Spring Has Sprung!!!

Oh how I love hearing the birds in the mornings when I walk to school!  I didn't realized how much I missed them until they came back... It's finally warm enough to run outside without bundling up too much, the sun shines most days, I wore shorts two days ago, and there are buds on our tree!  I'm so excited for our tree outside our apartment window to be full of leaves again instead of the naked branches.

I've stuck to at least one of my New Years resolutions this time around.  I wanted to be healthier... specifically to get my body back into the shape it was in when Craig and I were dating.  I really had no good excuse for letting my good habits go once we got married, so I was determined to fix it.  I've been much better about exercising and eating well since returning from Christmas break and it has certainly paid off.  I became good friends with my running shoes again and have re-learned to love our experiences together. :)  Good-bye 10 pounds!  Look out to the 3 1/2 that are still there... you're toast!

We've had a new addition to the Allred household.  Her name is Machi and she is a Chilean Rose-Hair Tarantula.  Yeah.... It took a LOT of convincing.  Craig's boss was getting rid of her and the original plan was for Eric, Craig's twin brother, to take it.... Apparently Karen vetoed that idea.  I agreed to let her stay under the condition that she NEVER EVER comes out of her tank.  If she does, whether by accident or design, she is G-O-N-E!!!  We named her Machi after doing some exploration of Chilean history.  Apparently the Mapuche tribe called their shaman "machi", and these positions were usually held by women.  She's Chilean, she's a female spider..."There you go." (In my best Mr. Portokalos voice)  For now she's actually pretty interesting, though she doesn't move much which is just fine with me.  Craig told me to be sure that I add the disclaimer that he is going to revamp her cage and make it much cooler.... we'll see what happens with that.


Craig has a new job this semester.  He is working for a children's literacy program called SEEL with Dr. Culatta, one of the associate deans of his program.  He's really enjoying it, especially being able to visit and teach lessons at the elementary school.  Even though he works 20 hours a week he's still managing to get great grades in order to be competitive for grad schools.  Sometimes I don't know how this man does it.  He's also the newly appointed treasurer of the BYU chapter of NSSHLA (I'm not sure what it stands for...) which is a student organization for communication disorder majors.  He's pretty excited to be more involved.  

We got to visit with Idaho State University a few weeks ago and Craig absolutely loved it!  Turns out they have a fantastic program for Audiology.  We visited with nearly every professor for about an hour and got to sit in on a few hearing exams and such.  Craig was definitely in his element.  He's excited to be done with his bachelors and move on to grad school, however that adventure won't start for another year.

For me school this semester has been stressful, but really great all at the same time.  I've been working as a research assistant for Dr. Ana Birkhead.  Sarah (the other research assistant) and I have done research on postpartum depression and are helping Ana with organizing and teaching social support groups for mothers with postpartum.  It is so rewarding to watch these women take hold of their situation and become happier and more confident as they talk with each other and learn how to cope with their different situations.  I love my job.

I just finished my Psychiatric and Intensive Care Unit rotations at the hospital.  Psych nursing wasn't my thing, but it was interesting while it lasted.  I understand so much more about those who struggle with mental illness and am certainly grateful for the experiences I had in that area.  In our lecture a couple weeks ago they asked us to draw pictures of our families (like they would do in art therapy with a child) and this is what I came up with.  Not bad, eh? (That's an otoscope in Craig's hand by the way)  I thought it was pretty fun. :)  I added all the little accessories to the individual family members after the fact, but that way you can tell who is who...

I've got to admit, I didn't think ICU would be my thing, but I absolutely fell in love with it.  I had thought that I would want to do Labor and Delivery or maybe Pediatrics, but I really enjoy the academic thinking on your toes that comes with ICU.  I'm hoping to be place in the Pediatric ICU or Newborn ICU for my capstone semester in the fall, but I won't know for sure until the end of the summer... Gah!  On one of our last days of the ICU rotation, a couple of the life-flight nurses came and talked to us about what they do and took us out to see and sit in the helicopter.  You have to be an ICU nurse (PICU or NICU would work as well) for 5 years in order to even qualify to apply for a position as part of the life-flight team.  I actually really liked the idea of life-flight.  It's not exactly the most mommy-friendly nursing job to have but how awesome would it be?  We'll see I guess....

I experienced caring for a patient who was passing away for the first time this semester.  Let me tell you, that was one of the most heart wrenching, but spiritual experiences I have ever had.  She was in her 80's and had a massive stroke that would have left her immobile, unable to communicate, and completely dependent upon other people for her care.  Her cute husband knew that that was not the kind of life she would have wanted, so he and his children made the decision to let her go.  I was so thankful that this family had the knowledge of the plan of salvation to carry them through this especially difficult time.  They knew that "goodbye" was only for a short time and that they would get to see their wife/mother/grandmother again.  I can't imagine trying to cope with the loss of a loved one without the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was so thankful for my own testimony at that time because my Grandpa Orme had passed away only 2 days before I cared for this patient and her family.  Needless to say, it hit very close to home for me.  It was a hard but very tender week and I felt myself buoyed up through the difficult time by my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I know that He suffered not only for our sins, but He felt every pain and every hardship that we will ever endure in order to know better how to succor us in our times of need.  I'm so thankful for my Savior who loves me unconditionally.  I know that if we live righteously, we have the opportunity to be with those we love again and to live forever in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  He loves us so much and wants for us to return to him and be happy in his presence forever.