How is your garden growing?

This spring has started off very warm. It made both David and I eager to get outside and do our planting. This was going to be our first attempt at a vegetable garden. We have spent months planning it out, researching, reading (okay maybe not all that, but we have talked about it and talked to other gardeners.) David especially was eager to get the seeds in. Finally in the last weeks, with the chance of frost gone for good we have gotten them in. It has been fun everyday to go out and look at the dirt wondering if anything has "popped" yet. I can again tell, I'm not a patient person and thus maybe not the best gardener. It will definitely be an adventure. This is mostly David's "baby" and I'm just around to give support (advice) I'm also proud that I squeezed in getting in all my flower pots and annuals in this weekend. Despite some rain and warm temperatures I got it all done. I always have high hopes of doing more, but with 2 small children I think I'll settle for this.

My favorite thing to water, feed, and help grow into wonderful human beings!

Here's looking forward to a wonderful summer!!

Update

I realize it has been awhile since I blogged. I also have realized that maybe there are some unanswered questions to things I have recently blogged about. So here is a little update.

1. Samuel has completed all his respiratory testing and followed up the pulmonologist. All the testing has come back normal, so for now we are calling it Asthma or Wheezing associated respiratory illness depending on who you talk too. He is on a daily nebulizer in the morning and handling that quite well. We are thankful that he has made it through this period and now appears back to his happy, busy self. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers during this time.

2. The nurses did vote to authorize a ONE DAY strike. A lot of details are still unknown. We don't know when it will occur and there is talk the hospital could "lock us out." for another 5-7 days. I think we are all just hoping that this vote will draw the 2 sides back to the bargaining table to talk and get us a fair, competitive contract. We are still waiting for the day this can be over. The plus side is that if I can work one day in the month (I"m scheduled June 2) my insurance is covered for the month. That would be a huge answer to prayer!!!
I know some may not agree with unions (I'm not a big fan myself sometimes), but I do hope that this can get resolved and working relationships can improve. It does leave one to wonder about their choice of career somedays! Thanks too for your prayers in this.

A tough week?

I have been trying to figure out how to write this post for awhile. This could be an interesting week for me. I will vote on Wednesday whether to strike and walk out of my job. I never thought it would come to this, and I can't believe we are here now. Emotions are high and the tension is great. I keep telling myself things could be worse, and there are people much worse off than me. I think at the core of this I can't wrap my mind around the issues at hand. This wasn't how I was taught to work. If you had a problem you went to your manager and worked it out, your pay was decided on how hard you worked, and if you did a good job for your company you were rewarded and praised for the work you did. A nurse in the paper yesterday summed it up well, it is horrible for us to think of walking out and leaving our patients behind. I have always believed I was called into nursing and it was more than a job it was part of my personality. I think of all the patients I have cared for in my 12+ nursing years and all the wonderful and hard stories I could share. It is a job that unless you have done it you will never understand. Yet, times have changed. The patients are more demanding, the money is less, and yet we are asked to do more. Much has been made in the paper about the two sides and "their demands." As I see it all we are asking for is to keep what we currently have in regards to staffing, money, and our pension. The union wants to guarantee we have safe staffing in place, and other safety measures that protect us, while also getting "our share" of the profits the hospital made last year. The hospitals states we have to be fiscally responsible. Both at times make me very mad... can't they just work together and come to the best possible compromise. Nobody in the end will win this totally. However, after much thought and prayer I will stick by my nurse friends.
Many of them feel the same way I do... confused, frustrated, and left wondering who is right.
Please pray that a compromise can be reached and the strike won't happen.