To Honor and Remember

American Military Cemetery, sits on the hill over Omaha Beach. When we booked our trip to India our flight was SLC to Paris CDG airport and then connect on to New Delhi. What an opportunity! We planned to spend 3 days in Paris with my friends/coworkers. It gets better because we had to book our flight a couple of weeks after the rest of the group which meant we could go earlier and have a couple extra days in France before joining the rest of the group in Paris or we could just spend just 1 day in Paris before flying on to India. With these choices before me I listened to the part of me that has been reading history books since I was seven. That little voice pointed out that with three extra days in France I would have the chance to see something that I have wanted to see for the last 25 years, Normandy. I made my proposal to Nicole and when she showed enthusiasm for it I made plans with Overlord Tours to visit Utah and Omaha Beaches as tribute to the military forces who elevated the definition of courage. Normandy was a great experience for me because I could feel echoes of the all the emotions that the soldiers who stormed the beaches felt, fear, courage resolve, sorrow. I stood on Ohmaha Beach and stared out to sea then back to the defenses and was awestruck by how formidable that hill at the end of the beach was, I silently thanked God for creating men of courage and honor who were willing to offer their lives to oppose tyranny. Normandy is not just a geographic battlefield, it is a sacred sight where you can stand and measure yourself against our soldiers, our grandfathers, our uncles, and all others who went into the mouth of the dragon to defend liberty. At some point you have to ask yourself, "Could I do it?" and if your answer is no then you look for what you need to do to change that answer. To all who fought on these beaches on June 6, 1944, I Honor your bravery, your sacrifices, and I thank you for being who you were, an army of courage and valor, willing to sacrifice of yourselves that others may be free.

This is one of the German guns left in place.

I stood next to it so it wouldn't look so big and tough.

A Quick view of Omaha beach's sand and the rise at the end of the beach.

This is Nicole next to the forward observation point on Point du Hoc

Me standing in the bottom of one of the many bomb craters on Point Du Hac.

This is a gun emplacement captured by National Guard Units and kept in the National Guard Monument on Omaha Beach.

In the foreground is the National Guard Monument. To the right and a little farther back is another gun emplacement. If you look, you can see another gun nest settled into the hillside. Easy to see how this beach became "Bloody Omaha".

This is the view of Omaha Beach from the German observation post on Point du Hoc. Gives you a taste of the formidability. But our guys got over it.

Nicole and I with the Monument erected to the Rangers who captured Point du Hoc on 6 June 1944.

This picture shows how cratered the ground is on Point du Hoc.

The church at St. Mere Eglise where paratrooper John Steele got caught on the steeple and hung there for two hours before he was captured by German soldiers. The town has put this mannequin up as a tribute to the paratroopers who liberated their town.

Monument to Easy company of the 506 P.I.R. who destroyed German gun emplacements at Brecourt Manor. This monument was erected by the family that owns and farms Brecourt Manor.

Part of the Brecourt Manor monument, the Drawing was made by Major Dick Winters who led the fight and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.

Utah Beach.

Caen, France

I love being back in Europe. It is remarkable to stand on the 14th century walls of a castle and look through the arrow slots at a church that is just as old. This is a picture of Eglise Saint-Pierre de Caen from Chateau de Caen, a castle originally built by William the Conquerer in 1060. The wall I was standing on at when I took this photo were built during the 100 Years War to strengthen the castle. This is exactly the kind of thing I love seeing in Europe. It is just amazing to walk in the same places people have walked for centuries and not just decades.

Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen


This is Eglise Saint-Pierre de Caen in its own right. It shows the flying buttresses and ornate carving I dreamed of seeing in French religious architecture, complete with stained glass and gargoyles. As impressive as its exterior is, the workmanship in stone and wood and faith inside are inspiring but in respect to those worshiping there I took no photos. Here is the link to the church's wikipedia page: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89glise_Saint-Pierre_de_Caen#Histoire or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint-Pierre,_Caen Copy and paste either of those addresses into your browser window and you will be able to see more of what we saw and get a better idea of what it is you are actually looking at. Just keep in mind the principle, that when men endeavor to serve god, they are capable building beauty.



Nicole on the other hand enjoyed seeing things like this:


We ate at Cafe Caen for dinner but when Nicole's pasta carbonara came out with a raw egg on top it may have been a little too authentic. We did accomplish one of the goals for our trip, eating a chocolate croissant. I was actually able to order it in French and it was amazing. Probably the best pastry I have ever had, especially when you consider where and with whom I was eating with. I truly wish I had the time to learn to make these b/c I want you all to try them but they don't travel well. :(

Caen has been awesome and I wish we had more time here. The old town center was full of shops and people and bakeries and cafes. It is a lovely place, just a good feeling here. Standing on the castle walls we were able to see several large old churches and other buildings that are hundreds of years old so I am going to throw in a couple of those photos as well.

And here, The Culmination of a dream I have had for 15 years, a picture of Nicole and I in Europe. The fact that I have this picture fills my heart despite the 50 pounds the camera added. :)



BEWARE OF GOAT


If your moat ever gets overgrown just put a goat in it. (maybe it has fangs or its last name is Gruff and it has a few brothers? not sure what it adds to the defenses, maybe attackers don't like stepping in its byproducts.)We got quite the kick out of the goat mower.

We Have Arrived

Well, I finally have something to blog about. As many of you know, we are on a trip to India, with a stop in France for a few days on the way. Hopefully this will help me to remember everything & share our experiences.

The whole travel process has been interesting. Jer & I have not been on a plane since a trip to Hawaii in 2007, and I have never traveled internationally. Even though we were a little apprehensive, everthing went smoothly. Despite an 8 hour time difference & an overnight flight, we are not too terribly jet lagged (well, I'm not anyway. Jer is passed out on the bed.) It is 11pm here, but it is 3pm back home. I was able to get some decent sleep on the plane, but Jer wasn't quite so lucky.

We flew into Paris & then made our way to the train station & headed to Caen.


This is a picture of Jer on our "bendy" bus we took from the airport to the train station. We will be heading back to Paris on Sunday for a few days, but are happy to be out of the city for now. Although the architecture was beautful, there were a lot of honking horns, smoking people everywhere, & grafitti. I also have to say I am not a big fan of European fashion... & I think I pretty much stick out like a sore thumb. I did not see one other woman wearing tennis shoes all day. Most of the men also looked more feminine than me ;). One other thing we've noticed is 3-4 year old kids running around with plugs (aka pacifiers) in their mouths.


The train ride through the countryside was amazing. It is already very green here, & saw lots of daffodils and croci (my pluralization) for crocus. We saw a lot of farming, but very little livestock- a few sheep, some Shetland ponies, and some Brahman & Holstein cows. No Limousin to be seen! [Background: Limousin is a breed of cattle from France, & it is the type of cows my dad raises. Tastiest steak you'll ever eat.] On a completly unrelated but interesting side note, the lady across the isle from us on the train was in her 20's & sucked her thumb. I kept trying not to look, but couldn't help myself. There is just something crazy about an adult woman snuggling and watching a movie with her boyfriend while sucking her thumb.



We saw this building from the train at a stop. It is in the town of Lisieux, but I know nothing else about it. Pretty amazing though. It was neat to see the beautiful stone churches in all the little towns along the way.

Here is a the view from our hotel:




We have found this little town to be quite charming, even though everyone & their dog is still smoking (cigarette smoke is one of my least favorite things in the world). We got here around 6pm, which is about 24 hours from the time we left Salt Lake. We checked into our room and then went out to find a quick bite. Jer was excited when we found a Kebab shop. The shop owner was very friendly (not French, funny enough) and the food was tasty. Jer had Kebabs & chips on his mission in Ireland, so it was fun to share that together.



Our last stop for tonight was a quick trip to the grocery store. Apparently most shops & stores in France close at 7pm, but we found one that was open til 9. (No Super Walmarts around here). Even picked about some eclairs, which are one of my favorites. A couple cherry cokes & we were good to go, although I have a feeling Jer has seen his last Pepsi for a while.



We are spending tomorrow exploring Caen & seeing some castle(it is very old, but Jer is out cold & I can't remember the details). The town has bike rentals for one Euro ($2), so we are excited to tool around town that way. On Sunday we are headed to Normandy, which will be a special experience as well.

I'll update again as long as I can find some wi-fi!

Why I Do What I Do

I am sure you are all happy to know I am not dead. I always have the intention of documenting activities, sharing my thoughts and opinions, and posting great little snap shots of life, but it just never comes to fruition.

I love my job most of the time. We all have those days/moments/times when we swear no amount of money is worth the stress and aggravation, but a large majority of time I truly love what I get to do everyday. Nursing is so interesting- you see and hear things that can make you laugh, make you cry, and make you scratch your head and say "seriously???". I am considering starting an anonymous blog to document some of those crazy stories in a way that protects confidentiality and does not violate any HIPPA laws. I would love to give a glimpse into some of things nurses deal with on a daily basis, but that is a pipe dream for another day.

Today I just wanted to share how amazing it is to really make a difference in a person's life. Working in L&D, I get to see miracles everyday, and share in a family's most special moments. And I am lucky for that. But every once in a while you get the chance to impact a life in a big way through what may seem a small act.

Yesterday I took care of a lovely, sweet woman in a less than ideal situation. She was basically alone during her whole labor, and I did my best to let her know that there was someone that cared. She may have not had any family or friends in the room with her, but she had me. Nothing remarkable happened during the course of the day, but I left feeling like I had taken care of her with love and respect.

After a very busy day today, I had just a few spare minutes and was able to stop and see her in postpartum. Sometimes this simple luxury is not possible, but today it worked out. Her face just lit up when she saw me. We talked for a few minutes, and as I went to leave I gave her a hug. Now, if you know me, I am not the "huggiest" person in the world, but I did it. And she hugged me back. For dear life. I am sure she felt so alone and sad in her circumstance, but I was able to ease her burden in a small way and make a difference to her. And that is why I do what I do.

What else can I say?

So, as further evidence of wanting to but not really succeeding at blogging... I received a notice that I needed to update my background by the end of January. After "refreshing" myself on that, I realized I had set up some fancy website to get my own handwriting on said blog, and I had NO idea how to change the font color. So then I had to search for a background that worked. After about a half hour- Ta Da! A new background, but the more glaring problem would be a lack of any recent news.

I came to realize that first of all, I definitely need to take more pictures. Makes it much easier to tell the story of life. Here are a few of the exciting events of the past few months:

1. Jer got a job working with a health care consulting firm. Best part of all they have an office in Mt. Green, so his commute is literally less than 5 minutes. On the other hand, I split my time between Ogden and Salt Lake. The irony of this it I have had no traffic problems on some serious nasty roads, whereas Jer slid through the stop sign at the bottom of the hill (no damage, just funny).

2. I spent Thanksgiving Day in the hospital getting by gallbladder out. How is that for timing? Really hadn't had any problems with it, until I started having some pain the Monday before Thanksgiving. I self diagnosed/treated for three days before giving in and going to the doctor. An ultrasound revealed a very "sick" gallbladder, and because of a busy OR I spent the night in the hospital and had the little sucker out Thanksgiving morning. The surgery truly wasn't too bad, but it was interesting to be a patient. I can't say I had some huge epiphany about my role as a nurse, just learned how vulnerable you feel as a patient. After I was discharged I sent Jer to Tremonton to see the Nielsen fam and I went back to my parent's for a few hours. My mom of course cooked a delicious looking meal and my sis-in-law Amy made homemade pumpkin pie, and I couldn't resist trying just a bit. And a few hours later when it was all coming back up, my mom sat and held my hair for me. It just makes me smile to think no matter how old I am, she is still my mom and no one takes better care of you than your own mother.

3. We bought a snow blower! Big deal, right? I am a huge proponent of a good old shovel and hard work, but when it dumps 12-18 inches at a time it gets a little ridiculous. We had meant to get one at the end of season last year, but forgot. We have a great neighbor that would blow our driveway most of the time, but we knew if we were going to live up here it was time to bite the bullet and get one of our own.

Here's to hoping 2011 will be "bloggier" than last year with a few more pictures.

This one's for you Janelle...

So, I have a friend at work that reminds me every few weeks that I need to update my blog. Not that my life isn't great, but somehow I find the "happenings" of two adults to be somewhat boring.

This past weekend I was able to go on an impromptu trip to Lake Mead with my sister-in-law (who also happens to be my good friend). I am lucky to have two great sisters, but she is the only girl in her family. We often joke that we are soul sisters- so much alike in some ways it is a little scary. Here are a few pics from our trip on "Oasisted Away". We even staged a good drunken photo to pay homage to the good old houseboat.







It was a great trip with a lot of relaxing. I read two books, did some fishing, and just soaked up the sun. It made for a rude awakening this morning to a skiff of snow on the lawn when I left from work. I know some people love the seasons and are excited to see the white stuff. Me, not so much.

The Fruits of Our Labors

Remember the post about getting rocks back in April? Well, this is what we've been up to since then. We had thought we would do a post every week or two to show our progress, but all you get is the finished product. We love it now, but about two weeks ago we had serious doubts. Thanks to lots of hard work by Jer, many evenings off us both working til the sun went down and then by porch light, and some help with sod and putting rocks in the parks strips from both our families, we got it all done. We have already enjoyed a couple of BBQ's with family and friends and look forward to many more.






As far as a life update, all is well. I started a new job working for a law firm as nuseparalegal. It has been very interesting and a nice change of pace. I am also still working in Labor and Delivery, and I find myself enjoying my work there more too. The old saying absence makes the heart grow fonder also applies to work I guess. Jer had an interview with a medical consulting firm that has a branch in Mountain Green, so we are keeping our fingers crossed for that.

I am still fighting the good fight trying to find an answer to my headaches. Many people know I get them, but I think I do a pretty good job of functioning despite a headache of some level more often than not. It is when I have a headache free day that I realize how much more I can and want to do, and how these stupid migraines limit me. Sunday was such a day... and I will admit that I was naughty and organized my pantry and deep cleaned my fridge during "nap time" after church. It really did start innocently enough, just trying to clear a spot for the rice cooker, but I did get a little carried away. I have an appointment at a headache clinic in Salt Lake at the end of this month, and I am hoping they have some ideas.

We are headed to Island Park over the weekend of the 24th with the Nielsen family. It is always nice to get away and relax, and Jer can once again try to see a moose in the wild. He has the WORST luck when it comes to trying to see a moose.