The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hi All,

Thanks for checking in. I'm sorry I haven't updated lately, I guess I felt I didn't have too much to share. I am thankful to the Lord for His provision over the last few months. Before I was laid off from Lennar, my previous employer had contacted me asking if I was interested in returning to my old position. I called them the day I found out that I was no longer employed and the process began for my return.

On Monday, October 22, I started back at Women's Health Associates. I am working as an Insurance Administrator. I submit all of the claims for the office and then follow up when they are not paid. It was strange to return to the office that I had left over six years ago. The first two weeks left me feeling deja vu several times. Thankfully, the training notes that I left six years ago were still there to refresh my memory as to the job I need to do. Things are running smoothly now.

Thanksgiving was a nice day, strange because my parents were not home. Last year they left me at Christmas, but this year it was Thanksgiving. The reason was a very good one though. Mom had several days off and Dad had an appointment at Emory University. His neurologist had sent him there to be evaluated at their Movement Clinic. Dad had been struggling more and more to walk, and the answers to this just could not seem to be found. The specialist at the clinic confirmed the diagnosis of Parkinson's and also changed the frequency of his medication. This change had made a drastic difference in Dad's mobility. We are very thankful for the change.

Mom and Dad were also able to spend a few days with Ethan's family and then Thanksgiving with Aunt Loretta and her family in Atlanta. I spent the day with Dad's family enjoying the new toddler in the house my cousins little girl Katelyn. Kids really do make the holidays more fun don't they?

We are looking forward to Pam and Mike coming home for Christmas, and we are hoping that Ethan and Sharon will be able to come down too. For now we are preparing for the day and looking forward to the extra time spent with friends and family. God Bless you all.

Holly

Road Trip

Hi All,

I just returned from my road trip. I had been telling Ethan and Sharon that as soon as I was laid off from Lennar, I would pack up my car and head to Nashville. So, on Tuesday 10/2 I headed out, but what I did not take into account was how draining the last two weeks of work were. I drove for about three hours and had to stop and get a hotel since I was so tired.

I spent Wed-Sunday with Ethan, Sharon, Andy, Sam, Elaina, and Luke. I had so much fun with them. If you want to see how they are doing check out their website (beavas.com). I had a fun day out with Sam on Friday. I took him to the Discovery Center where we were able to explore all sorts of fun things, and then on Saturday I took Andy to Chuck E Cheese. I spent way to much money for someone who is unemployed, but couldn't say no to more tokens. We were having so much fun. I look forward to more fun days out with Elaina and Luke as well, after they are a little bit older.

On Sunday 10/8 I drove to Asheville and spent the rest of my road trip relaxing and enjoying the mountains. I did not pack so well though. A cold front came through and we had one night when it was 39 degrees. I was not prepared for that. So, I wore shorts and a t-shirt and one of Mike's long sleeved shirts and drove to Wal-mart to purchase cheap warm clothes:) I guess I will know better next time. Pam informed me that most of the weather info you get is for the Piedmont of Asheville and you have to take another 10 degrees off to get the temps for the mountains.

I am employed!! My previous employer (from 6 years ago) needed someone to fill my old position. So I moving back to St. Petersburg in the next two weeks and starting at Women's Health Associates. I am going to move in with Mom and Dad and finish the pre-reqs (only three to go) for nursing school. So, stay tuned I should have news of when I will start nursing school by next summer.

Thanks for keeping track of me.

Love you all!!

Laid Off

Happy Anniversary to Pam and Mike!

It has been 6 years since they were married. Man how time flies. Congrats you two:)

Well my brain has been on the Lennar move coming up this next weekend. There is still so much to be done. I have had trouble sleeping in the last week, because I am thinking of all of the things left to do. I was also given some news last Monday. My manager flew up from Tampa to tell me that I was being laid off. It is obvious that the housing market has made times difficult for our business. So, they cannot keep me. This news has made the stress of the move even harder to handle.

I appreciate your prayers. God is continually showing His hand in all of this, but my faith is not always steady. Thankfully, I am going to be given a severance package, so I am not left high and dry right away.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your prayers.

Holly

Labor Day

Hi All,

Just checking in. I went home last weekend for Labor Day and had a great time. Mom and I went furniture shopping. I was able to spend time with the Davis/Clifford/Beaver families so I was happy as a clam:)

Work is nuts we are down to three weeks before the big move. The company Lennar acquired here in Jacksonville have been in the current building for several years. Needless to say we not only acquired a business, but a lot of stuff! Everywhere I turn I am finding old and currently unused printers, copiers, and just plain junk. The movers came last week to evaluate all that is coming with us. They said, "You have a lot of work to do." That is the understatement of the year. I am trying to stay relaxed and break it all down to one day at a time, but the stress is mounting as the time runs short. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Holly

Office Move

Hi All,

Not too much going on here in Jacksonville. Just wanted to write and touch base. Work is crazy. We are moving to a new office (YAY). It is brand new and being fitted just for us. Problem is our Office Manager just resigned and yours truly has been given the task of taking over the move.

So for the new few weeks my head will be in square footage and file cabinet placement. I am pretty stressed about the task, but keep trying to remind myself that when it is over it is over, no matter what happens.

I am headed down to St. Pete for Labor Day weekend. I am looking foward to some R&R. I was hoping to drive up to Nashville to meet my new nephew, and spend some quality time with the family, but the drive is too long for just a few days.

I hope you all are well! Much love.

Vacation

My father reminded me today to update my blog. Some of these things are out of date, but here goes. My vacation started on Saturday July 21st. Trish, Shane and the kids came to town. Unfortunately, it was not for happy reasons since Trish's Grandmother had just passed away. None the less it was good to see them all. We had a fun weekend and when they left I was exhausted. I forgot about all of the energy required to keep up with a 7, 4, and 2 1/2 year old.

On Monday 7/23 I did laundry and ran errands to prepare for my road trip. Tuesday morning I woke up with plans of packing up the car and hitting the road (I was headed to Asheville to visit Pam and Mike). The only errand I needed to run was to get some blood drawn. I was very frustrated when the whole thing took much longer than usual, but has my good friend Renee reminded me, the timing was perfect. As it turns out, my late departure for North Carolina put me in Colubmia, SC just in time to catch Kenny getting off of work. We were able to meet and have dinner together. It was a good break from the 7 hours that I would end up in the car driving that day.

I got to Asheville around 9pm. Pam and I stayed up talking until way too late since she had to be into work the next day. Pam worked all day on Wednesday, so I just lounged around the house and rested. I did take a drive into Asheville where I got lost and drove way north out of the way in an effort to get back to Pam and Mike's place. Oh well, that was my adventure for the day.
On Thursday and Friday Pam had 1/2 days at work.

On Thursday, we drove into Asheville and had lunch at a Bagel shop chain which happened to be a place that I frequented while living in Chicago. We also stopped at the Biltmore to see what the prices were. Pam and Mike are thinking about getting season passes so that they can go with any future guests.

Friday Pam and I went to see a movie, "No Reservations." We really liked it. On Friday night Pam and I met Mike out in Hendersonville which is the town were Mike's school is. After dinner at a local pizza shop Mike drove us up into the mountains for some fly fishing. It was fun driving through the mountains with Mike, he goes much faster than Pam does on the winding roads:). Of course, Pam and I did not fish but sat on a blanket and watched Mike. By the end of the evening we were throwing rocks into the river to see how far out we could throw them. Mike was not to thrilled about this since we were scaring his fish away, and he proved his strength to us when he stopped fishing and threw a rock to the other shore of the river, which was much further than Pam and I could throw.

On Saturday morning I packed up and with tears said good-bye to Pam. I was headed down to Columbia to spend the rest of the weekend with Kenny. Kenny gave me a tour of downtown Columbia and showed me the hospital where he is working. We spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the competition and visiting model homes centers of KB Home and D.R. Horton. At one point we were in a community that Kenny had visited with his Mom. He pointed out a model home he had seen and I headed in that direction. I walked right up to the front door and tried to turn the knob, but it was locked. A few seconds later a man appeared at the door looking not too happy about the disruption. What I had done was tried to open the door of what was now a private residence. I apologized to the man and Kenny and I walked away laughing our heads off.

As I recall we did not accomplish too much on Sunday and then I had to leave to head back home from my vacation. I wished that I had been able to spend more time with everyone, but I was glad to have a chance to go in the first place.

I'm home, just touching base

Back from vacation and trying to get back into the swing of things. It was great and I will tell you all about it soon. Thanks for checking in.

Davis Family Visit

I am writing this afternoon in my Pjs. Yes, I am finally on vacation. Trish, Shane and the kids were here for the weekend. Unforturnatly, her Grandmother passed away and they came up for the Memorial Service. I took care of the kids while she and Shane were out. It was fun being together again.



This week I am heading up to Pam and Mike's place for a few days and then will spend a few days with Kenny down in Columbia.



Today I am doing laundry and getting the house in order before I leave. I am praying this week about applying for a different position with Lennar. It is called a Customer Care Representative. It would be higher paying and also offer bonus opportunites throughout the year. When I get back to work next week, I am going to shadow somone who already holds the position and see if it is something I would enjoy.



Hope you all are doing well:)

Algebra is over!!!!

Hi All,

I'm done! I finished all of the requirements for my math class yesterday. It has been a rough week. My computer started to give me trouble on Tuesday night. Thank God for my brother who always seems to be right next to his phone when I call for help. It's nice to have a relative who works for Dell:) Thanks Ethan!!! So now I am ready to jump back into normal life with out the Algebra headaches. No huge plans at the moment, it is just nice to escape the homework prison even if it is only for a few weeks.

Have a great weekend!

Holly

Not much, just update

Hi All,

Well it is 11:15 pm and I am still up working on Math. I have only a few days left and I am controlling my thoughts to keep myself out of a panic. It seems your prayers are working:) Thanks.

Plans changed for over the weekend and Shane, Trish and the kids did not stop by. They needed to head direclty home, because they were pulling a boat. Incidently, she called Saturday night to ask for my prayers since the check engine light came on while they were in the mountains. Praise the Lord they made it home saftely.

Some of the Harpers stopped in to visit on Sunday. Mr & Mrs H had lunch and visited for a while and Kenny hung out to do his laundry. It was nice to have some friends in town for the day.

I am scheduled to take my final exam on Friday 7/13 at 11 AM. I would greatly appreciate your prayers.

Love to all,

July 4th

Hi All,

I stayed in JAX to celebrate July 4th and besides jumping out of my skin when two kids set of some sort of fire works on my way to the mailbox on Wednesday, I did not participate in the celebration. One of my co-workers invited me out to dinner on Tuesday night which was very nice. She and her husband live in the World Golf Village. It is about a 20 min drive South of JAX. It is a very very nice area. We enjoyed dinner and then watched fireworks.

I decided not to go down to St. Pete since I have homework to do. I am going to ask you for your prayers. I am down to the wire, with one week left to compelete all of my lessons. I have to take the Final Exam next Friday. I am concered that I am not ready.

Thanks for all of your support, I really appreciate it.

I am looking forward to some fun this weekend. The plan is that Trish and Shane will come through with the kids, and the Harpers will be stopping in briefly on Sunday for a visit. YEAH! I love to have guests, even if it is only for a short time.

Homework...

Well it is Friday, yeah!!! It is nice to be off from work for a few days. Next week is a short week because of July 4th. I am looking forward to a quiet weekend of much homework. I am attempting to pass Intermediate Algebra for the second time. Last semester I got too far behind and had to withdraw so I would not fail. Now I am behind again, but not too far.

One of the people I hired at work this week said she was good at Algebra. She may become my new best friend:) I am going to have a weeks vacation coming up in the next month so I am looking forward to being done with my class for the summer and taking some time off.

Trish, Shane and the kids drove to Ohio last weekend and plan on coming back through Jax to check out my crib and spend some time. I expect them to come through next weekend.

I am busy at work again, which is nice. I was really bored for a few weeks and was getting restless. We hired some new managers in our divsion, and although there is still a great deal of stress with a slow market, the mood in the office is one of excitement for the future. I am excited to see what we can pull off if we all work together.

On a very sad note, on of my co-workers lost her brother in Iraq last Saturday. I was in tears when I heard the news. If the Holy Spirit leads I would appreciate your prayers for the family. Her name is Joy House.

Thanks for reading, have a great week.

First Communication

I guess I should join in on the Blogging thing. I see it as a good way to keep everyone posted on what is happening in my life. At this point I am living in Jacksonville and working for Lennar (a homebuilding company). You can check out their website at Lennar.com. Mom and Dad drove up from St. Pete to visit with me over the weekend. We stopped in to a few Lennar Communities, so they could see what we build. We also drove into St. Augustine which is where they went for their Honeymoon, thirty six years ago. It was a nice time to be together.

I am still working through the pre-reqs for Nursing School. This summer it is Intermediate Algebra. I gotta tell you that Math is not one of my best subjects. I am plugging away though.

Other than that, not too much going on.