And Here it Goes Again

Well, it's been awhile.

Here's what I've been up to.

I came back from Ecuador. It was an incredible experience, ask me about it sometime. I would love to show you all the pictures and share all my stories. In short, we saw 600+ people from the capital city of Quito and the mountainside village of Columbe, outside of Riobamba. 

I returned home completely thankful for health care, hot showers, normal food, and God's blessings of family and friends.

I started the sixth piece of pie. Grandma Smits has encouraged me to look at college as a pie; seeing as my undergraduate degree will be eight semesters long. It's hard to believe that at this time next year this will be the last piece. 

I am happy to be back with my Trinity friends and am ready for a normal routine again. (I was starting to get a little bit lonely at home when everyone was at work or school!) I am looking forward to my OB clinical at Adventist Hinsdale hospital. It's absolutely beautiful there and I'm sure I'll see lots, I'm just not crazy about being there from before 6:15 to 5:15 for the next six Fridays. Those will be long days. 

I'm looking forward to more normal weather, seeing new babies, and finding a summer externship.

South America Take Two

In about 12 hours I'll be headed for Ecuador!

It seems like yesterday I was headed on a plane to Peru. In my head I keep thinking that this will be similar to that mission trip but in reality it's going to be totally different. 

Today my team and I filled 300+ bags of toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, etc, filled bags with school supplies and prizes, and packed shoes and clothes for the people we are going to serve in Quito and Riobamba. 

This trip has been in the back of my mind for over 2 years now. When I was a freshman at Trinity this interim was offered but I decided against it because I had few nursing skills.
One hard semester of nursing later I feel really ready and willing to serve these people!

Originally the interim was planned to to some work in an orphanage and to do mission and health care work in the jungle. This kind of evolved when Phil from the semester in Ecuador program came to talk to us and found out we were all nurses. He pulled some strings and we actually get to go to an Ecuadorian hospital as well as do health clinics for impoverished families. 

I have been so blessed by all the support I've received from friends, family, and my church.

Please pray for safe travels, few bug bites, and for the love of Christ to be shown through Trinity students each and every day!

I can't wait to tell you all what happens on my endeavor to Ecuador!

Winter Break

I know I never recapped about all of my finals but here's a little bit of what I've been up to lately.

Hopefully I can find the time to gather my thoughts about my classes last semester soon.

 

building lincoln log houses with landon.

 

buying 'torn on the tob' from adalyn at her grocery store.

breakfast with gram and bec.

endless shopping outings.

continuations of my birthday.

time with thanael.

snow days at home.

 

looking out the kitchen window on 12/20/12

 

12/21/12

 

 

farm christmas party.

abundances of food.

season 4 of OTH.

working at the the residents home.

 

I am looking forward to celebrating Jesus' birth with so much of my family and friends in the coming days, and maybe even braving the big winds to play in the snow a few times. : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 and Done

How many of you can spend a Saturday night at your aunt and uncle's house watching Madagascar 3 with two munchkins and say it was a good time? This is just one of the simple reasons that there is no place like home for the holidays. As I drove home from Trinity Thursday I couldn't help but fall in love with home all over again-the snow, the fields, the openness, the skies, the stars-beautiful.

Yesterday the family gang trucked out to the Green Lake Christmas tree patch on the farm and picked out the best tree of them all. We had supper at Christiano's and headed home to trim the tree. The house successfully smells of traditional pine needles and all the ornaments with special memories are tousled within the tree branches. 

see, snow! these girls made sure we picked the perfect tree.

 

Rewind. 

The past few weeks have been kind of a blur, here's a shot at remembering.

Almost two weeks ago I turned 21. Officially the worst time of the year to have a birthday while in college. I had the most important exam of the year to study for and exams were the following week. My roommates and friends managed to surprise me and we went out to eat together and made it back to campus in time to do some serious homework. I have become so thankful for the girls I live with and with all the friends I have at Trinity to make everything a good time. My birthday kept on going this year, I got cards in the mail all the time until I came home, and Nathanael had a special present for me too. He told me he was going to have the necklace he gave me cleaned, that little trickster had a diamond put into my heart necklace! I am definitely spoiled!

Remember your college days? Thanksgiving until Christmas break is literally a crawl on your hands and knees, hold on for dear life event. I honestly don't really have anything new to report because my days have been filled with studying, homework, and ridiculousness. Alumni 215 tended to get a little nutty due to a lack of sleep and study overload. I love laughing with them. 

Through the countless hours of studying, I have officially made it through the pits of hell of my first semester of nursing school. My tutor/study group of girls were reminiscing about how we didn't know anything at the beginning of the semester and now can successfully assess patients, administer meds, give shots, etc. We have come so far! 

When I was home for Thanksgiving Pastor Jeff preached on a passage from Daniel, it included this verse and I have kept it close to my heart as I finished the semester. 

"At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever." -Daniel 4:34.

During my break I look forward to watching Landon in the Sunday School Christmas program tomorrow, lighting candles tomorrow night for the candlelight service at church (probably my favorite church service of the year, minus Easter), snowmobiling, snowboarding, seeing the residents at Markesan Resident Home, being with my family, fireplace lounging, shopping with my sisters, visits to Grams, some Oostburg time, seeing Nathanael, preparing for my upcoming trip to Ecuador and just enjoying home.

Never Confuse a Single Defeat with a Final Defeat

I blinked and all of a sudden Thanksgiving break was over.

I got to see Nathanael and my family basically every day. I forgot all interests of homework until Sunday, ate enough for 15 whole people, and showed the world how to shop.

I had never looked forward to Thanksgiving as much as I did last Tuesday. I got to leave after my lab simulation and enjoyed an extra night at home. 

Coincidentally my sisters half day of school on Wednesday got cancelled and we spent the day at home together. 

I also got to have coffee with Lyss, Dev, and Kayt. There could never be enough time to talk and catch up. 

I spent Thanksgiving in Waupun and then decided to round up the troops and go out Black Friday shopping. Thursday at 8 we hopped in Grams van and dropped Bec and Lyss off at Walmart to get in line for Mark and Anj's 60 inch TV for their newly finished basement. The boys and I braved Sears for some tools and Nathanael bought a tool chest. It was an interesting ride home with two huge tool box pieces and a TV in the back of the van with 5 people squished into the front and one middle seat, poor Dave had to sit on the floor.

I missed seeing my family in Oostburg and the jokes that come outta Grandma Schaap's mouth. I was happy to receive a call from Avery saying "Hi Danielle, I'm thankful for you!" 
I'll see all you Hoffmanns at Christmas!

Friday morning was the annual grandgirls and Gram go to the mall day. I woke up at 6 and suddenly found myself making coffee in Gram's kitchen with my towel on, then I remembered I was in town and normal people wear clothes. After finally waking up and getting to Appleton the deals were flowing. I think all of us spent a little more than we anticipated but I'm an anxiously awaiting Christmas Eve at Gramps and Grams to open my gifts that I will be surprised to get. : )

As I got back to school on Sunday I realized the road ahead of me, it's going to be a lot of work to finish out the semester. However, a round of 'lasts' is starting already. I'm finished with Health Assessment lab and lecture and clinical! (PS-I have no clinical or lab on my birthday next Wednesday so feel free to come visit me :) 

Next week brings my final health assessment validation, final therapeutics validation, and final medsurg exam. I already had my first nightmare that I didn't bring a note card to final validation and started crying because I knew I would fail, thank goodness that was just in my sleep. I've had a lot of defeats this semester, along with a lot of successes, there is no finality in what I've done yet but I'm already studying for my finals and Lord willing that will go a long ways!

 

Anchored

The most depressing weekend of my life.

I know I have been complaining about my packed weeks filled with tests on tests on tests, squeezing in some validations, and just preparing to care for my patient at clinical each week. You probably think that the weeks couldn't get any worse. Surprise, they do. 

Updating my family has been on my blog list since November started...almost two weeks ago. Studying usually takes precedence over this though.

Friday I failed my Adult Health test. Med Surg started off as one of my strongest classes this semester, but this past test I didn't just fail, I failed miserably. Not even close to the 76 that is required for all nursing tests. I wallowed in unbelief that everything I had ever worked so hard for had suddenly been put in jeopardy and didn't want to do anything or talk to anyone. 

I cried, slept, lounged, ate, did some online retail therapy, and suffered in sadness.

I went through all my backup plans, thought about which schools I would apply to if I had to move back home, wondered why I am putting myself through this stress, and thought a lot.

But would you know that we had a test again today, meaning that it was absolutely necessary to start studying once again. 

I spent my entire weekend prepping for the Pharm test today and I at least passed that one. 

All weekend I was tired. Tired of picking up one subject after another in preparation for endless questioning of my knowledge ( or lack thereof )

Saturday my dad called and I didn't answer because I didn't want to talk to anyone. 

He told me that he and ma would be coming down for church and brunch the next morning, and there were to be no ifs ands or buts about it.

I decided they probably thought I was mentally unstable and that I better get my act together.

Ma, Pa, and Nathanael made the trek down for church and I was abundantly blessed by their little visit. 

Thanael always makes me toughen up and Pa tells it how it is.

God used the message at Palos CRC to slap me across the face and wake me up. 

Rest. 

I've been trying to do this whole nursing thing all on my own. 

Sure, I rely a lot on my tutor and tutor group, friends, professors, classmates. 

But ultimately leave it up to myself to try and persevere through all this madness, seriously, pure madness.

Rest. 

You all know that my favorite place in the world is the lake. 

On the beach, on the pier, in the boat, on the water, in the cottage, by the fire, love it all.

Maybe that's why Hebrews 6:19 is my favorite verse. 

I can relate to the idea of an anchor keeping us in place when we dive off the back platform of the boat into the unknown 200 some feet of Green Lake.

It comes from the certainty of God's promise.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

I am diving, into something I have no idea what the outcome will be. 

I can only rest knowing that God is anchoring me, somehow, some way.

Rest. 

PS- Thanks to all of my family and friends who have encouraged me.

Your love has shaped me and given me a second wind until I can breathe over Thanksgiving.

Salsa, encouraging words, cookies, texts, Bible verses, you all are a blessing.

Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy

Worried family, I am alive. 

Last week consisted of a test Monday, validation Tuesday, clinical Wednesday, validation Thursday, test Friday,  and I had a test this past Monday. 

I was able to do really well when we had the first round of tests this semester, but wasn't able to pull that off again this time around. I was really disappointed but literally would take a test, put those books away and start studying for my next test. So I feel like I should have studied more, but really did the best I could with the situation of a week it was. 

I was pretty much able to coast through all of my schooling up until college, so I'm still learning new ways to excel and study. Tough weeks like last week continue to teach me how to be a better student. People always told me this journey to be a nurse would be hard, I didn't know it would be this hard. Last week I was thankful to be at Trinity so I didn't have to spend time with Nathanael or my family and friends back at home because if I was at school at home I would be forced to neglect everything but school, being far away was definitely an advantage. I was bummed I couldn't keep my good grades up but I still feel confident that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. In fact, advising starts next week, meaning it's time for preparation for next semester! 

I know my last post was about two weeks ago but I have been busy with school. I also got to enjoy reading weekend at home. I had off of school two Fridays ago so I drove up to Appleton to see Lyssa and she even did my hair for me. It was SO good to see her apartment and have a sleepover together. That Friday I did a smidge of shopping but got home in time to FINALLY go on a date with Nathanael. I am loving Ala Roma lately and as always, I got my way.  Saturday I did a little bit of homework and then headed to the nursing home for a few hours. I miss having a job working with those old folks, or rather, I miss having time to have a job. Sunday we had communion so my dad sat with all the elders up front so I sat next to my sisters. Anyone regularly attending Bethel may have noticed our regular Sunday lineup, I sit on the end next to David for a reason. Rudith and I managed to drop and shatter a glass full of wine, Beefy and I almost dropped the bread, and the whole bench was shaking from laughing at Dad the entire service. 

I am also looking forward to returning home again this weekend to celebrate Rudith's profession of faith. I'm so glad you are officially declaring the fact that we will get to laugh and joke together for all of eternity. This also means I get to see my family from Oostburg, who I haven't seen since August!

Justine and Kathy stayed with Anna over reading break, it was fun to have a weekend with them in Wisconsin. We even attempted to take a few pictures at Anna's. 

We attempted to make the self-timer work so this is what we got! It got a little bit dark but we still had fun.

Ready or Not

Ready or not, clinicals are coming, clinicals are basically here,clinical is TOMORROW, clinicals...I have to take care of a patient! Ready or Not? I think I'm leaning towards not.

I woke up today and thought, I'm so nervous, I just need to make it to Thursday so I can take a breath at home. 

But before going home I have to validate on the heart and head today, drive to Harvey to pick up my very first patients information, meet my patient, write drug cards, figure out how I'm going to care for this person tomorrow night, and then actually be a nurse tomorrow! That's a lot of pressure! I keep thinking of myself as a CNA, thinking if something goes wrong I can just tell the nurse, only to remember that I AM the nurse. 

This morning I flipped my little calendar to October 9 finding, "I believe God is managing affairs and that he doesn't need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?" God knows I'm worrying, that was a reminder to let Him take me on this crazy crazy ride. 

I'm not ready for this at all, but I don't think anyone is!

Live in the Sunshine

Today was the best Thursday. I didn't know it when I woke up, but this day proved to be simply wonderful. 

First of all I got to sleep in because I don't have lab on Thursdays until 2. 

At 11 I met with my interim team that is planning on travelling to Ecuador in January. The director of Semester in Ecuador came to talk to us about what he has planned for us and really pumped us up for what God has done so far, what he's doing, and how he might choose to use us on our ten day trip!

After my meeting I got to redeem the little blue slip I found in my mailbox yesterday saying that I had a package. This was really unexpected so I was VERY excited to find out what it was all about. My mama spoiled me with a new Packers jersey and a new Brewers shirt. Both teams are a little in the dumps right now regarding their last games, but I still love to sport my Wisconsin pride down here in the Chicago suburbs. 

There were a bugzillion salsas and dips in the caf for lunch. If you've been to Trin, you probably think the food is pretty good. If you live here, your sick of the food. So that little change was special!

After lunch Kathy and I did a quick run through of our lung assessment skit for validation. I was really scared about validating today but I passed!  I was shaky, sweaty, and a nervous wreck, but now I can assess any one of your lungs. : )

The worst part of my day came after lab. Kathy, Alyssa, and I had to get flu shots in order to start clinicals next Wednesday, and of course waited until the last minute. Walgreens wouldn't take my insurance because it was from Wisconsin so that was a bummer. I flinched, got bandaided up and left with a sore left arm. 

There was no other way to celebrate than to get iced coffees at Dunkin.: )

Tonight I look forward to minimal homework because we don't have a test to study for-surprise!, and I finally get to go to outcry again after missing the last 2 weeks. 

I'm also looking forward to going home tomorrow! David and Nathanael came to visit me already, but I haven't been home since Labor Day. That's a long time! And my laundry has built up quite extensively, so it's time to watch the girls play volleyball, sleep in my bed, see my family, and my best friend.

It was a beautiful fall day, live in the sunshine!

Hit It

Ice cold water, my neck is being squeezed by my life jacket, I'm either sitting on my skis or wakeboard or laying on my kneeboard trying to avoid getting more wet than is actually necessary-I'm ready...

Some people yell various things: ready, go, okay, give er...etc.etc.etc. I prefer to yell hit it. Hit the gas and get me out of the chills of Green Lake and into the air; let me glide atop the water.

This week, the nursing majors are already preparing to hit it. We finished up our first med-surg test on Friday and braced ourselves for a weekend full of studying. The next week consists of:
Monday-Pharm Exam
Tuesday-Med Math Exam, this requires a 95%, that's only one wrong people...

Wednesday-oxygenation and suctioning validation

Thursday-lung assessment validation

We finally catch a little break on Friday as we look into October and clinical starting up. 

Please pray for all of us during this really important week, these first grades in the grade book really set a tone for the rest of the semester. 

Right now I can barely look that far ahead, just ready to hit the books-starting now.