It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

At Christmas time,

all roads lead to home.

And there is no greater gift at Christmas 

than to have everything you want 

before you even open any of the gifts!

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year!

 

May your heart and home be filled

with the true spirit of Christmas,

and blessings for a happy new year!

This Is How It Ends...

Being a nurse in the age of Covid has been rough.

Being an UN-vaccinated nurse employed at 

Houston Methodist has been much rougher.

It all started back in 2021 when the Covid "vaccines" came out.  At first, it was voluntary to take it.  Employees were coerced with a $500 bonus to take the jab, and who couldn't use an extra 

$500 bucks, right?  

Then they made it mandatory for all employees, 

get the shot or get fired.

So, I submitted a religious exemption stating my beliefs as a Catholic Christian.  They accepted my letter with the caveat that I would undergo weekly testing, and I complied.

I was a loyal and faithful employee.  

I did my job and got along well with my other co-workers, never got in trouble, was never late, and I did everything they asked me to do...until last month.

Last month they introduced the NOVAVAX vaccine and stated that my original religious exemption was null and void because this new vaccine did not contain fetal cell lines.  So I wrote another religious exemption.  It was denied.  I wrote a rebuttal further explaining my stance because clearly they didn't understand the religious doctrines from my faith.  Also, it turns out that Novavax DOES contain fetal cell lines in it's research and development, a statement they do not deny on their website!  

Even with this new information, the "committee" stated 

there was no appeal process and their decision was final.  

So if I don't take this new "vaccine" by November 3, 2022, 

I will be fired.

SPOILER ALERT:  

I'm not taking that damn shot!  

EVER!

So this is how it ends, friends.

31 years of perinatal nursing is gone with this ridiculous mandate.  

If our patients can have medical autonomy, then why can't staff?

Nurses are already leaving the bedside in droves, you want to fire those willing to stay?

Even the CDC states you cannot prevent transmission by being vaccinated:  READ HERE.

The vaccine only mitigates your symptoms, so you can have covid and only think you have allergies or a mild cold.  If this is the case and you are a nurse taking care of people, then you could easily spread covid to your patients and any staff you are in contact with.

But as an unvaccinated nurse, let me tell you, when I had covid I KNEW IT!  I was sick, I isolated, I recovered, and NO ONE in my household got it!  Not even my husband who slept right next to me!

So there you have it.  You don't have to agree with my decision but I feel like I must take a stand.  I must be able to "put my money where my mouth is" regarding my belief in medical autonomy and give an example to my children on standing up for our beliefs.  

I am so thankful that my husband supports me in this, he is my rock.

I am going to take a bit of time off, try to regain my mental health, then find a job that allows me to be creative...maybe work in a bakery or plant nursery.  

Who knows where the Lord will lead me, He hasn't failed me yet!

Merry Christmas!

It's not WHAT is under the Christmas 

tree that matters,

it's WHO is around it that counts!

Wishing you a blessed Christmas season!

The Elving Has Begun!

It's almost Christmas time and that means getting to work on handmade gifts around here. 

The Elving Season has begun! 

Pints of apple butter to make.

Batches of Comfrey & Calendula 

Healing Balm grown from my very own garden.

 And sweet little sachets of stove top potpourri are all in the works around here. 

But it's not all work and no play, 

we've taken time out to enjoy all the wonderful things this time of year offers...

Like putting together puzzles from Costco 

about Costco 

while sitting on toilet paper packs from Costco.

P.S. No elves were harmed in the making of this post.

P.P.S.  No extra elves were found at Costco to help me with all of this holiday prep!

Where Has The Time Gone?

I have intended to sit down at this space well over a dozen time over the last few months but could never actually muster the strength to unclutter my mind and share all that's been going on.  Truth is, I cherish my down time, and I'm very selfish with it!

  But to catch you up to speed on the family life....

Our #3 kiddo, John Paul, moved to College Station back in August.  He has the cutest apartment, tons of friends, and most important - TWO JOBS!  Also, he's living his best life as a hippie artist in his down time.  I miss him terribly and his move away was a sucker punch to the gut for me.

And then there's baseball.

Well, at our house there's ALWAYS baseball!

Between practices and games it seems I'm always in the car going.  It's fun though and this is a pretty awesome group of young men.  I've enjoyed watching them grow up on the field over the years.  And speaking of growing up, that's my favorite catcher on the left!

And around here, baseball doesn't end 

with high school.

Kyle has been playing in an adult league for three years now.  His team won league champs last year and are in the play offs this year.  

I don't get to watch him nearly enough...

Doug and I have taken several weekend trips.

It's so nice to get away with just the two of us even though we just have two kids at home now.  

We never had time or money when all five kids were home...now we're making up for lost time!

We've even been known just to jump in the car and drive to the beach for a lunch date!

We've celebrated birthdays.

We've lain precious family members to eternal rest.

We've had lots of ups and downs over the past few months.

I'm so grateful for all these knuckle heads 

gathered around my table and I'm excited for the holiday season to start. 

 May Our Lord shower you with His blessings...

I'm SO THANKFUL for all of mine!

Happy Thanksgiving 

from the Creamers!

My Little Bruiser!

This girl will be the death of me!

She has had more serious injuries and broken bones than all of her brothers COMBINED!

I think it gives her a thrill to give 

her mother a heart attack.

SWOLLEN SHUT

Last week she fell off of a Hover Board. 

I tried to play it cool and not give her the satisfaction of seeing me squirm...

I failed.

She literally had a goose egg on her forehead, a bloody nose, and her orbital socket was swelling and changing colors by the minute.

So her nurse mother and EMT father did something we NEVER do,

we took her to the ER.

One CT scan and several hours later,

she got the "all clear" to come home.

No brain bleed and no skull fracture.

Some would argue that she must have inherited her thick 'noggin from her mama.

She is no longer on concussion/brain rest precautions and today she announced 

she was ready to get back on her skateboard.

So...

We went shopping for helmets today!

Happy Birthday, Doug E. Poo!

I'm so glad you came

into this world...

and I'm even more glad that you

came into MY world.

You make OUR world

complete!

Happy birthday, Doug E.Poo!

We love you so much.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day

to these two!

Doug and his dad.  

They are amazing examples of love, strength, 

and faith to our children 

and we are so blessed to have them.

In a world FULL of absentee fathers,

this guy right here has stayed the course through

the good times and bad.

I could not survive this journey with anyone else.

One day is not enough to honor 

how special of a father you really are.  

You are amazing every day of the year!

I'm so grateful to share this life, 

love, and parenthood

with a wonderful man like you.

Happy Father's Day!

HELLO Summer!

It may not officially be summer until next month, but don't tell that to my garden!  So many lovely things are coming from it and I thought I'd share some of the staples we'll be making in the months ahead.

SALSA VERDE

I'm so excited to say that 100% of this salsa came from my garden!  Now there is no formal recipe, just let your heart tell you what you need...

In a large (I have a 14 inch) sized dry, very hot, cast iron skillet.  To half (or more) of the pan, add ripe and washed tomatillos.  To the other half add peppers, onion, and garlic.  Blister all of your ingredients and then transfer them to a food processor with a handful of cilantro, salt to taste, and ground cumin.  

Process until smooth.

This sauce is great on everything!  I especially love to cook it low and slow with a pork roast for my own spin on Chili Verde.

Next is just my favorite way to eat summer produce from the garden:

PICO DE GALLO

It's seriously just summer time in a bowl for me!

Again, no specific recipe...

Mix together chopped and seeded tomato, chopped peppers and red onion, a handful of chopped cilantro, and season with powdered or fresh garlic and sea salt.

Now with all this lovely food, you're going to need something to drink:

BASIL LEMONADE

This drink is so refreshing and basil has many health benefits!  I just take a quart sized mason jar and add a handful of chopped and muddled basil to the bottom.  Top with ice and then pour over your favorite lemonade.  I use ICE - a bottled sugar free version that's a little fizzy.  In the evenings, I'll add a shot of Tito's Handmade Vodka.  Put the lid on and give it a shake.

So if you're looking for me this summer, I'll be out in the garden...

Or passed out on the couch from one too many basil lemonades!

Where did the time go?

Where did May go?  Like seriously.  

I blinked and here we are almost to summer!  

Life has a way of doing that, I guess.

Let's see, we've celebrated birthdays...

Celebrated Mother's Day

Oh how I love my tribe...

I started a TikTok channel all about gardening

and have almost 20K followers!

And spending a LOT of time in the garden

to support said channel!

Plus, there's that pesky thing called a "job"

but whatever...

There are some big changes coming to our lives soon.  I'm taking a leap of faith and just trusting in God's plan.  He hasn't failed me yet!

If I have learned anything over these past two years is that I am NOT in control of anything,

but I am deeply loved by the ONE who is.

Stay tuned...

Mental Health Day...

Some days you just have to escape to the beach and spend hours watching the sunshine dance through the clouds.

Build drip castles at the shore line, 

and walk hand-in-hand with the ones you love.

It is balm to my soul.

The Stimmy Garden

When the stimulus checks finally went out, 

I knew I wanted to spend some of it on the garden.

**Insert "DUH" with an eyeroll here**

Lumber is hella expensive these days and even though we live in the country, getting quality composted garden soil is next to impossible without spending an arm and a leg!  

So when that stimmy money hit my account...

Behold, the Stimmy Garden!

Four new 8ft X 4ft beds to grown more food and a cut flower garden, because you should always have a little bit of pretty with functionality.

I've been working in the garden every day that I have off work and I'm proud to say that I'm rockin' a pretty awesome farmers tan.

I'm sure my boys would have rather I spent the money on a new PS5, but this small bit of lumber and soil just makes me so very happy.  Being in the sunshine and fresh air is medicine to my soul!

Hopefully I can win them over to my way of thinking with fresh salsa from the garden this summer.