For Mason

keep your back straight 

keep your head held high

keep your eyes on the prize

keep the fire and passion of Jesus in your heart

keep a sense of adventure tangled around your feet

...and may you always find your way back home to me

I miss you Mason
Japan can't have you anymore
I am over it
You gotta come home

Reflection Tuesday: Mother's Day

The truth is, even if she weren't my mom I would go out of my way to be friends with her

I know this is a few days late, but I just wanted to throw out into cyberspace what an amazing mother I have. 

Holla!

Anyone that knows Donna would agree! 

She is:

Loving

Patient

Wonderful

Hard working

Detailed

Always putting others first

Warm

Welcoming

Excited

Extremely caring

A wonderful homemaker

Smart (Who just passed her test WHAT WHAT!!)

An amazing listener

A best friend

The most amazing mother anyone could ever ask for!

She is constantly encouraging me. Loves my husband more than she loves me and has made him a part of our family. Always has my favorite foods at home when I come to visit. Always is first to listen before giving counsel. She has a great sense of humor and is makes me laugh daily. 

I really wanted to post a picture of her 1990's afro-mullet, but she said, "If you love me at all... you won't post that." But then she said right after that, "I remember just LOVING that haircut..." 

So out of love and respect, I will not post it. 

Even though I really want to.

This is a picture of my mother and I when I was just a wee little Dee. 

I love you, Mom. You are beautiful to me.

Recipe Thursday: Raspberry-Almond Shortbread Cookies

I found this recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens Issue "100 Best Cookies." They are a lot of fun to make and taste AMAZING! 

Ingredients:
-1 cup butter, softened
-2/3 cup granulated sugar
-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 cup seedless red raspberry jam
-coarse sugar
-1 cup powdered sugar
-2 to 3 teaspoons water
-1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract



First: In a medium bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining flour. Cover; chill 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.  (I chilled the dough for over an hour and it made it a little hard to work with, so I would keep it under an hour).

Second: Preheat oven to 350 F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Using your thumb, press an indentation into the center of each ball. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of the jam into each indentation. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake about 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute. Transfer to wire racks; cool. (I didn't sprinkle with coarse sugar because I didn't have any and they turned out plenty sweet).

Third: Meanwhile, for icing, in a medium bowl combine powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of water, and the 1 1/2 teaspoons of almond extract. Add enough of the remaining water to make drizzling consistency. Drizzle cookies with icing. Makes about 36 cookies. (I put the icing in a small ziplock bag and cut a small hole in the corner and drizzled icing that way. It still made a mess, but not as much as it could have!)

Just as a fun treat, I found this Free Printable and wanted to pass it along! Enjoy!

All the Nurses in the Club, Put Your Hands Up!

This week is National Nurses Week.
I feel compelled to express my upmost gratitude to those who work alongside me
and to say,
"WHAT WERE WE THINKING??"

To those who have been pooped on, peed on, spit on, vomited on:
You can always buy new scrubs, take a shower, and Cavi-Wipe everything
I have learned this...
Every once in a while you even get sent home due to these issues,
because it is just too much to handle and keep working

To those who have been verbally, physically and emotionally abused:
We make a difference with our patience
Do not give in! Fight the urge to punch them in the throat!
These people need love too

To those who have simply cried when they finally make it to the car:
Know this.
You are expressing your exhaustion because of working as a
nurse, a caregiver, a counselor, a cheerleader, a son, a daughter, a maid,
a chef, an emotional soundboard, a punching bag, a shower, a physician's assistant,
... and those are just the terms that have actual names
Its okay to cry sometimes

To those that KNOW nursing is their calling:
I salute you.
Nursing is not an easy field
Sometimes it is just downright filthy
But this I must say,
I love being a nurse with everything in me!

I love taking care of those who need help
I love being able to wave goodbye to patients as they leave
and know, I helped them be able to walk out of here
I love when people stop me and say,
"Thanks for treating my mom like family"
"Thanks for taking the time to explain whats going on"

THAT is the heartbeat of Nursing

Take time this week to really enjoy what you have been called to do
Nursing allows us to go beyond physical healing
It allows doors to open for emotional and spiritual healing as well!

Matthew 25: 34-40

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

Life has begun

Tomorrow marks 3 years that Mason and I have been graduated from college!
I remember taking a deep breath that last day of finals and thinking... I did it.
I made it.
So much expectation in the air
Good expectation
A sense that "Life if finally going to start..."

I remember thinking that
but I laugh looking back now

I also remember thinking that thought when Mason and I got married...
And I will probably think that when we have our first Dyer Terror

But today, as we drag our butts out of bed
as we put on our running shoes
as we make it up the hill
as I have to stop at the restrooms
sure I am going to throw up
sure I am going to shit my pants

Then holding hands together walking back home,
just talking and laughing together

I think to myself,  "Life has begun"
I am living it