So glad it's Spring Break!

Okay, so there's not a great deal of exciting news to report from the past week or anything, but since I'm trying to get back in the swing of the blogging world here I am! We are finally starting to get settled in to our new rental home, so slowly but surely the boxes are disappearing. Now don't get me wrong, we still have a lot of things to go through (some of which we will have to get rid of)... but at least this is starting to feel like home. I've been pretty sad about the whole thing, when I wasn't in denial that we were actually moving AGAIN. We worked pretty hard and endured a lot of stress to get moved the last time, and we were totally expecting to stay. And we were quite comfortable there and happy to stay there for years to come. But alas, these things happen when you finally get your butt in gear and decide to go full steam ahead to get through school. This was one of the big sacrifices we had to make, and I'm so thankful for all of Matt's hard work and support through it all. And I'm glad we've made it through the worst and it's all finally settling down and becoming a home for us.
I'm also so thankful that I've gotten to spend the last couple of months focusing only on school. Going full time again has taken a lot of adjustment, and nursing school is quite demanding. So it's been a blessing to focus all my energy on that for a little bit. Now, I did also have 100 hours of CNA clinicals in there, too, so keep that in mind before you label me a slacker! This week was our last week before spring break, and boy am I ever so glad to see that it's here! This week we had our group presentation, a quiz, a pop quiz, and a unit exam... and now I can catch my breath (sorta). Now as much as I would love to have the luxury of focusing on school and school alone for the duration of my education, I know I must get back to work. Matt added me on his insurance and we're paying a FORTUNE for it, so I need a pay check!!! I applied and got called in this week to interview this week for a Student Assistant position in ICU at one of our hospitals. This is pretty much perfect, as I will need critical care experience if I want to get in to Nurse Anesthetist school. The interview went well, so I'm just waiting to hear back. Hopefully I'll get a call next week and I'll know!
This week also marked the big family (and a few friends) Girls' Night party with all the ladies on Matt's side of the family. I can't mention names or details, since the rule at the door was "what happens at girls' night, stays at girls' night"... But let's just say I love each and every one of them and I am so thankful they include me. Lots of great food, TONS of laughs, and just many unforgettable moments. These ladies are just hilarious. One very special part that I think I'm allowed to mention was a devotion given by one of the family friends. She spoke about how in her younger years she would read her Bible as a task, primarily to say she did it, to follow the rules... yet she knew so little about it and had not allowed it to transform her life. Then she got older and finally realized what it meant to have a real and intimate relationship with Jesus. I related so much to the things she said, especially after spending 3 years in Bible college. It becomes a task, because you have to do it for class! And as amazing as my time at Ozark was, I always struggled (and still do) with not seeing it as a task to be done. I seem to fail to get the most out of it, when I truly do want to have that intimacy with Him. I don't want to be the imperfect mess that I am, I want to be and to look more like Him. I want to be transformed by His Word and His Spirit. Thanks be to God that no matter how big of a mess I really am, His grace is sufficient and His mercies are new every morning! Anyways, it was such a sweet time with these ladies and I am so thankful for Helen's message.
So now I sit, on spring break, lacking any motivation to be productive... yet pondering all the things I have to get done. I have a big quiz and 2 unit tests as soon as we get back to school, on top of things I'm still working on from the move. So I guess I need to unplug and start getting some more things done :)
Misadventure for this week: mommy hurting poor little Chewy (our terrier mix) when trimming his nails and bathing him last night. I tried so hard to make sure I was clipping and leaving them long enough that I didn't cut him. Well, about halfway through I somehow got one of his nails too short, and it was a bleeder. I felt so awful for hurting our sweet boy! I told the hubs I'm not attempting it again without him...
Extra addition for this week: Movie reviews!
I somehow caught up on a few movies over the past week and thought I'd share my thoughts....
"The Adjustment Bureau" - This is the new one with Matt Damon about the idea of fate and predestination. Matt picked it because he thought it would be more suspensful and exciting. It was actually more of the love story between MD's character and Emily Bloom's. For me it was an interesting storyline, so I would give it a 3 out of 5. I'm a girl so I like love stories, but I was expecting to see more spirituality in this kind of a story than what I felt I got of out of it. But then again, it's a fiction movie...
"Unknown" - Love Liam Neeson, and I loved him in this! His character suffers a head injury and then tries to figure out who he is when everyone, including his wife, claims to not recognize him. I give this a 4 out of 5 simply because it really sucked me in and kept my attention the whole time. Some elements were predictable, but a lot still had me guessing... or at least going back and forth trying to solve the puzzle. Very intruiging and a lot of action.
"127 hours" - I have to give this a 5 out of 5, basically because James Franco is just a stud. Maybe he's on drugs, maybe not, but as an actor he's just flat out brilliant - especially in this movie. This story, about Aron Ralston's canyon accident in Utah in 2003, is a true tale of perserverance, survival, and the strength of the human spirit. Great story, great movie...
And that's all for today, folks... more than enough I'm sure. Hope you have a great weekend! Til next time!

Hellllloooooooo world!

So here we are, some 5 years since I (hannah) last wrote an acutal blog entry. (Anyone still remember when Xanga was the "IT" site?!) And as if I honestly have time enough to spare, I thought it may be a fun thing to re-enter the world of blogging and meet up with other friends doing the same. Maybe it's because our life has recently just gone through some major changes at every turn... perhaps this will be theraputic and help preserve my sanity! Here goes nothin....
Allow me to first introduce myself. My name is Hannah. I love Jesus and need his mercy and grace every hour of every day. I stumble and fall all the time, am far from perfect (contrary to popular belief... haha!), and could never be deserving of His grace... but I'm most definitely hopeless without it. I'm from the midwest and have been here most of my life. I have one brother and his wife, as well as my mom and stepdad, that live here in town. My dad passed away almost 2 1/2 years ago. Miss you all the time, Daddy! I just returned to college part-time a year ago after a much too long 6 year break. Now I'm a full time nursing student with big plans! Long term I want to push myself through grad school to become a Nurse Anesthetist. I'm a black and white, formula driven, by the book kinda person. I hate life's many shades of grey, and as boring as it sounds I do much better with a lot of structure and a decent amount of predictability! So I honestly believe this would be the best nursing fit for me (providing I can manage the stress!). I'm married to a very wonderful man named Matt, who will hopefully share in this blogging journey so that any of you who follow can enjoy his wit, humor, and just overall greatness! He's far better with words than I, anyhow :) We've been married for just about 3 1/2 years and have 2 dogs and 2 cats as our babies! Only the Lord knows if and when we'll be able to bring actual humans into our little family... Matt comes from a family of 7 kids. We are moving, as we speak, onto his parent's property to rent their guest house so we can both survive being in school (he's going part time). We have been so very blessed in so many ways, in spite of the great amount of stress that has come our way at times during our marriage. We are just so thankful for God's provisions.
And there you have it. Just a little introduction to our world. At some point I shall figure out how to post some photos and I will try my best to get the husband in here. For now I sit at Starbucks as I wait without a car... Misadventure for the day: Front driver's side tire has been leaking air and I take my car in to get fixed, without an appointment. Equals waiting for 3 1/2 hours before said car will be ready to drive again. Fun! But I shall be staying put, as I felt like Frogger earlier when I had to walk across a very busy street to go in search of food. I should be utilizing every second possible to study, as the nursing school load is getting preeeetty heavy. I'm sure having a hard time finding motivation, much less the ability to actually concentrate!
Well, I think that is quite enough for a start. Til we meet again...