Beginning Our Adventures TOGETHER!!

For Dustin's Birthday we had been planning on going out to Utah for a few days to meet his family and some more of mine and just celebrate with everyone. Luckily it was Easter and General Conference and luckily I also attend a Catholic School who gets a Spring Break and an Easter Break so we were able to go out for about 5 days. One of these years BYU will discover the wonders of Spring Break, not to mention Easter Break!!

We were able to stay that night with my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Rick and of course they came to love Dustin almost instantly. I mean it isn't hard!! Then we were able to eat Thursday lunch with Dustin's lifetime friend Nathan and his wife Michelle and their two kids. Then we headed down to Provo where my Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry threw us an Engagement party. It was SO nice! Once again everyone loved Dustin and it was so nice to be able to see family and friends that I haven't seen in so long and meet this wonderful man by my side. Thank you Linda and Jerry and everyone who made the trip to come down and see us!!
Friday was Dustin's Birthday and we were privileged to go to lunch with my mom, sister and her friend with Dustin's parents at Tucanos!!! Yum!!! I've never been there, but I am proud to admit that I'm a carnivore after that experience.
We then went to pick up his sister Melanie and head off to his sister Sharla's house. I was quite nervous because I'd only met his parents before and that was before we were even dating, so I was just trying to stay calm and hope that I would handle it as well as Dustin meeting all my extended family!
I had nothing to worry about!! What an amazing family of course! We were immediately greeted when we pulled up by children running to come see us. The rest of the weekend was spent playing games and watching conference and getting to know everyone. And there were some things that I actually learned about Dustin.
First is that his sister Melanie always finds the greatest gifts.....and that Dustin likes to put things on his head. He didn't want me to put this one up, but it is too funny with Ruby laughing and sticking her hands over her face and Dustin's look at me as I just don't know what to think. Yes I Love that man!!
Ok so I already knew Dustin Loves to play the piano and sing but it was so nice to hear his family playing and singing and how incredibly talented they are. Dustin has ADORABLE nieces and nephews who love their Uncle Dustin and want to do whatever he does. Can you blame them??

Dustin had previously told me his love of ice cream, but I learned that this was a whole new level of love. Here is him and his delicious ice cream cake. It looks like I better learn how to make ice cream cakes or develop a special relationship with Dairy Queen.
After we got back from Utah the next weekend we decided to go Downtown to see the Cherry Blossom Festival. Unfortunately the heat killed all the blossoms so it was more of just a Festival then anything else, but we still were able to just walk around the Tidal basin and see the trees and monuments.
Dustin was really hungry!
The Cherry Blossoms were gone but there were still so many flowers in bloom and trees everywhere that it was nice just to walk around and enjoy the green and spring!
Dustin Loves Flowers :)

But most importantly....18 more days!!! Wahoo!! Not that we're totally excited or anything :)

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Boy and Girl Have Fun

So life has been going great and we are excited and ready to get married. In some ways we both agree that May 22nd couldn't get here fast enough. But of course we are continuing to love being together and spending this time making decisions and getting to know each other better.

One of our favorite quotes came from my youngest brother Joshua. My parents were in the kitchen hugging so Joshua decided to run to the Dinning Room for safety just to run into me and Dustin kissing in that room. So he then runs to the Living Room shouting "Isn't there a limit to the schmoopiness?!?"

We thought you would also enjoy seeing some of our engagement photos. We took them just after the big snow that hit DC so it was still cold outside and there was still snow on the ground. But we took our photos around Georgetown and right on the steps where Dustin proposed. So these pictures mean a lot to us. My sister Sarah, my dad and mom were kind enough to follow us around and take the pictures for us. We hope you enjoy as much as we do!! Even though I'm sure Dustin wished he could have been wearing his super suit. And I wasn't allowed to wear my Ohio State sweatshirt.

Boy Gets Girl

After the symphony we've continued to expand our international taste buds and laughed even more. Then the huge snow storm hit DC...on my Birthday, and the day Dustin was coming back in town. The poor guy tried everything he could to get back for my Birthday, and then even just back to DC in the first place. But alas, 12 canceled flights, and then once in Chicago 5 gate changes and 4 planes later, he finally flew in at 2am Monday morning. And then it is amazing how something that seemed a burden becomes a blessing, because Dustin got "snowed in" at my house again for 4 days, no work, no school...best Birthday present ever.  Apparently getting snowed in for a few days after him being gone for awhile is the perfect recipe for ring shopping. 

We decided to go shopping together because I wasn't man enough to do it alone...  After looking through the options, Nicki and I finally decided on one.  The ring shop told us that it would take at least 2 1/2 weeks for resizing much to Nicki's chagrin.  But, I think I noticed a little wink and a nod from the sales lady.  I was pretty sure I could get it sooner...

So from the moment we left the ring shop I was on a mission....I checked his pockets whenever I saw him, just in case.  I wasn't about to get surprised.  I knew this man all too well.  And the little stinker (ok he actually smells wonderful) kept doing things to "prove" that he didn't have the ring.  I kept waiting for it....and waiting for it.  I mean I was ready to tell people, especially those girls, that this man was taken.  So I was talking to my mom the morning of February 22, a Monday before I left for school that morning, that since he was going to be busy with work and he wouldn't have the ring until Tuesday that he was going to propose Sunday morning, to try and surprise me.  Because he knew I would be expecting him to propose Saturday night. 

Little did she know that I had used my ninja skills to pick up the ring the Wednesday before (this included calling the place and having them stay open a little longer for me).  I would have proposed before the 22nd, but I wasn't going to be at church for the announcement.  So, I decided to wait until Monday night knowing that she probably wouldn't suspect it.  In order to pull off a surprise, however, I knew that I needed a plan to hide the ring from her for most of the evening.  Luckily, my instinctual stealth skills didn't let me down...

So Dustin asked me what I wanted to do Monday night and we had heard that the housing district around Georgetown was particularly beautiful and fun to look at the houses, so I wanted to go walk around there.  I got back from school after 8pm that evening and we set off to go walk around.  As we were walking around we talked about the cute houses and things we liked and our future together, and ways we wanted to raise our children.  Dustin seemed a bit nervous, but I thought at the time he was just cold since it was raining.  At one point we were actually walking around Georgetown campus and he said he didn't want to go that way because it was too crowded.  I thought....is he trying to propose???  But then brushed it off because I knew he didn't have the ring.  I had kept too close tabs on him for that to happen, and besides I had already checked his pockets.  As we were walking back to the car because by this time we were pretty wet, as romantic as walking and kissing in the rain (I know I said it...we kiss every now and then), we are whimps when it comes to the cold.  We did stop to talk and admire this stoop with this winding staircase and ivy hanging everywhere when he mentioned we could have something like that in our home.  Being the schmoop I am I just told the truth, I only wanted him.  Then he pulled me over and got down on his knee and I immediately thought he was kidding and gave this look wondering if he was serious.  Then he started saying the most wonderful things and pulled this little box out  of his pant leg.  Then lots of yeses, tears and more kissing in the rain later there was this beautiful ring on my left hand that symbolized the future I was going to spend with the man I loved more then I thought possible.

Couldn't have said it better.  It was exactly how I wanted it to be.  I don't think I could have planned it better...definitely serendipitous!  I have never been happier thanks to this amazing girl....and then we lived happily ever after! 

Boy Falls for Girl

So we are going to try and update everyone on our exciting adventure, thus far at least.

First, we wanted to explain the Peter Parker and Mary Jane which we chose as the title of our last blog. Dustin is a superhero. He always has been. If anyone can tell you whose who in the Marvel world, Dustin is your man. But of all his superheros and superpowers, Spiderman is THE man. I mean you can crawl on walls, make spiderwebs and swing between buildings, but to top the cake, who can beat the "Spider sense"??? If there is anything a man needs, it is the gift of the spider sense. Dustin has a Spiderman keychain and one hanging from his rear-view mirror, and a spiderman ringtone. Hot I know :) So I like to call him my Peter Parker because he has such great senses and saves me, and so of course I'm his Mary Jane. But just as an FYI, we don't recommend kissing upside down, the movies make it look so romantic, but right side up is MUCH better.

The weekend following our first kiss, DC was hit by a semi-big snow storm. I had planned on going to Nicki's Saturday morning, but the snow was a little much for my Vibe. I called her to tell her I wasn't going to make it, but during the conversation her parents insisted they would come get me in their SUV. I was quite taken back by their willingness to do this, but I was definitely happy. Because of this, I was happily snowed in at her family's place for the weekend! It was much better than being snowed in with my roommates (they're great, but Nicki's better). Church was canceled and I got to hang out with her fam, listen to stories about her, have a testimony meeting, and just had an all around amazing time.

I worked on Monday and luckily had lunch with this wonderful girl before I flew home for Christmas. While home, we texted back and forth and I realized how much I missed talking with her and making her cheeks hurt. As much as I loved being with my family, I was really excited to get back to DC. I was worried her cheeks were starting to atrophy.

So Dustin has made my life so easy and likes to land mark our big events on the same dates as members of my families birthdays. Joshua's was the 11th when he really knew he was in and ready to dive in. Then on the 29th, my little brother David's Birthday, I made him lunch and went to his house again since I was working that night. And while hugging good bye he looked at me and told me loved me. I had to smile and tell him that I knew he did :) And of course I had to tell him I loved him too!!! The best part is my family has continuously made "guesses" on when he was going to tell me this, just like we all did for when we thought he was going to hold my hand and kiss me, and once again, Dustin surprised us all. Maybe he's not as slow moving as I thought. This boy is smart and catches on. :)

On 5 January Nicki's family and I went to see Wicked in New York. I highly recommend it. It was one of the most amazing musical experiences both Nicki and I have ever had. Nicki wore this amazing dress and while at the performance a guy told her she that she looked absolutely beautiful. When I heard him say this, I thought, "Dang straight she is and she's with me!"

For Christmas, I decided to get Nicki tickets to the symphony along with a nice dinner. Making this decision was very stressful because I don't consider myself very good at that kinda thing. But, I waded through my trepidation and went out on a limb deciding to just get her it even though she would have to wait for it.

Oh and it was well worth the wait!! What a night to just dress up nicely, then he took me to Ethiopian food and listened to me talk all about Ethiopia like the wonderful boyfriend he is. And he even tried injera and all sorts of crazy wats. But I was nice and didn't order the raw kidneys. Ok, maybe I never wanted to taste those again. But then to go to the Kennedy Center and spend the evening listening to this amazing music and a piano concerto. Dustin even took the advice of my sister and got floor seats stage left so that we could watch the pianist go at it. I can't say how amazing that was!! Just another night to help us spend time together and draw even closer.

To be continued....

Tune in next time. Same bat time, same bat channel...

The Real Peter Parker and Mary Jane

So by popular demand, Dustin and I will be recording our story for your reading delight. We thought it might be more fun for both of us to tell our sides of the story. So sorry if this is a little long. Just a few warnings before you embark upon this journey. First, Dustin will be talking in italics just to make it easier to distinguish who is talking. Second, we're schmoopy, aka sappy. So if your stomach can't take the mush, don't even bother.

So there I was, cleaning the church meticulously setting up the primary room chairs when a girl with this beautiful smile peaked in and said, "Hi, I'm Nicki." and then we were dating.

That is what I get for asking him to help. I deserved that one. But we met in August cleaning the church and then saw each other a week later on the way to choir.

Following the choir encounter, I saw Nicki and her sister Jessica at one of the thirty birthday parties held in September. We engaged in conversation about pickle juice, electrolytes, and shin splints which was interrupted by a phone conversation with my sister.

After he disappeared I was sure I had blown it and should have kept my mouth shut about the tibialis anterior separating from the periostium. I mean this guy was cute, and I have no filtering system.

So on a fine evening in October, several business trips later, Nicki held this great party. Not quite sure of the details, I called her up and said, "Hey!" She said, "Cool," and then I came over. Upon arrival, while Nicki was entertaining hundreds of guests (almost literally), I fearlessly embarked upon the dangerous activity of ziplinning. After looking awesome, I ate some grub, played a couple games with Nicki, then skedaddled.

Keep in mind that at this time my sights were set in a different direction, and Dustin had been out of a relationship for 2 days at this point. The next thing we remember was Dustin finding me on facebook and we started talking a bit more. We had found some mutual friends and enjoyed making connections. Then I left for M*ch*g*n for my friends wedding and ran into one of those connections and was excited to tell him that Dustin was in my ward.

When she got back, we talked on the phone about our mutual friend during which I mentioned that my parents, in a couple of days, were coming in town for a week. So, for the next week and a half, I was predisposed.

I was pretty sure he was telling me this to explain why on earth he wasn't asking me out yet. I thought we got along pretty well and was interested in getting to know him better. So at church that Sunday when these two "adults" sat in front of me at church I was sure they were Dustin's parents and I thought it had to be some sort of a hint. I said hi and introduced myself. Then I watched them during sacrament meeting and was really impressed. They just seemed like good people. So during Sunday School my friend Stephanie had been bugging me about going on a double date with her and her boyfriend Dave and Dave asked who I wanted to be set up with. So I said Dustin. Afterwards I taught the Relief Society Lesson and was for some odd reason really nervous that Sister Hinton was in the audience. I thought for sure that from some of my stories she would think I was not good enough for her son.

Scene change -- driving home in my car. Mom: So, the relief society lesson was great today. Me: Really? What was it about. Mom: It was about child and parent relationships. Me: Interesting. Mom: Do you know a Nicki Shepherd in your ward. Me: Yes mom. Mom: She seems like a really great girl. Me: I'm sure she is. But I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship yet. Mom: Why not? Dad: Okay...

Dave approached me around this time and asked if I would double with Nicki and them. I was originally going paragliding that weekend, but the weather looked like I would not be able to go. So, I said, "Sure." However, the weather did clear up, so I asked for a rain check.

When Stephanie called me to let me know Dustin had canceled I said I was done. But I wanted to let him know I wasn't upset that he couldn't go, because it really was a good reason. However, I had convinced myself he wasn't interested and that I should turn my focus elsewhere. And yet we ended up talking on the phone for about an hour that night.

The next night, the night that was supposed to be our date, I met up with Stephanie and Dave at a huge house party. But when I walked in the door I ran into Dustin, who said he was sorry, but they ended up not going anyways, and then I didn't see him for the rest of the night (he later said he was playing ping pong in the basement). I was slightly flustered, so Stephanie told me to come to dinner with her and Dave. At dinner Dave gave a needed pep talk, and told me that he had recently gotten out of a relationship and to just be patient. So I was patient....

We talked on the phone a couple of times and then by a stoke of luck Nicki became part of my groups talent show act -- Harry Potter Puppet Pals -- as Hermione (I was Snape wearing a mullet wig sideways). So, between rehearsals and the performance, we spent some good time getting to know each other. This lead to flirting at FHE, and then I finally got my act together and asked her out the day before Thanksgiving.

This night was one of the more stressful nights of my dating career. A friend in the ward had asked me out for dinner, and another guy in the ward asked me over for games, and then Dustin randomly texted me to see if I wanted to get ice cream or hot chocolate that night. My dinner friend was at work until 8pm and wouldn't be able to talk, but I wanted to go out with Dustin. So I texted this friend to let him know that my sister Jessica and Dustin would be joining us for dinner. Dustin was worried about overstepping his bounds by cramping his style, but I reassured him that he and I were just friends.

My experience was quite different. I went out with this great girl, laughed, talked about great things, and just all around enjoyed myself, completely unaware of the stress she was/went through. I told her I could probably come by in the evening on Thanksgiving, but wasn't sure when I would get there. I believe that day was even more stressful for Nicki because a guy in the ward asked if he could come over for the day. When I got there, I could tell the guy liked her, and I didn't know what she thought, so I stayed for a while then left quickly so that I wouldn't bother the two of them. Needless to say, this frustrated her a great deal!

Watching Dustin walk away with this other guy standing next to me might have made me freak out a little bit. Maybe. Then I worked that Friday night, and Saturday was the BYU vs. Utah game, and I was going to have people over for the game, but ended up going over to a mutual friend's house. I knew I had to do something that night to let Dustin know that it was him I was interested in, and not the 5 other guys that were asking me out at the time. :) Translation: I looked hot. And we ended up talking after the game for about an hour, just enjoying getting to know each other. However, he left in a rush, to go pick up a friend from the airport. Again, making me think that I'd been a bit too much.

The next day at church I was really busy and didn't have much time to talk. This made Nicki think that she had blown it again. Luckily, through a complex turn of events, we were able to enjoy the evening playing games with Dave and Stephanie.

Then, after an evening at FHE on Monday, Dustin discovered that I was having computer troubles and offered to fix it the next day at his place. That night Dustin wooed me with his masterful technical skills. We laughed for 3 hours. My cheeks hurt by the time I got home.

Nicki worked for the next couple of days, but she was able to get Friday off and I took her on our first real date. We went to a Thai place, got mango sticky rice, then went to a friends place to play games. I think Nicki's cheeks were hurting at the end of the night...again. I had thoroughly enjoyed myself and went home happy.

The next morning a friend drove me to the airport so I could join my family in M*ch*g*n for my niece Isabelle's baby blessing. We kept in touch until we saw each other at FHE the next night, setting another computer fixing date for that Tuesday. This was the night that he really decided he wanted me....because I made him Orange Chicken. And it was good.

Heck yeah! It was succulently delicious!!! So, I was lucky enough to receive an invite to Nicki's brother's birthday party (Josh) scheduled for Friday (Dec. 11). I came over and joined in the festivities which included watching Harry Potter 6. I once again thoroughly enjoyed myself. Nicki however was worried because her parents were making out on the couch next to us. I didn't really notice this however. In contrast, I felt really comfortable that night and decided that I wanted to date this girl.

I know I freaked out a lot. But I had my mom telling me the whole time to just enjoy being with him and be patient. So the next morning (Saturday) we went to a Birthday breakfast for a friend and then he picked me up again so we could attend the ward Christmas Party that night. This was when all the freaking out paid off. After enjoying an evening chatting with ward friends, we went on our way to a friend's birthday party. Walking to the car....are you ready for it?? Yes, Dustin held my hand. Oh baby.

Our unofficial announcement to the ward came the next day when we held hands at church. Needless to say, I was happy about it. That night we went to the temple visitor's center with Dave and Stephanie to watch Jessica (sister) perform. The performance was great as were the temple lights, but Nicki started to not feel well. We came back to her place, but didn't stay long because she was feeling worse. I didn't want to kiss her when she wasn't feeling well so instead I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead as I left.

Monday night I went over to Dustin's house after FHE and we read together "The Fourth Wiseman". Then we ended up talking. I asked him what he thought about our relationship and how on earth it came about, because looking back I wasn't sure what happened exactly. It was here that I learned about the conversation with him mom in the car and we talked about our thought processes. Then Dustin explained why he hadn't kissed me yet, and I told him to take as long as he needed. This alone shows how much I liked this guy, because I am NOT a patient person!! This is one of those nights that I'll always treasure because I feel that we opened up a lot, and was another crucial step in building a trusting relationship.

The next night Dustin had an institute performance that I couldn't attend because I was visiting teaching. But he came over after the performance. I could tell he was tired, but I was working the next three days, so I had to get my fill. And on comes the schmoopiness. I walked him to his car, feeling rather silly in my Grandma's long coat with fur around the hood, but it was the first thing I could find and I wasn't going to make him wait while I found something else. And so of course he decided to kiss me. And silly girl that I am...I thanked him!! But besides the coat and me thanking him...it was perfect.

I didn't know at the time, but her family had bets on when I was going to kiss her. They all thought it would be another week before I did it. When Nicki said "thank you," it seemed like she was saying, "Finally!" But, we are both happy with how things went.

Anyway, now we are just enjoying getting to know each other better and just having fun by making gingerbread houses, going to Wicked and many other things. Living the dream...as always...

This is us at the hotel before going to Wicked.

This is my smart boyfriend who is wearing his Christmas present for when we watched the Rose Bowl.

Virginia Thus Far

Ok, so I'm just trying to think of what else I need to write about since I haven't really blogged about what I've been up to in Virginia very well. So here it goes. We'll mostly just go along with the pictures, I think it will be easiest :) This Picture is of our 24 hour trip to Delaware to spend one last day on the beach before the kiddos started school. I already had started school by this time and only had Wednesdays off, so it was quick but a blast.

This is my attempting to stay warm. I officially have been damaged for life now that I've living in Phoenix. I just can't get warm anymore. So the quote from this trip was after swimming in the ocean we needed to D-Sand ourselves, and so Jess and I decided to jump on the pool. Keep in mind that the pool was a great deal colder then the ocean and you had to keep moving to survive. David joined us a little bit later. Then Josh came running up and just jumped in the pool without checking the water first. He pops up with his glasses hanging off his face and shouts very quickly "Holy Smokes Its' Cold!!!"

We also went white water rafting with the boy scouts. Since Dad couldn't come it ended up being Jess, Mom, Sarah, Me, our cousin Elizabeth and our friend Ian in a boat. I was the leader in the back in charge of steering. Lets just keep in mind that this was an interesting experience since there were four very dominant females in this raft, but by the time we got to the end we were not only experts at getting ourselves off of rocks, but mom got thrown into the boat by one of the guides after being knocked out, and we were one of the few who made it through without getting help through the roughest section at the end. We rocked it!!
In October I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan to be a bridesmaid for my friend Robin Finn. It worked out perfectly because I got to stay with Nate and Mari who lived 10 minutes away. So I got a lot of catch up time and got to see Mari preggers. It was a fun weekend. Robin took me all around Ann Arbor since that was where she grew up. We went out to eat at fabulous places and just really enjoyed the time together. Her family was very accommodating and helpful. Besides me being one of 4 sober people at the end of the wedding reception it was fabulous weekend, and unforgettable. I also was able to stop by Cleveland on my drive home and spend the night and go out to breakfast with my high school friend Nikki Nadeau. It was so nice to relax and just catch up with friends.
One of the things that I was so excited about moving to DC was because of the history and all that is available to do around the area. From my weekend in NYC with Robin for her Bachelorette weekend to going to dinner and then walking around the capital and library of congress to the Saturday I spent in Harper's Ferry with three other girls from Relief Society. This is a picture of Harper's Ferry. SO beautiful. Even though it was pouring rain. We were able to go on the 150th Anniversary of the John Brown Raid, so there was a lot to do. And of course I wouldn't be living the dream if it didn't include sporting events. Josh, Sarah, Dad and I had the amazing opportunity to show our USA pride by attending the World Cup Qualifying Match against Costa Rica.

It was an amazing game and we ended up tieing them 2-2, scoring 2 goals in the last 15 minutes or so. The energy was amazing and it made me miss soccer games in Europe.
This was us waiting for the metro. We decided that since we can't go to the World Cup next summer as planned (prices tripled so it was a bit out of budjet) this soccer game was completely worth it.
In order to get more involved in the ward I asked if I could organize a ward PowderPuff game, where Relief Society B challenged Relief Society A to a game. It worked out better then I'd planned. Here is Jessica as our amazing QB. We even had a half time show put on by the Elders and a commentator on loadspeakers and quite the crowd came to cheer us on.
As you can see it was really really muddy!! Yes, those are my feet and how muddy my legs really were. True to form I spent most of my time on the ground after trying to grab flags. :)
This Thanksgiving was one of the best we'd had in a long time. The Thompson's came up from Charlotteville and the Riehl's came from Arlington. Our family friend Maren came, and my friend Jonathan joined us for the day, with our friend Laura dropping by and Dustin coming over to play games later. As you can see Jessica is very excited to be baking her pie.
David is sad we didn't play the game he wanted.
Yes, this is Dustin. I'll blog about him next, once I get pictures from Sarah from this weekend. Just a teaser for you to entice you to read more next time :)
Dad decided that this year the tableclothe was going to be paper and we all had to write what we were thankful for. Leave it to Dad to always remember the real purpose of the Holidays. That is why we love him!! And for many many other reasons too!!
Watching some Charlie Brown while waiting for the food to be ready.
Sarah and Alex taking a nap after eating some good food.
And of course it wouldn't be life with the Shepherd's if there wasn't some repelling included. This is Jessica showing off her Austrailian style skills.
Josh is so funny to watch because he's too lite to actually slide down the rope so he has to jump out to go down. But he's gotten pretty good.
We have been trying to find a good place at Great Falls to repel and it was pretty busy this saturday and so everyone kept stopping to watch us.
We went out to Michigan for Isabelle June Shepherd's baby blessing. I flew out since I had a final on Friday and was supposed to work, but I ended up not having to work and going out with Dustin instead. :) But here is us girls in our natural states after a wonderful day at church and spending quality time as first time aunts.
Isabelle all bundled and ready for our trip to Borders. It isn't a visit with Nate unless you go to Borders since he can get us a discount. If you get books for Christmas and Birthdays from now on you know why. We are trying to make sure Nate will still have a job.
The family with the latest addition. Mari was taking the picture or else she would have been in it too. We were just sad to not have Matt and Chelsea there too!
My adorable sister-in-law/old college roommate and my older brother with their adorable little girl. I love her!! She has the best expressions and is so well behaved. She had to have the pacifier however since she was really hungry.
Just one of her many faces. It was so fun to just get to hold her. Mari was so good to let us all hold her to our little hearts content and change her and give her a bath. It was a great weekend.



I was fortunate to participate as Hermione in our little skit for the Ward Talent Show. This was our rendition of remaking the Youtube video of Potter Puppet Pals. Dustin is Snape. :)

Saving Lives

I've been working the past two months in the ER at Virginia Hospital Center with the official job title as "Scribe". My job is to do whatever the doctor needs me to do to help them see more patients in a more efficient and timely manner. So I take the chart into the room and chart the patient history and complaints, gather and record labs, page other doctors, or get juice or a warm blanket for the patient, or whatever else the doctor can think of that they need help with.

That is my job in a nutshell. I work the evening shift usually from 3:30pm-1am ish 2-4 days a week while going to school during the day. I need to unwind after tonight so I thought I'd share some of the craziness that is my job. I get to the ER, and as the doctor I am working with is waiting for the other doctor to sign out their patients to us, a nurse comes out of a room saying this patient needs to be seen STAT. He was brought in by the paramedics in a mild coma. So we ran tests trying to figure out what was wrong since he was non-responsive, but stable. Turns out he was a diabetic on dialysis and with a blood sugar of 1225!!! So we have to admitted him to the ICU and got him on some insulin. Patient number 1.

We then saw an 86 year old man who tripped in the hospital parking lot while leaving after having a procedure done and fell and broke his nose and was really beat up with abrasions above the eyes and the lips who needed to be sutured up. He decided to make a scene and kept coming out of his room demanding the doctor so he could ask him about his regular medications. So we had to go into the room numerous times to calm him down. Then the son showed up who also decided to make a scene and got upset about the abrasions on his fathers hand and kept making a big deal of everything. Then we lost the father momentarily while reassuring the son, because he went off someone to find a place to put his pants back on. Patient number 2.

Then an elderly woman brought her husband in because he was suffering from depression and was suicidal and she normally takes care of him even though she herself is in her 80s. But she brought him in because he was "belligerent" and "aggressive" and even tried to run out the front door in his underwear, and then after his wife locked the door, he tried to escape out the second story window. You get the picture. Patient number 3.

Then we have the Paramedics bring in a patient who was in the middle of a heart attack. Long story short we were able to save his life. Literally. And the ER was so busy with all the rooms full and 8 patients in the hallway with 10 more to come back from the waiting room, that the doctor, the nurse and I had to bring the patient up to the Cath Lab where they were going to put in a stint. Seriously, whenever have you heard of a doctor transporting a patient up to another floor? Patient number 4.

Keep in mind that we also got 7 patients from the previous doctor and so all during the time we were saving this man's life, all the patients, except for the man in the coma, were having a fit that they needed to be seen and get out of the ER. Now this is about 2 hours into the 10 hour shift.

With so many people waiting for rooms we tried to discharge a patient who came in refusing to speak, except that he had to stay for a week. So we ran the work up on him since we didn't have any complaints, and everything came back negative. So we tell him he needs to go home and he continues to pretend he is asleep. He "wakes up" when we ask him if a meal would help him feel better. So he eats and when he is done we tell him he has to leave since all of his tests came back negative and we need his bed for patients in the waiting room, and that we are not a hotel. He refuses to get out of the bed, let alone sit up. The nurses try, the doctors try, he just keeps saying he needs to stay in the hospital for a week. So we call security and go through an entire ordeal trying to get this man out of the ER. Finally they wheel him in a wheel chair to the front door when he gets up and starts going crazy and running around the ER being chased by security. The police come and the man runs out the front door into the rain with the police chasing after him. We still don't know if they ever found him. And I felt bad because he ended up being a homeless man who just wanted a place to sleep and a meal. We tried to find a place for him, but he ran off too quickly. But still it was pretty funny to see, and took about 45 min to get everything resolved.

Needless to say that the night continues to go on in this manner. All the patients we saw after that had every complaints you could think of, all of which had been going on for at least 3 months, some for a few years. Note to all future people who read this: the ER is not a place where you go when you have a chronic illness that needs tests and someone to follow up with. We will not figure out the cure to your abdominal pain and dizziness that you've been having for 9 months in one visit. See a primary care. It is a waste of your time and your money. They will run a Chest xray, CT, get CBC, CMP, and a urine and when it all comes back negative they will just tell you to follow up with your primary care physician and go home, after you waited 3 hours for all the labs to come back.

And to top this all off, the doctor I was working with is a very nice man, and I'll be working with him a lot in the future, but this was my first shift with him and I almost went nuts. I spent half the night trying to find him or trying to get him to focus and read the labs and xrays so the next patient could go home. Granted it didn't help that he was exhausted after dealing with everything, but he was just all over the place!! And he even admitted that he would not have made it through this shift with his sanity still in tack without his trusty scribe. Haha. Lets just hope that I can figure out how to keep better tabs on him and get him to focus a little better next time.