First Comes Love...

Then comes the engagement.

I am an engaged woman now to a wonderful man who I am so excited to share my life with!

I think most people that were interested have seen the proposal video, but I wanted to share with you my side of the story.

I went home to Horseheads on December 15th with Jackson. He had the intention of asking my dad for his blessing to marry me-- But that's all I knew. I was told this lovely ring of mine wouldn't be ready until the New Year. He asked him the first night we were home, at 11:30 pm to be exact. While this was happening, I was up in my room having a panic attack under the bed....No joke. I was expecting my dad to be outraged-- I vividly remember him telling me at the age of 18 that I shouldn't get married until I turn 30.

This cute clip from Father of the Bride makes me picture what must have been going through my dad's head at the time, even though I wasn't there....It also makes me cry.

I think in my dad's mind I'm still a little girl, which is fine to me...I'll always be 'Daddy's Little Girl'. But instead of what I thought would happen (a catastrophe), my dad was so happy for Jackson and me. That night when Jackson told me how the conversation went, I cried. My dad's happiness for us was so important to me. Family is so important to me!

Which is why I couldn't have dreamed of a better proposal.

Saturday, December 17th was my planned 'faux Christmas'. Since I wasn't going to be home on Christmas day, my family planned to exchange gifts with me on Saturday. I planned to be at my dad's for a little, then have dinner (dutch meatballs, THE BEST) at my mom's afterwards. My dad told me that he invited my mom and her boyfriend over to exchange gifts, too. I wasn't suspicious, instead I was overjoyed that I could have my faux-Christmas with my entire family together. My Christmas dream come true! Fast forward to everyone coming over. Jackson played 'sick' and I believed every minute of it. We began to exchange gifts; My dad's video camera out (which happens during every Christmas event), my family happy and together, Christmas music playing in the background....And then this happens:

The 'Aws' and the crying, I just couldn't help it.

The best part: My entire family was in on the proposal; That's why the whole family gathered in the first place. My dad was a trooper and helped Jackson plan the whole thing (video credits go to him, thanks dad!!). Sadly, no Dutch meatballs were in order. Instead, my dad made reservations for us to go to Tanino's --Family favorite restaurant in Horseheads. My family already had beautiful engagement cards already written out for me. So sneaky.

Honestly, combining My entire family + The man I love = Pure joy for me!!! Which is why this was absolutely perfect. Remember when I said that graduation was the best day of my life? I think this tops it. I think the wedding will be even better.

P.S. Helpful hint: If you go to the youtube link, you'll find a nice little video (albeit 14 minutes long) of a compilation of videos/pictures from when Jackson and I first started dating to now. It's lovely. Feel free to fast forward through the zoo videos....But everything else is beautiful.

I'm going to watch Father of the Bride now. I will say, my dad is so much cooler than Steve Martin.

Giving Thanks part 2.

So, did anyone else find out in their mid-twenties that their grandpa was a serious hero/bad-A?!

We're all getting ready for the Thanksgiving dinner when my aunt casually brought up my Opa's story (that's Dutch for grandpa). Apparently my mom has a bad memory.

Background: My Opa died a year before I was born of pancreatic cancer. I have not heard ONE bad thing about my Opa. My dad to this day talks of how his ex-father-in-law was one of the kindest, sincere men he has ever met in his life. I wish I had had the pleasure of meeting him and spending some time with him. I wish even more now that I heard how wonderful he was.

Opa was also known as Jan Van Den Berg. He was born and raised in Holland.

He turned into one striking young man. The look on his face in this next picture (he's in the middle)....

Now for my favorite part....My Opa was a member of the Dutch Underground (also known as the Dutch Resistance). Believe me, it's as cool as it sounds. My Opa hid Jews from the Nazis. You know how Anne Frank and her family hid in a kind family's home/store in Holland? My Opa took a family into his home and hid them in order to help them survive. Can you imagine the bravery that took? What a selfless act!!

The story gets worse, but then better. My Opa was eventually caught. They sent those who hid the Jews to the concentration camps too.... The Nazis took my Opa and put him on a line to a train headed for death at a concentration camp. Do you know what that man did? He fled the line. Story goes there were shots fired at him as he ran. But he escaped!!! (obviously, if he didn't I wouldn't be here today.)

From there, he joined the Dutch Marines....He was stationed in England. There, he met my Oma, Amy Van Den Berg. The rest is history:

This postcard was sent to Holland to tell family he arrived safe in New York after immigrating there from England with my Oma. His return address was 138 E 36th St, New York, NY 10016. The crazy part: I lived 2 blocks from their first apartment (in the US) last year and never even knew.

I wish I could thank him for living such a wonderful life and tell him that I'm proud to be his grand daughter (and tell him we could have been neighbors!!). That is honestly the most moving story I have ever heard.

Thanks to my Aunt Maggie for having these wonderful pictures, her memory, and for keeping family history.

Down in the Valley.

So, remember how I went to Nevada for Thanksgiving to see family that I haven't seen in a trillion years?

Now, I've gotten used to mountains out here, but 2 lane roads, open plains, and mountains in the background? Along with the salt flats as seen to your right (can you believe that's not snow)? Gorgeous. I was so fascinated by Nevada.

My family lives on a ranch. I've learned that it's a 24 hour job. It's also beautiful. Jackson and I went along to feed cows right after we got there.

See that unbelievably long herd of cows following us? The 'moos' were the best.

It was so nice to spend time with family. We had the best time; so many laughs and memories that were made. I think I brought home a few pounds of food in my belly area, but it was so worth it. Both of my cousins, Roby and Ryan each have lovely wives and the cutest kids ever.

Grant is 2 years old and a big boy. He's so sweet and caring, especially with his little cousin.

Sweet little Avery. She's 18 months (give or take, I think). She is so silly. Example: This picture. She even said "cheeeese" while she was striking this pose down here.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the trip....We went on a drive through the valley.

My Aunt Maggie. She looks a little like my mom, right? And Alisa, Ryan's wife is laughing in the background :)

Last but not least...My cousins, Roby, Ryan, Avery, Grant, and my Uncle Steve.

This is Roby's wife, Amanda. And of course, the scenery. So amazing.

I just wanted to share some of my trip. For more pics, including me immobilized on a couch with a dog because I was so full it hurt, look on facebook. I really have to go visit again soon.

Oh and I have a cool post, to come soon :) YAY

Smiles

Can I just say that I am way excited to start working in the Progressive Care unit?

I never thought I would be working in a critical care/cardiac setting. It certainly has not ever been my first choice; It still isn't. But after learning the details of what I will be doing, I am looking forward to starting to be hands on and taking care of my patients. I'm going to take care of very sick people. Apparently, this floor is where all the action happens. It will be fast paced, just like my last job, but I will only have 3-4 patients. Do you remember how many I had in NYC? Sometimes up to 8!!! And my nurse manager is probably the coolest guy ever. He was the first one out of my other new orientees' clinical managers to show up and give me my schedule-- giving me Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Year's off.

Which brings me to the next topic-- I'm coming home :) December 15th-20th, mark it on your calendars. Jackson's coming with me. We are way excited-- Well, probably me more than him. I will make my family have a faux-christmas morning. I'm so looking forward to this.

And...I get to spend Thanksgiving with family! I happen to have an Aunt that lives in Nevada -- My mom's sister. It is conveniently 2 1/2 hours away from Salt Lake. The last time I've seen her/my cousins has been probably 15-18 years ago. This will be so much fun. They live on a ranch. Reunion time.

Weekday Update, with Amy.

Not Amy Poehler. There I go with the TV references again. Anyway....

Today was my first week as a nurse in Utah. Things are a little bit different, but most of it is pleasant. I do miss my Lenox Hill crew. But, about 99% of the people I've encountered so far are friendly, nice, sweet, and say 'Hi' to you in the halls if they don't even know you, so that one-up's Lenox Hill in a sense.

Pretty different view compared to Lenox Hill Hospital.

I just ate vegetarian fare....Can I just say it's delicious? I had a sweet potatoes, onions and walnut dish. Who knew that vegetables could be so flavorful. Big shout-out to my roommate Megan who cooks deliciously! She says she uses allrecipes.com for her sweet dishes. I've made one attempt at baking since I've been here. The result was this:

Mmmhmmm.....Smore's cookies. Can't get over them.

Oh by the way...I got a new car. 2006 Honda Accord. It's cute and has heated seats as well as cruise control (way important).

birthdays.

This past week = Blissful with a little bit of stress.

Last Monday (Halloween) I celebrated my sister Alison's birthday. She is 21 at last. I told Jackson he had to treat me good on Monday...It was a special day for me too, hello!! I became a sister! Do you know how sad that was to give up my 'only child' spot? For the most part (minus the scars on my hands) I have loved being a sister. And having a sister is lovely too.

Jackson is 28. His birthday was November 2nd. Two years to 30, and his second birthday that he has spent with me. I think it was a pretty special week. We ended it with brunch at Sundance, the Foundry Grill. Talk about fancy goodness.

My brother Matthew turned 17 on Friday. Do you know how bittersweet it is to see your little brother grow into an adult? I think it makes it even worse that he's almost 6 feet tall. I told him he isn't allowed to get older anymore. But...When he starts looking at colleges next fall, you know I'll be so excited and make him visit Penn State. Next year. Wow.

Between all the birthday madness, I have moved to Murray. For my east coasters, it's about 10 minutes to downtown Salt Lake City. I live with 3 girls and a dog whose name happens to be the same as my boyfriend's. And, I live in a HOUSE. Not an apartment, a house. I have to keep reminding myself that....I always accidentally say apartment. Oops.

I'm also a pro-gamer. Just kidding, but I purchased an XBox 360 today with a Kinect, and the game Dance Central. I found this gem at a Halloween party out here...I basically tore the house down with my dance moves. So this will keep me busy for a while...Dancing like a crazy person in a basement. Should be fun.

And work starts in one week. I didn't realize that until I looked at my calendar. What in the world?!

More

I've become obsessed with the website Pinterest. If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's a lot of fun.

Today, I'm going to try to become ...

More loving.

More understanding.

Less critical.

Less sad.

More happy.

More forgiving.

Just more.

This will be in my house someday.