Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Decisions, Decisions...

I have a TON of new pictures to post, but photobucket (my photo hosting site) is being INCREDIBLY slooooooow tonight, so that will have to wait for another day.

I thought I'd post an update on the decision that has plagued me for as long as I can remember and I finally feel I have an answer to. You know the one: Medical School, do or don't.

After MUCH soul searching, prayer, and consideration (and I don't think "much" is a big enough word, I didn't know you could put so much energy and time into one thought as I have this one), I have decided to pursue my dreams. Nursing is just not for me, and to do a bachelor's degree in nursing would be a waste, considering I would need an additional 2 years of classes to apply to medical school. I am so very respectful of our wonderful, patient nurses, and think they play a vital role as a part of the healthcare team, but it's not a role I would be happy in. PA school was my next option, but the truth is, while it's "almost, just as good" as being a physician, and according to many physician's and knowledgable people alike (including Nick), it's just not "enough" for me. The truth is that this MD thing is a dream I cannot give up.

I do think that we're each put here with a specific purpose, something we're born to do, and I feel like I was born to practice medicine. Even with shrinking reimbursement, call time, rectal exams, rising malpractice costs, and all of the other negatives that folks LOVE to point out. I believe that I can be a great mother AND a great physician, and that I can make positive contributions in the lives of my patients. I may not be the mother of 6 children, but I believe that one day (although a long time from now) some other mother of 6 children will be eternally grateful for my choice, when some long hours in the OR (or ER) result in my helping to save a life.

I will be pursuing my dream, but I will be doing so non-traditionally (read: SLOWLY) in order to be a good doctor AND a good mother. Landon is still my number one priority, and I plan on being a GREAT mother throughout my educational journey. I plan on taking a couple of classes each semester until I'm comfortable placing Landon in pre-school (probably next fall), when I will go full time until I finish my bachelor's degree, and subsequently apply to medical school. This fall I'm taking a 9 credit EMT course which will allow me to gain some much needed clinical experience prior to application, and allow me to "get my hands dirty," so-to-speak, as I'm just plain DYING to get in there and DO SOMETHING, besides observing. I will continue to observe cases in the OR with Jon and Nick, and the fantastic Ortho docs as long as I'm able, and will pursue other opportunities to shadow physicians as time progresses. I've signed up to be involved in the Pre-Med club at UVU, and as I progress, I hope to be in a leadership position there.

I am so excited to have finally made a concrete, solid decision on this issue. I feel like I've spent so much time "running from medicine," when in reality, it's all I've ever wanted. I'm aware that it will be a long, hard road (even after school and residency end), but I'm up for the challenge, and excited for the chance. I am so grateful for my supportive husband, who understands my dream, and stands by me in this endeavor, and for all of your support as well, especially Andrea (for watching Landon while I take classes), Nick (for helping me get into the OR, to see the 'cool stuff,' and for all of the free advice), and my Mom (for helping me realize that I don't have to take the same path to realize the same goal).

So, I might be 35 by the time I get out of medical school, but one day, you can all call me Dr. Godbold (okay, I guess YOU GUYS can call me Kelley, but don't forget the M.D.). :P

Saturday, July 26, 2008

A new first for JONNY!

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Since my last blog was filled with a laundry list of firsts for Landon here in Ohio, I absolutely couldn't resist adding this exciting first for Jonathon!

Last night, he was a little restless (he's not used to so much time to relax, the workaholic that he is), so he decided to go take a walk around the pond at dusk. Since I'm easily able to relax, I opted to stay inside. He was outside no more than 30 seconds before he comes running back in, more excited than a kid at Christmas. I asked him what was making him so excited, and he eagerly explained that he had never seen lightning bugs before! FIREFLIES, of all things! It tickled my heart to see him so excited over something that was so small (to me anyway, I grew up catching them, and sadly smearing them on trees with my brother so they'd glow).

So as not to waste the moment, I ran inside, got us all the supplies we'd need for a nighttime lightning bug safari: Mason Jar with tin foil lid (with plenty of air holes, of course), flashlight, and a big knife for protection (those deer, raccoons and skunks can be dangerous, ya know). We set out, and were successful! We caught 3, with only one accidental casualty in my hands. We, of course, let the other 2 captives go free after Jon was satisfied with watching them light up for awhile!

Here's my firefly catcher extraordinaire:
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After that adventure, we decided to start a fire, and roast some s'mores. We had a ball, and it was definitely a fire that could have NEVER been made in Utah, because we had no fire pit and made it directly on the grass. A blessing of humidity and rain, because there's no worry of it spreading. Jon lived up to his Eagle Scout roots, and made a great fire!

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

We're still kickin'!

I know it's been a long time since I've shared another blog, so this one will be LOOONG to make up for all the time I've made you all wait. We made it to Ohio with relatively little trouble. We did have to stop in Chicago, but we didn't have to get off the plane, which was MUCH nicer than spending 2 hours in an airport before catching the second flight. Landon did REALLY REALLY great. He played and talked and watched his DVD, and was just a joy for the flight attendants! Here we are on the plane:
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Before we left, Mom, Landon and I took QUITE an adventure up the mountain. We were coming back from Park City, after a day of outlet shopping (adventure enough), and decided to go up the canyon by Midway since we've never been there before. We saw THE most beautiful golf course I've ever seen. I mean it was pretty enough to make me want to start golfing!! On our way back to town we passed a sign that said "Cascade Springs: 7 miles," and since I'd never been there, and it was "only 7 miles," we decided to ride up the (paved) road and find out what it was. Well, if it was 7 miles, it was the LONGEST 7 miles of my entire life. And STRAIGHT UP the mountain on an UNPAVED road that in some parts could barely be called a road at all. It was actually quite terrifying driving up, and even more terrifying thinking about having to drive back down. We did eventually make it up the mountain (after stopping the fire crew and making sure we were on the right track), and hiked a little around the springs. They really were gorgeous, and worth the treacherous trip. We took a couple of shots, but I'd love to go back and explore some more sometime.

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On our way back to Provo (on the SAME adventure, believe it or not), we passed Bridal Veil Falls and Mom commented that she had always thought it was so gorgeous, if only she could get closer. So, I stopped at the park, and we hiked up there (which isn't really a hike at all, a nice paved path, if only all hikes were that easy), and let Landon play in the pool at the base of the falls. It really was gorgeous.

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Being in Ohio the past couple of weeks has been so great. Landon has experienced so many firsts, so many things that I remember doing as a kid. It's been so much fun, but also a little sad, because I want so badly to be able to move back here and give him the kind of childhood I had, with lots of property to run around on, and the culture I grew up loving. It is a small consolation that we get to come back here relatively often, and seeing the joy my Mom gets from sharing these firsts with him is absolutely amazing.

His first new experience was riding a power wheel at my Mammal and Pappal's house. Some of you may know that my Pappal is a garage sale connoisseur, and spends each Thursday-Sunday scouring each home/yard/garage for diamonds in the rough that he takes home, shines up and sells again for profit. It's his retirement dream, and it's amazing the things he finds. He also feels a special kinship with Landon because he's his only great-grandchild, and Landon is his namesake (Pappal's first name, Thomas, is Landon's middle name). A few days before we got into town, Pappal found a powerwheels jeep (albeit a hot pink barbie one) at a garage sale for $40. He spent all week shining the thing up and said he wasn't selling it until after Landon went back home so that he could enjoy tooling around in it. I was super excited since we had been planning on purchasing one for him when we got back to town. Good think we got the sneak preview though, it saved us $300, since Landon wanted absolutely NO PART of driving the thing. He liked to sit in it, and LOVED to wash it, but when he pushed the pedal to make it move, it scared the heck out of him! Unless it was the hot pink Barbie intimidating him (lol). Here he is shining his wheels:


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To Uncle Chucky's delight, he's also had his first taste of riding a bike. You may not know that my brother is a PHENOMENAL BMX bike rider. He was even sponsored for it a couple of years ago, he's so great. It's been his passion since we were kids, and my Mom let him build a 20 foot ramp in our yard. You should see the tricks he can do on it. Anyway, he's been wanting to get Landon a tricycle, but Pappal had 2 kids bikes he was shining up for sale at his house, and Landon couldn't wait to hop on, and be like Uncle Chucky. Then, yesterday evening, the neighbors (who have two grandchildren close to Landon's age) brought over a tricycle for him to borrow, but he wanted NOTHING to do with it, he wanted the "Big Bike," that they brought over, even though it was HOT PINK, and he couldn't reach the pedals. He wanted so badly to be like Uncle Chucky. So we let him go with it for the night, and after he fell asleep, I headed up to Wal Mart to get him a "real bike" a little more his size. He rode it today and had a BALL on it. He hasn't yet mastered the art of pushing the pedals, but his balance absolutely amazed me! I didn't hold him up on it at all, I just pushed the handlebars and he didn't fall down once (a feat he can't claim while walking on his own two feet)! It's definitely been one of the highlights of the trip so far, to see him on the bike, and to see how proud my brother is of him for it. The bond that the two of them have forged is really endearing.
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He also had his first taste of REAL fair food (not the stuff that Utahns CLAIM is fair food), and although we got rained out before we could sample all of the delicacies, he did get his first elephant ear and he loved it! We also hit the hot tub today, and he can actually stand up in it now. How did my little guy get so big??

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He's also learned how to feed the fish in my Mom's pond for the first time, and he LOVES it. Every night, before bed, he and my Mom take a long walk around the pond, and feed the fish, watch the frogs jump, and find the tadpoles. It's really sweet to watch them, and he gets so excited to see the fish jump, though the fish get a lot more food when he's not out there, since it's one bite of stale bread for the fish, one bite of stale bread for Landon. Mom even taught him how to handfeed the baby bluegill (of which there are HUNDREDS in there).
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By far, MY favorite of his firsts has been teaching him how to roll down the hill. Such a simple pleasure, but we simply don't have the property for it at home. It's pretty hilarious to watch him roll down the hill, because he hasn't quite figured out how to keep his body straight, so he sits up after each roll and starts over. It's so funny, in fact I had to share the video with you. Don't mind my crazy hair, and Mommy voice though. I had just gotten out of the hot tub (where he and Lexi drowned me like a rat), and the Mom voice, well no excuses for that, it is what is. You also should know that my Mom didn't warn me she was videotaping, so I was having all kinds of side coversations with her.
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Here's the link to the video:

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r9/kelleykj/?action=view¤t=July15083.flv



Well, I'm sure there's much more, but I'm all out of steam for tonight. I'll share some more when I get a chance, though. We're most excited that Jon comes into town on next Tuesday for a MUCH needed break. We can't wait to see him, and we have so many fun things planned while he's here (maybe not much of a break after all). Tomorrow is my brother's birthday, and he invited me to his birthday dinner with his girlfriend, which I thought was really great. It really touched my crazy, newly-sentimental Mom heart anyway, and we're going to his favorite restaurant, The Melt, so I'll be sure to give a review after that. Also, on Thursday night, I have the opportunity to follow my friend Michelle, who is an ER nurse at work. I'm really excited for the opportunity to evaluate the division of labor between the doctors, nurses and PA's, and hope to gain more insight on the never ending debate between nursing and medical school. Hope all is well with you all, can't wait for some more updates!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Making the Most of It!

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Well, we've only got one more day (today) here in Utah, before Mom, Landon and I head to Ohio, and we've really been making the most of our time!

On Saturday evening we went to The Living Planet Aquarium in Draper. It's pretty small right now, but they're planning to expand and become a really great aquarium in the future. It was the perfect size for an evening activity for Landon, and he LOVED it! Mom and Jon got to touch stingrays and starfish, and all kinds of stuff, and Landon's favorites were the sharks! When they swam by he'd say "Where the shark go?" It was so cute. It also provided some great photo ops:

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After the aquarium, we went to dinner at this really AWESOME restaurant called "The Mayan" at Jordan Commons. The food was pretty dismal, but the restaurant was unbeatable. There was this HUGE mountain in the middle, with a little lake around it, and people in native dress dove off the cliffs, probably 20 feet, into the water below. It was a really neat show, and well worth the yucky food.

Here we all are at dinner:
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On Monday, Nick was nice enough to take us all boating, and what a time it was! It was Landon's first time on a boat, and I was a little nervous about how he'd do, but he really LOVED it (until Nick took him in the lake, a little farther from the boat than he wanted to go). He smiled and laughed, and looked adorable! He even fell asleep in Mom's arms a couple times, which he hasn't done since he was about 6 months old! I even learned to wakeboard, which was an absolute BALL, until Tuesday when every muscle in my body ached! Here's a couple of shots from our 6 HOURS on the lake. It should also be said that Josh did a fabulous job driving the boat when Nick and Jon went to surgery, and shuttled us around the lake like a pro!

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I also wanted to brag on my wonderfully amazing husband for a second. On Tuesday afternoon Mom and I went to the mall, and Jon met us up there for dinner at Wingers. After dinner they kicked me out and stayed at the mall by themselves. When they returned home an hour later, Jon presented me with the Coach bag I'd been DREAMING OF and DROOLING OVER for a couple of months now. Just because! Turns out he asked my Mom as soon as she got here to scout out which one I'd like and let him know so he could surprise me. It was a truly great surprise, and I absolutely LOVE it, I could have never brought myself to spend that kind of money on myself, and I thought it was so sweet that Jon did that for me, just because. This is my new purse:
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We hope you all have a great, safe 4th of July weekend. Enjoy yourselves and all of those "legal" fireworks! I'll be gone 19 days before Jon meets me in Ohio on the 22nd, so if you get a chance, give him a call and make sure he's surviving. He'll likely be found napping and playing the Wii, grateful not to have me nagging him about either. But I think he'll secretly be a little lonely, and would love to hear from you all!