4 Reasons

At times when I am stressed out, feeling crazy, and wondering if I am doing the right thing (which is too often lately) all I have to do is look at my 4 children and I know.
I know that it is all worth it and it will all be ok!

They make me smile, they make me laugh:

They make my heart feel at peace.

My Baby is 7!

And I cannot believe it! It seems like just yesterday Mike & I were driving to the hospital so excited to meet our 4th child and find out if we were having a boy or a girl. We were thrilled when the Dr. said "It's a girl!" We had a hard time choosing a name, but I am glad we narrowed our list down to Jenna. She is very independent and so full of life! She definitely acts like the youngest child sometimes, but we still love her. She keeps trying to talk us into having a new baby, I don't think she realizes she would be dethroned if we added to the family. She loves babies, her friends, playing dress up, reading, dogs, annoying Noah, hanging out with daddy, the Jonas Brothers, and riding bikes. We are so blessed to have her in our family.


Here she is a couple months ago meeting her 2nd cousin, Maggie (which was on the list with Jenna when we were trying to name her) for the first time.


Here she is waiting patiently to blow out her candle.



Here she is with her best friend, Lucy, giving their Build-a-Bear animals a "bath". She has been saying for months that all she wants for her birthday is her ears pierced but Rylee didn't get hers done until she was 9 so we figured she she wait too. Then she said she wanted a puppy, but we told her 2 dogs is enough. Then she tried asking for a baby again. I ended up getting her a gift certificate so she could take a friend and go to Build-a-Bear. They had a blast and were so cute. Jenna chose to make a dog that is made of Jonas Brothers fabric and sings Jonas Brothers songs.
Not really a big surprise!

Calling All Creative Individuals

My friend, Kelly, is hosting a fun boutique, Artisan Fair, on Saturday July 31 and is looking for more vendors. So anyone who is creative and talented (unlike myself) should check out the link. For those of you more like me check it out so you can plan on attending and buying lots of neat stuff! Everything Kelly does is amazing and I know the Artisan Fair will not disappoint! I am looking forward to it!

Rylee's New Life and Family

Cheer leading is a world all it's own and we are slowly learning all about it.

At the first parent meeting Rylee's coach told the girls to look around at each other because the girls in this room will become your new family. She told them they will be spending so much time together and she wants them to become like a family only to treat each other even better than they would their own siblings.
Rylee has to be at practice each morning before school at 6:15 a.m. They practice and then all get ready for school together. They will continue to practice during the summer and have cheer camp for a week during the summer and have practice everyday all year next year before school. Rylee gets her self up and ready everyday. She has learned if she gets all her stuff together the night before she is not as rushed in the morning. She is slowly realizing she needs to go to bed a bit earlier each night so she is not as tired.
Last weekend they had a "get to know you party" at one of the girls homes. They BBQ'd and made s'mores around the fire pit. They made up cheers and watched a cheer movie. The captains gave each of the girls a gift bag with matching t-shirts, flip flops, earrings, and hair bows. They all wore them to school today since they had a safety clinic after school.
It is neat to watch Rylee learn new skills (hard work, dedication, sacrifice, friendship building, respect) that will help her in her life and build new friendships. I am looking forward to watching her grow and mature throughout this next year. I am learning how time consuming and money consuming cheer leading is but the excitement in my daughters eyes is worth it all.


Here is a picture of Mike escorting Rylee when they introduced the new cheer leaders at this year's Cheer Review. You all know that Mike hates to dress up and sitting through an hour or so of cheer performances isn't really his idea of a way to spend a Friday night, but what an awesome dad he is. He did all without complaining. When I thanked him after for being such a good sport his reply was that he did not want to do it but he wouldn't miss it for the world. It's for his little girl and he knows how important it is to her. One of the reasons I love him!


Here is a banner that was hanging up at their party this weekend. I wish I had gotten a picture of all the girls together.


Here is one of Ry in her new shirt! She had a blast at the cheer safety clinic today!

Too Short

So my little break went by way too fast! Last week I cleaned the house and did the laundry on Monday so that I could be lazy the rest of the week. I actually had plans to go on a couple bike rides and work in the yard but the weather didn't cooperate so I spent time reading a novel, catching up on my TV shows, and basically doing a whole lot of nothing. I was able to catch up with some friends and spend some much needed extra time with Mike and the kids. I got to play volleyball one night (every Tuesday from now on if anyone is interested in playing). I had to work a couple days but nothing too bad. Summer classes start Wednesday and clinicals on Friday so the next couple months will be very crazy, but I am looking forward to it. I just hope I don't go crazy in the process!

A Little Break

So I took my last final of the semester today, what a relief! I ended up with a 92, 88, and 92; not too shabby. I am feeling pretty good considering how hard the last 2 were. It's kind of funny the first one was the one I was most worried about and it was so easy compared to the others. Just glad to be done and enjoy a couple weeks of no studying. I cannot believe I am 2/3 of the way through nursing school. Only 2 semesters and 7 1/2 months to go. I know these last 2 semesters will be the hardest but I am excited to learn even more and get more hands on experience. (I am really looking forward to doing IV's soon.)

School

It has been awhile since I have blogged about my nursing school experiences so I figured now was a good time. I have finals the next 3 days and then about 2 weeks off and then I start the first of my last 2 semesters. I cannot believe I only have 2 semesters and about 7 1/2 months til I graduate. I am enjoying school and learning so much everyday, but I look forward to starting my career and having more time for my family. It has been tough, but I am reassured over and over through little ways that I am doing what I am suppose to be doing right now in my life.
I am really excited because I think I have found the area of nursing I would like to work in...Labor and Delivery! I started feeling that way after my clinical rotations in OB last semester. The only problem was that our time there was so limited so I decided to do some independent study clinical time this semester. I just finished up my extra 45 hours in Labor and Delivery yesterday. I loved every minute of my 45 hours (doing vag exams, placing folleys, holding legs and counting, holding babies only minutes old, helping new moms breastfeed)! I tried to soak up all the L&D knowledge that I could and had incredible nurses to work with. Everyone there was so helpful and supportive and willing to teach and answer any questions. I keep praying that their hiring freeze will be over when I graduate in December!