Busy Busy Bees!

The chaos marathon continues... Don't get me wrong, we've had some wonderful times in these crazy busy past few months, but my goodness! I'm ready for a break. Not just yet, though... Last weekend one of my best friends from college and his family came to visit with us. We had a wonderful time - and wonderful weather! I'm so glad. They came down from Vermont, so I think they were a bit desperate for some warmth and sunshine. The weather was gorgeous - warm and sunny. (It's been in the 40's and rainy or foggy every since, so nice timing, Walshes!) We got to spend a lot of time at my favorite park and at the playground by my building on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. And, of course, we introduced them to our new obsession - Guitar Hero. :) I have to admit, Pat and Becky, I'm impressed by how well you guys rocked out!

This week has been the usual stuff with an extra day out at the clinical site (i.e. 104 miles round-trip). It was well worth it, though. There's a little girl I've been trying to get in for an assessment for the past 3 or 4 months. I used to see her for therapy, but then her services were cut off (thanks, Medicaid) and I've been working with her mom since then to get her back to us. I have to say that I am really so proud of her mom. This little girl is one of 8 kids (on of whom has cerebal palsy) and until recently, both of the parents were unemployed. The father drinks to much and gets rough with the mom - and sometimes with the kids. Anyway, the mom has recently gotten a job (and kept it for the past 6 weeks or so), kicked the dad out of the house, filed a restraining order, going to court to press charges of domestic abuse, and starting counseling (group and individual) for herself at a DV agency on Monday. It really inspires hope in me that even in these situations where it seems like there's nothing good going on, people can still have the strength to make a change. I've been telling everyone at our agency that I'm not giving up on this family. Everyone was amazed that this mom and her daughter showed up yesterday. I'm really excited not just for this family, but for all the staff to see that if we don't give up on the families, they really might come through at some point... maybe just not as quickly as we'd like.

Anyway... So the next big hurdle in my life is that I have my board exam for licensure next Monday, March 3. I'm freaking out about it a bit. I'm glad I had the experience of presenting at the conference, but it did take up all the time I should have been studying. So, the next week or so is going to be pretty crazy. I sure hope I pass! :)

Well, hello there!

Long time no blog! I've said for a while that it feels like life has been moving at a sprinting-pace since I started working in October. Somehow, it feels like that pace has at least doubled since the holidays. Blogging, unfortunately, has been one of the many things to fall by the wayside (along with cleaning my house, leisure time, general sanity, and all those other little things in life...). So, here's a general update on our lives in the past 2 months or so:

• Christmas was FABULOUS! Two of my brothers, two sisters-in-law, and one baby Emma came to visit. We had such a good time. I really feel lucky to have such a wonderful family. I think a lot of families might not be able to squeeze six adults and a baby into a 2-bedroom home for a week without killing each other, let alone having a wonderful time. :) We miss you guys!
  
  
• The same day my family left, Ian and I flew to Las Vegas to meet up with his family for New Year's. That was a lot of fun, too. New Year on the strip was incredible. They shoot off fireworks from tons of locations. It really was amazing to stand in the middle of Las Vegas Blvd. and have fireworks going off in every direction.
  
  
  
• The next week, Ian and I went to Wichita, KS, for a job interview. It looks like this may end up to be the job for us. It's a pretty amazing professional opportunity for Ian and - even though it's not St. Louis - Wichita does seem like it could be a good fit for us... at least for now. Ian's supposed to have the contract by the end of this week. More than anything, I'm excited at the prospect of having everything settled. Right now, I'm just crossing my fingers until everything is signed and done.
  
  
• The next few weeks were filled with cramming and a moderate level of panic leading up to...
  
  
• The American College Counseling Association's national conference was this weekend and I gave a presentation on the work I did for my master's project at DePaul. The presentation was for career counselors about educating student about career options in socially responsible organizations. It went really well. I'm so glad to have it over with... I've been nervous about this since last April. That's a long time to worry about something!

So, now that all the big things are behind me, I just have little things to look ahead to like my board exam and moving to a new city again. Cake. :) I shouldn't have any reason to neglect my blogging now! Until the next time, here's a sweet video of Emma from the visit over Christmas. Emma loves her Uncle Ian!