Day by day by day by day by day.......

I only had to work three days this week (which also means I only get paid for three days this week...yikes!)

Monday I worked and then came home worked out and then vegged in front of the television.

Tuesday I worked and then I came home and Mom and I went to our Church's LOVE club (for ladies) Christmas dinner party. We exchanged ornaments and I ended up with the one I brought because it was glorious...but only to me. (It was a hand painted ornament of a Pirate on a beach with a hook for a hand and when you turn it around there is a bottle of rum and a bomb on the other side AWESOME!) The party was lots of fun. All year they do a secret sister, where they secretly pick names and they get each other presents, cards, etc. and at the Christmas party they reveal themselves. It was really to watch the surprise on each person's face. I think I'm going to participate this year.

Wednesday I was off so I had Anna and my friend Tiffani over for a Christmas movie marathon! It ended up just being lets stuff our faces and only watch two movies that are Christmas related and talk a lot! We watched Elf and White Christmas (btw, my new favorite Christmas classic). It was a lot of fun and it was great to get to hang out with the girls. (me and Anna used to have routine movie nights and haven't gotten to do that in a while so it was cool that she could make it even though her circumstances aren't the best right now).

Today I worked again. It was soooo boring because the snow made people stay in doors. when I got off I worked out. Then I met Alexandria for dinner. I am a youth leader at my church now and we are in the process of kicking off two home groups, one in GC with Josiah as the leader of the group and Dan (a fellow young adult) as the Youth Leader to help Josiah and be there as a back up, and then one in Hilliard with Alexandria as the leader and me as her backup Youth Leader person. So we met tonight to discuss some things and it was great to see her so ready to share Jesus with friends. She really has a heart to reach people and I am so excited to be working with her. I have known her since we went to LifeNet together and she was in 3rd grade, so it's wonderful to see her grow into a young women on fire for Christ!

Tomorrow I have an interview at Mount Carmel West Hospital in the Mother/Infant Unit at 11am. I am soooo excited, it's the same unit I did my leadership rotation (professional rotation) in and the new Unit director conducting the interview was one of my precepters. It takes some of the pressure off me but I still need prayer that I will say what I need to get hired...cause this is pretty much my dream job!

I have worked out for almost two full weeks now and I have lost a total of 7lbs! Yay. I'm not going to weigh myself again until the end of December. My goal is 15lbs by Jan 1st, which is definitely doable since I only have 8 more to go! I really hope I can keep this going this time. I think I finally had a breaking point of fatness. I am just sick of being unhealthy and overweight! So here goes nothing, I am doing Power 90 which is a weight loss/exersize program to be completed in 90 days. I am on day 11 woohoo!

Well that's all for now!

Christmas is HERE...almost!

Our house finally got around to putting up the Christmas tree and decorating. I somewhat helped mom, however, anyone who knows me knows I hate to decorate (mainly because I'm bad at it---same thing for wrapping presents). I put up some pics so others could feel included!

Mommy hard at work trying to rummage through our Christmas bins and find the right stuff:

This ornament is my baby's 1st Christmas, I can't believe it's 22 years old:

Heehee this is one of my favorite ornaments, sooo cute:

This is my most recent ornament given to me by Katrina last year, it's Hoopes (sp?) and Yoyo:

Judah made this one for me last year:

Mom and I had an emotional moment when I found this one, it's from Kali's first Christmas:

Another fave of mine, I love Starbucks:

It's all decorated......hmmm, something is missing:

The STAR!!!! Dad is the one who puts the star on the tree, we had to call him form the television, he wasn't too excited..haha:

Ah, Success:

Merry Christmas!

Potty Outside!

Quick post:

Tonight marks the first night Skittles stood by the back door and whined to go outside so she could go potty. We were eating dinner in the dining room and Skittles was all the way in the family room. She finally knows that she is only supposed to potty outside! Yay! I am so proud of her.

Cranberries!!!!!!

I am making CRANBERRY SAUCE for Thanksgiving! Yup that's right I am going to cook something! I am so excited because nobody ever wants it and so mom just buys the crappy canned stuff. GROSS!

I found an awesome recipe and will start it tomorrow in preparation for our great feast!

The Kat is Back

Katrina came home on Thursday...unfortunately!

I can only type that because she's right here annoying the crap out of me and stealing my clothes as I type this! Thankfully she WILL have to go back to Greenville soon!

Tonight we went to see Morning Glory with Harrison Ford (ah so sexy) and Rachel Adams (delightfully upbeat)---not sure what this is supposed to mean but I thought since I commented on Harrison that I should on Rachel too! Good movie...can't say it's the best but I'd buy it.

We also went to Washington Court House to see my friend Tiffani and her son Gabey (actual name: James Gabriel----Katrina was getting confused). That was a lot of fun; talking, shopping, laughter...fun!

I got to play around on the delay pedal I borrowed from my friend for my guitar. I actually found out I needed an echo pedal. Fortunately this 'delay pedal' was actually quite a few different pedals in one and there is an echo on it. This is my first experience playing the electric guitar... my repertoire of guitar playing consists only of rhythm guitar on the acoustic so I have had fun figuring out the lead for a song Katrina and I will debut on the 28th of November at church.

I also met with our new Youth Director and another young adult (the two of us will be mentors for the high school youth). We shared ideas and overall it was a great meeting and I am really excited to start up our new and improved youth program. I think that if our church has any hope of surviving we need to grow and I think that growth is probably going to start with the youth. We'll see where God takes us because at this moment, He is the only one that can save Cornerstone (please pray).

Conan O'Brien started his new show on TBS airing at 11pm eastern time (he will be paying me for that promo). If you have not seen it yet...you NEED to! He is hilarious! I am so happy he got another job even if it is just basic cable and it isn't network television. Conan you are a genius and I love you and would totally marry you if you weren't already hitched!

Well I think that is all for now I'm tired and have church in the morning! Love you and God Bless!

F Y I ............ (there it is!)

I am a single 22 year old female.


Which apparently means that my life is useless.


I am a nobody.


Why? You ask.


Because I am a SINGLE 22 year old female.


Without a man in my life I am useless and apparently searching for one!


Or this seems to be what the whole world thinks. Any time there is a young adult male in the midst of all my single glory he is pegged as my future husband. Somebody nudges me, "look Kari you should ask him out" or they summon me to a seat nearest the eligible bachelor so I can stir things up and we can fall in love and live happily ever after, instead of the sad single alternative. No seriously I am not lying!!!!!!

So for all the people out there who think that I am sad and desperate for male affection....I am NOT!


And for all the people out there who think it is their job to find me a husband....It is NOT!


Right now I am NOT looking for a boyfriend. I am NOT lonely. I am NOT desparado!!! I actually am praying that God will hold off for right now. I really want to be a travel nurse in the Labor and Delivery field and I really want to do it without anything tying me down. When the time is right I know God will provide me with the right guy. And if there is never a right time and I have to be single forever....I WILL BE OKAY!














Just thought you'd like to know..... :)

Beautiful

"The heart of God loves the offerings of a persevering worshipper who, though overwhelmed by many troubles, is even more overwhelmed by the beauty of God."

-Matt Redman

Pinelavenilladeath

My car has quite a history. When I bought the ugly thing, it smelled like somebody took a bottle of Pinesol and just dumped it everywhere. It smells like death covered by Pinesol, seriously ask anyone who has had to endure a ride in it. I made up a car fax for it because I think it's something my car's stench deserves...it's the only way I can feel better about it because I know for sure the smell is not due to me.

Once upon a time, there was a guy named Jerry who owned a Forest green 1999 Ford Escort SE. Jerry was a weirdoooooo... Like seriously a mental guy. One night Jerry got really mad at his girlfriend and he ended up killing her! Woops, it's not like he meant to....it just happened. Jerry decided to take her to the lake to dump her body so he packed her up in his area rug and threw her into the trunk of his escort. As he finished cleaning up his mess, his friend came over and they got high and Jerry forgot about his dead girlfriend in his trunk. Weeks later the police pulled Jerry over for suspicious behavior and found his dead girl in the trunk. Jerry went to jail. Girlfriend was buried. Escort was smelly. So the police bought a couple of bottles of Pinesol and went to work trying to expell the smell of dead person. Then the Police sold the escort to Gville car lot and Kari Lopez buys the Escort from them. The end.

So I bought a new air freshener for my car from Bath and Body Works like a month ago maybe. Well I finally put it in my car yesterday. The air freshener is Lavender Vanilla, smells amazing. However, upon entering my car it now smells like death covered by pinesol, covered by Lavender Vanilla. I renamed the scent to Pinelavenilladeath!

Sadness, my car will never smell good.

Anyway that's all I had to share! Thanks for reading!

Hmmm...

I don't what this post should be entitled...it will just be randomness.



I have started my temporary job at the health department two weeks ago (my official title is Public Health Nurse and I am on the Strategic Nursing Team). I am intentionally inflicting pain on others...sadface... I read Kristin's blog about Eri's immunizations and the part she wrote about having to soothe her child while someone purposefully inflicted pain on her made me really sad. But I have to admit, I am one of those people and I have made quite a few people cry (of all ages...poor high school boy) the worst was this cute little boy who had to have the shot because he had asthma (the other choice is a spray up the nose) he was about 3 1/2 and when the shot entered his arm he almost cried but then we said 'all done' and in a quivery voice he said 'well that was fast' so adorable poor baby. I, however, do not enjoy the pain part...but I am happy that I am helping people protect themselves from potential illness!!!



We go out to schools within central Ohio. So far we have pretty much finished in the Catholic schools (seeing the girls uniforms made me thankful I went to a school where I could wear jeans and a t-shirt everyday) and we will be infiltrating the special needs schools (I heard that will be quite the adventure) and then Columbus Public Schools soon after. I also help in the clinic at our headquarters every once in a while, and I will have the opportunity to get out in the community in homeless shelters soon too!



I also just finished applying to the Nurse Internship at Ohio State. I am very excited about that, it's an opportunity to start in a specialty area even though I have no experience and it starts in either February or August of 2011 (pray I get the February position).



Well I don't have much else going on other than Skittles driving me crazy!!! She is still pooping and peeing inside, but thanks to Kevin's baby gates it's been easier to monitor her.



Josiah had a Bands of America contest this past weekend with the marching band and I got to go. I saw a lot of old friends (they all have younger siblings too, some are just total band geeks but I love them all the same). There was some really great competition and I didn't completely expect Central to make finals even though they had a great performance. They also had to overcome some mishaps with their props. They have these big props that stand at least 15 feet high and are on wheels because they move them around the field during the show. They are basically sails on wheels and the afternoon was very windy.

A lot of kids were marching backwards and they tripped over them, there was actually a clarinet pile up at one time, and the crowd would gasp in unison at each fallen band member (it's okay if you laughed a little, thinking back it is quite a silly sight but tragic at the time). Also one of the props in the back of the field blew up and slammed into a kid who was just innocently playing his instrument......poor kid never saw that prop coming. Anyway, the kids totally recovered and didn't let the craziness ruin their performance (it was actually the best they looked and sounded all season, if you can forgive the wind blown props and the clarinet pile-ups).



Central Crossing made finals (top 10 out of 30) and then they made 9th place in finals. It was awesome, and it was cool to see that Josiah got to be apart of the finals awards ceremonies...all the bands line up on the field in order and then they get to break ranks and congratulate each other! I probably sound like a big nerd but I am also a proud sister! Josiah is an awesome marcher and trumpet player!

Well that's all for now!

Frustration with Puppies and Hospitals

Hey everybody...who reads this blog...

I hope this post is finding you all well! I really love hearing about all the exciting stuff that is going on around this country and around the world, just in our family! Technology rocks when it comes to sharing!

I have found being a new mommy to a puppy can be incredibly frustrating. She poops and pees everywhere (do they make diapers for dogs? just kidding). She keeps me up with her crying until midnight and wakes me up at 3am, 6am, and 8am. I am losing sleep! Actually, thankfully Skittles is getting so much better. She is pooping and peeing less...although I wish it would stop completely. And last night she did not cry or bark or whine or yelp and all the other noises dogs make, at night and she woke me up at a late 830am. YAY!

Skittles and I took our first trip to Washington Court House to see our friends, Tiffani, Matt, James Gabriel, and Poco. She traveled very well in the cage down there and was very good in the house, she even got along with Poco (he's a chihuahua). Unfortunately, even though Poco is fixed, he still likes to show he's dominant by humping Skittles (my poor 3month old baby puppy got violated several times). I felt bad because we chained him up at the end of the night to keep him off her. Skittles slept through the night without a peep (I wish she would do that at home, however, I think God shut her mouth so baby Gabey could sleep). Then the next day, on the ride home I let her stay in the seat next to meet, which ended up being my lap.

I am getting incredibly frustrated with my unemployment. I come close to cabin fever some weeks. I have a record long four days straight in my pajamas and I just want to get out and see the world again. I have roughly 5$ in my bank account and I still haven't gotten the courage to ask my parents for $43.66 for my bike insurance payment due in 3 days. It's sadly gotten to the point where I don't even care about nursing or helping people, I just want a job...which is the complete opposite reason I chose nursing school in the first place.

I have a poll for my 2-3 readers...should I go to Starbucks next week and beg for a job (I know the manager personally and he offered me a job provided I give him 5 months...looking really do-able at this point) or should I just keep waiting for a hospital to call me? I know that God knows what I need and that he will provide for all of them. However, my faith is starting to die a slow long and horrible death.

Please pray for my faith and my strength!

Love you and God Bless!

Skittles and Tiki

Here are some pictures of the new puppies!


This is Skittles sleeping:

This is Skittles sleeping still and Dora is the dark one next to her and Buttercup is the other one:

This is Tiki:

This is Skittles (in the back of the pic) and Tiki sleeping in the car:

So there are the two cutest puppies in the world. They are sisters from the same litter. But Skittles is cuter (I'm not biased or anything!)

I had a really fun labor day weekend. Me, Dad, Anna, and Tommy, along with Buttercup and Dora (Anna's chihuahuas) went down to Georgia to visit with the Leibbrand's and pick up dad and my new chihuahuas, Tiki and Skittles! Yup that's right we now have two chi's running around our house. They are very high maintenence and they sometimes make me wish I had a job even more than before, but they are really cute and sweet! (pics will be coming soon, my computer hates my guts right now).

We left on Thursday night at like 730pm and stopped at a hotel in Tennessee at about 1230am. Then we left the hotel at about 10 or so on Friday and got to their house about 2pm. That night we went to see James' football game! It was a home game and James is a starter on the Offensive Line he plays Right Tackle. He was awesome! It was really fun to see him play and to see proud Aunt Ana cheering him on and Uncle Jim yelling at the refs bad calls and of course giving encouragement to James!

I put some pictures up for you guys. Josh is on the Junior Varsity team so he got to dress for the Varsity game but he didn't play.

This is Josh. He is number 61

James is #67

This is the first kick off, Alexander is recieving

James is on the 40

I think this is the coolest picture ever! He is so grown up!

This was the beginning of the game, James is the guy on the far left

James is the one on the end . This is actually a video of James' false start...oops. Poor kid, he cost them a 1st down on the North Paulding territory, it could have been a touchdown. James said it was because he couldn't hear the QB in the huddle and he asked his friend the count and his friend said two but it wasn't right. Oh well, he pretty much kicked butt the rest of the time.

Well that's all for now.

Band Camp!

This past week I volunteered as the nurse at Josiah's band camp. It was really fun, and sometimes dramatic! I am pretty much amazing! haha just kidding! It was kind of nice being there as a nurse. I got to use some of my skills. Although sometimes I really wanted to strangle the kids.

Literally, some of the kids would come in because they had bug bites all over their legs. Was I supposed to snap my fingers and make them go away? I have bug bites too. Then a lot of kids were nauseous and there were a lot of twisted ankles.

I had one girl come in on my last night who said that the tympani cart (that had the chimes on it too) rolled over her foot. She heard a crunching sound and it was hurting bad enough when she walked that it made her cry. I sat her up on my table and and it was swollen and bruised. When I touch it she cried out and pulled away. All the classic signs of a break. Oh goody for me. So after a lot of debate between me, the directors, her mom, and the other chaperones, we decided to call the squad and get her to the hospital for an xray. Mr McNutt (the head band director) didn't believe it was broken, but in my professional opinion it was a high possibility. Well Mr McNutt was correct. It was a "bad bone bruise". BUT I was right in the end because it was important that she get it xrayed before she put any pressure on it otherwise it could have required surgery.

Any way, Friday was their preview and I got some pictures of Josiah:

Sorry these are the wrong way I don't know how to rotate them.

I am so proud of him. He looked really good out there!!! Oh and on our way there I got a call from the Mount Carmel West Emergency Department giving me an interview. It was today at 9 am and it was a panel of four people. They were nice. I think I did okay. It wasn't my best but it's up to them now and it's in the Lord's Hands, (as it has been this whole time). Thanks for all your prayers!

God Bless!

OK lahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plain

So today was quite a lazy saturday. I slept in until 11am and then I ate some breakfast. I worked out...yes exercise, it has done me well so far. I have been working out for two weeks now. I feel better, more energized and it gives me something to do for 35-45 minutes. Then I got online to find more nursing jobs.

After quite a bit of disappointments, I frustratingly typed: "why are hospitals not hiring new grads" into google and hit enter. To my surprise quite a lot of interesting articles and conversations came up. Apparently, with the recession, most hospitals don't want to hire new grads because we cost a lot of money, and training, and time. Overall, we are quite a nuisance to staff. It actually costs hospitals less to pay overtime to burned out nurses then to invest in fresh, not burned, new graduate nurses.

Then I found some site where people were blogging about where they could find a job and if they should go to nursing school. My findings for the places that will hire new grads were:

Upstate New York (no specifics, apparently nobody wants to say the names of the hospitals that are quote "still hiring new grads"--yeah I found this on two separate sites)

Rural places (but not Minnesota as a blogger begrudgingly and angrily posted)

Oklahoma

Texas

So I applied to Oklahoma City, OK, Tulsa, OK, and Midland TX. All of which start their pay 2-3$ less than anywhere over here in the East. Oh well, it's not about money anymore. I don't need money, I just want my one year of experience and then I will "get out". (one blogger wrote that you should "go to rural areas and states no one likes for one year and then get out")

How weird would it be if I got a job in Midland or Tulsa????? I am a city girl (or at least a girl of suburbia) not small town girl or boonies girl or scary country girl.....oh well God is placing me where I need to be!!!!

Just thought I would share.

He put a new song in my mouth...

It has been quite an awakening going through the book of Psalms. Before this challenge, most of my prayers to God always included some sort of "God I need this" and "God please give me this" or "God I could really use...". But now that I am going through Psalms, I am finding myself praising God with every word of my prayers. I have learned so much about myself and about God.



Yesterday I read Psalm 40. Which is one of my favorite Psalms. I really feel like I can relate to what David was feeling. I just get drug through the mire and muck of this world because of my sins, I feel lonely and all that I can do is cry out to God. And every time this happens, God always hears me and pulls me out. All I can ever give Him back is my 'sad little praise'. By the time I am finished praising Him, it's like I am back in the mud and muck all over again and I am crying out for His mercy and Love and Help.



My favorite part of the Psalm is the very end and it was what really got me the most:



Yet I am poor and needy;

may the Lord think of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

O my God, do not delay.

I am really excited about this new endeavor. I really love this book and I feel so much closer to God already. I have a new outlook on life and I can find God in everything that happens (The title is Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi).

In other news, I still have not found a job...or I guess I have found many jobs, but the jobs have not found me! heh heh. But I really am not worried. I know that the right job will come at the right time. I am, however, tired of filling out applications! But oh well. It's been kind of nice to have all the time I want ( I have been working out for the past week and I have discovered new gameshows on GSN-Chain Reaction haha).

Oh and Congratulations to Brendan on the new job! That is so exciting!

Bye for now!

21 days and then I Habit!

I have forgotten the very reason I started this blog. I have always wanted to know how to not waste my life and I haven't been very good at figuring it out.

In fact I have done the exact opposite. I have wasted many a day sleeping in and then watching pointless television. I am a boring person right now. Although I do try to keep the house tidy, since I am the one home at most hours of the day....it's my way of living for something. It's really hard to just sit at home, no job, no money, no purpose. Sometimes I actually wish I were still taking some classes so that I do have purpose.

I went to church on Sunday and my pastor gave a great sermon. It was about faith. I have to admit I have been slightly faithless during my pursuit of a job. It isn't so much that I don't think God is going to give me what I need or that I have put Him in a tiny little box and don't think He can get out. It's the kind of faithlessness where I just kinda forgotten about Him. I keep depending on myself and trying to think independently from Him.

I am done putting myself before God. I am no longer going to forget Him. I know that He is going to give me a job...the right job...at the right time. No longer do I need to fear or worry about what is going to happen in the next few months, because I am His and He is going to provide what I need.

I have read that an action repeated for a minimum of twenty-one days is likely to become a permanent habit (David Crowder-from his book Praise Habit). I think that God has revealed to me that instead of feeling lifeless and purposeless during my unemployment, I need to take this time to develop a deeper relationship with Him. I need to really commune with God and listen to Him, speak to Him, read His word. Starting yesterday I will begin to develop a habit of reading God's word and really having a relationship with Him.

Yesterday I read about Psalm 1 in my book Praise Habit. I meditated on it and realized what I was really missing. Verses 1-3 really struck me and inspired me to really kick off this journey.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he medittes day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." Ps 1:1-3

I am excited and hopefully by August 17 this will not only be a habit for me, but I will have a deeper and better relationship with my Lord.

Untitled

Second to last night at the big family reunion! We are having tons of fun, however it is very exhausting...glad that we are using this night to relax, we have a few different board games going on, Kevin's doing homework, I am ripping music from Josh so I can put it on his phone, and other miscellaneous activities are taking place. All while the older adults are out to dinner.

We are also eagerly awaiting the arrival of Aunt Teresa and Uncle Rick! They should be here soon, hopefully.

It has been such a blast to be here with family. I really love everybody and it's so much fun to get to know all my cousins again, and a little better.

I love my Leibbrand cousins! Jana is a young adult now...she was able to come out to dinner with us on Wednesday. We went to the Japanese Steak House..yum. Except they did not have Yaki Soba (pardon if that's not how it's spelled) which is my favorite ever. But my Shrimp Hibachi (again spelling heh heh) was delicious. I also ordered California Rolls so that Jana could try what I like to call pretend sushi. But she was brave enough to try Jeanette's shrimp rolls...not Katrina's spicy tuna though. That was a great night. After dinner we, of course went to Wal Mart and then Katrina, Jana, and I got on this amazing ride...pictures to come.

James and Josh are so much fun...I have a great time joking with them, at the pool we kept dunking each other... although James was a rock and I was unsuccessful, until he graciously pretended I was strong enough! :) and Justin is the cutest and sweetest little man ever. I love telling him to stop smiling because he has the biggest smile...and he can't, so he smiles bigger and says, "I can't".

I never have really had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Jeanne before this week just because she is always off with the younger kids. But she has been wonderful. I have loved getting to know her better and I definitely welcome all of her loving hugs she gives me everyday.

Janie is so cool. I have so much fun hanging out with her and playing games and everything with her. Having her here with us has been a blessing. She has been a trooper and I know she has had a lot of fun!

And of course, I could never forget my Tiffany and Jeanette! I love Jeanette she is so wonderfully weird! and she has done a great job photographing our crazy family. We are in the same room with four other single ladies (Aunt Jo, Grandma, Janie, and Jana). We call it the single ladies room and then sing the Beyonce song (of course this has only happened on one occasion! heehee). It has been awesome to see Tiffany again. I finally got to see her amazing sewing work. Her quilts are spectacular! She is tons of fun to joke with and talk to. Even though I used to be her annoying little cousin, I am glad that we are closer now! And she married an awesome man. Brendan is pretty much amazing too. He is always easy to get along with and talk to and he brings a very fun dynamic to our group. I missed having Starbucks with him this time though! :(

Well I guess that is a long enough post for now. Sorry I don't have pics to share, Kevin and Jeanette have the bulk of the pictures. Congrats to the new parents in Japan! Aeris is gorgeous and I love reading the posts.

Kari Lopez, RN

I kind of like the ring to it! In case anyone hasn't heard, I am officially a Registered Nurse!!!! I was checking the board of nursing website every hour on the hour today. Each time my heart was racing!

Until like 1:38 when I decided to check again. I figured, eh it won't be up now. And then after a pivotal point in Zombieland, I look down at my computer and see that beautiful word. The most beautiful green font Times New Roman word: APPROVED!

I didn't expect the next sound to come out of my mouth to be a scream and then "I'm a nurse, I'm a nurse, I really am a nurse!" haha. I felt foolish and interuppted Josiah's movie experience. I did actually start to cry. And I screamed some more. I really want to call mom even though I sent her a text and know she will find out tonight after work.

Anyway I am so excited and happy. Thanks to everyone who prayed for me. The test took me 4 hours and I got all 265 questions! Thanks Mark Klimek you were right about my expectations.

I love you all. Thanks!

Take a deep breath...

I just checked my pulse and it is going at a high rate of 110. Literally, I feel like one of those old school cartoons where the heart is pounding through the chest like 4 feet in a perfect heart shape (although since I am a soon to be nurse I am inclined to tell you all that that is in fact not the shape of an actual human heart!). I am thinking about the NCLEX and driving myself crazy. Tomorrow is the big day and I am scared out of my mind. The last few days have been nothing short of a cram session. I am relearning a lot and I think this is the first time in a year I have been excited and inspired about nursing care. My last year of nursing school was horrible and I started wondering if I would ever regain my passion again. Well I have and I am ready to put it to good use. (Now if only someone would hire me!)

I have learned a lot of rules that I think will be very helpful for me tomorrow. I am going to list a few that are fun:

1. If two answers say the same thing, neither is correct
2. If two answers are opposite, one of them is correct
3. Sesame Street Rule: "One of these things is not like the others; one of these just doesn't belong."
4. Right answers are different from wrong answers because they are right!

and

Three expectations I am not allowed to have:
1. Do not expect 75 questions (this is lowest amount we can have, the highest is 265which = expectation)
2. Do not expect to know everything
3. Do not expect everthing to go right

Phooey, I really want everything to go right, to know everything, and only 75 questions!!!! :)

I am pretty sure I am going to go in singing the sesame street rule.

I guess I should get back to studying, and then off to bed for me by 10

I'm Gonna Beat Up that Old Mrs. Johnson!

I am officially only 4 days from taking my boards. I have been checking up on 75% of my class as they take their boards and so far only two people have failed (one person failed twice already). I am scared out of my mind but I think I will be okay. I have a strong confidence that I will pass.

On the job search, so far I have only been rejected! I had an interview with my own floor I currently work on and they also rejected me. Apparently I am good enough for the nurses to tell me I should work up here and to have a great 1 year review with BossLady, but not good enough to be a nurse on this floor. But I have been given a confidence from the Lord that I did not get this job because 6tower just isn't the place for me and that somewhere out there He really does have something in store for me, I just need to be patient!!!

However, I think I am going to miss the people I work with! They are really fun! I'm not so sure I will miss all of my patients though. Some of them can be crazy. Like tonight I have a patient that screams HELP HELP every 5 minutes. When I went in there one time, he says to me, 'I am about to do something really bad' hmmm what does that mean? I say to him. His reply, 'I'm about to beat my wife. Yeah I'm gonna beat up that old Mrs. Johnson'. Right. I'm scared :/. Thankfully I am Ms Lopez and not Mrs Johnson!!

Oh I got my motorcycle license and have been riding more frequently! Love riding at night--except there are more bugs which is really disgusting!! I had like six (smushy guts all over) bugs on my faceshield one night! Blech! It's fun anyway, can't wait to ride with other people though!

Well I better get back to work! So many vitals to do, so little time, so little energy, so much procrastination! (and the Best PCA award goes to....)

I Love everyone! I Love Jesus more!

Oh and Happy Birthday to Josiah! Yay for 15 years!

Boards, Motorcycles, and Dirty Fat Men

I am officially signed up to take my NLCEX-RN license exam. D-Day is now going to be June 30. I am scared to death as the day approaches quicker than I would like. I am nervous and I feel like I can't study enough. Pray for me that I pass and that I won't be too scared. Also pray that I can find a job. I have officially applied for every RN position the Mount Carmel and OhioHealth systems have to offer. I am not sure what is out there for me but I know God has something prepared.

On another note, I am currently taking my Motorcycle Basic Rider Course. I am learning a lot of techniques and becoming much more comfortable with riding again. I had a lot of fun and anger. There were a lot of very stupid people there that were frustrating me! But then I realized that I am not very good either so, I cannot blame them (except a little bit, because some of them were really stupid).

Finally, I really dislike dirty fat men! I am very sick of them pooping every 15 minutes, calling for me every 10 minutes, and I am sick of having to stand there holding the urinal while they pee. There is a reason man invented locks on the doors of bathrooms. It's not just for the person on the inside, it's also there so I don't have to be a witness, or front row audience member of your most private moments. I am sorry for the detailed description but I really needed to vent!

So I will conclude my post for now. I miss people I haven't seen for a while.

No Slither Don't Eat ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

True Story, No joke:

Once upon a time there was boy who had a pet snake. It had been many many moons since his python had eaten. The boy grew very worried! So worried he took his python to the veterinarian to find out why his snake just quit eating.

After a full examination the vet started asking the boy questions about his python and some of its behaviors. They asked where the python slept or if he kept it in a cage. Of course the boy said the python sleeps with him in the bed. Actually, it's really cute his python stretches himself out against his body and sleeps snuggly.

The vet looked shocked and quite scared. The vet told the boy that they needed to put the python to sleep right away. But it was his pet python he couldn't let them do that. Why? The vet said to the boy it was very urgent to put the python to sleep. You see what the boy didn't know was that they python was preparing himself to eat the boy. He wasn't eating to save up for the mega meal he was about to enjoy. He was stretching himself out next to the boy's body as a way to measure and make sure that he was big enough to consume this delicious meal.

The boy was very sad, he begged the vet and promised he would keep the python in it's cage. However, the python had made it up in it's mind to eat him and he would stop at nothing to eat the boy.


Moral of the story: just don't get a pet snake. Like really? Do you want some thing to eat you????

Writing on My Hand

It has finally sunk in that I am graduating next weekend! I literally ran down the stairs and jumped, kicking my heels together, to land with the loudest scream of ecstasy I have ever felt as I exited school today--my last day of class.

I just have two exams left and then a bunch of graduation activities and then I am done.

Life, Death, and TAXES

Yeah those are three certainties that are inescapable (unless you're Elijah :) )! What is not certain is where I am going to work when I have graduated and passed my boards.

Remember when you were rapidly approaching your high school graduation and your major for college was still undecided. (Okay I never had this problem, but I am slowly becoming aware of the problem this presented to many of my friends). Well, picking a job for nursing is the same thing as picking a major for college. There are countless opportunities out there in the nursing world and I am overwhelmed at thought of my indecisiveness. I mean don't get me wrong I have somewhat of an idea as to what I want to do, however, I have no idea where to go to do those things. Yesterday, I had a shadowing experience with a nurse on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital. It was spectacular. Before, when it seemed as though I could never work with such sick babies, now I can really see myself working there. I am so sure that I am already lining up recommendation letters and references galore!!

Pray for me as I start filling out applications and really get into my job search!!! I need wisdom and strength to get through this, and on the flip side, they need wisdom to see that I am clearly the correct choice! :o)

In other news I have really exciting news! (Redundant?) I bought my very first motorcycle!!!!
It is a 2005 Kawasaki Z750S. His name is Asa Jet Lopez and he is really cool.

My dad had to drive him home, because I am chicken and it wasn't insured yet. Dad is a much more experienced rider than me. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home, so my father wouldn't go into a diabetic coma. Which is why we are in a strange parking lot and my dad has his gear on.

This is me on Asa (my escort, Greg is in the background! Gotta represent the car):

I am so excited! I am working on getting Asa insured, however, I have an accident in my history and they claim it was an "at-fault" accident, so tomorrow I have to go to the BMV to clear my name since the only way I could have avoided the accident was to 1. disappear off the face of the earth or 2. Levitate (sp?) and since both of those options are impossiblities, I think that this accident was crazy ladies fault!!!

Just for fun, here is a silly pic of me and Asa (and Greg) making a funny pose:

Well that is all for now. God Bless!

Graduation Countdown: Only ONE left!!!

Month that is! heehee! I can't believe I can finally say one month til graduation! It seems forever away though! So many things to do before that day comes. I actually got a taste of it today when I was bombarded with a checklist of things I must do by today and tomorrow! Ahhh!

First my friend asks, "Kari, where do we do the exit interview online at?" UUUUUHHHHH, came my reply (preposition street? I thought to myself, you never end a sentence with a preposition! although I know I have). I didn't have any clue, right now I am ten miles from the exit to even think about the interview that comes with it. "Is that due soon?" I asked with great hope that she would say, No no no, I am an idiotic overachiever trying to make you poop your pants before going to the class you hate! "Yeah, the deadline is tomorrow." There it is...the gagging scent leaking from my once clean pants has filled the library.

Then when I think that no more can be thrown onto my 10 foot high piled dinner platter, another friend exclaims, "Oh yeah, and the deadline for the financial exit course is tomorrow." and another distant acquaintance, "Have you ordered your cap and gown yet, the deadline is today!" I wiped the sweat from brow and let out a sigh of relief because I had just ordered my cap and gown that morning. However, panic again quickly ensues because I have not completed so many other things.

My mind quickly flashes to the part in Forrest Gump when Jenny makes him pray with her, "Dear God, make me a bird, so I can fly far, far far away from here," over and over again. I didn't even notice that I had to started to say those very words out loud. "Uh, Kari? Are you okay?" my first friend asked. With her question I was immediately snapped back to my relentless reality. "Yeah I'm good, I need to go to class!"

PEDIATRICS

Oh dear I need a vacation! Hannah is teaching today and I might die of boredom. I left my notes at home. I think today needs to be over quickly.

COMMUNITIES

...blankness...

Well that's probably all you need to hear about the adventures of the soon to be, yet not soon enough graduate!

Love and wet sloppy kisses to all!

Flip flops in the morning, Rain boots in the afternoon, and Snow boots in the evening???

OHhhh Ohio! How I do not understand you so! From the 8 hours I was at school yesterday, it went from sunny with a High of 75 to freezing cold rainy blah! Then as I was working, it started to snow!!!! That is insanity!

I am sitting at my last night of work for SEVEN days (yay!). We are short staffed (on the PCA side) but it actually is the perfect night to only have two of us! We are practically overstaffed with RNs, and we only have 31 patients on the floor. So the nurses took primary care (each nurse has complete care of one patient) and that left Bryan and I with 12 patients each! Good night, I think...

I probably have some things I could be doing right now, but I am going to revel in the fact that patients aren't calling out for me!

I had my very first exam in Pediatric nursing this week and I cannot say I am disappointed with my score. I got a 90% on it, which is a B but B is for Best...I can do for only studying an hour! Not to mention that was one point away from an A and A is for Awesome...which is what I am! (I'm not sure...I guess I am trying to learn my alphabet again??? Sorry.)

I think I am going to get back to work now. I miss the people I haven't seen in a while.

Oh and I am officially FIVE weeks from graduation!!!

House Sitting and other adventures

Ti and Kev are out somewhere...maybe a cabin? Whatever. So I am house and dog sitting for them. House sitting reminds of how much I really want my own place and dog sitting reminds of how much I will never have a dog of my own! I know what you are thinking, 'What if your future husband has one?' or if you are my brother Tommy you are thinking 'What future husband?'

It's actually in my top five criteria for my future husband! :0) Yeah I have one of those! I know I am no where near even being ready for a relationship so it's strange/useless that I have a top five, but hey, I should plan for the future somewhat.

So these dogs are CRAZY! They really like to play fight and annoy me until I pay attention to them! They aren't really that bad but I am not a dog person so any wrong they do is a million times worse in my eyes. Thankfully right now Maya is chewing a bone and Spooky is asleep.

However, it has been pretty fun the past two days. I am sorry it will end come tomorrow. FYI Ti and Kev, I will be available to house/dog sit when you go on your cruise in April! :)

Well that is all for today I must go to sleep because I have a long day tomorrow!

Dreams...

Thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. I will definitely take your advice!

I am sitting at work and we are finally fully staffed. So, after wandering around aimlessly, I am still trying to find things to do, I thought I would post!

I had a really strange dream the other week, I think, which I had told mother about but nobody else. And I was thinking about it today and thought it would be fun to share with others.

So I had a dream that my family contracted Grandma Leibbrand to remodel our bathroom. She literally was in our bathroom with a clipboard in her hand and a utility belt around her waist, measuring and asking questions. One of her questions, after pondering as she stared at the bathtub was, How long do Kari's showers usually last? Why would the length of my showers alone have anything to do with remodeling our bathroom??? Well, apparently, because I take really long showers, my Grandma/bathroom remodeler has to run the piping of the bathtub two different ways to make up for the waste of water. Then I distinctly remembering both of my parents giving me a juvenile 'I told ya so' look behind Grandma's back. I am not sure what this means, but my subconcious made it up (maybe I have a guilty conscious about the length of my showers??? shrug!). Grandma, if you know why you have to run the piping this way because of my long showers, let me know as well!

Well I will sign off because I need to give one of my patients some attends (yes big people diapers).

Love and Blessings from my most awesome and wonderful Heavenly Father who is, at this moment, healing my friend Sherlyn!!!!!!!

Six Applications and Counting

So I filled out six applications today! Much to my dismay, they will probably be ignored. I don't know how to fill out applications for jobs of which I will be qualified for in 2 months but currently I am not.

Like when they ask for my highest education, should I put HS diploma or equivalent, which is true, or should I put Bachelor's degree which will be true in two months?

And then when they ask for a license, even though RN is pending, should I put it anyway so they might give me the time of day?

I don't know what to do. What happened to the old day when they just wanted a basic app with a resume? Oh well, something is bound to happen.

I can't believe I will be a college grad in 2 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The end

Bullets!

Some things worth mentioning (I think):

• I am awaiting the arrival of my new phone! It is a chocolate touch. I wasn't sure which one to get so I thought I would keep up the tradition and get another chocolate. So far I have owned (and ruined for some) the original chocolate, chocolate 2, chocolate 3, and soon today, chocolate touch! Haha, I think that is fun.
• I finished my poster board for school and on Monday I gave my presentation on Kangaroo Care for term infants. It was gorgeous. I also got full credit and you are now reading the blog of an A college student! That's right my first A in a nursing course. Don't worry I will still be a great nurse. I just suck at tests. However I have high marks in my clinicals, which is what really matters. Don't fret my pet.
• I am off today and tomorrow! From everything!
• I am wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. Because my other clothes are in the laundry room and I am lazy...terrible! Thankfully my room is quite warm, so I will not freeze. My room is also very messy and has small pieces of paper everywhere from when I created my poster board. I will be cleaning it today as I await on my phone, for I am bound to my house until then!

Well, for now, that is all I have!

Fun (and tragic) end to my Term on Mother/Infant!

I am so sad that my 8 weeks is up. I loved motherinfant and I am so happy I had that opportunity!

It was a really busy last day. Throughout my twelve hours I was responsible in caring for 11 different human lives!!!! That is insane! I had fun though! It was terrible though the last few hours (however, I will not go through that story for I do not want this to be a sad post).

On to better things!

I bought a new printer today and I am so excited about it! I have printed a few pics for my poster I am making for school and I also printed a bunch of worship songs to play on guitar!

My fave song I printed is called Sending by Charlie Hall. It is a wonderful song asking God to send us out and love the world because Jesus is our Greatest desire and those who don't know Him yet need to desire Him also! This book I am reading (Don't Waste Your Life) goes along with that song very well. That our whole reason for living is to have one true and holy passion: To live our lives, not to be made much of, but to make much of Christ in everything we do.

It is inspiring how much things I have thought about and read and sang and discovered this week have been linked with eachother. As we approach the 1st of March I am thinking of my Grandfather more than usual! Not about his death, but about his life and how he lived to make much of Christ! I am inspired to live my life that way. My Grandfather never wasted his life, and I don't intend to waste mine. The chapter I have just finished was on how to live our lives to the words Paul spoke "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." I have to admit I had to read this chapter 3 times because it was very difficult for me to fully grasp the real meaning of that verse. But what I got from it is that To live your life in Christ is living like Christ would and to live and do things only to glorify Him. But to then die is gain, because if we die, we go to heaven to live with Christ. Nothing on earth matters or is better than that. So we should live for Christ and like Christ and not fear death because death is the most wonderful thing for us when we get to go to heaven. And if we don't fear death and appreciate what death actually means: we then glorify Jesus in our death.

Wow! I have never been more excited to live and to die than after reading that chapter. That is how I remember Grandpa's life. And that is why his death is so much easier for me now. Even though I knew all along that he was living in heaven now, I appreciate it so much more. To die is gain and Grandpa gained eternal life with Jesus Christ. WOOOOH!!! How does it get any better than that!??!!!

Anyway, if you are needing some inspiration to go out and love the world and share Jesus with the world here are the lyrics to that song:

Send us with fire to go love the world

Send us with fire to go love the world

Send us with fire to go love the world

Send us with fire to go love the world

Lay down all riches for the pearl of great cost,

Count it as nothing for the sake of the Cross.

Pour out an offering of our lives for the lost, send us out...

You're our greatest desire Jesus, Your Name is our greatest song

You're our greatest desire Jesus, Your Name is our greatest song

Send us with fire to go love the world

Send us with fire to go love the world

Channel our passions into pleasing Your heart,

Come consecrate us come and set us apart.

Hope of the nations, we lifet high the Cross, send us out...

You're our greatest desire Jesus, Your Name is our greatest song

Your're our greatest desire Jesus, Your Name is our greatest song

God Bless!

Boredom

I am sitting for the last four hours of my shift and I am so bored. But at least I won't have to run my butt off! That's kind of nice. I just hope I don't fall asleep. No I know I won't. I have a book to read but the poor girl is sleeping so I don't want to turn on the lights.

I have only 10 weeks left of school. It's hard to believe that. 10 weeks and then I am done with school for forever, if I want. Usually it's 10 weeks until summer vacation. Not this year baby. I will be done, I will have graduated and I don't have to go to another school as long as I want. What an incredible feeling.

I have so much fun on the Mother/Infant Unit, I am so not ready to leave it yet. I love working with mothers and their babies. It's just such a special time for them. I had my first triumph the other day. A girl was having a really difficult time breast feeding, she had finally given up and started to pump only. However, that wasn't going very well either. She thought she just wasn't producing any milk. I went in to trouble shoot to see if there was something more we could do besides prescription drugs to help with milk. So I watched her start pumping and found she wasn't doing it properly (I will spare the details). I showed her how to do it correctly and checked on her every couple of minutes. She ended up pumping 2 ounces, which is huge. I was so happy for her, she was so excited, she said she would even try direct breastfeeding again. That made me so happy. I am a huge advocate for breastfeeding.

So in two weeks I will start looking for an RN position. It is going to be scary but I am excited.

For now I will close and see if I can turn on a light and read some of my book (The life not wasted).

Rough Week...and it's not over

(SIGH)

I have been so busy lately that I can't even think straight. I haven't seen my non school friends since last year (and I mean like October). I haven't played my guitar in weeks, I just realized I am losing my calluses. This sucks. I am so sick of being at my place of work and place of school, which shall remain nameless in this post. (even though it's in my profile).

I have had to pray every night before coming to work this week that God would give me the grace to get through. I cry every time too, just because it sucks that I have to in the first place. I just want to be in the place where I like what I do all the time, not dread it. So far my God is amazing and each night at work I have had a better attitude and I am able to get through pretty okay and I know it is because of Him!

I have been struggling so much with school and awaiting graduation. I just can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know I only have 3 months left but I am so stressed and I am so tired I can't see straight. All I do when I have a day or a couple of hours off, is sit and watch tv. I am completely unmotivated. (Sigh). It's gotten so easy to complain about everything to everyone, I even forgot my friends birthday.

So tonight as I drove in to work I prayed to have the grace to get through my shift, and at the end of my prayer I was thinking about this 'waiting'. All of a sudden the song 'While I'm Waiting' came on. Kat sung it at church a while back and I hardly listen to the radio anymore so I kind of forgot about the song. It says, while I'm waitin I will serve You, while I'm waitin I will worship... and it was great to hear that and how that is what I need to be doing. Instead of complaining about everything I see, I just need to praise God and remember that He will be by my side until the end. It gives me such a great connection with God and gives me a better attitude.

Anyways that's what I wanted to share!

I fell asleep again!

I accidently fell asleep in church today. The sermon was really good, but I could not keep my eyes open. I am glad I wasn't sleeping in a window sill on the second story...

Dad, er I mean Pastor Tom, our Sunday School teacher, is challenging us to be a church as a force for the world. A lot of churches use their building (the Church as a field concept) as a way for reaching out to the community and reaching people for Jesus. We are learning that the church is not where we should be working, instead we need to go out into the world (the world is a field, the Church is a force). I am really getting inspired by this series we are going through. I think it would be so cool for our church to grasp this concept and really be a force for God. I want to see us get involved with missions. I want us to change how we go about our service and just let go and let God take control. I want us to be set on fire for Jesus.

I have to admit I am one frustrated Christian when it comes to our church. I feel like my church's whole philosphy is this idea of the "Church as a field". Last week my pastor preached on being hearers of the word and also doers of the word! It was a great passage in the Bible in the book of James, but it didn't seem as though the passage was the focus of the sermon. He instead decided to share with us his vision for the new year for our church: to have at least 75 in attendance every Sunday morning. Pastor Gary insisted that if we were hearers and doers of the word we would see that we need to invite our friends and people we know to our church to increase our numbers.

WHAT!?!??! Since when did Cornerstone Christian Church become a church focused on numbers and being large? I understand that it is our mission to grow, but it is our mission to grow through the people we reach for Christ, not filling our seats with random people we invited for a week just to fill the seats. When we first started attending our church I remember the pastors always saying: I would rather have 20 spirit filled, Jesus loving Christians, than 1,000 people coming to church because it's the 'good' thing to do. (Not in so many words but that's why it's not in quotes).

It goes back to the Church as a field concept. Our church is lazy! Yeah that's right I said it! We are lazy people. We just want people to stroll into our building by pure happenstance and join our body and get involved. I understand that God is in control, but God put us here, God blessed us with this building so that we would work to reach our community for Jesus!

I am not writing this because I want to bad mouth my pastor. I really don't. It's not all his fault. My pastor is a great man of God. I just think he relays his sermons in a very unorganized fashion that leaves us confused and sends us the wrong message. I am frustrated, but not just at my Pastor or at my church. I am also frustrated with myself. I have had this idea my entire life. I am a lazy Christian. I think, "if only I could get (insert whatever name here) to church they would get saved." However, I don't do anything more than ask people to come to church. I can't remember the last time I shared Christ with someone or even had a conversation about church and God. I am also pretty sure that people around me in my everyday don't always see Christ through everything I say and do.

I had the opportunity to visit another church last week for the evening service. Me and Kat went to Joshua House at the Vineyard in Westerville. It was an amazing service. The worship was great, the sermon was awesome, we took communion which I haven't been able to do since Easter last year. I just had a great time in fellowship with God. The pastor talked about Initiation inspired by the new year and resolutions. This is what really hit me:

After talking about what you need to initiate something, he said:

The worst thing you can do is to initiate SIN. It's important to keep that in mind. That Sin is important and sinning is terrible, it's what put Jesus on the cross.

The second worst thing that you can do is to initiate NOTHING! Wow. It was like a brick came out of no where and slammed me right in the face. Here I was sitting thinking about how frustrated I was with my church and everything they do wrong. Sure I am not contributing to the wrong things happening in our church, but I am also not contributing anything good either. I remembered the discussion I had with my dad two hours before this: I can be as frustrated as I want, I can even leave and find another church somewhere else, but if I don't change my attitude I am going to find the same thing: unsatisfying frustration. We had just talked about in Sunday School that morning about how the young adults in our church could be the changing force in our church. If we would just INITIATE. But instead we just sat there in silence that morning.

I would like to put all the blame on my church and say that it's their fault I am not growing, it's their fault I get frustrated everytime I go to church, it's their fault our church acts as a field and not a force. But the reality is....it's my fault. I am to blame because I am not contributing at all. I haven't initiated anything.

I started this blog to find out how to not waste my life. I think I am 'wasting' my time.

(Heavenly Father, I have no clue what my purpose in our church is. A week ago I was ready to throw in the towel and move on to another church. But now I am not so sure that is what You have in Your plans for me. I don't want to stay in neutral. I don't want to sin, but Lord Jesus I also don't want to do Nothing! Help me to find my purpose. Help me to be a driving force in what changes our church to become what You want it to become. Lord, change my heart. I want to worship You, I want to be closer to You, and most importantly I want to share You with others. In Jesus' name, Amen!)

I am sorry this one was so long winded. I have been stewing on this for a few weeks now and I needed to share with someone what is going on in my head. Pray for me as I figure out how to initiate something in my church! and pray for my church too!

Thanks for reading!

Random...

I wish that people wouldn't move their head when I am taking their temperature.

It's not my fault that I just jabbed you in the teeth...you moved, not me.

Oh Baby!

I started my first week in the Mother/Infant Unit at school! It was spectacular. I started my shift in the nursery, which was really fun. We had nine babies, seven girls and two boys. Of course they didn't stay in there too long, once the mommies woke up.

Then we got a call that twins had just been delivered by c/section. WHAT? I get to triage TWINS! They were the cutest little boys in the world, minus Judah of course! They had curly hair and were so beautiful and they definitely looked like dad. He was in there with us while they were closing up mom. He took about a million pictures while we were assessing and getting vital signs. My preceptor took on Baby A while I was focused on Baby B (baby b was cuter! which I think is only because he was mine! they are identical!). My baby had a hard time staying warm for me so while Baby A was getting a bath and ready to go see mom and dad, Baby B stayed with me under the warmer. Finally, we were able to get him warm enough so I gave him a bath.

About the time I was finished with Baby B, our other c/section baby came over to the nursery. He was enormous! (Not really but he was 8 lbs and the twins were 6 so he looked huge) So I got take on a bigger role triaging new baby. I gave him a bath and he was very agitated and cranky (literally the kid cried for the first two hours of his life). We checked his blood sugar because his respirs. were elevated and his heart rate was fast. His sugar was low so we had to feed him immediately, but he threw up everything we gave him, not good! We noticed his belly was large and so we suctioned his stomach (which was a gruesome and sad procedure-sticking a tube down his throat into his stomach and suctioning mucous, air, and formula out-yuck and ouch) He was instantly calmed down. Whew! That was scary.

I did a lot of other fun things like changing diapers and fun stuff like that (it's funny when the neonatologist is doing his assessment and he's like we have a diaper change over here and then walks away!) But babies are easier to change then the elderly so I couldn't complain!

I really love the Mother/Infant unit, but I am jealous that I can't be in the labor and delivery. Oh the adventures I will have. It's going to be a good term and I am really getting myself organized, although I have a feeling I am going to be very tired from 48 hours of clinical and work combined!

Pray for me as I work out my scheduling and that the MIU will stay busy so I can experience a lot.

Sorry this was a boring post I am just really excited!