Time Flies

I cannot believe it has been 10 days since I have blogged! Time passes so quickly these days, and I am not so sure I like it! When I was in nursing school I wished for time to pass faster, and I can assure you it creeped by! Now that I want to slow it down to enjoy this time in my life, it speeds ahead.
Anyway, things have been pretty busy over the past week despite the fact that I only worked two days of it. Last Monday, I was able to take a day trip to Winona. I am so proud of my best friend Mary Catherine. She has opened her very own business in Winona, and it is amazing! She has been open now for about a month, but Monday was my first trip up to see it, sadly! Her store, Very Mary, has so many cute things. She mostly has children's clothing, but she also has lots of other gift items. Plus, she monograms! She has always had such a great eye for fashion, and now she can put it to good use! I know she will be very successful in the future. Of course, I did my job to help out business and bought a few things! I am very excited about the cute things I got from her! So, if you ever have a free day off, drive over to Winona and shop around!
Friday, while Peter was working, I went shopping! I am in need of some new clothes. I do not even know what I wore last winter, because there is nothing in my closet that can keep me warm! So, I found some great deals at the new Renaissance shopping center. After Peter got off work, we drove down to Fairhope to spend the weekend. We had a great weekend visiting with his parents and grandparents. Saturday, we had breakfast at The Grand Hotel in Fairhope. It was such a beautiful place right on the bay, and the breakfast was delicious! After breakfast, Peter and I rode bicycles along the bay and downtown. It was a little chilly, but still fun! Later that night, we watched our bulldogs lose. I am hoping for a better season next year! The weekend flew by and we were back at home in no time.
This week is my long week, so I will be working every day except for Wednesday and Thursday. I am not very excited about that! I am really not excited about working the night shift Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. ughhh. I am soooo tired of it......night shift is for the birds!
I hope you all have a great week!

Sniffle, Sniffle

I am tired of sneezing! Late Sunday, my throat felt scratchy, and by Tuesday I had a full blown cold. I have kept a box of Kleenex by my side for the past two days. I think I am even getting on Molly's nerves with all of this sneezing and sniffling! Hopefully, it will be over soon.

We had a great weekend this past weekend. Mr. and Mrs. Summerlin were here visiting with us, and it was really nice to catch up with them. We had several trick or treaters Friday night, but we still have a lot of candy left over. I have a feeling it will be gone in no time, though. Peter eats more candy than any person I have ever known. The rest of our weekend was pretty relaxing. My weekends off always seem to go by so quickly, however, so I was back to work before I knew it!

Last night, our small group came over to our house for Bible study. God has blessed us with a wonderful small group. Right now we are doing a study that goes along with our sermon series at church. The series is titled "Me and My Big Mouth" and Sunday's sermon "Liar, Liar" was the topic of our discussion last night. One of the passages in our study was Proverbs 4. I really liked this passage and thought it had some great verses about lying. I know I should live my life more accordingly to this scripture. I will post the passage below if you would like to read it!

This coming weekend I will live at the hospital. I am thankful I am working the day shift this weekend, but I am still dreading it. Three days of waking up early, working 12 hours, and wishing I was at home with Peter. On the bright side, if I can make it through 72 hours, I can enjoy my short week of only working Wednesday and Thursday! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Proverbs 4
Wisdom Is Supreme

1 Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.
2 I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.
3 When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother,
4 he taught me and said, "Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.
7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."
10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.
11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.
13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.
14 Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.
16 For they cannot sleep till they do evil; they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall. 17 They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words.
21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart;
22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.
23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Happy Halloween!

I have been excited about Halloween this year. It is our first one in our new house. I am hoping for lots of little ones with cute costumes to knock on our door for candy. Last night, Peter and I carved this pumpkin and it was a lot of fun. I guess it was our first annual Summerlin Pumpkin Cut! Today has been a wonderful Halloween so far! I have been running errands and straightening up the house. Peter's parents are coming to visit for the weekend, so we are looking forward to that!

So, as for an update on my last post, I ended up getting sick early Wednesday morning and was unable to go work. Therefore, I did not get an update on my little boy I posted about a few days ago until Thursday. Much to my surprise, he was still in his crib right where I left him Monday morning. The doctors had the conference with his mom, and they came to the conclusion the baby was just too mentally competent to take him off of the ventilator. I cannot lie, I was a little pleased to hear that he would be with us for a little longer.

Well, it is almost time for Mr. and Mrs. Summerlin to arrive, so I am going to run! I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween and a wonderful weekend!

The hard part of the job

Most days, my job in the neonatal intensive care unit is rewarding. Of the eighty-something babies in our unit, the majority of them will stay several weeks, then go home with their families. Unfortunately, some of our babies are not strong enough to make it through. Their little premature organs do not grow along with them sometimes. In my almost two years of working in the NICU, I have been fortunate enough to never lose one of my babies. However, my heart was breaking this past Sunday night as I took care of a little boy who has been in our unit for about seven or eight months now. He was 600 grams, which is about 1 lb. 6 oz. when he was born. As he grew, his lungs did not grow at the same pace. Though he has been on and off of the ventilator his whole life in our unit, he has constantly needed some form of oxygen to support his breathing. He has been back on the ventilator for the past month or so. Other than his lungs, he is a strong baby boy. He is very aware of his surroundings, smiling and looking back at you when you speak to him. However, without the help of the man-made ventilator he would die. He has a wonderful, loving mother who is at his bedside as much as she can be. She is so appreciative for her son's short life and for us nurses who have taken care of him since he was born. Lately, her precious boy has been unable to oxygenate his body sufficiently. Sure, he could continue to depend on his ventilator a little longer, but his heart would eventually fail from doing such hard work. So, his mother has decided to take her little boy off of the ventilator to keep him from suffering any longer. Sunday night/Monday morning, as I was sitting at his bedside talking to him and holding his little hand, I was so torn inside for his mother. What a decision that must be for her. She could sit beside him and talk to him and have him look at her for a little longer and be somewhat selfish, or she could decide to remove the ventilator and let him go. Let him go to a much better place with a new healthy heavenly body. So, Monday was the day his mother set up a meeting with our wonderful team of doctors to discuss the possibility of taking him off of the ventilator. All day yesterday, I could not get them off of mind. I go back to work tomorrow. Please pray that I will have a clear head in the morning to realize that his mother made the right decision, and not be upset if he is no longer with us. This is the hardest part of the job.
What a blessing it is to have a healthy baby!

One proud wifey

I am so proud of my husband! He kayaked 45 miles down the Mississippi River in under six hours! Dad, mom, Rachel, Pappaw and Granny Hammack, and I went down to the Under the Hill finish line to see him finish this past Saturday afternoon. I was so happy to see him finish! Maybe next year we can have a two-seater and I can tag along! HA!

After the race, we drove back to Jackson just in time for me to go to work. It was terrible trying to stay awake all night after not getting much sleep! I made it through! The bad news is I have to work nights again next weekend. Yuck! This weekend, however, there is no work in the plans! We are heading back to Natchez this weekend! Natchez is holding the annual Balloon Race weekend, and Peter has never experienced the excitement. So, we are going to try to make it into town tonight for the balloon glow and firework show. The balloon glow is one of my favorite parts, so I am looking forward to it! Saturday, Rachel is having a birthday party at dad and mom's house! It will be so much fun for her! I am really looking forward to the weekend!

In other news, it is time to get flu shots! As the nurse of the family, I highly recommend getting one! I was able to have mine yesterday at work. My arm still hurts, but it is better than catching the flu!!

Okay, time to be productive today. I have lots of errands to run before we leave this afternoon, so I better get to it!

Finally.....We have started a blog!

So, after much, and I mean much, persuasion from a certain sister of mine, Peter and I decided to start a blog! We thought it would be a great way for family to keep up with the day-to-day happenings of our lives. Hopefully, Peter and I will both contribute to this blog. He is a much better writer, so his posts will be more interesting!
We are leaving for Natchez tonight. Peter and his cousin, Bahen, have decided to participate in the annual kayak race down the Mississippi River. They will start in Port Gibson early tomorrow morning and kayak down the river to Under the Hill in Natchez. For those of you who do not know, I am a bit of a worrier. So, I have a few reservations about him taking on the mighty Mississippi. He tells me it is very safe and there is no way he is telling his cousin his wife will not let him take part! The big adventure should take him about six hours to complete. He should finish around three o'clock. After the race, we are heading back to Jackson. I have to work nights Saturday and Sunday, so we will probably get home just in time for me to turn around and head to the hospital! It should be a busy weekend, but I am excited about seeing my family!
Speaking of family, Rachel's birthday is Saturday! She will be seventeen! It will be great to be home to wish her a happy birthday in person!
Okay, I have lots of housework to do before heading out this afternoon, and I better get started! Hopefully next time I post I will be free of the night shift for another month, and my husband will have conquered the Mississippi River! Woohoo!