After FOUR years I'm finally finished!!!

With my blanket at least! In high school, my friend Kori got me hooked on crocheting...she did so many blankets in a few weeks time...while I was just working on one. Then I started college and it got pushed aside working on it every now and then and on breaks. I finished a couple of scarves for christmas 2 years ago...but my blanket was still unfinished...

UNTIL TONIGHT!

I finally finished it after 4 years in the making. I'm pretty proud of it. Its the size of my twin size comforter. It wasn't suppose to be that big, it just happened!

Here it is on my bed

And that's it folded in half so you can see the detail a bit more. I put the lavender boarder around the whole thing. I love the colors, but it doesn't match anything I have any more, it did when I was in high school. Oh well I'll use it to keep me warm while I'm watching TV. And maybe someday if I have a daughter it can be on her bed...until then I think it's pretty cool that my own two hands did that!

Near the end

So summer is closing to an end...it's been a busy summer with going to Africa and then I've just been working..my free time, however has been consumed with this...



and this...

She just loves the park..."indsay go to park?" and I just love her!

It's also been consumed with this little guy!

He didn't like me much at the beginning but now we are best buds! He is such a little cutie! I love these kids and I'm gunna miss them so much when I have to leave which is next week!! ahhhhh

I'm hoping again to get a babysitting job for this year. Maybe this year will be the year! I would appreciate your prayers on that!

Thanks!

Summer Continues

Well it's been a while since I've written mainly because I have not had internet access for over 3 weeks being away, then I immediatly started back up at work. I'm still on orientation (almost done!), however yesterday when I got into work they decided to give me my own set of patients. I'm not going to lie I was a bit nervous at first, but everything went well! It's hard because each hospital does things different and to make matters worse, each floor at this hospital does something different so it's hard to remember what to do when.

This past weekend my family...well my parents and Meg headed down to D.C. for 4th of July and to visit Adam. It was quiet an experience, especially since I was still jet lagged so I wanted to go to sleep at 6pm, but I'm glad we got to see them. We met up with my Grandparents and my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin...it was good to see everyone. We got there Friday night and went into D.C. and ended up watching the practice of the Capitol concerts. The next morning we went to the Parade, which I wasn't too impressed with and then went and hung out at the Washington Monument until 9:10 pm when the fireworks started. I do have to say that the fireworks were totally worth it and I would definitly do it all over again! The thousands of people were manageable, especially because we walked everywhere. We did have an adventure getting back to the hotel after the fireworks though. There were about 100 people waiting for a 14 seat shuttle bus so instead of waiting until 2 or so in the morning we decided to take the city bus back to the hotel. Well the bus dropped us off about a half mile or so from the hotel so we had to walk, in the dark, at midnight, in a town outside D.C. that was not the safest place to be walking at night. In fact one lady on the bus told us to be very careful when we were walking in that area...how comforting. Megan brags that she walked through the Ghetto at night now and I told my Grandma thats one more thing she can cross off her bucket list. It was a good weekend and a nice break before heading back to work for the week again. This weekend we are heading to Buffalo for my Cousins graduation party. I'll post pictures of D.C. later!

If you want to hear about my Africa trip head over to my other blog, or you can find pictures on Facebook!

Work

I've been working on the floors for two weeks now. Last week I spent 2, 12 hour shifts in the ICU. Packer has 2 ICU's one is for trauma the other is for cardiac. I was in the cardiac one. I am not a fan if the ICU, everyone there is so sick and it's just so sad, especially when the familys come in and see them. Most of the patients can't talk, but know what is going on, you can see it in their eyes when you take care of them, they are in so much pain and its just so sad! I wanted to cry so many times and I am not a cryer. Then I spent 2, 8 hour shifts in the ER. I wish I had been able to spend my 12 hour shifts there, I love that place! There is always something to do and its just so exciting! I think that is the department I will end up working in as a Nurse. This week I was on 6 North for 2, 12 hour shifts. 6 North is a cardiac floor. I kind of like cardiac, I end up there a lot. This was interesting but to do 2 shifts on orientation it gets kind of repetative. We had some pretty interesting patients though, one thought there were oppossums in the room! Another one I had the privlidge of sitting with and getting her to sleep, that was a task since she was disoriented, but a good experience. I still have 6 more days on orientation. I have to go to 6 South which is a trauma floor, 5 main which is oncology, and 8 north which I don't know what is on that floor. Then I'll be off orientation and on my own! This will be after I get back from Africa though!!! Which I leave for on Saturday...ahhh!

Summer

Sorry it's been a while since I've written, it's been so crazy. You'd think since school is over then it would have been time to relax..but NO. I started my second job last week and I had to do orientation all week. It was horrible. 8 hour long straight days of just lecture! ugh so boring. The only good thing is that I got paid for it. Then I started back at Lourdes too. I realize that I really like Lourdes compared to Guthrie (the new place). It's a nice small hospital and I really like most of the people that I work with. So anyways I've been busy, plus trying to get everything ready for Africa which is in 2 weeks! Tomorrow is my first day of real work at Guthrie. I'm working a 12 hour shift, 11a-11p. I'm excited. I'll be orienting in the ICU tomorrow and I already know one of the nurses, she was in my orientation, so that will be nice. I'll get paid time and a half too since its a holiday! Thank goodness, I'm running low on money. Tuesday I'm working another 12 hour in the ICU and then Thursday and Friday I'm working 8 hours in the ED!!! I'm so excited about that! My supervisor asked what I thought would be my favorite department and I said the ED so she put me there twice for orientation just for the fun of it! I can't wait.

Africa..in less than 3 weeks!!!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Dear Friends and Family,

The above verse is one that many of us have had memorized since we were young, or have heard it sometime before. As simple as it may seem, this verse is very powerful and true. Unfortunately there are people in the world we live in that do not realize that someone loves them so much to send their son to die for them, so they can live forever with God.

God has been preparing me for missions for some time now. In 2006 I had the opportunity to go to Guyana, South America with my youth group and minster to the local people there. Ever since coming back, I felt a calling to share the love of Christ with others and do it through medicine. I have just finished my third year of nursing school, and I know that God is calling me to use my skills to minister to others.

Within the past couple of weeks, God has provided me with the opportunity to participate in a medical mission trip to Ivory Coast, Africa with World Venture this summer from June 4th to June 29th. While in Africa, we will be working in the hospitals to provide various types of medical care including wound care, medication administration, OB/GYN care, medical teaching and much more. We will also be helping out a missionary couple that is living in the Ivory Coast, and ministering to the families in the town where we will be staying.

I am very excited for this opportunity that God has presented to me and am excited for the challenge of planning and leaving for Africa in such a short amount of time. I know that I cannot do this alone, but I also know that God will provide for my needs. Would you please prayerfully consider participating in this ministry with me this summer?

There are several ways that you can participate, the first being through prayer. The bible tells us that with prayer, great things are possible. With prayer, we can make a difference. Would you please help me by praying now as well as while we’re in Africa?
Please pray now that:
- God will prepare me and my team to serve Him the way He wants
- God will prepare the hearts of the people that we will be ministering to
- That my financial needs will be met in such a short time
And while we are in Africa, please pray that:
- We will be able to minister effectively to those we come in contact with
- That we will be safe in our ministering
- That we will be received by the locals

A second way that you can participate is by helping me financially. Would you prayerfully consider if this is the way that God would like you to participate? In order for me to participate in this mission opportunity to Africa on June 4th, I need to raise $4,000 dollars. On such short notice, this seems almost impossible to me. But I know that with God all things are possible.

If you feel led to participate with me financially, you can send the money directly to World Venture and you will receive a receipt for tax purposes. Please make the check out to World Venture and in the memo line of your check just write my account number: 6171-916. You do not need to put my name on the check. Mail the check to:
World Venture
1501 W. Mineral Avenue
Littleton, CO 80120-5612
Because there is such a short amount of time between now and the trip, I ask that if you feel led to support me financially to please contribute by May 31st. I apologize for such short notice, but World Venture just contacted me a couple of weeks ago. If you’d like to contribute, but cannot do it by that time, please contact me so we can make alternate arrangements. If you are not able contribute financially, then would you please continue to pray?

I want to thank you in advance for your participation and I’d like you partake of this journey with me. Please log onto my blog that I have started specifically for this trip. My hope is to provide you with information leading up to my trip, as well as update you while I am in Africa. You can view it at http://www.lindsays-africatrip.blogspot.com/. Also please feel free to contact me through email at lbotzenhart@liberty.edu.

Thank you and God bless,

It's official

I AM DONE WITH JUNIOR YEAR OF NURSING....











....enough said