Tag Archives: God

A Restful Weekend

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How is your weekend going?? Mine week was crazy! Monday night I was at a dissertation workshop….it was stressful…scary but also very interesting. I find it much easier to do something when I know ahead a time. Yes I am a planner!!! Then Tuesday I was nervously trying to prepare for my presentation on Wednesday. Wednesday morning, I was very nervous but remembered that I had been preparing this presentation for over a month. I was as ready as I could be to teach on my chapter. Class went well and once I felt comfortable up in front of the class things went smoothly. I really wanted my cohort to have a better understanding of ethnic identity and acculturation. It is something many of us need to know about. So then Thursday flew by because it was one of those crazy days at work. I worked late into the night in my office, Molly doing her bests to stay occupied. She was a little bored of my study life :P

Friday I rested a lot, probably more than I should have but it had been such a busy week.  I did get out and enjoy a hockey game, sadly we lost, but it was still a lot of fun. Today though my plan is to write, write, write….I want to get a lot done! Great goal right! I have realize that we can plan, plan, plan but sometimes (many times) things do not work that way in life.

I was also wonderfully surprised last night by being notified I was admitted to doctoral candidacy. I almost cried…last year was soooo rough. I thought when I started working on my doctorate that I was prepared. That I could totally handle the study load…but you know (and you can read those blogs) last year was tough. Probably the toughest thing I had ever done. But now I realize it was worth it. It was worth the pain, the tears, the sleepless nights.  Why?? Because I am one step closer to being done. One step closer to saying that I successfully finished a doctorate program WHILE at the same time living with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia.  I’m still amazed I have kept going….but you know I also realize my strength, confidence, and determination comes first from my faith and second from my dad. I want to make my dad proud, I know he won’t see me graduate but I hope that he would still in some way be proud of my accomplishments.  First and foremost my faith though has kept me going, I do not think  I could face my day to day journey with out my faith.

Living in pain, daily torturous pain….is so hard. Goodness it gets soooo sooo sooo old! And I think the hardest part is people do not get because they cannot see it. I think my constant prayer is that more people open their eyes to see my invisible pain. It would help that is for sure!! But off I go to do more homework :) Enjoy a wonderful Easter weekend.

 

Back up …Again

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Get yourself back up…AGAIN!!! This thought ran through my mind many times this week. As many people in the United States found…the weather might not have been our best friend. Thankfully where I live I did not get snow but I did get rain! And yes for those of us suffering with Rheumatoid Arthritis and/or Fibromyalgia….rain or inclement weather in general does not help us feel good at all! I remember several days this week (because many times we can feel the weather changing even before the weather does change)…I was mentally screaming at myself like a coach might….get up!! get up!!!

Functioning with pain is so hard!! The pain can cloud your mind..it can make even thinking about moving seem like a major major chore. I think Thursday felt like the worst day! The pollen outside was horrible..making my nose all stopped up and then I could feel a weather change coming. The day just drug on…the pain not ending! I wondered really….seriously…how am I supposed to function when I feel like utter crap!! I moved mentally and physically so slow!

Thankfully Friday was a little better but then Saturday yet another flare and so here I sit today, Sunday, still aching….yet still screaming at myself to get back up…again!! I have come to understand that I will fall down mentally and sometimes emotionally many different times of the day (yes in one day) but the key is not to get upset that I had to take a moment and cry about how much I hurt. The key is to just get back up and fight again!

This week I reminded myself of all I am working for….this degree, a future job, a career in higher education, a family and much more. I have a lot of good I can do….but that does not mean I have to be superwoman. I can acknowledge my pain, I can cry because it hurts so bad, and I can rest when I need to rest because things will work out.  For me, my faith keeps me going, and through my faith I acknowledge that life is held in bigger hands than mine. Sometimes I forget but the truth of the matter is that for me… I believe things will work out. My participants for my study will come, and I will be able to get all this homework done. That does not mean though that  I do nothing, I have to carry my weight and do my part. But there are just some things in this universe that I cannot control…and for those things I have trust, I have faith and I have hope that all things will work out for good. I might not see that good today, tomorrow or the next day but I believe things will be good.

So despite my pain, my horrid, tiring, exhausting, pain….I am going to get back up and go back to the paper I was working on. Because I planned ahead I can do pieces here and there and still get something quality turned in on time! :) Focus on something, and get back up…we are waiting on you!

 

Do You Ever Dream????

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Do you ever dream??? I’m up because my nausea is bad (thank you Arava!) and I cannot sleep! It is almost 1am and my eyes are still watching tv and my mind is wandering! The random thought popped into my head….do you dream?

I dream…..I dream of the day I will walk across a stage…the same stage that marked the end of my college journey.. That same stage where my Dad watched me finish college will also be the same stage where I will make the end of my educational career! Wow! Yes I dream of that moment!! That moment…that dream…keeps me going despite the pain, the nausea and the fatigue!

I dream…of running around, as if I had energy and was normal!” Weird right??? I mean I know in my head and my heart that these pains I will probably have for my life….but part of me goes…maybe tomorrow I will wake up and my dream will come true!! Dreaming sometimes it feels sooooo good! Especially tonight when my body hurts sooooo bad! My fingers, arms, knees, ankles…whole body hurt! I had a bad flare last night and I’m still recovering. :(

I dream…of changing the world! I dream….of seeing the world ( China, Africa (again!), more of Europe, and south east Asia)! As you can tell I dream of travel!

I dream that the words I say today will help someone else out somewhere! You can dream! Dreams keep me going! Dreams keep me positive!

If I didn’t have my faith and my dreams…..I don’t know where I would be, or what I would be doing…hmmm

Dreams….dreams help make good despite bad! Dreams help me be positive versus negative! Dreams bring hope! That hope helps me say that despite my RA/ Lupus and Fibro…I will one day change the world!

LOOOOOONG Day!

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Wow today was the first time in a LONG time since I have worked a full day (we are talking like 9+hrs!). My body is telling that it is NOT happy with me! I have been working on my edits for my proposal and my paper that is due by Wednesday night. Now I am waiting on the second line of edits for the proposal and then I’m hoping to submit my other paper tomorrow. It is as good as it is going to get…I think! I Hope!!

I practiced my presentation again twice tonight! I feel comfortable with the material and I hope that I can hold it together and do a good job at my presentation. I am excited to be going to another conference! I think it will be a lot of fun and unlike Denver..my WHOLE cohort will be there. So we are hoping to have fun, learn stuff, practice our presentation skills and enjoy some time with other students and faculty.

I realized last time I went to a conference how cool it was to talk with other doctoral students. Why? Well they get the crazy nights, the papers, the projects, and the drive to finish our dissertations SOON!!! Gosh I cannot believe that even after my coursework, and comps that I will have another year or so to write and CONDUCT a study! Whew!

Well I am hoping that my proposal goes through (crossing fingers)!  That will be major stress off my shoulders!

Oh good thing today…I was actually hungry!! I’m not sure if it was because I was working all day?? Maybe?? I don’t know but I was hungry! It would be nice to have a better appetite. Not eating for a day had me worried…but then again with then nausea that comes and goes..what can I expect.

To finish my long day, I go back to what I was thinking this morning…STIFFNESS!! Yes one part of Rheumatoid Arthritis that I hate…the morning stiffness! Some mornings I get SOOO exhausted just getting out of bed and getting dressed (don’t even talk about getting make up on). And then a lot of times my Fibromyalgia decides that it wants to act up too!! LOVELY! So yes my thought this morning as I was driving home was “wow my stiffness is still there!” :( My hands more than anything but I think that is because I have been typing typing typing the past few days. My shoulders and wrists too are mad :(

But oh well…despite my long day..I got some homework done!! And now I’m stopping for a breath!

 

You ask….WHY?

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Have you ever asked WHY? Why did today have to suck…not that my day sucked but I did spend all my energy getting ready this morning for church and guess what… I had a flat tire on the way to service! Seriously…and I had gotten up at 7:30 a.m. (after being up until almost 2a.m.) only to make if halfway to service when the flat happened. Then I proceeded to spend the rest of the morning in a NTB waiting room as the tire was fixed. Def. not the morning I had expected….so part of me was like why?

One MAJOR why I have had in my life is ….why God…why did I get the card that said “Rheumatoid Arthritis” and then another card “Borderline Lupus” and then yet another card “Fibromyalgia” and so on…the list continues! You know when I first got dx’d at 23 years old…I was like WTF (excuse the french!). In my mind I was thinking ok…run some more tests (like you have been doing) and find a different answer (forge it…I don’t care)! So yes that day I wondered WHY!!

But then fast forward almost a year..I’m sitting in a hospital bed…I had been there for over a week..I was angry and frustrated. I was made because I wanted to get my nails done (yes I am strange!) And then I realized…you know what..seriously asking WHY is ok…mostly for me it is letting out my anger..but  I need to do something with my WHY!

So I did something with my WHY! I started working on a blog! It wasn’t a blog that shared tons of cool information (only occasionally!!). Instead it became a blog of life…living with Rheumatoid Arthritis/Lupus and Fibromyalgia. I wanted the world to know the good, the bad, the crappy, the great and the ACCOMPLISHMENTS that CAN happen despite the WHY that we say due to our disease.

And wow…since my DX so much has happened! I finished a Master’s degree (never thought that would happen!). I successfully flew to Rwanda, Africa! I saw Africa…with my own eyes…walked on African ground…a dream come true (and yes I want to go back AGAIN!).  I applied and was accepted to an EdD program (WOW! on the first try!!). And I have managed (so far..knock on wood) to go to class and pass the classes! AMAZING!! And wow God blessed me even more by being named a Barbara Jackson Scholar! WOW!!! DOUBLE WOW!!

And next week I will be going to present at my first conference! WOW! Yes I am nervous but I am excited! Yes I’m picturing the moment where I get up there and choke! I’m picturing all the people staring at me as I start walking up to present! But you know what…I’m going to practice and I am going to be confident. I can do this, I will do this..despite asking my WHY I will finish these classes I have begun! I have to finish..not just for me…but for others with this same journey!

I asked WHY this past Tuesday! I spent so much time the rest of last week and this weekend..just thinking. So many thoughts went through my head and I will tell you the moments of that day will be forever in my brain. I asked WHY a lot last week….I am still asking WHY! I am still anxious ( I guess you would call it that) about going to work tomorrow. The campus doesn’t feel the same…one day though I hope it does….but the key is to keep moving forward. To keep pushing for that peace we once felt on the campus. The key is to acknowledge what we lost (we lost our safety, we lost our peace) and to realize that most of all we have each other. That this journey of healing does not have to be just US! We can ask WHY but we still have to say ….I will get up tomorrow and I will move forward!

So yes as you can see I have asked WHY MANY MANY MANY times in my life…I look back over the years of my RA/Lupus/ Fibro journey and go wow…how life has changed. How much I have grown up! So much has happened…so much has changed…I’m growing up…I’m growing older..my journey is bloosoming…one day at a time!

I encourage you…ask WHY! cry WHY! scream WHY! But most importantly….focus yourself despite the WHY!

We will be successful…we won’t let RA/Lupus/Fibro win! Yes we suffer, yes the fibro fog is so bad we cannot figure out how to turn our car on some days (myself include)…but you know what…we can laugh about those moments (maybe not at that moment but in time). And we can lean on each other to get through our tough days! :)

So to the world out there…here is a future doctor…I cannot wait to see how I can change the world…even though I am asking WHY!

 

 

It did happen…

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I woke up this morning and I think my first thought was …wow yesterday did happen. It was surreal returning to campus this morning…the fog was heavy and as I drove by the school for my entrance it was hard to believe that just yesterday our campus was crawling with SWAT, HRT, canine units, FBI,  and many more law enforcement officials. The campus was so quiet today….staff/faculty and students were still in shock. I cannot help how tomorrow will feel because the T/TH students (those who come) will be the students who were for sure there on that day…yes that day! The day we won’t forget!

I’m reminded how insensitive the news can be…the reports have not necessarily been the most accurate. I was reminded how cruel people can be asking questions like “Did you see anything good”, “did you see a lot of blood”, “oh you are fine now”, “how was it hiding under a desk” and much more. I think even more painful to read are the text messages saying things are good and I must be ok! Ok….that would not be the word I would use today! I won’t be ok for awhile!

The comforting texts were the ones simply saying “I thought of you today” Those texts spoke volumes of comfort! So tonight…again I’m catching myself replaying for the 100th time the events of yesterday (not last year…not another lifetime…not someone elses’ story…my story). Yes again…we didn’t have the outcome other campuses have experienced, praise God for that…but we went through a traumatic experience no one should go through anywhere much less where you are going to school. You expect to be safe..you want to be safe on a college campus. It is so sad with that haven of safety has been torn down.

I will never forget the words that brought fear to us all…I will never forget the fear in students eyes, the panic they felt, and I hope that if nothing else we can grow through this and use it for good…..

So today…just processing…

 

The Ups and Downs

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There is always an up and a down in life….I have experienced that over the past three weeks. There might be one day that I feel alright to do something, so I leave my house and go out (like today it was Sunday School).  But then after going out…I get body slammed back to square one. By the time I made it home after Sunday School, my throat was soooo sore! If I don’t get any better by tomorrow morning I will make a doctor’s appointment for sometime this week.

At least I made some progress with homework (an UP)!!! I have one small paper (5 pages) due and then I will have everything done for this week. So that is my one to do list for tomorrow. Then I hope to get ahead for next week, my goal is to stay ahead if possible…that way if I get tired or end up really sick I won’t be too far behind.

The ups and downs on this disease …..is very hard! It is very frustrating but yet again it is just part of living with a disease that will be part of my life until someone figures out a cure. That is not to say I don’t believe in miraculous healing (I def do) but sometimes I think we are so fast to want our burden/cross gone out of our life…that we forget to think maybe through that burden/cross we will be blessed. I know it sounds odd…you are like really…my life can be “blessed” because of my Rheumatoid Arthritis or my Fibromyalgia…have you lost your mind!  And yes it is a very different way to look at things I guess..but that is my approach. I could spend days praying (which I do) for a cure/to be healed…and then I would probably be frustrated because I would expect it to happen like yesterday. I would walk around going God really why haven’t you healed me yet…I have prayed and prayed??? I can picture God looking at me going…really JJ…why don’t you try and see the GOOD, the BLESSINGS, the FAITH, the WISDOM and the COMPASSION that  these diseases/this journey have grown in YOU! Because yes honestly I have grown up so much with these diseases!!!   Despite the ups and downs…it seems like I keep on learning…which is a good thing.

So today…despite a down…I am happy that I can see something positive! I am happy that I know there will be another UP soon :) . I am excited for my classes…it seems like being back in school is exciting and it makes me want to get back into journals etc. so I can start writing studies. I am excited to be working on my computer and reading books on qualitative design. But to prevent another DOWN, I am working hard on BALANCING. Today I did not take a nap :( and I am thinking that is what let to this current down.

Tip from walkingthrough.com…REST/BALANCE :) It is HARD especially for someone like me but YOU HAVE TO REST AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!! This I say to myself ….over and over and over and over again! :)

Signing off..I hope my ramblings are coherent…I’m ready for my nap..wait my bed :)

 

 

A Day of Rest

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Well obviously God knew that (a) I wasn’t ready to quit being on vacation and (b) that I just needed more rest. And since I wouldn’t listen I had to get majorly sick! LOL! Well probably not but that is one of the reasonings that is going on in my head tonight. My throat is worse, and I woke up feeling like I have the flu (wow that ER doc was smart!!! DARN!). Fever has been up…and it has been down….and currently it is going up! YAY ME NOTT!!!!

But Molly and I have cuddled on the couch…we have watched a TON of Netflix (getting my money’s worth LOL!). And tomorrow I am hoping to work on my paper. For some reason this paper is hard to start…I’m not sure if it because I work best under pressure these days or I just REALLY don’t want to give up my vacation. The paper right now is 29 pages but because I added some stuff in my brief introduction I need to add a bit more..and we are talking small small things and maybe it is because I know they are so small…that I am procrastinating. Nevertheless I hope it gets done tomorrow.

I’m hoping my fever is permanently gone tomorrow!! That would be nice. I never know how bad a fever could wrack my poor RA/Fibro body. The joint pain I have had the past two days has been unreal. Even with my Lyrica…seems like I have taken nothing. And then it seems like my body has knives stuck in it and then for kicks my joints all swollen and twisted (we are talking every joint). Hmmm I’ll be SOOO ready for this day to pass.

What have I learned from this experience??? I have no immune system, zip zero nada…at least not one to talk about! When I can get sick and within 12hrs be majorly majorly ill….there is no immune system working there! BUT that also tells me that within a month I have managed to knock down my immune system so “hopefully” if I can balance the side effects…my RA should start to improve! YAY!

I have also been able to spend some time researching RA, RA meds and stuff like that. I never knew how little I knew about my diseases until I started to research. I was not aware of all the TNF stuff ,the DMARD stuff etc. Why should I care about it all?? Mostly because I keep getting so many questions about Rheumatoid Arthritis. Such as what does it do, why does it hurt so bad because it is just arthritis right???? And why on earth would I or do I take autoimmune suppressants??? That’s wrong right?? What causes it???

Thank goodness I love to research because it takes time. I didn’t take much time before but hey what else can I do….I have no voice, no immune system and am contagious so I’m staying homebound. LOL! It is a sign.. I needed to do this research LOL! (probably a sign to do my paper too….God knew it wasn’t ready!!!)

Another positive of staying home…I found the West Wing on Netflix!! SCORE!! So I’m going to go watch more tv, I’m going to rest and hopefully tomorrow…some improvements will be seen!!! :P

 

End of a Year

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It is pouring rain outside and for the United States (East Coast) 2013 is less than 50 minutes away. Here in the Central states we will soon follow an hour after that….wow yes 2013 is knocking at the door! What a year 2012 has been! I cannot help but think about all the things that this year has brought!

Some of the major blessings of this year include:

* I finished my first YEAR of my Ed.D with a 4.0GPA! That to me is unbelievable, completing a doctorate is hard enough for a “normally healthy” individual much less a person who fights RA/Lupus/Fibro and for this whole year was off treatment! That to me is a miracle!

* I found some of my closest friends this year and I have used my unlimited text messages :P Whether my friends are in PA or right down the road, I have found some precious gems. Their sincerity and genuineness has been a God send this year, I am so thankful this year!

*This time last year I was wrought with heart ache and sorrow of having experienced one of the deepest hurts I have felt in life. I made choices then that I knew would impact my life greatly. But I made a choice to do what I knew was right not what I knew sounded better. I learned that I valued integrity above money, above friends, above a job…I guess above everything. A blessing through that major trial last year (while I did not know it then) was  that now I realize how much I grew! I realize that I am stronger now, more mature now and if faced with the same painful decision, I would do it again. Why? Because I saw, that God blesses through the storms and that God has a plan. I might not (and probably won’t) know why or how…but things will work out

* I passed through another year of living with my RA and I am still here today fighting just as hard as last year! That to me is a blessings. Yes there were many times this year where I was so hurt and felt alone. I was tired of people’s failing to check in, people failing to have words to say to me so they said nothing at all. I was hurt many times this year by people seeming to be uncaring or thoughtless. But then now that I think about it….I grew so much in my knowledge of myself and this disease. You know what (and this can just be me) but to “win” with this disease we have to know ourselves and how we function with this disease…alone and with people. The journey of knowing how we function with Rheumatoid Arthritis/Lupus/Fibromylagia alone is painful, scary and depressing but when we can know that…we learn how much we value the FEW (yes the FEW) people who WANT to walk that journey with us.

* I celebrated a 3rd year of marriage! We made it three years! :) My husband and I faced this dx not even 6 months after our marriage….imagine being a newlywed and hearing the news. The news that your body will be wracked with pain, crippling pain. That it WILL NOT be cured, that it WILL BE life-altering. That yes there is medicine but (and those of you on it the meds know) the medicine is horrible for you, causing a limitless amount of side effects and damage to major organs/skin/etc. I know if I was outside looking in and I read one pamphlet about my medicine and I did not have to take it….gosh I would read the paper and go HECK NO! But me..my choice is I take it and suffer the side effects or do not take it and suffer even more excruciating pain…what a choice right!

There have been MANY more positives but those are some that come to mind right away. Yet with positives are hardships too….

*Disconnected is the word that come to mind. I am a doctoral student and when I am in semester….life has one focus…STUDYING/RESEARCHING! I feel so disconnected from friends who get very tired of my cancelling or never going to anything. I get tired of little to no sleep and little to no rest. But I keep telling myself despite this SACRIFICE to my life, my marriage, and friends…this will be worth it!

*Insincerity! I have grown so very very very tired of the insincere people that I gross paths with on a regular basis. I have grown so tired this year of people who have to ask the same hurtful questions every time I see them – “how are you feeling???”, or “you look great today are you feeling better.” The answer DOES NOT CHANGE, I am always in pain…it does not help me to have you ask me about it every time you see me! I have grown so painfully tired of people who feign concern but NEVER check on how I am doing. People who when you talk to them seem so concerned but yet cannot find time in their busy busy day to text/email/tweet/facebook/etc. to see how I am doing. I know you might not know what to say, or grow tired of hearing the same answer (then don’t ask). If you don’t care about me that’s fine, if you don’t know what to say that is fine….but come out to my face and say it. I have grown VERY tired of insincere people.

—–I will say though that I have realize how hard it is to care about and for someone who is chronically/painfully ill. It takes a lot of patience and work on both parties part. I get that and I hope it does not sound mean to say what I have said. I do not mean it in a mean way…but sometimes I think we hesitate to say things and we wish later I had…I guess 2013 is my year to say things! :)

* I have grown tired of my pain! I have grown tired of every day waking up in pain from the moment my eyes open until the moment my eyes close. The constant pain when I try to open a coke bottle, sit down, drive, get dressed, put makeup on etc. Everything shows me how old my body feels and how much pain I have in life. The pain is tiring!

—–That said I have learned the true help to me writing it has been to journal about this life of pain. It helps me to share that yes I have ups and downs but still I am getting things done in life. I am still achieving my dreams!

 

As you can see there has been much that has gone in this year of 2012! Good, bad, positive and negative. It has been a memorable year…and I am thankful for all things I have experienced. I look forward to 2013 with many positive thoughts!

 

I look forward to hopefully finding a connection at my church, to completing a second year in my doctoral program (my almost last year of coursework), and  to growing with my cohort through this year. I am excited to see where I can serve, the people I will meet, the new friends I will make and the old friends that will become even more like my family. I look forward to hopefully seeing research come one step closer to a cure for our invisible illness! I look forward to hopefully getting adjusted to my Arava and Lyrica so that I am not so exhausted and sick….or that I can at least get stuff done despite being exhausted and sick!

So much more but I will end here for tonight! To all I wish a Happy New Year, a wonderful and blessed 2013! May we all make positive changes this year and through our journeys touch the life of someone else!

Goodbye 2012 and Hello 2013!

Hang in there

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I don’t know …maybe it is just me but this week is going to be a tough one! Major final on Wednesday and then a final paper due on Friday! AHHH!! Yes screaming at the top of my lungs…if it would solve anything lol! BUT one good thing…I made it to service today! I loved the message, very encouraging. I realize the most important thing in life staying close to the Heavenly Father. For me, my faith has become a critically important aspect to living! That said, I have realized over the past few weeks I have let spending time in prayer and reading God’s word slip. I’m sure I am not alone…we get crazy busy and those things tend to slide but you know….I hate to say it….when I am stressed or in trouble…that is when I cry out to the Lord. The truth is though…he is not a vending machine that I can go put money in and get a caffeine drink to keep me awake whenever I need it. Sometimes I think I am guilty of doing that…running to him when I need something and not dwelling or keeping that relationship close when things are fine and dandy. So that was my conviction of today, keeping my faith as a priority not as something I do whenever I have time…honestly I doubt I would ever have the time if I did not make the time!

Another positive for today!!! I finished the ROUGH ROUGH ROUGH draft of my paper!! It has been peer-reviewed twice today..it is on hold until tomorrow afternoon and then I will work on editing it a bit more. This paper counts for a lot so I want a REALLY good paper! And I also was able to be on my study group this afternoon! We spent two whole hours on statistical terms etc. Whew! Talk about a brain fry! But that is ok, just a few more days and this term is over! Def. know I will need MAJOR prayer over the summer…I take advanced statistics over a 10 week summer term!! OMG!! Ok well I have a few months before that reality comes so pray for me!

I’m off to cover 6 chapters of statistics, more or less refreshing myself on things I know! I’m taking a deep breath, breathing in and out, trusting if my God, knowing that I will do my best and the rest is in God’s mighty hands! I’m praying my FIBRO fog doesn’t hit me until Friday night (pray with me on that), I’m praying that my RA pain especially in my knees, hips, ankles and hands is held at bay until Friday night (wow a whole week…..praying!!!). God has an awesome plan for my life, he has an awesome plan for me in this doctoral program….whether this class is my first B in a LONG time, my first C in a long time or by God’s grace my FIRST A in a doc stats course EVER….HIS HANDS/HIS PLAN! And I will give God the glory for He is good.

So off to study…I will keep you posted on one TOUGH week of this semester!

Also if you could send positive thoughts for my cough and cold are STILL hanging in there! Praise God my insurance kicks in Sunday!! WOOHOO!! :)