Thoughts from a School Nurse You might feel a little stick!

Last night Emily Grace had practice with her Girl Scout troop for the Bridging Ceremony next Friday. She's a Daisy, and will officially become a Brownie next Friday night. After the ceremony, the Brownie's and Mom's are going to eat pizza and then return to the Scout Hut for our first sleepover. Thankfully, my great friend Gina is going to let me borrow her air mattress. Otherwise, I don't know how I would fare on that hard, thinly carpeted cement floor in the Hut.

Good News! My friend is home from the hospital and is doing great. She didn't even stay overnight at the hospital. Thanks to everyone that said a prayer; please say another one for a fast and uneventful recovery!

What a day! Our church service was held this past Wednesday instead of today. It's a nice break here at Memorial weekend, and I can't remember when we've stayed home and relaxed on a Sunday. Usually Mark plays in the band every week and doesn't get home until 1:30pm or so. I hope Jimmy, Brandon, Travis and Catherine are able to relax and spend time with family and friends. I am also thinking about all the volunteers at Rocky River who give so much time every week and work so hard. I hope everyone enjoys a well deserved break and has an awesome day off! You are all appreciated very much!

Happy Friday! Tonight is the big sleepover and I'm as ready as I'm going to be, I guess. I have Sundrop's on ice, my Ipod is charged, and the Tylenol PM is packed! Emily Grace is very excited to become a Brownie and she can't wait to sleep in the scout hut.

Last night Emily Grace officially became a Brownie. The Girl Scout troop leaders of Cold Springs United Methodist Church had a ceremony for the awards the girls had earned and to "bridge" some of the girls to their next level. Emily Grace's group, the Daisies, sang two songs and were presented their badges and the older troops followed. She was so proud to stand on that bridge in the church sanctuary holding her handful of daisies as her Daddy took pictures.

I wanted to share a simple recipe from the Eat Clean Cookbook for cucumbers. We love them at my house and with summer here and gardens in bloom, I thought some of you might like to try this. I know there are several variations, but I like this one because I always have the two ingredients on hand:

Emily Grace woke up this morning complaining of her stomach hurting. She told us it was because she was hungry, but after breakfast we found out that we shouldn't have given her anything to eat. So, she missed a birthday party she'd been looking forward to; but her hopes soared as she asked if she could keep the present for herself! I went to the grocery store while her Daddy fussed over her and gave her sips of Sprite. ( I can't believe how expensive it was!

This morning Emily Grace was back to her old self; woke up starving and ate a bowl of grits and drank a glass of milk. She wore a new dress to church and received lots of compliments on it and her new haircut. Church service was awesome today; the band was kickin' and Jimmy's message on prayer was just what I needed to hear. I need to work on being more consistent with my daily prayers and growing in my spiritual life. Jimmy always seems to be speaking directly to me in his sermons!

Today was the kindergarten picnic at school. I packed lunch for myself and Emily Grace and we sat outside around noon. Even in the shade it was miserable. After a quick lunch we went back to the classroom for a slideshow presentation of the past year. Then the teacher gave out special awards. Each child received a certificate for some kind of personality trait... Emily Grace received "Most Outgoing". Imagine that. She must get that from her Daddy (those of you who know Mark would agree!). But she also got a certificate for her achievements in Math Super Stars.

I survived the day today at school, and another school year! My baby is officially a First Grader and is excited about summer break. I have to work a couple more days to finish up my office and take care of paperwork. I'm teaching a CPR/First Aid class in the morning and should wind things up pretty quickly tomorrow afternoon. Thursday I'll go to another school and help the nurse there for a while.