{miller mementos}: January 2014

With 2013 coming to a close and a brief pause in nursing school granted to me by Christmas break, I decided it was time to update friends & family on the Miller life. I know, it's been forever since I last posted. But let's be honest- somehow blogging just doesn't make it to the top of my priority list on a day-to-day basis (or weekly or monthly basis obviously).

That's okay though, because this post is going to bring you up to speed on the Miller life over this last year!

Last picture together before Logan left for basic training last December.

2013 began on a bittersweet note, as Logan joined the Navy Reserves and was at Navy basic training in Great Lakes, Illinois from December 10 to February 10. He had to endure the holidays away from family and friends and I had to learn to live life without him for awhile. We wrote handwritten letters which was a sweet time of growth in our relationship... We will keep those letters forever. However, it made me SO appreciate modern technology and not take for granted the fact that he is usually just a phone call away. While he was away, I had an incredible amount of support from family and friends. In fact, Logan's parents accompanied me to Chicago in February to see him graduate from basic training! We had a fun trip navigating/sightseeing Chicago in the snowiest and coldest time of year and spending a little time with Logan before he left for A-school at Ft. Lackland in San Antonio for an additional 2 months.

Graduation ceremony! Logan can be seen in the front between the blue and white flags. He worked his way up in leadership as Starboard watch.

Logan's division. The ceremony was so impressive, but my pictures simply do not do it justice.

Panera right after his graduation ceremony!

We took him to the Cheesecake Factory in downtown Chicago for dinner.

Great Lakes is pretty cold in February. But beautiful!

We went exploring all the quaint little neighborhoods in the suburbs of Chicago.

Beautiful cathedral! (I had just gotten a new camera for Christmas so I had fun playing with it on this trip!)

Starbucks-- a must while exploring in the freezing cold!

My wonderful tour guides (they'd been here a time or two). Aren't they the best?!

Even though they had been up Sear's Tower, they let me drag them across town, on foot, in the freezing cold, to do touristy things. It was very neat, and I'm thankful I got to see Chicago!

Sunset from Sear's

LeAnn and I on the top of Sear's

A-school was an intense time of schooling for the Master at Arms (military police) program, but Logan had more freedom than when he was at basic, so we spoke daily, and I even went down to visit him in San Antonio over my Spring Break. It was a long four months apart, but I'm so glad that Logan was able to pursue his dream of serving in the military.

San Antonio visit in March

Logan had to stay on base overnight, but I had the blessing of the hospitality of Stephanie and her family. They let me stay in their guest room as I commuted back and forth to see Logan on base :) It was a sweet trip!

This was Logan's first Sunday back at church in April. If you can't tell... I was so proud :)

He absolutely loves serving as a Master at Arms Navy reservist. He drills one weekend a month in Springfield and will train two weeks every year anywhere in the world. In his free time, he LOVES serving in the honor guard at military funerals. He probably performs one funeral a week! In fact, he just received his first Navy Achievement Medal (NAM) for his service at a remarkable number of funerals this year.

After nearly a year of service, Logan was finally attached to a unit (the unit he would be deployed with if need be), which is based in Broken Arrow, OK, but they actually drill at Seal Beach, California (southern California outside of LA). He will go to the beach quarterly for his drill weekend, which he is super excited about! Although he is Master at Arms, he will be trained with a Riverine Squadron. Riverine boats are the little boats that surround and defend the larger ship. They have 50 caliber guns aboard, and their primary mission is defense. It's a very exciting and sought-after position, and Logan is excited to begin learning.

While Logan was away, I had nursing school to keep me busy, which was a blessing. In April, I was honored to be nominated by my nursing professors for Nursing Student of the Year in southern Missouri. I ended up being chosen as a runner up by the Missouri State Board of Nursing!! I was invited to a fancy banquet to honor those from all nursing areas for their stellar work as nurses. It was such an honor to be among such awesome people. I received an award, and Logan even made it home in time for the banquet. Too fun!

We kicked off summer with the annual Miller family vacation to Destin, Florida. As always, we spent the week laying on the beach soaking in the sun with most of the Miller fam. Also, my sis-in-law, Tamara, took some photos of us on the beach on our last night! She is so great.

These are just some panoramas that I took on my phone as I was so in LOVE with the scenery.

I was so blessed to receive an internship position at a local hospital for the entire summer. I was a nursing student intern in the Emergency Department for 4 weeks and in the Intensive Care Unit for 4 weeks. During this time, I basically had the opportunity to perform the role of an RN, under the supervision of an actual RN. I gained so many skills and got to utilize everything I had learned in school over the past three years. Not only was I learning, but I also got 6 credit hours AND got paid! It was a perfect summer job.

In late June, I had the incredible opportunity to travel with College of the Ozarks on a medical missions trip to Belize! We worked with an organization called Row Kids (Reaching Our Worlds Kids), setting up medical clinics in a different village of the Cayo district every day. It was the first time that I was able to combine my nursing skills with foreign missions, and it was such an awesome experience! If you want to read more about the trip, you can visit this blog, which is the blog that we kept for the trip (http//:youbetterbelizeit2013.blogspot.com). All of the photos were actually taken from my camera :)

Towards the end of the summer, after much prayer and contemplation, Logan and I decided against renewing a lease at an apartment and to purchase a home!! We wanted something small and inexpensive so that we have the opportunity to pay it off quickly. SO we found a CUTE 2 bed, 1 bath home built in the 1950s. It had some renovations recently done, so it was move-in ready! It has all hardwood floors, new paint, and newer appliances. However, it also has the potential for other projects in case we want to increase its value. Logan's parents came up a few weeks after we moved in to help perform a few projects that were at the top of our priority list (installing garage door opener, relocating the dryer from garage to mudroom with washer, etc). We absolutely LOVE our new home. Even though it's small, its really all we need, and we are thoroughly enjoying the simplicity of this stage of life :) PS. We also have a guest room if anyone wants to come stay with us!! We have already had tons of company (from school friends to out of state family), and I am loving practicing my hospitality skills!

We LOVED getting to decorate our first home for Christmas this year!!!

Around the same time that we purchased our home, we also sold Logan's beautiful Nissan Titan :( It was a sad day, but we were able to pay cash for a more practical vehicle for him (Nissan Versa). By doing this, we got completely out of debt before getting into a mortgage, which we knew was wise.

Literally within the same week that we moved into our new home, Logan got his DREAM dog- a Great Dane named Riley. She is merle, and she was 6 months old when we got her. Now she is 10 months old, 130 pound, and still growing!

This was taken in October at a "Pets and Pumpkins" parade- somewhere I never imagined myself in a million years.

For all of you chuckling right now because of my dislike for dogs throughout my life- go ahead (my parents said they laid in bed laughing about it for a week). I'm still amazed at God's sense of humor, giving me the biggest dog on the planet. However, my husband is so very happy, which brings me joy and motivates me to attempt to like dogs more. To my dismay, it is working. She has such a good temperament, house-trained quickly, and she doesn't bite, drool, or jump. She is definitely a sweetheart. (Who am I?)

With Fall came a new school year, my LAST year of undergrad, to be exact. This last semester was fun for me-- I took Pediatrics, Labor & Delivery, Community Health, and Nursing Research. Although it was a busy semester, I learned a lot and developed a passion for areas of nursing that I had barely thought about before. I enjoyed research immensely and also enjoyed learning about community health, vaccines, disaster preparedness, epidemics, etc... These were actually my LAST real classes of my undergrad! This coming semester is simply preparation for graduation and taking boards (NCLEX). I will spend two 6-week sessions in different areas of the hospital following a nurse and developing the confidence and skills that I need before graduation on MAY 10!!!!! I cannot believe how fast the last four years have flown, but I could not be more excited to finally have the opportunity to spread my wings and fly into the career that I have been dreaming about and working towards for YEARS now! More than anything, I'm ready to be a normal adult with a career and no homework to come home to at night.

My nursing class! 14 students to graduate in '14! We are a tight-knit family, and I'm so thankful for each and every one.

A Community Health project this semester- a health fair at a school. Our booth was on safety. 'Twas a fun semester.

I have begun filling out job applications for the two major hospitals in Springfield--Mercy & Cox. I'm applying for positions in all the Intensive Care Units in both hospitals... so we will see what job offers I receive and where the Lord leads... :)

Speaking of careers, Logan has some big news!! He has been in the application process for 9 months for a career at the Springfield Police Department. He jumped through so many hoops from written exams to thorough background checks to physical tests, interviews, polygraphs, psych evaluations, etc... Who knew it is so tough to become a police officer!

BUT today, he received the official call letting him know he got the job!!! Praise the Lord! There were only 20 positions and over 300 applicants... I wasn't worried, but for some reason Logan didn't want to advertise his desire to get on the PD to everyone until he knew he had the job. Boys. ;) Anyway... he begins the Police Academy on February 10th!!! We are so very blessed!!!!

We are insanely excited that he begins his first "big boy" job in February, and I begin my "big girl" job in May! So much to look forward to.

Oh! I almost forgot. I went to Korea! Yes, that's right... the country. I had the incredible honor of being one of seventeen C of O students chosen to accompany nine Korean War vets back to Korea, their battlegrounds from 1950-1953. My veteran was Mr. Joseph Nance, who was in the US Air Force and flew over 100 combat missions against North Korea and China during the war. It was such an honor to hear his stories and receive the blessing of being in the presence of a true American hero. I will never forget my experience. If you'd like to hear more about the trip, you can visit this blog, which is where we posted every day to tell people about our trip. There's pictures, too!
(cofokorea2013.blogspot.com)

Meet nine definitions of American Patriot.

We found the exact model of the plane he flew in the war. Highlight of the trip!

We had the opportunity to spend the week of Thanksgiving down in Ft. Worth, Texas with the VanCuren family. Both Logan and I ran our very first 5K at a Turkey Trot there. We both want to increase our distance in races in the Spring, so we bought a gym membership and began training even before it was time to make New Years Resolutions. Crazy, huh?! Logan is going to do a half marathon, and I'm going to do a relay half marathon with a friend (half of a half, haha).