New Church?

I think James and I found the perfect "church home-away-from-home" yesterday. Faith Baptist Church, in Wildomar, CA. We attended the morning service with Kina and our friend Tim on Sunday.

After pulling into their GRAVEL parking lot, we immediately felt at home! haha During the service, we didn't need our hymnals because we knew all the songs, and we laughed and laughed during the sermon! Pastor Goddard is so funny! He talked about Christian growth in the new year, and had some very funny examples! If you only go to church once a month, then start going twice a month! If you go to the bar every week, go every other week! If you beat your wife..........beat her less! Wow..... I promise you he is a very good preacher though!

I can't explain it, but we just "fit" better at this church! The only problem? It's an hour's drive north of us! ..........time to move!

Pictures From Home

Well, we're back in Sunny (and WARM) San Diego again. We had some very rough flights....but God got us back home! It never felt so good to be on the ground! :)

We ended up staying an extra day, because our flight for Christmas night was CANCELLED!!! We originally had wanted to stay in Chicago until the 26th, but since the ticket prices doubled, we couldn't afford it. Needless to say, it was nice to stay an extra day!

It was so good to see family and friends, and come back to GBC! Not much has changed, except that Rachel is about 50 pounds heavier! haha I can't talk, I've put on a few myself. :) I have never felt so "at home" at a church...I can't wait to come back for good! Y'all are the sweetest bunch of ladies i've ever known!

Anyways, here are some pictures from our trip:

Grace, since learning that we're having a baby, has been practicing diaper changes with her "Baby Alive" doll....it really wets its diaper! haha She's going to make a great babysitter!

Trying on the pretty ring from James. He always surprises me! After I opened it, he said, "Now you're ACCESSORIZED!"

Grace figured the baby would dance in my belly if she played music for it. This "musical car" played the "Lowrider" song....and it worked! The baby started "dancing" and Grace got such a kick out of it! Who needs expensive toys to have fun??? All you need is a silky mattress to slide down with a slippery pillow! Cheap, inexpensive fun.....right? This is proof that James and I are the "fun cousins"......

We got Sofia and Grace some remote-control trucks for Christmas. (You can guess whose idea THAT was...) The Barbies liked having a set of wheels, and the next thing you know, there's 8 of them stuffed into the jeep! We had countless hours of fun playing with these trucks around the house!

Home....only 12 days away!

We were able to get a flight to Chicago on the 17th, instead of the 18th! I can't wait to come HOME and freeze my butt off!

It's a GIRL!

On Tuesday, I had my 20-week ultrasound. Everything looks normal, and the baby is developing well. (YEY!!!!) Not only am I excited because it is healthy......it's a girl! :D James is already cleaning his shotgun and getting it ready for the boys in the future! haha! He's going to make such a good dad. I'm so happy!

Fast answers to prayer!

I visited Mary today at the hospital. She is doing much better. She is able to get out of bed and speak normally again. (Before, the mass was putting pressure on one of the speech centers of her brain and she had difficulty expressing what she wanted to say). She still has some difficulties with speaking, and has much more recovering to do...So keep praying for her!

The doctors say she's a rare case. They have been giving her chemo treatments through her skull, so it gets to the areas around her brain. These treatments (only 2 so far) have been successful!!! They anticipate her leaving the hospital within 2 weeks!

I had heard on Tuesday that she was not doing well. I've been praying since Tuesday and it looks like God is answering my prayers! (Mine and everyone else's!) :) I love it!!

A prayer request

For all you ladies that read my blog, I have a prayer request!

Mary, a 35 year old mother of two and wife of a Marine Sergeant, has been a patient of mine in the past. About 3 months ago, she was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), which made an ugly turn for the worst. She was a patient on my unit (oncology floor) for OVER a month. During her stay at the Naval Hospital, we managed to put her cancer into a remission.

We then transferred her to UCSD, a large hospital in san diego with greater resources for cancer patients. She recieved a bone marrow transplant there. The transplant was successful, and looking at her blood data, she appeared normal and ready to go home. However, Mary started having trouble speaking and getting out of bed. They found a mass on her brain stem. Leukemia is a beast, but when cancer gets into the nervous system (i.e. the brain/spinal cord) it REALLY is a force to be reckoned with. The prognosis for this usually is not good.

My heart breaks for her family. She hasn't been able to see her children outside her hospital room for months. Her husband doesn't know what to do, and is completely breaking down. Please pray that they will have the strength to get through this situation, and for God to put his hands on Mary's health. I am going to visit her today and try to pray with her.

Sorry for the sad post, but God has the power to change things!

Honey, I'm coming HOME!

I got my leave approved for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!! I just got the plane tickets today. James and I will be flying in on the 18th and leaving Christmas night. I'm so excited to come home to clean air and SNOW!

Fiiiiiiiiiiire!

http://www.fox6.com/news/local/default.aspx
If you haven't checked the news lately...wildfires are raging through the San Diego County. Currently, there are 10 massive wildfires sweeping across southern California. Thousands of homes have been evacuated and 100's have been completely destroyed. And today is only the end of DAY 1. So far, these fires are more serious than the wildfires in 2003! There are fires to the North, South and East of La Mesa, where James and I live. One seems to be closing in....is it too late to get renters' insurance??? haha

The Naval hospital has been accepting evacuated patients from surrounding hospitals. Needless to say, I've been a very busy nurse today! Tomorrow will be just as crazy I'm sure!

Please keep us (and the rest of San Diego) in your thoughts and prayers...

I hope it won't be a long night...

So busy!

Whew!!! The past couple of weeks have FLOWN by! Kina came and went, then my sister came for a week. She just left on Sunday, and I have so much to catch up on! (Laundry, for one...)

Anyways, I just thought I'd post some exciting news...in the form of a picture. Here's a picture of my first ultrasound! I was 10 weeks, 2 days when they did the ultrasound. I am 12 weeks and 2 days as of today. Almost done with my first trimester already, this baby will be here before we know it!

They calculated my due date to be April 6, 2008.

I promise I will update more tomorrow, I'm off work! yey!

Catching up!

Well, time has been flying for me lately!! Where to begin??..........

Labor Day was relaxing. James and I drove up to Temecula, where our friend Tim lives, for a day of food and fun. It was VERY HOT. By "very hot" I mean 112 degrees!!! When we left Temecula around 9:30 or so...it was still 90 degrees! Yowza! Anyways, Tim has friends OUR AGE from his home church, and I really like them. There is a young married couple that just had their first baby (a boy) about 4 months ago. James and I can really relate to them, and we had a fun conversation about ME being pregnant! Or maybe it was more focused on my hormones... haha I'm so happy to have some friends out here that (1) don't drink, (2) go to church, and (3) are positive influences on me! Most of the other Navy nurses I know go out dancing and drinking....and it's not really my thing! They must think I'm boring because I'm married or pregnant or something! Oh well. It makes me more happy to have church friends!

As far as the pregnancy goes.....I think I am 8 weeks now. My first ultrasound will be September 12th. Hopefully they can tell me a good estimated due date. I also got a call from a genetic counselor the other day. Apparently, I am a carrier for the cystic fibrosis gene. They need to have James tested for the gene also. If he is a carrier as well, there is a 25% chance our baby could have it. Please keep us in your prayers over this. I will love whatever God gives me, but I would like it to be healthy!

My morning sickness has gone away now! Thank God! I've been feeling much better lately, but still do manage to have hot flashes and some fainting.....I almost hit the floor this morning when I was drawing blood from a patient! I sat down until it passed, but then when I stood up (after I was finished!) I had to hurry out of the room to go sit down at the nurses' station. No better place to pass out than a hospital though! :D One day, I felt so nauseated that they gave me an IV for the day and gave me Zofran (anti-nausea). I love being a nurse! haha


Ok, I'll write more later, need to make dinner for the hubby!!!

To ask or not to ask?

Ladies, thank you for all your good tips, they have helped alot. They all make my mornings a little better. I've learned to just be patient and keep my stomach from getting empty....and to eat SMALL meals! :)

My first ultrasound and OB appointment will be September 28th....I will be 11 weeks by then! But I got to thinking....should I find out the sex of the baby before? Obviously it wouldn't be at this appointment....but in the near future! Some people say it takes away the surprise....one of life's best surprises!

So my question is...did you ladies wait? Or did you want to know right away?

Tips???

I need advice from all you ladies that were sick when you were pregnant. I've been nauseated all day long! I'm taking the prenatal vitamins at night, because they make me sick. But I'm still sick during the day.

Any tips or tricks you learned to feel normal?

Hormones...

Hormones....ah yes. Too hot, too cold, fatigued, feeling sick, need to pee? Is this the commercial for Pepto-Bismol or the symptoms of pregnancy?!

Sometime last week I started feeling all the above, and then missed my period. Took a pregnancy test two nights ago, and......Happy Anniversary HONEY! We're Pregnant!!!! What a surprise! God decided he wanted me to have kids NOW instead of LATER. But it's great. I'm young, healthy, and able-bodied. I'll be the young "hip" mom! (Kind of like Sabrina!)

At work, I had the pregnancy blood test (serum HCG) done, and it came back VERY PREGNANT. Not just pregnant......VERY PREGNANT. My levels of HCG are 10,000! At 3-4 weeks, it should be between like 500 and 2000. Mine's 10,000! It's been suggested that I am carrying more than one. Wait, what?! More than one? Right now, it's a possibility! Kind of like those two-for-one shoe sales, right? :)

When I went to schedule my OB appointment, they guestimated that I am 4 weeks, 4 days of gestation. So, I concieved 2 weeks ago, roughly? I learned all this in nursing school, but suddenly it all seems VERY NEW to me! :O If this is right, I am due in late April to early May, God willing everything goes alright!

OOOh, time for bed....I am so exhausted...

Guess What!?

I'm PREGNANT!

More info to come later today! I'm just a little short on time right now! Just wanted to let you all know! :)

Balboa park

We went to Balboa park on Tuesday....I see this stuff everyday, because the Naval hospital is in Balboa park! I wanted to show James this beautiful place!

Muah! I had my picture taken in front of this building like 8 years ago....I wanted another!

These Koi fish were as big as a small dog! Oh my! Too many people feed these fish...

This is the lily pond in front of the botanical building. I really love the landscaping and greenery in California...there are so many different plants! Stuff you'll never see in Illinois, unless it's at the Joliet Greenhouse! :) My favorite plants are king palm trees, birds of paradise, and the banana trees.

Amazing architecture here....so intricate! I wonder how old this is?

Oh, I just love this picture! It is a root system above ground. The plants wouldnt' get too much water underground, Cali is very dry!

Another artsy one, I'm just messing around with our camera. I like to think I'm good at photography...at least landscapes! :)

James trying to choke me? If you look closely, you can actually see him SMILING! Look very very very close! Is he smiling because he's choking me, or is it because he's actually having a good time??????? The world may never know.

Another day at the beach (Don't hate me! haha)

Well, we found a MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH better beach! It is the private beach on NAS Coronado. It was beautiful, and we had a nice open space to ourselves! We brought our frisbee and played in the ocean, and then James tried digging to China. I think I am actually starting to tan....like a normal Californian! :) What a nice day off after working all weekend!

in the picture above, you can see the "hotel del coronado" in the back! Its big & red!

It was neat because lots of Navy helicoptors were flying around, and planes were landing on base behind the dunes and beach. I think the one flying in this picture is a CH-53 Seahawk.

Almost to China....keep digging.

The beach, finally!

James and I FINALLY made it to the ACTUAL beach! haha However, the beach was very packed! Guess next time we'll go to the private beach on Coronado NAS. (Naval Air Station)

We went to a beach in La Jolla...the richest neighborhood in San Diego. It sure was pretty!

The new church

I snapped some pictures of the church James and I are going to now....Lighthouse Baptist. It's just like GBC, just not as loud, funny, or tight-knit. You would never know that Pastor Fisher was a Marine! He doesn't really get "excited" like we're used to! :) Makes me REALLY miss GBC and Pastor Dave's preaching! Pastor Fisher also travels to preach at other churches, which is different...and there are like 4 or 5 assistant pastors (English-speaking) and then there are the ones that lead the Spanish-speaking church services...I still don't know who's who. They need nametags!

I like this church, but it doesn't feel like "home" to me. We're going to join next Sunday and get involved with things, maybe start meeting people! :) It'll be our home away from HOME.

What's new

So, last Saturday, I got a haircut. A BAD haircut....

My haircutter got SCISSOR-HAPPY and made my hair like 4 inches shorter than what I wanted. I wanted shoulder-length, with long layers, and feathering in front by my face. I have neck-length hair in back, and she cut layers so short they don't fit into a ponytail. I feel so ugly with hair this short!!! :( I really miss my hair. REALLY REALLY miss my hair.

Now I'm never getting haircuts again! So if I have hair down to the floor when I come back to Illinois, you'll know why!

Pray that I don't rip out the remaining hair....while I'm waiting for this mess to grow out!!!

Settling in....finally!

I finally have a semi-permanent-assignment!!! Yey! I have been assigned to work on 5 East, which is a Medical/Surgical ward that specializes in oncology/hematology. They also provide hospice care for the cancer patients and those that are very terminal. I will be on a regular schedule, which is great! I'm tired of being handed off from department to department!

My shifts will be like this:

I will work: Monday and Tuesday

I will be off: Wednesday and Thursday

I will work: Friday, Saturday and Sunday

I will be off: Monday and Tuesday

I will work: Wednesday and Thursday

I will be off: Friday, Saturday and Sunday

All of these are 12 hour shifts. For my first 2 months, I will work day shift. For the next two months, I will work night shift. (Unless I find someone who wants to switch with me and I can stay on day shift!) I will work every other weekend, which stinks. When I am on day shift, I cannot go to church on sunday or thursday. But I can make up for it the next week...blah. I wish there was something I could do to rearrange my schedule....Maybe I'll talk to my division officer or something.

Anyways, a week ago, I got to participate in Operation Stand Down, a program for homeless vets. Homeless vets come from all services and from all areas of the country to Operation Stand Down for medical care, alcohol detox services, legal counseling/services, dental care, nourishment, shelter, hair cuts, new clothes (donated from local businesses) and many many other things. I helped in the medical tent and assisted by doing patient assessments and writing clinical notes for the doctors to look at. It was SO NEAT! I actually got to function as a nurse, independently. The doctors trusted my judgement and we COLLABORATED on the future care (i.e. prescriptions/consults/etc). What a great learning, and yet heartbreaking, experience. I just wanted to open up my home to these folks. My heart really broke for them and thier situations! This was the best activity I have ever volunteered for, ever!

Check out the news article about it! http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=30611

HEre are some pictures from the weekend:

Date night!!!

Today was so fun! Well, work wasn't, but as soon as I got home it was!

James had an outfit picked out for me on the bed to change into (out of my uniform). We had to run some errands and then he said he was going to take me "someplace special." After running the errands, James drove us to downtown San Diego....the Gaslamp Quarter to be specific. (He would not tell me where we were going the whole time!!!)

**On a side note....I am like a dog going to the vet. I always need to know where we're going, or I start asking alot of questions and freaking out. However, I haven't started pawing at the windows yet! lol So the whole way to downtown I kept bugging James to find out where we were going! (To no avail.)

Soooooooo after parking, he grabbed my hand and led me to the restaurant. As we were almost there, he said to me in a mushy voice "Oh, by the way, this is a DAAATE." Haha.

We went to the Napa Valley Grille, which had the most delish food! I had pistachio-crusted tuna and plums. The salad was also good...nectarine salad? MMMM! James ordered the New York Strip steak with steamed baby spinich. Yummy! Then some "Laura Chenel Chevre Cheesecake" for dessert.

All in all, a very great date!

Hiking on Saturday

This weekend, James and I went to Mission Trails to hike. There are many many many trails in the mountains, some more steep than others. Of course, if you know my husband....we hiked up the "very challenging" trail. He is like a mountain lion, always leaping from rock to rock and climbing on EVERYTHING! Anyways, the trail was very steep and before I knew it (my legs knew it though!) we were almost to the top of Mt. Kwaay. There were mountain-climbers climbing the uppermost part of the peak! It was so much fun!

On the visitor's center trail, there were statues of animals. I found my favorite cousin, the mountain lion. After all, I am a PUMA! :)This is the view from the visitor's center trail...before I knew how high we were climbing!

At the bottom of the trail.....note the KEYWORD: BOTTOM!!! haha here we go!

On the mountain trail...it wasn't marked well, just try to make it up the mountain, I guess!



Time for a break...phew! What a view from up here! James' red truck was just a speck from this high!

The vista! :)

Back on the level ground, we saw a snake! I love snakes, but wasn't sure if this one was deadly...not just your friendly garter snake....so I didn't try to pick him up. But he was cute!

We found the Old Mission Dam...created to irrigate fields in San Diego waaaaay back in the day. Maybe it was bigger at one time. At least I HOPE it was...it's only like 5 feet wide! It wouldn't water much!

See! he's climbing on things...at least this time he didn't fall in! :) haha

A kayak is in our near future....I can't wait to take it on the ocean! :) :) yey! We just need to save a little more for it. This is the one we're getting:

Navy Picnic

The Navy likes to have fun....probably because happy workers do a better job. Today we had a picnic on the beach in Mission Bay. It was alot of fun, and I got some pics from driving around the beach

Eye opener

Today I was walking around the hospital base and was really humbled by something...

I was on my way to the immunization clinic to get my yellow fever shot, and was saluted by this young Marine in a wheelchair going the opposite direction. This brave young man had a patch/bandage over his left eye and scrapes on his face. He was bandaged all over his neck, and his leg was in a cast. I believe he was one of the many Marines housed in the hospital "dorms" for those that have been wounded in Operation Enduring Freedom. As he proudly said, "Good Morning Ma'am," I smiled and offered a "good morning" back. As I was walking away, I got tears in my eyes. THESE are the men defending our country on the front lines. I haven't even been out of the country, let alone on deployment! I felt as though I should really be saluting him, for all the sacrifices he's made. It made me feel proud to be a nurse, and that I would get to take care of these men and women on a daily basis.

When I worked as a nurse's aide at St. Joe's, I would really LOVE taking care of the old men who had served. They always have the most interesting stories (and advice!).

I found some pictures online...

Pfc. Kenneth Dickerson, a 19-year-old Marine from Clive, Iowa, assigned to the Hawaii-based Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, hands out candy to two girls in Barwanah, Iraq, July 29, 2006. The 19-year-old U.S. Marine from Clive, Iowa, has spent the past four months of his deployment in Iraq teaching himself Arabic, and uses it to help his fellow Marines by serving as a translator during the unit’s daily patrols through Barwanah, Iraq. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Roe F. Seigle

Cpl. James Wright, USMC

The blast severed both of Wright's hands and severely wounded his left leg. Incredibly, Wright maintained his composure, instructing his Marines to use a radio to call for help and to apply tourniquets to his wounds. Wright also directed his Marines to concentrate fire on enemy machine gun positions, assisting in the demise of 26 enemy fighters. For his actions, Wright was later presented the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device for valor.

Private First Class Brian Moquin, 20, USA

Friends said Moquin joined the Army to "straighten his life out" after dropping out of high school and earning a GED. Moquin was killed May 5, 2006, in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. He was a tattoo enthusiast and got seven of them on his last trip home; after learning of his death, seven of his friends got tattoos in his honor.