Puppy love

I forgot to post about our puppy. We got him the day after Christmas. His name is Sir Winston Churchill. Winston for short and Sir when he's in trouble. Which is a LOT. His birthday is November 7th. He'll be 5 months old soon! We love him a lot and this is great training for us! At least, that's what everyone keeps saying. :)

Stubborn Heart

Have you ever prayed about something then when God answered you doubted it was Him answering? Let me clarify. I asked God a few days ago to provide a solution to a problem. I kept praying this prayer over the course of several days. Then, a person I just met mentioned something to me and I immediately felt the tug on my heart. Maybe this is the answer to my prayers. But then doubt and worry set in. Am I crazy? Why would God answer my prayer? Is He really that concerned with my life that He would provide for my small insignificant needs? (I know in my head that He is, but my heart has a hard time believing.) I'm just being real here. I want to believe this is God's answer and His provision. Please let it be so!

It's been how long??

I can't believe it's been over a year since I posted. Oops. I still keep up with everyone but forgot to update you guys on me! So, since October of 2010 we have bought a house and we both moved to new positions in our jobs.




This is the new house! We absolutely love it.





Corey transferred from RN on the neurology floor to the ER. He has just a few more days of orientation then he'll start working nights again. I was working 16 hour shifts in the ER for CT but I have now moved back to 2nd shift. Eight hours of sleep a night is wonderful!

The only other news I have is that Corey is taking me to see the Harlem Globetrotters in January! I've wanted to see them since I was a kid. I'm so excited!!!


Oh and I'm cooking a roasted chicken for the first time for supper tonight. It's in the oven now and smells wonderful!



This is obviously the before. I'll try to remember to take a picture when it comes out. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

New Car

As you may have guessed from the title...we bought a new (to us) car! 2008 Toyota Camry. I already have a 2001 Camry so I know Corey will love his. That really is the most exciting news I have to offer you. :o)

WEIRD dream

I just had to weirdest dream ever! It all started with a venomous eel bite while on vacation. This nasty eel bit me like a vampire would. I had deep fang wounds when it was finished. I survived the attack to come down with a very disturbing complication a month later. My left arm was hurting and I woke up one day to the inside of my elbow being very swollen and scale like. The skin had changed colors. It was now yellow and green. Every once in a while a forked tongue would stick out from in between the scales. I FREAKED out and got to the ER as fast as I could. They couldn't tell me anything without a CT Scan. Naturally. So I requested Kristie and Christy to do my scan. The ER docs wanted them to wait because two level three trauma patients were coming to the ER. But Christy decided to ignore them. Kristie started my IV in my right arm. For some reason in my dream it hurt like crazy. Then the doctor let me look at the scan. I had a baby poisonous eel living in my left arm. Then I woke up. My left arm was stiff and cold. CREEPY! It's 8am on a Sunday and I got up so I wouldn't forget any details of the dream.

Running

I've been inspired by all the people I know that ran the Country Music 1/2 and full Marathon today. I've been wanting to start running again for a while. Corey and I are moving in exactly two weeks and I plan on taking full advantage of all the "free" time I'll have since I won't be commuting. Priority one is exercise! Gotta whip this body into better shape! I sure am glad you guys love me because that last sentence sure is nerdy.

Spastic Spring

So this month has been pretty busy! I went on a girls weekend getaway trip with some friends last weekend. We went to a cabin in Pigeon Forge. So pretty but the drive was terrible. I hurt my shoulder at work in early April (partially torn biceps tendon) and it's been so painful. So sitting in a car for six hours was hard to do. But it was worth it to see some friends I never get to see and to make a few new friends.









I went back to the endocrinologist this past Wednesday for a check-up. My hemaglobin A1C was 5.4!!! SOOOOOOO awesome. I can't even tell you how proud of that number I am. Most diabetes doctors want that number under 7 and you're doing good. 5.4 is rock star status. Ok, maybe that's going too far. Ha! Anyway, my TSH was up again meaning my thyroid is not producing enough hormone. So I have to increase my dosage of that med. No big deal. At least I'll not feel so tired soon.

And the big news is...Corey got the job and we are moving back to Jackson three weeks from TODAY! I cannot wait to have a 10 minute commute. But most of all I can't wait to be close to friends again. Deep breath. This year has been tough being away from so many people I love so much. But it's almost over and Corey and I can get established as a couple in Jackson and at Fellowship.

This is us at Benihana in Memphis in January. We went there for our Christmas/New Year Celebration with my aunt and uncle.

Untitled Update

December FLEW by. January was the slowest month I've had in a long time. I guess it felt that way just because it came after December.

Corey started his last semester of nursing school! He has an interview in a few weeks at Jackson General. We're praying he gets the job. That would mean a move back to Jackson for us. Go ahead and say it Jen. Yay! :o)

Living in Paris has been hard for me. No established church home, no friends close by, no social life. Don't get me wrong. Life with Corey is always fun and entertaining. :o) God knew I needed someone to keep me laughing. He sure did provide.

I'm looking forward to no more commuting. Almost three hours a day is rough. I am very thankful I have a job though. I'm just looking forward to that change. 1 hour 15 minutes down to about 10 or 15 minutes. Nice.

My health continues to improve. I feel like I'm getting the hang of taking care of my diabetic self. The afternoon dropsies are starting to come around less and less.

Oh and one more thing I'm really really looking forward to...I guess it's two things really. The Howells and FSM! Woot! I can't wait to back in the lives of the Howells more and with my girls. Who will be in 11th grade this year. What?! Wow. I've known these girls since 7th grade. I've had the joy of watching them grow into beautiful women and watching their hearts grow in their faith.

December Doings

A few weeks ago Corey and I met up with some friends and went to Nashville for the day. We went to see Charlie Brown Ice! It was a lot of fun! We have a month packed full of things to do every weekend. I love this time of year. I get to see people I don't get to see very often. It really feeds my social soul. I also got to go to Andrew Peterson's Christmas concert last weekend. I've seen it several times and it is still such an amazing worship experience for me. I always leave very humbled that the Son of God would come to earth to save us. To save me. I've been to a wedding also. It was beautiful. Really beautiful. Regressive dinner with the FSM girls. They are always so much fun to be around. A few days ago I went down to Memphis for my diabetes check-up. I got a good report! So glad. I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and New Years!

Long time...

I'm sort of stuck in a rut. See, I tend to put things off if I can't really commit a good chunk of time to them. Or I put things off if I'm afraid it won't live up to expectations. My friend, Beth, loves the movie Shawshank Redemption. She always talked about how good of a movie it was and how much I would love it. I kept putting it off. No really good reason, I just did. Then for her birthday one year I promised her I would watch it. I did and I loved it. I'm so weird. Or I don't update my blog because I can't think of anything exciting or interesting to talk about.

Ok, so It's been almost three months since I've updated. I'm still working and commuting. All the time. Corey and I visited a few churches around Paris and found one we like. I'm super excited about that! Corey is almost finished with his next to last semester of school! Yay! I can't wait and I know he can't wait! I had a little procedure done yesterday on my big toes. Not fun. Seriously, the worst pain of my life. But it was for the best and really needed to be done. I'm so glad it's done. Now on to the healing part. Stay classy!

The beautiful blue compression bandage after the procedure.

The big C

I've been trying to find the words to describe how I feel all week. But really it boils down to this: cancer sucks. It doesn't care how old you are, how rich you are, male or female, single or married, Christian or unbeliever. I've been amazed this week and saddened this week. 26 year old male with testicular cancer that has spread throughout his entire body. He has no clue. 30ish year old male starting chemo soon for colon cancer. My aunt receiving the news that she has malignant melanoma.

But then God reminded me that He knows what He's doing and He uses medicine and doctors to heal every day. The reminder came in the form of two patients. Both with aortic valve replacements. That may not sound impressive to you. While I was standing there listening to the clicking of the valve I was overcome with the sense of God's presence. God gave the doctor the knowledge to invent this valve replacement and the ability to place this in a human's heart. I was amazed and encouraged. He knows what He is doing. He has plans. Big plans.

Posting

I find myself experiencing things in my every day life and then thinking,"Oh, I should blog about this." Then I get home and forget what I wanted to say. I will tell you I had a 19 year old patient last week with a lot of fluid around her heart. She was obviously sick and needed help. So we drained the fluid off and she immediately felt tons better. We moved her back to her ER stretcher and she whipped out her cell phone and started texting. Seriously? It made me laugh and shake my head at the same time.

Health

So I know not many people read this so I feel safe venting here. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with my health issues. I have bad days and good days. Some days I feel like it's not a problem and no big deal. Other days I throw myself a pity party and ask, "Why me?" I know there are much larger health issues that people deal with. I know that. Sometimes I just want someone to feel sorry for me. Ugh. I don't like admitting that. But that's the truth. So I'm working on a positive outlook and working everyday to fight the pity party.

In other news, my father-in-law had his hip replaced this past week and it went well. So I will get to see my husband tonight for the first time since Tuesday. It's funny. We were long-distance our entire dating "career." But now we're married and it feels so weird to not have him here. I did get to spend some much needed time with my friend Amy though. Mrs. Cone and Mrs. Konemann together again. :o)

I'm supposed to be working on bills and cleaning the apartment for Corey's arrival. Instead I'm writing to you and picking out a new pair of running shoes for work. Oh yeah, I have a birthday coming up in two weeks. Any ideas of what I can ask for? Corey and my parents always want to know what I want...

A few wedding candids!

Rehersal dinner with all the college roommates together again!








Amanda! And lip gloss. Gotta have the lip gloss.








We call this one "Runaway Bride."











The only few bites of food we got. They were good bites too!








Lunch before the wedding required a bib!








Cousin Ally, me and Lizzie, my sister and Maid of Honor.

Wedding!

I'm married! I'll post more pictures soon. Wedding and honeymoon pictures. You can check out www.cedarway.org for all the official wedding pictures! Look on the right hand side of the page for the Corey and India link.

Wedding Prep

So I'm really enjoying this week. I love how excited everyone is for us and it makes me even more excited than I already am! I'm excited to see far away friends and then to start my marriage with Corey. We have lots of adventures planned and I know there will be adventures we don't plan for. I know there will be ups and downs and days that are super tough. I've seen marriages fail but more importantly than that I've seen many marriages succeed. Corey and I are blessed to have so many examples of healthy marriages around us. Very blessed. I'm excited to see what adventures God has in store for us and our marriage.

Showers

After all the awesome wedding gifts Corey and I have been getting I can't wait to move and set up our "house!" We had a shower this past Saturday and then one on Sunday. Bed Bath and Beyond in Paducah is throwing Corey a shower this weekend. Yay! I can't believe it's almost here. I was talking to some friends at church on Sunday. They were saying how Corey and I should try to join their Community Group. They just lost a couple and we could step into their spot. That would be awesome! I'm really just rambling but wanted to give an update since it's been almost a month. I've really slacked off on my picture taking here lately. The next update you get will probably be wedding pictures!

Family

I feel so overwhelmed with love right now. I LOVE my family so much. We had a going away pigfest for my cousin Mike tonight. He's leaving on the 31st to go to Iraq for a YEAR. I'm so proud of him but I will miss him and worry about him inevitably. If you think about it, please pray for him and his unit. My family is AWESOME!!!

Soon

 52 Days!  Augh!  So much to do but I'm so excited to be married!  Woot!  Woot!

Snow

I forgot to post this picture I took last week of the snow. I just love how peaceful snow is.