The Gardners: Bloom Where You Are Planted

Hello Everyone,

So this is my first (and hopefully not last!) attempt at creating and maintaining a blog!  I've always thought blogs were cute little things.  I enjoy reading everyone else's but I never gave much thought to creating one myself, until now!

I think it's such a cool idea to share your life story with others through blogging, especially with family and friends that you don't have the privilege of being around on a regular basis.  Since me and Jason are now living in Arizona and have too many miles between ourselves and our families/friends, I thought this would be a good time to start this new blog.  Me and Jason have new adventures on almost a daily basis, but if we don't write down these adventures, or share photos of our experiences how will we ever remember them all?  Exactly. I'm still trying to sell Jason on this idea, especially because he HATES taking pictures, but it's a work in progress.

So, let me begin by talking about all the new and exciting changes Jason and I have experienced in the past 2 months!

Jason and I graduated from BYU-Idaho, in Rexburg, ID this past April.  I graduated with my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing and Jason graduated with his Bachelor's of Arts in History Education, with a minor in Spanish Education. I was working at a wonderful little hospital in Rexburg for the past year at this time and truly loved my job and coworkers.  We had lived here together ever since we were married for 2 1/2 years and loved all the memories and especially our friends.  But as much as we loved our lives, we also knew that it was time to start a new chapter in our lives, we just didn't know exactly where/when this would be!

Graduating friends!!  Our tight knit group of friends while living in Rexburg (minus Sarah, Cory's wife, she was already graduated). We thought it was pretty cool that we all graduated at the same time together!

I think what was probably the most difficult for us in this big change of our lives was saying goodbye to our dearest friends, the Andersons and the Dolds.  We had sooooo many amazing memories with them and inside jokes. Pretty much ever since all of us were first married we became best friends.  And we stuck together up to this point, we even lived within walking distance of each other throughout our college years!

Yes, this is a group planking session.  Sorry you weren't invited. :)

This was our ward Halloween activity a few years back.  Jake and Megan weren't here yet because she was coming back from finishing her first 1/2 marathon! Too soon. 

Just some goofy, fun airborne pictures! :)

We surprised the Andersons with one last campfire dinner of hot dogs/smores a couple days before they would move to Texas. 

Our friends, the Dolds, moved away to Washington first and then our friends, the Andersons, moved to Texas shortly after.  What made it even more difficult for us was that after both set of friends had moved, we were still unsure of where we would be moving and Jason did not have a job offer at this time.  We felt left behind and forgotten.  And let me be the first to say that that is one of the saddest feelings ever.

At first, we were convinced we were moving to Texas.  They have many job openings for teachers and pay pretty well.  They also have lots of jobs for nurses.  So we went to work and applied for close to a hundred teaching jobs.  And we didn't hear a word!  Not one word.

At this time, we were already in the month of June, just a couple short months from the beginning of a new school year.  Feeling frustrated, Jason and I went to the temple and decided we would think and pray about what we needed to do.  Eventually, Jason told me that he felt that he needed to apply for more jobs in Utah, Nevada and Arizona and so he did.

Within days of applying for about 4 or 5 jobs in AZ, Jason had already received several responses from a few different schools!  And before we knew it, he was accepting a job offer in Queen Creek, AZ and we would need to move in 2 weeks!!

Jason's school where he is teaching middle school Spanish classes

The next couple of weeks were pretty chaotic and it was hard leaving my job in Rexburg, but once we arrived in AZ, found our apartment and got to know our ward, we just knew that this was the right place for us.  Within a month of moving here, I was also richly blessed to find a job with an incredible hospital and company, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center affiliated with Dignity Health.

My new workplace at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.  Yes, I am very excited! 

Moving to Queen Creek, Arizona has been one of the best things that has ever happened to us and we are so excited for this new journey.  It's very humbling and inspiring when you realize that you are exactly where God wants you to be because everything just falls into place so perfectly and you just know that this is where you belong.

This is especially moving for me because just before Jason got a job, I was feeling out of place and a lack of purpose and it was really bringing me down.  However, the Lord has sweetly blessed me to find my purpose and help me find that sense of belonging here in Arizona.  I think part of the reason I was feeling that way was to prepare me to be ready for the big change. And with my new job AND my new calling at church in Young Women's as a leader, the Laurel's Advisor, I am getting right to work :)!

As far as the future goes, who knows how long we will be here.  I'm hoping to stay here for as long as possible, but only the Lord really knows where we are needed and where we can blossom and grow best.  But at the moment, I will just revel in the beauty of each new day in beautiful Arizona, embracing it with an enthusiastic welcome and with humble gratitude to our Heavenly Father. :)