It's May?!

2012 ...

As you can tell, I'm not great with keeping up the blog ... maybe I will be better at that this year! :)
December flew by with a few highlights ...
As most of you know, Andrew got accepted into the Emergency Medicine Residency program here in San Antonio which means we will be here for 3 more years from this summer. I am so proud of him!! He works so hard and is just amazing all around ... its nice to see all of that pay off for him!
We were not able to go home for the holidays because I had to work Christmas Day and New Years Day. Ironically, Andrew had both holidays off but we tried to make the most of it. We celebrated our Christmas on Christmas Eve by skyping with my family while we opened presents, went to Christmas Eve service at church and had some good friends over for dinner afterward. New Years Eve, we went to a party with people from our small group at church.  It was definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be to be away from family. We are hoping to make it to Illinois for the holidays this year!
The week in between Christmas and New Years we headed up to Austin (about 45 minutes north of us) and stayed at a bed and breakfast and just relaxed. We had a great time! The weather was gorgeous and we were able to walk to just about anything from our place. We had a fun time exploring the city. It was so nice to get away and just hang out with each other.
Earlier this month, I went back to Illinois for the first time since May (yay!) Andrew had to work, so he stayed home with Marley. While I was home I got to go to my good friend Kevin's wedding in Michigan. The wedding was beautiful and it was so good to see our good family friends and his sister Megan's new baby girl, Adelaide! I tried not to be too big of a baby hog :) It was so nice to see friends and family at home but I was anxious to get back to my boys in Texas.
Andrew and I decided that I wasn't going to work full time this year so I am working on the same unit as before, on an as needed basis (typically 1, 12 hour shift a week) Ever since I had Lyme Disease my senior year in high school I have struggled with chronic fatigue and pain and we decided that the 12 hour days were becoming a little too much for me. Its frustrating to be 24 with no children, not working full time and be so stinking tired all of the time, but I hope that the doctors can figure something out.  Prayers are appreciated!
My bible study at church started back up again this past week, I am excited to get back into the study and see all of those lovely ladies every week again.
I'm still involved in the BAMC (military hospital Andrew works at) auxiliary going to social and volunteer events. I have met some really great girls and its so nice to be around people who are in the same position you are (everyone is a military spouse and most of their husbands are doctors or in the medical field).  I am looking forward to being more involved now that I have a little more free time.
My parents are coming down this weekend and I am so excited! We are seriously spoiled by how often our family comes to see us.
Well, I hope that 2012 has started out on a good note for all of you ... We don't have too many complaints down here. It was 78 degrees here yesterday :)

It's November?!?!

We have been busy down here in Texas! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I am SO excited because my family is coming down for a week! :)
I started working at Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, down town San Antonio at the end of September. I am learning so much and loving it! I work 3 12 hour shifts, which make for long days, but its nice to be off 4 days a week and I love the kids I work with and my co-workers. The unit is called Special Medicine and we get children from birth to 18 years. We specialize in children with Cystic Fibrosis and kids who need rehab because of surgery, traumatic brain injury or any other reason. Because of the nature of these situations, some of the kids are with us for weeks, even months at a time.
Andrew's parents came down in October and it was so nice to have visitors again. It was fun to show them where we live, work and where we go for fun.
Andrew has been on an easier rotation this month so he is working "clinic hours" which means Monday-Friday 7-4. We feel like normal people! :) He has been working on projects around the house and we have been able to spend more time together. We went to the Randolph Air Force Base Air Show a few weeks ago with some friends, and it was so neat! He goes back to a more busy schedule at the end of the week, but we are thankful that he gets breaks in between the really rough rotations.
We find out in December if we are staying here in Texas or if we are moving again. We are anxious to find out what is next, but are trusting God that just as He went before us with the move to Texas, He will go before us again wherever we end up.  I must say,  I am liking the Texas much more now as our highs have been mostly in the 70's and 80's lately! :)
I have been involved in a women's bible study at church this semester that I am getting so much out of and really enjoy. Our small group has been doing a marriage study that has been really good to too.
I'm sure there is more that I am forgetting but just wanted to send out a quick update.

What's new with the Bloom's

Things have been going really well down in Texas. Andrew is doing his ER rotation at the hospital and is really enjoying it. He is also working a little less hours than previous rotations so he is getting a little bit more rest and I love having him home more!
My parents and their new Beagle mix, Kenzie came to visit a few weeks ago. It was so good to meet the new dog and to spend time with them. Andrew had to work most of the time but he was able to do some things with us. We took them to a few new restaurants, went to the riverwalk (of course) and went tubing down the river. It was such a good time and it was so nice to have family here again ... I was starting to get homesick!
I accepted a nursing job last week! It is at a children's hospital downtown San Antonio on a long term stay unit. The kids are typically there for weeks at a time (at least). I think it will be a good fit for me. I start at the end of the month and will be working 3 days a week. My fall women's bible study is starting back up again this week and our life group is kicking off a new study. I have been going to a lot of social activities with the BAMC auxiliary I joined and am looking forward to some volunteer opportunities.
This past weekend we went to Andrew's hometown, Coal Valley IL for our friends, Ben and Mallory's wedding. We were only there for the weekend but it was so good to see friends and family. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful and we had a great time catching up with a lot of Andrew's childhood friends. Marley did great at the Pet Resort ... it was his 2nd time there and they called us and said that he was great and a good candidate for doggie daycare. They said he loved playing with the other dogs. So we may have him go there once a week when I'm at work. I know, doggie daycare I'm crazy! :)
That's pretty much our story for the last few weeks ... I am jealous of the cooler weather everyone is getting up north! Enjoy!
Kristin

Texas ...

       Wow. I haven't written in so long!!! We have definitely been busy since moving here. Andrew has one rotation under his belt and he has been really busy working at the hospital. He is just amazing, I have been so proud of how he has handled the long hours but still comes home and makes time for us. I got to play nurse this past week when he got all 4 wisdom teeth taken out. The surgery went fine but he had a lot of post op pain and ended up getting dry sockets in all 4. He had the surgery Friday and was back to work on Monday. He has been such a trooper even though he isn't fully back to normal yet.
       I started applying for part time nursing jobs and in the mean time have been finding things to fill my time. We found an awesome church right when we moved here so we have been able to meet some great people. We have gotten plugged in through a small group that we love and I went to a Summer Bible Study for military wives that wrapped up last week. This past weekend I went to a spouse orientation for the Brooke Army Medical Center auxillary and got to take an official tour of the hospital and the rehab center. We also got to see the Fisher House and Wounded Warrior family community center. These are meant to house and serve family of men and women who have come home from the war seriously wounded who need extended care at the hospital and rehab centers (primarily soldiers with serious burns and amputees). I was so inspired by what goes on there and am excited to get involved by volunteering. The stories of these soldiers and their families are amazing. Its something that a lot of people don't get to see and I wish people knew more about.
       We have also had a few visitors since moving here which has been great. My mom and dad came right after we moved in to help us get settled and paint. We were able to take them to some of the touristy spots here too so we had a great time and we really appreciated their help! One of my best friends Michelle came and visited us over the 4th of July. We had an awesome time with her before she headed to Alaska for the school year to teach. We are so proud of her and are excited to hear about her adventures this year! A few days after Michelle left, my brother, sister and Cordell were here for a week! We went to all sort of restaurants, SeaWorld, the riverwalk and tubing down the river (twice!) The second time we all got extremely sunburned despite wearing sunscreen ... it was very strange and very painful!
       We are really starting to feel like this is home, but we also miss everyone up north!
       

Lately ...

We have had a busy week since Andrew's graduation. We took a break from cleaning the apartment and organizing our things for the movers and met Andrew's brother Adam and his fiance Cori in Bloomington. Adam's work site is there and he was able to show us around which was really neat! (Cori and I did not have the best foot wear for walking in a construction zone ... she did it in heels!) After that we headed to a really good Indian restaurant that Andrew and I had been to with some of his classmates. It was so good to see them ... crazy to think the next time we will see them is on their wedding day!
I am so grateful that we had professional movers or it would have been a truly crazy week! It was strange sitting around (watching Cake Boss) while the guys packed up all of our things one day and came and packed up the moving truck the next. Andrew isn't great at sitting around so he spent most of the day talking with the guys and scoping out how they were packing our stuff :) They really did a great job!
We are at Andrew's parents this weekend. We thought it wouldn't be much fun sitting in an apartment with nothing in it so we decided to come see friends and family here before we head to Texas. It has been so nice and we have been eating like kings! Andrew's dad cooked enormous steaks for us on Friday night and we had BOTH meals yesterday with our good friends Nick and Melanie - It was great to spend so much time with them! We also met with Rich and Susie Kraft - Rich married Andrew and I and did our pre-marital counseling. He wanted to do a follow up with us before we headed down to Texas. It was a great time of counsel and reflection over this last year and how Andrew and I have grown as a couple. We even got to visit with Luke and Meghan (their daughter and son in law) for awhile! I feel so blessed to have the friends that we have. It's been a great weekend!

Andrew's Graduation

Wow ... what a weekend! After all of his hard work and dedication, Andrew is officially a doctor! I am so proud of him! We had both of our families here this weekend and I had so much fun cooking, baking and getting to use all of our wedding gifts (that are going to be packed up here pretty soon!) It was really nice to have everyone here - I don't get to play hostess too often because we are usually the ones traveling on the weekends to see our friends and family. Marley loved having all of his favorite people over at the same time, but he is completely wiped out! It is so funny to watch him try so hard to keep his eyes open :)
Now we are just trying to relax and rest up for the week ahead - it will be busy with packing up the apartment (with the help of the movers the army provided ... hooray!) and tying up loose ends here in Springfield. It is hard to believe that moving week is here. I was telling Andrew the other day that it is finally starting to hit me how much I'm going to miss Springfield. I was driving home from the hospital after cleaning out my locker and saying goodbye to some co-workers and I realized how many memories Andrew and I have here. I remember all of the trips we took back and forth between my college (IWU) and Springfield so we could see each other while we were dating ... pretty much every weekend despite the fact that we were in nursing and medical school! :) And our first apartment together is here along with my first big kid job and obviously where Andrew has been going to school for the last three years. I will really miss Springfield, but I'm so excited for new memories in San Antonio!