Ward, Ben & Brooke

Adding some pics

2011-08-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Making Difficult Choices... Florida or Merced

2011-02-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

Pre Script: Keep reading it will get to the point about my current situation....

During the tumultuous weeks ending March 2009, with everything going down at wells.... I applied to grad school at the University of Utah MBA/MHA program to begin that same year. I worked hard on the application as it was being submitted at the last minute, and amazingly I received an acceptance invitation to attend the program. However, during the weeks waiting for a response I began volunteering at a local hospital in the emergency room. I met with and talked to everyone in the healthcare field inquiring about the prospect and opportunities as a health care administrator. I began to feel very uneasy about the profession and I became fascinated and intrigued with the profession of the physician assistant. So when the acceptance letter came, wow I had to make a decision that would affect the course of my life forever. I called the office and also sent an email explaining that I would not be attending the MBA/MHA program due to changes in my life and the inability to continue that direction. To make things worse a few day latter I received an email offering me a full scholarship to attend, along with an application to receive room and living expense aid through an endowment fund. Tuition was very high for the program and this scholarship changed things. It was hard to say no, but I did.

Difficult Decisions: How often do the life changing decisions come around? What do you do?

Flash forward a few years to the present day. In September I was accepted to a great PA program in Jacksonville Florida. It is in a great location and a good place for our family to have new experiences. I immediately put a deposit down for the school to reserve my spot. The tuition is reasonable and the program is solid. It was easy saying no to other offers that began coming after September; However last week I was accepted to the only school that I would otherwise consider, UC Davis. The program is at the medical school in Sacramento and I would only have to drive up a few times each month as it is community based and worked mainly via the internet for lectures and assignments the first year. We wouldn't have to move out of the city where we have family and friends etc. So do I move the family to Florida or stay in Merced?? It will be hard to not look back down the road of life and wonder what would have happened if I chose the other.

Andrew has glasses

2011-01-25T19:02:00.001-08:00

Our son Andrew has had his share of medical issues lately. The latest is that he is farsighted. We noticed a few months ago that every once in awhile he would look almost cross eyed when looking at near objects. We took him to see the doctor and he was diagnosed as being farsighted. We received the glasses today and he immediately said that he could see better, and that things aren't as blurry. The challenge now will be to see if he can avoid breaking or losing the glasses. He says he looks like a scientist... What do you think?

Wow.. Its been awhile

2011-01-17T15:51:00.000-08:00

I have abandoned the blog but now have returned. After a short stint in Fresno working for Wells Fargo I lost my job and we moved back to Merced. For the past couple of years I have been doing everything I can to change careers and become a physician assistant. Please check out the following blog that is documenting my career change: http://physicianassistantpath.blogspot.com/

In the next few months we will be moving to Florida as we embark on the new adventure in our life. The pa program is 27 months and upon completion I will evaluate my options and decide where I want to practice as a pa. Looking back on the past two years I feel extremely blessed. I have been confused as I felt divine direction in our life as we moved to Clovis to start my new position, but after being let go after a short time working there my faith was tested. Why did I feel good about moving there? What do I do now? As I think about everything that happened I am grateful for everything that happened. I have been blessed to leave a job profession and enter a new profession that will better align myself with the goals and aspirations I want for my family and I. At times I was filled with anger, hatred, embarrassment, depression, confusion, etc. I guess what I've learned is that life is not what I expected and the unexpected is sure to happen. The important thing to do is to have faith and stay committed to the things that are most important. Live obediently and ask for direction from God.

The most important thing that has happened in our family since the last post is the birth of our new son Matthew Treyson. He is now 5 months old and growing everyday. We now have three boys and they are awesome.

Moved to Fresno

2008-10-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

We have moved from Merced to Fresno, well Clovis actually. I accepted a job at Wells Fargo, working in their Wealth Management Group - Private Banking Division. We have only been here a week but we like the location, our house, and the people we have met. My cousin Sara-Lynn also lives in Clovis and my best friend lives in Fresno so that made the move nice.

The Boys 06/2008

2008-06-24T19:28:00.000-07:00

Yosemite 2008

2008-06-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

We went to Yosemite for the weekend with Brooke's family and had a great time. For me the highlight was when we hiked up to Sentinel Dome to enjoy the most amazing view in the world. The view is a 360 panoramic of Yosemite; You are at 8000 feet and you can see Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Nevada Falls, El Capitan, the valley, and the Sierra Nevadas. Andrew had the most fun riding the bus around the park. It was his first time on a bus and he loved it. Cayden, well he didn't know what was going on. Brooke liked making the jiffy-pop over the fire. We only live an hour from Yosemite so we might go at least one more time this year.

Delays

2008-01-27T21:52:00.001-08:00

Sorry about the delays in updating the Blog. We lost the adapter to download pictures to the computer, plus I have been lazy. Look below at the new posts.

The Boys

2008-01-27T21:46:00.000-08:00

Andrew and Cayden are really changing. It is amazing all of the things that Andrew is learning. He retains so many phrases and remembers when to use them, it is hilarious. His Aunt Sara and Rachel are teaching him all of these girly phrases so I'm a little worried. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Little Einsteins on the Disney chanel. Cayden drinks out of a sippy cup, sits up on his own, says dada, and almost crawls.

The Price is Right

2008-01-27T21:35:00.000-08:00

January 7th Brooke and I drove down to Hollywood to be in the audience for "The Price is Right". It was the first taping of the year and it will be aired on Feb 13th and 14th (We went to two tapings). Unfortunately we were not called on down to be a contestant but we had a great time. Believe it or not Drew Carey was hillarious talking to the crowd. The atmosphere was electric and being in the studio and looking at the stage was totally surreal. Did you notice our T-shirts? Brooke had the idea; we took a picture of our sons dressed up like Drew Carey. I wore Cayden and Brooke wore Andrew. The night before we went to a taping of a new dance show on CBS that will come out called the "Dancing Machine" It is a reality dance show that compares to the "Singing Bee" instead it is dancing. We were standing next to the D.J. and when the show is aired it will be fun to watch. We have always dreamed of being on the show so it was really fun to go and do it.

Christmas

2008-01-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Andrew and Cayden with Christmas sweaters, Andrew too scared to take a picture with Santa, and the boys with their Christmas pajamas from Grandma.

Lakers and 49r's Weekend

2008-01-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

For my 28th Birthday my brother picked me up from work and we went to Oakland to watch the Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors. The lakers were up the entire game until Baron Davis sealed the game with a 3 and then blew kisses to the crowd. The arena was crazy loud but we were disappointed in that we have been Lakers fans our entire life. Our tickets were on the 13th Row in the season ticket section. It was a great game! The next day on Saturday we went and watched the 49er's play the Bengals in San Fran. The picture is from our seats as the QB ran for the first touchdown of the game. The 49ers won the game and we had great seats again. We drove home after the game and returned to real life. Thank you Bro for the great birthday gift!

Halloween '07

2007-11-11T17:25:00.000-08:00

Cayden was a ghost. Andrew was a tiger. Brooke was a Fresno State fan and I was the Boise State fan. Andrew didn't quite have the idea about getting more candy, he just wanted to eat what he allready had. He isn't very comfortable with new people so he just stares at them. I bet next year will be different.

Cayden

2007-11-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

Andrew's 2nd Birthday

2007-10-26T22:02:00.001-07:00

Andrew recently had his 2nd birthday!! Brooke, Granpda, Andrew, Cayden, and I met for lunch at a park and had pizza and played on the playground. Andrew gets very excited about slides to say the least. Andrew was worn out by all the playing and fell asleep on the way home with Brooke. We had fun at night when we had spaghetti for dinner and a birthday cake of course. Andrew opened gifts afterwards but after he got his tractor he didn't care much about the other gifts. Andrew had a great day. He is a great boy!!

Grandma Nadine Ward

2007-10-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

My Grandma past away last night, here are a few things I will always remember about her:

Making me a sandwich for lunch at her home in Rancho Bernardo
Her laugh and smile
Her recounting stories of her family and life in Texas
Dinners on Sunday at our house in Vista
Taking care of Grandpa and putting up with his demands
The nice clean smell throughout her house and smell of coffee in the kitchen
Small T.V room in Rancho with her custom lounge chair setup and art projects near the couch
No hesitation expression of opinion
Her calm and steady nature

I am happy for the full life she lived yet sad to lose a Grandma I loved. Life will continue on for me and also for Grandma Ward. It's great to know that she continues in a state much more pleasent than her final years here.

House Remodel

2007-10-09T20:59:00.001-07:00

Can you believe this is the same kitchen? Brooke and I bought a house in Idaho and had fun/stress remodeling this house from the end of '06 to the beginning of '07. We finished the home days before Cayden was born. We have since moved to California, and still own the home. Without the help of our family we never would have been able to finish.

New Blog

2007-10-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what I am doing with the Blog. I decided I need to get into the now. Seing other Missionaries from the Rome Italy mission with blogs gave me the final push to figure out how this is done. So.... here it goes.