Mackenzie

I am so amazed by how different all of my children are and how much I love their individuality. Each one of them has abilities and talents that I can't account for. I certainly don't possess them myself which is probably why I appreciate them so much.

Mackenzie is a girl that puts a smile on my face every single day. She is always willing to lend a helping hand. No matter what I ask her to do she does it willingly and usually goes above and beyond. For example I might ask her to load the dishwasher and later find that she has cleaned the entire kitchen. Once I asked her to organize a drawer in the bathroom and she organized them all. She definitely likes things tidy and her bedroom reflects this trait. Her bed is made every morning before she goes to school and everything is put away; I've never had to ask her to clean her room.

In addition to helping with cleaning chores Mackenzie has been learning to cook and bake, she can make several recipes all by herself. While I was in school we were planning to have one of her signature meals for dinner. I had pre-cooked the chicken and planned to come home and help Mackenzie finish preparing the meal after my class. When I got home she was just taking the completed meal out of the oven. I was so impressed! In Beehives Mackenzie learned to make dinner rolls. The recipe is so good and she can do it all by herself. I love that she enjoys cooking and is taking the time to learn how, it will serve her well in the future.

Mackenzie is a serious student. She is smart and works hard to learn what she is taught. Her teachers love her and often comment that they would like to have a whole classroom of Mackenzie clones. She is always on task and strives to produce the highest quality work. Her greatest frustration comes when other students are disruptive.

Mackenzie has started babysitting since she turned twelve. She loves children, especially babies, and she has been earning some money. Recently she used some of her money to purchase an Ipod touch.

Mackenzie is a kind, sensitive girl. She is always willing to help. She loves to spend time with me and will go with me wherever I go, even to do boring errands. I am so blessed to be her mother.

No Ordinary Family

None of us can jump from a building, run super fast (I wish) or mind read like the characters from a new favorite show but everyone in our family is unique and interesting. For the next little while I am planning to do a feature on each member of our family. I want to have a record of the talents, personalities and interests of this group. It has been fun and a bit emotional to think about what I will write. Not only will I share my perspective but with some cooperation I will hopefully be able to get them to share their thoughts and opinions. Mackenzie will be my first subject. Stay tuned........

Registered Nurse

After nearly five years of school I have finally graduated from nursing school. Last week I took and passed the national boards which means I am a licensed nurse in the state of Washington.

Now it's time to get a job. People often ask me what type of nurse I want to be. The easy answer is "labor and delivery." I went into nursing school believing that labor and delivery was the reason that I was there and I really enjoyed the time that I spent as a student on that unit but honestly I would like to try some other types of nursing. There are such a wide variety of things that a nurse can do and I want to take advantage of some different opportunities. Unfortunately the economy in this area has made it difficult to get a nursing job and so I really can't be very selective. I will probably just take what I can get initially. Once I have some experience then I will be able to be more selective about what I want to do. I am eager to find an opportunity to get the experience that I need and that's no easy task. I have found it very difficult to convey who I am with a one page resume and an online application. On paper I don't look that great. I haven't had a full time job for fifteen years and I have never worked in the medical field. I know that I will be a good nurse and that the right job will come along so until then I will continue to enjoy my time off by organizing closets, drawers and bedrooms and doing some home improvement projects.