We are making progress! Kip's only complaint with our food challenge, is that he isn't as full as he would normally be and finds himself snacking in the afternoon more. Now, you would think this was a negative thing, but it's really not. We are still trying to find a balance for him. Being in the medical field, you wake up before the rest of the world. That means your breakfast is super early. On days that I work, I eat a little something before I leave the house (around 5:50 am) and then by the time 9:30 am rolls around, I am eating another breakfast because I am STARVING. Okay, back to Kip.... he eats breakfast at the house before he leaves and then has some almonds for a snack before lunch and some sort of dried fruit for the afternoon. And that is all he takes with him. So, as you can see, that is not enough food for a grown man. I try to encourage him to take more snacks and he does not. So..... hopefully he will stop being silly and just pack more food and then he will be fine. Otherwise, he seems to be enjoying our food challenge. All of the meals have been delicious. Every night after dinner though, he says "how good would a cookie cake be?" [Confession: before this, I used to buy a cookie cake every week at the grocery store with as much icing as possible. He LOVES icing. We would eat that every night for dessert]

These meals are so delicious, easy to cook and not time consuming!

I even cook when I get home from work (which I always do, but usually it isn't a meal that's good for you, those

take too long...but not anymore!)

I, for one, am loving our new lifestyle. I truly feel like I have more energy. I woke up at 6:45am this morning, on my day off, without an alarm and without still feeling tired! That is pretty big for me. I don't sleep late, but I rarely wake up (especially after I've worked for a few days) and feel energized. I even feel bad when we cheat and look forward to my next meal that fits the criteria. The weekend is hard we have realized. Especially since we have gotten to have 2, yes 2! weekends off, in a row, together. We have felt like normal people!

We had lunch with friends that just moved back to town. Their 4 year old insisted that we all color while waiting for our food. He was so cute, if you stopped coloring, he would say "will you please keep coloring"

We had such a fun weekend. Kip took his boards Friday and to celebrate we went to dinner and then had drinks with some friends. When we went for drinks, a bunch of residents were there and when we walked in, everybody cheered for Kip and congratulated him on being done with his boards. It is a proud moment for a wife. Of course I was proud of him, but I loved seeing his colleges share that feeling too.  I just love seeing them all support each other so much. When you are in the medical field, your colleges start to feel a little like family. You see them more than your family, you work together through really hard times/circumstances and you spend most holidays with them! Such a unique lifestyle that is hard for most people to understand

The last 2 days at work were....hmm.... good, but different. When I was getting report Monday morning, I learned that I would be taking care of a patient that was a few days post-partum. My heart instantly dropped and to be honest, I was a little mad. "Why did they give me this girl to take care of?? Don't they know how hard it will be to hear all about the baby??" Well, I actually had 2 really good days. Monday morning, my mind was swirling with thoughts "why did God put me in this situation?" "What lesson am I supposed to be learning from this?" "How is this situation going to benefit me?" And then, my charge nurse approached me later into the morning and talked to me about how difficult the assignment probably was for me to have, but that God put me there for a reason. I, more than anyone else on the unit, could empathize with this new young mother. I could be supportive because I know how hard it is to not have that baby in your arms (her baby is doing better, being discharged soon) The patient, was not able to do things for herself, so a lactation consultant came to help me hook up a pump to her to relieve her. I didn't think much about this until we were standing there, pumping this girl and I could feel the tears trying to come out. Sounds strange, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't help but to wonder if I would ever need to do this for myself, would I ever even get the opportunity or has that door closed now? I was dreading going back on Tuesday. Thinking to myself, I know they are going to want to see the baby today {I knew mom would be doing better by that point and able to see baby} And I was right. I was nervous. How am I going to go to the NICU and see this mother embrace her baby and hold her baby and then be surrounded by other babies and meanwhile, my arms will be empty, like usual. But again, I was wrong. I was happy to know that I was able to make that visit possible. I was happy to see the joy on her face. And seeing dad walk in, his 2 girls reunited, brought the biggest grin to his face that there was no hiding. He was literally smiling ear to ear and so relieved to see both of his girls doing so well. Those are the times that God surprises you. I was so concerned with what the situation was going to do for ME, when it wasn't about me at all. It was what I could do for that situation. Tuesday morning before work, I prayed for strength. I prayed to be able to handle what the day had in store. I prayed that I would continue to trust His calendar and His plan, and to trust in it all without anxiety. And my prayers were answered. I hope all of that makes sense. It is hard to truly explain something when I am trying to not violate HIPPA and patient privacy