A home for FOREVER!

Josh and I have been married for almost 9 years. Shortly before we married, Josh's grandmother passed away and left his parents with her house. We decided to buy it and make it our first home. We knew it wouldn't be our forever- it was an older home and kind of boxy. Not super great for entertaining and our growing family would eventually need more space. For a few years,  Josh looked at house plans and we dreamed.

Finally, the time has come. In October 2015, we broke ground for our forever home. The process wasn't too bad but due to tons of rain delays our progress seemed slow at times. On April 16, 2016, we got to move in!!!

Our new home has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, beautiful vaulted ceilings and beautiful windows. We have an indoor and an outdoor fire place! We have a master bath with a shower AND a soaker tub. We have a laundry room! And double ovens!

This is definitely an exciting time for the Swatts family.  But as I sit here and enjoy this beautiful house, I think of my dreams and goals for our new forever home.

My prayer for our house is that everyone who enters feels the presence of Jesus.

That my kids make lots of happy memories.

That this is the place where my kids and their friends want to hang out.

That we have lots of fun family and friends gatherings here.

I pray that we would use this house (a blessing from God) to bless our family and others.

I am so excited to see the plans God has for our family in our forever  (while we are here on this earth) home! !

The Other Side of the Hospital Bed

I've been a nurse for almost 9 years. Ive done MedSurg, hospital pediatrics, office pediatrics, home pediatrics,  and home hospice.  Now, I am a family nurse practitioner.

I've always been on the professional side of the hospital bed (aside from 3 routine labor/delivery /postpartum visits).  But today, I'm writing this from the other side of the hospital bed.

As I lay in the hospital bed holding my 21 month old boy, I'm experiencing a much different side of medicine.  This sweet boy in my arms (who just fell asleep while watching Elmo) has had a rough few days. A wound on his head turned into an abscess and treatment at home was not cutting it. He was admitted yesterday for IV antibiotics and was taken to the OR for an  I&D (incision and drainage) of his abscess. He is doing great, really!  Handling it like a champ. Of course he has his moments. He doesn't like being held down and the large dressing on his arm (where they are hiding the IV) annoys him at times. He is tired and in a strange place and people keep poking and proding but overall he's great.

The nurses and doctors have been wonderful- very concerned and attentive and professional. It's hard, though, being on this side. My medical knowledge (for the most part) has been thrown aside and I am just a concerned mommy. Worried. Sad. Skeptical. Concerned.  This is my baby. My whole heart.

May we in the medical field never forget about this other side of the hospital bed! I pride myself in being a caring and compassionate nurse/NP. We all have bad days and busy days but may we always remember that we are caring for someone's most valuable treasures- whether it's their baby, their mama, their spouse. Whether the family or patient has medical knowledge or not. Remember that this is a scary time, an unfamiliar time, an uncertain time. I think usually nurses are good at this....but it never hurts to be reminded. I guess this experience is a good reminder for me!

Saying Yes to God = Soul Sisters

So this is my story of saying yes.....

It was December 2012 and I felt a tugging at my heart. I needed something more. I needed more Jesus and someone to encourage me to be the woman of God that I needed to be.

Our Sunday school class was doing a study on Jonah and obeying God's call. All the while, God was calling me.

At the time, I was a busy mom of 2 and about to start my last semester of NP school. Our family went to Sunday school and church on Sunday but that was about it. We were in survival mode most if the time. Josh worked a crazy job that left me feeling like a single mom most nights. So why me? Why now? I was sure it was because of what I needed. I needed more Bible study. I needed some girl time. I needed deeper friendships.  God must've known that I needed to start a Bible study for me. But I'm so shy! And I didn't have any in depth Spiritual knowledge.

So, I sent a Facebook message to the ladies in my Sunday school class. I explained my heart and offered my home. They were very responsive and excited! We decided on Thursday nights and just every other week.

And in January 2013, Soul Sisters began. We were born out of the Soul Purpose Sunday School class so Soul Sisters was a fitting name.  We used a Bible study book and we got together and studied,  prayed, ate snacks, and encouraged each other. There were 9 of us.

During that first year, we had Bible study while our kids played (rather loudly at times) in my kids' bedrooms. And after I added baby #3 in 2014, it became a little much for me and harder to manage Bible study with all the kids in tow.

We decided (after much prayer and some hesitation) to move our Bible study to our church on Wednesday nights.  There was already stuff going on for our kids so we would no longer have to try to study with so many little interruptions. And we decided that if we were going to have it at church, we should open it up to other women in the church.

Boy was I surprised at the response! Women told us that this was just what they were needing....just what they had been praying for. And our little group began to grow.

We have now gone from a group of 9 women to having (at last count) 86 women on our Facebook page! We now average around 20-25 on a given Wednesday night.

It still amazes me that what I thought was just for me was actually not.  Little did I know God was preparing me for something big! I am humbled by the thought that God would choose me to lead.

And so, saying yes in December 2012 led to the Soul Sisters Bible study that we enjoy today.

I am so blessed to be a part of this wonderful group of encouraging women!