Warning...it's a long one but really, what do you expect when you combine two & a half months into one Chirps from the Tree post?
Outside the Nest...
Outside the Nest...
Nests are transient things I guess. I'm not sure how many nests a bird builds in it's lifetime but we are on a roll with rebuilding these past two months & especially this week! We arrived at the Valentine's in early May & stayed put till last weekend when we made the move (of all our stuff) into our rental home in Richardson. Robby & I spent Sunday night there together followed by two nights alone between day shifts at the nearby hospital. I was woken up by an early morning phone call from Jeannine around 4:50am saying that Bob was taking Robby to the ER. Since then, our nest has been here at Baylor University Medical Center & the kids + my mom relocated to the new nest up in Richardson this afternoon. WHIRLWIND! Outside this "nest" it is beautiful, warm & perfect for a firework show for those out enjoying the festivities. As the sun has gone down while I blog away, we are surprised by the Fair Park Firework show we can see from our hospital window! While we have been living in the Lone Star State we have experienced some beautiful 75 degree days in May that have warmed up to the low 90's in the recent weeks along with some massive downpours with dark skies....love those.
I am thankful for...
so very much as we are pressing on through a challenging week. Just to name a few: medical care & health coverage, parents that have assumed full custody of our kids this week while I have been by Robby's side day & night, friends & family that are relentless in texting encouraging & laughable things to help us through the day, a new home that we can settle into, a job I am truly enjoying, a continued income for Robby with co-workers who love our family, Bob & Jeannine who have cared so well for our family in the past two months, friends from Florida who have kept up with us making our transition easier, friends here that have jumped right back into spending time with us like nothing has changed, kids that just go with the flow, the way God takes care of every need that we don't even know to ask of him, the peace He gives us when much feels out of control.
I am thinking about...
all the events that occurred this week, how good God is & how tired we feel. Also thinking about how I can't wait to have some "normal" life ; ) I am in process creating a timeline summary of the "attack of the appendix" which will be posted in the near future.
In the schoolroom...
The schoolroom is in the process of being set up at the new casa. I love our front room which has lots of windows & a perfect little nook for our table & chairs with plenty of space for a new canvas print of an adorable world map complete with animals that reside on certain continents. I could not pass it up when out & about in June. I finally selected & purchased a math, reading & handwriting curriculum for kindergarten. It was an arduous task but I am excited about what I settled on. I will elaborate more later but I landed on Saxon 1 for Math, All About Reading for you guessed it, reading & Handwriting Without Tears. My friend & fellow homeschooling mama in Orlando pointed me towards the MOST amazing planner that happens to have a YouTube video featuring it. I watched it & went asap to get one for myself. I found the last one at the bookstore & took approximately four weeks & two sets of new pencils/erasers to finally get the courage to write in it. Once I got started there was no turning back. I made our skeleton schedule for the entire year & finished a good amount of lesson plans for the fall semester. It was SO fun & I look forward to my next planning block. We will start the week of August 18th at home & then our first Classical Conversations day is the following Thursday. We decided to sign up for a CC location that is in Plano, just 10 minutes from our house which will be a nice change from the 35 minutes we drove in Orlando. Our hope is in being so close that we can actually get to know the families better & spend a bit of time together outside of our regular Thursday meetings. Charlotte is getting excited & asks often if she gets to go to school tomorrow but then immediately says "I don't want to go to a new school & make new friends." It was fun to remind her that this school is new to mommy too so we get to be brave together & make new friends together. Kindergarten here we come!
From the kitchen...
Big Bob once again wowed us on a nightly basis with home cooked meals as I started back to work during the daylight hours. We have eaten more home cooked meals in two months than we have eaten in the past year ; ) As mentioned in the Father's Day post, we have enjoyed Goulash many a night, Steak on a weekly basis much to the delight of our carnivorous children, homemade pizzas on pita bread, Aussie Chicken, Fajitas, you name it, he has cooked it! Jeannine got me hooked on one of her staple lunches with chunks of cucumber & mozzarella cheese, cherub tomatoes, blanched & baked slivered almonds topped with a homemade dressing. I am a PB&J kind of girl due to the usual lunch crew so adding something a bit more exciting & healthy makes me excited! I will say that it will be a rude awakening to be 100% in charge of meal planning & preparation as we settle into the new nest ; ) It will be yet another transition but I will be glad to get back in the swing of things.... that is once I'm in the swing of things.
Big Bob once again wowed us on a nightly basis with home cooked meals as I started back to work during the daylight hours. We have eaten more home cooked meals in two months than we have eaten in the past year ; ) As mentioned in the Father's Day post, we have enjoyed Goulash many a night, Steak on a weekly basis much to the delight of our carnivorous children, homemade pizzas on pita bread, Aussie Chicken, Fajitas, you name it, he has cooked it! Jeannine got me hooked on one of her staple lunches with chunks of cucumber & mozzarella cheese, cherub tomatoes, blanched & baked slivered almonds topped with a homemade dressing. I am a PB&J kind of girl due to the usual lunch crew so adding something a bit more exciting & healthy makes me excited! I will say that it will be a rude awakening to be 100% in charge of meal planning & preparation as we settle into the new nest ; ) It will be yet another transition but I will be glad to get back in the swing of things.... that is once I'm in the swing of things.
Mommy by day, nurse by night...
yet another section with lots of updates!
"Nurse by night" can be switched to "Nurse by day" since that is the shift I have been working since mid-May & I am bursting with excitement that I get to switch to night shift next week! A little back tracking here- We made the decision for me to apply for a full time position but instead of six twelve hour shifts every two weeks I get to do five, three one week & two the next however I would like to arrange them. Since it is considered full time, I am able to enjoy the full time benefits including healthcare, PTO (something I haven't seen in 5 years) & being on the "nursing ladder." I ended up interviewing only at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas for a job in Labor & Delivery, was offered a position on the spot & gladly accepted. I started in mid May & enjoyed two weeks of hospital orientation & computer training. I use the word "enjoy" loosely ; ) Some of it was fun, some of it was necessary & I was glad when it was over & I could avoid going to work every day from 8-5. One really fun thing about these two weeks is that Robby & I carpooled since his office is only a few exits away from the hospital. It was about a one hour trip each way & we would laugh saying it was our "date." We loved having uninterrupted conversation while sitting in traffic & occasionally made a stop for some Chicken Biscuits from Chick-a-Lay as the girls say.
Once that two week orientation ended I started 12 hour day shifts on the unit paired with a combination of nurses to ease me into the way they do their jobs. It has been wonderful. I have been super impressed with the nursing practice & interaction with patients I have observed. The women who have come alongside me over the course of five weeks have been so welcoming & encouraging as I struggle to figure out the computer charting system they use.....thorn in my side ; ) These women have been texting me the past three days while we are in the hospital to check on us & offer help in any way. I feel very cared for already by the staff. The patients have been a lovely mix of insured & uninsured, educated & not educated, multiple nationalities, high risk & low risk but all with a baby or two that needed to exit the premises. It is frustrating to know I can take care of a patient well & so easily but then I struggle with the charting & knowing who is who & who prefers what in the physician category. I am definitely feeling more comfortable though & know I can ask questions any time I need to. Both prior places of employment have been large enough that L&D Triage is a separate unit but here it is staffed by L&D. I have really enjoyed my days in there & look forward to having something to break up the monotony of laboring patients. I will also be circulating & recovering cesarean sections which is something I have been out of for the past 2-3 years. It should be fun to break out all those cute scrub caps I sewed back in the day! All that to say, I am settling in well & will feel even better once I am back to the vampire shift ; )
As far as being Mommy by day, I am really missing the kids & looking forward to being away while they are asleep. Working full time is not a long term solution for our family but for now it is offering the financial coverage we need plus benefits as Robby goes through some transition with his job. We are grateful that God has allowed for me to continue working once a week for the past five years so I was able to easily jump back into full time when the recent circumstances arose. It's not only a "job" for me, it is something I truly enjoy doing.
Thankfully Bob & Jeannine have been loving on our four while I have been away for day shifts. They are AMAZING & the kids have done well. Once settled into our new house & night shift routine, they plan to watch the kids for about two days per month & we will have someone else cover two full days a month & morning or afternoon naps here & there if Robby is unable to fill in as needed.
yet another section with lots of updates!
"Nurse by night" can be switched to "Nurse by day" since that is the shift I have been working since mid-May & I am bursting with excitement that I get to switch to night shift next week! A little back tracking here- We made the decision for me to apply for a full time position but instead of six twelve hour shifts every two weeks I get to do five, three one week & two the next however I would like to arrange them. Since it is considered full time, I am able to enjoy the full time benefits including healthcare, PTO (something I haven't seen in 5 years) & being on the "nursing ladder." I ended up interviewing only at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas for a job in Labor & Delivery, was offered a position on the spot & gladly accepted. I started in mid May & enjoyed two weeks of hospital orientation & computer training. I use the word "enjoy" loosely ; ) Some of it was fun, some of it was necessary & I was glad when it was over & I could avoid going to work every day from 8-5. One really fun thing about these two weeks is that Robby & I carpooled since his office is only a few exits away from the hospital. It was about a one hour trip each way & we would laugh saying it was our "date." We loved having uninterrupted conversation while sitting in traffic & occasionally made a stop for some Chicken Biscuits from Chick-a-Lay as the girls say.
Once that two week orientation ended I started 12 hour day shifts on the unit paired with a combination of nurses to ease me into the way they do their jobs. It has been wonderful. I have been super impressed with the nursing practice & interaction with patients I have observed. The women who have come alongside me over the course of five weeks have been so welcoming & encouraging as I struggle to figure out the computer charting system they use.....thorn in my side ; ) These women have been texting me the past three days while we are in the hospital to check on us & offer help in any way. I feel very cared for already by the staff. The patients have been a lovely mix of insured & uninsured, educated & not educated, multiple nationalities, high risk & low risk but all with a baby or two that needed to exit the premises. It is frustrating to know I can take care of a patient well & so easily but then I struggle with the charting & knowing who is who & who prefers what in the physician category. I am definitely feeling more comfortable though & know I can ask questions any time I need to. Both prior places of employment have been large enough that L&D Triage is a separate unit but here it is staffed by L&D. I have really enjoyed my days in there & look forward to having something to break up the monotony of laboring patients. I will also be circulating & recovering cesarean sections which is something I have been out of for the past 2-3 years. It should be fun to break out all those cute scrub caps I sewed back in the day! All that to say, I am settling in well & will feel even better once I am back to the vampire shift ; )
As far as being Mommy by day, I am really missing the kids & looking forward to being away while they are asleep. Working full time is not a long term solution for our family but for now it is offering the financial coverage we need plus benefits as Robby goes through some transition with his job. We are grateful that God has allowed for me to continue working once a week for the past five years so I was able to easily jump back into full time when the recent circumstances arose. It's not only a "job" for me, it is something I truly enjoy doing.
Thankfully Bob & Jeannine have been loving on our four while I have been away for day shifts. They are AMAZING & the kids have done well. Once settled into our new house & night shift routine, they plan to watch the kids for about two days per month & we will have someone else cover two full days a month & morning or afternoon naps here & there if Robby is unable to fill in as needed.
I am creating...
my brain is on overdrive creating some new decor for the house including a magnetic chalkboard framed & on the wall in the school room, headboards for the girls twin beds & various other things. The first creative project that must be completed this week is a lemonade stand for a sweet girl's 5th birthday party next weekend. We will see how the week goes but it is a MUST to knock that out! I have a couple pallets I am planning to rip apart & need to pick up some paint but I have a simple design in mind & a Gaga in town to help so I should be able to get it done.
Clicking around...
I've been on Pinterest a bit this week while the hubby is recovering. Lots of pins for school planning : )
I caught up on the blog of Kevin & Lindsey Dennis & their journey through the loss of a daughter with anencephaly last year followed by baby girl number two who has been diagnosed with acrania & is due to be born later this year. I am heartbroken by their loss yet greatly encouraged by their hope in the Lord. Please take time to read & watch the video clips they have posted. They will leave you with much to ponder in light of a good & loving God.
I caught up on the blog of Kevin & Lindsey Dennis & their journey through the loss of a daughter with anencephaly last year followed by baby girl number two who has been diagnosed with acrania & is due to be born later this year. I am heartbroken by their loss yet greatly encouraged by their hope in the Lord. Please take time to read & watch the video clips they have posted. They will leave you with much to ponder in light of a good & loving God.
I am reading...
not alotta although I did manage to make it through one entire book in the span of a week. The Core, by Leigh A. Bortins who founded Classical Conversations was such a helpful book to read as we embark on our own road of classical education at home. Robby has read portions of it too & plans to finish it at some point. It gave not only a broad overview of why educate in this way but went through each individual subject & explained how to facilitate learning in this manner. It left me feeling really excited & using my eraser a bit to change our lesson plans for the fall ; )
I am praying for...
My recovering husband & our kiddos as they adjust to a Daddy who is a little out of commission in the playing department for the next week or two.
That God would lead us to a body of believers near our home that we can partner in ministry with.
That we would develop friendships easily & quickly as we settle into a new neighborhood.
I am hearing...
That God would lead us to a body of believers near our home that we can partner in ministry with.
That we would develop friendships easily & quickly as we settle into a new neighborhood.
I am hearing...
Ellie Holcomb is my new found favorite artist with a few songs that settle my heart including: As Sure as the Sun Will Rise, Love Never Fails & Anchor of Hope. Her voice is just beautiful!
Around the house...
Oh my goodness, what a week to have an emergency appendectomy?! We were partway moved into our new home in Richardson when we made a beeline for the ER so the house is partway put together, missing all living room furniture & a bed for poor little Eloise. All in due time we will be settled. I will say, even in disarray, I prefer to be there with the Valentine Six than in the hospital! I will have to do another post on the house God provided for us to rent at just the right time. It is a great story & we are looking forward to life there!
Plans for the rest of the week...
Get Robby feeling good again, unpack some boxes & build a lemonade stand!Life in Instagram:
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