"...with love, with patience and with faith she'll make her way"

I can't remember not wanting to be a nurse. When I was around 4 years old I went to an open house at the old Primary Children's Hospital before a surgery on my birthmark. I remember getting a mask and a pretend stethoscope. I wanted to be a nurse. A couple years later I had another surgery at St. Mark's hospital and I spent more time at the nurse's station than I did in my room. I wanted to be a nurse.

In high school I took a vocational class to so I could become a CNA. I started working at TOSH the week I turned 18. CNA's don't make a lot of money and I was cancelled a lot, and I left the hospital to work for TMA. I piddled around on pre-req's and on classes I unknowingly didn't need. Life happened. TMA was a good place to work, I was happy there. Aaron went through a couple layoffs and we focused on getting him through school. Maddie was born. We discovered we couldn't both successfully go to school full-time at the same time, and it was more important for Aaron to finish up the nursing program. I finished up my pre-req's in the summer of 2005 and applied for the program in December of that year. We found out about the twins a week after I turned my application in. I forgot about applying. A couple weeks later I got my acceptance letter for spring of 2010.

Fast-forward to November of 2007. Aaron and I made a decision in probably less than 5 minutes to just go ahead and get it done. I had low expectations. The twins were 19 months old when I started. They were a lot of work! Maddie was in Kindergarten. You get the idea...I just felt like I was not going to be able to pull it off. Every time I passed a test that first semester I kind of sat back and said "Huh." I know that this happened when it was supposed to, for whatever reason. I have made some great friends. I have discovered something in me I didn't know was there. I have worked hard and accomplished something that seemed so distant for so long. It was always a hope that I would do it some day, but as time progressed I felt like the opportunity might pass me by. It didn't!

I did not do this by myself. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father who laid out a path for me and provided a way for me and my family to get here. I am grateful to Aaron for his patience with me, and I have to say it was so nice to have a nurse in the house to get feedback from when I was working on assignments and studying. I am so grateful for my girls, they have been great cheerleaders. They give me high-fives and ask me if I made 100% on my tests. (Hardly). They have been pretty good about letting me study. They have sacrificed a lot of mommy time so that I could get this done. I am also grateful for Amanda, our babysitter and friend. She has been such a blessing. The events that led up to her watching the girls for us were nothing short of a miracle for me. I just can't even express the appreciation I have for her. My parents have always believed in my ability to do this, even when there were times that I didn't. My friends in the program helped immensely as well - we have shared study guides, emailed notes and helpful websites back and forth, phone calls and texts at all hours of the day and many hours of the night - and even played hooky a few times to catch lunch or a movie.

My emotions have been high this week. I am proud of my accomplishments. I am looking forward to my college graduation! It's about 10 years later than my original gameplan, but I DID IT! Thank you to all of you for your encouragement and support!