Blessed by my ‘elders’ and friends!

I hate to call them elders, but I’m not sure what else to call the older women who I have met at my church that have been SO sweet and generous and hospitable to me since I’ve been them a few months ago! Since we’re moving tomorrow, and since I was a little curious how we would do it ourselves, I sent out a mass email to pretty much anyone living nearby that I knew that could possibly help us with our move. I’ve received countless offers to help us and I’ve been so blessed! A few of my close girl friends from our small group are coming (one with her cute 8 month old girl!!) and then we have my mom, my brother, John’s dad and his brother as well! I’m hoping the day goes well with all this help and that we don’t step on each other toes too much. I’ve also been amazed at how the two older women who lead a women’s group that I’m in have made sure to call and offer their time to come help us. They both were planning to cancel their plans to come help us! I can’t believe that! One of them was planning to pick stuff up at our place on their way to a city a few hours south of us and then drive it back to our new place the next day when they returned. I’m just feeling so blessed by the love these older women are showing me! It’s not something I’ve really ever had before, I suppose because I’ve never really known older Christian women. Well anyway, I just wanted to share with you the joy of being blessed by my sisters in Christ and encourage you all (and myself) to try and bless those you know as much as you can! 

Back to a busy busy night of packing! 

If I reach my fundraising goal, I will ride my dad’s 1972 Schwinn!

I honestly feel a little timid and silly putting this challenge out there, but I know that any action I can do (large or small) to help those afflicted with Multiple Sclerosis is worthwhile. While the ride on this 36 year old bike won’t be nearly as comfortable, easy to peddle or flashy as it’s modern day counterparts, it represents how hard I am willing to work towards the cure.  If you’re curious, go to my page 

Moving soon

We’re glad to to be moving to St. Paul in less than a week! It has been a fast 9 months of living in Northfield while I finish school at St. Olaf, but we’re both excited to be closer to our friends (most of them), John’s work, church, and family. It’s a bit crazy how just 45 minutes makes a big difference in how able you are to see all those people… especially when gas is $3.50/gallon! Yikes. Pretty soon, when I start working at United Hospital in late July, I won’t have to drive to work! That will be glorious, and a good workout too! It’s a mighty steep hill that I’ll have to climb. 

 

Whelp, back to packing… John really shouldn’t have had me pack up the books because of course, I found one I wanted to look at more (Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore) and got distracted for a half hour… oops. Ok, enough, back to work. 

An Amazing Story

One of my friends from college was posting in her blog about her niece, Emmalee, that was born a few weeks ago. The little girl had a rough start and ended up passing away a few days ago. It is such a sad yet amazing story… the parents of this girl held fast in their faith in the Lord and trusted that their little girl was now in the arms of her loving Father. Oh it is such an incredible story… please take a look at their blog if you get the chance. I don’t even know these people but their story has definitely struck a cord with my heart and deepened my faith.

Officially official

Well, here’s my last update on the nursing job hunt (a quick one at that). And sorry for my lack of actual deep posts lately, or interesting ones. Being a month from graduating college is understandably taking away all my time/energy for now, and that will probably be the case until graduation comes. But come to think of it, most of my huge assignments/tasks were this week, so perhaps I’ll have more time to post now. Who knows, every time I think that things will lighten up, they don’t…

So the update! I officially got the job today at the hospital I wanted to work at! They had many choices of units and shifts that I could pick, but most of them weren’t exactly what I wanted. Ideally I wanted an orthopedic floor with day/evening shifts, but that was taken by someone already working at the hospital (yay unions…). So, I actually ended up going for the float pool! I’ll have an awesome nurse manager, since she was the one who interviewed me, so at least I know I have a good supervisor already. Also, I’ll go through a 9 month orientation to the many different units in the hospital. Otherwise I’d probably freak out being a new graduate AND a float nurse. If you don’t know what a float nurse is, it pretty much means that I’ll work wherever they are short nurses. Could be just about anywhere, except possibly the ICU and ER, I think. I should have asked that… oh well, I’ll find out! :) The shift will be days/nights… so I’ll work a few days and a few nights, but never back to back. That would be torture! The one added benefit to this position is you get paid a little more to be a float pool nurse and you also get a little more for working nights. That’ll help with the student loans/debt…

So I’m really excited about it! I think it will be a tough job but also very challenging and rewarding. It’ll help me discover what area I want to go into, if I choose not to stay a float nurse. Also, it’ll be fun to be able to meet lots of other nurses in the hospital and sorta feel out the whole place. And if John and I decide to go to China in the near future, it will be good to have a broad background of experiences and also for when we come back it will be easier to get started again! Can’t wait for it all to start on July 21, 2008! Time to start another countdown…

5:00am and 24 pages

That’s been my new bed-time the past two nights. And that’s the number of pages (15 of which were single spaced) that I’ve typed with my poor tired fingers during those two nights…

Oh how the end of college (38 days) is the hope that is getting me through this… and finally being a nurse of course. I’m excited to change the name of my blog to Newlywed Nurse! By then I won’t be much of a newlywed I suppose. So, will I just be, Nurse? Hmm… I’ll have to start thinking about that. ;)

Funny thing is that tomorrow I have to wake up at 5am… it will definitely be interesting to see how messed up my body gets with this healthy sleep schedule!

Two weeks till we move to St. Paul! :)

Scatterbrain much, am I?

Ode to my backpack

Thank you North face Recon Backpack, you organize my life! Before I met you, my world was scattered about; no order, only chaos! Did I tell you that one time I lost my keys and later found them in the garbage can outside? Now your shoulder straps hold my keys with confidence! You keep my phone ready at hand but always snug in place. How many phones did I break before you came along! Everyday I venture into this world with you on my back and I’m sure that we have not forgot anything. With any luck, all our preparation and foresight will come to fruition in saving someone’s life, maybe my own. Is a headlamp, binoculars, leatherman, rope, matches and compass overkill? It won’t be when I’m stranded in the deep woods and trying to Survive! That’s what I like about you; one moment you are a kind civilian bag just helping a chum out, next thing you know you are my survival life line! You are like a ninja boy scout!

Praise God!

I got the job!!!! The interview went pretty well, clearly better than I thought it did, because I got a ‘tentative’ job offer for United Hospital! YAY!!! The hospital’s float pool nurse manager who interviewed me doesn’t know quite yet what unit I will be on, since she has yet to know what will be open this summer, but apparently there’s a spot for me! She’s going to try and put me on an orthopedic unit since that’s what I’ve been used to, but otherwise I could really be anywhere they need me. I’m fine either way! And I know that God already knows where I’ll be! It’s exciting to know where my nursing career is going to begin and that I don’t have to apply anywhere else! Apparently this hospital has a lot of retiring nurses (so nurses like to stay there), so if I like it, who knows I could be there for many many years. :) I’m so sooooo excited to be a bedside nurse and care for people and become much better at it. Anyway, just wanted to update and share my excitement with you! Thanks for your prayers!!

Wow… so it begins!

I already got a call today asking for me to come in for an interview for a new grad nursing job!! AND, it’s at the hospital I want to work at in St. Paul!! And…. I didn’t even have to bug them, they called me! YAY!!! So exciting!

The interview is on Friday morning… pray for me!! And thanks!

BOFF?

Best Online Friends Forever, thats what we can become!   If you’re wondering what I’m about, here ya go.  My blogging will probably fall into one of these areas.  Interesting? Hmmm….we’ll see

• Sports-In my opinion hockey and basketball are the only sports worth watching.  As far as Minnesota sports go, just watch hockey!  I enjoy the rest of my sports experienced first hand, outdoors!  Cycling has been my favorite activity for almost two decades now.  I like to run and toss frisbee with my friends at ultimate.  My lazy man sport is disc golf.  I have hopes of picking up a winter sport eventually, but for now I’m content taking walks nomatter what the temp.
• History- I love Minnesota history.  History should really be experienced, touched and seen with your own eyes.  Try to grasp what lives went on before you, to know that there is more to come after you’re gone.  A old picture, a historic building, a historic marker……hard to pass up.
• politics-  Go Ronald Reagan!  Seriously though, we’ll be fine.
• Religion- Christian, a sheep at John Piper’s church
• Other-Live concerts, a good beer, lifting weights, Settlers of Catan, camping, rock climbing, backpacking, talk radio, reading, Lost, Seinfeld
• St Paul-  St. Paul, MN….the classier of the Twin Cities.