Everyone knows that life is full of challenges. This certainly won't be the only blog that I post on this issue. But after posting the blog about my girlfriends, it made me think of truly how exceptional the friends that I have here are. I've never met people that were more committed to their respective causes than this group. I think we become more committed to something when it is presenting a challenge in our lives or the lives of those around us. The friends that God has given me here are so interested in one another's lives and well being that one person's challenge becomes the other's and so the cycle continues.
There is a disease called Cystinosis, that before moving here, I had not heard of- even as a nurse. It's rare and it effects children at birth. We have friends here who have two children with this disease and it has changed their lives forever. What I have seen these friends do is embrace a really difficult life challenge. To put it lightly, in order to manage their children's illness, they have to give their children some kind of medication every hour for at least 12 hours a day. They take turns getting up at night to give the kids medicine in the middle of the night. They do all this and still know that their children are likely to have long term, serious medical problems as a result of this disease. The more I learn about the disease from them, the more I admire their dedication to seeing a cure.
Not only have I watched my friends deal with this on a daily basis, I have watched others of my friends come along side them and get committed to the cause for a cure for these two precious children and incidentally, many more across the nation whol also have this disease. I mentioned in my girlfriend blog that I love watching my friends use their gifts. One example is my friend Amber who is using her gift of organization and planning to benefit this cause. In October there will be a Cystinosis Carnival that will raise money for research of this disease. My friends Brittney and Brett (the parent's of the children with cytinosis) have made it their mission for this period of their lives to see a cure for this illness. So, together with Amber they are planning this event. I can't wait to be a part of it. If you are reading this and you want to know more about cystinosis you can go to the cystinosis link that is on my blog. www.cystinosisfoundation.org.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Girl Friends
I've always been the type that makes friends pretty easily. It never bothered me to go to summer camp alone cause I knew I'd meet lots of people and make new friends and I went to college in TN alone and ended up with some of the best friends I could ever have. I have been blessed beyond words by my friends. God has placed people in my life who I know will stand by me until the day I die. And I will do the same for them.
In high school there was a group of girls that couldn't be closer as friends and I was privledged to be a part of that group. There were 8 of us and to this day- 10 years later- we are still close even though miles separate us and significant time passes in between times of getting together. We are all married and many of us have children (I top them all with my 3). We've all gone through so many life changes with jobs we either loved or hated, some of us had difficult pregnancies, moving from state to state. No matter what though we have always kept in close touch with each other. I find it quite exceptional and I'm certain that most people never find something so special in their whole life. The one thing that nothing can take away from us and the thing that bonds us tighter than anything else can, is our shared faith in God Almighty. In high school we participated in bible studies together, prayed together and didn't want to hang out with anyone else except each other. Some of my favorite memories are from this time in my life.
After high school I made the decision to leave the state to go to college. As I said before I went pot luck hoping for a good roommate. Again, I say, God is good. My dear friend Kris, whom I had never met before move in day, was not only my roommate, but became one of my best friends. And of course she married someone that I love dearly too, in a healthy Christian kind of love. The two of them together are a powerful force for the Kingdom of God and I am privledged to know them.
Going to college was full of life's lessons for me as it is for most kids going to college out of high school. This was my first realization that friendships change and even end. In my life up to this point, I had never had a significant friendship change all that much. This was so difficult for me to get. I was literally broken in my spirit with this realization. Since then, more friends have come into my life and unfortunately some have gone too. If it were completely up to me, I'd keep every friend I ever made. I love participating in people's lives and my life demands that others be a part of it.
Moving away from my home town was one of the hardest things that I've had to do as an adult. At the time of our moving we had one child and our second on the way. I was moving away from my friends from home, but more significantly, I was moving away from my family. My mom, who I count as one of best friends too, would not be a few minutes away anymore. We spent a lot of time with my parents at their house or them at ours. What's more is that I had lunch with my best friend Angie every week. Angie has been my best friend since our sophomore year in high school. Talk about lives that have changed so so much. Angie is someone that has literally been through thick and thin with me and me with her. We were roommates for a time and have watched each other make some really bad choices and ultimately we have both made the best choices. No matter what, Angie will always be my very best friend. With her I laugh more than I do with any other girl friend. I miss you Ang!
Well, after we moved, we plugged into a church and a small group where once again God has been faithful. The girls in this group have become great friends. I long to go deeper with each other them. They are all blessed with such awesome gifts that I am privledged to see in action. The great thing about these girls at this point in my life is that we all want to see each other succeed in life no matter what we are doing.
No matter what stage of life I am in, I am confident in the friendships that I have either old or new. It reminds me of the song that I learned when I was little, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold." That's really true.
So, to all my girlfriends: I love you all and value you so much. You make me tick and your lives are important to mine.
In high school there was a group of girls that couldn't be closer as friends and I was privledged to be a part of that group. There were 8 of us and to this day- 10 years later- we are still close even though miles separate us and significant time passes in between times of getting together. We are all married and many of us have children (I top them all with my 3). We've all gone through so many life changes with jobs we either loved or hated, some of us had difficult pregnancies, moving from state to state. No matter what though we have always kept in close touch with each other. I find it quite exceptional and I'm certain that most people never find something so special in their whole life. The one thing that nothing can take away from us and the thing that bonds us tighter than anything else can, is our shared faith in God Almighty. In high school we participated in bible studies together, prayed together and didn't want to hang out with anyone else except each other. Some of my favorite memories are from this time in my life.
After high school I made the decision to leave the state to go to college. As I said before I went pot luck hoping for a good roommate. Again, I say, God is good. My dear friend Kris, whom I had never met before move in day, was not only my roommate, but became one of my best friends. And of course she married someone that I love dearly too, in a healthy Christian kind of love. The two of them together are a powerful force for the Kingdom of God and I am privledged to know them.
Going to college was full of life's lessons for me as it is for most kids going to college out of high school. This was my first realization that friendships change and even end. In my life up to this point, I had never had a significant friendship change all that much. This was so difficult for me to get. I was literally broken in my spirit with this realization. Since then, more friends have come into my life and unfortunately some have gone too. If it were completely up to me, I'd keep every friend I ever made. I love participating in people's lives and my life demands that others be a part of it.
Moving away from my home town was one of the hardest things that I've had to do as an adult. At the time of our moving we had one child and our second on the way. I was moving away from my friends from home, but more significantly, I was moving away from my family. My mom, who I count as one of best friends too, would not be a few minutes away anymore. We spent a lot of time with my parents at their house or them at ours. What's more is that I had lunch with my best friend Angie every week. Angie has been my best friend since our sophomore year in high school. Talk about lives that have changed so so much. Angie is someone that has literally been through thick and thin with me and me with her. We were roommates for a time and have watched each other make some really bad choices and ultimately we have both made the best choices. No matter what, Angie will always be my very best friend. With her I laugh more than I do with any other girl friend. I miss you Ang!
Well, after we moved, we plugged into a church and a small group where once again God has been faithful. The girls in this group have become great friends. I long to go deeper with each other them. They are all blessed with such awesome gifts that I am privledged to see in action. The great thing about these girls at this point in my life is that we all want to see each other succeed in life no matter what we are doing.
No matter what stage of life I am in, I am confident in the friendships that I have either old or new. It reminds me of the song that I learned when I was little, "Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other's gold." That's really true.
So, to all my girlfriends: I love you all and value you so much. You make me tick and your lives are important to mine.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
I love my job!
Work has been extremely frustrating for me for the past few months. As a registered nurse there are many options for me even within one institution, but lately I have felt at times like my options were running out. The basic concept of a registry nurse (which is the position I currently hold) is that I fill in the holes on the schedule after ther full/part time staff has made their schedules. On most days of the year, this works out great. The major benefits of this job are a higher rate of pay and total flexibility. Both things that are really nice. The down fall of this position comes when there is a run of low census, or low patient volume days. In this case, there is less staff needed per shift and the registry staff always gets canceled first. For the majority of the summer until current, there has been a record low census and I have had extremely cut back hours. It has really been a frustration both to my psyche- never knowing if I will work or not, and to our budget.
After some inititive with managment I was able to gain some hours elsewhere in the hospital. I have to say that this is one of the best things that's happened to me. Both my mom and my mother-in-law (both nurses) told me that floating (working in a unit other than my home unit) would be really good for me cause I would learn a lot about the other floor and be more versitile. They were right. My mom related it to being like a utility player for a baseball team. Those players never get released cause they can offer a lot of options to a team. I feel like I'm becoming a utility player for the hospital. So, for as frustrating as it's been, I guess as been equally as good to float to other units more than I've worked on my own for the past few months.
Good news! At my mid-year eval today my manager let me know of a FTE (full time equiv.) position that was opening up and offered it to me knowing that I wanted more assurance of hours to work. I'm really thinking that I might take it. Though I would lose a little in pay and my total flexibility, the extra money would be helpful as well as a much easier time mentally. The challenge will definitely be with the idea of either working every weekend or finding someone to watch the kids a couple days a month so that I can work some during the week.
I am encouraged cause I think I have some options there.
Bottom line: Rush-Copley has been very good to me through this hard time. They are not in control of the census fluctuation and upon my inititive, they have done a lot to try to be accomodating and getting me hours. Hence the title of this blog: I love my job!
After some inititive with managment I was able to gain some hours elsewhere in the hospital. I have to say that this is one of the best things that's happened to me. Both my mom and my mother-in-law (both nurses) told me that floating (working in a unit other than my home unit) would be really good for me cause I would learn a lot about the other floor and be more versitile. They were right. My mom related it to being like a utility player for a baseball team. Those players never get released cause they can offer a lot of options to a team. I feel like I'm becoming a utility player for the hospital. So, for as frustrating as it's been, I guess as been equally as good to float to other units more than I've worked on my own for the past few months.
Good news! At my mid-year eval today my manager let me know of a FTE (full time equiv.) position that was opening up and offered it to me knowing that I wanted more assurance of hours to work. I'm really thinking that I might take it. Though I would lose a little in pay and my total flexibility, the extra money would be helpful as well as a much easier time mentally. The challenge will definitely be with the idea of either working every weekend or finding someone to watch the kids a couple days a month so that I can work some during the week.
I am encouraged cause I think I have some options there.
Bottom line: Rush-Copley has been very good to me through this hard time. They are not in control of the census fluctuation and upon my inititive, they have done a lot to try to be accomodating and getting me hours. Hence the title of this blog: I love my job!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
My Love
This is one of my favorite pictures of Eric and I. We were just dating in this picture. It was taken at a fall retreat with our old church. Just looking at this picture brings the feeling of love striaght to the front of my mind. Eric is a wonderful person. When we got married, I imagined what kind of a husband and a father that he would be and he has far surpassed my hopes and expectations for both. I know that we have the kind of love that not everyone finds in their lives. God has been very good to us. We are getting ready to celebrate 5 years of marriage and I can honestly say that I am more in love with my husband than I was on the day that I married him. I love you Eric!
Sisters
I never had a sister and even though I was always okay with that, I still always thought it would be cool to have one. It is a joy to watch my girls together. They are so cute together. Sure Alissa is still too little to show preference toward her siblings, but I can tell you that both Andrew and Anna can make her smile and laugh better than anyone else. I hope that these two beautiful girls will always know how much they are loved and how truly beautiful they are both inside and out.
The Kids
Here's one of my favorite recent pictures of Andrew and Anna. They are total buddies and I can't think of anything that I love more than that. I hope and pray that all of my kids will always have a close friendship with each other. I know that they are so little still, but it is a joy for me to cultivate their relationships with each other. Andrew loves to be the big brother. We have tried to encourage him to be a teacher to Anna. He has definitely embraced that. He loves to teach her about what different animals say. And you can see the thrill on his face when she actually does what he is trying to show her.
When I had Andrew I guess I just assumed that each child that followed would be the same as him. Of course I was wrong. Anna could not be more different than Andrew. How boring would it be to have kids that were all the same. Anna definitely adds some spice to our lives. She is so great to have around. It's funny cause you think your life is fine before your children arrive and then once they're here you think, "how did I ever live without them?"
Exercise
Alright, have you ever tried to work out to a home workout DVD with a crying infant in the same room? I just did that! Here I am trying to embark on a new weight loss journey after having my third and final child who is 5 months old. I'll admit that I'm no where near having the stamina that I once had to work out, but all I wanted was a good 20 minute work out while the kids were napping. I had to settle for one kid napping, one kid at least quietly in his room and my infant who just woke up from her nap. "Okay" I thought, "at least she'll just sit there and watch me while I work out." Nope! She cried the whole time. I did work out though. I tried to get my work out in while Andrew (3) and Anna (1.5) were up and about, but that ended quickly in a dispute over which of them got to stand up on my aerobic step... which incidentally I needed to use but couldn't because there were two toddlers on it. Getting in shape looks very different with 3 kids under 3 years old than it did with no kids or even one. That includes the nutrition aspect. A concept that I have claimed in hope of success with my weight loss is having a fail proof kitchen. This is a concept that came from Dr. Phil (just so that I'm giving credit where it's due). Basically for me that means cleaning out the kitchen of everything that is a stumbling block for me. I have to say that before kids this wasn't so hard, but now that there are three of them (two of whom eat 3 meals, plus snacks), it's hard to not have any junk in the house. By junk I mean gold fish, ghrahm crackers, juice, etc... Those types of things are things that can be just empty calories for me.
It's all about discipline. At different times in my life I have displayed certain measures of discipline. In some areas of my life I do well, but this is just an area that I can't seem to conquer. Today I made a choice that I hope will turn this all around once and for all. I confided in a girl friend and asked her to hold me accountable for my weight loss. This is the first time I've done something like that. It was really hard, but I trust this friend and I know that she wants to see me succeed.
It's all about discipline. At different times in my life I have displayed certain measures of discipline. In some areas of my life I do well, but this is just an area that I can't seem to conquer. Today I made a choice that I hope will turn this all around once and for all. I confided in a girl friend and asked her to hold me accountable for my weight loss. This is the first time I've done something like that. It was really hard, but I trust this friend and I know that she wants to see me succeed.
Naked
All right, so after multiple accidents with my potty training 3 year old, I discovered that he doesn't care if he pees in his underwear. There is no motivations for him to wear his cool Cars underwear that we call "unders." He still pees in them and then I discover later. Last night I asked him if he had an accident (it was obvious he had) and said, "Yes, two times!" So, upon this discovery of his lack of care to this process, I decided that he needed to just be naked.
This morning when he woke up, I made him be naked as long as we were inside. He did not like this prospect, which made me sure that he just wanted to go in his unders or his pull ups. I think this might actually work. He's bright for 3 years old and he understands the explanation for being naked. So, we try once again!
We played outside this morning with our friend Robert. We are having to play early in the morning so that the kids aren't outside in the dead heat of the day. Even playing in the morning though we still have to have the water out. We fill up the little pool and put the sprinkler on and let the kids just get wet. It's the most fun and Robert's mom and I have some good quality conversation and adult time. But now, we're in and the Anna's watching a fun Blue's Clues about music and Andrew is playing on the computer. I'll go fix lunch now.
My goal for today for myself is to workout while the kids are nappin today.
This morning when he woke up, I made him be naked as long as we were inside. He did not like this prospect, which made me sure that he just wanted to go in his unders or his pull ups. I think this might actually work. He's bright for 3 years old and he understands the explanation for being naked. So, we try once again!
We played outside this morning with our friend Robert. We are having to play early in the morning so that the kids aren't outside in the dead heat of the day. Even playing in the morning though we still have to have the water out. We fill up the little pool and put the sprinkler on and let the kids just get wet. It's the most fun and Robert's mom and I have some good quality conversation and adult time. But now, we're in and the Anna's watching a fun Blue's Clues about music and Andrew is playing on the computer. I'll go fix lunch now.
My goal for today for myself is to workout while the kids are nappin today.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Starting out
This is a such a great option for me. Blogging should be easy for me. Not only do I have so many thoughts in a day, but I'm on the computer enough to at least share some of them. My interaction during the day mostly consists of conversing with a 3 year old, an 18 month old and a 5 month old. Perhaps, this will at least make me feel like I'm interacting with the outside world.
The reality is that I'm such an extrovert that not being at work or outside of the four walls of my house on many days is a real challenge and a real character builder for me. I know that I can take the kids out, and I do many days to run errands and stuff, but it's a lot of work getting the kids loaded in the van, making sure that I have everything that I'll need for our little outing. Little is the key word in the previous sentence. Our outings are rarely more than an hour or two, but it hasn't taken me long to figure out that a lot can happen in that amount of time. And if it can happen, it seems like it does happen.
Right now one of my biggest challenges is potty training my almost 3 year old. Ugh! It seems like I've been working on this forever. Right away we thought he had it down, that was at least a month ago and we are still having accidents every day. I guess in the back of my mind is always the thought that eventually he'll get it. He's not going to go through his life without knowing how to use the potty. Sometimes the big picture perspective really helps.
Another challenge is this: We finally bit the bullet and put the girls together to sleep at night in the same room. Being that they are almost 18 months and 5 months they are both still in their cribs. We just had to pick a time to do it. Alissa was still sleeping in the pack-n-play in our room and we just felt like we had to be done with that. So far so good! Two nights have gone by. Last night was a real challenge though. Andrew woke up crying and came running down the hall, which then woke Anna up. She is not an easy one to get back to sleep so Eric rocked her as she screamed in our bedroom while I tried to get Andrew back to bed. Alissa couldn't sleep through all this of course so she was awake in her bed when Eric layed Anna back down. Since she was awake, Alissa must have thought she needed to eat so Eric got her a bottle and fed her in the middle of the night. Something we are happy to be done with on most nights. So all in all it made for a rough couple hours in the middle of the night.
Did I mention that I have the most awesome, serving husband ever? He does more than I ever would have imagined that he would. What can I say? He really is great. Not just as a husband, but the way he is with our kids is enough to make me melt. They love him so much! Just one example is last night. Eric got invited to a baseball game with his company, but he came home to change his clothes first. As he was walking out the door Andrew followed him saying "Where you going Dad?" After Eric's response Andrew said, "But I want to see you." And you could just see him holding back the tears. Eric picked him up and just loved on him and played a little hi five game that he has with the kids. I guess we'll call it "Hi" cause that's what Anna says when she wants a hi five.
Right at this moment each child is laying down for a nap. Not necessarily sleeping but at least laying down. So this is my chance to veg for a few minutes. I'll go up to my room and put in a Friends DVD and just be mindless for a few glorious moments.
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