I love school!

I know I'm crazy, but I am loving nursing school! I was told by someone once (she and her husband are in full-time ministry AND she's a professional counselor, so I trust her opinion!) that when you are doing what God wants you to do, you find yourself energized by it. That doesn't mean you don't have days where you are exhausted and wonder why you're doing it, but on the whole, you get energy and excitement from your job. That's how I feel now--energized and excited. I find it thrilling to see how awesome God made our bodies and how awesome it is that there are smart people out there who have learned so much about these bodies of ours. I also am so aware at the sinful nature of our souls and the effects that has on our bodies. As a nurse, every ounce of me wants to take away all the illness, but as a Christian, I know this is going to continue. As awesome as all the medical advances are (and they are pretty awesome!), we will never achieve a state of perfection in our body.

What a week!

This week has been super busy here! I'm in school 4 days a week for classes and/or lab. This week I learned how to give medications and shots and a whole lot about pregnancy and childbirth. I learned a ton (and I have two kids!), so I couldn't imagine what it would be like to learn all this information without anything to relate it to!

I also managed to go for a few runs this week. I'm glad I got it in because it's supposed to be REALLY cold and snowy tomorrow (and for the next few days). Days like that have me looking for nursing jobs in Florida (and no, I don't want to move!) Our poor dog, Coco, detests going outside (and I don't blame her!). Oh yes, I also did the entire pilates DVD again on Wednesday and was just mildly sore the next day. I'm already feeling increased flexibility...woohoo!! I'm still looking at running some races in March (a 15K, which is over 9 miles), so I really need to get back to the gym and on a treadmill.

Oh yes--Wednesday was an AWESOME day! Mandy and Kayla both saw the eye doctor that day, and I was quite sure that Kayla would need glasses (per the doctor's estimate last year) and that Mandy would need her prescription changed. Well, NEITHER PREDICTION CAME TRUE! Mandy's eyes have remained virtually unchanged since October 2006, and Kayla's eyes are perfect and unchanged from last year. Both the girls did really well and the doctor commented that he was able to do a more complete exam on them than he is able to do on most children. I was so proud :-)

So....what I'm thankful for this week:

1) Not killing someone when giving my first shot. I was shaking (not a good way to give an injection!), but the professor said I did great!

2) My kids' eyes

3) The fact that spring is just 2 months away (I'm already counting down!)

4) My husband...he totally rocks! Last night I went to the store, and came home to a spotless kitchen and bathed children...and he did it without ANY prompting (my mother-in-law raised him well!)

Wow!

That's all I can say to describe the last few days. It has been, needless to say, BUSY! Mandy started back at school on Monday, I started again yesterday, and Luke starts back with his graduate work today. Kayla moans that she, too, wants to go to school....I can't AFFORD to have anyone else in school at this point!

Nursing school is going to be fun this semester. Well, at least it is now...we'll see what I'm saying in a few weeks! This is the first semester where I get to work with "real" patients in a "real setting." I do 4 weeks of primary care rotation and then 4 weeks of labor and delivery/post-partum. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like, and I'm praying that I still enjoy it!

The focus of this blog is gratitude, so I'll share a few things I'm thankful for right now
1) The beautiful weather (it's January in Michigan, the sun is shining, and it's relatively warm out!)
2) Kayla is completely potty-trained
3) My family is HEALTHY--no colds, flu bugs, or anything else
4) I have the world's best sitter who not only adores my kids and entertains them while I'm gone, but she also cleans my house. No, I am NOT giving her name out!