Birthday Month

June first designated the first day of what I fondly call birthday month. Because I don't just want one day, I want 30! I'm still trying to convince Jackson that I should get one gift for every day, but he's not buying it. But June is just not about me. It's also the birth month of one of the dearest people I know. And while today is not her birthday (June 3rd was), I am technically not late, because it is birthday month.
This sweet girl is one of the best friends a girl could ask for. She has helped me move more times then any one person should (including a trip to Philadelphia and back), laughed with me, cried with me, put up with me on very long road trips, taken care of me when I was sick, helped me justify the purchase of several coach purses, encouraged me, stood up for me, prayed for me, and stood by me on the happiest day of my life. She has a servant's heart and is an excellent, compassionate nurse.
Several years ago I was in school full-time getting a Masters degree while also working full-time as a transport nurse in the NICU. I was in the middle of completing 620 clinical hours at the hospital. Translation: I was exhausted and spent an average of 5-6 days in the NICU and slept at the hospital 4-5 nights a week. I would head home for a quick change of clothes or to study and then head right back to the hospital. Needless to day, my house was a mess. Laundry had piled up and I didn't have the time or energy to clean. It was overwhelming and discouraging (especially to a clean freak like myself). One Saturday I got home after working a long shift to find Jenn at my house. She had cleaned everything from top to bottom, and had done all of my laundry. On her day off. On a Saturday. I was amazed and couldn't do anything but cry. To this day, I think that act of selflessness and kindness has been the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. She demonstrated the love of God to me in a real and tangible way. I can only pray that I will be as good of a friend as she has been to me, and that I will use her example as a motivation to show God's amazing love to others.









Happy Birthday Jenn. Here's to the best year ever!
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" Proverbs 17:17

It's Official

I am the world's worst blogger. And the sad thing is, I've done some fun things and had some great experiences in the time since I last posted. I've written at least ten different posts in my head, but for some reason, I just havn't been able to get around to actually putting it on the blog. I think part of it is that I'm always waiting for something bigger or better to write about. It's kind of strange really. Since April, I've spent a weekend in beautiful Savannah, met The Pioneer Woman at a book signing, seen the space shuttle take off on one of it's last missions, etc., but I was still waiting for more. But all three of my readers have been asking me to update things, so here I am. I also got a brand new camera, which I am desperately trying to learn how to use. I'm sure it will take amazing pictures once I figure it out. I'm actually thinking about signing up for a class this fall to help me learn more about it. All this to say, I have pictures of all of those fun things I listed above, they're just not on the computer yet. One of the highlights of the past few weeks for me was that our office went from a hot mess of papers, books, and randomness that my husband claimed as his own, to a sewing room with my own TV. I could not be more excited! We're still trying to take care of some of the details of the room, but I already love it. I promise to post pictures of it once it's all finished. In celebration of having my very own creative space, I have been sewing up a storm. I have two friends who are expecting and were wanting a "hooter hider" AKA nursing cover, and one of them wanted some summer dresses for her girls. So I accepted the challenge and went about getting them done. I'm pretty sure Jackson didn't see me for a couple days while I was getting them done! I think they turned out pretty well for my first attempt.


Me modeling one of the covers

Norma posing with her gift

What do you think?
Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Titus for the first time. He's the four month old son of my sweet friend from college, Laine. She and her husband were in Clearwater for work and so Jackson and I headed over there to have lunch with the three of them. I couldn't get enough of him! Here he is in all his baby cuteness!

All this and I still didn't mention the fact that I babysat the 5 Knouse kids for a few days and that Jackson and I purchased some land that will one day (God willing) be the sight of our future home (more about that in another post)!
It's been a fun, busy few weeks and I am excited to see what God is doing in my life right now. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me and encouraging me to get back to blogging. I promise I will try to be better at being consistent with it from now on, as I want to document Jackson and I's life together, and I want to keep my family and friends updated and involved. Stick with me, there's some exciting things going on and I think it's going to be a fun summer!