Child Life Internship

 

When I first started college I knew that I wanted to be a Recreation Therapist AND and Child Life Specialist. Since I am a planner I had a plan on how I was going to do it. As much as I would like to, my plans don't always work out (most of the time for the better) and there were ups and downs and plenty of plan changes. As I learned more about the professions and requirements I was better able to plan out how I wanted to complete this goal. Over the years there have been several requirement changes to both professions making it more difficult to complete and at times I wanted to give up and be happy with one but I still knew that I always wanted to do both. My senior year I found out there are programs that let you complete both internships at one time! Golden! This was perfect for me! I could complete my goal and do it efficiently! :) I spent 10 months perfecting every single word on my applications. I sent them in and within a week all of them had contacted me and let me know they were not offering the dual internship program anymore. My whole plan dissolved and I had no direction. Thankfully that is when the internship at NIH came together. For so many reason I know that is where I was supposed to be. As happy as I was at NIH and loved doing Recreation Therapy there I was told if I wanted a job in pediatrics I need my Child Life certification. So I went to work researching over 30 Child Life programs. Trying to find ones that I qualified for and were available when I wanted them. I came up with a good number of them but felt like I need to find a couple more to apply to. I made it seems like countless phone calls trying to find an internship that would work for me. I decided to call Vermont Children's Hospital even though they didn't have any information about an internship on their website. After a several phone calls to them I finally got through and they asked me if I would be interested in applying for the internship in January. I had already missed the deadline for the January internship by two months so I was not expecting it at all! I was just planning on working whatever job I could find until May when the Child Life internships began. If I could complete my internship starting in January I could take the certification test in May and start looking for a real job! Also if I completed it by May I wouldn't have to take an extra Child Life class. So I submitted all my information in I feel like record speed, especially since there was a hurricane that hit the east coast two days after they asked me to apply and everyone was out of the office for a few days. Then I waited an agonizing two weeks to hear back from them with an interview request and the next week that I did in a hotel room in Portland Oregon the day before my brother's wedding. And the next week we played phone tag but I finally got the call and was ACCEPTED!!!! I was so thrilled and accepted immediately! They said I could think about it if I wanted but I had enough time to think, I just needed to jump through the hoop of a Child Life internship so I could work with the population I really wanted. I am so blessed this internship worked out perfectly with my life right now. So I'm off to a new adventure at Vermont Children's Hospital!

My Best Friend is HOME!!!!

I have been counting down the days for 2 years 1 week and 5 days! I have missed him so much! Elder Clark left Bogota, Columbia at 11:59 last night and I have been so excited I couldn't even sleep! He flight plans sent him through JFK, SLC and finally to Boise. I couldn't get more than one day off of work so I made a quick trip up to JFK to meet him. I, of course, had to make a sign and would not settle for any less than the best sign, and that included flashing lights!

 

I hopped on my flight this morning at 6am in DC

 I usually am on the metro early in the mornings so I don't get to see a sun rise very often so I was happy the see this beautiful sight!

 Coming in to New York you can see a lot of areas still flooded and damage done by the storm. It's hard to believe this beautiful morning was so different just a week ago today. There were a bunch on tanker ships just sitting off shore that was cool to see.

 I finally made it and went through security again just to see this guy. I was so glad his gate was right inside security. I couldn't find him for a few minutes and was about to get up on the chair, hold my sign up, and turn until we found each other. Thankfully after a few more minutes I found him!

 Right before I sent him off to SLC to meet another sister we had one last picture. Welcome home Elder Clark! You have done incredible work and been a faithful missionary. I am so excited you're home!!

Letter to Heaven

Dear Heaven,
You have welcomed home another sweet young soul this week. He has such a tender heart and spent so much of his time thinking of others instead of himself. Regardless of what trials he was given here he never lost his faith. What a great example he is to the rest of us. He has been so brave and he finally knew it was time to return home. Thank you for letting a sweet boy bless our lives.
With love from all of us still here,
Kendra

I think I'll go to Boston

Last weekend I make a trip up to Boston. My freshman roommate is from Boston and always said I had to visit there some day. She was more right than I could have imagined! I loved Boston! If I didn't live in DC I would definitely live in Boston. If I had to use one word to describe Boston it would be enchanting. We were so busy all weekend and did and saw a ton of things!

 Cobblestone and hidden beautiful streets

The Capitol

 Saturday we went up to New Hampshire and had a lobster bake on the beach! We baked 40 lobster! They were so good and it was fun playing with them before they sacrificed their lives my my yummy lunch!

 This is how we baked them. Barrels sawed in half, hot rocks in the bottom, coals to heat up the rocks, gather seaweed, put seaweed on rocks, throw lobster on top, cover with seaweed, and steam for 30 minutes or as long as you can before the cops make you put it out! :)

Sharing a photo with a seagull but was not as fan of me intruding on his glamor shot!

A lovely Sunday afternoon at the temple.

The Boston temple's foundation is actually carved out of a huge rock in the ground and at the top of a hill. It is beautiful! The wise man did build His house upon a rock. :)

Harvard

Saw a few cemeteries and beautiful churches. 

 

BYU friends are friends forever!

Quincey Market

 Took a ferry out to an island in Boston's harbor.

Saw the oldest standing lighthouse in the U.S. and the only one actually still ran by a person. (Who is actually a woman.) Beautiful!

There were so many other things we did that were not photographed. We swam in Waldon's Pond, saw where the first shot was fired for the Revolutionary War. It really was a perfect weekend!

My favorite little girl

I am so lucky to be able to spend my days with this girl! She is full of personality and I just love her. In my most unbiased opinion I think she is one of the cutest babies out there! She is such a good baby and we enjoy lots of fun activities. But mostly I just love watching her grow and develop. It is so fun to see her from week to week be able to do more and understand better. She is so fun!

 We spend a lot of the day like this but I don't mind!

 Any way that's comfortable for her to sleep..

 Sometimes we nap together.

 Not the most flattering picture but one of my favorite! She has the chunkiest cheeks!

 Sometimes we nap with the cat

 Isn't she beautiful?? Also, note the chunky thighs! :)

 She loves the frog on this toy.

 Her first day at the pool. She really liked chewing on her floaty. It also was the first week she started teething.

Her new fairy costume. I promise she liked it a lot more than it looks in this picture!

Philly

I had an interview at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia last week and being so close I decided to go drive up and do an in-person interview instead of over the phone. My brother's fiance' is doing an internship in Virginia as well so we went up for the day. We stopped for a Philly steak while we had some time in the morning at Pat's.

 Apparently it is the ORIGINAL Philly steak but the one across the street also claims to be the first.

 Don't worry, I changed for my interview.

None the less we experienced getting Philly steaks in Philly. It was fun. There is a special way to order and you know it's a legitimate place when they only accept cash! Then I went for my interview. The interview went well and it was a great (one of the best in the country) hospital but Philadelphia is a FILTHY city! There was trash everywhere and it smelled bad. There was no parking anywhere so people would park on the median in the middle of the road. Quite the adventure!
After the interview we went to see some historic sights. After finally finding parking we got there right after it closed..5:05pm. Since when do historic sights close at 5PM in the summer? They obviously are not as great as DC. So we got a few shots through the window.

It was nice to visit Philadelphia but I had my fill of the city after one day. I am glad there were other internship opportunities for me elsewhere.

The Verdict is in...

After weeks of interviews and a LOT of faith I have a plan and an internship! I will be completing a Therapeutic Recreation internship this fall at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. It is still in the D.C. metro area so I will still be in D.C. and I could not be happier! NIH has an incredible recreational therapy program and they have created an internship specifically for me so I can work with kids. I am thrilled to be in a well established recreational therapy program where I can do what I am really passionate about and work with the population I want. About have of my patients will be oncology patients and the other half is a mix of unknown or rare diseases and disorders. I am thankful for really trusting in the Lord and allowing Him to guide my life and having the faith to let Him lead me. I could not be happier!

The Intern

Living in Washington D.C. you hear this phrase all the time. Almost everyone here has been the intern at some point. I am looking forward to the last time. Being the planner I am, I started working on internship applications last August. I have spend hours researching, willing out applications, doing pre-interviews, editing and revising countless times, and finally submitting my applications for the May 5 deadline. I think the hardest part through it all was putting all of my work of the past 10 months on these things in the hands of the postal service. I applied to four internships and within the first week I heard from three of them informing me that they were no longer doing a dual internship. This was probably the most nerve racking thing! But I know the Lord has a plan for me and is teaching me to trust in Him. I called my professor to update him on the situation and see what counsel he had for me. He said he had talked to a Recreational Therapist from the National Institute of Health and they really wanted a BYU intern and since I was out there it might be an option. If I were to take a child life internship I technically wouldn't graduate from college until I completed a TR internship so I decided I really wanted to get this college degree thing out of the way and went full steam ahead to working on this NIH internship. They have the best recreational therapy program in the country and would be an incredible thing to have on my resume. The whole application process to apply for them too the lesser part of an afternoon and everything was submitted. (Much easier than the other internships I was applying for!) I have an interview next week with them and hope things go well! (It's four hours!) If all goes well Washington D.C. will be my home for even longer! :)

Happy Graduation!

What a great and beautiful spring day! I have mixed feelings about today. I have loved my BYU experience and I more than excited to be graduating but very sad to leaving BYU. Coming to BYU has been one of the best choices I have ever made. I learned more about myself and become a better person and a servant of the Lord than I feel like I could have anywhere else. I have loved being taught in the context of the gospel. It is nice to be able to discuss the things we learn in the context of the gospel. Whether it be human biology, geology, or strengthening marriage and family the gospel is always the common string between all of us. But as I love and will always hold dear all of the great opportunities BYU has provided me, it is now time for me to "Go forth to serve". As for today, we will celebrate!

I was able to walk with these great girls! Natalie Lloyd, me, Lyndsy Christensen Smith.

 

Grandma and Grandpa weren't able to come down to Provo but I was happy to dress up again and celebrate with them in Brigham City.

I Dedicate This Day to LOVE

I love Valentine's Day! Regardless if I have a special Valentine or not. I always have such high expectations for this day and it never fails me. Yes we should show the people we love that we love them more than just one day a year but some people may be shy and a dedicated day gives them the courage to step outside their comfort zone. Some kind soul delivered Valentines to our door step which were lovely and such a small act of kindness can really change someone's day. Valentine's day is a day to serve those we care about. It is always fun to see people dressed up in the library on campus giving Valentine's and flowers to strangers. Last year when I was in the library, (this may or may not have been the second year in a row that I was present in the library at some point during the evening of this lovely day but it definitely wasn't bad) and a boy had made this little roses out of chocolate kisses and was handing them out to all the girls there. This may be a little creepy to some but he really put time and effort into it a wanted to make sure girls feel special. A little strange or not I appreciate his effort. So I dedicate this day to all those who take this day as an opportunity to serve and show their love through service and all the other lovely treats that come with this day!

Letter to Heaven

Dear Beautiful girl,
You passed away today and I know it was time for you to go. Sometimes dying is not the worst option. You taught me so many things in the little time that I was blessed to know you.
The first day I met you we spent the afternoon you kicking my trash in video games. You were happy despite your circumstances and that was the first thing I learned from you. The more I learned about your life the more I was impressed by you. I enjoyed the time we spent together the days and few weeks after that. Then there was a close call with death but knowing you, you like to keep things exciting. You were scared, and honestly so was I, I had never been in this situation before and I wasn't sure how to handle it myself but I knew you couldn't always be strong. Those three hours I spent that afternoon holding you as you cried wouldn't change for the world. From that day I loved going with you to your doctor appointments, playing uno with you for hours. I will never forget the day when I told you it was our last game of uno and you cheated for an hour and a half with over half the deck in your hand. When I finally caught on you said you were only doing it so I wouldn't leave. There are so many memories I have with you.
No matter how hard your days were you always we walking around encouraging others. Your circumstance was worse than some others but you never let that bother you. This was just something that you had to deal with and you chose to not let it define you. Even in your last moments I believe you were thinking of others and gave us the time we needed with you to day good-bye. Of course, you did it with your own spunk!
Cancer is a hard fight, and you made a valiant effort. You inspired me every day. I still think of you often and think of the heart you have.
You have a beautiful soul. I know you have a great to work to do. I am thankful for the time I was blessed to know you. I love you and I know you are still doing a great work. I can't wait to see you again some day!
With love from all of us still here,
Kendra

National Frozen Yogurt Day

Today is National Frozen Yogurt Day! Which at Yogurtland that means FREE frozen yogurt! I'll stand in line for that! We were there right when it began so the line wasn't too long.
It was so packed inside Yogurtland we decided to eat dinner next door at Smash Burger and make dinner out of it. I love frozen yogurt enough to stand in line on every February 6.