Is it July already?!

What has happened in the last three months? Hmmm... let's see. Two main things stand out:

1. I started a new role at work - I am no longer doing the clinic-based diabetes classes and individual education. My new role is focused entirely on the hospital care. Up until this point, all of our diabetes dept. RN's have shared the job of rounding through the hospital, answering questions, reviewing charts of patients with high or low glucose as well as doing in-services for hospital staff, etc. Now, I am the one doing all of these things at the hospital here in Medford. I do rounds in the hospital 3 hours a day, Mon-Thurs. The rest of the time I spend planning, going to various meetings, and working on PI projects. This is a big change. I've been doing it for about two months now and so far, I don't miss the clinic stuff. I am quite passionate about us giving good care in the hospital, so I think this role is a good fit for me.

2. We went on a week-long vacation in Sonoma County, CA in June. Had a really nice time. We stayed in a cozy little cottage in a small town outside of Santa Rosa called Sebastopol. A former pharmacy student that did a rotation with our department and now lives in the East Bay area drove out of her way to meet up with us two days. IT was so fun to see her and to meet her fiancee. We sampled a bit of wine, ate at some slightly upscale restaurants, listened to some good music, had great coffee, saw the coast at Bodega Bay and drove home through the redwood forest. All in all, a relaxing time.

Mid-month report

OK, I've made it through the busy part of April and survived. It should be a downhill slide from here, but there are more events just around the corner, so I shouldn't get too cozy about relaxing.

The weekend in Portland with my coworkers was very enjoyable. The conference was interesting - great speakers and we came home with some good, useful ideas.

Yesterday was our Southern Oregon Sometimes Miracles Hide luncheon for moms of kids with disabilities. 64 people from my church volunteered to help, either cooking, serving the lunch, or helping in the carnival section. I had agreed to be the "Carnival Coordinator" which sounds more impressive than it was. I didn't actually plan anything - but I was the "check in" person who directed carnival helpers to the right spot and assigned duties. I was kind of nervous about assigning duties since I really didn't know the people I was assigning. I didn't know their personalities - so didn't know who would do well where. But it turned out well. (I actually had TONS of help from another couple in my church who were "leading games" but ended up roving with me for problem solving) I had put some kids working together who didn't know each other at the beginning of the day. As the carnival went on, I saw them working together really well, coordinating breaks for each other and having fun. Denis got to be a buddy for the first time and enjoyed having more to do.

So, next up is Easter, then our church's next respite day in early May.

It's Spring

It's April and as usual, it seems, life is very busy this month. I seem to recall writing very similar posts in years past... what is it about April? So far:

• I finally recorded a presentation that I've been planning for about two months to be viewed by physicians, pharmacists and nurses in my hospital. This is a REALLY big deal, because in it, I am presenting a "how to" type of instruction on Diabetes care in the hospital setting. (I actually recorded that in March, but it was this past week...)
• had our annual Diabetes healthfair yesterday - it was a new format this year, so we were all an extra bit on our toes. I messed up part of our facilities order, so there were a stressful 15 minutes, but it turned out well.
• I helped coordinate our church disability ministry getting T-shirts - ordering the right sizes and then handing them out today.

Still to come:

• church disability ministry planning meeting tomorrow
• meeting with a physician group Tuesday to explain and promote my Diabetes presentation - hoping they will want to view it for CME credits
• planning meeting at work Wednesday - have to make a pasta salad for the potluck lunch
• our group travels to Portland Thursday for a conference - FUN!
• the following week is the Southern Oregon Joni and Friends luncheon called Sometimes Miracles Hide - Denis and I are volunteering

Busy April, fun April. And it really is spring here now - we have daffodils up, the sun is shining. I even took Phoebe out for a little walk - she she is one happy kitty right now.

Reading

I've been very out of the habit of reading in the last few years. I decided to pick up some of the books I've been meaning to get to for a while. So, I'm currently trying to be more purposeful in reading:

Believing God by R. C. Sproul, Jr. - contemplating the promises of God and letting them sink into my soul.

When Helping Hurts by Brian Fiklert and Steve Corbett - an in-depth look at poverty and how to effectively help, avoiding the pitfalls of creating dependence or exacerbating a problem with superficial fixes.

The Valley of Vision, a collection of puritan prayers.

And finally, I'm going to be joining a group from my church to read and discuss the 25th edition of Desiring God by John Piper. I've actually never read it, but have heard many good things about it over the years.

I'm writing these plans here in hopes that will help hold me accountable to the task... :)

New Music

I've found some cool new musicians lately that I've heard on the radio. Just added some new stuff and deleted some oldies from my playlist. I hope you enjoy it. :o) Kim said recently "your blog is my favorite radio station". I'm totally flattered. I hope the new stuff lives up to the expectations.

A song that prays

You know the number of my days
So come paint Your pictures on the canvas in my head
And come write Your wisdom on my heart
And teach me the power of a moment
The power of a moment, the power of a moment

I get so distracted by my bigger schemes
Show me the importance of the simple things
Like a word, a seed, a thorn, a nail
And a cup of cold water

Chris Rice

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Joni and Friends 2010

Well, Denis and I have been back from Joni and Friends Family Retreat for a little more than a week now. I've had some time to adjust back to "regular life", quite a let down after such a joyful and impactful experience. So here's a bit of a report from our fabulous week at camp:

There are many ways that this year's experience at Joni and Friends was very different from last year for me. I'm very thankful that I was able to share the "duties" with Denis. It was such a relief for me to have him there, since he has a different set of skills than I do. His skill set is better suited to the sorts of issues that come up at camp, so I really liked being able to have him to defer to. That's a pretty selfish reason to be glad to have him there... It was also wonderful to get to share the experience with him, because the Joni and Friends family retreat experience is so impressive and Denis didn't get to go last year.

Another thing that was different this year was that we were involved in the planning. We had access to the campers' health information, so we had a much better idea of what kind of situations we needed to be prepared for. We planned the first aid kit from the ground up, so we knew what was there. I also had a much better idea what sort of supplies we should carry with us. Now being more prepared was a very good thing, but it wasn't exactly reassuring. We had some campers with some significant health issues, and it was a bit scary being aware of them... But actually not any more scary than NOT knowing, which is how I felt last year. :o)

Praise goes to God, of course, that we did not actually have any significant health issues arise. The worst injury of the whole week was just a minor thing that only require arrangements made for a tetanus shot. We were kept busy though, with little things. Cuts, sprains, bandaids, little things. Those little problems gave us the opportunities to interact with people, which is really one of the greatest blessings of being at Joni and Friends. When we get to soothe a boo-boo for someone, we get to be a small blessing to them. I'm grateful that so many little things came up, because that meant getting to be involved with the campers.

This year, I felt more a part of the action - less on the fringes. Some of the highlights of my week:

1. interacting with some of the adult campers with disabilities

2. getting thumbs ups, smiles and waves from some campers affected by autism spectrum issues

3. helping a visually impaired camper figure out a better way to use her blood sugar meter

4. being invited by some teens to do the macarena dance with them at the talent show

5. seeing my friend who has Down syndrome blossom with all the attention and encouragement

This family retreat was the first one to take place in Oregon, or anywhere in the Pacific Northwest in about 20 years. The majority of the campers and STMs (volunteers) were new to Joni and Friends family retreats and did not know what to expect. One family feared on the first day that they would get kicked out because their son was pouring water out on the stage during the first worship session. What they didn't know is that at Joni and Friends family retreat, that's OK - it's normal even. God moved in powerful ways this week as families were blessed by the acceptance, rest, love and celebration of their kids offered by everyone at retreat. I also heard reports of how God worked in wonderful ways in the young adults with disabilities group.

My overall statement about Joni and Friends retreat this year is - what an honor! What a privilege to be just a small piece of what God did there. what we did was very little - but what a joy to be a part!

Getting ready!

August is going to be a busy month around here - or maybe not around here. That's why it's going to be busy...

The first week of the month, I'm flying to San Antonio for not quite a week to attend the annual conference for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. I'm going with one of my coworkers. She and I work opposite days of the week, so we rarely actually get to see each other. Our lives are intertwined, though, as my mom provides day care for her adult daughter who has Down Syndrome. Our two families spent Thanksgiving together last year. Joy just got married and we attended her wedding on the beach. Lots of new stuff in her life and I'm really looking forward to spending the time with her.

The third week of the month, Denis and I both have the privilege of serving as the medical team for the all new Oregon Joni and Friends Family Retreat! As you know, I was able to go to the California camp last year, which turned out to be a fly by the seat of my pants sort of experience. This year, Denis and I are getting to organize the entire medical plan for the Oregon camp, determine what supplies we want to have, etc. I'm so excited to get to share the experience with Denis, not only because his skill set is so much better suited for the job, but also for him to see first hand what a blessing this ministry is to the families that attend. It's hard to believe that it's just three weeks away! Things are falling into place, but there's still some planning left to do.

Hard times

I'm listening to a song by Jill Paquette that contains comforting words.

One of These Days

it's been so long, said it's been too long

can't remember when i've felt so known

You're so warm shelter me from the storm and the fears that are just so cold

they're telling me things get messy when you care

things are messy everywhere and don't i know it, don't i show it

every time i look away 'cause what can i do? what can i say? to help myself

or to help anybody else

You meet me in my need

You bring new life to me, and You go beyond what i feel

Your life brought more than freedom

Your love brought time just what i needed, to see i needed You

One of these days it will be easier to mean what i say

if i remember each and every day

that this world is not my home and i never walk alone

and before time began my days were known by You

You meet me in my need

You bring new life to me and You go beyond what i feel

Your life brought more than freedom

Your love brought time just what i needed, to see i needed You