Health Update and odd ??????

So here is our update: Hannah is doing much better, went to school today with no problems. Drum roll please. . . . . . . . . . . . . Now Jackson has strep!!!!!!!!!! I wonder when it will be my turn? So now would everyone please pray that Jack has a quick recovery like Hannah and that I don't get it! Which leads to my odd ?????? Do you guys believe that God tries to tell us things through events OR that he doesn't give us more than we can handle? Let me explain further - I am at a very difficult crossroad right now. In case you haven't heard my life is a little stressful right now with Scott being gone during the week, school, work, and two kids. So is God trying to tell me via my kids being sick that this plan of mine isn't what he has in mind for me OR is he trying to show me that I am superwoman and with his help I can do all kinds of things - similar to what an RN might do? If this was happening last year when I was just starting nursing school I would have dropped out a long time ago. Now of course I am not far from being done so do I just suck it up and plow on through or drop and return to my life before nursing school? You see at one point I felt a great calling to be an RN, that I could really help alot of people by treating them with dignity and respect and along the way put a little glimpse of Christ in their eyes. Currently I feel so discouraged I don't know what I am supposed to be doing. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, what is your opinion of fasting?

Vacation

I am so excited! We got the best news today! My Dad and Stepmom are renting a beach house next year in Destin, Fl for our entire family. With Scott's new job I wasn't sure we would be able to go because vacation is based on seniority. But Scott got word today that he got his vacation approved. So June 5-12 we will be in Destin! This is so awesome. I am so blessed to have parents that want to spend time with all the kids, and so blessed that we all love spending time with each other. Growing up that wasn't always the case, you know when you get steps and halfs involved it gets messy when you have all those teenage hormones going. But now we are a pretty close knit group, which I love! So Florida here we come! Hannah is so excited. She has never been to the beach. Jack of course hasn't either and I think I went when I was younger to see my grandparents but don't remember it at all. Yeah! So countdown starts now to save money and lose weight! I wanna be a hot beach momma!

Ok, a few other details to add. Hannah got diagnosed with Strep Throat today so pray for her and me and Jackson that we don't get it as well. Scott should be ok, he had his tonsils out when he was a kid. Also, pray for my brother, he has battled drug abuse for a long time. I think things may be changing this week so be praying for him.

Did I mention I am going to the beach next year? Oh yeah, and it will be just after RN graduation! So much to look forward to next year.

Family Update

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on what is going on in our lives.

Jackson - oh my sweet little boy. He is doing awesome! He is really starting to say alot, hasn't bitten anyone in a couple of weeks (thank you Lord!), and growing so fast. It amazes me how raising a boy is soooo different from a girl.

Hannah - loves First Grade. Now we have had a few bumps in the road, but overall I think she is getting the hang of it. She goes to a special Reading Recovery program because she was a little behind the curve in her reading and she is doing so good. I am so proud every night when she brings home her little homework bag and has to read me and Jackson two books. She has made soooo much improvement. Kudos to Mrs. Stack her Reading Recovery teacher. She is amazing.

Scott - loves his new job for Mehlville Fire Protection District! He will be starting the St. Louis County Fire Academy Monday so everyone pray for him and us. He will be gone to it Monday - Friday and then will have to work a shift every other weekend. The academy lasts 11 weeks so we will miss him dearly and I know he is gonna miss us. Pray he has the strength to endure this 11 weeks of training and pray for us at home without him. The kids are gonna miss him and I am gonna miss him. Not to mention the fear issue, I know my in laws are down the road but I definately sleep better when he is home so having him gone 5-6 nights a week is gonna make me really tired.

Me - this has been a rough semester for me. I love the topics so far - mostly OB and newborns - but it has been interesting at times. We have new dynamics in the classroom with a new instructor and it has definately brought me out of my comfort zone. But that isn't always a bad thing. Plus last week we started clinicals so that is gonna make the time fly by. Hard to believe in a little over 8 months I will be graduating from RN school!

And in case anyone hadn't heard my sister had her baby! A little girl, Isabel Ann joined big sister Alexis in Ross & Jessica's family on 9/10/09. I got to be there for the whole thing and it was amazing. My sister is an amazing woman. Being their made me feel like I finally got to experience what childbirth is supposed to be like. I was so proud of her. (I love you Jess!) And I got to give Isabel her first bath with the awesome nursery nurse Gretchen! Yeah me! It was so cool. Anyway, I am sure she will be posting pictures on her blog soon. Be on the watch out for them!

A few more

Here are a few more pictures. My favorite picture is the one with Hannah and Jackson looking at each other. He is watching her so closely and she looks like she is "teaching" him something.

Pictures as Promised!

Here are some pics from Maramec Springs a couple of weekends ago. Hope everyone enjoys!

While I was away. . .

OK so I have neglected my blog. I dunno why, well actually that is a lie. I recently found facebook and farmville. Of course at first I was glued to my computer watching my friend number rise higher and higher and now I am thinking There is no way I have that many "friends", acquaintances yes, friends no way. So now I am thinking that I opened a can of worms I wish I could close. Cause of course now I find pictures of me floating around the Internet, do I really want them there? I dunno. I have found pictures of my kids. Again I must ask do I want them out there? I definitely do not. Do I think people should be able to post pictures without your permission. ABSOLUTELY NOT! So now I am considering shutting down my facebook. Not sure yet, just thinking about it. Plus it is such a waste of time, seriously I have so much other stuff I could be doing like being with my kids, studying, working on my house, the list could go on and on and on. But the positive spin is that I have talked to people on facebook that I haven't seen in years and think it is so cool. So I just have to rethink the way I interact with facebook. And seriously if you are reading this and you have posted pics of my kids please consider removing them. I am glad that you are thinking of my kids enough to post them on your wall, but with all the weirdos out there in this world I just don't know if I want them out there. Sorry, hope that doesn't hurt any one's feelings. . .

So what has been going on in my life lately? Well I started back to school last Monday. Yeah me! Hannah started back to school the week before that. Scott is loving his new job! Jackson is growing like a weed. Over the weekend we did lots of cool stuff. Saturday the kids and I went to Maramec Springs and made S'Mores in our front yard, Sunday we went to Rylee's 2nd birthday party. It was an awesome weekend, we had perfect weather. Reminds me that fall is just around the corner and I love fall!

So this week I will try to post some pics from our weekend, I got some cute pictures at Maramec Springs of the kids. Also, I think I am gonna up the security on my blog so if you are reading this don't freak out if later this week you have to have an "invitation". Just shoot me an email and I will be glad to send it to you! I don't want to leave anyone out, I just want to make it more private. Have a great Monday everybody! I love you all!

Busy Week

So the last week has been a bit hectic, but good. I love my new job and I love working with kids (except when they cry). Finals happened! Yeah! I ended up with a B in the class which really makes me sad because until mental health I had all A's in my nursing classes, but I am now ok with the B. Mental Health is a very hard class to study for. I mean, you can study all the disorders and know them like the back of your hand, but you can't really study for therapeutic communication questions and it seems like about the time I think I have them figured out something new gets thrown in. Oh well! I am glad it is over and happy to be out of school until 8/17. Yesterday we had an amazing day together as a family. We spent some time at the river just relaxing. It was great! The weather was beautiful and the kids had a blast. My sister had a car accident Saturday (everyone was fine, no injuries) but it was very scary for them. Thank you Lord they were unharmed! My good friend Amber is still pregnant - this is a good thing - she is only about 35-36 weeks so we would like Braeden to stay inside a little longer. She has had lots of contractions lately but they seem to fizzle out. I pray that the Lord brings little Braden into the world when he is ready for him and healthy and not a moment sooner. She also started a blog so you guys will have to check it out.

And the most exciting thing is that I lost 4 lbs. this week! Yeah me! I had been struggling to get going on this weight loss. I had lost 1 lb. then gained back three so now I am down 2 lbs. from where I started and feeling like I have a grasp on the situation. Thank you Chrissy for the encouragement and to the girls I work with - Kristina my new weight loss buddy & Dr. Rao, Kendra, and Becky - thanks for understanding and helping me stay accountable! I really, really appreciate it! Only 58 more pounds to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!