General Conference

This past weekend Rob had the opportunity to go to Utah and attend General Conference. Unfortunately, I was not able to go with with him because I had to work the 9 News Health Fair for school obligations. He did, however, get to take two Young Men from our Ward and one of his counselors from his Young Men's Presidency. He said it was the experience of a lifetime and that his Young Men had a great time. He went to dinner with two of his former missionary companions and had an opportunity to catch up with them. They also spent several hours on the grounds of Temple Square. They attended the Saturday morning session of Conference as well as the Priesthood session. He said it was amazing and that the spirit was so strong. It was neat to think that as I was watching Conference he was actually there. I was really uplifted and inspired by the words of our Prophet and Apostles. I really wish that I could have gone with him! I HATED being here by myself and away from him.At the Health Fair we saw 620 people. We starting setting up at 6am and people started lining up at 7am. I drew blood along with 14 other people and there were still long lines for people waiting to get drawn. I drew someone's blood every 3-5 minutes. It was a very busy and hectic day but I was glad to have something keep me busy since Rob was gone. Since Rob was gone for 2 1/2 days I actually got some much needed homework done. That rarely happens when he is around....

When he got home I surprised him with some some of his favorite brownies and a little message. Being away from him definitely made me realize how much I truly love him and what our Temple marriage means to me. He is the greatest blessing in my life and I am so grateful for all that he does for me. He makes me truly happy and fulfilled.

Ouch!

Wow! It has been a long time since my post. Work has been crazy and school is insane. I have papers due and tests almost every week. I can't wait until May 9th when I finally graduate and school will be finished.... that is until I to go back and get my DNP (Doctorate of Nurse Practitioner). I don't know who will be more excited about me being done with school- me or Robert. I think he will be very happy to have his wife back. In other news we have been working on buying a house here in Alamosa. The seller accepted our offer yesterday and if all goes according to plan we will close on April 29th. I am very excited but at the same time very nervous. It is a big financial decision. Of course, our ultimate goal is to build a house one day.

Well the real reason for my post is a little incident with my dear sweet husband. A few weeks ago he came home and said he didn't want to come into the living room where I was because he "did something bad." Immediately I asked what he did to himself because it is a typical occurrence for him to come home with minor cuts and bruises. Rob sulked into the living room and I quickly scanned his body for injuries. I couldn't see any and was immensely relieved...until he told me what happened. He was using the finishing nail gun and it went off unexpectedly as he picked it up off the floor. He didn't see where the stray nail went but wasn't too concerned about it. He continued working and then later bent down to pick something up. He felt a sharp pain in his knee and looked down and noticed that his Carhartt pants were stuck to his knee. This startled him as he realized that the nail had GONE INTO HIS KNEE. Being a typical boy he grabbed his pants and flung the nail out. Luckily, the 2" nail (see picture below) missed all bones and went into the joint space. All I have to say is that boy must be living right. Just a millimeter or two in either direction and that nail would have gone into the bone, causing massive damage. THAT would have been a serious injury but instead he got off lucky. After he told me what happened I was very worried. In this case the risk of infection and tetanus was very high. The nurse in me scrubbed and applied alcohol to his knee until it was almost raw (the hole was tiny however). He definitely needed a tetanus booster and to be looked at by a physician but of course he refused to go to the ER (it was 7pm by the time he got home and told
me).



The next morning he was leaving to go on a scouting trip in the mountains and wouldn't be able to get an appointment with one of the Internal Medicine doctors. Early the next morning he came into the clinic and one of the Pediatric Docs ordered him a tetanus shot (my Doc doesn't work on Fridays). He also was given a prescription for antibiotics to prevent an infection since the nail was 2" long and passed through his pants which were absolutely filthy from working. After this tetanus shot (I declined to give it to him) he complained more about the arm pain than he did about the pain in his knee. Dr. Sowards was going on the scouting trip so at least that put my mind at ease somewhat. All in all Robert is okay. Boys will be boys and every day I wonder what little injury he will come home with next. Never a dull moment in the Hoover household that's for sure.......

Temple Trip

Last Friday we took a trip to the Albuquerque Temple with three of the Young Men from our Ward. We left around 6pm and got into Albuquerque around 10pm. We took two 12 year-olds and a 17 year-old. Lets just say it was interesting......... From our little trip I learned the newest farting songs, boys don't leave home with out their Nintendo game players, the newest happenings in the Alamosa High & Middle School, boys like to talk just as much as girls, boys like soft hair, boys are bottomless pits, and finally boys can make strange farting sounds with slim (the sticky toy stuff) for three hours and keep entertained! The older boy, Marcus, was very patient and kind to the two younger boys. He was a fun to have around and helped out a bunch. He kept the younger two in line when they started acting up!

The boys had their own room in the hotel and I was very worried that they would stay up all night and not want to get up in time to go do baptisms. Luckily, they only stayed up until midnight and didn't make TOO much noise. I'm not sure how the parenting thing is going to work out for me because I was very nervous the entire time having to look after three boys. Finally Rob told me to relax. Of course this was after they had split pop in my Jeep, got muffin all over the seats and then spilt candy everywhere. I will admit I am a little bit of a neat freak and did get a little uptight. On top of that you never know how other people's children are going to behave.

Baptisms were great. They had a great attendance between our Ward and 3rd Ward. They had so many leaders that I was able to sneak away and go through a session. It was very nice and I finished right as the youth were getting done. I love being in the Temple and the peace it brings


After the Temple we took the youth from our Ward to Itz, a family fun place. It is an all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, and dessert place with an arcade gaming card included with your meal. They even had some small rides. It was actually a really fun place. I won the Wheel of Fortune game and won 500 tickets (that's a lot!). Our Bishop was there with his family and it was so cute to see him with his kids. Rob and I donated all of our tickets to Micheal, their two year-old son.

We stayed at Itz for almost three hours. Another thing we learned-you can't drag 12 year-olds away from arcade games. Finally all their points ran out and we were able to head home after they selected some prizes with their tickets. This is where they picked up the slime to make farting noises most of the way home. I was just DELIGHTED! All in all it really was a great trip. We got some much needed time away from work, school, and home. I did learn that when it comes to children the Lord gives us one at a time (in most cases) and doesn't expect us to just automatically raise three teenagers. If he did.... I would be in big trouble.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day started off quiet miserably. I ended up getting bronchitis sometime during the week and had go the doctor on Friday. Luckily I was put on antibiotics. I felt awful! I woke up on Saturday and hardly could talk. I had some great plans for Valentines day but didn't feel like doing a dang thing. Rob went to work so at least it gave me the whole day to do something nice. This was our fifth Valentine's day together and I wanted to make it special. Rob wanted to take me out to dinner but at the rate I was going, and how rotten I was feeling, I definitely knew that wasn't going to happen. On top of that I had to go the cannery with our Ward for from 10am-12pm to can our food storage.

I decided to decorate our bedroom. Since our apartment is so small if I decorated any other room he would see it as soon as he walked in. I got some helium balloons, hung up a Valentine's sign, hung up streamers from the ceiling, and stuck hearts all over the back wall. I even blew up some balloons to put on the bed. I only managed to blow up six of them and that almost took me almost 3o minutes! I would get one done and would either have to rest for 10 minutes or would end up coughing for five minutes. I'm sure I was a sight to see! It took me most of the early afternoon. Had I not been sick it probably would have taken me an hour. I would just get tuckered out and have to sit or lie down. I was even rushed for time because Rob only worked until about 3pm. I even told him to drive slow (I'm sure that gave it away that I was up to something). He actually called when I was going to Safeway to get the helium balloons. I was so mad!

I made it home just in time to set everything up and tidy up the house a bit. Rob came home just as I laid down on the couch, totally exhausted. He was sweet enough to bring me home roses, chocolate, and a very sweet card. I got him some new shoes and a hat. He is definitely my Sweet Heart! He then ordered us Chili's for dinner since I didn't want to go out. We watched movies and he rubbed my back. Even though I was sick it still turned out to be a perfect day and reminded me of all the reasons why I love him. Here are the pictures of our Valentine's Day...

Quilting 101

In my Senior Seminar class, one of my final classes before I graduate in May with my BSN (Bachelor's of Science in Nursing), I had to pick a community service project. It was suppose to be involving a hobby but I really don't have any currently because my life is so hectic with school and work. My instructor asked if I quilted. I told her that I vaguely knew how but hadn't quilted a whole quilt since I was about 12, which was for a Young Women's project. I have helped tie a few but am definitely not a quilter by any means. She assumed that because I was "Mormon" that I quilted all the time.

My instructor is a Certified Nurse Midwife from Boston and is always telling me what us "Mormons" do. This is apparently what she has learned from her OB patients that have been LDS through the years. She always shares these things with our class and keeps me rolling with laughter. Here are a few examples of what us "Mormons" do and don't do: we don't use birth control, we all get married right out of high school, we must have at LEAST 8-10 children, QUILT, and do whatever our husbands tell us-without thinking. She really is a very nice lady but a little mixed up on the LDS religion. When she found out I was LDS the first question she asked was if I was married. The second question she asked was if I had children. When I said "no" she chuckled. She then said I wasn't following my religion and that I should have 1 or 2 kids by now. I looked her straight in the eye and said that God gave us all a brain for a reason and that we weren't baby factories. She got the biggest kick out of that. She asked if it was against my religion not to have a lot of kids. I told her that when it was right for me and Robert we would start our family. We have had many conversations since regarding what "us" Mormons do and don't believe. Hopefully I have put to rest these "Mormon Myths" that she has heard.

Anyway, I did decide to make a quilt for my service project (my instructor just laughed). I will be donating the quilt to the Project Linus. It represents Linus from Charlie Brown, who always carried a blanket around. At Project Linus it is their mission to provide love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteer “blanketeers.” I felt that it was a great organization and was happy to make the quilt for them.

I went to one our Enrichment quilting nights and got some tips and help from some of the Relief Society Sisters. We finished tying the quilt in two hours. I also had Candace help me. Okay, so I watched as she sewed and finished the quilt but I was learning right?! Thanks Candace! I love how the quilt turned out. It is bright pink with green frogs and yellow yarn. I am glad that a child in need will benefit from it. I must say that it turned out pretty darn cute!