Nick Names

Names are fun especially nick names... at least when they are nice. So I've given my unborn daughter two nick names so far. The first is Little Bowling Ball, because she's getting so big and heavy that I feel like I'm carrying a bowling ball... and she rolls too! The second name is Anaconda, because at times when she moves I feel like there is a huge snake moving inside me! Pretty crazy huh? Anyway it's all fun and we get some good laughs out of it! 

So yes baby girl nelson is getting bigger each day and stronger too. She moves frequently which keeps Chris and I entertained. The other night she was moving so much that I couldn't stop laughing because it kind of tickled! 

Each day we get more and more excited to welcome our daughter into the world. As excited as we are, we are also trying to be patient because we don't want her to arrive to early for her own sake. But we are enjoying the time together as we await her arrival! 

My Baby's Blanket

My baby's blanket! Although it is unfinished....

So I completed crocheting the main portion of the blanket a little while ago and realized that I haven't posted a picture of what I've done so far. So here it is... it's folded in half in the picture. Chris and I are going to pick out another yarn so I can complete it with a colorful border. So stay tuned for the finished product! 

At The Half Way With CPE

So I've completed half of my internship as a chaplain now, and the past 6 weeks have been quite the journey. While I very much enjoy the ministry I'm doing in the hospital, I have to say... when it rains it pours! When I'm on-call I get worked! Yesterday was my first weekend on call, and I spent a total of 8 hours at the hospital. After having spent 5 hours in the morning helping a family with a viewing I was able to go home for about an hour and a half before getting paged back to the hospital. On my drive to the hospital I received another page from the hospital this time from the Emergency Department. So I say... when it rains it pours because I seem to get paged in waves. Things seem to happen in twos even though I can only be in one place at a time. Thankfully everything worked out! I have a great supervisor who welcomes calls at any hour when we need help! So she made some calls and was able to help take care of one of the situations, while I spent time with a family at the Emergency Department. 

I have another 5 weeks of this internship, and God has continually given me the strength to carry on when things seem so difficult. I really like working as a chaplain, but I'm still not certain if this is something I want to do with my life. I do feel like God could be calling me in that direction, but for now I'll take it one day at a time and finish this internship before I make any decisions! 

There are definitely things I dislike about this type of ministry... 1) I don't like waking up in the middle of the night to go into the hospital, 2) I don't like getting called back to the hospital when I just pulled out of the parking lot, and 3) There are simply some situations that no one really wants to have to deal with. (But I still do it)

But regardless of those things there are still plenty of things that I love about this ministry... 1) the smiles on peoples faces when they look at me in the midst of their dying and tell me they are going to see Jesus, 2) The joy I hear in people's voices when they tell me they feel like God is with them, and 3) The feeling I get inside knowing that even in the pain and suffering I see glimpses of God's beauty in the hospital. 

If you think of me... please pray for discernment as I approach the last 5 weeks of this internship. And also that God would continue to strengthen me in this ministry. 

It's a Girl!

Our doctor gave us a guarantee, it's a girl or the delivery is free!  The ultra sound above is of the ribcage on the left side and the skull on the right side, facing towards the camera.  In addition to finding out the gender I (Chris) was also able to feel our little girl kick for the first time which was needless to say very exciting.  The belly continues to grow and every day she (baby) begins to kick harder. At least her kicks are more noticeable! We're very excited to begin to prepare for her arrival. We'll keep you posted on more baby stuff to come! 

Sea Monkeys

My brother's girlfriend gave me Sea Monkeys for Christmas...they are pretty awesome.  Thanks Paige.

Sundance 2009

Taking Chance,

The Clone Returns Home,

Cold Souls,

Afghan Star,

Sin Nombre,

Arlen Faber,

Brief Interviews With Hideous Men,

An Education,

The Reckoning,

Push,

Dirt! The Movie,

We Live in Public,

and various short films

Feel free to ask me about any of them.

I survived my night on call.

Okay so last night was not the quiet night I was hoping for. I did get called back to the hospital around 1:40 a.m. and I'm happy to say I know I can wake up, get ready, and be at the hospital bedside in thirty minutes! Of course it does help that no one is really on the road at that time in the morning! 

So I survived being on call, but between yesterdays events and last nights, it was a rather rough day. Although I'm happy to be with families and help them find comfort in painful situations... I don't really like being called in during the middle of the night. I'm sure most people would agree it's not too pleasant being waken from your sleep. So I'm thankful that I'm only on call once a week! 

Today is a new day! And Saturday! Yay!! Even though it's grey and rainy outside, I'm happy to have the day off to rest. I love my weekends!