Gearing up for the Holidays

We had a wonderful trip to Vegas for Thanksgiving. It is always nice to visit with Codys family. There was quite a group for Thanksgiving itself, my sister in law Trina had her mom, dad, brother, and grandparents in town. Jaydan and Hope became quite good pals this trip. Hope is such a sweet and attentive girl. Toddlers always flock to her. Abby, myself, Trina, and her brother ran a 5K Thanksgiving morning. It was my first race and I am proud to have finished.

Now trying to get ready for Christmas is proving a challenge. The tree is up, I let Hope do the whole thing with a little help from Abby. I am trying to put on a happy face for Hope. She is so excited and loves Christmas. I find the tears are very close to the surface (which is odd for me since I am not really a cryer). I have a bit of a head cold and money is not tight but nonexistant, so none of this is helping with this Holiday season. I will not feel sorry for myself. I will enjoy my sweet girls and listen to some Christmas music without crying.

I love my family and am so grateful for the joy and love that Cody, Abby, and Hope bring to my life.

It has been over two years since I posted last, but I feel inspired to share today. I am so happy to have such a great family! I could not be more proud of Cody, Abby, and Hope. Cody is finishing his associate degree, focusing on computer networking and just landed his first entry level position. I am so proud of how he has embraced this challenge and all the changes he has made over the past couple years.
Abby is practically grown now. A sophomore at Hill crest High School. On the honor roll and busy with 12 hour rehearsals for the musical next week. I am grateful for all our laughs and singing our hearts out in the car!
Hope is the bright spot in my days. She says something every day that makes me laugh. She has taken up the flute this year and is getting quite good at it. She is in her second year of Spanish immersion and is doing well. She also dances and plays soccer. She is quite a busy girl!
Now me. Well I am still at LDS ICU. While I HATE my schedule, flipping from days to nights, I LOVE my job. I enjoy my co workers and have made true and lasting friendships. I really love what I do. I am lucky to have found this satisfaction with the first job of my nursing career. I have recently started exercising. I started a weight lifting class twice a week that I really enjoyed. I lost about 18 pounds and was feeling great. I have now caught the running bug. I am running my first 5K on Thanksgiving. I am excited and a little scared. I have found an inner peace over the last few years. I am finally comfortable in my own skin. I no longer feel like I need to search for a different life. I don't regret the past and honestly I know if one thing changed I would not be me....and I like me.
With all the negativity out there in blogs and on face book, I just felt inspired to share that to me life is good. There is always room for improvement and I will always strive to do better, but today I am content and happy with my life.