Almost 20 weeks

I realized the other day that I have no documentation or writings about me being pregnant. So if you didn't know, I am 19 weeks pregnant. This Thursday, Briar and I will be finding out the sex of our baby.  Briar wants a boy badly, as for me I just hope its a healthy baby (in Briars family there are only 2 boys to carry on the Carlisle name, and Briar is one of them, no pressure or anything). It is crazy to think that we are half way there and in 20 more weeks there will be an addition to our family. 

Pregnancy has been pretty good, I cant complain. I had a tiny bit of nausea the first trimester, but it quickly ended. Now I have a huge appetite and get sick if I do not eat. Baby is always hungry. With my crazy work schedule(night shift) I find myself getting up at 2am and having a snack or bowl of cereal. Pregnancy has made me extremely tired. I still think I am having a hard time getting over the sleepy part, but that may be because I am not sleeping well(tummy sleeper) and I work at night. Moral of the story, don't be pregnant and work night shift. So before I got pregnant I would have intense ovarian cysts that would cause a ton of pain and the only thing to subside the pain were narcotics. I thought getting pregnant would stop all the cramping, but boy was I wrong. I am cramping all the time! For me and this pregnancy, cramping is pretty much my biggest problem. I feel pretty blessed. I know a lot of women who have had miserable pregnancies, I am so glad I can enjoy mine.

At my 17 week check up I didn't have any weight gain, however at this next appointment, I feel like I will have probably gained 10 pounds. I am showing, however it feel like I am getting really chubby. People are already grabbing my belly, so something must be there. 

I am not a fan of my doctor, but my insurance only covers certain doctors, and there weren't very many options. She doesn't give us any details. We have to ask a lot of questions to find things out, or ask for her to explain things.  I think she knows I am a nurse so she assumes I know most of this stuff, but its my first baby, and I don't have experience in women's health. She didn't even tell us the fetal heart rate, we had to ask, which may not be that weird, but I feel like women want to know that. I just hope she knows what she is doing when it is time for me to deliver, and who knows, she may not even be the doctor doing it. 

We recently just purchased a house that is being built in a nearby town called Forest Grove. It wont be a huge home, but it will be perfect for our little family. It will also be brand new which will be very nice. It will be done November 18th. Pictures to come. 

One of Briar's good friends just got a job with nike so he will be moving down here to Beaverton in a couple of weeks. He will be living with us for a little bit less than 2 months before we move out to our new home. We are so excited to have him here in Beaverton!

Work has been hard, but thankfully in October I will be moving to day shift. Day shift will be hard, but at least I will be on the same sleep schedule as Briar. My body will do much better getting a full night of sleep.

I am so thankful for where Briar and I are in our lives. I never thought in a million years Briar and I would be married and have a baby on the way. Everything has worked out so perfectly. I know it is because of the Lord's hand playing a special part in our lives. He watches out for us, and provides us with what we need. We are so excited to have a baby and just hope we can raise our children in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. When we strive to follow Christ, we receive blessings and find happiness. 

2 years later

I can't believe it has been one whole year since I last wrote in my blog.  A lot has changed in one year. A year ago we were living in Idaho Falls while I was working at EIRMC and Briar was about to start an internship. This year We have both graduated from school with our bachelors and we are living in Oregon following Briar's dream. He absolutely loves working at Nike. I never thought in a million years that I would ever live in Oregon, but I have learned to love it. It really is beautiful here and we are only an hour away from the coast! At first living here was really hard. We did not have any friends and I was bored staying home all day. We have met some good people through our ward and work. I recently started working at Providence St. Vincent as a float pool nurse on the night shift (7p-7a). It has been hard but a great experience and I am learning a lot.

This past weekend some of my family came to visit. My parents and the Angus family came down to visit me, the Nike store, and the coast. We stayed in a townhome on Rockaway beach, which had a beautiful view of the ocean. On Saturday we toured Cannon beach and part of seaside. We got to hang out with Jess, Greg, and little sofia, who isn't so little anymore. She has grown so much. Her personality is so big and she is always on the move.

On Thursday after a long night shift we are driving to Washington to see Tanner get home from his mission. I can't believe it has already been 2 years since he left to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He will be coming in on Friday afternoon at the Pasco airport. He has had a very successful mission and we are so excited to have him back.

Right now I am typing this on Briar's computer because my computer is currently not working, so I have no pictures. Hope to get some posted soon.

Life in Idaho Falls

I just realized I have not made a post in my blog since Briar and I made the move back to school in the fall. We were living in Rexburg until April when we decided to move here to Idaho fall. I love living in Idaho Falls, although I think it has been hard for Briar adjusting to not having his friends only a few minutes drive away. We were managers there for single women's housing, so it is nice to be done with that.

So what is new for us....Well...Briar is working for Northwestern mutual for his internship. He is learning so much and has great mentors to show him how to really be a business man. Briar graduates December 2014. I cant believe he is almost done. We are not sure what the plans are after he graduates but my fingers are crossed that we will be able to move closer to family. Idaho has been great for us, but we are ready to go back to Washington. As for me I am working as a registered nurse for Easter Regional Medical Center. I have learned so much being there. I have learned patience, how to work hard, and how to manage my time efficiently. I am also still going to school. That's right, full time school, and full time job. I feel like I am getting run down. Thankfully, I will be graduating with my bachelors in nursing mid July. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

As I reflect my life I realize there is so much to be thankful for. We live in a nice apartment that fits our needs, we both have jobs, and we both are able to obtain a college degree. Sometimes when I am stressed from work, tired, and just frustrated, I forget really how blessed I am. Poor Briar has to deal with it on a daily basis.

Really not much has changed since my last post back in the early fall. I did become an aunt again, and I did get a new sister. Welcome to the family Dolly Casper and Sofia Angus.

Happy Fathers Day. 

LOVE YOU DADDY!

Back 2 School

So briar and I have left our families in Washington and have made the move back to Rexburg. This time is different for us. For me, instead of going to school all day I only have 3 classes that are all online! that has been very nice so far. I do homework all day Monday and Tuesday and then the rest of the week I am free! However once clinicals start I will be at the ER in EIRMC  Tuesday & Thursday from 7pm-7am for 2 and 1/2 weeks. Not too bad, but it will throw my schedule off for a little bit. I am still looking for a job. I am trying really hard to get a job in the hospitals but its so competitive. I have had some success and I know I will get a few interviews but for right now I just have to wait. I don't know how long I can wait though!

As for Briar he has class from 7:45-10:45. This semester he has the opportunity to do IBC, that is a business course where they get to start there own business and try to make as much money as possible by getting creative. I think he is enjoying it so far.

Briar also got us lined up to be managers, the only problem is I was expecting briar to do most of the work but since it is an all girl house, I am the one that has to do most of it, I guess it has to be a woman manager. Wow Briar...oh well I guess I have an excuse to delay getting a job ;)

On Friday I got an amazing surprise in the mail. A package from my most favorite missionary, Elder Casper. He sent me a shirt from Oklahoma. We have something going where we give each other a gift on our birthday. We have been doing it for years. My birthday is in January, so he is a little late, but its ok! I love it!

Last night Briar and I went to the school cafeteria and watched the BYU vs. Utah game on a huge screen. That place was packed. I have never seen it soooooo full! It was an awesome atmosphere to watch the games, however the outcome was sad. BYU can not score in the red zone and their QB choked. That is all I have to say about that. We sat by our friends, ate pizza, drank pop, played cards during half time, and enjoyed each others company. It was a great night even if they did lose.

I also got to see my mom, she came to visit on her way back from visiting Jess and Greg at Penn state. I love seeing her even if it has only been 2 weeks. I still miss her! It is also her birthday on the 23rd so we did celebrate early. Happy Birthday MOM!!!!!!!!

has it already been one year!

Briar and I celebrated our one year anniversary August 4th, I know that was several weeks ago but I am now just getting to write about it. We decided we wanted to go camping to save money, and plus I heard it was fun to camping as a married couple so we said "lets do it!" We also didnt want to go too far since we had church the next day so we decided to go to a relatives pond. It started out great. We got the tent set up, a fire going, and started making smores; which were delicious! The Sun was almost all the way down, when it started happening. Briar got bit by a mosquito, then I did. We were being attacked by mosquitoes! I bailed. I didn't want to be itchy all night so I went inside the tent with the screen up so I could still see and communicate with Briar. He toughed it out a little bit longer and then eventually joined me. We were sleeping on Pads that were not too bad, however both of us were having a hard time falling asleep. Around midnight we had another trial come our way...I had to go potty! The outhouse was far away and I didnt want to run through being attacked by mosquitoes. While preparing myself to leave I grabbed the flashlight and was shining it around the tent and saw my biggest fear, a spider the size of my fist on top of the tent. NOW I DEFINITELY WAS NOT LEAVING THE TENT! but i had to go so bad. This was when I started crying, lol but seriously I did. I had to woman up and just do it! I opened the tent and decided to go on the grass near the tent. Briar refused to go with me so I was not walking all the way to the outhouse....My bum got attacked by mosquitoes and I had to throw away a sock, but it wasnt so bad. I had to ignore the spider as I crawled back inside the tent and quickly zip it shut. Finally maybe I could get some sleep. nope. 2 o' clock in the morning i was finally able to snooze a little bit when briar and I were aroused by a  BARK BARK BARK. Two dogs were barking outside our tent one sounded small and too afraid to get any closer, and one sounded huge right outside our tent. Briar and I both looked at each other freaked out! We decided to just ignore it. 30 minutes later they finally left. We didnt get much sleep after that with the fish flapping against the water and the frogs ribbiting all night. When the sun came up we packed up and booked it. It was not the best experience but we got a good story out of it. Happy one year anniversary! I just love Briar!

In 2 weeks we will be returning back to school. I will also be looking for a job in nursing (if you have any connections or options for me that would be much appreciated!) and he will be a teachers assistant (because he is soooo smart). It has been fun being able to live with family and see old friends this summer, but I think we are ready to go back to school. Hopefully one day we will return to the Columbia Basin Permanently!

Family gatherings!

This past week my family and I had the privilege of going to priest Lake, Idaho. I absolutely love that place. We played volleyball on the beach, ate ice cream, tubed on the lake, ate like kings, picked huckleberries, went to the huckleberry festival, walked to the store, went on hikes, and made roasted marshmallows on the camp fire. It was great being able to get away and escape the real world, however Briar had to stay home and work, which made it not as great as it could have been.

                                                          
                                                         Courtney's birthday Party

Last night we had a Calaway family reunion. It's amazing how big my family is and how much it continues to grow! I never have been into family history, but recently I have really enjoyed hearing and reading some of their life experiences. They really have endured a lot. We have it so easy compared to them, yet I still find myself being lazy! I am so thankful for my pioneer relatives and for the choices that they made that made me be where I am today and who I am today.

In Briar's econ class at BYU-I he recently learned that he had the highest grade in his class. My baby is so smart! He is also very self disciplined. When he was taking online courses this summer he would come home from a long day of work and go straight to studying. If it were me I would have taken a nap or eaten a few snacks. He really is a hard worker and I am so proud of him and his accomplishments!

Elder Casper (last one i promise...until he returns anyway)

I realize all of my posts have been on Tanner but here is the last one for awhile.  This morning around 5:00 am Tanner left to Utah to spend  one last day with family until he leaves for the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah. He will spend 10 days in the MTC then leave to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sending him off has been so hard for me....maybe it is because he is my baby brother. I never thought I would miss him so much, especially after being held hostage so many times and yelling "DAAAAAADDDDD" so he would come save me from tanners tight grip, or being hugged so tight your back pops in places you never thought were possible. The point is I love and miss him very much.

I have done a lot of thinking with fathers day just occurring, and Tanner leaving on his mission. I kept thinking about Missionaries having to sacrifice 2 years of their life. They give up all of the worldly things that some of us cant even think of living without. They give up friendships, maybe a girlfriend/boyfriend, family, cell phone, regular clothes, school, first name; this is just a tiny list of some of the things they no longer have once they enter the MTC. Some people only think that the missionaries that serve are the only ones that sacrifice but what about their families? I think about my Dad and Mom, its their baby boy, and they are trusting that the Lord will return him home alive in 2 years. They only get to talk to him 4 times throughout the mission. My parents have the faith to send their youngest son, they know the importance of him going to tornado alley, to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I compare this to the Lord. He sent his only Begotten Son to earth knowing his fate. The savior as well knew what the outcome would be, however, he loves each of us so much, and knew the only way for us to return to God was if we were perfect...which none of us are...we needed him to perform the atonement . We needed him to suffer all of the pains, sadness, disappointments, griefs, and every miserable thing we have ever felt, so we could find that happiness. Like the savior, Tanner is sacrificing so much, so others can find the light of Christ and find joy. A mission is the most unselfish and Christ-like thing you could do.

I love you Elder Casper see you in 2 years.

Shout out to Brad Casper! Happy late Fathers Day. LOVE YOU!