What we've been waiting for!

Our seven year anniversary was on the tenth. We didn't do anything because we wanted to wait to celebrate until after the match. So the week was spent waiting for this week to come. I know I shouldn't spend so much time looking to the future and focus on the present,  but I have been waiting for us to match for YEARS.

Monday we found out that we DID match and it was so nice to know that we did it and that Johnny would have a job in the summer being a REAL doctor! We are so proud of him and all the hard work he has done to make his dream come true! It was also St. Patty's Day and we celebrated with Corned Beef and Cabbage. 

The rest of the week was long and hard for two reasons: one because I had to wait until Friday to find out where we are going to spend the next three years, second because Johnny had the night shift all week. It was hard to have him gone for so long. On top of his 12 hour shift he had to stay for morning report and rounds which means he really had a 16 hour shift everyday. Hard on him and us. The kids seemed to sleep horribly all week so none of us were getting any rest. 

Well the long awaited Friday came and we found out we are headed to Des Moines, Iowa! It was not what I was expecting, but we are so excited! I really didn't care where we went as long as we got in some where. It will be so nice to feel settled and have friends and feel a part of a community.

Johnny says the program is good and the hospital is very nice as well as the people he will be working with.

Saturday after Johnny got home from his last night shift he took a little nap and then we headed out to celebrate! We went out to dinner at Longhorn Stake House. It was super tasty and we all were stuffed so we decided to take a walk around the mall. We also went to get our groceries for the week. By the time we got home we were all pooped. It was a week of ups and downs and now its time to get busy with the move, finding a house, and Johnny's LAST WEEK as a med student!

Shopping Around

This week was a little lonely, but it went fast. Johnny went to two interviews this week. The first was in Quincy, Illinois. He was gone a little longer on this one because he couldn't get on a flight back home on Monday so we didn't pick him up until late Tuesday night. We did go to the mall and I actually shopped and bought something! That hasn't happened in a long time. The kids did so great out walking around we took advantage of it and went to another mall when Johnny went on his second trip of the week. I was super sad I couldn't go on this one with him. He was in Saint Petersberg, Florida and he was right by the beach. We thought about trying to go with him and do a Disney trip, but it wouldn't have worked out.

Now he is done interviewing and it is time to decide how to rank them all, which I know will be hard. He liked so amny of them and they all have plus and minuses. 

Last week

Last week went by so. After we got home from Michigan Johnny only went to school for one day and then it was back on the road for him. He left for Jonesboro, Arkansas Thursday morning.  We didn't do much while he was gone, but we did run a few errands including getting our breaks fixed while we had the car. We picked him up super late  Friday night. It was nice to have him back the next day so I could get us all ready and packed for the next interview. Sunday morning we headed up to Somerset, New Jersey. I love being able to go with him to interviews so I can see the city. New Jersey was the last one I get to see so I am a little sad about that. We drove home Monday after he was done with his interview. I love road trips. It's always so fun to sit and talk and listen to music and books. Our next road trip will be our move to our new home! 

Life in the new year

I am way behind in this post. I meant to post on the 1st. When I missed that I wanted to do it on Sunday and missed that to, but better late than never...right?

Quentin turned four months right before Christmas. He is the sweetest baby. He has the best laugh and is pretty ticklish. He still loves to be held all the time which means I'm making dinner to the sound of a sad baby, but other than that he is a happy baby. He is starting to grab things and we have been practicing sitting up with him. He also seems very interested in the food we eat so we have been giving him tastes of real food.

After Christmas we spent our time playing with our new toys. Daphne definitely loves the train set she got as well as her stuffed triceratops aptly named "Tops". We have enjoyed all the card/board games we got. Its so nice to have some games that don't need other people to play them with. 

Johnny hasn't had to go to the hospital very much since Christmas which has been fun. New Years Eve we had our sparkling cider and lucky pickled pigs feet. We watched about 5 minutes of the "Ball Drop" and it was horrible. Not worth all the junk to watch the ball drop for 10 seconds. 

 

On New Years Day we headed down to D.C. Johnny has really wanted to see the Holocaust Museum. So we went there and then headed over to the American History Museum as well. It was nice to take things slow while we were there. We usually are rushing to hit everything in one day, but we were there just to waste time and it was a lot of fun.

After a couple days of work we headed north for Michigan for Johnny's interview in Brighton. I'm so glad we left a day early. We got to go stay with the Price's which was a joy! I love Katie and we had a good time playing games and talking. We did get there later than planned on Saturday because one of our tires blew out. We did beat the storm though. After hanging out on Sunday we drove over from their house to the hotel in Brighton. The storm was going pretty strong by this time so the drive was long and slow. At the hotel we just relaxed and stayed warm. Monday morning we dropped Johnny off and then just went back to the hotel instead of roaming the town like I wanted to. It was just to cold and to snowy to be out roaming around. We headed home once we picked up Johnny, but we didn't get very far with all the snow on the road. We ended up staying the night in Columbus. We woke up to another flat tire the next morning. So after getting the car repaired, again, we drove the rest of the way home. 

Life is going to be crazy for the rest of the month while Johnny finishes up his interviews. He will be gone a lot since he still has five interviews. We will miss him, but I know it will be worth it. Can you believe he will be a Doctor in three months! I can't wait for him to accomplish his dream and to find out where we are going to be living.  

Thanksgiving....plus a week.

We had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you did too. Johnny was done on Tuesday so we got a really long weekend with him, which is always fun. I spent all day on Wednesday prepping for the big turkey day. I like doing this because it makes Thursday so much easier and I get to enjoy spending the time with my family instead of in the kitchen. I didn't do all homemade stuff this year though most of it was. We had a TON of food leftover, but that is fine by me. We made our thankful hands on Wednesday as well. We started this little tradition in Dominica with my good friends Katie and Clair. I loved doing it, so we have kept it going.  Thursday I got up and made breakfast and then got the turkey in. We all sat and watched the parade together. I missed Santa because I was started cooking, but that is okay. We ate early so we could get to talk to family and then go out for "Black Friday"(which for some reason starts on Thursday now!) We didn't get much, but we got a couple good deals. 

Friday I usually put up the tree and decorate, but we didn't have a tree yet so we went out to the mall and walked around. Saturday I was a busy girl. I went out to go get a tree and then I had a practice for singing. I also had to go shopping. When I got home we cleaned up the house. I put up the tree and then we waited for our guest to arrive. 

 One of Johnny's classmates, Bryan, is staying with us for two weeks while he does a short rotation here. It has been fun for me because he has taken Johnny to work with him so I have had the car and been able to go out. I took the kids out one day to just walk around at stores and it was so nice. It was my first time being out just me and the two kids and I'm proud to say a survived. We also went to the Lego store for their Free Build. Fun times!

To much fun to handle! (Pictures)

Sorry, these are very out of order!

Cinderella and her Prince

Halloween

Me and Katie!!!

All the Dominica Kids! They belong to us, Jamie, Holly, Crystal, and Ann.

Daphne had a ball playing with Hayden!

Pioneer Children at the Temple VC.

Two Months

Me and the Sister at Arlington

Kirtland

Tennessee

This last week was spent getting ready for and going on our big trip to Johnny's interview in Tennessee. The trip started 3am on Thursday morning. We had everything packed the night before and after feeding Quentin we pack up the kids and headed out. We made really good time and were in Jackson by 6pm. We went for a little swim and then went out for dinner. After 13plus hours in the car we were all tired so we went to bed really early for us. The next morning after dropping Johnny off for the interview we checked out of the hotel and headed out to check out the city we may be calling home. I liked it well enough. It is the perfect size, not to big, not to small and there are nice neighborhoods to live. There is lots of shopping and the Seattle Mariners farm league is located in town. It wasn't as pretty as the Eastern part of the state, but still beautiful. Johnny got done about three so we picked him up and started heading home. He said he liked the program and the director and residents were nice. The interviews were not what he expected, but thought they went well. We only got a few hour out before we decided to stop and get dinner and a hotel. The next day was spent driving and driving and driving. The way home always seems longer than the way there, but we made it. The only bummer about the trip was we missed conference on Saturday and then Sunday our Internet kept giving out so we missed President Monsons talk. The rest was great though and I can't wait to read over them in the coming months.

Back to Business

This week has been pretty good. I feel we are finally settled except our lack of a dinning table and chairs. The kids and I have been getting used to our new surroundings. We love having a playground in the complex and spent a couple mornings playing there. I have spent a bit of time at the leasing office making sure everything is finalized and to our liking. I had to ask for a new oven twice. the first one we had didn't work at all and the second was very old and pretty dirty. Friday we finally got a brand new stove and it works great! I've also spent a lot of time grocery shopping. I feel like I have gone to the grocery store every other day to get stocked up on things. Wednesday Johnny had the day off which was nice and we went to the playground with him. Yesterday we participated in a Day of Service. We went to a park with our stake and picked up trash. It was a great way to teach Daphne about how we give service to others. She was a lookout for trash and did great. 

I asked for a smile, this is what I got.

Last Sunday Johnny sent in his applications for residency programs. He already has one scheduled in Tennessee. I am so proud of him. Please pray for lots more. We are trying to decide if we will all drive out or if he will fly out by himself. Its a long drive, but it would save us $100. At this point its a toss up so we may or may not be going on a trip next weekend

Last Week

 

So I spent the whole of last week sewing away. I made this super cute quilt for my little man. It was fun to do because even though I had a tutorial I had to figure most of it out myself because I changed the size of the stripes from 3in to 4in. It turned out just how I wanted and I can't wait to get to use it.

 

I also made this beauty. I had a ton of fabric left from the quilt so I decided to make this car seat cover up.  I didn't have one with Daphne, but always wanted one. I think it will be great to have to keep little Daphne hands away from him when we are in the car and it will help keep the cold weather out.

 

Speaking of cold weather our little family is heading north this fall. Johnny ended up not being able to finish up med school here in Atlanta like we were hoping. So we are headed to Baltimore sometime in Sept.-Oct. I'm not very excited about it. I'm going to miss it here and I'm not looing forward to moving with a newborn. But that's life and I've done it before and I'm hoping it will be our last time.

 

Daphne had her two year well check up and is doing just great she is 28lbs and I can't remember how tall. I love her so much. She is just the best little girl in the world (and I'm not bias at all). She is so smart and always surprises me with how quickly she picks things up. She also is so sweet. The other day in the grocery store she just kept wanting to give me hugs. It took us twice the time it usually takes to shop, but I didn't mind one bit. We are having a little party for her next week for her Birthday and I can't believe she has been in my life for two years It has gone by to fast! I keep thinking about how we really only have 16 more years with her and I am realizing that time is going to fly by. I love that I get to stay home with her and soak her up. Johnny always says its not fair that I get to be with her all the time and its not. I'm glad I get to be the mommy!

One down...

Johnny just got home from his LAST day of his ObGyn rotation and I have to say it feels so good. The time flew and I have a feeling his other will probably go just a quickly. Before I know it he will be graduating (a girl can dream)! Just interviewed him about it here it is.

Interview:

What was your favorite thing about ObGyn?

"The Variety: I got to be in a clinic, a hospital, do a little surgery, a little bit of everything."

What did you not like about it?

"I don't know."

Would you consider making it your Specialty?

"NO"

What is your Favorite Memory?

"My first cesarean. I got to be right up close and see everything. I held a retractor and I got to suction."

What was the name of your Attending Doctor? 

Dr. Pierre

We are moving tomorrow to Atlanta where we will be for the next SIX months and I am so excited. My great friend Jessie (you all remember the Bergs right?) lives pretty close to where we are moving and is in our ward if you can believe it! I hope this means I will have a few less days sitting at home staring at the walls. I hope that because we are staying for a little longer I can make some friends. It was pretty sad here, because at church the second I said we were here for 6 weeks they kinda lost interest. 

 I better get busy lots to do before tomorrow.

One for the books.

The last week we really have not done much. Just me and the little girl hanging out. Daphne has really been into reading lately and I'm getting a little bored cause we have less than ten books. I went to the library to get some books, but couldn't check out any books cause I'm not allowed to get a library card. So basically I read the same books over and over and over. We will have to just take a trip there together and I can sit and read her some new books.

Johnny got to help deliver his first baby on Thursday via C-section. He got to suction and hold a retractor which I think is pretty neato. Then that evening as we were getting ready for bed he got called in for another delivery. Today he got to witness his first circumcision as well. Besides that he seems to not like OB very much. I didn't think he would pick it as a specialty, but now we know for sure its not his cup of tea. 

STEP 1: Officially DONE

So Johnny PASSED!!!!! Half of our waiting is done and now the rest of the waiting can progress. We just have to send in some paperwork and we should get a call back sometime soon to talk to the rotations coordinator, and then we should know where we are going. Oh I can't wait!

I'm alos getting very excited to see my family. We head down next week. It will be fun, and we will celebrate Daphne's 1st Birthday with them! Now I just have to wait....

Oh me, oh my, the time does fly!

My baby is becoming less of a baby everyday. I can't believe ELEVEN months have passed since she came into my world. This last month has been so fun with her. I can't believe her development in the last month either. She is so smart and has the best personality. I just want to eat her up. She is such a joy to me. She is a good sleeper and a great eater. I don't think she has disliked anything we have given her. She is crawling all over and climbing stairs and she wants so much to stand up all by herself, but her balance isn't quite there yet. 

Its pretty obvious I haven't posted in awhile. We are trying to keep ourselves busy here in Lamar, though there is not much to do. We did take our little trip to Colorado Springs for Johnny's test, which was fun. Mary and I also took a trip to the temple last week. Next week we will have the house to ourselves while the family is gone to Florida for a little vacation to Disney World. Then sometime in July we are heading down to Arizona to visit my family. Besides that my life is full of playing with my baby and reading books. Not too bad I'd say.

We still haven't heard anything about where we are going. I know I said it would only take two weeks to find out where we are going, but Ross fooled me again. I should learn my lesson and know not to trust any time line they give us. We will let you know when we find out anything. 

M.I.A.

Well the thing I didn't want to do happened I missed posting about my baby's 10 month birthday. The lack of recent posts is two fold: nothing really fun or different has been happening and I just haven't gotten on the computer in about 2 weeks. 

Daphne seems to be growing up so fast lately. Her two top teeth came out this last week and yesterday she crawled for the first time and she is pulling herself up on things really well now. 

Yesterday I was down stairs and Johnny called me up stairs and told me we needed to talk. When I got up it was the last thing I thought it would be. He told me that he had just got an email telling him that he can apply to rotations TODAY. I didn't think we would get to until after we got his scores from the test back (which by the way won't be until July 15). So we got to pick our top choices and they said they decide on a first come first served basis which is good because we had the application done an half hour after the email was recieved. They also said they would let us know where we are assigned in two weeks. So if Johnny passes we will know where we are going to be living for rotations in the next TWO WEEKS. That is such a stress re-leaver for me cause that gives me ample time to find a place to live and go through our stuff to decide what we are taking with us. Oh It makes me excited just to think of it. Our number one pick starts in September and is for the full two years, so we wouldn't have to move around at all. Please pray for us that we get it and pray for Johnny to do well on his test on Wednesday. It is the biggest test of his life and determines the rest of his medical career. Pray, Pray, Pray!!!!

COMP...lete

Johnny gets to check off one more thing on the long list of things to do before he can graduate. He passed the Comp!!! FYI- The Comp is a test that med students that studied abroad have to take that basically is to prove they learned what they needed to to be able to practice in the States. We are so proud of him. Just so you know last semester only 30% of the class passed it the first time, so yeah, MAJORly proud of my hubby for getting it on the first try. 

Took this video of Daphne today and had to share. She has such a cute little voice. She was singing to her Giraffe pillow and I had to capture it. Of course the second I pulled out the camera she stopped, but I did get her talking a little. Enjoy.

Could I be any cuter?

I am loving having Daphne all to myself again. Its nice to have family be there to help, but I'm having so much fun with her. We are spending all our time together and I love it. She is trying new things and learning so much. She is such a smart girl. Today I let her play around with a bottle and she took to it very well. She can hold it by herself and figured out how to put the nipple in her mouth all on her own. She even figured out that  if she grabbed the nipple she could pull it back to her after she dropped it. She couldn't pick it back up the right way, but she is getting it. I was so proud of her. 

Johnny is full on into the semester now. He is going to be a busy boy. He takes the Comp tomorrow an then he has an advanced CPR class this weekend. On Monday he has his first hospital day. He is going to be doing a 12 hour ER shift. He is not excited about not getting a break after his test, but in know he is going to love being in the hospital. I'm so excited for him to get to work with patients in a REAL clinical setting. I know he will do great!

Nevermind?

So I am completely shocked. I was out with a couple of friends and a student came up and asked me where we were going for 5th semester. I looked at her quizzically and said, "no we don't find out until Friday" and she answered with, "no, we got the email at 8 o'clock. So I rushed home to find out where we are headed.

Drum roll please........

We are headed to Mirimar, Florida

We were pretty shocked since we have been told that if you applied to Michigan, you will be getting in due to the minimal applicants. But we are not disappointed. The only reason we applied to Michigan was because the living expenses are a lot lower there. Now we will be in Florida during the beautiful winter months and will miss out on the cold winter months. We will still be close to the beach and maybe be able to go to Disney a couple times. I really am kinda excited to be going back to Florida! I loved it the first time and I'm sure I will enjoy it again.

Ross, you did it again.

Why have I not learned that when Ross says they are going to do something they are for sure NOT going to follow through. I even told myself not to get my hopes up, but of course I did cause I really want to know where  we are going. Apparently our new date to find out where we are doing 5th semester is on Friday......

yeah, we'll see.