Sweet to the Soul

"Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." Proverbs 16:24

"Hello love, I just wanted to tell you that I love you dearly. You make my life so easy, so peaceful, and so joyful. You are a HUGE blessing in my life. I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you so much for being the love of my life. Thank you for working your tail off to help support and hold this family together. Thank you for loving God before loving me. Thank you for just being you. :)"

I have been having some really hard days at work. Not only are they hard physically, they are so hard emotionally. I have worked 16 hours about once a week. I have definitely had a problem with caring too much and bringing my patients home with me. I have just truly began to experience the difficult side of being a nurse. It shows. I am a positive person, but lately I have been so negative. It is tearing me up. I worked some overtime and had a few really hard emotional situations and I feel like it took a toll on me. My husband has taken it every day when I come home in tears so exhausted I just collapse into bed until it's time to get up and go again. My husband has encouraged me every step of the way. After having one of these days Thursday, I came home to roses, a Lady Antebellum CD, and a card that contained the above message. I immediately felt rejuvinated.

I'm not going to even stretch the truth far enough to say I won't have bad days. I wouldn't even dare say I won't be negative anymore and that I will learn overnight to give the appropirate amount of care to my patients but not bring those emotions home with me. I will say that for this week in my exhaustion my husband served as a light to me to point me back to the Lord and to give me some hope as I keep pushing. Those two words were sweetness to my soul and health to my body. Thank you.

30 Thoughts on DC

As most of you know I spent September 1st through 5th in Washington DC visiting my best friend. This was my first time on an airplane and a train as well as my first real vacation in my opinion. It would take several pages of writing to cover all of the things I experienced. Instead I'm going to share with you some thoughts I wrote down on a notepad to help me remember the experience. They are very random one liners that I will elaborate on as needed. I will also try to put them in as much order as possible. At the end, I'll include some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Enjoy!

1. Clouds are gorgeous. My first thought was "What a wonderful Maker!"'
2. All states look the same from an airplane. This was my daytime thought. More on night soon.
3. Airplanes are boring. Also a daytime thought. The night ride was much better.
4. Metro is fast. This is referring to the speed of travel as well as the opening and closing of the doors for exiting and entering. You had to be quick!
5. People in DC not very friendly.
6. Air and Space over my head...literally.
7. Supreme Court building all marble- beautiful and bright!
8. Ian Capitol tour amazing! Brittany's boyfriend Ian works at the Capitol and gave us a tour. It was our favorite tour of all. He did a fantastic job.
9. Floor of Capitol kind of small. It looks big on CSPAN, but not so much in real life.
10. White House is cooler from the outside looking in. The inside just feels like a staged museum. I understand for safety reasons that they can't show us where the president actually lives, but it just felt unrealistic. It was much cooler from the outside.
11. I don't know history well. Oh boy. Mrs. Turner would be so disappointed.
12. MLK memorial was favorite. This was a brand new memorial. It had tons of wonderful quotes, and I really love quotes.
13. So glad dad isn't on Vietnam wall. I teared up seeing all of the names on this wall. I was so thankful that neither mine or Bryan's dad was one of them.
14. Thankful for military. DC had tons of memorials honoring the military. Politics aside, I am so very grateful for the work they do. I don't think I'll ever really understand the prices they pay. Thank you. Thank you so much.
15. Homeless people are devestating. I saw my first homeless child. He was probably 3. My heart crumbled. These people aren't on the side of the road begging for money. They are sleeping under cardboard boxes in the metro stations. They are homeless. I am humbled.
16. Crime and Punishment Museum so fun.
17. Chinatown scary = me shallow. It was scary. I am shallow for that being my only thought.
18. Interracial couples are normal. We didn't get any dirty looks in DC when we held hands. It was nice.
19. National Zoo and Aquarium kind of lame.
20. Wax Museum hilarious.
21. Georgetown Cupcakes would definitely win cupcake wars. These were the most delicious dessert I have ever had. Really. I wish I could ship them to Nac regularly.
22. National Archives nothing like National Treasure. I just really love National Treasure.
23. Husband is awesome. I realized this trip more than ever that my husband makes huge sacrifices to be sure that my comfort comes before his. He constantly made sure I had a seat on the metro before he did. He gave me the window seat on the plane even though it was only his second time to fly. He carried both of our bags. He is the most selfless person I have ever met. I am so lucky to be his wife.
24. Travel is expensive. We went over budget just a bit, but it was way worth it.
25. Brittany's planning makes life so easy. Minute by minute itenarary. I know when I take my next vacation without her, I'll really miss this.
26. Firting with my husband throughout our whole trip- unforgettable. ;) so fun.
27. Watching TV is worth the 8 bucks. Criminal Minds wasn't so scary on the plane ride back. In fact, it made our flight go by much quicker and was much more enjoyable!
28. Flying above storms feels supernatural. On our way back we were above the storm clouds covering the East Coast. It was beautiful and weird at the same time.
29. Plane at night- WOW! Oh-em-gee. The lights of a city look amazing from the seat of a plane. I love Christmas, and it just reminded me of lots of gorgeous Christmas lights.
30. Seeing Liz was wonderful, and we love Kingwood. We got to see my dear friend Liz on our way home because she lives in Kingwood. Bryan and I decided Kingwood would be a nice place to live one day. It's only a little over an hour from home and gives us just enough "big city".

Stephen F. Austin in the Capitol. We had to represent!

There goes the train!

This was one of them many quotes at the MLK memorial. This one was one of my favorites.

Brittany and I right outside her school. There are one of these marking all four corners of her campus. The campus is nothing like what a college campus here looks like. Instead it's several buildings on a city block.

Ian and I riding the train in the tunnel connecting the buildings of the Captiol.

This quote made me want to cry. The Department of Veterans Affairs has helped my dad tremendously. I'm thankful for the work they do.

I am standing right above the empty tomb where George Washington was to be build. The problem is Washington died before it was finished. The place I'm standing is also where NE, NW, SE, and SW Washington DC meet. It is also considered lucky to stand here.