Learning to Love our Story

Our story has been one of frustration lately. For me, anyways.

Our new assignment has brought frustration in a lot of ways and left me feeling like a major grumpy cat. Crappy medical insurance. Another dinner that didn't turn out right because of our lack of kitchen supplies. Tough nights at work that leave me crying in the elevator. Austin's unsuccessful job search. New expenses popping up everywhere we turn. I feel like I'm walking around with a rain cloud over my head, wondering what bad thing will happen next.

All this has left me wondering: is this all worth it? What are we doing? What are we going to do now?

My mother-in-law shared a devotion with me this morning that spoke to exactly the way I was feeling. I am so thankful for her, and these words.

"But I love my story. I love my story most of all.

Why? How?

Because I pre-decided that I would.

I decided I would look at it all through the lens of noticing the rich evidence of life through each mess and mishap.

Did I do it all perfectly? Nope, not at all.

But even if we choose to be noticers with thankful hearts just once today, we'll start to look at our stories in a different way.

A more beautiful way.

I remembered our key verse, Philippians 1:3, where Paul says "I thank my God every time I remember you." I have plenty of reminders each day to thank God for the people in my life. To rejoice over every piece of my story. 

So I whispered, "Notice. Be a noticer. See all the fun represented here and thank God for these moments." 

So I'm gonna be a noticer! Well, at least I will try. I'll start by telling you all about some really great things that happened in the past few weeks.

We went on vacation with my family to Pawley's Island, SC in the middle of May. The week started out with a wedding of the daughter of some dear family friends. My parents met the Grahams when they had first moved to Virginia and started attending church where Mark was the pastor. I met Mark the day I was born (which just happened to be his birthday too!) and our whole family is still blessed by our friendship with Mark, his wife Rena, and their two daughters Kate and Emily over the years.

Wedding weekend included dinner and dancing on Friday night, an intense Saturday morning and afternoon of decorating the reception venue, and then a beautiful wedding presided over by Pastor Mark Graham himself at the arrogantly shabby Pawley's Island Chapel. We celebrated (and then helped super Cindy clean up all of her amazing wedding decor) at the reception afterwards. I loved hearing Mark explain each of the Beatitudes as it pertained to Kate and Dave's marriage and seeing the devotion and friendship my mother and Rena shared even though they had not lived close to each other in over 20 years.

Decorating (and testing) the getaway car

These Doods loved the beach

The Sykes family usually doesn't do the beach vacation thing and instead opts for more outdoor adventures, but I think a week at the beach is just what we needed. It was so relaxing spending time with my mom and dad sitting on the beach while watching Austin and my brothers throw the frisbee all afternoon while the dogs chased it back and forth. We stayed at an amazing beach house, watched movies, played games, and helped my mom cook yummy dinner. And there were alligators! I'm so thankful for that time with my family. It had been over 4 months since I had spent time with my brothers!

Enjoying the porch at the house

These guys were everywhere!

A bike ride on the beach!

We haven't spent a whole let of time in Gainesville itself, except for when I'm working. We also went to visit Orlando earlier this week and spend some time with Austin's brother and sister-in-law. We had a great day the next day hitting some fun spots around the city: a boat tour around the lakes in Winter Park, lunch at a trendy coffeeshop, and and afternoon watching wakeboarders navigate the lake at the Orlando Watersports Complex. We ended the day sneaking into some of the pools at Disney Resorts and having dinner poolside- it was awesome!

A very scenic boat tour, indeed!

Stardust Coffee and Video = a very cool lunch spot

The dog cracks me up, and our "36 Hour in the Southeast" has led us to some very fun places!

Orlando Watersports Complex

Using the Port Orleans Swimming pool, quite illegally

I'm certainly bummed to be going back to work tonight. Work has been different from my assignment in Albuquerque in a few ways. Because it is a stepdown unit and I have 1-2 patients instead of 3-4, it operates more like an ICU than the regular floor. I haven't met as many people because we are not going back to a common nurses station to chart, instead we all have our own alcove. The past couple weeks my assignment has been in a corner that has left me by myself with a few visitors. My patients have been challenging, not nursing skill wise but more behavioral and needs wise. Needless to say I miss my ABQ job, and my friends : (

And on that note, I miss all of you! Being away from our friends and family is hard, and we treasure all the time spent in person, on the phone, or using communication of any kind. We love you all!