Decisions, decisions.

Well, the decision is made. While nursing school is a good thing, something I have wanted to do for years and years, Jeremiah and I both feel that what is best is for me to spend this time with Moses. The decision to become a nurse was not a financial one, it was purely a desire of my heart. While that is good and valuable, what is best is raising my son. I am blessed that I have the choice. I had decided in my heart a couple of days ago that this is what I felt was right, but until I really talked it out with Jeremiah I was putting off making any final decisions. Knowing that I am making a choice and that I am laying down what I want freely has brought such joy in the day to day routine of being a mom. Feedings, diaper changes, playtime, laundry, sleep training, all of it is really very sweet and very important. I am so blessed that I can spend this time with Moses. This time of being a mom, with children in my home, will pass so quickly. I want to savor every moment. What important work we have before us!! Let's count it ALL joy!!

Still fumbling.

Hello all! Well, I admit that my updates have been a bit dull a lately. There just really isn't a whole lot to say. Moses is growing and as sweet as can be. He naps well, the nights are horrible, and we are exhausted. That may sound a bit dismal, but the attitude around here is rather chipper, actually. We're just figuring things out, and the days are filled with a lot if silly laughter because, for those of you who don't know, I am hilarious. Just ask Moses.
I posted awhile back about nursing school. I heard last week (or the week before??) that I did, in fact, get in. This is fabulous news. The only other time I got into nursing school was a few years ago and it would have cost around $60,000 to complete and I would have had to live on another island than my husband. Obviously that was a no-go. So the prospect of going to nursing school is very exciting. However, the prospect of leaving my sweet son in the care of someone else for 20 hours a week is not so exciting. And may be a deal breaker. I have this sweet boy and I am committed to raising him the best way I know how, and taking him to a daycare center just doesn't fit into my plans. If I could find someone to watch him for me (without breaking the bank) or find a small in home daycare that I felt comfortable with that may just change things.. but so far that hasn't panned out and I'm a bit at a loss.
But daycare isn't the real issue here. If nursing really is the way to go we will find a way to make it work. What the real issue is has more to do with what kind of mom I want to be and how I view these next years raising my child, and eventually, children. A friend sent me a link to a couple of interviews of Dr. Laura by Focus on the Family and they really struck a cord with me. These days of raising my children will pass so quickly, they are but a season, and I don't know if I want to spend two years of them being both a mom and a nursing student. A decision needs to be made and I am hoping that the Lord makes it clear which path to take!

Nursing school.

Many of you know how long I have wanted to be a nurse. I remember the time in my life that this desire began to develop, and although at the time I said it was God leading me I have often second guessed myself. To be honest, I am not sure if nursing is a calling or an opportunity, but either way the Lord has used it in my life to teach me a great many things about walking with him.
Although I tried (and tried!) to get into nursing school at UNM, I was never able to, hence my decision to apply at Hawaii Pacific University. I was accepted right as I met my Miah and we were married so quickly that I put nursing on the back burner again and graduated with a BUS degree (in stuff: African American studies, communication, history and religion...) from UNM. When HPU sent me a letter a few months later, it was just the catalyst that Jeremiah and I needed and we moved to HI (that is the Reader's Digest version). We bought a condo right down the street from HPU and it all seemed to fall into place. Until Jeremiah was told he would be working 5 days a week for at least 6 months on another island. After much prayer about the decision to be spending so much time apart we decided that the Lord was leading us to move to Molokai and back to the back burner nursing went. Perhaps I should not say back burner, because each time nursing school did not work out I was sure that the Lord was directing our path and leading us in the way we should go. I knew I was making the right decision for my marriage by not attending HPU - not only the right decision, but the one the Lord wanted me to make.
Well, now another opportunity has presented itself. I am applying to the nursing program here in Farmington. I have a big comprehensive exam to take on November 21 (Baby Hayes, please stay put until then!!!) and much of my day is spent studying. Let me tell ya, it has been an adjustment preparing for an exam again after all these years! Thank goodness for that period of being an algebra tutor while we were in HI!! I will apply to San Juan's nursing program before the baby is due and will find out next April if I made it. It is a very competitive program, just like at UNM, so we will see what the future holds. I would not start until next fall, of 2010. The neat thing is that because of all the credits I have from UNM my first two semesters would consist of only one class and I would be able to skip the first summer of classes entirely.
So, I have no idea was the future holds, but I am grateful that I can try, try once again!!

"Strength and dignity are her clothing. She SMILES at the future."
Proverbs 13:25