOVE THIS RESTAURANT AND THE KIDS LOVED THE COOK WE HAD! I'M SO BLESSED TO HAVE SUCH AWESOME IN LAWS AND FAMILY! THEY ALWAYS MAKE ME FEEL SO
SPECIAL!
FRIDAY WE PLANNED A DATE NIGHT WITH PERRI AND BRENT. PER IS 38 WEEKS PREGNANT AND THIS WILL PROBABLY BE
ONE OF OUR LAST DATES BEFORE MR. JANTZ ARRIVES. I MADE HOMEMADE TURKEY CHILI WITH ROLLS AND BANANA BREAD JUST IN TIME FOR FALL TO START MAKING IT'S APPEARANCE. THEY CAME OVER TO OUR HOUSE TO HAVE A COZY NIGHT IN WATCHING THE UTES VS UTAH STATE FOOTBALL GAME. WE LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SNUGGLE THEIR LITTLE MAN!
SATURDAY ZACH TOOK TYTAN TO THE
WATERFOWL EXPEDITION FOR KIDS IN FARMINGTON. THEY HAD A BLAST GETTING TO ROCK CLIMB, LEARNING HOW TO DO DUCK CALLS, AND SHOOTING GUNS AND BOWS. DAVE BROUGHT THE TWINS DOWN A LITTLE LATER AND THEY WERE ALL ABLE TO HANG OUT. ZACH IS SUCH AN AMAZING UNCLE AND HE TRULY LOVES THESE KIDS SO MUCH! I CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE HIM A DADDY SOMEDAY! AFTER HE GOT BACK WE PACKED UP AND HEADED TO EVANSTON FOR THE WEEKEND. WE HAD A GOOD TIME GETTING TO HANG OUT WITH FAMILY! WE WATCHED THE BYU FOOTBALL GAME SATURDAY NIGHT. SUNDAY WE HAD DINNER TOGETHER
WITH THE FAMILY AFTER CHURCH TO CELEBRATE MY BDAY. ZACH HELPED THE BOYS WRITE A FOOTBALL PLAY BOOK SO THEY COULD REMEMBER THE PLAYS HE HAD TAUGHT THEM. MY MOM HAD CALLED ME LAST WEEK AND SAID THAT THEY HAD TRIED TO PLAY FOOTBALL WITHOUT ZACH AND THAT THEY CAME IN AND TOLD HER THAT THEY COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT ZACH HAHA. WE'RE SO LUCKY TO HAVE THIS GUY. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR MAKING ME FEEL SO SPECIAL!
Monday, September 14, 2015
How I feel about turning 28!
09/09/15
I feel like it is crazy that I am 28 years old! Life really does fly by so fast, and I can only hope that I make the best of it everyday! Looking back I thought by 28 I would be married with a couple of kids...it is crazy that my life has not gone how I thought it would, but I honestly wouldn't change a thing! I have been able to grow and learn so much, and I have also been able to find a husband who I sincerely cherish and love in a way I didn't even know was possible. I have had a lot of experiences since I graduated high school that have stretched me and taught me so much.
My senior year I was offered a scholarship to go play softball in Nebraska. I remember having a hard time making the decision to go since it would be so far away from home. This experience was SO incredibly difficult at the time. I had a lot of days I felt completely alone. I was in a completely different environment and culture and didn't know a single soul. I lived in the dorms shared by the male and female athletes who were young and excited to party living away from home. I didn't have anyone around me who shared my morals or beliefs, and as a bonus I was getting my butt kicked in softball. There were so many nights I stayed alone in my dorm room while the rest of the dorm was partying, getting wasted, and doing who knows what else. I remember one night specifically that I was laying in bed crying so hard it hurt. I was homesick and alone....This was one of the first experiences I had in my life feeling completely and totally alone. I remember praying SO hard and just asking for even a tiny bit of comfort....just to know that he knew me and that he was listening. I remember feeling this overwhelming warm feeling wrap around me and it felt like I was being hugged. I knew then that Heavenly Father was aware of me and my struggles and that I would make it through this. While everyone would be sleeping in recovering from their hang over, I would get up early and go to the only LDS ward in the town by myself haha. When I would be getting back from church around noon they would be starting to roll out of bed and asking where the heck I had been. These are just a few of the experiences I had while I lived in Nebraska and they helped me to be strengthened, to become more independent, and to help strengthen my testimony for future obstacles that would come my way!.
I had decided to not go back and continue another year out at Nebraska and while I was home on a break I had the head coach from Chadron State University in Colorado asking me to come pitch for them. He had watched me play and was offering me an amazing opportunity to play for them along with a scholarship. I knew he was an amazing coach from having a couple friends play there, but at the time I was so broken down I didn't have any confidence to continue on. After a ton of praying to make a decision I decided to come back to Utah and move up to Utah State. I had so much fun up there! Probably too much...especially my first semester haha. I played so much, made a ton of friends, dated more than I knew possible, and pretty much bombed all of my classes. I spent the summer staying up there working and retaking a few of the classes I had done so poorly on haha. I know it wasn't the best, but it had been so worth it. After that semester I finished all of my pre requisites for nursing school and decided to apply down in Ogden. After I was accepted to nursing school I really wanted to stay in Logan and commute to class because I loved it there and had so many amazing friends there. My parents weren't too thrilled with that idea and I ended up going on KSL to find a place to live. I had only been to Ogden twice in my life! I didn't know the town or anyone in it. This move was another very difficult time for me! I had left my comfort zone once again. I started school and all of my classes were in the evening so I was able to continue working as a CNA. I transfered from the company I was working for in Logan to the one in Ogden. The company was Alpine homehealth and hospice. This may age me but this was before we all had a GPS at our side....so talk about difficult driving around to patients homes having no clue where I was! I got lost constantly! My first summer living in Ogden I decided to interview to try and be an EFY counselor. I had gone to EFY as a youth and loved it! I was accepted to be a counselor in Provo Utah! This was such an amazing opportunity and I loved every second. I had been considering a mission, but wanted to finish nursing school so for me this was like a little "mini mission." I sincerely saw miracles and learned more from the youth than i'm sure they learned from me!
The nursing program I was in was an accelerated program and I felt that I lived and breathed studying and clinicals.There were a lot of overwhelming moments in that program! After I had been accepted I had prayed and told Heavenly Father I knew I could not do it on my own, and promised that if he would help me get through it that I would work my absolute hardest and that I would never forget that it was because of him! Even though this was some of the busiest time in my life I had been called to teach Relief Society. I learned so much from this calling and found that it helped balance me in my life. I made it a goal to not study on Sundays. It was really hard at times and I spent a lot of Saturday nights studying and setting early alarms Monday morning, but I know that I had been blessed because of it. After I had been released as a teacher I was also called to be a counselor in the Relief Society. This was yet another opportunity I was given to be able to serve and focus on someone and something besides myself. Two days after taking my boards I had been waiting and waiting to see if I had passed online...at 11pm I got a text from a friend that said she had seen my name on DOPL. I had passed! I cried and immediately said a prayer of gratitude because I was sure I had failed. I was able to graduate at age 21 as a nurse and feel so blessed to have started such an amazing career so early.
After graduating I worked at Hearts for homehealth for a year and a half then I decided to go to the hospital where I worked on CVTU (cardiovascular thoracic unit) for a year and a half, and then to the ER for 3 years. I got into a serious 2 year relationship after I graduated and ultimately knew it wasn't right. It was a very difficult breakup. A while after this breakup is when I met and got into another relationship. That relationship ended up in a marriage. A marriage that was very difficult. This was yet another time in my life that I felt alone. I was working full time on CVTU working straight night shifts and had also started the BSN program. I remember sitting down at my computer trying to type papers and do my homework and just staring at the screen for hours. I was so tired and overwhelmed that I would just cry and not be able to focus longer than 2 minutes. Looking back I am able to see that those prior trials had helped prepare me for the most difficult time I would have in my life. These were very dark, lonely, hopeless, numb days. It was a time that I still don't fully understand how I survived. Having been able to have a few years of perspective since that divorce I am able to see that yes it was the MOST difficult time in my life, but it has also been one of the greatest blessings. Because of that situation I was able to be completely broken....because I was so broken my Heavenly Father was able to pick up those pieces, put them back together, and mold them into something more beautiful. Someone that is strong, someone who knows they can do hard things, someone who knows "who they are, and who's they are." I grew to not just know I HAD a Heavenly Father, but I grew to KNOW my Heavenly Father. Having known such heartache, I can know something so amazing. EVERY SINGLE DAY I see something more that I am grateful for in Zach! I see that because I have seen something so different. I cherish the looks he gives me, his compliments and kisses. That he lets me snuggle him and smother him. That he laughs at my jokes and sincerely loves me for ME. I cherish his testimony, his love for his family and my family, his love for kids. I cherish our eternal marriage and I will never take it for granted. I cherish these days we have alone together learning more about each other every day. I truly am blessed with the best!
Monday, September 7, 2015
Labor Day Fun 2015
This weekend will go down as the most fun Labor Day I've ever had! We got invited by our family friend's
The Jacob's to go to their property in Chalk Creek. We packed up and left Friday after work.We got up around 7pm and unloaded and had dinner with everyone. Zach and I stayed down at the "Salt Cabin" while the others had brought their campers to stay in. Zach got up early to go
scouting for deer and elk with Jeremy Saturday morning. After cooking breakfast and cleaning up we loaded up on the four-wheelers for a long ride around the property. The Jacobs have just over 10,000 acres of
gorgeous property! We were gone until that evening so when we got back we cooked chicken and potatoes in the dutch oven. Zach and I were standing outside and he randomly grabbed me and hugged me and wouldn't let go....I thought he was being weird when right after
that my cute in-laws came around the corner with a cake lit up for me singing happy birthday! My bday is in a few days and these cute people had thought of surprising me up in the mountains. I'm so lucky to have Bob and Susan as my in-laws! After staying up visiting with everyone we headed down to our cozy little cabin. Zach
and I stayed up talking and snuggling and listening to the creek running right by the cabin. Sunday morning we cooked breakfast and hung around camp. We played horseshoes and games with the kids, took a nap, and then that afternoon we road the four-wheelers to the top
of the property to East Lake to go fishing. We had success and the kids even out-fished us! On the way back we enjoyed all of the scenery and found a bunch of elk we stopped to see on
the hillside. I loaded up and headed home that evening so I could work on Monday while Zach stayed up one more night. Monday they all went on a hike and Zach and his dad were able to find the tree that they had carved into when he had killed his first buck. I can't believe they were able to find it out of 10,000 acres and thousands of trees! It was such a fun memory for them! We had a blast with our family and friends! We are so lucky to have people like the Jacob's in our life! I grow to love Zach more every single day! He's my rock and I can't imagine my life without him in it!
The Jacob's to go to their property in Chalk Creek. We packed up and left Friday after work.We got up around 7pm and unloaded and had dinner with everyone. Zach and I stayed down at the "Salt Cabin" while the others had brought their campers to stay in. Zach got up early to go
scouting for deer and elk with Jeremy Saturday morning. After cooking breakfast and cleaning up we loaded up on the four-wheelers for a long ride around the property. The Jacobs have just over 10,000 acres of
gorgeous property! We were gone until that evening so when we got back we cooked chicken and potatoes in the dutch oven. Zach and I were standing outside and he randomly grabbed me and hugged me and wouldn't let go....I thought he was being weird when right after
that my cute in-laws came around the corner with a cake lit up for me singing happy birthday! My bday is in a few days and these cute people had thought of surprising me up in the mountains. I'm so lucky to have Bob and Susan as my in-laws! After staying up visiting with everyone we headed down to our cozy little cabin. Zach
and I stayed up talking and snuggling and listening to the creek running right by the cabin. Sunday morning we cooked breakfast and hung around camp. We played horseshoes and games with the kids, took a nap, and then that afternoon we road the four-wheelers to the top
of the property to East Lake to go fishing. We had success and the kids even out-fished us! On the way back we enjoyed all of the scenery and found a bunch of elk we stopped to see on
the hillside. I loaded up and headed home that evening so I could work on Monday while Zach stayed up one more night. Monday they all went on a hike and Zach and his dad were able to find the tree that they had carved into when he had killed his first buck. I can't believe they were able to find it out of 10,000 acres and thousands of trees! It was such a fun memory for them! We had a blast with our family and friends! We are so lucky to have people like the Jacob's in our life! I grow to love Zach more every single day! He's my rock and I can't imagine my life without him in it!
Shake it for me!
August 27, 2015
I surprised Zach with tickets to Luke Bryan over our Anniversary. I traveled to SLC to pick Zach up from work and we went to Cafe Rio for dinner. After dinner we headed to the concert. Dustin Lynch and Randy Houser opened for him which was amazing! It was a beautiful night and the weather was perfect! I loved shakin' it with Luke Bryan and my main squeeze! We sang and danced the night away! I love my sweet husband! Thanks for the fun night babe!
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