I miss Gadget

This past couple of weeks have been hard in several different ways. First, my cat Gadget disappeared on the 19th. It has sucked not knowing what happened to him, whether he is alive or not, suffering somewhere, or just found a new home. I don't really know why he would have run away since he's allowed outside and he wouldn't really have a reason to leave me so the conclusion I have come to is that he's no longer alive. This makes me really sad because he was my favorite of my cats. He was really sweet and we definitely had some really good times together. I really miss him :(

Me and Gadget:

Gadget as a baby:

At the beginning of last week, I still had 8 tests hanging over my head. It's been really hard to sit down and study day after day and seem like you aren't really getting anywhere. But as of right now, I only have 4 left. I can finally see the end and sight and believe that I'm almost finished and am probably going to make it to next year.
Knowing that summer is near, I still haven't really figure out what I'm going to do this summer. I'm only taking one class so I'll have some free time during the day. Any suggestions?

Yesterday was the 3rd anniversary of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech. Sometimes I still can't believe that it happened to my school; it still seems pretty surreal. I did the memorial race in the morning with my friend Megan on campus and then kind of took the day off from school for the rest of the day.

The past few weeks have been going pretty well for me school wise which is amazing since a lot of my school mates have not been doing so well. I tribute that to the grace of God and continuous prayer about school! This semester is coming to an end which I'm really excited about since it's really really hard to study with all of the nice weather! I have three more weeks of class and then a half week of finals. I still have 2 tests left and then 6 finals to accomplish in that time which seems pretty impossible but I know God will give me the strength to get through it all. I think I would be feeling pretty discouraged right now if it weren't for my faith. I am still pretty worried about my skills final that I have coming up on the 27th. It covers all of the body systems we've covered this semester. I basically have to pick one of the systems from a cup and do that assessment on a partner. Each system entails lots of information to look, listen, and explain about. I am pretty nervous about it since there is so much to remember and it's the first test where I've had to perform something. But it's like I was telling my mom, I think I'm where I'm supposed to be and as long as I do my part, the Lord will do the rest. This semester has by far been the greatest period of reliance on God for me. I've had it pretty easy most of my life and I've never felt so humbled before. I'm grateful for all that God has taught in the past months and I hope that I will be able to continue to rely on him even when life is not as difficult.

Sunscreen

It's that time of year for everyone to be outside all the time, exercising, doing yard work, or playing with the kids. I want to strong remind everyone to wear sunscreen when you're outside. Not only does the sun cause skin cancer (even if you don't burn, sorry that's not a good excuse) but it definitely causes wrinkles! So if you don't put it on for any other reason, put it on for the prevention of aging skin! If not, when you look old and I don't, I'm gonna laugh at you!

My favorite sunscreen this summer:

A Better Week

This week was a much better week for me despite still having 3 tests. My tests went pretty well and I felt like, ok just 1 week at a time, I can do this. Monday was a great OB day at the hospital. I got to be a part of a patient's labor and delivery , something I hadn't done yet. Being at the hospital made everything that I've been studying so much more real to me. When I went home Monday afternoon, I felt like I was in a daze, maybe it was the birth or maybe it was having to be at the hospital at 6:45 am but I could seem to get the last couple of hours out of my head. The patient was getting angry and frustrated that it wasn't over yet and then all of the sudden, it was time for her to push and then the baby was born and a million things were happening at once! It was exciting and yet I felt like I was in a dream. I mean a year ago I wouldn't have imagined to be in the place that I was on Monday. It was an unforgettable experience that made me realise that nursing school, even though it's a huge challenge, is exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Trust

Most of you don't know that I've kind of been having a hard semester. Last semester waa definitely hard for me, but this semester, I feel like I just can't get control of my grades. I started out studying like I did last semester, but the classes are different and I've had about 3 weeks of breaks including the snow and spring break. It's been difficult to keep focused and learn on my own to make up for all the missed classes. Last week I was feeling very discouraged. I wanted to quit but I kept going only because I've come so far. I kept thinking about how much more I could do to pull my grades up but then I read a friend's blog who also had a very discouraging situation. Here's part of what she wrote:

"I am clinging to Romans 8:28 which tells us that 'in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose'. And while driving home today I opened Beth Moore's new book to read this prayer... 'Lord, help me to learn how to hang on tight to You when my life is rocked by dramatic change. Empower me to trust You and not to panic or fight for control. Help me to stop confusing a change in my circumstances with a change in my security status. You are my security, O God. You are the one sure thing. When everything around me shakes, You are unshakeable. Use change to provoke what needs changing in me, Lord, and to increase my appreciation of the only One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever'. Wow. When I read that prayer I truly felt the Lord speaking to my heart. What an awesome comfort to know that He is unshakeable. This morning I had a harsh realization of how shaky and unpredictable my world can be. But God? He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!!!!"

Needless to say, I have once again been reminded by God of how great my need for him is, every day of every week, and not just the weeks that suck!

Spring Break

This past week I had spring break so I took the opportunity to go visit my sister, nephew (14 months), and her husband in Illinois. There's not too much going on in Streator, but it was nice to relax with them, watch HGTV, and teach Caleb how to smell candles. I hadn't seen them since August so Caleb had made some major changes such as standing and the beginnnings of walking and talking. I ended up watching him a couple of mornings while my sister was working so it was fun to have some one-on-one time with my nephew. We grew up with a pretty small extended family so my aunts always had a pretty big impact on us. Even though it looks like we'll be living far away for awhile, I hope we can still remain close. Caleb and his mom.
Caleb doing his I want to get so close to your face that I blind you thing.

Then this weekend I had a 1213 A reunion at Claire's new house near Harrisonburg. It was cute and it looked great from all the painting that she had recently done. We had a great time catching up and just relaxing together. Leaving on Sunday I knew that it was my birthday, but for some reason, it just didn't feel like my birthday this year. I have been dreading it for months but once it was here, it just flet like a normal day. Does that mean I can just skip it this year?

Claire, Natalie, Me, Liz

March Update for New Years Resolutions

If you recall in my January 1 post, I had a list of 10 resolutions for 2010. Let's see how they've been going:

1. Run in at least 1 race- I have a 10 mile race this Saturday so that should take care of that one.

2. Work out 3x a week- usually happends as long as my excercise class doesn't get cancelled.

3. Visit my sister, wherever she is- I'll be visiting her her next week in Streator, IL during my spring (haha) break. (I'll be sure to post about my trip)

4. Visit Amanda in Boston- no plans for that one yet

5. Blog at least twice a month- check (so far)

6. Go to Rehoboth beach with Sarah- no plans yet

7. Read 10 fun books- definitely haven't done any of that yet

8. Try one new recipe a month- check

9. Take Public Speaking :/- maybe this summer ?

10. Stop biting my nails! - this was a bad idea; should have been post cute pictures of cats:)