One Down & Four To Go

As of 1:53 this afternoon exams are over and I am officially finished with my first semester of nursing school! So that's one semester down & four to go! (spring, summer, fall, and spring again)

1st day in the uniform, including no makeup since I was headed to a bathing lab :) Fun day!

The past sixteen weeks have completely changed my life! Nursing is becoming part of who I am & another lense that I view the world through.

First day wearing the stethoscope

 Its hard to believe that it was only this summer that I was anxiously waiting to begin this journey. And now I've spent eight weeks in a nursing home and then eight weeks working at the hospital.
and loved every.single.minute!

My clinical group. These guys were awesome!

I'm off for the next three weeks and so happy for a break!
Although, come January I will definitely be ready to get back to the grind of exams and hospital visits!

When my fingers touch the keys ...

Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. 

I love to play and can sit at the piano for hours. 

This is because of Mrs. Horn and it all began when I was seven ... 

 My mom told me one day that she wanted me to start taking piano lessons. I wasn't thrilled about the idea then, but now, I'm so thankful she insisted I was going to at least try piano for a while. 

My first teacher was a lady we knew from church, Mrs. Susan Clark. And I took from her for about a year before her family moved. When she left, Mrs. Susan suggested Mrs.Lois Horn be my new teacher. Again, I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but I found myself going to her house every week and quickly realized she was SERIOUS about music. You see, Mrs. Horn was Mrs. Horn and she didn't mess around. If you weren't willing to count, work hard, count some more, and put your best effort into the music, she wasn't interested in being your teacher. She poured her heart and soul into the music and into teaching. 

She was a wise woman and she's taught me so many things over the years. 

My fingers have always loved fast, bangy pieces and I tend to play them like a freight train about to run off the tracks. Mrs. Horn was forever insisting that I "reign that adrenaline in" and use a metronome.

She purposely gave me slow, soft pieces and told me "anyone can play loud, but only the best can play softly." 

I remember when I was about sixteen I was in love with Chopin Nocturnes and had talked Mrs. Horn into teaching me to play one of my favorites. After a few months, I was still struggling with playing the piece with enough emotion. Mrs. Horn looked at me that day and said "I don't think you'll be able to play this piece properly until you're at least forty; you won't have experienced enough of life until then."  

Through the years, Mrs. Horn became not only my beloved piano teacher, but also a sweet friend to our family. When I first started taking from her, it was only Madeline and I. 

I remember being so excited when Elizabeth was born to take her to meet Mrs. Horn for the first time.

 Then a few years later, Jubilee, was brought for her first visit. 

And finally NoraJane. 

She loved seeing the girls every week and watching them grow up. 

The years rolled by and eventually Elizabeth began coming for her own lessons. 

For the last three or four years, my mom drove Mrs. Horn to dialysis every week after our lessons. Her health wasn't always the best and we missed lessons every now and then because she was in the hospital. 

I remember being surprised when she got out that she was still going to teach. A few years later, her eyesight began to go and she became blind in one eye, but she still kept teaching. Even after the dialysis shunt in her arm rendered her unable to play anymore, she still kept teaching. Mrs. Horn was a fighter and it didn't matter if her hands could no longer glide across the keys like she wanted them to, she loved music and wasn't about to give it up. 

She had a will of iron and there were so many days when I wondered how in the world she was still with us. 

I was awed over and over again by her stamina and willingness to share what she knew and loved with those around her. 

--------------------------------------------

On Saturday, my mom got a call telling her that Mrs. Horn had died. 

I was shocked and a little dumbfounded at the news.

Mrs. Horn has always been there and no matter how sick she was she never let it get the best of her. 

But this time, she was really gone ... I would no longer see her sweet face or hear her voice. 

This was the lady who taught me what she knew and shared an amazing gift with me ... 

the intangible gift of music. 

Its something I use every day and part of who I am. 

And now, every time my fingers touch the keys, I think of Mrs. Horn and that incredible gift. 

This is the Room

The first week of nursing school has begun

I've been sitting in lots of orientation classes and it all seems kind of surreal!

Two years ago, I was just beginning my college education & itching to get to the "real" nursing stuff

Two years from now, I will graduate

right now, I'm beginning that journey of becoming a nurse

I'm learning to listen to patients, calculate dosages, start an IV, assess progress, be compassionate, and all of the other things that makes a person a nurse

This video was part of a tutorial I had to watch for pharmacology last night - 

I'm fairly certain I got goosebumps!

"We All Belong to The Y"

If you missed my first few posts about China, you can find them here and here

The first few days in China were very full and busy as we adjusted to the 12-hour time difference. On Friday, we visited the Great Wall where we drank in the glorious view along with thousands of Chinese people crowding onto this ancient wall. Interesting fact: Chinese women see nothing wrong with climbing the Great Wall in a dress and four-inch heels. I, on the other hand, about died in shorts, a t-shirt, and my Chaco's! 

On Friday night, the Chinese team took us to dinner at a restaurant called the Upper Room. Yes, to our astonishment this was indeed a Christian restaurant in the heart of Beijing. There we were sitting in the middle of a Communist country singing praise songs like "Your Grace is Enough" with the worship band! I think it's safe to say we all felt goosebumps that night! 

On Saturday morning, we toured the seminary where we would be holding our English camp during the week. God used the rooms of that humble seminary to bring the Gospel to over 500 boys and girls that week. When we first arrived, I couldn't help but notice the stench coming from the bathrooms, a stench only made worse by the humid 90-degree weather. By the end of the week, that place took on a different meaning as we watched the Gospel changing the lives of these beautiful children. 

I was pulled out of my comfort zone that week. Way out of my comfort zone. I really enjoy working with children, but I usually prefer younger children that are in kindergarten or first grade. I found out a few weeks before we left that I would be the group leader for one of the green groups which would be the 10-12 year olds. I was terrified. I really wasn't comfortable talking to kids that age. I have to admit, I panicked a little when I heard that this was the group I had been assigned to. 

For those of you who know me well, it won't surprise you to hear me say that I don't like to talk a lot around strangers or be thrown into situations with people I don't know very well. 

Well, now I found myself in China with a group of twenty 10-to-12-year-olds. I didn't know where to begin or even have the benefit of the same language! 

But, God is faithful just as He always is. I made it through the week and learned to carry on a conversation with these kids. It was usually limited to a discussion on their favorite colors or animals, but I was talking, and they were talking, and we were getting somewhere. Because of the one-child policy in China these kids don't have siblings, so they were fascinated by the fact that I had not one, not two, but four younger sisters. We talked about them a lot and giggled over silly pictures on my camera. 

By the end of the week, I had a hard time saying goodbye to these kids. Yes, I would miss the child who was constantly having to be told to stop teasing the little girl sitting next to him. 

I would miss Angela's sweet smile and inquisitive fingers in my hair. 

I would miss tiny little Charles who didn't even have an English name at the beginning of the week. 

I would miss Jason who could bring a smile to my face with his boyish antics no matter how frustrated, discouraged, or tired I was. 

I would miss my children - all twenty of them. 

I was thankful for the hours I had to spend with them that week. I was thankful for their sweet voices singing "We All Belong to the Y" and "Pharoah, Pharoah" at the top of their lungs. Each of them had impacted me in a different way. It was hard to imagine that I might never see their sweet faces again on earth. 

I couldn't believe that it was Friday once again, that I had been in China for just over a week, and that I would be getting on a plane the next day and flying to Luoyang to visit Mariah. 

To be continued ... 

How It All Began ..

The trip to China began very early on a hot, steamy morning in July. 

Well, it actually started weeks and even months before that. I'd been packing for at least a week and a half before we left and my excitement was building with each thing I added to my overflowing suitcase. 

Before dawn on July 13th, I finally loaded my suitcase and backpack into the van and headed to the airport to begin a journey that would forever change my life. 

I was excited to be finally getting on that plane and returning to the strange and beautiful land that had captured my heart the summer before! Excited, excited doesn't even begin to describe the emotions that were racing through me as we drove to the airport. I was anxious to land on the other side of the globe and inhale that scent that can only be described as China. 

I couldn't wait to meet the children who would be attending the English camp.

I couldn't wait to see what God was going to do in their lives that week. 

I couldn't wait to see what God was going to do in my life that week. 

I couldn't wait to travel to Luoyang and visit Mariah again.

I couldn't wait to hold the precious little people that pulled at my heartstrings.

I couldn't wait to arrive in China.

Nearly 24 hours later, a very tired and only slightly hyper me finally stepped off the plane.

Luggage was collected, customs and immigration were successfully maneuvered, and we boarded the bus that would take us to our hotel in the heart of Beijing. 

I was finally back in China and loving it! 

We checked into our hotel and relished the first hot showers since the beginning of our journey. I had the privilege of rooming with two great girls - Ale' and Angel, y'all are the best! Thanks for putting up with me! With three girls staying in one room for three weeks, we always had an odd assortment of luggage, clothing, food, and shoes strung out across our room! And let's just say that my lovely roommates quickly realized that I don't quite understand the concept of a "quick" shower! :) 

Our time in China had just begun and already my life was being changed.

To be continued ...

A Journey ...

that forever changed my life. 

I've been thinking about China a lot in the last few days.

My time there last summer was amazing and taught me so many things. Yet it was also one of the most difficult times of my life. 

I can honestly say that I will never be the same after setting foot on the soil of that beautiful country. 

 I plan to write more about last year's trip in the next few weeks ...

but for now: here is the slideshow I made after last year's trip.