Blog Archives

Jun1

Month of May in Review

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Wow, the month of May most definitely got away from me. It was one thing after the next and now it’s over. My only post in May was a picture of my sweet princess so I thought it might be a good idea to post something to explain where in the world I was all month.

Let’s see… The first week of May was crazy. That was finals week and by NO means was it easy. After a LOT of hard work and non-stop studying I was able to achieve a 3.500 GPA this semester (and I was only about 5 points on the final away from an even better grade in pharmacology!), which I am pleased with.

My family made a lot of sacrifices to help make that possible but now I am OFF for the summer. Only one more year of school left and I should have my Associate of Science in Nursing. That will make me eligible to take the RN licensing exam. Only ONE more year. Wow. I can’t even begin to say how much I’m looking forward to that.

After finals were over Gabe and I went to celebrate with some of my awesome nursing school friends and we had a fabulous time. See!

Once the semester was complete it was time to get back to the business of getting my house cleaned up, as well as getting ready for some yard sales. I definitely didn’t have time for all those kinds of things while classes were going on.

The week after finals was Mother’s Day. Gabe and the kiddos made it special for me. Gabe told the kids that he “got mommy a surprise” on that Friday and that was too much of a secret for them to be able to hold inside. So my sweet presents came a couple of days early.

Gabe did an awesome job picking out a “Nurse” mug for me and a Willow Tree candle holder. Aiden was able to sign the card and Livi put some scribbles, which could not have made me happier. I got to spend Mother’s Day with my wonderful mother-in-law at church and the afternoon with my grandma and two aunts. My grandma and two aunts helped raise me. I wouldn’t be who I am without them. My mother-in-law is truly my friend and because of her I have Gabe and everything I love now. I am beyond blessed to have these women in my life and there’s no one else I would have wanted to spend that day with.

My “secret sister” at church also made Mother’s Day special for me with this:

I love carnations and these lasted for almost two weeks, looking gorgeous the entire time. I would say I still have the balloon but Livi usurped that and I think it’s now in her bedroom. 🙂

The following weekend was our first yard sale of the season and of course it was HOT. I always pick hot days for yard sales. My awesome friend, Kim, helped me out and we were able to unload quite a bit of stuff. There was still stuff left over so I had another sale the following Friday. It was even HOTTER. This time Livi was my assistant and we made a good day out of it. I still have a few big things left that are now on Craigslist and will hopefully soon be headed off to good homes.

That same day, Friday May 25th, was my sweet husband’s birthday. Gabe isn’t a huge fan of his birthday but I am. It means I’ve gotten another year with him and for that I am endlessly thankful. We didn’t do a lot on his actual birthday but the following night we had a bbq with a house full of friends and family. Gabe asked for an ice cream cake so you better believe that’s what he got. 🙂

We wanted to do a big bonfire but the weather did NOT cooperate and it was again HOT. We still had a fabulous time and celebrated the man I love. Isn’t he cute (even if the kiddos weren’t terribly happy to stand there!)?

We partied on Sunday with my family and again on Monday with Gabe’s family. We had a wonderful Memorial Day spending time together and enjoying the kiddos.

May wasn’t quite over yet though. Last night my baby boy graduated from preschool! They had a sweet little ceremony and he even got to read! If you watch the video (it’s only 16 seconds long) you can definitely hear one proud momma after his reading is over. Yep, I couldn’t help myself. Sorry for the quality, I took it with my phone.

I got this one as they were doing a little march around and of course my son’s hat is on sideways and he’s blurry on the bottom half from moving but he couldn’t be happier and I love it.

So yeah, May was BUSY to say the least. I’d say June will be less stressful in terms of obligations but not in terms of things to get done. I’m looking for at least a part-time job and of course the kids and I are going to make the most of this summer while I’m out of school. Oh and this blog will absolutely be a priority.

Thanks for catching up on May with me – see you sooner rather than later! 🙂

Apr16

When You Hurt So Bad…

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Tonight we were in the car talking about nothing when the kids brought up when we’re allowed to say God or Jesus. We try to teach them to have respect for those words and not just throw them around. We told them that we say it if we’re praying or praising the Lord. We also told them that it’s okay to say those words if we’re telling people about the Lord. Of course we want them to use these words regularly, just with respect.

While we talked about using God and Jesus when we pray Aiden brought up a time that he said he prayed for his cousin to feel better. I told him that was exactly right and it was like how mommy prayed for him when he got hurt a couple of weeks ago. Then he said “yeah, because I hurt so bad I couldn’t pray for myself”.

At first I just smiled but then it hit me. He just said something far beyond his years and so much more profound than he knows.

Too many times we think of pain in the physical form. I haven’t had a lot of physical pain in my life. I haven’t broken a bone since I was a small child and while labor was painful it was a means to a great end. We recognize our physical pain and the toil it takes on us but how much more does the pain we feel deep inside impact us? My mind flashed back to times in my life that I was broken, like the loss of my dad or following my miscarriage. I was a shell of a person. I wasn’t me. I could barely function, much less pray for myself. It hurt too bad. I didn’t have the strength to do something as simple as pray for myself.

But I knew there were a lot of people praying for me. When I couldn’t lift myself up I comforted myself with the knowledge that people who loved me were doing the praying when they knew I couldn’t.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been praying for a family that has experienced an unimaginable, life changing tragedy. As I hugged them and spoke to them my words felt so small. “I’ll pray for you”. How much can that really mean I asked myself. Even though I’ve been in the position of being lifted by other people’s prayers it felt like I should be able to do more. Until tonight.

When I was talking to Aiden we were discussing physical pain but his simple words changed how I will forever see my offering of prayer. I may not be able to turn back time, take away the pain, or change what’s happened but I’m praying for them because they hurt so bad they can’t pray for themselves. And now I realize that means so much more than I ever recognized before.

Feb11

Simply Thankful Saturday – Coffee

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Last week my first Simply Thankful Saturday had a serious note to it. It’s nice to be serious sometimes and talk about the amazing blessings in my life. Other times it’s nice to talk about something completely silly that I’m lucky enough to have access to. Today that’s coffee.

I love coffee. Wait, let me take that back. I LOVE coffee. It makes me happy when I get up in the morning and I go to start the coffeemaker only to smell the aroma of the coffee when I open the container. A little creamer and a sweet n’ low make it just right.

I am even happier when I get the chance to go to Starbuck’s and get that awesomely hot cup of coffee with the perfect mix of espresso, mocha, and sugar free vanilla syrup. It may seem silly to some people but I’m thankful that something as simple as coffee can make my day a little better.