Class of 2013

Well, it is official. I am starting Nursing School in August!! I am filled with so much joy and excitement as the waiting is almost done and the hard work begins. It has been a long process, but well worth the wait. The timing is perfect. Thankfully I have so many that will help and take this journey along with me. I am stepping into someone's place so I did not get to choose my clinical site, but it is exactly what I would have chosen. I was placed at Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center, which is where I delivered Avery! I love this place. I start with a labor and delivery rotation. The first day is August 30th and it can't come soon enough!

Holding on tight to Jesus

In overwhelming times, I hold tight to my family and thank Jesus that He is holding us tight in His hands as well. I do not know how so many navigate the roads of sadness, tragedy, loss, and uncertain circumstances without knowing the love of Jesus Christ. How does one survive the emotions?
We have been in the depths with Riley and our battle will continue. So, we will hold tight to Jesus.
We are about to enter into a life stage in which we will rely on loans to keep us afloat. So, we will hold tight to Jesus. I am so thankful for a husband that is supportive and encouraging in my dream to finally become a nurse.
More situations will rise in which we are challenged spiritually, emotionally, financially....we will hold tight to Jesus.

Right now, in this moment, we are just living life. We are enjoying life. There is not too much stress, summer is fast approaching and it holds plans of camping, Disney, swim lessons, Hawaii, a family reunion, time with my sister, and lots of quality time as a family of four. We still hold tight to Jesus.

Because in an instant, life can throw you a curve ball.
I have been following this blog for years now and am journeying along with this incredible family as their 7 year old daughter, Kate, fights brain cancer.
Everything you own and love can be lost. This blog post by a friend of a friend brought me to tears.
Your beautiful, vibrant, healthy child, can be diagnosed with Leukemia. The little boy I watch, Jacob, his 9 year old cousin was diagnosed on Tuesday.
A devastating tornado can rip through towns and leave nothing you held precious behind.

Pray with me.

So, we hold tight to Jesus in the awesome and the yuck because we want others to do the same. We want others to see the constant in our lives.

We know that even in the fire, there can be good. There can and will be healing. And when you come out of the fire and are back to living the day to day life... it is that much sweeter because you can see how Jesus carried you.

A standstill

I have not blogged in over 2 months. I just do not seem to have the time to squeeze it in. I am running around after kids, changing diapers, breaking up fights, overseeing an almost first grader with her homework, in the 6th week of my ridiculous P90X workout schedule, and making sure I do have some quality time with the hub and some dear friends. I just cannot keep up.

I still have to remind myself every morning to not be anxious about this whole nursing school time line. Oh yeah, I have not blogged about that. :) Well, I am number 1 on the wait list and if statistics have shown anything it is that I WILL be starting school in August. Now, when will I get the actual call that says I am in? Who knows. It could be today, tomorrow, or five days into the semester. Please, Jesus, do not make me wait that long. I have such a hard time remaining content and in the process. But if one thing is true, it is that Jesus has the best plan in store for me and everything is done with His perfect timing to ensure success. We have seen this to be true time and time again in our lives and in the lives of family and friends. But, it still sucks.

In the meantime, I will be taking a break from the blog and only stopping in from time to time. Life is about to get insane.

We do have some wonderful things to look forward to this summer. We are taking our annual Hansen family camping trip, Jaron is heading off to Baja and then to New Orleans for an Athletic Training convention, and then Jaron and I will enjoy our first kid-free vacation to Kauai. Don't worry about our lovely Avery and Ry. They will spend that time with Grandma and Grandpa in Disneyland. They cannot wait!!!

We also have another MRI coming up for Ry. It is scheduled for June 17th. I will post her results, which will be given to us at her Neurology appt. on June 23rd.

Thanks for loving our family and following our crazy life.

Let's Celebrate

Avery received her first real report card on Saturday. The first trimester, the teachers give comments and use "N"eeds Improvement, "S"atisfactory or "O"utstanding for classes. This trimester, her report card included actual letter grades for Language Arts and Math. So,

Language Arts = A-
Comprehension = A
Oral Reading = A
Phonics = B
Oral Expression = A
Sentence Structure = A-
Spelling/Vocab = A
Handwriting = "S"
Math = A
Computation = B+
Problem Solving = A

Needless to say, we are very proud of her. All of the teachers commented on how she was reserved and shy at the beginning, but has really blossomed and has confidence in class. I cannot believe how far she has come and how much she has accomplished. We love you, Avery Lynn!

This is her new bear "Winnie", which she received as a gift for all her hard work.

Buddies

Girly girls

Happy 33rd

For my birthday this year we headed up to the city. My uncle just bought a place so we helped him move some stuff and then he, my parents, and Jaron and I went out to Charanga - a pan latin restaurant. The food was spectacular and we had a blast. Of course, I hauled the camera around and only took a few pics.

Dessert - Bread pudding, mexican chocolate cake with icecream, and bananas foster with coconut icecream. Yum!

Timothy the Beagle

A few weeks ago we headed to Gilroy to visit my grandparents' new dog, Timothy. The girls absolutely loved him!!! What a cute pup!

Braided

I am determined to learn how to do great french braids. Avery's hair is long enough and we are going to start experimenting with some fun new styles. Thanks Grams for giving us inspiration!

RyRy

Saturday morning...

Pancake making,

pancake eating

and laziness.

Book nook

I had an idea in my head of a little reading area for the girls while they are snuggled up in bed. I want to encourage them to read as much as possible. So, I decided to head up to Ikea in search for a reading light and book rack. Of course I did my homework. I scoured the internet for ideas. I found a blog of a gal who took Ikea spice racks (3.99 each!) and used them as book racks. Here was her post and here is mine:

Ikea bekvam spice racks (3.99 each) and tassa natt wall lamps (4.99 each)

Total for the project: $17.96

The girls love it!! They have wanted to go to bed early the past two nights so they can have reading time. This makes mommy happy. :)

decorating in love

My grandma recently sent me a bunch of old childrens books and I am absolutely smitten with them. I love all the colors and the worn and loved look about them.

I also did a little valentine decorating too. I made a heart banner - cut triangles out of an old linen curtain and painted a white heart on them, which I love the simplicity of.

More "loved" books