New view of Halloween

I haven't been this excited about Halloween since I was a kid. Sara's been looking forward to this for at least 6 months. Not so much about trick or treating but more for the fact that she'll be 4 years old and a "big girl".

This week I've been at the hospital doing inpatient therapy. What a culture shock!!!??!! This is a whole new ball game from what I have experienced in the past year and a half. I really really like it though. Everyday is different and you see many many patients. Some of them you even hate to see leave the hospital. But I've bet I've pulled or stretched every single muscle in my body!! Just about every night I've taken a hot bubble bath just to soak in. And I'm not talking warm or mildly hot. I'm talking the hot that can scald if you are not careful. I have turned the water on to the hottest it will go and let the tub fill up. I really have enjoyed the week I've had and would love to find a job in a hospital until I can experience more and make a decision as to what I would like to do the best.

Sara gets to dress in her Halloween costume to school tomorrow and they are going to celebrate her birthday with her. She even made us get party hats for everyone! I'm so happy to see her excited about her special day!

What the quiet can bring to my mind

I stayed home from school today because Sara and I have been battling colds all week and just needed a non-structured day to rest. It was fairly productive even though I tried to be lazy. Laundry was done and dishes were cleaned. I even studied some and made sure Darrel had everything he needed for his classes this week.

But he is working the 2nd shift this week which means it is "hopefully" quiet once Sara is in bed. I say hopefully because my mind still plays tricks on me now that I am an adult and I find it hard to relax when Darrel isn't home. I've been like this all of my life and find that it doesn't get better as I get older. Thank goodness it hasn't become worse...but being nervous at night can become a problem.

Luckily we've installed an invisible fence around the house and both carports so the dog can roam where ever he pleases and that does comfort me at times.

Tonight I am just trying to keep occupied until he comes home. This week will be long and exhausting by the time Friday rolls around. And I doubt I'll be able to catch up on relaxing as I have another set of clinicals next week and am sure my lethargic self will be tired and cranky then too. But it will soon be over.

It doesn't feel as if it should be so far into October as it is. Sara keeps reminding us that she will be four years old soon. This is great because we've been telling her and preparing her for her responsibilities that she'll assume when she is four. Right now we are working on her walking to bed and going to sleep on her own. It works fairly well when Dad isn't around because he still likes to spoil her and spend special time with her. But tonight she was given a hug and with few accommodations went to sleep. She is also going to have to keep her room clean. This will be tough for us to instill in her as we are not the best role models for keeping things clean. But our house is much more organized and clean than it normally is and I think it will help her develop the habit of cleanliness.

I can't believe that my little baby is now almost 4. It is great that we can do all sorts of things with her, but now I am missing having a sweet little baby in the house. Darrel laughs at me and tells me that I'm just listening to my biological clock ticking and not paying attention to other things that are more important; i e school. I guess that may be a fundamental difference between me and him. Oh well...

What the Autumn Season Brings

I know it has been a while since I have last posted anything. This past week has been so busy that I just looked at my messages Thursday.

Right now I am adjusting to a life of temporarily being single again due to hunting/fishing seasons currently underway.

This past week I was working long days during my pediatric treatment rotation which makes me appreciate what parents with special needs kids really go through on a daily basis.

Darrel has been sick and it has been hard for me to take care of everyone and remember to take care of myself. I have had to take many bubble baths to retreat from the world just to regroup and start another day.

I have just realized that there are not many full time OT positions around here and even if there were, little to no benefits would be given. I know that the Lord will provide for me and my family, but I don't fully understand how the cards are going to fall next summer.

Darrel's new quarter has begun and it is difficult to have him take classes online without a professor to explain the details of the material. He is doing well and hopefully he'll just go through the motions and do well enough to get into his program.

This week has brought me to a more humble place. I have learned that there are many people who face bigger challenges than I will ever face and they are only a couple of months old.

The Fall always brings cooler weather, camp fires, and General Conference; however this Fall has brought me to a deeper desire to grow closer to the Lord and what He would want me to do for myself and my family.

Another reason to celebrate!!!

Ok, I know, I probably "belabor" (Thanks Katie for giving me a new word) this way more than I need to. In fact, it is one of the few things I can use to keep me going when I get down.

I am officially 3/4 of the way finished with my Master's Degree!!!! Hooray! The numbers don't technically add up so let me explain my calculations.

1) This is my last full semester with classes. We have a 3 week 8 hours a day 5 days a week mini mester in January and then we have 6 months of clinical rotations.

2) I have my clinical rotations confirmed (finally) and I even get to have a spring break because I am going to be in the school systems from Feb-May. Some places will close for Master's week, I'm sure, but I am guaranteed a vacation!!!

3) We only have 9 weeks left of this semester!!!! I am so excited. This semester has been one of the fastest that I've had in the last 4 years. We have so many assignments and projects now and a pretty intense mid term week before we go on our clinical rotations for this semester.

I can tell you one thing is certain: God hears prayers!! I would never have chosen this path for myself and can only imagine why Heavenly Father has chosen it for me. I know that I'll be able to take care of my family if anything were to happen to Darrel. I know that I'll be able to serve others. I know that even if I don't accomplish the first two statements on my list, I have learned how delicate life is and how easily we can change from being typical to atypical and become ever more dependent on others. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to grow. Augusta isn't my first choice of cities in which to raise my family or grow my family when the case may be. But it has provided Darrel the opportunity as well to complete his education. Augusta is the only city that offers a program that is accredited by an outside source and recommended by the national board for sonography.

Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us if we will only humble ourselves and submit to His will. I am truly grateful that we have. Even through the trials that we have had in our lives this past year and 1/2 we have been able to offer praise to Him for allowing us the chance to learn so we can be better people in the future.

Domestication of Women

I know that cleaning the house and nurturing the children is what women are supposed to do because for the most part men are supposed to be the providers for the family. What I would like to know is why it (cleaning) comes so naturally to some people and is so painstakingly difficult for people like me. I absolutely hate doing it. We have been doing a lot better at keeping things tidy and laundry clean and folded compared to the past, but that doesn't make it any easier for me.

My solution: have guests over as much as possible to force me to clean and a reason for me to recruit Darrel to help.

Hopefully we will develop better habits. I've heard that it only takes 21 days to form a habit, but how long does it take to break one that was created over 20 years ago???

Hindsite

Darrel laughed at me last night as I was telling him what I "read" in the news. He said it sounded funny that I was 'reading' the news instead of watching the news. (We don't have cable or satellite, so my lifeline to the nation is through the internet).

Anyway, I digress. I called my dad this evening to discuss politics, mainly because he gives me a hard time about my presidential candidate (even though he is voting for the same group) and it gave me a chance to talk to him about things I found interesting. As I mentioned earlier, my lifeline is the internet and my favorite news group is the Fox News because they are less biased and more focused on facts than slander. I find it humerus that people will make up or support stories just to get their 15 seconds of media attention. Take Cynthia McKinney for example. She alleges that approximately 5000 prisoners were executed and their bodies dumped into the Gulf during the hurricane.

How ironic is it that people who hold or have held public office will get to their position by promising to serve their districts or regions and then when they are given support they decide to use the position for self gain. I presume all politicians do this to one extent or the other. And politicians are not the only group or societal body that make promises to supporters only to fulfil their own desires. You can see this in any elected office, private business, churches, and just people in general.

So the main reason for this post is that 2 years ago I was let go from my position at a privately owned small bank because I had made egotistical people mad by being honest. The person who ran all the in's and out's of the bank reminds me of one of the people I mentioned above. Darrel even told this person when I was let go that he would regret his decision. From what I have heard they have had to find 3 different people to fill the position I had in less than 2 years. I'm not implying that it is because they let me go that they are in this situation. (I think it is awfully hard to find someone to do the work I did for as little pay with all of the micromanaging and politicking the position entails. There were other reasons I'm sure such as being a mother and going to school which did not support their interests in the least bit.) However, as I was talking to my dad I made a comment about how I thought the bank would be hurting right now due to their high interest in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans that they had been making. He said they were one of the top banks in the county with debt to liquidity ratios being over the 200 mark. I don't completely understand all this as I was never good with accounting but simply put, banks like to stay around 100 or less in this ratio. My previous employer is now around 200. I am certainly appreciative of being let go at a time when I could focus on finishing my 4 year degree and planning for the future. Now this company is carefully watching the bail-out negotiations and looking at having to let go of the business they pushed so hard to improve. That place was/is full of corruption and bad practices and I hope that the people that had jobs there have been able to find other work so that they too don't go down with the sinking ship.

On a different note, I am looking forward to the debate tonight. I feel that it will either be something full of scripted answers or true honest debating of the facts. As I get older I completely understand how important it is to have my voice be heard especially when we are looking at such a crisis with the economy and money mongers.

I hope that enough people will truly examine the facts and vote for the person they feel is best equipped for the most important leadership job in our nation. Maybe this debate won't be filled with the same remarks..."you are right senator"!