>> Reflections on Nursing School: Year One

I am officially done with my first year of nursing school! At times the year seemed to fly and at other points it felt as if I would be in school forever. Honestly, I cannot believe how much I have learned and grown in one year! I am so excited for what lies ahead and can't wait to start my senior year in a couple of weeks. When I began school in August, I wasn't completely positive what type of nursing I would pursue after school, or even if I was sure that I had chosen the right major. But this year has shown me that this career is exactly what I want to do. It involves so many different aspects that I love - kindness, science, caring, medicine (which is always growing & fascinating), love, and most importantly - people. I can remember back to my first day of clinical and how I was terrified to have my first patient - I had no idea what to do! But each and every person that I have been privileged to help care for has taught me a new lesson and blessed me along the way.

At the beginning of this semester, I was reminded of how beautiful it is to connect with people. I was taking care of an older gentleman and his goal for the day was to learn about white blood cells (mostly because his own were high due to fighting an infection) - simple enough!  I took the time to sit down with him for ten minutes and talk to him about the different kinds of white blood cells, what they did in the body, and why they are so important.. he was so touched that I did this for him that he spent the next two days telling everyone about it. He told his nurse, my instructor, the ultrasound technician, the hospital transporter and more.. and all it took was ten minutes of my time to let him know that someone cared for him and loved him.

For years, the most trusted profession (above doctors, police officers, teachers, & firefighters) has been Nurses. After this year, I understand why. We have the opportunity to comfort, to care for, to advocate for, to support, to teach, and to nurse. What a tremendously big and beautiful job we are allowed to do. I am incredibly thankful for my education so that I can do this job to the best of my ability. It is a sweet blessing to show the love of Christ throw the art & science of nursing.

There were many days of clinical that we watched the snow fall down outside the hospital.

Second semester clinical group!

Brain dissections in Anatomy & Physiology lab. :)

My buddy Alexis for my first & third semester clinical rotation. :)

Three amigas on clinical during our summer semester. :)

 Thank you to my sweet friends and family who have loved me so richly over the past year. Thank you for the hugs, for the food, for your sweet prayers over me, for encouraging and loving me. I am so thankful for all my sweet friends I've made at school this year.. we're all in this crazy whirlwind together! This year has been oh-so challenging but I would do it all over again. I am abundantly thankful & blessed. Bring on senior year! :)

>> Life in Squares: March

Hey friends. I'm super crazy busy with nursing school, work, and general life things (church, friends, bf, ect) and it's hard to find time to sit down and blog. So I decided to try something next, and that's to give you a peak into my life via my instagrams.
I give you..my life in squares.

01. PB cookies are my fav.   

002. I finally finished Seven by Jen Hatmaker. It was excellent, go read it.   

03. Foggy day?
04 & 05. It snowed, I played with my new Fuji Instax.   

06. Banana crumb muffins are another fav.
 07. Andrea & I went on a photo adventure   

08. Mike & I went to Philly   

09. The Magic Gardens in Philadelphia. 

 010. Scenes from my commute.   

011 & 012. Sheep and a door at the Daniel Boone Homestead, went hiking with a friend.

013. I celebrated my 21 birthday and bought a kayak!!   

014. Flowers and my favorite yellow cardigan   

015. Goodwill finds.

016. Progress on my cross-stitch project.  

017. Snow on tree.   

018. Mural and my favorite yellow cardigan makes an appearance.. again. ;)

There were a lot of other things that happened, but those are some highlights. :) In care you're wondering, all photos were taken with my Samsung Galaxy S5. 

>> 15 in 2015

My best friends & I sat around a campfire on New Years Day night and we all constructed a bucket list of things we want to accomplish this year. Originally, mine was only twelve long.. but I figured fifteen was more fitting for the year 2015. ;)

01. Finish my quilt

02. Complete my 2013 photobook

03. Hammock in 3 new places

04. Crosstitch Charleston pattern

05. Complete local TCV geo-trail 

06. Learn to mix a drink ;)

07. Volunteer at the shelter 3 times

08. Read 6 books

09. Walk 3 miles every week

10. Establish a daily quiet time

11. Shoot a roll of film

12. Create a monthly budget

13. Learn to cook 3 new meals

14. Visit an aquarium

15. Send out 2 letters a month

Some of them are goals.. some of them at bucket-list kind of things.. either way, if I get ten done this year, I'll be pleased. :) 2014 was a rough but good year, so I'm looking forward to the fresh start of 2015! 

>> New Design

I'm not sure if you've noticed (it should be fairly obvious ;)) but the ole' blog has a new design! I spent many an hour working on it this weekend and I finally finished it. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, although I might make a few more tweaks here and there. :) If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Travel Logs page! You can easily find my adventures by location to read more about them. It's a great place to find ideas for new adventures! I'm also working on changing my URL to my own domain and simultaneously switching over to my new name. There are lots of exciting changes on the way for my business and I'm so excited to move forward. 

PS: Props to my amazing sis for the new photo of me! It's not often I get on the other side of the camera. ;)

Tuesday Tidbits

Happy Tuesday friends! I actually found time to blog, hooray!
001. My favorite season is winding down, so that's a bummer. We did had a gorgeous autumn this year and I took an abundance of photos I'll share through the next couple months. Fortunately, I love winter too.. so I'm quite happy with the brisk air and snowy forecast. :) 

 002. I had a great number of clients in October! Two families, two seniors, one engagement, and one baby. I am so thankful for the people who trust me with to capture their lives, what a gift!

  003. This fall held many miles walked on trails & roads. I actually walked over 45 miles in October, so that's pretty cool. Definitely more on the hike in the photo above (rainy day on the AT) soon. :)

004. This is my best buddy, she's kind of the best.
005. Everyone keeps asking me how school is going (I love that people do :)) and I can honestly say it's going well. I am excelling in my classes and I find them interesting & challenging. That being said, it is hard work and nothing like I've ever done before. For example.. this weekend I spent 15+ hours studying. Yikes.

006. To end on a super duper awesome note... I am going to Savannah in December!! I am so happy to go back to this city (we spent a few hours there on our way to FL two years ago) and I couldn't be more excited. So if you've ever been in Charleston (we might stop there on the way) or Savannah, let me know any suggestions you have ! 

Thanks for reading friends, ♥ you all!

Life & Thoughts & Such

The month of October was a quick yet beautiful blur. It brought major changes into my life that were hard to deal with. I'm still in the process of figuring out normal again and adjusting to the hollow space where a sweet and wonderful person belongs. Still, I rejoice to know that this goodbye here on earth was not the last and there will be a joyful reunion one day with myself and the ones I know love Jesus as well..but some days it's still hard.

I was also very busy with schoolwork (averaging one exam per week, sometimes two), multiple photo sessions, and I even squeezed in a few good hikes with friends. I love when life is busy and keeps me on my toes, but this weekend has been a wonderful relaxing break and I am abundantly thankful for it.

Speaking of thanks, from this day until Thanksgivings, I'll be compiling a list of three things I am thankful for every day. If you'd like to join me, just hashtag it #27daysofthanks on Instagram or throw a link in the comments down below and I'll be sure to check it out.
Thanks for reading friends, your encouragement is a blessing. :)

Tuesday Tidbits

Hey friends, happy first day of Fall! With the entrance of Autumn, Tuesday tidbits is back! I missed blogging about life and decided to give it a second go around. We'll see how it goes. :)
001. SO, Mike & I learned how to make sushi. It seems to get more delicious with each attempt! Tonight's menu included mango, crab meat (imitation) and avocado. It was definitely our favorite and best so far. We're going to try raw fish soon!

002. Nursing school is in full swing (one exam last week, two today, one for the next 4+ weeks) and it's crazy but I love it. I like my professors, I'm making friends, and I'm enjoying what I'm studying. Don't get me wrong, it is hard, but it's rewarding.

 003. I actually made a recipe I found on Pinterest - baked apple slices! They are delicious and I now make them two times a week.. at least. ;)

  004. This is kind of unrelated to the picture, but I finally upgraded to the world of smartphones. I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S5 and I love it ! All of the photos above were taken with it actually. I am super impressed with the quality and it's fun finding all sorts of cool things my phone does. :)

005. Side note: I got an Instagram, check it out!

 006. Mike & I had the privilege of watching two sweet friends get married on Sunday. We love them so much and had a wonderful time. :) These last few photos are from the wedding.

 The wedding was at a castle. It was great.

 Taylor & Andrew were there as well.. we always enjoy their company. :)

 :)

 007. Super awesome fantastic wonderful news: I'm going to be one of this lovely girl's bridemaids because SHE'S GETTING MARRIED! I am just so so so soo happy for her and Andrew. I love them together. It makes me happy. :)
Oh and bubbles also make both of us happy, even though we're kinda adults now.
Happy Tuesday, friends. ♥

Changing Seasons

Well, this is the story of the past month of my life. My routine of full-time work (the past year) has officially ceased. Actually, to be precise it ended a little over a month ago.. but we'll get there. 

Where did we leave off? Oh, that's right. I was heading to Victory Valley for a week of counseling fun! It was a truly wonderful and blessed week. If I ever find the time, I'll write more about it. My seven girls (all 13 & 14) were all lively, excited to be there, passionate to learn, and eager to discuss God's Word and dive deeper. It was a wonderful week (it flew by) and I was so blessed to be their counselor! There was only one minor glitch in the week, on Thursday I hurt my little finger playing football. The nurse figured it was sprained, taped it up, and set me off. I was still in a lot of pain, but powered through until the following Monday when I was finally convinced it might be more than sprained. Multiple x-rays later, it was indeed fractured over halfway through the bone! Yikes. So for the next four weeks, I wore this super fun splint and used my finger as an excuse not to do icky things. ;)

After camp, I finished my last week at Chick-Fil-A. It was bittersweet, and I'm already missing my sweet coworkers already. Fortunately the store is only a couple minutes from school, so I can visit them every once in a while. I am enjoying not eating chicken every day, it's nice to have some variety. ;)

I rocked the finger brace as I packed up the tents, grill, and other camping supplies because my best friends & I were headed to Boston! Our time in Boston was the highlight of my summer. We walked the Freedom Trail, ate delicious food, explored the Art Museum, went whale watching, hiked through old forts, and so much more. It was great. 

From Boston, I traveled a few hours north to Maine for three nights on the island of Vinalhaven. For those of you who don't know, VH is a beautiful & quiet island about sixteen miles off the coast. One of my best friends hosted us and I joined a few of her college friends for a wonderful time on the island. We kayaked (a lot), went boating, hiking, and geocaching. It was so relaxing and I'm so thankful for the chance to visit again!

After I got back from Maine, my family left on our vacation to California. My Dad travels a lot, so we were able to get airfare, car rental, and hotel nights all for free! We traveled all over the state, but my favorites were visiting San Francisco and Sequoia National Park. 

We came home on Thursday, and on that Monday I started four-day orientation for nursing school. It went well, and I'm now in my second week of classes. I am spending quite a bit of my time studying, but I am enjoying it so far! My professors seem very nice and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. Although I'm saying that now, remind me of that in a few weeks when I'm memorizing every bone in the human body. ;)

So, thanks for all the prayers and hugs over the past month. It's been crazy but I've loved it. In case you're wondering, my finger is healing nicely and I've been out of the splint for over a week.
I'll periodically post a few photos & share my adventures, but if not, I'll see you in two years when nursing school is over. Ha ha! 

Love you all! ♥

To Camp, To Camp!

I don't have much time for words, so I'll make this short and sweet. :)

I am heading back to the Valley (my home for the past three summers) for a week of counseling teenagers! I am excited, nervous, and praying the Lord will work through me. I'll be back on Saturday and would very much appreciate your prayers until then. Much love! ♥

Tuesday Tidbits

Hey! It's been a while since I posted any Tuesday tidbits due to my absolutely crazy month of June. If I'm being honest, July is probably going to be just as nuts. But I love love love life like this. It's been good.

001. Strawberries and blueberries are my summer breakfast. I'm popping blueberries into my mouth as I blog right now. Mhmmm.

002. A few of my favorite humans were visiting from Georgia on Saturday! I got to catch up, eat lunch, and blow bubbles with them. :)

 003. Not just any bubbles..  giant bubbles.

 004. I was at the beach earlier this month. Hannah & I were given a plastic kite and we tried to fly it..it didn't work. But it was fun anyways. :)

 005. Phoe & I scored this gem at a yard sale a few weeks ago. The next time we head to the beach (tomorrow!) we're going to try flying it! So excited.

006. I found myself back at camp last week. I was only there a day, but it was so good to help out, cook over a fire, and just be in the woods.

007. Happy news: two of my best friends are dating! We all went down to Philly this weekend and I took some pictures of them. They are kind of the cutest ever. 

008. Summer has been beautiful so far. I am having a blast. I'll share more adventures with you when I can. But right now, living life is a lot better than blogging it. Until next time, thanks for stopping by. :)

The Day We Rode A Train

Whenever there is an option for a train ride, you can count me in.

Add in a few friends, the clickity-clack of the tracks, a sunny summer day, the beautiful scenery of Lancaster County, and you have a recipe for a lovely day!

Rule 1# - The Railroad is not responsible for any delays caused by livestock on the tracks.

Rule #4 - Positively no shooting of pheasants or cattle from the train.

Rule #6 - All male passengers must assist crew in shoveling snow or pushing if nessacary.

And don't forget, passengers are properly warned to keep heads and arms inside windows in case of falcon attacks.

Those two black specks/birds are bald eagles! You can also see their huge nest in the same tree but to the left.

We all had a lovely time in Lancaster. I love that summer gives the option for spontaneous train rides. Life is so good. :)