Christmas

I cannot believe Christmas has come and gone!!! I started this post about 3 weeks ago but got a 911 call and never finished. Being a new home owner means many new things and having my very own Christmas tree is one of them.

I went through a lot trouble trying to get a Christmas tree. I didn't want to go out and buy one because I knew I would be able to get one for cheap after Christmas when everything went on clearance. I had 4 different people offer to give me a tree or loan me a tree however, all four of them didn't work out. Finally, my one of my fellow female EMTs offered me her old one and even delivered it for me!!!

She still had lights on it, so although I was planning on putting white lights on it - I decided to stick with her colored lights. However, once we plugged it in we found that one of the strings worked perfectly and other string only the red lights would work. So the bottom of my tree was multi-colored and the top half was red - I decided this was not the look I was going for. So, I took the lights off and placed my white lights on, which were courtesy of one of the ER nurses, and my cheap walmart decorations (which only total $15.00). All in the all, I think it turned out really cute!!! I enjoyed it for several weeks and then took it down right before New Years. In the end, I didn't end up buying a new tree after Christmas.

First Day as a Homeowner

Friday was my first official day living in Albert Lea! I spent the morning sleeping in and the rest of the day unpacking and running errands. Thursday night at 10pm, much to my dismay, I realized I own absolutely no silverware. Since I had no finger food, this made dinner an interesting adventure. Thankfully, the former owners left me a package of popsicle sticks which served as a butter knife so I could spread peanut butter on a piece of toast!! Anyways, one of my first purchases on Friday morning was silverware.

Friday night Deborah, Tasha, and I headed out to the city arena for the Albert Lea Thunder Game. Deborah's boyfriend, Wade, and Tasha's husband, John have season tickets to the game. They graciously allowed us to use their tickets that night so we could have a girls night out. We were joined by our the head of ER/OB nursing, Joy Shaft.

Deborah and Joy had decided last week that they needed to buy noise makers and the joke of the night became that Joy had purchased an airhorn and Deborah brought me along.

The Chair

One of the things that I am most grateful for in the current stage of my life is a job that allows me time to spend with God while I'm on the clock and an employer on the lake. This summer I made it my habit to try and spend about an hour out by the lake reading my bible and praying every shift. There was a certain spot behind the hospital where I liked to sit - it was secluded and gave me a great opportunity to spend time with God alone in a very busy atomsphere. And best of all, this spot came with a chair.. a random plastic lawn chair just sitting out by its lonesome. One day in the begininning of September, this chair disappeared much to my dismay. I haven't spent much time outside since then because the ground has become cold and somewhat damp and also because there has been a large amount of duck poop anywhere I wanted to sit.

However, today, I really felt like I needed to be outside and to spend some quality time with God. I walked out to my usual spot expecting to sit on the ground... and BOOM, there is was my chair!!! I was so excited. It was a beautiful day out and I greatly enjoyed looking across the lake and seeing the street my new house sits on and enjoying the fall beauty.

Kosova

I recently had the opportunity to go to Kosova (Kosovo) with a group of 10 people from Autumn Ridge Church. It was an absolutely fabulous time and I loved getting to know so many Kosovars as well as the many wonderful members of my team. God opened my eyes to many blessings that we have here in the United States. It is with new eyes that I look at suffering and trusting God. I am thankful that God cares about even the sparrows and that He has time to comfort us all in our troubles, because compared to Kosovars - I don't have a clue as to what trouble, pain or suffering really is. I am thankful that God cares about my broken heart as much as he does the broken and devastated nation of Kosova.

My sister bought me luggage for graduation in May... this is definitely one the best gifts ever. Have easily recognized luggage that is light weight and rolls smoothly was so nice. Also, on my list of best things ever to travel with includes the light weight fleece I wore everywhere in Kosova and ambien which allowed me to sleep the entire trip from DC to Vienna and get 8 hours of sleep every night.

In Vienna, we were able to spend several hours exploring. It was nice to stretch our legs and see the beautiful city. We took what was called the Cat Cab - which I always ended up calling the Cash Cab - into the city from the airport before splitting up to do some sight seeing. Beth and I tried to get our picture taken by a "statue" but he started singing and grabbed my hand so i could not escape - nor could i quit laughing.

Bill Clinton is huge in Kosova. The biggest street in the capital is Bill Clinton Blvd and I was most of all surprised to see a picture of Bill Clinton hanging in the church... but sure enough - they love him.



It has been an adjustment coming home. I miss my new friends and not having a group of 9 others to carry me through difficult moments is tough. I'll include a few more pictures here. To my Kosovar friends, thank you for opening your hearts and blessing us with so many good things.


One of my favorite pictures:

One of the beautiful views we saw. This is taken in Istog which was the furtherest north we travelled in Kosova.


About one half of the children we had attend the local children's ministry the first week we were there.

New House!!!

After a very quick process, God has blessed me with my very first home. The seller's accepted my counter offer today and I close on November 17th. I'm very very excited!!