Visiting B'ham Fam

My mom and I went to B'ham yesterday for a little visit. Thomas has started walking since we saw him last, so we had to go see his new little trick! :) I just can't get enough of my little buddy!

My cousin Ashley and her husband just had a new baby, so I also got to meet my new second cousin! He is so precious! What a little gift from God...now I will have two B'ham babies to keep up with!

 Grandmommy and Thomas:

 Meeting the newest member of the Dameron side of the family:

 Sweet little one:

 Cousins:

 This little buddy keeps me laughing!

 The Ireland clan at dinner...so glad Robby and his roommate could make it too! Fun times together! We are so blessed to live close enough were we can be a part of each others lives! :)

Ragnar Relay 2011

This weekend I had the opportunity to participate in a 12 person relay race from Chattanooga to Nashville. We ran 196 miles over a 34 hour period...we started Friday morning and finished Saturday afternoon! We had a group from Children's ER and we were called the "Code Runners." It was a blast! Each team has two vans, and you piggy-back runner after runner all the way to Nashville. Each person runs 3 different legs of the race and the mileage is different for each person. My first leg was about 6 miles, the second leg 3 miles, and the last leg about 9 miles....totaling about 18 miles on my part!

I have been training for a while...and now the race is over! I really enjoyed it...great team building and such a valuable life lesson of endurance!! :) It feels amazing to accomplish a challenge!
All of the vans were decorated and it was fun to see everyone's creativity in their team names:

 Here are the members of van #2:

 My first leg was on top of Monteagle...it was SO cold and windy! Here I am right after the first run:

 Some scenery along the way:

 Van #2 finished our first legs in the daytime, so we had a couple of hours to wait for van #1 to finish their second runs before we started our second runs...the sleeping accomodations one of the exchanges was the floor of an auditorium...I had a blanket but forgot my pillow, so I just folded up a jacket for a pillow...we slept for 2 hours like that and then hit the road again for our second leg of the journey. And yes, I am sleeping in my reflective safety vest! Safety first is my motto!

My second run (which was a 3 mi run) started about 1 o'clock in the morning...I thought I would be really scared running by myself at night on the road, but I actually found it really peaceful...it was so quiet and the stars were so bright (and I had mace and a walkie-talkie and did a lot of praying :) Here I am at the exchange getting the "batton" slap bracelet from the previous runner:

Here I am after my run with my headlamp and all of my reflective gear:

My final leg was Saturday about noon and was the longest one of the team...8.9 miles...this is where the endurance part really kicked in...by this point I had been up for about 30 hours with only 2 hours of sleep, having already run 9 miles, about to run 9 more! Here I am with one of my teammates stretching out before my big run...



The scenery was beautiful along the way...couldn't help but take some pics!

Here I am right after the run! I was so thankful to be finished with my part of the relay! I couldn't believe it...the last one ended up being the hardest, but I actually finished with the best time out of the three races...I knew that people were praying for me, and I really felt the prayers...at one point I was making a steep climb and just kept saying Isaiah 40:31. "Those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength...they will run and not grow weary!" I think my IT band on my right leg wasn't very happy with me doing this last leg of the race, though! I had shooting pain along the side of my right knee the whole last part...not sure how I made it, but somehow I did!

We made it to Nashville!

There was a huge party at the finish line!

Watching this team cross the finish line gave me chill bumps! This group of wounded soldiers ran the race with their prosthetics and were such an inspiration! I met one of them afterwards and thanked him for his service to our country and thanked him for inspiring me along the way! I saw several of them during the race, and it reminded me that if they could do it, surely I could!! Which speaking of encouragement....it is POWERFUL!! Time after time during the race, people in cars or other race participants would send out random encouragements along the way...every "Looking good" or "keep on going" just put a little pep in my step and made me want to do the same for other runners! I tried to make an effort to encourage all the ones I saw! We should be reminded to do this for the people we come into contact with everyday in this race of life!

I was so glad to be finished, but I will have to say I didn't like feeling so gross! Here is one tired little runner after 34 hours with 2 hours of sleep after running 18 miles! Yay for my own bed and long, hot shower when I got home!

Here's the whole team!

 Aparently, my IT band is not totally back to normal yet as I discovered walking into church today. Per my daddy/doctor's orders I have been involved in a little RICE therapy (rest, ice, compression, elevation) this afternoon. It's alot better already, and I will be back to normal in no time!

Such an unforgetable weekend! Loved the adventure of trying something new and finishing a challenge!

Rockin' with the Block!

So, when my roommate and I first looked at renting this house, the landlady told us that the street threw a huge Halloween party that would bring in tons of people and that we needed to have a truckload of candy for all of the trick-or-treaters. We decided that we would embrace the neighborhood experience, and we planned to have a chili supper and invite some friends over to enjoy the festivities with us! We have been stocking up on candy for the past couple of weeks, and I am glad we did because we had TONS of children stop by!

I cooked a huge pot of chili this afternoon (almost filled the largest pot I own which is a 12 quart stock pot!). There wasn't a single bit left!!!

Today I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't put on my apron. This is why you should wear an apron when cooking (especially when you are in a hurry!) Notice the aprons hanging on the left side of the picture...silly girl...just got in the "zone" and forgot until it was too late! :)

We got everything ready and waited for our guests to arrive:

This is one of my little friends who is the daughter of one of our doctors. She is SO cute and has a great personality, as you can see...She dressed up as Jessie from Toy Story. I asked her where Woody was, and she said, "Oh he had to stay home...he's sick...he's been throwing up all day...and so is Bullseye" What an imagination she has to be able to come up with stuff like that!!

This is what the street looks like from the side walk in front of the house. They block off traffic and set up a stage where a band comes to play.

 The street really goes all out, and there are TONS of people...

 One house had this giant fire ball that I heard was made out of a piece from a water fountain!

 We had between 30 and 40 friends come over throughout the night!! It was SO much fun! Since the band was just around the corner, people could come and get a bite to eat and something to drink and then walk up to the band area, or just stay in the house and visit!

 I was behind the camera most of the night...but this proves that Candy Corn was here! :)

 One of my favorite outfits was this family right here: Presenting Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Wendy!! This family is so creative!

 We talked and laughed and ate and drank and listened to the band as the candles burned lower and lower....

Such a fun night! :)

Touching Moment...

Today was such a rewarding day at work! I am so thankful that during this season of my life, God has given me a job that I get to do things like I got to do today! It makes me so happy to be able to bring smiles to the faces of children in the hospital, and it always amazes me how I leave feeling blessed by the patients. Today was such a perfect example.

Today I left my normal post in the ED and worked with the inpatient Child Life Specialists and threw a little Halloween party for the inpatient children! We do reverse trick-or-treat, where we dress up and go room to room handing out costumes and goodies! I didn't know what to be this year and decided last minute to be a candy corn! It ended up being a $3 outfit, which I will have to say looked pretty ridiculous, but was so much fun!

I had the privilege of working with one of our patients who I will call "Precious." She is 6 years old and was paralyzed from the neck down (and lost her mother) in a car wreck a few months ago. She has a trach and is dependent on a ventilator, but she has such a spunky little personality and is full of life! She has learned to talk over her trach, but her little voice is soft and often difficult to understand. Today she was going to dress up like a Barbie cheerleader, and it was my job to get her ready, so we had a lot of one on one time as I reconstructed the outfit to accommodate the wires from the pulse oximeters and heart monitors. While I worked cutting out the sleeves and making an opening in the back, we talked. After we had talked about pets and art projects, the conversation went something like this:

"Precious": "Everybody is my friend and my buddy...well but not Satan"
Me (smiling): "That's right...he's not our friend"
"Precious"(with bright eyes sparkling): "But God...he's my Buddy...and Jesus...he's my buddy"
Me (tearing up): "Yes, that's right...he is our friend"

Wow! Talk about "from the lips of babes...." I have been thinking about it all day! Here is a little girl who some would say has no quality of life, absolutely making my day with her JOY! What an amazing reminder that this little girl has hope in the midst of a terrible situation! She has a friend...I have a friend...what HOPE!!

After I put the bows in her long pigtails, I held a mirror up so that she could see what she looked like. Her smile lit. up. the. room! "That's GREAT!" she said. I fought back tears again and thanked the Lord for her life and how she touched mine today!

Porch Party Pasta Salad

This is a very easy recipe!

2 cups chicken (cooked and chopped)
1lb. rotini pasta (cooked and drained)
8oz. bacon (cooked and chopped **I did mine in the oven while the pasta cooked--so easy!)
1 bunch spinach--cut
1/2 cup black olives
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese Put the bacon on a baking sheet and placed in the oven at 350 until crispy:

While the pasta and bacon cooked, I whisked together the Dijon Vinaigrette:

3/4 cup of olive oil (I actually used less--more like 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup tarragon vinegar (didn't have that on hand, so I used white wine vinegar instead)

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

small garlic clove minced

1/4 tsp. sugar Mix together drained pasta and chicken:

Coarsely cut spinach:

Mix with pasta and chicken:

Add remaining ingredients and toss with Dijon Vinaigrette:

Enjoy! :)