Catching Up

Sorry for the silence over the past few months. Not only have I been traveling or on call every weekend since Memorial Day, I also said farewell to my faithful computer of 4 1/2 years and still have not restored everything to my new computer. Needless to say MUCH has happened and I will be able to post on events from weddings to family gatherings once I get my pictures in their rightful place. For now I will update with what I have...

August has started with a most wonderful visit from my sister Amy and her 3 kids! Brian was away at a Gen-Con conference so Amy took the opportunity to come to Lexington for the first time. The kids had a rough night of sleep making for a slow start Saturday morning, but we were soon off to the pool and we had a blast swimming, eating and soaking up the brief moments of sunshine. It's probably a blessing it was a bit cloudy considering how pink Amy and I got.

Still waking up while watching cartoons.

Loving pool time!

Being an Auntie is one of the greatest gifts :)

Hello there

Having fun with Momma!

After our adventures at the pool we went out for a special treat at Orange Leaf. There were about 20 different flavors of frozen yogurt and all the toppings you could imagine. It was so yummy!! Then we came home, had dinner and got the kids to bed so Amy and I could enjoy our evening with a movie and wine. After sleeping in Sunday morning we went to brunch at Josie's where Amy and I realized we waited entirely too long to get the kids breakfast. It turned out to be a very yummy visit in the end and a fabulous finish to our weekend together!

My Humble Abode

On a freezing day in February I came to Lexington for less than 24 hours to find a place to live. It was completely overwhelming and I started to second guess my decision to move here, but the moment I drove through the complex I was at complete peace and knew this would be my home for the next year.

Patio

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Laundry Room...with full size washer/dryer!

Bathroom

Bedroom...still needs some decorating (and a man with some power tools to hang the curtains...haha!)

Yes the one and only Miss Roxy moved to Lexington with me. Although she drives me crazy at times I am very glad to have her here.

Thanks to Kristin's visit when I first moved here, there are pictures on the walls and everything is organized. I couldn't (or should I say wouldn't) have done it without her! I have loved it so far and feel very safe here. It's been a huge blessing! Although it's only 1 bedroom visitors are always welcome ;)

Jilly's Cupcake Bar and Cafe

I almost forgot about our girls outing in St. Louis on Saturday. We went to Jilly's Cupcake Bar and Cafe for lunch and of course CUPCAKES! It was so incredibly good. The food. The sweets. Yum. If you are in St. Louis look it up and treat yourself. It's worth it (and the wait in line).

Peanut Butter Cupcake

Carrot Cake (The Best!)

Chocolate Thunder

Cora and Disa loving their special treat

Josiah happy (for the moment) with his momma

Oma entertaining J man

Will eating a lemon...I believe this is a new favorite

Easter 2011

Since moving to Lexington I have picked up my traveling ways once again. It's amazing how much free time I have now that I don't have to study! So after a few trips to Knoxville I was able to make it out to St. Louis for Easter weekend. The wonderful thing about this trip was that my entire family would all be staying at Amy and Brian's! This is a rare occasion in our family so it was a pretty big deal for us. We had a wonderful time relaxing and spending time together. I found the church service to be wonderful and it was nice to have someone to go to church with (the little things in life). It was a huge blessing to see everyone and I am already looking forward to seeing everyone again.

Josiah cheesin for the camera :)

Almost all of us looking at the camera.

Sadie and Jeremy

Cora and her momma

The Twinsters

Disa and Cora making easter eggs.

Josiah playing with the eggs

Checking out their loot from the egg hunt ;)

Time for a walk with the kiddos

William opening an early birthday present from Papa and Oma!

My First Visitors

So my first visitors to my new home in Lexington were Kristin and Josiah. They were able to come for 4 days last week and it was so wonderful to see them! Josiah has been teething lately, but he was quite happy most of the time and Kristin was a huge blessing by helping me finish setting thing up in my apartment. Without her I would have never hung curtains in my bedroom or put pictures in the living room. She's the best! There are still a few things to get put away and not have it look so cluttered so once that is taken care of I will post pictures of my new place. Here are a few pictures from our time together.

"So happy together!"

Cheesin it for the camera :)

 Sweet potato fries...yummm!

All ready to go with his walker and lunch box...you wouldn't believe the amount of time he spent playing with that little cooler!

 Almost bedtime.

 Empty boxes are the best toys!

 

Our time together was much too short in my opinion...good thing I will see all of my family in a few weeks for Easter weekend!

Getting Settled

I was actually able to go down to Knoxville this past weekend and visit my 2nd family, Rich and Hannah. It was so good to see them and catch up since we had not spent time together since graduation. The major highlight of this week will be when Kristin and Josiah show up on Wednesday!! I'm super excited and can't wait to see them. I'm praying Josiah will no longer be teething (for Kristin's sake) and we can have a relaxing time together. My hope is that Kristin will impart her amazing decorating skills and we can finish pulling the apartment together...it's almost there!

I'm starting off my second week of work with hospital orientation...exciting stuff let me tell you. There is a PA student that has joined our resident team and she will start patient exams in the next few days. It's a bit frustrating that I can't do anything yet, but I'm trying to use these lighter days to learn and read as much as I can before the insanity starts. Today (before orientation) I was able to observe an admission of a 25 week preterm and watch the insertion of 2 umbilical lines. And as they always say..."See one. Do one. Teach one." So hopefully the credential process will go quickly and I'll be able to start doing things soon :).

Hope everyone has an amazing week and I'll be sure to post an update after Kristin and Josiah are here.

My Biggest Adventure Yet

This past Monday I started my first job as Neonatal Physician Assistant Resident at University of Kentucky Children's Hospital. I also moved into my new apartment that afternoon. It was a big day to say the least and the start of a new season....all on my own with God guiding every step. I've moved many, many times in the past 10 years but I have always known at least one person in my new home town which of course helped with the transition into another chapter in my life. This time, however, I do not know a single person. Sure I met some people at the hospital before moving here, but that is on a very different level and I have no contact with them outside of work.

Why on earth would I make such a move you might ask. I would have to say that God made it pretty clear that this was the next step He had planned for me. I applied to several neonatal jobs and actually interviewed for a full-time position in Philadelphia only to be turned down. I was also pursued by a hospital in New Mexico only to be told that hiring was on hold...twice!! Normally the residency I am a part of would start in October. When I interviewed for the program in November I was amazed to find out that there was currently no one in the program (normally there are 2 PA's) and the program director was interested in having me start soon after my boards. Needless to say God worked out every little details, that weren't actually so little, in order that I would be able to start this program in March rather than October.

So how am I feeling this first week of the biggest adventure yet? Well, I miss having family and friends around. I am bombarded with information on a daily basis and am trying to get used to the idea of morphine and methadone being given to a 2 pound baby. I'm trying to not be anxious about finding a church family...it's not as easy as it seems. But most of all I really am excited about this new season that I've entered and what this next year will hold. I hope to keep everyone updated on this journey that God is taking me one.

xoxo kendra