Sooo 2011 was a crazy year. When I look back on it, there was a lot of good, but also a lot of not-so-good. I guess every year has that, but for some reason this year, for me, was just a little tough. But I have to say, I'm super stoked to see what 2012 brings!! So yes, that does mean that 2011 ended on a very good note, with many possibilities! Wahoo!
Ok, I'll try and remember the highlights of our year for you. :) (I may skip some months if I can't think of anything significant haha)
January
I was hired on as a Child Life PRN at Primary Children's Hospital officially! So exciting. My first job in my career. I was primarily assigned to work in the Emergency Department (I did work in other areas of the hospital, but mostly ED). I fell in love with this department. I love the quick pace, every day brings something new. I love watching the doctors, nurses, medical staff perform miracles on these kids that come in. I loved working so closely with Social Workers and helping those families in their time of need. The only thing that I absolutely did not like about working at this time in my life was that it was a 12 hour shift every single Sunday and two nights a week until midnight. I hated it. I did get the opportunity to go to church (just sacrament meeting) at the hospital which was an amazing experience. The spirit is so strong in the hospital. But I missed spending that time with my husband. I felt like I never got to see him! Even though I did, a huge chunk of it, I didn't.
Jordan continued to be a property manager in Holladay, UT- which he was great at, but was eager to try something new so was on the job hunt.
February
My birthday month! We also celebrated Valentine's day in a very simple, but cute way. Candlelit dinner that we made together. :)
March
This was actually more of a sad month for us...little Hershey kisses took a turn for the worst and we finally had to say goodbye. We will forever miss your sweet face and coca cola dance!
After suffering for years with mysterious stomach issues, I was finally told to try a gluten free/lactose free diet for a couple of weeks and see if it helped. Well, it did. So I officially went gluten/lactose free this month. It's almost been a year now! It's been one tough thing for me to go through too. I just love food so much. I love to cook, and bake and eat. I really appreciate good food. I know it sounds silly, but that was hard for me to give up. You wouldn't believe how much gluten is in things that you wouldn't even think of and eating out is just plain scary. I have to be so careful. I have to read ingredients labels before I eat any little thing and it is hard. And I've had to give up things that I really love that I will just never get to eat again. So so sad. Now I am learning to cook and eat again, things that I love, I just have to convert them to gluten free. Sometimes they still don't taste as good, but at least I can eat them. And some things really aren't bad at all. So I'm grateful for that. AND I feel great. It is a rare occasion where I have a bad day and it's usually because I was "glutenized" without knowing it. In the near future, I'm going to get some tests done to see if I have Celiac Disease, or just a gluten intolerance. We shall see!
Oh and Sadie turned 2! (there's a plus side to this month!) Such a big girl! :) Love her so much.
April
Family adult Easter Egg hunt!! Oh man, it was so much fun. It was our first year doing it and we all loved it. My parents went to their church parking lot and park area and hid candy and small gifts all over with all of our names on different things, then we headed over for the hunt! It was a blast. Then we had a brunch and it was delicious as well. I made deviled eggs for my first time and they were wonderful.
My tulips and daffodils that I planted months before came up for the first time and they were so pretty!
May
Me and Jordan went to Chicago for my big certification exam for my license! I was soooo nervous. So much money and time went into preparing for it that I was sick to my stomach at the thought of me failing the test. Turns out I passed and it was grand!! Only 77% of the candidates for the exam actually passed, so I was grateful to be in that percentage! We had a blast in Chicago too. It was my first time in that amazing city- Jordan had been there before, so it was fun for him to show me a few of the places he remembered really liking. So so much fun.
When I got back from my exam, I was asked to cover an open position at the hospital that they are waiting to hire officially on. It was in the Outpatient Clinics at Primary Children's. It gave me full time hours and a day time schedule five days a week. I was sooooo happy! No more nights and weekends! I was sad to leave ED, but I LOVE outpatient settings in general, and I trained in the area during my internship, so I was excited to start on this new journey! I was asked to do many things out of my comfort zone, give presentations to new clinics on Child life, start the child life program in several new clinics, and basically build the relationships with different clinics and child life for the future. Crazy stuff, but it's been worth it! I'm still currently in that same position...hoping to turn it into a permanent position very soon!
My mom FINALLY graduated from the University of Utah with her Bachelor's degree after all these years! Go mom! That is quite an accomplishment.
June
Me and Jordan celebrated our THIRD wedding anniversary!! We technically celebrated it while we were in Chicago, but on our actual anniversary day, we went out to dinner to my favorite restaurant (Market Street Grill) and enjoyed the rest of the night just spending time with each other. Love you so much Jordan!!
My baby brother EJ graduated from High School! I feel so old!!! He's supposed to be all little and stuff. Nope...not anymore.
We also said goodbye to Jordan's Subaru and bought a new/old car! It's been great!
July
Officially found out I had passed my exam and got my certificate in the mail! Celebrated the fourth of July with a BBQ of course (and found out that Sadie HATES fireworks...barks and growls the whole time hahaha) and then went camping for the 24th of July with my family in Manti. Love camping and four wheeling with them!
August
Elise got her mission call!! McAllen, Texas- Spanish Speaking.
We went with my family to a local producation of Hairspray! Super fun! Love that show.
September
Went on my annual girls trip with my mom and sisters to Seattle! Love that city. I have been there before with my family, but we were all eager to get back there! We enjoyed Pike's Market, Space Needle, Music Museum, Aquarium, and other fun shops around the city!
Jordan's birthday month! He was so not thrilled with his birthday this year and it was like pulling teeth to get him to want to celebrate it. He is not liking getting older. haha! I'm afraid next year is going to be even worse with it being the big 3-0! :) He did decide that he wanted to spend some of his birthday money and buy a Kinect so we've had a blast on that thing ever since!
We started exercising again, and this time with Jordan's cousin too! We are starting our P90X routine again. Both of us have lost a few pounds already, which is great. Can't wait to get in shape again!
October
Elise celebrated her birthday and then a few days later left to the MTC! So awesome to have my sister out on her mission! Since she is on a Spanish speaking mission, she spent like 8 weeks in the MTC. From her letters and pictures, it looks like she is having a blast. So proud of her! Before she left, we had to take some family pictures!
Halloween was awesome. Lots of trick or treaters. Chili. And Halloween movies. Yeah! Halloween day marked the second year we have lived in our house! Also, I was the lead in organizing Halloween this year at Primary Children's for the kids! It was a ton of work, but I had lots of help from my AWESOME committee!!! As a Child Life staff, we decided to all dress up like crayons. It was pretty great. :) I love my fellow child lifers!!
November
Thanksgiving with Jordan's family and then with my family afterward. We always eat so much every year because we have two to go to. It was weird not to have Elise around, but we put a picture of her on the table, so she could be there with us! :) Thanksgiving landed on Brit's birthday this year, so she wore a birthday crown to celebrate for her too. haha
I interviewed for my position that I am currently working to hopefully get it full time. I was told sometime around the new year to hear back to see if I had gotten it permanently or not. Crossing my fingers!!
December
Elise officially departed for McAllen, Texas for her mission! We got to talk to her on the phone for Christmas which was awesome.
For Christmas this year, I knew exactly what I wanted and Jordan didn't. So all of my presents I already knew what they were and Jordan's were all a surprise for him. It was hilarious. He did not like the fact that he didn't know what he was getting and I did. haha! Pretty funny stuff. It was such a nice Christmas. We celebrated with his family the week before and then with my family the day of. It was perfect. Christmas Eve dinner was at my house as usual too. That was a lot of fun.
Jordan interviewed for a job with the state of Utah. We were soooo excited! Working for the state is a dream. Great benefits...holidays...work hours...opportunities to move up. So awesome! And we are happy to announce that he DID get the job and actually started Jan. 3, 2012. Wahoo!! So proud of him!! He is going to have so many wonderful opportunities from here on out. Go Jordan!! Love you!!
I still haven't heard back on my job yet...so we will keep you posted! Hoping to hear soon! Other possibilities may be occurring during 2012 also, but we will wait to share when we know more information! Well, 2011, it's been real, but I'm sure ready to see what 2012 brings!!!
Our New Year's Resolutions:
Rachelle:
1. Take care of myself- eat healthy, exercise on a regular basis, get good sleep at night, do not take work home with me...leave work at work.
2. Read my scriptures daily. Oh boy, this is going to be hard. I haven't done this since my mom would make me while waiting for the bus each morning...so yes, since elementary school...I can do this. :)
3. Be a good wife. Show Jordan just how much I love him, every single day.
4. Bring my own lunch to work....I spend way too much money on food. haha
Jordan:
1. Just to overall be healthier. Exercise, lose some weight and feel good about himself.
2. Work his butt off in his new job and impress a lot of people.
