Thoughts on The Little Drummer Boy

Come they told me, a new born King to see; Our finest gifts we bring to lay before the King, so to honor Him when we come.

Little baby, I am a poor boy, too. I have no gift to bring that's fit to give the King. Shall I play for you on my drum?

Mary nodded. The ox and lamb kept time. I played by drum for Him. I played my best for him. Then he smiled at me; me and my drum.

So I always thought of this song as one of those songs that really has no Biblical basis and is just another fun song to sing, along with "Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Santa Claus is coming to Town." However, recently I really listened to the lyrics. Okay so no drummer boy is mentioned anywhere in the gospels, but I really think this is saying something more than just, "There was this kid and he played his drum for the baby Jesus."

Some of the thoughts going through my head when I would listen to this song before were, "Really? Play a drum for a baby? Is that really such a good idea? Seriously. Isn't it kinda loud?" and "So the pa rum pa pum pums are getting a little redundant and irritating!" This year however I heard a really cool version of it by a group called "Denver and the Mile High Orchestra" that kind of jazzed it up a bit and added their own thing too it. One of the things added was: "I played my best for Jesus!" That got me thinking.

What do any of us really have that we can offer the King of Kings? Not really anything because everything we have already belongs to him. All our possessions, all our talents, us...it all belongs to Him. The best gift we can give to the King of Kings is to use what he has given us for him: To "play our best for Jesus."

So whatever talents Christ has given me - music, nursing, caring, teaching, compassion - I better just do my very best and stop fooling around. That is the only thing I can give Him to show my gratitude for his ultimate gift of salvation.

My hope for reward is His smile. Well done good and faithful servant. My I be worthy of that smile and statement.

Katherine, the directionally challenged: but divine appointment accomplished anyway!

So, Thursday while my handsome husband was at the Integrity music worship conference I was scheduled to volunteer at the crisis pregnancy center. I left in plenty of time, but as the title of my post implies (or rather bluntly states) I am apparently directionally challenged. Mind you, I did not get lost in the part of town that I rarely travel. No, I got lost in Friendswood, where I go all the time because lets face it...Alvin, Tx doesn't really have much to offer in the entertainment arena, but I digress. Here I am traveling along I-45 south (which I do frequently) and I totally missed my exit. So I got off two exits down and did a U-turn and got on I-45 north. I took the correct exit this time, but instead of going straight to 528, I turned onto Nasa rd 1 going in the opposite direction from which I intended. I finally got turned back around and found the freeway again and found a different intersection that I am quite familiar with and finally made it to my destination...15 minutes late. Oh, great. So, not only am I leaving early (to meet Matto for dinner), but I am also late. The thought going through my head when I parked is, "I might as well not have come at this point." However, God definitely had a plan for my life and another's life, as you will see.

When I got there, the other volunteer was taking a pregnancy test back for counseling, so I pretty much hung out and talked with the director. Then another client came in with her sister and mother, so I got her set up. (At this point I am feeling sleepy - not sure why - and rather complacent.) I took the girl back to one of the rooms for counseling and discovered that she was 15, already 29 weeks pregnant, and her mom just found out the week before. I counseled this girl on abstinence and STD's before I even got to the spiritual issues. Then I shared the gospel with her. God is so good. Everytime I present the gospel it is different. God always puts the words in my mouth that the receiver needs to hear. This girl ended up accepting Christ that day and we got her plugged into a pregnancy center a little closer to her, as well as a church right across the street from her high school. (One of the volunteers that works on Monday just happened to be visiting the center at that moment and she knew of a church my client's area.) The girl will probably come back to our center when I start teaching Childbirth education classes in January so I might get to see her again. I was also able to counsel her mother a little too.

As I look back on this experience I can see two hands working here. I definitely see Satan trying to influence this appointment. I didn't want to go to the center at all because my lazy self wanted to stay at the hotel and...be lazy. On the way to the center I got lost ( in a familiar part of town) not to mention sleepy (which is probably why I was having so much trouble). When I got there I was still sleepy and rather complacent. But God, right? God won (as He always does). I made it to the center (albeit 15 minutes late). Once I got the client in the room I woke up and God put the words she needed to hear in my mouth and opened her heart. My friend, Megan, just happened to be available to give me the name of a church for this girl to go to. God set the situation up perfectly to bless both me and this client. There is no barrier that keep us from God's will. It will be done!

Good times this week!

So this past week Matto went to a worship conference, hosted by Integrity Music, in north Houston so we decided to get a hotel room and make it a little "minibreak." We really only got to see one another in the evening as Matto was at the conference, so during the day I went about business as usual.

Wednesday morning I came home from work and went straight to rehearsal for the ladies quartet I sing with. It did not go well. Katherine gets a bit cranky when she hasn't slept all night. Then my mom helped me pack so I could get a couple hours sleep before I was to meet Matto for dinner. I ended up being about a half hour late as I apparently have absolutely no sense of direction. Hmm. Anyway. We had dinner at PF Chang's and then Matto dropped me off at the hotel while he went back to the conference for the evening session.

(By the way, he had and awesome time at the conference. He got to hear Lincoln Brewster, Paul Balosh (I know it is not spelled right - I'm lazy, okay!) and other names I am not familiar with. Too much fun. He was really excited and I think it did some good things for his spiritual walk as well. I am very proud of how much Matto has grown in Christ since I've known him. I am so excited to watch him continue to grow!)

...to continue...I hung out at the hotel until he came back from the conference. I soaked in the jacuzzi tub that was in the room (oh, yeah! - in the room) and watched tv. (Boring you say? Perhaps not. I watched a very interesting documentary on the weather channel all about the big fat hurricane in the early 20th century that killed so many people in Galveston. Natural disasters are always entertaining.) When Matto came back to the hotel we just hung out in the room. Very fun and relaxing!

Thursday Matto had more conference and I had Crisis Pregnancy center so we went our separate ways. I actually did not want to go to the Crisis pregnancy center and was thinking about backing out, but I went and was rewarded (it is a long story so I will post that one after this one.) We met up for dinner again and this time had Saltgrass. (Oh. yes. Definitely a real Texas steakhouse and therefore the only kind of steakhouse worth going to.) After dinner we went to the final concert at the conference together. Very cool.

I am now a fan of Paul Balosh ( I know it's spelled wrong - get over it!) and Lincoln Brewster. Not so much of the Canadian folk singer guy, but there you have it. Paul Baloche's (are you happy now? I looked it up and it is now correct.) music is very accessable for worship. The tunes are easy to follow and the words are theologically correct and very God focused. Lincoln Brewster is fun and the words are worshipful, but not as accessable as Paul Baloche. I digress.

Back at the hotel more fun with the jacuzzi action and hanging out and Friday we went home and had fun hanging out there too, despite the lack of jacuzzi tub.

Saturday I went with my mom, niece, nephew's girlfriend, and some friends from the crisis pregnancy center to se "Twilight." Very fun. A good movie that I will definitely own! Mind you, it is not necessarily a cinema masterpiece, but was definitely fun for fans of the book. I felt that it actually followed the book quite well.

Now, I am back at work. Yes, yes, I know. Only three days, but it is hard to go back to work after such fun not at work.

Another name for The Book

So, Tuesday this girl came into the crisis pregnancy center I volunteer for, for a pregnancy test. She had been there in April for a negative test and was coming again. This time the test was positive. One of the things we do when these girls come in is share the gospel with them. I have had the opportunity to share the gospel with several girls, but this time when I asked her if she wanted to "accept the gift of eternal life in Jesus" she said yes! So I told her the formula for the salvation prayer and she prayed it. I prayed for her and recommended ways she could take care of herself now that she is pregnant. She is going to have the baby. I encouraged her to let her youth pastor know she had accepted Christ and told her about a christian vice principal at her school. I also encouraged her to do a little bible study for new believers to get 20 baby bucks (can be exchanged for baby stuff). Anyway. That was my Tuesday!

Unity in Christ

As I peruse other people's blogs I see a great many (those that comment on the recent election) with a common theme. God is in control. He is in control of the rulers' hearts and He is the supreme ruler. It makes me happy to see like mindedness from the believers. Unfortunately I don't always see that and it bums me out.

And...God is STILL in control

So. Obama. The first thought that comes to my mind when I hear this word is "scary." Not because he is bad, but because of the other words that come to my mind - "socialized medicine, partial birth abortion, one world government, etc." When I first heard that he had won (one of my patients and her husband were yelling and cheering at the top of their voices) I was actually so upset I felt nauseated. I had to leave my pod because I just didn't want to hear it. Now that I have had a chance to process it all I am thinking, "so what?" God is still in control, even if the Democrats are taking over DC. Even if Obama is the anti-christ, as so many have pondered, I know who wins. So is this the beginning of the end? Who knows? I know God wins (no matter how you roll the dice) and since He is in control I don't need to worry.

Incidently, here is a really interesting blog about the election talking about the same thing:

http://deadtheologians.blogspot.com/2008/10/no-matter-who-wins-electionit-is-gods.html

God SO answers prayer!

One of the ladies I take care of from time to time has been in the hospital on bed rest since August. Today she delivered and both her babies are doing very well. I have been praying for her since I met her because the outcome did not look well and she has been trying to have a baby for quite awhile. How can one say there is no God when He is so evident everywhere?

The Kitty whisperer

Meet Stravinsky. Okay so that is probably not really his name. I don't know what his family calls him, but that's what we call him. He belongs to our new next door neighbors, but every time we open our front door or come home he comes running (or is already waiting for us).
Matt was the first one to meet him. One morning he opened the door to go to work and Milhaud and Bartok trotted in followed closely by a random black, nearly grown kitten. Matt grabbed him and sent him back outside. Bartok hissed at him and ran away (my sweet boy is such a fradey cat). Since then I think he has decided to join our family. He lets us pick him up and pet him and if we don't do either of those things he rubs on our ankles until we do.
At first we were not sure who he belonged to, but then one day our neighboret was outside with one of her kiddos and she told me they had just had a new baby and the black cat hissed at it so out he goes!
Well, now we have a new friend! Bartok and Milhaud are not thrilled. Bartok will only go outside via the backdoor now. After one initial hiss on encountering Stravinsky, Milhaud will usually settle down and successfully ignore him the same way she does Bartok.
This is the third cat to have adopted us. A few weeks after we moved in a black cat followed me (and Bartok) home from the mailbox. A few weeks ago we had an orange kitten show up in my engine (we found his family and took him home). Matt is continually telling me I am not allowed to adopt another cat, but in my defense, they come to me!

Cat hair and paw prints

My husband is pretty great. I know that if he was not married to me he would not have any pets. And yet we have two cats. He has said numerous times that the only reason we have these cats is because he loves me, but that fact struck home Friday. We were at the gas station filling up his truck. The doors were open and he was standing at the driver side door. He made a comment about paw prints and Bartok walking on his truck and then he plucked a few hairs (cat hairs by the way) off the front seat. I also noticed cat hair on his shirt. I am glad he loves me. Cat hair and paw prints are a testimony of that love. I am truly blessed!!

A visit from Ike

So I got a birthday visit from Ike Friday night. I had to go into work on Thursday (which was technically my day off) because I was on "B" team and I had to work til noon on Friday when we were relieved by "A" team. "A" team, of which my mom was a member, stayed at the hospital to ride out the storm. I got home at about 1:30 pm and Matt had pretty much gotten the house ready to go. He had done the shopping for canned goods and water, taped all the windows (we would have boarded the windows except that Home Depot was sold out), cleaned out the garage to make room for our cars, brought in the porch furniture, filled the bathtubs with water (in case the water got shut off), bought batteries, and managed to keep the cats inside despite all the crazy confusion.

The wind started picking up around 3 or 4 PM and continued to get stronger as the afternoon/evening wore one. Around 7:30 or so everyone in the neighboorhood went outside to experience the high winds and gawk at the sky, which was no longer blue, but an ominous dark gray color. Around 8:00 the wind was starting to knock us off our feet and attack us with dirt so we all went inside to "hunker down" and ride out the storm. Me and Matto and our lovely kitties sat down on the couch and started watching Star Wars (the original, before it became "A New Hope"). (All this time various family members were calling and texting to check in and see how were were doing.) Just before Luke and the Rebel fleet were about to attack the Death Star we heard a big ole gust of wind that sounded like it was trying to tear the house down so we decided to "hunder down" in the hallway without windows for the duration of the hurricane. At this point we still had electricity so we plugged in the portable DVD player and finished up Star Wars. Right around midnight all the lights went out so we subsisted on batteries for the DVD player and watched "The Empire Strikes Back." Around 2:00AM the winds and rain were stronger and louder than ever (or maybe it just seemed that way because the laser fire from the movie kinda drowned out the noise), but we decided to try to get some sleep anyway. Around 4, 4:30, or 5 am the wind got the loudest. I remember sitting up and thinking "Is that still hurricane or is that a Tornadoe? Should we get into the bathroom or go back to sleep?" After listening for a bit I decided to go back to sleep. I woke up around 7:15 with the sounds of an arriving text message on my phone asking us if we were still there. "Yup. An so is God." The wind had subsided somewhat, but the rain was still pretty heavy. We risked looking out our windows and saw a lovely river running down the middle of our street and up to our sidewalk. Neat! Looking out from the second story on our back yard we saw another river running down the street behind us and lo and behold 2 of our fences were having some issues standing up straight. Poor things. In all the excitement we must have forgotten to give them their V8 for the day. One of the fences was on the side of a house that has not been sold yet so we are hoping that the realtor will fix that one. The other one just needs a couple of nails to put it back to rights.

Over all we faired pretty well. I was a little worried at first, but in the end God was in control and protected us all. My sisters and their families escaped without harm and very little damage occured at the hospital. God is good and as always, was faithful.

Premie week

I saw 3 premies born the week after labor week. That was too sad. One baby was 25 weeks gestation. I think she is still alive. That baby was delivered via c-section. Mom had developed an infection. She was so upset in the OR that they had to put her to sleep instead of use an epidural. The other two babies were 23 week twins, almost 24 weeks. They were vaginal births. They were so small. So far only one has survived. This job is happy for the most part, but every now and then I think it is actually sadder than the ICUs.

Labor Week

So I got to orient in L&D for a week. It was very cool. I got to help with 9 vaginal deliveries. Yes. This is DEFINITELY what I want to do with the rest of my life! One of the ladies did it without an epidural - by herself. How awesome is she? She didn't even make all that much noise until she was crowning. I was very impressed. As opposed to the lady who did have an epidural, but one that didn't work all that well. She just didn't get complete pain relief in her lower right abdomen. She was screaming so loud that she was scaring the other patients. Labor is definitely different for everyone. I will spare my readers the gory details. So much fun!

What a way to start the day!!

This morning as I was driving to work (in the dark and fog - 0530) I saw a big tool box in the middle of the road...about half a second before I hit it with my front tire. Nice. I pulled my car over and proceeded to change my tire, but the problem was, I had never changed a tire on this car before. The set up was completely foreign to me (especially on a pitch black country road in the middle of nowhere). I finally extracted my spare (with much fake swearing and praying and resting and praying) after I called work and told them I would be late. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out the set up and I was trying to jack the car up at intervals. I would jack up the car until a car came, stand back and wait for the car to pass, jack up my car some more, wait for another car to pass... Finally, 30 minutes and countless cars passing later, a guy pulled over and asked to help. I looked at his silouette through my humidity fogged glasses and said yes, thank you. He was kind enough to change my tire for me (he was much faster than me). I drove home, changed scrubs (the originals were quite wet and dirty), and borrowed Matto's truck to get to work. I was 1 1/2 hours late to work. When I got to work I found that my preceptor had called in so I had to work with someone I didn't know as well. No thanks to the yucky start, though, my day is not going too bad. I owe that to praying over and over on the way to work for a good attitude. I find that if I pray for a good attitude I usually have a good day!

Migraines...huh...that's new

So a few weeks ago I started getting migraines. At first they would just be at the end of the day and I would go to bed and wake up fine. Then, a couple weeks ago I got the migraine Sunday night and when I woke up the next day it was still there. I went to work anyway, hoping it would go away, but I ended up going home in the middle of the day. I had to call in sick the next day because the migraine was still there. For the next couple days I was down for the count. I went to the doctor and she did a full work up on me (mostly just blood work and EKG) and sent me in for an MRI (yay for insurance!). The blood work, EKG and MRI were normal. So far, since my last migraine, I have been okay. I am keeping the migraines at bay with aspirin, Benadryl, and coffee. The doctor gave me a pill to try and it actually made the migraine worse. That was the first time in my life where I could say my pain level was a 15 on a scale of 0-10. Special.

A new nurse!

I took the NCLEX-RN June 17....and....PASSED! God was very good to me that day. I wasn't nervous until the test cut me off after 75 questions and then was sure I had failed. Not sure why, but I went straight to the christian bookstore after that. I had never been there before, but I ended up there. I was reminded (in the "way to expensive to buy for just a verse hanging on the wall decoration" section) to trust God. Specific verses that caught my attention were: Psalm 37, Psalm 46:10, and the last section of Col 3. Psalm 37 says over and over again "don't fret, don't fret, don't fret." Psalm 46:10 reminded me to just be STILL and trust God. The section in Col 3 was talking specifically to servants, encouraging them to dedicate all that they do to God and work for the glory of God. At the point that I read that chapter I realized that as a nurse I am a servant. I dedicated my service as a nurse to God. Everyday, as I place my hand on the doorknob before leaving for work, I pray for God's glory. I pray that I will actually be a conduit for God's glory.

Now I am in orientation. I did two weeks in the nursery, learning how to transition babies directly after birth. I was shaking with my first baby. That was the first time I had ever done nursing care all by myself. It took me awhile to get used to writing RN after my name too. Now I have to stop myself from writing it when I sign credit card slips, checks, etc. Now I am in the second to last week of postpartum (new moms and babies). So far I am really enjoying being a nurse. There is more responsibility, but for the most part it is really fun.

My cats and their idiosyncrasies

So I have noticed that most people use their blogs to show off pictures of their children and what not. I don't have any kiddos yet, but I will show off my "babies" (even though they are full grown). I have some pics of their idiosyncrasies here.

Bartok

Bartok has always had a slight obsession with the water faucet in the bath tub. When we lived in California he always came running when we would get out of the shower. He would jump in the tub (sometimes before we were able to get out and sometimes almost knocking us over) and play with the drips coming from the faucet. In our bathroom at our house, now, we don't have a bathtub with our shower so he can't play with the water after we get out, but we do have a separate tub in the master bath. Now, he will jump in the tub and stare at the faucet until we turn the water on for him to play with. Here he is staring at the faucet.

It is a strange obsession. Here he is grabbing the water with his paw so he can drink it:

Another bit of trivia about Bartok is his favorite sleeping position. He likes to sleep on his back with his feet in the air. When he gets into a deep sleep his foot starts to drop, bringing him into a side lying position. When this happens it startles him awake and he makes a cooing sound almost like a pigeon, adjusts himself back on his back and the whole cycle starts over again. He also likes to sleep on our shoes in the closet, but I don't have a picture of that. A new favorite of his (that I also don't have a picture of) is sleeping in the dryer in the clean clothes if we don't get them out fast enough or close the door.

Some idiosyncrasies cannot be pictured. One is that he likes to play peek-a-boo. He likes to try to catch the peek-a-booee's face with his paw. This game is not for the faint of heart as there are claws on the end of that paw!

Bartok doesn't meow at the door when he wants to go out. He pigeon coos loudly while racing up and down the stairs and ricocheting off furniture and walls. He only goes out at night, though, because he is afraid of the neighbors and outside daytime noises.

He has also learned how to open cupboard doors. His favorite is the cupboard above the refrigerator. Who knew we would have to baby proof our house before we had babies.

Bartok also likes to attack Milhaud (mee-oh, please). He sits on the edge of the couch and waits for her to come by and then leaps. When she growls at him he cowers, but he still likes the game.

Milhaud (Pronounced mee-oh)

Milhaud has her own little idiosyncrasies. Her favorite sleeping position is with her back against a pillow. It can be any pillow. She likes to be in the same room with me so if I happen to be in the kitchen or living room she sleeps on the couch:

If I am sleeping during the day for work (or if I am not around) she sleeps in the bed. When I am not there she goes directly for the pillow:

If I am there she either snuggles up to me and "chases" me around the bed until sometimes I end up lying crosswise by the time I wake up or I wake up to find myself on the very edge of the pilow or completely off the pillow so that she can sleep next to it. She never does this with Matt's pillow. Just mine. Also, if I lay on my back she has to sit in the middle of my chest. For Matt, she likes to sit in the middle of his back, where he can't see her.

Something I can't take a picture of is her meowing. She is a very loud meower. If she wants out she will not take "no" for an answer. She will meow at the door, literally, until someone lets her out (or in). When we first had her we could not let her inside because we could not afford pet rent at the time. It was a couple of days before we asked our land lady if we could let her inside. Night and day, day and night she meowed at the door. If we woke up in the middle of the night we heard her. When we came home at the end of the day she was still meowing. I hope she took a break to get something to eat and go potty, but we will never know. Finally, the land lady took pity and gave us permission to let her in. When we did finally open the door for her, she came in, sniffed at some furniture, jumped on the couch and went to sleep. Keep in mind that she used to belong to the lady that lived there before and she pretty much came with the house so that was the first time she met us in the house. I think she decided that we were okay. Now, when Milhaud comes inside she meows a couple times (depending on how long it takes us to let her in the meow can be friendly or loud and grumpy) walks in and literally flops onto her side on the floor.

Milhaud does not like to use the cat box. She will in a pinch, but she prefers to go outside. Before we got Bartok the cat box was pretty much just for decoration.

There is so much more I could say about my cats, like Bartok having to have all doors in the house open, and Milhaud demanding to be petted whether you want to or not, but I think I am becoming a bit boring and obsessive so I will stop now.

Meet Nurse Elley

As promised, Matto took me to Build-a-Bear last Wednesday! There I found this wonderful Elephant and dressed her up in scrubs and got her some medical equipment. Notice the stethescope around her neck, the syringe in her hand and the thermometer "grasped" in her trunk. It is very handy for Nurse Elley (that is her name by the way) to have that extra appendage because nurses are always in need of some extra hands. Note her booties. She is all ready for a leaky patient!

In other news on the nursing front: Please be in prayer for me. Apparently I am not allowed to work as a Professional Student Nurse (PSN) after I am declared a Graduate Nurse (GN) by the Texas Board of Nursing (TBON). Unfortunately, as I have not been hired as a GN, but as an RN (Registered Nurse) I cannot work as a nurse in my unit until after I have passed the licensure exam. I cannot take the licensure exam until I am declared GN. All this to say, there will be a big gap between working as a PSN and working as an RN. At least one paycheck will be lost if not more. Please pray that the transition will go smoothly and that God will provide money for us to live and that we will use the money for His glory.

My husband makes me happy!!

After my pinning on Friday my husband soundlessly came up to me and gave me a big bear hug. Later he told me about what he had been thinking during the evening class representative's speech. The speaker told about how the evening students would work school in between work and vice versa without getting much sleep in between. Matt was reminded of how hard I had worked over the last two years and he told me that he was so proud of me. It makes me happy to know that my husband is proud of me.

Also, I woke up this afternoon to find white roses on my dresser. That made me happy too. He thought I might like them so he put them on my dresser. I think that is great.

Also, Matto is taking me to build-a-bear where I can build a nurse bear!! And he is going to get me a new Littman stethescope which is so great.

I am a happy wife!!

In other news....

Thursday, my mom and I went to her house so she could change before going to my niece's band concert. When we got there I heard a yowling sound. While she changed I went around the side of the house to investigate. Her cat, Charley, had fallen off the fence and somehow gotten his hind leg wedged between the slats in the fence. I reached in and held his body up and yelled for mom. She finally came out and came to help. When she touched his foot he screamed (no kidding, he really screamed) and went to town on my left hand. Ah, what a gesture of thanks. I grabbed his scruff as soon as I could, but not soon enough. I will have some cool scars for sure! As soon as we got him free from the fence he wrapped himself around my right arm so I have some fun marks there as well. We put him down (after prying his claws out of my flesh) and hurried to the bathroom to assess my wounds. Pretty. Puncture wounds and bruises. On mom's insistence we went to the nearest urgent care, but they were closed so we had to drive all the way down to Sugarland. The fang did not break off and no bones were broken and my bones are very healthy (at least in my left hand). When I told Matt about my healthy bones he said, "They better be after all that milk you drink!" I am now on doxycyclene and am supposed to keep it clean and dry. There has been some swelling, but only over the wounds so that is good. No infection. When people ask me about the scars I will tell them that I was in Vietnam!

Charley is fine. He has no limp and other than being a little skittish about going outside shows not signs of the event.

FREEEEEDOOOOOOOMM

So Wednesday I was taking practice tests for my exit exam and freaking out pretty bad because I kept scoring 60's on them. Finally, about ten minutes before the exam I finished my last practice test and scored yet another 63. At this point I had reached panic mode. I looked up from my computer and two of the Christian students from my class came up and asked if I would pray with them. Hmm...let me think...YES!!!!!!! We prayed for clear minds and calm spirits and most of all for God's glory. The next few minutes before the test I spent texting as many people as I could to ask them to pray. Let me just say to all those who prayed - thanks sooo much. All through the test I felt calm and every time I would begin to freak out I would stop and remember that God was with me and I just needed to take one question at a time. It worked and God was definitely glorified. I got a 992 which equals in normal people terms out to a 91.79%. I scored in the 88.22 percentile in the nation. Whew! When the score came up on the screen I thought it must be upside down. I did not feel that confident with my test. I guess I did okay though! So. It is done. I am finished with nursing school.

Let's try that again.

I AM FINISHED WITH NURSING SCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


My pinning was Friday. There I found out that I was one out of only 34 people who passed out of both day and evening classes. 70% of my class failed the exit exam! Woah. I guess it makes sense though because when we had our review class very few people paid attention. I sat up front for the last two classes because I had a hard time hearing the teacher through all the chatter despite the fact that she was using a microphone. Anyway.

As I said, my pinning was Friday. Later that evening we had a party at my sister's house and I burned my clinical uniforms. Holy cow! I am so glad I never caught fire while wearing those. I would have gone up in flames faster than you can say "I love my lips!" Ah, polyester, such a quality material! The burning was glorious and all I could every hope for! Now I can say for sure that I shall never wear those horrid outfits again! My mom got a pic of me burning them. Perhaps I might be able to get a copy of it when we figure out how her camera works.

Now what? you might be asking. Well now I have to wait until after the 17th to be proclaimed GN (graduate nurse) and be allowed to take my licensure exam (NCLEX-RN). I have to get that done before June 23 because that is my first day of orientation in my unit where I have been hired as a staff nurse.

And between all that I will be cleaning my house. Apparently I have been in a fog the last few weeks because I walked out of my bedroom Thursday morning and saw that apparently there had been a Tornado in my living room. My mom came over later that morning and I asked her if it seemed messier to her than last week. She said that everything was in the exact same place it had been the week before. Wow. Talk about living in a fog. Well the fog has lifted and I am going straight to work on my nasty house on Tuesday (gotta work Sat, Sun, and Mon).

Did I mention...

NURSING SCHOOL IS OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

God's little reminders...

So Monday I had my last test for my Lab class. I got a 74. Not so great. It's fine because I did so well on the other tests and assignments that I still have an "A" in the class, but it made me a bit nervous for the theory test the next day. After the test I went to the gym and did some water aerobics (which are freakin awesome by the way. I get a good workout and my joints don't feel as if they will fall off my body!). The whole time I was freaking out about Tuesday's test and some scheduling things at work and the tests for next week and, oh, while we're at it, the NCLEX-RN coming up! On my way out the door I passed the workout room and saw a woman wearing a t-shirt saying, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philipians 4:13." Who says God doesn't still speak to us?



By the way, I guess God has decided to make that my life verse. I didn't even think about it until just now. When Matt started working at the church one of the choir members gave me a little wall plaque with that verse on it. On the "Praise moves" DVD I do (Yoga, but not really, for Christians) the first verse that is focused on is the Philipians verse.



Anyway, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I get so stubborn thinking I can do anything I set my mind on that I forget to remember that I do nothing by my own strength, but by God's. I CAN finish nursing school next week through Christ who strengthens me and I CAN pass the NCLEX through Christ who strengthens me and I CAN be the best nurse possible for God's glory through Christ who strengthens me.

Good news!!

I had an interview on Monday with the managers of the unit that I currently work at as a PSN. They said they did not have the budget for nurse interns, but they liked me and wanted to hire me. They had several positions for staff nurses, but they had to get permission from the CEO to hire me as a staff nurse.

I just got the call five minutes ago saying that they want to hire me as a staff nurse!! I am going to be working at the same hospital, in the same unit, as an OB nurse!! I am too excited. The trick is that I have to pass the NCLEX-RN before I begin as a staff nurse. It is a night position (my fav). Yay!

Also in the news, the crisis pregnancy center I volunteer for is talking about paying for me to get my ultrasound certification as well as my childbirth educator certification. Please be praying for that!!

YAY!!!

I'm an Army "Ant!"

A few weeks ago I went to my nephew's graduation from basic training for the Army. Here are some pics. This is Ian (I think he is going by Zack now) in his dress uniform.

Here is Zack right after his graduation. Doesn't he look fearsome?

Here is his platoon marching by the bleachers.

Zack and Randy in dress uniform. Randy is a Staff Sargent in the Airforce. Here they are at attention.

And here they are after I said, "Beautiful, dahling, now look angry!" I don't know why they don't look angry!

Zack and his mom, (my sister) Ronelle.

Zack and his girlfriend (yes, folks, that is pink!), Kaitlin.


Randy, Ruth, Mom (looking at the "yearbook"), Zack, and Kaitlin (yeah, don't know if that's spelled right).

Me, Chelsea (Ruth's daughter), and........introducing.......Sophia!! I finally got to meet her. Such fun! She is absolutely beautiful and easy going and everything that is wonderful and good. Yay!

Beautiful Sophia!

Me and my big sister!

I had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, our camera is on the fritz so I was not able to take any pics of my own. These are all from Ronelle's camera. My brother let me do night time feedings with Sophia so that was fun (oh, yeah. I am that sick!). Okay, so I do newborn feedings in the middle of the night as a job, but they never wake me up. That is actually in the middle of the day for me (if that makes any sense). I am very proud of my brother and nephew and I am so glad I was able to go. During the graduation, I have to confess, I cried like a baby. I was so proud of Zack and so proud of all the men who were graduating and going on to serve their country that I could not hold back. Laugh if you want, but my brother said (after I proclaimed myself a dork for being so weepy), "We need more "dorks" like that." I also heard some frightening stories about my brother's time overseas. It is a good reminder to be in constant prayer.

Please, all who read this, don't forget to pray for our service men and women. They are what make and keep this country free.

My new friend

So I have been noticing that in the medical biz one needs to speak different languages. Mainly, well, Spanish. Because, well, when people come here from other countries nowadays the US makes it nice and easy to not assimilate, as it were.

Anyway, this blog is not for soap boxing. So. Where was I? Ah yes. My new friend. I have a new friend and its name is (I say "it" because it really doesn't have a gender)...Drum roll please...ROSETTA STONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mom bought the first two levels of Rosetta Stone for Spanish for my nephew last year to help him in his Spanish class, but since it is really hard to do well in a class without going and he wasn't really interested in doing well anyway it didn't get used.

I mentioned to my mom that I wanted to learn Spanish so that I could communicate with my patients and I wanted to try Rosetta Stone and she said she had the first 2 levels. Anyway, to make a long story short (too late) she lent it to me. And I love it.

It doesn't teach by conjugating verbs and memorizing vocabulary, but teaches by showing a picture and saying a phrase. Like how we learn to speak a language when we are babies. It goes so fast and by using the words and phrases in different ways it makes so much more sense. When I finish I plan to take the professional Spanish class for nurses at the community college down the road, but I would also like to get the 3rd level. I think that's the last one. And then I want to get French and Italian and German. Unfortunately its like 500$ per language so I don't know how practical that is. Maybe after nursing school and after we pay off all our debts. That's kind of my montra right now - "After nursing school...."

TTFN

I think I'm getting old.

So yesterday I was driving to my clinicals and I suddenly realized I'm an adult. Okay, so it wasn't the first time, but seriously. It is kind of disturbing. I was driving behind a school bus and remembering how I used to take the school bus and then I remembered the last time I took the school bus home from school - 15 YEARS AGO. Hmmph. Well. I remember back then I thought 30 was so old. I am going to be 30 in 6 months. I guess I don't think about it much since I hang out with people my own age and older, but I think this is disturbing. And life is going by too fast. I don't like that either. I am glad nursing school is almost done, but then what? I can go on with my life, but it won't slow down. It will probably go faster. disturbing. Anyway. I think I will enjoy it while I can. It would be good I think. Wow....wow.

P.S.

My brother and his wife have had a new baby!!! I am an aunt!...for the 11th time. Baby Sophia arrived January 24th around 3:30. She was 7 weeks or so premature as my sister-in-law was preeclamptic and taking the baby out is the only sure fire cure. Baby was 5 1/2 lbs and 19 inches long. That is a big girl for being so early. It gives her a fighting chance. She was in NICU last I heard with a breathing tube and a GI suction tube. I would love to put pics up, but I don't have any. As soon as I have them you will see them!

Homestretch

Welp, here I am at the beginning of the last semester. I am both excited and scared out of my mind. After graduation I have the NCLEX-RN and then...I am in charge of real patients. All of a sudden I will be practicing on my own license instead of mooching off my instructors. I will be making decisions, sometimes life or death decisions. My mom says every nurse goes through the scarey phase at the end of school, but she also says it is not as bad as we make it in our minds.

We had a great Christmas. My family came over on the 22nd and we had a great time. Matt's Mom, Dad, and brother Daniel came on the 24th and stayed through the 27th. My family came to one of our Christmas Eve services and between services we had a little family gathering at our house. It was good times. We had Hogan family Christmas on the 25th. Unfortunately I don't have any pics because A) our camera is on the fritz and B) our computer is also on the fritz so the only way I have to blog is at work and on Matt's computer at the church and at school. If we get a tax return it is going to a new computer!

Matto left for Mexico the morning of the 27th and came back the next week with a horrid chest cold. I attacked it with fluids (much to his chargrin: "I have had so much grape juice I think I am going to explode!" "Well have some orange juice instead!" What a terrible thing to have a nurse for a wife!). Anyway, it worked because when we went on our wedding anniversary trip to San Antonio his cough was much better...So There!

We spent 3 days in San Antonio and had a marvelous time. We spent the first one in the hotel room and didn't leave until supper time! One of the days we spent just walking around the River Walk and Alamo and when we got tired we sat down and read our books. So great!

And now it is back to the grind stone. Except that I haven't done any studying for the first two weeks of school so I guess I will do that now! I think I will start reviewing OB tonight.