Oops...it’s been a year!

I told myself when I started this blog I would not neglect it. Well, a year later I neglected it. Lets be honest, I was in grad school and every semester I took on more with my clinical caseload than normal so there was no time to blog. Oh, and it could have been because I also chose to do a thesis and was writing enough there to make me never want to write again. (Seriously!) So to play catch up here is a rundown of the year I forgot to blog.

March 2014: I continued my clinical rotation at Belle Meade in Paragould, AR and made the decision I would do a thesis for graduate school (WHY?!). This month I also started my annual calling and planning for Miss Arkansas t-shirts...these are always fun phone calls (and no I’m not being sarcastic) because we have the BEST sponsors who are so friendly!

April 2014: More clinical rotations with more tests and a lot of stress over getting the IRB approval for my thesis. That process is just silly!

May 2014: I finished the semester and had a three week break before the next semester started (yes, we had class/clinicals during the summer). During this break I spent a week and a half collecting data for my thesis back home in the White Hall School District. It was fun to be home and to see many familiar faces as I was in and out of the schools, but it also made me feel super old as I saw students faces who were still suppose to be infants and toddlers! I also surprised Nathan by flying to the beach with Allison & Aaron! That story pretty much goes like this...the Waldrip’s had invited me to go on vacation with them and I was not going to be able to because of my thesis data collection, but it worked out that I finished earlier than expected and flew down to surprise Nathan (after driving to Jonesboro from White Hall to pack my bag all while talking to my mom so she could keep me up to date on Dancing With The Stars Finale so Nathan wouldn’t be suspicious since we watch that show religiously). Seeing his face was priceless! Fun times! Oh, and preparing my Miss AR Delta and Miss AR Delt OT for the state pageants also took place in May!

June 2014: More class, more thesis writing, more crying, more stress, more clinicals, more clinical paperwork....sounds like a fun summer, huh? Miss AR and Miss AR OT were also in June. Miss AR Delta Jacey Winn and Miss AR Delta OT Mercedes Bell both placed in the Top 10 and Jacey received the overall interview award! It was a fun first year for AR Delta!

July 2014: Classes, clinicals, and thesis work continued. Are you beginning to realize why I never blogged for a whole year (minus 2 months)??

August 2014: I finally finished my last semester of grad school that had classes! WHOO HOO! To celebrate, Daddy and Mom took me to Washington D.C. and let me tell you we had THE. BEST. TIME! If you ever have the opportunity to go and be a total tourist like we did, DO IT! I also went to Orange Beach, AL to celebrate Katie! We had the best time relaxing on the beach and going out for #katiesbeachlorette! We also made a fun video (check it out here) Oh, and no worries, I was still writing my thesis.

September 2014: Football season is in full swing meaning I am a happy camper (Nathan too, duh!). This month was full of me packing my luggage for game weekends and packing my bag full of thesis work to go along! I also started my last clinical rotation at The Learning Center in Jonesboro, AR and I absolutely loved it! I had the best supervisor and loved the caseload I saw. My last day was super sad (Jenni, if you are reading this I am wearing my t-shirt as I type this...thank you! It’s my fav!)

October 2014: Thesis=COMPLETE! Hallelujah! I defended my thesis on October 17^th and PASSED! What a relief. I also continued my clinicals five days a week at TLC!

November 2014: The start of a busy and eventful end of the year! I started November out with Katie & Ethan’s wedding! People, this wedding was to die for! See Dale Benfield’s blog here and here and here for a glimpse of how gorgeous it was. Next, was the Battle of the Boot! Ahh, I still smile big when I think of this game! ARKANSAS WON and that’s all that matters! Moving on...I went home for Thanksgiving and enjoyed my time home with family. However, it wasn’t long enough. I ended November back in northeast AR to audit (yes, audit as in numbers...please laugh because I still do) for Miss Lights of the Delta. I would like to say the auditing gig was not as bad as I had anticipated BUT I am not looking to do it anytime soon. Pageant people, take note.

December 2014: This has become MY FAVORITE MONTH/YEAR! First, I saw Garth Brooks in concert and it was AMAZING! What an entertainer! Then I GRADUATED! Bye grad school, hello masters degree! Ok, then my favorite part...Nathan proposed and we’re ENGAGED! AHHHHH!!!! Poor guy, I told him I didn’t want to be engaged until I was finished with school and he took that to heart but the engagement story is for another post.

So there is year 2014 for me. Hope you enjoyed because reminiscing on this past year to type this post made me realize even more how blessed I am by God for all the people, adventures, and love He has given me. Count your blessings, friends! 

          

All About February

It has clearly been over a month since I have had the time to sit down and write a blog post. Life happens…what can I say?! February was an extremely busy but fun month! I started with celebrating my daddy and Adalynn’s birthdays seeing as how they have the same one. Adalynn’s party theme this year was Minnie’s Bowtique! I must say all the pink and bows was right up my ally. I still cannot believe my sweet little ball of energy and attitude of a niece is TWO years old! My how time is flying! Here is a sneak peek at some pictures from her birthday party. More can be viewd on my Facebook page.

Each food item had a unique name that related it to the Minnie theme! So fun!

Adalynn loved having all of her family & friends together to celebrate her 2nd birthday!

And yes, Valentines Day occurred during this month but it was no ordinary Valentines Day. Nathan and I don’t make a big deal out of this holiday because we make a great effort to show we care and love for one another on a daily basis, so we ‘celebrated’ on the Thursday before Valentines Day. This year the national day to show and spread your love was just that for me and many other individuals because we witnessed love and generosity like not other. On February 14, 2014 over $323,725.00 was given to the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the Have-A-Heart Wish-A-Thon! I could not think of a better Valentines Day than to know children right here in northeast Arkansas who are dealing with life-threatening medical conditions will see the power of wish because of the many, many generous people who gave. Year after year I leave this fundraising event in awe! Here are some pictures from throughout the day…

 

Loved seeing Tammy and Katie!

Katie is one of my former wish kids that came to speak about her wish granting on the radio! She was fantastic! 

One reason I love this day is because I get to spend it with my cousin, CarolAnne!

The very next weekend I did what I thought could never in a forever happen (not sure if that is proper wording but I used it, ha!). At the end of January I was asked to begin a local preliminary pageant because northeast Arkansas had lost another local preliminary, which means another opportunity is no longer available for girls to win scholarship money and have a chance to win Miss Arkansas and Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen. I originally said no, there is no way I can pull this off…maybe next year. Then I thought of the young ladies in this area who so badly wanted to win a local preliminary and I thought about my first local title that I won. Immediately, I knew God was piecing the puzzle together. You see my first local title that I won was a brand new preliminary just like the one I had been asked to create, and if it was not for a lady taking the time to give me the chance then I would have never had that opportunity. By the way, that lady is Lindsay Henry and she is the director of Miss Southeast Arkansas (THANK YOU, LINDSAY!). So, I think it is obvious I called back and said yes I will do this but I am going to need help making this happen. Let me just say I had no problem with finding ‘help’. You can reference my Facebook page to see my long list of help that I can never say thank you enough to.

Anyway, at the end of four weeks I had created a local preliminary pageant to both Miss Arkansas and Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen complete with scholarships, crowns, sashes, wardrobe allowance, and much more thanks to generous sponsors and donors. I also had ten young ladies that I knew I would be privileged to work with no matter which of them won. By the end of the night on February 22, 2014 I was given two very articulate, talented, and motivated young ladies to call the very first Miss Arkansas Delta and Miss Arkansas Delta’s Outstanding Teen! I am so eager to see what they accomplish this year and how they mentor not only one another but also all who they come in contact with this year. Be sure to come support them at the state pageants this summer:

Miss Arkansas’ Outstanding Teen: June 12-14 in Russellville, Arkansas

Miss Arkansas: June 11-14 in Hot Springs, Arkansas

The very first Miss AR Delta's Outstanding Teen, Mercedes Bell and Miss AR Delta, Jacey Winn!

I am sure by now you may be wondering if I am still even going to grad school with taking on all of these endeavors and the answer is YES! Somehow, I have managed to continue successfully passing my exams, turning in projects on time, making it to my early morning clinical rotations, and working my graduate assistant position. I often ask the Lord for energy, knowledge, and patience as that is the only way I am making it through. 

I hope your February was as blessed as the one I was given! Until next time…