Our First Christmas

Kyle and I had a wonderful First Christmas together!

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church and it was so nice. We sang, heard a Christmas story and then we all went outside and lit candles and then my favorite part... one of the men in our church played the bagpipes. Oh it was so beautiful, he was fully dressed in the kilt and everything. I loved it!

Then we got up Christmas morning and opened presents from each other then went to my parents' house. My Dad cooked a beef tenderloin that was melt-in-your-mouth, out-of-this-world good. My mom also did some fresh veggies and made the most awesome chocolate pie ever. It was one of the best Christmas meals I've ever had! We exchanged gifts with everyone and had a nice relaxing Christmas day which definitely included playing guitar hero on the Wii for hours, haha.

Friday I was supposed to work but they only had three patients scheduled the whole day so they let me have off, yay! So we went to my G-parents house for lunch and saw my aunt and did presents there again. Then we headed to Jacksonville for the weekend to see Kyle's family. We had a great visit as always. We did some more presents, movie, shopping, Chad's soccer game, a super awesome steak dinner... we had a really nice time!

I hope everyone else had a great Christmas!

Christmas with a Capital "C"

Only 3 more days til Christmas! :)

I love this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAckfn8yiAQ

Christmas Time!

Nothing new is really going on here except for we are getting super excited about Christmas! I love all of the holiday events and happenings. Kyle and I are so happy to be able to start some of our own family traditions as we celebrate our First Christmas together. YAY! I have decorated our little apartment and it is so cute and festive! We have secretly (sort of) bought presents for each other and have a nice little pile under our tree! I have plans to start some baking this week and we will ride out to see the Meadow Lights (a small town who sets up a lot of lights and they have a candy store - the real reason why I am interested, hehe) this weekend with some friends!

This Christmas I have especially been thinking about the real reason we celebrate this wonderful day in history. I am humbled that God would love us so much that He would send down his Son in human form to save to the world. What an awesome display of God's power and love all wrapped in one little baby. I am so thankful everyday that I have HOPE and a reason to celebrate! My King was born that Christmas day over 2000 years ago and it is a privilege to serve him today!


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My new job is going ok. I am not getting as many hours as I thought I would get but so far it's not too bad. It will take me a lot longer than anticipated to get completely trained on the equipment. The GE system is much harder to learn than the Siemens equipment that I was trained on. I am a Siemens girl and I love it, GE is a nightmare right now. I actually irradiated myself on accident yesterday because I didn't even hear the machine when it started to take the pictures... how crazy is that? Siemens makes it loud and clear when it starts taking pictures, oh well. I am having to drive to Durham for about 2 months before they will let me work in the new Cary office so that's kinda stressful. I do love the ladies I work with though, they are very kind. I have been so impressed with this office as far as their professionalism and patient care. They are wonderful with the patients and are very patient and kind to them. That is what matters the most to me. My personal philosophy is: When you stop caring about the patients, it's time to move on to something else. Another good thing is that the girl that I will be working with in Cary actually graduated with me from CT/MR school, so that's exciting. I am learning a lot everyday and hope to be able to work closer to home very soon.

Kyle is doing well for the most part. He has been sick for the last two weeks with a cold/cough/bronchitis thing going on. He finally went to the doctor yesterday and got some meds so hopefully he will feel better soon! He gets a long two week break off work over Christmas... oh the joys of working for a college! He is enjoying his new position because he doesn't have to work at the main campus all of the time. He gets to travel some to the Health Science campus where it is much quieter and he can get things done. He is most definitely loving his new car... which I have only gotten to drive ONE time, haha.

Only 9 more days til Christmas!

Congrats!

Congrats to Chris and Michelle on their new addition: Baby Lincoln! We can't wait to see him!!


Also congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs!! Wesley and Kristina Dulaney!! They had a beautiful Winter Wonderland Wedding today! Have fun honeymooning in Key Largo! We love you guys!

Thanksgiving

We had another awesome Thanksgiving! We had so much to be thankful for this year and we enjoyed seeing all the Fescoe's that we hadn't seen since the wedding! We also had fun celebrating Courtney's 21st birthday. Myrtle Beach is always so much fun: eating, shopping, Margaritaville, football on the beach however was freezing and ended with a bloody nose so that wasn't so great, but it was still an awesome trip. We missed the other Fescoe's who couldn't make it this year, we hope to see you soon.

In other news:

Kyle bought a new car, well it's used but new to us. He got a black 2008 Pontiac G8 which we drove to Myrtle Beach. We really like it and are very excited since his other car was pretty much falling apart.

I start my new job on Monday, hopefully everything goes well.

and of course I have to give a shout-out to NC State! We won our last 4 football games and actually get to go to a bowl game! GO WOLFPACK!!

Now it's off to put up the Christmas decorations!!!! It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Job Update

So I officially have a new job. Next Wednesday will be my last day at the old office, it will be bittersweet. But they already have somebody to replace me and he's already training so it should be a smooth transition. I start training for my new job on Monday and I'll train for 2 weeks. Then we will open up the new office to take patients on Dec 8 if all goes as planned. The lady who will be my direct supervisor is extremely nice and has already been very helpful so I think she'll be great to work with. This weekend my goal is to get my MRI books back out and review since it has been a little while...

AND I'm super excited about Thanksgiving. We are headed to Myrtle Beach (yay!) to see the Fescoe Family!! It should be tons of fun as always and I get 2 whole days off work :)

Stress

I think I've had enough stress lately to last me for at least the rest of the year. So what does a happy newly-wed with no kids have to worry about?? Well my heart has been heavy for lots of reasons.

The election didn't help matters, that definitely required some time of grieving. Then we hear over the weekend that the company my Dad works for is laying off a ton of people this week. So I had been praying 24/7 about that. Yesterday my Mom gets word at 6am that my cousin is having emergency surgery for appendicitis and we find out later it was worse than they thought and he'll be in the hospital for a few days. So since I had the day off work yesterday I rode with my Mom to Smithfield to go see him. Before we can get there my Aunt calls with news that my Uncle is in Chapel Hill at a specialist because he either had a stroke in his eye or has MS. He will have to get an MRI and an MRA (YAY!) and it will take 8 weeks to determine what exactly it is. But we do get a call from my Dad and he says his group at work is not affected by the lay offs as of right now, praise the Lord. My Mom and I then went for some shopping therapy at the Outlet Mall in the Smithfield (our beloved "The Pottery" as we call it), we love that place!!!

So I'm praying that today is the start of a much less stressful time. My Mom is hosting a Military Retirement dinner for 2 of my Uncles this Saturday at her house and has out-of-state family coming in so maybe it won't be less stressful yet, haha.

In other news... I am in the process of accepting a new job! If everything goes as planned and the company can get all the paperwork together hopefully I'll start sometime in December. I will be doing CT and MRI at a brand new radiology clinic they are opening in Cary. It's right near a very wealthy community with very "needy' patients as we call them ;) The ones that want you to cater to their every want and need, we'll see how long I can keep that up, haha. And it's also attached to the orthopedic office that takes care of the Carolina Hurricanes hockey team. (I'm just a little excited about possibly scanning a Canes player since we are big fans) Anyway, it will be a huge step up from where I am now with a huge pay raise, better hours and better benefits. I like where I'm working now and I love the ladies I work with but this is a major opportunity for me to advance my career. I will be starting from the ground-up at this place. I will have to write all the protocol books, eat lunch while I'm scanning a patient, stay late and basically do whatever it takes to get this place started. Most importantly, I will get to do some MRI!!!! I'm a lot nervous about all this responsibility and my lack of a whole lot of experience but they are giving me a chance and I'm so gratful and very excited!! Hopefully everything will work out so I won't be stuck at the same job forever.

My prayer...

My prayer for the next 4 years is that...

- President Obama and the other leaders of our country would have the wisdom to make the tough decisions that will come their way
- our economy will start on its upward spiral again
- our country would be safe from terrorists
- we don't (ever) turn our backs on Israel
- the right decision will be made about the war
- the "oil problem" will be resolved
- health care system would improve for all
- that we will not back down on moral issues
- Americans will be unified, stand as one and respect our leaders

May God have mercy on us and judge us lightly.

There is HOPE for a dying world

Watch this powerful message:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVJqRLU3J0I

Jesus said "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. No one comes to the father but by me." John 14:6

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Welcome Baby Ethan!

We are all very excited to welcome a new baby into the family. My cousin's wife had her baby on Sunday and the little man is so handsome!!

Congratulations John and Jessica! We love you guys!

It's my birthday...

So I like to say that it's my birthday during the whole month of October, but Friday was officially the day I turned 23...ughhh, I wanted to be 22 forever, it's a perfect age :)

Friday night Kyle and I met my family at the NC State Fair for a little bit and then went to one of the concerts they have there. We saw Leeland and Skillet, both Christian bands but totally opposite styles, it was much fun.

Saturday I felt slightly under the weather for the majority of the day but felt better towards dinner, thank goodness. Kyle and I again met my parents and grandparents for dinner at Olive Garden, one of my favs! I got tons of presents and had a great time celebrating!

Then today was homecoming at church so we went to that this morning. I got to see some people I haven't seen in years so that was pretty cool. Then Kyle and I headed back to the state fair for some more fun (seriously, have I ever mentioned that I LOVE the state fair??) We rode a few rides and I was devastated when I felt kind of nauseated after riding several rides in a row. I seriously am getting old, no fair. We cut back quite a bit on the amount of food we consumed this year but I still got my hot dog, Al's fries, pickle and candy apple. And of course we saw all the animals (drooled over the angus cows... made fun of the goats and donkeys... you understand). You've seriously not experienced the South until you have experienced the state fair, you're really missing out :)

It was a great birthday weekend!

Friends...old and new

Kyle and I had a wonderful time Friday night with some friends from church. We are in a Newly Wed small group on Sunday mornings so everyone in there is in the same stage of life so it's really cool. We cooked out hot dogs and hamburgers and played Battle of the Sexes... which of course, the ladies won. We've known some people in the class for a while, but we got to meet some new people too! We try to get together once a month and they are some of mine and Kyle's favorite times!

Then Saturday night I went to a wedding in Dunn, NC. Two folks I went to x-ray school with fell in love and decided to tie the knot. So it was basically a big x-ray/hospital reunion which was really cool. I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time and that I miss terribly. It was a very lovely time. In all my fun, I forgot to take any pictures at all, shame on me!! Maybe I'll have some next time :)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Get Aways

This was the first weekend Kyle and I have spent apart since we got married. I missed him lots but we both had a great time.

Kyle spent the weekend with some of the men on my Dad's side of the family down at the beach at Emerald Isle. He got invited on their yearly fishing trip so he decided to go. They basically ate, talked and did a little fishing. Nice relaxing weekend for Kyle.

I went with my Mom and sisters to a family reunion down in South Carolina. I absolutely love going down there. My Uncles own a bunch of farm land in a nice quiet country area. We did the usual: cook a pig, stuff our bellies and then take a long walk down the dirt road. We also got to meet the newest animal, a beautiful horse named... Petroleum, yup, Petroleum. I'm so glad I got some good ole red-neck country in my blood (we're not all ignorant and disgusting like some of you Yankees think ;) ) We sure do know how to have a good (and loud) time. Believe it or not, sometimes it is ok to losen your belt, prop your feet up and inhale yourself some good food. I'm giggling to myself as I can only imagine what some of you may be thinking about me now, haha. Don't worry, I promise to be proper and act intelligent next time I see y'all :)

Hope you all had a great weekend!!

12 days and counting until the NC State Fair...

Save the tatas...

So since I work in radiology, I'm super BIG into October being Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Ladies... DO your monthly self-breast exams and GET your mammograms if necessary (baselines should be between the ages of 40-50 years old unless you have a family history of breast cancer). They are way easy things to do and they could save your life.

...so wear lots of pink this month and pin a pink ribbon to your shirts!! Be proud to be a woman and save your tatas!!

Love you all!!

TV

I thought this might be blog worthy... Kyle and I got a new TV. Our old one was quite small as many of our friends so kindly let us know. We decided to go with Sony (46"), which makes since because the football games are all filmed with Sony cameras you see (info courtesy of Peyton Manning). We also got a new table for our new TV which you can see in the pics. Feel free, those who are close, to come by and watch football with us anytime ;)

New TV






I decided to post a pic of our fur ball who gets neglected in our blog. She is sleeping with her beloved string. Cute.

New Schedule

I'm so excited I just had to share this with everyone...

I have a new work schedule... NO more Saturdays!!! YAY!!

I've worked most Saturdays for the last four years so this is very exciting for me. They have hired an x-ray student to take my place on Saturdays!! She is at the same school I went to and has had the same clinical sites and instructors that I had, so I know she has to be good ;) She seems super sweet and I really hope it works out. I get to train her next week and then I don't have to work anymore Saturdays unless she has to be out!!

All of my patience and hard work is finally starting to pay off.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Metamorphosis

Kyle and I helped plan a "Metamorphosis" weekend for our youth group at church. When I was in the youth group we did this weekend every fall and I absolutely loved it!! So... I thought I would suggest it to our current Youth Pastor and he liked the idea. Basically what happens is the students break up into smaller groups and spend the weekend at a church member's house and have bible study with a leader and then do group activities on Saturday with the whole youth group. It was quite a different experience actually doing the planning and organizing instead of just showing up and having fun. It was totally worth all the work and very few hours of sleep this weekend though. My parents agreed to house the middle school girls for the weekend so I'm sure my Dad had a blast listening to all the talking. Saturday was blazing hot and humid in the lovely NC and Kyle and I spent about 5 hours outside in the heat setting up our activities and hanging out with the students. We had a Mega Relay... girls vs. boys which was awesome! Being my way too competitive self I took the girls team into my own hands and started yelling out commands and trying to motivate the super tired and unfocused teenage girls...anyways, it was super fun. It was one of those activities that requires a LOT of work but is totally worth every second when you see the students grow in the Lord and bond with each other. Praise God it's over though. :)


On a side note... most people who know me realize that football is not my favorite sport. I have my favorite team (Colts... ok I actually just like Peyton Manning) and I can watch it, I'm just not that in love with watching it 24/7. However, I had my first intelligent football conversation with someone the other day. I was so proud of myself that I had to come home and tell Kyle all about it, he was quite proud too. One of the drug reps at work had a Notre Dame pin on his jacket so I asked him about it. (since they were playing Michigan this weekend). Anyways, it lead into a whole 10 minute conversation about football and the rest of the office staff staring at me like I was crazy. I then had to explain that the only reason I knew all this football info was because my crazy husband watches ESPN ALL the time, literally, ALL the time. To make a long story short, I am now somewhat educated in the ways of football, thanks to Kyle Fescoe. (I would still prefer baseball or hockey, but football is kinda cool too)


I hope everyone else had an awesome weekend! I am off to watch yet another football game and rest my tired feet!!

Labor Day

For the long weekend Kyle and I decided to take a trip to Jacksonville to see his family. We had such a nice trip. We got to watch Chad play in a great soccer game, we visited the NC Aquarium and played putt-putt at Golfin' Dolphin. We also watched some football, played some Wii and Chad and I made a zoo on Zoo Tycoon. And of course we got some amazing home cooked meals like always :)

Excitement!

There has definitely been some excitement around here lately.

First of all, Kyle and I got a much needed new mattress! Finally. We spent over an hour trying out different ones at the store and our sales lady was very patient with us, considering she was a sales lady. We got it delivered the next morning and have been sleeping wonderfully since...not that I have ever had trouble sleeping (hehe) but... a good mattress makes soooo much of a difference.

My Grandma decided to give us a scare last week. She was having severe chest pain while she was shopping out at the market and had to call 911. They got her to the hospital and kept her over night until she could see the cardiologist. He thought she had another blockage so he put her on bedrest at the hospital for 5 days then decided he had time to do her heart cath. Thankfully it was just scar tissue build up again from a prior stent and she is fine. The grandaughter and healthcare worker blood in me wasn't happy they waited so long to find out if it was a blockage but I'm glad it wasn't.

Kyle got to spend all last week taking a computer class through work. It was a nice break from the lovely community college he has to deal with everyday. Hopefully this will help him get a promotion!

Yesterday I spent most of the day with my Mom's family giving a baby shower for my cousin's wife. They are expecting their miracle baby boy in October which we are all very excited about!

Hope everyone has a great week!

I'm official!

I found out that I passed my last national board test for MRI! YAY! Now I am officially done with school... and should supposedly find a good job! For proof go here and type in my name: http://www.arrt.com/index.html?content=http://www.arrt.org/nd/arrtdirectory.ndm/search&iframe=yes

Golden Anniversary

Today my grandparents, Charles and Jean Simmons, celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. So the whole family went to church went them and then ate a delicious catered lunch at their house. It was so sweet to see them still healthy and together after 50 wonderful years. I am proud to be their granddaughter and am so honored to celebrate this life marker with them. I hope Kyle and I will make it there too!

Grandpa and Grandma...awwwww

Our Family

Me and the half-asleep Kyle

4th of July

We decided to be an American flag for the 4th. We watched fireworks out at Lake Benson while the North Carolina Symphony played patriotic music, how exciting!!!

Summertime

Not too much has been happening around here.

I started my full-time job two weeks ago and it is going fairly well. I love the people I work immediately with in radiology and the lab. Some of the nurses and doctors across the hall kind of annoy me some days but I can handle them. I'm not really thrilled about having an off site radiologist, I got spoiled in the hospital with the doc being right down the hall. Now I have to call and talk to his secretary if I have a question or need something from him. It's not so bad though. I didn't think I was going to like my hours, having to work until 8pm and on Saturdays. But so far it has been great. I'm a morning person so I can get housework and errands done in the morning and go to the pool during the summer, I can even meet Kyle or my Mom or sisters for lunch. Saturdays aren't nearly as bad as during the week. I get to work by myself for the most part and avoid all of the office drama for one day. The job works for now so I'm happy.

I took my national boards for MRI last Thursday and left feeling kind of sick. It was the hardest test I've ever taken in my life. I did not feel good about it at all. Hopefully I will find out soon if I passed.

My sister has been in Peru for the last 5 weeks and we are all so ready for her to come home! This is the longest time we've ever been apart from her and we miss her! One more week and she'll be home.

Kyle's job is still about the same. He's ready for a change though so hopefully that will happen soon.

Our trip to Jacksonville a few weeks ago was wonderful. Kyle got to play some golf with his Dad and I went shopping with Mom. We also played on the Wii for like 12 hours which was super fun. We had some amazing home cooked meals, of course. It was a short but very nice trip.

We've gotten to hang out recently with some of our other married or about to be married friends. Most of our regular friends are still single which is great too, but it's cool to hang out with married people sometimes too.

We both have Friday off for the 4th so it should be fun! Sorry I don't have any pics this time :)

Good Times

Kyle's softball team had their last game tonight. They made it to the third round of the tournament and then lost tonight. But at the last game, Kyle Fescoe hit a homerun! His first one of the season. And yes of course I was on my feet screaming the whole time! It was pretty major. It was a great season but we will enjoy a break.

This past weekend we went to Fort Caswell for a nice weekend beach get-a-way retreat with some of the newly-wed couples at church. It was an awesome weekend. The Fescoe's dominated at the newly-wed game and the scavenger hunt. Yup. If you only knew how competitive I was, you wouldn't be surprised at all, haha. We spent some time out on the beach and got some great seafood as well. We got to know some of the other couples too so that was nice.

I have some time off this week so I'm having my first SPA party tomorrow night which I'm super excited about!!! Then we are heading to Jacksonville for a few days to spend some time with Mom and Dad Fescoe and Chad! I'm expecting some major Wii time ;)

I love #21!


Team Fairview

Bittersweet

Today was officially my last day of college. It was such a great feeling to walk out of that hospital and close that chapter of my life. On the other hand, I will miss all of the amazing people I worked with and got to know. The last four years of my life have definitely been the biggest challenge I've ever had to face. There were days when I thought I wasn't going to make it and days I wanted to walk away from it all. I laughed, cried, begged for mercy and prayed my way through this wonderful thing they call "training to be a health care specialist." I was pushed further than I ever thought I could go and I'm right proud to say, by the grace of God, that I finished, and I finished strong. I have learned a lot about myself as well as others. I have come a very long way from the immature, outspoken and somewhat selfish 18 year old I was when I graduated high school. I have so many people to thank and so much to be grateful for. It has been an amazing journey and certainly one I will never regret. My Dad always used to remind me of the proverb: It's not always the destination, but the journey there. Wow, is that true or what?! In the last four years I have learned:

1. how to take every x-ray possible
2. Learned how the heck CT scans work
3. All about the wonderful world of magnetism in MRI
4. Overcame my fear of needles, and I am quite the master at poking people now
5. Learned just how mad I can get the Radiologist when I break the sterile field
6. Learned the importance of safety goggles when performing biopsies ;)
7. Dansko's are my new favorite shoes
8. that the older folks are by far, my most favorite patients
9. that a smile and a patient attitude can truly brighten anyone's day
10. a hug from one of my patients can brighten MY day
11. No matter how far behind schedule you are, you're never too far behind to listen to your patients tell you a story
12. Tape is my friend :)
13. Some people have really steep clavicles!
14. You never know when one of your loved ones will be your next patient
15. Scrubs are the most comfortable clothes EVER!!
16. We are not x-ray technicians (button pushers), we are x-ray technologists (educated professionals)!
17. Drinking Barium contrast makes me gag
18. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it!!

The MRI girlies


getting my fake diploma


Entering the chamber of death AKA MR

Blogger happy

So I've been blogger happy lately, hehe. Kyle and I had a great weekend for the most part. We had movie night on Friday night (see earlier Indy post), Saturday I had to work but we had dinner at my parents house. My dad cooked out hamburgers and hot dogs, YUMMY! Sunday was good too. We kept the three year old nursery at church which is always an adventure. Then we went to a cookout at a guy's house that Kyle works with. We had some more amazing food. And here's the hilarious part, Kyle and I BOTH did karaoke. Yup. And we were sober might I add. How convenient that the neighbors were DJ's and brought their high tech equipment over for us to use. I was going to sit it out but no, I got called up there and they picked a random song for me to sing, luckily it was an easy one, haha. It's really quite ashame more people weren't there to see it cause it won't ever happen again :) Then Kyle did a Kenny Chesney song, it was quite entertaining. It got better though, they had GUITAR HERO! So we played that for a few hours and ate some more food then called it a night. Good times.

Then I spent a beautiful, warm, sunny Memorial Day studying for 6 hours for my MRI physics final today. How lucky am I? I did quite well on it so I guess it was worth it. I have one more final exam and 8 more days of clinicals and I'm done! whoohooo!

Thoughts on this Memorial Day...

Sometimes I get caught up in my day to day routine and often take for granted the freedom I have. The freedom to worship God, to own a Bible, to praise His name in public, to corporately worship with other believers in a church. The freedom to wear what I want to wear, eat what I want to eat, drive what I want, go where I want to go, be friends with who I want to be friends with, go to what school I want to go to, live wherever I want to, shop where I want to, work where I want to... you understand. I am so thankful to all the men and woman who fought for me, for our country, so we could have that freedom. Many of them made it back home, but a lot of them lost their lives. I often think of my short trip to Cuba and remember the friends I made there. It's a place where the people have no freedom at all. They live dirt poor and every decision is made for them, courtesy of the government. Even though our country is facing tough times right now, I am proud to say that I am an American. I am proud of and fully support our President and our troops. Whether you are democrat, republican or just apathetic, you are still an American. The troops fight for you even if you don't support them, you have freedom even if you don't support the war. For that, we should all be thankful. Somebody sent this to me and whether Jay Leno really said it or not, it's a great message.

As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark

'The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some Poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change. So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?''

A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week?

B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

D. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either.

H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home.

J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings.

K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it.

The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans?

Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like OJ. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way......Insane!

Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

Jay Leno

I will get off my soapbox now and not engage in any more discussions with people who think they are too educated and open-minded to face reality.

A BIG Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to anyone who is currently or ever has served in our Military. I love, appreciate and totally support you! God Bless You!

Indiana Jones

All I can say about the new movie is.... MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT!
Kyle and I saw it last night and we both hated it. All they could come up with after 20 years is some crazy science fiction junk. That's all fine and dandy if you're making a Star Wars movie, but not Indiana Jones. We were hoping for some really cool archeology hunt and Indy busting out his whip all the time. Yeah, didn't happen. It started out great but it went down hill fast. It's really too bad. So basically, don't waste your money going to see it.

Busy week...

So this week was quite crazy for the newly weds. Kyle had four church softball games and at the last one me and my parents sat under an umbrella in the pouring rain the whole time. The softball team has been really fun for us both though because Kyle gets to socialize with the guys and play some ball and I get to socialize with the ladies on the bleachers. It works out well.

It was a milestone for LaSandra the Honda yesterday when she reached 100,000 miles. Yes, I had to call Kyle and we had a sad moment. My baby is halfway dead but I still love her and have had ZERO problems so far, I can't complain, I love my 30mpg car :)

One of my really great friends Lawrence got married today. We were close in high school and went to youth group together, he's like the brother I never had. So Kyle and I and my sister went to Smithfield to see him get married today. It was a simple but lovely wedding, it reminded me a lot of my own. This was our first wedding we've attended since we got married and it was so nice to be on the other side this time, so much less stressful! Then we got to spend some time with the g-parents and eat dinner with them, good times.

I accepted a full time job at my work this week. It's not exactly the hours or job title I wanted but it will work for now. There are so few MR jobs available in this area right now which makes it very difficult for a new graduate with no experience to get a job at a high profile hospital like WakeMed. Maybe someday. Work will be less than 5 miles from my house though so I will save about $100 a month on gas and will have much more time at home than I do now. Plus I get free lunch everyday (from the drug reps) and paid holidays OFF! Not a big deal to those of you who already get that but being in health care, it is a big privilege to get every holiday off work. I already know everybody and am already trained on everything so it should be an easy transition. I'm pretty excited and I start June 16!

We are having lunch with my sister Lesley and the rest of the family tomorrow to say goodbye to her. Lez is leaving this week to go to Peru for study abroad this summer with her Spanish Education major. She gets to hike Machu Picchu and stay with a host family and take classes and all that cool stuff. I'm totally jealous and wish I could go with her. What an awesome experience but we are gonna miss her like crazy!!

Other than that, not much going on here. Three more weeks of school and counting!

Happy Mother's Day!

Wishing all the mommies out there a very Happy Mother's Day, especially my own!!

Semester Break

I've had a very nice 4 days off of school this week. They call it a semester break and then I go back for 4 weeks and I'm done with MR school. Thank goodness, now I just have to find a job. It really stinks that I can't find a job and I'm in health care, the schools are graduating huge classes every year and really flooding the market. But on a happier note, I did a lot of cleaning and reorganizing in the apartment and we have almost got a home for all of our new, nice things. I brought the last load of things home last night (minus the china and crystal). I've been able to relax and get some things done.

Our X-RAY class celebrated our one-year reunion with a super fun dinner at Outback. It was so nice to catch up with everyone and see everyone about to graduate with their new specialties which range from CT to MR to Sonography to Nuclear Medicine to Cardiac Interventionals to Radiation Therapy and then some just stayed with x-ray. We had such a great class with so many smart kids that are going to go really far. Even Kyle commented on how close and awesome our class was. Here's a few pics in case you are interested.

Me, Patti, Candace and Fallon


Me and Lisa


Lisa, me and Mike (the original BJ crew)


Me and Kyle

Newlywed Update

Life is good for us right now. We are still unpacking all of our new stuff and there is still quite a bit left at my parent's house. Someday we'll get everything. As for me, I'm ready to be done with school, only 6 more weeks and I'll be done! I am looking for a first shift MR job if anybody has any connections ;) I'm very ready to quit my job at the doctor's office!

Kyle and I are already helping with someone else's wedding shower tomorrow night. My parties and wedding were totally awesome, but it reminds me how happy I am that it is over! Way too much stress, haha. I have three friends getting married in the next month so it's going to be a fun and busy time!

Hope everyone else is doing well!!

Cruise

Kyle and I had a great honeymoon on our Caribbean Cruise. It was absolutely wonderful. It was warm and sunny the whole time and the food was AWESOME! Our first stop was Key West and we did some shopping and checked out the Pirate Museum which was very cool. I had a killer rooster charge at me while we were eating outside at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a short day but very nice. Our next stop was Cozumel. This was probably my favorite place of all. We took a taxi to the shops and walked around and took lots of picture. A group of three amigos sang a romantic Mexican song for us while we ate a Mexican feast. Then we convinced Ricardo to let us ride on his horse and buggy back to the ship which was like a 30 minute drive. The next day we arrived in the Cayman Islands. The Captain told everyone that the water was unseasonably rough and the ship was rocking pretty hard. So unfortunately our snorkeling excursion got canceled so we caught a taxi to the 7-mile beach. We rented snorkeling equipment and tried to snorkel on our own but that was a complete disaster. The waves were rough and we had to get over a reef that was quite dangerous and I panicked and almost drowned. I consider myself to be a pretty good swimmer but that was way crazy. Kyle had to come save me and help be back across the reef. We laid out for a bit on the gorgeous white sand beach after that but after a couple of hours we were tired and hot and decided to head back. Day 4 brought more fun in Jamaica. Our excursion that day was described to us as a nice boat ride down the river that ends at a waterfall where you can enjoy a cool swim or a climb up the waterfall. OK, that was SO not what it actually was. There was no boat ride, instead we rode a bus for an hour and a half from Montego Bay to Ocho Rios and walked to the bottom of the water fall where we all had to climb up the water fall in groups of about 10 while holding hands. Our tour guides were little skinny Jamaicans smoking "herbs" while trying to pull us up the waterfall. Kyle and I were a little ticked at first and then it just became hilarious. Everyone was falling and slipping and it was probably one of the most dangerous things I've ever done besides our snorkeling experience. I got called a chicken when I refused to let them drop me backwards off a rock into the water, yeah whatever. Anyways, it took about an hour to climb all the way to the top and we got some pictures with the underwater camera but we haven't gotten those developed yet. So that was quite an interesting day. Friday the ship was cruising all day so we slept most of the day by the pool and woke up to take lunch and dinner breaks. We went to a show every night and they were all pretty good. We tried out the buffets, coffee shop, casino, lounges and we even found our way to the front of the ship and took some pictures there too. It was a great time but we were tired and exhausted after trying to get home on Saturday, I ended up getting a migraine that night. I could have stayed another week on the ship but now it's back to reality and back to school and work, yay.

Us in our super cute visors!!


Key West


Formal Night


at Señor Frogs


in front of our ship


at the front of the ship


before dinner


Kyle chillin by the pool on Friday

Our Wedding

So in case you haven't heard, I am now a Fescoe. The whole last week is one big blur and it's finally sinking in. The rehearsal dinner and the wedding were both absolutely perfect. We had some minor set backs but nothing major. My family from Atlanta came in Thursday night and took me out to eat and showered me with more gifts and lots of love. Then us girls hung out til like 2am which was some much needed fun since I never get to see my cousins. Then Friday brought chaos to the house with everyone running around getting things ready. My two aunts and Mom spend the whole day at the church decorating it and it was absolutely gorgeous. Then we all got ready for the rehearsal and the dinner. Rehearsal went smooth and the dinner was fantastic! Mom and Dad Fescoe did a wonderful job organizing everything and the food was the best!! Pretty much all of Kyle's family made it from out of state so I got to see everyone again and meet the new ones. It was such a great time and the FOB made a really nice speech and of course made me cry, haha.
Saturday was PERFECT. My beautiful and talented cousin Holly did mine and the bridesmaid's hair and they turned out great as well. We were ready early and loaded up in the super awesome SUV limo for the 2 minute ride to the church, haha. I was sooo nervous the whole time though. My photographer was awesome and got some great pics before the ceremony. The stringed quartet was amazing and was definitely one of my favorite things at the ceremony. I didn't cry or stutter or anything, I was so proud. As soon as we got to the reception it started raining but it was all good. The reception was the most fun I've ever had! The wedding party walked into the Indiana Jones theme song which was freakin awesome. Great food, great music, great friends, it was perfect. I got to see so many people I haven't seen in forever. I felt so loved and so blessed to be surrounded by the people who love and care about me and Kyle. It was the best feeling in the world. I am so happy to be married to Kyle and I'm sure there will never be a dull moment now that I'm in this crazy Fescoe family, haha.

Thought I would throw in one bachlorette party pic


Holly, Me, Jessica, Lesley


Carlos, Lesley, Leah and Holly at the Rehearsal Dinner


Our parents and us


Me and Kyle!!!


Just Married


Walking in to the Reception


My beautiful cake


Me and the best sisters in the whole world


Driving away!!


I have tons more pics so you'll have to check out my scrap books sometime if you want to see more ;)

Fun Weekend

We had a great weekend! Kyle had his Garage/Tool party at a local park. The guys played volleyball, had some food and Kyle got lots of nice gifts including an air compressor, screwdriver and socket sets, stud finder/level and a bunch of gift cards to Lowes, sounds manly doesn't it?! Then later that night we went to a wedding for a couple of our friends Doug and Jennifer. It made me quite nervous considering it's my turn in just 2 weeks!! I'm so nervous now! Anyways... we had much fun and danced all night.

The guys playing volleyball


Presents (all wrapped in newspaper and duck tape)


Kyle and mi padre


Bride and Groom


Cute cake


Me and Kyle


Me and Kathy

Wedding Shower

I had a very lovely wedding shower on Saturday, given by the wonderful ladies at church. We had about 50 people come including my Grandma and a few Aunts. Kyle and I received LOTS of very nice things. Kyle had to work, not that he would have enjoyed being there anyways, haha. We were so thrilled and surprised at the car loads we collected. My Mom promptly displayed them on our dining room table when we got everything home. Here are some pics.

Present Table


Yummy Food!


Stemware


Bake-and-Take


China


They made a BOWquette from the presents


Aunt Lou enjoying my "Lindsey and Kyle" scrapbook

Cutest Card award

Cutest Bag award

Display of gifts

More gifts

We were so blessed

more gifts

kitchen goodies

We met with our wedding director Friday night and got everything planned out for the rehearsal and the BIG DAY!! It only took 2 and a half hours so I think we did good!! We also met with the ladies decorating the reception after the shower and that went well. A few more trips to Michael's and we'll have everything ready. We meet with the Pastor this Friday night to finalize the ceremony proceedings and we'll be set. Only four more weeks!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!