DAVIES

Announcing the Gender of our baby!!!

2012-01-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

Joe and I wanted to do something fun to announce the gender of our baby to our families. After some thought we decided on getting a black balloon and stuffing it full of confetti for the gender. And then have someone pop the balloon and the room will be covered in the color for the baby. It was a lot of fun to see the response of our family members as the balloon was popped and the room was showered with pink!!! In my family my brother Weston was the only one to guess right everyone else thought we were going to have a boy and Joe's dad Brent thought we were going to have a girl.

Baby Bump

2012-01-27T14:25:00.001-08:00

I have had several people ask me to post baby bump pictures. I am a little embarrassed about some of these pictures, I will be the first to admit that they are not the best pictures of me. But it shows you the growth I have had. We started at being good with taking pictures but that didn't last long.

26 Weeks

8 Weeks

29 Weeks

2012-01-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

Today I am 29 weeks and 4 days. Last Week we went to the doctors for my 28 week appointment. They did an ultrasound to check my placenta because when they did the ultra sound at 20 weeks they found a calcification spot on my placenta. My doctor was not worried about it but wanted to check on it at 28 weeks. When they did the ultra sound today they couldn't find it, it was gone! The doctor says that is normal. Our little girl measured 4 days ahead and weighs 2 lbs 15oz. My doctor says she is a little on the heavier side but that being in the 3rd trimester measuring the weight with the ultra sound can be off a little. Our little girl is still VERY active. I just love feeling her move around everyday.

I am really happy I didn't gain any weight from my last appointment. I thought for sure with the holidays and all the food I have been eating that I would step on that scale in the office and be disappointed about the weight gain, but think all that food was so good. But when I stepped on it I was happily surprised it didn't go up.

We love this little girl so much already. Its fun to see the growth she has made already.

28 Weeks

20 Weeks

When we found out the gender 16 Weeks

First Ultrasound 8 Weeks

Loving It!!!

2011-12-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

There are the discomforts that come with being pregnant but I would not trade it for anything. It is such a blessing to be pregnant. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be pregnant. I am now 25 weeks 4 days. We are a little more then half way there. At about 19 weeks I was able to feel our little GIRL move, just little flutters here and there. A different kind of feeling then I have ever had. Now I feel her move multiple times a day. I just love the pokes I feel from her. As of right now it seems like a lot of the time when she is moving around and there is someone that wants to feel her move as soon as they put their hand on my belly she stops moving. It doesn't happen all the time but often. Also at about 19 weeks the nausea started to subside.The nausea is now more just a hit and miss but at least its not everyday all day. The last couple of weeks I have started to get some heartburn so we are just moving from one thing to another but that is just fine as long as things continue to go well with this pregnancy I will do my best to endure the things that come with being pregnant. I just started wearing maternity clothes, I can fit into some of my clothes but I am finding maternity clothes can be more comfortable. I am still able to sleep pretty good. I am so glad that I am not getting up very night to go to the bathroom, but I hear this comes back towards the end. I haven't really had food cravings. Every once in awhile something sweet sounds good but I was that way before I was pregnant. So far no stretch marks!

As I am sitting here right now I can feel our little girl moving around. I love the feeling. It bring tears to my eyes to be able to experience something so magical and special. A couple weeks ago Joe was able to feel her move! I love when he is able to feel her move. Our little girl is growing. At our 20 week appointment they told us she measured 2days ahead and weighed 14oz. and very thing looks good. They did find a spot on the placenta that the doctor wants to follow up on at 28wks. She says she isn't concerned about it at this time but she wants to make sure it does not grow. Our doctor has told us several times we have a very active baby, and I would agree. I know this is my first pregnancy and I might not know much but man some days it seems like she does not hold still and is in there doing flips or something fun!!!

Big Blessing

2011-11-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

It started around Joe's birthday when we met with his family up in the mountain for dinner. When we were getting ready to leave Ally told me she was done with her maternity clothes and gave them to Sarah and once Sarah was finished I could have them and save them for when I got pregnant. I thought that was nice of her but a little weird to think about. Then Sarah started talking to me about having kids and gave me a book Your Pregnancy Week by Week because she had two of them. Again I thought this was a little weird but I will have some stuff whenever Joe and I do add to our family. Then a couple days later I got an ad for a free breastfeeding cover. I thought I will get this and I can use it as a baby shower gift. Through out the month I felt like there was a large amount of friends and family talking about babies and asking when we were going to have kids, my response was somewhere along the lines I am not sure but look forward to when we have kids. I had prayed several times before for guidance to know if it was time to add to our family never felt like I got much of an answer. So I prayed one time requarding this question this month and felt I had got the answer!

I believe it was Aug 2nd I told Joe I felt like I was pregnant. He asked me why I felt like I was pregnant, I told him I didn't know I just felt like it. So that night I took and test and it said I was pregnant. Both Joe and I didn't know if we should believe it or not. Therefore, I took another one and got the same results. It kind of surprised me to see this even though I kind of already felt like knew that is what the test was going to show.

Joe came with me to my first appointment. Both of us were really hoping to have an ultrasound to see this little baby. We got our wish. I looked over at Joe as our little baby was on the screen he had a big smile. I couldn't help but smile as well. It was such a special thing for both us to see our baby and then hear the heart beat. I have been nauseated and its been an all day thing not just in the morning. My hair has been breaking off like crazy. Talking to the doctor there is nothing I can do about this. I had no energy I felt like I could sleep almost all day every day. Going to work 3 days a week was about all I could handle and doing house work just didn't really happen. Happy to say now that I am 17 weeks and 3 days I do a have a little more energy. However some days I still feel like I could sleep all day. Joe has been so good to me. He is always asking how I am doing and telling me to take a nap, eat or whatever it is that he feels will help me to feel better.

I love the closeness, and joy this baby have brought for Joe and I already. My heart is full of gratitude for the blessing this baby been thus far. (more to come)

Working Days

2011-08-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

I have finally moved to working to days. I have been working days for a couple of weeks now. I do like them but at the same time I miss nights. I love that fact that Joe and I get to see each other more with me working days. I physically feel better working days, I didn't notice it when I was working nights but I felt a little crummy all the time. It is easier for me to sleep almost every night now that I am not switching my sleep back and forth. However days can be very chaotic with discharge, admit (which are a lot of work). I never really experienced getting all or almost all new patients during the night. Also with days you have to deal with family members, doctors, physical therapy, case management, and other people. At nights I didn't have to worry about all those people but you have less help working at nights. I really got to know the people I worked with on nights and enjoyed working with them, now I have to get to know the people working days. The night crew I worked with was better at working as team and this is one thing I miss about nights. But to weigh out the pros and cons seeing my husband more, physically feeling better, and having a more normal schedule will keep me on days for the time being.

I need to do better at posting activities Joe and I are involved in and taking pictures. That is one thing I am going to work on!

New Adventure

2011-06-07T05:10:00.000-07:00

I am really excited about this new adventure. I have started a new business with Mary Kay cosmetics. This is a great opportunity for me to meet wonderful people; interact with many strong, uplifting, fun, goal setting women; learn more about skin care; earn extra money and much more. Even though I am excited it does not mean I am not scared at all. Change can be hard, but very rewarding. This new adventure will be good for me for more then one reason. I am shy at times, this is one thing I want to improve on and being an independent beauty consultant with time and work can help me get over this. I love that I don't have to work certain hours with Mary Kay like I do as a nurse. I still love being a nurse but is nice to set my own schedule.
I would be more then happy to show any of you some Mary Kay product. Showing you product will help me learn more by teaching you about the products. There is a lot of fun things they have and many great age-fighting products. You can visit my website at www.marykay.com/carlidavies. I am looking forward to getting this business started and would love your help. You can help me get started by ordering product and by letting me pamper you with a facial. I am ecstatic to begin this new business!!!!

No Thyroid Problems Right Now

2011-04-29T12:59:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have been waiting for a couple of weeks to find out if I had problems with my thyroid. It all started when I went to the doctors a couple weeks ago and she was doing her assessment and felt my neck and asked me if I had problems with my thyroid, I told her no. Then she told me while I can feel your thyroid, which is not normal and would like to test it. So I had my blood drawn then for my thyroid stimulating hormone. The results came back high. normal is like 0.4 to 4(not sure the measuring unit) and mine was 5.8. The doctor then told me because it was high she would like to do more test to see if I needed to be put on medication. I then had blood drawn for other thyroid labs. They called me yesterday and told me my thyroid is back into place but one of the antibodies is high. Therefor, I need to go back in 6 months and have it checked again to determine if I am slowly developing problems with my thyroid.

But as of right now we are happy that everything is okay and that I don't have to take medication every day for my thyroid. Both Joe and I are really grateful for our health and that our bodies allow us to do what we want to do. This is something I see as a big blessing especially when I see a lot of patients who can't feed themselves, or to the bathroom alone, roll over in bed with out help and so on.

Calling

2011-03-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have been called to teach Sunday School to 14-15 yr old kids. The first day we went to class no lesson planned so we could get to know the kids. As are are sitting there talking one of the girls says, "just so you know we don't like lessons. We like to play games and just talk." What do you say to that? We told her sorry but we have to have lessons. Some weeks are better then others but man this has been a challenge for Joe and I. Their past teacher would always bring candy and they would play games and maybe do a 5 minute lesson. When we were meeting with the bishop he told us he felt strongly that would could really help these kids. With that being said I feel like we need really teach these kids and not just play games. They always take their sweet time coming to class and then they want to talk, talk, talk. Some weeks they will let us teach other weeks its like pulling teeth just to get a 10 minute lesson in.

This is a very important age. It is kind of scary to think I am some what responsible for what these kids learn about the gospel. I know teaching is very important but there are many days I feel inadequate for this calling. I know though if we put the time an effort into this calling we can learn a lot ourselves. Hopefully we will feel a little better about the calling as the time goes on.

A New Year

2011-01-06T19:39:00.000-08:00

I can't believe its a new year already. Where has all the time gone. Joe and I really enjoy the Holidays. We love spending time with each other and our family members. We are so blessed to have both are families close by.

This year I would like to start working on doing genealogy work for my family and Joe's as well. From what Joe and I know there is no one in his family who is or has worked on genealogy, therefore, there is a lot of work that needs to be done. I am looking forward to the day when we have Joe's grandpa's name ready to take the temple. It will be a neat experience for him to do temple work for a family member he knew.

This year I would like to do better with exercising on a regular basis. I want to do this to keep my body strong and health and our minds work better when we are exercising regularly. Exercise improves your mood. Exercise boots your energy. Exercise promotes better sleep and the list of benefits goes on. I can see these benefits in my life when I am exercising regularly.

This year I really want to come to know my Savior better. This is something that takes work every single day and forever. It is like a fire. If you stop putting wood on the fire it will die out. If we stop working to know our Savior and keep our testimony strong it will slowly die out. With the way the world is going I want to have my protection on so I can be ready at any time for anything. This is going to require much diligence and hard work. I am willing to put the time and effort into it though.

Joe and I are looking forward to what the new year will bring to us. We are not in a hurry at this time to have children, however, I have really been wanting to baby lately. I want to be a mother and look forward to that day. I know that Joe will make an amazing father. I watch him play with Akacia he is so cute with her. Joe did a lot of the work with our puppy when we had him and that also showed me what a great dad Joe will be.

We hope happy things for everyone this year 2011!!!

Attitude of Gratitude

2010-11-18T17:19:00.001-08:00

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

There are many things Joe and I are thankful for. We cannot even list them all because there are so many. We are really thankful we were able to get into our own place. We are really enjoying it and love our neighborhood. Thanks to everyone who helped us move in. It would have taken us forever had we had to do it all our selves. We are thankful for the Cranes and their willingness to let us live in their basement while we saved money for our house and while I was attending Weber. We are thankful I was able to get a job as a nurse and to make it even better it is less then a mile from home. Joe changed department within the school district and loves what he is doing. We are thankful for the love we have for each other. With Satan working working so hard to destroy marriages and families we are grateful for our marriage and the hard work we both put into it to keep our marriage lasting. We are thankful for our health that we have. And the list goes on and on and on. I just wanted to share some of the things that we are really truly thankful for. I love this time of year because people are more open to sharing the things they are thankful for. However, this is something we need to do each and every day. Especially when we kneel down to our Heavenly Father we need to pour our hearts out to him and thank him for his blessings and His hand in our day everyday. The more we are grateful for and thank the Lord for the more He will bless us!

Missing Our Puppy!

2010-11-13T12:57:00.000-08:00

After we had our puppy for two weeks we had to give him up. We found out that I have allergies to puppies fur. I would get hives up and down my arms and they would itch. Joe put Oakley up on KSL. We had a lot of people calling and wanting him. We picked a family that has two kids and they had a black lab who died not too long ago from complications from surgery. The parent of this family bought a kind sized bed so their last dog could sleep in bed with them. You can tell this family really loves dogs. When this family to pick up Oakley it was good to see them play with him. I could tell they would be a good family for Oakley. However it did not make it any easier to give him away. Both Joe and I had a hard time giving him up. It made us both cry. Now the house seems empty. There are days were we miss him a lot. I miss not having someone really excited to see us every time we walked in the door. I miss playing with him. I did not realize how attached I go to this little dog until we were giving him away. He made his way into my heart and it did not take him long at all. Oakley we miss you and love you. You will always have a special place in our heart!!!

Adding to Our Family

2010-10-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend Joe and I got a puppy. His name is Oakley, he is a chocolate Lab. Joe has wanted a dog every since he was a little boy. So we finally got Joe a new friend. Oakley it about 6 1/2 weeks old. Danielle and Kyle loved Oakley so much they also bought a new puppy. So Oakley will still get to play with one of his brothers.

UEA Weekend

2010-10-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

It was so nice to get away for a couple of days and just go and play. They say you need to play as hard as you work so this weekend since I didn't have to work and Joe had work off because it was UEA weekend we went with my family and some of the Blackburns to Scofiled reservoir to go camping. We are grateful for the cabin in which we were able to stay in. We have a blast up there. We played basketball, around the world with ping-pong, attempted to play tennis, and went on four-wheeler rides oh and can't forget played the famous game of scum. As always when get together with my family and play games we do lots of laughing.

I really enjoyed our ride up there. The mountains are beautiful with the different colors of leaves on the trees. But of course we are horrible with remembering to get our camera out so we do not have pictures =( I really want to start doing better with taking more pictures.

We are excited!

2010-08-25T03:38:00.000-07:00

Joe has just started an internship for information technology (IT). We are really excited that he got this intern because IT is what Joe wants to go to school for. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for him to get some experience and advancement to a job when a position opens up. I also have been offered a job at Jordan Valley on the medical- surgical unit. I am very excited about this position for many reasons. This job will allow me to use many more nursing skills compared to where I am working now and also it is much close which means less money for gas. There is a doctor who wants to interview me for a job at a IHC clinic. I will go to the interview and see what happens. I may not be offered the job but it would be so nice to not have to work holidays or weekends and have normal hours of work so I can see Joe more often.

As of right now the closing date for our house is September 15th. Every time we go look at our house and see more progress it makes us more antsy to move into our house. It is very exciting. Things are really starting to come together. Here are a few pictures of what is done so far.

Before:

After:

Changes

2010-07-15T11:28:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of changes going on right now in our lives. I am now working, which I haven't done in two years. It is kind of weird to be working but it is a big blessing to have a job. I work at South Davis Community Hospital it's located in Bountiful. I work on the orthopedic rehab unit and on the geriatric floor. Now that I am done with school Joe is wanting to go back to school and get his degree in computer science so he can work in the IT department.

One of our biggest changes is that we are buying a house. It is in West Jordan. The house is not finished on the inside so on Wed. we will go and pick out the paint, carpet, counters, cupboards, light fixtures, and many other things. This is every exciting for Joe and I to be getting our own place. If everything goes as planned the house should be finished and ready for us to move into it at the end of Aug.

Big Blessing

2010-06-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am officially a Registered Nurse. On June 2nd I took the NCLEX. It took me 5 1/2 hours with two breaks. I got 265 questions. This year has been every different with the NCLEX for my RN compared to my LPN. Last year I was super stressed about the big test. As I was testing last year I was always looking at the time and what number of question I was on. There were times when I couldn't stay focused. I got nervous in the middle of the test. However, this year was the complete opposite even though I felt less prepared. This year I never really stressed about it. When I was testing I didn't even worry about my time or number of questions. I was totally calm. I know that when I was testing my Heavenly Father was with me and that is why I was able to stay calm, not stress, and stay focused. I am eternally grateful for all the people who offered prayers and fast in my behalf for this test. I am say they truly helped. I felt those prayers as I was preparing for the test, when I was taking the test, and after while I was waiting for the results.

On June 3rd Joe and I kept checking dolp to see if I had passed. I didn't think it would be up yet, so Joe checked dolp by himself at 9:15pm. He came into the room and picked me up and gave me a big kiss because my name finally appeared on the website. We both were super excited. I couldn't stop smiling all night. I was so happy I had the butterflies. This is a major blessing for Joe and I. Now its on to the job searching. I hope the job searching doesn't last too long.

Las Vegas

2010-05-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Joe and I went on a much needed vacation to Las Vegas. Even though it was short we sure enjoyed our time together. Since Joe and I have been married we haven't been able to go on a vacation without homework coming with, so this was the first. It was so nice to just spend time with each other without me worrying about homework. Here are just a few of the many pictures we took.

We stayed at the Flamingo Hotel. This is the view we had from our room.

We Did It

2010-05-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

I graduated April 23, 2010 from Weber State University. I say we did it because this has been a big sacrifice for Joe as well not just me. While I have been in school he has been willing to pick up the slack and do whatever I needed him to do to help me out. He was always willing to pray for me when I had a big test, he was willing to give me blessing in times of need, he gave me words or encouragement when needed and the list goes on. I love Joe so much and I am truly grateful he is mine. Though it has been a struggle to be going to school full time since we have been married, I am glad we were able to go through it together as a couple. I know this challenge of me being in school has brought us closer as a couple. I also would like to thank all of my friends and family who have been on the side line cheering me on with this journey of school. I never would have made it this far without everyone's support, love, and encouragement. I also have to give credit to my Father Above, because without him I am nothing and he too has helped me every step of the way.

President Monson was at the school commencement. Weber awarded him with an Honorary degree and he also spoke to the 2010 graduating class, and of course he speech was fabulous. Pres. Eyring and Uchtdorf were also there. They were really close to where I was sitting. As we walked in to our seat a lot of people saw Pres. Eyring and Uchtdorf so people in the area I was at started waving to them. They were nice and waved back. Then a lot of people started getting their phones out and taking pictures of them, so Pres. Eyring got his phone out at took a picture of us or at least pretended to. It was funny. At the convocation for the health professions a lady told us that this was Weber's largest graduating class of nursing students. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. We do need nurses but at the same time it is hard to get a job right now.

I'm planning on taking at least a semester off and then I will apply for Weber's BSN program. Even though I have 143 credits and 120 for a normal degree earns you a Bachelor's degree nursing is a little different. You have to get all your prerequisite done, some generals, and then so many nursing credits. I love everything I have learned so far and would love to learn more. I have always enjoyed learning and I never want to stop.

A Lesson Learned

2010-03-31T11:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I took my big ATI test for my nursing class. This test all the nursing students have to pass to exit the program. If you don't pass it the first time you have to wait 21 days before you can take it again. If you do not pass it the second time you have to pay for a review class before you can take it again. In order for me to take me to take the NCLEX, which is the test I have to pass to get my license as a RN, I have to pass the ATI so my transcript will be released.
So we had 3 hours to take this test with 180 questions. I was really nervous about this test because I did not want to have to retake it and postpone when I can take my NCLEX test. Joe gave me a blessing the night before and let me know that my nerves would be calm and that Heavenly Father has helped me get this far and that He isn't going to stop now. After this blessing I felt a lot better about this test. When I sat down in my seat to take it and my heart started racing so I said a prayer and sure enough Heavenly Father comforted me. I was doing just fine with the test until I saw I have 9 minutes left and 15 more questions to go. I started to panic but did my best to to hurry and continue to answer the questions the best I could. With me being a slow test taker it didn't surprise me that I was the last one in the room. I finished my test and as I am looking at the computer asked the test proctor lady what we had to get to pass. She said, "Carli you passed". I asked her what number I look at and she told me the 73.3 (we had to get a 71.5 to pass). She walked over to my computer and told me to scroll down so I did. She told me a few things and than said, "Carli you know you really still have a lot of studying to do because the majority of your classmates passed at an 80". I felt like she had just told me I was stupid and she totally just bashed my excitement of passing this test because this was not good enough.
I walked out of the room and started talking to some of my classmates and come to find out most of them did not pass with an 80. This same lady pretty much told me I was stupid last semester after I got done taking a test. I just couldn't take it and started to cry. I really let it get to me. I really felt like she was right that my test scores were not good enough and that I didn't know as much as I should. After I talked to my teacher she told me she would be happy if 10% of all the nursing students got in the 80 which would be about 18 students. Then my teacher told me something that I have heard before, she said "Carli no one can make you feel a certain way, it is up to you". On my long ride home I really thought about my whole day. It was retaught to me that even if I didn't get the highest score my Heavenly Father still loves me and helped me do the best I CAN do. I also was retaught that it really is up to me on how I take the things people say to me. That lady probably didn't realize how bad that made me feel, so it is up to me to forgive her and move on. I know that Heavenly Father does not measure our individual worth off of test scores or other things like that so why should I measure my individual worth that way. I am truly grateful for this lesson I learned, I need to remember it and look back on it so I can become a better person from it. I am so glad that I do have Heavenly Father helping with my schooling along with Joe's support it really means the world to me.

Family Fun

2010-03-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have the wonderful opportunity to go down to St. George with my family March 19th to the 21st. One of the guys my dad works with owns a home in St. George that he uses for vacation, he was so nice to let us stay in his house. While we were in St. George we went on bike rides, walks, hiking at Snow Canyon State Park, out to eat, played games, relaxed and just enjoyed each others company. It was so nice to get away for the weekend and have fun.

These pictures are from our hike. We claimed in lava tubes. It was a lot of fun. Some of them were really big and so dark you could not even see your hand in front of your face.

The end destination of our hike.

As we were walking back we saw this road runner. He sure was not scared of people!

Busy Life

2010-01-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

Wow, things are sure busy right now. I have three classes that require a lot of work plus I have 135 hours of clinicals I have to get in within a month. I feel like I am always on the go and never home. There are some days Joe and I only see each other for an hour and then we are asleep. Right now for my clinicals I am at LDS Hospital on the Oncology (cancer) floor. I have learned so much. I am finally starting to feel a lot better about being a nurse and working on my own one day. Working on the oncology floor has been difficult at times especially when that patients are not old at all and have several young children at home. It always brings a tear to my eyes. I want so bad to do all I can so this mother or father can continue to raise their children but there isn't anything I can do and that breaks my heart. I am so grateful that both of my parents have always been healthy and have been able to raise me and all my siblings.

A Few Of The Things We Are Grateful For

2009-12-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to be grateful for, especially this time of year. I don't even know where to begin. I love school, I really enjoy learning but with school comes a lot of stress for me. I am always worried about school and my grades. I have so many wonderful family members who support me and remind me of the past and how things have worked out for me. I am so grateful that I have a husband who is worthy to hold the priesthood and that he could give me a blessing to comfort me for my finals. Another semester has passed with my Heavenly Father holding my hand every step of the way. I'm happy to say for this semester I got a 3.83 GPA for the semester. I want everyone to know I did not do this all on my own, I had the help from family members, friends, and my Heavenly Father. Thank you to everyone who has helped through my struggles of school.

I am so grateful Joe and I live close to family members. We cherish the time we get to spend with family. We are so grateful families are forever, because Heaven wouldn't be Heaven without our family there. We are grateful for the job that Joe has and that he is able to supports us while I am attending school. I am so grateful that Joe enjoys his job and doesn't hate getting up for work.

New Calling

2009-09-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have the wonderful opportunity to be primary teachers. We are teaching the sunbeams. There is 6 kids in our class. I know there will be some hard times with this calling but I know we will be blessed for serving our Heavenly Father. I also know we will learn a lot from these kids, and our testimonies will grow from this calling. I am glad that Joe and I can do this calling together it will help strengthen our marriage.
Our first day teaching was last Sunday. We were finished teaching the lesson and I looked at my watch and there was about 20 minutes left of class. So we played red light green light with the hearts we had made them for the lesson. Now Joe and I know we have to come up with a lot of extra stuff to keep the kids interested in the lesson and able to stay focused.

August

2009-08-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

This month has been a little crazy. Our friend Cordon Capell returned from him mission; he severed in Dallas, Texas. We had friends come over for a BBQ for Cordon it was a lot of fun. That same night we had the BBQ my sister Danielle had her baby, Saturday the 22nd. They named her Akacia Karis Price she was 6lbs 7oz and 19 1/4 inches long. So now Joe and I are an uncle and aunt and my parents are now grandma and grandpa which is weird to hear. It was sure fun to go up to the hospital and visit with Danielle and Kyle and of course meet as well as hold Akacia. She is a fun addition to the family.

I started nursing school this week at Weber. I rode UTA from Sandy all the way to Ogden. It was a kind of a long ride but this will save a lot of money because I can ride UTA for free from being a full time student. I got on Trax at the Sandy Civic center which is the farthest one south (right now) and rode it to up to SLC. This train was suppose to take all the way to the frontrunner but instead it stopped at the arena. I had no idea if another train was coming or when and if they would take me to the frontrunner. So I had to book it on my feet since I only had 17 minutes before frontrunner left. So here I am with this huge backpack on and wearing flip-flops trying to walk as fast as possible and at times run. I am sure I looked stupid. Finally I can see the frontrunner and it was time for it to leave. One of the workers saw me running so he opened the door for me so they wouldn't leave. It was seconds after I got on that the frontrunner left. If I would have missed this train I would have been late for my first say of class. I just kept praying to Heavenly Father to not let the frontrunner leave me. He answered my prayer, and I am so grateful for that. The first day of class was a little overwhelming but I am sure I will enjoy the school year. I don't know anyone in my classes right now I am hoping I will be able to make friends soon because I don't like the feeling of not knowing anyone.

First Anniversary

2009-08-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Joe and I celebrated our first anniversary. Cannot believe how fast time as gone. It seems like just a couple months ago we were planning everything for our wedding, and wondering if I would have my ugly purple cast on for our wedding. I am so grateful to be married to Joe for time and all eternity. We have one year behind us and many more to look forward too. We went to Park City Friday night and come home Sunday. We watched several movies, went shopping, relaxed in the sauna, and rode down the alpine slide. To bad we didn't bring jackets it would have made the weather more comfortable. The best part about the weekend was getting away from our busy lives and just spending time with each other and not worrying about anything.
Recap of the last year: Joe and I moved to Ephraim for me to go to school while Joe worked, were managers of the pioneer house, we had to get a new fuel pump for Joe's car, went on a church history trip with Brent, found out Danielle is having a baby girl, I graduated from Snow College, we moved to Riverton, Joe started working for the Canyon School district, I passed the NCLEX for my license as an LPN. That is about all the major things that happened in our first year of marriage.

4th of July

2009-07-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Joe and I enjoy the 4th of July. We watched the parade and the fireworks in Riverton. We love doing fun things like this with the family. We are so grateful to live in the United States of America where we have freedom. We wont forget those who are fighting , those who will ,or have fought for our country.

Joe and I watching the Riverton parade

Weston and Joe waiting for the parade to start

Andrea and Alysha loving the parade

Umphenour Family Reunion

2009-06-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend Joe and I went camping with the whole Umphenour family up by Tooele. The first day we were up there it rained a lot so we spent a lot of time under the pavilion. We moved all of the tables so we could play relay race. My team didn't do so well; we lost and well of course Joe's team won the whole thing. We had to do different activities like passing the life savor from one person's toothpick which was in their month to the next, run while keeping a balloon in between your legs, run with a straw in your mouth and sucking in through the straw to keep up the paper person we had to carry, see who's team could design a paper airplane to fly the farthest, get the whole team to hold hands and crawl through a hula hop, and who could put on the best fairy tale play. We had a lot of fun with all the different activities.

Joe being "Little Red Ridding Hood" with his basket of cookies to take to Grandma.

Joe waiting for his turn on stage.

Kim, going to eat grandma and get into grandma's bed.

The wolf talking to Little Red Ridding Hood in the woods to see where she is going.

After dinner we watched a movie and then played some card games. One of the games we played was scum and I do have to say I was really happy because I went from scum (the lowest) up to president (the highest) in three rounds with a 11 people playing. I thought I would stay at scum forever and never move up. In the middle of playing our games my brother Nick said "Holy cow that is a huge spider, look how big that thing is". I hate spiders really bad and started to freak out a little. Everyone had to stop playing our game so they could look at this massive spider.

Some of the family who played card games and saw the nasty spider!

The spider is in his attack position here.

It was close to the size of a CARD!!!

Mom and us four girls enjoying going for a walk.

The News I Have Been Waiting For!!!

2009-06-15T20:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday June 11, 2009 I took the NCLEX test. It took me almost four hours to complete. I had earplugs in so during the four hours all I could hear was my heart beating and me breathing hard because I was nervous about this test. One hard question after another I began to think there is no way I can pass this test. I had prayed like crazy for weeks before this day so I would pass this test. My family even fasted for me. Because there were so many difficult questions I started to think that Heavenly Father wanted me to learn something from not passing. Well I have waited and waited... Joe and I kept checking the DOLP website everyday multiple times a day waiting for the results. Well today I kept checking it like all the other days and finally to my surprise they updated the website at 9:15pm and there I saw my name and that my license is now activated. I PASSED that brutal test. I can now official work as an LPN. Mine and all the other prayers that were said in my behalf for this test were answered. I know with out a doubt that my Heavenly Father was there with me taking that test and helping me answer the question correctly so I could pass. There is no way I could have passed this hard test all by myself. Thank you to everyone who gave me the strength and courage to take this test. I am so happy I passed this test. A large burden has been left off my shoulders. My spirit is filled with joy. My testimony of prayer has been strengthened again.

The Blessing of a Job

2009-06-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Joe and I were sitting in our room just talking and enjoying each others company when Joe's phone rang; he answered the phone. It was someone for the Canyon School District offering Joe the job he had an interviewed for last week. Joe took the job. We are both so happy Joe got this job. He will never have to worry about working Sundays or major holidays which will be nice. Joe will be working in the district office doing maintenance stuff I believe. This is a big blessing to us. Now we can have an income plus the school district will give us benefits. I was getting annoyed that I wasn't having much luck right now with finding a job. However, the more I thought about it the more I realized I have been blessed to not have a job at this time. I am busy with studying for Pathophysiology and the NCLEX. If I had a full time job on top of those things I know I wouldn't get as much studying done as I need. I am grateful the Lord knows what I best when we don't. Our Heavenly Father has been mindful of Joe and I and has answered our prayers.

Feeling Overwhelmed

2009-05-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

Today I checked my email and recieved the authorization to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). This is the test I have to pass in order to work as an LPN. This test is everything I learned in the LPN program. I have 6 hours to take it. I got on the phone and called to schedule a time when I can take this test. I will be taking it June 11th. I am happy I do not have to wait too long to take this test but at the same time I was planning on having more time to study. I just pray with all my heart that Heavenly Father will be with me while I study for this test and when I take it. I would hate to not pass it the first time and have to pay another $300 dollars to take it again. I am going to think positive and tell myself all will be well.

Weber Here I Come

2009-04-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

I have to count my blessings. I have been so blessed in the fact that I got accepted into Weber State University's nursing program so I can continue with my schooling. Joe and I worried a lot about either or not I would get in this year. Our prayers have been answered. I give the credit to our Heavenly Father because I wouldn't have made it with out him. I am so happy that I will be able to stay in school and not have to take a break because I did not get into a nursing program. I am looking forward to learning more about the human body, nursing skills, and learning how I can better take care of patients. I will put all my effort into the nursing program and learn as much as I can and with the Lord's help I can become the best nurse that is possible for me.
May 1st I am graduating from the LPN program at Snow. May 2ND I am graduating from Snow College and then May 11Th I start my IV class and begin my Pathophysiology class. All of these are small steps towards reaching my goal of getting a Bachelor's degree in nursing.

Snow College is Coming to an End

2009-04-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I finally submitted my application to Weber State University for the nursing program there. I wont find out if I get in to the program or not until around May 6th if not later. This is my third year at Snow and I have enjoyed my time here; however it is time for to move on and go somewhere else. I will be graduation for the LPN program May 1, 2009 and then I will graduate from Snow College May 2, 2009. I have learned and grown a lot in the past three years that I have been here. I am grateful for the education I have obtained so far and am looking forward to obtaining more. I love learning and sharing my knowledge with others. This is one of the many reasons why I want to go into nursing.

Joe is also ready to get out of Ephraim. He does not like being in this small town with none of his close buddies and nothing to do. He says the only thing that keeps him from going crazy down here is being able to go to Riverton and see our families and friends. I know this has been hard on Joe to live down here. I am just happy he was willing to come down here so I could attended the LPN program this year.

Once we move from Ephraim we will move in with Brent, this way we can help take care of Joe's grandparents. We are also hoping that with us living with Brent we can help lower his stress in the fact that we can help him with everything that is going on. We love our families and just want to help them all out in anyway that we can. We are also grateful that Brent is letting us live with him for this short time.

This is random but, today my brother Nick got the top of his left pinkie cut off while he was at school. From what I have been told some kid shut Nick's finger in the door and it just happened to cut it off. So Nick went to the hospital and waited for many hours before they took him back for surgery. They said they couldn't hook the top of this finger back on and because some of the bone got smashed they filed the bone to below his first joint and stitched it up. So now he doesn't have a fingernail and only has one joint on that finger. I am just happy that this didn't happen to a finger that he use a lot more like his thumb.

Spring Break

2009-03-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Joe and I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a church history trip over our spring break. It was just Joe, Brent, and I. We loved every minute of our vacation. The first place we went to was Winter Quarters. While we were there we did an endowment session in the temple, went to the visitor center, and visited the cemetery which is right behind the temple. Once we were done seeing everything we wanted too at Winter Quarters we headed to Kanesville Tabernacle where the Prophet Brigham Young was sustained as prophet for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In this building there held about 1,000 people when the prophet was sustained and the building is not very big so they had to have sat very close to each other. We then went to Independence, Missouri where we walked through the visitor center there and learned more about when the early saints had to deal with. After we were finished with this site we went to Liberty Jail. We were lucky to have a personal tour of this site. You could feel the spirit so strong as you looked at where the Prophet Joseph Smith sat for over 100 days with five other men. We then went to Far West and Adma-Ondi- Ahman. We then went to Carthage Jail and again we have a personal tour which was very nice. You could also feel the spirit very strong here and we knew what the missionary was sharing with us was true and really did happen here in this building. We were able to sick our finger through the hole in the door from bullet the killed Hyrum Smith. Once we had completed the tour here we went to Nauvoo where we spent two days touring Emma and Joseph Smith's homes, Red Brick Store, the Mansion House, John Taylor's home, Brigham Young's home, Wilford Woodruff's home, the post office, printing shop, bakery, brickyard, blacksmith shop, visitor center, Temple,family history building; Joseph Smith, Emma Smith, and Hyrum Smith's graves, and much more. At all of these sites we learned a lot about the saints and the lifestyle that they had. We also had a private tour at a lot of these sites so you could feel the spirit at each site. To finish up our trip we visited Mount Rushmore and Devil's tower.
Joe and I will be forever grateful for Brent and his generosity to take us on this trip. We learned a lot from this trip but not just that our testimonies were strengthened from it. This is something we will never forget and be able to share our knowledge and testimony from this trip to our future kids.

6 Months

2009-02-10T12:04:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009, Joe and I went to the Draper Temple open house with my whole family. The Draper temple is beautiful. The last room we walked through was a sealing room. There was a couple in there who talked to us about the sealing room and families while we sat down. I couldn't help but to feel the spirit and to think that is was just six months ago Joe and I were kneeling at an alter just like the one we were looking out and the room was filled with our loved ones. I got tears in my eyes and a feeling of peace in my heart because I am sealed to the man of my dreams. I can now be with him for an eternity if we live faithful. As we were getting ready to walk out of the room my whole family stood by each other and looked into the mirrors to see our "eterntiy" together, which brought a lump in my throat and tears to my eyes. I love my family and I am so happy that we will be together in this after life. I couldn't imagine living forever without them, life would be pretty boring all alone.
I can't believe how fast these six months have gone. It seems like just yesterday Joe and I got married. We have really loved every mintue of being married, even during our few disagreements. We are grateful for our few disagreements that we have had because it has brought us closer to each other. We look forward the many years ahead of us that we have together.

Feb. 2009

2009-02-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

I am staying busy with my clinicals. I will go to Gunnison Hospital, Nephi Hospital, Payson Hospital, Richfield Care Center, and a doctors office. I have clinicals three times a week and I go to the same place for two weeks. So far I have had to get up at 3:25AM so I can be ready and to the hospital by 4:45. I get about three patients that I am in charge of taking care of. I do everything that nurses can do for them. I love it I have learned so much already and I have only been five times. Working on the different floors as a student Practical Nurse has humbled me. I have gained an appreciation for the healthy body that I have and that I can do things for myself and more. I have to thank my Heavenly Father for the body and life that I have, I have been so blessed.
Joe is working on getting accepted to a Police Academy. He has to take a test and once he passes that then we can apply to different programs. Right now he is wanted to attend Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and have both of us finish our schooling there. He wants to attend SLCC so we can be close to our families and help them out in anyway we can. Life is going good for Joe and I.
We finally got our drier fixed. We have had problems with it from the beginning, when we first moved in. Now that it is fixed I look forward to doing laundry because it can be done ten times faster.
Joe and I just found out not to long ago that we are going to be an uncle and an aunt. My sister just told us that she is nine weeks a long. We are very excited to have a little one come into our family.

2008-09-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

There is nothing really new with us. My weeks consist of studying every day and sit in class from 9 to 3. I am normally studying for at lest three test a week or more. School is overwhelming and hard. I am doing my best to stick it out and survive this school year, it is the hardest year of school I have ever had. We had a guy come and talk to our class on Friday and he had his leg amputated because of a motorcycle wreck. It made me so grateful to have both of my legs and that I am able to do all the different activities that I like. Joe is such a blessing in my life. I had an emotional break down just the other day and if I didn't have Joe there at the time it would have lasted the entire night or longer instead it only lasted about an hour he always makes me feel so much better about myself and life when I am struggling. I am so glad Joe does our dishes, cooks dinner, does the laundry, and clean the apartment it helps me to not have as much stress. Joe is now working at the middle school in Ephraim. He helps the a couple of students who struggle with reading and spelling. He really enjoys this job. It was a blessing to us that he got this job. Before he started working at the middle school he was working for a siding company. There were about five people including Joe that worked for this company. All of the workers except Joe would say the F word every other word, were always talking naughty about girls, smoking in Joe's face, and talking about many other inappropriate things. After about 2 weeks Joe make the decision to not work there anymore because having the spirit with him was more important than money. The same day he stopped working for this siding company he got hired to work at the middle school. I am so grateful he is working in a better atmosphere even though he doesn't get paid as much I don't care about the difference in money.

Whats New?

2008-09-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

Well life is good for the most part. Who can say there life is perfect? Joe is working and im studying for all my tests. That is pretty much our life for the most part. Being Poor is great! Joe says life is also good because he has the most beautiful loving caring wife in his life! And also that BYU is 4-0 so far on the season! (he told me to fill that in.) We will get more posted when we have time. Also get new pictures of our apartment and the tour of our Town Ephraim....Which include a "Walmart Super center...And Mcdonalds) Plus my all time favorite,,,the smell of Cow Poop!!! "Your poop Stinks too! did you ever "Fink" of "dat","...Quote by Joe. ...Well thats all for now...(P.S. If you havent figured out yet.... this is really Joe typing all this if you couldn't tell by my choice of words...Carli asked me to type this for her while she is studying since she never has time...But dont expect me to do this much..I did it for her because I love her (I also cook dinner for her, do the dishes, the laundry, clean the house, go to work and make the millions! All that for her!....I Hope I am doing a good job a being a husband. I also am getting ready to start school again. Fun! Well all is well, all is well. (did you think of the chuch song "all is well" when you read that?. Hope this is a good post. Bye for now. Love the Davies

2008-09-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

A picture from our wedding August 9th 2008

These are the beautiful flowers Sarah put together for the wedding!