A little bit of everything. =)

Well, Christmas is over and it's almost the New Year. Amazing how time seems to fly so fast. I had an awesome time being home with my family and ate a ton of food! =) I did end up getting the stomach virus Saturday night which wasn't fun at all, but I got over it fairly quickly so that was nice. And it wasn't because I ate a ton of food. ;-) I hardly ever get sick so I'm not sure why I happened to pick up this virus instead of the rest of the kids. I did get both of my flu shots in the last couple months and that will lower your immune system so...remind me to never take them again. ;-) Anyway, I was really hoping to get pictures put up and some video's but unfortunately I didn't make the time. I have such a boring blog cause there's no pictures! ;-)

So, what's the latest exciting news that's happening in my life? Well....I JUST GOT ANOTHER JOB!!! I'm soo excited about it and can't wait to start! =) The awesome thing is that I didn't need an interview because I came highly recommended. Isn't that awesome?!?! Ok, so what is the job? Well, it's an office/accounting position. Yeah, totally different from EMS but I'm thrilled with the idea of learning how to do something else! :) It's only part time but I was looking for something that I wouldn't have to commit to 5 days a week. I start on January 12th and most of the month will be training and then February I'll have to know what I'm doing cause it's a busy month. :) For those of you wondering how I got the job... my uncle that lives up here has a secretary who was looking for someone to fill a part time position. He gave her my name and number and she called that Monday (this was Saturday), she told me she didn't need a resume or interview and we set a date to start. =D Isn't it amazing how God just brings things right to our door?

Other than that, not too much else is going on. :) Oh, well, on Monday, I drove my grandma's bug around town. That was exciting and scary! =) My dad took me driving so that I could learn to drive a stick. :) I did get it in the end, but he'll tell you that he ended up in the ER with whiplash. =) Whatever... I stalled it a bunch but at least I didn't hit anyone. :-)

Today was rather exciting...and not. We got paged out for an emergency response and then were told we needed to stage the call while police got the scene under control. There were a bunch of cop cars and a "UPS" truck...after we saw a bunch of guys with big guns get out we realized it was a swat truck. Woah, maybe it's time for us to get a little farther from the scene. ;-) The negotiator decided to join the fun too, and later the bomb truck. I left at 3 (shift change) after being there since 11, but my partner and my relief didn't clear the scene till 4. Talk about a crazy deal.

Btw, does anyone else have trouble with potato's wanting to cook? Maybe they hate me too. ;-) I've been cooking the potato forever and it's still not done! Totally lame... And yes, I do have the oven on...for those of you thinking I'm THAT crazy. ;-) hehe

Well, that's the last week or so in the life of me....hope you enjoyed it. ;-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

It's Christmas Eve and I'm home! :-) So, we had a little scare this morning... Nate woke up with a stomach virus. Yeah, what a bummer the day before Christmas. But thankfully, he's fine now and nobody else has gotten it so far. Hopefully, we'll all make it through the night okay and everyone will make it here in the morning. It would also really stink if it flooded or something and no one was able to get down. It's not started snowing yet, but I'm really hoping for a white Christmas. =)
This morning we were all trying to be optimistic about not getting the stomach flu, and now we are all a little obsessed with germ-x. ;-) I told the kids it was like a bad dream and Kayla's solution to the problem was that maybe we all needed to go back to bed and we'd wake up from it. :) She also suggested that we go into mom and dad's closet and maybe we'd end up in Narnia. ;) hehe, you've gotta love Kayla's awesomeness. We stayed up till two in the morning having one of our long conversations that mostly consists of us laughing and saying some of the most silliest things ever. We were both about to go to bed and she asked me what I thought was in the big package that Hannah and Jacob had given for the family. I started laughing and said the first thing that popped into my head was a folding chair. I have no idea why that was my first thought but it was late and so that's what I'm blaming it on. :) What can I say, my mind goes strange late at night.... but so does Kayla's so it doesn't matter. ;) Sorry Kay, but you say some pretty strange/hilarious things whenever I'm with you. You're one of my favoritest sister though and I miss our long conversations when I'm gone. You all really wouldn't believe the quotes she can come up with. :) There are absolutely brilliant and hilarious... and they always make me laugh. :)
There really is no place like home. :) I love being here and hate it when I have to leave... I'm very happy and can't think of any place I would rather be then right here with them....even if that means being a "barfing buddy" to my siblings. ;-)

I hope you all have a wonderful and merry Christmas! Take the time to remember how much God has given you and to give thanks for it.

Long day...

Wow, I'm tired... I had a long, but exciting night. :) Last night, I went in with Patrick to ride along with him as he worked his night shift. Patrick's a cop...those of you who didn't know that. :) Nothing too exciting happened, and by exciting I mean shootings and people getting tazed. Our night consisted of arresting a couple people, give warnings to some (I got to write them out...kind of cool:), and smelling marijuana for the first time. I know I've smelled it before but I never realized what it was. It's really bad smelling...for those of you wondering. And no, by smelling marijuana you will not get high. :) So that was what I did from 7 (last night) to 8 this morning. Besides all the reports that have to be written, I think it would be a very exciting job to do. :) I know I'm weird, but whenever I'm on the ambulance and we have to stage a call (just meaning we wait until the area is safe for us to enter) I always want to be the cop and make sure the scene is safe. Not that I want to get shot at, but it just sounds so exciting and thrilling to never know what to expect and always being ready for whatever might happen. =) No, I'm not going to become a cop if some of you were wondering. =)
I've only had 4 hours of sleep this morning/afternoon, and I'm starting to feel the effects from it. It's kind of weird the two different stages you go through when you've not slept all night. One stage is that I'm extremely crazy and, depending on where I'm at, I'll start singing and dancing and saying some pretty silly things. The other one is where I'm barely functioning and I just sit on the couch like a zombie. Maybe for some of you it's different but for me it's always like that. :-) Not sure if it's a good thing or not...

Only a few more days and I get to go home for Christmas!! I can't wait! It's going to be such a blast with everyone home. It's been 4 years since we've all been together. I'm really looking forward to all the awesome food that we're making too. =) We're going to have soo much and it's all going to taste awesome! Mmm, just writing about it makes me hungry for it. =)

I work Monday and Wednesday this week and then I'm off until next week. Very awesome. :-) I'm really not going to want to get up tomorrow morning though...Lame! Maybe I should make some coffee in the morning and that'll wake me up. :-)

Quiche and a strange deer. =)

Ok, so I'm sorry I never got pictures up last weekend. I really meant to but Sunday was a lot busier than I thought it was going to be...and Saturday I was playing with my adorable nieces. Oh, and I got my hair done. =) I decided to do something crazy and cut it all off to look like Nate's hair. ;-) Hehe. Ok, so not really...but I did cut it short. =) I was told at work today that now I look like Elisabeth's identical twin. :) Whatever... We still don't look THAT much alike.

We're having quiche for dinner!! =) I'm so excited! I've not had it in forever. I hope they turn out good though cause the oven's doing it's famous "I hate you and I'm going to burn your dinner". Such a retarded oven. I will try not to hate it with a passion. :)

So I went running on Bear Creek trail (it's about a mile from the house), and as I was running back I looked up and a deer was right in front of me and staring at me...probably wondering why I'm crazy enough to be running when it's dark. ;) I quickly moved out of it's way but then it started walking towards me. Talk about freaky! Probably had rabies or something... ;-) Thankfully, it didn't come after me...not sure what I would've done then. Maybe REALLY freaked out. :-) hehe

Home, cookies and...well, just read and find out. =)

I love being home! There really is no better place to be then at home with family around. It makes it very terrible to have to leave though. I really didn't think I would make it home this weekend, but my awesome parents let Nathan drive the two hours to Columbia to pick me up and bring me home. =) Wednesday evening I had called mom and talked to her for awhile, and then I mentioned that it would be really nice if Nate could come and pick me up. Mom wasn't too thrilled with the idea of Nate driving 63 in the dark. I was really kind of bummed after hearing that, but then she called me back around 7:30 and told me that Nathan and Kayla had left and I needed to be ready to leave in 2 hours. :) I was SO excited, that I did end up screaming. =) It wasn't too loud...and I was by myself, so who cares. ;) I was able to get all packed and had time to do laundry (and fold it), and even clean up the kitchen! Man, I'm good. ;-) Then I went over to the base so I could leave Elisabeth's car there, otherwise she would've had a hard time getting home the next morning. I called Nathan twice in the process of them driving up...just to make sure they were driving safely and to watch for icy spots. I'm such an annoying sister....but they love me anyway. ;-) Then the drive back consisted of telling stories, laughing, singing and being totally crazy. :) Nate's "crazy" idea was to pass cars with our inside lights on, a cookie hanging out of his mouth, and wave at the people. =) Kayla joined him in this charade while I tried to pay attention to the driving...which is really hard to do with those two in the vehicle. :)

Not much happened yesterday, besides Hannah and Jacob surprising us by coming down a day early. It was a good surprise though....and they actually kept it a secret from all of us. ;-) Hehe, sometimes Nate and I end up figuring it out. :)

Today was a good day. We made sugar cookies and decorated them, which I don't really like to do because I have no artistic skill at all and love to get done with them as fast as possible, but we still had a fun time. =) We were laughing about how if your cookies aren't good enough they get eaten by us that evening, and then the next two levels that you graduate to are the Brown Christmas ( dad's family) and the Marti Christmas (mom's family), it's always a big plus when your cookies get put on the plate to be eaten by others. ;-) Hehe, it's really kind of funny...and it's not as bad as it sounds, we mostly joke about it a lot. =)

Ok, tell me if this isn't the cutest thing ever. Abigail was sitting in her high chair eating ice cream and it had all melted so she dumped it all over her tray. After she tells me it's messy, I get a wet rag and hand it to her. She then wipes her entire tray, cleans her spoon, and even moves her cup so she can get under it....it probably took her five minutes or more to do but she did a really good job. She then told us it was clean and wanted out. =) I thought it was adorable and really wish I had videoed taped it. :)

I'll try and post some pictures up tomorrow or Sunday...just so there's something to look at besides words. ;-)

Cursing patient and smiling too much... =)

Nothing too exciting has happened in my life the last couple days....so of course I really have nothing to write about. :) I worked Monday and today (I actually just got off a little bit ago), and it was a pretty uneventful two days of work. Today was not fun to be out in the cold, I had to bundle up and hope we didn't get a wreck where we would be standing on the road somewhere. The wind was atrocious and made it seem so much colder. There were a couple times driving on the highway that we were being pulled into the other lane and then bringing a patient out to the ambulance I thought the cot was going to tip. That would've been pretty terrible....not sure what we would've done. :) Oh, and the last patient we took got upset when we moved him over to the bed at the hospital and started cursing us out because we had touched his hat...he ended up leaving the hospital right after that. Oops, maybe I shouldn't have put his hat back on his head. :) He really didn't seem to like us very much at all. I thought it was all rather funny. =) It's amazing when you can find the humor out of someone cursing you out.
Earlier, someone asked me why I am always smiling. Maybe because I'm always happy? =) He said it made me look suspicious, like I was up to something. :) Haha, not sure if that was a compliment or not...I chose to take it as a compliment even if it wasn't meant as one. =) I think it's a good thing I smile all the time...I really didn't think I did it that much though. :)

Well, I'm off for the rest of the week and not sure what I'm going to do with myself so I don't go crazy with boredom. :)

Night shift... :)

Yay, the Evil Medic Twins are working together for the first time! How exciting! Those of you wondering who the evil medic twins are...it's Elisabeth and I. Patrick came up with it one day and it kind of stuck. =) So, yes...we're working a night shift together and having a good time. Well...as good as you can when it's 3:30 in the morning. Elisabeth has already worked about 20 hours so she's getting tired, but I've only worked 4 hours so I'm still going strong. It helps that I've consumed sugar and so now I'm just a little crazy. It really helps to keep me awake. =) We've had two calls already, one we didn't transport and the other one we did. The first one was just a black eye. The second one was a vomit call. SICK! Yeah, puke is one of the grossest things ever. It wouldn't be so bad if it just didn't smell. I can live with seeing things but the smell is a killer. Sorry for those of you with a weak stomach, I hope you don't get sick by reading what I write. ;) I've been told there's worse things then puke, but so far that's the grossest smelling stuff I've seen. The sick thing is I can still smell it! Isn't that gross?! Elisabeth and I had to spray down the cot and each other to help with the smell. Then we decided to go eat some ice cream cause it sounded good. =) Haha, aren't we crazy?! No, don't answer that. :) It's fun to be crazy late at night when no one's around to see... It can be pretty embarrassing when you think you're alone but then, after dancing down the hall, you realize that someone is behind you. Oops! I've done that so much that I usually start laughing and wonder what their thinking. :) Anyway, hopefully it'll be a quiet rest of the morning and nobody will need saving. =)

Lazy me... :)

Today is one of those days where you feel like doing absolutely nothing. So, I'm going to lay around and be lazy. Duh, what else do you do when you're off, tired, and have nothing better to do with your time. ;) Ok, so I try to not to be lazy all the time... =)

This week I was only scheduled to work 16 hours, but that changed pretty fast. :) I should have almost 40 hours at the end of this week...very cool. =) Monday I was working a 9-V and found out that we had a transport to St. Louis. It's about 4-1/2 hours to get up there and back. Then my partner and I decided since we both didn't have 40 hours this week that we would go ahead and take a second transport to St. Louis. Talk about a long day... We started at 10:30 and didn't get done till 8. Thankfully, my partner and I got along really well and didn't get sick of each other. :) Then last night I picked up an extra shift and worked 8-8. First time I had done 12 hours...wasn't too bad. :) I was working in Centralia and so I knew that if we did get a call, I wouldn't be getting much sleep...it's about 30 minutes to the three different hospitals in Columbia. Got a call at 11:30, got back around 1:30, ran another call at 2:30 and made it back at almost 5. Then I was able to sleep till 7...I really didn't feel like getting up. :) So, I came home slept a few hours and now I'm being lazy. I worked all night so I've got a little bit of an excuse. =) I work again tomorrow morning and then Saturday night. I was kind of hoping to go home this weekend but I was asked to work Saturday night, so I went ahead and took it. Maybe next week will work for me to get home.

So there's a week in my life. :) Right now my life consists of working and not much else. Oh, and eating. =)

Nate and I... =)

Nate is one of my favorite bothers. We have so much fun together, either by saying crazy things or just being silly. :) He only embarrasses me some of the time. ;) I remember my last year of high school and we'd be upstairs in our rooms working on math and we would send each other silly notes, or I'd just come bother him and it would end up that nothing got done. :) I always got so bored then when I had graduated that I would still go and bother Nate, until Mom would get on to me because Nate wasn't getting any school done. :) I really miss being home to hang out with him all the time...I think he misses me too, but he's a guy and wouldn't say so. ;-) Love you Naters!

My "cute" brother. ;) Kay, Nate, and I were all talking on my bed when I said something and Nate of course thought I meant that he was cute... =)

He was pretending to be Gandalf. :)

We were dancing...crazy, I know. =)

Hmm...not exactly sure what we were doing here... :)

I do have a pretty good-lookin' brother. :-)

Thanksgiving weekend

Ok, so I do have an excuse for failing to post the last few days... :) Nathan, Kayla, and Adalie all came up on Friday and stayed till this afternoon. We had an awesome time and I really didn't want them to leave... :( But maybe I'll get home before Christmas.

We stayed up late on Friday and then slept in and didn't do a whole lot Saturday morning...laid around. :) In the afternoon we went to The Pinnacles, which is a really cool place! I really wanted to climb the rocks but we had no way of getting across the river and the sun was starting to set. I'll just have to go back. =) Enjoy a few of the scenery pictures... I'll get some others put up tomorrow. :)





This is my favorite! I love how it turned out. =)

I think I have a talent for writing random posts. ;-)

So, I worked today... Yeah, that's pretty much all I do. Working 9-5 is nice cause you don't have to get up early, but it's late enough when you get off that you don't feel like doing anything except lay around and eat chocolate truffles...yes, I've eaten quite a few. I should be feeling guilty, but I don't. ;-) I'll run it off tomorrow. Oh, and then I'm going to make cookies. Haha, I think all I do is eat and work! Ok, I do go running some. =) So the plan for tomorrow is to take Elisabeth to work, run, make (and eat) chocolate chip cookies, and go to Wal-Mart. :) Sounds like an awesome plan, doesn't it? :) Actually, I can't eat too many cookies cause I'm taking them to work. I think my partner might be upset if I didn't bring cookies since I told him today that I would have some for him. :) I love having an excuse to make cookies! =) We'll see how they turn out though since for some reason Elisabeth's oven has a thing against me...I'm pretty sure it hates me. The nice thing is it can't talk back when I get on to it...it takes it so well. ;-) I've figured out that most things in this house seem to hate me...the sewing machine, the oven... Oh, and the new table...it didn't like me screwing things into it. ;-) Thankfully, Elisabeth and Patrick don't hate me...and I suppose the dog doesn't either. =)

Well, most of you probably thought you knew what I was like, but now you're thinking, "She is the most random, strange girl ever!" =)

My ramblings...

Lately, I've been thinking of how God has been working in my life in the last couple months and how He has made me really smile through some storms. Have you ever had a bad situation and yet God has been so close that you're so happy even though your life just went a different direction? There are times I wish I could erase the mistakes I've made, but I've realized that God uses those mistakes to help me grow in His grace and to realize that He is all I need. "He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater. . . His love has no limit; His grace has no measure." I sometimes wonder at those who aren't saved; who don't have the confidence in a Savior who will always be there for them. How do they get through life? Wouldn't each day be a trial? And yet, I used to be exactly like that, "having no hope" and living each day in darkness. It wasn't until God opened my eyes that I was able to see, "I once was lost but now I'm found, Was blind, but now I see." "I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free..." I have never once doubted my salvation; I've had hard times but nothing that made me think I wasn't saved. "You have chosen the roughest road, but it leads straight to the hilltops." People can, and always will, disappoint me, but I have a Savior who will never disappoint me, who is never-changing, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever."

"You're not alone, For I am here,
Let me wipe away your every fear,
My love I've never left your side,
I have seen you through the darkest night,
And I'm the One who's loved you all your life."

What to write...

Man, I have nothing to write about... how terrible. :) I would fill up my entire blog with pictures (cause I love them), but I don't have any pictures on Elisabeth's laptop. So...you won't be getting any pictures until I go home, which might be awhile.

Another long day is over with. We did one transfer to Scotland... woohoo, I went to Scotland in a day! Ok, so not really... it was to Scotland county which is close to Iowa. We were ten miles from the border. :) How exciting! It really wasn't that exciting to sit in the back of an ambulance for 3 hours though... Anyway, tomorrow I get to do a Day 13. Don't ask me what it is cause I have no idea... I'm assuming it's office work or something...not exactly thrilling but I guess my life can't be thrilling every day, now can it? ;) I crave exciting things; I'm not really into the boring stuff. =)

So...there's my nothing-to-write-about post. =)

Very tired Hill = very random post....

Wow, what a day! Work was crazily slow...one call for eight hours. Yesterday we ended up getting two. Nobody wanted to be transported either... I think it has something to do with me, someone called the ambulance base today and when I answered they hung up. LAME! Surely, I'm not that scary of a person! ;)Ok, maybe I am. =) At least I'm happy about it. hehe, actually I'm just extremely tired. I really should go to bed, but what's the fun in that? Elisabeth and Patrick should be home soon and then I'm going to eat some pumpkin cake that's insanely good. :) Yeah, that's just what I need, sugar...and right before bed too. But sugar keeps me alive so I have to keep eating it. =) Just as chocolate keeps my muscles from dying... ;) Haha, sorry to those of you who didn't hear about my theory. :)

Ok, so I got quite a bit done today (before I got tired). I worked till 3, came home and rearranged my room, got ready for church, went to church and didn't get back till after 8. And then now I've been sitting here like a lazy bum... Isn't that a great day? ;)

I'm off tomorrow so that's awesome! I'll probably run in the morning, go to Wal-Mart, and then get some shots... Because life wouldn't be as great without a nurse sticking a needle in you. It's the little things in life. ;)

Sorry about the random, very weird post... but now you know what I'm really like when I'm tired, by myself, and my brain comes up with strange things. It really doesn't happen all the time.

A week with family and it's back to work...

I had an awesome week with my family! I wish I could've stayed for the weekend since everyone was going to be together, but I guess I'll just have to wait until Christmas. :)

Right now, I'm sitting at work being very bored. I got on shift at 3 and we haven't had a call and it's almost 8...amazing...that doesn't happen very much. It makes for a very long shift. Thankfully, Elisabeth let me use her laptop or otherwise I would be even more bored then I am. :) Mythbusters is pretty interesting to watch too. Did you know that it takes 8,000 pounds to force apart two interlocked phone books? Pretty fascinating stuff... =)

Well, this is probably the most boring post ever... my life is like that sometimes. =D

My twin

Elisabeth and I are eight years apart but we could easily pass as twins. Wherever we go everyone says how much we look alike, and then they ask which one of us is older... I hate that. Surely I don't look THAT old. ;) hehe. Ok, I don't mind it too much. :) I've been told that we look, talk, and have the same expressions. I don't think all that's true, but I guess I'm not one to say since I really didn't think we looked that much alike...until everyone would call me Ellie (Elisabeth goes by Ellie at work). When I'm working everyone hast to take a second look to realize it's not Elisabeth. It's funny when they start a conversation and then say: "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were Ellie." It's really bad though when they just come up and start talking as if we've been friends forever and I have no idea who they are... I've had that happen lots!

Family picnic!

Today we headed to Maramec Springs for a picnic and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day. The weather had said it was to be in the 50's but it ended up being in the higher 60's and was an awesome November day. :)

I absolutely love this picture! We were all headed back to the van after walking around the park and I was able to snatch this of mom and dad. I think it's cute. :) They are the best parents in the whole world and I love them so much!

Josh had to work, but Janessa and Paige were able to join us. Paige is such a cutie and everyone loves holding her and taking her wherever she wants to go. :) Yes, we spoil our nieces, but that's what aunts and uncles are for. =)

I love these two so much! We're so silly, and sometimes mean to each other, but we have so much fun. :)

Not sure why they both have the same expression, but it's pretty cute. :)

Not exactly sure what their doing... :)

Yes, Nate and I are very silly...pretty much all the time. =)

SOO cute!! =)

Probably yelling about something. :)

Holding her ears... something Janessa always did. :)

Adalie is growing up way too fast! She's taller than me now... or maybe I'm growing shorter. :)

Aww, we're so cute! ;) hehe.

Well, that's enough pictures for now... =)

Boring day...

I'm back in Columbia (my second home), but I get to go home again tomorrow! :) I'm soo happy! I had to work today and then I go in again tomorrow. I was able to trade my van shift on Friday so I'll head home tomorrow after work and then stay till Saturday morning...then I have to be back at work around 2:30. Lame! I guess it's not that bad. :)

Work was very boring today... I guess that's a good thing. :) We had one emergency call and one transfer... I did almost fall asleep on the transfer. Thankfully, I had some gum and that helped a little...it's really bad when you're chewing gum and still falling asleep. Isn't the purpose of gum to keep you from falling asleep? :)

Well, I need to go stuff some clothes in a bag and head to bed... =)

Home! :)

I made it home! YAY! Now for an awesome weekend of fun and then it's back to work on Monday. We've not really decided what we're doing tomorrow, but I know I'll be spending lots of time with my nieces. They're getting so big! Abigail talks all the time now, Paige doesn't talk as much but she laughs all the time, Bethany is just adorable, chubby, and smiles lots. :) I'm hoping to put up pictures while I'm here, since Elisabeth doesn't have any on her computer...at least not any of the girls; so hopefully I can figure that out. =)

I did 5 hours of driving today. We had two transfers and I did most of the driving, which isn't too bad except that my back bothers me after I sit for too long. I think it hates me. ;)
The second transfer we took I rode with the patient and had an amazing time getting to know this elderly lady. We had a little over an hours drive and we talked the entire time. We talked about almost everything and I enjoyed every minute of it. Usually transfers can be very boring cause the patient sleeps the whole way and you end up falling asleep too...not good. :) I truly believe this lady was a christian and it was amazing to hear stories about her life and also how she never blamed God for the things that had happened to her. I was sad to hear that she hadn't been to a church in a year because she had no one to take her. I wish she lived closer so I could have the opportunity to spend more time with her and to be able to take her to church. When I told her that I would try and visit her sometime she sounded so excited and wanted me to come so that we could sit together on her deck and talk. :) I had no idea what my day would be like when I woke up this morning. I didn't think it could get any better since I was already going home; but God showed me that even a transfer can be a blessing in our lives. She is someone I will never forget.

No pain! =)

Today was the first day that I've ran without pain. It's a great feeling. :) The last couple months my shins (mostly just my left) have really bothered me every time I ran. It kept getting worse to where it bothered me even when I wasn't running. I'm not sure how it got so bad, possibly from running in balled shoes, harder surfaces, wearing uncomfortable boots almost every day for 8 hours; anyway, Elisabeth had some kinesio tex tape and you place it on your shin and it actually works! It's awesome that tape can make you feel so much better. :) So I am very happy that I'll now be able to run without pain.

Work was busy! Sometimes you don't get really anything on the van, but today I had six transports. I had a headache and was starving by the time I was done...but ibuprofen and crackers took care of that. :)

It's nine thirty and I probably need to get packed so I'm ready to head home after work. But packing is totally lame and I would rather just be lazy on the couch. :) Actually, if I sit here too long I'll end up falling asleep... not a good thing.

Two more days!!

Yay! Friday I get to go home! :) I love being able to go home even if it's only for a few days. Just have to make it through a van shift tomorrow and a 9-V on Friday. Woohoo! For those of you wondering, a 9-V just means a 9-5 shift at a certain base...and it means I may end up doing long distant transfers.

I was supposed to work today but instead I traded my shift so I could go with Elisabeth to St. Louis. We went to the mall, DSW, and managed to walk away without anything. Amazing. :) We had a good time though and that's all that really matters. =)

I'm a little bored right now. Elisabeth is working out at the gym (yes, I'm being incredibly lazy), and Patrick is working. So it's just me and the dog, who surprisingly enough isn't running around in circles like he's got his head on wrong. =)

1 month

I've been working for a month now. Time really goes by fast! I love working on the ambulance, there's always something new to learn and of course it's exciting to drive with lights and sirens. ;)

Today I worked the van and so I just take older people to either their home, rehab, or the tons of different nursing homes we have around here. I am getting a lot better with knowing my way around town; at least I know the main streets now. I still get mixed up though when I'm trying to drive back to the hospital from a call, but so far I've never gotten lost. =) Well...I take that back, my first transfer my partner and I got lost in Kansas City and couldn't find the ambulance entrance. They really need to put up signs that tell us where to go, it would be so helpful. It's a terrible thing to get lost with a patient in the back. Thankfully, the patients don't seem to mind...at least they've never said anything. :)

Kay, I hope that's good for tonight. =) I know you probably wanted me to write something longer but my brain is shutting down and I need to head to bed...have to work again tomorrow. :)

First blog...here it goes. :)

Ok, so I've never done a blog before and this could be a dangerous thing. :) I'm hoping it'll really help with my writing skills since I am totally pathetic at writing anything. So, those of you who care to read what I write, try to bear through and maybe I'll improve as time goes on. =)

The name of my blog is from a quote "Learn to smile through the storms". I think it's a challenge for us to always look on the bright side of things even though life gets hard and to smile through the storms. This can be very hard to do, but I have realized that the storms are God's way of teaching us something. The storms may be rough, but we have a Saviour who has promised to never leave us. What assurance we have knowing that our life is in the hands of a Saviour who is always there, and who never changes.