Where did Septmeber go?

School is now in full swing for both Andrew and I. I had my first test last week. I did pretty good compared to the others in my class. My grade was in the middle of the highest and the lowest scores.
September has been a busy month for me. Andrew had Adam Lambert a few weekends ago and it's been non stop since!
Here's a few pictures from the concert:





Andrew even got us Autographed photos!! It was a really great show! I love his music not his lifestyle!!
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My mom turned 50 on the 18. My sisters and I had been planning over a month to throw her a surpise party! She was so exicted and had no idea until she walked into Harvey's and saw all of their friends! I loved her face when she walked in!! I love you, MOM! I hope you had a great birthday!!




I had a twin for the night if you haven't noticed! Carlie and I bought the same dress from Macy's last year in St. Louis! We didn't know we were wearing the same dress until I looked on her bed to see what she was wearing! I think we looked cute!!





I also got to see my precious niece Jaylee!! She has grown so much since the last time I saw her! She has some big beautiful Blue eyes!!





We had a blast sharing my mom's and dad's birthday!! Yes, my parents have the same birthday. My dad is three years younger! I truly love my family!!

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Yesterday, one of my best friends from high school got married!! Dana looked beautiful! I have pictures from the reheaseral, after party (where we did are nails) , and wedding! I will post a few!! You will see Dana and Eric, Stephanie, Mandi, and a new friend Amanda!! We had all cried a little!! It was such a great day!!









Stephanie and her wild hair!! LOL I told her I would post this on Facebook, but I had to put it on here!!









Don't cry Dana!! Mandi wiping the tears away!!

Last Days of Summer, Ladies Night Out, and First Week of School

I know it's been a while since I've posted something fun. So here it is! The last days of Summer were bitter sweet for me! I realized that this past Summer has been one of the best Summers of my life. Andrew went on trips and really had time to enjoy being married! I did get a lot of items on my to-do list marked off. I've cleaned the house so much this summer that I'm sick of cleaning. I've also read many of the books that Jake's mom gave me! I have also just sat around and been LAZY! I think being lazy has been my favorite part!
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A couple of weeks ago, we had Lady's Night Out with my church ladies! We always have a blast getting to know one another better!! We went to Olive Garden to eat then back to the church to play a game and talk! Here are a few pictures that I took that night!


It's always fun getting together with these lovely ladies!!
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I have officially started school! I was extremely overwhelmed when I left my first class last Wednesday which was A&P II. I know that this is what God wants me to do and He will be there with me through it all! I'm really excited about school and going to clinicals! Nursing is such a great field to work it! I can't wait to share my life with my future patients!


Just a few pictures of me getting ready for the rest of my life! I'm truly blessed to have made it to Nursing School!

The Journal Can Come to an End

Today marks the one year anniversary of my last surgery in Birmingham. I was finally going to get rid of the bag forever! I have never wanted a surgery so bad in my life. I knew then that all my pain and suffering would finally come to an end.
I had to be in Birmingham at 7 that morning to be prepped and ready at 8. My parents had already told Andrew and I that they wanted go drive over the night before so we could sleep for as long as we could that next morning. We stayed at the hotel across the street from the hospital. It was very nice and that's where my parents had stayed before.
We got up the next morning and went across the street to get checked in. I was very excited that I didn't sleep much the night before. Why did I need to sleep when they were going to put me to sleep was my thought! I only sat in the waiting room for about 15 minutes before I was called back to start getting ready. I went back again without anyone there to hold my hand. I was much more calm about this surgery than I was with any of my other ones. They have me a gown to put on that didn't cover anything. I was starting to get a little nervous but tried to stay calm. Andrew and my parents got to come back when all of my prep work was done which didn't take very long.
Once they came back, my drs. that were going to be in surgery with me came by to check in as well as the nurses. I worried about my care due to the fact that two of the nurses were wearing Auburn scrubs! I just looked at Andrew, who was wearing the script A of Alabama, and asked them why do you like Auburn? One nurse said well I'm paying them a lot of money right now so my daughter can go to school there so I thought it would be nice if I showed them a little of my support. I let her go but the other nurse just said because she liked them! And of course in my mind I was thinking Roll Tide the whole time!! I told her that we were going to beat them that year in Football!
Also, the person that puts you to sleep came in (I'm not even going to try to spell that word!). I can't remember his name, but I liked him. He made me laugh to keep me from thinking about what was going to happen next. He sat with me until they took me back. He was a black guy. At that point, I didn't care who was in there with me. I know that almost every dr. in GI had seen me naked, and I could careless if anyone now sees me naked! I have lost some of my modesty! I have also heard that when you have a baby that you lose some too but by then, I may not have any left! Ha!
I was in a nice size room with a tv and my own private bathroom. I loved this room. The last few times I've been down there, I have had to walk across the whole floor to get to the restroom. I felt like a queen that day because of the privacy of my own bathroom!
I was only in that room for about 30 minutes before they were ready to take me back. Then the nerves really sat in. Kissed Andrew and my parents bye and told all of them that I loved them. I knew I would be back in a little while. All of them seemed to be strong and they didn't seem worried at all. Knowing that they were ok, made me feel more comfortable!
Andrew was rather calm this surgery. He was thinking I can finally have my wife back and was ready for me to get back to my old self again.
Surgery only lasted for about an hour and a half. I was in post-op for about 5. Andrew was really worried because they said that surgery would only take about an hour. They wanted to make sure that everything was right before they let me out of the OR.
I remember waking up and asking for Andrew and some water. My nurse, who was just wonderful, gave me some ice chips because I couldn't have water yet and told me that I was just waiting for a room and then I could see Andrew.
I had be waiting for about 30 minutes awake when I noticed someone was placed in the cubby next to me. My nurse was talking to the nurse for that patient to see what floor they were going to and she told her 7p. My nurse told her that was where I was going.
That patient got in a room before me! I was hurt. That patient sat down there for about an hour before they got a room! It kind of made my nurse mad. It's not that she didn't like me, but I was down there first and she felt that she had been over looked. She got all of it straighted out and I was there for about another 30 minutes before I got to a room.
Once I finally got to my room, I got to see all of my family again. They were nervous because at one time they had be told a room, and it turned out to be the wrong room. UAB just didn't have their stuff together that day.
I had the sweetest nurse that night until 7. I called her several times about itching! I clawing myself! I was also on a morphine pain pump. She finally talked to my dr. about getting off of it by this time I had just had my second dose of Benadryl and was asking for the Benadryl cream. They brought me the tube and in five minutes we had used half the tube! I was miserable!
My dr. was Dr. Phillips. He was from Vandy and liked Tennessee. Bless him is what I thought for liking TN. He also had a girlfriend. I thought he had the cutest red hair. He took me off of it and told me that he wanted to put me on oral pain relievers because I would be on them when I got home. Yes! Finally some relief from itching!! So, my nurse came back and asked if I wanted anything for pain before she took me off the pump. I told her I was fine but she insisted that I take something. She knew that it was best because it's hard to get the pain level down once the pain reliever has worn off some! I took something, and I'm glad I did.
I had been doing well. I had started solid food again. I walked the hall the night of sugery. I was ready to get out of there! Until Saturday rolled around. I was doing ok until I didn't eat breakfast when I asked for something for pain. Yep, it made me sick! I was going to go home that day because I had been doing so well, but Dr. Phillips wanted to keep me to make sure that that's what caused me to be sick.
My nurse was from Russia! She was sweet also! I asked her if she like here or Russia and of course she said here! I also walked to see my nurse Sharonda from the first two surgeries. She was so excited to see that I was there to have the reversal and hated that I wasn't on her side of the floor. She told me that her and the other nurses argued over who was going to get to have me as a patient. They said I was the sweet patient on the floor!
I got to go home on Sunday! I was so excited! Andrew and I stayed in Tupelo that night and drove home on Monday. I was finally going to get to have some time to heal! God was with me the whole time. I could feel all the prayers that had been said for me! I was finally going to have a UC free life!

Senior Year, Starting Nursing School, and 2 Months Old

Over the weekend, Andrew and I went home to visit family before school kicks in high gear next week for the both of us. My parents wanted to celebrate the new beginnings of our lives stones that are going on in a few of our lives.
My older sister, Carlie, is a senior this year. It's weird to me that she's that old now. She's not a baby anymore. It also doesn't seem real to me that I'm going to be 23 in a few months. I'm proud of the young woman that she has become! If I could give her any advice it would be to keep your sweet spirit and always look to God for all your decisions in life!! God loves you and so do I!
I start Nursing School at Baptist on the 1st of September. I'm so excited! I went to buy books yesterday. They were not as expensive as I thought they would be, but I haven't all of them yet. I just need my A&P II lab manual. Maybe it won't be too much.
Jaylee's 2 months old! Time sure has flown since she was born. She is about 11 pounds now and went to have her shots two days before we went out to eat. Needless to say, she didn't feel very well at Outback that night! She also slept most of the time we were out!
We had a great time over the weekend. I got my hair colored while we were there, and Andrew got his hair cut. We didn't have time to get my cut but maybe in a few weeks I can get it cut! Love you, Laura!
Carlie and I


Andrew and I


My parents and I


My older sister, Brooke, and my brother-in-law, Jonathan

As the Journal Continues Part 2

Well, the day has finally come that I got to go back to Birmingham. I would actually go back tomorrow if I was really keeping up with the dates. I have had many sleepless nights because of the stupid bag and have cried myself to sleep so many times I can't count! I called on Thursday before my Pouchogram to ask Emily, Dr. Cannon's nurse, a few questions. I can bet I know what you're thinking. And yes I did ask that question! I asked if everything looked good the next day could I have surgery next week. I wanted it done before Labor Day. She said I could and put me down for 8 am the following Thursday if everything looked good! I was so excited. I called everyone and told them that they needed to keep next Thursday down on their calendar for me for surgery! Plus Andrew had something going on at work on Labor day weekend, and I really wanted him there. Everyone in my family wanted the surgery to be the last weekend in August because of everything going on. My dad was working 60 hours a week and that's about the same for Andrew. It just so happened that everything kind of claimed down that weekend.
I went to Birmingham on an empty stomach. This now made about six trips to Birmingham on an empty stomach!! I was starving! I went in with a huge smile on my face because I just knew that I would be having surgery next week. I went to the third floor to have the test ran then upstairs to Dr. Cannon's waiting room. Mike, my father-in-law, went with me again! Everyone else was in school, and my parents wanted to keep their days for when I had surgery so they could be there the whole time to help us. I was finally called back to see Dr. Cannon, and she could tell on my face that I was sick of the bag and was ready to get reid of it!
Dr. Cannon told me that the problem spot, which was scar tissue, that she saw last time was still there, but it was fine! I could have the surgery! I was so excited!! My prayers have been answered! She left the room to check her calendar. When, she came back she said that she could do it on the week before Labor Day. I wanted to cry. I asked her, "What about the reservation that I made yesterday for last week?" with tears in my eyes! She said oh yea that is you at 8 a.m. next Thursday morning! She went to get Emily to start my paperwork for next week! I have never been that happy to know that I was going to have surgery the every next week!! I know I'm dumb for wanting to have surgery but with all the trouble that I had had with that stupid bag I was excited about that surgery!! Dr. Cannon kept telling me that I would more than likely have the hang of it when it was time to get reid of the bag, and she was right. By this time, I was myself getting a bag to stay on for about 3 to 4 days!! That was great because it had been every day or two!
When we got out of the dr., I got on the phone with Andrew to tell him the news then my parents so they all could take off to be there! Then as my father-in-law date day was going on we went to our favorite restuarant for lunch!! Nikki's West!! That was such a great meal!
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Before I went to the dr., the ladies at church started a bible study on Thursday nights. I started not knowing what I would learn from it! The study was Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. I was excited about this class because it gave me something to do because Andrew and I thought it would be best if I sat this semster out of school due to the surgery and recovery that I was going to go through. Like I said in earlier post this was a really hard time for the both of us. This study also was hard for me to do. It was exactly what I needed that put me closer to God and my husband. I cried while reading most of the first few chapters. I also was still in some ways still mad at God. I was yet to figure out why I was going through all of this. I also kept telling Andrew and everyone at chruch that I wanted to come home to Hernando to recover from this last surgery. I wanted to be home because that's where I thought I need to be.
One day before I left for my last surgery, Paige and I went to eat lunch, and we spent the rest of the afternoon together. She told me a few days before to be reading Isaiah 43. We discussed this over lunch. For the ones of you that don't know, Paige was in a really bad car wreck a few years ago. She's in ICU for over seven weeks. Her husband, Brian, was told everyday that she wasn't going to make it. When she finally got out, she was like me mad at God. She went to these verses that helped her through this really tough time in her life, and they really help me as well.
One Saturday night I was sitting in my bed asking God, What am I suppose to learn from this. I was almost in tears. Then, I started thinking about all the nurses that helped me while I was in the hospital. I was thinking God are you serious that you want me to become a nurse. He was telling me yes. I was thinking I don't know if I can do this. I'm just one year away from graduating from U of Mississippi with a degree in Education! You mean you want me to start over! That's what He wanted. I told Andrew the next day because he was working late and wasn't home until about 2:30that next morning. He was happy for me and this idea. Christina, whom I go to church with and have gotten really close to, had told her mom several months earlier how much you want to bet that she will change her major to nursing after all is said and done! I was shocked to know that so many people had started to think this. Andrew had had the feeling too! I know why it took me so long to understand is because I didn't want to hear it! I didn't want to be a nurse now. I did when I was young but not now. It's hard to get into, and it's hard to go to school for it.
I was so happy with all the support I had gotten from everyone about changing my major! God will do anything to put you on the journey that He wants you to go on. I have also noticed that He hasn't ever left my side during this whole journey when at times I thought He had!