A Visit with the Twins

After the craziness of the holidays I was finally able to get together with Amanda and get to cuddle her sweet babies Ainsley and Carson. She packed up the babies and picked me up and we headed to the mall for a wonderful lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. After lunch we strolled around the mall and hit the sales at Gymboree and Bath and Body Works. Then we headed back to my house. It was so fun to hang out and catch up and play with the babies. I was so amazed at how good they were!! They slept all through lunch and shopping without making a peep. What a fun day off :-)

Pulling a 24

Yesterday started like most days when I have to work. Alarm clock goes off at 4:50am, I hit snooze 2-3 times and then slowly drag myself out of bed to get ready. It was a good day at work not too slow, not too crazy just a nice steady work day and I got out a few minutes early. Then I headed to Blue Heaven (aka Chapel Hill) to see my boys take on the College of Charleston Cougars. It was a great game!! We scored over 100 points, had some great shots and even the scrubs got in and scored some points. It was so fun to be back there!! I realized it has been a couple of years since I have been to a game and driving through Chapel Hill always brings back memories of living there and being in nursing school. It was a 9:00 game so I didn't get home until almost midnight (at this point I had been up for 19hrs). When I got home I saw that my roommate Stephanie was still up so I went into her room to talk to her. She told me about her bad day of getting sick at work, going to urgent care, etc and as she was talking to me her pain came back and off we headed to the ER (after running 3 red lights to get there as fast as possible:-) Luckily not much was going on there so we got in pretty quickly and there was a recliner in her curtain area I could lay in. A few tests, some pain meds, an ultrasound and 5 hours later we were headed home. When we got home I remembered why I no longer work night shift and that I am too old to stay up all night!! :-)
the boys in blue warming upTyler Hansbrough shooting free throws

Happy New Year

the Christmas Tree pre-present opening at my parents' house :-)

me and my sweet neice Laila on Christmas morning

our whole family at Broadway at the Beach

Laila and her new bear 'Cassie' at build-a -bear

me and my littlest sister Meghan after a yummy dinner in Calabash NC

all the Grant girls in our matching pj pants that my mom put in our stockings...love them!!

A New Year, a New Post :-) I can't believe how fast the end of the year went!! It has been awhile since I posted anything and hopefully with a new year I'll be a little bit more on top of my blogging...hopefully!!

December is always a busy month, but the Christmas season always makes me reflect on where I am in life and my relationship with the Lord and what is truly important. There were multiple parties and events and some christmas light viewings which are always fun..heehee. But the best part of the whole season was having a whole week to be with my family. I drove home on Christmas Eve night and we had a huge dinner at my sister's in-laws house. The food was delicious and getting to see all the grandchildren playing together was so fun. Christmas morning is always crazy because there are sooo many gifts and everyone takes turns opening gifts which makes it much more special, but also can take hours to open all the gifts :-) Christmas afternoon, my parents, my brother and sisters that still live at home, myself and Karoline went to High School Musical 3. It was cute but VERY cheesy, however the best part was when we came out and my mom asked my brother John how he liked the movie and he said that he now knew that heaven really existed because he had just been in hell..hilarious!!!

On Saturday we all headed down to Myrtle Beach for our annual Grant family post-christmas vacation. Everyone was able to come even my sister Meredith flew in from Seattle to spend christmas and go to the beach. This year my sister Erin and my sister-in-law Jenna found a new place for us to stay and it was AMAZING!! It was an 8 bedroom, 7 bathroom, 3 story 'condo'. All of us were able to stay in the same place, have plenty of room to sleep and enough bathrooms that it didnt' take hours for everyone to get ready, and there were even extra beds with no one sleeping in them. We LOVED it!! And it was close to everything we love to do when we are down there. We outlet shopped ourselves to death, drove up to Calabash NC one night for seafood, trolled around Broadway at the Beach, watched ALOT of football, and played board games every chance we got. But most of all we just got to hang out and spend time together and love on one another. My cousin Allison and her boyfriend Tom stayed one night on their way back to Baltimore from Florida.

Several months ago when I was thinking about the end of one year and the beginning of another I was really dreading it. It meant another year of getting older and still not being married or even close and I was content to kind of wallow in that dread. But over the last couple of weeks I have really been thinking and praying about where I am and what the Lord has for me over this next year. And even if what I want for myself may not happen this year, what He has for me over the next year is what is best for me and I am really excited about it!! Who knows what will take place and where He will take me and that thrills me. So I have decided not to make any new year's resolutions but to resolve to know Him and love Him more and bring His name glory in all that I do!!

Outrageous October!!

Well I guess its about time to update the blog...it has been awhile!!! October was a whirlwind month but was alot of fun!! The first weekend of the month I had to work and get my weekend shifts out of the way for the rest of the month. The next weekend I threw a baby shower for my good friend Amanda who was pregnant with twins :-) It was for our work friends and we had a great time!! There was a good turnout and instead of shower games (which I HATE) we decorated cloth diapers and onesies with stencils and puffy paint. It was soo much fun and they all turned out super cute!!

The next weekend was wedding #1 for the month of October. My friends Becca and Jason got married at our church and then had a fantastic reception at the Brownstone Hotel in downtown Raleigh. It was such a beautiful wedding and all who attended kept saying how every detail was so 'them'. The reception was a blast with great food and lots of fun dancing. The funniest part was them walking back down the isle to Stephen Curtis Chapman's song "The Great Adventure".

Wedding #2 was the next weekend in Greensboro!! My cousin Kristin got married and I had the privilege of doing the scripture reading in the wedding. My nephew Riley was the ringbearer and he was absolutely adorable!! We weren't sure if he was going to make it down the isle because at the rehearsal he was acting extremely shy, but on the day he made it!! It was a very relaxing weekend and we got to spend some real quality time as a family. And of course I got to catch up on my baby lovin' with my new neice Laila at my nephew Mason's 2nd Birthday party on sunday afternoon. There was even a family game of kickball...hilarious!!

It amazes me how fast time goes by...I can hardly believe we are almost halfway through November!! Christmas is right around the corner...whew!! But with Thanksgiving coming, I am starting to think about all that I have to be thankful for. God has truly blessed me and I don't thank Him nearly often enough. With the way our economy is I am definitely thankful to have a job and a house and I can pay my bills. I pray that I will be continually thankful and not take these things for granted.

PS-Amanda's babies, Ainsley and Carson, were born the last day of October!! They are sooo precious!! I got to meet them both this week :-)

NC AG Jam Festival

Jill and I in 4th row!!
Chuck Crawford our favorite fiddler/guitar player
for Heartland

Jake Owen
Blake Shelton

This past weekend I got to do one of my favorite things in the world with one of my favorite people in the world. Jill, my old roommate, and I went to the outdoor amphitheater in Raleigh (it has been renamed so many times I have no idea what it is called anymore) to attend the first annual North Carolina AG Jam Festival. It was an all day festival showcasing North Carolina produce and vendors as well as various country music artists.



Our seats were on the 4th row (Jill rocks at getting close seats) and just to the left of the catwalk that comes out from the stage so we were VERY close to the performers!!! We missed the very first band, but were there for all the rest: Heartland, Jake Owen, Eric Church, Tracy Byrd and Blake Shelton. It was AWESOME!!! We swooned over Jake and Blake and let our inner redneck women out for the evening :-) But most importantly I remembered how much I miss living with her and how much fun we have no matter what we are doing. I thank the Lord for blessing me with such an incredible friend!!

Wedding Season...

Well once again I have reached another season of weddings in my life. Last weekend one of my roommates and good friends, Steph, got married to another good friend Eric. It was such an honor to be part of their special day by doing a scripture reading during the ceremony and to help out on the day of the wedding with last minute details.

The ceremony was at our church, Providence Baptist Church, and the reception was at the River Ridge Golf and Tennis Club. And despite Hurricane Hanna's threat, the day turned out to be gorgeous!! It was an outdoor reception with a very fun DJ, lots of fun dancing, and kegs of root beer (eric's favorite beverage). It was so much fun to hang out with almost all of our closest friends and to cut loose and do some crazy dancing :-) And of course it is always fun to get a new dress and get all dressed up!!

Back to Work

Well after almost a month off of work I jumped back into the trenches yesterday morning. I forgot how painful getting up at 5am can be :-) But, the Lord was so faithful!! I really prayed that things would go smoothly, that the unit wouldn't be in utter chaos, which is what it has been for the last few weeks, and that I would remember why I love my job so much. I honestly don't think that things could have gone better!!! I have had 2 great days, got to share a little bit about my travels with several of my coworkers and I was able to really focus on caring for the babies and wasn't distracted by any drama or management related issues. My batteries have been recharged and the Lord has restored my focus and my love for my patients and their families.

"O Lord you are my God, I will exalt you. I will give thanks to your name. For you have worked wonders, plans formed long ago with perfect faithfulness." Isaiah 25:1