The Bigler Family

Owen...

2012-02-12T22:06:00.000-08:00

"Since my previous post our lives haven't changed much." That is how my post I had been writing started out. Time has escaped me and my life has become a tad bit busier. The story of our little guys birth is probably the most exciting, life changing event that has happened in our lives in 2011. Let me start from December 3rd:

December 3rd: My due date. I'm still pregnant. Here I thought I would either have my sweet boy by now or be remotely close to having him. I spent the day in Pima at Bradford's first wrestling tournament of the year. I waddled my way up and down the bleachers and cheered and jumped trying to send myself into labor. That didn't work.

December 7th: I am still pregnant. My last appointment with my Dr. I am still measuring 2cm dilated and about 50% effaced. I have been measuring that for the last 4 weeks. He strips my membranes and we talk options. At this point I am the size of a house. I'm not having any contractions, I'm just uncomfortable. I have been off work since Thanksgiving and I was hoping not to spend half of my maternity leave still pregnant. I am not opposed to being induced but I have heard horror stories of unbelievable labor pains and labor never really starting and ultimately leading to having a C-section. But I'm selfish and want this baby to come now so I make an induction appointment for Friday, December 9th at 7am.

December 8th: I am feeling good. A little more uncomfortable than usual but not having any contractions or pain. I am assuming this is my last full day of being pregnant so I enjoy the day with my friend Rhianna. We go to lunch and do a little shopping at Walmart to pick myself up a nursing bra. She is due with her first baby in January and so we have some things in common to complain and chat about. That night my mom comes into town. She has been on high alert since Thanksgiving waiting for the baby. After my mom gets here we head to get some dinner. I figure it's going to be my last meal for a while until I deliver so I eat WAY more than I probably should. That night we talk and about midnight head to bed ready to get up and get going in the morning to meet my little boy.

December 9th: I wake up at 3:00 to some stomach pain and some not so pleasant GI symptoms if you know what I mean. I sit down for a bit and realize my stomach ache is a little too similar to a contraction pattern so I grab my phone and start timing. After about an hour of contractions happening for about 30-40 seconds and 2-3 minutes apart I wake Bradford up and tell him the long awaited words of "IT'S TIME!" I wake my mom up and we load up and head to the hospital. People tell you how contractions are the most painful thing you will ever experience and I am not going to disagree. You endure the pain waiting for those 2 minutes of rest before you are consumed by pain again. We get to the hospital about 5am and get hooked up to the monitors, IV started, and cervix checked. I am 5cm and 100% effaced. At that point I am ready for some pain relief and get some IV Fentanyl to control my pain until the CRNA gets there to start an epidural. The Fentanyl makes me feel like what I assume it would feel like to be high. It took the edge off and made it more bearable. I am no hero and after about an hour the Fentanyl wore off and I was ready for an epidural. Just about the time I felt like I could strangle my nurse if she asked me to rate my pain one more time, in walks the man of my dreams, the CRNA. We get the epidural in and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I could have kissed that man once he had placed the epidural.

After I get the epidural we notice my heart rate and my blood pressure start to steadily increase and that's when I get thrown to my left side and the always fashionable oxygen mask thrown on. The CRNA comes back in to check to see how I'm feeling and gives me some medication to lower my heart rate and blood pressure. Then they hit the toilet and I am feeling nauseous and dizzy but that's normal. After a while my blood pressure stabilized a bit but my heart rate is still running anywhere from 120 to 170. Any time it climbed over 140 I got nauseous and would toss my cookies. This is about the time I regretted having eaten the ginormous lunch and dinner the day before. This only happened twice thankfully but I could have went without.

I go about the day lying on one side or the other and Bradford and my mom just hang out and chat without me because I can't hear a word they are saying with the oxygen blasting through the mask I'm wearing. My nurse was nice and a little frazzled. That night and day I was there I guess it was like a revolving door in the OB and they were super busy so I didn't see her much. I probably saw the CRNA more than my nurse. When she was there she was always nice to me but if my Dr. was in the room with her it was tense. I don't think she much cared for him and he for her so if they crossed paths they bickered over what to do about my blood pressure or what Pitocin dosage they should start because my contractions had slowed down a bit. So I could only handle either my Dr. or my nurse at one time.

My Dr. is usually really straight forward but it seemed that when something could have been wrong he kind of got quiet. Example 1: Babies heart rate has some slight decelerations with my contractions so nurse notifies Dr. of such. Dr. mumbles something under his breath to the effect of, "babies cord might be around his neck". Being in the hyper-aware state I am I yell down through my mask "WHAT!?!?!" Dr. states, "If the cord's around his neck there's nothing I can do now. I haven't had a baby take the cord off from around their own neck yet." I'm a little frustrated but not totally irritated yet. Example 2: Dr. comes to break my water about 1pm. Water gets broken and I hear another mumble come from between my legs. Asking what the deal is and I hear, "just a little meconium, no big deal." NO BIG DEAL!?!?!?! In my mind I am thinking, "Ok, my baby is overdue", so I can understand that there is meconium in the fluid but HELLO! My baby is still in there breathing this stuff in. GET HIM OUT! After he broke my water he checked me and I was 8cm dilated and still 100% effaced. So after this lovely experience I have to call my nurse about an hour after he breaks my water to get cleaned up as I have been sitting in this yumminess since my water was broke.

The monitors they had on my belly weren't tracking the babies heart rate or my contractions very well so the Dr. placed a scalp electrode in the babies head to get a better reading on his heart rate. I felt like a science experiment. I had tubes coming from everywhere. My oxygen mask, pulse ox, blood pressure cuff, baby monitor, contraction monitor, an IV, Foley catheter, epidural line, and the little scalp electrode. Like I said, science experiment.

Around 2:30 my nurse comes in and checks me and I'm fully dilated! When she tells me it's time to push I am taken aback a little and not sure if I want to push. I went through the whole pregnancy knowing I was going to have a baby, knowing that there would come a point that I wouldn't be pregnant anymore and I would have something living and breathing depending on me to survive. Bradford grabs one leg and my mom grabs the other and we're off. I beg my Dr. not to turn the epidural off and we start pushing. The little guy was face down and had his chin tucked down to his chest so they used the vacuum to help pull his head up a bit so pushing him out would be easier. One push, I started feeling the pressure and was hoping I was doing it right. Second push, right about the time I started to push my Dr. started to pull on the vacuum and the nurse hadn't applied any suction so there went the suction cup and another "bicker" between my nurse and Dr.

About the time the Dr. said he wanted to give me an episiotomy I felt a big burn and saw a squirt hit the Dr., Bradford, my mom, and me in the face. My mom let go of my leg and started gagging. When she let go of my leg I kicked the Dr. and realized everyone around me had brownish stuff on them. Then I realized once the little guy's head popped out, so did all the fluid built up behind it and like a squirt gun it shot everyone around me. Just like that, there he was, in all his naked glory. They set him up on my stomach and there was no going back. I, being in the emotionally unstable un-pregnant girl, started crying and trying to get the little guy to cry by rubbing him. He was taken over to the warmer and suctioned a bit because he HAD swallowed a little bit of meconium fluid. About that time he started crying and my epidural had worn off enough just in time for my Dr. to put some stitches where the sun don't shine. I had torn a bit and had to get a couple of stitches. At 2:59 on December 9th, 2011 we finally got to meet our sweet little Owen Bradford. He came out weighing a whopping 9lbs 4oz and was 21.5 inches long. I think I was in complete shock after the nurse handed him to me all wrapped up because I just couldn't believe I had him, finally, in my arms. It makes all the months of trying totally worth it. Makes all the tears and feelings of loss totally worth it. We had a baby. Our own baby. He was perfect in every way and he was mine.

We went from this...

To this...

Our little guy at 1 week old...

"O-DOG" as we call him, is getting so big and amazes me everyday. He has been focusing on faces, cooing and talking, and smiling since he was about 3 weeks old. Now he is 9 weeks old and big as ever. Our appointment today for his 2 month check-up he was 15lbs 1oz and 23 inches long. He is a big guy and we love every inch of him. When he was born it was like staring at a little Bradford with his momma's big ears. He still is a little Bradford and by the looks of him he is going to be a stout little guy. Between Bradford's school and me starting to head back to work we can't get enough of him. I am grateful to have Bradford be so supportive and basically calling on my every whim and need. I need to upload the rest of my photos and get them on my next blog post. Until then, much love!

Sunburns and School...

2011-09-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Since my last post, we have brought back a family member, vacationed, and I took my first belly picture.

We moved! It's only about a half mile from our old house but it's secluded (we only have one neighbor), bigger (3 WHOLE BEDROOMS), and has a sweet back yard for the beasts! We are pretty much moved in and settled for now. I'm sure that will change in a couple of months.

The view from our new backyard.

With August came Elder Brown! Derek came home on the 9th and hasn't stopped moving since. He stepped off the plane after serving a 2 year mission in Virginia and shortly thereafter on the 12th he stepped back on a plane along with my Mom and Dad, Garrett, Bradford, and I. We were off to tour the east coast starting in New York and ending in Virginia. My parents have never been past Colorado and this would probably be the only time they would make it out to the east coast. So we dubbed Bradford our tour guide and when we stepped off the plane and JFK and didn't stop until the 19th.

We toured Liberty and Ellis Island and cruised up and down Times Square. The next morning we woke up to POURING RAIN! The rain poured all day and didn't stop just because the Browns were in town. We rode the subway out to Coney Island and unfortunately the entire pier was closed so we walked through the New York Aquarium and ate Nathan's Hot Dogs. If you have never had a Nathans hot dog you are missing out. They say it's the 100 year old grills that make them as good as they are but I think it's just the hot dog itself. So yummy and tasty in all of it's snappy goodness. Mmmmmmmm! The rest of that day, other than braving the weather, the broken down subways, and soggy shoes, we stopped at Ground Zero and see the Freedom Tower and the new memorials they are building. We then loaded up and headed down to Washington DC where we toured through the streets and saw the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Lincoln Memorial, The White House, the Capitol Building, and walked through the Museum of Natural History. Then it was off to Virginia where we hit what I think was the world's BIGGEST outlet mall, roasted ourselves at Virginia Beach. After a flight cancellation we finally made it home, blisters and all.

Garrett was the worst vacation buddy. He pouted the whole trip about how he was mad he was "missing school" but I think it was more of his little friend who is a girl back home...

Bradford's lovely 2nd degree burns he brought home from Virginia Beach

Now we are back home, school has started and Bradford is in full swing with nursing school in Globe. He loves his teacher and is ROCKING all of his tests and quizzes. I am just completely and utterly happy that he is finally in school! I will sacrifice Bradford for a couple of days a week and countless hours of studying for him to be in school and be moving forward.

As for Baby Bigler, things are going great! I have taken my first "belly picture" with encouragement from friends. I see myself as a barrel on toothpicks and I feel like a beached whale sometimes. I think to myself that I have a while but in all reality I am less than 3 months away! I have a growing list of things that need to get done and I feel like I have NO TIME to do them. The nursery is slowly coming together piece by piece but it is very slowly. He is getting bigger and I am starting to get more and more uncomfortable. My scrubs are starting to get tighter and tighter. My feet are getting bigger and bigger! I don't have a single pair of shoes that fit due to the fact I have gone up a size since being pregnant. I am starting to get more moody and emotional. I cried like a baby when Bradford told me a story of a little dog on the side of the road on the reservation that was limping on three legs. It's pathetic! My standard attire at home is a pair of Bradford's basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Baby Bigler is a mover and a shaker and loves to tap dance on my bladder, but I still love him.

Other than that we have just been busy being busy. Until next time, farewell dear friends! Prepare yourself for the belly...

Half baked...

2011-06-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today marks 20 weeks for me! Half way done and I'm feeling pretty good. I have no complaints but I have noticed that I can fall asleep the minute I become horizontal. I'm normally the one that can stay up and party until the wee hours of the morning. This past week we had our 20 week check up with my Dr. and found out we are having a....

BOY!!!

I am COMPLETELY EXCITED and Bradford is pretty stinking excited too. I already have like 4 boxes of baby boy clothes and accessories courtesy of my mom and Grandma but I'm not quite sure where we are going to put everything. Our little one bedroom house was already pretty full and now adding what is going to be the most spoiled child on the planet we are going to look like hoarders with only a pathway through our house.

From our most recent appointment this is the one photo she sent us home with. Not much of a profile picture but this is the one shot that proves that little guy in there is truly a little guy.

Aside from all the hustle and bustle of preparing for a baby we have found time to have some fun. There is a pond out in Pima about 20 minutes from our house called Cluff pond and we have gone out there a couple of times this summer to take the dogs out to run off some energy. Maggie isn't very fond of the water but amazingly I was out wading in the water and she came right out after me and tried to climb onto my shoulders. Braum however LOVES the water and would lay in it all day if we gave him the chance. The rest of the summer is spent gardening, working, cleaning, working, Bradford getting ready to start nursing school in August, and more working.

We are just enjoying the remainder of our time together as a just Bradford and Valerie before Baby Biggs makes an appearance in November/December-ish.

More happenings...

2011-05-08T17:45:00.001-07:00

There is no reason to beat a dead horse but I must say this once again that I really need to get better at this. Let me start with a short story from where we left off...

Thanksgiving was spent with the Brown side of the family this year. Like a good photographer I took a whopping three pictures all weekend. The weekend was good fun and it was nice to eat to my hearts content, and let me tell you it was YUMMY!

Christmas time rolled around and we spent it with the Bigler side of the family. Christmas Eve we went to my in-laws to stay the night and had a Wii sword fighting contest where I swear I tore my rotator cuff. I couldn't move my right arm past my belly button without yelping. It took a good week to recover. It made me realize that my dream of becoming a professional fencer swirled on down the drain into oblivion.

All in all it was a good holiday season for us in the Bigler household, even if I have but two paragraphs to show for it.

As many of you know my life from about the end of October to mid-February is consumed by wrestling. As much as I gripe and moan I really do enjoy it. Yes, every weekend is spent on the road with a bunch of stinky teenage boys but they are the funniest group of teenage boys I have ever met. I enjoy watching Bradford coach those boys and set the on the right path, not just with wrestling but with life. The past two years there have been two boys on his team that have gotten baptized and one is on his mission. As much stress and voice-less days those boys cause me, they truly are examples to each other and to me.

Here I am blogging for the first time in 6 months and I have 800 things to say but not sure how to start. I had started a post on my struggles with infertility. It seemed like I spent more nights crying and clinging to Bradford over the lack of children in my life than I did happy. I was totally and completely happy for friends and family members but there was always a tiny twinge deep in the pit of my stomach longing for that, longing for the one thing we as women were placed on this Earth for. From the beginning of this world we were placed here with the potential for motherhood and when that opportunity evades us nothing can compare to the sense of loss you feel, the sense of loss I felt. Not very long ago I was reading a story in the Ensign titled "Faith and Infertility". Knowing I have my faith to cling to gives me some comfort in those moments of deep hardships and trials.

Here now it's Mothers Day and I not very long ago I was celebrating my "potential" motherhood, now today Bradford and I are completely happy to announce and I truly celebrating my first "real" Mothers Day!

We are completely excited and thrilled to be having our OWN baby! I am so excited but it still doesn't seem real to me. Having gone so long without it makes such good news seem unbelievable. I stare at my fridge everyday realizing that little peanut is mine and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for the struggles and tears I went through to get to this point. I know I am prepared more so now than I ever have been to have this baby and to love and care for it more than my own life. Of course Bradford is pretty dang excited to but I have commandeered this blog so his happiness will be expressed through me. Along with my happiness comes my hopes and prayers for those who struggled just like me for something as special at this. I know the Lord has his timeline and in His time we all will be blessed.

So until next time...bon voyage! The next update will probably be closer the the end of May with my 12 week appointment. WOO! HOO!

Happenings...

2010-10-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

I am really bad at this blogging gig. I am surprised that they don't kick people off who don't update their blogs after months.

4th of July was held and Bradford's parents house in Virden once again and it was filled good BBQ pit meat, firearms, and fireworks.

Before school started Troy and Whitney and their little girl Evie took a trip out to Bonita Creek to grill some burgers and enjoy the EXCELLENT weather we have been having. Our swimming idea was ruined by recent rains making the river look like hot chocolate there was so much mud and it was running at about 30 mph and I didn't feel like becoming a piece of cheese run over the cheese grader rocks.

We also were invited to attend a U of A football game by friends of ours Ryan and Jade. Ryan and I went to nursing school together so it seemed when we were able to hang out so was Ryan and Jade. Convenient. Ryan's dad has season tickets to the U of A football games and they are DIE HARD U of A fans. We went down that Saturday and shopped around a little and then went to the game. I have never been to a "professional" football game. When I say professional I mean a football game other than high school or my alumni EAC, so this was a whole new experience for me. I was not prepared for the amount of standing I was going to do. Pretty much the entire game we stood and cheered and yelled and boo'd. My knees were the size of cantaloupes by the time we left and I am sad to say the Brown bad luck curse proved real. U or A lost 27-29 but I am happy to say that the reffing was AWFUL and I know my lack of luck was not the only thing affecting the outcome of the game. All in all it was an AMAZINGLY fun weekend and it was nice to just get away even if it was just to Tucson.

This semester is the first semester in quite some time that not only one but two of us are out of school. Bradford finished his last set of classes over the summer and was getting his paper work together to apply for the nursing program. Thankfully he got everything in order and turned in his papers about 2 weeks ago and we are hoping for good news this month or hopefully by the end of November. We are saying lots of prayers and crossing our fingers. We have been able to attend the Temple here in the Gila Valley a couple of times and it's always a good feeling to be able to have calm and serene moment during all the rushing and running of our daily lives. To be able to sit and admire the beauty and soak in the peace you feel being there. It's hard to describe the sheer peace that the Temple holds for me. I am so thankful and feel so blessed that I am able to attend the temple and remember those covenants I made to my Heavenly Father. That is true serenity.

The week before Halloween a SPOOKTACULAR PARTY was held at the Bigler household. We had SEVERAL of our friends come over and the only requirement was that they must dress up. There was food, games, and of course FUN!!! The line-up included:

- Matt and Rhianna (I don't even know what these little creatures are called but I LOVED them!)

- Heather and Brandon (They switched careers for a night and were a correction officer and a nurse.)

- Troy and Whitney (Pancho Via and her trusty steed Troy!)

- Trevor and JanaRae (Hard rocker Brett Michaels and Oprah)

- Stefani and Guy (I just CAN'T get over Stef's face in this picture but they were the cutest old couple ever!)

- Tyler and Taylor (Teacher and disobedient student who received a pencil to the head.)

- Bradford and Val (Dog the Bounty Hunter and his SMOKING HOT wife Beth!)

- Jason and Alissa
(Fierce and fabulous pirates)

Thank you for being so patient with me when it comes to blogging. I was at a friends house and she was going over her blog friends and said, "we won't look at yours because you never update." I will admit, I'm AWFUL!!! I swear to it I will get better. The holidays are coming and I know there will be plenty of stories to tell. MUAHAHAHAHAHA! Stay tuned!!!

May

2010-06-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

Let me start out with a little tale...

Once upon a time it was in the wee hours of the morning (2:06 AM to be exact). There was a B-E-A-UTIFUL princess and a handsome prince who were snuggled sleeping in their bed. There little pet doggie had to take a tinkle and jumped up on the bed to wake them up. The princess (who looks amazing for it being 2 o'clock in the morning) wakes up to take the sweet puppy outside. Upon opening the door to let the doggie out she sprinted outside and didn't even stop and leaped over the fence and out into the wide open world. The princess was afraid for her poor puppy so she put on her royal robes and stepped outside into the cool night air to retrieve her lost dog. She called and walked and called again and her sweet puppy was no where to be found. She climbed into her royal chariot to hunt for her lost friend. After searching for 30 minutes with no luck in retrieving her puppy she turned into the wicked witch of 2nd street and started calling and yelling for the BEAST to come home. Finally her luck would turn. She had trapped the aweful beast in a neighbors garden and with her laser pointer in one hand and a biscuit in the other she was sure the beast's capture was inevitable. The princess called and coaxed and begged the beast from HELL to come to her but with a blink of an eye the beast and lept over the bushes and was back on the run. With fire in her veins the princess stormed back into her castle and called for the prince to go and capture the beast. The prince awoke with a fright and assured the princess he would capture the beast and bring it home to be locked in the dungeon. Within 5 short minutes he had captured the beast and locked her in the dark and dreary kennel to spend the night. The time of capture was 3:15 in the morning. That afternoon the prince and princess set out to find a way to contain their beast. And this is what they found....

An electric fence. Not just any electric fence, an invisible fence. It can be buried in the ground so it is safe for people. The evil beast now wears a collar that has a little conductor on it that sends a little shock when the beast tries to get too close to the fence therefore preventing the beast from ever jumping it again. Now I am not a cold hearted person so I went ahead and shocked myself and Bradford to make sure we weren't turning her into fried chicken and it wasn't really anything more than a static electricity shock. But the problem of the fence jumping dog: SOLVED!!!

The beast cowering under the porch swing after being shocked two or three times. MUAHAHA! (Notice the little black box on her neck aka the solution to my problem)

On a happier note, Bradford and I were able to get together with the Kerby's for a night on the town and some sweet bowling. Unfortunately Taylor and I only beat the boys once ONLY because they acted like they couldn't bowl for the first game. Liars and cheats!

Despite the fact I swore I wasn't going to walk at graduation, the closer and closer it got to being time to graduate I got an itch. I wanted to have the experience and by-golly I was going to. So, I walked at EAC's graduation in May even after I had officially graduated in December. It was short and sweet and to the point.

Whitney, Dustynn, and I all sat by each other but when it came time to have our picture taken this FLK in front of us leaned in just enough to cover Whitney. You can barely see her waving hand behind his head. Stinking kid!

I called my parents a week before graduation to tell them I was going to walk. They reluctantly came down and supported me. Thanks mom and dad!

We are officially gardeners! We planted corn, watermelon, and tomatoes. This picture is from a while ago because we have already picked a couple of ears of corn and ate them and they were YUMMY!!! We haven't had that much luck with our watermelon. Everytime one starts to get bigger than a volleyball they crack open leaving all of its goodness out in the open to the elements. I hope we get one good one out of the bunch we have growing. Our tomato plants haven't faired so well either. They have bloomed like crazy but not a single tomato until today! I noticed one little green marble sized mater looking awefully delicious on the vine! MMMM MMMM!!!!

April...

2010-04-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

A lot has been happening in the month of April. Mostly filled with get togethers and many trips to Ice King have a sweet, smooth ice cream cone on the warmer spring nights. As soon as the month started, the parties started.

On Friday, April 2nd Bradford was in HEAVEN! A couple of friends of ours Ryan and Jade were tempted in by Bradford and I to go to Globe to the casino for their all you can eat crab leg night. Jade and I aren't much in for seafood so we didn't get to enjoy it as much as Ryan and Bradford but they ate enough for the both of us and got our money's worth. The rest of the food at the buffet wasn't too great so I was craving a greasy burger about 10 minutes after the boys were done. We gambled away every last nickel, dime, and quarter left in our pockets because we are all so poor we couldnt afford more. HAHA! I think between the four of us we spent $20 and walked away with NOTHING! Not a habit I think I could ever catch on to. I am WAY too cheap. When we got home I realized how bad the casino smelled. I swear I developed COPD just from sniffing my clothes they were so smokey. YUCK!

Bradford turned 30 on April 13th and it's hard to believe that I am married to a 30 year old! We had a party/ BBQ on the Saturday before at our house. We invited a bunch of friends and just hung out. Being the amazing person I am I totally charged my camera battery before the event to capture this once in a lifetime opportunity but much to my avail I managed not to take a single picture of that night. All I can describe to you about that day is the weather was perfect and the food was good.

That next Tuesday was Bradford's actual birthday and we celebrated with his family at our house. It is nice to be able to get the whole family under one roof just to hang out and chat. Our nieces and nephew ran in and out all night and I did manage to snap a picture or two of them.

Mason wasn't very interested in paying any attention to me while Brailynn wanted all the attention. Lauren doesn't usually look so....strange...she wanted to show me her missing teeth.

The weekend of the 16th and 17th we took a trip down to Surprise to visit my side of the fam-dam-ly. My dad's birthday is the 16th so we went out to dinner and got on one anothers nerves for the weekend. Saturday was full of garage sale-ing and Garrett had a baseball game that evening. They got creamed but I was impressed to see he was THE best player on the team. And when I say the best player I mean he is the ONLY player that had touched a baseball or a bat before tryouts came around. It was ridiculous!

I had to post this picture of my mom. She HATES when I post scary/stupid/not wearing make-up pictures of her for the whole world to see. (Refer to Christmas post for a GREAT picture of her on Christmas morning) LOVE YOU MOM!

April 23rd was the first day of the open house for the Gila Valley Temple. What a special experience it was to be able to walk through the new temple in our valley and see all the hard work and details put into it. I have never been to an open house so it was special for me to be able to just walk through and stare at every last feature on the walls, the colors, and especially the GAZILLION shiny crystals hanging from the chandelier in the Celestial Room. AMAZING!!! We are so blessed to have a temple so close to us now and I am so so so very happy that we don't have to make a 3 hour trip anymore to receive those blessings. We can see the temple from right down our street!

The Gila Valley Temple

(sorry the picture isn't that great, I took it on my cell phone)

The Kenneth Bigler family reunion was on April 24th at Bradford's Aunt Sharon's house in Safford. Kenneth Bigler is Bradford's grandfather that passed away when Bradford was really young. Grandpa Bigler was married three times and has about 500 kids! Ok, not really that many but it seems like it. They all get together once a year to gab and eat. It was really fun and got some cute pictures of the kids.

Julia aka The Firecracker

Bradford's cousin Adam. We spent the summer after we got married with them in Connecticut.

Emma. I wish that Adam and Kayla would let me take her home with me. She is a doll.

My niece Lauren

Hannah held onto that Mountain Dew the whole way down the slide and didn't spill a drop. HAHA!

That night we took the older girls to Ice King (we like to get the addicted while they're still young). They were so funny and I was laughing so hard at some of the things they said. Oh to be that age again where you didn't have a care in the world other than the color your rainbow sno-cone makes when you mix it all together.

I have more to post but the hour is nigh and it's bedtime for old fart Val. Goodnight until next time. FAREWELL!!!

A year of accomplishments...

2010-03-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't mean to brag but I consider myself lucky to have accomplished some of the things I have in the past 2 1/2 months of 2010. First off, I passed HESI. That in and of itself is a great accomplishment for me.

About of month after that I took my state boards. I will say that I have never been so nervous in my entire life! After 265 questions and 4 hours of pure torture I finished the NCLEX exam. That lead me to the WORST weekend of my life! You don't find out if you passed immediately after the test so the whole weekend was filled with a sick feeling in my stomach. Needless to say, the 3 1/2 years of school, traveling back and forth to Phoenix for clinicals, hours of studying for tests, and countless tears cried, nothing can beat the feeling of being COMPLETELY and TOTALLY done with school! I PASSED NCLEX!!! I never-ever want to take that test ever again! TORTURE I tell you, TORTURE!!!

Last but not least, after two failed attempts, I have noticed, FINALLY, the grass is growing!!!

Amid the manure grows green grass, not weeds like the previous two times...real grass! AMAZING!!! Now, if I can only get a garden growing. Any pointers?

If I could I would...

2010-02-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been thinking about how I would LOVE to just walk away and be done with all the studying and sleeping through DVD's. Bradford is probably tired of me being grumpy...though i must say that I think I have improved since school has been out. A round of applause to the bain of my existence....

After conquering HESI (also one of my least favorite things) and have moved on to hacing my head stuck in this book studying for my second least favorite things. I feel like I will not be officially done with school until that stinking test is over. I cannot express in words how much I HATE this test! If I could pay my way out of it, I WOULD!!!

Though, a plus side to the constant studying and awefullness is that once in a while you get to take a break with a little weekend get-a-way.

It's the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year!!!

2009-12-28T21:31:00.000-08:00

I think Christmas time is probably the best time of year! I LOVE putting up decorations and candy and presents and christmas lights. Of course you can't forget the real reason for Christmas and I don't. But I can't help but feel jolly at the thought of it. We celebrated this year with my family and my MANY crazy relatives! We kicked off the season with my mom's family Christmas party and her side of the family. The night didn't end in a brawl so i would say it was a success.

Still the same ole' same ole'...

Grandma Hall

Mom and Aunt Kim Hall

Cousin Johanna (who is due in March with Baby Jax)

Grandpa Hall and Matt (Johanna's husband)

Uncle Mike Hall and Garrett

Cousin Kyle (Mike and Kim Hall's son)

Easton LOVES olives! (Johanna's first boy) CUTIE!!!

Cousins Crystal, Will, and Chris

Uncle Mike, Mom, and Aunt Kim Marini

A week later we were in Thatcher celebrating MY GRADUATION FROM NURSING SCHOOL!!! I would say that it was the crowning moment in my life (being born, being married to Bradford, and possibly making it through my teenage years alive). The Gradparents Brown and Grandparents Hall drove down to watch as well as my mom, dad, and Garrett. The in-laws also made an appearance. I can't express how thouroughly excited I am to be done and be able to move on!!! I also appreciate how much support I have recieved from friends and family, especially Bradford for putting up with my EXTREME grumpiness for the past two years. NCLEX here I come!

The week after graduation we were back down in Surprise to spend christmas with my family. It was a little different since Derek (who is usually the life of the party) is still on a mission. We opened christmas presents that morning and it started with Mom crying over a plaque my grandpa made her with Derek's mission things on it. She was bawling and of course we couldn't let her live it down all morning. Derek was supposed to call around 10-12 that morning...well we waited and waited and around 4 he called and he sounds like a completely different person. I knew he was different when he said his mission president gave a "sweet prayer", a word not in Derek's vocabulary before the mish...DORK!!! I am so glad he is doing well and keeping the faith.

Until next year...MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Time well wasted...

2009-12-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Time well wasted...a ride through the town with friends, drinks (sparkling cider of course!), and a limo. Driving through the frosty streets of Safford watching the christmas lights go by. Ah........ A good time to go out and hit the town, not a care in the world. Finals are over and I can breath for a night until reality starts the next day. Time well wasted....

Stress, Snot, and School

2009-08-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

So, you might be wondering what all these things have to do with each other. Well, about a week before school started, I woke up with a sore throat, which lead to fever, the most snot I have ever produced in my life, which then went to my chest making breathing nearly impossible. After being highly medicated for 4 days and calling into work once, I am on the rebound with just a cough that won't go away. Stress, school started, need I say more. School started Monday the 24th and I wish it would go away as fast as it came. Before school started, Bradford and I went with some friends to Catwalk which is a set of suspended bridges off of cliffs running through a canyon in Glenwood, NM. It's about 2 hours away but it is such a pretty place and an escape. I have also added Derek's missionary picture I took before he left. An update on him...he officially is in the mission field in Virginia. I am not sure where exactly he is in Virginia but I know he is there. He flew from Salt Lake City on Wednesday morning and arrived in Virginia that afternoon at 4pm. My mom got a letter from him with some pictures so as soon as I get those I will post them ASAP. I am a horrible sister because I have only written him like 4 times. I need to catch up and buy some stamps and write the poor kid. Until next time...FAREWELL MY FRIENDS!!!

My cute Elder Brown...sigh

He's gone...

2009-08-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Sigh...

My little baby brother left for his mission on the 5th and I just barely got around to talking about it. I think my mom is still wading around in a pool of tears. I have got one letter from him and my mom forwarded an email she got from him to a couple of people. What I have got from it is that he isn't a big fan of the MTC and is ready to get out in the field. He said the shock has worn off a bit and he is able to concentrate more and absorb the things they are teaching. If any of you want his address go ahead and slip me a comment or something. And Kam, you leave me comments and I have no way to get a hold of you. Email me valerina50@yahoo.com. I will type out his letters or emails and post them when I get the chance. For now I better get back to doing my Microbiology homework...BAH!!!

Friends....

2009-08-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

I need help...I can't figure out how to add a friends list to my blog. I am starting to get some harrassing emails from people and avoid being suffocated in my sleep I think I should probably figure it out. Any help out there?

The beast...

2009-07-19T17:54:00.000-07:00

Maggie. Oh my dear sweet Maggie. I can love her and hate her at the same time. I practically have to drag her out of bed to go outside when I leave for work in the morning at 5:45 but on my days off I want to sleep in but she wants to get up at 6:00!!! It's ridiculous! When she was a puppy Bradford and I got a laser light and she would chase that little red dot like there was no tomorrow. So now during the day she can have the same satisfaction of the red dot but without me even having to do anything. My dad made her a little gold name tag with her name...needless to say we didn't realize it would cause such an uproar. During the day the light comes in through the windows and reflects a little white flash onto the floor or the wall and she goes CRAZY!!! She chases that little reflection all over and barks and growls! It's the funniest thing! I don't have a video so you can get the full effect of it but I have play by play photos of her in action.

On the prowl for the light...

Still prowling...

Caught the scent...

POUNCE!!! Nose straight into the floor...

She can get HOURS of entertainment from this. It's almost like sitting a kid in front of the TV for hours just so you can get chores, homework, or blogging done. The only trouble I get from her when she is doing this is it's a little hard to mop around her when she is so focused...

PS-I just re-read this and I can't believe my life is so lame that I have to blog about my dog...oh the woe's of lameness...sigh...

4th of July

2009-07-05T17:57:00.001-07:00

4th of July weekend is finally over and I am barely starting to recover. It all started Friday morning with my parents and brothers coming into town for a party/BBQ at Bradford's parents house in Virden. So the weekend starts...

I was trying to brag to my mom about my shooting skills (I hit more skeets than I missed, pretty dang good eh?)

Bradford and Derek

Friday after Bradford got home from work we got ready and headed out to Bradford's parents house in Virden for a "big bash". The night was filled with horseshoes, shooting skeets, food, and fireworks. We only had one injury all night and it was Annie's poor little boy Isaac suffered a sparkler to the eye and now has a burn around his eye making it look like he got punched. All in all it was a VERY fun night!

Garrett

Saturday was the 4th and like my father, he was up and ready to go at 5 while the rest of us were still trying to recover with some extra sleep. We started the morning off hitting up the local antique stores looking for a present for my Grandpa Brown's birthday. We went swimming and I suffered the first sunburn of the summer. We ended sitting in Aunt Sharon's front yard watching the fireworks while drinking Coke's. (ah the sweet nectar of life!)

Dad working the thrower

I am glad my parents got to come and visit for a weekend and I never turn down a chance for my mom to buy me a new dress! HAHA! Spoiled, I know!

Derek (trying and wishing he was as good as me! :)

Turning over a new leaf...

2009-06-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Well, since being married Bradford and I have lived in 4 different houses, two different states, and many different people. Most recently Bradford's sister Maygan and her husband Shane lived with us from January to May and when they left in May we decided it was time to move on and be on our own since we spent the first year of our marriage living with others. We found a small little duplex that became available. After discussing the pro's and con's of moving we decided that it was going to be a good move. YAY! Our own place that is only big enough for the both of us!!! Some of the things that helped us make our decision were the fact it was within walking distance of the college which makes me happy :), it has a yard for our "beast" (who can now jump four foot fences to run the neighborhood or straight into our landlords yard), and it was cheaper than the rent we were paying. We love our little place and took some pictures of the first couple of days in it! We so far have re-painted the bedroom, kitchen, cupboards, and bathroom and it's starting to shape up. Now I just need to quit being a bum and make some curtains!

Our living room (like I said, everything is in order now, this was like the second day of moving in)

The kitchen

The bedroom (and Bradford painting because I HATE painting!)

The home!!!

MISSION CALL!!!!!!!!

2009-06-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

So, Derek (or should I say Elder Brown) got his mission call!!! He recieved it June 5th and is scheduled to report to the MTC on August 5th 2009. He has been called to the......Virgina, Richmond Mission!!!!!! YAY!!! His mission doesn't cover all of Virginia but it goes into a bit of Maryland and North Carolina. I am so excited for him and know that him going there has a higher purpose that none of us know of yet. He will touch many lives serving the Lord out there and spreading the Gospel. He is setting such a good example and I couldn't be a more proud sister!!! YAY FOR DEREK!!!

Memorial Day!!!

2009-05-29T21:15:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day weekend I went down to spend Thursday through Monday with the fam. Garrett "promoted" (I guess that's what it's called now-a-days) from 8th grade and is now officially going into....

HIGH SCHOOL!!! It's a scary thought to think my "wittle baby bruver" is going to be a high schooler because he has an attitude at 14 that his sister had at 18 so it's going to be interesting. I am thinking of starting a pool of how many times he gets beat up within the first semester. Go ahead and email me with your bets! HAHA! I have posted a picture (the only picture he actually looked down at me) from the "promotion" ceremony. I also have another "big baby bruver" who just submitted his mission papers about a week and a half ago and is waiting for "the call". I took his missionary pictures a couple of weekends back but they are on my mom's dinosaur of a computer and the chance of me getting them off of there is slim so you will just have to deal with the picture of him at Garrett's graduation (long, messy hair, as Derek would call that fuzz ball on his chin a "south patch", hardly a look for a missionary :( ). Topped off the day of festivities with ice cream at Sonic with old friends Dan and Traci (Tiff is a ditcher!) The best part of the whole weekend was SHOPPING!!! Mom, Dad, Bradford, and I all went out Saturday for Goodwill's 50% off day. Some of you might be saying, "YUCK!!! Goodwill is dirty!!!". It's not so bad once you get past all of the people hacking up the swine flu in your face! BAHAHA!!! (there were really people there walking around in surgical masks!) Another reason I LOVE Goodwill 50% off day is because where on earth can I find 5 bags of clothes (good quality and unstained) for under $50?!?!?! It's amazing! Monday my mom and I headed out to yet another thrift store (Savers) for their 50% off day. Nicer stuff but way, WAY too many people for my liking. All in all it was a productive weekend and nice to just get away.

PS-I am still adjusting to this blog thing and am not sure how much information I should give. I am just writing it like any old journal entry about the "life of Val" as I would call it. TOOTLES!!!

Drum roll please...

2009-05-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, I know. Here I am blogging. I told Bradford that I was going to start one this summer and here it is. You might say, "Valerie must have so much going on in her life, how is she going to choose what to blog about and when is she going to find the time?" My answer to that is I have NOTHING going on in my life right now so this blog could be the most uneventful blog EVER! I will have time here and there and if anything exciting does happen I just might blog about it. So farewell for now my friends...until we meet again!