Back to Real Life

I have returned from my rocky and rainy cruise to Nassau Bahamas. Overall the cruise experience (since this was my first time) was a blast, but the weather did suck. However, we made the most of it, made new friends and ate plenty =) That is probably my favorite part... I can order and eat anything I want? And its all free? And I can have 3 (or more) soft-serve ice cream cones each day if I want?? Amazing. I cannot wait to go on another cruise, stand-by for those plans though.
As for now I am back to work (actually finishing my first night back now). Of course Memorial Day would be the first sunny day we have had in weeks and I did not get to celebrate with friends and cook-outs, but had to come to work, and not get paid holiday pay but that is a whole different story! I did enjoy a couple of hours of sun at the pool this afternoon so I am thankful for that.
This week is exciting because my fun friend Lisa (aka KitKat) from NC is coming to town and I can hardly contain my excitement!! Lisa and I met while I worked at UNC this last time, but unfortunately our friendship started closer to the end of my time there and not the beginning =(
But at least we have remained close since my leaving and geographically I think we can manage many more fun reunions and we are looking forward to this one tons!
After Lisa leaves I work a few more days again and then BW comes home (again) for the last time before his actual deployment. I am so excited to be done with work-ups. For those of you who don't have to experience them you are lucky, they are the worst part I am certain. For those of you who have been through them, I am sure you can understand!

I do hope that y'all had a wonderful holiday weekend and a great Memorial Day. I did spend a lot of time thinking about the day and those loved ones of mine who the day is meant for. I remember with a heavy heart those lost just this past week in an accident off BW's boat during a training exercise in preparation for their deployment. I remember a dear friend, Eric, who gave his life for my freedom. And I remember so many others who I love who have served and given up so much for my freedom as well. THANK YOU is not enough... for those who serve or for those who are at home supporting and missing them, but it is the best I have.

And the rest of the Pictures!!

Our weekend in Va Beach was a blast!!

We were able to stay with Cara and Patrick and had so much fun!

Cara is a dear friend of mine. And Krista was able to hang out too!

One of my best guy friends Dave was in town for a class

(my main reason for going!)

So it was great to spend some quality time with him as well.

Me and my favorite boys!

The best thing about the Navy is all the amazing friends I (we) have made along this journey.
And so many of them live in VA Beach...

It was a big reunion with so many of our friends!

Layla got to visit her friend Shiner too!

They love each other!

After our weekend in VA beach we were back to work and then the weekend before BW and the boys left again we had everyone over for Oysters.

This is the view of our back porch on oyster nights...

we really have so much fun and will miss these nights when we leave here!

Amanda and I with our pile of destruction!

Friday Favorites

Finally I have uploaded all the pictures from all the fun that has been going on. I am going to try and pick my favorites (but there really are sooo many to choose from!) to share.

These pictures are from the DAR Cemetery in Savannah.

It was a beautiful day and I had some time to kill so I walked around the park.

This headstone (as well as many of the others) dates back to 1824!!

If you remember back, I spent a day on the boat and beach with Amanda and her family...

Loving our day on the beach; hanging out with Amanda and her sister.

Later we all went to Forsyth Park to see the Sidewalk Chart Art...

So many of the displays were soo amazing!

These were just a few of my favorites.

If you are at Forsyth Park you have to take a picture by the Fountain

Amanda, me, Candice and Mallory

Upcoming Plans

So BW is gone (again) and that means I fill my time with lots of fun things... not to say we don't fill our time with lots of fun things, but it is important to my sanity sometimes that I plan for the weekends that we don't get to spend together. Last weekend he was here and we had a great time just lounging at the lazy river with friends, having everyone over for an oyster roast (you know we love that!) and going out for a "date-night" -- very rare for BW and I to go out alone, so those nights are really special to me. Then Sunday was a rough day for me with not having my mom on Mother's Day and of course Sunday would be the day he was leaving! And even though we have been through this gone-for-a-month thing a couple of times now with work-ups (not to mention all the times while we were living apart) this time seemed harder... for both of us. Turns out the plane was broke and he didn't leave til Monday morning, so we got to spend Sunday night just relaxing and watching TV and it was fabulous!!!
So, as I have in the past, I worked OT this week and am so happy to be *almost* finished with my fourth night! And am looking forward to this weekend, and the following ones! This weekend is the airshow on base and I am going on Sunday with a couple of the wives'. It should be fun, hopefully the weather is good though... clouds + airshows don't really work out so well. Other than that this weekend will consist of a doggy play-date Friday night for Layla and Lily (who belongs to one of the wives'), which means "play date" for me and Katherine too =) Saturday will hopefully be a day at the lazy river and then we have a Wives' Club meeting that night.
Now let's take a quick look at the weekends ahead... One week from today I will be on a boat!!! A cruise boat that is!! My friend Amanda and Candice and I booked this mini-vaca about a month ago and have been sooo excited about it since. I have never been on a cruise and so am super pumped and just cannot wait! Next week will be a super long week at work just counting the hours until we leave Thursday morning.
The weekend after my cruise one of my favorite friends from NC, Lisa, is coming to visit. I have not seen her since I left NC and just cannot tell you how excited about this I am. She may very well be one of the most fun people I have met... we have a a blast every time we are together and our friendship only just started shortly before I left NC so it is over-due time for us to be together!!
And then, the weekend after Lisa comes BW comes home!!! This is the last time he is gone until he really leaves and so our time during June will be filled to the brim!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead and I promise to work on pictures, not only of everything I have not posted pictures of lately but of all the fun to come!!

Prayer Requests

There are always things to be prayed for, but it seems that sometimes the list of "serious" things just goes on and on. This week I kinda feel that way... so thought I would share a couple things and if you think about it, you can lift these requests up to God with me.

• my brother and his wife Jen
• my cousin Chuck who just returned from deployment and his wife
• BW as he (and his squadron) finish their last work-up DET before deployment
• my dear friend Alicia
• my friend Alix and her pregnancy

A family that needs prayer especially is this blog family as they mourn the loss of their baby. They have been on the ultimate NICU journey and faced so many difficult days while continuing to keep their focus on God and his will.

It is when reading these other blogs that I am reminded that our Faith is the only thing that carries us through these difficult times. I will never forget the amazing display of faith that my aunt and my momma showed as they were facing their hard days. Nor will I forget the peace that we felt as we walked through those times of loss with them. The pain of those sad days is still real to me, as I assume it will always be, but I am grateful when I am reminded of the peace that came with our faith in God. I do not know how anyone makes it through these times without that faith and that peace and the loving arms of God to fall into. But, I am so thankful that I have it. So as my family faces challenges now that we are all lifting up in prayer I know that God is with us and will take care of all of us as we go through these circumstances as well.

My Friend Cara

Please take a minute to click on this link and read about my friend Cara, and be sure to watch the video!!
http://caradurnin.blogspot.com/2009/02/great-strides-2009-video.html

My very good friend Cara Durnin is taking strides to make "CF" stand for "Cure Found!" Visit Cara's GREAT STRIDES Home Page at http://www.cff.org/great_strides/CaraDurnin!

Cara is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I know. I met Cara in Kingsville while Brian was finishing flight school with her (now) husband Patrick. Immediately I Loved her!! She was amazing. I was so excited to find out that Cara and Patrick would be moving to San Diego with us for the next step in training, and even more stoked to learn that Brian was going to be living with them which meant we would all have lots of time to spend together and get to know one another. Cara and I had so much fun in San Diego with our days either enjoying the sun or watching America's Next Top Model... ate lots of good food.. and even did some (or lots) or shopping. Our time in San Diego would not have been the same without the Durnin's. Now Cara and Patrick live in Va Beach and graciously open their home to us whenever we go up to visit, and still we have some of the best times ever with them!
Cara is living with CF and is one of the biggest fighters for a cure I have ever met. I am inspired all the time by her. You can read her story at either link above, but the blog is the one with the inspiring video as well.
Please help Cara (and all the other CFer's) fight this disease and find a cure!

Happy Nurse's Day

Today is Nurse's Day, so to all of my nurse friends "Happy Nurse's Day" =) No one really knows about Nurse's day unless 1) you are a nurse or 2) you have a nurse in your life and even then sometimes you don't know. But, for the most part hospitals (and travel companies) try to say thanks for what we do during this week (Nurse's Week) and today especially. Here in Savannah, the hospital provided us with a free breakfast this morning! Filling up on eggs and bacon and yummy breakfast-goodness before bed is one of my favorite things!! When mom was alive, she would always send me a card for Nurse's Day as she was probably my biggest fan.

Funny thing about Nurse's Day though is that it has started me thinking about what I do and why I do it... I guess recently I have been thinking about this. Many of my new friends in Savannah are "young" nurses and its funny how when you first start out as a nurse you think you can save the world! And, many young nurses in the NICU think that every baby is the cutest thing ever (they are not) and that we can save them all and give them happy and healthy lives (we cannot always do this) and that working in the NICU is perfect for people who love babies and just want to sit and hold them and love on them (not what happens in the NICU, that is the Newborn Nursery). And I guess because of my years in the field and the way the thought process changes I feel that my love of my job is questioned by some of those "younger" nurses, which then makes me question it. But, I know that I love what I do. I know that there are days (nights) when I have ethical issues with what I do and there are times that I become very frustrated with what I do... but each night when I work and am able to care for a sick infant and maybe catch something that would cause greater harm and find a solution for it... or I can position one of the little ones so they can sleep comfortably... and I can help a parent feel close to their infant and learn about their infant and when I am able to share some of the knowledge I have gained from not only my years of experience but also all the places I have worked with the younger girls... and the feeling of knowing that I actively participated, if not was the only participator in saving a life... I realize that I do Love what I do and there is nothing else I could see myself doing and feeling so satisfied with.

Lately with the various other blogs that I have found myself reading, I feel that I have learned a great deal about how to better care for the parents of these little ones that I care for. It has been a great learning experience for me to learn the parent's view of what we do, what their understanding of why we do it is and then to take the knowledge and turn it into a better way to explain everything to the parents.

So, I am proud to say I am A Nurse. I am a NICU Nurse. And I am a really good nurse! =) But, most importantly, I am a Nurse who Loves what I do!