i hate that groundhog.

So if you haven't heard the groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter.  And boy, did he deliver.

After returning from our ski trip, I was finished with snow. I love snow like every other southerner...in moderation. Give me a good snow at home and a good ski trip, then I'm ready for spring.  We had our big snow of the season at home (even though I was working), so I was sure we were done for the season.  Man oh man was I wrong.  

For only working 3 days a week, I sure do draw the short end of the stick when it comes to working during big weather.  I was scheduled to work on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and we were forecasted to get a pretty big snow on Wednesday.  I went to work prepared just in case with an extra set of scrubs, toiletries, and a queen sized blow up mattress and flannel sheets after last time's bunk bed disaster.  I told some of my coworkers about the air mattress and they chuckled a bit, but in the end, I think everyone will tell you it was the best thing ever.  

The snow started pouring down around lunchtime on Wednesday, even earlier than predicted.  And in the span of 30 minutes, the view from our conference room looked like this:

The reality of us being stuck again at the hospital as an essential employee was damped a bit as we giggled watching cars try to make it up the hill to the hospital.  There were lots of donuts and backwards sliding, and we probably shouldn't have laughed because these are people trying to get to the hospital, but we had to laugh.  Or else we would have cried.  The hospital parking deck and roads around the hospital were gridlocked, and people were leaving their cars stranded in the middle of the road.  Freak.Out. 

Quickly, scenes around the hospital looked like: 

 

So we finished out our shift and celebrated when our night shifters showed up hours early after being in traffic for hours on their way to work.  Really guys, I couldn't do my job without my coworkers.  The dedication of our staff in the midst of some crazy situations is the only way we stay sane.  Our night shift crew left their houses at 1:00 and didn't get to the hospital until at least 5:00 or 6:00.  So we let them nap once they got there and our management divided up some of the staff to cover the first part of their shift, and we made it happen.  The rest of us set up camp for the night, with our staff divided among two empty patient rooms so we could sleep before staffing again the next day.  

 

Thursday morning, our night crew slept in our camp while we took over.  And we made it work.  

I have to admit, my knee-jerk reaction was to pout...again.  Because here I am, stuck at the hospital, again, while my husband and son are at home sending me pictures like this:

showing 5 inches here, it kept snowing until we got a total of about 9 inches.

  

Of course, I would rather be home.  Of course, sometimes I wish that I had a job that allowed me to take a snow day.  But of course, I know that I'm doing what I am called to do.  If I am going to be stuck anywhere else besides home in a snow storm, this isn't a bad place to be.  Taking care of some of the most amazingly brave kids, and letting their parents know we are here for them {no matter what kind of storm is brewing outside}.   Our managers went outside to the courtyard and built this guy, which made us all smile:

By the time I actually got out there to see it in person, we thought we had a casualty...

But Janet and I resuscitated him.  We are pretty amazing nurses, might I remind you.

I had to smile as I left this place Thursday night.  Because this is my job. And I love it.

 And I woke up to this the next morning, leftover beauty from my overnight adventure at the hospital.
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.  All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is they faithfulness, Lord unto me.

adventures in a toddler bed

I have dreaded this transition from the moment I saw the rambunctious little personality of our crazy boy.  Lucas made it very clear to us that he was ready to give up the crib...mainly for his safety.  This wild child has flipped out of his crib a few times.  Yes, flipped.  Forward flip, over the rail, landing on his back.  He then would proceed to let himself out of his room and head down the stairs. There's nothing graceful about him getting out of the crib, so we had no choice, really.  

When we got home from Snowshoe, my parents were staying here with us for 2 more nights.  We decided it would be a perfect time to try him out in the toddler bed while we had some reinforcements, mainly reinforcements upstairs where his room is.  Our room is downstairs, so it was nerve wracking to think of all the things he could get in to without us having a clue.  I tend to be a little on the paranoid side (just ask Brandon if you have never seen this side of me) so of course my mind goes to all of these awful places of him getting out of bed, leaving his room, sliding down the stairs, opening the front door, and running off into the moonlight.  A bit far fetched, I know.  But I can't help it.

So we disassembled the crib rail and added the toddler rail, and then added a child proof thing to his door handle on the inside...to lock him in his room (for lack of a better way of saying it.)  I felt evil but the kid is a maniac.  

Lucas enjoyed 'helping' daddy and poppy fix up his new bed.  Give that kid a screw driver and he's in heaven.  "I fixin it mommy.  I fixin it!"

All in all, the transition has been good!  He has stayed in his bed throughout the night for the most part.  We are having a little bit of trouble with nap time, I think it's because he's so busy busy he can't turn his mind off long enough to actually lay down and realize he is tired.  

I was in Charlotte last weekend and Brandon sent me these screen shots from the baby monitor:

1. Lucas finds the camera.

2. Well, I'll just let you look for him and I think you'll understand what happened next.

Don't worry, Brandon went in and put him in his bed after he was asleep.  

Baby steps!

snowshoe, wv

We were so blessed to be able to take a family vacay to Snowshoe Mountain, WV!  Nana and Poppy hooked us up with an amazing ski in / ski out place to stay.  This post will be overloaded with pictures, but there were too many great ones to choose from, this is as narrowed down as it's going to get :)

We started out the drive with me, Brandon, Lucas, Nana, and Poppy all in Poppy's truck.  This was so great because a. it's 4WD and b. we had help with Lucas in the car.  He was SO good in the car.  It was about a 7 hour drive, we took our time and stopped for lunch.  The thing about driving to the middle of nowhere is that the majority of the drive is not on the interstate.  It's on windy curvy mountain roads. Lucas did so great until we got about 30 minutes from the resort.  Then we are guessing that he started feeling car sick because immediately he said "oh no mommy!  carry you!" and started freaking out in his car seat.  Then low and behold Jesus appeared in the form of a quiet cute little train station nestled in a country town in the snow!  So we pulled off the curvy road and stopped for a while, letting our little man run around in an empty snowy train station.  We had a family snowball fight in the parking lot and explored on the desolate train tracks where an old steam engine sat.  All was right with the world after that and we were able to proceed up the mountain.

We arrived at our house for the week and were amazed at the incredible location. From our back porch, we could see right through the trees to a green run.

Later that evening, Farrin and Hershey arrived.  Then the next day, Jon and Kelsey arrived. The whole gang is here!  

We enjoyed relaxing, taking turns skiing, cooking, and enjoying the real wood fireplace.  

Lucas wanted part of the action and prepared himself for hitting the slopes!

Brandon, me, mom, and dad

me and mom ready to hit the slopes!

Pretty awesome to just go outside our back door and start skiing!

Kelsey and Jon!  Kelsey was such a good sport, this was her first time skiing!

Farrin ready to hit the slopes too

We wanted to give Lucas the opportunity to try to ski one day, so we took him to the rental shop to see how it would go.  They let us see if he would even wear the boots before we decided to rent.  After seeing how absolutely adorable he was, the lady at the counter let us rent them for free because she didn't think he would actually do it.  Well... 

the boots went on:

then the helmet went on:

then the skis went on:

and this kid skied!

Nana and Poppy coming down the mountain!

sorry mom, but this picture cracks me up. No Nanas were harmed in the making of this picture.

It was foggy every day of the trip, but it made for beautiful ice on the trees!

love my daddy.

another house divided!  Kelsey in that beautiful Carolina blue, Jon in that ugly State red :)

Lucas learned how to put his hands in his pockets to keep them warm.  And it was the cutest thing ever.

our only group picture of everyone!

There was an indoor pool with a water slide that Lucas loved.

And also not pictured (I just have videos) there was a big indoor play area with inflatables. Lucas loved climbing the big ladder and going down the slide!

The last morning, we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow.

love my mom.

The snow was falling as we were outside and I noticed individual snowflakes in my mom's hair and on her jacket for the first time in my life.  This is just one of the tons of pictures we took with Brandon's cell phone that does no justice to the detail of each individual flake.   If this intricacy and beauty doesn't make you stop and worship Jesus, I don't know what would!  Wow.

It was an incredible week of relaxation and fun skiing with some of my favorite people in the whole world.  Thank you, Nana and Poppy, for an amazing getaway!!