What Matters The Most

When Perry & I were planning our wedding, we chose this song by Brandon Heath for our wedding website -along with Plain White T's "1, 2, 3, 4" :) I revisited our site today after celebrating our 1st anniversary this past weekend *post full of pictures coming soon!* I was reminded of the powerful truth in the lyrics. We are challenged to love this way every day with the people we interact with: our spouses, our family members, our friends, our coworkers and neighbors, the clerk at the store, even "those people" that irk us (we all have them!). God's love is the ultimate love, perfect in every way. Love is right here (=there, wherever you are right now) and love is ALIVE!

Love Never Fails

love is not proud

love does not boast

love after all

matters the most

love does not run

love does not hide

love does not keep

locked inside

love is the river that flows through

love never fails you

love will sustain

love will provide

love will not cease

at the end of time

love will protect

love always hopes

love still believes

when you don’t

love is the arms that are holding you

love never fails you

when my heart won’t make a sound

when I can’t turn back around
when the sky is falling down

nothing is greater than this

greater than this

love is right here

love is alive

love is the way

the truth, the life

love is the river than flows through

love is the arms that are holding you

love is the place you will fly to

love never fails you



South Carolina

Perry & I took an overnight roadtrip to South Carolina for my cousin's wedding... 3 months ago, okay?! I'm way behind on this thing.   The drive was lovely, except for the fact that I-95 was grid-locked for miles. We ended up finding a "detour" route- thanks for our GPS- on a two lane country road through way too many small towns. But, we made it! I loved these trees.

Sarah, the second-eldest cousin on my Dad's side, and her dear husband Matthew were married 5 years ago but always wanted a special gathering to bring their families & friends together in celebration of their union. On July 31, they had their wedding in Folly Beach, SC. The recommitment ceremony was beautiful, held in a quaint old Methodist church (they met when Matthew was attending Methodist University in Fayetteville, NC where Sarah's parents live!).

The wedding party from L to R: Matt's brother-in-law from England, Sarah's brother/my cousin Lucas, Matt's friend, Sarah, Matt, Sarah's sister/my cousin Emily, Matt's friend, and Sarah's cousin from her Mom's side Michael

Parents of the Bride, my Uncle Tom & Aunt Lorraine!

 

Papa Durr

*Sweet tradition: a single white rose at your wedding in memory of Nana. He gave me one at our reception, and Sarah just received hers above*

Futbol! Little Jack was showing sure signs of British talent at just over 1 year old!

Afterward, the party moved to an impressive beach house! Perry & I enjoyed seeing everyone and meeting Matthew's family who traveled all the way from England & Scotland!

The Durr side (minus the rest of my immediate family...)

 

Sarah looked gorgeous as always! Awesome flowy gown

Becca & Clare, the youngest of the grandchildren- they are turning into little ladies!

Cheesy grin ;)

 The evening's entertainment was great!

Family pictures were placed all over the house... I know I was not alone in missing my Nana that day (shown laughing & hugging my Papa in the backyard of their old house on Oak Island); I would have been so proud to introduce my sweet Nana to Perry, and my dear Perry to Nana. ♥

Toasts & Thank You's

The next morning after a yummy breakfast courtesy of my Aunt & Uncle and the rest of the rowdy bunch staying at the house, Perry & I hit the road... to Charleston!!! We spent just a few hours walking around the city. After grabbing lunch at a fun sports bar & grille downtown, we left to drive the rest of the way home (on I-95 this time!)

We couldn't find the deck where our precious little air-conditioned E was parked- the sweltering heat was getting to us.

Neglected

I have been neglectful. My "to-do" and "to-blog" lists are growing, not shrinking... yes, I honestly keep a list. I've had a Word document titled To Do for a little while (or a couple of years) :) My Mom & Dad pick on me about being a "lister". There are a good FOUR (or 5 even?) family updates/activities that haven't gone public yet! Coming soon: my cousin's beautiful SC beach wedding, Perry's 26th birthday events, our niece's 4th birthday party, and home improvements!!! All with lots of pictures!

With a multitude of projects big & small going on around the Whitaker house, my focus has temporarily shifted.

Rodizio

In celebration of [a] finally graduating from college, [b] passing the NCLEX and gaining licensure as a nurse, and [c] landing a (really good) job, my Mom & stepdad Paul treated me & Perry to a double-date at Brasa, a Brazilian steakhouse in Brier Creek. Oh. my. goodness. DELISH!

Definition, "Rodizio": an authentic style of serving fire-roasted meat that originates in Southern Brazil. Gauchos/herders mastered the art of slowly cooking savory cuts of meat on large skewers over the open flames of their bonfires.

We had a little more elegant experience :) Servers came by periodically throughout our meal with a giant knife and skewers, each time with a different cut of meat: filet mignon, bacon wrapped sirloin, the traditional picanha, chicken, lamb, sausages, pork loin, ribs... If your stone was green side up, they'd offer you more, and more, and more! As they cut a slice, we used pee-wee pocket-size tongs to get it on our plates. If all that meat wasn't enough, there was an abundance of cold salads (seriously, like 20), fruit (with coconut milk for dipping), shrimp cocktail, rice, beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, fried shrimp croquettes on a buffet and a few dessert items like chocolate-covered strawberries! It's ALL YOU CAN EAT (for a pretty penny) but I could not physically eat as much as I wanted to!!!

Paul and my Momma with their stop/go stones

                                                                       If you're wondering, that's grilled pineapple

                                                                            coated in cinnamon... sounded a bit

                                                                            strange at first, but- yummmmmm!

After nearly stuffing ourselves with all that yummy goodness,  Mom and I went crazy with the camera. Here's the highlights from our photo shoot!

Isn't she beautiful?

Waitin' on a woman!

Being cheesy, but we are both RNs now!

On our way home, we- uh, were up to no good ;) and although the GPS claimed we had "arrived at our destination on right", the address we were looking for was strangely non-existent!

And finally, Mom and I having a blast in the backseat!!

Summary: I HIGHLY recommend Brasa. Come hungry, leave happy! Oh wait, that's IHOP... I love breakfast food too.

Telephone orders

I have been employed as a nurse for 2 weeks, but spent a majority of that time in class, listening to representatives speak about each & every department within the hospital, or reviewing paperwork with my supervisor and other fellows on my floor. Yesterday and today I actually cared for patients!! Today was an improvement from yesterday, which is all I can ask for this early in the game :) I have experienced a few distinct differences in working as a RN as opposed to being a student nurse in clinicals. Today, I was THRILLED to be able to take a telephone order! Patient had a problem - paged the MD - MD called back, asked for pt's nurse... that's ME! - orders given - clarified the orders - wrote them in the chart as a "telephone order" and signed my name. Awesome! It's the little things...

Tomorrow, Perry and I are heading down to a South Carolina beach for my cousin Sarah's wedding. [Sadly we will be missing Perry's niece's 7th birthday party tomorrow *Happy birthday, little Lauren! We love you!*] We are really looking forward to this mini get-away, albeit we are only staying for 1 night :( Details and pictures to come!

Run run run run run runaway!

Dogs. Three dogs. Our three dogs. They add a lot to our lives: love, excitement, happiness, security, trouble, snuggles, headaches, "surprises", slobber, and lots of dog hair!

Bella, our Husky, tests us almost on a daily basis. This dog is so smart! We took her to the Banfield Vet at Petsmart a few days ago because we suspected she had worms (ew!); it's not our usual vet but we were given a coupon for a free office visit & physical there. This was Bella's 1st trip to Petsmart. She's not wonderful on a leash. She often confuses the leash holder for a sled that she must single-handedly drag through the snow...

Perry & I checked Bella in and took a seat on the benches along the back wall of the store. Of course she was anxious, pacing back and forth, and doing her pitiful whiny "cry" :( In an attempt to calm her down, I started rubbing her belly while she was standing between my knees. Perry was holding the leash, but thought I had taken hold of it... I assumed he still had it...

There she goes!!! My little runaway. A- run- run- run- run- run- runaway! (A nod to the oldies song "Runaway" by Del Shannon!).

I took off after her (side note: the current series at our church is about differences between men & women and learning to live together in harmony. The author & guest speaker Tim Downs keeps us laughing! Wanna check it out? One key difference noted in this incident is a woman's (my)heightened senses and faster reaction time! Hehe). I tried stepping on her leash that trailed behind her, but I couldn't quite get it. Of course, Bella heads right for the front door! *panic* My sights are focused in on her, so I don't see anything or anyone around me. I need to stop my dog from running out the door into the parking lot!!!

I repeated the tactic that I used to catch her the last time she took off. I DOVE!!!

I dove right into a little girl who was standing on a stool to look at lizards or hamsters or some caged creature. Her mother was nearby talking on her cell phone. Oh my goodness. I cannot even begin to describe everything that occurred in the next, oh, 20 seconds!

+ Bella was safe and sound
+ the little girl, ~4 years old, was not hurt

- total embarrassment
- the girl's mother was NOT happy with me
- floor burns on my elbow and knee
- having to return to the back of the store & wait to be seen by the Banfield vet

Thankfully the girl didn't fall over with the stool! I sort of just knocked it out from under her and she landed on her feet. The mom quickly ended her conversation with "I gotta go, bye (click)". From the floor, I apologized over and over again to the little girl & her mother and made sure she was okay. I got up & quickly led Bella away from the scene! Yes, people gathered :/

What an ordeal. Bella brings a LOT to our family. Good and bad, we love her!

As of late

I must. I must. I must get better at blogging! Once again, it's been a long time since my last post. And life gets BUSIER than this???

Here's my best shot at filling everyone in with an overview of what's been going on as of late:

[1] On 7/7, I took the NC State Nursing Boards, also known as NCLEX!! I told myself I was ready... that I would be just fine... After all, I did graduate from Nursing school and had been reviewing for over a month! There was an emmense amount of pressure for me to pass- for reasons that I will get into another day... It was challenging to not become overwhelmed with worry, anxiety, and negative "what if" thoughts. I was nervous- and those nerves were not going to go away- but I turned the focus of my prayers towards peace, resting in the security that God provides, and trusting in His incredible power to create something from (what seems to be) nothing.

For those who do not know, the NCLEX is a CAT (Computer Adaptive Test) meaning it selects each question from a "database" so to speak based on how you answered the previous question. If you get an easy ? right, it will progress to a more difficult ?, but if you miss an easy ?, you'll continue to get easy ones. After question #75, if the computer is something like 95% sure you have either "passed" or "failed" (which I'm still not sure exactly how this is determined), it will cut off. Otherwise, the test could keep going up to 265 questions! Maximum time alloted is 6 hours. "Lord, please do not make me sit in front of that computer screen for SIX HOURS!!"

My #75 asked the purpose of a particular medication, one that reduces the production of uric acid in the body. The answer was clear to me! There were very few that I knew I knew the answers to; this was one of them!! During my preceptorship, a newly diagnosed cancer patient's family asked me the names & reasons for each medication I was administering to their loved one. I mistakenly confused one of her meds with a beta-blocker because of a similar ending (-ol vs. -lol)... Anyway, as soon as the words came out of my mouth, I second guessed myself- for good reason! Back at the nurses desk, I grabbed a drug guide and looked it up; it was not a beta-blocker (used for blood pressure/heart rate) but in fact to prevent the build-up of uric acid (which can be a result of certain cancer meds). Big oops! I could not leave this poor family with incorrect information so I put my pride aside and returned to the pt's room and explained my mistake. I will always remember that drug! I paused before clicking to move forward to #76. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7. Here goes nothin'!

...(blue screen)... "Congratulations! You have completed the NCLEX-RN, blah, blah"... Now wait 48 agonizing hours for your results! Cruelty. My test stopped at 75. That either meant I passed or I failed miserably. The computer was sure one way or another.

[2] On July 9th, I woke up at 0600. Sleeping was just not an option at that point. My results came in around 0920........... My dear hubby checked for them while I waited in the hallway. "Pass". Pass? PASS! PASS!!!!!! LAUREN WHITAKER, RN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PRAISE GOD!!! Perry & I FREAKED OUT!!! Everything in our office probably rattled from us jumping up & down :) I can personally testify that if give up your plans to God, you will succeed. About a week later I received confirmation that I was officially licensed.


[3] My two nieces (Perry's sister Cassy's girls) stayed with my in-laws for a weekend. They live outside of Charlotte so unfortunately we don't get to see them as often as we would like. What a joy they are!


Emily's close-up!


3 weeks early, Happy Birthday to Lauren! The wait staff sang and brought a sundae!

[4] I started my job on Monday!!! We've been in orientation all week. I look forward to being up on my unit soon. There are no words to express how fortunate I feel to have this position in such a highly reputable hospital with the power to heal & a passion for care!