Night Shift

Its so hard to believe, but my day shift orientation is officially over. It went by super fast, but I really enjoyed getting to know all of the people who work during normal hours ;) I am glad that I started out there because I got to see how busy it is during the day and got used to caring for patients even when the day was crazy so hopefully that means it will be a little easier during the night.

As fun as it was to be on the day shift, I'm excited about getting to nights. For those who don't know what that means, I will be working 7pm-7am for three nights a week. I'm a little nervous about it, just because I don't know how our new schedule will work...but we will just make the most of the time that we have together on those days and we just have to remember that its only 3 nights!

Positives about working nights:

1) Usually [knock on wood] its a slower pace.

2) No waking up early in the morning!

3) Less doctors/PT/OT/etc taking your patients from one end of the hospital to the other.

4) More money!

5) More time for actually learning and not just rushing around trying to complete tasks

My first night shift is this Tuesday! Please be praying for us as we figure out how our marriage/life works when working different shifts :)

Quick update

Just wanted to share a quick update and I will be back this week for more!

-Work has been great. I'm learning a lot and each day is getting more and more challenging. (I know that seems backwards-it should be getting easier, but its just because I get more and more responsibility all the time as my preceptor is trusting me to do things). Being completely honest, there have already been days where its all I can do to hold back tears until I leave...but its the times when patients tell me how great I've been doing that makes it all worth it. Hopefully with time I will feel completely comfortable with what I know, but I know it will just take time and practice!

-School for Cory has been going well..just busy as always! He's still loving it though and is excited to be learning more practical things this semester (last semester was still a lot of the science and background stuff). This past weekend he got to help out with the incoming class interviews. It's so hard to believe that about a year ago we were interviewing at a bunch of schools and had absolutely no clue where we would be...it doesn't seem like its been that long!

-My mom came to visit!!! She was here a little over a week ago and it was so great to have her here! She found a super cheap last minute flight..$60 Round trip, plus $50 for bags..so all together it was $110 round trip...which is crazy cheap!!!! Keep that in mind everyone :) Spirit Airlines has some great deals-especially in the month of October, hint hint. ;)

- God keeps confirming day after day that we are supposed to be here and it's been so great...but more on that later this week probably! 

Busy August

This summer has been so busy! Its been such a blessing to have so much going on, but between that and a computer that hasn't been working right, we haven't been updating nearly as much as we would like. Hopefully that will change once we get into more of a "routine" (does that ever really happen?!)...but we'll see!

The biggest change this past month is that I started my job! I absolutely LOVE it. I know that its exactly where I'm supposed to be and I have no doubts that nursing is my calling in life. I'm so thankful for that. Being in the residency program has also been a big blessing because its allowing me to go to classes and learn more about what I'm actually seeing on the unit. I didn't know it was going to be so involved when I first accepted the job, but I'm definitely glad now. 

Another big update is that the couple that we are mentoring had their sweet baby girl. Praise God for a healthy baby!!! :)

Cory had summer break for about 10 days this month, and during that time we got to go to San Antonio to celebrate our 1 year anniversary! It was a blast. We stayed at a hotel on Riverwalk so we got to enjoy being in the middle of all the fun, we also went to the Alamo, to Schlitterbahn (an awesome waterpark), and got to explore some beautiful caverns. The best part of our hotel was that it was dog friendly...so Riley got to come along! It was a nice time away and fun to explore another city in Texas. Oh! And Cory got me a super nice camera!!! I was so excited because I've been taking all my pictures with my iPhone and they are not the best quality. Its gonna be nice to have a real camera again!

As soon as we got back from that trip, Cory went to a lake in east Texas with some friends from school. He loved being back on the water, even if it was a lake instead of the beach, so I was glad he got to enjoy that time before going back to school!

He is now in his 2nd semester...and we can already tell that its going to be a lot busier than last semester. Partly because now I am working but also the material that he is learning is going to be a lot more time consuming than the summer semester.

Another huge blessing is that he is now involved in the Christian organization on campus (its the BCM out here)..and he got to meet with the director, who seems really awesome. There are going to be medical mission trips and outreaches to get involved with so thats super exciting. She also had contacts at a pregnancy center that I've been praying about volunteering at..so we'll see how that goes! 

Last, but definitely not least,  we will be in GAINESVILLE next weekend!!!! Its Cory's birthday and he wanted to see the first game of the season so we decided to make the trip! Its going to be a whirlwind weekend but it will be so worth it :) Also, we got tickets to go to the Texas A&M game so we are going to see the first two games of the season...which we definitely didn't think would be possible! Praise God for the little blessings :)

Please remember us in your prayers! 

Summer fun

A super, fun-filled month= serious lack of blog posts.

This past month has just been so full of family and old friends...and even some new ones! Its been great to say the least and time sure does FLY when you are having fun. I can't believe its almost been a month since I last wrote a post.

Some of the highlights of this past month have been:

-Meeting the refugee couple that I am mentoring. They are super sweet and I love hearing their life stories. She is 8 months pregnant, so we are currently in the process of helping them prepare for the new baby. I can't even imagine how scared I would be having my first child in a brand new country, where I barely spoke the language, and was away from all of my family...but I know that God is going to take care of them. Please pray for them and for a healthy baby!

-We got to see Justin Morgan, who is back in the US after spending 2 years in Lesotho with the Journeyman program. I can't tell you how good it was to see him again! I loved hearing about his time in Africa and was so glad that he was able to make the trip down from Oklahoma!

-I drove to Temple, TX to meet Amanda Morgan (not related to Justin...) at a lake for a fun and relaxing afternoon. It was so good to catch up with her. She has been in TX all summer as an intern on a ranch, so she had lots of good stories to tell! She also spent the night with us last week, which was awesome as well! :)

We went to Joe T. Garcia's when Amanda spent the night with us

The lake in Temple, TX

-Cory's family (mom, dad, brother, grandma) came in town for a week...we did a ton of the "tourist" things while they were here and got to try out some yummy restaurants. Among other things, we walked around downtown and showed them where JFK was killed, went to the Cowboys stadium, went to the Fort Worth Stockyards, had a 4th of July party, and just spent time together!

Cowboys Stadium

Fort Worth

Cotton Bowl

Mini golf

Yummy cupcakes in Ft. Worth

 

Downtown Dallas

-Cory had his white coat ceremony..I'm so proud of him and excited that he is finally studying what he loves!

-We went to Florida for Cory's great-grandmother's 90th birthday and a wedding. It was great that they were both on the same weekend so that we were able to make it! We were glad to see family and spend some much needed time at the beach. The Blue Angels were also performing that weekend at the beach, so we were excited that we got to see them!

The Blue Angels

-I got to do all of my pre-orientation and health screening stuff for work! I can't believe it is coming so SOON! I am so excited to finally be working and doing what I love and went to school to do!

-My old college roommate (and friend from middle school), Amanda, was in town because her parents just moved out here about a month or so after we did, so we got to have dinner with all of them. One of our other roommates, Megan, also lives in Dallas and came over as well-so it was fun to have 3 out of 4 of the roommates together again...in Dallas of all places! We wish that Sarah could have been here too...but maybe next time! :)

       

Best 2 Week Vacation In June

Now that I've been back from FL for almost a week, I figured it was time to update y'all about the second half of the trip ;)

This post is going to be a little different than usual...I had the idea throughout the week that it would be fun to make it a "Superlatives" post (you know, like the Superlatives section in high school yearbooks.."Most Likely To Succeed", "Class Clown", and my personal favorite "Cutest Couple"-who were usually broken up by the time the yearbook was actually published...) Anyway, I wanted to do this in honor of the two graduation ceremonies that I attended while in Florida.

Class Clowns

Most High School Graduations
This goes to my brother, Daniel, whose graduation was cancelled the first time-after we sat in the rain for nearly 2 hours waiting for it to begin. The school then split their class into 2 groups and had 2 graduations the next Monday.

Where we sat for 2 hours in the rain before it got cancelled

His actual graduation with half of his class (sorry that this picture is so blurry)

Most Likely To Be Found On Pinterest
We made these for my brother's graduation party! We had a super fun time with family and friends!

Graduation caps

Diploma Sandwiches

Best Sunset
This is on Clearwater Beach...and I got to watch this beautiful sunset while eating a yummy dinner with good friends!

Prettiest Beaches

Along with enjoying the sunset, I got to spend a couple of days laying out on the beach! It was so wonderful.  Nothing is more relaxing to me than time on the beach.

Indian Rocks Beach

Honeymoon Island...I got to go with Melinda, but sadly we forgot to take a picture together :(

Prettiest Drive
This was on the way to go to Honeymoon Island...it was such a gorgeous day!

Best Homemade Meal With Friends

Aaron and Meredythe cooked a yummy meal for us to enjoy together...and of course, I forgot to take a picture. It was a ton of fun to see them again and hear all that has happened in their lives since we last got together! They also have an adorable new puppy- and I love puppies!!

Best Ice Cream

This goes to Coldstone...and only because I got to hang out with Amanda there! :) I had a lot of fun catching up and luckily (well lucky for me) her parents moved to Dallas a few weeks ago- so I will get to see Amanda when she comes out to visit them soon!! We'll make sure to take a picture that time!

Most Random Sighting

Justin and Kayla this goes out to you...I wish that we could have gotten to spend more time together and I also wish that we could have taken a picture together so that I could've truly documented it, but there is always next time (Lord willing)!! I'm so glad that God broke Bo's computer (sorry Bo) and that Justin needed his fixed as well (Sorry Justin) so that we could randomly see each other at Best Buy!

Best Campus
UF is so beautiful...even when there are rain clouds all around! I miss this place...I even made Lauren suffer and walk around campus with me...sorry Lauren :)

Most Memories

This building, and the events/friends associated with this building, are where the majority of my memories from college are from. Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM) was such a huge part of my college experience...and I truly wouldn't be the same person I am today without this organization and all of the people who I met there....especially since I met my husband there ;)

Best Group Of Friends To Enjoy Moe's With On The Thursday I Was In Town ;)

I was so happy to spend time with these people...and to eat Moe's! (Side note: Texas would be so much better if it had good beaches and Moe's..oh and Publix) Anyway, thanks so much to Christie for arranging it..I was so glad to be able to see all of these wonderful people :)

Coolest Twin

Great minds think alike :) We couldn't resist documenting our matching outfits! 

Worst Water Park

This has almost nothing to do with my trip, except for the fact that it made me laugh while driving in Mississippi...couldn't they have thought of a better name for a water park?!

Best Sight When Driving West on I-30 

Especially after not seeing your husband for 2 weeks!! Man I missed him and was glad to be back home! P.S. That is Dallas for those who don't know. ;)

I can't say enough how awesome my trip was. It was such a blessing to have a chance to see so many friends and family members. I wish that I could have gotten to see more of you (sorry if I missed you) but hopefully we will be able to get back again soon...or that you will be able to come out here!

Short update on things in Dallas:

-Cory is done with his first "block" of exams (meaning he's had at least one exam in every class he's taking) and he did so well! God is good!

-I meet the family I will be mentoring next Tuesday!! I'm super excited!

The Rainy State

When I crossed the Alabama/Florida state line, this is what I was greeted with:

Which I find hilarious, because this has been the weather since I arrived:

So much for going to the beach every day ;)

But its perfectly okay because its been great to visit friends and family! 

It started off with a party for Sheppard when I arrived. The next morning, I went for a manicure and pedicure with my mother-in-law and Cory's grandmothers.

I could totally get a pedicure every day of my life!

That night we went to Talya's graduation

We're so excited for her!

After leaving there, I made the 8 hour drive to Orlando to spend some time with Sarah. I missed her a ton so it was great to catch up and just talk about life! 

 While I was there, we went to The Columbia in Celebration for a yummy dinner with our friend Justin. It was delicious and great to see him as well!

Celebration is such a cute town.

Sarah and I made our way into some fountains! :-D

After leaving Orlando, I headed to my parents house-which is where I am currently.

 My grandmother and I

Tonight is my brother's graduation [as long as the rain holds out long enough]! 

I'm definitely having fun, but I miss Cory a lot like crazy! I wish that he could be here with me. He's such an awesome husband for letting me travel out to Florida while he's holding down the fort in Dallas. I am truly blessed.