:: Day Two (Foggy Day at Arlington) ::

On Sunday morning, we slept a little later, to recover from our day of traveling and the late night on Saturday. We decided to visit Arlington Cemetery. It was definitely high on the list for all of us as a priority to see. Sunday was a beautiful foggy, rainy day... we all had to break out the sweaters and pullovers. Driving there was fun because we got to drive by the Pentagon and the Air Force Memorial.

:: Part of the group!! Top of the morning to you! ::

:: Some of the siblings. They looked like a kaleidoscope in the gray atomosphere. :) ::

:: Solemn ::

:: Can't believe we are here! ::

:: We are headed in the right direction. We hoofed it over a pretty hefty piece of mileage FAST in order to see the changing of the guard. :) This is how Nebraskans walk, people... ::

:: So many graves. It was hard for me to take it in. ::

:: Silence and Respect ::

:: Walk, walk, walk ::

:: The airplane in the background added a cool and almost frightening touch. Pictures with airplanes in the sky make me think of 9/11-- to this day. I was 11 but I remember just staring at the pictures of the jetliners just before they hit the towers and being disturbed, thinking about the people inside. ::

:: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ::

:: Wreathed in honor, always... ::

:: ..."known only to God"... ::

:: The Kennedy grave ::

:: Grave markers and an ancient tree ::

:: Standing guard ::

:: Saluting the tomb ::

:: This view of downtown looked to Mom and me like some scene from Rome. :) ::

:: Hello, friends! ::

::Quotes, quotes. I love them and there are a lot of pictures of quotes from our trip. So inspiring. I don't agree with all of JFK's politics, but he was a great American orator. ::

:: me: "Why aren't you smiling in this picture, Grace?"

"Grace: Because we are at a GRAVESITE! In a national CEMETERY!"

me: "...." way to make me feel like a callous idiot. ::

:

:: Mom and Dad beyond the sobering sign ::

:: OOPs... one more quote ::

:: And on to Alexandria, VA to hear the President's Own Marine Band play a fantastic concert! ::

:: Sorry about the blurriness. Their uniforms were very stylin' ::

:: you know who you are ::

Happy (slightly belated) birthday to my dear, dear friend. :) So glad you had a happy, beautiful, sunshine-y day. I love you so much!!

We seriously have so much in common, it is sometimes frightening. :)

(credit goes to Kayla herself for most of these pictures)

:: Family Vacation: Day One (En route) ::

God blessed my family with the opportunity to go to Washington DC for over a week... all of us together... which is really quite a feat now that we all have school/work/life commitments. It was such a blessed time being together. Yes, there were snafus. It is not the easiest thing in the world to transport 9 people to the opposite side of the country, and propel, feed and house said 9 individuals through a large metro for a week. :) There were moments. Both good and bad. So thankful for the trip though. I have the most amazing family!! :) 

Mom, Dad, Grace, Josh and Peter left on Friday. Us older kids had school/work so Liz and I drove home on Friday night and we left on Saturday morning. Mom left a list of things to do before we left. I was bordering on paranoia that if I didn't leave the thermostat on 50, turn off the water to the house, gather the eggs, drink all the milk and wash the jars, or worst of all GET THE TICKETS!!!!!!!!!!!! that we would come home to a house burnt to a cinder, or flooded, or some other calamity. :) I love Mom's lists. 

Anyway, we made it to the airport with all of our baggage, checked in, and proceeded to wait. Tim made an entertaining vlog series over the course of the trip, friend him on facebook if you haven't seen it. :) Please don't mind my inane remarks on camera- a little shy on this side of the viewfinder. :P Here are some pictures of our day of travel!

:: I will never get over the wonder of being on the other side of the clouds. How amazing is that?! I feel like a little kid whenever I fly. There are jitters, nervousness and an almost overwhelming desire to jump up and scream at the top of my lungs at all the sleepy, head-phoned, bored, device-addicted business people-- "HEY PEEPS!!!!! ISN'T THIS FUN!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!?!?!!?"

:: 4 Brown legs-- er, I mean, blue legs... ::

:: Yes, as a matter of fact, I am taking self portraits in the plane. Deal with it. ::

:: A rather handsome dude sat on my right ::

:: And this cute red-head occupied the left. I was squoze in the middle, and 2 6'6 legs encroached on my space on either side. The joys of tall brothers. :) ::

:: Am I not a diligent student? ::

:: Finally in DC!!! Reunited!!! Sister <3 ::

:: Blurry homey-ness. Jeff and Mary were so hospitable with their lovely home, letting 9 people come and sleep on their floor and eat all their food and exhaust their Shi-Tzus. ::

:: Jeff took us on one of his famous late-night tours of downtown. It was exciting. It included almost me almost getting mowed down by a car and a lot of horn-honking. ::

:: Oops, sorry out of order. We were happy to see each other! ::

:: Ack, it's the White House! I wanted to throw a rock and make it "tink" on the window like Rolf did in Sound of Music... somehow didn't think that the armed SS guards and policemen would find that funny. I restrained myself. 

Stay tuned for more. Oh, much, much more! :) I have yet to get the pictures from the other family cameras. So there might be a few out of order pictures later. 

God bless all!!

~Laura

:: Texas trip ::

I had such a grand time in Texas!! The highlight was definitely seeing Esther Schatte and family again. How fun to be able to pick right back up with people whom you hadn't seen since you were 7. Thanks to the Hutchins family as well for hosting me and making me fit right in... and for letting me help milk the goats. That was a definite highlight. :) It was so wonderful to meet new friends, and catch up with older ones. 

I can't stomach sweet tea, I can't abide the Longhorns, and buggies are old-fashioned horse-drawn conveyances, not the basket-on-wheels that you push around at the grocery store-- but I do like what I saw of Texas and had so much fun with you a-- y'all. 

:: Sweet Amy and her little boy Bobby ::

:: <3 this girl!! Happy bride!! ::

:: "Whisper sweet nothings through the wall..." ::

:: Almost time!! ::

:: Meanwhile, preparations continue... ::

:: Sisters and a sweet little girl ::

:: The wedding party ::

:: An epic groom's cake ::

:: Waiting to chuck birdseed at the happy couple ::

:: Waiting for the bride! ::

:: Lovely. Love those eating pictures... :P ::

:: I was so honored to help serve cake at the reception ::

:: Loved having the Grady's from Nebraska there for the wedding too!! Catching up on some homework with dear Betsy ::

:: Chit-chat ::

Thanks Mrs. Grady for a few of the pictures. :) This is a very exhaustive post on a very fun 3 days. Hope it gives you a little taste though. 

:: toasty heart ::

It seems a bit cliche to say that something or some happening "warms" your heart-- but I had a moment that made the ol' ticker absolutely toasty...

It was late at night, at the hospital. The halls were dim and finally quiet, and I was checking on my patients before I sat down to chart and perhaps grab a bite to eat. I was just finishing up with one of my patients, the sweetest old gentleman- slightly confused and forgetful but striving gallantly to cover it up. {on a side note, I love it when you "discover" patients who are amazingly like your own grandparents}I asked if there was anything else I could get for this gentleman before I left. He replied that no, there wasn't, and I said softly, "Good night!" He looked at me, smiled, and said with the sweetest voice, "Goodnight, dear-- I love you!"

Sometimes the hospital can be a hard place to work. There have been some nights, especially recently, in which I have wanted nothing more than to flee and forget-- forget people and forget fears and sadness and pain and exhaustion. Not mine, but my patient's. It is easier to forget, or to be untouched in the first place. It is easier not to let people in, not to let yourself become attached. It is harder to care. But when people are so dear it is like a hug from God. :-) And that is kind of a cliche too, but it is absolutely categorically truer-than-true.

:: Fortissimo Friday ::

Happy Friday, and God bless you all!! 

~Laura

:: life, compacted ::

Life recently?

School, school, clinical, school, sleep (on occasion), work, school, school, exercise (NOT), work, work...

... and it is all good. Mostly good, anyway.

Enjoying CRU at college. Studying 1st John and it has been good. I have been so lax about personal Bible reading and it has been challenging and encouraging to share my struggles with other believers. They are helping to keep me accountable. It is very easy to say "I am too busy with homework, etc." and then catch yourself spending an hour on the computer on mindless and completely worthless little things. So it is not that I am too busy but I just need to have my priorities adjusted everyday. :)

Thank you Lord for never giving up on me. I do not deserve You.

I got to visit my great-grandma last weekend... a fringe benefit was driving up and down the Front Range and reveling in the mind-bending beauty of the mountains. She is 102 and failing a bit in the last few months. She called me by the name of her twin sister most of the weekend. That was OK. I was so happy to just spend time with her. What a precious thing to know your great-grandmother, my dad's grandma. Very few girls (not to mention boys) have that privilege.

:: my wonderful Grandma ::

:: we went for a wintry walk last night!! It was fun to get snow gear on for the first time this year ::

:: sisters ::

:: a town is so muffled by a snowfall... everything is quiet, the home-lights are cozy and the men are all out snow blowing. ::

:: the park was deserted, except for two girls who thought they were still kids... ::

:: babysitting... we made cupcakes with sprinkles, edible graffitti and JellyBellies ::

:: <3 ::

:: kiddos ::

It has been hard lately to keep focused on what God has for me in the next day, the next hour, the next minute. I know that He wants me to be a nurse, and after that the future is so foggy. I feel as if I need to SEE-- what will my future hold?-- when really He wants me to trust Him and do what He has for me RIGHT NOW. I find myself searching for jobs and wondering, wondering-- and then I'll search for overseas missions opportunities and get all a-fire about that... constantly unsure about the future. God wants me to trust Him. He has had my future written down, detail by detail, since He turned His mind to the sculpting of my innermost soul. I am far better off to have Him holding my life than myself. How glad I am that I don't have to run this show. It's just the remembering that, and the nitty-gritty, everyday relinquishment of worries and uncertainties that I tend to grip with far too tight a grasp.

God bless everyone!!! :)

~Laura