The Week of Christmas

The week of Christmas was absolute craziness. Jordan had to work Monday and Tuesday, and I was lucky enough to have Christmas Eve AND Christmas off...this was the first time we have been able to spend both days together since we've started dating-it was amazing.

Monday
Monday was a crazy day at work, and I was thankful that halfway through the day Brit texted to ask if I wanted to try out a new cycle class at the new CityWay YMCA. The class was a serious workout, the bikes were nice and new, and it was great to have Brit push me. I am so thankful to have Brit as a friend that I can share about my day, we can laugh, and be ridiculous-and it doesn't require a ton of effort-that's the key. AND-Abby decided to go into the hospital to start the induction process. We went to bed knowing that Abby was 4cm and baby was on her way!

Tuesday
It was easy to wake up on Tuesday-we were so anxious to know if baby had made her appearance. Jordan and I were both up at 5:30-him for work, and I had a dentist appointment(boo)-we had a text waiting on us that Abby had labored all night, and due to baby having a "big head" haha Abby was going to need a c-section. About 30 minutes later we got the adorable video of her first baby cries. We were so grateful that baby and Abby were both safe and healthy.

We were both able to meet baby Ellie after work. Ellie Jo is PERFECT! And Abby is a champ-seriously-she is so strong and is going to be an amazing mom!

Uncle Jordan meeting baby Ellie

After meeting baby, Jordan and I were able to have a date night at our favorite Mexican place. I love that Jordan and I share the same profession-hearing about his day is my favorite part of the day. 

Wednesday

Wednesday after work we were able to meet Jordan's parents and Justin and City BBQ for dinner, and tag along with them to see baby Ellie for a second time! She has everyone's heart. 

Those eyes...

Grandpa meeting Ellie

Thursday-Christmas Eve
Since we both had the day off, we decided to join my side of the family and go to my aunt's house in Jasonville, IN. It was fun to drive down and spend an hour dreaming about our future together. Jasonville is...interesting. It feels like going back 50 years, instantly. We only see this side of the family max twice a year, so conversation doesn't come very easily. It's effort... Once we got to gift opening time, everything got a little easier. One of my cousins had gotten everyone "ear candles" to try out. This ended up being the highlight of the night-Haley was the guinea pig and let us try them out on her.

Oh Haley...

We were absolutely exhausted after driving all day. Danny and Emily were nice enough to host us for the night. It was fun/weird to spend the night at Terry and Carole's again after thinking we wouldn't. I was fighting a cold, so I was just glad to have a bed.

Friday-Christmas Day
We woke up to Christmas Day being 62 degrees-the warmest Christmas since 1982. My mom loves to walk in Fox Ridge Nature Park-the old golf course. She met us that morning and we got in a seeerious walk before the day even started....so hilly.

Christmas Morning at Fox Ridge

Seriously...how is this December 25th?

After our walk, we went to my parents for Christmas dinner and gifts.

Lucky and Jack's Christmas Presents

Haley and Jordan tackle an advanced puzzle...hahahaha

It was fun to spend the day with my family. Mikayla was anxious to go to her boyfriend's family, and Haley was ready to spend time with Alyce by the end of the day. We left for home around 5 and had a quick drive home. We decided on the way that we wanted to get Chinese food for dinner and watch "A Christmas Story." 

This was the busiest I have ever seen Hong Kong... #fararararahhhh

Our final big cheat meal...worth it.

After dinner, we fell asleep almost instantly. I am so grateful to have such a healthy, loving, and giving family. We are incredibly lucky. My final Christmas gift was to have my cold turn into the full blown flu at 2am on Saturday morning-I woke up FREEZING with a temp...boo. I am so lucky to have Jordan who instantly jumped into nurse mode and took amazing care of me. Here's to hoping that this sickness moves on quickly... Merry Christmas!!!

Weekend Festivities

This weekend was the true beginning of the holiday craziness. It was a great weekend spent with family and friends, but it's safe to say that we are exhausted and it was time for bed at 7pm on Sunday.

Thursday
Every Thursday, we meet with our Life Group. For Christmas, we decided to forgo a traditional party and indulge in delicious Greek food at Santorini's. The food was amazing and the company was great. We are so thankful to get together every week and be able to have honest and fun conversation with awesome people that continually push us to be better. Diane announced that she has decided to go back to school and pursue her administration license at Butler. So excited for her, and for our group in 2016.

Friday
Mikayla made homecoming court and was one of two sophomore attendants. On Friday I made the trip back to Vincennes to attend the game-Jordan had to work, so I was solo. It is so funny/sentimental to go back to Vincennes now. I've found that I have finally adjusted to the "big city" way of living, and now find it so odd that making a trip to the grocery store involves interacting with AT LEAST 5 people that you've known you're whole life. The way that timing worked out, I ended up following my childhood school bus for about a mile back to my parent's house. The bus stopped at the mailbox, and the driver stopped to put a Coke and Christmas candy into the mailbox since my sister wasn't riding that day. This brought back so many memories of my bus driver Debbie giving us a Coke, orange, and Snickers bar in a paper bag every year for Christmas. This moment made me really miss the small town life.

Mikayla looked gorgeous. I officially felt old watching my "baby sister" walk out onto the floor. She has grown up so much in the past few years, and it's so fun to watch her interact with friends-she is so popular, and it cracks me up. Again, it was weird/sentimental to watch a game in the SK gym-so many good memories came flooding back.

Saturday
Saturday was my favorite. Jordan found out Friday afternoon that he OFFICIALLY passed his final, and all of his classes for the semester-I couldn't wait to come home and celebrate with him. After I got home from Vincennes, we lounged around and I got to enjoy my husband-stress free husband- the rest of the night. I love this man so much, and I'm thankful for a full month without school that we can enjoy each other without the worries of papers and grades.

Sunday
On Sunday, Jordan and I volunteered with 56. They had a Christmas celebration and it was fun to be with these hilarious kiddos. I will never forget that I had to tell Matt Hasselbeck's son to be quiet during worship-whoops! (Tell your dad I'm a fan, Henry!)

 After church, we has Bushnell family Christmas. It is crazy to think that this is the last Christmas without any grandkids-next year will be a totally different experience. We had burritos for lunch, and per the usual, Carole fixed a CRAZY spread. We all ate wayyyy too much. We opened hilarious gag gifts-Jordan got a McDonald's happy meal-best dirty santa gift ever. I ended up with a nerf gun-the men were all jealous. We all exchanges secret santa gifts as well. I am so blessed that I ended up in such a generous and loving family, it continues to blow me away. Most of the day was spent talking about how to get Baby Bushnell to make her appearance-pressure points, walking, spicy food...we covered it all. There was also A LOT of football watching, shooting guns, and working on a massive puzzle. Oh...and the selfie stick was too much fun.

2015

2015 was an amazing year. 2015 brought growth, change, and new experiences. It didn't seem right to let the year pass and not reflect on how the year changed us-pictures are good, but they always seem to stay on my phone and the memories fade.

J&H.

In June, Jordan and I celebrated our second year of marriage. For our anniversary, Jordan planned an amazing trip to Hilton Head, SC. I had never been, but I was not disappointed. We drove to Savannah, GA and stayed and explored the historical sites...I even dragged Jordan on a trolley ride. After a sweaty day of wondering around Savannah, we checked into our hotel in Hilton Head and enjoyed 4 whole days of NOTHING. Besides treating our sunburns and eating a lot of food, we didn't do anything productive. I'm so thankful for a husband that invests in me and our marriage. He goes out of his way to make me feel loved and cared for.

Trolley Ride Around Savannah

Our home for the week.

The sunsets were amazing.

Happy 2 years of marriage!

We were lucky enough to spend our last night in HH with Drew and Bryn at Aunt Chalida's. 

Jordan has finished his second year of school. He has passed his classes with flying colors, and learning SO much. He is going to be an amazing NP. It is crazy to think that he will be taking his boards in less than 2 years. Even while working full time and being in school full time, he made time to take me on amazing dates and adventures. Love you, J. 26 looks good on you.

Jordan's 26th Birthday.

First Indianapolis Indian's game of the season. 

Bears vs. Colts...Bears won.

In 2015 my main goal was to focus on my health and personal growth. In March, I took my OCN exam. This was a huge goal for me, and I'm glad to say that I passed. With my OCN certification behind me, I started working with a personal trainer and nutritionist in the beginning of March. I accomplished my goal of getting back to my "wedding weight" by the end of the year. By loosing the weight, I was able to gain a lot of my life back. My marriage is better, I'm a better nurse, I'm a happier person, and I'm accomplishing goals that I never thought possible. I need to remember this. I need to know that it is worth it. The sweat, tears, fatigue, and soreness...it is all worth it.

Yay!!!

Morning workouts were new...

25th Birthday at Burgerhaus.

Family.

Jordan and I are blessed to have an amazing family, and it feels so good to say that our families are healthy and doing well.

In May, Haley graduated from VU with her associates degree in business. She has since moved in to Aspen Lakes and is loving IUPUI. My dad went an entire year with no seizures-yay!!! My mom continues to work crazy hard, and is always learning new things for her students-so proud. Mikayla continues to be a gorgeous teenager-becoming a better golfer, making the cheer team, and being the sophomore attendant for homecoming.

So proud of Haley!

During my family's trip to Peru.

My mom...

Jordan's family went through several changes. Jordan's parents officially moved to Zionsville. Their new house is amazing, and I can't wait for it to be filled with as many memories as the old one. Aaron and Erica have both moved up in their jobs-they're rockstars. Justin graduated from IUPUI, and has a great job. Emily passed her boards and is loving her job at the GSH cath lab, and Danny has decided to go back to school to concentrate on computer engineering. My personal favorite is that Pat and Abby are expecting a baby girl any day-we can't wait to meet Baby E!!!

Annual dinner with Uncle Paul and family at St. Elmo's. 

Friendship. 

Friendship is precious...and hard. Jordan and I learned this lesson over and over this year. Many of our friendships morphed and changed. One relationship came to a conscious closure. We learned that sometimes it's ok to move on without others. Another relationship tested what it means to truly stand beside the people that we say we love and care about. When friendship calls for true sacrifice and discomfort, it tests our character...and that is more than uncomfortable, but we are learning that it is worth it.

But, it's not all bad. We strengthened many of our relationships with our family and small group. We are truly thankful for what they mean to us and how they call us to be our best selves. We made new friends as people moved into our lives and became closer to family that moved to the area (Yay for Mom and Dad Bushnell and Haley!).

Private suite at the Colt's game...courtesy of Corey and Brit!

MNF with the work ladies!

Ezra's 1st Wine at the Line!

Hanging out with Brit after Wine at the Line!

The Monumental half in November-Dani and Mer rocked it!

Congrats Tori!

Catching up with Bryn at Tyler and Anna's wedding.

Jordan acting tooootally natural in the suite. This picture still makes me laugh. 

MNF with Dani. Love her. 

Triathlons.

It feels a little silly to have an entire paragraph devoted to triathlon-ing, but it was a huge part of our lives in 2015.

In May, Brittany asked me if I would be interested in doing the "Go Girl" sprint triathlon with her. Brittany is amazing and inspiring, and she can talk me into almost anything...but I replied with a big NOOOOO WAAYYYY. I was way to afraid. I had increased my fitness, but I didn't think that there was any way that I could get back into swimming, I hadn't ridden a bike since I had been 7, and I couldn't even run a mile without stopping. BUT, the more I thought about how "afraid" I was, I was embarrassed at my fear. So, I said yes.... I found a training plan online, dug out my old one-piece, and aired up the tires on a mountain bike I had been given. I was a HOTTTT MESSSS.

In a strange turn of events, a new pharmacist started at the cancer center who happened to be a professional triathlete. As in, PROFESSIONAL. I was/am star struck with Dani's talent, and she was kind enough to show me the ropes of the triathlon world. She gave me the best tips, talked me through the tough training days, told me when to suck it up, and helped me learn to believe in myself. I'm so thankful that our paths crossed.

In August, Brit, Diane, and I completed our first sprit tri. I am so thankful that I had these girls to go on this journey with. We met up at Eagle Creek almost every Saturday to bike and run. Brit and Diane are way more athletic than I am, but they were always encouraging to me and never made me feel like I was behind.

The Go Girl was an amazing experience. Jordan gained the nickname "team dad" because he took care of EVERYTHING. From loading the bikes, driving, pumping up tires, and cheering us on-he was the BEST! Not only was Jordan there to watch, but my closest co-workers were there to support me as well. They came out so early WITH their little ones to cheer me on. Katie's boys had adorable signs, Shelby's voice echoed through the whole park, and Mer took hilarious pictures the entire time. Dani showed up right before I got in the water, and that gave me the extra push I need to give it all I had. It still makes me weepy to think about that day-the support was unreal.

Prep...

I finished!

I love these girls!

My awesome co workers!

After the Go Girl, I was hooked. I loved the feeling of racing and accomplishment that I felt at the end. I signed up for a race in Muncie the next day. That race was a completely different experience. Dani was racing in the duathlon at the same time, and it was fun to be on the course at the same time.

Dani won...I did not.

Love him!

As if that wasn't enough, I was talked into a third tri. A month after completing the Go Girl, Brit, Diane, and I all trekked up to northern Indiana for "Tri the Creek" at Potato Creek State Park. This was by far the hardest race. It was 50 degrees that morning, and the run was on a narrow trail. It was ROUGH, but fun. Brit and I managed to leave with age group awards-which was fun for us.

We did it again...this time with Rise and Roll at the end!

1st and 3rd...we'll take it!

Competing in triathlons has given me something I haven't had in a long time-belief in myself. The races are fun, the friendships are amazing, the health benefits are stellar...but for the first time EVER, I am proud of my hard work. I am proud that I have stuck with this, and I am proud that I am continuing to improve. I can't wait to increase my distances and get stronger mentally and physically.

So! That was our 2015. We can't wait to see what 2016 brings!