Father's Day

Father's Day is a time when we get to get together with friends and family and celebrate the gift our dads are to us. My dad just happens to be in Mexico being a father to the fatherless. Who could ask for a better dad? Not only does my dad have Kenzi and I and has always been an amazing father and friend to us, he then decides to pack up everything he owns and move to Mexico to help raise 6 boys. I really feel lucky to be blessed with my dad.

Some people shows that they love others in special ways. I like to bake for people to show them I love and appreciate them. I put a lot of thought into my baking and a lot of love into everything I bake and when I give someone something I have spent so much time and energy on it is to tell them how much I love them. This year my in-laws bought a cake decorating kit for me for my birthday. So I decided to use it for the second time to make a father's day cake for my dad, my father-in-law, and my granddad. I wanted to show them just how much I love them all!

I began the cake by baking a 9X13 chocolate cake. I let it cool overnight before I cut it into the shapes I needed. I found this template online and used it as a reference for how to cut my cake. I could not find a pan big enough to fit the entire cake on so I ended up having to leave off the very top pieces but other than that this template worked really well. I also encountered a small problem when I cut the cake and flipped it onto the pan a big chunk fell out of the cake, so I had to quickly doctor it and piece the cake back together. In the end I got all the pieces put together and the cake pieced back together.

After I covered it in blue icing the cake looked a little like this. It started looking like a tie though! I was kind of proud. Before I was able to finish icing the cake I ran out of blue icing and had to mix up more. Well, when I went to tint more icing the icing tinted darker than my first batch...so I tried to blend it into the entire cake and ended up with kind of a marble appearance which actually didn't look so bad.

After icing the entire cake and letting a dry for a little while I began adding on the stripes. I really wanted to do yellow flowers with green stems and make it look like an ugly father's day tie, but in the end I decided to settle on stripes. I began the stripes by piping on a larger green stripe and then adding two yellow thin stripes on either side of the green stripe. I discovered that piping the side of the cake is harder than it look! So if anyone has suggestion on an easier way to do that I would appreciate it.

I think in the end the piping turned out ok, but you could see the messy spots at the end of the stripes so I decided to pipe circles around the bottom of the cake. I thought about doing rosettes but I did not want the cake to be too girly so I thought circles would be more manly.

I also decided to pipe "Happy Father's Day" on the foil. I have never piped writing before so it was fun to try for my first time.

Overall I think the cake turned out really great! I think it looked just like a tie and all the dad really loved it. I wanted them to have a special cake just for them to show them how special they are to me. I love each one of them so much and could never have asked for better men in my life. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

McDonalds

Many of you know Jeremy and I recently got back from a trip to San Antonio. While on this trip we had two very interesting happenings that occurred at McDonald's.

The first happened the first night we arrived in San Antonio. We had been walking on the river walk and realized we had arrived on the day of the San Antonio arts festival, which was jammed packed with people. After making it down the river walk and not falling into the river we decided we would head back to our hotel. So we began walking back through the mall. On our way in the mall this man bumped Jeremy on the shoulder. Jeremy thought he did it on accident so he ignored it. This man then began to follow us up the elevator and introduced himself to us by saying "hey dog...hey dog...hey dog..man I didn't mean to offend you but.." Jeremy both though OK well lets see where this is going.

We found out this man's name was David and he had not eaten all day and was hungry. So we offered to buy him dinner (we had just finished dinner, seriously how could we refuse to by the man dinner) he said all he wanted was McDonald's. So we began the walk to McDonald's. Along the way we learned a little about David and discussed how even though my name was Whitney I could not sing like Whitney Houston. We bought David dinner and sent him on his way. Although David reeked of alcohol, and was dirty, he was hungry. It reminded me of our calling to be the hands and feet of Christ and what an honor it was to buy David McDonald's in the name of Christ. It was amazing that God gave us this opportunity the first night of our trip, what a way to start the trip! I thought of David often throughout our trip and since we have been home and I pray for him every time I think about him, and I wonder where he is now.

Our second experience with McDonald's was not quit so pleasant. We were on the last night of our trip and had been at a water park all day. We were tired and decided we just wanted to grab something quick and spend the evening at our hotel. When we got to McDonald's I decided I wanted a 6 piece chicken nugget, fries, and a large drink because I was really thirsty. So that is exactly what I ordered. The cashier then informed me that they only had a 6 piece chicken nugget meal in a kids meal and I could not have the large drink. So I asked him to ring it up separately, a 6 piece chicken nugget, a fry, and a large drink, he said he could not do that because the meal only came in a kids meal, I told him that I did not want a kids meal because I wanted a BIG drink and asked again if he could just ring it up separately. So he said OK and we thought we got it all worked out.

Then we got our order which contained Jeremy's meal and a kids meal.....so I asked another guy and I told him we had ordered a 6 piece chicken nugget, a fry, and a LARGE drink, and he goes "well that was not what you were ringed up for", and I told him I did not order what I was rang up for, and he goes "well but that was how it was rang up". So Jeremy kindly asked to talk to the manager (I mean geez all this for a large diet coke) and the employee got frustrated (I don't know why because we were nice) and said "OK yah only a manager can fix this for you" and got the manager. We then explained to her what we ordered and she replied "I don't know why they did that because we have a 6 piece chicken nugget meal where you can get a large drink, and then handed me my long awaited large diet coke! YAY! Success! My thirst was quenched and we made our way back happily to our hotel.

These are just a few stories of our trip. We had a great time this week and were able to spend lots of quality time together. But I must say I have never had so many experiences with McDonald's. let alone in one week!

My Creative Side

For my birthday I asked for a cake decorating kit....yes I know why is a 23 year old woman asking for a cake decorating kit? Because I have a very creative side that needs to come out! I love scrapbooking and cake decorating. I enjoy people's reactions and the smile on their face when they see something you have worked on for hours. To make this cake I bought a cake pan from Hobby Lobby that had the shape of the lady bug. I then made my own homemade icing and colored it to the colors I wanted (red and black of course!). I then spent 2 1/2-3 hours piping tiny little stars to cover the entire lady bug. For my first cake I think it turned out pretty well! This summer I am excited to get time to make some delicious adorable treats! Hopefully I can find some willing friends to eat those treats! :)

Running the Race

So Jeremy and I have decided to train for a 1/2 marathon. We decided that it would be a great opportunity to spend some time together and accomplish something together. The problem, neither one of us really run.....I can do 2 miles in just under 30 min and Jeremy has not ran in awhile....but I have faith we can do it! If I just continue the way I am going I will be able to finish a 1/2 marathon in a mere 3 hours and 25 minutes! :) Oh geez. I wanted to do this mainly because it is something I never thought I could do. I also was doing my daily Bible study and ran across the verses that talked about "finishing the race" and I thought training for a 1/2 marathon would be a lot like how we train to be a Christian.

You may look at your life and think there is no way I can get to where I want to be from where I am now. It takes hard work, sometimes your muscles will be sore and you won't want to continue on, but you have to in order to finish the race. What is better than having your husband right there beside you to encourage you along. So last night I ran my first 2 miles in under 28 minutes...Jeremy sat on the couch and watched me jog on the treadmill.....but it was a start! :) I am excited about this adventure. It may take us a while to train, but it will be fun to do together. And in the end we can cross the finish line and look back on our adventure together knowing we trained hard and because of that we were able to finish the race.

Friends

Recently I have been thinking about how blessed I am to have so many wonderful friends in my life. They are all so different and unique and each one of them brings something so special to my life.


First there is my best friend of all and my husband Jeremy. We have been together for 9 years now and he know me better than anyone else in my life. He can complete my sentences, read my moods, and comfort me when I am upset. He gives me a kick in the tush when I need it and tells me what I need to hear but not necessarily what I want to hear. He makes me laugh and he has seen my truly goofy side. I guess you can say he is the goof to my ball! :) I am so glad God put him in my life, for the rest of my life! I am excited to travel through this journey of life with him and share all our experiences together. I couldn't have never imagined a better husband and best friend for me than him.

Secondly, there is one of my dearest friends Kara. I have only known Kara for about 3 1/2 years but she will never know how much she has blessed my life in such a short amount of time. From the first time I met her she has made me laugh harder than any person I know. She is one of the only people I can truly be myself around and always know with her I will laugh so hard my belly hurts. I have more fun with her than I do with many other people in my life. Other than being amazingly sweet, funny, witty, and absolutely hilarious Kara is thoughtful. She always remembers the little things. She texts me and wishes me luck on every test I have, she remembers when I am stressed out and encourages me through the week. She knows when I am busy, when I am excited about something, or frustrated and she is always there for me! ALWAYS! I can talk to her about anything even if it is something I am struggling with and she will be honest with me and be there for me. She encourages and always has faith in me! Who could ask for a better friend! I hope Kara has been as blessed by our friendship as I have.

Then there is a friend I didn't exactly pick, but God picked for me! My sister! She has been here for me my entire life, whether she likes it or not! When we were little she was one of the only people who could make me laugh when I was sad. She still is one of the funniest people I know! She includes me every time she goes out with her friends! She is great at making people feel comfortable. She has always been there for me, and I know she always will be! Even though Kenzi was put in my life not by my choice I am glad she is in it! My life definitely would not be the same without her!

Then there are friends I have been blessed with in Nursing school. Each of them I am still getting to know but we have developed strong friendships in such a short amount of time. Nursing school pushes you beyond your limits and no one knows this better than other nursing student. We have seen each other in our triumphs and our defeats, through life complications, and have become a family of friends. I am blessed to have each one of these people in my life!

Megan is one of my friends I have known my entire life and I am soo blessed to have her in my life. She has always been there for me and even though I don't get to see her everyday or talk to her as much as I would like she still will be there for me every time I need her.

I have so many friends I have been blessed with and so many I did not have time to mention in this post. Some I have known my entire life and I know will be there for the rest of my life and some I have only known a short amount of time. When I look around at the people that surround me I am proud to call each one of them my friends and I am blessed to have such an amazing community of people in my life!

Nursing Psychosis

Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try or how hard you work it just is not going to be good enough? That is what this semester has been like for me! I have studied my butt off, and worked harder than ever and just feel like no matter what I do it just is not good enough. The thing I have had to ask myself is good enough for who? Is it not good enough for me? Right now I am passing all my classes and I finished my OB class with a B. Not amazing but not bad either! I think sometimes we just need to take a step back and look at life differently. 5 years from now when I am working as a labor and delivery nurse and have a family will I care what grade I made in Med/Surg II? No! Even a year from now when I graduate I won't care what my grade was. So why is it such a big deal? I have no idea!

Maybe I have slipped into this psychotic state of nursing school perfectionism. When I step back life is so much more fun, and I enjoy things more. Isn't that what I should be doing? I think so many times in nursing school you are told "Here are the standards and if you don't meet this you fail" and being faced with that hard truth is tough. So we push ourselves so hard that we are exhausted, not having fun, and frustrated with ourselves because we "are not good enough". Well I don't want to be that way! I want to enjoy every minute of where I am right now. And I do! I had the most amazing 6 weeks of labor and delivery clinical! I was able to figure out exactly what I want to do. I finally found an area of nursing I love more than doing hair! I started my peds roatation and even though my clinical professor is crazy I have already learned a lot and been able to bless a few families by giving them extra attention and care! You really can't beat that!

So other than drowing in studying and school work, not much else has been going on! I have cleared out my spring break to spend time with my family! Yes they are coming in town to see me! I am excited to see them and have a week to relax and spend time with family. It will be a much needed break! I want to encourage you all to take a step back and look at your life and see whose standards are you living up to. Are those really achievable? Do they matter? If not maybe you should relax and enjoy life a little more!

Frustrations and Blessings

Ok I have to admit it, I am a stuffer and I stress with the best of them! You may ask what is a stuffer? A stuffer is someone who stuffs everything inside, always acts like everything is perfect, and never deals with the things that bother him/her. Doesn't sound so bad huh? Well the problem is when all that stuff you have stuffed inside comes up, where does it go?

Last week was a rough week for me. I found I didn't do so hot on a test and everything I had been stuffing came up at once, like one big gush of everything I didn't want to deal with. My frustrations, my fear of failure, my not feeling good enough for anything or anyone, my fears, my weaknesses, and my need for constant control. Everything seemed like it came crashing down and man did it come fast. I am sure my husband thought I had been possessed by a garden hose that would not stop running because I cried for 2 days straight! This has never happened to me before. The feeling of being out of control made everything so much worse. I finally had to just look at my life, see my shortfalls, and sit at the feet of Jesus for awhile and let him love on me. Looking back to last week, the test was not a big deal I know I can bring it up, I don't need to be in control I trust God to direct my life, and even though nursing school is insanely stressful and emotionally draining I know this is my true calling in life, and for that I have joy. Sometimes not happiness, but always joy. I feel at ease, I feel released from everything I had put on myself and stuffed deep inside.

After dealing with my mini life crisis last week I had clinical Thursday (which was the one thing I looked forward to all week). Working in Labor and Delivery has been such a blessing in my life. Other than finding my life calling, I look forward to it every week and am going to miss it when it is gone. This week in clinical I worked with a Dr. I had worked with before, because he knew me he actually let me deliver the baby! Crazy huh? He let me scrub in, stood behind me, and let me deliver the baby. He told me what to do, and sometimes had to show me, but I delivered a baby on my own! This made me realize all the things I think are so overwhelming or so important are nothing. I am made perfect the way God made me because He wove me together in my mother's womb. Just like the baby I got to deliver Thursday. As I handed that baby girl to her Mom I said a little prayer over her in my heart, I prayed God would bless her life and hold her in His hands always. These moments are the blessings God gives us. The moments when a mom holds her new baby she has carried for 40 weeks, the moment the dad looks at his wife with a look of admiration for her strength in delivering their child, the moment the mom introduces her mom to the new grandbaby, the moment the new parents hold their child together so overjoyed that tears run down their cheeks. These are to good moments. The moments I believe God looks down on the earth and realizes how amazing his creation truly is.

This past week was a tough week for me, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. But God had me in his hands, he allowed me to share a very special moment with a patient and through this moments spoke mountains to my heart. I want to challenge each of you and myself to cherish these moments, don't let them pass you by because you are too busy trying to take back control of your life, worrying over things that are going to happen whether you worry or not, and stressing out to the point that God couldn't use you if He tried. These moments are the reason why we are here. From now on I will live my life for the moments God puts in it.