Where Has She Been?!? {Part 3}

The final post catching me up to present time! Prepare for another long one.  If you want to read about where I have been since I last posted read part 2 and part 1 of this trilogy regarding my mishaps in steady blogging.  Anyways I still feel like I have so much to blog about in just a few months!  At least I know my life thus far hasn't been boring.

December (first half):

I was very sad to leave Andrew but I knew I still had things to accomplish by coming home December 9th.  I had only a few short days to pack up all of the things I had to keep behind with me while I finished school.  Yep.  All of those heavy, heavy books!  Ok, I actually just ended up mailing most of them:)  But the moment I had been waiting for the past 5 semesters, and really of my time during school, had come.  I was finally done with my bachelors!!!! Whoop, whoop!  December 15th, 2014 marked the day I had my official pinning ceremony for nursing.  My nursing class, which had become like a family, invited friends, family, and instructors to join us in celebrating our accomplishments and marking our entry into the nursing world by getting pinned by someone who has influenced us.  

I had just one person able to come to my pinning ceremony.  I couldn't think of a better person who I would want to pin me.  My Aunt Karen made the trip all the way from Iowa just to come "pin me".  I have always been close to my aunt but was able to grow even closer during my time in North Dakota so it meant so much she sacrificed to come up.  She and my Aunt Cris have definitely been at the forefront of supporting me in becoming a nurse! But honestly, we had a blast during those days she came up! I feel so blessed.  Here is a little of the fun we had and of her pinning me!

As you can see it was amazing!  My Aunt Karen has always been such as strong influence in my life and someone who I really respect.  So happy I had someone to share in such an amazing day, especially since the hubby couldn't be there!

December (second half):

December was so busy I had to split up the month!  After my pinning ceremony I literally had just one day before I flew out the morning of the 17th to stay with family.  It really was bittersweet to say goodbye to Minot.  The place I initially was very, very resistant to go to was a place I didn't want to say goodbye to.  We both really grew to love it.  But, it was so much fun to be with my family for the time that I did!  I really feel grateful it worked out the way it did.  

What came next?  Well...on December 29th I got to be a part of one of my best friend's wedding.  Allison Mills, now Allison Muir was a beautiful bride and I am so happy I got to be there.  Now you see why I put up with being away from my husband for so long? I would miss out on so much!

What did I say? Beautiful!  Another one of my best friends, Jenepher, was also there (as a bridesmaid of course).  Seriously so happy I got to see both of them and my family!  I know the military is a lifestyle I fit well in, but that doesn't mean I don't miss the important people in my life constantly!

January-February:

Just a couple pictures of what my life was like during January.  Yes, I realize the this one is one from Christmas, but I needed one to represent family time! haha. In reality most of January was spent studying.  It was miserable and of course as the "hot mess" I am, I stressed about taking the NCLEX the whole time.  Turned out it was just as hard as I thought it would be and the two days I had to wait for my results were sheer torture.  But everything, all of the anxiety, studying, years of school, being away from home, spending less time with my husband, etc. was all worth it.

I passed! (In 75 questions I might add;) ) I am officially a registered nurse!  I literally cried with happiness because it also meant I could now schedule a flight home.  About a week after I took my test I came "home" to Germany.  It had been about 12 weeks apart and I was so excited to see him.

February-March: 

The end of my tale has come.  I am in Germany.  There has been ups and downs and adjustment has been hard.  They saw it takes about six months here to finally feel adjusted to living here!  The first month I was here was rough.  I was missing my family and was frightened of the future.  All of my classmates were out already with jobs and here I was sitting at home without a drivers license. By the way,getting a drivers license here is quite the process, but luckily I now have one!  Yep. Had I made the right decision?  I suppose I could have been more selfish and live by myself for a year and work.  But, I put my trust in the Lord and knew we were sent to Spangdahlem for a reason. I had to put my faith in Him and believe things we happen in His time and in His way.    Things really are finally falling into place:)

I was able to get through the first month since we were able to go home for my brother's wedding the begining of March!  It was beautiful and so glad we got to be a part of it. We got to see my whole family.  By whole family I mean a bunch of them! Grandparents (both sets), aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, siblings, in-laws.  The whole clan almost!  It was a blast...which almost didn't happen due to some space-a mishaps (aka they canceled several flights as we were about to board, ugh!).  

 The Beautiful Couple (courtesy of Lynn Anderson).  Welcome to the family Lacey!

 

Anderson Family

The week of the wedding was crazy, crazy, crazy busy.  Up until the end was just busy non-stop!  But so happy we were with so much of my family and at least able to talk to them:D

 The Hubby and I (love it!)

We are back in Germany now and have been for almost two weeks.  It has started to grow on me in many ways.  Patience has never been my strong suit and I want things to just happen right now!  However I know it is not always easy, but so true that we grow the most during our time of "waiting".  

All I know right now is I love my husband, I miss my family, I am so excited for the new friends I have been meeting, I now know the potential in opportunities to come, and am ecstatic for the adventures that await for my little family!!!! Today, as I am writing, I coming out of the hoping and waiting for things to fall into place because they finally are (but more on that later!) Traveling, church, experiencing living in a new country, nursing, military life, and growing together are just some of things to come.  "Where have I been" has concluded, so all of the next posts will be about what we have been doing in Germany!

Love Always,

The Andersons

Valentine's Day on the Slopes

Amazing. Bucket List.  Snowy.  Germany Fun. 

I mean how else can I describe our Valentine's Day Adventure 2015?

This year for Valentine's Day I made Andrew be in charge of planning what we would do.  It was a 3 day weekend and I subtly (or not so subtly) gave him many suggestions of what I thought would be fun.  We had originally planned on doing something much different, but since that fell through the hubby came up with this.  He had some buddies from his shop who had planned on going snowboarding and he figured it would be the perfect time for somebody more experienced to teach us.  Not going to lie, I was super resistant at first to the idea. 

So we booked everything and ended up spending two nights and having a two day lift pass in Feldburg, Germany.  Instructions were minimal to say the least! We didn't have any lessons and it was a "ok, watch me do this" type of instruction and then us left to do our own thing. What better way can you learn snowboarding?!? Ha ha.  It did end up being good for us! Practice really does make perfect so just getting out there, falling 100+ times, and just learning through experience is the way to go.  We had tons of fun and traveled there in our car with us, three of Andrew's buddies, and the snowboards strapped to the top.  Fun times!!!

We stayed two nights at a "hotel".  Really it was definitely more of a bed and breakfast type place.  The place had about 7 rooms and we were greeted by a hostess.  She spoke very little English but she was super nice!  It was pretty funny when we had to call her on the phone (since we were getting in late as we drove about 5 hrs. after they got off work)and hoped she understood what we were saying!  But, I have to say...BEST BREAKFAST EVER!!! She had a whole spread for us ready by 0700 both mornings.  I wish we had gotten a picture because there were eggs, fruits, fresh bread, cheeses, smoked meats, orange juice, and even peppers! Super yummy. 

Outside of where we stayed.

Inside the hotel, house, place?

Our room...cute, right!

Then for the main dinner night there we pretty much drove around until I happened to spot a possible place down behind some trees in one of the villages we passed.  Luckily it had the lights on or we would have missed it! This place even had English menus which made things much easier to order:) Very delicious as well.  I had smoked trout with a cranberry spread and toast.  Definitely ended up being the best dish:) Did I mention a delicious apple strudel for dessert? YUM.

By the end of the trip, well really after the first day, we were super sore (just like we were warned).  Honestly it took quite a few days to get over feeling like we got hit by a train!  By the second day of snowboarding we had already gotten better and even tried some new slopes (the first day we mostly were on the blue slopes).  It was a fun group to go with I am glad we had someone to show us the "ropes" (luckily they had been there before).  What a memorable trip it was! We are already planning another snowboarding trip! Can't wait to see what new adventures we try in the future.  Snowboarding...check!

Love,

The Andersons

Where Has She Been?!? {Part 2}

Picking up where I left off...read about that here...I will continue all of my updating from the past months leading into where I am now! Prepare for another long one! After summer ended I started my FINAL, yes final, semester of school for my bachelors.  All these years later I am finally finished I cannot even tell you how good, and strange, it feels.  It has been a long time coming and now it was my chance.  Anyways, I am getting ahead of the story.  

August-October:
I concluded my final nursing classes to conclude my baccalaureate degree.  I was taking leadership & management, nursing trends and issues, NCLEX review, and nursing practicum.  It was a great semester because it just had a different feel.  The first 6 weeks of class there was a TON of paperwork.  If I have to write another annotated bibliography before a few years have gone by I may just die! Not to mention the 1000+ NCLEX practice questions we had to complete before a deadline. While it helped me prepare did I mention all of of this paperwork, questions, etc. were due the day before Andrew left for Germany?  Yep, I was a little panicky that week.  Luckily I worked hard and was able to finish basically everything well before the due date.  

Some of my classmates and I. Final Semester!

October-November:
Then, just like that, Andrew left on October 21st, 2014 for our new PCS in Germany.  I had already started my long term care practicum and knew things would be crazy anyways so in a way it was perfect timing as far as schooling. Now onto my senior nursing practicum.  After a flurry of weeks filled with class and paperwork we all finally got to the part we had been waiting for.  Practicum.  A time with no classes, although still lots of clinical paperwork, and working full time in the hospital.  I had gotten a taste of it during my two internships on med-surg and ICU, but this was much longer.  Starting the middle of October we had 40+hrs in a nursing home (under a charge nurse), then we had 192+hrs in an acute care section, and 24+hrs in a focus area in the hospital. We all got to put our first two choices for sections and most everyone got where they wanted to work.  Very exciting stuff for senior nursing students!  

For my 40+hrs at Trinity Nursing Homes I was mostly on the Alzheimer's Unit which ended up being a very interesting experience for me...and then on to the core practicum.  I chose, and got to work, in the Intensive Care Unit.  It was an amazing experience.  I learned so much because the ICU is a place where once you learn things you might not see anywhere else in the hospital makes it seem easier, this included working with ventilators, drip rates, post-CABG protocols, hemodynamic monitoring, and much more. My preceptor(who was great!), something like my own personal nursing supervisor who teaches me, was also frequently on the trauma team so I also got to respond to any traumas in the Emergency Room while I was on shift.  I even had my first code blue! It was exhausting, since I worked 12.5hr shifts (which I actually do prefer) and switched back and forth between days and nights. The most tiring was the week I had 5 night shifts in a row after working 2 day-shifts two days prior! In between this crazy schedule I also managed to squeeze in my 24+focus hours.  I decided to do them on Labor and Delivery (so I got two 12hr shifts on the unit).  It was...interesting. By the end I just knew it wasn't for me.  I loved the adrenaline rush of helping with delivering the babies and helping women through labor I just know critical care is where my heart lies:) All in all it was some crazy (awesome!) weeks.  However...this schedule ended up suiting me just fine:D

November to December:
Since I had so many shifts (all of which were 12.5hrs.) it meant I was one of the students who finished all of my hours pretty fast.  In fact, I had calculated it when I first got my schedule and realized I would be done the day before Thanksgiving! It got me thinking, I wonder if I could visit Andrew before I have to be back for my final classes, etc.  Turns out the timing, and price, was perfect!  For $700 I could fly to Germany and back for 9 days leaving the morning of Thanksgiving.  It was a crazy time finishing my final day shift in the ICU and then leaving the next morning for a very long travel days( I got in that Friday morning. But it was so worth it to see Andrew after only 6 weeks.   

So what did we do while I was there?  Do something on my bucket list of course!  We went to Disney during "Christmas time"! This included a road trip from Germany through Luxembourg into France!  All part of the fun:D

 The Disneyland Hotel in Paris

 Mainstreet

 Our amazing meal of cod fish and ratatouille

 Inside the new restraunt

 My favorite ride-Crush's Coaster! So sad it is only at this Disney Park

 The Phantom Manor

 Andrew said it was a "Dani Sized" door

 We had a blast! I mean we are pretty much "those people", you know.... the people with no kids yet and go to Disneyland.  What can I say? We are uber Disney nerds.  We had two day hopper passes (they even had military discount!) and didn't even have time to go down into Paris (that will be a whole other trip).  I wish we had gotten pictures of our hotel, but it was a perfect location on the outskirts of Paris.  Right outside our hotel was a little pizzeria and seriously it is some of the best pizza I have ever had (since Romania that is).  It was soooo good! Nothing you can get in the states that is for sure.  The park itself was closer to the size of Disneyland in California.  They had several different rides (like Crush's coaster and the curious labyrinth), some named different (like the Phantom Manor), and others that were better (like space mountain 2)! We also splurged by going to Remy's Bistro in a Ratatouille themed section of the park.  So good! Going during winter when it was Christmas time was just incredible.  The parades, light shows, decorations, the whole feeling made it feel like a very magical Christmas.  We had a blast!

Next up: Part 3...December to present time!

Love, 

The Andersons

Where Has She Been?!? {Part 1}

Oh, dear.  It has happened again.  I have let this blog fall to shambles only to have the pieces picked up when I feel like writing (which let me tell you takes some serious motivation!).  Well in case you didn't notice I have been giving my blog a whole new face lift!  Thanks to the discovery of picmonkey through Pinterest I have found my motivation.  New design, new blogging purpose. 

My last post I talked about how we got our newest PCS assignment to Spangdahlem, Germany!  Now begins the story of what happened since. Be prepared for a long one!

During the Summer:

Summer was soooo amazing!  I was once again separated from Andrew to complete another nursing internship in the Emergency Room.  Yep.  I loved it! It really made me realize critical care nursing was where it is at for me.  But more on school later...

Together over the summer (2014) we did this...

First...

(Andrew won a $175 spa certificate-which he put to good use!)

 Some of that...

We also did a little of this...

And concluded with that...

As you can see we had a blast!  We started it the end of May when I had my "fake" graduation. It was a real graduation as Minot State University only has students walk in May and I was officially done until December.  But it was great to have Andrew there for it!  Literally as soon as graduation finished we drove down to Iowa as I would be starting my internship right after our cruise!  The next morning we flew out of Omaha and I gave Andrew his first "taste" of cruising...

We did a 4 day cruise from Orlando to the Bahamas.  Our ports included Freeport and Nassau.  We had an AMAZING time!  Andrew already wants to do another one and I can't say I blame him;)  We fulfilled several of our bucket list items on this alone.  The firsts being going on a cruise together and going to Atlantis.  Atlantis was by far our favorite part of the cruise.  I could write a whole post just on that place!  It was beautiful and we had a blast at the water park, especially tubing down the slide with sharks swimming all around!

After the cruise we had three days in Orlando until we had to fly out again.  We definitely made use of those days! It was crazy busy! We stayed at a hotel with a free shuttle to both Universal and the Sea World Parks.  It was perfect.  Our first full day we spent fulfilling an item on my bucket list by going to Universal Studios, specially Harry Potter World!  I would seriously go back just to spend my time there.  Sadly we went 2 weeks before they opened the second park connecting the two.  It was still a blast.  Butterbeer was seriously amazing, we have yet to find a recipe to recreate it. The following day we got to head to Sea World for free! We are so grateful they are one of the places with salutes to active duty military.  Someday we will have to go back to hit Disney world ( that will have to be a whole other trip!).  Overall it ended up being one of these epic vacations we talk about all the time.  Can't wait for another one!

Finally, we ended with a family trip in late June/early July after my internship.  My brother came home from his mission after serving 2 years in Guatemala.  This also happened to be the time my little sister (who had turned 8) was baptized.  So grateful we were able to be there for both events! We also got to visit some great friends of ours, Leticia and Vasu, and their new baby (our new nephew;)) Keanu! So cute!!! Right after we headed with my family to Yellowstone National Park.  I wish I had more pictures, but we stayed in a huge cabin and met up with a set of my grandparents, aunt and uncle and their two boys.  We thought it would be more of a "low-key" vacation but it definitely wasn't! There was two much to see:D What an amazing summer!

NEXT UP: My final semester of school, a visit to Germany, and what I have been up to since!

Love Always, 

the Andersons