Tis official

Tis official! Jessi and Maurice are moving and settling in the one and only Indianapolis, IN! My interviews went GREAT! The managers and staff were all amazing...the decision came down to working in Rileys PICU or Methodist's NICU and I ended up choosing the NICU!! I ended up choosing the NICU for several reasons (many of them being listed in my last post). I'm really excited for the new opportunities of workin in the NICU and workin w the moms/families. I really hope to eventually get connected with Life Centers or other agencies in the community that work with "pregnancy related crisis" situations and also gettin involved in schools maybe down the road (in hopes to decrease the rate of teen pregnancy, help teen moms find resources and succeed as moms and in school, and to help decrease the incidence of premature babies). I really think this new door that's openin will bring a whole new world of great opportunities!

It's all still very bittersweet tho. We will be leavin behind an AWESOME church and church community, friends, and family...and I will be leavin my job here at Children's that I love so much..i love our patients, what i do, and the people i work with. I feel so blessed to have been placed here and i really think the skills and experiences i gained here have truly made a strong foundation for me to build on. I'm super bummed about leavin all my awesome co-workers tho...it can be QUITE the high stress environment around here but everyone works so well together (well..MOSTLY everyone...lol) and i can clown and have fun here too...its not all Mr. Serious all the time..BORING! hahaha. Yes indeedy..my fellow co-workers here will be very much missed...

God has done so much for Reese and I and I know He has great plans for us with this move and in our future! Lookin forward to the changes...grateful for all He's already given and the wonderful people he puts in my life...

Interviews

SOoooOooo Last Friday I interviewed both in Rileys PICU and Methodists NICU. Prior to going to the interviews I was thinking I would hands down like the PICU position more and wouldn't really like the NICU. I shadowed both units and really liked both!!! And I liked the NICU a WHOLE lot more than i thought i would. Of course there's the part where ya fall in love w all the little babies...ummm YES adorable! Just wanted to snuggle them all. But then there's still the part where I'd be able to work in a unit with high acuity and yet also get to do alot of teaching and actually SEE my babies grow and get healthy enough to go home! How rewarding! I *love* what i do now in the CICU, but very rarely do we actually get to see the progress our kids make. Our focus is more on their current critical state...get them stable and them send them to the step-down unit. I mean don't get me wrong its AMAZING seeing all of our interventions help these kidos and seeing them go from near-dead to crying and feeding and headin to the step-down. But we dont get much time to see the long term progress of the kids. In the NICU i would be able to really see my babies grow AND id have more time to actual do teaching and work with the parents. Something that REALLY excites me abou the NICU is that alot of the moms are young moms from the downtown area and what got me into nursing was that i wanted to work with young moms from underserved areas so i really feel like this could open alot of doors to a whole new world for me! Not to mention there are alot of organizations in indy for help for young moms/moms in need of resources due to socioeconomic status which i would love to be a part of. I have always had such a passion for helping to give babies the best possible chances and i feel like working with the parents is where it starts...so really, I'm rather excited about the idea of working in the NICU. I'm still really likin the idea of the PICU as well just because I would learn SOOOOO much because of all the exposure...itd be sad bc id be gettin normal healthy kids who now, at the age of 7, have a non-operable brain tumor and is dying...or id be gettin the child abuse cases, the MVAs, the drownings...there's definitely a whole lot of sad in the PICU..but so much opportunity to make a difference by our interventions.

So the second round of my interviews is this friday...i will have peer interviews at both units and then hopefully i will hear whether or not they are extending a job offer. Been prayin alot about where God wants me to be soooo we shall see!!!

ps. what BLOWS is that my first peer interview is at 8 AM on friday...and im working tonite (wednesday night) so ill sleep alot of tomorrow...and my body will be used to bein up all night so might not sleep all that hot thursday night...maybe ill just take a little nap and then stay up all night and just go to the interviews starting at 8 in the FREAKIN MORNING! Glory...lol. Atleast I got a big stretch off from work to get some rest!!! Come on 5 days off!! Although now that i think about it...the first few days will be RATHER busy..interviews and traveling thursday/friday...moving to the new apt sat/sunday...and then fun busy=reeses bday and fathers day!!! wats REAL crazy is we will moving AGAIN in september but that time to good ol indy!!! moving blows lol

Anyhoots! lots of exciting stuff coming up!! excited for the changes

Changes

So lately there's been quite a few changes for good ol Reese and Jessi. As of a few weeks ago Reese landed a job as a sales representative for Sprint!!!! We are SOOOOOO excited!!! He's obviously excited bc hes just been doin a whole lota hangin out and sittin around and well...there's only so much of that one can do...at least in our opinion...dont get me wrong we LOVE us a nice kick back and chill day or two but then we need something to entertain us and keep us busy... We're excited for the obvious financial reasons, too...two incomes? heck yes...especially cuz we have all these exciting plans to do with two incomes...very very exciting!!

the OTHER big part of this whole new job business is that the job is in INDY!!!! yes...INDY!!!! Obviously exciting bc that's where im from...got my fam there, my home girls (well...some arent there anymore...if only we could all get in the same area for once lol), and other of my peoples that im excited to be able to spend more time with. Not to mention i just love indy...and there's plenty of good hospitals in indy for me to save lives at lol

It's all so bittersweet tho cuz i love my job here at cincinnati childrens...im so blessed to not only love the patients i work with but i love wat i do and i love the people i work with...obviously sometimes work is the LAST thing u wanna do but once im there its always alright cuz i got fun people to work with...and we all work so well together...its def a blessing... and then reese and i LOVE our crossroads (our church) here in cincinnati...i HIGHLY doubt we r gona find a church like crossroads in indy...im actually gona email crossroads and ask if they have any sister churches in indy or something like that.. we just feel like everything crossroads is about and does we support 100%...the people r great (and its the most diverse crowd u will EVER see a church i promise), what the church is about is amazing, and the growth i have experienced has truly been a blessing...We trust God will find us a church family in indy as well tho...

Something else im REEEEAAALLLLLYYYYY gonna miss is sittin by the river...man do i love sittin on the serpentine wall to just sit and clear my mind...it is such a place of peace for me...even 30 minutes down by the river is enough to re-center me...for me, it's one of those places i go to "meet God"... and there's nothing like sitting by a slow but steady flowing river...

And then of course there's my cousins...i absolutely love my cuz-os and aunt and uncle...i dont always get to spend as much time as id like with them but i love the fact that we are only about 25 minuts apart..esp cuz my cuzin alex is about to get her license so i was lookin forward to the days when she could just drive on over with biz and their friends and just hang out at my apt...i suppose now they'll have to travel to indy lol

I really look forward to bein close to friends and family in indy tho...dont get me wrong i have good friends here in cincinnati and i do think that if we would be stayin here then those friendships could really take root...but obviously i got roots in indy that run deep and have grown over a loooooong time...they r the people that know me the best and i just love spendin time with them. I've always been a rather independent individual...lovin to be around people just thinkin im fine on my own and i dont need to really live in community with others and more than ever i have found that to be SO UNTRUE...i never realized how important it is to have friends and family around...people that u are truly vested in and them in u...someone to just kick it with...not bc yall planned a party or get together...but simply someone to just sit outside with on a nice day and just kick it...Reese has all of his long time friends and fam here in cincinnati and he taught me so much about the importance of really spending time with those people.. he doesnt think its gona b that hard to not hav those people around all the time like he did but i think its gona be harder on him then he thinks...he spends ALOT of time with his friends and fam and i dont know if he realizes how different its gona be now not bein able to just go play playstation 3 til 2 in the mornin with jeremy on any given night... im sure hell be ok but i do think hes gona see the difference more than he thinks...too bad ALL our friends n fam cant live in the same dag-gone city lol in a perfect world right?

i cant wait to b able to spend more time with my parents, too...esp my mom...now dont get it twisted...jessi is VERY MUCH a daddys girl...he is my hero and i will always be his princess and spending more time w him is gona be JUST as awesome...my mom and i hav always been close but more and more as i get older i realize how much i think like her, respect her, and find that she actually makes me feel normal lol.. watching her, talkin w her, and learning from her i realize how valuable she is not only for my growth but my sanity hahaha...and our relationship has been more of a mother-daughter relationship for all this time and now i think we r both ready to keep that but just be more of friends...just simply b ourselves around each other not always worryin about having to teach a lesson or play a certain role to "be a good role model"...just be real...flaws and all...love it...lol

i feel like a lot of parents feel pressured to almost be "perfect" for their kids...thinkin that bein parents means they gota make sure not to show any of their flaws...cant ever just b imperfect humans...gota be SUPER humans (aka parents) when all along they have been super parents by just lovin their kids and doin their best to guide them in the right direction...no need to think that becomin a parent means no longer able to mess up or BE HUMAN...now that my brothers and i are older my parents r relaxing more around us and its been more valuable than ever bc its easier to look up to someone who shows their strengths AND weaknesses bc we ALLLLL hav those...its learnin to deal with those things and work with those things that make us grow...not actin like they just dont exist...

so im really excited and thankful for lots about movin to indy...but it will be bittersweet...will b eventually leavin a great job with great people, an amazing church, and good friends and family here...So thankful for God's faithfulness, guidance, and answer to prayers tho...we have been prayin alot about where to "settle out" (indy vs cincy)...with reese applyin like CRAZY for the past few months and not hearin anything here in cincy only to start applyin in indy and get a job and hav it all go so quick and smooth it seems so orchestrated...and then i just started applyin in indy just to see options and see if anything was even available only to ALREADY be gettin TWO interviews on this comin friday (i talked to the RN recruiter YESTERDAY and all this already is gettin put in place) even when so many hospitals hav been goin on hiring freezes...just kinda seems like things r goin so smooth and easy bc the master is trying to show us where He wants us...and its makin this whole process so much easier...Ranck's mister recently passed along some of the most valuable advice for those waiting to "hear" from God...HE SPEAKS...and HE LEADS...but WE have to keep ourselves truly open and "keep the lines clear" to be able to receive what He has for us...so true...so so true...

Prayers are up for God's continuing guidance...and for Reese and I to continue to be truly RECEPTIVE to what GOD has to say...

And in the mean time i gotta work on gettin chels, bryce, and bella back in indy lol...

Geeked about the engagement pics

heres a few:

We got our engagement pics back today and MAN ARE WE IN LOVE WITH THEM!!! Our photographer, michael bambino, and kim who put our "before the i do's" book together did SUCH a great job!!! we felt GREAT during the shoot but then i started to get nervous cuz sometimes i look like a total nerd ball when im smiling in pics cuz USUALLY i look like im fakin the small but these pics looked so great and no awkward smiles!! PHEW! lol...now that i think about it tho...maybe there was a lot of awkward photos but they just left them out haha...who knows!

We took a few "fierce" shots cuz we both have a fierce GQ/DIVA side of us that we like to pop up and be free now and again so we thought thatd be fun!! not to mention its gona be awesome when we can show the "fierce" pics to our kids one day to see just how hot mama and studly their parents "used to be" hahaha..."yes children...mommy and daddy WERE beasts!! killin the scene little ones...killin the scene!" lol...

the team at michael bambino studios have been so awesome to us as well...originally you just get a CD with all the pics on it so we could print them if we want (we have the original rights to all our pics) but they made a really cool book for us (no charge..cheddary biscuits!!) just cuz and then they liked our photo so much they made an xtra book and kept it for themselves to display at their studio! maurice and i felt rather honored! they should take pride in their work tho...i mean we arent the ugliest but they REALLY made the perfect shots...very pleased with what theyve done so far...lookin forward to wedding day pics :)

ok so on a different tip...ive been wanting to blog for SO long but just havnt bc the things i want to blog about are journal type, thought required blogs and i just havnt had the time/solitude to be able to sit down and really just journal...but i figure it takes no brains and point 2 seconds to blog about bein excited so figure ill get this one in before the rest which hopefully ill b able to start journalin soon! i gotta be in just the write mind frame, place, mood, etc to blog about actual thoughts/issues/etc and havnt found/had time for that place in a bit! lol...hopefully will be back soon dear blog to fill u with my thoughts...