Momma Mary's Birthday!

Back in September we celebrated my wonderful Mother-In-Love's birthday! Momma Mary is such a wonderful woman. She is an extremely hard working, and intelligent nurse. She is so generous and selfless towards Will and I, and is always trying to find new ways to help us out. We had her over for dinner and dessert that night and opened a few presents. Here are a few pictures of our party!

I had so much fun making her cake! 

I tried my hand at pop-up cards- and I am proud to say I will be making more of these!

MM is a lover of the National Parks and ourdoors just like Will and I. We got her this book that she had been wanting with pictures of all the US National Parks. It is such a great book!

I think she loved it!

Catch Up

At the beginning of August, Will started Medical School. We were very prepared for a difficult ride- and were pleasantly surprised when at first it wasn't really that bad. We still were able to find time to hang out and catch up, as well as finding enough time to study and feel good about school. Well, the past few weeks have become more difficult. His schedule has been more hectic, which translates to less time together, at home, or studying. The stress level has increased and we are both feeling it. Thankfully he now has an off weekend- meaning he doesn't have any major tests next week so we will get a breather. For this, I am thankful.

We both feel like we are on the right track right now, but the time commitment is still daunting at times. He's got a little more than 3 1/2 years of school, then roughly a 5 year residency, then more if he decides on a fellowship etc. We know it will be worth it, but still, that's a lot time, ya know?

Our mantra right now is One Day At A Time. We've been told the first year is the most difficult, and I feel that is mostly because of the adjustment period from undergrad. It's a lot of changes all at once, and the expectations are so high and there is very little 'me' time. Will is doing very, very well with all the changes- but there's only so much one person can do.

For all of these reasons, I am so glad that we decided to go ahead and get married before school started. We dated for 5 1/2 years before we got married, and throughout that time our plans changed a lot. For a while we were thinking of tying the knot after both of our schooling, but now I'm confident that this journey would be so much more difficult without him being right there with me. We are so blessed.

I read a quote the other day that I felt really spoke to me-

Source: imperfectionatbestt.tumblr.com via Clare on Pinterest

Happy Wednesday.

What's On My Mind Today.

It's Fall, Y'all!

....and it's been nearly forever since I've posted.

One day I will actually finish recounting our cross country trip, complete with pictures, but for now, updates of what we have been up to will suffice.

We have had several big milestones in the past few months-

First of all, Will started Medical School and got his White Coat!!

Pre- White Coat Ceremony!

He is now on his way to getting his MD!

He has done so well in school so far and I am so proud of him. He was even elected liaison of his class. This means that after any test, if someone has a problem with a question, he's the person they go to. Will will then decide if it is a legitimate claim, and then present it to the professor. This is turning out to be a great position for him because he is so good with words and being diplomatic. He is able to find ways to present the claim in such a way that it is valid, while not stepping on anyone's toes in the process.

Something I'm very happy about is that there is an active Medical Student Wives Auxiliary group at UMC. It is for any wives, fiances, girlfriends etc of medical students. It is primarily a support group and we have monthly meetings and get togethers. This was something I was really hoping that UMC had and I am just so happy to be apart of such a great group of girls that are involved!

On September 5th we celebrated our 6 year anniversary! We got married on April 9th, but the fifth has always held a special place in our heart. We began dating on September 5, 2005, and have celebrated the fifth every month since! We also celebrated our 6 month WEDDING anniversary on October 9th!

I think we just like to celebrate :)

To celebrate our wedding anniversary, we picked up some food for a picnic and went to the spot where we got engaged, Lakeshore Park.

It was perfect weather and it was so nice to take some time apart from studying and just reflect on our time together. Because we dated for so long before we got married, we spent a lot of time talking about "THE Day". Now that THE day has come and gone, and we are married, it's still hard to believe sometimes that it's all real!

A few weeks ago we went to the Mississippi State Fair. It was a lot of fun...apart from the bruises we got on the giant slide. It was am extra special time because exactly 6 years and one day earlier we went there for our first anniversary date. I know, I know. I'm very nostalgic. We rode the same rides we rode then and it was just so much fun. If someone had told us 6 years earlier that we would be in the same spot and married in just a few short years, I don't know if I would have believed them. Will, of course, said he always knew :)

Happy Friday!

Brevard, NC

Our trip started out with the 11 hour drive to Brevard, NC, home of Bret's grandparents, Nanny and BobBob. Papa, Mollie and Joseph, with accompanying friends, drove up on Monday, while Mama, Bret, Rachael, Will and I followed that Wednesday. Unlike the initial trip on Monday, our drive was uneventful :)

Our driving group.

While we were in NC, we went white water rafting on the Nantahala with my family and it was a blast! The little town it was in was so neat! It was such an outdoor community- everyone was either kayaking, running, or biking- it was such an energetic area. I'd love to live somewhere like that one day.

Mollie and Joseph on the Nantahala.

The neat cafe on the river! (I know, I'm a dork)

The "adults". Who are we kidding?

The next day, Will and I spent some time walking around in downtown Brevard, NC with Rachael and Bret. Brevard is a very cute, quaint town. There was an old fashioned soda shop and movie theatre, as well as several outdoor athletic stores.

After that, Will and I went and met my dad and Joseph at their campsite.

Joseph brought a few friends to NC, so we all decided to go canoeing. They were camping on a big lake which connected to a waterfall down stream, so we canoed to the waterfall. The water was very warm at first, but once we reached the waterfall- it was freezing! Of course the boys jumped right in, but Will and I creeped in- at first getting our toes wet, then our ankles, and eventually we jumped right in. Papa even got in with us! Behind the waterfall was hollowed out so you could climb behind it and then slide out on the slick right under the waterfall. Being behind the waterfall with Will and Joseph and hearing the water pounding down in front of us is one of my favorite memories. The water was so cold, and we were very timid about getting in, but I'm so glad that we did. The trip was about embracing each moment- and we definitely did that each step of the way.

We enjoyed a cookout with my family after our water adventures and got ready for our EARLY morning drive!

Chronicles of Our Trip

Will and I got back from our trip a few weeks ago and have been adjusting to a new pace of life ever since. Our roadtrip was absolutely amazing, and not a day goes by that I don't think about it. It was peaceful, relaxing, invigorating, and I'm so glad we decided to do it before med school.

Now that school has started for Will, our schedules have changed a lot. Will is up much later, and wakes up earlier. When he is at home he's normally studying so it's pretty quiet at our home lately. The other big change is Gross Anatomy Lab. Gross is an understatement. Will is in lab for a few hours each day and let me tell you- the smell! The students wear scrubs and a lab coat while in lab, so even though Will leaves his lab coat at school, we still have to wash his clothes every day! He's been in school a few weeks now, and although it's been difficult at times, we feel like we are in the right place right now. There is a great group for medical school wives at UMC that I've joined. They have meetings all throughout the year and parties and all sorts of stuff I'm looking forward to! I also switched jobs a few weeks ago. It was one of the hardest decisions I've made yet, and definitely the hardest Will and I have made as a couple. But when looking at all the circumstances, it was a much needed switch. We are learning to trust right now.

I wanted to do some posts of our trip with some pictures. We took roughly 2,000 pictures total, so I can't post nearly all of them- but I wanted to post a few highlights. I'll break the posts up by location.

Here are a few sneak peeks!!

Brevard, NC at Nanny and BobBob's cabin.

On the road after many LONG hours. We quickly resorted to self portraits as entertainment.

Made it to our first big destination! 27 hours of driving and 6 hours of sleep in 2 days!

The big G.C.

Our first fruit stand in CA.

Lombard Street, San Fran.

Yosemite!

Vernal Falls, Yosemite

King's Canyon/ Sequoia Natl Park

Moro Rock, King's Canyon/ Sequoia Natl Park