I'll wear my Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it!

                                                                HAPPY EASTER!!!

           I know what you are probably thinking, "why are you up so late?". Well, I had work late tonight and I have been meaning to write again. After the night I had, I definitely have a new appreciation for life. Anyways, before I get to that I'd like to ramble a bit. If you don't want to read the 'ramble' go ahead and scroll down to the paragraph that starts with 'tonight'.

           Here's an update on Devin: He found a place that was within his price range in Orlando. He moved in March 25th and is finally settled in now that he has the futon he has been wanting. It's a one bedroom, one bath with a living room and kitchen. There isn't a driveway per say and there isn't a garage, but it's all he really needs. It's on a good side of town close to restaurants and grocery stores and such. It's also super close to his school, so he will only have to drive 15 min. SUPER CLOSE!

          He starts school Monday. He got his uniform shirts at orientation on Wednesday. He is super excited. I am really proud of him. He is doing what he has dreamed of doing. He is very motivated and determined to become a well renowned motorcycle builder/technician! :)
 

             Update on my school: Chem 2 is kicking my ass! This past test I felt so ready, but apparently I need to know more about Ch.15 than I thought I did so I struggled with those questions. In the end, he graded with a curve so my grade went from a 73 to an 84! Yes, I did a happy dance when I saw it! My math classes aren't too bad. My algebra teacher is horrible. We finally had our test monday after many cancellations.My stats teacher is awesome! We have a test thursday.

             Update on the fam: Janna has decided to become an english teacher and then do counseling. Dad and Karen are good. Karen had her thyroid removed but everything was ok. Her biopsy came back negative! Dad's back has been hurting him, but other than that he has been good. He learned how to make a bunny out of origami so he has been busy :)

              Devin's family is doing well. They are the same loving, caring, generous people as they have always been. I am so blessed to have such great in laws. Sorry I just had to brag about that.

             I'm missing Dev a lot so it's nice to be able to hang out with family every now and then. It's not the same, but it helps. Major misses Dev a lot too. He has started to adapt, but you can tell he is still expecting Devin to walk in the door any minute.

               This upcoming week isn't going to be too eventful. Monday is class as always tuesday is the same way. One of my best friends, whom I met in Korea, is coming to visit me on Wednesday. SOOO EXCITED!!! Thursday is my stats test and then friday and the weekend is work work work.

            So I bought this Jergens lotion called Jergens natural glow because I need a tan bad. I don't want to go lay out and I don't want to spend the money on getting a spray tan, so Janna used this before and said it really worked. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I just started putting it on friday night and this morning I could already tell the difference. No lie go get some!

                                            Now onto my eventful evening........

            Tonight, I started with a new client. I was pretty much terrified that I wasn't going to be able to handle it. I kept telling myself, "just think who else is going to do this? this person needs help with everyday things. you can do this." So I would do what she would ask within reason of course if my job allowed it as well.  Once my shift was over, I drove home thinking about how I need to take care of myself better so I don't end up in sticky situations sooner that I'd like in my life. Yes, old age just happens and with old age we begin to fall apart, but if my body can fall apart late in my life such as my 80's or so then I'd say I did pretty darn good. I know that nursing is a rewarding field. Seeing people die, bring life to the world, recover from injuries and so forth, but being a caregiver is also very rewarding. I am getting to help people remain in the comfort of their own homes. It's truly amazing how with some staying at home really encourages them in a way to move around more. Pretty much what I am getting at is I have realized how precious life is. I realized that when my mom passed away. I didn't regret anything with her. I said what I wanted to say to her and spent the time that I could with her as well. It's still hard knowing she is truly gone, but thank God for family and the support they give.
              Anyways, when you go to church today or run errands perhaps throughout the week or go out for a bite to eat, look around your surroundings and for a second put yourself in someone else's shoes. Whether you truly know the person or not just try it. Trust me I think you will feel an appreciation for the life you have. I understand that life gets hard and when we are already down it feels like we are getting stomped on even harder, but remember in the back of your mind that things could always be worse and that someone else is most likely in a worse position than you. So go out tomorrow or later in the week and don't be inpatient when you are waiting in a long check out line because someone has a lot of coupons or they are needing to take their time putting their wallet away or getting their items. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you like to feel rushed? Would you like to hear comments being made that are directed towards you? Don't be inpatient when trying to find a parking spot. Remember some people who really need the handicap stop may not be able to park there because they are all taken and now they have to walk from the back of the parking lot to the entrance with their walker or get pushed in a wheelchair.

              Those are just a few situations that I'd like to give you as examples, but seriously. Go out and try to see things from another's perspective. I promise you will feel like a different person at the end of the day.

           Again, Happy Easter and praise the lord for rising and forgiving us of our sins!
    
                                                             GOD IS GOOD!


P.S. The title of today's blog is a song my mom use to sing to Janna and I on Easter while she was cooking in the kitchen or getting ready for church. I heard the song tonight so I thought I'd share it :)
         
           

Spring Break+Devin's Last Week

                    So I started my Spring Break off to a good start...sinus infection. Yep, I woke up Friday morning feeling like I got hit by a truck. I called into work and got the weekend off due to being contagious. Thank God for mucinex and this prescription nose spray! They were miracle workers! I went back to work Tuesday and now I'm doing some laundry and catching up on TV shows while Devin goes on one last bike ride with his uncle and dad.
                    He leaves Saturday for Florida. It's bittersweet. I know going to MMI and becoming a motorcycle technician will be the best thing. He loves to work on motorcycles so I'm sure he will do great! He eventually wants to open up his own shop once he has some experience under his belt. Florida is so far away and he is going to be gone for 16 months. Fortunately, I can visit in the summer and in the fall. He will only have school in the morning during the week so he will have weekends off. The plus to him being out of the Army and in the real world is he doesn't have to wait to get approved to go on vacation. I know when he gets a job he will have to request off and what not, but it won't be such a hassle like it was in the Army.
                     I'm not gunna lie at times we do miss the consistent paycheck, but the emotional toll and stress we faced daily was just too much. I couldn't stand having a plan made and set and ready to go and then all of a sudden we had to cancel or rearrange things. Whenever we wanted to go on vacation, he got docked days and we had to wait for approval and sometimes it wouldn't get approved because of someone else might have requested the same days. It was just an overall P.I.A! ( Pain in the ass)
                  Now he is going to go to MMI and get certified to be a motorcycle technician so he can work at Harley. Since there are so many harley dealers in San Antonio, his family and mine will be within reach. On the weekends, we can hang out with each other or friends or family. It's really nice to know that after all this time we will finally be in one place with all of our family close by. I know it was only 3 years that he was in the Army, but with as much crap we had to deal with it, honestly. it felt like we were in the Army for 20 years!

                    Anyways, moving on from that.... we had dinner with devin's best friend George and his wife Courtney the other day. They just had a little girl last year and she is adorable! Everytime we go over there I can't help but to pick her up and squeeze her! Devin hadn't held her yet, which was kinda shocking to me. Courtney's mom passed her over and then later Devin picked her up on his own. I told him he has 4 years to still be "selfish" :) His mom thinks it'll be less. Hahaha

                     Let's see what else did we do. Well Monday we had a husband and wife day since I didn't have work or school. We went to Bass Pro Shop, a Pet Store, went over to his parent's house for a little bit and went to the shooting range. Tuesday, Dev went to the driving range with his dad and I went to work :/ then yesterday I had work and Dev helped my dad and Karen around the back yard. Then, we stayed the night at his parent's house to have dinner, watch a movie, and hang out with his mom,dad, sister, brother-in-law, and our niece and nephew.

                          Overall, I'd say we have had a pretty good week. He is out on his motorcycle ride with his uncle and dad like I said earlier in this post. I have work this afternoon and then Dev is going to pack later. Tomorrow we plan on having lunch or dinner with my dad and karen and then going to see a movie. I have work too.

         Well I guess I'll continue with laundry... :)