Snowed In...

One of the things that I hated most about working at the hospital is that it never closes. So, if the weather is horrid, you still had to be there because people never stop being sick. It's a noble thing to do, but I love that difference in my new job. On Monday it started snowing, then sleeting, then freezing rain. By the time Tuesday morning rolled around we had about 4 inches of ICE to deal with. I had found out Monday night that the clinic was going to be closed, so I was thankful for that. Outside our house looked to be a mess. Ice was everywhere. Andy of course had to be at work in the afternoon, but it took a while to figure out how to get one of our two cars out of the mess...after lots of shoveling, pushing, pulling, and maneuvering we were successful. Finally, Andy drove backwards all the way down our road until he made it to one of the main roads. I waved good-bye from several feet away. Then, I started trying to shovel some more where the car was, but then branches started falling from trees. I was close to one of the trees that started breaking, and I thought it was a good idea to just go inside. Since walking was so difficult, I got to the end of our driveway, sat down and then slid down to the house. Since the entire ground was ice it was pretty easy, and probably safer. We've had several large limbs fall off trees near our house. The ice is just very thick on them. We are very thankful that although the power lines are also heavy with ice, they haven't fallen and we still have power. We'll have a lot to clean up with things finally warm up...whenever that will be. They are talking about more snow again this weekend. It's been kind of nice to have a couple of days off and not have to worry about getting out on the dangerous roads.

Just a few highlights

1. I still like my job. It's weird, it seems that the weeks go by faster. It's kind of sad, because I only see Andy 30 minutes/day, if that. This week has been less due to his responsibilities with the news.

2. Gwyn came down last Thursday to go to the WinterJam concert. I was a little sad that MercyMe wasn't there, but I really enjoyed Steven Curtis Chapman. It was awesome that I won a couple of tickets and that the weather wasn't as bad as they originally predicted. It was nice to see Gwyn, but I think we both decided that the music was just a little loud...

3. On Friday I was able to experience for the first time since high school a Snow Day! They closed the clinic due to weather, and the best part is that it was a paid day off. I'm sure that doesn't happen often, but it was kind of nice that it did.

4. Since I had Friday off, I tried to think of something special I could make for Andy to celebrate Groundhog Day. He loves the holiday. We woke up early to watch the live action, and the I surprised him with a celebratory cake :)

6.Karen Miller (a member/friend at church) had surgery and I was supposed to cook for her family tonight. They begged me not to cook anything, but instead to come over and talk to Karen because she was bored... So, I did. I was lots of fun, and they played one of my newfound favorite games "Apples to Apples".

So, we're keeping busy. I'm also taking a sign language class on Mondays. I think that it's going well. I'm hoping for a fun and restful weekend. We have plans for Saturday night and of course church on Sunday.

I think this is where Jesus would be...

I haven't been at my new job for very long, and I seem to be exhausted when I return home. The clinic is incredibly busy with so many people who have so little, and it's so eye-opening to realize there are so many people in our town who need so much. I never knew.
Today I had the opportunity to go with our outreach team. We went to one of the local shelters and a local soup kitchen. I saw all kinds of people with lots of problems (mostly hypertension, diabetes, and colds). These people were alcoholics, ex-convicts, and even prostitutes. At one point I felt like I just wanted to cry while I was taking some one's blood pressure just because I could see the hopelessness in their eyes. They have to hate that this is their one and only life and things haven't turned out how they had hoped or dreamed. As the lunch crowd started filling in the shelter I imagined that if Jesus were in Evansville, I think these would be the people that he'd be hanging out with. No wonder the Pharisees criticized him...these people are rough, the lowest of the public population hierarchy, but there is no doubt that they are the ones that need more hope than anyone. It's funny, I find it hard to imagine Jesus in a suit and tie at a pastor's conference. (not to say He wouldn't do that, it's just hard for me to imagine.)
So, this job is definitely exhausting but incredibly rewarding. I love it, and I'm just praying that I can really make a difference in their lives.

Life Happens...sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's rough

So, it's the first day of 2008. No official resolutions have been made, but I of course hope to do some things that I've never done and to do some things better than I've ever done. Today I started my new job. It's new, interesting, and overwhelming to go through all this paperwork and orientation again. I'm excited though, and I plan to keep the blog updated :)

We did go to Arkansas and celebrated Christmas with our family there. It was the first time since Father's Day 2006 since my whole family has been together, and that was before Niah had been thought of. So, we of course got pictures. Niah is a blast. She's so funny and much more interactive than the last time I saw her. She's adorable and sweet and loves people. Maybe I'm just dreaming, but I think that she has a lot of my personality -though more laid back. We'll just see what she's like as she grows up. I can't wait until she's old enough to come and visit me and Andy. We'll have a blast together, I know it.

Right before we left for Arkansas we purchased a new car. I love it. It's amazing, and I love driving it. We hear from others that we got a good deal, and we're hoping that it lasts forever...or at least 15 years :) I was wondering though, in 15 years will we even be using gas in our cars?

Tonight I think that I feel a little melancholic...just thinking about life. At church we are praying for a woman who just fought breast cancer and survived, only to find out today her husband was found dead in his semi-truck. I keep thinking of all the men and women fighting for our freedom and how proud they must be, how scared they must be, and how much they must want to just be home having to make a late night wal-mart run -but they some will never make it home, and they know that. A couple of my friends in Anderson had their house burn down on the 1 year wedding anniversary. I just keep thinking about how random and ironic and nearly depressing life really is, but I feel comforted with the thought that I feel less like death is a horrible ending. It's tough to live without the people that you love, but I know that this year my faith has grown because I can feel myself trusting God more. I don't really know how it happened, but I hope that I can trust God more this year than ever before.

Answered Prayer

Finally, after 2 years of praying and hoping God has given me a new job. I'm so excited and I'm so scared. It's a full time position which takes away some of the flexibility that I have been enjoying, but it's an 8-5 job -no weekends, holidays...all that fun stuff :) And, it's a mission oriented place. It's the ECHO clinic, which offers low or no cost healthcare to individuals with no insurance or who are homeless. They offered me the position with the Homeless clinic. This facility isn't a mini emergency room, it's used to function like a doctor's office. They do a lot of patient education and work on getting prescriptions at low/no cost for the patients. I feel like it's a great place to serve, use my nursing skills, and get paid for doing it! I'm so excited, but I really need to sleep so that I can stay awake at work tonight. I only have 3 more shifts at the hospital before I switch over to the new job. It's so lovely to have something to look forward too!!!

Keeping Up with Life

I feel somewhat obligated to post something, although I don't feel that there has been any significant changes in my life or daily activities. I feel like we've been keeping busy with lots of various things. I took a reluctant Andy shopping last weekend. We had not even started our Christmas shopping yet, but we finished most people on the list last week. I love Christmas and I love the lights. I love when we're just driving through the streets looking at how others have decorated their homes. I love eating out on weekends when we don't have lots of stuff to worry about. I love the thought of a roadtrip with Andy, and I love the fact that we're going to see family soon. I love hugs, and I love happy people. I really do love this season...just the festive feeling that everyone seems to have. But, I do wish that it would last a little longer. It's hard to believe that have been married for 3 Christmases, but I'm anxiously awaiting what God has in store for us this next year.

Oh, so busy

alright...so, I was trying a new blog thing but I haven't quite got all the kinks worked out yet. Andy and I have been keeping very busy with random activities and with just life. I was doing auditing at the hospital, but I have had to go back to working on the floor. The first day that I went back I applied for 3 other jobs...I haven't heard anything yet. I suppose that I should call and follow-up on those. Andy and I bought a new dining room table. It's fun to eat at, and Andy and I love how we can spread out all our books and Bibles to get the full picture. So far, we love the table.

I had the first ever Awana girls overnight party. I had 10 girls show up and 2 amazing workers with me. It was incredibly tiring, but it was fun and the girls seemed to really enjoy themselves. Then, yesterday we had the annual Thanksgiving meal after the morning service at church. It was a "big-to-do" but I think things went well and that everyone enjoyed themselves. I'm really excited about the holidays...I have to work Tuesday night this week and then we're off to see family. I'm just excited. I keep walking down the Christmas isles at the stores and just feeling happy. I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet, but I am in love with all the big, beautiful, bright colors.

Andy and I drove the 14news car in the Owensboro, Kentucky parade. It claims to be the largest Christmas parade in Kentucky and the second largest parade in Kentucky. Kind of amazing. There were lots of people there...and it was kind of fun to be a part of it.

So, now I'm going to try to mix the mundane house stuff (washing dishes and clothes) with more happy crafty activities.