I am sitting in Cory's lab while he blows stuff up and burns and nuc's things. As much as he tries to explain it to me, I still don't get it ;) So I am waiting for him to finish his research for today so I can go shopping! I decided I would use the time to blog, post pics and then work on Christmas cards. So, lets post some pics, shall we?
Last weekend, Cory took me hunting in Quitique. It was going to be my first attempt to go deer hunting...ever. We got to Quitique Friday night where Cory and his dad gave me a crash course on how to shoot a rifle. I didn't get a chance to practice. So they showed me in a magazine where to line the cross hairs and then quizzed me on a whole bunch of pics of deer. Saturday morning, 630 am, we head out to the fields to find the mule-y deer are already out and about! They hadn't been coming out til about 7. So we go head out to the field and wait for the sunrise. When I took my first shot, I pulled the trigger to quickly and must have jerked the gun enough to make the bullet go high or low. I have decided that muleys are stupid because instead of running like any white tailed deer in thier right mind would do, this muley looked around and said "what the heck was that!?" He then proceeded over a hill where I couldnt see him in the scope anymore. He was only a spike so I am sorta thankful I missed. ;) The second one came, he was a spike and a fork. This time, on my second time ever shooting a rifle, (the first being moments before!), I got my first deer :) It was sad but exciting at the same time. =) Cory got a 5 point also this weekend. We are going back tomarrow to process both the deer ourselves so that will be an experience. Here are the pics to go with my first deer hunting experience. About halfway through there is a picture with a caption that says "enter at your own risk" because there are some pics of us skinning and quartering it. So if you dont want to see that, I am warning you not to go past that. ;) Like I said, Enter at Your Own Risk!
Deer Hunting 2008
For Thanksgiving, my parents came to town! YAY!!!!!!!!! It was so much fun =). It was great to have Thanksgiving at my house and it was our very first time to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Cory was in charge of the ham and the turkey. Mom and I did sides. Dad poured the wine ;) Thanks dad! Here are some pics of us prepping with our Christmas decor followed by the actual pics of the visits. I will take pics of all the decor and post those later. So here ya go!
Thanksgiving 2008 Part 1
Thanksgiving 2008 Part 2
We also trooped while my parents were here! We rang the Salvation Army bells at Walmart and made $301.54 in three hours. It was a blast!! Here are some pics !
Salvation Army Bell Troop 2008
I hope everyone's Christmas shopping is going smoothly. I'm anxiously awaiting Cory to finish so I can go shop. I did bring my Christmas cards so I may get to work on this now...take care everyone!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
In brokenness comes beauty...
OH MY GOODNESS!!! WE SURVIVED! WE ARE DONE!!!
Yesterday marked the end of them semester for both of us. WHOOO! Sorry I have not blogged in the past month, but it has been quite hectic here. And I have forgotten what it feels like to not do homework...awwwww...feels great ;) So let me feel you in!
My past 4 weeks are what college kids like to call "heck week." (I will use nice words! lol) I have been on the go nonstop for the past few weeks with papers, exams, homeworks...more papers...The week before Thanksgiving, I wrote 4 papers! PHEW! One of them was a 14 page literature review for my research class about hospice nurse burnout titled: Palliative Care Burnout: A Literature Review on Risk Factors and Coping Strategies. I am actually quite proud of that one! And it is something I hope I can change or impact in the future because palliative care is my passion. And after writing this paper, I found it is just as important to care for the caregivers. OH I LOVE NURSING! I also wrote a 9 page evidence based practice paper for my OB/pedi class titled Evidence Based Practice: Grief Reactions of Women Experiencing an Elective Abortion. I chose this topic because although I do not believe in abortion, I most likely will take care of a patient that has had one and one thing about nursing, is that we are to remain unbiased in our care for our patients, regardless of our beliefs vs. theirs. We cannot let that step in our way of quality care so I thought it would be an interesting topic to cover.
So, last week I had a clinical exam on Tuesday and an ERI (national online exam) on Wednesday. And what a week that turned out to be. On Monday, my friend Hilary and I went out to lunch and then to the library to study. The instructors didnt give us any pointers or hints so we had no idea what to study for this exam. A clinical exam consist of 5 case studies. Basically, you are given a scenario and then you may have 10-15 questions off that one scenario. One question may be short and simple, another question may require two pages of handwritten material. Its basically a "show what you know" type exam. The slot to take this exam was FOUR hours. Hilary and I were pretty much feeling ill, "how can we write FOUR hours of material?" On top of that, we didn't know what topics to study. In the past semesters, they told us the topics. Our friend Christina joined us and we decided that dehydration and respiratory problems were the most frequently seen issues on the pedi floor so we studied that for about 3 hours! I told Hilary if these are the topics for pedi that I would build a church or an alter! Time goes fast when you study. That night I got home and I was so broken. I was so tired, worn out, exhausted and feeling really low. I was pretty much ready to give up nursing school because nursing school really sucks the life out of you. I do not have any idea how people can go to med school. So I was feeling extremely broken on Monday. While studying Monday with Hilary, there was alot of prayer between the two of us and we went to the Word often during our studying. I think that was God nudging me, but I failed to notice and became very broken.
On the way to my exam, I was listening to a new MercyMe cd that I have been listening to over and over again. But God said "HELLO!" with this song. I listened to it then God said "uh rewind that and listen to that song again, You need to hear that. Listen to the words." So I rewind it and listen to it and whoa...
It's been one of those days where everything just feels so far away
Hope don't be a stranger, won't you help me make it through the day?
Then a voice comes,calling out to me, you are never alone cuz I am with you
And I will always be, I will hold you, cuz you belong to me, You are never alone
Cuz I will be with you, for all eternity
Someone tell me how I stumble into doubting all the time.
Some days I am all together and other days I stand here asking why...
WOW! That was definatly me on Monday and Tuesday before the exam. So I went in, took the exam and afterwards, I built an alter ;) The pedi topics were dehydration and respiratory! YAY! And the OB topics went wonderful also. I came out of that exam, 4 hours later, (yes I wrote the whole four hours!), feeling great. I felt like I actually did really well. On the way home, I was rejoicing that it went so well. Then the Lord said..."um excuse me, got another song for you to listen to..." This song came on and blew me away. I tried to find an official MercyMe video of it, but no can do so here is a version of the song being signed to. Here is the song and the words...The last line hit me hard.
Undone
No apologies, for who I'm meant to be. The only thing that matters is I am free.
When I am overwhelmed, holding pieces of my heart.
WHen I feel my world start to fall apart...
To the cross I run, holding high my chains undone, Now I am finally free,
Free to be what I've become...Undone.
Even in defeat, the face of tragedy, still you have to say that I found victory.
In brokeness comes beautfy, divine fragility.
Reminding me of nailed scarred hands, reaching out to me...to the cross I run...
WOW!!! Even in this video, I was so the guy in the middle. I was so broken on Monday. And the Lord said "HELLO TRUST ME!!! Cast your anxieties on me!" That last line hit me hard "In brokness comes beauty, divine fragility." - I learned to trust in the Lord through my brokenness. "Reminding me of nail scarred hands, reaching out to me"- God is always pursuing us. ALWAYS. I should be running to the Cross in all that I do and all that I am.
*****************************************************
SO! On Wednesday, I had to take the ERI. The ERI is a national exam that has random questions on it, some of which we may not have even covered over the semester. It is one of the hardest exams I have ever taken. We have to take one each semester and they are usually about 15% of our grade. EVERY semester I have gotten 1 point away from the national average, which is really pretty discouraging. Wednesday mornin before the exam, I decided to go to the Word and read Psalm 42 and 43 about Hope, because I decided I needed to find hope in the Lord. It was wierd. There was like a calming effect on me before the exam. When I got to school to take the exam, Kathy (my ob instructor) informed me that I recieved a 99% on my paper about grief reactions to abortion, so that was super encouraging! I then proceeded to the exam. I cast my anxieties on the Lord and took the exam. What happen next was REALLY wierd. It was like a conversation with God. We took the exam together. This may sound crazy, but it was pretty cool. I do not know how to explain it. It was just like we conversed over the questions and I felt pretty confident with each answer. Strange, considering the ERI usually FREAKS me out and always discourages me. So at the end of the 2 hour exam, before I submitted, I prayed to God and said, "I am trusting you. Whatever score I get, I am ok with it because I know you are here." Screen pops up...SIX FREAKIN POINTS ABOVE the national average! HOLY COWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!1 WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the Lord said "see, you trust in me, I take care of you." WHOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I was blown away and pretty freaking excited. That brought my grade up to an 82% in the class! WOW! I went home with such a greatful heart!!!
So this Monday, I had my final. I told the Lord I am trusting in Him and again, my anxieties were all cast on him. Phew, what a relief. I spent all day Sunday studying and felt pretty good, even though I was nervous, for the final. When I got to the final, I looked at question 1 and said "uh Lord, you there? Remember, I already confressed i cant do this alone" He said "Im here" but it wasnt the whole conversation again, it was just like Him reminding me He was there...it was so strange. Got my results last night and I made an 82% on the final. YAY!!! The Lord taught me an important life lesson in these past two weeks and I wanted to share with you all. Here is one more video/song by MercyMe that sums up what I am feeling right now. I do feel God had a plan for Cory and I to attend that MercyMe concert last month, He knew those cd's were going to come in handy. I love how the Lord works!!
Yesterday marked the end of them semester for both of us. WHOOO! Sorry I have not blogged in the past month, but it has been quite hectic here. And I have forgotten what it feels like to not do homework...awwwww...feels great ;) So let me feel you in!
My past 4 weeks are what college kids like to call "heck week." (I will use nice words! lol) I have been on the go nonstop for the past few weeks with papers, exams, homeworks...more papers...The week before Thanksgiving, I wrote 4 papers! PHEW! One of them was a 14 page literature review for my research class about hospice nurse burnout titled: Palliative Care Burnout: A Literature Review on Risk Factors and Coping Strategies. I am actually quite proud of that one! And it is something I hope I can change or impact in the future because palliative care is my passion. And after writing this paper, I found it is just as important to care for the caregivers. OH I LOVE NURSING! I also wrote a 9 page evidence based practice paper for my OB/pedi class titled Evidence Based Practice: Grief Reactions of Women Experiencing an Elective Abortion. I chose this topic because although I do not believe in abortion, I most likely will take care of a patient that has had one and one thing about nursing, is that we are to remain unbiased in our care for our patients, regardless of our beliefs vs. theirs. We cannot let that step in our way of quality care so I thought it would be an interesting topic to cover.
So, last week I had a clinical exam on Tuesday and an ERI (national online exam) on Wednesday. And what a week that turned out to be. On Monday, my friend Hilary and I went out to lunch and then to the library to study. The instructors didnt give us any pointers or hints so we had no idea what to study for this exam. A clinical exam consist of 5 case studies. Basically, you are given a scenario and then you may have 10-15 questions off that one scenario. One question may be short and simple, another question may require two pages of handwritten material. Its basically a "show what you know" type exam. The slot to take this exam was FOUR hours. Hilary and I were pretty much feeling ill, "how can we write FOUR hours of material?" On top of that, we didn't know what topics to study. In the past semesters, they told us the topics. Our friend Christina joined us and we decided that dehydration and respiratory problems were the most frequently seen issues on the pedi floor so we studied that for about 3 hours! I told Hilary if these are the topics for pedi that I would build a church or an alter! Time goes fast when you study. That night I got home and I was so broken. I was so tired, worn out, exhausted and feeling really low. I was pretty much ready to give up nursing school because nursing school really sucks the life out of you. I do not have any idea how people can go to med school. So I was feeling extremely broken on Monday. While studying Monday with Hilary, there was alot of prayer between the two of us and we went to the Word often during our studying. I think that was God nudging me, but I failed to notice and became very broken.
On the way to my exam, I was listening to a new MercyMe cd that I have been listening to over and over again. But God said "HELLO!" with this song. I listened to it then God said "uh rewind that and listen to that song again, You need to hear that. Listen to the words." So I rewind it and listen to it and whoa...
It's been one of those days where everything just feels so far away
Hope don't be a stranger, won't you help me make it through the day?
Then a voice comes,calling out to me, you are never alone cuz I am with you
And I will always be, I will hold you, cuz you belong to me, You are never alone
Cuz I will be with you, for all eternity
Someone tell me how I stumble into doubting all the time.
Some days I am all together and other days I stand here asking why...
WOW! That was definatly me on Monday and Tuesday before the exam. So I went in, took the exam and afterwards, I built an alter ;) The pedi topics were dehydration and respiratory! YAY! And the OB topics went wonderful also. I came out of that exam, 4 hours later, (yes I wrote the whole four hours!), feeling great. I felt like I actually did really well. On the way home, I was rejoicing that it went so well. Then the Lord said..."um excuse me, got another song for you to listen to..." This song came on and blew me away. I tried to find an official MercyMe video of it, but no can do so here is a version of the song being signed to. Here is the song and the words...The last line hit me hard.
Undone
No apologies, for who I'm meant to be. The only thing that matters is I am free.
When I am overwhelmed, holding pieces of my heart.
WHen I feel my world start to fall apart...
To the cross I run, holding high my chains undone, Now I am finally free,
Free to be what I've become...Undone.
Even in defeat, the face of tragedy, still you have to say that I found victory.
In brokeness comes beautfy, divine fragility.
Reminding me of nailed scarred hands, reaching out to me...to the cross I run...
WOW!!! Even in this video, I was so the guy in the middle. I was so broken on Monday. And the Lord said "HELLO TRUST ME!!! Cast your anxieties on me!" That last line hit me hard "In brokness comes beauty, divine fragility." - I learned to trust in the Lord through my brokenness. "Reminding me of nail scarred hands, reaching out to me"- God is always pursuing us. ALWAYS. I should be running to the Cross in all that I do and all that I am.
*****************************************************
SO! On Wednesday, I had to take the ERI. The ERI is a national exam that has random questions on it, some of which we may not have even covered over the semester. It is one of the hardest exams I have ever taken. We have to take one each semester and they are usually about 15% of our grade. EVERY semester I have gotten 1 point away from the national average, which is really pretty discouraging. Wednesday mornin before the exam, I decided to go to the Word and read Psalm 42 and 43 about Hope, because I decided I needed to find hope in the Lord. It was wierd. There was like a calming effect on me before the exam. When I got to school to take the exam, Kathy (my ob instructor) informed me that I recieved a 99% on my paper about grief reactions to abortion, so that was super encouraging! I then proceeded to the exam. I cast my anxieties on the Lord and took the exam. What happen next was REALLY wierd. It was like a conversation with God. We took the exam together. This may sound crazy, but it was pretty cool. I do not know how to explain it. It was just like we conversed over the questions and I felt pretty confident with each answer. Strange, considering the ERI usually FREAKS me out and always discourages me. So at the end of the 2 hour exam, before I submitted, I prayed to God and said, "I am trusting you. Whatever score I get, I am ok with it because I know you are here." Screen pops up...SIX FREAKIN POINTS ABOVE the national average! HOLY COWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!1 WHOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the Lord said "see, you trust in me, I take care of you." WHOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I was blown away and pretty freaking excited. That brought my grade up to an 82% in the class! WOW! I went home with such a greatful heart!!!
So this Monday, I had my final. I told the Lord I am trusting in Him and again, my anxieties were all cast on him. Phew, what a relief. I spent all day Sunday studying and felt pretty good, even though I was nervous, for the final. When I got to the final, I looked at question 1 and said "uh Lord, you there? Remember, I already confressed i cant do this alone" He said "Im here" but it wasnt the whole conversation again, it was just like Him reminding me He was there...it was so strange. Got my results last night and I made an 82% on the final. YAY!!! The Lord taught me an important life lesson in these past two weeks and I wanted to share with you all. Here is one more video/song by MercyMe that sums up what I am feeling right now. I do feel God had a plan for Cory and I to attend that MercyMe concert last month, He knew those cd's were going to come in handy. I love how the Lord works!!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Big news and a Farley Family update!
These past few weeks have proved difficult to find time to post and sadly, its probably going to be that way for the next few weeks until finals are over. I am going crazy and overwhelmed but I will get there. BIG NEWS!!!! All of you are probably asking yourself "are they pregnant?" Heck no, not yet! Not until school is done. I think its funny anytime I have said I have "big news" since I got married everyone thinks Im pregnant ;) Well, we arent. Cory has big news though. Last week, we found out that if Cory stays one extra semester, he can get a PhD. SOOOO we are here in good ol' Texas a lil bit longer! Cory will graduate with his PhD in May 2010 and I will still be graduating December 2009. How exciting!! I am so proud of my hubby :D
Well, Halloween was alot of fun. We trooped in our front yard! Here are some pics of our puh-kins and Halloween night :D
Halloween 2008
Friday was Cory's birthday!!! We celebrated by going out to dinner and having a pleasant, homework free, movie night at home, snuggling on the couch. It was very nice :) Cory picked out a PS2 game, Battlefront 2, a Star Wars game, for his birthday. Last night, at the Mercyme concert, we got him a few hymnal cd's as well. Here are a few pics of his surprise that was waiting at home for him...
CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE PWEEEEASE!!!!!!!!!!! (<--that's for the Holmes) LOL.
Cory's bday!
Last nite, Cory and I volunteered at the Compassion booth at the MercyMe concert at the First Baptist Church in Lubbock. After attending thier concert and working for them, I am falling more in love with them. They are one of my top bands already but are quickly moving to the tippity top. Last nights concert was much more of a worship gathering than a concert. It was SO awesome. I LOVED how they closed the concert. Here are a couple clips and some pics from last nite. Enjoy!
Compassion and Mercyme Nov 08
Here is a video of "so long self." What a great concert!
How about a lil audience interaction? "oo oo you know its gonna be alright!"
Mercyme did a great job of turning a concert into a worship service. Here is the AMAZING way they closed thier performance. Simply, WOW.
Have a great week everyone and "oo oo you know its gonna be alright!!!"
Well, Halloween was alot of fun. We trooped in our front yard! Here are some pics of our puh-kins and Halloween night :D
Halloween 2008
Friday was Cory's birthday!!! We celebrated by going out to dinner and having a pleasant, homework free, movie night at home, snuggling on the couch. It was very nice :) Cory picked out a PS2 game, Battlefront 2, a Star Wars game, for his birthday. Last night, at the Mercyme concert, we got him a few hymnal cd's as well. Here are a few pics of his surprise that was waiting at home for him...
CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE PWEEEEASE!!!!!!!!!!! (<--that's for the Holmes) LOL.
Cory's bday!
Last nite, Cory and I volunteered at the Compassion booth at the MercyMe concert at the First Baptist Church in Lubbock. After attending thier concert and working for them, I am falling more in love with them. They are one of my top bands already but are quickly moving to the tippity top. Last nights concert was much more of a worship gathering than a concert. It was SO awesome. I LOVED how they closed the concert. Here are a couple clips and some pics from last nite. Enjoy!
Compassion and Mercyme Nov 08
Here is a video of "so long self." What a great concert!
How about a lil audience interaction? "oo oo you know its gonna be alright!"
Mercyme did a great job of turning a concert into a worship service. Here is the AMAZING way they closed thier performance. Simply, WOW.
Have a great week everyone and "oo oo you know its gonna be alright!!!"
Friday, October 24, 2008
Where did October go??
Oh man, been awhile since I blogged. School has been crazy busy along with all the stuff we are involved in. I cant believe October is nearly over. So lets update you all!
Thanks to those that contributed to the heart walk! The ticker became unavailable last Wednesday so I would like to thank Mimi and Papa, Grandma Honey and Grandpa and my parents for dontating to the heart walk! We reached our goal of $200. yay! Here are some pictures from the Heart Walk =)
Amarillo Heart Walk
We have been very busy this month. Cory has been busy with class, TA-ing and working on projects. Clinicals have been crazy for me and this semester has proven not only the most difficult, but the most work. We have alot of assignments that arent really due, however, its a wise choice to do them because if there is a pop quiz, you get to use your assignments for the quiz. Those assignments takes several hours, plus prepwork for clinicals, paperwork for clinicals, and studying. (thats just one class!) So my blogging has slowed down, but I am trying to catch you all up. I am currently bouncing back and forth between my research homework and the blog ;)
Well, its now Saturday morning and I started blogging yesterday lol. I am telling ya, there is just not enough time in the world! Now I am cooking breakfast and working on homework and writing on the blog. Lets see what other pictures I can upload...
Random pics from October
And here are some pretties to look at. I like to call it God's artwork :)
God's artwork
In other news, I finally met my hospice patients! I am officially volunteering for Hospice Care of the Southwest and met my patients last Thursday. I am so excited. They were all very sweet. This week, I am going to make Halloween cookies and get some candy and make a lil Halloween goody bag for all my hospice patients and thier roommates. I am going to go see them either Thursday or Friday. I am looking forward to it!
I am also a part of WTNSA, the WT chapter of the National Student Nurse's Association. My friend Carolyn and I took on the responsibility of making a HUGE nursing banquet happen next year around April. I have no idea what I am getting into but if I can plan a wedding, certainly I can handle a Nursing school banquet ;) On Novemeber 1st, I will be working a WT football game for Nurses night. We are having a tailgate and raffling off a saddle. We are working on getting mic time during half time. Should be alot of fun.
Cory and I are also going to be working a Compassion booth once again, this time at a MercyMe concert on November 8. Looking forward to that! I LOVE MercyMe =)
I have much more to fill you in on, but I gotta get to studying. I just finished my prep work for clinicals (this blog has been in the making for a day and half now lol). I have a huge test on Monday and need to get to work on it. I will try to post more on Monday so I can catch everyone up on Farley Life. =) Have a great weekend everyone!
Thanks to those that contributed to the heart walk! The ticker became unavailable last Wednesday so I would like to thank Mimi and Papa, Grandma Honey and Grandpa and my parents for dontating to the heart walk! We reached our goal of $200. yay! Here are some pictures from the Heart Walk =)
Amarillo Heart Walk
We have been very busy this month. Cory has been busy with class, TA-ing and working on projects. Clinicals have been crazy for me and this semester has proven not only the most difficult, but the most work. We have alot of assignments that arent really due, however, its a wise choice to do them because if there is a pop quiz, you get to use your assignments for the quiz. Those assignments takes several hours, plus prepwork for clinicals, paperwork for clinicals, and studying. (thats just one class!) So my blogging has slowed down, but I am trying to catch you all up. I am currently bouncing back and forth between my research homework and the blog ;)
Well, its now Saturday morning and I started blogging yesterday lol. I am telling ya, there is just not enough time in the world! Now I am cooking breakfast and working on homework and writing on the blog. Lets see what other pictures I can upload...
Random pics from October
And here are some pretties to look at. I like to call it God's artwork :)
God's artwork
In other news, I finally met my hospice patients! I am officially volunteering for Hospice Care of the Southwest and met my patients last Thursday. I am so excited. They were all very sweet. This week, I am going to make Halloween cookies and get some candy and make a lil Halloween goody bag for all my hospice patients and thier roommates. I am going to go see them either Thursday or Friday. I am looking forward to it!
I am also a part of WTNSA, the WT chapter of the National Student Nurse's Association. My friend Carolyn and I took on the responsibility of making a HUGE nursing banquet happen next year around April. I have no idea what I am getting into but if I can plan a wedding, certainly I can handle a Nursing school banquet ;) On Novemeber 1st, I will be working a WT football game for Nurses night. We are having a tailgate and raffling off a saddle. We are working on getting mic time during half time. Should be alot of fun.
Cory and I are also going to be working a Compassion booth once again, this time at a MercyMe concert on November 8. Looking forward to that! I LOVE MercyMe =)
I have much more to fill you in on, but I gotta get to studying. I just finished my prep work for clinicals (this blog has been in the making for a day and half now lol). I have a huge test on Monday and need to get to work on it. I will try to post more on Monday so I can catch everyone up on Farley Life. =) Have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Help us fight Heart Disease and Stroke!
Hey folks!
Hope everyone had a great week. I plan to blog about the past week here in a couple days, but I wanted to hop on and post a special request. Cory and I are walking in the Amarillo Heart Walk on October 18. Many of you may have recieved my email from the American Heart Association but I wanted to post it here as well.
**********************************************
Dear Friends and Family,
Everyone knows someone affected by heart disease or stroke. For those we love, we will be walking in this year’s Start! Heart Walk. In particular, Lil Papa who passed away October 2, 2007 from a heart attack and Cory's mother, Debby Hardy, who passed away from a brain aneurysm May 4, 2007. We are walking in thier honor. We have set a personal goal to raise funds for the American Heart Association and need your help to reach our donation goal. We are raising critical dollars for heart disease and stroke research and education.
You can help us reach our goal by making a donation online. Click on the icon below and you will be taken to our personal donation page where you can make a secure online credit card donation. The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you prefer to donate less, you can do so by sending a check directly to me. Please notify me by email or by posting a comment on the blog if this is what you are doing and I will make give you my address in privacy. Even $5 can make a difference!
Your donation will help fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. You are making a difference. Thank you for your support.
Love,
Team Farley
**************************************************
Click Here to Donate
Help us fight!! Have a great weekend everyone!
Hope everyone had a great week. I plan to blog about the past week here in a couple days, but I wanted to hop on and post a special request. Cory and I are walking in the Amarillo Heart Walk on October 18. Many of you may have recieved my email from the American Heart Association but I wanted to post it here as well.
**********************************************
Dear Friends and Family,
Everyone knows someone affected by heart disease or stroke. For those we love, we will be walking in this year’s Start! Heart Walk. In particular, Lil Papa who passed away October 2, 2007 from a heart attack and Cory's mother, Debby Hardy, who passed away from a brain aneurysm May 4, 2007. We are walking in thier honor. We have set a personal goal to raise funds for the American Heart Association and need your help to reach our donation goal. We are raising critical dollars for heart disease and stroke research and education.
You can help us reach our goal by making a donation online. Click on the icon below and you will be taken to our personal donation page where you can make a secure online credit card donation. The American Heart Association's online fundraising website has a minimum donation amount of $25.00. If you prefer to donate less, you can do so by sending a check directly to me. Please notify me by email or by posting a comment on the blog if this is what you are doing and I will make give you my address in privacy. Even $5 can make a difference!
Your donation will help fight our nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers—heart disease and stroke. You are making a difference. Thank you for your support.
Love,
Team Farley
**************************************************
Click Here to Donate
Help us fight!! Have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Blogging on drugs!
There is much to blog about this week! And Im blogging on vicoden (which I will get into later) so this should be interesting...lol
First things first....RODEO! Last weekend Cory and I went to the rodeo with Cory's family and it was awesome :D My camera had a difficult time taking the pics because the lighting wasn't so bueno but I still got some ;) Check it out!
Amarillo Rodeo 2008
Here are some videos from the rodeo as well. We had such a blast!
Here is a video of what we like to call Redneck Child Abuse ;)
Barrel Racing
I didnt get video of the bulls, but I got some video of the bucking horses.
There ya have it, Amarillo Rodeo 08.
This week I did clinicals in the Newborn Nursery, which was pretty exciting. I got to give vaccinations to the infants, bathe them, assess them...one doc even let me in on watching a circumcision...Poor little boys! OW! We had to blog this week about circumcision because evidently it is a controversial subject and I didn't realize that. As nurses, we have to educate the parents on the pros and cons, remain unbias no matter what we believe, and allow the parents to make the best decision for thier infant. Pretty interesting subject. So clinicals went well this week =)
Thursday, I had oral surgery :( And that is why I am on vicoden at the moment. I had the baby canine (on the left side of my mouth) removed. The doc then opened the roof of my mouth, exposed the adult canine that is in the roof of my mouth, put a bracket on it with a chain, and closed it back up. Dont worry, I was totally knocked out for all of this! Larry (dad in law) was with me cuz Cory had class and he came and picked me up from the inlaws house after class. Larry took me straight to the orthodontist after the surgery was done (Im totally dead to myself while all this happening, I vaguely remember walking in to the orthodontist). Dr. Sparkman then took the chain and hooked it to the braces wire...he pulled the chain also but I was so numb that I really dont have a clue what he was doing lol. From there, Larry got me to the couch at thier house where I proceeded to pass out with guaze hanging out of my lips ;) When we got home, I took vicoden and passed out cuz it HURTS! Friday proved difficult. Vicoden makes me a happy girl ;) so I chose not to take it all day Friday because I had homework due at noon and also at midnight. I cant think straight on pain meds lol so I didnt take anything yesterday until last nite. Ask Cory, boy was I crabby. I was hurting soooooo bad :( But as soon as the hmwk was done, I took one! I dont have anything due until Monday so I am taking the vicoden over the weekend and attempting to do hmwk. Its just going really really slow ;) Here is a picture (its blurry) of the roof of my mouth. You can see the chain and where they took the tooth out (the baby tooth is gone)but the roof of my mouth is also incredibly swollen :(
Totally not pleasant >< But one day it will be worth it...
Thats about it...the dogs had a good week too...Here they are playing tug of war, which is a rare event in our house...usually its keep away! Have a great weekend!
First things first....RODEO! Last weekend Cory and I went to the rodeo with Cory's family and it was awesome :D My camera had a difficult time taking the pics because the lighting wasn't so bueno but I still got some ;) Check it out!
Amarillo Rodeo 2008
Here are some videos from the rodeo as well. We had such a blast!
Here is a video of what we like to call Redneck Child Abuse ;)
Barrel Racing
I didnt get video of the bulls, but I got some video of the bucking horses.
There ya have it, Amarillo Rodeo 08.
This week I did clinicals in the Newborn Nursery, which was pretty exciting. I got to give vaccinations to the infants, bathe them, assess them...one doc even let me in on watching a circumcision...Poor little boys! OW! We had to blog this week about circumcision because evidently it is a controversial subject and I didn't realize that. As nurses, we have to educate the parents on the pros and cons, remain unbias no matter what we believe, and allow the parents to make the best decision for thier infant. Pretty interesting subject. So clinicals went well this week =)
Thursday, I had oral surgery :( And that is why I am on vicoden at the moment. I had the baby canine (on the left side of my mouth) removed. The doc then opened the roof of my mouth, exposed the adult canine that is in the roof of my mouth, put a bracket on it with a chain, and closed it back up. Dont worry, I was totally knocked out for all of this! Larry (dad in law) was with me cuz Cory had class and he came and picked me up from the inlaws house after class. Larry took me straight to the orthodontist after the surgery was done (Im totally dead to myself while all this happening, I vaguely remember walking in to the orthodontist). Dr. Sparkman then took the chain and hooked it to the braces wire...he pulled the chain also but I was so numb that I really dont have a clue what he was doing lol. From there, Larry got me to the couch at thier house where I proceeded to pass out with guaze hanging out of my lips ;) When we got home, I took vicoden and passed out cuz it HURTS! Friday proved difficult. Vicoden makes me a happy girl ;) so I chose not to take it all day Friday because I had homework due at noon and also at midnight. I cant think straight on pain meds lol so I didnt take anything yesterday until last nite. Ask Cory, boy was I crabby. I was hurting soooooo bad :( But as soon as the hmwk was done, I took one! I dont have anything due until Monday so I am taking the vicoden over the weekend and attempting to do hmwk. Its just going really really slow ;) Here is a picture (its blurry) of the roof of my mouth. You can see the chain and where they took the tooth out (the baby tooth is gone)but the roof of my mouth is also incredibly swollen :(
Totally not pleasant >< But one day it will be worth it...
Thats about it...the dogs had a good week too...Here they are playing tug of war, which is a rare event in our house...usually its keep away! Have a great weekend!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
An emotional week
Hey folks! This is gonna be a long blog so hold tight. This week has proved extremely emotional. This week when I arrived at clinicals, my instructor took us into a conference room where we proceeded to discuss why we chose nursing as a profession, define nursing, how can you impact other nurses...it was such enjoyable conversation as my fellow students (there were 8 of us there total) had profound things to say. We talked for nearly an hour and half and I was surprised that we werent out on the floor yet. Then the wonderful conversation turned sour. Kathy, my clinical instructor, began to cry and stated "of the 8 of you, only 2 are adequately prepared to safely care for patients today." We were all so shocked. We have to research a certain list of medications before each rotation. Evidently only 2 people had completed those medications. The rest left certain things we need to know blank. Kathy delivered an hour and half long speech to us, that had a few of us in tears. She spoke of professionalism now, and being prepared. She spoke of hwo the way we act now will be the way we act when we are out on the floor on our own. We are not in school to be average nurses, we are in school to change lives and provide the safest care possible. To see Kathy's passion really moved me and it was sad to see her so disappointed in us. However, it was a good thing! We had to research an article that related to professionalism and blog about it on our classes website. I would like to share what I wrote, which pretty much sums up how I feel and what Kathy talked about.
***************************************************
This was an incredibly emotional week for us all. As hard as it is to hear these things, I believe it is something we all needed to hear. I know I needed to hear it. I am going to be very open and that is a very vulnerable thing to do, but here it goes. I will admit that last semester took a toll on my confidence in my nursing career. At the end of last semester, I went from a straight A student to a not so straight A student and it killed me. That fact destroyed my confidence. I feel confident in my skills and I feel my passion is in the right place, but my confidence of the overall picture: am I good enough to get through this semester, let alone nursing school? Am I good enough to pass the NCLEX? Am I good enough to be a nurse, period? All summer I struggled with these questions. When Kathy spoke to us Tuesday, this all changed and she really put my focus in the right place. I REALLY needed to hear what she said. I think we all get caught up in the massive workload we have during the semester with homework, reading, studying, tests, clinicals…We get caught up in just “hoping to pass.” Like Kathy said today, why are we not striving for an A? I was not ok with receiving a C last semester but going into this semester with my confidence level as it was, I was one of those people thinking to themselves “if I can only get through this week; If I can only get a B or a C on this test, I will be alright.” No, that’s not acceptable and Kathy helped me get back where I need to be, striving for the best and not doing it for “the class,” but doing it for my future patients. Nursing school is not like any other degree. Every week, we take lives in our hands. Sure, we know that but when we really look deeper, we have peoples LIVES in OUR hands.
In an article called “I was actually a nurse: The meaning of Professionalism for Baccalaureate Nursing Students,” researchers studied BSN students to discover nursing students perspectives of what it means to be professional. All of the student’s responses related to belonging, knowing and affirmation. The students described belonging as being “a part of the team” with other nurses, doctors, and instructors. We have all felt that way as we have to provide collaborative care and work with others for the best of the patient. But what if we weren’t giving our all because we were not prepared? What would our teammates say? The students described affirmation as a result of their interaction with their patients and others. We feel good when our patients tell us “oh, you are going to be a great nurse!” Knowing we impacted them in such a great way makes us feel so good. If they knew we were only striving for C’s, what would they say then? Finally, the student’s described knowing as an ability to inform patients or family because they know! How do we “know” if we are not striving for the best and giving it all we can to learn the material we need to know to provide safe care?
I do not say all these things to make us feel bad. I think we already feel that way! I know I do. We need to be accountable to ourselves, our instructors, our profession, but most importantly, our patients. I thank Kathy for the things she said to us because I needed to hear it. As hard as it was to hear, it has helped my confidence and brought me back to the right place. It has reminded me that I am here to be a NURSE, to care for others, to serve others and to provide the safest care possible. We might be “nursing students” now but one day we are going to be a “real nurse.” Our patients perceive us as nurses already and we need to live up to that. We should not find our professional identity later. We need to find it now. We are going to make a difference in this world, that’s why we chose this profession. I encourage all of you to take what Kathy said and build and learn from it. You all saw her passion this week and we need to be embrace that passion!
******************************************************
On Wednesday, after clinical, I told Kathy all these things that I blogged about. About my confidence issues and such and I thanked her for her passion and sharing that with us cuz we so needed to hear it. It changed my whole perspective and I feel so much better about my nursing career now! I was crying while talking to her and of course, she started to cry with me and we hugged and embraced and it was a total student/instructor bonding moment! I did find out that I was one of the two that was prepared...PHEW!!!! I was just so incredibly thankful for what she did.
Here is a reply that also reflects how I felt during the week:
AMEN TYLER! I am right by your side beginning a new nursing life as well. We can be “born again nursing students” together! I don’t believe that our lack of confidence makes us weak. I think it demonstrates humanity. We are able to take that, benefit from it and become better nurses because of it. It would be so much easier to just give up and quit, but we did not choose this profession to quit. We chose this profession to change lives. We chose this profession because we want to make a difference. You are so right that we need to responsible, accountable, understanding and trustworthy. There are so many things that make a nurse and we need to encompass all those values. I want to thank you for being vulnerable too. It’s good to know that I am not alone and that we can encourage one another and lift each other up. We can do this!!!
*************************************
Kathy responded to all of our blogs with this:
To each of you...I am SO incredibly proud of each one of you! I am smiling as I write this, but by eyes are full of tears. YOU have each shared yourselves with one another...many of you putting yourselves and your emotions right out on the line. Others have responded with encouragement, praise and heartfelt caring.
This has been an emotional week for many of us, but mostly for you all. It started Tuesday in clinicals, and you were forced to endure me again on Thursday in class. Hat off to each of you. Your grace, your caring, and your willingness to take on this project of Professionalism in Nursing has been such a blessing to me! I love you all!
You have reminded me why I love being a nurse. I am one of you, too. Don't ever forget that. We must encourage and support one another....always! If you haven't joined WTNSA yet, I strongly encourage you to come out on Monday at 1200 noon and join alongside me. We will be a great team together!
As someone posted, let's be "born again" nurses, using this week's events to change us forever! Thank you for all your postings, comments, and encouraging words. I am so proud of you. Have a great weekend!
Kathy
***************************************************
What an amazing, lifechanging week. I also got to help deliver babies this week! I participated in two births on Tuesday and I was pretty much thrown in thier as the baby was being born. I was holding a leg ;) On Wednesday, I took care of this new momma from 3 cm dilation all the way thru recovery. She was a delight to care for becuz she was so excited to be a new mom! I got to help her push before the doc got in, I held her leg and gave encouragment during the actual labor and helped in recovery after birth (We have to rub the uterus every 15 mins to make sure that it shrinks and tightens up to its original size to prevent hemorrhaging and help her with her new baby!) It was so exciting. I cried each time. I witnessed miracles this week. Simply amazing. Praise God for the amazing things He can do!!!
On a total non emotional note, LOL, I will end with some photos of my flowerbed. Everything began to bloom this week so I was very excited! (ok, so a lil emotional ;) ) YAY!
My Flowerbed
We also had to buy a rug to cover in front of the fireplace where Luna snarfed some carpet until we get a chance to fix it. Vala has decided it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. This is only a small fraction of what she usually does. But I was able to catch a tiny footage of a psycho kitty freakout! Enjoy!
***************************************************
This was an incredibly emotional week for us all. As hard as it is to hear these things, I believe it is something we all needed to hear. I know I needed to hear it. I am going to be very open and that is a very vulnerable thing to do, but here it goes. I will admit that last semester took a toll on my confidence in my nursing career. At the end of last semester, I went from a straight A student to a not so straight A student and it killed me. That fact destroyed my confidence. I feel confident in my skills and I feel my passion is in the right place, but my confidence of the overall picture: am I good enough to get through this semester, let alone nursing school? Am I good enough to pass the NCLEX? Am I good enough to be a nurse, period? All summer I struggled with these questions. When Kathy spoke to us Tuesday, this all changed and she really put my focus in the right place. I REALLY needed to hear what she said. I think we all get caught up in the massive workload we have during the semester with homework, reading, studying, tests, clinicals…We get caught up in just “hoping to pass.” Like Kathy said today, why are we not striving for an A? I was not ok with receiving a C last semester but going into this semester with my confidence level as it was, I was one of those people thinking to themselves “if I can only get through this week; If I can only get a B or a C on this test, I will be alright.” No, that’s not acceptable and Kathy helped me get back where I need to be, striving for the best and not doing it for “the class,” but doing it for my future patients. Nursing school is not like any other degree. Every week, we take lives in our hands. Sure, we know that but when we really look deeper, we have peoples LIVES in OUR hands.
In an article called “I was actually a nurse: The meaning of Professionalism for Baccalaureate Nursing Students,” researchers studied BSN students to discover nursing students perspectives of what it means to be professional. All of the student’s responses related to belonging, knowing and affirmation. The students described belonging as being “a part of the team” with other nurses, doctors, and instructors. We have all felt that way as we have to provide collaborative care and work with others for the best of the patient. But what if we weren’t giving our all because we were not prepared? What would our teammates say? The students described affirmation as a result of their interaction with their patients and others. We feel good when our patients tell us “oh, you are going to be a great nurse!” Knowing we impacted them in such a great way makes us feel so good. If they knew we were only striving for C’s, what would they say then? Finally, the student’s described knowing as an ability to inform patients or family because they know! How do we “know” if we are not striving for the best and giving it all we can to learn the material we need to know to provide safe care?
I do not say all these things to make us feel bad. I think we already feel that way! I know I do. We need to be accountable to ourselves, our instructors, our profession, but most importantly, our patients. I thank Kathy for the things she said to us because I needed to hear it. As hard as it was to hear, it has helped my confidence and brought me back to the right place. It has reminded me that I am here to be a NURSE, to care for others, to serve others and to provide the safest care possible. We might be “nursing students” now but one day we are going to be a “real nurse.” Our patients perceive us as nurses already and we need to live up to that. We should not find our professional identity later. We need to find it now. We are going to make a difference in this world, that’s why we chose this profession. I encourage all of you to take what Kathy said and build and learn from it. You all saw her passion this week and we need to be embrace that passion!
******************************************************
On Wednesday, after clinical, I told Kathy all these things that I blogged about. About my confidence issues and such and I thanked her for her passion and sharing that with us cuz we so needed to hear it. It changed my whole perspective and I feel so much better about my nursing career now! I was crying while talking to her and of course, she started to cry with me and we hugged and embraced and it was a total student/instructor bonding moment! I did find out that I was one of the two that was prepared...PHEW!!!! I was just so incredibly thankful for what she did.
Here is a reply that also reflects how I felt during the week:
AMEN TYLER! I am right by your side beginning a new nursing life as well. We can be “born again nursing students” together! I don’t believe that our lack of confidence makes us weak. I think it demonstrates humanity. We are able to take that, benefit from it and become better nurses because of it. It would be so much easier to just give up and quit, but we did not choose this profession to quit. We chose this profession to change lives. We chose this profession because we want to make a difference. You are so right that we need to responsible, accountable, understanding and trustworthy. There are so many things that make a nurse and we need to encompass all those values. I want to thank you for being vulnerable too. It’s good to know that I am not alone and that we can encourage one another and lift each other up. We can do this!!!
*************************************
Kathy responded to all of our blogs with this:
To each of you...I am SO incredibly proud of each one of you! I am smiling as I write this, but by eyes are full of tears. YOU have each shared yourselves with one another...many of you putting yourselves and your emotions right out on the line. Others have responded with encouragement, praise and heartfelt caring.
This has been an emotional week for many of us, but mostly for you all. It started Tuesday in clinicals, and you were forced to endure me again on Thursday in class. Hat off to each of you. Your grace, your caring, and your willingness to take on this project of Professionalism in Nursing has been such a blessing to me! I love you all!
You have reminded me why I love being a nurse. I am one of you, too. Don't ever forget that. We must encourage and support one another....always! If you haven't joined WTNSA yet, I strongly encourage you to come out on Monday at 1200 noon and join alongside me. We will be a great team together!
As someone posted, let's be "born again" nurses, using this week's events to change us forever! Thank you for all your postings, comments, and encouraging words. I am so proud of you. Have a great weekend!
Kathy
***************************************************
What an amazing, lifechanging week. I also got to help deliver babies this week! I participated in two births on Tuesday and I was pretty much thrown in thier as the baby was being born. I was holding a leg ;) On Wednesday, I took care of this new momma from 3 cm dilation all the way thru recovery. She was a delight to care for becuz she was so excited to be a new mom! I got to help her push before the doc got in, I held her leg and gave encouragment during the actual labor and helped in recovery after birth (We have to rub the uterus every 15 mins to make sure that it shrinks and tightens up to its original size to prevent hemorrhaging and help her with her new baby!) It was so exciting. I cried each time. I witnessed miracles this week. Simply amazing. Praise God for the amazing things He can do!!!
On a total non emotional note, LOL, I will end with some photos of my flowerbed. Everything began to bloom this week so I was very excited! (ok, so a lil emotional ;) ) YAY!
My Flowerbed
We also had to buy a rug to cover in front of the fireplace where Luna snarfed some carpet until we get a chance to fix it. Vala has decided it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. This is only a small fraction of what she usually does. But I was able to catch a tiny footage of a psycho kitty freakout! Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Another week and a lil bit of missing carpet...
Hello family and friends,
Sorry that the gaps between blogs have become quite long. These past few weeks have been crazy, I feel like I'm drowning in school. This past week I was on the pediatric floor and I was quite nervous when I got there, but after I was there for a bit, it was really quite fun. I enjoyed it! Today and tomorrow I am in labor and delivery so I am pretty excited about that!
The past week and weekend has been quite eventful for me. Cory claims nothing to exciting for his week, other than homework and TA-ing. School was busy because I had 4 chapters due on Thursday (study guide/writing out objectives) and those take me about 2-3 hours each to do :( , OB med cards due on Thursday and my paperwork for the week also due Thursday. It was hectic. But thankfully, I made it through it. Thursday, I met with the volunteer coordinator for Hospice care of the Southwest and will hopefully be starting that this week or next. I will be visiting 4-6 hospice patients at a nursing home each month and multiple times if I am able. I am very excited to start! I spent most of my past weekend studying because I had a test yesterday. It was hard so I am not quite sure how I did :| On Saturday, our neighbors, the Harrisons, came over and asked us a crazy question..."would you like our garage door?" Say what?! When we moved in our garage door worked and looked fine, but was slightly banged up. It was bolted together and we think that whoever lived here before backed into it. They knew that our garage wasnt the best of garages and offered us thier old one because they were getting a new insulated one. WOW! So the guys that were there installing the Harrison's garage came to our house and installed thier old one at our house and disposed of our old one. How awesome, we have a new garage!!! That saved us about $1500 because we were planning to replace our garage before we moved. Thanks Lord for blessing us once again and thanks for such generous people!!! We also finished our 2nd week of Financial Peace University. This class was given to us from the Jacksons and the Landas as a wedding gift and we have finally found a class that is in our hometown and works well for our schedules. It is such a blast! We watch a Dave Ramsey seminar on DVD and then we go to small groups. It is sooooooo much fun and what a wealth of knowledge we are gaining. =) Its awesome!
In Luna news, she has to use the kennel again for awhile until rug eating braincells have diminished. She was doing so great for nearly 2 months, then one day I came home and she had pulled up and shredded the carpet by our fireplace >< She got in trouble ans we gave her a second chance and left her out the next day, and she did it again. We got a rug to cover it for now. Eventually, when we find time, Cory thinks we can fix it by cutting out a piece of carpet from one of the closets. *sigh* the joy of puppies....
This weekend we have plans to attend the rodeo at the tri-state fair with the Smiths so I am looking forward to that. I LOVE THE RODEO!
Here are some photos from the past month =) Have a great week everyone.
August Randomness
Sorry that the gaps between blogs have become quite long. These past few weeks have been crazy, I feel like I'm drowning in school. This past week I was on the pediatric floor and I was quite nervous when I got there, but after I was there for a bit, it was really quite fun. I enjoyed it! Today and tomorrow I am in labor and delivery so I am pretty excited about that!
The past week and weekend has been quite eventful for me. Cory claims nothing to exciting for his week, other than homework and TA-ing. School was busy because I had 4 chapters due on Thursday (study guide/writing out objectives) and those take me about 2-3 hours each to do :( , OB med cards due on Thursday and my paperwork for the week also due Thursday. It was hectic. But thankfully, I made it through it. Thursday, I met with the volunteer coordinator for Hospice care of the Southwest and will hopefully be starting that this week or next. I will be visiting 4-6 hospice patients at a nursing home each month and multiple times if I am able. I am very excited to start! I spent most of my past weekend studying because I had a test yesterday. It was hard so I am not quite sure how I did :| On Saturday, our neighbors, the Harrisons, came over and asked us a crazy question..."would you like our garage door?" Say what?! When we moved in our garage door worked and looked fine, but was slightly banged up. It was bolted together and we think that whoever lived here before backed into it. They knew that our garage wasnt the best of garages and offered us thier old one because they were getting a new insulated one. WOW! So the guys that were there installing the Harrison's garage came to our house and installed thier old one at our house and disposed of our old one. How awesome, we have a new garage!!! That saved us about $1500 because we were planning to replace our garage before we moved. Thanks Lord for blessing us once again and thanks for such generous people!!! We also finished our 2nd week of Financial Peace University. This class was given to us from the Jacksons and the Landas as a wedding gift and we have finally found a class that is in our hometown and works well for our schedules. It is such a blast! We watch a Dave Ramsey seminar on DVD and then we go to small groups. It is sooooooo much fun and what a wealth of knowledge we are gaining. =) Its awesome!
In Luna news, she has to use the kennel again for awhile until rug eating braincells have diminished. She was doing so great for nearly 2 months, then one day I came home and she had pulled up and shredded the carpet by our fireplace >< She got in trouble ans we gave her a second chance and left her out the next day, and she did it again. We got a rug to cover it for now. Eventually, when we find time, Cory thinks we can fix it by cutting out a piece of carpet from one of the closets. *sigh* the joy of puppies....
This weekend we have plans to attend the rodeo at the tri-state fair with the Smiths so I am looking forward to that. I LOVE THE RODEO!
Here are some photos from the past month =) Have a great week everyone.
August Randomness
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Phew, the weekend is here!!!
This week has proved just as crazy as the last week. I started clinicals so that was exciting. I worked in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) working with premature babies you can hold in one hand and babies born with different birth defects. One infant was so sick that the parents were having to consider taking her off the ventilator. It was a heartbreaking area to work. So sad what some of these parents have to go through. Also heartbreaking because some of the infants have severe medical problems because the mother neglected to take care of herself while pregnant. It was an eye opening experience. Next week I will be working on the pediatric floor. I am a little nervous for that. But I look at it this way, there have been plenty of things in nursing school I have been terrified to do and overcome those obstacles so I can do this ;) Cory has changed his schedule a bit so he is at Texas Tech pretty much all day and finally got his TA job figured out. He will be teaching/assisting in a MatLAB four times a week and also grading papers. Our entire week consist of coming home and doing homework. We have also been jogging 1.2 miles four times a week. Amazing how much easier it has gotten over the past 2 weeks for the both of us. The dogs really enjoy the jogs.
I also had a consult with an oral surgeon this week about having my baby canine removed. I really like the doctor but I am quite nervous for the procedure. My adult canine is in the roof of my mouth. He is going to cut into the roof of my mouth, put a bracket and chain on the tooth up there, remove the baby canine and slowly over time my orthodontist will pull the adult tooth down. I know a few people who have done this but still, its scary :| I am calling them back on Monday to schedule an appointment.
This past weekend we went to Quitaque and went hunting. It was alot of fun but really angered my allergies. Cory is fixin to go back today to hunt dove but I am staying behind so my allergies will not try and kill me like they did last weekend. Here are pictures of last weekend ;)
Dove Hunting 2008
Have a great weekend everyone =)
I also had a consult with an oral surgeon this week about having my baby canine removed. I really like the doctor but I am quite nervous for the procedure. My adult canine is in the roof of my mouth. He is going to cut into the roof of my mouth, put a bracket and chain on the tooth up there, remove the baby canine and slowly over time my orthodontist will pull the adult tooth down. I know a few people who have done this but still, its scary :| I am calling them back on Monday to schedule an appointment.
This past weekend we went to Quitaque and went hunting. It was alot of fun but really angered my allergies. Cory is fixin to go back today to hunt dove but I am staying behind so my allergies will not try and kill me like they did last weekend. Here are pictures of last weekend ;)
Dove Hunting 2008
Have a great weekend everyone =)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Phew, we survived!
Well this first week back to school proved insane! Take a look at my command center...
Awesome isnt it? No, not really. This semester is going to be VERY busy. But I survived and got everything in on time, even though I wasnt sure if I was going to be able to get everything done. PHEW! I got home from class about 3 everyday this week and did hmwk from the moment I got home til about 10 at night...I am in my pediatric/OB rotation and I am also taking a research class online that requires a paper every week on top of other hmwk >< HAPPY NEWS! I switched my clinical hours to Evenings so now I will be in clincial from about 12 or 1 til 6 or 7 when I am at the hospitals. That means I dont have to wake up at 4 am to get to clinicals that start at 615! That was a happy switch cuz I think I will sleep better this semester since I wont have to worry about getting up before the crack of dawn. Hopefully things calm down a tiny bit after this first initial week. Cory is coping well with his new found stress that is grad school! He is taking a heat transfer class, a linear algebra class and a chemistry class called "powder xray defractonometer" which will be helpful for his thesis. He starts his TA job soon and will be working in the lab for his thesis.
Im gonna head out. got some errands to run and then some hmwk to do. Cory and I are heading to Quitique tomarrow hopefully to find we have a place to hunt dove. Monday dove season opens. If we dont get to go after dove, Cory will at least get to sight in his rifle.
I have linked 4 albums of our Florida trip we took in May. I finally got them posted! YAY! It is a lil bit of a picture overload but at least they are finally up. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!
Florida: Vol 1
Florida: Vol 2
Florida: Vol 3
Florida: Vol 4
Awesome isnt it? No, not really. This semester is going to be VERY busy. But I survived and got everything in on time, even though I wasnt sure if I was going to be able to get everything done. PHEW! I got home from class about 3 everyday this week and did hmwk from the moment I got home til about 10 at night...I am in my pediatric/OB rotation and I am also taking a research class online that requires a paper every week on top of other hmwk >< HAPPY NEWS! I switched my clinical hours to Evenings so now I will be in clincial from about 12 or 1 til 6 or 7 when I am at the hospitals. That means I dont have to wake up at 4 am to get to clinicals that start at 615! That was a happy switch cuz I think I will sleep better this semester since I wont have to worry about getting up before the crack of dawn. Hopefully things calm down a tiny bit after this first initial week. Cory is coping well with his new found stress that is grad school! He is taking a heat transfer class, a linear algebra class and a chemistry class called "powder xray defractonometer" which will be helpful for his thesis. He starts his TA job soon and will be working in the lab for his thesis.
Im gonna head out. got some errands to run and then some hmwk to do. Cory and I are heading to Quitique tomarrow hopefully to find we have a place to hunt dove. Monday dove season opens. If we dont get to go after dove, Cory will at least get to sight in his rifle.
I have linked 4 albums of our Florida trip we took in May. I finally got them posted! YAY! It is a lil bit of a picture overload but at least they are finally up. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!
Florida: Vol 1
Florida: Vol 2
Florida: Vol 3
Florida: Vol 4
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Saturday morning
Been busy this past week. Cory got his classes all figured out so that is a relief. We visited with his professor he will be working with and got to see the lab, which I thought was totally cool. I told Cory when we left that I was glad I was not engineer grad student becuz I would be scared to operate all the equipment in the lab, I would be sure to start a chain reaction that blew up the entire school :| I think I will stick to nursing ;) We both start class on Monday and are both excited but also nervous. Sadly, I am already working on homework even though class hasnt started yet >< the joys of nursing school. This semester should be interesting as we are doing the mom/pedi/baby rotation. I am actually excited =)
We also worked on the yard a bit more. We went to a nursery here in Plainview and declared chemical warfare on our yard. We have goosegrass, nutgrass and a few other kinds of weeds that we are trying to get rid of. This stuff kills everything but bermuda grass, which we have a healthy amount of. We are hoping that within the next month the bermuda will take over all the dead spots that we hope to soon see. We will see what happens. The fact that no one lived in our house for 6 months before we moved in = crp land pretty much. It doesnt look like crp land anymore lol but there is still some work to be done. We also bought a really nice patio set. We are currently working on a sitting area in our backyard, which I am really excited about!
On to some photos!
This album is tiny. On August 14, Cory and I trooped at the Lubbock Tinseltown for the midnight showing of the Clone Wars. We had a blast =)
Clone Wars
Sadly, my stupid laptop ate about 100 pics that I took while we were in Houston. :( My computer finally made us mad enuf that I got a new laptop ;) Here are the few photos that I was able to take the last few days we were there. We had a great time. We found out that Luna is really really good with kids and her curiousity towards the babies was so funny.
Houston
Here is adorable Josh talking to Luna.
Hi June dog
I had a really great video of Luna and Josh playing but my old computer ate it :( This video is pretty cute though :)
So theres some pics and videos of the day. While I wait for Cory to wake up, I am doing homework. Little does he know but when after he wakes up, we are going for a jog! Have a great rest of the weekend everyone :)
We also worked on the yard a bit more. We went to a nursery here in Plainview and declared chemical warfare on our yard. We have goosegrass, nutgrass and a few other kinds of weeds that we are trying to get rid of. This stuff kills everything but bermuda grass, which we have a healthy amount of. We are hoping that within the next month the bermuda will take over all the dead spots that we hope to soon see. We will see what happens. The fact that no one lived in our house for 6 months before we moved in = crp land pretty much. It doesnt look like crp land anymore lol but there is still some work to be done. We also bought a really nice patio set. We are currently working on a sitting area in our backyard, which I am really excited about!
On to some photos!
This album is tiny. On August 14, Cory and I trooped at the Lubbock Tinseltown for the midnight showing of the Clone Wars. We had a blast =)
Clone Wars
Sadly, my stupid laptop ate about 100 pics that I took while we were in Houston. :( My computer finally made us mad enuf that I got a new laptop ;) Here are the few photos that I was able to take the last few days we were there. We had a great time. We found out that Luna is really really good with kids and her curiousity towards the babies was so funny.
Houston
Here is adorable Josh talking to Luna.
Hi June dog
I had a really great video of Luna and Josh playing but my old computer ate it :( This video is pretty cute though :)
So theres some pics and videos of the day. While I wait for Cory to wake up, I am doing homework. Little does he know but when after he wakes up, we are going for a jog! Have a great rest of the weekend everyone :)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Luna is put to the test...
Yesterday Cory and I worked around the house. We are getting some spring cleaning done really late! At one point we decided to go work outside in the flowerbed and on the lawn. It was a nice calm cool day outside so we brought the dogs out with us...without a leash. While June is excellent without a leash anytime, Luna is really good without a leash when she is going to the car and getting to go byebye. We werent sure if her curiosity would make her wander. Well, she passed! She did very well and stayed in the yard with us unleashed for about 2 hours. She knows the street is off limits so here she is "not touching" the street but getting as close as possible. We live on a very peaceful, non busy street so we were ok with her laying there. A car passed right by her, scared me, she just watched it go bye. GOOD GIRL!
We have also been giving her more freedom when we are gone. She is kennel trained but now that she has hit a year old we are allowing her to stay out of the kennel while we are gone for longer and longer periods. Last night, we went out to dinner and a movie with Kendra and Brandon and were gone for about 4 hours. When we got home, nothing fell victim to Luna's lips!!!!! She is slowly gaining more trust and has been left to roam the house when we are gone since we got back from Houston! I am so proud of her :)
Today after church, Cory and I did a lil sales tax free weekend shopping and then just spent the day together watching movies =) It was very nice! Cory also surprised me with...these =) I love my hubby!
Well time to go read and head to bed. We will be heading to Lubbock tomarrow so Cory can get everything in order for his semester and to do a lil shopping. Have a happy Monday all !
We have also been giving her more freedom when we are gone. She is kennel trained but now that she has hit a year old we are allowing her to stay out of the kennel while we are gone for longer and longer periods. Last night, we went out to dinner and a movie with Kendra and Brandon and were gone for about 4 hours. When we got home, nothing fell victim to Luna's lips!!!!! She is slowly gaining more trust and has been left to roam the house when we are gone since we got back from Houston! I am so proud of her :)
Today after church, Cory and I did a lil sales tax free weekend shopping and then just spent the day together watching movies =) It was very nice! Cory also surprised me with...these =) I love my hubby!
Well time to go read and head to bed. We will be heading to Lubbock tomarrow so Cory can get everything in order for his semester and to do a lil shopping. Have a happy Monday all !
Saturday, August 16, 2008
You know your husband loves you when he literally throws you off the bed...
If that is the case, then Cory truely loves me :| This morning looked like this.
We woke up, laid there and talked for a few minutes while snuggling. I decided it was time to get up and Cory proceeded to beg for just a few more minutes. After a few minutes, I decided it was really time to get up. But Cory's bear hug proved difficult to escape from.
Cory: No not yet.
Stephanie: Cory let me up please. We have alot to do today. Let me up.
Cory: Ok fine, then GET UP!
He then launched me off the side of the bed where I landed on my back, on top of a power cord and cranked my elbow on the metal frame of our bed. I couldnt help it but tears came to my eyes cuz it did hurt and I was kind of in shock that I just got tossed off the bed. As I opened my eyes and looked up, Cory's face appeared over the mattress, cackling. But as soon as he saw the tears, that face changed to concern. This sounds like a serious case of spousal abuse huh. well its not. Cory was just playing with me and we were giggling when it happened but he underestimated the slickness of our new 1k count sheets :| As a result, I got launched. I feel loved.
Aside from being launched out of the bed this morning, we are back in Texas for good for awhile. We just got back from an awesome trip to Houston! (pictures to come in the near future) I am still trying to get caught up with the pictures so here are a few more links from our trip to STL.
Here are photos from an armor party at Chris Moody's house.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040111&l=8ea8f&id=71902931
Here is another troop we did with the 70th Explorers. It was Star Wars night at the Grizzlies game.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040115&l=266fb&id=71902931
I would blog more but Cory and I are getting ready for an evening with our pals the Smiths. =) Dinner and a super cheap movie at the Plainview theater! we love cheap fun. Have a great weekend!
We woke up, laid there and talked for a few minutes while snuggling. I decided it was time to get up and Cory proceeded to beg for just a few more minutes. After a few minutes, I decided it was really time to get up. But Cory's bear hug proved difficult to escape from.
Cory: No not yet.
Stephanie: Cory let me up please. We have alot to do today. Let me up.
Cory: Ok fine, then GET UP!
He then launched me off the side of the bed where I landed on my back, on top of a power cord and cranked my elbow on the metal frame of our bed. I couldnt help it but tears came to my eyes cuz it did hurt and I was kind of in shock that I just got tossed off the bed. As I opened my eyes and looked up, Cory's face appeared over the mattress, cackling. But as soon as he saw the tears, that face changed to concern. This sounds like a serious case of spousal abuse huh. well its not. Cory was just playing with me and we were giggling when it happened but he underestimated the slickness of our new 1k count sheets :| As a result, I got launched. I feel loved.
Aside from being launched out of the bed this morning, we are back in Texas for good for awhile. We just got back from an awesome trip to Houston! (pictures to come in the near future) I am still trying to get caught up with the pictures so here are a few more links from our trip to STL.
Here are photos from an armor party at Chris Moody's house.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040111&l=8ea8f&id=71902931
Here is another troop we did with the 70th Explorers. It was Star Wars night at the Grizzlies game.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2040115&l=266fb&id=71902931
I would blog more but Cory and I are getting ready for an evening with our pals the Smiths. =) Dinner and a super cheap movie at the Plainview theater! we love cheap fun. Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Some pictures...as promised
Finally got a few albums uploaded for your viewing pleasure! Here is an album of random shots taken while visiting the family in St. Louis.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039589&l=89f49&id=71902931
Here is an album of Aaron's visit on his two days off. We were suppose to go up to Chicago and visit them but we had some family priorities to tend to so were unable to make it. While Aaron was in town, we went to the City Museum. This is not your regular museum. What was once a shoe factory back in the day is now a giant playground of trash and recycled things. It is so fun. The museum stays open late til about 1 am on the weekends with an outside bar. It is a blast! You climb, you sweat, you get stuck, you tear your clothes to peices...its so cool :D
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039597&l=8eaa6&id=71902931
So there are some photos as promised. Day 3 of braces is proving more painful then the first few days. Definately feel like someone has whacked me in the mouth with a baseball bat :( Today Cory and I are prepping for our trip to Houston. That means laundry laundry laundry! Hope everyone is doing well and staying out of the killer heat!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039589&l=89f49&id=71902931
Here is an album of Aaron's visit on his two days off. We were suppose to go up to Chicago and visit them but we had some family priorities to tend to so were unable to make it. While Aaron was in town, we went to the City Museum. This is not your regular museum. What was once a shoe factory back in the day is now a giant playground of trash and recycled things. It is so fun. The museum stays open late til about 1 am on the weekends with an outside bar. It is a blast! You climb, you sweat, you get stuck, you tear your clothes to peices...its so cool :D
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039597&l=8eaa6&id=71902931
So there are some photos as promised. Day 3 of braces is proving more painful then the first few days. Definately feel like someone has whacked me in the mouth with a baseball bat :( Today Cory and I are prepping for our trip to Houston. That means laundry laundry laundry! Hope everyone is doing well and staying out of the killer heat!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Back in Texas...but not for long!
Well, We made it home on Sunday. While it is nice to be back in our own home, I already miss being with the family back in the Lou :( Cant wait til school is done and we can move back!! I long for the day! We had alot of fun while in the Lou. I have pics to prove it. As you well know, my albums have once again piled up. I will do my best to post them in the next week or two.
Yesterday proved very productive and very painful! I woke up at 7 am to my Luna Alarm Clock. Trust me, stay away from these clocks...they are persistant and there is no snooze button ! >< Since I couldnt go back to sleep, I decided to surprise Cory by mowing the front lawn so that he only had the back to do and this made him very happy! After a shower and tossing on some makeup, we hopped in the car to start our very busy day. At 11 I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned with a new dentist whom I was quite pleased with! She was very nice and thier office is very very cute. They do all they can to make thier patients feel comfortable and thier office has a home-y feel about. Sadly, I found out that two pre-existing fillings need refilled so I will have to go back for that soon. After that I ran to the office for the hospice volunteering that I will be starting in September. I turned in my orientation paperwork and got a form I had to take to LapCorp where I had to pee in a cup. *sigh* Being the huge drug addict that I am, I had alot to worry about ;) Took that paper back to them , got a spiffy badge and then headed off to the orthodontist.
This is Day 2 of braces and holy cow...OW. The experience of getting them on wasnt to bad. Now that they are on, my teeth are adjusting and are so so tender. Biting down at all is out of the question. Yesterday my menu consisted of mashed potatoes and later, oatmeal. Today it was a Slimfast for breakfast and later we went out for chinese where I was pretty much only able to eat rice and noodles. Cory cackled as he ate a egg roll right in front of me, how sad. I am taking ibprofen as often as I can lol. Very very sore but totally going to be worth it. When I first looked in the mirror it made me want to cry lol cuz I totally look like a dorky teenager. While there is nothing wrong with being a dorky teenager, one hopes to look more adult in thier 20s ;) I admit I shed a few tears. However, I have two options. I can either choose to not smile and be shy about it or I can continue to smile, be proud of my current dorky style knowing that in the future my teeth will be straight! I go with option 2!!! It takes alot of effort to go with option 2, but to late to turn back now eh. Here are a few pictures. Honestly these are not the most attractive pictures of me but oh well...I have nothing to hide if I choose to smile!
Sorry this picture is dark. My front teeth are clear brackets which my adult side chose to go with ;) Get this. My front two teeth have some kind of power strip thing that pulls them together quicker. This picture was taken last nite and my gap, believe or not, was already closing. My gap, pre braces, was bigger than what is shown in this picture. When I woke up this morning, it was completely closed. WHOA!
Ya, attractive I know :P I have metal on the bottom as they are tougher and Dr. Sparkman said he puts metal on everyones bottoms becuz that area is more prone to getting broken brackets. The clear ones are not quite as strong and have a higher chance of breaking if used on the bottom teeth. ( /start sarcasm) I love how the brackets and wire clearly define how crooked your teeth actually are! /end sarcasm.
I also have a lovely lil spring here. It is going to completely rotate a backwards molar to its proper position. Orthodontics is simply amazing.
Here I am, all pathetic and smiling big so you can see them with the rest of my face. Mind you, I was not feeling very well here, my hair is thrown up with very little makeup.... but I definately look 14 dont I...ya...awesome :P
So I definately feel like my teeth are falling out : But it will be worth it in the end! I also got a Wall-e out of the whole ordeal! Cory bought me a Wall-e that hooks up to your ipod and plays your music thru his lil body which is a speaker. Not only does he play music, he responds to your voice and bust a groove to your music thats playing thru him!
He is grooving to some christian music. He really likes Mercyme. As you will see, he tends to get a lil charasmatic in his praise and worship.
Today Cory got up early to mow the lawn while I worked on unpacking. Didnt feel like doing that much yesterday by the time we got home. We also had some success today!!!! We left Luna out of the kennel for an hour and half today while we were out running errands...and SHE DIDNT EAT ANYTHING while we were gone! She was a good pup!!! We are attempting to make it so she doesnt have to stay in the kennel while we are gone and hopefully soon she will be able to run the house with June while we are out. The last time we tried this, she took a few knick knacks off of tables of her choosing and proceeded to chew on them. Not so bueno. We are trying again and today, no poor knick knack fell victim. YAY! Hopefully she will continue to be a good pup. I really dont want to have to kennel her while we are gone for school. Although it would only be a few hours at a time, I still would rather her run the house.
Well its time for some ibprofen!!! I will attempt to post some pics tomarrow. Cory and I will be leaving Thursday morning to spend a week in Houston with our southern Texas pals. Cant wait to see you guys!!!!
Yesterday proved very productive and very painful! I woke up at 7 am to my Luna Alarm Clock. Trust me, stay away from these clocks...they are persistant and there is no snooze button ! >< Since I couldnt go back to sleep, I decided to surprise Cory by mowing the front lawn so that he only had the back to do and this made him very happy! After a shower and tossing on some makeup, we hopped in the car to start our very busy day. At 11 I had a dentist appointment to get my teeth cleaned with a new dentist whom I was quite pleased with! She was very nice and thier office is very very cute. They do all they can to make thier patients feel comfortable and thier office has a home-y feel about. Sadly, I found out that two pre-existing fillings need refilled so I will have to go back for that soon. After that I ran to the office for the hospice volunteering that I will be starting in September. I turned in my orientation paperwork and got a form I had to take to LapCorp where I had to pee in a cup. *sigh* Being the huge drug addict that I am, I had alot to worry about ;) Took that paper back to them , got a spiffy badge and then headed off to the orthodontist.
This is Day 2 of braces and holy cow...OW. The experience of getting them on wasnt to bad. Now that they are on, my teeth are adjusting and are so so tender. Biting down at all is out of the question. Yesterday my menu consisted of mashed potatoes and later, oatmeal. Today it was a Slimfast for breakfast and later we went out for chinese where I was pretty much only able to eat rice and noodles. Cory cackled as he ate a egg roll right in front of me, how sad. I am taking ibprofen as often as I can lol. Very very sore but totally going to be worth it. When I first looked in the mirror it made me want to cry lol cuz I totally look like a dorky teenager. While there is nothing wrong with being a dorky teenager, one hopes to look more adult in thier 20s ;) I admit I shed a few tears. However, I have two options. I can either choose to not smile and be shy about it or I can continue to smile, be proud of my current dorky style knowing that in the future my teeth will be straight! I go with option 2!!! It takes alot of effort to go with option 2, but to late to turn back now eh. Here are a few pictures. Honestly these are not the most attractive pictures of me but oh well...I have nothing to hide if I choose to smile!
Sorry this picture is dark. My front teeth are clear brackets which my adult side chose to go with ;) Get this. My front two teeth have some kind of power strip thing that pulls them together quicker. This picture was taken last nite and my gap, believe or not, was already closing. My gap, pre braces, was bigger than what is shown in this picture. When I woke up this morning, it was completely closed. WHOA!
Ya, attractive I know :P I have metal on the bottom as they are tougher and Dr. Sparkman said he puts metal on everyones bottoms becuz that area is more prone to getting broken brackets. The clear ones are not quite as strong and have a higher chance of breaking if used on the bottom teeth. ( /start sarcasm) I love how the brackets and wire clearly define how crooked your teeth actually are! /end sarcasm.
I also have a lovely lil spring here. It is going to completely rotate a backwards molar to its proper position. Orthodontics is simply amazing.
Here I am, all pathetic and smiling big so you can see them with the rest of my face. Mind you, I was not feeling very well here, my hair is thrown up with very little makeup.... but I definately look 14 dont I...ya...awesome :P
So I definately feel like my teeth are falling out : But it will be worth it in the end! I also got a Wall-e out of the whole ordeal! Cory bought me a Wall-e that hooks up to your ipod and plays your music thru his lil body which is a speaker. Not only does he play music, he responds to your voice and bust a groove to your music thats playing thru him!
He is grooving to some christian music. He really likes Mercyme. As you will see, he tends to get a lil charasmatic in his praise and worship.
Today Cory got up early to mow the lawn while I worked on unpacking. Didnt feel like doing that much yesterday by the time we got home. We also had some success today!!!! We left Luna out of the kennel for an hour and half today while we were out running errands...and SHE DIDNT EAT ANYTHING while we were gone! She was a good pup!!! We are attempting to make it so she doesnt have to stay in the kennel while we are gone and hopefully soon she will be able to run the house with June while we are out. The last time we tried this, she took a few knick knacks off of tables of her choosing and proceeded to chew on them. Not so bueno. We are trying again and today, no poor knick knack fell victim. YAY! Hopefully she will continue to be a good pup. I really dont want to have to kennel her while we are gone for school. Although it would only be a few hours at a time, I still would rather her run the house.
Well its time for some ibprofen!!! I will attempt to post some pics tomarrow. Cory and I will be leaving Thursday morning to spend a week in Houston with our southern Texas pals. Cant wait to see you guys!!!!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Trooping and floating!
Yep, been awhile since I posted! Been super busy here in the Lou. Been doing alot of "chunk'n" as I, mom and Grandma now like to call it. Chunk'n = being productive, getting things done in such a fashion that you do a chunk ( a few items on your list either that same day or close time frame) and then proudly mark it off your list. You look at your list to find that HOORAY a chunk has been marked off and you go on to the next chunk, thus chunk'n. That probably makes no sense to anyone, but trust me, there has been alot of chunk'n happening here in the Lou. Mom and I have been spending alot of time at my Grandma Honey's helping her with work and other odds n ends. When I come home, I love to try and help family with projects and help chunk things off of thier list. I have also been working on my hospice "take home" training. It hasn't been all chunk'n though! On July 13th, Cory, Dad and I trooped at a Toy Show. It was a blast. Follow the link for some pics!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039065&l=f87f8&id=71902931
We also found time to float down the Meramec. It was a blast. We tipped a couple times as did Mom and Dad when they went thru rapids and got taken out by a tree. The pups were good for the most part. They moved from side to side in the canoe causing Cory and I to have to lean for balance. What an oblique workout! They nearly tipped us a few times and one time, they knocked me right out of my seat! Luna also discovered that she likes water but she is unsure about swimming. About 5 miles into our 9 mile float, she started whoa whoaing like mad. First of all she wanted her canoe to be in the lead. As long as whichever canoe she was in was in lead, she was ok...for awhile. Then she decided I want out of the canoe so WHOA WHOA WHOA. But when she was out, she wanted back in! Such an indecisive pup. Heres are some pics of the float. It really was alot of fun!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039069&l=4391a&id=71902931
Now we are down to our last week here. Sadly it will go by fast because we have alot of things planned. To start off the week, I am meeting with my wonderful lil cousin Brittany to discuss college stuff and on Monday, we will be trooping at a minor league baseball game in Illinois!
Once again, the picture folders have piled up and I still have yet to put up the pics of our trip to Florida. ;) Hope all is well with everyone! Im off to bed!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039065&l=f87f8&id=71902931
We also found time to float down the Meramec. It was a blast. We tipped a couple times as did Mom and Dad when they went thru rapids and got taken out by a tree. The pups were good for the most part. They moved from side to side in the canoe causing Cory and I to have to lean for balance. What an oblique workout! They nearly tipped us a few times and one time, they knocked me right out of my seat! Luna also discovered that she likes water but she is unsure about swimming. About 5 miles into our 9 mile float, she started whoa whoaing like mad. First of all she wanted her canoe to be in the lead. As long as whichever canoe she was in was in lead, she was ok...for awhile. Then she decided I want out of the canoe so WHOA WHOA WHOA. But when she was out, she wanted back in! Such an indecisive pup. Heres are some pics of the float. It really was alot of fun!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2039069&l=4391a&id=71902931
Now we are down to our last week here. Sadly it will go by fast because we have alot of things planned. To start off the week, I am meeting with my wonderful lil cousin Brittany to discuss college stuff and on Monday, we will be trooping at a minor league baseball game in Illinois!
Once again, the picture folders have piled up and I still have yet to put up the pics of our trip to Florida. ;) Hope all is well with everyone! Im off to bed!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A week's worth of updates
Hello family and friends!
We have been very busy this past week. As you all know I have an obsession with taking pictures and so my albums have once again piled up. So I will be posting a few links at the end of the blog. This past week I have been busy working on a secret project for my Mom's birthday which was July 5th. Happy birthday Mom! I still have a bit to finish but maybe after it is complete and she has recieved it, I will post pics of it :) I have been attempting to study my NCLEX book even though I dont take my license exam for 3 semesters. Better to start early. However, I am finding it difficult to actually focus and make myself do a certain amount of chapters a week. I am very behind on the schedule I had set myself :( Having summer off and knowing that it isnt actually due for points and a grade means that I keep putting it off. I am doing it, just very slowly. So I am trying to work on that ;) Rather than study, I would much rather be reading as I finished my 9o Minutes in Heaven book and I am now reading For One more Day by Mitch Albom. This is a story of a man who tries to attempt suicide by jumping off of a water tower because he feels his life is worthless. He finds himself not dead when he wakes up, and his mother that died years ago is now again alive, or so it seems. It is a story asking one question "if you had one more day with a loved one, what would you say and what would you do?" This is by the same author of the book Tuesdays with Morrie which was a story about a man with cancer and how he felt about his impending death. VERY GOOD BOOK. So anyway, I have been reading alot, rather than studying ;) Cory and I also made a trip to Lubbock last week and that was fun. I got to do some shopping!
CORYS GRAD SCHOOL update: While in Lubbock, we went to Texas Tech and left a note for Cory's professor he will be working with for his masters. She is proving rather difficult to get in touch with this summer. She called and left a voicemail about 2 weeks ago saying she was very confident about the project he will be working on and that she is looking forward to working with him. However she has been out of town at conferences and Cory has been unable to get any material and have a focused discussion with her about his particular focus so he has of yet been unable to start his thesis :( He has done everything he can, email, call, and coming by Texas Tech so we are waiting for her to get back in touch so that he can start. As soon as we hear from her, he will get rolling. Also, there is a good chance that Cory will be recieving a second scholarship from the Potawatomi tribe. He has a smidge of this indian tribe in his blood (hes registered with them as well as other members of his family) and because of this, he can get up to $1500 a semester as a full time student. This tribes casinos in OK are doing so well that they are giving out an abundant amount in scholarships. If this goes through, then he will have his semester pretty much paid for and the $1500 he is goin to make as a TA will be income :) So that is happy!
UPDATE PARA MI!- I visited with the volunteer coordinator of Hospice Care of the Southwest yesterday and I have my training to work on while I am in STL. I am looking forward to volunteering. Because I am a nursing student, I will be able to go with other nurses and provide direct patient care and see what it is really like to be a hospice nurse. Not only is this goin to be a great opportunity to spread God's love, but a great learning experience as well. Now for my big news.......On August 4.......I am becoming a metal mouth. For years I have been wanting to straighten my teeth and have my baby canine fixed. My left canine is a baby tooth that never came through all the way and my adult is in the roof of my mouth. If that is fixed and pulled down, that will fill in my gap and straighten my top teeth, so I will be getting braces. If I am goin to fix the top, why not the whole thing. While the child part of me totally wanted the super metal changing color braces, the adult part of me went with the clear braces so that perhaps I wont look 15. I love the orthodontist. Dr Spartman is a very funny, laughs alot, and is an all around goofball so I think he will be a great doctor to work with. Hes also an aggie ;) Yesterday I did the diagnostics with all the yucky tasting molds I had to do plus xrays. So while I am very nervous about doing this, I am also looking forward to having straight teeth. No one really knows it but it is the one thing about myself that I am self consious about. No one has ever made fun of me or said anything negative about my smile. So I am not doing it because of anyone else, but for myself. It will just make me feel better and more confident if I had the straight teeth that I so badly want!
Now to a couple sites of pictures and a video and then Im out! Got alot to do today as we are prepping for our 3 week trip to STL.
Here are some random photos taken over the past few weeks. Very random ;)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038228&l=0ed2d&id=71902931
June has a major fear of fireworks and around the 4th she becomes very paranoid and as I like to call it, schizophrenic. Poor june bug. She has some very serious high anxiety when fireworks are goin off. So we talked to the vet and got some PromAce for her. It is a relaxant for dogs for anxiety and is often used for small procedures such as nail clipping or for dogs that dont handle roadtrips very well. So when they gave it to us, they told us it would either make her more worked up or make her less aware of the fireworks and pretty much just chill (its different for every dog). Well, we gave it to her on the 3rd so we would know how doped she would be for the 4th and I thought I had killed her. She became so dopey that she couldnt keep her eyes open and couldnt walk. Her muscles were so relaxed that she couldnt focus her eyes and her eyes did a sort of reverse cross eyes. I felt so bad for her. On the 4th, she only got a 1/2 a pill. The following video is quite sad but also hysterical. You can hear me crying cuz I was laughing so hard. Luna thought June was dead and was whoa whoaing her little heart out. Poor Luna moon thought her best friend was dead. Like I said, sad but her face and the sounds coming out of her puppy lips were awesome.
Here are some photos from the Red, White and Moo!! This was a small town 4th of July gathering sponsored by the local dairy. For $1, you could get a tasty cheeseburger, ice cream and chips. Free milk and free cheese for all! We got to see how they milk cows and got to tour a dairy farm. I LOVE living in a small town :D
Red, white and Moo Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038232&l=51520&id=71902931
Red, White and Moo Part two
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038234&l=26841&id=71902931
Now I must go get to work on my mom's secret bday gift :D Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July.
PS: Luna said "WHOOOOA WHOOOAAAAA WHOOOOOOA WOW WOW WHOOA" which translates to "HI JASMINE!!!!!!!" =)
We have been very busy this past week. As you all know I have an obsession with taking pictures and so my albums have once again piled up. So I will be posting a few links at the end of the blog. This past week I have been busy working on a secret project for my Mom's birthday which was July 5th. Happy birthday Mom! I still have a bit to finish but maybe after it is complete and she has recieved it, I will post pics of it :) I have been attempting to study my NCLEX book even though I dont take my license exam for 3 semesters. Better to start early. However, I am finding it difficult to actually focus and make myself do a certain amount of chapters a week. I am very behind on the schedule I had set myself :( Having summer off and knowing that it isnt actually due for points and a grade means that I keep putting it off. I am doing it, just very slowly. So I am trying to work on that ;) Rather than study, I would much rather be reading as I finished my 9o Minutes in Heaven book and I am now reading For One more Day by Mitch Albom. This is a story of a man who tries to attempt suicide by jumping off of a water tower because he feels his life is worthless. He finds himself not dead when he wakes up, and his mother that died years ago is now again alive, or so it seems. It is a story asking one question "if you had one more day with a loved one, what would you say and what would you do?" This is by the same author of the book Tuesdays with Morrie which was a story about a man with cancer and how he felt about his impending death. VERY GOOD BOOK. So anyway, I have been reading alot, rather than studying ;) Cory and I also made a trip to Lubbock last week and that was fun. I got to do some shopping!
CORYS GRAD SCHOOL update: While in Lubbock, we went to Texas Tech and left a note for Cory's professor he will be working with for his masters. She is proving rather difficult to get in touch with this summer. She called and left a voicemail about 2 weeks ago saying she was very confident about the project he will be working on and that she is looking forward to working with him. However she has been out of town at conferences and Cory has been unable to get any material and have a focused discussion with her about his particular focus so he has of yet been unable to start his thesis :( He has done everything he can, email, call, and coming by Texas Tech so we are waiting for her to get back in touch so that he can start. As soon as we hear from her, he will get rolling. Also, there is a good chance that Cory will be recieving a second scholarship from the Potawatomi tribe. He has a smidge of this indian tribe in his blood (hes registered with them as well as other members of his family) and because of this, he can get up to $1500 a semester as a full time student. This tribes casinos in OK are doing so well that they are giving out an abundant amount in scholarships. If this goes through, then he will have his semester pretty much paid for and the $1500 he is goin to make as a TA will be income :) So that is happy!
UPDATE PARA MI!- I visited with the volunteer coordinator of Hospice Care of the Southwest yesterday and I have my training to work on while I am in STL. I am looking forward to volunteering. Because I am a nursing student, I will be able to go with other nurses and provide direct patient care and see what it is really like to be a hospice nurse. Not only is this goin to be a great opportunity to spread God's love, but a great learning experience as well. Now for my big news.......On August 4.......I am becoming a metal mouth. For years I have been wanting to straighten my teeth and have my baby canine fixed. My left canine is a baby tooth that never came through all the way and my adult is in the roof of my mouth. If that is fixed and pulled down, that will fill in my gap and straighten my top teeth, so I will be getting braces. If I am goin to fix the top, why not the whole thing. While the child part of me totally wanted the super metal changing color braces, the adult part of me went with the clear braces so that perhaps I wont look 15. I love the orthodontist. Dr Spartman is a very funny, laughs alot, and is an all around goofball so I think he will be a great doctor to work with. Hes also an aggie ;) Yesterday I did the diagnostics with all the yucky tasting molds I had to do plus xrays. So while I am very nervous about doing this, I am also looking forward to having straight teeth. No one really knows it but it is the one thing about myself that I am self consious about. No one has ever made fun of me or said anything negative about my smile. So I am not doing it because of anyone else, but for myself. It will just make me feel better and more confident if I had the straight teeth that I so badly want!
Now to a couple sites of pictures and a video and then Im out! Got alot to do today as we are prepping for our 3 week trip to STL.
Here are some random photos taken over the past few weeks. Very random ;)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038228&l=0ed2d&id=71902931
June has a major fear of fireworks and around the 4th she becomes very paranoid and as I like to call it, schizophrenic. Poor june bug. She has some very serious high anxiety when fireworks are goin off. So we talked to the vet and got some PromAce for her. It is a relaxant for dogs for anxiety and is often used for small procedures such as nail clipping or for dogs that dont handle roadtrips very well. So when they gave it to us, they told us it would either make her more worked up or make her less aware of the fireworks and pretty much just chill (its different for every dog). Well, we gave it to her on the 3rd so we would know how doped she would be for the 4th and I thought I had killed her. She became so dopey that she couldnt keep her eyes open and couldnt walk. Her muscles were so relaxed that she couldnt focus her eyes and her eyes did a sort of reverse cross eyes. I felt so bad for her. On the 4th, she only got a 1/2 a pill. The following video is quite sad but also hysterical. You can hear me crying cuz I was laughing so hard. Luna thought June was dead and was whoa whoaing her little heart out. Poor Luna moon thought her best friend was dead. Like I said, sad but her face and the sounds coming out of her puppy lips were awesome.
Here are some photos from the Red, White and Moo!! This was a small town 4th of July gathering sponsored by the local dairy. For $1, you could get a tasty cheeseburger, ice cream and chips. Free milk and free cheese for all! We got to see how they milk cows and got to tour a dairy farm. I LOVE living in a small town :D
Red, white and Moo Part 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038232&l=51520&id=71902931
Red, White and Moo Part two
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038234&l=26841&id=71902931
Now I must go get to work on my mom's secret bday gift :D Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July.
PS: Luna said "WHOOOOA WHOOOAAAAA WHOOOOOOA WOW WOW WHOOA" which translates to "HI JASMINE!!!!!!!" =)
Monday, June 30, 2008
This was suppose to post last night!
This was suppose to be posted last night. However uploading a video to blogger takes several hours evidently so I wont be using that tool anymore...Anyway...
Not much to report today. Cory and I spent a good part of our day cleaning and organizing. We also worked out hardcore and we are both feeling it now. We did some planning for our upcoming travel dates. The rest of our summer plans: Visit STL July 11-31st, visit Houston (PARTAAAAY!) August 7-11th and then I will be flying to STL solo the week before school starts-August 18-23rd. We are also visiting Chicago July 22-24 :) We will see what else we cram in the oh so very short summer. Its just not long enough ! I also started a new book a few days ago called "90 minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper. It is a true story of a man (the author) who was in a fatal car accident and died. He had been confirmed dead for nearly an hour, all the while he was visiting Heaven. A pastor close to the scene of the accident felt led to pray for the dead man. He did and the man came back to life. His description of Heaven is only about 3 chapers. The rest of the book is about his recovery and suffering, pain and spiritual growth he endures from this accident. Its a rather interesting read. =) Quite a different side of the spectrum from my last book I read "23 minutes in Hell."
Not much to report today. Cory and I spent a good part of our day cleaning and organizing. We also worked out hardcore and we are both feeling it now. We did some planning for our upcoming travel dates. The rest of our summer plans: Visit STL July 11-31st, visit Houston (PARTAAAAY!) August 7-11th and then I will be flying to STL solo the week before school starts-August 18-23rd. We are also visiting Chicago July 22-24 :) We will see what else we cram in the oh so very short summer. Its just not long enough ! I also started a new book a few days ago called "90 minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper. It is a true story of a man (the author) who was in a fatal car accident and died. He had been confirmed dead for nearly an hour, all the while he was visiting Heaven. A pastor close to the scene of the accident felt led to pray for the dead man. He did and the man came back to life. His description of Heaven is only about 3 chapers. The rest of the book is about his recovery and suffering, pain and spiritual growth he endures from this accident. Its a rather interesting read. =) Quite a different side of the spectrum from my last book I read "23 minutes in Hell."
Anyway, lets see. I do want to post a few random things I have been meaning to post so since there is not much else to report, I will continue on with randomness.
Here is a Thomas Kinkaid puzzle Cory and I finally framed that we completed about a month ago! We have 3 T.K puzzles framed in our house now.
Here is a wedding picture that we ordered from our wonderful photographer Uncle Tim. When the print made it to his house, Aunt Shell and Uncle Tim called us and said "How big is your house? THIS PICTURE IS HUGE! You might need to buy a new house to fit it!"
Its true its just nearly a lifesize picture. Check this out Aunt Shell and Uncle Tim, I posted this picture just for you guys cuz I knew you would get a giggle out of it...our wall eats it! Looks tiny on the wall doesnt it?!
I also posted pictures of our trip to STL in May. Most of the pics are of Brittany's graduation party which was a total blast. SO PROUD OF HER!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037793&l=e260f&id=71902931
Lastly, I captured footage of Luna's annoyance when I'm at my computer, that she described herself in her blog. This is only a FRACTION of what she does when I am in the office...you may think its cute...but if only it happened to you EVERY TIME you tried to be productive ;) ok, so its a lil cute......
Saturday, June 28, 2008
June is nearly over!
June is nearly over! Wow, time flies.
Evidently Luna is a much better writer than I am. I will be sure to let her blog when she has as exciting days as she did a few days ago ;)
Prayers are answered! You know how I had shared that it was on my heart to volunteer somehow? Renee and I had been talking about where I could start. I did a search for volunteer options in Amarillo since I will be spending alot of time in Canyon/Amarillo during the school year. I found something right up my alley. Hospice care of the Southwest was looking for volunteers to visit hospice patients, do clerical work, do volunteer fairs, community outreach, bereavement support, patient care, hospice education and even simple things like baking cakes and cookies for family to bring a smile to thier hearts. HOW EXCITING! I talked to the director of the Volunteer services as Southwest hospice for nearly 30 minutes on the phone and it was so incredibly awesome to talk to someone that has the same passion for hospice. It is amazing the opportunities you can have volunteering with hospice as you can provide support and smiles to someone that may or may not have anyone at all or give a caregiver a moments rest. The relationships you can build with people that are terminal is amazing. I know because I worked on an oncology floor and yes I cried...alot...but it is so rewarding to care for someone at the end of life. You learn so much from these patients and it really gives you a thankful heart. So! I am meeting with the director, Johnna, on July 7th and doing paperwork and getting hospice training materials to work on during our trip to STL that way when I return and start school, I will be able to start my volunteering. I AM SO EXCITED! I know I had said I was goin to volunteer outside of my nursing and I still may, but I felt completely drawn to doing this. When I saw it, I knew thats what God wanted me to do, I dont know how to explain. I am completely on fire to do this ! I cannot wait =)
In other news, I also have an appointment on July 7 to see an orthodontist : Im really nervous, but I want to see what options I have to get "perfect" teeth ;) So, we will see how that goes! And how much our checkbook will hate us :
Yesterday, Cory and I saw WALL-E. COMPLETELY recommend this movie! It is soooo adorable and I intend to own it when it comes out on dvd!
Im still trying to get caught up in pictures so heres the next album. Here is an album of my buddy Emily's visit to Texas. Her and I have been pals since the 6th grade. During her visit, we got in some awesome girlie movies and lots of shopping. It was a blast. Thanks Emily for visiting! Love ya!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037696&l=b727c&id=71902931
Also, I think that I have made it so that if you want to leave a comment on the blogs, you do not have to have a google account. It should be set to public so anyone can comment now. Please feel free to comment. We love hearing from everyone!
Evidently Luna is a much better writer than I am. I will be sure to let her blog when she has as exciting days as she did a few days ago ;)
Prayers are answered! You know how I had shared that it was on my heart to volunteer somehow? Renee and I had been talking about where I could start. I did a search for volunteer options in Amarillo since I will be spending alot of time in Canyon/Amarillo during the school year. I found something right up my alley. Hospice care of the Southwest was looking for volunteers to visit hospice patients, do clerical work, do volunteer fairs, community outreach, bereavement support, patient care, hospice education and even simple things like baking cakes and cookies for family to bring a smile to thier hearts. HOW EXCITING! I talked to the director of the Volunteer services as Southwest hospice for nearly 30 minutes on the phone and it was so incredibly awesome to talk to someone that has the same passion for hospice. It is amazing the opportunities you can have volunteering with hospice as you can provide support and smiles to someone that may or may not have anyone at all or give a caregiver a moments rest. The relationships you can build with people that are terminal is amazing. I know because I worked on an oncology floor and yes I cried...alot...but it is so rewarding to care for someone at the end of life. You learn so much from these patients and it really gives you a thankful heart. So! I am meeting with the director, Johnna, on July 7th and doing paperwork and getting hospice training materials to work on during our trip to STL that way when I return and start school, I will be able to start my volunteering. I AM SO EXCITED! I know I had said I was goin to volunteer outside of my nursing and I still may, but I felt completely drawn to doing this. When I saw it, I knew thats what God wanted me to do, I dont know how to explain. I am completely on fire to do this ! I cannot wait =)
In other news, I also have an appointment on July 7 to see an orthodontist : Im really nervous, but I want to see what options I have to get "perfect" teeth ;) So, we will see how that goes! And how much our checkbook will hate us :
Yesterday, Cory and I saw WALL-E. COMPLETELY recommend this movie! It is soooo adorable and I intend to own it when it comes out on dvd!
Im still trying to get caught up in pictures so heres the next album. Here is an album of my buddy Emily's visit to Texas. Her and I have been pals since the 6th grade. During her visit, we got in some awesome girlie movies and lots of shopping. It was a blast. Thanks Emily for visiting! Love ya!!!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037696&l=b727c&id=71902931
Also, I think that I have made it so that if you want to leave a comment on the blogs, you do not have to have a google account. It should be set to public so anyone can comment now. Please feel free to comment. We love hearing from everyone!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Luna's Blog
My day started out like any other day. I walked across my mom and dad til they woke up, then I snuggled with Momma for a few minutes. I have to do this every morning. Mom finally got up and sent me outside. When I came back inside, I do what I always do every morning: prance around, howl and eat June's face off til she plays with me. Then we run through the house. Apparently daddy was trying to sleep still so we kept getting told to "settle down." Ya, whatever that means. Then we went into the office cuz Momma had to do some work. You see, when Mom is working, I must do all I can to annoy her. I usually do this by howling at her or nudging her hand that's on the mouse with my nose. If this doesn't work, I continue to howl or lay my head in her lap and give her BIG puppy eyeballs and usually she ends up playing with me for a lil bit. After Mom had worked for awhile, I really got annoying so she would put me outside to play for a bit. Success! And look what I found!
Can you see it?? Momma called it a toad. I was happily smacking, chasing and pouncing on it all around the yard.
At one point, I discovered that toads do not taste that great. I started foaming at the mouth! For those that don't know, toads evidently release a really horrible tasting substance on thier back so that puppies like me don't eat them. It made me throw up!! After I threw up, I started to run back towards that toad to play with it some more and I heard Momma yell at me "Did you not learn your lesson!?" And she made me go inside so daddy could release the toad out of our yard :( I miss him. Maybe he will be back tomarrow!
After we came back in, a very traumatic thing happened. Actually, make that two traumatic things! First off, when I was chasing that toad around, I managed to get really muddy paws. Even though I am quite used to it, its still traumatic...a puppy paw wash. Mom and dad have to hold me up to the sink and wash my paws off. I dont really fight cuz their is no use and I wont win, but I dont exactly enjoy it. The other traumatic event including losing my mom!! You see, my momma has been playing hide and seek with me. I absolutely love it, especially at night when its dark in the house. Today, I found my mom in the office closet, but the doors were closed! I couldn't get to her so I let out my most squeaky howl I could to relay how upset I was that I couldn't get to her. For about 3 minutes she wouldn't come out so I continued to howl at the highest possible pitch plus I threw in some serious whining and out she came! I was so happy to see her!
After hide n seek, Mom and dad decided to go outside and do some work. Dad needed to mow and Mom needed to pull weeds. I knew something was up when they put my harness on. The harness goes on only when I am able to pull something. Before they got to work, look what they did to me. They think I am a working husky??? Sure, I love to pull my momma on a bike and we can really get going fast! But you expect me to mow the lawn? I do not think so. Here I am whoa whoa-ing my disapproval. (the mower was off so no worries, mom and dad made sure I was safe)
After this torture, dad started to mow the lawn and Mom started to deweed the lawn. I helped. As she made a pile of weeds, I kindly disassembled the pile and carried off random weeds to where I pleased. Momma also had a little shovel that she was using to dig the roots out. She would fill the hole after she got the root and when she turned her back to pull more, I attempted to redig the hole to ensure that she got the whole root. This didn't last very long because Momma did not approve. But I tried :D Since I couldn't expand on the dirt she had already dug, I decided to go on bug patrol. I ate every single bug that got in Moms way. That's my mom and no bug is going to take her from me!!!
After Momma finished deweeding, the brushes came out! I cannot tell you how much I hate to be brushed! Every single time I get brushed, Mom tells me "You better get used to. You are a husky." Whatever that means! I don't care if I am a husky or not, I HATE THE BRUSH! I did everything possible to make Mom change her mind, including trying to eat the brush, sitting on my mom at an odd angle to make it difficult, howling, whining...I even tried to gross her out by trying to eat the hair that blew past me. That just ended up being gross and nothing worked :( I got brushed. It was a sad time for me.
After the brushing though I encountered a creature I have never seen before! Daddy called it a giant moth. Momma called it a mutant moth from "down under." (I am not allowed to say that word.) When dad released it, I took the responsibility of keeping everyone safe and I chased it out of the yard.
After the yardwork was done, we came inside and now I am resting. It has been a very exciting day for me! Every day is an adventure....I make sure of it ;)
Can you see it?? Momma called it a toad. I was happily smacking, chasing and pouncing on it all around the yard.
At one point, I discovered that toads do not taste that great. I started foaming at the mouth! For those that don't know, toads evidently release a really horrible tasting substance on thier back so that puppies like me don't eat them. It made me throw up!! After I threw up, I started to run back towards that toad to play with it some more and I heard Momma yell at me "Did you not learn your lesson!?" And she made me go inside so daddy could release the toad out of our yard :( I miss him. Maybe he will be back tomarrow!
After we came back in, a very traumatic thing happened. Actually, make that two traumatic things! First off, when I was chasing that toad around, I managed to get really muddy paws. Even though I am quite used to it, its still traumatic...a puppy paw wash. Mom and dad have to hold me up to the sink and wash my paws off. I dont really fight cuz their is no use and I wont win, but I dont exactly enjoy it. The other traumatic event including losing my mom!! You see, my momma has been playing hide and seek with me. I absolutely love it, especially at night when its dark in the house. Today, I found my mom in the office closet, but the doors were closed! I couldn't get to her so I let out my most squeaky howl I could to relay how upset I was that I couldn't get to her. For about 3 minutes she wouldn't come out so I continued to howl at the highest possible pitch plus I threw in some serious whining and out she came! I was so happy to see her!
After hide n seek, Mom and dad decided to go outside and do some work. Dad needed to mow and Mom needed to pull weeds. I knew something was up when they put my harness on. The harness goes on only when I am able to pull something. Before they got to work, look what they did to me. They think I am a working husky??? Sure, I love to pull my momma on a bike and we can really get going fast! But you expect me to mow the lawn? I do not think so. Here I am whoa whoa-ing my disapproval. (the mower was off so no worries, mom and dad made sure I was safe)
After this torture, dad started to mow the lawn and Mom started to deweed the lawn. I helped. As she made a pile of weeds, I kindly disassembled the pile and carried off random weeds to where I pleased. Momma also had a little shovel that she was using to dig the roots out. She would fill the hole after she got the root and when she turned her back to pull more, I attempted to redig the hole to ensure that she got the whole root. This didn't last very long because Momma did not approve. But I tried :D Since I couldn't expand on the dirt she had already dug, I decided to go on bug patrol. I ate every single bug that got in Moms way. That's my mom and no bug is going to take her from me!!!
After Momma finished deweeding, the brushes came out! I cannot tell you how much I hate to be brushed! Every single time I get brushed, Mom tells me "You better get used to. You are a husky." Whatever that means! I don't care if I am a husky or not, I HATE THE BRUSH! I did everything possible to make Mom change her mind, including trying to eat the brush, sitting on my mom at an odd angle to make it difficult, howling, whining...I even tried to gross her out by trying to eat the hair that blew past me. That just ended up being gross and nothing worked :( I got brushed. It was a sad time for me.
After the brushing though I encountered a creature I have never seen before! Daddy called it a giant moth. Momma called it a mutant moth from "down under." (I am not allowed to say that word.) When dad released it, I took the responsibility of keeping everyone safe and I chased it out of the yard.
After the yardwork was done, we came inside and now I am resting. It has been a very exciting day for me! Every day is an adventure....I make sure of it ;)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
So far this week...
Sunday- Besides hearing an awesome sermon, Cory and I spent Sunday working in the yard and cleaning house. BUT there was also time for relaxation. As you know, Luna follows momma everywhere and has to do absolutely everything with me...so we sat down with a good book for awhile.
Monday- Yesterday we made a trip to Amarillo to donate platelets. Corys donation was successful. He donated two units of platelets and one unit of plasma that will be used for newborn babies. How awesome ! Im so proud of him for donating every chance he can. This was my second attempt to donate platelets, but unfortunately it did not work :( If you arent familiar with apheresis, they put a needle in your arm very much like donating blood but you are hooked up to a machine that draws the blood out, seperates whatever contents they are needing from your blood and then putting your blood back in. That is alot of pressure on your vein. Evidently my veins are to small so when they turned the machine on, the pressure "sucks" the vein and since mine are to small to with-hold they pressure, they collapse. They tried hard to get it to work by moving the needle a bit, but they were worried about infiltrating so they stopped :( Unfortunately I was unable to donate blood that day because they had already issued me a number and their system would not allow me to "donate twice." I was sad because I had prepared for platelets! They had told me last time to drink ALOT of water the night before and the morning of my donation. I did but evidently my veins hate apheresis. Luckily for some babies somewhere, Cory was able to. After donations, we spent the day at the in-laws house and had a great time of visiting. We stopped in Canyon on our way home to have dinner with Kendra and Brandon. On the way home, we encountered another massive storm so naturally I went into storm chasing mode. Here are some awesome shots of the storm.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037578&l=d607b&id=71902931
Today: Today I worked around the house so nothing exciting to report. I did post pictures of the Chicago gang's trip to Texas. They visited us June 7th-June 14th and we had ALOT of fun with them :) Here are some pics of our awesome time with our pals.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037560&l=88a34&id=71902931
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037571&l=bc37a&id=71902931
Lastly, I want to leave you with an adorable video. I hope it makes you smile =)
Monday- Yesterday we made a trip to Amarillo to donate platelets. Corys donation was successful. He donated two units of platelets and one unit of plasma that will be used for newborn babies. How awesome ! Im so proud of him for donating every chance he can. This was my second attempt to donate platelets, but unfortunately it did not work :( If you arent familiar with apheresis, they put a needle in your arm very much like donating blood but you are hooked up to a machine that draws the blood out, seperates whatever contents they are needing from your blood and then putting your blood back in. That is alot of pressure on your vein. Evidently my veins are to small so when they turned the machine on, the pressure "sucks" the vein and since mine are to small to with-hold they pressure, they collapse. They tried hard to get it to work by moving the needle a bit, but they were worried about infiltrating so they stopped :( Unfortunately I was unable to donate blood that day because they had already issued me a number and their system would not allow me to "donate twice." I was sad because I had prepared for platelets! They had told me last time to drink ALOT of water the night before and the morning of my donation. I did but evidently my veins hate apheresis. Luckily for some babies somewhere, Cory was able to. After donations, we spent the day at the in-laws house and had a great time of visiting. We stopped in Canyon on our way home to have dinner with Kendra and Brandon. On the way home, we encountered another massive storm so naturally I went into storm chasing mode. Here are some awesome shots of the storm.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037578&l=d607b&id=71902931
Today: Today I worked around the house so nothing exciting to report. I did post pictures of the Chicago gang's trip to Texas. They visited us June 7th-June 14th and we had ALOT of fun with them :) Here are some pics of our awesome time with our pals.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037560&l=88a34&id=71902931
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037571&l=bc37a&id=71902931
Lastly, I want to leave you with an adorable video. I hope it makes you smile =)
Monday, June 23, 2008
Judgement
I have a rather interesting story to tell about Sunday.
I rather enjoyed the sermon at our church on Sunday and it was also slightly ironic, which I will explain shortly. Romans 14:10-12 says "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down upon your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written 'As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me, every tongue will confess to God' so then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." In other words, every person will be judged. The fact the sermon was based on judgment was ironic because Saturday night I started reading a book by Bill Wiese called "23 minutes in hell." It is a story of a man who claims he was sent to Hell for 23 minutes by God so that he could share the reality that when we are judged, Hell is real so we shouldn’t take our eternity lightly. We should live our lives as Christ followers so that we may find our place in Heaven as God so greatly desires. Unfortunately, this is a difficult task for mankind. In his book Wiese says "you may not believe me. You may think I dreamt this or perhaps I’m making this up, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you believe what He has to say." Throughout the entire book, he footnotes as he tells his story and references bible verses that reflect Hell. It is quite an interesting book. I just found it very ironic that I would start this book and the next day the sermon reflected what I am currently reading about. I like to call that a "god thing" when "ironic" things like that happen.
Here is the 4 points that our preacher made on the judgment we will all face.
1) You do not want to stand before God having broken a promise made to him. Check this verse out. Ecc 5: 4-5. "It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it"
2) You don’t want to stand before God having caused a child to stumble. Check out Matthew 18:1-6.
3) You don’t want to stand before God having sown seeds of discord in the body of Christ. Check out Proverbs 6:16-19.
4) (THIS IS THE BIGGIE TO ME!) You don’t want to stand before God having failed to share Christ with those who need him. see 1 John 1:3 .
This fourth one is another reason I’m blogging about this sermon. This has been on my heart lately as well. A few days ago I was just thinking about this and I told Cory that I had a great desire to serve others, not only in my nursing career but outside of it as well. I would love to volunteer to help homeless or do missions or whatever I can to reach out to others. I feel like God wanted me to read this book and hear this sermon so I could further understand the reality that Heaven and Hell are real and that judgment is inevitable. I hope this blog doesn’t sound depressing with its "you don't"s but we will be judged one day and I know where I wanna go. I am in no way perfect and I know this, but luckily I have Christ who died to make up for my imperfections and yours as well :) I really want to look into the future and take every opportunity I can to share with others Christ's love.
I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses. Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us thought the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. So that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs of having the hope of eternal life.”
God bless everyone =)
I rather enjoyed the sermon at our church on Sunday and it was also slightly ironic, which I will explain shortly. Romans 14:10-12 says "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down upon your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written 'As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me, every tongue will confess to God' so then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." In other words, every person will be judged. The fact the sermon was based on judgment was ironic because Saturday night I started reading a book by Bill Wiese called "23 minutes in hell." It is a story of a man who claims he was sent to Hell for 23 minutes by God so that he could share the reality that when we are judged, Hell is real so we shouldn’t take our eternity lightly. We should live our lives as Christ followers so that we may find our place in Heaven as God so greatly desires. Unfortunately, this is a difficult task for mankind. In his book Wiese says "you may not believe me. You may think I dreamt this or perhaps I’m making this up, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you believe what He has to say." Throughout the entire book, he footnotes as he tells his story and references bible verses that reflect Hell. It is quite an interesting book. I just found it very ironic that I would start this book and the next day the sermon reflected what I am currently reading about. I like to call that a "god thing" when "ironic" things like that happen.
Here is the 4 points that our preacher made on the judgment we will all face.
1) You do not want to stand before God having broken a promise made to him. Check this verse out. Ecc 5: 4-5. "It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it"
2) You don’t want to stand before God having caused a child to stumble. Check out Matthew 18:1-6.
3) You don’t want to stand before God having sown seeds of discord in the body of Christ. Check out Proverbs 6:16-19.
4) (THIS IS THE BIGGIE TO ME!) You don’t want to stand before God having failed to share Christ with those who need him. see 1 John 1:3 .
This fourth one is another reason I’m blogging about this sermon. This has been on my heart lately as well. A few days ago I was just thinking about this and I told Cory that I had a great desire to serve others, not only in my nursing career but outside of it as well. I would love to volunteer to help homeless or do missions or whatever I can to reach out to others. I feel like God wanted me to read this book and hear this sermon so I could further understand the reality that Heaven and Hell are real and that judgment is inevitable. I hope this blog doesn’t sound depressing with its "you don't"s but we will be judged one day and I know where I wanna go. I am in no way perfect and I know this, but luckily I have Christ who died to make up for my imperfections and yours as well :) I really want to look into the future and take every opportunity I can to share with others Christ's love.
I want to leave you with one of my favorite verses. Titus 3:4-7 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us thought the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. So that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs of having the hope of eternal life.”
God bless everyone =)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Short entry!
Today was a productive day! We took a few hours to fix a part of our fence that had blown over. Everything is secure now, phew! I did a lil deweeding, worked in the flowerbed a bit and reorganized the office (which was an all day project). We ended the day with a nice walk with the dogs.
I also forgot to post these pictures with the anniversary pictures. These were the gifts Cory and I got for each other. The pictures explain themselves in the captions. I hope everyone had a great Saturday =)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037387&l=60c96&id=71902931
I also forgot to post these pictures with the anniversary pictures. These were the gifts Cory and I got for each other. The pictures explain themselves in the captions. I hope everyone had a great Saturday =)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037387&l=60c96&id=71902931
Friday, June 20, 2008
Getting caught up!!!
WE ARE BACK!
We arrived back in Plainview on the 8th after a 15 hour roadtrip with our Chicago gang :) (I just want to add that while I am blogging here, my puppy is howling at me to play with her, oh children!) Anyway! I have about 8 albums of photos to upload : I have pics of our Florida trip, our friends visiting, our anniversary! I am goin to work on getting them up over the next few days as much as possible. (whoa whoaaaaa Luna says! and now she is killing her stuffed pig toy and trying to put it in my lap) Lets get to the pictures and updates shall we!? (whoa whoaaa WHOAAAA and now she is chasing her tail- wow she is bored)
So remember that big news we had. well here it is. Here is Cory's new baby. We decided that since I will be going to school 4 days a week which is about 90 miles a day and he will be goin about the same 5 days a week to Texas Tech (ya, we do alot of driving), that we needed something for Cory that will not eat gas quite like his truck. So here is is new baby and he is OH SO VERY proud of it :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037317&l=fdb69&id=71902931
Here is a few pictures of our actual anniversary. We spent it at home with Chicago gang. We are calling it our 2-D anniversary (paper) because we called it a "flat" day. Flat is one of our "family terms" that my mother has created. It derives from "Flat weasel." I will try to explain lol. When a ferret is bored, they lay really flat on thier tummy. My mom created this "flat weasel" term to mean bored. So since we had already gone to Florida for our anniversary and stayed home, this was our "flat anniversary" ;) which went well with paper! Speaking of paper, Cory and I had decided to not get each other cards since our weekend was very busy and we roadtripped home and didnt have time to get cards. I completely forgot that I had gotten him the best card in the world! So later that day, I gave it to him and then complained (in a playful way) about how I didnt get a card ;) Im sneaky eh! We have also decided that each year on our anniversary we are goin to take a picture of the two of us and frame it and add to the frame each year. For as many years we are married there will be a picture and it will be neat to see how we have changed over the years. Wont it be awesome if someday that frame has 50 pictures??? It was a very fun and relaxing day. I cant believe we have been married one year already!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037324&l=2ea51&id=71902931
Ok, last album for the day! Yesterday, we had a 60,000 ft supercell storm hit us. I am so fascinated by storms and weather. I think clouds are one of Gods many versions of artwork! Here are some pics of my stormchasing experience yesterday.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037328&l=c4d2f&id=71902931
Hope you all enjoy the pics. I will post the pics of the ... (whoa whoa...*nudging my hand off the keyboard* says Luna)... of the Florida trip and our friend visits here within the next few days so I will be caught up!!! Take care everyone and God bless =)
We arrived back in Plainview on the 8th after a 15 hour roadtrip with our Chicago gang :) (I just want to add that while I am blogging here, my puppy is howling at me to play with her, oh children!) Anyway! I have about 8 albums of photos to upload : I have pics of our Florida trip, our friends visiting, our anniversary! I am goin to work on getting them up over the next few days as much as possible. (whoa whoaaaaa Luna says! and now she is killing her stuffed pig toy and trying to put it in my lap) Lets get to the pictures and updates shall we!? (whoa whoaaa WHOAAAA and now she is chasing her tail- wow she is bored)
So remember that big news we had. well here it is. Here is Cory's new baby. We decided that since I will be going to school 4 days a week which is about 90 miles a day and he will be goin about the same 5 days a week to Texas Tech (ya, we do alot of driving), that we needed something for Cory that will not eat gas quite like his truck. So here is is new baby and he is OH SO VERY proud of it :)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037317&l=fdb69&id=71902931
Here is a few pictures of our actual anniversary. We spent it at home with Chicago gang. We are calling it our 2-D anniversary (paper) because we called it a "flat" day. Flat is one of our "family terms" that my mother has created. It derives from "Flat weasel." I will try to explain lol. When a ferret is bored, they lay really flat on thier tummy. My mom created this "flat weasel" term to mean bored. So since we had already gone to Florida for our anniversary and stayed home, this was our "flat anniversary" ;) which went well with paper! Speaking of paper, Cory and I had decided to not get each other cards since our weekend was very busy and we roadtripped home and didnt have time to get cards. I completely forgot that I had gotten him the best card in the world! So later that day, I gave it to him and then complained (in a playful way) about how I didnt get a card ;) Im sneaky eh! We have also decided that each year on our anniversary we are goin to take a picture of the two of us and frame it and add to the frame each year. For as many years we are married there will be a picture and it will be neat to see how we have changed over the years. Wont it be awesome if someday that frame has 50 pictures??? It was a very fun and relaxing day. I cant believe we have been married one year already!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037324&l=2ea51&id=71902931
Ok, last album for the day! Yesterday, we had a 60,000 ft supercell storm hit us. I am so fascinated by storms and weather. I think clouds are one of Gods many versions of artwork! Here are some pics of my stormchasing experience yesterday.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037328&l=c4d2f&id=71902931
Hope you all enjoy the pics. I will post the pics of the ... (whoa whoa...*nudging my hand off the keyboard* says Luna)... of the Florida trip and our friend visits here within the next few days so I will be caught up!!! Take care everyone and God bless =)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
First Troop!
Its official. Cory and I have completed our first mission! Yesterday, Cory and I trooped along side Dad and a few others at the grand reopening of Borders in Brentwood Missouri. It was so much fun. To see how much joy and smiles trooping brings to not only the childrens faces, but also the adults, is so awesome! As soon as we came out of the backroom, there was a massive line of people to get thier pictures taken with us (for free of course!) It was alot of fun ! I couldnt take to many pictures cuz we were pretty busy, providing Borders with extra security ;) But I did manage to pull a few fun pics out of the event! I cant wait to troop more events. It was such a blast! Enjoy the pics =)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036524&l=fe3bb&id=71902931
Me and my trooperdaddy!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036524&l=fe3bb&id=71902931
Me and my trooperdaddy!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Catching up with the pics
A new method of posting pics! I will be posting the links on the blog now :) I will still be sending an email to let you know that I put the links here (which is probly why you are visiting the blog right now !) So here goes...
I would recommend right clicking on the link and choosing "opening link in a new tab" so you dont have to reopen the blog each time you view a set of pics. If you just click on the link, it will take you away from the blog and you will have to reopen it to view the rest of the pics.
Easter - ya, a lil late on posting them but still =)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036351&l=62a93&id=71902931
Random - These are just completely random pics from April
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036352&l=7a648&id=71902931
Palo Duro Canyon- these are the pics from the blog of our Palo Duro Experience
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036353&l=1b46f&id=71902931
Hope everyone is doing well and congrats to those that graduated!!! Yay for summer!
Love
Stephanie
I would recommend right clicking on the link and choosing "opening link in a new tab" so you dont have to reopen the blog each time you view a set of pics. If you just click on the link, it will take you away from the blog and you will have to reopen it to view the rest of the pics.
Easter - ya, a lil late on posting them but still =)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036351&l=62a93&id=71902931
Random - These are just completely random pics from April
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036352&l=7a648&id=71902931
Palo Duro Canyon- these are the pics from the blog of our Palo Duro Experience
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2036353&l=1b46f&id=71902931
Hope everyone is doing well and congrats to those that graduated!!! Yay for summer!
Love
Stephanie
Sunday, May 25, 2008
A change of plans
Cory and I just got back from Orlando Florida where we celebrated our approaching 1 year anniversary with roller coasters and amazing rides at Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and my personal favorite, Seaworld! I will post links to pics sometime this week of our fun.
To the change of plans...Cory is no longer going to start grad school over the summer (at least classes anyway), he has decided that since taking one class over the summer wont help him graduate any sooner, he is better off starting his thesis. He has chosen to do the thesis option and this summer he will be working on his literature reviews and doing research for background information. In his words his focus is going to be on "combustion synthesis of aluminum titanium alloy with graded porosity for use in bone replacement." Perhaps some of you engineers out there will understand that : He has picked out the professor he wants to work with and while this is still biomedical, he will graduate with a graduate degree in mechanical engineering with a focus in design. So thats exciting news. =)
We are in STL for 2 more weeks. On June 7 Aaron and Matt are flying into St. Louis and driving back to Texas to spend a week with us. Either that week or the following Emily will be joining us for a week of fun as well! We are so excited to have friends come stay with us =) It will be so much fun!
I have much more to share about the trip but I must get the pics organized first :) I also have big news for Cory and I (no, we are not having a baby ;) ) but it is still rather exciting news. But I will share that in a few days...after I get some pics of it! Hope everyone is doing well and I will post pics soon.
In His Love,
Stephanie
To the change of plans...Cory is no longer going to start grad school over the summer (at least classes anyway), he has decided that since taking one class over the summer wont help him graduate any sooner, he is better off starting his thesis. He has chosen to do the thesis option and this summer he will be working on his literature reviews and doing research for background information. In his words his focus is going to be on "combustion synthesis of aluminum titanium alloy with graded porosity for use in bone replacement." Perhaps some of you engineers out there will understand that : He has picked out the professor he wants to work with and while this is still biomedical, he will graduate with a graduate degree in mechanical engineering with a focus in design. So thats exciting news. =)
We are in STL for 2 more weeks. On June 7 Aaron and Matt are flying into St. Louis and driving back to Texas to spend a week with us. Either that week or the following Emily will be joining us for a week of fun as well! We are so excited to have friends come stay with us =) It will be so much fun!
I have much more to share about the trip but I must get the pics organized first :) I also have big news for Cory and I (no, we are not having a baby ;) ) but it is still rather exciting news. But I will share that in a few days...after I get some pics of it! Hope everyone is doing well and I will post pics soon.
In His Love,
Stephanie
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