Cute Pictures I MUST share

My gorgeous neice Carrigan


Papaw George making faces at my neice Cadence



Neice Carrigan racking up some candy


Cadence *aka the cutest baby...EVER*


Only Cadence can pull of the banana look


Cadence and mama Ashley

Glorious Sunday

I think it is awesome how the Lord knows when it is time to dust off and move on with our lives. In the past 3 1/2 years I have gone from working a grocery store, to an Emergency room, to Labor and Delivery, to Acute Care and now to Mental health. WHAT A JUMP! The awesome part is that each one of these moves was brought on by a peaceful 'nudge' to step out in faith and try something that I had not before. Everything I have experienced somehow came together and formed this firm foundation I now know as my soon to be Nursing career. If you told me 3 years ago that I would have this much experience in health care by this time, I would've laughed hysterically. I'd say something like, "Ha! Me?? Yeah..right. I can barely maintain a 3.2 GPA." But God had better plans for me, Thank You God!

I had yesterday off work and was able to enjoy a beautiful crisp autumn day with my family. Dad and I planted around 70 tulip and daffodil bulbs in the front yard. I got to be all creative and do designs with the different color tulips. I made a heart outlined in red tulips and filled in with a dark pink set for Mom, since she is a Cardiac Nurse. Of course to satisfy my pink obsession I planted a set of dark pink and light pink tulips by the front door in a spiral shape. I hope that by spring the flowers actually end up making these designs as the bloom!









After a couple hours of gardening, Mom and I drove down to the new Target *which is fabulous* As soon as I walked in I was greeted by the aroma of Starbucks...and indulged in a tall cinnamon dolce' latte. *It was amazing* We sipped on our coffees and 'Oooed and Awwwed' ourselves around the store for a few hours. Thank God that Kingsport is finally getting with the times as far as shopping is concerned! They built an Old Navy, Target, Kohl's and Dicks Sporting goods in this particular shopping area. *wahoo!*

Well everyone, it is 3 am and I need to get back to sleep.
Take care and I will try and update again soon.

I love you all

Weekly update

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a little while since my last post. This week has been busy! Today was our last day working in pediatrics and I had a blast with my patient. He was a 16 month old boy that came in with difficulty breathing and oh my gosh he was adorable! His mom and dad have their hands full with this little boy and his twin brother not to mention their child that is 3 years old as well! I went into their room around 8 am and the little boy was wide awake standing in his crib. I did an assessment on him and he had the best time playing with my kitty-cat name badge holder. I have a little light on my name badge that allows me to check pupil reflexes and he thought it would be a good idea to shove it up his nose to see if his nose would light up! *that didn't last long needless to say*
I asked his mom if she minded if I walked him around the unit in one of our play cars *basically a stroller/car* and she was like, "Please! I need a break!!" So my little buddy and I cruised around the unit for 25 minutes. We would make pits stops to say hi to everyone and of course he stole everyone's heart with his big brown eyes and great big smile.

I think pediatrics is an option for me later in my nursing career, kids are just awesome to get along with. We start our labor & delivery rotation next Wednesday and that will be our final rotation for the semester! *WHOOT WHOOT*
My fellow classmates and myself are trying to keep up with our many projects and tests as well as study for a mandatory mid-curricular 'Fake Nursing boards' test. If we do not pass this test the first two times then we fail the ENTIRE semester regardless of how awesome our grades are. I know for a fact that pharmacology will be my best buddy for the next 3 weeks until the test on Nov. 16th.
**PRAYERS NEEDED FOR OUR ENTIRE CLASS TO PASS THE FIRST GO AROUND***

Mom is worrying all of us because we think her gallbladder is inflammed. She has so much on her plate with being the manager of 4 units at the hospital AND going for her masters. She basically doesn't have time to be sick, but as we all know when our bodies decide to be evil it's usually not on OUR schedule. Please pray for mom and that the Lord would heal her whether it is with surgery or without and that she would have peace about work and school during the process. I've got a hard working momma and she hates to get behind, but she needs to realize that her health needs to come first right now.

Well everyone, I'm going to get off of here and study, study STUDY!!

I love you all and take care!

Our babies

Our babies the 'Chickoonies' *named after our KFC loving raccoons**
And the deer family *whom we have yet to name*
Yoda kitty upside down
And of course Freida and Timbo snuggling
God's creatures are awesome.

A life long dream coming true

Wow, let me start this post by saying GOD IS AMAZING!!
With that said, let me elaborate on all of the awesomeness that has happened as of late.

1.) I had my interview with the behavioral health department *at the hospital I work for* I basically yacked for an hour about how awesome Art Therapy is and my studies / experiences with patients / gave examples of exercises for expressive drawing *amongst other things*
Needless to say the department mangagers were like, "So Amy, when do you wanna start?!" Amy says: "AS SOON AS POSSIBLE".
My position will still technically be Nurse Intern I, but I will be developing and teaching the Art Therapy program for the entire department!
**Special Props to God for blessing me with this opportunity, especially since I don't have a degree in art therapy yet.**

2.) I took my second pediatrics exam yesterday and got a B+ !! The class average was a C, which sounds kind of bad but this is a very hard class. You've never taken a test unless you have taken one from Nursing school. You can study and study and study the material, but unless you can use those good ole' "Critical Thinking Skills" you are basically S.O.L.
**For further perspective, my original class of 90 has dropped to 65 in just one semester**


Needless to say, life is good because God is good!!

I will now leave you with an awesome song by one of my favorite Christian artists, Jeremy Camp. *This song and the Bible verse it is based on, are what I live by everyday** Enjoy!

2 Corinthians 5:7 "for we walk by faith not by sight"

Party time!

For quite a few years, my oldst brother has been battling alcoholism. As of yesterday, October 8th, my brother has been sober for 1 year! *WAY TO GO G!!*
Anyways, we threw him a surprise party which TOTALLY took him by surprise!
I thank God everyday for my brother's sobriety. It got kind of scary for awhile last year when he had dropped so much weight and couldn't fuction at all.
WOW...a lot has gone on in just one year! Here are some pics from the party:


George all surprised


Hillary, Sandy and Ashley


Cadence being all cute


This child cannot possibly get any cuter!!


Thanks for the camera strap Aunt Amy!


Aunt Amy and Cadence



Uncle Geoff with Cadence


Papaw Szabo with his 'Stinky Cadence'



Mama Sza, Papa Sza and George *awwww*

Lord let me shine...

Through inspiration from my buddy Rebekah
I decided to share a very dear song with you all.



Lyrics:

I woke up to another day
Another day to celebrate
Your beauty and your mystery
Is more than any eye can see
I'm not the man I was before
With you my life is so much more
Break the chains and open doors
To a world I can't ignore

Chorus:
Lord let me shine
Shine like the moon
A reflection of you
All that I do
Lord let me be
A light for your truth
Light of the world
I want to be used
To shine for you

As simple as a passing smile
Or listening a little while
To someone that's convinced that
They are in this all alone
Well, here's my chance to share the news
To introduce the good that's you
Here you go again,
You never cease to blow my mind

Chorus

You're the love that we all need
You lift us up to our feet,
Hold the key to eternity
The King of Kings alive in me

Being a kid in the fall

glitter-graphics.com
I started my pediatrics rotation today at a local elementary school clinic. This elementary school just happens to be one I went to as a kid. I felt like I was in a time warp! Everything looked exactly the same! I signed in at the front desk, got my visitor's pass and headed to the school's nurse. The nurse there was absolutely awesome! You know when you see people at work and they're happy / content / and actually enjoy what they do?? Well she happens to be one of those rare people and you can tell that she is EXACTLY where God wants her to be *AND IT SHOWS*

We started our day by going over the list of various children that had to take medicines during the day ie: asthma inhaler / insulin etc.
Slowly, a trickle of children came in for things such as sore throats, headaches and the theme of the day: hurty tummies. We must have seen at least 12 kids with some type of stomach bug, 4 in which ended up going home. Some came in for a bandaid for a boo-boo and others ice packs for bruises.
It was amazing to me the many walks of life of children that crossed our path today. One girl came in and we had a discussion about clothes. She said that due to her religion she could not cut her hair nor wear anything but skirts and long sleeve shirts. She told me how badly she wanted to wear a pair of blue jeans.
Another child came in who was 7 years old and actually diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Okay, first of all you are not technically suppose to diagnose a child with psychotic disorders until the age of 10 or 11 for developmental purposes. This child had been sexually abuse by a family member and had a parent in jail.
Situations like these make me all the more thankful for those who work with children on a daily basis. Special education kids, ADD/ADHD kids, boys & girls club kids etc.
If I was faced with a child's parents who did not care about their kid in any way...let's just say that quite a few non-Christian words would come out of my mouth. One thing in the medical field that hurts so much is seeing a child hurt.

On a lighter note, God allowed me to Ace my first Psych Nursing exam!!
I've got some mid-terms coming up very soon in both O.B. and Peds. *Prayers needed please!*

The weather is trying to cool off up here in Tennessee. It's suppose to be in the mid-80's for the rest of the week and then taper off into the 70's next week. *WAHOO*
If you cannot tell by my layout and photos...I LOVE FALL!! Memories of bundling up in hooded jackets running in my backyard and diving into a huge pile of leaves crosses my mind. The scent of fall in the air is like a smokie crisp aroma that fills your lungs with energy. Apple cider and pumpkin carving...
My mom would sing the 'Leaves' song to my brother and I in the car:
"Leaves are falling down, falling to the ground.
Leaves are falling, leaves are falling to the ground"

*happy sigh as I regress to memories of fall*