It's OFFICIAL

We have OFFICIALLY been accepted as short term MISSIONARIES, yes I said MISSIONARIES for the Evangelical Covenant Church! Our plan...
We are actually not going to be going to Ecuador for at least a year. I will finish up my last year of graduate work and then HOPEFULLY I will be able to do my residency (similar to what a doctor has to do, it's 300 hours of clinical work in the field)in Ecuador working with either a nurse practitioner or a doctor. We will plan in going in either fall of winter of '09 for a 1-year short term experience, come back to the states and finish raising our support, and then go LONG TERM! We are so pumped and I just thought I would share it. The dream is getting closer.

Updates, Updates, Updates...

So, I haven't posted in a while, for that I apologize. I am sure you are waiting with bated breath to know results of the Pharmacology test...
I passed! YEAH! Thank GOD! I passed that class as well as the other 2. Hallelujah!!
IN other news...
We recently returned from Hilton Head, SC for a vacation with friends. It was so nice, but unlike me, I really didn't take any pictures so sorry not to share our fun time on the beach with you. It was a wonderful time and a well needed rest after a rough couple months of stress!
Other developments as far as the mission field for us. We had an interview on Sunday with our mission board from our church to recommend us to the Evangelical Covenant Church as missionaries. This is the second to last step in our process to become short-term missionaries. Our estimated time for this is next summer after I am done with school. I am going to hopefully plan doing my residency hours on the mission field. We will do short term work for 1 year, come back and raise the rest of our support and then go for the long haul!
This interview was a really great time of reflection for us and a realization that our call is FINALLY becoming real! It is so exciting. It is always fun to be able to re-live your testimony and call on your life and have people be excited for you! It was a great time.
So, that is a quick catch up in the life of the Delp's. I will work on getting some pictures soon.
Peace and Blessings!

THIS is it!!!!!!!!

Hopefully this is the LAST post I will ever have on here about Pharmacology! For those of you following this saga, my FINAL exam will be tomorrow (Thursday) in the afternoon. PLEASE pray for clarity and CALMNESS and that I don't run out of time. I will be studying a TON today so please also pray for wise time management and clarity (I have been sicky sicky this week). I am done with my other 2 classes, just waiting on grades for them, but I think I pulled B's out in both! Anyway, please pray. I covet them and appreciate them mo than you know!

FREE SPORTS BRA CLICK HERE!

For all you sporty spices out there, click on the link that says click here for your free sports bra. Pretty SWEET huh?

Plato's Closet

So for those of you that are clothes people...
I guess I hope ALL of you are clothes people, but for those of you that really like to shop, I found a place, actually a few years ago called Plato's Closet. I was so excited to go there again. The first time was shopping for my honeymoon. I bought a ton of fun clothes for really cheap. You also turn in your own clothes that you don't want anymore and get money for them. So, I went to the website and was concerned when it said,
"a unique teen fashion franchise"! YIKES!!
I am not a teen anymore! I suppose the first time I went I wasn't either! Can I still go?

Iditarod 2008

Since we were in Elim, Alaska, and even before I have been fascinated by the Iditarod. It is set to start today March 1st from Anchorage. Follow it on the site above. I was fascinated to know that the trail actually started because of a diptheria outbreak in 1925 in Nome (the end of the race). Mushers carried the serum over 600 miles in just a few hours to save many lives! It's a great story! Anyway, learn more about it. It's very cool!

Questions Answered

In attempting to keep with sharing stories and answering questions about "medical stuff", I thought I would answer Amy's question about Automated External Defibrillators (AED's) and their placement on women. The great thing about AED's is that they will walk you through exactly what you are supposed to do and they even give you pictures where to place the pads. For women it is usually no different. You put the pads basically between the breasts on the sternum and to the right and below the right breast. If a women is well-indowed, you can also place the pads one between the breasts or right above the L breast and the other directly in the same place on the back. THis is at times difficult for just one person, but usually if you are doing this in a public place, you won't have that problem.
AED's are awesome and they really DO save lives. My recommendation to non-healthcare providers is to enroll in a basic CPR course. They will not only teach you basic CPR, but it also teaches you how to use AED's properly. You really can save lives by having this information-you NEVER know when you will use it.
More information can be found at the above link.

CURVES update

I have been waiting to update on the new program I have started at Curves to see how the results are. The new program is called CURVES SMART. It is the same amount of time, but is a MAJOR workout. In this month alone since I started, I have lost 1% body fat, my BMI has gone down 1 point and I have lost inches to the hips, thighs, and other places too! I have lost 1 pound. I figure 1 pound is OK since I am replacing fat with muscle (it does weigh more!). Anyway, just thought I'd update you. Again this CURVES SMART is a great new program. If you are thinking of joining, make sure your Curves has this program.

OK Prayer Warriors...

So, next week (Tues or Wed) I have my second Pharmacology test. I am totally pumped with how well the first one went, but the second one is like twice the material and it's 3 times as hard (LDR curves, G-coupled proteins, and muscarinic receptors, sounds fun hugh!?)
So, if you think about it between now and especially next Tue or Wed, please pray for me and the test.
Pray for:
-Clarity and understanding of this massive amount of material
-Not to be anxious while taking the test
-Time management the next few days

Snowstorm pictures and some of the girls...

Yesterday we had a snow storm. The whole fam stayed home together and we got to just chill and watch the snow, watch movies, study, and just hang out. I LOVE SNOW DAYS-just like when I was a kid.


View from our 3rd floor apartment


Snow pictures from our sunroom


Patah really likes this snow day stuff


Hireq and Patah relaxing on Joel's legs



Hireq enjoying the snow

I need a mask...I passed also!

So, as stated in a previous blog, I wanted to post some things related to what I (Kim) do and maybe they can help those in blogger land. Well, the point of this post is that laughter is the best medicine! This is one of the funnier stories I have had recently working as an ER nurse. I am sure your minds can run WILD as to the funny things I see on a daily basis. I won't get TOO graphic, but I will share this story.
The other day I was working and it was an extremely busy day! These kind of days can sometimes be trying, but this made it all worth it. I had an elderly lady who came in from the nursing home and nobody there knew what was wrong with her (we're the ER, we are supposed to figure these things out ya know!!!!). Anyway, they thought she had a fever so we HAD to check to make sure we while we were doing so, she tooted SO loud and SO long! The other person helping me just died laughing, of course did too (I am SOOOO professional). She hadn't realized what she had done, which was probably better. But it defintely made us laugh, helping get through the day just a little bit better.
There ya have it Robin! ENJOY!
P.S.
I thought I would let you all know in blogger world that
I PASSED MY FIRST PHARMACOLOGY TEST WITH A B!! WOO HOO! THanks for the prayers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIMBERLY!!!!

(This is actually JOEL doing a blog post)
In case all of you out there in Bloggerland didn't know, Monday, January 28th was Kim's 29th Birthday, so.... Happy Birthday Kim!
I thank God for bringing this wonderful women into the world 29 years ago and allowing her to be my wife. I am so proud of her and how hard she works at work and school (especially this week!) and how much she cares about people (like you folks!) and how much she desires to serve the Lord. I love being her husband and going through life with her. So everyone make sure and wish her a Happy Birthday!!!

Can you guess what we had for Kim's Birthday dinner??? Anyone who knows Kim very well should know....






Yep... you guessed it. Sushi!!!




Here we are at Kim's favorite Sushi buffet where we eat way too much raw fish for any two people to handle.




Kim and her favorite food.





I guess Kim likes showing off her presents 'cause she wanted me to put this pic up.

1 DOWN 1 TO GO...

I TOOK MY FIRST DIAGNOSTICS TEST YESTERDAY (ON MY BIRTHDAY) AND TOMORROW IS MY FIRST PHARMACOLOGY TEST...PLEASE PRAY FOR:
~No anxiety during or before the test
~Focus over the next 24 hours to study
~For understanding of the concepts covered
~Confidence during the test
Thanks I appreciate you all so much!

I've been thinkin...

I was thinking this morning about the reason I created this blog. At first I suppose it was because everyone else was doing it and it was a fun new way to keep up with people I may not otherwise. Now, it is still a way to keep up with people, but I feel I want it to be more. Not that this isn't enough to keep up with people, I LOVE that and have fun looking at all my fellow bloggers blogs. However, since I am a nurse, I thought maybe I should share some stuff I know that maybe others out there don't. I am defintely not an expert, but any means, but I have seen and experienced a lot in my nursing career and thought maybe I should share some. I am also hoping maybe Joel will share a little of his expertise and write a post once in a while about his thoughts on Jesus, the Bible and just general Joel thoughts--I know he has a lot of them.
So, are there any questions that anyone has that I could answer? Anything anyone wants to know?

Every little bit helps...

I stole this from Erin's blog, but I think it is cool and if I can do any little thing to help, why not?!
Go to this site, play the game and help feed hungry people!

http://www.freerice.com/index.php


Also go to Poverty.com to learn more!

A NEW start...HOPEFULLY

I am not sure how much I have talked about previously regarding my classwork over the summer. Let's go back even more in case y'all don't know at all what I (Kim) am doing. I am working on a Master's degree in nursing which when I am finished, I will be a Family Nurse Practitioner.
Over the summer, I took a Pharmacology class (basically studying drugs and how they effect the body)which I subsequently did not pass. It goes without saying that I was pretty devastated and it really made me re-think what the heck I am doing! I was discouraged and just really thought I was not cut out for this. I don't doubt that I am a good nurse, I know I know what I am doing, but this class just KILLED me.
Anyway, it was possible that I might not be able to continue in the program. However, it has worked that I have one more chance to complete this course. I am also taking 2 additional courses with this one to total 3! That is more than I have done previously so I was able to go down to part time work-only on the weekends!
ALL this to say, I would appreciate all your prayers and encouragement the next 10 weeks as I endeavor on this CRAZY PHARMOCOLOGY adventure.
Sorry to share probably more than what you want to hear. Thanks for reading.

Vote for me!

Hey everyone! I am posting this to ask for you to vote for me. I entered a scholarship application to get money for school. I figured this is the quickest way to get it out there. I know it's kind of goofy, but school is expensive, I'm sure a lot of you understand. Thanks and VOTE FOR ME!

http://www.brickfish.com/Pages/PhotosAlbums/
PhotoView.aspx?picid=270852_67355585&=
PPIMEMAIL&isep=1&pbapi=286045&pbvi=8860259

Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of our family and friends!

First Snow

I have tried to get pictures to capture how beautiful the snow has been here, but it is usually dark when it is so pretty and the pictures don't turn out well. So, here are some pictures of the dogs playing in the first snow of the year! They really love their sweaters!

Turkey Try

On Sunday, I tried my hand at making a Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. On Thanksgiving I realized I had never done this before and I didn't know if I could. I have watched my grandma, aunt and mom do this for years, but had never done it before. Well, it turned out pretty well. We had some friends over. The doggies even wanted some of the leftovers! OF COURSE!! I also tried (2 times) at making my grandma's roll recipe. It wasn't quite as good as hers, but wow, they were pretty good. It was great to have that taste again. The picture of Joel sitting is putting all the leftovers together! It was tons of fun! I'm glad to know that if I HAD to do it, I could. I think mom's is better though!