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summer doldrums

amanda here. so far to describe my summer: lazy!! :D at anytime i could change that and start planning things to fill my days so at the end of them i dont feel so unproductive, but i always tell myself i'll do that tomorrow ;)

anyways, i know once the fall starts i'm going to be go-go-go until may, when i graduate!! whoo-oo!!! the end is near and i am so darn excited. this time next year i will be studying for my NCLEX (the boards to become a registered nurse) and probably anxious/nervous/stressed as ever. once i have taken (and passed) my NCLEX i am hoping to go on a cruise as a celebration. there are two things i have had as rewards for myself ever since i started nursing school: new car and celebrate by going on a cruise. i have never had a new car and i have never been on a cruise. the cruise doesn't even have to be exclusively rob and me...the more the merrier actually. it'll be a celebration! as far as the new car, i probably wont buy brand new bc even though i'm not the most frugal person in the world, i know that the minute you drive that car off the lot it starts to depreciate in value. i'd rather buy used, with less than 10,000 miles and the car seems brand new. my eyes are set on an infinit g 37 coupe, even though i know that wont happen. probably get a nissan murano or something in that category. gotta start thinking of the new additions that will be here sooner than later!

speaking of starting a family...it's kinda surreal that this part of my life, being a mom, is so close. will i ever be truly ready? no. but who is? there are things rob and i want to do before having little ones (like travel to europe) but i know we are going to be the type where we dont let our little ones slow us down, they will just be on the ride with us! i am reading the Duggars book (the family that has 18 kids) and it is really amazing the values, morals, and character traits they instill in their children and how they do it. they are a christian family and the way they raise their children is amazing. i'm reading and thinking "wow, they are truly raising their children to live for and love God" and that is a goal of mine; however, i wonder how i could ever do it. but, that is where faith comes in and i know that God will give me the words when i need them and direction in raising our children and therefore i am not worried.

well, didnt think i was going to go into all that! was just going to write about how lazy and bored i've been this summer :)

seattle vacation

rob and i got back into phoenix this morning after our 6 day seattle vacation! we left last wednesday and returned this tuesday morning.we couldn't have asked for better weather! the whole time we were there it was sunny, clear skies, warm with a cool (refreshing breeze), and just perfect weather.

we explored downtown seattle and checked out Pike Market (where they throw the fish), checked out different vendors, ate at Pike Brew and Co., visited a wine tasting room, and walked around taking pictures. of course, we got some coffee, but not from starbucks though we did stop in the original starbucks just to say that we had :)

we stayed with our friends joe and joanna and their little chihuahua molly. molly doesnt like me, oh well! i like my bigger sonora anyways :) she does remind me of my childhood chihuahua mugsy though, which was cute. over memorial day weekend we headed out to the Washington/Oregan border to spend a couple days on in a cabin in the woods. we stayed at the flying l ranch and it was so peaceful in relaxing. i went on a short 1 mile hike the first evening by myself and saw two woodpeckers actually pecking a tree and two deer. rob spent some time by the pond there watching the sunset over Mt. Adams. We went for a short 4 mile hike and saw a beautiful water fall and just enjoyed relaxing and not having to watch a clock. Rob led a devotion (devo) for us on our last evening there and it was good to talk with friends about spiritual things.

on one of the days we were in seattle we took a ferry over to (well, cant remember the name of the town) and when we got to the other side we just rambled through the country side and took in the beauty that is the seattle area! that evening, joanna took a ferry over and met up with us. we then found this amazing pizza restaurant where the owners were super friendly and just made our dinner so fun and memorable.


i'm kinda too tired to write more, but all in all, it was a very relaxing trip and it made me realize how much i really just love being with rob and hanging out with him. he is my best friend and favorite travel companion and i couldnt imagine living this life without him.


on that note...i'll post a picture with this post and get off the computer for the night!

God's direction for us!

Amanda mentioned a bit of this earlier - but wanted to go ahead and give a bit more of an update on where we are and what we get to do!

Well, long story short is the opportunity arose with our church - The Refinery Christian Church in Goodyear, AZ to begin doing some work in the outreach and community service areas. There was another type of job that had been on the horizon, but which God slowed the process down. Some medical issue, etc. on the part of those involved have not killed that project, but slowed it down. Anyway, during this time is also when the last job went south, leading to unemployment. This was a good thing! God was working through this all to open a door into something better at the church. The Community Involvement Intern position.

What this position involves is creating and establishing our churches involvement in serving the needs of the community. Bascially, each of the ways that we can do service work, whether local, nationwide, or international. I'm excited! The secondary responsibility is Small Groups, which is cool too!

Outside of this, we leave for a near week in Seattle Wednesday! Exciting, getting to spend some time up in the mountains, etc! and away from our 100+ heat (which is way early and above average at this time, by the way!).

summer has begun!

Last week I finished up the 3rd block in nursing school...and I passed so that is always good news :) I now am enjoying my 4 month summer break and will be ready to start back up in August. In block 4 i will be tackling psych and community health. block 5 will cover critical care, leadership, and my capstone project. this time next year, i will so excited that i have graduated and nervous as i study for my NCLEX (the boards you take to become a registered nurse). i am going to take the NCLEX as soon as possible after graduation. i have already told rob i want to go on a vacation (preferably a cruise) to celebrate after taking my boards.

rob accepted the position of Community Involvement Intern at our church, The Refinery. We are super excited to see what God has in store-because we know He's just going to show himself and work through our lives in an amazing way.

This week our highs are in the 100's, so safe to say we are HOT! We are already starting to use our pool! It feels great and really helps to cool you down, not sure how people survive in Phoenix w/o a pool!

Today i worked a looooong and boring 12 hour shift at work...and now i get to look forward to the 3 hour finale of Biggest Loser, my absolutely fav show! Not only do i enjoy watching it but it motivates me to stay active and eat right. Truly, it is one factor that has kept me energized to keep back in shape. That and i want to be bathing suit ready and it helps me enjoy hikes (and other physical activities) w/ Rob because I am able to keep up and enjoy doing it with him.

Thats all from me for now...i'm going to get Rob on here to update about his job situation and other things like that :D

Oh yeah, one more thing. We are headed to Seattle next week to visit Joe & Joanna. I have never been to Seattle, much less the northwest so i am really looking forward to it. i know its just going to be beautiful. we may do some hiking, explore the city, and keep things simple so there is lots of flexibility and spontaneity; should be a wonderful vacation!

Hitting 100

Well, it has officially hit 100 degrees here in Phoenix! i sweated through the two days of extreme heat while Rob was in Irvine, California for a conference for the "next generation" Christian Leaders. The conference was called Catalyist West Coast. I'll let Rob write more about all the learned and gleaned from the conference if he wants. He was super excited, revitalized, and ready to go full force into whatever God has planned for him and we are really thinking it is going to be something in ministry. We will definitely keep you updated on that because there are some really cool things going on right now that Rob may be a part of...I just ask for prayers of guidance for us in the next couple weeks.

Tuesday is my final day of class for this semester and then I'm off for 4 months! I love the time off and am already planning days of laying by the pool, catching up on cleaning, working in the yard, and just relaxing. Even though i haven't neccessarily felt stressed the last few weeks with it being the end of the semseter, my stress has manifested itself in the stomach flu and now an annoying head cold that won't go away! I always seem to get sick at the end of the semester!

This summer we have lots of things we want to do, but we will see what actually comes to fruition. These "things" include: visiting Joe & Joanna in Seattle, planning a spiritual retreat with friends, visiting family in Colorado and hiking Wade's last Colorado 14er with him, visiting with family in Indiana during the 4th of July, and spending some time in at the Grand Canyon.

Other than all that, not much has been going on here at the house. We are staying busy with school & work and spending lots of time with Sonora who is always begging for our attention! We got a "Save the Date" invitation for my cousin Ben's wedding in Orlando at the end of the year so that is something to look forward to! I guess that is about all for now!

Update

Well, thought I should get on here and do a little update! Rob and I have started full swing back into classes after a quick weekend trip to San Diego. It is so nice to be so close to California! While in San Diego we went whale watching, tried out some neat restaurants, walked around and shopped in the Gas Light District, and enjoyed the cool weather San Diego was having. It is already starting to heat up here in Phoenix. Rhonda and Gary are visiting us this week and today we have spent the whole day outside. Working in the yard, reading, talk, drinking ice tea, having lunch outside, and listening to music. It has been wonderful!

I have started my new rotation in Pediatrics. It is definitely emotionally draining and I am ready for summer break and this rotation to be over. Our professor's son was just diagnosed with cancer after being in remission for the 6th time so it is definitely a unique situation to be in.

Rob has had some recent developments with work and most who read this blog we have already talked to about it so I won't post it all over the internet!

Other than that, Rob and I are really enjoying the weather and our church and spending time with each other. But, we hope to get some good quality time in with friends this summer! True friends are hard to come by and the ones you have you don't want to lose...no matter how far away they are! We are so thankful for the great friends we have made here in Phoenix too :)