Three Years.

At this point, taking the time to write a blog update seems silly. However, if I choose not to, 20 years from now when I google "cozywithtoast" and I am reminded that it ends in 2015, I will be sad. 

So here we go. 

Recap: Last time I updated this blog, I was hoping to pass the NBCOT boards and keep my job at Florida Hospital in Palm Coast. 

Update: I did in fact pass my boards, though taking them was probably one of the worst 4 hour stretches in my life. I was mind numbingly bored but at the same time had to focus on every questions in order to not have to re-live that hell. I continued working at Florida Hospital in Palm Coast in their pediatric outpatient clinic 3 days a week as well as their inpatient acute 2 days a week. I loved it. I loved the people I worked with and I loved my patients. I did not love the 30 minute commute. Living in Lutz now *spoiler alert* that seems like very little time. In Saint Augustine, 30 minutes may as well be an hour. I worked there for a little over a year and then moved to a SNF in St. Augustine literally within a mile from our home on King St. I also loved working there, and I also loved my patients. 

Shortly after starting at St. Augustine Health & Rehab, we found out I was pregnant. This was not one of those times when we just happen to get pregnant. We had been trying. For over a year (which I now realize is not long at all, but when you're in the thick of it and people around you get pregnant like there's nothing to it. . . a year is a painstakingly long period of time). Through medication and drastic diet changes, we FINALLY got pregnant. If you are having trouble getting pregnant and you would like someone to talk to about it/hear what we did/are just curious you are welcome to contact me. 

I told Zach in a sweet way, hopefully I will be able to upload that video at a later time because his reaction was priceless. Soon after I found out I was pregnant (which was already early) I felt horrible and went in to see my gyno. She did a quick scan. With an exacerbated sigh and *literally* her head on my knee, she said, "Oh, I see why you're feeling so bad! Looks like you may be having triplets!" "Well, isn't God funny" I thought. Very quickly followed by tachycardia and, "God is with me, if He has blessed us with 3 babies than surely He has equipped us with the ability to care for them." I text Zach, who was parking the car because I didn't think this check was going to be anything big. As he walked into the room they asked him, "Well, how high can you count?" ---Can I just say that  I didn't like this. Why would you ask him that? That sounds like he's going to be having like 9 babies because 9/10 is a high number. 3/10. . .not so high, I mean, it's still below 5. Eventually (about 30 minutes later---30 WHOLE MINUTES LATER) another scan was done on a bigger machine and I was in fact ONLY pregnant with twins. "Twins. . .2 babies. . .well I have two arms. . .I can handle that." Logic, folks. That's how I get through life. Or just blindly rambling on until I am able to catch my footing.

8 and a half months later, Adeline Hazel and James Ezekiel Grant came into this world at a wopping 5.5lbs and 5.9lbs. My c-section was amazing and the most comfortable I have ever felt in my life ( relatively). They were and still are amazing kids. Within weeks of their birth, Zach got a job working in Tampa as Director of Special Needs Ministry. We traded in Zachs Volvo for a minivan (if you scoff at this, you clearly don't have two kids or you opted for some higher priced SUV with worse gas mileage) to which I say, "To each their own." We moved from St. Augustine to a rental (which my lovely parents found for us) in Tampa, lived there for about 6 months then purchased our home in old Lutz. It's on a cul-de-sac, a little over a half acre of land, and we love it. I eventually started working in home health and Zach still has his job at St. James UMC. 

We love our little life here in Lutz. We do miss our friends in St. Augustine, however we do get to visit them often. St. Augustine will always hold a strong place in our hearts. It's where we fell in love, where we graduated from and where our babies were born. 

Love you. Bye.

On break.

To update: The last three months of school were spent with me living in Odessa at my parents lakehouse. I love my parents and I love their house. . .but I was not home. I was not home--where Zach is--AND I had a 1-1.5 hour commute to and from work every day. I was not home, I had the horrible commute, AND my second internship was not nearly as enjoyable as my first. Needless to say, those three months were the worst.

But now, not only is internship over with but I also GRADUATED! WOOO-OOOOOO. As of August 19th (graduation conferral date) I am no longer a full-time student. Not only have a I graduated, but I have also found a JOB! The job part actually happened before graduation so that was nice. **pending I pass NBCOT boards** I will be in Palm Coast as a full-time Occupational Therapist working with children in an outpatient clinic and adults in inpatient therapy. I am super excited and really hoping I pass those boards! USA grads have a 98% chance of passing the boards, but I'm still super nervous. I could easily be that 2%. Also, we are all a little unsure if that 98% means the first time you pass or just that you pass after all your attempts.

I am so excited to finally be back at home with this guy. We are super pumped for the next chapter in our marriage and SUPER pumped that we will both have jobs! 

I take the boards on September 13th, until then I am studying, and realizing how much more productive my life is when I have a structured schedule. I feel like I should be using this time to travel or do something amazing. But realistically spending the money on travel right now would be silly and the amazing thing I should be doing is studying for the NBCOT so I only have to take it once. 

There's mu update~! I am so happy to be able to say that I have finished my program at University of St. Augustine! Yayyy!

Bye. 

Tis Time.

Considering my last post was super depressing I probably amend it with a more positive post! Zach is pretty much back to 100%. That whole thing was super scary and I hated every minute of it. I learned that I am not that type of woman who can put on a fake smile and say, "Everything is fine, you will be fine." I learned that I am the type of woman that immediately thinks of ALL the possible horrible things that may be happening and think of  all the different ways that our lives could change. Blech. Perhaps over time I will get better at this; staying more positive when/if something scary happens to someone I love so so so much.

Taken over 7 years ago!

I am currently in my last week of my first Level II Fieldwork experience and I am super pumped for my week off! Interning at Brooks Rehab has been an amazing learning experience. I could totally imagine myself working for Brooks but only time will tell! I definitely can't imagine making the drive to Jacksonville every day. That took a toll on me.

Where I spent 3 whole months!

Over my break Zach and I are going to spend some time at a wonderful cabin in Andrews, NC that our gracious pastors are letting us stay in. We are going hiking, whitewater rafting, and exploring the little towns including Asheville, NC. We are both super excited and can't wait to get away from everything and just spend time with each other.

So excited to spend some time here!

After a wonderful week with Zach, we drive back to Florida and then it's time for KAGDUBS! Yes, I am so dang excited. Very few weekends have the ability to top these once-a-year trips with my favorite girls. I am sure hilarious times are in our near future.

From a past KAGDUBS.

 After KAGDUBs it will be time for my 2nd Level II Fieldwork rotation. Should be another great learning experience! I will be sure to write about it eventually. Probably in three months. . .

Bye!

Cryie

Life has been a whirlwind. In the past year + 4 days since I last wrote a post I have finished the didactic portion of Occupational Therapy school (without having to re-take one practical), I started my fifth (out of twelve) week of internship at Brooks Rehab Hospital in Jacksonville and within the last few days. . .experienced so much stress and sadness.

Love is a wonderful thing. I am so beyond happy that I am married to such a wonderful man and that he loves me and we love each other. But with that comes soon much hidden dependence. I say hidden because I don't realize it's there until something happens. This past week, something did happen. And when it did, my dependence on him became so loud and alarmingly clear.
A couple days ago, 5 to be exact, Zach came home from boxing annoyed because his tongue felt kinda numb. I insisted that he must have burnt it or that maybe he ate something he was kinda allergic to. That numbness slowly spread to his cheek, then the whole right side of his face. That is the point I began to break. One second, he was completely fine and healthy, then the next morning he wakes up with more numbness. WHAT'S HAPPENING!? I suspected Bell's Palsy. . . but also everything else. Because life is scary. And scary shit happens all the time. And it happens to anyone. Even the person you love most. I was at the hospital (interning) yesterday while Zach went to his primary doctor to get some feedback. His doctor referred him to a neurologist. Zach text me this information at work while I was in a hospital room waiting outside a patients room while they showered (not abnormal---it's an OT thing). The moment I read his text my mind started racing and I pretty much broke down. My instructor peaked in to check on me and make sure everything was going well with the patient. I guess he could tell something was off with my "yeahhh" response. . .I updated him/cried in his face because I have no tear-control and told him I would be fine. Needless to say I went home early that day because once I start crying I am basically physically unable to stop. This whole time Zach is trying to keep his cool and is doing an amazing job. Just trying to stay busy.
This morning we went to the neurologist and she confirmed that it (most likely) is Bell's Palsy. She was so certain that she went ahead and prescribed meds for Zach. She still wanted to schedule an MRI to make sure there isn't anything else going on. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until Friday, which to me seems like a year away. So for now Zach takes his meds and continues on with life. Right now he is at youth group and then he will come home. Friday he will have his MRI around three. . .and until then I will try and hold it together and believe it's Bell's Palsy which will eventually subside and everything will be back to normal.
When you love someone so much that their illness becomes your illness life gets so tricky. I feel like at that last sentence Zach might say, "Um, I'm pretty sure both sides of your face are working right now. . " but what I mean is, that damn dependence.  . . I depend on him to stay healthy because when he's not. . . I'm not. I get all headachey and cryie and my body feels all weird and tired and everything is out of sorts.

I love him and I am so happy that we are together. If you are the praying sort (or aren't and feel like now is a good time to try it out) please pray for swift and complete healing. . . and that when Friday at 3ish comes the MRI will show nothing but a completely healthy smart brain.

Thank you. We love you.

The Iphone killed my blog.

Seriously. I thought that having an Iphone would make me blog more, but I was so wrong. Now, when I take a picture I just post it directly to the internet and so many people respond that I imagine everyone in the blog-world would be bored out of their minds with the pictures if I were to post them to a blog! Sheeshmageesh! But I will type anyways because this is better than studying for Biomechanics. Right now I am in my second term at USA. We actually only have a month left and then (ya know if I pass finals) I will be a third term student! Crazy! May not seem like that far to most of you because, 1,2,3. . .such small numbers. But after third term, comes fourth term. . .which is my last term of classes! Then it's 8 months of fieldwork and then I'm done. That's basically no time at all. This term my favorite class (not at all my favorite practical) is Cadaver Lab. 

All ready for the cadavers!

So fun! It's insane to hold a humans heart/ foot/ lungs/ any organ in your hands and think. . .this was once in someones body who had a whole life. Who had a favorite movie, who was in love, who maybe had a cat. . . so crazy. And there are some cadavers that have had some type of surgery like a heart with a pacemaker put in, or a knee replacement and then there's the knee. . .all made out of metal. Just sitting there. So shiny. The heart is in a big ziplock bag with all these weird wires coming out of it. Those little appliances made this person live that much longer. . .then now they're here. Lying on a table helping future therapists learn about the human body. So cool. The smell though. That's the worst. 

Zach and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary on January 10th. We went to Savannah and had an amazing time. I do actually have a couple pictures that I haven't yet shared. . .

This ones not new, but so cool!

Really awesome bookstore.

Fancy dinner. On account of how much we love eachother.

So much fun. Little sister, Lucy got married a week ago. The wedding was beautiful and so was Lucy. Pictures are all over Facebook so I won't bore you with those. OK (for Nicole). Lucy did an amazing job gathering items for the wedding the throughout the months before. Which is great, because all those little pillows and centerpieces are theirs to keep! Or to share with me :)

Photos and floral design courtesy Andrea Layne Floral Design

We all had an amazing time! Once again grandmother came through with the Sweet Dill pickles. So good.

Rehearsal Dinner

Bride and Groom. So so cute.

So there's that. The past few months have flown by. Hopefully my next post will be about continuing on as a third termer and celebrating KAG DUBS!

Miss you love you. 

Baby Emery, Christmas, New Years

This break has been amazing. I am trying to soak up every bit of my freedom (which is coming to an end soon). I realize that I rarely have time to post, but let's face it. . .pictures are all you want. Here is a lovely mixture of (my favorite niece) Emery, Christmas loves, and New Years Shenanigans:

I made this cutting board for Cat and Dad because I love them so much. 

I love this man. January 10th we will celebrate five amazing hilarious years together.

This little diddy was taken before we headed South for Christmas. There are no ornaments on that Christmas tree and our apartment is not nearly as festive as it was last year. This is a direct result of grad school. Still cozy.

I mean seriously, what an adorable picture of Dad adoring Baby Emery. She's a doll. I was in this position the whole time she was at our house in Tampa. 

Family photo!

Dad decked out the farmhouse in Christmas loveliness. It was so cozy and perfect.

Farmhouse. Excuse my finger, I'm new to the whole Iphone thing. 

Best fire ring ever. Dad found the cement in the field (the previous owner collected (?) it. Cally, Dodd, and I enjoyed gathering wood with the tractor for this sucker.

And again because, well obviously. . . 

Christmas photo by the tree in Tampa

Lucy and Sharkey

Dad and Cathy

I mean c'mon. . .

This is when I first got hold of her. So precious.

OK, time for New Years . . .

We were having a great time. . .

Cally. . .

So close. . .

Back to the Farm for a moment, we had a lot of fun around that fire.

Henry loves his new blanket.

Sparkly glasses for New Years.

Motorcycle Super Hero. It's a thing. Please note. . .I could not straighten my arm all the way because of all the padding in that jacket.

Last but not least, a I visited our little spot where we got married almost five years ago. Still so beautiful.

Miss you.