The Draper Diaries: Let's try this again!

Hi everyone!

Yes, I realize that it has been over 10 months since I last updated the blog. Yikes! So much for trying to post at least once a month, right?

I am going to try this again, so I hope you enjoy the little update!

First off, congratulations to my brother Eric and to his FIANCE, Sarah! Eric proposed to Sarah over Labor Day weekend, and they will be getting married at Sarah's home church in Anderson, IN on June 21, 2014. We are so excited for the two of them and for Sarah to join our family. Matt and I are also honored that we will be able to serve as a groomsman and bridesmaid in the wedding!

Matt's brother, Rob, and his fiance, Leanne, are getting close to their wedding date as well. In less than a month, they will get married in Louisville, KY. We are also excited to take part in their wedding. Matt will serve as a groomsman and I will be reading petitions during the ceremony.

Here are some more quick "congratulations"--Congrats to Andi (Alex's boyfriend) on the completion of his first half marathon! Congrats Andy Marshall (Matt's cousin) on his triathlon over the weekend! Congrats Allison Seitz (my cousin) on the receipt of her Girl Scout Gold Award (equivalent to the Boy Scout's Eagle Scout Award)! Congrats to my friends Emily and Ben Wood on the completion of their first half marathon as well! I know that there are more "congratulations" in order, especially since I have not updated in over 10 months, but these are all of the current ones that I can think of :-)

The company that I work for, IU Health, will be going through some major changes within the next couple months. About 900 workers will be losing their jobs, as the company has been unable to cut costs in a way that they had hoped. People begin to hear today whether or not their positions are being eliminated. We are praying that my job is not affected, as my unit at Riley Hospital has been quite busy lately and because I work in an ICU, which requires more nurses than other units for safety purposes. I am going to call in to a conference call at 2:30pm to hear updates from my unit's managers. Please pray for the security of my job, as well as for the rest of the IU Health family!
Update: Just heard from my conference call that no one in the Pediatric ICU at Riley will be losing their jobs! Thank goodness. Please continue to pray for those in the IU Health family who are affected by the cutbacks. Pray for healing and strength for them and that they can quickly find new jobs.

I have completed two half marathons this fall, and have one last one coming up on October 19. I had hoped to complete the full marathon distance (26.2 miles) at that race, but I have not been able to get in sufficient training, so I will be running the 13.1 mile distance instead. It will be my fifth half marathon!

On September 8, Sheila and I threw a bridal shower for Leanne at Bob and Sheila's house in Fort Mitchell, KY. We were so happy that so many people were able to come and it seemed like everyone had a great time!

I think that is all I have for this quick update! I am going to go take Thor for a walk before my meeting, and then I hope to go running later. I have been having some intermittent low back pain for the past few days which felt similar to when I experienced a kidney stone last year, so I have not been as active over the past week as I would have liked. I am doing okay right now, but I think I might just hop on the treadmill and watch some Netflix on the iPad just to be safe...I would rather be in the house if something happens as opposed to several miles away from home! :-)

Until next time, here are several photos for your enjoyment!

Matt and I attended the Guinness International Champions Cup soccer match at Lucas Oil Stadium in August. We watched two European soccer teams (Chelsea and Inter Milan) play!

Matt, Eric, Sarah, and I got to watch the Indianapolis Indians play over the summer from the Eli Lilly Suite! We got lots of yummy, free food and we had great seats!

At the "Personal Best 5 Mile" race, I didn't win any awards for speed, but I did win the weirdest door prize ever...a printer!

Allyson came to visit during the summer, and we did a high ropes/zip-lining course at Eagle Creek Park. Even though it rained almost the whole time, it was a ton of fun!