instagram-style life update

Oh hey there, Poor Little Neglected Ol' Blog O'Mine. It's been...awhile.

Life. 'Tis a busy thing.

I'm not utterly convinced that I want to keep up restart this whole blogging deal, but for the moment, while I'm procrastinating doing other, more productive things, how about a bit of an update from where we last left off? Fortunately, despite the amount of time that has lapsed since I last posted, a good chunk of that time was insanely busy beyond words and is therefore too much of a blur to remember many details, so for once I can probably summarize the last ten-ish months without rambling on forever.

October

finished 4th semester clinicals

Started a second job, because, I mean, one job + nursing
school just isn't enough

December

Survived the semester and watched my brother graduate
from nursing school {on a freezing cold day on which we
also got locked out of Hannah's car and therefore took
this oh-so-flattering selfie as we waited in Paul's car
for AAA to show up).

Roadtripped to Tennessee and got to spend a few days
with Hannah's wonderful family.

While in Nashville, I also got to see this dear friend for
the first time in years!

Then we trekked across the state to hang out with our
family in a lovely cabin in the Smokies...AND...these
two fabulous people got engaged (in the same spot
where my parents got engaged, which also happens
to be one of my favorite places in the world).
CONGRATULATIONS, PAUL AND HANNAH!!!

On Christmas Eve, Cheyenne and I traveled to Haiti,
where we were greeted by my favorite little girl.

Christina was able to spend several weeks with me at
the maternity center, which was wonderful.

January

And then...back to Texas...
for a super cold and crazy-busy semester...

...that consisted of a lot of coffee and a lot of studying
in between class, clinicals, and jobs.

Every once in a wonderful while I had time for
a post-close Fuego run. I mean, who doesn't
love eating tacos at midnight? :)

February

One of the highlights of my spring was getting to go
to Dallas with these lovely ladies for Taylor's baptism!

March/April

My handsome nephew was born at the end of March!
CONGRATULATIONS, KEVIN AND DANIELLE!!!

Paul and I got to travel to Florida for several days
to meet Emery when he was two weeks old.

May

At the beginning of May, I interviewed for (and got!) my
#1 {local} choice of jobs :)
And then...the moment we were afraid would never come...
THE LAST DAY OF NURSING SCHOOL!!

Oh hey, we're both nurses!

Aaaand I had time to breathe again (well, a little...boards
were still to come)!

Made a quick trip to Boston to visit a friend.

 June

Spent the weekend before taking boards holed up in a hotel
room in Dallas. I did surface for church on Sunday and for
a quick but wonderful visit with Taylor & Shelby!

Grateful, grateful, grateful for all of the prayers and words
of encouragement from so many friends before NCLEX.
I am so blessed to have so many amazing and
thoughtful people in my life.

And then...then I got caught in a sudden
downpour as I went to take the biggest,
scariest exam of my life. Consequently,
I took boards dripping wet and looking
like a drowned rat. C'est la vie.

Nonetheless...48 hours later, I got this great news!
Major relief would be an understatement.
And surreal. So surreal.

Meanwhile, as soon as I took
my exam, I headed out of the country
and back to this beautiful little girl!

Christina and I stayed at the maternity center again
(thanks, Beth Johnson, for your hospitality)!
There were several births while I was there, and the
Heartline midwives were so kind as to let me catch one
of the babies (who was born in the caul)! So fun.

We got to go the beach one day...

...which Christina and I both loved :)

 July

Obligatory photos of our 4th of July outfits :)

And then...back to the States to start my new job.
(Oh. Finished up at job #2 at the beginning of June, so I was
down to just 1 job for a whole month before starting at the
hospital!)

RN badge > Grad nurse badge
:)

One day I'll quit. Really. #eightPOINTfiveyearsandcounting

August

Lina came for her annual Texas vacation!
Thanks, Taylor, for picking her up at the airport for me!

Birthday girls! (Technically, Lina's birthday is in July,
but it's tradition to have a Texas birthday party for her.
Last year it was in June, this year it was in August.
Close enough.)

party people :)

And then...it was time to send Lina back to Florida :(
But first, we went to see a performance of Les Mis in Dallas!

So there ya have it -- most major life events since October as recalled by Instagram ;) These past several months years have been super crazy, and there have been many times when I've felt overwhelmed and/or out of control (though let's be honest -- when have I ever really been in control?). Dramatic though this will sound, there were definitely times when I didn't know how I was going to make it from one day to the next (let alone from one semester of nursing school to the next). So many doubts, so many fears, so much to do, so little time. But. God has been so faithful...not to provide necessarily what I want...but to always provide what I need. He's pretty wise like that ;) Mmm...so let this be a reminder to me when I again (probably two seconds from now) am unsure...overwhelmed...in need.

Lamentations 3:21-24

 But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

Where things stand

I know some of you are waiting for a recap of my time in Haiti (and for me to finally find time to post pictures on Facebook), and hopefully that post will get written (and pictures uploaded) at some point in the nearish future.  Right now, though, how about an update on where things stand school-wise...

how 'bout one picture to tide you over?  :)
Baby Raphael with big brother Emmanuel

Remember when I wrote about my decision to go back to school to become a nurse (and eventually, a nurse-midwife)?  Well, I've spent the past few months moving in that direction: researching schools, filling out applications, requesting transcripts, taking an admissions exam, and getting more advice and encouragement from the lovely ladies at Heartline.  It's been hectic, it's been stressful, it's been discouraging at times, but overall God has graciously given me a sense of peace by reminding me that He is working out the plans for my life.  He knows where I need to go, what I need to do, and how it's all going to happen, and even as I'm trying to "figure out" and prepare for this next step, I can trust Him to get me to where I need to be.  

Therefore...when I didn't do well on the last section of the admissions exam, thereby disqualifying myself for being considered for admission to one of my top two school picks...I had to let go of my disappointment, let go of the reasons why I wanted so very much to go to that school, and trust that the Lord, who knows so much better than I do what is best, holds my future.  Still, always, no matter what.

And when I discovered right before the start of this semester that I needed to take a few more classes for my other top pick and was scrambling to enroll for one of them at literally the very last minute, I finally realized I could do nothing else than to just trust that either I would get into the class I needed or I would not.  And if not, it would be okay, one way or another.  I got in, thanks to the willingness of an adviser to work late on a Friday afternoon on my behalf and to take me at my word that I had taken the prerequisite to that class, since my transcript had not shown up yet.  That was such a sweet reminder for me that the Lord is the one preparing the way for me.  I don't know what that "way" is yet (or at least, not entirely), and it may be far from what I'm expecting, who knows.  But rather than freaking out and thinking that I have to make everything come together, that I have to figure out where to go and what to do, I can seek the Lord and He will guide me.  I can't tell you how much comfort there is in knowing that.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

⁶ 

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths.

⁷ 

Be not wise in your own eyes;

    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.  

 So those are some of the lessons the Lord has been teaching me recently as I've begun (again) to pursue nursing.  So now, back to where things actually stand application/school-wise...

• I only ended up applying to two schools: Baylor's School of Nursing in Dallas (a BSN program) and Blinn College here in Bryan/College Station (an ADN program).
• Originally, I was only considering BSN programs, as I'll need a bachelor's degree to then pursue a master's in certified nurse-midwifery.  However, as I've looked into different options, talked to various people, considered the financial aspect of going back to school (and possibly moving again), and realized more and more how grateful I am for the community I have where I currently live, I've become more and more open to the idea of starting with the local ADN program.  Besides being the considerably less expensive option, it would also allow me to continue to be involved in my church here and in the relationships I've built over the past few years.  I also would get to continue to live with my hilarious and awesome brother, who is actually in his first semester of nursing school himself (hand-me down books?)*  :)  Additionally, since I've already taken all of the prerequisites for the bachelors degree, the RN to BSN program should take me only a year, during which time I can already be working as a nurse.  And since I have to have at least a year's experience before starting the masters program, it doesn't really add on any extra time.  All that to say, despite my initial refusal to consider Blinn on the basis of it "only" being an ADN program, in the last month it has very much become the option I am hoping for.  I won't, however, know until the end of May whether or not I've gotten in.  So we'll see :)
• With that said, I did find out this afternoon that I have been accepted into Baylor's nursing program.  I'm on the stand-by list for Fall, but if no openings come up before July, I'll be automatically admitted for Spring.  I had gotten to the point where I almost was hoping I would not get into Baylor so that I wouldn't have to make a decision before hearing back from Blinn, but the Lord's kindness in putting me on the stand-by list (and therefore giving me more time to decide) is such a gift.  I plan to accept the offer of admissions for now and will continue praying for wisdom to make the decision when the time comes.  Again, I'm hoping I get into Blinn and can stay here, but I also want to be open to other options in case the Lord seems to be leading elsewhere.

So all that to say, for you B/CSers who saw my Facebook status and are bemoaning the fact that I will no longer be around to make your coffee, don't start worrying yet; I may still be around awhile ;)  Thanks to those of you who have been so wonderful in sharing advice and encouraging and praying for me these past few months---I so appreciate each of you.  And continued prayers are very much welcomed as well :)

* Just kidding, Paul.  Kind of ;)