New Work!

Such a busy month this month! Amanda graduates in just 4 short days - she just completely her last big assignment mere minutes ago! But the big day is upon us, and soon she will have her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Grand Canyon University! Graduation ceremonies are this weekend - Friday night pinning ceremony and the big commencement on Saturday in Chase Field. Many family and friends are coming to town - should be a fun-filled weekend of celebration. After that she just has to study up and pass the NCLEX boards to get her RN! We are keeping our fingers crossed that John C. Lincoln-North Mountain's ICU, where she currently is an extern, will bring her on full-time! Please keep that in your prayers.

As far as I am concerned - my seemingly long unemployment period is over. I am in my second week as the Church and Community Partnership Associate for the Arizona CityFest. This is a position with the Luis Palau Association for an upcoming event in Arizona which is an outreach to the Valley, bring churches, business, and civic leaders together to serve the needs of the community. It also culminates in a festival with much fun and where the Gospel is preached. Check out www.facebook.com/arizonacityfest

Outside of these new developments with work and school, life at Fuller continues well...inching ever closer. Current classes are Pastoral Counseling, 1 Peter Exegesis, and Systematic Theology III (Ecclesiology and Eschatology). Yup, it's definitely Seminary!

the nights by myself

this night schedule is really cool in some ways...and then kinda cruddy in others. for example, i got off work sunday morning at 730am. came home, talked with rob (as he had just woken up for the day) and was in bed by 930am. slept till 5pm, got up and went to dinner with rob...and came home and barely could keep my eyes open and it was only 830pm. i had just gotten off 3 shifts in a row so i was pretty exhausted. so, in bed by 9pm sunday night...and up by 1am. got up, worked on school projects and headed to the gym around 515 am. worked out and on my way home, stopped by einstein bagels to pick up a bagels for my class that day. jumped in the shower around 615 am, out the door around 7am and class from 8am-12pm. class picture & exit interview with the dean had me headed off campus around 3pm. came home EXHAUSTED with a headache and went to bed and woke up around 530pm. felt lazy and sluggish, finally got wendys for dinner and tucked rob into bed around midnight (after i had vacumned the whole house while he had 3 hours of hw to do). now, here i sit, wide awake with a tired puppy at 3am in the morning. ugh!! i love the night shift bc it lets me get up early and get lots of stuff done...but then i get tired early so have to nap and that just recharges me and leaves me wide awake all night...

Desert in Bloom & Weird Sleep/Wake Schedules

can you believe the blooms on that prickly pear cactus? the desert is in full bloom right now and it is unbelievable. there are yellows, oranges, pinks, fuschia, even purple...my favorite color! we had a lot of rain this winter and it has turned this desert into an incredible array of color.

the picture of the with the prickly pear cactus i captured on my phone. i was walking to my car after a class this past week and the colors caught my eye, i literally stopped midsentenced and said "rob, you wouldnt believe the blooms on this cactus! i gotta let you go so i can take some pictures!" this time of year goes by too quickly, i am trying to savor every minute of it.

...but its hard to do that when you are up all night and sleep all day! that is currently my schedule, it bites! even when i dont have to work, my body doesnt let me sleep until 3/4 in the morning. for instance, tonight i was tired after small group so rob and i went to bed around 945pm. at 1215am i woke up, wide awake. i tossed and turned till 115am and finally got out of bed. now, after watching some television (16 and pregnant, such a great show! i really feel for those teen moms), i am now on the computer. after finishing this post, i am going to start working on some schoolwork, that should put me to sleep!!

4 weeks till graduation, wow.