Fall!

Too much to update. . .

• Scott has been working for Fox Valley Technical College since Spring. 
• I graduated with my MSN!!!  So good to be done with school (for now).
• The boys played soccer this summer & it was a blast watching them.  3 teams = 4 nights of soccer.
• Football season is here!  Spencer & Parker are playing Pop Warner Football on the same team ~ tackling ~ very exciting to watch.
• Carter started flag football with Scott as his coach!  It's so fun to see him having fun. . . and Carter likes it too :)
• Almost forgot - all 3 of my boys are in school all day this year.  They are getting used to the schedule.
• I am teaching for Fox Valley Technical College's nursing program as adjunct faculty.  Learning a new system has been interesting & challenging.  I am enjoying the opportunity.
• I am also still teaching with Northeast Wisconsin Technical College this semester. 
• I am in search of my "big girl job."  Now that I'm done with school, I really want a place to call my home.  While I enjoy the diversity of teaching for multiple places, I know that I can make a bigger impact within a nursing program if I am able to be part of the team.  Praying for good news in that area.  God has a plan.

There is SO much more to share. . .but I am ready for bed.  I've been neglecting the blog. . . but now that facebook has messed with the format again, I might be back here more often.

Jennifer B

2011 So Far

• I have been neglecting the blog. . . .obviously.
• We're over 2 months into finding our new normal with Scott being home. We are certain this change in employment status is part of God's plan for us. We share the office now, which is strange. I am a bit territorial. I am also easily distracted. This combo does not work so well - but we're making a go of it.
• I love teaching in the classroom! My practicum this semester includes teaching OB at Bellin College. It has been amazing thus far. It's good to know that I LOVE what I do!


• This year's birthday brought me into the later 30's bracket. That is okay. . . really, it is.


• Along with the birthday, I realized that I added 14 pounds to my small frame since Thanksgiving. That is not a good thing. When scrubs start being too tight, it is time to take action.


• Jillian Michaels is now in charge of kicking my butt into shape. And let me tell you, it's working! OUCH! But the added energy has been welcomed graciously.


• I signed up for a course to become a Certified Nutrition Specialist. Excited for this!


• Starting to plan the veggetable garden for this year. Big plans . ..


• All 3 boys are registered for soccer this summer. Pretty exciting stuff! 4 nights a week of crazy coming right up!


• Spencer & Parker will be playing Pop Warner Football this fall. Not sure we're ready for this tackle football stuff - but it can't be any worse than what they already do in the yard without pads, right?


• Heading to Washington state in July for my graduate school residency. Hopefully the weather will cooperate while we're there.


• All done with grad school come August! The light at the end of the tunnel is approaching. . . until I decide to pile it higher & deeper.

Guess who learned how to ride his bicycle without training wheels? And guess who taught him? These proud little guys were SO excited! And so were we:)

We no longer have any babies in our house. Awww!

Jennifer B

W here Did Summer Go?

Yes, MIA is what I have been in Bloggy World this summer. . . sorry. Much has been going on in Borleyville. Here's the run down:

• Disney World in June - wow! HOT! Fun! Went too fast but was happy to get home. Discovered that the big amusement parks are probably better suited for older kids. Ours would have preferred to stay at the condo & swim in the pool. Totally awesome condo!
• Grad school is full speed ahead! I started a summer session while we were in Florida. . . so that was a bit taxing. . . but I made it through that class, had a couple weeks off & now am busting my butt with 8 credits this semester. That is BUSY in grad school terms. I will survive (right?).
• Spencer & Parker played soccer this summer. They were on the same team (yay!) so that made it a little less hectic. They had a blast! It is so fun to see them working as a team.
• Carter broke his left arm this summer. He fell from the top of a slide while on a fieldtrip for daycare. He recovered very well. Nothing slows him down. . . .seriously, nothing. . .
• I am a Godmother again! My younger brother, Rob, and his wife, Lindsay, had little Eli Thomas baptized this summer. He is so stinkin' cute. My boys cannot wait for Eli to be big enough to rough house with. (Paybacks Rob - that is all I have to say!)
• My boys started school on September 1st. ALL 3 OF THEM! My baby got on the school bus for the first time - he is in 4K half days. I teared up quite a bit. . . yeah, okay, I bawled like a baby as I followed the bus to school. Hey, the other boys didn't start school until kindergarten! This was a big event. He did very well. Spencer is in 4th grade already. Parker is in 3rd. I just can't believe how quickly they are growing up (tear, tear).
• I GOT MY BRACES OFF!!! Break out the corn on the cob, taffy, caramel, nuts & everything else you are not supposed to eat while wearing braces!!! Just kidding - well, kind of. Right after the bus following mentioned above, I drove to the orthodontist & endured the wrenching & prying involved in the removal process. Then I went to the chiropractor:) It feels great to not be ripping my mouth to shreds.
• I got another job. . . note "another." I still work casual as a labor & delivery nurse (by casual, I mean that I try to squeeze a short shift in here & there. . .sometimes praying I do get low censused so I can sleep or eat). I still pick up nursing clinical through NWTC - next one begins in a couple of weeks. My newest job is teaching online for Rasmussen College. I am scheduled to teach Medical Law & Ethics this fall term. This should be interesting. I'm looking forward to it.

That is the quick update. I hope to get some pics posted eventually. . . I'm on Facebook - so you can check them out there too:)

God Bless!

Jennifer

Welcome Summer 2010

Time flies when you're living. . . not all is fun all of the time. Here is a glimpse of my life over the past few months:

Taught clinical all semester long for LPN students on a cardiac/med-surg unit. Interesting stuff. I learned a lot as did the students.

Decided that I would transfer back to Gonzaga University to finish my Masters degree. The focused educator track at Gonzaga vs the general MSN offered by Benedictine University fits me so much better. So I'm waiting to find out what course I can take at GU starting on June 14th.

After 86 years on this good earth, Grandpa Eckes passed away last Wednesday. He was ill and suffering so it was a blessing that he did not linger. It is never easy to let someone go though. We hold onto this life so much - but we know we have something far better with Christ.

My garden is planted. Lesson learned this year: wear sunscreen on my lower back or get a 2nd degree sunburn when my shirt rides up while bending over. Yup, not pleasant. Day 9 & still peeling & uncomfortable. Nice. . . (discovered aloe with lidocaine)

Landscaping underway - this is a work in process. We'll see how it all works out. I love sharing perennials!!! Great way to build a diverse environment.

We are psyched for our trip to DisneyWorld! Will share pics once we're back. Can't wait. Will be the first time flying for the boys.

New nephew, Eli Thomas Vander Heiden, was born on May 14th. He IS a CUTIE! I got to be part of the birth. How cool is that? So excited for my younger brother, Rob, and his wife, Lindsay. Congrats you guys! He is a keeper!

Started painting Spencer's room. . . one coat of light blue paint applied. . .then we got a little busy. . .so now we need to go get the paint super shaken again (is that what you call it?). Maybe we will get that done before our trip??? Hmmm, we will see.

Spencer & Parker started soccer for the summer. Their first game is this week. Carter gets to be a watcher again this year. Next year we will get him started in organized sports. Is it terrible that we didn't get him into some this summer? I guess this is a situation where we are trying to maintain some sanity. . . next year we will don the taxi driver hats & invest in some roller blades so we can keep up with the boys' schedules. Gotta love it!

I am sure I am missing something. . . but that is what I can think of right now. Evidently, my computer, or one that hooked up to my network, sent out some spam emails. We got a nasty gram from Time Warner Road Runner. . . so now I need to go run a bunch of malware remover applications. Oh the joys! I bet it was from turning on the PC the other day. My laptop would never do such a thing. . . right? Nothing is showing up as of yet. . .guess I will have to turn the dinosaur on again to run some checks on that beast. So, if you get anything strange from me, it probably wasn't really me. . . just saying:)


Jennifer B

LOVE this Duet!

Lee Crystal 4 @ Yahoo! Video

Sanctus Real

Air 1 - Sanctus Real "Lead Me" LIVE from Air 1 Radio on Vimeo.

Really cute giveaway!!! What talent!!!

Rachel is SO VERY talented! And I am going to win what she is giving away. . . seriously. . . I am:) So don't even think about checking it out. . . don't even go there. . . I am going to win it anyway. Just saying. . .

Jennifer B