Long Overdue

I would like to begin this long overdue blog post with an apology to all my faithful readers who have been checking my blog for the past several weeks and felt disappointed each time that I had not updated. Know that I appreciate your loyalty! :)

As you might have guessed, I have been so busy! I can't believe how quickly this summer has flown by and that so many of my friends are already headed back to school! Is it really almost September??

I can honestly say that I am not feeling too sad that I'm not going back to school this fall. It is a strange feeling for sure since I've become used to going back to school in August for as long as I can remember. But I am so relieved to be done with homework and tests and long hours in the library. I do reeeeally miss my friends in Bloomington-Normal though and wish there was some way to continue working here in St. Louis and still live close to all of my wonderful friends in Central Illinois!

Working in the NICU is still going well. I'm discovering that day shifts are much busier than nights and can be very stressful at times. But all in all, I love my job and love being able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these little ones and their families. Only 2 more weeks of orientation, and then I'm on my own!

I wish I could share some of my stories from work! But I could get in big trouble for talking about the babies and their families. If it weren't for privacy laws, I would definitely have something interesting to say on here every single day!

Here is a recap of the month of August in pictures!
















I went rock climbing for the very first time and had so much fun!























Spent some quality time with this guy :)































Attended Charlie and Leslie's wedding up in Bloomington and had lots of fun dancing at their reception!































Then we attended Colleen and Jason's wedding in the Chicago suburbs the very next day!

































August 9 marked one year since I left Africa. It was a tough day for me, and I couldn't help but think about how much I missed in their precious little lives this past year. I had a good cry that day and surrendered my kiddos to Jesus once again. I know they are so much better off in His mighty hands than in mine.

"The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made." Psalm 145:13