Can I just say....

...that I am so thankful for "spring" break! I put spring in quotes because I'm looking out my window to another 2-3 inches of snow (on top of the over foot of snow we already have). But, I am on spring break and am thankful! I finished my first clinical rotation and go back to mother/child (labor and delivery) mid-March. I am looking forward to learning something new! I'm going to the Detroit area this evening to visit my friend, Sara, from college. I haven't seen her in several months and I am very much looking forward to spending some quality time with her and her family. My other plans for spring break include maybe taking the kids to the zoo (it's still free through March), cleaning out some closets, and doing a LOT of homework. Exciting, huh! I don't want to do homework, but I know I will be loving myself if I get at least one of two major projects done over break!

This week has been expensive....Luke's car needed major repairs and then we had a plumbing bill (do you know it's expensive to replace fixtures in an old house because you have to bring things up to code?!) We are praying about putting this house on the market when I graduate from nursing school, so just fixing the faucet in the tub didn't seem like the best option. We know that this hosue will need to pass inspection in order to sell, so home repairs are being done correctly! There are many reasons (not just for selling purposes), but because as Christians, we feel that it would be wrong to sell our house with things not fixed properly. *I* certainly don't want to buy a hosue from someone who just does a "hodge-podge" job of things! So, since the week has been expensive, we are just going to play our game of "how little money can we spend!" We've gotten very good at it over the last few years :-)

On a sad note, my great uncle passed away yesterday morning. He was a man who loved the Lord and served the Lord, and he is in Heaven able to walk, talk, and be with the Lord. There is nothing sad about that! It's sad, though, for those left behind. I was not that close to him, but seeing the process of grieving in my parents and grandparents (it's my Grandma's brother) is difficult. We don't grieve like those who have no hope, though!

I think that's all for now! Happy "spring break" to everyone!!

Refocusing...

How quickly I have forgotten what Luke and I made as our goal for this year: To be thankful for the blessings we have now and not so future focused that we miss things.

You see, Luke and I have started talking about life after graduation. I'm done with nursing school in just over a year, so the talk of applying for jobs is overshadowing the work I still have to do (I'm not done yet, after all!) There's nothing wrong with talking about the future, but when I'm spending time looking at houses we might be able to buy, planning the Disney vacation that is still a year off, and not focusing my eyes on Christ, I miss a lot of blessings!

So, what I'm thankful for NOW are:
1) My girls....they continually rock my world! I am so thankful that I have them! Bringing both of them into this world was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but they have been more than worth it!

2) My husband...he works so hard for this family and he is trying so hard to take care of us. At the same time, he's working full-time and is a full-time graduate student getting his MBA. And, he still does baths for the girls and makes wonderful dinners without me asking him!

3) Our small group Bible study. We have an amazing group of friends that come over on Monday nights for Bible study/worship/social time. We have had a bummer of a time meeting the last few months (between illness, the weather, the weather, the weather, and the weather!), but we are hoping to get back on track SOON!

Speaking of our small group....please be praying for our friends Jessica and Jonah. She is about 20 weeks pregnant and having complications, forcing her to be on bedrest. Please pray that she does not go into pre-term labor and that her baby can cook for a LONG time! And, pray that Jonah knows the best way to minister to his wife while she deals with bedrest.

woohoo!

As I have often protested on this blog, I am NOT the most flexible person on earth. My (lack of)flexibility has been the thorn in my side since the "sit and reach" test in 9th grade PE (thanks for the complex, Mrs. Meyers!) I did manage to pass that awful test back on a spring day in 1995, but have abandoned all thoughts of it since then....

Until I started pilates...! Then, my lack of flexibility came rearing its ugly little head. I realized I could only bend down and touch halfway between my knees and my calfs. I was embarrassed! I had the ability to run miles and miles and miles (okay, 9 was my max!), but couldn't touch my toes. So, I kept working on that pilates video and....

today at the gym (after running three miles) I managed to just touch the tip of my big toe WITHOUT BENDING MY KNEES! I am more proud of myself for THIS accomplishment than for getting that A in nutrition last semester! I still wouldn't be able to pass the "sit and reach" test, but I'm thisclose!

So, I'm a dork!

But, in all seriousness, I am so grateful that God has made our bodies so fearfully and wonderfully! He gave us muscles and bones and tendons and ligaments, all which the intention that we would use them and take care of them! I confess that taking care of my body has not always been a priority, and it's only within the last 1.5 years that I've been convicted of that. In all that I do, whether it's touching my toes or running a half marathon, I need to do it while giving all the glory to God. It says in the Bible that physical training is of some benefit, but spiritual training is what counts (that's the Melissa paraphrase!). My focus really needs to be to shift back to the spiritual part, but not ignore the physical. Today I listened to part of "The Bible Experience" while running, and it was the perfect combination.

A few more things I'm grateful for:
1) I still adore nursing school!
2) A friend had a healthy baby girl last night
3) My eye is doing significantly better

Queen of shots!

Yup, that's me! It was a busy day in clinicals as we had the opportunity to give a variety of vaccines in a very short amount of time. People were given immunizations for yellow fever, typhoid, the flu, MMR, tetanus, and some other things. It was fun, but a bit stressful when working with children. We used a small needle that has a tendency to come off when the cap is pulled off, and wouldn't you know it happened to ME as I was trying to give an injection. My faculty advisor was great about it and let me know that it happens (it actually happened to a clinician later that day), but it was still nerve-wracking! I, however, have a lot of confidence in my abilities now and feel very comfortable giving shots. Anyone want to roll up his sleeve?? We also had people in with asthma, ear infections, and all sorts of everyday ailments, and I was able to listen to lungs, look in infected ears, and do some patient education. I don't want to do primary care, but I really enjoy working with people and promoting health!

Mandy informed me the other day that when she grows up, she wants to be a nurse just like mommy! I was so proud! Kayla, however, informed me that she wants to be a dog when she grows up. I guess she listened to me when I told her she could do anything she wanted!

I'm off to do a weekend of homework--my goal is to get caught up and maybe even ahead a little bit!

Phew....it's Friday again!

Oh, what a week this has been! Last week I had the flu, and this week started out okay but then got crazy pretty quickly! Luke and I went through a lot of our baby things and sold some on Craigslist (I LOVE Craigslist!). Monday started out quiet enough...I taught piano lessons, played with the kids, and got our house ready for Bible study (we have small group at our house every Monday night). I noticed throughout the day that my left eye was hurting, and late that afternoon, it got REALLY bad. It was super red and painful, and I thought, "Great--pinkeye!" I called my doctor and was told go get to the ER because he couldn't be sure it was pinkeye and I needed to have it checked out. My wonderful sister took me, and we got to a VERY busy ER that was filled with people who had terrible coughs, some had puke buckets, and I was suddenly realizing I would be there a long time. I heard people talking about having been there for 2 hours, and I pulled out my nursing notes and tried to study (hard to do when you're having severe eye pain). The ER, however, has a room JUST TO TREAT EYES, so as soon as I got triaged, I got sent back (and yes, I was given some really dirty looks!). I was diagnosed with a pretty serious eye infection (not pinkeye) and referred to an ophthalmologist. The ER doc sent me home with medications and strict orders to call the doctor first thing in the AM. I woke up Tuesday in excruciating pain and was (thankfully) able to get into the doctor almost first thing that morning. I, in fact, had two different eye infections (one caused the other), and was put on some pretty serious medication. I was back at the ophthalmologist's office this morning and the infection is getting better (I'm not in pain anymore), but it looks as if there has been some damage to my eye as my vision is slightly worse now than it was on Tuesday. There's also a very good possibility I could get this particular infection again, which is very discouraging. The worse part? I am now not eligible for LASIK surgery. UGH!!

Other than that, though, this week has been okay :-) I had a nursing test on Tuesday (yes, I took a test with all this eye stuff going on, but I took it in the dark!) and did really well. I also had my first clinical rotation on Thursday. I have decided that I don't think I want to do primary care :-) I do labor and delivery next month and while I expect to find that interesting, I don't think that's the kind of nursing I want to do, either. I am really interested in NICU nursing (or some sort of highly-skilled, fast-paced nursing), and am hoping to spend a day or two in the NICU this semester to observe.

The girls' bedroom furniture came in and is BEAUTIFUL! The downside? Kayla enjoys her "freedom" and hasn't been napping consistently, which makes me very tired!

This weekend should be a fun one for us. Mandy is going to a birthday party Saturday (she's going to bowl, and she's really excited for that!), we have friends from college coming over Saturday afternoon, and Sunday has church and then a "celebration of potty training" party at Chuck E. Cheese for a friend's daughter! I have some homework to do (as normal), but nothing major coming up anytime soon.

What a week!

The end of a busy week is here, but there is no rest for the weary! The flu hit our house this week, but thankfully it spared the children in the house. Luke started in Saturday night and I started in Monday afternoon. We were able to get on anti-virals right away, and that greatly improved the situation, but being sick is NOT fun.

Being sick meant that I missed class on Tuesday. I ONLY have class on Tuesdays; the rest of my week involves labs or clinicals. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy about it, but there was nothing I could do about it!

Now that I'm fully recovered, I need to get back to the gym and back to my healthy lifestyle. With all the parties for Kayla, we've eaten a LOT of pizza, pop, cake, and ice cream! It's been fun, but not for my waistline. My goal is to get to the gym tomorrow and run 3 miles (and then come home and take a nap). I can't wait until I can go running outside again. Running on a treadmill is SO BORING!

Speaking of Kayla....we went and bought her a "big girl bed" tonight. Actually, we ended up getting furniture for BOTH girls (Mandy's dresser was purchased for $5 at a garage sale 5.5 years ago and isn't in the greatest shape). Kayla has been in a toddler bed, but we decided to go ahead and get her the rest of her bedroom furniture now (thank you for the refund, Uncle Sam!) We're getting the furniture on Tuesday, and then we (Luke!) has the "fun" of getting it all out of the package and arranged in the room. I expect to be there to supervise (which I do quite well, thank you very much!). I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed that not being in something that resembles a crib won't have Kayla getting out and wandering the house at all hours of the night! It's hard to believe that, in just a few days, I won't have a crib in my house anymore! We really are at the end of the baby stage here. Part of me is really excited, but part of me is so sad that the baby stage is OVER. It has gone too quickly...I blinked and they became little girls. (Okay, there were some REALLY long days in there, but OVERALL it went quickly!) We are still prayerfully pursuing adopting a child, but that is several years down the line.

That's it for now. I have my first nursing test on Tuesday, so any prayers would be welcome. Please also pray for a friend of mine, Stacy, whose little boy, Noah, goes in for his third (and final) heart surgery on Tuesday. He's not yet two years old and has been a trooper throughout his whole ordeal. I will update on him as soon as I know more.