Wii at the Confer House

I came to my parents house on Friday for the weekend. My mom had told me earlier this week that she had a surprise for me, but I couldn't take it home with me. Hmm...So last night she brings out a Wii. So I helped them set it up and we all played and it was endless entertainment. I really wanted to put up a video of mom wakeboarding, but I think she wouldn't like me very much, but here's dad wakeboarding on Wii Resort:

Mom and I did the canoeing together and we worked really well as a team. Dad was actually really good at wakeboarding. We also had fun creating the other Miis for Denver, Audrey, and Brielle. More family fun to be had at the Confer House.

Cincinnati Experience

My good friend Jeff came to visit on Tuesday, he drove all the way from Connecticut for one day so I had to give him the full Cincinnati experience on Wednesday. We had a great day starting off at Jungle Jim's then on to Dewey's Pizza for lunch, the art museum, Eden Park, Mt. Adams, Skyline Chili at Fountain Square and then off to the Great American Ballpark to watch the Reds play the Nationals or rather against Stephen Strasburg. We had a super fun day. It was so good to have a good old friend for a visit.

A Broken Record

Another week has gone by. I really loved my job this week, especially one patient in particular who is making great progress and makes my job really fun and rewarding. I have one patient who is very challenging to work due behavioral/cognitive problems and is also deaf. There's been an interpreter everyday this week except today so I used a dry erase board to communicate with him. Yesterday he tried getting up by himself and almost fell until I put him back on the bad. He also swore at me and raise his hand like he was going to hit me. These are the times where I have to pray for God's wisdom on how to approach this kid. But today was a better today, mostly because he was very lethargic due to some Valium he had gotten earlier.

The past few weeks I've been out of sorts in my walk with God. Ignoring what I know I should be doing in place of what I want to do sometimes. I see this pattern in myself. I don't know why I get caught up in other things besides God, I know his hand is always present in my life. But sometimes my convictions are so weak. I know what I should want to do, I should want to obey a God who loves unconditionally and provides for me in every way possible, but I turn away and go on my own. But I know he is always there, waiting for me to come back home.

Ahh..Saturdays

Saturday mornings are my favorite time of the week. Today was an ideal Saturday for me. Woke up a little after 8 and started my day off right with my coffee on the porch while reading my bible. I typically read at night, and this week my consistency was very poor. But starting off the day reading God's word set the tone and my mindset for the day. Reading is such an integral and staple of our walk but I'm often very lazy and not committed to it. After my coffee and bible reading were completed, I cleaned out the fridge, washed some dishes and vacuumed. Then I paid some bills and painted my toenails. I got some food in there and then it was time for the pool. I spent a good portion of my afternoon reading and listening to music. I know for some, sitting by the pool may seem boring, but it is one of my favorite things to do, if you can call it "doing" something. The sun felt so good, not too hot today. Then I came back and ate again, got cleaned up and went to Target to pick up some essentials. I then got to play some tennis with my neighbor, I figured out that I am better with a left backhand than right backhand, go figure. And now I'm finishing up the day with the Harry Potter movie weekend on ABC Family, a good way to end the day.

After reflecting on how much I enjoyed my day and how relaxing it was, I then thought about how what I did today really didn't affect anyone, my day was completely about me and what I wanted to do. While I know it's ok to have these days from time to time, I want to produce good fruit more days than not. Matthew 6:33 served as a good reminder for me today on my day calendar. What can I do to produce good fruit for the kingdom of God?

Busy Week

I can't believe it's already Friday. This week flew by. I had a pretty uneventful week, census is very low right now, I have I think 11 patients on my team, there was a time where I had 19. We all ended up getting out early today. I had absolutely no plans for this evening until my best gal pal here Elina invited me over for dinner.

I feel like my life is kinda of monotonous most of the time but then I have to remind myself and remember all that God is doing and who He is. I'm reminded when I read some blogs of my friends I see how God's plan and providence reign. My lifelong friend Lindsey, who I've known since I was 5, is now a mother of identical twin girls! I can't believe we're at this point in our lives. And at times I feel like I'm so far behind everyone else, being single and nowhere close to marriage. But I also know that God's timing and planning are perfect and I am happy where I am.

Old Car, New Car

I was driving to the store after work on Friday to pick up some stuff to make for Saturday night get together at my friend's Kyle and Melissa's. I entered the ramp to get onto I-75 and my car couldn't go as fast and the engine was really loud, I don't know a lot about cars, but I knew something was wrong. So I prayed and God got me to my destination. I parked in a spot at WalMart and called my mom, sobbing about my poor little Gwen (my car). Mom was helping with a funeral dinner so I called my dad who provided me a number for a towing service. I could shift the gears but I could not reverse. I waited around for the tow truck. A little side bar history of my car, my first and only car-Gwen, a '99 Nissan Sentra I bought right before my senior year of high school started (2002), 3 years old, 28,000 miles, a great starter car and it lasted me until July 2, 2010. It was a little disheartening watching Gwen being loaded up onto the tow truck. We got to the Nissan dealership closest to my house. They took it out for a spin and the verdict: transmission is done. Dah!!! Worst case scenario realized. As I was processing what this meant, I asked how much would it be to replace it-$3800, most likely more than my car is worth at this point. So my friend's Daniel and Elina picked me up and drove me to the car rental dealership. Elina remembered that Daniel's brother Kyle and wife Melissa had a spare car. So Elina dials them up and then next thing you know, I have a car to borrow instead of renting one! Praise God. I asked mom and dad to come down Saturday and to help me start my search for a new car. And I bought one! A great little 2008 Civic that's just right for me. I was initially not excited at all about looking for a new car, Gwen was perfect for me! I didn't want to spend any money or have a car payment but once I knew I was getting a new, those feelings changed. However, it is a little bittersweet. I was thinking about when I first got Gwen and the freedom that meant for me and all of the trips to IN, CT, PA, OH, TN, Washington DC, and all the little stops in between. That car has a lot of memories. But then I think, "it's just a car" I can't take it with me, it's been great, I'll miss her, but it's all ok. I was thinking about my first entry when I wrote that even during our crappy days, Jesus makes all the difference...and this whole situation has been a shining example of how true that is and how God provided and answered prayers in ways I wasn't anticipating. I'm so thankful to know Him as my God. He knows us so much better than we think we know ourselves, and provides in unexpected ways and makes the impossible possible.

Work

So lots of people have blogs...and I have a few that I do keep up with. I thought I'd give it a shot. I don't really know what to write about. It seems that my life is pretty uneventful in the grand scheme of things but I have nothing to complain about. Ok, well some days aren't always great but I know Jesus, and He makes all the difference during my difficult and frustrating days at work. I love my job, at the end of the day I wouldn't want to do anything else. But this week has just been frustrating, patients aren't dressed and ready for therapy, people from other disciplines don't check the therapy schedule board and I miss treatment time with my patients due to a lack of consideration and respect, people refuse, etc. etc. It seems to come in waves like that, some weeks you get to see everyone and everyone's ready and you're not running around trying to find pants or socks for your patients. You get everyone for their full half hour or hour long treatment session and I will feel like I did my job well. This was not one of those weeks for me. Needless to say, I'm trying to learn to take it in stride and just accept the things that are out of my control and do the best I can with what I have. I'm thankful to have a job and be in a place that I love. Jesus makes all the difference.