New Year's and lots more!

I have to say this was my favorite New Year's Eve celebration in quite some time. The reason being is because I got a job offer!!!! I am officially a hospice social worker!!!! Yeah!!!

It's been fun because literally it has been about 10 years ago that I first heard of hospice as a freshman in college. The day I heard about it, I'm pretty sure I went home and told my college roommates that I would work for a hospice someday.

I loved the organization and everything they were about. I wanted to be a part of it and so I became a hospice volunteer. I loved this perspective on life that I had as a college student taking a few hours out of my week to go and sit with hospice patients while their caretakers went to get groceries or to get their hair done.

I had one patient that I really enjoyed spending time with. He was a sweet sweet little man and his wife was even sweeter! I loved being in their little apartment. Not too much happened. We just sat quietly in the living room together. Sometimes we would talk and sometimes we wouldn't. We didn't watch tv or listen to the radio. We just sat together and listened to the oxygen machine drone. It was such a change from my crazy life on campus with my roommates! ;)

After I graduated and worked for three years in Pittsburgh I finally applied to grad school which took some proding from some good friends and family. I did not think I would be accepted or if I got accepted I did not think I could do it part time and still work. I had every excuse.

I actually thrived in grad school. I got the best grades I had ever had. My advisor was awesome! He helped me finish the program sooner than I thought and he was such an encouragement through my whole time there with working part-time, getting engaged during mid-terms, moving an hour away and then getting pregnant!!! I can't believe I had good grades through all of that!

I loved my field placements with the two hospice programs that I worked with in PA. I learned so much from the people that I observed and worked with everyday.

This truly is a dream come true for me. I told a friend today on the phone that I am finally doing what I was created to do!

So, thanks for listening to all of my reminishing. On to the details. I work for Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care. They have an inpatient unit at a hospital on the south side of Chicago, which is where we live. The hospital is called Holy Cross Hospital. We have a whole wing of a floor that is for our hospice patients only that need some extra help with symptoms that may be out of control, respite for their caretakers and other things that might come up. It is busy enough to need a full time social worker and that is what they are getting! I can't wait to begin on the unit!

My orientation started on thursday (the 8th). I will be in orientation/training until Jan. 30th and then I am on my own on the unit! I am so thankful for the in depth training this organization provides. I feel very confident that I have the support of the organization and can do a good job with how well they are preparing me.

It's so funny because usually orientation is boring, but I love it!!! I love talking about the different components of the team and learning Seasons angle on things!

Well, I'm sure that you have heard enough about the job! On to more important things like pictures of Norah.

We drove to Madison, WI on New Year's Eve weekend, which is where Josh's oldest brother and sister-in-law live, Tim and Marisa and their dog Bailey.

Norah loves Bailey. I think Norah started to get on Bailey's nerves by the end because she got so much attention. Bailey just took it in stride and exited the room if Norah was running around crazy!

We went to a resturant for lunch one of the days. Marisa offered to be on Norah duty. Norah was being very sweet and I thought this was a cute picture!

Uncle Tim decided that since he missed Norah's actual birthday he was going to make her a cake and hand decorate it!

Here are the two of them with the final product!

In case you are wondering what is on the cake, it is the Quake symbol, which is a video game that Tim liked from when he was younger. It was great!

Norah enjoyed that cake!

One of the nights we were there some Madison friends came over and Marisa put the beer in the cooler and loaded it up with some extra snow that they found in Madison!

We came home sunday night because Josh started classes again on monday. Here are he and Norah getting back into the grind of studying!

I spent monday and tuesday with Norah visiting my former co-workers! None of them had met Norah before so it was really fun to take her to meet them. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures with anyone.

Norah did fall completely asleep on the bus on tuesday when we went downtown to Rush University. I thought she looked so peaceful so I snapped a picture!

In our time together at home Norah threw our remote for the computer inside the depths of one of her toys. I tried for about 10 minutes to get this thing out and then ended up taking the toy apart to get the remote out!

Norah has also started drinking from a straw! I think it's so cute! She loves it and it's a great way to get her to drink more water! The cup is from my grandparents. We used to use them when we went on vacation with them in their trailer when we went camping!

She's so big!!!