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mleelyf19 · 5 years ago

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My NCLEX Day June 10th, 2019

June 10, 2019 was one of the craziest days of my life. One of the most stressful, emotional, self-proving, confidence seeking days of my life. June 10th was the day that my now husband, then fiancé, Cody, would pack me up in his car, and drive me down to Portland, Maine. This was the day that I took my NCLEX. The test that put everything out on the line. The test that determines if a person has enough vast nursing knowledge of a 2-week-old brand new nurse, and if you are a KILLER nurse. The test that would either put me into a deep depression, or at the highest of highs. This is the one test that I had been waiting and preparing so hard for over the last four years of nursing school. The last four year of studying, being stressed to the max, crying, late nights, ridiculous assignments, and self-questioning finally had come to the one day that I would prove if I was fit to be a nurse.

I remember getting a notification from my classes Facebook page that someone had got the email to sign up to take the exam. I was working that night, so I was trying to get some rest before having to work a night shift. Once I got that notification, I was on my laptop refreshing, literally every minute, waiting for my email to come through. And then it finally came. I hopped right over to the website where we would sign up for our date. To be honest, I sit here at my computer trying to come up with the name of the website, but I really think that I have blocked it out of my memory. If you learn anything from this post, we tend to suppress traumatic experiences out of our memory… I believe this is happening to me right now. I got to the website and could not remember my username and password. At this point, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sign up for a date before our wedding in July. However, I finally got my username and password, got on and chose a date. The soonest date in Bangor (1/2 testing centers in the state) was June 18th. This was way to close to wedding week. I then filtered in Portland (the other testing center in the state) and they had a slot opened at 2pm on June 10th. I have never accepted something online so fast in my life.

Leading up to the exam wasn’t terrible. I did exactly what I was supposed to do. Crossed my T’s and dotted my I’s. For anyone looking for a great study tool for the NCLEX, I highly recommend HURST. My class bought this product and did a live class in January (which I still think was silly due to taking the NCLEX in June). I put the product up until Graduation, but you better believe, that Monday after graduation I was headfirst in my HURST book and HURST videos. I did the whole core content a second time, again taking notes, and then did simulation tests from then until June 8th. This is (one of) my biggest advice I can give you. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT STUDY THE DAY BEFORE YOUR EXAM! This will only stress you out more and start you on a path thinking about all the material that you don’t know. At this point, you know what you know. I was faithful to using the HURST product from graduation until two days before my exam. Once again, I HIGHLY recommend this product.

June 10th, 2019. We left the Bangor area around 8am to get down to Portland around 10am. We found the testing center, went to the Maine Mall to walk around, and eat lunch. I went to use the restroom, and when I came out, I just started to cry. I was so overwhelmed by everything that was happening, and I think the mall may had been just enough stimulation to make that worse. We left through best buy, which was very embarrassing because I was actively crying as we were walking out and got some pretty strange looks, but it was a big day for me and my nursing career.

We got to the testing center an hour before I could go in. We were there at 12:30… I could only go in at 1:30 and start the registration process. It seemed crazy to me at the time but that hour that we had to sit in the parking lot was just what I needed. I prayed, I expressed all my feelings to Cody, and I started talking to myself about the information that I did know. Talking to myself before my exam was very helpful and worked as positive self-talk which increased my self-confidence. Guys, I was literally shaking in my shoes up until they walked me into the testing room, and I sat down with my noise reduction headphones. Once I started talking my exam, God had answered my prayers and truly calmed all my nerves. I felt like I was just taking another simulator exam, not the real thing.

Once I got to 75 questions I kept doing “just 10 more” to see if it would shut off until l got to question 110. I took a break at this point because I was convinced all 265 questions were coming for me. When I got back from my break, I submitted question 118 and it was over. My screen shut off and I clicked right through the mock questions for the upcoming NCLEX (sorry NCSBN, my brain was toast and I couldn’t answer another question).

When I got back into the car, I can not tell you or even begin to explain the emotions that I felt. The best way to explain it I think would be the words SELF DESTRUCTION. I started to question everything and every way that I answered all the specific questions that I could remember. Guys, I sobbed. I ugly cried. I don’t I think I stopped ugly crying until we got to the beach. Cody got me a little beach therapy before being in a car with me for 2 hours after I just took the hardest exam of my life. He’s a smart guy. But in all seriousness, the beach made me feel so much better. The natural beauty of it and the sound of the waves rejuvenated my soul exactly where I needed it too.

When we got home, Cody and I were sitting on the couch and again, the self-destruction set in and I began to cry again. My class was told by others how to figure out if we passed by doing a “trick”. My second advice to all future NCLEX takers, DON’T DO THE TRICK. It was incorrect for one person in my class, so she thought that she had failed when she instead passed but didn’t find that out until the results are posted around 4am. Can you imagine those hours of thinking your failed when you passed? I can’t. I opted out of the trick. I was already a wreck and I don’t think I could have handled it if the “trick” was incorrect for me.

June 11th around 5am, I got up, come downstairs and prayed. With my computer closed I prayed that God would give me the strength no matter what result I would get because God knows that I need him in being a new nurse as well. After I looked up my license and there was a number beside it, I screamed, and then surprise, surprise, I cried again! But this time Cody cried with me. This has been one of the most rewarding moments of my life. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, my soon-to-be-husband and I cried together over my victory of conquering the NCLEX!

People, although I still stay that the NCLEX was the worst day of my life up to this point, looking back now, it was so beautiful. Reaching for God’s hand, and continually returning to him as my emotions were high, my faith was really the main thing that got me through my NCLEX day without a major break down. It could have been a lot worse. I continue to thank God for the fire that he set in my soul to become a nurse, so that I would serve him through serving others.

Thanks for reading!

Macy Lee Lyford, RN, BSN

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mleelyf19 · 5 years ago

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Mrs. Macy Lee Lyford

Hi everyone! I haven’t blogged in quite some time (like literally a year and a half) and let me be the first to tell you that A LOT has happened! I got engaged, became a nurse, and got married! For this piece though, I will be telling you about our wedding day. Of course, if you would like to hear about the other two journeys, getting engaged and becoming a nurse I would be more than happy to share those two experiences with you, but for now, wedding talk.

I don’t even know where to start. Our colors, our decorations, our venue, our food, our wedding party? I guess I will start with our engagement date! I am just going to brush over this part, but it was so fantastic and would really make for a good blog if I get around to it. So, our engagement! Let me set the scene: July 10th, 2018- Walt Disney World. We had just got done eating at Columbia Harbour House, (they have some delicious Salmon that is not unreasonably priced). We were on a trip to celebrate Cody’s sister high school graduation with Cody’s family. So here we are, our bellies full, walking around Disney. I saw the sign to go meet Merida, the princess from Brave, and asked if we could go see her! (Just remember that I was 21 at the time). Gail, Cody’s mom, suggested that we should just walk around and let our stomachs setting before really committing to doing anything. So, we walked past the wishing well, which is located on the back-right side of Cinderella’s castle. We stopped to take some photos and SURPRISE, this is where Cody and I got engaged!

Okay, now that you know a little snapshot of our engagement story, on to the super good stuff, THE WEDDING!

First, we had to decide where and when we wanted to get married. We knew that we wanted to get married in the Bangor area, but we really didn’t know where. We explored two different venues, and venue number two, Camp Roosevelt, was the winner. As you will see in some of the photos, we had an outdoor wedding (which I really wanted), and the building itself was a log style venue with a ton a space. Once we decided that this was where we wanted to get married, we asked for the dates that they had left for the summer of 2019. They gave us the last date that they had left for the “early” summer and we snagged it right of the water! Of course, we needed to do some housekeeping business before we stole it such as when I would take the NCLEX and when Cody was supposed to go on clinical, but after housekeeping was done, we had our wedding date! July 6th, 2019 was the day that I married my best friend.

Just a little side note, on the way into Camp Roosevelt, there is a red barn the name Lyford across the top! Why was that there do you ask? I guess if use to be a state reps. Barn or still is, I’m not sure. I remember driving into see the venue, seeing the odd sign with my to-be last name on it, looking at Cody and saying, “Are we supposed to get married here?”. I can picture God looking down at us on that very moment saying, “Why yes Macy, it is!”.

Fast forward to July 5th 2019, at 11pm. The day before wedding day. Or should I say, the day that I was up late worrying about the weather, laying on my stomach, on my bed looking at the hourly forecast for our wedding day. I will never forget looking at that forecast. Do you want to know how a to-be-bride feels looking at the forecast for her wedding day and it was reading 90% thunderstorms from 11am-5pm when all she has dreamed about for years is an outdoor wedding in the beginning of summer? Well, let me tell you, I was a little bit anxious, but I knew better than to put those feelings on myself. I texted Cody and told him that they might want to set the ceremony up inside because of the forecast. And then do you want to know what I did next? I prayed. I prayed so hard and I gave those feelings to the Lord. I knew that the Lord had our wedding day already planned out and that he had saw it before I was even born. WOW! If that doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will. Giving those feelings to the Lord was the best thing that I could have done.

The weather was fantastic!

Wedding morning! July 6th, 2019. The day that I had been waiting for since my freshman year of high school, when I met Cody. My mom, Maid of honor, Kiara, and sister, Mindy all went to a Salon in Ellsworth named, Hairbenders. We got our hair done, as well as my nails. I remember eating only two chicken nuggets (only because I was so nervous, because trust me, I can eat!) and feeling sick to my stomach. Traffic back to Eddington from Ellsworth was a nightmare but we made it with plenty of time to spare! The girls got ready, took pictures, and then the guys got ready and it was time for our first look.

Oh man, the first look. I have never felt more anxious in my whole entire life! I have seen Cody time and time again, but there was something about that moment, seeing YOUR groom right before you get married with no distractions but just love? Wow. I recommend everyone doing a first look with their future wife/husband. It really could have been one of my favorite moments of the whole day, (other than getting married of course). After he saw me the last time before I married him, we got to spend a few moments with two people who have had a huge influence on our relationship with each other and our individual relationships with the Lord, Josh and Amy.

Then it was wedding time! 3pm came and we were walking down the aisle! Once I finally made it to Cody, the rest of the wedding really was a blur. It was very sweet and sentimental to us and to our faith. I know what we did, and I have vague memories of it, but it is a good thing that I have a copy of the ceremony outline! I am sure as time goes on; more memories will come back to me! A few moments that I will share with you that I remember very vividly. There was a moment that Cody looked at me and said, “I’m pretty sure my mom is crying” and I responded with “That’s why I’m not looking at her”. Another moment was when I was trying to place his ring on his finger, and it was a very tight fit. The words that I spoke while I was placing the ring on his finger got very slow very fast! The last moment that I will share with you that I will not forget was we were standing at the altar, ( I really don’t know what was happening around us or going on) but Cody looked right into my soul and said, “I love you”. What a moment to have as a couple before our friends and family and before God. It was so special.

Our ceremony took about 30 minutes and then we had to scramble for pictures because not even 10 minutes after our ceremony, Heavens gates opened, and the rain let loose! It poured! However, it was a good rain. A rain that everyone anticipated but no one saw it quite yet. It also cooled everything down, which was nice because let me tell you it was HOT!

We danced our first dance to “This is it” by Scotty McCreery” (this is a no brainer), Josh gave the blessing, Dakota and Kiara did their toasts, we ate dinner (which was fantastic!), did the father/daughter and mother/son dances (which I loved because part way through the song we invited other mother/sons and father/daughters that were present to come and join us on the dance floor).

One of the activities that we did that I really loved was our cake in the face. Cody and I each had a jar with our names on it. Whoever had the most money in their jar by a certain time would get part of the wedding cake in the face. This was my only fighting chance to get Cody with the cake. Well, as the tale is told, we both had the same amount of money (or so they say). This was so fun, and it was an activity that I found on Pinterest. I had never seen it done before, so Cody and I took a shot in the dark with it!

We were all packed up and ready to get home around 7. By the time everything was unpacked, and our apartment was a mess, it was around 9pm. This worked out perfectly. Our flight for our honeymoon was for 5:30 the following morning, therefore after going through our gifts and cards it was around midnight! We got about 2 hours of sleep and we were off to Walt Disney World!

As I finish writing this post, I am overwhelmed with the love and support that we have received up to this very day. Cody and I have had our ups and downs (even before we were married), but to have a group of people watching out for us and praying for and with us really has made a world of a difference. Gods timing is always prefect. I love sharing little snapshots of our lives with others. It is a good reminder that no one is perfect and everything that we have is truly worked hard for.

I would love feedback, if anyone would like to know more about our day, or has any questions about wedding planning, please feel free to ask! I cannot answer every question, but I sure can do my best! Once again, thank your for taking the time to read (if you got this far) and for having a little snapshot of our wedding day!

The new Macy Lee Lyford

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mleelyf19 · 7 years ago

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*Day 3

Today is day three of doing nothing. I honestly don’t know how some people sit home and entertain themselves when they have nothing to do. I haven’t been scheduling myself to work but rather calling in the mornings to see if the hospital that I work for needs help that day (pro of being pool per diem staff)! This has worked out for me really well especially with being in nursing school. The only commitment to the hospital that I have is that when I am not in school, such as winter break or summer break, I have to work 4 shifts a month. Yeah, it’s a pretty good gig! However, the negative degree temperatures that we have been getting here in Bangor the past week has not been helpful to Rosie at all (my car). Rosie is a lot like me and really just hates the negative temperatures. She hates them so much that she won’t start when I really need her too! So, she has been sitting in my heated garage, staying out of the cold, and I start her once a day and let her run for about an hour (hoping that it will charge her battery enough). However, when it is unpredictable is Rosie is going to start or not, it is kind of hard to work! This is kind of discouraging because Darla (my old car) had a history with not starting! Because of Darla, I got jumper cables for Christmas one year and thank God that I did!

Day one of my day three streak I called the hospital in the morning to see if they needed help to find out that they didn’t (this almost never happens) so I took the day to relax! I don’t know how to relax very well. I am a person that likes to be busy, which I think is why I oddly love nursing school. So I watched Netflix (which I am also bad at) and just stayed low for the day.

Day two, (yesterday) was a snow day! We got a ton of snow that I have yet to go out and deal with! I haven’t seen the wind blow that hard in a long time. I am not sure how much snow that we actually got but it’s a lot! Cody went out to work (snow removal) and I once again watched Netflix (Fuller house) and stayed low.

Day three, today, I don’t really know what to do with my self! I am “watching” Grey’s Anatomy at the moment as I write this, already cleaned the living room, put the sheets in the washer and are already in the dryer, and have to wash the dishes but other than that I have nothing planned again. I have been doing a lot of searching for decorating for the IF:Gathering which I am hosting next month at Bangor Advent Christian Church. This is a women’s retreat that is hosted in Austin, Texas by Jennie Allen. Woman around the world will tune into to this as people are hosting IF:Gatherings all over the globe and we will glorify God together and go in deeper with him. This is an amazing retreat and I cannot wait to host it! However, because I have been thinking a lot about it, I have been kind of nervous to get to the date. I have clinical the Friday of, which means I will have paper work that I due on Monday at 3. I also have a Simulation the following Friday and I have to go research my patient for OB that Sunday for a Monday clinical, which means that I will have paper work due that Wednesday of Simulation week. If you are reading this please pray for me as I mentally, and physically prepare for this week next month. If you are the praying type please pray that I would be refreshed by IF: Broadway and that I would be ready and prepared to take on the week following.

As for the rest of the day, today is day 5 of the workout plan that I am doing! (Yesterday was rest day). Later today we are going to clean out my drive way (from the tons of snow that we got) and then do day 5 of the work out plan. I think I might make myself a hot cocoa, maybe read my book and watch Grey’s until around 4 and then get going.

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks for reading. It’s not very exciting but rather just a way to gather my thoughts and figure out what I am going to do today and how that I have not been productive (but rather have given myself another week of vacation) but that is truly okay! We all need at refresh day, or three in preparation for the three months ahead (last semester of junior year, thank God!) Enjoy the rest of your Friday! Until next time friends!

Thanks for reading.

Macy D

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mleelyf19 · 7 years ago

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*My 2017*

I have been sifting through Instagram stories this morning and I have seen a lot of stories of the past year from my friends. Instead of placing pictures on Instagram that I may never see again in that order, I thought that it would be a good idea to go through 2017 photos starting in January and tell a few stories that go alone with the photos that I have. This is primarily for me so that I can go back in a few years and read and look at memories that I have made and of course my 2017 highlights. But of course I would love you to read it too! Here is my 2017 highlights.

January

1/9/2017

To start out 2017 Cody and I went skating with our friends Samantha and Dakota and my cousin Caleb. This was so much fun. We don’t go skating a lot but when we do we have a blast! The biggest thing that I remember about this skating trip is that I feel flat on my butt! I know that this usually happens anyway but for some reason I was so disappointed with this fall because I had gone the whole hour before without falling once (this doesn’t happen often because I am pretty clumsy without skates on for starters). Regardless of the fall this was a very fun night and I’m glad to have documentation of it or to be honest I don’t think that I would have remembered it!

1/29/2017

This was the day that Cody and our friend Andrew planned to dress up for church (which includes the sports coat) without telling Pastor Clayton. This is more of an inside joke because it is kind of funny to see the “College Students” dress up in a suit just to get Pastor Clayton off key because he only wears a sports coat the first Sunday of the month (this is when we take Communion). However, this was the last Sunday of the month and they thought that they would catch him off guard (which I said above) only to find out that Pastor Clayton was not there that week. We had to take the pictures and send them to Pastor Clayton just to show him what these two planned and how it didn’t work. The next time that Pastor Clayton saw Cody and Andrew he asked if they had a sermon ready for next week to preach. Both of them shot this statement down right away! This was just a fun memory that I want to hold onto.

February

2/13/2017

This was the day that we had a huge snow storm down in Bangor. My good friend Kylee and I went out of the big part of the storm was over to see how badly our cars were covered in snow. Mostly to see if they would start (Darla, my old car, had a history of not starting). Both of our cars started, however we did not find Darla as she is pictured above. She was absolutely buried in the snow. Lucky that I had this little tiny shovel in the trunk of my car to try to at least dig the tires out so that I could get started. Their was one Christmas that my mom bought me this shovel and a set of booster cables so I could make sure that at least I had something to jump my car when it died (they have been used A LOT).

I have a video of what my car looked like, however Tumblr is not letting me attach the link. But I am not joking when I am saying that it was covered in snow. It was really part of the snow bank. The video makes it look really bad because the wind was blowing and the snow had drifted over the roof of my car. Just a little shout out to Kylee, thanks for being a good noodle and convincing me that it was a good idea to go clean my car off (even though you really just wanted to go outside and play in the snow..... so did I).

March

3/8/2017

This is the day that I decided I would take God out to lunch! I went to Dysart’s in Hermon and ordered some blueberry french toast and had some God and me time. If you have never done this before I highly suggest that you do! I took my journal and the book that I was reading (Nothing to Prove written by Jennie Allen and went deeper into my relationship with God. You might get some funny looks because I did but really it was great! I wasn’t there for as long as I thought that I would have been but the short time that I was there really helped me and encouraged me that my relationship with God is just like a relationship that I have with my friends and he deserves time out of my day. This meal taught me that I should be longing for God and me time during the day.

April

4/11/2017

FLOUNDER!!

This is my pet cactus that I bought. I remember this stage of my life where I really wanted either a baby or a puppy. Yes, I know that this sounds crazy. Well a baby wasn’t an option nor was a puppy because I lived in the DLC at Husson so I compromised with a pet cactus! He was a good little cactus! However, their was one time that he attacked Kylee (she knocked him off of the window sill and he fell on her and all through her new blanket that she had just got for Christmas. Flounder has passed away now but he was the best cactus pet ever! Rest in peace Flounder.

4/22/2017

ANDREW AND CAROLINE GOT ENGAGED!

First to start out, I had no idea that this was going to happen but everyone else did besides Caroline of course. We went to a Sea Dogs game down in Portland (which was freezing and rainy). That morning I remember Andrew telling us how there are two people that are going to be drawn to through the first pitch and catch the first pitch out of the Husson group that was attending. Little did I know that Andrew already had it set up that Caroline would pitch and Andrew would catch. Yup! You guessed it! He proposed to her on the mound and it was so so sweet to watch and be apart of! Love you guys! Thanks for letting us be apart of your special day!

May

5/4/2017

This is the day that Caroline asked me to be her bridesmaid! Look how cute this little box is! I am so excited for July 20, 2018! This is the date that Andrew and Caroline “Tie the Knot”! I am so so excited to be part of your guys big day! I think that this was a pretty important photo to place within these memories! I cannot wait until July!

5/7/2017

I took a picture with my favorite clown! Can you guess who is in the Dazzle costume? Yeah you’re right, it’s Cody! The funny part is I had no idea who was in the costume until I got their and the clown waved at me, which I thought was normal so I waved back, and then the clown waved me over.... Yeah good this IT wasn’t out yet! So I he came over to me and then told me that it was him and problem solved the clown was actually my boyfriend.

5/20/2017

Cody and I took a trip down to Bar Harbor. It was cold! We ate lunch onto of a building which I don’t remember the name of but we got a huge basket of nachos and they were delicious! We walked the shoe path and then around Jordan Pond. It is so beautiful there! If you have never gone I highly suggest going!

June

6/3/2017

We attended our friends Bradlee and Jessica’s wedding! It was absolutely beautiful and a ton of fun! It was probably the quickest wedding that I have ever been too but that didn’t put a dimmer on the love that they have for each other! Thank you Bradlee and Jessica for letting us be apart of your special day!

6/30/2017

SPAM CAMP! This is by fair one of my favorite memories. SPAM stand for sports and music camp. This is hosted every year in Alton Bay, NH. This past year was the second time that I had the honor to be a camp counselor. This is a camp that kids between 7th grade and seniors who just graduated can attend. It is a time that kids, counselors and camp staff come together and spend time together to get to know each other and to get to know God and the love of Jesus and how it has impacted you and pray that it does impact you during the week of camp and of course after. Just so it is clear, it is not only the campers who become impacted but it is everyone who is in the presents of God during this week. I LOVE LOVE LOVE SPAM CAMP! This camp has brought me some life long friends and a stronger love for Jesus.

July

7/1/2017

We met Willow Pillow for the first time! Look how little she was! We didn’t take her home this day but the love that we have for her now was only just sparked, even though she likes to lay across your face now that you can’t breath, but she does it because she loves you!

7/9/2017

These cool cats played in a volleyball tournament with Josh and Amy. Cody gave me away to a different team because he wanted to be on Andrews team! It’s okay! I would have made them loss anyway:P Seriously though it was so much fun, and beautiful outside! Cody got a really bad sunburn and I’m pretty sure them came in second place for the tournament.

7/21/2017

We went to a SAM HUNT CONCERT! This was such a fun night! He was so so good live! Tickets to this concert were all of our birthday presents for the year. I highly suggest going to see a Sam Hunt concert!

7/22/2017

Cody and I took a trip down to Freeport! I bought my first pair of Oakley's (yikes)and it was a beautiful day outside! Every time we go to Freeport I always insist on taking a picture by the bean boot (it makes for a great memory!) This was a really fun trip and it is one thing that I love living in Bangor! It doesn’t take us 5 hours to get to Portland but rather 2- 2 1/2 hours.

7/29/2017

We got to go with Cody’s mom, Gail, and his Aunt Dena to go pick up Willow Pillow! This is the day that they brought her home! She was so tiny and super lovable but really all that she wanted to do was sleep (I mean come on shes a baby). We got to meet his other dog, Meeko’s, mom Abby and give so much love to her! Cody held Willow until we got back to Bangor, we took her to PetCo to get her a toy and after that she was on her way to her forever home in Presque Isle with Cody’s parents!

August

8/5/2017

Cody and I went down to Old Orchard for the weekend with Andrew and Caroline! This was a ton of fun. We ate breakfast on the beach, took a lot of walks (only because their was a 1/2 mile one way walk to the camp ground) and spend time on the foggy beach! Even tough it was foggy and the weather was weird, the beach never stops being beautiful! We got to go into the ocean for a short time but we got in! We played Can-jam on the beach, and ate at a restaurant on the pear! This is a picture of all of the food that we got and man was it so good! I mean look at that shrimp!

8/24/2017

Hailey moved into her apartment in Bangor! I went over to welcome her and to catch up on our lives over the summer! In high school, Hailey and I would go to County Physical Therapy together and work out with our Athletic Trainer Andy. Hailey and I grew close during trying to get into shape for softball. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our friendship! Love you Hail!

8/26/2017

The balloon festival was up in Presque Isle. I was home so Gail, Kiara, and I decided to go watch the hot air balloons take off with our milkshakes from Arby’s. We had to drive around a little bit but boy were these beautiful. It doesn’t take much for me to be pleased and to watch these balloons fly across the sky was absolutely beautiful! To watch this happen with two people that I love very much was such a treat! Until next year balloon festival!

8/28/2017

Charlie (kylee’s kitty) found Maui! We were getting ready for class and I came down stairs to find Charlie trying to figure out (or eat) what Maui was! He really liked my guard fish (Maui) but he stuck his paw in the bowl and few times. To protect Maui I placed him in the bathroom downstairs and closed the door so that his life would be spared. I had just bought a lemonade dispenser and we thought that it would be a good idea to put Maui in it so that he would be safe from Charlie but Charlie could still play with him!

8/30/2017

Maui is safe! This work out really well and it was pretty funny to watch Charlie chase Maui around the bowl! However, Maui passed away about a month later. Rest in peace Maui!

September

9/23/2017

My sister Mindy got married! This was a fun day filled with love and laughter! We got lots of pictures and my sister was a beautiful bride! Cody and I were both in the wedding and thrilled to have been asked to be apart of their big day! I was blessed with a loving, caring, and kind brother-in-law, Devin! Thank you Mindy and Devin for the memories that will last forever from your wedding day!

October

10/3/2017

I chopped 8 inches off of my hair! this is the most that I have cut off of my hair in a very long time! My hair hasn’t been close to my shoulders for year! I was nervous to do it but I thought that it was time for a change. I LOVE IT! I have been told that I look older with my hair shorter but I think it is because I have never known any different than my hair being long. I love getting a hair cut mostly because it makes me feel healthy and new!

10/9/2017

My friends Amanda, Darren, Adam and RJ went to a little orchard in Bangor to pick apples! While we were their they had these cute little goats! If you know me, you know that I love baby goats! Come on! I mean look at him! Isn’t he just the cutest little goat that you have ever seen?! I really wanted to take him home but I was told that it wouldn’t be allowed. Until next year cute little goat!

10/12/2017

This is the day that Kylee and I decided that we needed to get Charlie another fishy to play with! This is Mowgli! He was a little baby betta fish! I thought that I could feed him the same type of food that I was feeding Maui, but it turns out that feeding a fish pebbles about the size of the fish doesn’t work very well! Mowgli lasted about two weeks in our home until we had to put him to rest. Rest in peace Mowgli.

10/13/2017

Some of our friends, Cody and I carved pumpkins! If you can guess, mine is the pineapple and thanks to Cody it still looks like a pineapple. I am not talented when it comes to art, therefore, my pineapple was going to look like a box with designs on it and not like a pineapple at all! As you can tell he is pretty good! I mean look at that Aladdin and Jasmine on his pumpkin!

10/21/2017

My sister, Mindy and Devin found out that they were expecting! That means I’m going to be an aunt in 2018! This is super exciting and I cannot wait to meet little baby Michaud in July! Baby Michaud, you are so so loved already! I cannot wait to meet you and hold you and claim best aunt of the year in 2018!

November

11/2/2017

I woke up to this beautiful sun-rising! This I took this out of my bathroom window! As you can see their is no snow on the ground, but this was when the weather was starting to get a little bit colder. This sunrise set me up for a good day with a good mood to follow!

11/13/2017

We welcomed our little kitty Nala into our home! I have been asking for a kitty pretty much forever, just kidding it’s been the last two years. Every time I would ask the answer would always be no. This time was different for some reason. I didn’t ask, I just showed Cody a picture of what she looked like and he asked where she was. After we got the yes, I told him that I was going up north that night to get the kitten (mostly because I didn’t want him to change his mind and I wanted my hands on that kitten). Cody’s roommate Corryn came with us and rode in the back to comfort the kitten!

11/24/2017

Cody and I went home for Thanksgiving and of course to take Christmas card pictures. Yes, I did wear these pants to Thanksgiving and yes I wore them again during Christmas!

11/29/2017

I took Nala to her first doctors appointment! You have no idea who excited I was to get a kitten so I have to document everything about her! She was 3lbs and 8 oz when they weighed her. She got lots of complements about how cute she is (which was expected). I mean, come on, look at that little face!

December

12/15/2017

Finals just got over with and Cody and I decided that we should go down to Freeport to see the Northern Lights celebration. This was amazing! L.L Bean decorates pine trees that they place around a little hut, which is called the warming hut. Inside of the warming hut they were handing out FREE hot cocoa. Which is a huge treat because I love my hot cocoa. Inside of the hut, children could also write letters to Santa and place them in a mail box that sent them away to the North Pole. I thought that this was super sweet and a great way to make this trip a family event for people with children! The children also could go see Santa, who was in a red barn where his reindeer were placed outside. This was really cool to see and they are beautiful animals! If you have never gone down to Freeport during this event, I HIGHLY recommend attending next year!

12/24/2017

CHRISTMAS EVE! We were waiting for Santa to come, however, he never comes until all of the children are asleep. We celebrated Christmas Eve with Cody’s family with lots of special time together! I wish people celebrated Christmas all year round, but for the right reasons. I find that people are much kinder during this time of year and I love it! Look how pretty this Christmas tree is! It seems a wee bit brights but that would be the filter that I placed on this picture. I love Christmas! Especially looking at the Christmas tree and remembering why we celebrate Christmas. Jesus’s birth, one of the greatest days that humans have been blessed with, our loving savior. Christmas will always have a special place in my heart and will always give me special feels about the reason for the season.

12/25/2017

CHRISTMAS DAY! This is the day that we got 12 inches of snow at home! Cody and I spent the day with my family over breakfast/brunch! We got to visit with my mom, her husband, my sister, and my brother-in-law! Cody got me this super awesome Polaroid camera! This is the first picture that we took with it! I love how the camera prints the photo seconds after it is taken! It’s so cool! With each Christmas being different, this was my favorite one in a while. With my father being healthy, we were able to celebrate with him as well! It has been almost 5 years since I have been able to do this. Having a healthy family is one of the greatest gifts that I could have received.

12/29/2017

This is the last photo that I am going to share of 2017. This is from our trip back to Bangor. Although Cody looks like he is sleeping, don’t be alarmed, he was just blinking when I took the photo. Nala however, was sleeping! She found a nice cozy spot to settle down for most of our ride to Bangor. I do think that her spot may have been the warmest spot in the car! She is so stinking cute!

If you are still reading and made it through my post, thank you so much for reading! I put a lot of pictures in this post but as I wrote above, this is more for me so I have a year of memories to look back on! Thank you for your support and I encourage you to make a memory book, post, blog, or even just a document of some of your favorite memory’s of the past year. You will thank me in a few years when some of these memories will be lost in time.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

*Macy* :)

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mleelyf19 · 7 years ago

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December 15th-17th, 2017

Another semester is done! This past Friday I took my last final of the semester! As much work as this semester was, I think that it went by really fast! I have learned a lot about myself this semester. For one, I learned that the hardest part of nursing school is in fact time management. As nursing students, I think that I can speak for all of us in saying that we have a ton of stuff to do literally all of the time. The way that I determine which assignment that I am going to do first is directly related to when the assignment is due. If you don’t know how to decrease your anxiety next semester, I highly suggest that you try this simple little trick.

THIS WEEKEND! It was so much fun! Having nothing academic to worry about is the absolute best part of winter break. With both of our brains being fried come Friday, we took a trip downstate to see the beautiful ocean and of course the lights at L.L. Bean! If you have never gone to see the Northern Lights Celebration in Freeport, I highly suggest that you should go! It is absolutely stunning! Seriously. I am a Christmas lover, and people are in such a better mood this time of year! I love looking at Christmas lights, but this was a sight that stays with you and gives you the happy tingles inside!

Now let me tell you about IHOP. I am a breakfast person. It is my favorite meal of the day and if I could have breakfast foods for every meal of the day, you better bet that I would! Cody and I went to IHOP for breakfast and let me tell you... WOW! It was so so good! If you get the chance to go I highly suggest the red potato home fires with onions, and green peppers! I think it was the best part of my meal and that is saying something because I basically had a cinnamon bun but in pancake form. (Yeah, you better believe that it was heavenly!) When we arrived at IHOP the lobby was filled with hungry people waiting for something to eat. I was actually pretty impressed with how quickly we got sat with that many people waiting. We only waited for maybe 10 minutes. Yeah pretty fast right?! I mean come on, look at that food, and the face that says he really needs everything to get in his belly as fast as he can!

Remember how I told you that we went to the beach? You are probably thinking, “Why would someone want to got o the beach in the middle of December?” Well, let me be the first to tell you that it is absolutely beautiful. While we were out walking on the beach, all bundled up, we saw people out walking their dogs, and letting them play in the ocean, we found a few big shells, and a sand dollar! I chased some of the seagulls, it’s okay you can think that I’m weird. The ocean never stops being beautiful... no matter how cold it is! I don’t have a photo to place under this part of my blog, mostly because my hands were freezing and I didn’t want to take my gloves off to take a picture because well... they were numb. But it’s the memories that we can hold onto forever! But here is a picture of a beach in case if you forgot what I wrote and this will remind you that I said something about a beach in the winter time!

I can’t forget about Nala! I haven’t posted a picture of her in about a month! When I took her to the vet last month she was 3lbs and 8oz. I weighed her yesterday and she was a big 5lbs! She’s growing pretty fast and just keeps getting cuter. After being alone for a day, all she wanted today was my attention. You better believe that I gave it to her! She got all nice and cozy and cuddled right up to me! She is full of energy and loves to play with wires..... Cody really hates it, and I’m kind of nervous that she might become a fried kitty.

To conclude my post, I wanted to tell you about my leap of faith that I took today. Today I signed up to host and IF:Gathering this February. I am so, so excited about this opportunity! If you have never heard about IF:Gathering, it is an amazing women’s ministry event that is a two day gathering of women across the country who come together and worship God, go into your faith deeper with him and learn more about yourself. This is so exciting! If you are interested in attending the IF that is being hosted at the Bangor Advent Christian Church, it is titled IF:Broadway. The event is attached below if you would like to register for it, or search it on Facebook! Thank you God so much for your ever lasting love and for pushing me out of my comfort zone and most of all, making me into the child that you want me to be.

https://register.ifgathering.com/event/ifbroadway

Thank you for reading!

Macy*:)

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mleelyf19 · 7 years ago

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Thankful*

Hi guys! I have been thinking about this past week what I am truly thankful for! Let me share with you a few things that I am super thankful for. Living a busy life, as all of you know how that goes, it is easy to say that we should not take people or objects for granted but yet we do anyway. This year I like to think that I have pulled myself a little bit out of my comfort zone. I like to think that if you are comfortable, how are you growing into the person who God has hand picked us to be?

Yeah, I thought that this fireplace looked pretty comfortable to me. I would love to sit in front of this fireplace with my hot chocolate while reading a Nicholas Sparks book (I LOVE Nicholas Sparks, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s one of my things) and only get up to take bathroom breaks. The past few months I have gone on a different path than normal, changing my morning routine, and trying new things that I either love and stick with them, or hate and only due it for two days (yoga didn’t stick with me for to long).

Last year, around this time, I found that it was taking to much time to put on my face (what I like to call my makeup) in the morning. However, if you know me I do not wear a lot at all. I am also pretty impatient when I am stressed and think that I could be spending my time on other things. I know that this sounds silly because I never spent longer than 5 minutes in front of the mirror putting on my face. Seriously, what was I planning on doing with that 5 minutes anyway? Read my pharmacology book? Come on now. Because I was impatient, I stopped putting on my face in the morning. At first I was like any other teenage girl who was self conscious of what others thought of her. As a few weeks went on, I started to stop thinking about what others thought of what my face looked like. To be honest, I don’t think that they noticed a different in my appearance anyway because I hardly wore a face to begin with. I felt better about my natural appearance and was more confident than I have been in a long time. This is not to say that every girl should try this, or that I am against makeup because I am not. AND I didn’t even do it to improve myself confidence, I did it because I was impatient. AND whenever you wear makeup some people notice more than if you were to wear it every day! I am so thankful that I took this chance and brought me out of my comfort zone and improved my self confidence.

I am so so thankful that I became a cat mom two weeks ago! This has brought me out of my comfort zone. This seems kind of silly, however, a time commitment to a kitten is something that I was scared of. I know that cats are self sufficient but they still need to be loved. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to care and give all of the love that I have to offer to Nala, however we took the chance, and I will speak for her in saying that she is very well loved! She is growing in size, as you can see in the photo, and she is also developing a strong personality. I think that this photo of her describes her perfectly! He face is still and looks lovable and all you want to do is cuddle it and kiss her little face! However, have you noticed how everything else in this picture is a little bit of a blur? Yeah, that’s because she can be spastic! Especially with her toy that she is playing with, (it is filled with catnip). She has also torn three feathers off of it. This is the same toy that she was terrified of the night that we brought her home! I am so happy and thankful that we took this chance to care for this little kitty. Nala you are so loved!

Of course I couldn’t forget about Cody! I am super thankful for the past three years and the memories and experiences that we have shared together! Some of you would not believe how thankful I am that Cody puts up with my cooking. Seriously. It’s rough. I was never taught how to cook as a little girl, other than helping my Grammy with making homemade cookies and rolls, which I ate almost all of. Needless to say, I burn food a lot, I have a lot of frustration, and I do not please my own taste buds a lot let alone his! I am super thankful that Cody loves to eat, therefore that gives me a lot of opportunities to try again!

As you continue your week I would love to challenge you to think about where you have grown in the past year and how you are thankful for the process. Who has helped you and what are the struggles that you have gone through to get you to a shinning moment? As you reflect on your opportunities, I am going to go try to make some chicken with out burning it or making it too dry!

Thanks for reading!:)

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