Family and friends...

In my last post I mentioned that I was planning on going back to TN for a visit. Everything worked out and my trip home was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing my family at our Easter family reunion. It was so nice to see everyone and also very nice to be able to have some good talks with individual members of my family. It was also nice to have a little time away from work.

Me and my niece Kiersten

Cousin Kim and Me

While in TN, I was able to see some of my friends which was so much fun. It was so good to see all my friends, but most especially Amber which I didn't get to see at Christmas. It's always lots of fun and lots of laughs with my friends. I was able to see some of my former co-workers at St. Thomas where I worked before I moved here. They were some great people to work with. I miss you guys.

Amber and Me

Me and Misty

The 3 of us

Work is going good. It still has it's crazy moments and it's sad times, but I think I'm able to handle it much better. I feel like every day I work my confidence is getting just a little bit stronger. I took a pediatric oncology class a couple of weeks ago. I am hoping that one day I will be able to work with our pediatric patients. I have a heart for kids and have always wanted to work with them.

Well, I guess that is about it for an update. I'm looking forward to my aunt coming for a visit in June. I think it will be a really good time.

So, it's been a while...

I just realized how long it has been since I've updated my blog. A lot has happened in the last couple of months, so I'll try to catch up without making this into a book. Well, I guess the first thing is I did the 1/2 marathon with so people from work this past December. It was awesome. I know I didn't run it, but I'm so proud of myself for doing it and completing it. That, and being able to go home for the Christmas holiday was the highlight of a very challenging month for me.

At the completion of the race

My friend and me while home for Christmas

Work was extremely stressful for me for a couple of months. During the month of December we had quite a few deaths on our floor and several other really sick patients. One patient in particular, one that I had gotten pretty close to, passed away the first part of January. This was really hard for me, as I had never gotten that close to a patient and their family as I had this one, and I have not had one of my patients die while I was taking care of them. I was glad that I was able to be there for my patient and his wife. I truly believe with all my heart that God used me during that time to be a blessing to both of them, even if it was the hardest thing I have experienced as a nurse so far.

In January, I moved out of my sister's house and into my own apartment. I am really enjoying living by myself again, but I do miss my daily hugs from my niece and nephews. I was able to buy some new furniture to go in my place since I didn't end up buying a house. I decided I'd use this opportunity to start replacing my hand me downs, which I'm very thankful for, with new stuff so that when I do finally get a place of my own I'll have nice stuff to put in it.

My Living room

My dining room

I'm trying very hard to get and stay involved in church here. It has been hard to make myself go consistently since I work some Sundays. I can honestly say that I have been so blessed by the people in my Sunday school class, most especially my Sunday school teachers. It never fails that when I feel like I want to stop going for one reason or the other, they choose that precise time to reach out and let me know that they care about me and make me feel like I'm supposed to be in that class. It really has blessed my life. Makes me wish I didn't have to work on Sundays so I don't miss out on what's happening.

Painting pottery with the girls from my Sunday School class

The bowl I painted before it has been fired

So, that's a brief update on the last couple of months. So, what's ahead? Well, I filled out my application to go back to school for my masters. My goal is to get my degree as an Nurse Practitioner and hopefully stay in the oncology field. Now I just have to write an essay about my career goals and get my letters of recommendation in to the school of nursing. I'm planning on going home to TN in a couple of months for a visit which I'm really looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to going on vacation with my family this summer to the beach.

I will try and do better about keeping this updated more often.