Oh my goodness. I can't believe that it is practically June already. Where has the time gone? Though I haven't posted recently, I have been donating. I've been doing a lot of thinking about my blog recently. Am I using it as much as I want? No. Am I doing what I wanted to do? Yes.
I started to feel guilty about not writing a blog post, but I started to think about it and that isn't what it is about. I have been donating and I've been helping people with the donations. Strength in hope is all about living with faith, hope and love, doing good in the community and enjoying every part of life - and that is exactly what I have been doing.
I am continuously reminded of how blessed I am. The things that add stress to my life: work, scheduling, finding a time to do everything; is actually why I am so blessed. I have been trying to change my mind frame around so I have been thinking that way. Work has been extremely stressful. BUT I am blessed to have a job and a job that I enjoy going to every day. Each day at my job I am helping people. I may not be a nurse or a doctor, but I'm a communicator and I am using those skills to help people. Being a recent college grad and only 23, I feel so incredibly blessed to have the job that I do and now I get paid salary! Another blessing!
I have been feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff I have to do outside of work. I feel like I haven't had a chance to rest, but you know what, I love it. I have been busy, but it has been amazing. I've been hanging out with people I love and enjoy being with. I read something somewhere that said "You never remember the nights you get too much sleep." And I always laugh at this because I want to get too much sleep, but it is very true. In the past two months, I've spent a lot of time with my family, gone to San Francisco with my amazing boyfriend, traveled to Vegas with some wonderful friends, attended a Lady Antebellum concert with more wonderful friends and started co-leading my Monday night Bible study. When I look back on the past two months, I can't help but thank God for the marvelous blessings He has given me, the doors He has opened for me and the people He has put in my life. All I can say is "wow."
April Charity of Choice
For my April charity, I chose the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes is amazing! The money they raise goes towards support programs in communities to promote healthy, full-term babies. They do a lot for my hospital and we are lucky to have their support. The March of Dimes works directly with our NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). If you've never seen a NICU baby, it is a whole new experience. Many of the babies in our NICU were born weighing less than 2 pounds! 2 pounds is ridiculously small. Many small dogs weigh more than that! I work closely with our NICU and I am so used to seeing these tiny babies that to see a "normal" baby (6-8 pounds) I feel like they are huge! As part of my job, I was able to attend the March for Babies LA Walk. We hosted a booth and it was amazing to see all of these families reunite with nurses that took care of their little ones. Many of my friends were in the NICU when they were born and this donation is dedicated to them. It also is dedicated to my little cousin Jackson. He was born early and weighing 4 pounds. He is a healthy, crazy 7-year-old now. This is one of my favorite photos of us. He was 2-years-old here.
May Charity of Choice
In honor of National Stroke Awareness Month, I donated to the National Stroke Association. Another part of working at the hospital, we deal with a lot of stroke patients. One extremely scary statistic is that every 40 seconds in the U.S., someone has a stroke. It is the no. 1 cause of disability in America! Many people confuse strokes with "heart attacks," but that isn't it at all. Strokes can be considered a "brain attack." Strokes take over your brain and depending on the severity of the stroke and the location in your brain, you can lose sight, motor skills and more. Also, "time is brain." If you or someone you know is having a stroke, immediately call 911. Don't brush off the symptoms. The most important thing I can stress about stroke is know the signs and all you have to remember to do is Think F.A.S.T.
F - Facial droop (common symptom)
A - Arm of leg weakness (common symptom)
S - Slurred speech (common symptom)
T - Time (call 911 immediately)
I donated to the National Stroke Association in honor of all of the patients at Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children's that have had strokes and my stepdad's dad, grandpa Arthur, who passed away from complication from a stroke when I was 5-years-old.
I started to feel guilty about not writing a blog post, but I started to think about it and that isn't what it is about. I have been donating and I've been helping people with the donations. Strength in hope is all about living with faith, hope and love, doing good in the community and enjoying every part of life - and that is exactly what I have been doing.
I am continuously reminded of how blessed I am. The things that add stress to my life: work, scheduling, finding a time to do everything; is actually why I am so blessed. I have been trying to change my mind frame around so I have been thinking that way. Work has been extremely stressful. BUT I am blessed to have a job and a job that I enjoy going to every day. Each day at my job I am helping people. I may not be a nurse or a doctor, but I'm a communicator and I am using those skills to help people. Being a recent college grad and only 23, I feel so incredibly blessed to have the job that I do and now I get paid salary! Another blessing!
I have been feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff I have to do outside of work. I feel like I haven't had a chance to rest, but you know what, I love it. I have been busy, but it has been amazing. I've been hanging out with people I love and enjoy being with. I read something somewhere that said "You never remember the nights you get too much sleep." And I always laugh at this because I want to get too much sleep, but it is very true. In the past two months, I've spent a lot of time with my family, gone to San Francisco with my amazing boyfriend, traveled to Vegas with some wonderful friends, attended a Lady Antebellum concert with more wonderful friends and started co-leading my Monday night Bible study. When I look back on the past two months, I can't help but thank God for the marvelous blessings He has given me, the doors He has opened for me and the people He has put in my life. All I can say is "wow."
April Charity of Choice
For my April charity, I chose the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes is amazing! The money they raise goes towards support programs in communities to promote healthy, full-term babies. They do a lot for my hospital and we are lucky to have their support. The March of Dimes works directly with our NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). If you've never seen a NICU baby, it is a whole new experience. Many of the babies in our NICU were born weighing less than 2 pounds! 2 pounds is ridiculously small. Many small dogs weigh more than that! I work closely with our NICU and I am so used to seeing these tiny babies that to see a "normal" baby (6-8 pounds) I feel like they are huge! As part of my job, I was able to attend the March for Babies LA Walk. We hosted a booth and it was amazing to see all of these families reunite with nurses that took care of their little ones. Many of my friends were in the NICU when they were born and this donation is dedicated to them. It also is dedicated to my little cousin Jackson. He was born early and weighing 4 pounds. He is a healthy, crazy 7-year-old now. This is one of my favorite photos of us. He was 2-years-old here.
May Charity of Choice
In honor of National Stroke Awareness Month, I donated to the National Stroke Association. Another part of working at the hospital, we deal with a lot of stroke patients. One extremely scary statistic is that every 40 seconds in the U.S., someone has a stroke. It is the no. 1 cause of disability in America! Many people confuse strokes with "heart attacks," but that isn't it at all. Strokes can be considered a "brain attack." Strokes take over your brain and depending on the severity of the stroke and the location in your brain, you can lose sight, motor skills and more. Also, "time is brain." If you or someone you know is having a stroke, immediately call 911. Don't brush off the symptoms. The most important thing I can stress about stroke is know the signs and all you have to remember to do is Think F.A.S.T.
F - Facial droop (common symptom)
A - Arm of leg weakness (common symptom)
S - Slurred speech (common symptom)
T - Time (call 911 immediately)
I donated to the National Stroke Association in honor of all of the patients at Long Beach Memorial and Miller Children's that have had strokes and my stepdad's dad, grandpa Arthur, who passed away from complication from a stroke when I was 5-years-old.
You continue to amaze me, Cayla. I love you and am very proud of who you are.
ReplyDeleteThanks Pops! I appreciate it. love you.
DeleteI love your blog, Cayla! I loved that quote about not remembering the nights you get too much sleep.. I can relate with this being such a busy time of life, but also such a GOOD time! :)
ReplyDeletep.s. I randomly thought about you the other day because in 4 months, my last name is going to be Jackson too, haha.
Thanks Kate!
DeleteYou are definitely taking on a great last name!