The Much-needed Overnight

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day."

-Barbara De Angelis

It has been over eighteen months since I have started the juggling act of going to school, working at least twenty-four hours a week, being a mom to our three kids and still trying to maintain some sort of semblance of a marriage with Joe.

I won't lie and say it's been easy.  It hasn't.  I'm tired.  He's tired.  We annoy each other with our different expectations and our different ways of taking care of the house and the kids.

This October, we will celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary.  Fifteen years is certainly worthy of celebrating, in this day where do-it-yourself divorces and friends-with-benefits-relationships abound.

Marriage certainly isn't easy, and it definitely requires work.  Like my pots of flowers which need daily watering; so, too, does my marriage.  To that end, last month I planned an overnight getaway to a bed-and-breakfast in Kentucky.  For just the two of us.  To reconnect.  To "water" our marriage, so to speak.

The place was gorgeous.  A ten-acre farm with alpacas and chickens and a well-stocked pond.

And a pool.  Where we swam and lounged and even napped while our dinner was cooking on the grill...

The chickens made us laugh as they followed us along the fence-line during an evening stroll...

The owners told us of a beautiful path that ran near the river, where we had fun taking pictures of our shadows, and the wildlife, and some waterfalls...

and the remnants of the sunset on the shores of the Ohio River.

We enjoyed a bottle of wine after taking a leisurely (without interruptions!) bath in the whirlpool tub attached to our suite.

In the morning, after a made-to-order delicious breakfast, we headed over to the pond to try our hand at catching some fish.  I caught one, Joe caught more, then we threw them all back and headed for home.

It was a short twenty-four hours, but we managed to fill it with laughter, smiles and lots of hand-holding (etc...).  We came home feeling refreshed and happy, recharged and reconnected.  Getaways like this will help us last another fifteen years and more, I pray!

The Daredevil

I'm not sure if it's birth order (being the third kid and trying to keep up with older siblings).

Or if it's God's way of teaching me that sometimes you need to throw caution to the wind, trust in Him and enjoy all that life has to give.

Either way, my youngest boy is responsible for showing this once-nervous momma the joy that can be had by being a daredevil.

Whether it's throwing a pointy dart for the first time ever and winning a prize on that very first try:

Or sticking your hand through the bars of a kangaroo's cage and letting it eat right out of your hand:

Or riding a "whip-it" ride at the county fair with your big sis, forwards AND backwards:

Or refusing to be talked out of riding the "Lose your Skittles" ride that your older siblings are even afraid to ride:

And LOVING it:

Sometimes caution is good, but sometimes being a daredevil is even better.  Just ask Gabe :)

When you're happy and you know it...

Downloading the last month's worth of pictures from my camera made me reflect on certain things.

1.  I sure do take a LOT of pictures.  (157 in the last month, to be exact.)

2.  I love having so many things in my life worthy of photographing.

3.  I love sharing these pictures with you, my sweet bloggy friends :)

These pictures brought a smile to my face when I took them, again when I edited them, and yet again when I posted them here...

Elijah is having a great summer with his friends, especially our neighbor, Andrew.

Long hikes with my husband on a warm summer's evening.

Hand-feeding an alpaca on our bed-and-breakfast getaway in Kentucky.

Eating tomatoes and basil fresh from my own garden.

Finally getting to see TobyMac at SpiritSong at King's Island with Isabel, with fifth row seats, even!

Family hikes with Mamaw Kay at a nearby park.

Seeing my kids get along so well...

Taking the time on these hikes to just enjoy God's creations with my own little creation :)

So many reasons to be happy, so many ways to smile and enjoy this summer, making lots of memories along the way.

What's making you happy these days?

Just words

Seriously, it's already been a week since I posted anything?

What is it about the "lazy days of summer" that make them seem anything but lazy?

Between work and clinicals and school work and taking kids to concerts (hello, Newsboys and Toby Mac!) and trips to Kings Island and going to baby showers for friends and seeing Bridesmaids with more friends (still haven't stopped chuckling to myself over that movie)...this summer hasn't stopped.

I have finally been able to cut back down to working only two 12-hr nights a week, which helps a lot.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with school.  I'll be off for a whole month in September, then finished with my BSN in March!  Hallelujah!

I am so blessed with kids who help their momma so darn much (laundry, dishes, watching their brother, being understanding when I'm forced to be away from them) and friends who make this load easier to bear.

Life may be busy right now, but it's my life, and I love it.

What have you been doing this summer?

The Cure for what ails you

When your heart is heavy from a horrible week at work.

When you miss your kids more than you can express with mere words.

When your spirit craves joy and laughter and the roar of a t-rex...

Load up whatever kids are willing and head to the local amusement park with its new Dinosaur exhibit; it worked for me and if you have a dinosaur fanatic at your house, I guarantee it will work for you!

Well worth the extra $5/person to get in!

They move, they roar, they look amazingly real.

Gabe was in 7th heaven, and so was I, just watching him.

Isabel is such a good sport, even if she isn't a dinosaur-lover :)

The 3-D film was interesting, but not as cute as these two in their glasses!

Gabe is always begging to play a game at King's Island, and the answer is usually NO.  Today wasn't a crowded day, though, and with just him and Isabel playing against each other, we were guaranteed to win a prize.  Can you believe the Smurfs are making a comeback?

I thank God for my kids.  Their sweet nature and enthusiasm for life are always the cure for what ails me, no matter how bad my day has been.

Close to home

I just finished up a long four-night stretch at the hospital.

It was exhausting - mentally, physically and emotionally.

I spent most of yesterday in tears.

We lost a patient to a heart condition in an unexpected moment.  She was less than fifty years old.  She left behind a husband and two daughters who are still in their teens.

Their wails of anguish when they learned of their mother's death broke our hearts.  Their feelings of guilt for not being there when she died made my heart ache for their suffering in the days to come.

It was horrible to have to witness this death, this raw grief.

It was even worse to imagine my own children being the ones left behind, should something this awful happen to me.

I held it together and gave as much emotional support as I could to these girls, until my shift was over and the next supervisor took my place.

I went to my office and teared up a little, but managed to give report, gather my things, and head for home.

But when I crawled into my bed next to my soundly-sleeping warm husband, my walls crumbled and I sobbed myself to sleep.

Nightmares invaded my six hours of restless sleep, until I finally gave up and got up out of bed, having to get ready for another night of work.

Isabel wanted to know what was wrong.  Gabe asked me why I was crying, then proceeded to tell me to "stop thinking about sad stuff".  I tried.

All the way into the hospital, I listened to a good worship CD full of TobyMac and Newsboys and Kutless.  I tried to keep a positive perspective, but all I could imagine was what those girls were going through at that moment.

The hospital kept me busy, I visited with co-workers who are blessed friends, I shared the story of the patient when asked "what happened with that code last night?".  I talked to two of the nurses that were with me, one of them being the patient's nurse that night.  We cried and talked and shared our feelings, which were exactly the same, wondering about the girls and thinking about the horror of leaving our own babies behind.

I couldn't follow Gabe's advice, but talking and processing the events of the night before started the healing process for us.  As much as our hearts ache, we have to go on and keep giving the same care (if not better) to our new patients.  Some patients and codes and sad events hit us closer to home than others, but as nurses we have to find a way to deal with our own grief and use it to make us even better at what we do.

This was one of those times.

Unique artist promo!

While in Michigan, we were lucky enough to visit a craft fair in town featuring local artists selling their wares.  There were so many different booths, filled with the friendliest people...we had a great time visiting each and every one.  (I think Gabe made at least three new friends with his exclamations of how "awesome" their creations were!).

One of my favorite artists was a woman named Jude McConkey, who featured beautiful and somewhat haunting photographs, in addition to the most amazing jewelry which contained pieces of her work.  Jude was originally from Ohio (like me) and has since transplanted to Michigan.  She has a couple of websites where you can buy her jewelry and her photographs, and I just wanted to share it with you all...seriously, she is crazy-talented!

photo by jude mcconkey

not my necklace, but another one just as pretty

Jude's photography site is:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/judemcconkey .
Her jewelry site is : http://wearableartbyjude.etsy.com .


(I'm not getting compensated in any way by posting this...just helping out a fellow crafter and sharing a place for beautiful and unique gifts for my sweet blog friends :)