Life as of lately

So the past few days I have had a nasty cold {unfortunately it seems like everyone else has too} which has forced me to STOP and RELAX, because the Lord knows my body needs it. I may have to blame my crazy work schedule which consists of working 40+ hours a week (and helping Sam with the students) of day, evening and night shifts. It sure makes a body confused. Oh well, its only for the time being...so lets hope my body can hold up through this cold weather approaching!

On the note of jobs....I had an interview at Children's Hospital today for their cardiac/ critical care floor. I think it went really well, but I am not getting my hopes up for the following reasons: they are doing a bunch of lay offs/ re shifting around of nurses so this might get filled by an existing RN, there are a TON of people who applied for it, and I'm sure a lot who have interviewed as well :) All in all, i count it a step in the right direction. I got an interview, and if I don't get this job, there will be one in the future just for me! I still have my foot in the door by being a casual (.0 hours) CSA so I can apply for internal RN positions! Keep me and this job in your prayers if you think of it :)

My heart has been aching so much lately for teenagers. The painful situations that many of them encounter are just not fair! Yes, a lot of it is out of their control, and is life taking its toll on their lives...but seriously, I wish I could just take all of their pain away and hand them a box of peace and love for them to enjoy for a lifetime! It just keeps me driving to do what I can to support and guide these precious kids. Keep posted for future plans!

Even though I have not been feeling well after my busy work weekend, I forced myself to A. celebrate my mom's 52nd birthday and B. do our annual pumpkin carving contest with my husband!
My mom's birthday was a blast (despite how I felt) and it was fun to all be together! My brother's girlfriend came too, and I have to say, Im quite proud of his choice! She's adorable! We watched the vikes vs packers and played games! (Theo sported his pack jersey proudly, what a rebel!)

The only downer to the night was when we decided to take my brother's newly purchased short bus (YES...a SHORT BUS! he plans to take on long ski/ road trips with his friends) to get the pizzas and a few treats and hit a car in the parking lot with it. We anxiously awaited for the owner of the vehicle to come out so we could talk to him. After about 20 minutes of long waiting we had him paged and he came out. luckily he didnt seem to care at all about the minor damage on his very old car. He laughed and said why dont you just give me 40-50$ and we will call it even. My brother said, how bout 80$? Done deal. And we were off! It could have been a lot worse outcome!

Pumpkin 1

Our pumpkin carving contest is taking place on facebook this year to have a little less bias in the voting...we shall see who the winner is!

Pumpkin 2

I also just got done baking the pumpkin seeds! One of our favorite fall treats! Yum Yum! The house smells so great on this cold rainy day :)

Until next time...

friendships life and other mysteries

As they normally should, friendships certainly take their course as you graduate from high school, then college, and beyond. As we are forming into the "complete" person that we were created to be we often mold into different relationships and different roles in existing relationships. And this is natural. However, sometimes hard for my brain (or maybe its my heart) to wrap around. I often times hold on to what "once was" and don't accept the fact that it "is not" anymore. I assume, and hope that this will become easier as I continue this transition into a much different phase of life. Its such a weird shift to realize all the more recent relationships that have been made are so strong and have such a common level in which they are formed. They are not based on memories, but on current involvement's, life phases, etc.  Although I know it is still important to remember the past, and hold dear to the people who were (or still are) a big part of your life, its OK to not hold too tight! I think we will always love and have a special place in our heart for those who were close to us in the past. I am so thankful for those few that have remained ever so close to me throughout the years, and these friendships have truly stood the test of time!

Pictures from the past:

As sam's new job entailed being the youth director for jr high and sr high students, it is natural that as I am involved too, I will build relationships with these kids. Can I just say that I am so excited about this? youth inspire me, and sometimes teach me more than I think I teach them. Right now I have been working more with the jr high than sr high (hopefully it will become more equal soon!) and I have come to this conclusion ...I frequently underestimate these kids, their talents, and ability to influence those around them, both young and old! Not that I EVER had low standards, but they just continue to impress me! I am so excited as we continue to build relationships with these kids and watch them grow up and hopefully stay on the right path ;)

Below is a picture of my small group of 7th grade girls (minus one of them) They are pretty great :)

Off to another night shift of work tonight in a few hours. Its not so bad, i suppose :) Patiently awaiting doors for my dream job to open up, but until then...I guess I have a pretty good gig!

<3 Christina Joy