The Dreaded NCLEX

Well this is just going to be a short blurb since I've told pretty much the whole world now...

I PASSED THE NCLEX! 

The good ole state of Texas recognized me as the newest RN on June 19th. So the results are in and official. I am now writing to y'all as Lindsay A. Frye, RN, BSN.

I've been working for that moment for the past four years. I can't believe it has come and gone. Now, the REAL moment of the first day of work as an RN is to come. I start July 9th. Please keep me in your prayers as I learn the ropes of a new hospital system and a new unit. I've already blogged on my work before but it's getting so close now! I can't believe it.

I'm ready for this job. God has called me to be a nurse and God definitely called me to work at Texas Health HEB.  I feel so blessed to be given this opprotunity in life!

Thank y'all ahead of time for your prayers. Much love,

Once You're a Celebrity...

Brad Paisley once sang, "'Cause when you're a celebrity, its adios reality, you can act just like a fool, people think you're cool, no matter what you do, just cause your on tv..."

This is what has happened to my delightful husband. He is and has been on cloud nine since last Tuesday, July 12. I'm sure most of you (our friends and family) have heard or seen the tv clip of my Jordan catching Josh Hamilton's BAT at the Ranger's game!

I thought it would be necessary to have a post on this so that we could remember it forever... actually I don't think he'll need help for that.

Yes, it is a cool thing. It's actually an amazing thing. Not sure how he did it and he's not really sure either but he did. Josh took a big ole swing and the bat went a flying right over to the Frye family. I, of course, wasn't as this game. I had my NCLEX the next morning to worry about. Jordan and his family were there in their season ticket seats... and the miraculous thing occurred. Jordan had to wake me up when he got home from the game to tell me he made ESPN Top 10 plays even though I had to get up in a few hours to take my state boards.

Pretty much instantly Jordan was getting text messages from friends across the nation saying "I JUST SAW YOU ON TV!" or the most popular text "AMAZING CATCH!!" So yes, my husband thinks he is a celebrity.

MLB.com even tweeted "We're still trying to figure out how this fan caught Hamilton's tomahawking flying bat in the stands with 1 hand..."  Yes, he did catch it with one hand. He says he just kind of zoned in on the bat. Everyone else was ducking away but then there is Jordan standing up, turning in, and catching the bat. So funny!

Jordan's in the red hat and blue shirt... see his hand on the bat?

He hasn't gotten off this bat-catching high he's on. He is showing everyone the video. I mean everyone. He has no filter. It's crazy! I've just been cracking up this entire week but it has been insane.

I figured I'll show you the two videos that we have...

Click on the one above and the one below!

 

So there you have it. I love how Tyler, Jordan's little brother, just sits there so chill with his reflective sunglasses on. My absolute favorite part is watching Greg and Sheila jump up from behind Jordan has he makes the catch, I think you can see that in the first video. The whole family was thrilled!

Needless to say, this has been a bigger event in our household than me passing the NCLEX and becoming an RN. Priorities? Not sure. The family says its cause they didn't have ANY doubts what so ever about me passing, so it wasn't too exciting. Oh such love. ;)

We'll be getting a special case made for Josh's bat that will include the signed ball that he tossed to Jordan as well. We were always Rangers fans but this little event cemented us in for good. Never changing!

Thank y'all for sharing in this silly little event of our lives. We've had great fun with it!

Crazy Summertime

I always have that mindset that summer is going to be an easy breezy, chill out all day kind of feeling but it NEVER is. Why is that? Maybe because we are to consumed with doing tasks. We purposefully busy up our schedules... Americans really don't know how to relax until we remove ourselves away like to a beautiful island in the Caribbean but even in that instance, we tend to fill that time up with excursions around the islands, snorkeling, eating about twenty pounds of food per day, and sand volleyball.

Why do we stress ourselves out? Not sure we will ever truly know why. Perhaps its because our society always has to be doing something bigger and better than the person next to us. pah.

Since Jordan and I have been back in the great ole state, we've managed to accomplish a whole lot of busyness. I'm having to look back at my Instagram pictures to remind me of things we've done!

Of course, I've rubbed a bunch of puppy dog bellies and received one million and one kisses from the darn things. That's probably been one of the highlights of being home... having those puppies around! ;)

Jordan, Jake, and I spent a Thursday morning watch the pro golfers play their first day of the Colonial golf tournament. I absolutely adore watching golf in person... :) We got to see Zach Johnson go five under for the first day. We saw a bunch of fun guys, as always. Although, I must admit one of my favorite things was discovering that my dream of having a frozen Arnold-Palmer came true.... they had them at the Colonial!

We headed out to see Joe Nichols in concert with a big ole gang of friends. We went the Frye's, Hayley, Aly, Dwyer, Caleb, and my cousin Scott and his fiance who were in town! Joe was absolutely wonderful! It was so much fun to be in the Billy Bob's atmosphere and just listen to some good ole country music with our boots on. He sang his songs like "Gimmie that girl," "Cool to be a fool," "Tequila makes her clothes fall off," "I'll wait for you" (one of Jordan and I's songs), "The Impossible,"Who are you when I'm not looking," and "size matters!" It was a whole bunch of fun!!

We then spent the rest of that first weekend lounging around the pool with family friends. I have gotten some tanning done or so says my best friends that have seen me via skype. Then Scott, Chelsey, Jordan, and I did the touristy thing around Dallas. We went to the Dallas World Aquarium which always amazes me. We headed to Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot just outside of the Texas Book Depository. We stopped by the bronze bulls of Dallas. We toured the Cowboys Stadium VIP style and did a tour of the American Airlines Center. Of course, we had to do breakfast at Ham & Eggs which serves the biggest panckaes and biscuit n' gravy you have ever seen!

We topped Chelsey and Scott's visit off their last night with a Rangers game! It was so nice to be back in that ballpark. It really makes it feel like summer!

We celebrated one of the most wonderful woman's birthday's I know. Nola Marie was honored at a tea party thrown by her daughter. It was so nice to be gathered with a bunch of inspiring women! I also attended a tea party as a shower for my friend Adrienne's wedding shower! That was delightful as well.

Jordan has made it out to the hunting lease just once... no hogs were killed but some fish were caught and released! The boys had fun being out there again. They talk about the lease ALL the time. He also has been doing a lot of golfing trying to prepare for some amateur tournaments that he is in this summer. Jordan is gone this weekend in Boca Raton at one of his best friend's, Preston, weddings.

Also, Jordan has sent out his resume to a good handful of business men and women that he knows in hopes of finding a job through excellent connections. We are just praying that the Lord provides, as He always does. We are also praying that God will lead him to the job that Jordan needs and will love!

I've spent a whole lot of time studying for my NCLEX. I take it next Wednesday... which is six days from now. I am not really nervous because I don't really get that way. However, I am still praying for peace and success going into this test! It's been four years of studying for this beast and I can't wait to have the satisfaction of writing "RN" after my name. :) I did get my diploma in the mail today, so at least I'm partially legit.

What blessings we have experienced by being reunited with friends and family for the summer. Jordan and I are looking forward to all that is to come still. Maybe there will be a couple days of relaxation after I take this test down... just maybe!

Much love,

A New Chapter

Well goodness. I haven't neglected my blog on purpose... we have been seriously busy. The last three weeks flew by! When I went to look when the last time I blogged was... I was in shock! It felt like yesterday that we were at Crabtree Falls with the Wendlands!

I am now writing this as an official college graduate. I officially have received a Bachelors in Science of Nursing (BSN). This all is still surreal to me. I really do not think that I am processing the reality of what is occurring.

The last few weeks were filled with mostly packing, friends, and family. Jordan and I got our whole apartment boxed up and ready for the move! We spent a lot of times with friends including grilling out by the pool, working out, hanging out, getting coffee, and just chatting.

Let me recall and retrace our graduation weekend then I'll move forward again.

The Frye's and Nola arrived in Lynchburg the Thursday before we graduated. We were able to do a late lunch and dinner with them along with some needed shopping in Lynchburg. ;)

My parents arrived Friday morning at the airport. We picked them up and headed to lunch. Jordan and I then had to go campus to check in for graduation which we did as our parents walked around the campus and visited the bookstore. Later Friday evening, we got ready for the Baccalaureate service that was to be held in our basketball area on campus.

Luis Palau, an incredible Evangelist, spoke at our baccalaureate service. His message was for us to dream big dreams, pray big prayers, and to obey God's commands. It was a wonderful message and service. People call Louis the Billy Graham of South America. He was absolutely divine and I think we were all encouraged.

After hearing from Mr. Palau, we all went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in town called Mi Patron. Of course, it was delicious and we were able to be seated pretty much right away. Then we picked my Grandma Anne up from the airport on our way home.

Rise and Shine it was early for all of us on Saturday morning, May 12. Jordan and I had to be at our soccer stadium at 6:30 am to be able to get all of us graduates through the metal detectors (because of who our commencement speaker was). We hung out at the stadium until it was time for us all to proceed unto the football field for the graduate procession at 8:45. The actual commencement was not to start until 10:00 am but it took that long for all of us to get down there. We were able to see our parents on our walk across the field, which I thought was exciting.

Our chancellor, Jerry Falwell Jr., delivered an excellent speech. Truett Cathy the founder of Chick-fil-a received an award. Then Mitt Romney delivered an excellent commencement address. We were all super impressed. I think he did a spectacular job with his speech. He actually addressed the fact that he was speaking to a bunch of college graduates and was not focused on his political campaign. It is a neat thing to think that the possible next President of the United States spoke at my graduation!

We then went back to the apartment to pack everyone up for our beach week. Jordan and I went our separate ways to our different graduation ceremonies for our majors which began at 3:00 and 3:30. Mine was short and sweet. They delivered awards and certificates and called all of our names as we walked across the stage. It was wonderful to be able to see my professors again. The very ones who touched my life over the past four years. Of course there were hugs and smiles to all of my fellow nursing students. We will always have a bond because we survived together!

Jordan and I are so grateful to have spent the last four years of our live in Lynchburg, Virginia. We will always call Liberty University, home. We are apart of the Liberty family and couldn't be more blessed by the time we've spent here. We had the best of times and made the best of friends! God knew Liberty is where we needed to be. He knew that we would flourish here. He knew that we would make memories and friends that will last a lifetime. I would not change a single thing about our journey at Liberty. We are so grateful to our families for allowing us the opportunity to attend college here. I will miss seeing the Blue Ridge Mountains in the skyline. I will miss the rolling hills and the plentiful trees. I will miss the LU monogram directing me towards school everyday. This place will always be sacred in our hearts.  We are excited to bring our Christian educations out into our fields of work and to be a light among the dark. We love you LU!

Our family then whisked away on the four hour journey to Virginia Beach. We arrived late that night to our rental house. We found the closest restaurant for dinner and jumped in right before closing. We ordered pizzas and garlic knots. The garlic knots were the best ones I have ever had.... and trust me, I've had  a lot!

The next week was spent with hanging out with our loved ones in this spectacular house on Sandbridge Beach. The house had 7 bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. It was three stories. It had massive porches on each level of the house with hammocks. There was a pool, volleyball court, basketball hoop, and pool table. We rocked the fun out of the place! Not to mention we were a block from the beach!

I speak for all the family when I say we had a blast. Even though we didn't have the best weather because it was cloudy and windy. We had good chill and hang out days. The boys were even able to golf a couple times. While the boys were golfing, us girls went up to the Virginia Beach boardwalk one day and to historical Williamsburg the other day.

We left Friday afternoon to head back towards Lynchburg to pack up the ginormous uHaul and head back south to the great state of Texas. We loaded the uHaul in under two and a half hours then went out to Mi Patron to celebrate. Jordan and I are so grateful to our families for their helping hands and willingness to help us move our things across the country!

Saturday morning, we were all off like the wind! The Frye's headed back towards Dallas while my mom and I took a detour to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina.

Mom and I arrived in Asheville Saturday afternoon just in time to have lunch with one of my favorite people ever, Paige. We ate at the Corner Kitchen which is an adorable restaurant in an old little house in Biltmore Village. Apparently, President Obama ate there when he visited. It was delicious!

Mom and I then spent the rest of the day touring the Biltmore Mansion and Gardens. It was absolutely fabulous. The house alone is 4 acres and has 250 rooms. There is an indoor pool and three kitchens. Along with some incredible decor. 65 fireplaces to warm the thing up! There was so much detail in every aspect of the house it was crazy. George Vanderbilt waited six years for the house to be completed. If you haven't been or heard of it, you need to go and research it! It's fabulous!

We stayed the evening at the Biltmore Inn which is on the property. The room was comfortable and decadent. This morning, we started on our way to Dallas. Mom and I made it just past Knoxville and halfway to Nashville until my car started acting funny.

My engine light turned on then my car started shaking. We pulled over into a gas-station and called insurance to help us. Since it is Sunday, we are kind of out of luck. We had a wonderful tow truck driver bring us and my car to the nearest Audi dealership in Nashville, which was 70 miles away from were we were.

So the graduation adventure really has not ended.... I sit here resting in a hotel room in downtown Nashville, waiting for the Audi dealership to open up tomorrow. We are praying that my car needs only a quick fix! This is where I leave you as the next chapter in Jordan and I's life begin. We are college graduates. We are thrilled to be moving back home to the great state of Texas and look forward to the adventures that lie ahead!