i'm flying today!

i'm sitting in an airport right now getting ready to board a plane to cincinnati!  i haven't flown in a few years, and i've never flown by myself.  i'm a bit nervous about finding my way around when i get there, considering i've never been in the cincinnati airport, nor driven around the city.  i've also got to find the place in the airport where my rental car is reserved.  oh lord, i just hope there are lots of signs!  i'm more excited than nervous though.

i'm interviewing today for two different jobs at cincinnati children's hospital!  it's the #3 children's hospital in america, so i'm excited at the possibility of working there.  i'll be interviewing for a position in their bone marrow transplant unit and hematology-oncology unit.  say a prayer for me around 3 today...

gotta jet...:)

i really do still blog...

well it has been a while since i've blogged.  i have been super busy.  some updates . . .

- i worked 3 nights in a row this past week with very little sleep in between.  friday night i held a lady's hand while she died.  it was hard.  i am worn out to say the least.

- brandon is playing at a camp at the beach this weekend.  i miss him...:(

- after getting off saturday morning and sleeping a bit, i drove up to north carolina to go to a high school friend's wedding.  it was a lot of fun hanging out with friends.  

- after the wedding, mom and i drove up to cattaloochee mountain.  my home church does a weekend camping trip every year, and with the exception of last year, i've been there for the past 13 years.  although we didn't spend the night, it was great fun.  i saw some very dear people i hadn't seen since my wedding, listened to bluegrass music and the sweet sound of kids playing in the field around a huge camp fire while eating a big yummy smore.  it was so good to go home so something i grew up doing.  it felt comforting.  when we left, mom and i looked up to a perfectly clear black sky with thousands of sparkling stars.  it was breathtakingly awesome.  i cannot even explain.

- my good friend andie came over for a sleep over last night.  it was so much fun to stay up late talking and laughing about stupid stuff.  it was like we were in high school again.

- this morning was church and an afternoon of good conversation with my family and god-parents, and some good chocolate baking with a sweet little 10-year old named carrie.  i has been a full, wonderful weekend.  i'm happy :)

- this week is going to be crazy.  working monday and tuesday, flying to cincinnati on wednesday for some interviews here, flying back thursday, wedding rehearsal friday, and a wedding saturday.  i'm supposed to pack sometime in between all this stuff, considering we're moving in 2 weeks.  we'll see how that goes.  pray for me...:)

i heart the beach

here's some beach pics from a few weeks ago.  brandon and i, my wonderful parents, my brother andrew, and his girlfriend gini all spent a week in my favorite city - charleston, sc.  i seriously love that place.

here are some pics from the beautiful sunset cruise we took.  it was awesome!

i love my family :)

this pic (below) is of andrew and brandon after they buried a poor little dead fish they found on the sand...yeah...lol

it was a great week.  i wish i was still there.  i heart the beach...:)

my wordle

i saw this on his blog from this site and thought it was so cool.  you can see what words are used most often on your blog or website or whatever.  go here to see it larger.  i'm pretty happy with mine: 

us...love...know...God...:)

ephesians

ephesians is rocking my world this week!  some amazingly beautiful verses from today's study...

be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself.  don't take such a gift for granted.  

mostly what God does is love you.  keep company with him and learn a life of love.  observe how Christ loved us; His love is not cautious, but extravagant. 

so good...:)

why is it so hard?

selling your house and moving can be a stressful thing that requires quite a bit of trust and faith.  i swear my prayers every day since we decided to move have gone something like this...

God i know you this is the right thing for us to do, You've made that perfectly clear, so help me to trust you with all the details, to trust you will provide someone to buy our house in a timely manner and to work out all the logistics.

truth is, this is a lot easier said than done.  brandon and i know from the bottom of our hearts that we're doing the right thing.  He could not have made it any more clear to us that we need to go.  it's just my type-a personality that wants everything to happen right away in my perfect timing.  He's reminding me it's His perfect timing that counts and that He certainly knows what's better for me than i do.

so when i was reading my Bible this morning, it kind of just hit me.  hello megan, why do you have such a hard time putting the details of your life in the hands of a God who only has your best interests in mind?  in the hands of someone who is so in love with you that he thinks about you all the time?  in the hands of the Creator of the entire universe!?  i think he can handle it.  yes, he definitely can handle it.  these verses are beautiful...

"...i pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God...to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory..." 

ephesians 3:17-20

"for i know the plans i have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.  then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and i will listen to you."

jeremiah 29:11-12

some food for thought...

"what we know about God and what we do for God have a way of getting broken apart in our lives.  the moment the organic unity of belief and behavior is damaged in any way, we are incapable of living out the full humanity for which we were created"

chemo

today i finished my 2-day chemotherapy class and passed the test with a 96!  it's exciting to be able to be qualified to do something like this, but it's also a little scary.  i'm excited, because now i can do even more to help the wonderful cancer patients that i get to work with, but scary because of how dangerous the stuff is.  anyway, that being said, i am now certified to hang chemotherapy!  it was so neat to learn about all the advancements the medical field has made over the years; hopefully each begin one step closer to a cure!

1 year

one year ago today i married the man i am crazy in love with.  

i never imagined i'd be more in love today than i was then...but i am.

happy 1 year anniversary brandon, i love sharing life with you!

rainy afternoon thoughts

- first of all, this morning at crcc was AMAZING.  i don't know if i have ever felt the spirit's presence so close during a service.  you could feel the joy, gratitude, and love of His people giving back praise to the One who deserves it all.  singing, shouting, dancing in awe of Him.  it was one of the most beautiful things i have ever been a part of.  the message was great too.  it was a good reminder how we are all called to be united as one body in love and grounded in scripture.  i am so happy to be His daughter, and i am so in love with Him.  isn't it crazy that He's in love with us too?  wow.

- the house lady is coming back to look again.  this can't be a bad thing right?

- it is pouring the rain right now.  this is a phrase i've always heard and said, but brandon apparently hasn't, and always makes fun of the fact that i say "the rain" instead of just "rain".  oh well.  i do love rainy days though.  especially on sunday.  it's relaxing.

- we'll be going over to brian and cathy's later to celebrate brandon's brother zach's 21st birthday.  it should be fun, especially if we break out the games.  common, you know you love cranium!  

- i do have to finish some homework for my online summer classes first.  all these tedious extra non-nursing classes i have to take for my bsn are getting on my nerves.  they don't require much brain power, just time.  only 1 1/2 more weeks!

- on a side note, we cannot wait to move!  starting the next part of our lives up there serving God is going to be so great.  cincinnati is calling our names :)

a great weekend

last night brandon and i went up to nc to spend some time with my family.  it was especially great to see my grandparents, oma and opa.  this morning we got up and went to the flea market and a morning of shopping with my parents.  it was great to just hang out with them for the morning.

after that, brandon and i went to the grove park inn spa to celebrate our 1-year anniversary (which is monday the 14th).  there's a few pictures above of the hotel and beautiful view.  we got a couple's massage.  it was an hour of pure relaxation followed by a few hours playing in their mineral pools and waterfall hot tubs.  it was a wonderful day with the most wonderful man in the world.  other girls only wish they could be so lucky! 

we showed our house to a very interested lady today.  say a prayer she will want to buy it!

we ended the day with dinner and hang out time with some great friends, stephen and cindy cope.  lots of fun.  it was a great day.

i'm also looking forward to tomorrow at crossroads as well as a birthday dinner at the in-law's for zach's 21st.

updates

this week has been a bit crazy.  let me take that back; this month has been, and will continue to be, crazy.  i've been at work most of the week taking some hematology/oncology classes that i have to take before my chemotherapy class next week.  the idea of giving people chemo is a bit scary, but it's a challenging and an exciting thing to learn about.  

our house has been on the market for a little bit over a week now.  just keep praying for someone to want to buy it!  we're supposed to move during the first two weeks of august, so it's coming up quickly to say the least!

we're heading up to nc this afternoon to hang out with my family.  this will be a lot of fun.  in the morning we're going to go to this big flea market thing they have.  brandon likes things like this :)  we're celebrating our anniversary tomorrow at the grove park inn spa, whoo hoo!, and then eating with some of our friends, stephen and cindy, at their house.  it should be a good time.

the next few weeks will be spent hanging out with family and friends before the move, selling our house (hopefully), working, packing, and all that wonderful stuff that comes with moving.  we're just ready to get up there and get settled and start living life.  it's going to be a blast.

spidey

brandon and i met spiderman.  there's me snapping a quick pic with him and brandon getting some lessons on shooting webs  :)

b.day

happy 25th birthday to the most amazing guy on the planet.  i'm beyond blessed to be your wife.

happy 4th

brandon and i had a great 4th.  lunchtime cookout with his family.  afternoon of relaxing at the house catching up on all the bachelorette episodes i missed.  night at the movies, just the two of us, to see get smart.  sooo funny by the way.  and we ended the night watching some fireworks near horizon church on the way home.  i had to see some fireworks somewhere!  we were sitting there and realized that this is the first 4th we've spent together.  each year we were dating, we weren't together b/c of our long distance relationship.  needless to say, it was special to spend another "first" together.  i love my hubby!

guess where??

guess where this picture was taken?  okay, i'll tell you.  our new home...cincinnati ohio!  this is they skyline on the way in.  it is a cool town.

brandon has accepted a worship leader position at rivers crossing community church in kings mills, which is about 20 or so miles north east of cincinnati.  this was something we were not looking for or expecting, but God has plans beyond our imagination and plans (thankfully!).  after much prayer, fasting, and thought we decided to make the move, and we are super excited!  this will be such a healthy thing for us and is coming at a great time.  we know this is His next step in our lives, and we can't wait to begin the journey.

we appreciate all your prayers during the next few months.  the main thing being we need our house to sell!  we'll be moving in august.

i told brandon i guess i have to learn how to make sweet tea now.  they don't have it at restaurants up there, ha ha :)