Open House for a Cause: Part 2

We had such a great time at our 3-day open house a couple weeks ago,

and in large part that was due to the sweet spirits of our friends and family who came.

my cousins, Marie and Jennie

mom's buddy Carol who is a past 3-day walker and huge supporter of mom :)

my dear friends Katie and Jennifer

my Aunt Linda (2nd cousin in Italian = aunt), Aunt Maralyn (great aunt in Italian = aunt), and dear sister

my hero, walking buddy, and mom

as guests exited, they could select a few fliers with information about breast cancer

as well as a tribute to those we are walking for

farewell!

Although a ton of work, we had so much fun and are so thankful to those who came and supported us also! 

To those who couldn't come but have supported us in other ways - financially - we say, thank you.

Running away to the beach

My amazing friend surprised us by treating us to a night at her exquisite hotel this weekend. She's the rocking wedding coordinator/manager, and everyone loves her. It was so fun to be known as "Alison's friend." :)

A, you are seriously the best.

The room was amazing, and she even had it decorated just for us :)

 Their lemonade is incredible.

 

So is the view.

J and I took a 2-minute walk down to the beach to watch the sunset. 

You know, since we were on the beach and all.

 i love him so much.

i also love the One who created this.

We ended the evening with a super fancy dinner at their restaurant. 

It was so special to go away for a night and enjoy each other's company on the ocean.

Thanks Anna for watching our little pups!

Hun, let's take more vacations :)

Dear John,

Thank you for my oh-so-beautiful and perfectly-colorful-organizing tub/bucket (I mean, "updated storage container" or whatever you called it, that made it sound much fancier that "tub"). :)

I'm still deciding what I'm gonna do with it. But don't you worry, it will be perfect for whatever it gets used for. And oh so cute.

I love Target trips with you almost as much as I love you.

The real graduation

Yesterday/Friday, John had his final day at Point Loma Nazarene University. He worked for 6.5 years in varying roles: student tech, student network systems programmer, network administrator, and most recently the university's network engineer.

What did he do while working there? In my best technology words, I'll try to show you.

He organizes all these cables. He knows what they all go to.
He did lots with macs. I think he brought these. And wireless internet. But I don't know what that looks like.
He changed the entire university's phone system from looking like this (behind the scenes):
to this! (the little blue square boxes... it is much simpler! Go Cisco VOIP).
He managed to get a computer like this (he taught me this is not two computers, but one with two monitors).
His sweet telephone - with me speed dialed. It pays to be the wife ;)
He ran this. This is the 'core router' and all the little cable plugs go to all the different places on campus, and he knows which one each goes to and what it does... etc.
He mentored these two, his own private student workers. ;) And they have learned so much! What great guys.
Point Loma has truly been such a blessing in so many ways, and the people J has worked with will always be so special to him, and me.

Paul, Corey, and John are the three musketeers, basically. They all worked together initially. Paul was John's preceptor, and Corey is now the manager at PLNU. What great friends. It's so neat that we've all kept in contact. We have dinners together periodically (Paul and Amy, Corey and Nicole, John and me, and the kids), and it's always so great to catch up.
They enjoyed breakfast together bright and early on Friday. Corey is John's very best buddy, and Paul is just the glue of the friendship. Seriously the funniest interactions happen between these guys.

Then the team went out to lunch.
And had an all-ITS get-together farewell party for him in the afternoon. John loves these guys, and they love him.
And he got this beautiful clock from the university. What a beautiful and generous gift. It is so special.
And a hug on paper from me when he got home, until I got home from clinical to give him a real one.
Farewell Point Loma. Thank you for taking care of my husband in his time there.
And honey, happy graduation... part two. :) Here's to the next big adventure.

A Pixar kind of night

I may have found my new favorite movie last night. Courtesy of my sister's incredible movie collection. Thank you Carly, for Cars. Seriously, who comes up with these Pixar plots? As John says, "Those Pixar guys are a bunch of stinking geniuses." There's another thing I love about J. He recognizes brilliance. Probably because he's brilliant. Side note: wow, brilliant is such a fun word to say.

Maybe what added to my enjoyment is that I got to watch it with my husband. We haven't watched a movie in what seems like a long time. Which makes it that much more exciting.

And I took the night off of homework. Which is always a joy to do.

And we had cookies. Valentines cookies to be exact. And milk. Yes me, I had a glass of milk. I know. I'm changing. It's wierd, I almost liked it.

And we hung with Luige and Em and Aqua and Tic.

And I had my new blanket to snuggle with.

We gotta do that more often. Thanks for letting us borrow it, C!

Dear Jesus,

Thanks for bible study last night. Thanks for a group of girls who really love you and want to learn about you. Thanks for great conversations and friends and tea and laughter. And for giving us your spirit and your armor.

Thanks for my husband. Thanks for the fact that he misses me when I'm gone and gets excited when I come home. And thanks for an evening of nothing on the calendar tonight. Finally! Not that I don't love activities - I do. But it's sure nice to be home together.

Thanks for Emma. Thanks for blessing us with a little animal who cuddles with us in the morning. Well, with me until J wakes up quite a bit later. :)

Thanks for getting me up early this morning to spend some time with you. I do it sometimes, even often, but not for long enough, ever. So thanks for today.

Please help me get this paper done today. I really have to concentrate and I'm kinda struggling to be focused. Thanks for caring about little things like a paper.

Thanks for being faithful when I'm not, for being strong when I'm weak, and for loving me when I don't feel very lovable. But I love you.

Amen.

Dear John,

Thank you for my beautiful flowers from the flower shop on Tuesday. And for surprising me and coming home early before I had a chance to beautify for you. I love when you come home early.

I love my flowers. How did you know? They are beautiful on our counter and make me smile every time I look at them. Thank you for the little note you wrote with the flowers, too. You know I love the personal touches.

Thanks for the best anniversary, aka, "you're the best wife ever" card. I love being married to you. Thank you also for my yummy amazing truffles. Thanks for knowing I don't like nuts or coconut or any of those crazy things, and for getting me the best box of chocolate with none of the wierdness and all of the perfection that chocolate is meant to be.

And thanks for asking me to the Keith Urban concert years ago. Thanks for marrying me 2 years and 3 days ago. And thanks for sticking by me day after day. I love you for it all. And more.

Love, Jordanna

Thankful for the Repairman

Today J and I took our cars to the shop for their check up. John was proud that his '97 camry was in tip top condition. My sweet explorer, however, needed a bit of tune up. They changed the transmission fluid and some cap to something, and heck if I can remember the name, or what it does.

It was rough to watch. When we picked up J's car, I saw mine in the shop, with the hood up and some boxes sitting on it. I said to J, oh it hurts to see it like that.

But it worked. And my beautiful blue car smiled at me as I hopped in it, feeling as good as new.

And I got to thinking.

God is our repairman. Sometimes (many times) I have to go to the shop. He prunes me so I can be more fruitful. And it's tough to go through. And to watch.

But He prunes us to be more fruitful. He is the vine. We are His branches. We can only bear fruit if we remain in Him. John 15.

It's tree trimming season. Winter. They just clipped all the leaves off the trees in our complex. Like, all of them. So I am seeing this first hand. And I know it is rough for those branches to feel bare and exposed. But in just a few months, they will be more beautiful than ever. I can see the bigger picture.

That is the cool thing about God. He knows what will be in a few months. He can see the biggest picture. That is why I trust Him to do the pruning. To be my Repairman.

Treasures on the table

John and I have been taking advantage of a little time off together to chef up some meals for ourselves.

We made the "perfect sandwich," according to John. :)
I tried homemade potato cheese soup (it's so convenient when we like the same things).
We had pasta and veggies for dinner tonight, and finished up with a homemade white chocolate dream ice blended from my all time favorite coffee shop, thank you Carly!
It was pretty good. But no one makes it like Coffee Bean.

If only vacation lasted forever. I'll enjoy it while I can! Before the chaos begins again next Monday...
At least I have these two to keep me sane and remind me to be thankful.

Half time

As of yesterday, I am halfway done with nursing school. Halfway to being a nurse. The scariest, most life-changing, exciting job ever.

What a crazy stressful exciting and incredible opportunity.

We had a little end-of-the-year shenanigan to celebrate. I am so thankful for my class - "cohort 10" as we are called. We are truly a team!

Mahea is my life saver. She's my study buddy, the one I call when I'm overwhelmed, my coffee date, my fellow dog owner and lover, and all around the best. We have had a few cries and many more laughs. She is an incredible friend and I am so blessed to have her to do this whole nursing thing with.
Blair, Amber, Katelyn, and Emily. Blair was my mental health clinical buddy this semester. She truly made all the difference for me. Emily was in my clinical group this semester. Katelyn and I carpooled to clinical last semester. And Amber is just rad.
Joy, Tiffany, Maria, and Polina. Joy gave birth to her third son this past August. She is pretty much my hero. Tiffany and Maria have such sweet spirits about them. Polina is so funny. She is originally from Russia and went to school in Israel. Amazing stories.
Rachel, Melinda, Brian, and Lindsey. I was in clinicals with all except Melinda this semester, and with Melinda first semester. These guys make me laugh. They are honest and genuine and I love it. Melinda is my little encourager. She has a heart of gold.
Rachel even made us these home grown chocolate covered almonds from her farm. So yummy and so thoughtful. People in my class do these kinds of things all the time. It is so refreshing to see people who really care about others.
Katie, Mary, Jen, and Allison. Katie and I were in clinical together this semester. Katie is so humble and compassionate. She got engaged since we started school! I was with Jen and Allison last semester. They are so straightforward, I love it. Mary is just the cutest. And the littlest. :)
Lisa is another special friend. She and I get to be in a clinical group together (finally) this coming January. Lisa is trustworthy and really loves the Lord. Her heart is pure and so encouraging.
These are just a few of the amazing people who make up our nursing class. I'm so thankful for each one.

Thank you, Cohort 10, for being such caring people and wonderful friends. I really couldn't do this without you. We are a team.

Thank you, honey, for being my support and oh so patient when I had to study "just a little more." I love you with all of my heart. And babe, for the next 3 weeks, we party!

Thank you, God, for giving me this opportunity to do nursing, the field I am passionate about. I want to make a difference for you Lord. Continue to teach me as I grow to learn more and more about what it means to be your light to the world.