Voting

I was watching ABC Worldnews Tonight and Peter Jennings is over in Iraq. They soon will be making history, voting for the first time. He made a comment that stuck with me. "Iraqi's are going to the polls in the next few hours, courageously, doing something that us American's take for granted at times...voting."
I hope and pray that all goes well and that the Iraqi's who want to vote can. The power to vote is an awesome one and a privilage. They are all courageous in my eyes also. God speed to them, prayers to them, our troops and all of us.

yes, yes, yes!!

I got a 98 on my test last night! WOOOO! lol All I can say is thank goodness for extra credit :)
Just had to share :)

Later!

TGIF!!

I woke up this morning so looking forward to it being Friday. Of course today will consist of my Friday ritual of cleaning house but I have no classes! I really do enjoy going to school but have felt so overwhelmed. I know that this weekend will be studying but maybe I can feel like I can catch up alittle if that makes sense. I think my test last night in medical terms went okay. I'll find out later today. Now we are on the digestive and respiratory systems. Which is good because the digestive system ties in with my Monday class, Diet and Nutrition Therapy where we are learning, yep, the digestive system. Woo Bonus! lol

My thoughts are always with the soldiers in Iraq but even more so with the elections coming up. We haven't heard anything from Nathan, mom is going to call his mom later today. I just wish there was peace and they could all come home safely. There are so many flights leaving from here, 3rd ID, that Hunter and Ft. Stewart are starting to look deserted. Ben is going in on Sunday to help with transporting the soldiers from Ft. Stewart to Hunter so they can fly out. I remember those feelings all too well, so much sadness and worry. Prayers to the families also.

On a lighter note...Ben is taking me out to dinner tonight, just him and I! We haven't done that in so long and I'm really looking forward to it. It's silly because I was thinking, wow what are we going to talk about? lol I know like I said silly! Mom is still here so she is going to watch the kids and they are going to make spaghetti tonight. Her flight leaves on Sunday. We're hoping for good weather but there might be a possiblity for sleet in Atlanta then and that is where her connecting flight is. Wait and see.

Have a great Friday! :)

Is it Friday yet? lol

I feel like I am on overload and hopefully it will pass soon. It just seems like there isn't enough time in the day. I have a test today in Intro to Healthcare. We have to show how to correctly wash your hands, yes there is a correct way in the medical field, put on our mask, goggles, gown and gloves, how to correctly open up a sterile field and how to take off our mask, goggles, gown and gloves if they have become contaminated. It's fairly easy just alot of steps to remember. Tomorrow is another big test for Medical Terminology. We are going over the cardio, lymphatic and immune systems. The body is an amazing structure! Don't even ask about the Diet and Nutrition Therapy class,lol, too much to remember!

I called Nanci yesterday to check in to see how Nikki was doing. She is home now and had her staples taken out on Tuesday. Physically she is doing better, emotionally it will take time. The adoptive parents have called the adoptive agency to make sure Nikki is okay which I think is really nice of them to do that. In an open adoption they are required to send Nikki some letters and pictures the first year, it all goes through the agency first but they told her they wanted to keep in contact with her for longer. They seem like wonderful people. My heart goes out to all of them.

The kids are doing fine. We have parent teacher conferences next Friday. Justin really brought up his social studies grade. He had a 76 but this last report card he brought it up to a 95! He sometimes has a hard time grasping a concept but once you go over it with him a few times he will get it. He is such a smart kid and a great reader. Caitlin is gearing up for her big spelling bee next week. I am so nervous for her! Matthew goes to school early on Fridays for a book club that they have. It's a good way to get him to read. He likes to read but would rather go outside and play basketball. Typical boy! lol

My friend Myriam is having some medical problems. She may have to go in and have a partial hysterectomy. Keep her in your prayers please!

Well that's all here in chilly Savannah....Friday couldn't come fast enough for me,lol. Have a great day and thanks for continuing to read this journal :)

Life

After class yesterday I went to the hospital to see Nikki. The baby is so cute. Nanci and her husband, Kevin, were there. I can tell this is going to be a hard day today. Today they all have to say goodbye to him. Just holding him yesterday I knew that he would be okay. I'm not sure how I knew I could just feel it. The adoptive parents were there and they seem to be very nice people. Open adoption seems to be the best option....these people want to keep Nikki informed of how the baby is doing when they take him on to a certain point. I just know today will be hard for all of them so thanks for the prayers. I gave Nikki a small cermanic plaque that says on it "With God by my side I can get through anything" It was just an extraordinary thing yesterday watching all of them interact together and I feel blessed that I could be a part of it just for a few moments. I'll keep you all up to date on how Nikki is doing.

On to other things....Caitlin won her school spelling bee yesterday! She will be in the District one next month. Way to go Caitlin Ü
I have another big medical terminology test this evening...I think my brain is on overload! lol

Today is the Inauguration of our President. Prayers that the next 4 years will go smoothly and that maybe there will be a glimmer of peace.

A gift

As I look at my 3 children I know that they are a precious gift from God. So knowing this makes this story even more special I think. My neighbor and friend Nanci has a step daughter who she has raised since the girl was 2. Nikki has had a lot of emotional problems, some of which was due to the fact her biological mother didn't take care of her when she was pregnant with her, and has really tried to make the right choices in her life. Nanci has been her true mom, being there every step of the way and some of the roads have been extremely hard. Last year Nikki who was 17 found out she was pregnant. She knew that she wouldn't be responsible enough to take care of her baby and didn't want to burden her own family with it so she made a choice to go to The Living Vine in Savannah where they help teens who are pregnant, give them a place to stay, try to find adoptive parents for their babies and give them skills for the outside world. It's really a remarkable place and they are doing a lot of good there. Nikki helped pick the adoptive parents and had several meetings with them. Nanci said that they are good people who have been trying to have a child of their own for 15 years now. Nikki is at peace with her decision. I've kept in touch with her and she came over during Christmas, gave me a big hug and told me how much she appreciated my support. She has always had a special place in my heart the past 2 years we have lived here. Nanci called me last night in tears, Nikki gave birth to a beautiful baby boy and thankfully they are both okay. It was touch and go for alittle while though. This is an open adoption so Nikki will be able to have the baby in her room for the next 48 hours. I know how difficult this has to be for her and letting go will be the hardest thing but she has truely gave this couple a gift and a blessing.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963

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The sun is shining....

so hopefully it will be a nice warm day....ok I'll settle for no rain. It's been raining the past couple of days and so windy outside. Winter isn't over yet!

I took my first Medical Terminology test Thursday and the instructor emailed us our test results. I got a 100!! I missed 3 but she had 3 extra credit questions I got right. I studied so very hard for this test. There are a lot of terms to remember, body parts, functions, prefixes, suffixes etc. It feels like all I do is study but I know that in the end it will pay off.

We all have a 3 day weekend together. Tonight my friend Myriam has invited us over for a BBQ....I hope the weather holds out. I'm looking forward to going anyway and chilling with friends.

I'm hoping our W2 gets here soon so we can go and get our taxes done. One less thing to worry about anyway.

Have a great weekend! Prayers for all who have or are experiencing bad weather!

Raining on Sunday

We have has such beautiful weather this past week and actually do need the rain. It's early so hopefully it will clear off. It's nice to hear the rain on the roof though, peaceful in a way.

My friend and neighbor Nanci, came over yesterday and we chatted for alittle while. We go to the same church and I noticed that she has been absent for a few Sundays. They are the type of family who never, I mean never, misses church. Our family on the other hand does but we still have our faith and thats all that matters I think. Anyway the Sundays that I do go I had noticed that the "vibe" just wasn't right but I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe thats why I have skipped the past few Sundays? Apparently there was a member of this church for some reason spreading lies about not only Nanci's family but a few others. I don't understand why people do this and still call themselves christians. Nanci had it and they left the church and have found another one. She said the pastor is trying to handle it the best way he can but they no longer felt comfortable going and I don't blame her one bit. After hearing this I don't feel comfortable going. So I'm thinking of checking out a local church here,they have 2 worship services one early and one later. It just feels good to be in church on some sundays, can't explain it. It makes me sad for the other church though.

Friday evening Ben and I went out with 2 of his friends and their girlfriends in downtown Savannah. Mattie is leaving the military and going back to Colorado and wanted us to help celebrate his last night in town. Matt, the other one, is going to Italy for 3 years. That's where we wanted to go! lol He is leaving Monday. We had such a good time and you could see the bond between these 3 especially since they all had went to Iraq together. They promised to keep in touch and let us know when they had made it safely to their destinations.

Tomorrow I start my full schedule of classes....Mondays I have Introduction to Healthcare and Nutrition and Diet Therapy, Wednesdays I have Introduction to Healthcare and Thursdays I have Medical Terminology. I am taking my computer class online. Wish me luck! lol

The kids all brought home their report cards Friday. Caitlin made high honor roll, Matthew made honor roll and Justin has A's and B's :) They all are doing fantastic and I had to brag :)

Have a great Sunday and continued prayers for our soldiers and for the tsunami victims.

Whew what a night!

You would think that some things are easy right? lol of course not! Last night with book and paper in tow I arrive at the college with 20 minutes to spare. I like to get there early on the first day to find my classroom, etc. I know I must have looked like a dork trying to find my classroom which seemed to vanish like in an episode of the Twilight Zone, it just wasn't in the place that the administration office said it would be. So thankfully they were all still there and I asked. They looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Oh honey this is a class in one of the hospitals." Excuse me?? Where is the person who said it was here I would love to speak to her right about now. I inquire which hospital being that there are about half a dozen of them in Savannah. Oh well you will have to go upstairs and talk to allied health, we don't know which one. So I truck my behind up 2 flights of stairs and they tell me its Memorial, which is the one closest to the school. Thank you God! I climb back in the truck, check the time. I have 15 minutes to make it there and it's 6 pm in Savannah traffic. I get there and forget how huge Memorial is. I park in the closest parking lot I can find, which happens to be the Cancer Institute parking lot but at this time I didn't care I was on a mission! I go directly up to one of those nice security people in the car and ask him. He radioed it in and said hop in I'll take you there. Very cool! On the way he said right this number down and when you get done there is a phone in the hallway, call it and we will escort you back to your truck. Thank goodness I did this because the education building is clear on the other side of the hospital. I made it there 5 minutes late with about half the class late so I didn't feel so bad. The class itself went well. We meet once a week for 2 hours. Of course I have so many terms to remember and we test over 2 chapters a week along with having 250 questions to answer by next class. That's the price of night classes but I'm glad I'm taking this one at night. It gives me the whole week to study. Thank you to the nice security team at Memorial!

It was nice to hear from you Monica (mom....hairdresserwannabemedicalstudent) I had wondered what happened to you and didn't know that you left AOL too. Let me know if you start a blog here or somewhere else and thanks for the comment :)

Thanks to everyone who is still reading this journal. I really do appreciate it and feel fortunate to know a wonderful j-land group of people!

In a couple of hours....

my house will be blissfully quiet because the kids will be going back to school!! Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed the christmas break that we all had together. We baked so many cookies and made candy, decorated the tree, read books, played card games and in general just had a lot of fun. I could tell the last 2 days of their vacation though they needed to go back! lol

Tomorrow I go to the college bright and early to endure the dreaded book line. It seems that if you have financial aid you have to wait until the first day of classes to get your books so that means the line from hades and back! I only have one class this week and that is tomorrow evening...medical terminology. Monday I start in the full swing of things. My paper and pencils are all ready to go Ü

We have had wonderful weather....75 degrees! It sure doesn't feel like January. I do miss snow...so if you have it enjoy it for me,lol

Ben is doing good. The up and down weather I can tell has an effect on his ankle but I think it always will to some degree. He is trying to get his MOS (job) changed from an MP to something in the medical field so it will be easier on his ankle and back and then maybe he can stay in alittle longer. You hate to toss all those years away but you do what you have to so it's wait and see yet again. He goes to a review board next month to see whether he can get his job changed and if not he will be going to Germany definately in March then. I know God has a plan for us and somehow it will all work out.

Lil bit, our newest addition, is doing really good. She is starting to put back on alittle bit of the weight that she didn't have. It will take time but she knows that she is in a loving home. I still don't get how someone can be so cruel!

The boys had their first cub scout meeting of the New Year last night. In Matthew's pack one of the mothers is from Sri Lanka, Haima, and thankfully all of her family are okay. I was hoping to hear some good news from her on that account. Continued prayers for all of the victims of that horrific tsunami. I may not be able to give monatarily but I'm seriously thinking of visiting our local red cross and donating some blood. Something I need to do more of anyway.

Have a great day....Caitlin just gave me a goodbye kiss on her way out the door...of course she just put on some clear lipgloss and loves the reaction I give her. Vanilla scent on my check now,lol

Peekaboo I see Justin!
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Happy New Year from Tybee Island, Ga!
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