It's a common theme these days: 
Have a long day at the hospital = come home and indulge in comfort food. You've seen it before.

I'm in my pediatrics rotation right now and it's one of the rotations I've really been dreading, to be honest. I can say my first day was probably better than my expectations (especially when the little guy I was caring for climbed onto my lap and wouldn't let go for the entire shift), but it was still pretty sad seeing kids so pitiful and sick. Unless God does something miraculous in my heart (and He could, of course), I can safely say this isn't the area for me. I'm more and more amazed every day with nurses who are clearly called to this kind of work.

So grilled cheese it was... and pajamas before 7pm... and "Look Who's Talking" on TV.
Pretty perfect, I'd say.

The happiest little girl you ever did see.

I know I'm a little biased in this, but this niece of mine is deliciously adorable. After not seeing her for over 9 months, it's about time I got the chance to see (and photograph) her. So excuse the many, many photos in this post. I just can't get enough.

Learning to walk

Lots of love from Mimi ("Mim")

 Making friends with Keebler ("Da-dah")

Just being the sweetest girl

(while Mommy and Mimi danced like crazy behind the camera) :)

It is well.

This morning I was in a creative/DIY kind of mood... and this being one of my favorite hymns, I thought it deserved a place on our wall. (I also made sure to include the hymn writer's name because his story is so moving ). I'll make sure to post a photo when it's printed and framed. If you'd like to download it for printing, just click on it and drag it to your desktop and it should give you a very large version of the print. It has a white border around it to make it easily frameable. 

Happy weekend!

61 years.

Last week when my grandparents were in town, I pulled them outside for a few minutes to take advantage of the gorgeous Fall day and a 61-year-old marriage that's as sweet as ever. I really, really love these.

9/11 Memorial.

Yesterday morning, Mom and I took a trip to the newly opened 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero.

We caught the E train headed south and once we showed our tickets and went through multiple checkpoints, we ended up here:

It's the footprint of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, which was the first tower to be hit. The waterfalls symbolize falling tears and viewers cannot see the bottom of the deep pit in the middle. The theme of the memorial is "Reflecting Absence" - not only the absence of these two towers that symbolized such strength but the absence of 2,900 people who cannot be replaced. When the sun hits the water, it sparkles and looks like thousands of tiny camera flashes going off, reminding us of each precious life that was lost. The memorial could not have been more perfectly done.

Around the perimeters of the towers are the names. Thousands of names. Names of victims, heroes, and stories we will never know on this side of heaven. The most poignant moment for me is when I saw a woman find her loved one's name, slowly run her hands over it, and start to cry.

This name on the bottom stopped me in my tracks. There were lots like it: "... and her unborn child." It said so much to me that America would acknowledge that unborn child as a life that was lost.

Surrounding the memorial is construction. Those towers are being rebuilt, sending a message that though the terrorist got us in this battle, it's not over. Many of the construction workers rebuilding these towers are veterans which just brings tears to my eyes.

Standing at the site of these two towers and running my hands across dozens and dozens of names, I've never felt more patriotic. It felt like sacred, holy ground - and it's not something I can even put into words without taking you there and letting you experience it yourself.

So if you're in New York anytime soon, I can't recommend the experience enough. 

I'm so proud to be an American.