A lot has happened to our little family in the last few months! Since Tom's Neurosurgeon suggested that he not join the army because of the risk of really hurting his head, we had to rearrange things a little bit! Tom got a job in the Shock Trauma ICU at IMC in Murray in July so that we could get the experience that he needed for other CRNA schools to accept him. This was a really hard transition for us. It was about an hour drive each direction and he was working a lot of night shifts. He was still weak and recovering from his surgery, so we didn't feel that traveling home everyday and trying to get good, uninterrupted sleep was going to work out very well. So luckily Tom's parents were kind enough to let him stay at their house during his stretch of work shifts, and then he would come home after he was done for the week. After a lot of praying and trying to find answers, we came to the conclusion that we would switch career paths, since becoming a CRNA would most likely mean that we would not be able to live in Utah, close to family. We started applying to so Nurse Practitioner programs and were getting ready to start one in January, but Tom was never, ever excited about this path. He would have been able to keep working full time while doing an Online Degree and then potentially be hired on as an NP wherever he was working, but he was not excited... he was going to do it because it was a better route for our family, but he was not really looking forward to doing that for the rest of his life.
We had been going to see a chiropractor by the name of Shon Goulding, for almost a year. He was performing lots of miracles for our little family and our health! He did chiropractics, muscle activation and NAET (an allergy elimination technique). Coming from a Nursing background, it took Tom a little while to come on board to the more holistic way of healing the body, but he eventually did! One day we were sitting in the waiting room and I was reading some of the patient's testimonials hanging on the wall. One in particular was from a man who suffered from severe allergies to smells and lots of environmental things. I mentioned to Tom that we needed to let his Uncle Tom and Aunt Melody know about Dr. Goulding, because they had very similar stories as this testimonial. We left that day and something changed! He talked to his dad, who then talked to his brother and sister about coming down from Canada to be treated. That day, Tom told me that he "wants to be just like Dr. Goulding"! He wants to be able to help people... really help them, like Dr. Goulding has done for us. We got to work looking into schools and upon the recommendation from Dr. Goulding, we applied for Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa! This was about the middle of September. The school called Tom and basically just from talking to him and learning about his educational and professional background, accepted him into the school. We were assuming that we would start in March of next year, but they asked him if he would like to start on October 31st! We said "Yes" originally, but after a few days of thinking about it and discussing our options, we decided to defer until March. We had just paid off all of Tom's medical bills and we had no money saved up for a moving truck. And Tom really wanted to go through the NAET course and become a Practitioner before he started school so he could be treating people. And we wanted to get as many extra shifts as we could at work to save up some money. Tom felt very strongly that the Lord wanted us there in October, but we just couldn't figure it out financially.
We learned our lesson in faith very quickly. Tom was able to get his training down for NAET in just a few days and we had a lot of tender mercies surrounding that, that allowed him to get it done. And literally the week after we told Palmer that we could not start until March, the patient census at the hospital dropped drastically and Tom was shorted 2 of his 3 shifts that week. We weren't even getting our regular shifts, let alone any extras, and we burned through all of our PTO. Palmer had still invited Tom and I to come tour the campus, so we decided to do that. As we were driving from Utah to Iowa on Sunday, October 9th, we felt, again, very strongly that the Lord wanted us there in October. We prayed about it and talked to Admissions and Financial Aid at the school and everything fell right into place for us to start in a few weeks. We were even able to look at and find an awesome duplex to rent, just a few miles from the school. Not only that, but the landlords are a great LDS couple and have quickly become our friends!
We had just over 2 weeks to get packed and moved to Iowa. My parents graciously offered to drive our stuff out for us and help us move in. My grandparents let us borrow their truck and some awesome neighbors lent us their enclosed trailer. (More tender mercies!) Since being here we have seen the Lord's hand in everything! It has not been easy being so far away from family and friends, but the Lord has made everything work out for us! We are being taken care of financially! Tom got a $6000 scholarship this trimester, we qualified for some state assistance,.... things are just working out. Tom loves school. We love our house. The ward is awesome! Tanner will hopefully be starting preschool soon. Everything is just working out! I am soooo glad that we listened to the promptings from the Spirit and took this gigantic leap of faith!
Here are some pictures of our home for the next 3 years!
The front room, off to the right as you walk in the front door.
As you walk in the front door, you can either go right, into the front room, or go straight into the family room (I was standing in the living room when I took this picture).
Family Room (taken standing in the kitchen)
The Kitchen
The awesome walk in Pantry! Shelves all the way to the ceiling! Oh! Did I mention we have 9 foot ceilings on the main level!
Leading upstairs
Tiny Bathroom
Olivia's Room
(No! She doesn't sleep in her big bed yet. Still in the pack and play! Haha! Maybe soon!)
Tanner's Room
Our Room
There is also a large basement and a big attic for storage. There are no pictures of the attic because a few days after we moved in, Tom found some bats up there. If any of you know me... I HATE BATS! So, I will most likely never go up there again! (The landlord came over and filled a few holes after we opened some windows to let the bats out, and Tom has not seen them since. But... I will still probably never go up there!)
Granted... Tom also found a Garter Snake in the basement too... and I have continued to go down there, but only if Tom or Tanner are with me! I know, I'm super brave!
We love it here and are excited to see what the next 3 years brings us! Hopefully no more rodents in the house!
