So it’s been a couple of months since I’ve posted. Long enough that most of you have probably quit checking it and only those of you who still have me on your rss feeds will ever see it. But that’s ok, since I mostly write this for me. There is no profound or significant reason for my severe neglect of this blog, other than I’ve been out living life. Between friends, school, and some pretty great summer weather, I’ve had much more desire to be out doing things than sitting at home thinking about them.

But now I’m on vacation, visiting my sister in Bend, and for the first time in awhile I actually have completely free time. Jamie is at work and as I sit in the sunshine and breath deeply of the cool, fresh air, I find myself in a thoughtful mood. One that was probably just waiting in the wings until I had enough free space in my life to let it slip in. With all the transitions that are happening in this season of my life it seems the perfect kind of mood to be in. Quiet, mellow, relaxed, and wondering what this next year carries. Many changes that’s for sure. I’m a nurse now, though still not at the point where I really feel like I can say that. Maybe after I actually start working it will be a little easier. I guess that’s really only a matter of weeks. But for now, I’m simply being. And it’s great!

It’s good to be back on the West Coast. While part of my sense of peace is likely due to the fact that I slept a good 12 hours (!) last night and woke up to a delightful cup of French Press coffee, homemade pumpkin bread, and the company of my sweet sister, there is something about being surrounded my mountains and evergreens that just causes my soul to stretch out. I am at home here. Which gets me thinking about me and my collection of homes. Philadelphia has no doubt become one of them, and one that I love, but the West will always be the home of my heart I think.

Bend is beautiful. I arrived last night to Jamie and Jon’s cute house and we grilled out with their roommates John and Stacy. It was a truly Oregon experience with Ben, Dave and the crickets playing in the background, a selection of microbrews on the table (including Jon’s very own), and the cool night breeze coming through. We then took a stroll through town, down along the Deschutes River as the sun was setting. It is amazing here. The town in full of restaurants, galleries, breweries and cafes. It’s surrounded by mountains, trails, and every outdoor activity imaginable. Yes, I’m feeling a little bit in love:) Ok, Jamie’s home and we’re making dinner for 12, so I gotta run. But hey, I’m back!

My friend Justin flew out on Monday with a group from Eastern University to do mission work in Bolivia for a month.  We had some fun practicing Spanish before he left    If you have a heart for missions, South America, or health services, you can join me in praying for them.  Here’s the link to a blog following their trip and detailing their prayer requests:

http://eubolivia.blogspot.com/ 

Praise God for those willing to be his hands and feet in this world!

The weather around here has been great and I thought with time off and temperatures high, a trip to the shore would definitely be nice.  I spread the word to other friends who were in between school and work, or off for other reasons, and five of us drove out to the coast yesterday.  It proved to be a great time!  While it was a bit windy, the sun was shining and the beach was almost all ours.  We laid around and picknicked in Margate, then decided to walk to Atlantic City since it didn’t appear to be too far off.  As it turned out it was about a 5 or 6 mile walk, which along the shore was fantastic.  It was a great time to take some deep breaths, enjoy some good conversation, and of course, the ever-relaxing sound of crashing waves.  Oh, how sweet.

Here’s some pics from our day:

Beach Fun

As I sit here and right this, I am beyond relaxed. I’ve got some classical guitar music playing, the wind blowing in a nice breeze and I’m more rested than I’ve been in quite some time. I am officially vacationing and it rocks my world. I have a couple weeks off before summer semester starts and am feeling glad about my decision to spend it here in PA. I had played with the idea of a trip, but with funds low and the desire to chill high, decided against it.
School ended well. It was a highly sleep deprived couple of weeks, but I truly enjoyed my leadership clinical. For the first time in nursing school I was given the chance to take on a full patient load and really be in charge of all nursing care. The nurses precepting me were great and really stepped back to allow me the fullest experience possible. I directed my nurse rather than her directing me and had residents asking for my opinion about patients. It was a bit daunting and at times incredibly humbling, but the nurses I worked with were great and the kids, even better. I’m feeling more confident about my ability to do this job, and even more assured that pediatrics is where I belong.

During the middle of my leadership clinical I was graced by a visit from my super fun grandparents. We managed to pack a lot of fun into the weekend I spent with them including visits to Valley Forge, Villanova, St. Christopher’s, and touring around Philadelphia. We had dinner with a bunch of friends and it was great to be able to share a lot of my world with them. On Saturday we took a trip to the Italian Market and I am officially in love. TONS of fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs for amazing prices, accompanied by an array of specialty shops selling pastas, cheeses, meats, etc. The mix of sights, smells, and people left me somewhat nostalgic for the outdoor mercados of Latin America. That day was followed up with a dinner party at Kasey’s were a bunch of my friends came to hang out and meet Grammy and Poppa. I love the fact that my 20-something friends jumped on the opportunity to hang out with my grandparents. And even more that the conversations were flowing all night long! We’re all hoping we can be that cool when we’re grandparents

To check out some of the pics from the time with Grammy and Poppa, click on the link below:

Grammy and Poppa!

Before we left for Texas, there was an insane amount of prep work we were required to do. So much so, that most of us were saying had we known what was involved, we wouldn’t have have signed on. After a few days down here, we’ve changed our minds. The experience so far has been fantastic. We are getting opportunities to participate in a variety of different facets of care, and yet the pace is just slower and so much more relaxed. It seems almost impossible for us to get too stressed around here with the summery weather, lack of external obligations, and abundance of great company. We do have an exam we have to take before we leave here and finals waiting when we get back, but even that hasn’t seemed to put a damper on my mood. Yesterday was Sunday, a day that is usually one without work down here at Holy Family. But we happened to come the weekend of their annual anniversary celebration and yesterday was the party. The event was open to anyone born here at the birth center, which it seems is a number of people! There were carnival games, pony and tractor rides, pinatas, prizes, food, and music. We spent the morning blowing up 600 helium balloons to hand out to the kids. In the afternoon we took turns manning some of ther different stations. The billions of kids running around were adorable! After we finished our work, we went out for some authentic Mexican food, which made my heart happy.  We had serveral laugh to tears moments around the meal and it was a truly good time.

Today there was only one patient in the morning clinic, so we decided to take advantage of the time and made a quick trip to Mexico. We basically went from our border town to their border town, but I can finally say as a Spanish speaking Californian that I’ve been to Mexico! We spent a couple hours browsing the tables and booths full of trinkets, and jewelry and things. It was great fun to bargain and I was so excited to find pure vanilla extract in large bottles for 95 cents! Score! I’m digging all the opportunities to use my Spanish down here and it’s not feeling quite so rusty anymore. After we had all bought our share of souvenirs and Mexican silver, we headed back to Weslaco. We grabbed a quick lunch, then Liz and I changed and headed out for a home visit. The nurse we accompanied was fantastic, explaining everything, letting us do as much as possible, and answering all our questions on the way home. We got ridiculously lost on our way there, as the name on the map and the name on the street didn’t quite match (and by that I mean they were in no way similar). An hour and a half after leaving we finally arrived at our final destination. The family we visited was great, and pictures of our visit will be coming! For now, it’s time for sleep and some sweet dreamin’. Goodnight!

I’m writing today from the Holy Family Services Birth Center in Weslaco, Texas. It’s kind of crazy to realize that I’m here already. Between work, school, and processing my way through job options, the last few days have been somewhat of a blur, and this trip kind of snuck up on me. After staying up late packing, I slept for an hour and a half before my alarm went off at 2AM this morning and I showered, dressed and headed to campus. From there, we traveled to the airport to catch our pre-crack-of-dawn flight. Thanks to online booking and seat selection I scored emergency exit seats on both planes and had a mostly comfortable and leg-roomy flight. After a morning of travel and a stopover in Houston, we arrived in Harlingen, Texas, picked up our sweet Suburban, and drove to our final destination in Weslaco. We’re staying at a house on the property of Holy Family and with the warm weather and people speaking Spanish all around me, I feel quite at home. After warnings of how bare bones our accommodations were going to be I was surprised to find that while this place is simple, it is clean and pretty well-equipped. I think volunteering in South America has definitely changed my definitions of “poor” and “in need of renovation!”

The weather here alone is warming my soul. We have all the windows open and a cool breeze is blowing through. The first thing I did upon arriving was to strip off my sweatshirt and jeans, and trade them for loose, flowy gaucho pants and flip flops. Ahhh. Combined with the quiet of this place, I feel as if my stress is dissipating and relaxation is replacing it. After going out for dinner and stocking up on supplies at the Super Walmart with the group, I wandered the grounds of the birth center with my camera, taking pictures, feeling the warm of the sun and the coolness of the breeze, and breathing deeply. I stayed out until the sun began to disappear and the mosquitoes began to make a meal of me. I reluctantly headed inside and can hardly wait for morning to come, so I can head back out again. The grounds here are some mix of country farm and tropical gardens. They spread out like a park, with paths leading to nooks, patios, and benches through trees and under the overhangs of the buildings. Herbs grow along the side of the main house, where all the staff live, while hibiscus and an array of other tropical flowers can be found elsewhere on the property. Chickens, cats, and a dog roam around freely between the buildings, which include a clinic, birthing rooms, lodging, a chapel, and various others.

For the first time in awhile, I am in a place of quiet where I’m not fighting the urge to fill it with noise. I am not go, go, going and it is beautiful. I accepted the position at St. Chris today. I can’t say I did it with full confidence that it is exactly right for me, but I feel good about it. The support I’ve received from everyone has been hugely encouraging and after a lot of prayer and talking things through with wise people I know it is the right choice for now.

It has been a very long day on very little sleep, so I’m signing off to read and sleep. The good news is I have my laptop and wireless internet access, so I will do my best to keep you up to date on our time down here. Good to be blogging again!

It’s been a much needed mellow morning around here. In the last few weeks I’ve made up for all the social life I didn’t have time for at the beginning of the quarter and while I thrive on it, it’s nice to take a break and spend time in a quiet house taking care of everyday tasks. I went through the many piles of papers, bills, invitations, etc. that have begun to accumulate on my chair, bookshelf, and nightstand and filed, clean out and mailed off. I’m finally starting to feel like I have a grasp on what I need to get done and my space is clean enough to do it. Now that my room is clean, my laundry done, my bills paid, and order is restored, I am ready to get down to studying. Of course this happens to coincide perfectly with the time I need to leave and thus the studying will have to wait. Isn’t that always how it goes?

Because of the craziness that was school in March, school in April is somewhat beautiful.  I have 3 weeks of no clinical and when combined with Easter Break (thank you Catholic school) I got a whole week off!  I drove away from Villanova Tuesday night and am happy to say I managed not to crack open a book, or work on any papers until today. I’m not sure if that is evidence of my awesome ability to disentangle myself from the constant busyness of nursing school or if it just means I’m turning into a really big slacker. I’d like to say the first, but the truth is probably closer to the second. Regardless, it has been a much needed, and greatly appreciated, break. The best thing about it was that I managed to pack most of my days full of so much fun that I found myself falling into bed most nights totally exhausted. I can’t tell you how great it is to experience the tiredness that comes from being active, laughing to tears and sideaches, and playing all day long after weeks of mental/physical nursing school-induced fatigue. And then to be able to sleep a good 8 hours most nights, well that brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. So what kind of good times have I been having you ask? Well, there have been hikes, photo shooting adventures, cooking, eating, church services, theological discussions, Wii bowling and boxing, egg hunts, baking, egg dyeing, movies, long talks into the night, snuggling with children, squeezing lots of people into small cars, small couches, small rooms, hug buffets, silly dares, chilly walks, hot coffee, cold beer, catching up with old friends, getting to know new friends, new realizations of just how much I need Jesus and celebrations of his resurrection. So you can imagine that if I tried to blog on all of that it would be very long, and probably not as much fun for you as it was for me. So I’m going to give you a couple highlights and direct you to some of the fun photos.

Easter Weekend!

I had some nostalgic moments this past week thinking about how great Easter festivities were as a kid.  While I’m definitely into the real reason for the holiday and get depressed when we gloss over the greatest event in history with plastic eggs, I did really enjoy those plastic eggs and the competition the evoked.  So this weekend I decided to have a day devoted to Easter fun for big kids.  It was awesome.  I felt pretty domesticated as I prepped lots of snacks, boiled tons of eggs, and filled then hid even more plastic ones.  But it was totally worth it as everyone embraced their childhood favorites.  We dyed 3 dozen eggs, blew up multiple Peeps, and everyone was appropriately intense during the Easter egg hunt.  We consumed sugar and caffeine in quantities that would have had our parents shaking their heads.  Like I said, awesome.

Sunday followed with a sweet Easter service at liberti and some great fellowship at the Stahl’s house.  I hung out for a bit before heading to my friend Julie’s for dinner.  Julie is a friend from class, who has repeatedly offered to let me come live with her and her family.  It’s a tempting offer with their big beautiful house and delicious dinners and wine, but somehow a daily drive to/from Doylestown deters me:)  Dinner was wonderful, the company fun, and I was able to end the night braiding little girls hair and having them snuggle up and fall asleep on me.  All and all, a fantastic Easter weekend.

If you want to check out some pics of the Easter festivities, click here!

This poem was shared with us at the Women’s Retreat last weekend by Lynn MacDougall. It was written by her 11 year-old daughter Michaela MacDougall.

Humility

A little infant

He sleeps peacefully

In a dirty wooden bed of straw

Inside the smallest stable

He could be doing more

If he wanted

He could be a man

Ruling from a gilded throne

Studded with jewels

In the greatest of kingdoms

But he doesn’t

He will not

All for the woman and the man

Looking down at him

And for the simple shepherds

Surrounding him

And for the magi

That give him gifts

For them

He will humble himself

And remain

A helpless infant

A young boy

He talks to the Pharisees

In a stone temple

About God

He could be doing more

If he wanted

He could talk to God

The Almighty

In a great palace

Made of gold

But he doesn’t

He will not

All for the teachers

Listening to him

And for the people

Outside of where he is

And for the soldiers

Roaming the streets

For them

He will humble himself

And remain

With the Pharisees

A grown man

He fights for breath

On a cross

At Calvary

He could be doing more

If he wanted

He could be alive

Perfectly healthy

Sitting and resting

In his realm

But he doesn’t

He will not

All for the scoffers

Jeering at him

And for the disciples

Weeping for him

And for the centurions

That put him there

For them

He will humble himself

And remain

On that cross

The living God

Rises again

Free from death

Glorious in his resurrection

He could be doing more

If he wanted

He could return to Heaven

His home

And to his father

His loving father

And he does

He will

Now that he has completed

The forgiveness

Of all those

Who trust in him

For those

He has died

And for those

He now returns

To reign in peace

The world

It pretty much blows my mind that this picture of the humility of Jesus came from a jr. high kid. What a reminder to us that knowledge of the holy is not just revealed to the most well-read or the brightest of scholars, but simply to those who love and follow Jesus. Michaela has muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that causes her muscles to progressively deteriorate. Yet while her body is wheelchair bound, her heart is full of the strength of Jesus. I’ve never met this amazing young lady, but it is obvious that she gets Jesus more than some of us can ever hope to.

Sorry I haven’t kept up on this lately.  Life has gotten to be somewhat crazy and until things mellow down I probably won’t be posting.  Hopefully it will just be a week or two til the madness subsides!