City life

Wow, so much has happened in the last few months, I don't even know where to start! We could maybe start where I left off a few months ago. It is a well known fact by now that I've accepted a position at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls on the ortho unit. As I wrote about in my last post it was a "part-time" position, however after being on the floor for a week that was changed to "full-time"... eek! Work has been going great though! Busy? Yes. But its so much more than busy, its overwhelming, scary, exhausting, exciting, rewarding, frustrating and so many other things. But do I absolutely LOVE what I do? Definitely. Once I am able to put aside those other things, I come home exhausted but joyful and thankful for where God has placed me at this time in my life. I love my co-workers, my boss and the learning experiences that I have every time I walk through those doors. I just hope the stress goes away in time... which, I'm told it will, so we will see. =]


This week is the beginning of week 7 on the floor. Week 7 out of 12 for the number of weeks I get for orientation. 7 already?! That's only 5 more of orientation and then I have to do this by myself?! Oof. One day, one week at a time. I had been driving back and forth from Sioux Center 3 days a week, and lets just say that after a 13 hour shift, an hour and 15 minute drive is the last thing that I want to do. Not to mention the getting up at 4:30am to get to work on time in the mornings. I'm a morning person, really.... (not). After about 4-5 weeks of that dad and I went apartment shopping! After a long exhausting day, we accepted the fact that living in an apartment is not going to be cheap, and picked an apartment complex that is less than 10 minutes from work. Lovely! And its on a snow route, so I won't have any excuses for not getting to work in the dead of winter- bummer. =]

Its a lovely little apartment, much needing of some decorating skills but fun none-the-less. Its a one bedroom apartment furnished with my $1 couch, free recliner, free table and chairs, $1 coffee table, $20 bedroom set and my mismatched dishes and kitchen necessities. Fun right?! Moving day happened on a Saturday a week and 2 days ago. Thankfully I have a first floor apartment with a patio door making move-in a piece of cake. Dad, Jonathan, David and Mom were my moving crew and while the boys unloaded the big things, mom and I unpacked all the boxes and tried to figure out where to put all the things in my kitchen. It was quite fun =]

Hows living by myself? Well, its lonely at times, incredibly quiet, but I like it, I do! The first night alone here was strange and bittersweet. When my family all left around 7pm, I sat in the middle of my living room (which by the way is dark because I have yet to buy lamps for it) and didn't know what to do. I went to bed. Why not? I didn't have internet yet, so I couldn't do homework, I don't have TV channels because I don't want to pay for cable and I wasn't in the mood for watching a movie by myself so I went to bed. (It's gotten better since that night).

So that's the scoop! Life is busy, but fun. =] I've learned to NOT go shopping for groceries or to Walmart on Saturdays (unless you want a headache). Back to the homework for today and to another stressful day at work tomorrow.

Life is changing... all at once!

I am truly astounded at how God works- in the way that He knows is best. I had an interview for a job at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls about a month ago. I figured they would let me know either way within 2 weeks, but after almost 4 and I still hadn't heard anything, I pretty well had given up. A friend suggested I call HR just to show I'm still interested and find out if the position is already filled. I put that off because my mom and I were heading out to Iowa City for orientation for my RN-BSN program through the University of Iowa. After a full day of shopping followed by a very full day of orientation classes and an overwhelming amount of information we headed back towards the other side of the state. My mom and I talked about how maybe it will be best if I don't get this full time job at this point because with school starting it would be good to be a little less busy and have more time to figure out this school thing first rather than having to figure out school plus a brand new full time job. Well we got home at about 11:30 that evening and I went straight to bed, I was exhausted. I was planning on calling HR at Avera the next morning when I got up. However, much to my surprise, my phone rang at 9:00am with the area code for Sioux Falls. "Serious?! Are they really finally calling me? After I had practically given up on this job and had accepted waiting for the next one?"  I answered and got a very cheerful "good morning" from the lady on the other side. Essentially what it boiled down to was they were offering me a job- not quite full time (which was perfect) but it still offered the same benefits as if it were full time. I mean really?! Talk about all this happening at one time!

Trust. That is my day to day struggle. Trust.

Where has this summer gone?!

Can you believe it?! It's already July 19... incredible. I think the "older" I get, the faster time seems to fly. Ridiculous. Summer has been a conglomeration of events that have all kind of merged from one to the next. Graduation happened OH so long ago, then came the NCLEX stresser *passed=RN (its about time)* not to mention the 40+ hours a week at the nursing home (which is totally NOT a bad thing) woof, no wonder it's already the middle of July!

The official acceptance letter into the University of Iowa's College of Nursing for the online RN-BSN program has been in my hands for almost 3 weeks now which caused some stress. I am NOT a fan of the unknown, it stresses me out. I like to know exactly what is going to happen, how its going to happen and when its all going to happen. Thankfully I have a face to face orientation in Iowa City on August 11 *um, yup thats a 6 hour drive from home for an /entire/ day of orientation "stuff"* However, its a mom and daughter date opportunity, and I am quite looking forward to seeing the campus, buying some t-shirts that sport the Hawkeye logo and getting some answers to my hundreds  try thousands perhaps of questions. Not to mention the entire day before filled with SHOPPING! =]

Hmm, what else has this summer included? I trip to the zoo, a week with the cousins, surviving desert heat in Iowa, seeing friends, having barbeques, going to weddings, visiting with friends from afar (soon!) and oh, did I mention living at work? Hey, at least I'm making money and have a "full-time" job... which I'm pretty sure is a good thing. =]
Things I should be doing instead of blogging:
Cleaning up my room- I honestly hate it when it's a mess, but I can tear myself off of my bed at this point 1. (5am this morning is kicking my butt- and I have a fun night ahead of me and yet another 5am morning just around the corner- yuck)
2. Helping my mom upstairs- I'm really not that bad at it (but when you don't eat with the family--do you really need to help clean up?-- Ok, ok, I'm going... right after this blog is done (promise). )
3. Make my bed- I absolutely dislike a messy bed- ugh.
4. Find some motivation to print my pictures and get them into photo albums- I'm really not that far behind at all-thanks mom- but keeping up is the trick.

I'm sure I could continue this list... but I'm off to a night with friends.
Blessings.

Prayers

I write tonight asking that many prayers are said in the next weeks for my Aunt Cindy as she and Uncle Kyle head out on a trip to the east coast searching for answers and relief from the chronic pain that Cindy has been experiencing for too long. It's so easy to take life for granted- the little things like attending worship with the body of Christ every week, attending sporting events, the ability to work and even the chance to just sit and play a game with those that you love the most. Perspective is such a huge thing, and it really needs to be a day to day reminder for all of us- not to forget to thank God for the little things.

~To Cindy- you are so loved, and you have an amazing support group of loved ones behind you every step of the way. There isn't a day that you are not in the thoughts and prayers of many of your brothers and sisters in Christ.
~To Kyle the wonderful husband and father- you amaze me in how strong you are, how organized and how incredibly loving. God truly knew what he was doing when he planned for you to be Cindy's husband forever. What an amazing father and role model you are to your children and to all those who are impacted by your loving support and leadership you show to your family every day.
~To the kids- Tanner, Kylie, Riley and Tara--we know this is hard, we know that you don't understand why your mom can't be free from the pain that she has, why she can't just get better. But God is good, and he hears the prayers of his people.
~To everyone else who loves you- keep the prayers coming- our God hears and answers those who call upon His glorious name.

*1 Kings 8:28 "Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day" (NIV).

*Psalm 17:6 "I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer" (NIV).

*Psalm 54:2 "Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth" (NIV)

*Psalm 65 "Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. You who answer prayer, to you all people will come" (NIV).

*Psalm 66: 18-20 "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!" (NIV) 

Life. Without school

It's strange really, finding myself bored enjoying my free time to spend doing what I like! Graduation came and went so quickly it almost doesn't seem real. It's taken nearly 2 weeks for it to all sink in- we're done, graduated, school's over, there is no homework for an entire summer, lovely. =]

We didn't think we were going to make it to the end....

My mom was my graduation day support =]
Thanks for sitting through such a long day for me!

....but we most definitely did!

I love having time to watch David play soccer! [He's on the left]

Our garden adventure:: Dad didn't want us tilling up his backyard,
so we meandered over to Jonathan's-just down the street,
and found the perfect garden spot!

We let dad do the hard work!

Painting the outline of the garden, so we knew where to cut the grass.

Sodding (?) the garden! Whatever it's
called to cut the sod for the garden ;]- [lets
not get too technical now]

Finished sodding (just go with it)....

Now to haul those heavy suckers to the truck! Thank goodness for brothers =]

He looks thrilled doesn't he? ;]

Ready to plant!!

I've even found time to spend with my little friends!

Love this little guy =]

Yup, he's got two older sisters ;]

 I just LOVE summer!

An End in Sight

Three years ago I was at Providence Christian College in California saying many tearful goodbyes. It was so hard to say goodbye to the amazing friends that God had given me during the amazing journey I was blessed to have while in California. I grew up so much, I learned so much and I changed while I was out there. God was working hard to show me who He wanted me to be, and He is still working. That day full of tears was such a hard day to accept- why have something so great that wasn't where God wanted me to be anymore? I was going to be a nurse? I don't know if I can make it through nursing school, is He sure He knows what He's doing? Trust. Not an easy concept for me, but three years ago I boarded that plane in California, and for the first time I was not looking for a return flight ticket in the fall. It was hard, but now, I understand.
I am 15 days away from graduating as a nurse- me? A nurse? God really did know what he was doing. I have loved every minute of becoming a nurse. The papers, the projects, the sleepless nights studying one body system after another for the past three years and now I am only 15 days away from the end. It's amazing. I remember when I started thinking about going into nursing and I was bound and determined to go to Dordt. God again had different plans. NCC became part of my life for the past 3 years and I remember thinking three more years? On top of the two that I had completed at Providence? Doesn't sound like something I want to do- who wants to be in school for 5 or more years? But it has all been in God's plan and has unfolded each day.
I'm going to be a nurse. I'm going to have the opportunity to show my love for caring for people. I'm going to be able to put the knowledge that has been stuffed into my head the past 3 years into action. I'm going to be advocates for those who are unable to speak for themselves. In God's timing and by His amazing will I am becoming the woman He intends for me to be.
What a comfort, I have no control over everything. Which is a good thing, because if it was in my control I would be such a mess. My comforting verse all through nursing school, the busy times, the stressful situations, the days that I didn't think I could get to the end is found in Matthew 6:24 which reminded me everyday-

""Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." 

One day at a time, one test at a time, one project at a time, one early morning at a time and I will get to the end- that is what I told myself everyday and now.... 15 days to go. God is good!

 The amazing thing is that God is just getting started with me, there is so much for me to learn, so many mistakes will be made, frustrations will confront me, hard times will be confronted but in all things God is in control. God. Not me. Amazing. I am not perfect, nor will I ever be. My prayer everyday is that God forgives me for each and every time I mess up- big or little. That is my prayer, this is my comfort- I know he does!


God, give me the strength and the endurance to make it to the end. In all I do, help me to glorify you, for you alone deserve all the glory, praise and honor.

Blessed

I can't believe that I am 23. Yikes- that number is getting closer to 25, and then 30 and then.... yup- you get the point. I had a great day, I was surprised with a big bouquet of flowers from my parents waiting for me in the morning- always a fun surprise! My brothers came home with a big bunch of balloons- which is pretty awesome from them!
And then there was my evening out with my friends. I love that we are getting so close to the end of the school year, and everything is winding down meaning I have more time to have a life and to see those and hang out with my family and friends that mean so much to me. I had never been to Chili's so that was where the group opted to go- and the guys convinced the poor waitress to sing "Happy Birthday" to me- which they never do at Chili's as a duet with one other waitress she somehow convinced to sing with her- I think she was more embarrassed than me!
Thanks to my friends- it was a fun night. =] I'm blessed to have you in my life.
Thanks to my family- for the love you give me everyday, not just my birthday!
And the fun doesn't stop- tonight we are going out to celebrate mine and David's birthday together- this time we are heading to Buffalo Wild wings, should be fun.

Looking back, I remember the fun times in California on my birthdays that were spent out there. I miss my friends there, its hard when life moves on and we are separated by hundreds of miles. Here's to you two- I miss you all the time.

                                                

 I miss you both- and everyone else. Looking at this pictures brings back so many memories and laughs.

What a random post! =] Hopefully the rain will stop soon and summer will be here quickly. According to my countdown, there are only 22 days until graduation- those better go fast! Can't wait for summer!

Study break

I knew I wasn't going to be very good at keeping up with this blogging thing, but I think that it is about time I update this page again- whether or not anyone actually reads it, it is kind of nice to just "speak" what is on my mind.

Here I am sitting in one of my favorite coffee shops in Orange City- De Koffiehoek & Bistro with my friend as we attempt to study for an OB nursing test that we have scheduled for 7:15 tomorrow morning. 7:15 am test means getting out of bed around 6am to have coffee in the travel mug and the car scraped off in time to scramble to class by 7:14- its going to be an early morning! Not to mention I've got this nasty cold and I'm going through a Kleenex box a day to try to keep up! Ugh. 
I love the atmosphere of this little coffee shop, the sun is shining in through the windows warming the room, the music is quiet in the background and the occasional typing from across the room reassures me that we are not the only ones in this place studying! However, I seem to find that between the coffee, the fireplace and the incredibly comfortable chairs, this is a much better environment for social hour than study hour.


I'm having a hard time focusing and staying motivated as this semester is rapidly coming to a close! Its already February 7th with Spring Break right around the corner! But there are OH so many things to be excited about and to look forward too! Let me share with you my list of excitments!
        1. Spring break is only a month away!
        2. BASEBALL SEASON is only 53 days away!!!
        3. I start my OB clinical rotation this week Thursday
        4. In May I graduate, and
        5. Jeremy and Becky (a VERY close friend) are getting married!!-- meaning myself and my GPS friend           "Richard" will be making the trek to Michigan in only a few short months
And that is just the beginning! With baseball on my mind I can only begin to dream about all the fun times this summer is going to bring, but then I am brought back to now and how I'm supposed to be studying for tomorrow's test.


Well here's to a great start to the week- Happy Monday! One day at a time and we will get to May...