January 2019

This year I am trying to change a few things about myself and how I function on a normal basis. I want to make 2019 the year when I try to start getting my priorities aligned more how I would want them, which is God first, family, work, and then Kentucky sports. Sometimes I get these things out of order and I want to make a valiant effort to try and keep these in check this year. Our year started out with Jennifer at work for New Years Eve. So, for the first time in my life I didn't even stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop in New York City. I went to bed early so that I could get up and start the year on a fresh note.

We got a lot of new board games from family for Christmas so we had to break them out and play them over the Christmas break. Landon really studying the Clue board.

Our first game of Junior Ticket to Ride. Brinley is holding up her Golden Ticket that she got for being the winner.

This game, 5 Minute Marvel, was a huge hit with Landon. You get to play with all kinds of superheros and you fight against evil bad guys.

 I heard that Benny Snell, Jr. was going to be doing an autograph tour. I really wanted to go meet him and take the kids. It was insanely busy with over 400 groups of people waiting to meet Benny. Thankfully he stayed around to meet everyone, including us who had ticket number 326.

Brinley and Benny!

The kids and Benny. Landon really wanted to tell him "Snell Yeah", but it was so loud in the restaurant that there is no way he would have ever heard Landon say it.

So glad to meet the all-time leading rusher in UK Football history. So, glad that I got to see him do work up close this year with my role on the Committee of 101.

I was lucky enough to find this jersey the night before the signing. I was so distracted when it was our turn to meet Benny that I forgot to tell them that I wanted him to sign the front of the jersey. I wanted this because the back didn't have his name on it and I really wouldn't want to have it displayed if it just looked like a blue jersey that was signed. 

While I was in the mood of hanging up stuff I finally decided to hang up my signed UK basketball jerseys. I have Malik Monk, Jamal Murray, and Keven Knox. My UK sports memorabilia area has become a nice little collection.

 Landon has a summer birthday and was really upset last year when it rolled around to Brinley's birthday and she got to take treats to school. We decided to make it up to Landon by celebrating his half-birthday. He picked for us to bring donuts to school for him and all of his friends. He was so excited about being able to celebrate with all of his friends.

We stuck these little dinosaur heads that were filled with candy in the donuts. Landon got to pick out what kind of donut and he picked original glaze so that everyone would like them.

As much as I volunteer at the school I very rarely have ever stayed for lunch. Well, the first time that I stayed for lunch this year was on Landon's half birthday. He loved having me sit with him at a special table. I asked him if he wanted me to stay and eat lunch with Brinley after his class got done. He said no, so I left and went home before Brinley's class came into the cafeteria.

I am a huge advocate of blood donation. I get to see first hand at work what blood products are used for. That is why every 2 months I go in and give my donation to help save a life. It is relatively quick and painless in the long run. I of course was also excited about it being a competition between UK and the University of Florida for Big Blue Slam. They usually hold the event at Rupp Arena, but for some reason they didn't this year. Thankfully we were able to beat Florida in the blood drive and on the basketball court this year!

The kids are always asking to go and do fun stuff. So one afternoon I took the kids to Monkey Joe's so that they could run around and bounce until their little bodies couldn't take it any more. They had a blast. I hate just sitting and doing nothing so I walked laps around the inside of the building. The people working and people in there watching kids probably thought I was a crazy man, but it made me feel like it wasn't wasted time.

Jennifer and I took the kids down to Rupp Arena to see the gymnastics team compete against Arkansas at Excite Night. They got their faces painted (Brinley a dolphin and Landon a dinosaur claw) and then after we found our seats we ran into Scratch!

I was working the event as a member of the Committee of 101 but was able to find a little time to spend with these awesome little kids. They really enjoyed the Rupp Arena ice cream as well!

We weren't exactly sure what all we were seeing the whole time, but the crowd sure went wild every time one of the UK gymnasts landed a stunt. 

My little girl loved it! She said that she wanted to start taking gymnastics afterwards.

Look at that smile! Little girl lost her 3rd tooth and the first on the top.

She had to get her tooth holder so that the tooth fairy could come visit her. She was lucky enough to get $5 from the tooth fairy the next morning.

We have been doing some cleaning around the house and I found my old wallet. I asked Landon if he wanted it! You would have thought that I had given him a family heirloom. The kid was so excited and was even happy about all the old "credit cards" that I left in it for him. They were actually old discount cards and loyalty cards to some old businesses. The only thing that he kept asking me about was why he didn't have an ID. I did some research and found out that if you go down to the local DMV that you can get your child an ID. These kids patiently waited in line for about 20 minutes and then smiled so big when they were taking their picture. Definitely worth the 4 dollars that it cost!

I have been working all the home basketball games this year and haven't gotten to experience the thrill of siting in the stands and not having to worry about helping people find a seat or showing someone wear the nearest concession stand or bathroom were located.  I had even gotten new seats for my season tickets. I finally got to sit in them for the Kansas game.

My forever date. Happy to finally have a night out on the town with my favorite lady.

The kids and I went to see Rapunzel at the Lexington Children's Theatre. Brinley really enjoyed it and even wanted her picture made in the photo with props to make her look like Rapunzel. Landon wanted no part in it. Before the show they had where you could make encouragement signs for a local outreach group and their upcoming race. Landon was a little pouty because he wanted to make and keep a sign. I did help him make a sign and it said "Run like a Dinosaur is chasing you!". Too bad I didn't take a picture of it. 

Landon did however want to get a picture with the actress that played Rapunzel. This was a very unique intrepretation of Rapunzel and it was abstract at times. Only 3 characters told the entire story and there was very minimal use of props. I actually took a quick little nap during the middle of it! Turning more into my dad each and every day! When it was over both kids said that they really enjoyed it, so that was a win!

After out first cancelled day of school due to increased illness in the county, we finally got to celebrate the 100th day of school! Landon picked out the theme of his shirt and then Jennifer and I helped with the execution of the design. I think it turned out pretty awesome! Landon really loved it and he got lots of complements on it.

I decided to stay and have lunch with the kids again. All the kids wanted to come over and sit beside us, but the teacher told them that they weren't allowed. So, I just got to spend some one on one time with my little man.

A few minutes after Landon's lunch was over this wonderful little girl walked in with her class for lunch. She was so surprised because I hadn't mentioned anything about having lunch with her. I was so excited that I was able to surprise her. We had a great time talking about her day so far.

The kids also had their first snow days of the year and we got a little stir crazy in the house so we broke out one afternoon and headed to Chuck E. Cheese for a little fun. The kids played and so did Jennifer and I! Here is my favorite picture of the day because Jennifer usually hates this place and I think she actually had some fun this time. I kept feeding her coins and she got all of these tickets! Landon is looking on from behind and doesn't know what to think.

The kids loved this racing game and Brinley was so pumped that she came in first place. The game even took her picture which I thought was pretty hilarious. 

This January was a great start to the year. We had a lot of fun over the last month. We can't wait to see what this year has in store for us, like starting my new job in a couple of months. The kids are growing up so fast and we want to enjoy every moment possible with these two wonderful children. May 2019 be an amazing and happy year for you and your family! Can't wait to see what other fun things happen this year. Thanks for reading and God bless!

Pinnacles with Jennifer

A few years ago I was introduced to hiking. I have loved it! Being out in nature is so peaceful and refreshing. There are a couple of really nice hiking spots in and around the Lexington area. A couple of months ago we dropped the kids off at school and then headed down to Berea to hike the Pinnacles. Jennifer and I had tried once before to hike here but there was a festival going on and they said we were not allowed to hike, which kind of bummed us out because we had just made the 30 minute drive down there. Thankfully this time there was nothing going on and we were free to hike. We made our way up the beginning climb and then chose to head to the left for the west pinnacle. 

At the top of the initial climb you have to choose which way you want to go. I have been to all of these locations. On this day we started with heading to the west pinnacle.

I forgot to take a picture of the rock that we had to climb up to get to the best view, but Jennifer was terrified of the climb. I talked her into it and I do believe that she was happy with the result! The view was amazing!

View from the top of the west pinnacle! It was such a beautiful day out too.

Jennifer braving her fears and climbing up rocks to the top of the pinnacle. I am sure that she was terrified the whole time we were on the top about getting back down.

Thankful for my picture app on my watch. I can just prop the phone up somewhere and then hit the button on my watch and then we have our picture. 

Next we headed over towards the east pinnacle. Along the way we made a little side trip down to Devil's Kitchen.

Wonderful day to hike with my best gal. 

Being silly and trying to do my best rock wall climbing impersonation. There is no way that I have the confidence in my body to go climb on the side of a rock wall. No matter the height, it is too far down for this big boy to fall!

Lastly we made it to the east pinnacle. This side you don't have to climb up to the top of a boulder to see the view so it is the easier of the two options. The view was once again fantastic!

Every time someone takes a picture and it has me sitting down in it I realize how bad of a posture that I have. I always think it is something that I need to work on but I never do. So, here is to starting a better sitting posture!

Sometimes I go out to a point that isn't exactly up to Jennifer's liking. I guess the reason that she has the concern is because she likes having me around and doesn't want anything bad to happen to me. I have come to the conclusion that if she ever stops worrying about me and telling me that I have gone too far, then that is when I should truly be concerned! 

This view! This picture just doesn't even come close to showing the beauty.

My beauty! I sure got lucky on this one. So glad that we have grown up together and that I am truly one of the lucky ones that can honestly call my wife my best friend.

I think she likes me too!

Every once and a while I can even talk Jennifer into getting a little close to the edge. This was just a little bit before fall. I would love to go back here sometime after the leaves start to change colors.

Look closely and see if you can spot Jennifer.

I absolutely love this picture. It has so much in it, including part of the cliff, the trees, the river and even a couple of birds in the air. 

Sitting here not wanting our day date to end, but in fact we must head back to pick up the children from school.

Now time to head back down the hill and get back to Lexington. Not without one more picture with my beautiful wife.

I am so glad that hiking and being out in nature is something that Jennifer and I both like. We will both get to enjoy a lot of nature and hiking on our next adventure together out west in a few weeks. We are heading out to Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. The highlight of our trip will be a few days hiking in Zion National Park. Can't wait to share all of the pictures from our next adventures! Thanks for reading and God bless!

Garden 2018

This is a little behind, but I am just catching up on my blog posts. Here are some pictures about our garden and everything that we made with the produce that we got out of the garden. It makes me really excited about getting the garden set up and ready to eat some more fresh veggies. 

First produce coming out of the garden this year was green and yellow zucchini and a squash. 

It still amazes me that just a few short weeks before this all these plants were just seeds. With just some water, sunlight, and patience. 

We took the kids on our vacation out west and when we got home we had these ginormous zucchini out in the garden. 

I used a couple of the smaller zucchini to make my first batch of zucchini bread.

We were over run with zucchini and squash.

Some of my co-workers benefited from the extra amount of zucchini. I made a double batch and brought them into work to share.

These were my only jars of pickles that I was able to make this year. I learned a very valuable lesson this year in the garden. When we came back from our vacation the vines from all of the cucumbers were going out into the garden instead of up the fence like I was hoping they would. The mistake that I made was that I thought that I could re position them. Unfortunately, the vines didn't appreciate me moving them and they all died. I tried replanting them, but with no success.

Jennifer picked up a spiralizer at the store. It is a very simple way to turn vegetables into a noodle replacement for all those trying to go low carb. Throw some spaghetti sauce on them and you won't really miss the real noodles at all.

First tomatoes of the season. I grew these grape tomatoes just for Brinley, who is the only one in the house that likes them. We also got our first bell pepper too!

These guys love coming out and "helping" me in the garden. They are really good at pouring excess amounts of water on plants and walking inside the garden and trying to avoid stepping on my little plants.

First of the tomatoes coming in. Now just to have enough so that we can start to get some made into something.

 

Turned a couple of green tomatoes and zucchini into an unhealthy, but delicious dinner one night.

We love salsa in this house. That is what the majority of our tomatoes turn into.

So glad that I picked up canning a few years ago. It is so easy and it allows you to taste your home grown veggies all year long.

We didn't grow these peaches, but I picked them up at the peach truck when it came to town. There were over 40 peaches that we bought. We figured that instead of letting them go bad we would can some. Brinley loves them!

Our homemade peach cobbler turned out pretty good too!

There is nothing like a fresh home grown tomato.

Sometimes I would have to pick for a couple of days and wait for them to ripen in between days that I worked. When I would get enough ripe I would then get to canning.

My usually extremely tall sunflowers struggled a bit this year and only made it to about 8 foot tall this year. 

They are still beautiful though. 

Carrots were also a bit of a dud this year too! The kids don't seem as excited about these anymore, so I may not plant them next year.

One of our last hauls from the garden. It included a mix of all kinds of veggies: carrots, tomatoes, okra, and bell peppers.

A couple more jars of tomato juice and then we also had some leftover apples so we decided to turn them into some canned apple pie filling. So, next time we are in a mood for some apple pie we just need to throw some of this into a pie crust.

Our pantry was full with all kinds of stuff. Even as I write this we still have plenty of jars left for us to enjoy.  The kids especially love the salsa. Landon loves the hot and Brinley prefers the mild. 

The garden has been such an awesome investment of my time and energy. Not only do I get the privilege of providing for my family, but I also get to know that my family is eating healthy and fresh vegetables. I think this year I will most likely cut back on the types of things that I grow and just do more of the things that I know my family enjoys. I believe that I will do zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and sunflowers. Thanks for reading and God bless!

New Opportunity

Recently through a random series of events I was given the idea about a new job opportunity which would change up our lifestyle completely. Let me begin with how this all came about. If some of you remember my car was totaled while just sitting on the side of the road one day while I was at work. At the time I was just thankful that nobody was seriously injured in the accident. Days later and multiple calls between insurance agents, collision centers, and rental cars dealers, I was officially in a bad mood about the whole ordeal. Our perfectly good car that we just drove back and forth to work was officially totaled and the money that we were going to get wouldn't buy that great of a car. So, we decided to put the money down as a down payment on a new car.

The car was actually hit from behind, but it hit so hard that it smashed it into the car in front of it too!

This was the day that the people told us that it was totaled. We came to clear everything out of the car. This car was one of our first purchases as a new married couple 

After a week or so of looking online and a few trips to dealerships that were close by we finally got a day off so that Jennifer and I could go buy a car. We went to a Toyota dealership in a neighboring county that had comparable prices to the one that we typically do business with. I figured that if they weren't able to negotiate price with me that I would be more willing to walk away if the deal wasn't right for us. We negotiated a price that was reasonable and officially decided to buy and they were getting the paperwork ready for us and I decided to head to the bathroom. That is where I ran into someone that I knew from the children's hospital. She works in the Hematology/Oncology Dance Blue Clinic. I was just saying hello and then she started asking if I had ever had any interest in coming to work in the clinic. Honestly, I had never really thought about it because I love what I do working out on the floor with the Hematology and Oncology patients. Well, she mentioned that one of their co-workers was taking a new position and that they would love someone like me to come join their team. I told her I would think about it and get back with her. Jennifer and I finished up all the paperwork and then headed home with our new ride, but a seed had also been planted in my head.

Picture of us with our new ride, a Toyota Camry.

The next few weeks were Christmas and New Years and I began to talk with Jennifer about if this was an actual possibility or if there was no way at all this could even work. I met with the manager to just find out a little bit more about what exactly this job was and the requirements that it entailed. My current job at the hospital I work any 3 days a week for 12 hour shifts. Some people love twelve hour shifts, including myself because it eliminates days of the week that you have to be at work. There are a few problems with this since I went to day shift about a year ago. On a normal work day I get up at 5:30 am and start my day and have to get to work by 7 am. After working my 12 hour shift and getting everything together I make it home around 8:15-8:30. Jennifer puts the kids to be around 8:30 every night so that they get enough sleep for school the next day. This just absolutely breaks my heart because I live in the same house with my children and I don't even get to see or speak to them for sometimes 3 days in a week. This is the only current thing that I don't like about my job. So, I decided to submit an application to just see if it was an actual possibility.

I got called for an interview, which I scheduled for the very next day. The interview went extremely well and I told Jennifer that I believed that the job would be mine if I accepted it. Then the wheels started turning. Jennifer and I then began talking about this like it was a real thing now. I talked with my current manager and the director of the children's hospital about my current situation. I wanted to let them know that I was completely satisfied with my current situation and that I wasn't unhappy and out looking for a new position. A door just opened up which would allow me to continue working with the patient population that I love, pediatric hematology/oncology, and would allow me to be home every night with my wife and children as well as weekends and holidays.



So, this morning I officially accepted the position of pediatric hematology/oncology infusion nurse. It will be a few weeks before I am able to make the transition down to the clinic. I haven't really talked about this for the past few weeks because I wanted to be completely sure about my decision before really telling people about it.



For the last 6 and a half years, my second home has been on 4 West. It has been a place that I always enjoyed coming in to do my "job". I use the word "job" loosely because it has never felt like a job for me. Being a nurse is something that I think God gave me the ability to do. A nurse to some people is just a person who just follows a doctor's orders, gives medications, and cleans up disgusting bodily fluids. Well, to me it is so much more than that. For the past 9 years that I have been a nurse I have treated every patient like one of my own family members. I have been my patient's biggest advocate. I have been the person that interprets all the medical jargon that doctor's say to patients. I have taught patients and their families how to take care of themselves once they returned home. I have been a voice of reason for families when I thought the right thing was not being done for their child. I have rode on little tricycles in the hallway with children. I have let them shoot me and my co-workers with water guns just for a smile. I have done word searches until 3 in the morning with a patient because it made her happy and her family had went home. I have sat down and played video games and board games with patients because they just sometimes want someone to play with. But if you know me at all then you know that I don't let these kids win. If you are going to beat me then you are going to have to earn it! A lot of time people forget that these patients all really want to be the same thing, just be a normal kid. Not a single child that I have ever taken care of has actually been happy about being hospitalized. So, my goal everyday of my so called "job" was to make as many people happy and even for an instant forget about why they were in the hospital. I have also stood at the bedside of too many children to count and tried in some way to comfort the parents of a child who was dying. There are no words to say to these families to take the pain away of losing a child.



Whenever I tell people what I do for a living they always say that must be really tough. Some days it is, but every other day in between I am the one that is blessed to know these young children. They are stronger than most adults I have met and it is my privilege to take care of them. Moving to the clinic will allow me to continue to take care of these children and their families during their entire treatment and follow ups after treatment is completed. I look forward to this new opportunity in the clinic. I am thankful for every patient, family, co-worker, and friend that I have met over the last 6 and a half years that got me ready for this new position.

Sometimes when something happens in life, like a totaled car, God might just have some bigger plans in work for you even when you least expect it! You just have to keep living until God reveals his plans for you. Thanks for reading and God bless!