The news

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting a post about Levi's job, here's the news: he didn't get it. We're pretty bummed, but after working to become the best candidate possible for the last year, Levi's enjoying a short breather. Although he's greatly disappointed, a burden has been lifted and he's allowing himself a break before jumping back on the wagon.

The question is, where do we go from here? We know God has a plan for us in all of this; we're just not sure what that is yet. No other fire departments are hiring right now, so that's not really an option. Levi's planning to look in to getting his paramedic certification, which is a two-year associate's degree. With him working nights and classes being offered during the day, we're not sure if this plan will work, but it's worth considering.

Most of all, thanks for all your prayers and support of Levi during this entire process. It made the waiting, testing and ultimate disappointment bearable. Please continue to pray for us as we figure out what's next.

The Big Day

Tomorrow is Levi's final interview with the Norman Fire Department and he should know his fate by Thursday (hopefully!). Neither of us can believe finality is headed our way after months and months of waiting and testing. If you think of him tomorrow around 2:20, say a little prayer!

Congrats to the future Stewards!

Yesterday, I threw a bridal shower for my friend Ann. I'll be the first to tell you that I don't enjoy event planning and struggled at times to plan my own wedding, but I think Ann's shower turned out pretty great. You be the judge:

Crass Crises

Levi is winding up his second week on the streets in an ambulance and I must say he is racking up quite the story list. With him working nights and me days, our time together (about 30 min/day) mostly consists of a few cuddles and a run-down of the calls he got the night before. I've been shocked to learn that about half of the calls he's gotten have been completely unnecessary. Feel free to enjoy some of the ridiculousness as I have:

• a man calls 911 because he has a headache and ran out of aspirin
• a man calls 911 to pick up his mentally-ill wife who keeps calling out his name so he can get some sleep
• a man calls 911 because the bandaids from his surgery incisions came off
• a woman calls 911 because her blood pressure is low but her bp seems normal when the ambulance arrives (she still wants to go to the hospital)

Despite the understandable frustration of these needless calls, Levi has really been enjoying his job. In fact, he loves it. Here are some more exciting things he's encountered:

• a man got his hand caught in a vice and the bone was showing
• 3 attempted suicides
• 2 overdoses
• getting to speak Spanish to a woman who knew no English (he's still waiting to get a German-speaking patient)

And I'm sure the list will continue....

What I do with my new spare time

Since Levi started working nights tonight, I decided it's time to finish up the crib bed skirt I'm making for a friend who just had a baby:

I really love sewing, but my impatience gets the best of me sometimes. I can usually only do one section of a project per night or else my impatience and frustration at every mistake I make gets out of control. So far, I've gotten the two ends finished! That means I have two more sides and (at the rate of one side per night to avoid frustration) I should finish by Wednesday!

Pomp & Circumstance

Levi graduated from EMSA's training academy today! Unfortunately, my camera's battery was dead when I pulled it out to use it, so I have no pictures from the ceremony (and I couldn't get Levi to pose when we got home). An exciting surprise was that Levi recieved the "Top Gun" award for having the highest test average of all the EMT-Bs in his class! He got a special lapel pin that he gets to wear on his uniform so everyone will know of his honor.

Next week, Levi starts his shifts out on the streets with a Field Training Officer. He'll work 6 p.m.- 6 a.m. M-Th, which will be hard for both of us to get used to. But, if you want someone to hang out with on weeknights, you know I'll be free!

Nesting

The highlight of last week: a new area rug for the living room