Almost a Month

It has been almost a month since I posted. One word for this; busy! So my kids are going to look back on this blog when I am old and grey and say; she was a little forgetful. Can't help it. Seems I work all day, (or play all day) and then just fall in a slumber of sleep and forget to document my life. Its probably mostly boring anyway.

In the past month, D has gone back to work with very little back issues and is doing fantastic! Praise God for that because I was about ready to kill him. Sitting around the house for 6 weeks was about to drive me crazy. Oh I know he was in pain and all, but come on. I gave birth for crip sakes.

Anyhow so lets see; Drew is doing fantastic with his new job. Praise God again. The kids are busy making plans to move out. Yes that would make the zoo empty. D and I have never been by ourselves. Not sure how to even do that.

Devin has decided to change jobs. God love him he has had more jobs then I can count. And more degrees in so many different areas. He always ends up on top though.

Stephanie? Well she hasn't been home in a while. Gonna need to kill her when I see her. She probably has changed her major again it has been so long.

A couple of weeks ago I was driving Drew's truck to a doctor's appointment. When some one rear ended me and totalled her car and Drew's truck. I thought Drew would be really upset; but when the insurance company gave him double what he paid for the truck he was all good. Turns out he was going to sell the truck anyway.
The best part of the whole thing was that when the police arrived and started handling the accident I called Devin to see if he could tow Drew's truck for us. At the time I was unaware that it was totalled. It did not appear obvious to me. Anyhow, I didn't know that Devin was pulling a day shift at his police department and came right away and took care of it all. The original office said he has never took care of an accident when the victim had there own officer and tow service. Ha!

Let's see what else happened in the past month. Oh, I was recently called into the Director of Nursing office at my work and she told me that the company would like to send me on to CMT school. They are picking up the tab and think I would be perfect for the job that will be coming available in October. The school starts in July and will be completed at the end of September. And did I mention they are picking up the tab. Gotta love it!

That seems about it other than work, work and more work. Lost several patients, something you never get used to.

This weekend was awesome though. D and I celebrated our twenty-ninth wedding anniversary. We went away for the weekend and had an awesome time. I think we might like being at the zoo alone. Well at least for a little while.

Many blessings,
Heidi

Beautiful Weekend!

D and I had a wonderful weekend. We really needed some time to sit back and relax and enjoy some down time. This weekend my beautiful auntie L planned a family reunion of her siblings and their families. Her siblings include my father and their brother J from Colorado. I love family reunions. As you know D and I host his family reunion at our house every year. It is so wonderful to keep in touch with family. My uncle J and his family have lived in Colorado since I was a little girl. Now his kids are grown and have grand kids of their own. The memories flood back while spending time with them this weekend. I had several opportunities to just sit back and look at them all. See how much my dad looks just like his dad. My uncle J sure does resemble my grandma; his mother. My beautiful niece Emmie; well there are no words. She is just so beautiful. She looks just like my sister. I so enjoyed visiting with her. She is getting so big. Off to middle school for her this fall. Such a big moment in one's life.
This would be a good place to insert photo's if one was smart enough to do so. But at the moment I am not sure where my camera is.
But back to family. This seems to be the season for family reunions. I hope that if you are blessed enough to have one then go. Don't worry about a thing. There are crazy ones at these things but look past that. Look past the ones that think they know it all. The ones that don't have a clue as to the person that you really are and have a wonderful time. Enjoy all the beautiful babies. Count all your blessings because when you have a big family there are many blessings to be counted. Each family unit has a blessing to be told. And if you are really open to Gods grace then don't judge the choices of others. They have a story too.

Many Blessings,
Heidi

Just sitting with it for a while.....

D and I just got back from the lake. This is where we go when life is too hard for us to deal with. We can sleep all day if we want. We eat some of his mom's comfort food. Watch the waves splash on shore. Snuggle on the porch. And just sit with what has been dealt to us. What is our future? Who knows but does anybody really? This week we have an appointment with the neurosurgeon to see if surgery is in D's near future. No matter what happens this is what is to be. We will sit with it a while and accept all that is to come....because as my son said recently. What is to happen is already planned. Just go with it. There has been so many changes in the last few year. Some good some not so good. I was hoping for some sort of normal for a while.

What is normal anyway?????

Many Blessings,
Heidi

I have been gone so long.....

I opened my blog today, it has been so long since I have been here. I have missed posting. Life is taking me on a journey; I am not sure where it will lead. Or if I even want to go......praying is all I know how to do.

Heidi

Happy Easter!

The last few weeks have been so busy. D has been spending a lot of time at the lake getting some work done for his family. Last week however he over did it and hurt his back really bad. Bad enough to put him in the hospital for a few day. Back problems are not new to us. He knows to be careful. Well, most of the time he does.

Today is Easter Sunday; one of my favorite holidays. Days like these are when I miss when the kids were little. We used to spend a fortune on them. It was like another Christmas. Were they spoiled? Heck yes! I really miss it though. The dying of eggs. The egg hunts. The pinatas full of candy. Sweet times. This year D and I are alone. Not in a sad way. We don't get to be alone too often so we are enjoying our day. And after the week we had with D in the hospital a low key holiday is just what we needed.

....my cup runneth over..... may you always feel Gods grace.

Beautiful Weekend!

Thursday evening I left for the lake to see D. A week is too long to be apart. I know we have been married forever but we don't do well when we are apart for very long. The weather has been so beautiful here. Spring is in the air and I love it. We are just far enough south from where we live that all the flowering trees are in their peak. My father-in-law mowed the grass yesterday and the smell of fresh cut grass was just heaven to me. Of course I had to take my allergy pills but a small price to pay to enjoy all that spring has to offer. My sweet Aspen turned 4 on Friday. I can't believe how fast she is growing. Such a sweet baby. Yes, they are all babies to me. Wish I had a picture of her to insert here but I am at my mother-in-laws lap top and the only photos of her are old and I have already shared them on this blog. Moving day for the kids is just a couple of weeks away. Can't wait! Now that they will be just a block or two away I can see those sweet babies anytime I want. D and I are headed back to the city today. But first we are going to enjoy another spring day at the lake. Many Blessings, Heidi

Weekend in Review

My birthday weekend has been pretty good. I am very blessed to have heard from so many friends and family to wish me happy birthday. Meg made me a birthday cake. I don't ever remember anyone ever doing that before. It was a white cake with pink icing. It was a double layer one that fits perfectly on my cake plate. Well it did fit perfectly. I have eaten so much of it. Cake and icing is a real weakness for me. But no worries. I am still down about 30 pounds and so far all the cake that I consumed has not shown up on the scale. Back to work tomorrow so I should work it off. D left yesterday for the lake. He is going to spend the week down there helping his brother. I wish I could have gone but I need to work. Stephanie called this morning; I really miss her. It looks like Easter will be the next time she can come home. Seems so far away. Many blessings, Heidi

Life is Good!

Today is my birthday. I have never been more happy or content. Yes there are always life's little issues that make things hard at times; most of which are out of our control. But that is OK. I think that those are times when we learn and grow.
I am so blessed. I have amazing kids and the best friends that anyone could ask for. What more could a girl want.
Happy Birthday to me!

I seem to repeat myself so much on here but the time is seriously flying by. I thought I just updated a few days ago. Most of my problem is having computer time. Meg is on full time with school which is so much more important than anything I need to say on here. HA

Heather's birthday was a week ago Friday. It was great seeing them this week but sure wish I could have seen her on her special day. I can not wait until they move to my town. Then I can see them when I want to. They will be sick of me I am sure. Aspen is growing like a weed. So precious! I love the way you say something to her and she rolls her eyes. Such a girl! Which I am so not used to.

Meg just completed her first semester of classes. Straight A student! We are so proud of her. Drew has been to the lake the last couple of weeks to help his uncle work around his house. He came home on the weekends but it was so hard on Drake for him to be gone. Thank god for skype, but that was only a temporary fix for him. The three of them had this weekend together so he should have had the daddy time he needed.

D and I have had a wonderful time here at the lake with his parents. He has caught the heck out of white cat. We love fish so it is great to be filling the freezer. Mom (D's mom) and I have been working on the reunion details. We are having a very large family reunion the first of May at my house. It is going to be so much fun. But there is so much work to do to pull this off.

Time to head home from the lake. Get ready for the work week ahead.

Many Blessings,
Heidi

March!!

I have been waiting months for the month of March. It is the beginning of spring. This month we should start seeing daffodil's pop up. The grass starting to change green and not this yucky brown I have been looking at for months. Have I mentioned that I don't care for winter? To me the new year starts with spring. Everything is new and clean and fresh. I get excited about all the possibilities for the new year.
A little over a month from now Devin will be moving his family just a few blocks away. That's as close to the zoo as I can get him. So happy about it.
Meg and Drew are already looking into preschools for Drake. I can hardly believe how fast time goes by.
This weekend D and I are headed to the lake. He is having fishing fever while I am having mother-in-law fever. Good times. So looking forward to it. It wont beat last weekend though.
Saturday afternoon D and I got a wild hair and ran away. It started out to be just a date night but turned into over night in a hotel room about an hour away from home. We felt like kids again. It was so much fun. We did some shopping. Bought some nursing shoes so that my feet won't scream at me any longer. We decided that we really need to spend more time with just the two of us. So I can see us running away again in the near future.
On a sad note Miss V passed away yesterday afternoon. She passed very peacefully. I really thought I would be very upset by her passing but I wasn't. We had her on a turn schedule every two hours to prevent skin breakdown. Every time we turned her she was in so much pain. She is pain free now.

Many Blessings,
Heidi

Well it seems that I have forgotten I have a blog. So many distant family members are sending me messages wanting to know what is going on in our lives.
Work, Work, Work is about it. I wish I could say that the last month has been exciting. This nursing thing is really exhausting. I had no idea how physical it was. I really enjoy the people I care for, but can really do without all the coworker drama. It just amazes me how people are. Do they not have any more meaning to their lives then to create so much drama.

I really dislike February; it is so cold and snowy and dreary. So looking forward to March. I need to feel the sun on my skin. D has tried to help me with my winter blues by taking me to the lake. It really helped. I so enjoy spending time with his mom.

My last post was about Miss V. Well Miss V is still with us. And God only knows why. It is so hard to watch her linger on. It is really starting to show on her family the stress of it all. They sit with her every day. God bless her.

Gosh what a boring post. I need a vacation. A sunny beach with a fruity cocktail with those cute little umbrellas.

Many Blessings
Heidi

Miss V

Today I took care of a patient who's time here with us is limited. I will call her Miss V. I have been taking care of Miss V for several months now. I did my clinicals at this facility so I am very familiar with her.
She is the type of lady that is so cantankerous that they put all incoming nurses on her hall to take care of her. I call it a little hazing on hall 400. She is something. Will call you every name in the book. I have been hit, choked and almost bitten just trying to get her to eat something. We all draw straws to see who has to give her a bath.
But care for her I do. I know that in her earlier years she was probably a real nice lady. Early hours of the morning when all the patients are sleeping I will walk in to Miss V's room and say a little prayer for her; and for me. Ha because I may be the one that needs to bathe her that day.
Last week I walked into Miss V's room to find standing there my mothers best friend. She asked what I was doing there. I told her that I am now employed here and take care of all the beautiful ladies on this hall. I asked her what she was doing there. She said that Miss V was her mother. What a small world. I was totally shocked to find out just who Miss V was.
After the long weekend I went in this morning only to find out that Miss V is not doing well. She is refusing her meds and has not ate or drank since last Thursday. Her coloring is not good. As I walked into her room late morning her daughter was standing at the end of the bed watching her mother. It struck me that she will not be here much longer. I know in this profession that I have chose that death is something I will experience. But I wasn't expecting it so soon.

Many Blessings
Heidi

Just taking one day at a time.

I can't believe how long it has been since I have updated. I am here; not well but here.
Right after my last post I had a doctors appointment for a check up. I have not been feeling well for a couple of months but couldn't put my finger on what the problem was. The doctor did an extensive blood work up and called me the next afternoon to tell me the news. It appears that my thyroid has stopped working. Great; just what I wanted to hear. This is why I have been experiencing extreme fatigue and not able to loose any weight.
He started me on a medication a few days later. He said that getting the right medication is often difficult and that I will need to be closely watched. On the day I started my meds I got a nursing job. So excited to start my new career but not while I am dealing with these health issues. So needless to say this past week has been very hard for me. My job turns out to be very physical. Not a bad thing but when you have been sitting on your bottom for the past year and a half it is taking a toll on my body. I have muscle pain in areas that I didn't know there were muscles. Because of the thyroid issue and the new job I am a mess. I go to work and then come home and go to bed. I was told it will take weeks to get my medication to where it needs to be.
Thank God I have a husband that is so understanding.

Many Blessings,
Heidi

Good News!

Well D and I have been busy with a flurry of activity bringing in the new year. Speaking of the new year. D and I are real big party people; yes we are. For New Years Eve we rented movies and Wii games and had a kitchen full of junk food. Good times. Then by 10:45pm we couldn't wait for midnight to get here because we were exhausted. Meg and Drew stayed home as well to enjoy all the excitement with us. At the stroke of midnight we all fell over each other trying to get to bed. Yes; the excitement was just too much for us.
But D and I did write down our goals for 2011. So glad to be doing that; we always reach our goals when we write them down.
I was blessed with news yesterday of a job opportunity. Glad to be starting the new year with a new career.
In other wonderful news Devin and Heather are moving back to our small town in the Spring. So so happy about this. Life would be perfect for me if all my kids would live here at the zoo. But what I think is perfect and what they think is perfect are two different things. But am jumping for joy tonight that they will be living a couple blocks away.
Meg and I have been real busy in our storage room organizing and purging. Goosh I love purging. Since I will be starting work soon and Meg is going back to school in a couple of weeks we thought it best to whip this place into shape. It is amazing with the Holiday season how things can really get out of hand.
D will be building more shelves in the laundry room soon. Meg watched a show on TLC called Extreme Coupon. Tomorrow we will be shopping for groceries and household items totaling over $300 and all we will be paying is around $120! Yes! I can get used to this! The additional shelves are needed because she is getting so many items FREE. Yes I said free! She is using store coupons as well as manufacture coupon on sale items makes them free. Gotta love it!
With so much good news I am flat on my back with a head cold. Ugh I feel like poo. Have so many plans and dreams for 2011 so I need to get back on my feet soon.

Many Blessings
Heidi