Floating Down the River...

Last weekend, my brother Ben came and stayed with us while my parents took a weekend away to celebrate 29 years of marriage (go Mom and Dad!) On Friday afternoon, Ben challenged me to a game of tennis while Graham was at work and then we made grilled pizza for dinner--yum!

On Saturday, we planned to take a trip to Leavenworth to go tubing down the river. Unfortunately, Friday was about 80 degrees and sunny and Saturday was more like 70 and cloudy. BUT, we pressed on and decided to tube despite the weather and boy was it worth it! Thankfully the snow melt river had all summer to heat up and so it really wasn't that bad. Our tubes were practically luxurious with a back rest and cup holders and frisbee paddles for some degree of control. I saw lots of salmon swimming under my toes (I like to eat fish but I HATE swimming with them). We will definitely tube this river again in the future--hopefully as a part of a family campout or maybe for my birthday next year. Here are a few photos....

The 3 of us w/ Ben holding a beer stick??

Getting suited to float

I find this photo hilarious...Graham eating lunch

Ben (and me) w/ his "paddles"

Oh and yes, I was there too

Such a pretty float!

Home Visits

So I just got back from shadowing the speech therapist in Everett and I am really thrilled! The home visits were so much fun and it was refreshing to think of working with slightly older kids (toddlers). I think I would really enjoy some of the counseling aspects of the job (actually I think coaching is a better word), encouraging the parents in the small successes with feeding difficulties. I would get to work with all sorts of kids with disorders I've never heard of before so I would always be challenged. The therapist I followed also works with some of our NICU babies so I have worked with her a little bit before. She said she was excited by the thought of me taking the dietitian position and thought I would be a good fit. I officially submitted my application as soon as I got home! We'll see what happens.....

A Dietitian's Dream

Look what Graham made for me tonight! A perfect balanced plate: BBQed Salmon with Sweet Onions, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and a Balsamic Salad with Walnuts and Feta.....

An interview!

I got a call from Children's Hospital today and I have an interview in 2 weeks for a renal dietitian position! This means there are currently 2 jobs on my radar which means that I'm going to have options--wow! (Or more like "uggg" in my mind because decisions are so challenging for me...) I think I was surprised, quite frankly, to hear back so quickly. Maybe it's because Graham never heard back from Children's so I just assumed their system was slow. Anyway, the position would be Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week (WHAT!? That sounds like what a normal person would work!! I've never had that in my life so I must say it is quite appealing.) There would be the occasional Saturday shift and on-call Sunday, but only every couple months or so. I'm excited about the possibility of being challenged again in my work and about having steep learning curve and good training. Plus, I love kids and it'd be nice to maybe work with some who are old enough to talk.

Meanwhile, tomorrow I am job shadowing a speech therapist from the Children's Center (a clinic at my hospital in Everett, not to be confused w/ Children's Hospital). --The first job mentioned on this blog is the outpatient one in the Children's Center in Everett--. I'm hoping that being a part of some home visits will help me narrow done which job will be the right fit for me.

Good news!

Sigh

You know it's been a busy week for me when I haven't made it online to blog. In fact, with a blog-less week, you can pretty much be guaranteed that I haven't taken any time out for myself. Hence the sigh. But things are looking calmer on the horizon. Not to say that I haven't had a fabulous week--I really have--but it has been so busy. So social.

But today my wonderful husband had the day off while I worked. I came home to clean bathrooms, changed light bulbs and finances/bills that are now set up on an automatic payment schedule. And as if that wasn't enough, Graham suggested we go on a walk together to Starbucks where he would buy me a coffee to help my tummy and relieve my headache. We have small group tonight so we read our assigned chapters outloud together (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) and had some great conversations. We're reading "The Power of the Praying Wife" and "The Power of the Praying Husband." It seems so basic to pray for your spouse but we've found it to be challenging and so are really enjoying the books.

We talked a lot about future plans and goals. And about slowing down and not pushing so hard to achieve all our dreams at once. We discussed job possibilities for me and I'm feeling much more settled. The sermon at church on Sunday reminding me to have faith in God regarding my career and to trust Him to lead me. I think the more I try to find the "right" job, the more I realize that all I've ever wanted to do is to be a mom and a wife. I don't want any other career. But in the meantime, I am going to shadow a feeding therapist on Thursday who will be doing home visits like I would do if I got the job I've been talking about. We'll see how I like that and from there I'll decide whether or not to officially apply. On a positive note, the manager has already bumped up the hours of the position to include benefits which makes it much more appealing! Keep me in your prayers!

Look what my brother did yesterday!

I found these pictures to be quite the educational and material worth sharing. So 3ish weeks ago, my brother did this:
(Look at the enlarged the picture, paying attention to the area on the right where the arrow is pointing--notice the small crack in the tibia).
Well, since the time of the first pictures, Josh has been on crutches and not really walking. Poor guy! Apparently the tibia usually heals well on it's own (it's not the weight-bearing bone in the leg) so there hasn't been need for a cast. But yesterday, this happened:

So apparently he has successfully broken his leg twice! Ouch!

Hope for Haiti

My very talented sister has decided to do something about the devastation caused by the hurricanes in Haiti. She had been making beautiful earrings as gifts for family and friends but wanted to do more to help people. So she decided to start a website and and sell the earrings to raise money for the victims of hurricanes Hannah and Ike. All proceeds will go to Haiti and each piece is named after one of the orphans at the Maranatha orphanage. Please check out the beginning of her website and support this cause as you feel led.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6236528

PS- My brother-in-law Michael photographed the earrings--aren't his pictures AWSOME!? Such talent in my family.... :o)