Church it Is

My fate came down to a coin toss. I tied for the weekend position at work with one of my favorite coworkers and apparently the most professional way to decide was to flip a coin. Coins hate me, so of course I lost. Congratulations to Therese though!

Everyone keeps telling me that it's meant to be, that I'm going to meet someone and require my weekends to be available for courting. Ha. Well until that happens, I will be attending church. It's all apart of God's plan.

We will still be eating Ramen black labbies. And I most likely will not be able to go to Africa like I had hoped this spring. (for a nursing mission type thing with some ladies at work.) But, it's all apart of God's plan.

In the meantime, work has gotten a little hairy. Our census is unseasonably low and falling swiftly. No more sick babies = good for the babies but bad for the nurses who's livelihoods depend on them. Everyone is applying for other jobs just in case we don't come out of the slump. Myself included in this, I'll keep you posted on my progress.....

Thanksgiving is next week and soon winter will be here. The trees are bare and the house is cold. Normally I would be looking forward to the holidays but as I have to work Christmas this year, it just doesn't feel the same. In a blink it will be over and we will be staring at March...watching a waiting for the first sign of my spring tulips.

So here is to worship, may it bring to me these next six months all that I seek in community, companionship and direction.

Peanut Turns One

When you work in the NICU you get to make life long friends. Not just with the fabulous women you work with but with the patients and their families who's lives you get to change. 

We see a lot of struggle, a lot of tears and a lot of sadness. So when we get the opportunity to celebrate we go all out! One of my favorite NICU grads is turning one this week. When his mommy said she wanted to have a celebration with his hospital friends, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to put my party planning skills to work. 

This birthday is a big deal. When peanut was born almost 15 weeks early he weighed only 1 pound and was 12 inches long. He went through more in his first week of life, including losing his sweet brother, than I have in all of my 25 years. He is truly a miracle. 

Theme: Dogs. Duh, what did you expect? 

These cupcakes were adorable and delicious!

Birthday boy, not so thrilled with the hat that I hand crafted for him :/ 

Not too sure about the cupcake either....

"Mom, where'd the frosting go?!?"

Peanut and some of his favorite NICU nurses :)

Happy Birthday Peanut, you've touched my life more than I ever could have imagined. I look forward to watching you grow for many years to come. 

To Church or Not to Church

I've been church shopping. "But Rachel," you say, "You've lived here for 2 years, what is taking you so long to find a church?" Okay peeps, I'm a slacker. I've been unmotivated and plus I slept the first year I was here. No joke. But now it's time. I've decided I need a spiritual family. And somewhere other to go than work and the dog park.

So I've been searching for the right fit. It's taking forever because I only have like one free weekend a month lately. Alas, just when I feel I may have found one I can call home, dilemma comes calling.

They've opened a premium position at work that would require me to work every Saturday and Sunday for the next six months. In return I get a boatload more money. I need the money. I'm tired of eating Ramen and my dog's ribs are showing. JK, don't call animal cruelty on me.

So the decision I have to make is, do I put my church family on hold for six more months to earn some extra money? This is the audience participation portion of the show, leave your comments below.

I'm stumped. Please help me unstump myself.