first day...

I got to be in a room (or several rooms shall we say) with 100 of the ittyest bittyest babies in the world yesterday...

i love texas children's

more to come...amb

the official no fun blog

my blog has become so "no fun" lately. We just got our internet back today and i'm excited to post some pictures soon!! I've been posting from the iphone lately, which is admittedly a nice luxury, but I can't figure out how to post pictures from it, so the blog has been so sad and boring lately, just lines and lines of words with no fun extras. But alas! Life is returning to normal and I promise to post some pics of the hurricane damage and other random goodness soon. Love to all! AMB

P.S. Tomorrow I move to Texas Children's Hospital to begin my last three months as an OT student and spend some quality time with the little tikes!! I can't wait to tell you all about it!

let there be light!!

the booths are happily home, watching a movie with lights (and more importantly a/c ) ON!! I guess we have officially survived Ike as long as we can keep from running out of gas. We love you guys. Amb

power at brians

Brian has power so for now we'll be camping out there.

after ike...

first of all, we are safe. We still have no power and our phones are only working about 25% of the time. Ike was really bad and until this morning, we were blocked in my parents house by about 12 pine trees that were knocked down as if they were twigs. Ryan and I are headed down into town to check out the status of our apartment, we've heard that there is debris everywhere down by us... We'll see. Currently we see sitting through a gross traffic jam on I-45 (boo)... We took a bunch of pictures of the aftermath so I'll try to upload them as soon as we have power again. Until then, we'll be eating everything out of the fridge and thanking god for our safety. Love you guys...amb

hurricane IKE huh?...

this should be interesting... I'll keep you updated

P.S. No work tomorrow!!!... Amazing

survival...

This post is primarily for mel, who requested more internship stories...So, after 10 weeks of working at a long term acute care hospital (for no pay mind you) here are some of my thoughts on life.

First of all, this is not where I want to be working, it is hard and sad and even though I feel like I usually have a pretty good head on my shoulders as far as balancing work/home... this has been especially hard for me. A lot of days, I come home feeling like a weight is hanging off of my shoulders. Not only because there are days when I feel like nothing I do matters to my patient's, but also because some days I end up feeling like life is unfair and ultimately miserable for most people. What do you do with that? Thankfully, I have a beautiful husband to come home to who cheers me up (and takes me to happy hour if needs be) and who reminds me that I am loved regardless of what job I have, or how my day goes. But still, I feel this weight pressing down on me. Everyday when I get to work, there is a chart that tells us who has been discharged/admitted/fallen and then expired... I don't like this part of my job. Its not that I don't like thinking about the fact that people die, because I know that its part of life. But its the fact that this has become so unsurprising to me. I don't like feeling apathetic about death, like is doesn't matter, its just one person to cross off of the daily list. But how do you work in this environment, where people frequently die, and not end up feeling this way? If you don't, then you wouldn't be able to get anything done, you'd be so heartbroken and discouraged that you'd never be able to contribute anything good. But I've struggled these last few months with finding a balance. Feeling compassion, but also being able to let go. I keep wondering why God has me here, what lesson am I supposed to be learning? I'm still really unsure, but I do feel stretched and most of the time in my spiritual life, this is a very good thing. I don't like it, or enjoy it, but its good, and I do believe that truth comes from struggling...

The second thing I've learned is that most people do not age gracefully. Especially people who are older and sick tend to be unpleasant and cold. They don't know how to find hope anymore and don't know how to see past their own circumstances. Then there are the rare few, like the 97 year old gentleman (because that is what he is) that I'm treating now, that have this unbelievable grace. I believe that these few are chosen specifically by God because being 97 and outliving not only your friends and spouse, but also your children is not something I would wish on anyone, yet these sweet few choose not to be bitter or hateful, but still kind and loving. I'm so thankful for these people who have lifted my spirits after a hard day or week of feeling useless and like I'm not making any difference at all. I pray and God would give me the strength to have a heart like this, so filled with His love that it overflows onto others even when I'm tired, even when I'm hurting, even if everyone I love has gone.

Anyways... just a few thoughts, sorry mel, these weren't exactly funny stories. I actually have a few really great ones right now, but they aren't exactly internet appropriate (too many bodily functions involved). I am looking forward to transitioning to Texas Children's Hospital in the next few weeks. In my mind, my days will be filled with smiles and hugs... but I know that sick kids have struggles too and I'm going to need more patience and grace than i can imagine. We'll see how it goes. I'll try to keep you guys updated. Thanks for listening... love love amb

New Blog and Life...

Okay, so to answer patty's comment, I haven't yet decided if I'm really going to switch over to the wordpress blog. First of all, I can't really figure out how to make it look like this blog which I've gotten used to. The new one is just plain weirding me out. I'm assured that the wordpress system is far better and yadayadayada, but I just can't commit yet. So I'll let you guys know if I decide to make the final switch. Until then, here is home...

Secondly, a friends of the Larsen's, Life's parents (see below) have written them a song about Life that is available for downloading... the wrote the song with the intentions of raising some money to help out with their medical bills. My nephew was born 7 weeks early this year, so we know how expensive stays in the NICU are. I know that Matt and Lauren would appreciate any help people are willing to give... and its a really sweet little song. Anyways, i wanted to pass along the link...

love you guys, ab

oliver + S

P.S. Oliver + S just released their new children's patterns for fall.... adorable

this weekend the whole family headed to austin to help john and susie pack up their cute apartment and head off to san francisco! I'm excited for them as they begin this chapter of their life together and I'm jealous of the cool weather and adventures that are in their future. Ryan and I have actually considered moving to SF after graduation in December, but I guess we'll just have to wait to see what happens.

These are the things that I think that John and Susie should do first....
1. Eat enough "unfortunate" fortune cookies in China town that they get sick to their stomachs and have to lie down on the sidewalk
2. Visit the mechanical toy museum and take a photo strip in the vintage photo booth (this photo booth has the best exposure of any I've ever been in...)
3. Teach tippy (the pup) how to poop on the concrete sidewalk... this should be interesting

That's all I can think of for now seeing as I've only spent 36 hours in the city so far. But I know they are going to have a great time. I can't wait to visit.