Bible Study

I'm so excited! Today is the first meeting of the Ladies for Christ Bible Study. This is the same Bible study group I first started trying to put together a couple of months ago. I finally got the invitations out. I hand made them with chipboard, scrapbook paper, and various scrapbook pieces. They turned out awesome!!

Today our topic will be the power of prayer and what prayer really is. I invited 9 ladies for meetings every other week, that way we'll hopefully always have a least a small group together. I've been looking for Scripture passages related to prayer and found quite a few. Then my mom heard what topic I'm planning on doing and she suggested a book she's been reading by Mother Theresa. It's perfect for our study today. I'm going to tab certain passages and read them to the girls.

I'm hoping it won't be raining when everyone comes over,that way we can sit outside on our patio furniture in the backyard. Even so, we could always sit outside on the balcony since its covered. I'm really glad we finally got patio furniture. We never used to use our balcony since there was no where to sit.

Ideas for Bible studies:
- fresh fruit and veggies
- crackers and dip
- highlighters and pens out for notetaking
- index cards with next Bible study topic on it and suggestion for daily reading
- prayer before starting study and after ending study

I guess I should conclude this post. I need to clean house, get groceries, review passages.

Pray that our first Bible study be a successful one and that the girls show up!

Bad sitter... and stander

I just realized what poor posture I have. I don't think about how I sit or stand until by back starts hurting and my neck feels all cramped up. I keep telling myself that I need to work on my posture, but how can you work on something when you always forget about it or get too busy to notice? A nurse I work with has the best posture ever. She says her mom used to pinch her when she would slouch as a little girl. Yeah... don't think I'll do that to Ella, but I would like her to have good posture. Suggestions welcome!

Tonight after work, Sam and I (maybe Ella too) will be going to a body building contest- or whatever they're called. My sister-in-law, Stacey, will be competing. She's so so soooo ripped, its craziness! She has more muscles than any guys I know. If I can take pics tonight, I'll post 'em. (Sneaky, sneaky!) Really, though, it's insaaane! Even though I would never want something like that for myself, I really admire her dedication. I can't imagine what kind of discipline it must take to wake up every morning to work out at the gym alone at 3:30 am!! And with two little girls... by the time she must get in bed...!

Anyway, I'll post pics later if I get good pics. I've gotta go for now.

Real quick, here are some new pics of... (of course)... Ella!

What the heck happened?

Yesterday and the day before I worked. It was a good two days until yesterday afternoon. I was charge nurse and when I charge, I do a lot extra to help everyone else out. Well I was helping one of the other nurses label her IV tubing when my chest started feeling a little funny. It just felt like there was a little bit of pressure. I wanted to stay in there to help some more, but all of a sudden, I felt like I needed to sit down. I went and sat in the nurses' station for a little bit. Then Jeff asked if I could help him reposition a patient, so I went and helped him. While I was in there it got worse. It just kept getting worse and worse even when I was sitting. Eventually it got so bad I started crying and had to got lay down in one of the empty rooms. I called Sam and told him that I felt horrible.

He was there in 15 minutes and my director let me go home. This all happened around 5, so when I left at 530 I only missed about an hour and a half of work. I felt really bad that I had to leave, especially because I was charge. But I felt so so so bad. On the way home Sam had to pull over a couple of times so I could throw up. I got home and layed down and after about an hour it went away like nothing happened. But before it went away the pain moved to my stomach/upper abdomen. It was so weird. I really wish I knew what the heck happened to me.
This morning I woke up feeling just fine. Strange...

Anyway! I want to do something fun today but I don't know what. Oh! I need to pay our water bill... I keep forgetting and I need to do that before they turn our water off. I can be so forgetful sometimes! That's the only bill I forget about til the day its due. I think I need to put it on my phone's calendar.

I'm wanting to start a ladies' Bible study for my sisters and some close girlfriends of mine. Several weeks ago Sam and Ella when scrapbook-paper shopping with me. I had this idea to handmake these really cute invitations and send them out to each girl to join our study. I started cutting out the invites, but it's taking me soooooo long to finish. I need to work on them today and send them out. I'll post pics of them when I finally finish. :sigh:

Here are some recent pics of Ella Bell. I try to take more today and post later.

Ta-ta for now :)

Oh, the irony!

Last night was Ella's first time to sleep through the night. But I woke up at least 5 times because I kept dreaming I was late for work. Go figure.

Good music

I like that music affects me. I guess I've always been that way. Right now I'm listening to some good Carbon Leaf. I think Pandora is such a great idea. It's cool how they find new music for you in whatever genre you're into. Nifty.
I decided not to go back to sleep after Ella got up to eat at 4. I'm gonna stay up til Sam gets home so that I'll be able to go to sleep when he does. I don't like that we're on different sleep schedules :(
I just finished reading Who You Are When No One"s Looking. Good book. I like that the author really incorporates scripture, even to business principles. It's my kind of book, because I've always been really about integrity. I know I have a long way to go, but integrity is the number one character trait I try to work on. I have so much respect for people who show integrity- I guess because they are who they are even when no ones looking. They don't change. They're real and that's pretty cool.
I'm excited. A group of friends are supposed to be starting a softball team next month. I miss playing so much. I miss playing catch, just throwing the ball around. I miss fielding, catching grounders, the smell of caliche in the summer.
I know this is way random, but I was talking to Sam about recently. I don't ever want to become stagnant. I don't want to stop learning, stop pushing myself. I want to keep building my character and my intellect. I want to keep learning about all kinds of things. Study whatever interests me and push myself to learn about things I haven't ever really been interested in- like physics :( It's kind of funny because I've always thought people who read "self-help" books are weird, but how else can I expect mind to be opened to new ways of thinking if I don't allow them in?
So I just decided that I really like Carbon Leaf and I just found a new band similar to them- Sister Hazel- on Pandora. Really cool :) I love good music.
I can hear Ella sighing in her sleep on the baby monitor... my sweet girl :) I absolutely love being a mom.
I guess I should conclude this post. I need to get some stuff done. Have a great day everyone!

Late night thoughts

Do you ever feel like you are disconnected from everyone, like no one can relate, like there's no one to talk to? That's pretty much how I feel right now. I'm tired. Ella was fussy all day, poor baby had a diaper rash and was hurting. She wore me out, trying to keep her entertained and comfortable. I'm glad I went over to my parents. My mom always lets me rest. Its like going on a little retreat for a few hours. Yes, a much needed retreat where I leave feeling a bit rejuvenated. I should be trying to go to sleep right now, but I guess I'm just thinking too much for that. Today was a bit of an awkward and lonely day. Sam didn't sleep at all yesterday except maybe 2 hours, so when he got home this morning he crashed til mid-afternoon. It was pretty much just me and Ella Bell and like I said earlier, she wore me out. I think the nicest part of all day was sitting outside with her in the cool breeze. I sang to her and she cooed at the songs she liked :) She likes to look at trees. I hope she's an outdoorsy kinda girl. Can't wait to take her camping. I feel like talking to someone rather than writing this entry, but it's late and there's no one I want to bother or wake up. I feel lonely and a little sad. I guess because Ella's asleep and the house is so quiet. Since there's not much else to do, I guess I'll go lay in bed and see if sleep becomes me.
Sorry for the depressing post. Maybe I'll be more upbeat tomorrow. Goodnight all.

I feel like

today is Mother's Day :) I'm getting spoiled <3