crazy conglomeration.

it's been a little while since i've had the chance to post on here. so much has happened in the past few weeks, so just beware - long blog! but it's been an enjoyable few weeks, for the most part. lots of ups and downs, but we all know life would not be as interesting without that roller coaster vibe. ;)

my clinicals came to an end last friday, which was so stinkin sad. two week clinicals and i have a love/hate relationship because i love to get out of school and pretend to be an OT and make all these new friends and build relationships with the clients and staff (wow, if that isn't a run-on sentence, i don't know what is. my fifth grade literature teacher would be disappointed. ah well.). but i hate leaving. it breaks my heart because i get so attached so easily. i thoroughly enjoy waking up in the mornings to go to clinic, it's so not like school. anyways, i was blessed to be at a very laid-back facility and with instructors who taught me lots of new things. the staff was so kind to me and easy to get along with. i pray one day that i will be able to find a place to work that shares many of the same characteristics as this facility did. it was a wonderful experience and make me long that much more to be done with school and a for real occupational therapist.

after this wonderful experience, i actually had another great experience. if you've never helped out with, walked in, or even heard of race for the cure, you should definitely look into it. some of my classmates and other students in the UCA OT department formed a team and went saturday morning bright and early to walk in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. the race is a wonderful way to raise money to find a cure for breast cancer...survivors and supporters were participants and it was by far one of the coolest things i've seen! there were families and "miles of men" on the sidewalks to support the racers and all kinds of cool stuff was going on during the race. i was thankful to be able to share that experience with some of my good friends and know that my money and time was helping a great cause. those survivors are some of my biggest heroes and i know several people struggling with breast cancer and some who have passed away because of it, so participating in the race meant a lot to me. here's some pictures of the experience: 

second years that got to walk with our team :)

amazing!

jocelyn, rebecca and myself. love these ladies!

the backs of our team shirts: supporting the cause for what's in the bras!

last year, after clinicals, we lucked out and got to go to spring break right after the two weeks were over. this year, however, did not prove to be as lucky. we DID get a fall break...but monday morning came wayyy too early. the teachers love to assign projects and make them due very soon after clinicals, so we were all stressing like crazy. needless to say, the rest of the semester is for sure going to gain me one too many wrinkles and premature gray hair growth. grades and tests and papers and projects are starting to pile up and i'm already counting the days until graduation/Christmas break! prayers are appreciated, muchly so. :)

so after my back to reality shock, i got a very special visit from one of my bests! jill was able to come up from texas and stay a couple nights with me, we both needed the visit and it was great! we got to ride around in the country, i took her with me to bible study, we stayed up late talking and watching the backup plan, wayyy cute movie, by the way. we woke up early the next morning to spend the whole day in town shopping and even made a sushi stop, marvelous! :) i got to show her what i do on thursday nights with shooting for success and she loved it! we had girl talk again and just hung out before she had to leave early the next morning so she could get to work on time. 

"the most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

"..we talk trash and we laugh and cry, that kind of therapy, money can't buy.."

so after i saw jill off and got caught up on my sleep, i geared up for another fun night with another best, heather! we went and got us some grub and then moseyed on over to CBC to catch their very first wrestling match...very interesting, i will say. some of those boys probably had bad dreams about the awkward positions they were in, bless their hearts. i'm sure if someone recorded my facial expressions during the different matches, they'd have some quality entertainment material. all in all, it was a fun night, but we had to call it a night earlier than usual because heather had work the next morning and i had to be up at the butt crack of dawn to help with the soaring wings marathon.

if you've never heard of soaring wings or aren't sure what it's all about, check it out! (www.soaringwingsranch.com) my family and i got up and trucked it down to conway to help set up tables/chairs/food/tshirts/papers/etc and get the day rolling for the hundreds of racers coming to help support this awesome cause. at about 1:30 and after runnin around like crazy, answering random questions, leading people to checkpoints and booths, we got to come home and take a good ole nap, thank goodness for those naps. it was a fun experience and i enjoyed doing it, but days like this sure do know how to wear you out!

so as you can see, it's been an interesting couple of weeks and that explains why i hadn't updated in so long. but have no fear, i'll be back soon with something new! thanks for reading and have a wonderful night and day tomorrow! :)

my new friend.

his name is gabriel. he stands approximately 5'5", tall and lanky, and he's thirteen years old. his voice has changed and there's a slight trace of a mustache on his tan skin. and he's a total sweetheart, but he won't tell you that. this is my buddy in the shooting for success program i'm volunteering with. each thursday night of this month, i get to go and hang out with gabriel and play basketball with him and several other kids. usually i'm worn out after thursday's workday/schoolday is over, but when i step into that gym at 6:00 and gabe runs up to me with that basketball, it's like i've caught my second wind.

ok, so you've met a cute little kid, you say. you tell me that you could just meet one in wal-mart, big whoop. but here's the thing. gabriel is not your average thirteen year old boy, though you wouldn't be able to tell that if you never talked to him. he has a diagnosis that causes him to experience developmental delays, physically and mentally, as well as other symptoms. (for security and other such reasons, his last name and official diagnosis are not given..thanks OT school for pounding HIPAA rules into my head. haha.) he struggles to bounce the ball and is clumsy when it is bounced over to him. so what? he gives it his all and his face glows when he shoots the basketball and it goes into the hoop. you can tell he doesn't get to participate in activities like this much and he just soaks it all in. it's precious.

anyways, while i love telling about my new friend, i say all that to remind myself, not just others, that no matter what may come, what obstacles are in my way, what complaints i have or how stressed i may get sometimes...that i have it good. i am blessed in so many ways, which would require a whole other blog to name. and i am so thankful to be who i am, who God created me to be. i am so excited that He is using me in this program and my other volunteer opportunities to show His love to others. and also that he is using those people, as well, to show me so many new things. i adore gabe and his love for life. and when he quotes our memory verse for the shooting for success program, "i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and flexes his little muscles when he says "strengthens", my heart smiles. because i know that in this moment, in this time, i am right where God wants me. and oh, what a wonderful feeling that is. to know that He has, is, and will use me. how refreshing to be reminded of such a blessing. :)

finally friday!

what an interesting day today has been! this past week and next week as well, i am on my pediatric clinical rotation for OT school, at Therapy 4 Kids, which i adore. but my clinical instructor didn't have any clients lined up for today. so here i am, thinking i'm gonna get a day off and so my heart is rejoicing for that extra day of weekend...or not. instead, he calls up a fellow OT down the road, like bee branch down the road, and tells me to meet up with him at 8:00 this morning. i know, i know..those of you who have full time jobs are telling me to buck up and deal with it, but you have to understand i've been somewhat spoiled on this rotation. i haven't had to be at the clinic until 9:15 each morning, which i've loved, mind you...so getting to bee branch at 8 wasn't exactly what i had in mind for my friday. 

so i mosey on down to the school by 8 and find where i'm supposed to be and meet my CI for the day. turns out he's pretty awesome and i learned a lot of new and interesting things from a different perspective of an OT. we had some interesting and hilarious conversations and he was a great teacher. needless to say, the workday went much better than planned. it makes me so excited and ready to become an official occupational therapist when clinicals come around because i'm actually getting to do what i love, but it's such a tease! however, it gives me something to look forward to after the next year and nine months..but who's counting? ;)

after that fun workday (yes, i just used fun and work next to each other), i got to go out to eat with my family. i have to say that we have some of the best family suppers ever. totally makes the rest of my day/evening so much better. and indeed it did! after chowing down, i got to come out to my friend danielle's house and see one of my favoritest little boys...my "nephew" cooper man. :) for those of you who know danielle, don't freak yet...cooper's a puppy dog. matt and danielle went on a weekend getaway and so i'm currently sitting at the house with a sweet little puppy cuddled up next to me. he's a hoot! and definitely keeps things interesting. i brought a friend with me and he's scared of her, so he'll hide behind me and cuddle up under my arm to make sure he's safe. that is, if he hasn't already scrammed underneath the bed...but she's growing on him! unfortunately, i only get one night with him, but we're making the best of it and having some quality cooper & aunt la time. :) (btw, i cannot figure out how to rotate these pictures, so if any of you blog masters know how, please share the knowledge.)

coop & aunt la

he's so precious!

hello, bandwagon :)

this is definitely going to be an interesting new hobby, but i'm excited about it! i love reading others' blogs and wondered how the blog world worked, so i figured i'd start up one of my own and join in on the fun. :) i'm still working out all the kinks and trying to get the page all set up, so bear with me here. but before you know it, i'll be blowing your mind with my tech-savvy skills. ok, maybe not really, but i can dream, right? anyways, the page looked slightly bare without a "welcome to my blog" post. so, um. welcome to my blog. :)