Tribute...

Well, this post has some happy thoughts and some sad news. My dear grandma, Beth Christensen, passed away peacefully in her home on January 13, 2010. That was the same day I took the NCLEX, and my parents and I were driving home from Salt Lake when we found out. I don't want to dwell on her death, but rather her life and my memories of her. There were so many people who sent their love and concern, brought food, attended her viewing and funeral, and in general paid tribute to her life.

Ever since I can remember my grandma has been a good friend to me. My middle name is Beth and I was always so proud that I was named after her. I think it gave us a special bond right from the beginning. So, memories of Grandma...

• She protected me from Grandpa in his gorilla suit on Halloweens when I was little. I always knew Grandma would keep me safe!
• I remember going camping and boating with Grandma. She would sit at the front of the boat with Grandpa and cheer me on when I would water ski.
• Grandma always had yummy treats that she would bring on those same trips. Usually the treats were some kind of cookie-my favorite was her No Bake Cookies.
• Grandma would make us hot chocolate from her delicious, homemade chocolate syrup and milk. It was the best hot chocolate in the world.
• Grandma and Grandpa gave all of us grandchildren a set of scriptures when we turned 8. Mine were brown and had my name on them.
• Grandma's beautiful roses that were planted outside her house. She loved flowers in general and always had either flowers of plants inside the house on the kitchen table.
• She was an excellent cook. I loved being invited to their house to eat dinner. She always had the table set with a tablecloth and delicious food on it. One of the things I enjoyed most was her tacos.
• She played the piano and had a beautiful alto voice. I remember one time I stayed with them and Grandma listened to me practice for my piano lessons. She encouraged me and taught me that one time quickly through each song wouldn't cut it!
• Grandma collected music boxes and she would wind them up for us when we came over. I loved listening to them.
• Grandma got a sign from someone as a gift that said, "Have you hugged your Grandmother today?" She loved getting hugs from her grandkids and I loved hugging her. She had the best Grandma hug in the world-soft, warm, and gentle.
• I loved Grandma's hands. She was a religious user of lotion and they always smelled very good. Her hands were soft and warm and delicate. I loved to watch how they moved.
• Along with her hands I loved her rings. She wore two rings every time I saw her. One was her wedding ring. It was white gold and beautifully old fashioned. I just loved it. The other was a ring Grandpa bought her for a surprise. I remember she was so happy when she got it and she loved showing it to us. It was also white gold with a row of diamonds in it. Just a week or so before she died I sat on our couch with her and talked about her rings.
• Grandma had a heart operation when I was a junior in high school-about five years ago. She had a five bypass surgery and a valve replaced. I remember seeing her scar and hearing her tell us about the bear they gave her to splint her incision with when she stood up or coughed.
• Grandma also had cancer-a year after her heart operation. I remember I never heard her complain, even though it probably scared her.
• After her heart surgery we started having them to Sunday dinner every Sunday. These became really special times together. We all got really close to grandma and grandpa. I can picture as clear as day the routine of that Sunday dinner. They would come in and Grandma would come and sit at the bar in the kitchen and talk with my mom and me about her week, family news, and what was happening in her life. We would sit down at the table, with me on her left side and we would eat. I enjoyed sitting by her and talking with her at dinner and the bond we have always had was strengthened even more by those dinnertime conversations.
• I remember Grandma was very flexible. Even until she passed away she could touch the ground with flat hands when bending over.
• Grandma and Grandpa started having "Grandchildren Parties" every holiday season between Christmas and New Years. The grandchildren who were close enough would go over for a sleep over with Grandma and Grandpa. We would eat Papa Murphey's pizza, and junk food. We would play games all evening and watch a movie. Then we would sleep downstairs, have breakfast in the morning, and play more games until afternoon. I really cherish those memories of Grandma laughing and watching the games.
• There were other parties during the year: Halloween parties, Thanksgiving get togethers, New Years Eve party, and birthday parties. This last New Years Eve we had a party at their house. I was afraid that it would be too much for Grandma, but she participated in the whole thing and stayed up until almost 1 am. We played "The Newlywed" game. I was the person who asked the questions and Grandma really enjoyed it. It was fun to hear her and Grandpa tell about their first kiss, their most recent date, and other memories.
• Grandma and Grandpa would give us a birthday card with a 5 dollar bill in it for each birthday. Grandma would write on the cards and they are very dear to me now.
• This last Christmas the Christmas gift to the granddaughters (picked out each year by Grandma) was a large bottle of bubble bath. Grandma loved stuff like that: lotion, bubble bath, and jewelry.
• Grandma was always very interested in my life. I think that was something that I really loved about her. She was a very good listener and she encouraged me in everything I was doing. She was so excited to hear about school, nursing, and boys. I felt comfortable telling her just about anything and she rejoiced in my successes and sorrowed with me in my failures or disappointments.
• I came home this last December for her birthday dinner with our family on Sunday. I was in the middle of school, but somehow I felt like it was important for me to be there and that it would make her happy. I am so glad that I did this because it turns out that it was her last birthday.
• I called Grandma when I found out that I would be having lunch with Elder Scott at graduation time. She was so excited for me and we had a nice conversation.
• Grandma wasn't feeling great for the past couple of months, but I really wanted her and Grandpa to make it to my pinning ceremony. I can't really explain why, but I felt like it wouldn't be quite the same without them. It was their anniversary the day of pinning, but they made the effort to drive to Rexburg and were there with me that special evening, made even more special by her being there. The picture above is the two of us at pinning ceremony. She told me that night that she wouldn't have missed it if she had been lying on her death bed. It turns out she really was and I can't even express how grateful I was she was there. Grandma was one of my best supporters and she was so excited for me.
• I took the NCLEX the day she passed away and I felt so bad that I couldn't tell her that I passed. She would have been as excited as anyone else could be for my success.
• She played Clue Charades with our family after Sunday dinner, just a few weeks before she died. She was acting out Micheal Jackson and was getting into it in her cute, funny way. She ended up falling which scared us all, but she wasn't hurt. That is just one memory of her funny sense of humor. It was a quiet sense of humor but she had a way of saying something at just the right moment or pulling a face while Grandpa told us a story that was hilarious.
• Her prayers were simple, quiet expressions of faith and love for her family and the gospel. she would pray for each missionary in our family by name.
• Grandma loved her family so much. I could tell this everyday. A week before she died I was with my mom at her house taking down Christmas decorations. She was discouraged with her lack of energy, but excitedly told us about an engagement and some upcoming babies in the family. Family really was her life.
• I remember her smile. She had a beautiful smile, full of peace and joy. I shall always have a picture of her, it was the last time I saw her alive, two days before she died. She was sitting in her chair looking at me as we left. She smiled and I told her I loved her. She replied I love you with that same smile. What a beautiful picture to have forever.

I really miss her. These memories are just a few of the precious ones I have of her. She was the perfect example of a wife, mother, and grandmother. I hope I can become like her. Our family is experiencing a hole in our life without her. I wanted to be able to tell her about my life in the future: the job I will get, the man I will marry, and the children I will have. It makes me sad to think she won't be around for that. However, and this I know without a doubt, she is around. She will be there in the temple when I get married. She will know my children; she is probably taking care of them right now for me. And most importantly, I will see her again. what comfort that gives me. That is the comfort of the gospel that I learn from being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. I love you, Grandma.

This is a picture of my grandma when she was young. It's beautiful, isn't it?!

News...

Well on Wednesday, January 13th, I finally got the dreaded NCLEX over! For those of you who don't know the NCLEX is the nursing licensure exam. It is a test with a minimum of 75 questions and a maximum of 265 questions. I was very nervous for it because without a passing grade on this test I couldn't license as a registered nurse. To make a long story short I drove to Salt Lake with my parents and we stayed the night. I woke up Wednesday morning at 5:45 and my Dad dropped me off in Draper to take the test. We didn't know how long my test would be so he just left me there and they would pick me up after I called. My test shut off after 75 questions which made me very nervous because I was afraid that I had missed every question! It was a hard test. Come to find out my results actually came back really fast and I passed! I am now a registered nurse for the state of Utah. Yes, that is where I plan to work after I find a job. A job...that might take awhile! Anyway it is a huge relief to have the test over and I was very pleased with my results. And now I can't resist signing off like so:

Andrea Christensen, RN

I have to explain this picture really quick. My mom wanted me to buy the traditional nurses cap just for fun. It used to be an essential part of a nurse's uniform but it is no longer used (thank heaven!). So to make her happy I bought one and we took this picture. Mom didn't like the cap nearly as well as she thought she would! It is kind of silly looking!

Graduation!!!

Graduation was December 18 and 19. I had such an awesome experience and made some lifelong memories. I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology and an Associates degree in Nursing. Here is my graduation announcement.Here I am before my Pinning Ceremony with my Grandma Christensen and other family. I was asked to give the opening prayer and I was pretty nervous because we had a special guest.
Nurses Pinning is a traditional ceremony where the graduating RNs receive a pin to recognize their achievements. This is one of my instructors pinning me with the beautiful pin my parents surprised me with. It is also tradition to wear all white to pinning.

Our special guest turned out to be Elder Scott! He was the commencement speaker but also attended pinning along with President and Sister Clark, our BYU-Idaho president. They both spoke to us and it was an amazing experience. Elder Scott gave a lot of counsel and a very special blessing as we proceed with our careers. I think this picture is awesome, but nothing can quite capture the feeling I had as I shook his hand.
Surprise! The nursing instructors had the graduates sing the closing hymn. We could have used some practice!
After the closing prayer Elder Scott stood up once more and said to us, "I just wanted to tell you how much we love you. You will find success in your profession." He then smiled at us and walked out of the room. It was a very special moment and the Spirit was very strong. This is a picture of that last time he spoke to us.

Marybeth, Me, and Le after the ceremony.
Another surprise!!! My dear friend Jennifer made it to pinning! She had traveled from Arizona the day before for her sister's wedding and took the time to come! It meant so much to me that she could be there! I love you Jen!
Here I am with my Christensen grandparents. I owe so much to them for helping to get me to this point.
Here I am with my Waddoups grandparents. They drove clear from Pocatello to come and I was so happy to see them. I owe so much to them as well for helping to get me graduated.

Here are some girls who I graduated with: Jenny, Gina, me, and Marybeth.
Here are some of the alternate students; we clean up well. From left to right: Gina, Christy, Cameron, Eliot, Janea, Karissa, Marybeth, and I.
Marybeth and I. (Or is it me? My English is not what it should be for a college grad!)

Marybeth and I sang in the graduation choir for commencement on Saturday. We are up in the top right corner. We sang Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise, and The Hallelujah Chorus. That was a neat experience. Elder Scott was the main speaker and once again gave some wonderful suggestions and counsel.
This is a video of me receiving my diploma cover. My uncle, Garth Waddoups was able to give me my doploma cover which was really special.

Yet another picture of the inseparables. Literally.

Marybeth, me, and Le. Just in case you are wondering, the black robes indicate a bachelor degree, the blue robes, associate. The white cords indicate a nursing student.

This is my dad and I. My parents have been the most wonderful support through the whole college experience. They always encouraged me to stick with it, even when it seemed impossible. They encouraged me when I decided to double major, transfer from BYU, and pursue nursing. Now they are letting me live at home indefinetly as I look for a job. I love them and apprciate their support so much.

Me and my mom. Doesn't my mom look beautiful?!

Just a little bit of emotion. I actually didn't cry very much which surprised me, but I think the relief was too great!

The last amazing experience that I had this weekend was that I received an invitation to a special graduation luncheon with Elder Scott, President and Sister Clark, various Vice-Presidents, and several students. There were 28 of us in all. I was seated right next to Sister Clark, four places away from Elder Scott. We were able to ask Elder Scott questions and converse with him in such an intimate setting. I took the opportunity to ask him a question and I received yet another strong witness of the fact that the Apostles are inspired to recieve revelation in our behalf. It was a sweet, sweet experience and one I shall never forget. That was truly the highlight of graduation and it made all of my hard work very worth it.

I guess I would just like to thank everyone really quickly who has supported me. I have the best family, friends, and teachers in the world!

Triathlon

I am really late blogging some of this stuff, but better late than never...right! After clinicals were over I had some time to enjoy my last few weeks at BYU-Idaho. The Saturday after Thanksgiving Break I was able to compete in a triathlon put on through the school. This was my first experience with a triathlon and it was hard! Since the weather was around 0 degrees the triathlon was held inside. My brother Preston, and friends DaNeil and Sam also competed with me. There were many heats and several teams we were competing with.A triathlon starts with swimming. As this was a short triathlon we only had to swim 400 yards-8 laps in the pool. It gets harder...



Next came the biking. I had no idea that the biking, due to the weather, was going to be indoors on a RECUMBANT bike! I have NEVER ridden a recumbent bike, let alone 6 miles on it! This absolutely killed my legs especially because I am not a huge biker in the first place. The "smile" on my face is completely fake, either that or I was thinking "I could be sleeping right now!"

Running was the easy part; back to my natural environment. We had 3 miles to run, also indoors, which translates to 33 laps! I actually gained some ground here.

Here is Preston running. He showed up in his cross-country uniform and was the only noncollege student who participated. He ended up getting second place for the men, so he did great.
Here is my friend Sam running. I think his smile is real.
Me and DaNeil after the race was over. Here is my disclaimer: my red face is becuase I was very warm and completely out of shape (I'll blame that on nursing school and not on my lack of motivation to exercise). How DaNeil managed to look so cute after swimming, biking, and running without a pause to do her hair, I have no idea!
Here we are at the end. The girl on the left is another participant who completed the whole thing. It was a fun experience and we didn't do too bad. DaNeil finished second overall for the women and I finished third. Sam finished third overall for the men and Preston as I mentioned was second. Next time (yes there will be a next time) I am actually going to train!

Thanksgiving Dinner

As Thanksgiving came upon us we decided it would be fun to have a Thanksgiving dinner among the Alternate Nursing Students. We have spent a year together and have shared some great times. This dinner was the final party to celebrate our success. Big Thanks to Janae for hosting the dinner at her house. She worked super hard and it was beautiful! She also provided the potatoes, gravy, and turkey. Everyone else brought a dish or dessert. The food was delicious. This is Janae and Neil, there home was beautiful. Here are the three single alternate students., me, Marybeth, and Le. We stuck together through the program and had some fun experiences as the "singles".
Ready to explode...the food was so good!

Cleaning up after dinner. I managed to break two of Janae's dishes while trying to be helpful. Let that be a warning to any of you who invite me to dinner!

This is the gang. Starting at me and moving clockwise we have Christy, Karissa, Janae, Jennifer, Gina, Ira, Marybeth, Cameron, Eliot, and Le. Such good friends and excellent nurses.

This is the whole group. As you can see there were a lot of us because spouses were invited. It was fun to meet everyone and have such a good time.

Clinicals...Finished!!!

For those of you who are new to my life...I recently completed the nursing program at BYU-Idaho. It was a lot of work, tears, and joy as well. The following are some pictures of the last day of clinicals. Clinicals are the way nursing students get their experience. We go to a hospital, take care of 1-2 patients, and practice being nurses. These clinical shifts started when I was first in the program September 2008 and continued until November 21st 2009. We went once a week, mostly on Saturdays for 12 hour shifts. This makes a long Saturday! We went to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center for two semesters and Madison Memorial Hospital for two semesters. So here goes...

This is the walk we made each and every Saturday morning for two semesters. The only difference was that it was almost always in the dark(we had to be there by 6:30am and didn't leave until 6 or 7pm).
This is how I look at 6:30 in the morning. Keep in mind that we lived in Rexburg about a 45 min drive from Idaho Falls where the hospital was! This means waking up at 5am after a Friday night!


These are some of my fellow nursing students. You can tell how excited we are at 6:30am! Actually, this being the last day we were ecstatic!

This is the much feared and dreaded and even hated Nursing Care Worksheet (affectionately known as an NCW by nursing students)! I have spent probably 50 hours doing NCWs. It is a worksheet done on patients in clincial and includes assessment data, medications, lab tests, and nursing diagnoses.This is at the end of the last clinical day. We got out a few hours early which was fun. This is Marybeth and me. We were thrilled. I could never have made it through the program without Marybeth. We had a lot of fun together and we also shared some tough experiences. She always helped me when I was behind at clincials. Everyone needs a friend like Marybeth!
Jumping for joy!!!

This is the final walk from the EIRMC building. I think the smile on my face says it all. It was a great feeling to be done. The next time I enter a hospital I plan on being paid for my work!

Summer Fun!

I did a lot of fun things this summer during the 7 week break from classes. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable break and is helping to get me through the rest of school. I wanted to share some of the things that I did this summer. First, my family and I went to Island Park the day after school got out. My good friend from the nursing program, Marybeth came with us and we had a great time! We went jetskiing and swimming at Island Park Reservoir. However...my family all developed a weird rash that looked like mosquito bites all over our bodies. We determined that it was some kind of bug or plant in the water. Marybeth was smart and had worn waterproof bugspray, so she was fine. It was a good start to the summer.

Me and Marybeth...I am so grateful for such a good friend throughout the nursing program! I am so glad she could come with us to Island Park.

The very next Monday I set out on what turned out to be the adventure of a lifetime. I signed up for a whitewater rafting trip on the Salmon River for 5 days with BYU-Idaho. I was a little nervous to go completely on my own but I had so much fun! I made a lot of good friends and soaked in the fun and beautiful scenery.

One of the rafts loaded with our equipment, and in the background...the beautiful Salmon River scenary!
On our second day we stopped at this natural hot spring. It was the warmest hot spring I had ever been in! The pipe is pumping in COLD water...just to make the water bearable.
Our second night of the trip. We played some fun games involving the paddles and waterbottles. Obviously I am not too good at this game! We also floated through some rapids with only our lifejackets, talk about an adrenaline rush!
Here is some more beautiful scenary!
The third day we spent at a wonderful campsite that included this convenient boulder to jump off! We also turned a raft over and had a waterslide into the river!

Some other highlights of the summer include a wonderful kayaking trip with my grandpa at Teton National Park. That was a spectacular day!

This is my cousin and me by the lake...as you can see the water was smooth as glass.

My brother and me striking a pose!

My grandpa by his kayacks with the Tetons in the background. This is a perfect image of him with one of his hobbies and out in the nature he loves so much!

I also went on two great hikes with friends. One was to a beautiful waterfall/hot springs in Yellowstone, and the other was Mt. Timpanogos in Utah.

Waterfall in Yellowstone. This too had hotsprings at the bottom that were very nice. Isn't it beautiful?!
This is the view from the top of Mt. Timpanogos, looking east.

I hiked this with a friend made on the rafting trip, T. He is so much fun and it was super nice of him to go with me! Here we are at the top facing west.

The final exciting event was a week long vacation with my family. We went to New Orleans and left for a 5 day cruise. The ports of call included Progresso and Cozumel Mexico. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and had a great time snorkeling and relaxing together as a family. I will include pictures when I have some more time!