I am writing this blog to let you know the BIG news. After a year and seven months I am headed back to the EAST side of North Dakota!!!! I CANNOT wait to start my new journey! I was approached about a position and I took my time with the approach, interviewed, did A LOT of thinking, and decided it was time. God is SOOOO great and I cannot express to you how he has played the most significant role in my move back home. I have been waiting to write this blog since I moved out here. Not because I wanted to move back, but just knowing the excitement that would come with the announcement. I have learned, made mistakes, grown as a person, grown as a social worker, and most of all developed into a better version of myself. Everything happens for a reason. Life is what you make of it and I personally feel that out here I have made the best of the situation, I took advantage of what I could, and I would not take any of this experience back! I have met some great people and a few of which I know I can call life long friends! To me that is priceless! I am looking forward to coming back to the FM Area and hope to impact some lives!
SOOOOO what is the new job?? Well....*Drum Roll PLEASE.....I accepted a position as a Singles Case Manager at Churches United for the Homeless in Moorhead, MN. From what I have gathered, I will be working with singles who come in needing housing, assistance, jobs, and further resources around the FM Area. I do not have experience in this field but I am excited to learn and absorb as much information as I can. When I became a social worker I felt that adoption was the only area that I would be in and I would not want to go in any other direction. After doing what I have and learning about other areas of needs, my view has significantly changed. I want to embrace life, learn as much as I can, and help in all areas. I could not be more excited to start this new journey with Churches United and continue to grow as a social worker. The second opportunity I will have going back is a position at Friendship Inc. in Fargo. I will be a fill-in staff. Basically, fill-in when I am needed for the month. I absolutely loved this position when I was in Fargo previously and I am more than excited and honored they are letting me come back! BIG shout outs to Ginny and Shawn!! <3
Ultimately, these are great opportunities to get more experience, my new co-workers and atmospheres will be awesome!!!
BONUS: I get to be closer to my family and friends!!
So far telling everyone has been extremely difficult! I have given my heart and soul into this position and would not change anything. I know God has had his plan from the beginning and I have just followed his lead in everything I have done. Thank you for the love and support from the few I was able to tell before I made this announcement! It means the world to me!!
Just a side note I will be living in Abercrombie to start with. I don't know what will happen after I move but I'm just going with the flow! I cannot wait to visit and hug each and everyone of you! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support before, during, and moving into the future!! Friends and family such as yourselves are hard to find and I feel SO blessed to have each of you in my life! <3
Here is a quote that sums up my journey pretty well!
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you can appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together"
So Much Love,
Nicky Kay
Here's a song that I was listening too and I could not stop crying because this is exactly how I feel about this adventure!
Here it is, my one year anniversary for my first day on my job and moving to Dickinson. If you would have told me what one year would bring me when I first moved out here I would have never believed it. The experiences, friendships, and relationships I have had/formed are so surreal. God led me on this journey, from what I have discovered so far, was to find myself. To find out who truly belongs in my life, who and what is important, and most of all to discover a new world. I can say that some things haven't turned out how I thought they would but life couldn't be better! I look back through this blog and I remember starting it so people could see what I was up to along with being able to look back myself and read about my journey. I have had a chance to re-read some of these posts and just can't believe how great this journey has been. I appreciate everyone that has been part of my life, past, present and future.
I know that when I moved I said I was going to come out here for a year and then I would be back. Now being in the situation I am I realized that I am not ready to move back. I feel that I have had a lot of growth and still have more growth to experience out here. It's crazy to think that I would ever write that but it is couldn't be more true.
One thing I can say I am super grateful for is my supervisor Joan. Joan is one HUGE reason why I have been able to make it out here and be successful with my job. I have never had a supervisor like her and I probably will never will again. If I could choose three traits to describe her they would be never ending/ number one supporter, beyond caring, and hardest worker. One thing I can tell you about Joan is she always has wanted the best for me. She always tells me to slow down and take time for myself instead of working the hours I do. But in reality she does the same things and I can't help but look up to her and want to do as great of a job as she does. I truly aspire to be like her one day and look up to her more than she probably will ever know. I am saddened to say that she will be done on March 21st. :( When finding out this news my world was turned upside down. I have cried multiple times because I know I was soooo blessed to be able to know her. God has angels here on earth to watch over us and I believe that God sent Joan to me! When asked about coming out here and why I chose this job the only thing that I ever can say is there was something about the voice of the lady on the other end of the phone. That lady was Joan. She was the only person I called back, the only interview I attended, and the only job I accepted after I got my degree. I can't tell all of you how much Joan has changed my life and it is all for the better! "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good!" That quote pretty much sums it up!
AASK....What can I say. GREAT company, GREAT people, GREAT results. I can't begin to tell you how many times we (adoption workers) sit around the table and listen to one another and come together as a team and support each other, give each other ideas, and lend a shoulder to lean on during hard times. My co-workers truly are the best. I couldn't ask for better people to work along side with. Not only that but I LOVE the fact they let me be who I am and accept me. Best feeling!
PATH.....Same thing!! My Dickinson SUPERSTARS! Who knew that I could grow so close to four people so fast. I honestly LOVE them with all my heart! They all have thee biggest hearts and are so caring, kind, generous, warm-hearted, genuine people. I am so blessed and thankful to call them friends, co-workers and most of all family!!
My family, where to begin where there is no end!! My family has been my rock, my #1 supporters, my EVERYTHING!! I don't know what else I could truly say other than I love them beyond anything and I am blessed blessed and more blessed to have them as my family!! Thank you for loving me when it's hard to love me and always supporting and accepting me for who I am.
Friends, my dear friends! Thankyou for understanding who I am, what I need when I need it, and being there for me!! You guys are amazing and I can't say enough about you!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!
I read this quote and couldn't agree more! I felt as I was shutting the door to one journey, I opened a new door for a whole new adventure!!
"Every story has an end, but in life, every ending is just a new beginning."
As far as the next year, who knows what it holds but. I sure hope I can look back and love it as much as I have loved this year! Life is to short so LOVE, LIVE, and LEARN from it!! Cheers my LOVIES!!
I told you I would dedicate a post and show you my office...It isn't as done per one of the signs that decided to "kick" all of the "T" s off of my wall! Which you will see...so, I have to figure out something for that. BUT other than that it is pretty much complete. I add things here and there and when I move out of this office it is going to be like moving out of my apartment because that is what I used to decorate this beast of place with! Ok so here we go...let me be the first to "welcome" you to my office...virtually! :)
This is my door name plate! So fancy I know!
After you open the door here is some shelving that you first see...
**Just a disclosure this does look a lot better in person...so feel free to come on out west here and visit to see it in person! I would be happy to show you around! ;)....
Shelf one...The bear (bucket not included) is what we give each child along with a blanket when
we do their placement or finalization.
So if you turn right from the shelving this is what it looks like, I will have close ups of the wall and such so you can see what the pics and items look like closer.
Here is my picture collage. Honestly besides my wall that I will show you at the end, this is probably my favorite thing in my office. I put a lot of time and effort into finding the perfect sayings and then trying to find a way to put them up.
My blanket for the cold days....which is like every day...I would rather be cold than hot..just saying
Now if you keep rotating right from the picture above you will see my desk and the window...that window goes to the hallway not outside so I always have it closed....It would be kinda weird to have people creeping on you when you are busy facebooking, working so hard!
Yes ladies and gentlemen, your eyes are NOT deceiving you...the sign clearly says "Every child is a story ye' o' be 'old"....SAD DAY! All my "t"s disappeared behind my desk! What it is supposed to say is "Every child is a story yet to be told" So I am putting my crafty mind to work to figure out something to do with those letters and I will post that in a future blog entry so you can see the finished product! I just really liked the saying!
Up close of what's on my desk.
This wall has a lot of personal gifts on it and is very special so it's right next to me!
Continuing right.....
This is where you will sit when YOU visit!! :)
Up close pictures.
My little owl mug Mardee made me! <3
And the final pictures....the reveal of my wall...this sucker is my favorite thing about my office...it took the most time to make but I find it satisfying that I won the battle with the tape and paint....and made this creation! Honestly this took me like 20+ hours to tape and paint...I was going to rip it down but my mom told me I couldn't. I'm now glad I listened because it is pretty neat to look at.
View from my desk
View from the yellow wall
Don't for get to buff on your way out! ;)
Life continues to keep me busy. I am almost done with training and will finally be able to "live" at my apartment. I fell sometimes I pay for some place to just store my stuff because I'm hardly there. But that will all change come 2014 :) Then I'll dive right into the Dickinson life. I have been attending a church out here and joined a life group. I am the youngest of everyone in there but I figured that it will still be good for me getting wisdom and knowledge from the ladies! They all are super nice! Other than that much hasn't changed and I am just living life day to day with a few adventures in between! I'm excited for the upcoming holidays and to spend some time with family! *Another disclosure...I already have my Christmas tree up in my apartment because I won't be here basically at all during December so I have to enjoy that some time...right?!? "Welcome to my crazy, beautiful life".....wait did I just become Ke$sha...Let's hope so!
So Much Love,
Nicky
This song because it's my new jam! No other reason!
Soooooo Hey there....I know it's been quite sometime *ashamed face* Life is life. You know how it goes one thing leads to another and then your life becomes a big swirl of happenings and you don't know what direction to go, you have different priorities, and simply when you have down time you NEED it. So there it is, that is why I have been ignoring you. I would like to say I am sorry but honestly I'm kinda not haha. But what I will tell you is that I have this blog and then for my next couple blogs which I promise I will update! I will show you my office (which is finally finished!!) and my apartment (which is all mine!!). However since I am leaving for training it might be a bit!
To start us off, here is my favorite 4-H lady!! Look at how great she is with a horse! Not to brag or anything but she got a blue ribbon :) JK We went to take practice pictures of Kylie! That beautiful girl and her horse posed and mardee and I snapped some shots! It was easy because Kylie is so gorgeous! Who knew we had a super model on our hands!
Here's BARB! She stripped and got a party dress on because of Kim's birthday! I told her it was a little short and Barb's response.....She just pointed at the door for me to leave....RUDE!!
The weekend consisted of going to the Grandparents at the lakes! It was great to have all of us kids together (minus Okoma :( Miss that guy!).
John and Kylie went shopping for goodies and this is what John brought. Of course you all know that this is a necessity for John but honestly did we need this many!!
3lbs of Gummy worms....
Out of Control!! But you can't help but love him!
Grandma and Kylie...It's hand and foot!! FAV game!!
Here's to all of our cousins.....hahahaha we got Grandpa to play!! And he was such a good sport!
We came back from the lakes in time for Mardee to work. Mardee, Atati, and I rode back and then Atati and I took my car back to Abercrombie. Mardee struggled going to work because she didn't want to miss out on time with us. We assured her that we were going to run two errands and go to Aber. Nothing exciting would happen... and then Scheels happened! We came across this little photo booth thing. Basically you take this mini-surf board and put it up on the camera and it makes a fish come to life.....Atati and I didn't understand this at first and I was just excited to take a picture. So I jump on this dock (without reading any directions) and smiled. Atati takes the picture and we both go "well that's boring" Then I was like, there has to be more to this.....we start to read the directions and figure out that you need the "surf" board with you in the picture. So I go over to the hooks and of course, I'm the go big or go home type of girl, and go straight for that shark! I wish you could have seen both Atati's and my face when the shark came to life. The Scheels guy did and he couldn't stop laughing at us! Our eyes were probably as big as beach balls. So here are our results of our adventure that wasn't supposed to be an adventure....Sorry Mardee :(
Back in Dickinson:
Here it is! It finally came...Brace yourself because you are going to be so jealous of what I am about to show you!! I mean who knew when I accepted this position that I would get such an awesome, fashion trendy, lovely gift! It's pretty awesome!! My VERY own..... JEAN JACKET!!! I haven't had one of these since the 90's....I want to put it on and sing the Saved By the Bell theme song and dance around the office! I mean.....who could say no to this magical jacket! It's like a flash back mixed with that warm tingly feeling all put into one. So please stop the jealous talk cuz I know that you all want one!!
And now that I showed you the new awesomeness in the office we need to talk about what's serious in the office....I want you to know that this is extremely hard for me! This was very near and dear to my heart and is a huge loss! Barb is no longer part of the office and has moved on...*cue the tears* WAAAAAAA!!!!
Yes my friends that is NOT a typo but indeed, REAL life! Barb's "truthful" owner had moved which means, so do her belongings, which SADLY included our dear friend Barb! I captured what was our last few moments together and which will remain in my heart forever! Farewell Barb you will be missed by many!
Barb got a makeover from her owner...a paper dress and lots of tape :) Sooo Pretty...
So pretty that she needed to do a snap to everyone...**selfie Friday!!
I met Barb's friend at Walmart! This was NOT for sale..and Yes I asked!
Found Captain Fred's doppelganger at the Pharmacy! I wanted to give him a hug he looked so much like my dad!! Couldn't believe it!
Speaking of the Captain look at that sharp looking guy in the car!! He is the best and so is that beautiful lady in the front! We drove to Fargo for some errands and had a wonderful time just us three!
Don't fret we didn't stay to long in Fargo we had to come back to meet up with Shawn and Lukas for Happy Hour and some supper! Below you will find Lukas and this GINORMOUS sandwich he got! We had to take pictures because it was so big!!
All of this for me??
Challenge Accepted!
Domination!
Then we headed off to the football game! I have not been on a jeep ride in a long time! It was good to feel the wind through our hair! I love fun little adventures such as this!
A random weekend.... we hung around outside and set the stage for the BISON football game! We set up shop in the backyard so we could all watch it together in the gorgeous weather!
Here we are hanging out in the world's smallest tent! Atati was going to sleep in this sucker and then couldn't fit in it because it was so small.
Mardee, the pups, and I on a ranger ride adventure!
Church bound with two of my favorite people! Mard and Austin
Anakin riding the big tricycles outside of church....cuz this church is awesome!!
I was blessed to be invited to Tasha's baby shower! The theme was mustaches!! Too cute! It was great to see all the girls and hold some BABIES!! I can't wait to have babies! So these two twin little munchkins belong to my friends Jill and Aaron. I wanted to hold both at the same time for practice! I am in the line to have twins so I need all the practice I can get before I have them! So naturally I just decided to "help" out and hold them! I am in love that is for sure! These sweet little pumpkins are so adorable and both have their very own distinct personalities! AHHH just looking at this gives me the FEVER! Don't fret my friends because I need a hubby before anything is going to happen! But STILL I cannot wait!!
Random pic of my partners in crime and I! These two are pretty legit if I do say so myself!
Movie day with Mardee!! Honestly probably one of the best relax days I have had in a long time. I don't get relax days period! So it was nice to have one with Mardee!!
My schedule for the last two months and for the next couple months, basically until 2014 is going to be crazy busy! I have the first two weeks of each month that is out of town training. So it gets kind of boring and it's hard to live out of a bag and in hotels! I never thought I would say that, because I loved to stay in hotels, until I got this job. Not saying it's bad but it defiantly took the fun out of it! But seriously no complaints! I have met a lot of people and am experiencing all kinds of new things. Below is a picture from the week of training in Grand Forks. I was lonely and had planned to meet up with my friend Katie somewhere in between GF and Fargo. However there was a change in plans and I ended up going all the way back to Fargo. Which might I add was such a good decision. Mardee happened to be in town so she joined us. We had lots of laughs, pizza, and SODA!! I don't think I have laughed as much as I did that night in a long time! Uplifting is what I needed and that's what I got!
and no we were not on the roof top lol
Just incase you needed to know!
This is Jinx (Mardee's dog) if you didn't already know. He has the biggest personality in the world. We decided to do a photo shoot and I think this picture is just hilarious so I thought I would share....cuz I can!
Mardee did a pintrest project! It was a pallet bed that hangs in the tree! She went on a hunt found some wood, a mattress, and some rope. She made life happen and two hours later we were swinging in this beauty!! It's pretty awesome if I do say so myself!
So, you might be saying to yourself, why is this tall grown man sitting on this other guys lap.....the answer to that question is TRUTH OR DARE JENGA! Jodi had this game and we all decided to play it...it is so random and funny because people will approach you and without you knowing what they are approaching you for and then they will like rub their nose against yours or blow in your ear....ACA AWKWARD! But funny at the same time!
Remember when we said goodbye to Barb....well this child tried giving me Wendy Walker.....I refer to her as WENDY WALKER THE STALKER (*hope you read that with a loud voice that echoed*) Any way this crazy "thing" was in my curtains when I came back from training for two weeks! I just left her cuz she's creepy! Well as I went back to work, I realized that ALL my pens disappeared from my desk...My co-workers think they are funny! So anyway Kim wouldn't give them back so I wrote this ransom note... Disclosure: I am not aggressive like this, this was a joke! AND no one was hurt in the end.
KIMMY D,
THIS WILL BE THE ONEAND
ONLY NOTE THAT YOU WILL GET. CONSIDER THIS
YOUR WARNING! I WANT THOSE PENS BACK NOW! IF YOU REFUSE
TO COOPERATE I WILL HAVE TO TAKE MEASURES INTO MY OWN HANDS ANDLIFE
WILL GET SERIOUS!! HOW
SERIOUS YOU ASK?! THIS SERIOUS
Let me introduce to you “Wendy Walker the Stalker”…her
life is now in danger!
OOO you don’t believe me?? HMMMMM...
I’m this serious!!!!!!! She will NOT be able to open those pretty blues
or twirl that curly brown hair if I don’t see those pens by 9am SHARP tomorrow 9/18/2013.
Got it??! Good I’m glad we understand each other! LOVE YOU!
Yeah....so it went something like that.....Wendy is safe and with her owner and the air spray is back in the cupboard and most importantly my pens are back in the holder!! I'm just glad we all survived.
Yup this happened!
My cousin Lance got married to the beautiful Bridget a couple weekends ago. It was a fun time catching up with family and friends! Mardee, Jesse, and I went into the photo booth and took some pics. This one surfaced on the internet...people asked what we were laughing so hard for....WELL.....I may have burped...like super loud...and then it was silent in the booth....and then this happened!! So cheers to a true and honest candid....oooo and before I forget...excuse me?!?
So this is where we say until we meet again! Sorry for the most random blog post but some of this is blurred together and multiple events but I just wanted to share everything! Now I know I need to stay on task and keep up with this thing if I am going to continue it....Geesh!
Life isn't slowing down anytime soon so I am just continuing to hold on for the ride and thanking God for all the people I have in my life that are rooting and praying for me! Thanks again for all the thoughts, prayers, and kind words! You all are too nice and I am soooooo BLESSED to know each and everyone of you!
So Much Love,
Nicky
*This song is my favorite new song...It's a tweenie bopper song but I do not care...it's my guilty pleasure! AWW Brings me back to the N'SYNC days.......Sorry I need to go now I have a Teen Bop to go buy, JK JK...but seriously!
