When being a nurse pays off.....

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, my grandpa was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. After further testing at the Huntsman cancer center in Salt Lake, to my families devastation, they have confirmed that it is stage 4 lung cancer. My grandpa has decided to fight this horrible disease and begin treatment with chemotherapy. He had his first chemo treatment last week and did well with it for a few days. On Sunday he started vomiting, not being able to keep anything in, and just feeling like he'd been "run over by a train" and by Wednesday he was admitted to the hospital because of dehydration. I feel so bad for him and wish he didn't have to go through this! For the past year and a half my grandpa has been "taking care" of my grandma following her stroke in December of 2006 so you can imagine the situation they're in. My grandma really doesn't have the energy to take care of my grandpa when he's as sick as he is so this is where being a nurse comes into play. . . .

my grandpa's physician just approved him this week for in-home nursing care . . . . .

and guess who his nurse is going to me! That's right- - ME! I will be contracted out by a company called Critical Nurse Staffing to take care of my grandpa in his home. Bryce and I will be moving from Nebraska on May 11 and arrive in Nevada on May 13th. I have 5 days to put my apartment together and get things in order then it's off to Blanding for me. I will be living with my parents but taking care of my grandpa in his home 8 hours a day. I can't even begin to express how blessed I feel to have this opportunity to take care of my grandpa! Everything just kind of fell into place with this job and I am so thankful to be in the position I'm in. This will not be a permanent position because I do have a husband that is going to live 750 miles away and I don't know how long I will be able to be away from him. I just can't pass up this opportunity and Bryce supports it 100%. We will see each other about every 2 weeks.:( And when Bryce finishes taking his Barr exam at the end of July we will re-evaluate the situation. I am so excited to be able to spend some time with my mom and again.. so grateful to be able to take care of my grandpa (and grandma) and spend precious time with him. I never thought I'd live in Blanding again but. . . . . .mama I'm coming home!

Happy Birthday Syd!!

So tomorrow is our niece Sydney's birthday!!

What a special year.... she is turning 8 years old and you know what that means...... she will be getting baptised!! Bryce and I are so excited that we will be able to go to her baptism next month and share the experience with her! Just one of the many great reasons for moving to Nevada! Sydney is also coming out to Omaha in a few weeks for Bryce's graduation and we are so excited to see her and spend time with her! She is such a sweet girl!!! Sydney is always excited to see Bryce and I and somehow always cons us into playing Littlest Pet Shop.:) I'm pretty sure she has every "Littlest" animal known to man. She is such a good little reader and does really well in school! I love to listen to her read to me! She is such a great niece and Bryce and I want to wish her a very Happy Birthday!! We love you Syd!

~~Modbe Swimsuits~~

I don't know how many of you have heard of Modbe clothing or have seen their swimsuits this year but they are sooooo cute!! I just got one and love it! These swimsuits are made to hide "problem areas" and are very flattering & modest. They have quite a few different styles and colors so choose from. I seriously had a hard time choosing just one! Modbe also has really cute clothes and I ended up getting a pair of jeans, a shirt and a skirt. I love it all!

My friend Kristin is a Modbe consultant and I am going to have a Modbe swim party this Thursday for those of you that haven't had a chance to see these cute swimsuits and clothes! Those of you that don't live in Omaha and won't be able to come should take a look at the Modbe website- - http://www.modbeclothing.com/

If you decide, like I did, that you just have to have one or two of these cute swimsuits let me know by Friday!! I don't know how you'll resist!:) This is a picture of the one I got. Cute huh?

~~~~Go check out the website!!!~~~~

E-mail me at brittanynielson@hotmail.com if you want to purchase anything.

Week Full of Birthdays & Anniversaries. . . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!

Oh my goodness... I love my dad!! Today is his birthday and he spent most of the day at work as usual! He is such a hard worker!! He is also a perfectionist when it comes to work and projects and has always taught me "if it's worth doin', it's worth doin' right". He has taught me so many things through-out my life and I'm sure one day Bryce will get sick of me saying "well my dad says...." or "well my dad always does it this way" or "my dad would know how to do it".:) Poor Bryce- - my dad is a very hard act to follow!:) I really admire the honest man my dad is, which I have observed throughout the years by his example. He would do anything for his family and loves spending time with us! He's the best dad ever!!! I love you so so much dad and I hope you didn't work too hard on your birthday!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM & DAD!!

Tomorrow April 9th is my parents 31st anniversary! They are an amazing couple and compliment eachother so well! I love to watch them laugh together. My dad is a really funny guy and my mom loves to laugh with him! They have lived together and worked together for the past 31 years, which I think is pretty amazing! They are amazing parents & grandparents as well!! How do they do it all?? I am so thankful that you two fell in love and I wish you many, many more wonderful anniversaries!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WES!!

And last but not least... it is my father-in-law's birthday on Thursday April 10th!! I have been blessed with a very wonderful father-in-law! In the short 4 years that I have known him I have observed so many amazing traits that he posseses. The more I'm around him, the more I see his traits in Bryce! He is so creative and artistic as well- - I mean, this man knows how to play the guitar, paint, photograph amazing pictures, build his own house!!, weld home decor...... the list goes on! He is so gentle and kind and I really appreciate and admire that about him! He has always been so supportive of Bryce and I in all that we do. He is an amazing father & grandfather! Happy Birthday to my most wonderful father-in-law!

ThE GraDUatiOn ParTy!!

So the graduation party was a success!! I totally stressed myself out for the past few weeks planning this party but it was worth it! I have been wanting to throw a graduation party since the day Bryce started law school and I finally got my chance!:) I won't lie, it was ALOT of work but we had fun and I think the guests did too!:)

We only had two minor mishaps- - while transporting the XBox console from our apartment to the club house we left the Guitar Hero game in the console not knowing that it would get so scratched that it wouldn't even play!!:( But no worries- Keri saved the day by renting it for us!:) The second mishap really stressed me out but turned out fine, I think!!?? It was a very windy day in Council Bluffs and the BBQ grills wouldn't stay lit so we had to fry the hamburgers on the stove!!!:( Everyone knows that grilled hamburgers are way better than fried hamburgers and Bryce was covered in hamburger grease by the time the frying was over! Eventually, the wind died down and we were able to grill the last 1/2 of the hamburgers.

Here's Bryce frying up a storm!!:)

SOOOOOO many people showed up for the party!! I was really happy so see everyone there! Thank you to all of you that made it! For the 1st hour to hour and a 1/2 there were about 50+ people there! How fun!:)

Here are two of the graduates Bryce and Jerom!! They will be so excited to be done in a few weeks!

I was so busy running around making sure everyone had everything they needed and keeping the food stocked that I didn't take very many good pictures!:( This picture is the only picture of Bryce and I. I'm usually pretty good about getting pictures but unfortunately I needed like 2 more hands and an extra body to get everything done.:)

I did get a chance to sit down and hang out with the girls! It is so much fun to get together with them! And- -I want to give them a special shout out and thank you for staying after to help Bryce and I clean-up! That was so nice, we really appreciate it! Thank you! Thank you!

Of coarse we played some Guitar Hero!

These boys had to come back after the priesthood session of conference and "jam out" to a few songs!

And by the end of the night this is how I felt! Little Lexi didn't quite make it through the whole party! She just had too much fun!!:)

Thank you, Thank you to all of you that came!! We had such a good time! We've made some really great friends in Omaha and we'll be sad to leave!

We've made our decision.....

So Bryce and I returned home from Nevada with an offer for a position as an Assistant District Attorney but weren't quite sure if it was the right job for us. Bryce had 2 other interviews with firms here in Omaha that following week. With one of those firms he got called in for a 2nd interview this last Tuesday and shortly after leaving they called and offered him a job! This firm is a really good litigation firm that mainly deals with large companies and corporations like pharmaceutical companies, tobacco companies and insurance companies. Anyway- so we have been stressed out, not sleeping, and literally making pros and cons lists for the past three days!!! This is a huge decision and we wanted to make the right one, the one that is best for Bryce and I. I don't know that I've ever been as stressed out about a decision in my life!! Should we stay in Omaha with lots of friends, in a city where there are many stores and things easily accessible, with a job that I really like, and we wouldn't have to pack & move, but is 14 hours away from our family.... or should we move to Nevada and have a great county government job, getting great experience, meet new people, go skiing in the mountains around Lake Tahoe:), and be closer to our families??? Can you see what a hard decision this was for us??

So after many prayers, discussions, and fasting we've made up our minds and feel really, really good about our decision!!

Lovelock, Nevada.....here we come!!!

We are so excited!! We have a lot of planning and things to get done these next 5 weeks but we also really want to enjoy the short time we have with the wonderful friends we've made here in Omaha! We are going to miss them tons! We're sad to leave but are excited for our new adventure!!:)