Cherish today...tomorrow could be totally different

Well I am totally loving life right now. I was telling my mom tonight that life is just so great. I have such a feeling of excitement about the future and what's going to happen (I have no idea what I am so excited about, but my heart is full), thankfulness for God's provision of my needs, friends and guidence, and awe of watching God work in people's lives. Light is shining through the dark cracks of peoples lives and some tough conversations have been had. Satan is doing his best to thwart any sort of gain, but I do not serve him. I serve a God who knows all, is in control of all, and has His own perfect timetable. I will cherish today, because tomorrow could be totally different. But even if I wake up and all the excitement and awe is gone...I will cherish that God is still at work doing all those things. How grateful that my hope is not placed in my feelings. He's constant, my catalyst.

A few random notes...I went to the Bodies Exhibition and Dialog In The Dark down at Atlantic Station tonight. I had mentioned I wanted to go at work and then all of the sudden four other ladies were wanting to go with me. We had a great time. Bodies was just cool and being nurses we were all fascinated. Dialog was amazing. It's an hour long tour in complete darkness where you are lead by a visually impaired individual. Ours was Dexter, he has been blind since he was four. He was incredible, always knew exactly where we were at. We asked him how he knew and he said he's just used to it, plus we all were wearing perfume which helped him distinguish us from each other. Thank you Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue...I've never been so happy to smell! After we all has a mild anxiety attack in the first room, we learned to use all of our senses and what we each depend on. Some felt like they were squinting the whole time, trying to see something and that the world was closing in. I, on the other hand felt like the room was huge, my eyes were opened wide and hated being in the middle of a room. I had to be touching something...like a wall. I needed a reference point. Even though it was so dark and you couldn't see ANYTHING it never ceased to amaze me how it could always get darker. But how? Isn't that so much like life? We walk around aimlessly, feel alone, desperately grasping whatever we can to gain some reference and trying not to get hurt. And it can always get darker. I tell myself and others all the time, "it can always get worse" You learn to get through life. By the end of the tour you are functioning pretty well. You've learned to trust your guide, you're pretty good with the stick, and your stress level has finally decreased...but nothing compares to seeing that glimmer of light peek through the curtain. I quickly picked up my pace and couldn't wait to see again. I wouldn't choose to go back in. Life with light is much better than just trying to get through without getting hurt.
Didn't mean to make that into a weird deep thought, but as I sit and think about it, it just kinda popped out. In any case, if a Dialog In The Dark comes near you. GO! It's so interesting! Here are all of us on our way to dinner...

My Tara came in for the weekend and we had an absolutely wonderful time! She's one of those people that you can just be yourself and laugh around. And we did a lot of laughing. We hit up Cirque Du Soleil: Kooza and I left once again feeling like a big lazy person. Glad I saw it though. It never failed, no matter where we went, there was someone with a super annoying laugh. Now, I like laughs, they usually make me laugh, but these laughs were not those laughs. They were obnoxious, high pitched, loud and always happening at the wrong time. Oh well, it's now a memory of ours! =)

This is one of my new favorite things to do. I cook. I cook a lot. It's cheaper and better for me than eating out all the time. And since I am single and have plenty of food for my meal, a meal for work and still have left overs...people at work and in my apartment complex get fed as well.

Also, Michael Jackson's "Don't stop till you get enough" has been in my head for literally 5 days. I'm ready for it to be gone.

I'm watching a rerun of the Office, laughing to myself and yes, I still love Jim.

2009...what do you have in store for me?

New Years is always such a bittersweet thing for me. I remember distinctly as a child when 1990 was waving goodbye and 1991 was waving hello thinking "I never get to go back! I never get to be in kindergarten again! That year is over!" Every year I think the same thing. Of course the grades changed, but the sentiment was the same. I think I get so sad because I truly do enjoy the year! I look back and am so thankful for what I've had the opportunity to do and am sad that I may never get to experience those moments again. On the other hand, sometimes I love not knowing the future and get so excited about what's to come. Some of it I think I know, but then, I really don't. It's amazing to watch dreams come true. This time last year I thought travel nursing would be fun to do, now I can't believe that I am doing it. God is so much bigger than I realize and watching Him work and orchestrate my life leaves me in awe.

I think this puts me in a good state of mind in my relationship with my loving Savior. I try to keep an eternal perspective even though it's so easy to get caught up in the here and now. I constantly have a sense of urgency that I can't shake. I feel like it's my responsibility to be Christ to everyone I come in contact with. Don't get me wrong, I know it's not me that saves them and I fail a lot. It's the Holy Spirit that convicts and draws those to God and I can always do a better job of taking the opportunities laid out before me. The future makes my heart beat fast! I don't know what's coming, all I know is that I am God's child and that he is returning! I cannot wait to see what will come about this year. Will I get to return to the DR? Where will my job take me? Who will I meet and befriend? What will my new nephew be like? This year is going to be good...

The last few weeks feel a bit like a blur. I saw the Otto's, went home for Christmas to be with the entire family, worked for three days, my parents came down for a long weekend and now I will work three more, celebrate my birthday with a friend from church and then Tara comes for a long weekend! I'm excited about going to the movies...haven't been since seeing Mamma Mia in July. P.S. While my parents were here we took in the aquarium, world of coke and Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy...which was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. It was a hour and forty five minutes of brute human strength, sickening flexibity and sheer beauty. Basically, I left feeling like a lazy and out of shape person.

Here's some pictures from Christmas and visits...
Dad and I trying 64 different coke products...I felt queezy by the time we were done

Mom and I on the Coke American Idol couch

The Ohio Family

Zach (Brother), Me and Eric (Cousin)

Emma Michelle and Laura Michelle

Asheville with the Otto's

This past weekend I had the pleasure of driving 3 hours north to meet half way with the Beth, Noah and Isabella Otto of Raleigh, NC. Beth and I have literally been best friends our entire lives. Our families are best friends. Naturally, when Beth married Noah Otto and then had a baby...they became part of my family too. Beth and I haven't lived in the same state for over 8 years, but our friendship has been made deep through growing up together, going through some tough life experiences and both knowing and loving Jesus.

We watched fireworks the first night and spent the next day seeing waterfalls and different rock formations on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It may not seem that exciting, but we were happy to just be together and hang out.

Me, Bella and Beth at the waterfall

Here's Isabella all bundled up and out of the wind. This little girl loves to smile and squeal!

Bella being loved dearly by her mom

The Otto's

I left the weekend very thankful for getting to spend time with some friends that I love so much!

Giving Up Christmas...Buckhead Style

So this morning was the singles Christmas breakfast at Buckhead Church. Seeing as how I am still new, I figured this was a good opportunity to continue to get to know more people. The even cost $5, which the church matched and then throughout the morning your group/table could win money. This included Christmas trivia, which due to our amazing amount of useless knowledge bought us a trip on stage to sing a rousing rendition of "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow", more trivia and acting out the 12 days of Christmas...thankfully, we got out of the later. With the money, you could do whatever you wanted with it, but the goal was to get the focus off yourself and to serve others. Our group ended up with $140 total...and this is what we did.

We at table 53 decided to split our money. We gave $50 to another table so that they could sponser 2 kids at Safeway. With the remaining money we decided to buy fruit, donuts, muffins and hot coffee to take to the park and give out to the homeless. We walked around for a while and only found a few people to share our goods.Our journey led us downtown to a United Mission House. There were so many men lined up on the side of the building. It was a little intimidating at first. A worker told the guys that they can't bum rush us and this will be done in an orderly fashion. They let us go in and we went to work passing out coffee and food. I looked at the line and then at the amount of food we had. I thought "Lord, you have to multiply this because we aren't going to have enough!" Sure enough, by the end of the line, every person had at least one thing to eat if not more...and we had nothing but cream and sugar left over. What a lesson of how God provides all that we NEED, both for us and them. Some of the men when we offered them more even said "Oh, I'm full!" they were so thankful and respectful, no threat of a stampede. We all left full of joy and by the time we got back to the car we couldn't wait to give thanks. A great morning, an eventful afternoon and a precious moment of prayer. I just moved here three weeks ago and this was the exact thing I was hoping to find. What a blessing getting to bless others!

I continue to meet some very cool people and am having a blast...

So Much To Be Thankful For...

Wow, where do I begin? I am a "glass half full" kind of lady, so I am completely enjoying life right now, but I can't help thinking..."this can't last forever...it's just too good!"

I have settled in to Atlanta quite nicely. I completed my orientation and finish up my first week on my own tonight. I can't get over how nice everyone is! I love the hospital. It has everything you need to be a good nurse! Of course, I really like the people on nights as third shifters, well we tend to be a breed all our own. I like the humor and atmosphere. I get called things like "youngster" "love" and "little darlin'" I kinda chuckle to myself everytime I hear it. One guy calls me Katie...he thinks I look like one. I could be called worse, so I don't mind.

I went to Buckhead again and don't really plan on visiting any other church while I am here. I just love going there. It's a lot like Apex...only bigger. I thought it would be weird to watch Andy on a screen but they have it set up so that he is actually lifesize and the churches have the same back drop so you can't even tell that you're watching a screen! I laughed the first week when people would answer back and talk like he was there, but I found myself doing it the second week. I met a super nice couple my first week and we went out to breakfast this past week. They introduced me to a fun single gal who I am going to go to the Singles Christmas party with this Saturday. I am hoping to meet some more people!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun! I drove down to Valdosta to meet up with my brother and my sister in laws family. Of course Emma and I had a great time! She is the funniest little girl! Zach and Jordan announced that they are expecting! She is due in June and we are all beside ourselves with excitement! Christmas is going to be wonderful! I am flying home Christmas Eve to meet up with the whole family to be together. Then I will drive back with Zach, Jordan and Emma. Here are a couple pics from Thanksgiving...





So all in all, I have NOTHING to complain about and bask in the many blessings from God. Great Family, great job, great city and great people...my heart is full. I won't wait for the other shoe to drop, I will simply revel in the life God has given me.

Georgia On My Mind

Ok, so arrived safely in Atlanta with an uneventful trip down. I haven't done much of anything out on the town yet, except for grocery shopping, but even that was enjoyable. This is just a very convienient city. Everything is just around the corner or right up the road. And so far, as long as I avoid the highways, the traffic hasn't been unbearable. I started orientation today and already feel like I am going to love it here. I am preparing to be a little overwhemled next week when I start on the unit. It's twice the size of what I am used to, but they have amazing resources here. There are two other travelers in orientation right now and we've had a good time talking about past assignments and homes. Below are pictures of my apartment. Keep in mind, I took these tonight, so in your head add a TON of sunlight and a balcony on the 7th floor! I can't wait for a warm day so I can open my balcony doors from both my living room and bedroom, drink a cup of coffee and relax. Also looking forward to going to Buckhead Church this weekend! I am so excited to find a Bible preaching/teaching church so quickly. They're much harder to find than I thought they would be. I'll let you know how it goes! Here's my bedroom looking into the bathroom

The bathroom with two huge closets

Looking at the living room into the kitchen

The kitchen...with a WASHER AND DRYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Standing at my front door

How Can I Not Love Them!?!

Sorry I have not posted about the trip to the DR sooner. It's one of those things you process over time. I guess I will approach it in two ways...group and individual. As a group, I was very proud of the enthusiasm that was put forth by the group during the clinics and village visits we did. We saw every pre-schooler and his/her family. Once you add in that the families can be large, it was a lot of people! We also saw every kid at the after school program that was there that day, among many in the villages. It was amazing to see how much can be accomplished by a group and not just one person (AKA...me...in May) I had to laugh because everything I did was usually repeated because people would just be so eager to help. Rest assured, almost every kid in my group was listened to approx three times. It was so great to see the kids again! Here is a picture of our group as we left. The picture coming back wouldn't be pretty...half the group was sick.

On a personal note, it was much harder than I was expecting. This was the hardest trip for me to the DR to date. While I love being around and enjoy people's company, I like to do my own thing. The ironic thing is...I am a big team player at work and feel it absolutely essential for an emergency room to run smoothly, but at the same time I was the student who despised group work. When it comes to accomplishing tasks together...I have a hard time. Being a travel nurse, you get used to doing a lot on your own and have to become very self sufficient. It's not an option to rely on others, at least not for a couple weeks until you are comfortable with the staff and start creating friends. In May, I was on my own. I had staff there and couldn't have got by without them, but if I needed some time, I could just hop on a moto, grab a bite to eat and then sit while watching the ocean. I felt like I was in a constant battle of wanting to make sure everyone in the group was getting the most out of their experience and wanting to (let's call a spade a spade) take control. I have to say I was a little disappointed with my attitude. Things that shocked me the first time are familiar to me the third. I felt so selfish and like I was giving Satan a foothold to let little things annoy me. By the end of the week, the Lord prevailed. All kinks with the clinic were worked out within an hour...with no input from me. Everyone being so eager to do medical things left me with nothing to do...until I got to step outside and just hug and love on the kids I so desperately wanted to see. Just like so many other times in my life, I look at things I want to do and think that I know the most efficient way of doing something and God says "No Laura, you need to step back. You are just a person that I created and I want you to do this my way...the right way" Looking back, there's nothing I would have changed about how the clinics ran. Why? Because God knew better. While planning and organizing trips are some of my favorite things to do, I'm learning when to step back. In God's Kingdom, we truly are a body and must work together. You have to love others and learn to work with everyone. Here a just a few of the 2,000+ pictures that were taken.



The new staff down there is amazing. I was a little nervous, not knowing how we'd all click since I had lived with the last staff and loved them dearly. My heart overflows with the new people God has placed down there with Anne, Garrett, Robin, Cara and Sharla. They are a fun group of people and I look forward to getting to know them even better. I found myself often just wanting to stay up and chat with them...and laugh. Things seem funnier in the Dominican. Here's a picture with Robin and Cara in Cabarete...discussing my return.

Tomorrow I move to Atlanta Georgia to embark on my new assignment. I am so excited! A different excited from Philly since I know a little more what to expect. I just feel like God is going to do some big things there. I am so looking forward to already knowing a church to go to and having some extended family and friends close by. This time I go by myself. I would give anything to have my Mom or Dad with me when I walk into the apartment and stay for a week and get to know my way around a little bit. But this is not the case...so I face this adventure with Jesus. He and I are going to have road trip.

Sorry this was not and upbeat Laura post...I have lots to learn.