Graduate Nurses--YAHOO!!!

Years ago, I knew I wanted to be a nurse, following my Grandmother's (Nonna) and Great Grandmother's (Maymie) footsteps, but never before did I consider that my husband would venture into that path with me! It has been a long, hard, and almost unbearable road to travel, but we did it! Yet, it wasn't only "we" who did it. First and foremost, we had the strength of our Heavenly Father to pull us through the late night, early mornings, dirty laundry, and piles of dishes. Never mind the care plans, diagnostics, medication actions, priority assessments, procedures, etc, etc, etc! We had children who patiently endured each exam as they spent their days becoming the best of friends all for the sake of Mommy and Daddy passing another test. (Until Lydia came along,then we just prayed that we would pass! She made it almost impossible to study!)

I had a husband who saw me pass my first semester of nursing school, and then he jumped in with two feet, ready to take a journey that would allow him to grow far beyond who he was before! (It takes a pretty strong man to be a nurse...seriously!)

Finally, look at all those beautiful faces! We would have never finished this journey without those beautiful people there. Grandma and Grandpa walked high and low to get us through nursing school. They gladly did all this and more: drives out to Lititz just so Connor could get to school on time while we headed to.....school, Monday meals (being a very busy day for us), dishes hand washed--and I mean DISHES galore, children fed...clothed....hugged....and loved, and many prayers (I am certain of it!).

SO MANY MORE people helped us along the way, with unceasing encouragement...thank you!

Now...on to finding a job! Let's pray the Lord will open doors!

Bella Sinclair Award

The Bella Sinclair award was created by CES in honor of her sister Bella Sinclair, an exceptional woman and brilliant artist who epitomizes the concept of the artist as inspiration, of sisterhood, caring and sharing. It is symbolized by the Valley Oak Tree a handsome and graceful tree with a sturdy trunk.It was designed for those whose friendships and influence inspire us to be our best. So today I want to pass this lovely award onto a few people in my life who I feel deserve this award

I received this award from my dear friend Krystal--whom I admire and love. I will pass the award onto a few of the people in my life who I feel deserve the award, and I only ask that they pass it along to a few people who inspire them as well! That's sisterhood right?!

To Sara Fultz (twin sis)--You have been tossed into the deep and stood your ground with faith and hope trusting on the Lord. I admire your sturdy trunk and only hope that I can one day be just as sturdy as you have been. Amidst your heartache, you have tended to my sorrow first and foremost, above your own. Who does that? Sara--who loves and cares for others more than herself.

To Cindy Rae (me...twenty years from now!)--I don't know how you have done it, but you spent many nights in my company into the wee hours of the morning discussing the the events of life--the things we did understand and all those things that left us speechless. The catch is that you do this for so many, and then you rise--bright and early--the next morning with a smile and a determination to guide someone else for the better. To me, you are the handsome grace of the oak tree, yet sturdy all the while!

To Michelle Otero (Mom)--Your weathered hands have reached into the ground time and time again nurturing other trees along the way. My Gardener--I admire your strength. As a mother I am learning of the sacrifice and sorrow that I once saw you go through. It is a hard road to walk, as you give of yourself day after day. Thank you for showing me that a strong tree can be grown one day at a time.

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

So we went outside to play last week and I thought to myself, "Let's go fly a kite". I asked the boys if they wanted to and they were excited, so we got out the kite. We tried flying it earlier in the summer with no success. This time started out pretty good while flying the kite low, but as you can see by Aiden's ring, we were doomed from the beginning. That is only a three leaf clover so luck was not on our side.

By the look on Connor's face, it appears that he had something up his sleeve. Most likely, he is just being a boy. When it comes down to it, it was obviously my fault that the kite landed where it did. The wind got stronger and I was able to let it fly high after the kids had played with it for an hour or so. It was flying perfectly and then, all of the sudden the tension went out of the string. So, where did that kite end up....
Way up high in the oak tree. I tried forever to get that thing to come down and then all of the sudden as I had predicted, the string broke. Luckily the boys took it well, especially Aiden, whose kite it was. It makes a good tree ornament. Aiden later tried to get it down by flying his cousin's Dora the Explorer kite up to save Optimus Prime. Unfortunately we had to put an end to that one to prevent having two stuck kites. It was a fun day in the end and we will have to get another kite which we will likely fly somewhere else, like Valley Forge Park. Best of luck to all of you kite fliers out there. I hope you get to take yours back home with you.

Brainwashing!

Get the point? I love brainwashing my Lydia to say Mama! Well, the constant Mama that she hears from me sometimes comes out like "Baba"...see, now I'm brainwashing you!