CHANGE

Adjustment. Diversity. Transition.  Change....this seems to be the Larsen Family theme for 2015. Even thinking back to where Matt and I were and what was going on in our lives just 10 months ago, life hardly looks similar to what we are living now.  To give you an idea of what has changed:

1. January: I was 15 weeks pregnant with no idea if we would welcome a baby boy or baby girl into our lives in the upcoming June.  October: Our beautiful baby girl, Olivia Renee, just turned 16 weeks old yesterday. It would be an understatement to say that she has brought so much love and happiness to our home.  
2. January: We were living in our 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 750 sq ft. apartment in Millcreek Cove which had been our cozy little home for almost three years.  October: We are renting our first house (950 sq ft.) in Champaign, Illinois. Complete with a backyard, garage, 3 bedrooms, and 1.5  bathrooms.
3. January: I was approaching my 5 year mark working for the University of Utah Executive MBA Program, working full time, having wonderful opportunities travelling the world, and working 40-50 hour work weeks. October: I have my dream job that has given me the title of MOM.  I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with Olivia, and continue to work for the University of Utah, remotely, 10-15 hours a week.  My new job is 24/7, but it is what I have wanted my entire life.
4. January: Matt was starting his last semester of nursing school, anxious to graduate with his bachelor's degree, take the NCLEX, and finally be an Registered Nurse.  We were talking about whether the future would bring graduate school or working full-time for a nurse for a couple years to gain experience. October:  Matt took and passed the NCLEX in June, and at the end of August, he began his first semester of a three year, dual- doctorate program at the University of Illinois at Chicago - Urbana/Champaign Campus.  So the plan in three years will be for him to be a Certified Nurse Midwife and Nurse Practitioner of Women's Health. 
5. January: Matt was working at Hunstman Cancer Hospital as an Medical Assistant, working 8-16 hours a week, and busily completing his capstone clincals in Labor and Delivery at the University of Utah Hospital as a student nurse.  October:  Last week Matt started his first RN job at Presence Provina Hospital on one of the Cardiac floors.  He also has a second job interview tomorrow at Carle Hospital to see if he can get accepted to the New Nurse Residency Program that would start him in a med surge position.  Just keeping his options open in the job market.

So to say the Larsen Family is experiencing a bit of adjustment over the last several months would be an understatement!  Something else that is an adjustment to us is that we are here in Illinois (very flat, humid, cornfield covered Illinois) and all of our family and friends live back in Utah (mountainous, dry Utah).  I don't know how we would survive living thousands of miles apart without modern technology!  FaceTime and Skype has been a life saver allowing us to video call our loved ones and still be able to see and talk to each other.  For me, it was incredibly hard to move so far away after giving birth to Olivia (who was the first granddaughter on both sides, might I add...)  So tonight when I was FaceTiming my parents, and my Dad asked if I was going to start a "Mommy Blog" so I could post pictures of Olivia and share stories of our experiences out here I thought it might be a good new hobby for me. (Because suddenly I do have more time for hobbies....)

So, if this is a way I can be better at journal-keeping, recording some of the sweet memories we make as Olivia grows up, as we struggle through graduate school, and experience mid-western living, I am going to give it an honest try.  So to anyone interested (which will honestly, probably only be our parents...) stay tuned!