Bucket List

At work I deal a lot with people who are dying. That is just how it goes on Medical and Palliative units and I work on both. It can be very emotionally, spiritually and physically draining. But it can be just as rewarding listening to people reflect on life and memories and helping people feel more comfortable and at peace as they go through their trial. Every life is meaningful. Just the other day I was talking to one of my patient's about things she wanted to accomplish in life. She had just received a devastating diagnosis. She had the goal to make it back to Prince Edward Island where she was from. And she had the goal to have a sisters get away. It made me think about what I want in life. I know I want a simple life. I want to find happiness in simplicity. But there are specific things I would like to do in my life if I can. I read my cousin's blog the other day and she has a bucket list. I have one as well. I may very well add to it but this is what I have now. Here it goes:- Get to know and love my city Calgary by:

• 1) Go to Heritage park.2) Zoo pass with the kids3) Go to the new Telus science center4) Military museum with the kids5) Elbow Falls with the family6) Watch the sun rise on Nose Hill7) Dine at the Calgary Tower (Update: Did this for Chris birthday September 2015).------------------------------------------------------------8) Eat Lobster - go to red lobster9) Church history tour with the family (I myself have been to Nauvoo, Palmyra, Hill Camorah pageant, Hauns Mill area, Adam ondi Amen, Carthege Jail, Salt Lake City) but church history is important to me and I want to take the family
  
  10) Build a Garage - meaning have one built in our backyard
  
  11) RV trip with the family
  
  12) Do a South or Central American Service trip with my family
  
  13) Do the kids life picture books/albums
  
  14) Declutter and keep life simple (working on it)
  
  15) Get bikes for the family.
  
  16) Get a pet for the kids. We have 2 birds now. We have a cat for a while with Aunty Lindsey here. A dog would be good. But I would love a horse for them! They are my favourite animal so of coarse I would want that for the kids (if they want one of course).
  
  17) Go on a cruise
  
  18) Stay at the Fantasyland hotel in Edmonton
  
  19) Go to Mexico and eat street food there
  
  20) Eat Authentic Korean food
  
  21) Do regular indexing for the church ( I have done a little but need to do more)
  
  22) Become a charge nurse or at least confident enough to be one
  
  23) Work in a Special Care Nursery
  
  24) Disneyland with the family. I have done Disneyland with Chris
  
  25) Practice my piano so I get good enough to play for Primary and Relief society
  
  26) Do one thing thrilling and daring such as Sky diving, going for a Hot air balloon ride (I see them leave from Heritage park when I walk to work early in the morning), Hang gliding, zip lining or Bungy jumping ( I just need to choose one).
  
  27) Serve a mission.(Ecuador)  And I would love to serve a mission with Chris
  
  28) Save money to help my children be able to serve missions
  
  29) Swim in the warm tropical ocean water (Ecuador - I also went to Tofino and watched people surf but don't really desire to surf)
  
  30) Own a home (well a mortgage right now so working on it and it counts)
  
  31) Yearly camping trips with the family (Drumheller, Waterton...
  
  32) Do a blog and/or Journal (Working on that too)
  
  33) Raise a family
  
  34) Go for a sleigh ride
  
  35) Write a book (not sure if it counts but I wrote a kids book - not professional at all - for my family for the Christmas of 2013. It will not be published but it was using my creativity
  
  36) Play with my kids. They can decide in the future how good I am at that
  
  37) Learn to make healthy vegetable dishes/salads and teach my family to eat healthy and exercise (working on it)
  
  38) Read my scriptures and pray daily and share my testimony with my family often (working on it)
  
  39) Learn how to can peaches and tomatoes and other things (Mom has taught me)
  
  40) Plant a garden ( I need to keep doing better on this but I do try)
  
  41) Do a nursing service trip (Bolivia when doing my Bachelors of Nursing at BYUI)
  
  42) Jump a horse/do barrel racing/try trick riding/Gallop and race (When I had my horses Trixie and Blaze)
  
  43) Make a quilt
  
  44) Have a calling to serve in the Temple or at least go once a month for a year (or more).
  
  45) Have a 6 month food storage (which works for our home now - a 12 month one if we live in a bigger home some day)
  
  46) Go to lots of plays (Les Miserables, Anne of Green Gables, Joseph and the Technicolor dream coat, Annie, My Fair Lady, Oliver to name a few). Yet to go to are Matilda and Mary Poppins.
  
  47) Learn another language (Spanish)
  
  48) Learn more about Chris' hobbies: Computers, photography and model games
  
   
  
   
  
   

My Birthday

It is my birthday today. I am 31. It was hot last night and will be a hot day today. Maybe that is why I had a hard time sleeping but I don't think so. It is 6:25 right now. Mom, Dad (Nana, Papa) and the kids are still asleep. I have been up for a while. I am at the farm and mornings here are beautiful. I love to watch the sun come up in the east and hear the birds chirping outside. Reminds me of my childhood. I had the best childhood. I have the best parents! I love simple life here on the farm.

What I want for my birthday is a day or two to declutter and clean my home in Calgary. Mom and Camellia have offered to watch the kids. So kind of them! I also need to think about readying the baby's room. That will probably happen in August. I want a Garage for my next birthday but that will also be an Anniversary, Christmas, Mother's day gift and it will be useful to all of us including Nathan. He can build his new project (go carts) in there, we can put our cars in there in the winter time, we can store tires in there (we had over $2000 worth of tires stolen this spring as they were left in the back yard) we can use some of the space for storage and someday we can get bikes and store them in there. I am way excited but I know it will probably be more than $25000. And if it does not happen by next year, that will be okay.

If I was still in Young Single Adults I would be graduating today and Institute would no longer be for me. Kind of scary to think of. I have been married 5 1/2 years with 2  beautiful kids and one on the way. I have been so blessed! I know I need to count my blessings more. I want to feel them more. I also want to feel closer to my loved ones. I want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister ,nurse. Maybe these can be goals for this year.

Today we are going to Little Bow beach. The kids are looking forward to it. I remember going there when I was a kid with a bag of caramel popcorn and buckets to make sand castles. Yesterday, I was playing blocks with my kids like Camellia and I used to do. Caeleb and Elva have such fun imaginations. I hope they always have those imaginations. They are such great kids!

I want to thank Mom and Dad for loving me all these years even when I am a silly goose (Caeleb and Elva like to use those words). The Farm seems to be a safe haven for me. I am grateful that I can come here.

I want to make this the best year yet!